Please excuse my French but this is one very fucked up regime. They can’t get their stories straight but one thing is for certain, we have both a weakened military and an insecure nation, on top of having a narcissistic mentally deranged so-called leader. I mean, what could go wrong when you have that??
Secret Service deputy director Matthew Quinn told the court that when Trump tore down the East Wing in October, he destroyed the security infrastructure under the building. Now, he said, “any pause in construction, even temporarily, would…hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission.”
And the idiot said that publicly????!!!! Open season on US intelligence secrets!!!!
Georgia... As an added note...HCR said today re/ Trump's argument that they have to build it (the ballroom) for national security reasons that the rationale stems from the 2024 Supreme Court decision called Donald Trump v United States that as long as a President is operating within his official duties, he can't be prosecuted for crimes - and one of the official duties is national security.
HCR states: "And so they (the Supreme Court) gave him alot of leeway on that... So now more and more he is saying, I have to do this because of national security. And you're seeing that with the tariffs too.". Trump is on his own rinse and repeat cycle thanks to the Supreme Court!
We have a monster at the helm. Why? A perfect storm occurred that brought him to win. A weak Biden. The New York Times today published an opinion piece on why young white males voted for Trump. The premise is DEI. I happen to agree. It’s a long and a complicated issue and too lengthly to discuss here. I encourage all to read the piece.
Penny, we should impeach the entire regime. Unfortunately, too many Republicans and a lot of billionaires depend on Trump's ignorance and dementia so they can squeeze as much from the American people as possible before they run to a foreign country where they can start their crap all over again. How do we hold them all accountable for what they are doing to us and to the world?
Ruth, yes and they know that he is just their puppet and are trying to do as much damage as they can and grab what they can before he departs this world. I do hope his demise is public, so that we know that it has happened and they don't try to do more in his name.
Don't believe impeachment- though it is a correct action against tRump- would work. Simply too many lemmings swarming around. Only hope is VOTING! Local AND Nationwide.
When we have the Blue Wave, the country deserves next year, the trials must begin. Congress must move forward with impeachment hearings for most of the cabinet and certainly Trump, followed by Vance. The presidency would then fall to the Speaker of the House.
And who should that Speaker be? Could be one the most important decisions House Democrats ever make.
Simultaneous impeachments of corrupt SCOTUS would also be in order.
And staffers can be preparing legislation to expand the court as well as reversing the "Citizens United" - a king making feudalism fueling decision.
And a new tax code - from scratch...who needs more than $1 billion?
Down with Epstein Class. Up with the working Class.
Medicare for All - within our reach once we resume our leadership.
MAGA will be defeated. Or at least hobbled. It won't be enough to repair the government and restore decency. We will need to rebuild and add guard rails.
The key figures who enabled this fascism and the destruction of democracy, public health and our international reputation must pay a price.
We need to think big. Really big.
MAGA wasn't shy about flipping the script to Fascism and Oligarchy. We need to act just as fast. Flood the zone with justice and the return of the rule of law. New efforts to HELP PEOPLE every day, Dominate the media with GOOD stuff. Can we do this?
Daniel, but will those dozens of Republicans have the guts to stand up and say so in public, then act with Democrats to stop this antidemocratic set of actions? Those are the big questions related to them and for all of us to ponder.
Not Obamacare. They just voted to screw that program even though Dick Durbin was assured they would discuss it. Ha! You cannot find more than one Republican in opposition to Trump on those issues and MAGA Democrats are on Trump's side too.
Yodagirl, there were 74 million at most that actually voted for Trump and his regime. They never had a majority of the American people no matter what Baby Donnie claims. He lies incessantly, so numbers are just another of his tools to lie to the American people, and the MAGAs in particular.
Those who re-elected Trump are, unfortunately not the only ones who need strong civics education. We could all use a dose, but those on the far left need it as much as those on the far right.
I have trouble understanding the reasoning of one Dace Potas writing in USA Today his assertions that the supreme court is doing its job by being "ideological" and not "partisan." Such dribble type explanations as this completely ignore the fact that this SC's "ideology" leads directly to partisanship. When obvious criminal behavior by a sitting president is not only, not called to heal, but actually encouraged by stating that such a president is certainly above the law, challenges the reasonableness of all individuals who wish to have a level playing field for their desired success. However, this is what we are up against. Your list is worthy of accomplishment; however, with short sighted opinions such as that exhibited by Dace Potas, we have a long road in front of us. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/this-is-why-you-re-wrong-about-the-supreme-court-and-trump-opinion/ar-AA1SgOOu?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LCTS&cvid=60d00647f07a42758abde1b5e2c8da47&ei=10
A big part of that Blue wave, though, is going to be ensconced "moderate" Dems who will press for business-as-usual. We'll get some investigations but no prosecutions and little meaningful legislation of the kind needed to restore the international community's faith in the US.
RefJim, not all Ds are in a place where they can win being a progressive. I cite Washington's third district where the D runs an auto repair shop and is able to connect with that conservative district. Otherwise they would have had mad Joe Kent who is now working for Tulsi. No one calling themselves a socialist can win in most areas of Oregon except a tiny part of Portland. That is the reality. I would not dismiss what Ds will do if we win the House and the Senate. Even a lot of Rs know that death star's policies are unpopular with their constituents.
We will actually need some serious moderation after the tumult of the Trump years. Trumpism is a symptom of a deep dissatisfaction on the part of many Americans with much of the last half century in the US. Whether or not that dissatisfaction is entirely justified is not as important as the perception that it is. That dissatisfaction is what we need to address.
Whenever we delve too far into an ‘us and them’ mindset, we risk exactly what we are gong through now. MAGA is also made up of Americans. If we ignore that, we lose.
Tempting as it is to 'think big’, Bill, what the country does not need is the kind of further roiling that some of your suggestions would almost certainly bring about.
First, about SCOTUS. The problem is not SCOTUS itself, but rather that a dysfunctional Congress has in effect delegated its responsibilities as the Founder-intended primary governmental branch. One effect of that has become the partisan war over SCOTUS appointments. The old civics saw about co-equal branches was not what was intended. Remember for starters that the power of judicial review, which is at the heart of the present controversies was granted to SCOTUS by the Consitution.
Reversing Citizens United is a worthwhile goal, but in practice it would be not only very hard but also politically volatile to attempt given the influential power of those corporate entities who benefit from it.
You might remember that it was a substantial number of the ‘working class’ who elected Trump. He was only a symptom of a deep dissatisfaction from Americans unable to fully understand the economic realities of an interconnected global world.
Medicare for all is also a worthy goal, but implementing it would be initially quite disruptive even if it could be done, which is very problematic as it goes against what a great many consider the essence of our capitalist system.
MAGA will not be either defeated or hobbled. Following a blue wave, it will go underground, desperately seeking a new champion, candidates for which position will be numerous. MAGA needs to feel included, not excluded.
What we will really need is some sort of breather from the maelstrom created by Trump and his myrmidons. Throwing us into a flurry of criminal prosecutions will only continue to exacerbate a citizenry already self-inflicted with an ‘us and them’ mentality. While I also feel that those who have perpetrated the lunacy that is Trumpism ought to pay a price for doing so, an endless procession of show trials will only approximate the gradually increasing apathy generated by that other endless series of trials at Nuremberg without actually resolving the issue. After all, Nazism (and its many copies) have not disappeared from the political scene, even in Germany.
As long as we actively promulgate an ‘us and them’ situation, it will continue and grow.
Bill, Thank you for your hopeful remarks. Little by little, we the people can repair the faulty codes we have & become more caring to others. Won't be an easy job but, WE can do it.
None of that is going to happen. I’m sorry to be pessimistic but SCOTUS is 100% safe, Congress is in a coma with life support keeping it alive and Trump has the authority to do anything he pleases.
There is no reason for Trump to allow elections. Yes, I am using the right terminology. Only what Trump allows will go forward. He needs a dead Congress…hence elections are not going to happen. SCOTUS has its Unitary President and they will allow violence to occur before they take him away. All of this 100% legal.
There is nothing in the Epstein letters everyone sounds like conspiracy theorist talking about these letters. Who is going to stop the Venezuelan invasion? Congress? Again. What Congress.
Law enforcement in masks is now normalized. Federal troops in “Socialist” cities is normalized. Young people are reading the tea leave and becoming conservative to try to survive in this nightmare nation. Democrats pols are holding onto their seats to become part of the “government in exile” once Trump Inc dismantles Congress, saving their asses while Americans do the dying and the heavy lifting of keeping our master in his great big houses.
Some efforts will be made to suppress the elections next year. They will fail. Witness Indiana. The MAGA magic coalition is crumbling. All we need to know about Epstein and Trump we know already. He was buddies with a pedophile sex trafficker. And he didnt turn him in.
Trump won't make it until fall. He is disintegrating before our eyes. Vance is a cast away.
But, you are right to be pessimistic. It will balance my enthusiastic optimism. Somewhere in the middle will be the truth. And some justice will prevail. Some.
I'd like to think so, but if our past has shown us anything, the wealthy and powerful rarely face consequences. A scapegoat or two will get a slap on the wrist, maybe (hopefully) Hegseth goes to jail, but Trump will skate off to his next grift, selling useless crap made in China to his voters.
If there is any possibility of trump being removed from office in 2028, he will refuse to leave. He is in complete control of the military and justice department so who can make him leave?
Who is going to have the moral courage, legal authority to bring true , open, honest investigations and consequences to ALL , all parties, all sides of the aisle, all departments, agencies, bureaus , divisions , SCOTUS justices, members at all levels in the Administration and Cabinet? Not who should, who WILL? There are some included in the ALL list just mentioned who are not and will not be up for election or re-election. The current POTUS is NOT the single point of failure here…as much as that is easy to assume and want. So that also is an important and critical process to think about. How were the Norenberg trials conceived? By who? Who can and will do a similar version here? Who will speak for those who have and will be sent to the bottom of the sea without and proof, shown, demonstrated probably cause, evidence? The thoughts, consideration, how, who, what needs to start yesterday if not sooner . Everything is impermanent … good and bad,
Our power went out about ten minutes after I posted and just came back on or I would have replied sooner. Stormy weather here!! Yes, they will go down in flames!
I dunno Roberta.., we'll just become a banana republic and Trader Joes will not only be just a market, but a way of life.., trading this for that. We'll be broke.
Why can’t the East Wing be totally reconstructed, security room, portraits and everything else. Wouldnt that cost less than horrible projected ballroom?
I think We The People need to go after ALL the Nazis HARD! Take everything from them and their immediate families, turning it over to the U.S. Treasury. And do it all publicly, so the statement is unmistakable to anyone of a similar mindset.
She unexpectedly convinced me. It’s a data center and the ballroom is just the lid on top. She did her work.she has just exposed a major reorientation of government.
I must admit I only vaguely considered them updating the situation room, which would make sense under any president, but I think any other president would have just updated or replaced the existing East Wing with much the same size and appearance from the outside (even if they actually built a massive data center under it).
What happened to the portraits, the piano and artifacts of the East Wing? There were no reports of a moving van to preserve what was there. Or am I missing something and the artifacts did not come under the wrecking ball?
I have not seen any coverage of what happened to the art and artifacts. At the time it was noted that there was no evidence of large vans or art handlers. If the contractors bulldozed the building (without permits) when the contents were in place why can't they be prosecuted even if T. cannot? Those things belonged to us and to history. Even with all the other heinous acts he is guilty of, this cannot be ignored.
If "national security" is at stake for having bull-dozed the East Wing -- does it not make sense the former secret security area now needs to be totally relocated ?? Seems all our enemies have just been clearly alerted as to where "important people" will be hiding in the event of emergencies.
Oh Michele, you have this one right!! Our Johnny Roberts and his 5 minions have done this nation a disservice but don't care since they have lifetime appointments and no Republicans would vote to remove them from office! Every day, we see the results of that appalling act by our SC 6, none of whom care about this nation, only that they can control our response to what a president does, well, as long as it is Trump. I can't believe they would be OK with a Democratic president with that kind of power. They are hypocrites as well as other things I won't mention here. They have helped put shame on our nation.
Yes! The power here went out a few minutes after I posted, and it just came back about an hour ago. Otherwise I would have replied sooner. Thank you for the great comment!
Great comment! The power here went out a few minutes after I posted, and it came back on about an hour ago! Stormy weather here. Otherwise, I would have responded sooner!
Trump's argument is a non sequitur argument: that he tore down the national security infrastructure is maybe criminal as well as the other crimes involved here. But if that is so then that needs to be rebuilt ASAP and not reason to build a ballroom.
A few minutes after I posted, the power here went out and just came back on. Very stormy... I just wanted you to know why it took so long to reply! Your comment is very funny!!!
Cohn rather obviously taught him to behave like a mafioso. The way he gives orders, for instance. When he says he made a "perfect phone call," he means he skirted obvious statements of intent. It's the modern version opf "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"
The administration is in total chaos. Trump acts on instinct and whims, but there is no planning, no details, no coordination. Just the illusion of a functioning machine.
They promised to flood the zone with shit, and they’re making good on it, to the gleeful delight of roughly half the US electorate (the willfully ignorant half).
These morons couldn’t organize an orgy in a bordello, and now they want us to go to war on false pretenses and the myth that Venezuela’s oil is ours for the taking? I don’t like Maduro, but it’s up to the Venezuelans to dump him. We wouldn’t be able to do so.
Yes, and there’s no better example than the techbros whom Gil Durán dubbed the Nerd Reich. He runs a blog by that name. Money doesn’t authorize Peter Thiel to undercut our government, nor does it entitle Muskrat to dictate what’s good for us. Twitter was once a halfway decent social media site, but Muskrat has turned in X (appropriately called Xitter if you pronounce x as sh.) He’s made into a cesspool of all sorts of hate, lies, and misinformation, it’s a new version of 4chan or 8chan.
Where's a reporter who will quote his words back to him and inquire how Venezuelan oil fields are somehow "ours?" And what of "our" land has Venezuela taken?
Um... if the USSS's foremost "protective mission" is to protect Trump, is a hampering of its ability to perform said mission such a bad thing?? (Asking for a few hundred million friends.)
Yeah, except that leaves us with 3 years of Vance, and he is way more dangerous because he would take orders from Thiel and the other techbros who want a complete destruction of government, so we are reduced to a collection of Prospera clone city-states.
Prospera is in Honduras and was built with investments from Thiel under laws enacted by Hernandez, the President/drug lord Trump pardoned.
Not that I like or trust Vance, but he sorely lacks the cult charisma of Trump. I honestly don't think anyone but Mango Mussolini can hold the Trumpist (formerly known as Republican) Party / MAGA "coalition" together.
The Supreme Court has consistently done Trump's bidding.
But at the same time has not given the same leeway to other MAGA or GOP members.
MAGA is a cult of personality. These people literally think Trump was 'sent from God' to 'save them'. Vance doesn't have that kind of pull. Thiel has money but has even less charisma than Vance. They can not hold the base together.. especially as the base will be hurt badly by the things they want to do.
They will be able to accomplish some things due to their cash. (Like the stealing of all our personal data to build Thiel's person tracking database.) But they can't 'buy' devotion. These people consider themselves Patriots. They are not going to be thrilled to see the total destruction of America and will not fall in line with Thiel's feudal state solution.
"The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Article 2 section 4 says "and", not "or". The entire administration shall be removed including the half-wit Vance.
That's the way I read it. What say the legal scholars?
I think it more likely that the Thiel claque would invoke Article 25 but they don't want to do that too early, when Vance would be limited to one more term. My own belief is that Vance will not be able to do that much since nobody in Washington likes him or owes him anything.
If it were true the security system was destroyed then Secret Service would not allow the President to sleep in the Executive Residence or nap in the Oval Office as he does everyday. He would be evicted.
Interesting point. But his personal security is different than national security. You can deal with ensuring adequate personal security pretty quickly with a new control room if that was destroyed, because all the sensors and cameras are still there. And he seems to be pretty relaxed about it down at Mar-a-Lago, in spite of the assassination attempts.
National security is another matter. If he trashed the communications control for the Situation Room that is a lot harder to replace.
Is Camp David secure or somewhere in the Pentagon?
SAC HQ in Omaha has 13 stories underground and then there's NORAD in Colorado. Move Trump and the entire cadre of fools to Omaha or Colorado. That would be fun.
Yes, when I read Matthew Quinn's statement, I thought, "Either he's full of shit or he's lying his ass off."
The truth is it's probably both, with emphasis on the latter rather than the former. I base this on the mendacious performances of every single Trump regime representative who's "testified" before Congress over the past several months.
I suppose if our so-called "legislators" didn't mount these kabuki performances every day, they'd have nothing to do, now that the Big Beautiful Fuckyou has been enacted.
Having torn down the East Wing illegally, Trum now bleats that it will harm national security if he cannot continue to act illegally. Sounds like the plot of a third-rate gangster movie.
Well Trump seems to be good at installing cement slabs . That could be a solution while while the litigation goes forward - just cover the site in cement and halt this depraved ballroom.
Hi Georgia, actually it was revealed back when he first started the demolition, that there was in fact a High Security Bunker under the East Wing, in case of an attack on the US. Here is some info. "The underground bunker, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), was built under the White House East Wing in 1942 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, with the new East Wing constructed to conceal its construction during World War II. "
So, One would have to assume, that they are building this HUGE ballroom, as a cover up for the new HUGE bunker below it. An underground command center. And this time I have a bad feeling it is desperately being pushed through, not because of concerns of an outside attack on our country, but I would have to say they are planning on a another, much bigger coup, and will be in need of hiding out in it during the insurrection that would follow. I know how crazy that sounds, but why else would they need a 90,000 sq ft bunker? Why else would they build this without going through the proper channels? Why else would they build a " Ballroom" funded by private funds on the property of the People?
Why else would he tear down an historic building with no warning, no approvals, no research, that has the Security bunker below it? I know it’s crazy thought, and I hate the idea of having said it out loud, but that was the first thought that came into my mind, when I heard about the bunker below the East wing. Also, consider the fact that AI needs a huge amount of space, and perhaps they need to fill some of it with their own AI programming? Ok that’s my entire conspiracy.. hahaha You must think me looney tunes, but there it is. A possibility. The Ballroom for Donnie, and a new bunker for Miller and friends. Donnie is dispensable, and will be replaced soon, I am sure. JD was hand picked as someone who would be willing to do Miller and Vought’s bidding.
Initially my first thought also was, what an idiotic thing to say (imagining what a “breached security system” could result in …), but then I thought, he’s bluffing! Yet another lie told to circumvent the necessary review and approval process.
Hard to decide what is stupidty and what is nefarious. I tend to keep landing on the side of stupidity though—Halligan being my prime case, and Hegseth with Signal
Miller and Vought are always on the nefarious side.
And then there is the whole separate category of grifters—Kushner and Witkoff
Georgia, that's a pretty good summary. We need a spreadsheet with three columns where we can classify all the personnel in the Trump regime with these headings: Dolts, Villains, Swindlers. My preferred, more colorful headings would be: Dumb Asses, Bad Asses, Crooked Asses.
I'm supposed to believe our national security was ALL in the basement of a dining hall? Please! If that were so, Secret Service staff would never have allowed any destruction of the East wing. "Hamper SS ability to function"?? None of us just fell off the turnip truck. All this crap is like a bad movie you aren't allowed to leave.
There is some potentially good news in spite of Trump's insanity.
I have been researching Russia's financial situation and its reliance on oil revenues. Russia is so flat broke it can't pay its workers in factories, some armament factories are closing because they have no money and it has stopped all the recruitment bonuses and injury/death payments. It looks like China is paying the bills.
Trump's cutting funding to Ukraine is what is preventing an end to the war.
Say prayers that the EU frozen assets issue gets resolved this week in Europe.
FYI, a friend who listens to Denys Davydov, who reports "Updates from Ukraine", concurs that Russia keeping up is unsustainable/unwinnable. Detailed accounts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GGm8MVVkmo
Thanks so much for the link. So much is going unreported, or the media takes what Trump says at face value, or "unnamed administration sources who spoke ..."
I scout the edges for what's not mainstream, and so I know many people who are normally invisible to the public, but sincere and thoughtful as they integrate from far-flung sources. I'm glad for people's attention (there's so much we don't know--how can one?)
And the North Koreans, having no actual military experience, got their blanks handed to them. As prisoners, they got a taste of what the world outside NK is like. They were returned with stories to tell.
That's frequently when the rank and file starts turning on their officers and government. I wonder if anyone knows how many officers have been fragged?
Nope. WE are the calvary. No one is coming to save us. So, saddle up and do something instead of waiting around like a dummy for someone to ride to your rescue. Geez.
KKK was a democratic organization there Virginia. Oooops. Perhaps you’d like to support JFK’s father and JFK was one of my favorite presidents of all time. Do you want to talk about his dad and how he got rich?
Quite obviously, Ms. 93clementine, you have never lived amongst the MAGATs or in the South, which is not only MAGAT-land, but is ruled by a white majority that still fanatically seeks vengeance for Appomattox. As to the magnitude of irreversible white racism, the first post-Katrina Pew Poll shows 77 percent of the nation's whites refusing to acknowledge the brazenly obvious racism and ethnic "cleansing" inflicted by the Bush II "relief" program; that is probably our best race-hatred index to date. (I forgive you the name-calling, as you are obviously unaware of the bottomless hatred and sadism Trump has legitimized into "true Americanism.")
I have white friends who lived through Katrina. They agree with your assessment about the "relief" program. They have "improved" their lives by moving to... Mississippi, which they describe as "Third World America".
You know every time you open your mouth, you display your ignorance even more when you talk about the past. I will guarantee you that if you go out on the street and ask anybody including most Democrats about App Maddox, they won’t even know how to spell it let alone pronounce it or know anything about it. Jesus.Geez.
And I bet 2% of the public know what you’re talking about when you mentioned the bush II relief program I do really believe that you will die hopeless and that’s a shame because there’s so much to live for in this great country.
How long is it going to take for the majority of you to stop living in the past? It is now December 2025 first day of winter and you’re acting exactly like it’s the first day of winter as cold as ice. Maybe you’d like to talk about Bill Clinton in the White House and the cigar ? Or the recent photos of him in a pool with a woman in the background with her face blacked out.
Or perhaps you’d like to instead discuss Obama’s completely divisive cultural rhetoric Trevon could’ve been my son. The police acted stupidly. There are pages and pages of Obamas reference to race…. Dividing America inthe process and the birth of BLM. RATHER THAN ALL LIVES MATTER . And one of the more significant reasons for the George Floyd summer of love because people couldn’t wait for justice which finally came after $2 billion worth of destruction 1000 police injured cities burnt to the ground sections of cities taken over by thugs.
Historical nonsense with no application to today other than the hate that is dug into you and is keeping you alive like a lethal blood clot, just waiting to burst
Or perhaps you would like to revisit the inflation reduction act that raised grocery price is 20% double the price of gasoline triple the rate of mortgages and drove inflation to 7 to 9% the second highest in history behind beloved Jimmy Carter who was a great man after he left the presidency…
Magas. Those that wish for American greatness again. They need to wish for it after the destruction that’s been left behind in its stench-filled wake…by Mr non compos mentís.
Was it….you got it or amerigotit ? Lol. And if you didn’t hear it “live” … you can listen to it on your record player omg.
And I have an even touched on the biggest issue to every American and all the polls last November, which was the border and illegal immigration… which is cost this country hundreds of billions of dollars in free medical free housing and free food when 2 million of our own are starving out on the street living intense and people are crying about no money for medical care with that money, sure could’ve been put to a better cause than supporting illegal immigration. Unconscionable
Once again the lost soul speaks. Nice big words that mean absolutely nothing in real life. Are you trying to tell me that all this changed in nine months? And before that we were just all Loving like during the George Floyd riots when every single criminal in the country got involved with not being able to wait for justice. And got it anyway, but too late.
(though I'm certain I will not live long enough to see it.) Why the Scots? Because by threatening to annex Canada, Trump has declared the entire British Commonwealth his regime's enemy; though the British Empire is long gone, the Black Watch remains one of the deadliest infantry regiments on this planet. And Trump's siding with Putin over Ukraine has done likewise to France -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7csILlUPo&t=4s -- their Foreign Legion is always deadly -- and to Germany. Though Germany's military spirit has been dormant since 1945, it never died: -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6vcr-X1Wxw Watch how quickly Germany rearms. Look closely at the footage, you'll see they've already brought back the jackboot... Such is the new, inescapably apocalypse-doomed world the Trump Regime is making of our planetary motherland.
Their '98Ks are parade rifles...like our '03 Springfields, M1s and M14s. Dunno if they still have functional firing pins; some of ours do, some don't. (And some of our accurized M14s remain on duty as sniper rifles.)
You Californians have already been taken by some of the most incompetent politicians you’ve ever elected. And I lived there for 30 years in Calabasas and watch my neighbors burn to the ground because of the ignorance and the lack of focus on their job!
Marlene, I totally agree with your French! Trump wants to get us into a forever war so that he can die in power and then pass it on to one of the criminal cretins he brought into this world. They should change their last name to grift. No one who understands military actions or war seems to think that taking Venezuela is going to be easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! However, Trump and Hegseth (Secretary of the Dept of War Crimes)seem to think that they are just playing a video game with their strikes. It is do demented.
Another lost soul with the Russian bull crap I guess you haven’t heard the news ? Like the most of the people here change the channel pal, and see what the rest of the world sees not just the micro bubble that exist here.
Murphy’s Law will definitely come into play here and will attach to everything Trump and Kegseth do. It already has with their illegal bombings of fishing boats, and Democratic and some Republican politicians see through Trump and Kegseth’s flagrant lies.
Yes, and preening and putting on the fake tough guy masculinity. It didn surprise me at all when Kegseth became Secretary of Defense, one of the first things he did was to build a makeup studio in the Pentagon so he could be made up in time for television appearances. He’s as vain as his boss Trump.
Well we just lived through everything that could go wrong and we survived for four years of somebody who was not even home in his own head let alone the lying deceitful Cabinet members who told us that the border was secure and the borders are Eco that sentiment and here we are 11 million lies later.
Add to your statement: the ridiculous assertion that Venezuela is "stealing our oil, land, and assets..." I mean, what the fu*k is he talking about? Only Trump can write this bull shit idiocy as only he is demented enough to initiate something like this. I have no doubt that Vance will parrot Trump. When did Maduro or even his predecessor, Chavez, ever steal oil, land, or other assets from this nation? This is not rocket science; all this nation is asking is for proof needed to make any sense of what he's saying. Wile's statement of Trump's "alcoholic personality" is right on the mark. Like all of Trump's sycophants, she cowers after revealing a moment's courage of truth. If anyone would ask me who I would trust in the written piece by Whipple, make no mistake that it most certainly would not be Wiles. Lucy..... you've got some 'splaining to do!
Did Venezuela nationalize the oil industry and confiscate the assets of some of the foreign oil companies operating there earlier this century? Chevron is operating there under some limited arrangement? I'm guessing Trump will refer to this tonight in his speech (but others will have to provide a clearer picture).
Quite possible, Robert. The nationalization was for **their oil**. And that is essentially what Trump said he wanted as it was listed first on his demands. As for the “assets”, when harvesting another nation’s oil, and that nation tells that, or those companies to leave, what they leave behind is their bad luck and potential loss. I don’t remember Trump going back, or threatening Afghanistan regarding all the military equipment left behind. Long and short of it: Trump clearly is nothing more or less than a delusional maniac.
Having had discussions with a number of MAGA folks, T's supporters are no better. They excuse everything T does, including murder. Why? Amathia (Intelligent ignorance; willful stupidity,) assuming that they have any character. Otherwise, pure racism, xenophobia, white protestant nationalism. We are dealing with a sickness, a sickness of the mind, a sickness of the soul, a sickness of the heart. We are now wallowing in a cesspool of incompetence and self-dealing.
Richard, I keep contact with some of my former work cohort (former cops, like me) who see nothing wrong with the conduct regarding the Navy's destruction of small boats allegedly carrying drugs. One of them is a supervisor who chastised me on at least two occasions, for not clearly articulating probable cause for my drug arrests. Another is a former SWAT supervisor who was adamant (then) about clear articulation of details regarding raids, and meticulous documentation of every element of the high risk warrants that we served. Unbefreakinglievable.
A sickness of the mind, soul, heart, and conscious indeed. Fed by propaganda that they so willingly consume that gives them permission to hate those who (in their narrow minds) have caused their "fall" from the dominant position they assume is their God given right to dominate.
"Discussions" with the MAGA folks is a waste of time. The blinders that they wear are nothing short of staggering. Whoever said this was right: "Don't argue with stupid people; they'll simply bring you down to their level and beat you up with experience." Being an atheist myself, I see this condition of amathia in those who have strong religious beliefs, particularly my own family members in Texas and New Mexico. Have they never heard of LUCA? Do they not know that all life (plants, animals and insects) on earth share the same DNA, irrefutable proof that we all descended from a common ancestor? I look at them from the perspective that they must be treated with great care, given the extreme fragility of their brains and lack of critical thinking skills.
Well then read my post above there richard come to your senses. You talked to two people and depict them all like that just like Hillary did and you know it cost her. It cost her the election when she use rhetoric like that. Basket of deplorable’s based on three people that she knew. And the two that you knew or the 10 that you knew.
These hate filled people in charge of our country have got to go, before they push some other country into dropping a bomb on us. putin must be dancing in the kremlin.
Everything is “national security” with these assholes. I want us to begin demanding of Congress impeachment proceedings on the basis of “national security.” The dictator threatens the safety, security and well-being of the United States with every criminal act he perpetrates every single day. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
What can go wrong is the felon child rapist is going to start a war with Venezuela to distract us from his criminal behavior with epstein...I'm convinced he was engaged in child trafficking and rape - even his loyal base might not be down with that.
Trump is going to start a war with Venezuela to distract America from the release of the Epstein Files. We MUST NOT BE DISTRACTED! And we must DEMAND CONGRESS DETERMINE IF A WAR SHOULD START OR NOT!
He’s starting a war so that he can declare martial law. He already gloated beforehand that “he can do aything” under martial law. Straight from the authoritarian’s playbook: you can expect the cancelling of elections, the military deployed in Blue cities and rounding up of “enemies of the state” - i.e. everyone who doesn’t worship him and kiss his bloated orange @$$.
He is going to war to destroy Maduro and "control" the Western Hemisphere. It isn't about Epstein, but about returning us to the 1890s world of gunboat diplomacy, beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs, and whites-only social Darwinism. It's the publicly stated goal of the country's new National Security Strategy, put out just in time for the joyous holiday season.... 🎄
It’s Come As a Foreign Service Officer, I served as Political Officer in Chile (1966-1969). To prepare for this assignment, I read THE SHARK AND THE SARDINES. This was a vivid account of American historical involvement in Latin America (lots of military invasions/occupations.
I resigned from the Foreign Service shortly after Nixon/Kissinger took office. Their involvement in Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere I found despicable.
Trump has now transformed the 1823 Monroe Doctrine into an imperial Trump Doctrine. He is endeavoring to apply a woefully outdated 19th century policy in the 21st century.
Trump and Kegseth think they can take on Maduro, but he is more than capable of putting up a challenge to us. Fighting in Venezuela would be far more difficult than either of them realize.
I know he does. Personally, I’d never have supported him, especially after Kavanaugh carried off his tirade against the Clintons and Christine Blasey-Ford’s testimony about Kavanaugh and his friend Mike Judge trying to rape her. This maladministration was determined not to do a full search on Kavanaugh. It reminded me of the Anita Hill fiasco. I believe Christine Blasey-Ford told the truth as did Anita Hill, but both Kavanaugh and Thomas became SCOTUS justices,
I think they really believe it, and they will be in for a very nasty surprise when he does. Maduro gave an interview recently and mentioned he has drones and other equipment provided to him from China and Russia. Trump and Kegseth should also be prepared for Cuba to put up a fierce fight if they are dumb enough to try to invade.
His buddies want the vast amounts of oil in Venezuela. And they will pay him b personally billions to use and abuse our military, paid for by our tax dollars, fought with our son’s and daughters’ blood and guts to secure their investments.
And the right wing zealots and tech bros see the world like children do….instead of doing it the hard way, cheat or break it and start over. It isn’t easy to deal with Russian, Europe, South Korea/Japan, China, the ME, Iran, Mexico and Vanaga, Cental and South America and Africa all at once. Not to mention domestic America. They aren’t skilled or smart enough and got rid of the people who were because they spotlighted their own ignorance. Career, intelligent, seasoned diplomats think they’re comp,tee unserious shitheads. BECAUSE they ARE.
So Americans are left to the whims of billionaires instead of a functioning government. Ooohh. Mr and Mrs Dell, more soup, Please?! Billionaires replacing healthcare with a 1500 dollar voucher? School? See the churches. Social security…instead of you working and paying ina nd having a retirement, we’ll give anyone 10 and under a couple thousand bucks to invest with…guess who…the billionaire class we have to bailout every decade. Think about that….1/2 of Americans aren’t even I. The stock market but you’re going to give their kids money beacsue they’re savvy investors? It’s insane.
And the “brilliant” MAGA administration seriously thinks they can just carve the world into the Five Families like 1970 NYC. Trump heading the western hemisphere, Putin in Europe, Xi in China, MBS in Middle East, Trump/Kushner in Israel and I guess they’re so predjudice, they didn’t consider Africa. But if there is to be a 6th family, it could be Musk running Africa from South Africa, of course.
Every year, they’ll have a big convention with lots of oranges around a big table and decide what happens in their sphere.
The hubris of these imbeciles to imagine this world,all the work and peace kept that had gone before them was all wrong. THEY know better. Look at the ineptness around this wildly insecure and idiotic scumbag. There is literally no redeeming quality in this man or those who suck off his teat. Or should I say…OUR TEAT. we’re being robbed blind.
After his comments about the Reiners, I’m beyond angry. Just sad for all of us, especially our children. There is no better indicator that we have failed them as free citizens than by electing that disgrace and waste of skin.
I agree with everything you said except for using the word inept to describe them. Inept suggests maybe some stumbling on the way to honing one's skills. These folks are incompetent, completely lacking the skill sets required for the positions they hold. And their outsized egos will brook no self reflection or moment's doubt that their every action is 100% perfection. This is the pinnacle of their lives and they think they will go down in the history books as the best of the best. In no other 'administration' would so many fools and outright idiots hold this much power and do this much damage.
I grant you that, they are incompetent except at doing the things Trump thinks are essential for the DoD, like firing competent senior officers because they are women, or are Black. Kegseth thinks the services have all been male, but quite a few women have honorably served, and not just as nurses. Kegseth doesn’t want to acknowledge anyone other than white males as people who have served our country.
I think Rubio is driving this policy-bus, not Trump. This is Marco's passion project. Trump doesn't care about foreign policy unless there's some grift opportunity and/or it serves him politically, which is why I think the timing is not an accident. And Hegseth is happy for the chance to be a video-game warrior, never actually having to get his moussed hair mussed.
If Rubio is driving the Latin America ‘policy bus,’ it’s akin to having a drunk driving a school bus. As for Trump, he couldn’t identify Latin American countries on a blank map. His ‘policy time’ is filled by his postings on Truth Social.
Trump is playing as ‘king’ with a royal court of sycophant nincompoops.
Can't think how this will help Little Marco emerge from the clothes dryer. Perhaps he thinks this will be a "slam-dunk" and no need to ask General Petraeus-like questions, such as "tell me how this ends..." Who really knows?
Yes, Steve, beware of Friday the 19th! Most of the news media will be perplexed about which story to cover: The US bombing of Venezuela or the Release of the Epstein Files. (FOX, OAN, Newsmax, etc. won’t be perplexed. They will focus on the bombs. Forget the Epstein Hoax.)
Beware of Friday the 19th and be sure to tune in to the Trump speech on the 17th.
The defense that 'we bulldozed all the security infrastructure of the White House when we tore down the East Wing' and therefore MUST proceed with building a ginormous ballroom over it has to be the most ridiculous argument in the history of lawsuits.
A cautious, conservative legal response might be worded thus: PERHAPS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BROKEN THE LAW BY TEARING DOWN THE EAST WING IN THE FIRST PLACE, ASSHOLES!"
Are you paying attention to what is happening in Russia? In the last week Ukraine took out 2 $400 million submarines in port in the Black Sea. Additionally, the Ukrainians have incapacitated several shadow fleet tankers around the world. They are cutting off supplies of gasoline to Crimea and many other parts of Russia. And Ukraine is still bombing Russian oil facilities every day.
If Putin loses the war or is ousted, then Trump is in big trouble.
Especially if -- ultimate karmic irony -- Putin's tyranny provokes a second communist revolution, the resurrection of the USSR and a new anti-nazi alliance with the rest of Europe -- which then defeats the Christonazis' "Unified Reich" as the Third Reich was defeated in 1945. I can imagine the liberation of the coastal cities and the Blue States in general as joyously ecstatic as the liberation of Paris in 1944...
It's like the young man in court facing conviction for murdering his parents and claiming extenuating circumstances on the grounds that he's an orphan.
ICTT, rebuilding the East Wing makes the most sense. How can we make that happen? Left to build the “ballroom” he will go forward with the equally horrible arch, his Brandenburg Gate.
Yes, and he has never had the ability to control his worst impulses. His dementia also contributes to Trump’s increasing inability to control his worst impulses.
Our reality is 😢 But we have to continue to hope and speak up. We deserve better. Demand accountability.
There’s a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Add a comment to help keep this bumped ✊ New eyes seeing this means new ripples for change! 🤞
Thank you, Megan. I agree, we’re not those ‘self-made’ westerners waiting for the cavalry. We’re not a hapless lot floating out to sea.
Thanks to you we have NAMES, and contact information. If we feel our representatives are difficult to reach we can organize some go visits. Make it human, disciplined, peaceful.
We also do know where and when to show up… even in winter.
Susie Wiles Says the Quiet Part That Has Been Visible All Along
Perhaps the most striking moment was Wiles’s treatment of the Epstein narrative itself. She confirmed Trump appears in the documents while rejecting the fantasy-driven claims made about others. That distinction matters. It is the difference between evidence and propaganda. Trump’s long documented social proximity to Epstein has never required exaggeration to be disturbing. The record stands on its own. By contrast, the obsessive inflation of Clinton allegations has functioned as a displacement tactic. Wiles punctured that asymmetry, and in doing so exposed how selective outrage has replaced factual accountability.
Her comments on Elon Musk, Russell Vought, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. further illustrated the ideological incoherence of the current governing coalition. An “odd duck” tech oligarch with unchecked influence. A zealot architecting policy from a theocratic blueprint...
If you believe anyone in this “administration” is going to offer any sort of briefing or explanation or come seeking Congressional approval for this war on Venezuela then I have a bridge you may be interested in. Sure hope Schumer, Jeffries et al have a planned next step beyond outcries and pearl clutching.
True, but I think most human events, especially those that build more than destroy, are a confluence of factors coming together, and I think if we are to close, or a least get some purchase on this hole in the boundaries of human decency it will need to be approached from many angles. I think that takes an overall commitment to trying to do this right.
The "planned next step" is called winning the mid-terms. Seriously, I always do something of a double-take at hearing this: just what sort of power do you think an arithmetical minority actually has?
You are walking at night and cop points a gun at you and says "hey asshole! Stop or I'll shoot!" You dont stop, of course you dont stop, your rich and white! The cop shoots you and never even sees a courtroom for it, you are dead and the world is a better place.
You know what the cop never needed? A Congressional majority. It's hard to understand why the Republicans in Congress understand this with such clarity and the Democrats in congress not at all.
Being threatened by a psychotic who goes wink-wink, nudge-nudge to his Proud Boy types 'standing by' to dox or send a pizza to a would-be renegade can go a long way to forcing obedience. A few might go "well, that's another fine mess I've gotten myself into" but most seem oblivious.
They are (not) oblivious; they are gleefully celebrating the fact their racial and misogynistic hatreds -- the latter including apocalyptic hatred of our Mother Earth -- have replaced the Constitution as the cornerstone of national policy.
Clearly there is no plan to stop him. Look at the numbers on Substack. Not enough to make an impact. People may not like what he’s doing. It is, after all, an abomination. But they aren’t willing to do anything. A march every few months is not going to stop him.
Mojave, when I read statements like this one in today's Dr. Richardson's Letter, my anger rises, along with my blood pressure. Here is the statement. "In the case of the strikes on the small boats, the administration has not provided evidence of its claims either to the public or to Congress, whose permission to continue the strikes is REQUIRED by the 1973 War Powers Act, if indeed the country is in armed conflict." Will someone please explain to me why this REQUIREMENT has not been met. I'm sure I see things too simply, but all my long life I've been used to people and institutions being held accountable for their immoral and illegal actions. I'm used to ACTION when unjust and cruel events have happened. I know there's always been corruption, but how can Trump just do what he wants to without action by the Congress to stop him? I guess the fact that Republican Congess members are afraid to criticize him is one answer. I stayed mystified at how difficult it has been to rein in this deranged, incompetent president, who's damaging words and actions to so many continue to prevail and to be normalized.
Ally, im trying to understand how that governing body became so corrupt so quickly. What a hold Trump has over these people who's responsibility is supposed to be protecting the people.
They are corrupt because 77 million of our fellow Americans put a known corrupt operative in charge and elected a
boot-licking majority to the legislature. The 77 million did this with malicious intent. This is what they voted for. The 77 million are the problem. If a miracle occurs, the legislature might flip in 2026, but until then, we’re shit outta luck.
So basically the person closest to Trump on a daily basis just confirmed much of what we only suspected: he is a mentally ill, racist person with no impulse control who is using the office for his own vendettas, Vance is a craven (and paranoid) opportunist, Vought is a hard-core racist and sexist, they are murdering people in the oceans of another country using false pretenses to force regime change, and Musk is a chronic drug user and it affects his judgment? Did I miss anything?
Honestly, did you or I (or anyone) really need Suzie Trump to confirm what's staring the country right in the face now? The twisted fuck who refers to himself in the third person? The one with eyes so clearly deranged they look like a chameleon's about to open his mouth and snatch a fly off the wall with his tongue, the guy who keeps saying don't believe your own lying eyes?
How much more confirmation of nutty fuckupery do we really need?
We all know it but it's not the informed people on this board who still haven't read the memo! It's still pretty much: 1/3 "He is my Lord and Savior!", 1/3 "WTF!?!?!?" and 1/3 "What's going on and why should I care...why are my groceries so high?" The third group is only now coming around a little and it's because they are paying a little more for some things. Otherwise, completely uninterested in learning more and trying to stop it.
The tail is wagging the rat really hard, and the rat is already dead and decomposing, but destroying everything around it. Like the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It will take decades to undo the damage to our scientific and medical research capabilities, to our military and intelligence communities, to our law enforcement and judicial agencies, to our international standing and to our own self-respect. Oh, and the economy is shit too, which appears to be the only thing most Americans care about. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/12/17/trump-national-center-atmospheric-research-climate/
Hello Tim.... From HCR Today per DJT... "America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States".... .... DJT's Ignorance is Astounding... I Thought that these are Venezuelan Resources...
Hey, Apache— So, if he could finish a complete thought this would almost make sense.
Chevron is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, and it built (and/or funded) the infrastructure to extract and export oil from there. The country’s national oil company also uses this infrastructure, so as a result, Venezuela, owes Chevron barrels of money.
Chevron, in turn, pays Venezuela for the use of its land, the right to drill, and licensing fees, but that is separate from and barely makes a dent in what the company is owed.
This is where it gets (more) stupid.
Trump put ridiculously high tariffs on Venezuelan oil, like +25%. As if that wasn’t cutting into Chevron’s revenue enough, he declared the country a terrorist state and made it illegal to exchange any money with it or pay its government in currency of any kind.
So Chevron has been paying the fees it owes to Venezuela with oil, and as a result Chevron’s exports from there are down over 50%.
This is all more than the stable genius wants to deal with, I mean, over six bullet points are needed to explain it, so it’s much easier to say Venezuela is stealing the oil Chevron should be drilling, or “our” oil. 🙄
Thanks Tim... I've Read that Chevron has not kept up the Extraction Infrastructure.... The Oil is still a Venezuelan Natural Resource... Ever Wonder Why DJT Has Declared Bankruptsy 6X?.... Regardless, this Situation is a Mess....
I suspect that if Chevron hasn’t maintained the infrastructure it’s out of fear that Maduro would nationalize the industry entirely, and confiscate everything.
Getting him out and installing María Corina Macha, the Nobel laureate who’s already made it clear she will simp for Trump, would solve that.
Hello Tim... "simp"?... That means what?... Venezuela is a Mess... It could have been one of the most Prosperous Countries in the World, but because of Gross Political Mismanagement, it is a Failing State... If DJT succeeds in Regime change, and María Corina Macha is installed, I wish them Luck... DJT will probably install one his Mar-a-Lago Puppets...
“The U.S. should not be “distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation-building,” Hegseth said. “
He needs to create a crisis so massive and so threatening that he believes he will be able to declare martial law and the suspension of the elections next year. There is nothing…NOTHING…he would not do to save himself. Catastrophic war, chaos and widespread violence are undoubtedly the core of the playbook. He knows the elections will, if allowed to be free and fair, will gut his Congressional majority. He cannot allow that. He does not give a damn about the nation or we the people. He WILL start a war and he WILL use it to sow an international calamity. He care about no one and nothing but himself.
So it will be war with Venezuela "Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us." You couldn't make this stuff up. The man is totally deranged. He belongs in a cage.
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!! Excuse me for using Trump's writing technique but we have all got to stand up and say NO. This madman and his band of idiots have got to be stopped now. He is committing murder and piracy on the high seas and now is starting a war. We have not heard one good reason for any of this and I will not be sending my grandchildren off to war to stroke this idiots ego. It is time to hit the streets and not stop until he is gone.
The “they stole our land and our oil” argument is bonkers. Maybe on the land, they (bc I do not think Trump is doing this alone, this is Miller & co) see the “invasion” by immigrant workers as taking our land, much as Vance blames housing prices on immigrant people?
So we justify starting a war because we have some Venezuelan immigrants in this country? What stupid person would even buy this argument? (I know-the 1/3 that still approve).
That worthless bitch Wiles demonstrated in her interviews that she is the worst, most incompetent person to ever cosplay as "Chief of Staff" in the history of such a position in the White House. The rest of them prove themselves thieves and lackeys and criminals guilty of crimes against humanity. Traitors to America, every one of them.
They al - every damned one of these traitors - needs to be hanged, drawn and quarted. In public. And then the bodies tossed in an anonymous pit to return to soil. Covered over and unmarked.
And every ICE thug also needs to be hanged for crimes against humanity.
There cannot be any of this bullshit about "leaving the past behind to concentrate on the future, as Obama and Biden stupidly did. The Republican party needs to be *destroyed*.
This time, the traitors don't get to take their horses home for the spring planting.
This country does not want to admit that vipers have committed war crimes in our name. We’ve had some doozies. We paint their portraits, hang them beside our founders, Abe, FDR, etc., and pretend to revere them or sane wash the criminal behavior. Bush and Cheney were guilty of so much with the support of Republicans, many of whom now denounce chump. We need to call them what they are, but, like elections these days, so much opposition to calling things what they are. Orwellian is the word of the day. Although “slop” has a ring to it….
I have zero interest in “reconciliation” after this is all over. We made that mistake after the civil war and let the cancer cells regrow and metastasize. The fascist traitorous organization that has become the Republican Party needs to be outlawed and dismantled. Eventually another center-right party will emerge but the GOP has to go, its members should be given one chance and one only to recant, its buildings and infrastructure should be seized and converted to public use, and its funds should be distributed to all who have been hurt by their actions of this terrible time. The country needs a complete and total reboot, with the virus contained and eliminated, when this is done.
Is dt&co trying to stage a horrible real live sequel to the pirates of the Caribbean? Or, do they really believe they are so untouchable that they can do anything they want with no repercussions? And a (fake) peace prize for what, waging war at home and abroad? Screwy, all of it. The sooner this bad show ends the better.
"Donald Trump believes 'there’s nothing he can’t do, nothing, zero' as US president, the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, said in a rare interview that shines an unvarnished spotlight on his second administration."
Maybe a little slow here .. What oil and land has been taken from the U.S.? Genuinely curious if this has ANY salience as I"m not familiar with our history with Venezuela, but that seems a very bizarre excuse.
Also, when has it been up to a school to complete or do a manhunt for a shooter at any University, College, or a school from K-12?
Maybe I’m just a bit nuts to think that the FBI Director should be involved in finding the person who murdered two young students, Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and there are nine students still in the hospital suffering from gun shot wounds that occurred at Brown University.
Yet FBI Director Kash Patel plays hooky from his job to do a podcast with his girlfriend with Stephen Miller’s wife instead of directing the manhunt for the Brown University shooter, who by the way is STILL ON THE LOOSE! And this dimwit again, placed on now the official way to communicate anything and everything is by way of that Musk owned social platform known as “X” misinformation about the perpetrator because he’s the most incompetent, inept individual ever to oversee the FBI ever since its inception. And frankly don’t like to call anything “X” because it sounds like a really low grade porn movie from the 70’s and it’s nasty and I’m not using a damn thing owned by Musk ever.
Good lord this regime is blowing up boats in the Atlantic and the Pacific with no real credible intel. Our country, all of us as American’s in this country are murdering people because of this regime with no reason except by some say so from a guy who’s now the Secretary of (War) instead of Defense who’s possible an alcoholic because a 79 year old feeble man and this incompetent idiot both like to play the kids game Battleship is absolutely bonkers!!
If that orange-bronzed-makeup packed baboon thinks anybody wants to listen to his annoying voice and all his lies he’s sadly mistaken. He can’t go one day in fact an hour without a microphone shoved in his face or be on multiple social media platforms..
FFS… let the damn drugs in cause this earth 2 is nuttier than Aunt Gertie’s fruitcake…Sorry for venting …
I’m wondering the same thing about the land and oil. He’s manufacturing a reason for war but the facts are easily proving him wrong but will anyone call him out on this?
Have no idea where that Felon is going with this whole situation blowing up boats and murdering g people.. it’s horrific…
Good article from Professor Robert Reich today. He posed the questions as to what is tRump’s driver for Venezuela. Can’t even think about crawling into that noggin of hate of that Felon, but Reich’s article thought provoking. Learn something new everyday ..may want to check it out..
It pains me to think that "...released on Twitter" has become the new "...released an official statement" reflects how our government operates and "communicates" with us.
Totally agree - Same here. In order to get the “official statement” from our government. The thought of needing to give the man making a Trillion dollars a year in a salary excluding the all the other perks is by far nauseating and so far off the ideals of this country.. smh way too often anymore
Please excuse my French but this is one very fucked up regime. They can’t get their stories straight but one thing is for certain, we have both a weakened military and an insecure nation, on top of having a narcissistic mentally deranged so-called leader. I mean, what could go wrong when you have that??
Secret Service deputy director Matthew Quinn told the court that when Trump tore down the East Wing in October, he destroyed the security infrastructure under the building. Now, he said, “any pause in construction, even temporarily, would…hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission.”
And the idiot said that publicly????!!!! Open season on US intelligence secrets!!!!
Georgia... As an added note...HCR said today re/ Trump's argument that they have to build it (the ballroom) for national security reasons that the rationale stems from the 2024 Supreme Court decision called Donald Trump v United States that as long as a President is operating within his official duties, he can't be prosecuted for crimes - and one of the official duties is national security.
HCR states: "And so they (the Supreme Court) gave him alot of leeway on that... So now more and more he is saying, I have to do this because of national security. And you're seeing that with the tariffs too.". Trump is on his own rinse and repeat cycle thanks to the Supreme Court!
Maybe not today…No prosecution? Fast forward 2028..This Sociopath and his gang will go down in flames.
For all our sakes, it better be a lot sooner!
We have a monster at the helm. Why? A perfect storm occurred that brought him to win. A weak Biden. The New York Times today published an opinion piece on why young white males voted for Trump. The premise is DEI. I happen to agree. It’s a long and a complicated issue and too lengthly to discuss here. I encourage all to read the piece.
Impeach in 2026
Penny, we should impeach the entire regime. Unfortunately, too many Republicans and a lot of billionaires depend on Trump's ignorance and dementia so they can squeeze as much from the American people as possible before they run to a foreign country where they can start their crap all over again. How do we hold them all accountable for what they are doing to us and to the world?
Ruth, yes and they know that he is just their puppet and are trying to do as much damage as they can and grab what they can before he departs this world. I do hope his demise is public, so that we know that it has happened and they don't try to do more in his name.
You hold them accountable by VOTING BLUE IN MASSIVE NUMBERS FOR EVERY OFFICE. Worked in VA and NJ. Now, we need to do it everywhere else.
Don't believe impeachment- though it is a correct action against tRump- would work. Simply too many lemmings swarming around. Only hope is VOTING! Local AND Nationwide.
And a candidate for the Nobel War Prize.
No, Bill. It's "the NOBLE War Prize."
Ooh! Good idea for a new participation prize Bill.
Impeach and CONVICT!
We only wish.
Yes, Roberta. It is coming.
When we have the Blue Wave, the country deserves next year, the trials must begin. Congress must move forward with impeachment hearings for most of the cabinet and certainly Trump, followed by Vance. The presidency would then fall to the Speaker of the House.
And who should that Speaker be? Could be one the most important decisions House Democrats ever make.
Simultaneous impeachments of corrupt SCOTUS would also be in order.
And staffers can be preparing legislation to expand the court as well as reversing the "Citizens United" - a king making feudalism fueling decision.
And a new tax code - from scratch...who needs more than $1 billion?
Down with Epstein Class. Up with the working Class.
Medicare for All - within our reach once we resume our leadership.
MAGA will be defeated. Or at least hobbled. It won't be enough to repair the government and restore decency. We will need to rebuild and add guard rails.
The key figures who enabled this fascism and the destruction of democracy, public health and our international reputation must pay a price.
We need to think big. Really big.
MAGA wasn't shy about flipping the script to Fascism and Oligarchy. We need to act just as fast. Flood the zone with justice and the return of the rule of law. New efforts to HELP PEOPLE every day, Dominate the media with GOOD stuff. Can we do this?
Trump's underbelly remains:
1. Trumepstein day is Friday.
2. Dozens of Congressional Republicans oppose him on Unkraine, extension of Obamacare, tariffs, etc.
Daniel, but will those dozens of Republicans have the guts to stand up and say so in public, then act with Democrats to stop this antidemocratic set of actions? Those are the big questions related to them and for all of us to ponder.
Not Obamacare. They just voted to screw that program even though Dick Durbin was assured they would discuss it. Ha! You cannot find more than one Republican in opposition to Trump on those issues and MAGA Democrats are on Trump's side too.
Voter education for the 80 to 100 million that voted this disaster into office should be considered also.
Yodagirl, there were 74 million at most that actually voted for Trump and his regime. They never had a majority of the American people no matter what Baby Donnie claims. He lies incessantly, so numbers are just another of his tools to lie to the American people, and the MAGAs in particular.
Those who re-elected Trump are, unfortunately not the only ones who need strong civics education. We could all use a dose, but those on the far left need it as much as those on the far right.
I have trouble understanding the reasoning of one Dace Potas writing in USA Today his assertions that the supreme court is doing its job by being "ideological" and not "partisan." Such dribble type explanations as this completely ignore the fact that this SC's "ideology" leads directly to partisanship. When obvious criminal behavior by a sitting president is not only, not called to heal, but actually encouraged by stating that such a president is certainly above the law, challenges the reasonableness of all individuals who wish to have a level playing field for their desired success. However, this is what we are up against. Your list is worthy of accomplishment; however, with short sighted opinions such as that exhibited by Dace Potas, we have a long road in front of us. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/this-is-why-you-re-wrong-about-the-supreme-court-and-trump-opinion/ar-AA1SgOOu?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=LCTS&cvid=60d00647f07a42758abde1b5e2c8da47&ei=10
Dace Potas needs an education about what the biggest traitor in American history looks like-he wears a robe and sits above the other eight.
A big part of that Blue wave, though, is going to be ensconced "moderate" Dems who will press for business-as-usual. We'll get some investigations but no prosecutions and little meaningful legislation of the kind needed to restore the international community's faith in the US.
RefJim, not all Ds are in a place where they can win being a progressive. I cite Washington's third district where the D runs an auto repair shop and is able to connect with that conservative district. Otherwise they would have had mad Joe Kent who is now working for Tulsi. No one calling themselves a socialist can win in most areas of Oregon except a tiny part of Portland. That is the reality. I would not dismiss what Ds will do if we win the House and the Senate. Even a lot of Rs know that death star's policies are unpopular with their constituents.
We will actually need some serious moderation after the tumult of the Trump years. Trumpism is a symptom of a deep dissatisfaction on the part of many Americans with much of the last half century in the US. Whether or not that dissatisfaction is entirely justified is not as important as the perception that it is. That dissatisfaction is what we need to address.
Whenever we delve too far into an ‘us and them’ mindset, we risk exactly what we are gong through now. MAGA is also made up of Americans. If we ignore that, we lose.
I share the same fear Ref Jim.
Tempting as it is to 'think big’, Bill, what the country does not need is the kind of further roiling that some of your suggestions would almost certainly bring about.
First, about SCOTUS. The problem is not SCOTUS itself, but rather that a dysfunctional Congress has in effect delegated its responsibilities as the Founder-intended primary governmental branch. One effect of that has become the partisan war over SCOTUS appointments. The old civics saw about co-equal branches was not what was intended. Remember for starters that the power of judicial review, which is at the heart of the present controversies was granted to SCOTUS by the Consitution.
Reversing Citizens United is a worthwhile goal, but in practice it would be not only very hard but also politically volatile to attempt given the influential power of those corporate entities who benefit from it.
You might remember that it was a substantial number of the ‘working class’ who elected Trump. He was only a symptom of a deep dissatisfaction from Americans unable to fully understand the economic realities of an interconnected global world.
Medicare for all is also a worthy goal, but implementing it would be initially quite disruptive even if it could be done, which is very problematic as it goes against what a great many consider the essence of our capitalist system.
MAGA will not be either defeated or hobbled. Following a blue wave, it will go underground, desperately seeking a new champion, candidates for which position will be numerous. MAGA needs to feel included, not excluded.
What we will really need is some sort of breather from the maelstrom created by Trump and his myrmidons. Throwing us into a flurry of criminal prosecutions will only continue to exacerbate a citizenry already self-inflicted with an ‘us and them’ mentality. While I also feel that those who have perpetrated the lunacy that is Trumpism ought to pay a price for doing so, an endless procession of show trials will only approximate the gradually increasing apathy generated by that other endless series of trials at Nuremberg without actually resolving the issue. After all, Nazism (and its many copies) have not disappeared from the political scene, even in Germany.
As long as we actively promulgate an ‘us and them’ situation, it will continue and grow.
Bill, Thank you for your hopeful remarks. Little by little, we the people can repair the faulty codes we have & become more caring to others. Won't be an easy job but, WE can do it.
None of that is going to happen. I’m sorry to be pessimistic but SCOTUS is 100% safe, Congress is in a coma with life support keeping it alive and Trump has the authority to do anything he pleases.
There is no reason for Trump to allow elections. Yes, I am using the right terminology. Only what Trump allows will go forward. He needs a dead Congress…hence elections are not going to happen. SCOTUS has its Unitary President and they will allow violence to occur before they take him away. All of this 100% legal.
There is nothing in the Epstein letters everyone sounds like conspiracy theorist talking about these letters. Who is going to stop the Venezuelan invasion? Congress? Again. What Congress.
Law enforcement in masks is now normalized. Federal troops in “Socialist” cities is normalized. Young people are reading the tea leave and becoming conservative to try to survive in this nightmare nation. Democrats pols are holding onto their seats to become part of the “government in exile” once Trump Inc dismantles Congress, saving their asses while Americans do the dying and the heavy lifting of keeping our master in his great big houses.
Some efforts will be made to suppress the elections next year. They will fail. Witness Indiana. The MAGA magic coalition is crumbling. All we need to know about Epstein and Trump we know already. He was buddies with a pedophile sex trafficker. And he didnt turn him in.
Trump won't make it until fall. He is disintegrating before our eyes. Vance is a cast away.
But, you are right to be pessimistic. It will balance my enthusiastic optimism. Somewhere in the middle will be the truth. And some justice will prevail. Some.
I'm rooting heavily for the big Macs n fries to work their magic asap.
Maybe, if we have a better AG than Garland.
I don’t share your optimism.
I'd like to think so, but if our past has shown us anything, the wealthy and powerful rarely face consequences. A scapegoat or two will get a slap on the wrist, maybe (hopefully) Hegseth goes to jail, but Trump will skate off to his next grift, selling useless crap made in China to his voters.
If there is any possibility of trump being removed from office in 2028, he will refuse to leave. He is in complete control of the military and justice department so who can make him leave?
Who is going to have the moral courage, legal authority to bring true , open, honest investigations and consequences to ALL , all parties, all sides of the aisle, all departments, agencies, bureaus , divisions , SCOTUS justices, members at all levels in the Administration and Cabinet? Not who should, who WILL? There are some included in the ALL list just mentioned who are not and will not be up for election or re-election. The current POTUS is NOT the single point of failure here…as much as that is easy to assume and want. So that also is an important and critical process to think about. How were the Norenberg trials conceived? By who? Who can and will do a similar version here? Who will speak for those who have and will be sent to the bottom of the sea without and proof, shown, demonstrated probably cause, evidence? The thoughts, consideration, how, who, what needs to start yesterday if not sooner . Everything is impermanent … good and bad,
Our power went out about ten minutes after I posted and just came back on or I would have replied sooner. Stormy weather here!! Yes, they will go down in flames!
I dunno Roberta.., we'll just become a banana republic and Trader Joes will not only be just a market, but a way of life.., trading this for that. We'll be broke.
Why can’t the East Wing be totally reconstructed, security room, portraits and everything else. Wouldnt that cost less than horrible projected ballroom?
NO! Dickhead did this illegally; he should be forced to PERSONALLY have to pay for the historical reconstruction, not the taxpayers.
Agreed, Daniel Kunsman. But if the cost cannot be wrung from the criminal, at least we would be spared the visible offense and be less in debt.
I think We The People need to go after ALL the Nazis HARD! Take everything from them and their immediate families, turning it over to the U.S. Treasury. And do it all publicly, so the statement is unmistakable to anyone of a similar mindset.
I wonder how much Mar-a-Logo is worth?
Can his assets be attached, then?
He, and his family, have certainly enriched themselves enough to do just that and never be inconvenienced by a shortage of funds, sadly.
I have seen a theory he is building something like a hardened data center below the East Wing. I didn’t entirely get it, but here’s the link: https://thedreydossier.substack.com/p/trump-isnt-building-a-ballroom?r=4j4yo&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay&triedRedirect=true
Thank you for this link. Shows whats behind the curtain in Oz.
Donold the showman selling gilded nonsense upfront and his handlers building their bunker below without the taxpayers knowledge and consent.
Do you suppose congress has been informed?
Funded by Palantir, I would presume!
It’s not only that, he wants to create what he thinks would be an impregnable safe area and command center.
She unexpectedly convinced me. It’s a data center and the ballroom is just the lid on top. She did her work.she has just exposed a major reorientation of government.
Holy shit.
YIKES!!
My response exactly!
I like the way that woman thinks!
Thanks for this link. It's brilliant and so are you for finding it.
😯
I must admit I only vaguely considered them updating the situation room, which would make sense under any president, but I think any other president would have just updated or replaced the existing East Wing with much the same size and appearance from the outside (even if they actually built a massive data center under it).
What happened to the portraits, the piano and artifacts of the East Wing? There were no reports of a moving van to preserve what was there. Or am I missing something and the artifacts did not come under the wrecking ball?
I have not seen any coverage of what happened to the art and artifacts. At the time it was noted that there was no evidence of large vans or art handlers. If the contractors bulldozed the building (without permits) when the contents were in place why can't they be prosecuted even if T. cannot? Those things belonged to us and to history. Even with all the other heinous acts he is guilty of, this cannot be ignored.
If the potraits were indeed “saved,” we need proof.
If "national security" is at stake for having bull-dozed the East Wing -- does it not make sense the former secret security area now needs to be totally relocated ?? Seems all our enemies have just been clearly alerted as to where "important people" will be hiding in the event of emergencies.
One more gift to Putin. It seems the goal is to weaken the USA in every way possible.
The East wing can be rebuilt the way it almost was. The portraits, I'm afraid, are history. I don't see how we can reconstruct that art.
How would we reproduce the valuable lost relics?
Oh Michele, you have this one right!! Our Johnny Roberts and his 5 minions have done this nation a disservice but don't care since they have lifetime appointments and no Republicans would vote to remove them from office! Every day, we see the results of that appalling act by our SC 6, none of whom care about this nation, only that they can control our response to what a president does, well, as long as it is Trump. I can't believe they would be OK with a Democratic president with that kind of power. They are hypocrites as well as other things I won't mention here. They have helped put shame on our nation.
Is it too much to suggest that the SC has ruined the country.
Actually, it is not too much.
The six Trump toadies on SCOTUS are deliberately giving Trump all he wants under a faux veneer of legality.
that argument can be blown out of the water (like a Venezuelan fishing boat) when these criminals are finally prosecuted.
Yes! The power here went out a few minutes after I posted, and it just came back about an hour ago. Otherwise I would have replied sooner. Thank you for the great comment!
Good grief. . .
I like to call it the Supreme Curia
Great comment! The power here went out a few minutes after I posted, and it came back on about an hour ago! Stormy weather here. Otherwise, I would have responded sooner!
Trump's argument is a non sequitur argument: that he tore down the national security infrastructure is maybe criminal as well as the other crimes involved here. But if that is so then that needs to be rebuilt ASAP and not reason to build a ballroom.
He forgot the bleach.
A few minutes after I posted, the power here went out and just came back on. Very stormy... I just wanted you to know why it took so long to reply! Your comment is very funny!!!
Michele. I like your term rinse and repeat cycle. His brain can’t keep up with what the hell he says and does. Such a fucking idiot
Funny! Our power went out a few minutes after I posted and came on a little while ago. Very stormy. I would have replied sooner otherwise.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Colbert had a good bit on that exposure of the bunker that was under the East Wing... "Bring the shrimp. Eric, you stay."
which is a play on a line from the first Godfather film...leave the gun...take the cannoli...
Isaac, you have the same name as the famous designer. Not a common name.
As Donold leaves the ballroom going down into the bunker: "Come on Ivanka, bring the shrimp. Eric, you stay."
Trump probably watched all the Godfather movies far too often.
He probably thinks people calling him "Don Snorleone" is a compliment.
No doubt!
Cohn rather obviously taught him to behave like a mafioso. The way he gives orders, for instance. When he says he made a "perfect phone call," he means he skirted obvious statements of intent. It's the modern version opf "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?"
It makes sense when you recall Cohn represented organized crime figures when he worked in private practice.
That’s what I’m saying, Georgia! Everything is a free-for-all!
It compromised the fucking situation room!!!!! The place pictured in every international crisis movie ever made.
So Trump has regressed from the TACO King to the TOFU King? Trump always chickens out to Trump only fucks up.
The administration is in total chaos. Trump acts on instinct and whims, but there is no planning, no details, no coordination. Just the illusion of a functioning machine.
🤣🤣😭😭🤣🤣
Free for plutocrats
Free for Trump.
And a millstone around the necks of ordinary folk.
And what about Susie Wiles?
'Wiles told Whipple. “And people way smarter than me on that say that he will.”'
At lease she understands that she's not the brightest star in the sky....
A step toward wisdom.
They promised to flood the zone with shit, and they’re making good on it, to the gleeful delight of roughly half the US electorate (the willfully ignorant half).
There seems to be a certain novelty in that, but then it's something you have to live with.
You are so nice to only call this guy idiot Georgia.....
These morons couldn’t organize an orgy in a bordello, and now they want us to go to war on false pretenses and the myth that Venezuela’s oil is ours for the taking? I don’t like Maduro, but it’s up to the Venezuelans to dump him. We wouldn’t be able to do so.
I thought this administration was an orgy in a bordello?
If so, it’s a rather incompetent one. They have proved effective only at lies and kleptocracy.
I don't know, they are kinda screwing us over.
They most certainly are, and it was exactly what they planned to do all along.
😂 well played Gary!
Many confuse having money with having competence.
Yes, and there’s no better example than the techbros whom Gil Durán dubbed the Nerd Reich. He runs a blog by that name. Money doesn’t authorize Peter Thiel to undercut our government, nor does it entitle Muskrat to dictate what’s good for us. Twitter was once a halfway decent social media site, but Muskrat has turned in X (appropriately called Xitter if you pronounce x as sh.) He’s made into a cesspool of all sorts of hate, lies, and misinformation, it’s a new version of 4chan or 8chan.
Epstein's raison d'ete and Trumps day off. Trump has a thing for gold.
Where's a reporter who will quote his words back to him and inquire how Venezuelan oil fields are somehow "ours?" And what of "our" land has Venezuela taken?
I don't know, Kathy.
An orgy in a bordello, organized or otherwise sounds like a good de-stressing exercise right about now 🤣
It sounds like what Trump was seeking with Epstein’s young sex workers.
Um... if the USSS's foremost "protective mission" is to protect Trump, is a hampering of its ability to perform said mission such a bad thing?? (Asking for a few hundred million friends.)
Yeah, except that leaves us with 3 years of Vance, and he is way more dangerous because he would take orders from Thiel and the other techbros who want a complete destruction of government, so we are reduced to a collection of Prospera clone city-states.
Prospera is in Honduras and was built with investments from Thiel under laws enacted by Hernandez, the President/drug lord Trump pardoned.
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/08/16/prospera-the-eccentric-libertarian-and-fully-private-enclave-in-honduras_6716845_4.html
You can do just about anything when you are a centobillionaire...
Not that I like or trust Vance, but he sorely lacks the cult charisma of Trump. I honestly don't think anyone but Mango Mussolini can hold the Trumpist (formerly known as Republican) Party / MAGA "coalition" together.
$$$$$$$ is what binds and spellbinds
Thiel has no charisma either, nor really did Musk
And Vance wouldn't have to be elected and he gets to do whatever he wants because he will have immunity too
I'm with Nan on this one.
The Supreme Court has consistently done Trump's bidding.
But at the same time has not given the same leeway to other MAGA or GOP members.
MAGA is a cult of personality. These people literally think Trump was 'sent from God' to 'save them'. Vance doesn't have that kind of pull. Thiel has money but has even less charisma than Vance. They can not hold the base together.. especially as the base will be hurt badly by the things they want to do.
They will be able to accomplish some things due to their cash. (Like the stealing of all our personal data to build Thiel's person tracking database.) But they can't 'buy' devotion. These people consider themselves Patriots. They are not going to be thrilled to see the total destruction of America and will not fall in line with Thiel's feudal state solution.
It does not Georgia. Article 2, section 4 reads
"The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Article 2 section 4 says "and", not "or". The entire administration shall be removed including the half-wit Vance.
That's the way I read it. What say the legal scholars?
Check out the legal scholars at the Brennan Center website
Thank you.
As in past impeachments, what specific treason, bribery, or other high crime and misdemeanor are we talking about?
I'm with you, the president is clearly mad, but what would the conviction be for for any of them?
Treason doesn't fit, nor does bribery, what crime can any of them be convicted of?
To be clear I'm not defending their inanity, but Impeachment? Not so sure.
Bribery fits for sure. What is "pay to play" if not bribery?
PS pardoned at the request of Roger Stone.
If someone told me this without the proof I would think I was talking to a Q-Anon nut job.
The only thing going for us is that Vance lacks the appeal Trump has.
I think it more likely that the Thiel claque would invoke Article 25 but they don't want to do that too early, when Vance would be limited to one more term. My own belief is that Vance will not be able to do that much since nobody in Washington likes him or owes him anything.
If it were true the security system was destroyed then Secret Service would not allow the President to sleep in the Executive Residence or nap in the Oval Office as he does everyday. He would be evicted.
Interesting point. But his personal security is different than national security. You can deal with ensuring adequate personal security pretty quickly with a new control room if that was destroyed, because all the sensors and cameras are still there. And he seems to be pretty relaxed about it down at Mar-a-Lago, in spite of the assassination attempts.
National security is another matter. If he trashed the communications control for the Situation Room that is a lot harder to replace.
But then there’s always Signal….
In the felon's mind, his personal security and national security are one and the same. His view is, l'etat c'est moi.
Ka-Zing!
Is Camp David secure or somewhere in the Pentagon?
SAC HQ in Omaha has 13 stories underground and then there's NORAD in Colorado. Move Trump and the entire cadre of fools to Omaha or Colorado. That would be fun.
Yes please! Then build a big wall and have Mexico pay for it!
Yes, when I read Matthew Quinn's statement, I thought, "Either he's full of shit or he's lying his ass off."
The truth is it's probably both, with emphasis on the latter rather than the former. I base this on the mendacious performances of every single Trump regime representative who's "testified" before Congress over the past several months.
I suppose if our so-called "legislators" didn't mount these kabuki performances every day, they'd have nothing to do, now that the Big Beautiful Fuckyou has been enacted.
Yep. Everything Trump is reality TV lies with BS drama and his fans eat it up. 100% Cult.
I mean Trump already told the Saudis Chinese and Russians, hell he probably gave them a tour. Compared to them who else would the SS be worried about?
Having torn down the East Wing illegally, Trum now bleats that it will harm national security if he cannot continue to act illegally. Sounds like the plot of a third-rate gangster movie.
Good I'm glad he's vulnerable - do you hear that Venezuela...
It has been ever since Tulsi Gabbard took over as DNI.
Well Trump seems to be good at installing cement slabs . That could be a solution while while the litigation goes forward - just cover the site in cement and halt this depraved ballroom.
Hi Georgia, actually it was revealed back when he first started the demolition, that there was in fact a High Security Bunker under the East Wing, in case of an attack on the US. Here is some info. "The underground bunker, known as the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC), was built under the White House East Wing in 1942 during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, with the new East Wing constructed to conceal its construction during World War II. "
So, One would have to assume, that they are building this HUGE ballroom, as a cover up for the new HUGE bunker below it. An underground command center. And this time I have a bad feeling it is desperately being pushed through, not because of concerns of an outside attack on our country, but I would have to say they are planning on a another, much bigger coup, and will be in need of hiding out in it during the insurrection that would follow. I know how crazy that sounds, but why else would they need a 90,000 sq ft bunker? Why else would they build this without going through the proper channels? Why else would they build a " Ballroom" funded by private funds on the property of the People?
Wow, that is a deeply scary thought.
I had been hoping the size was compensation for small body parts and a huge ego.
But then again I never imagined that Thiel would have built a prototype Prospera already and got a country's legislative body to approve it.
Although admittedly it was at the behest of the drug lord president.
Why else would he tear down an historic building with no warning, no approvals, no research, that has the Security bunker below it? I know it’s crazy thought, and I hate the idea of having said it out loud, but that was the first thought that came into my mind, when I heard about the bunker below the East wing. Also, consider the fact that AI needs a huge amount of space, and perhaps they need to fill some of it with their own AI programming? Ok that’s my entire conspiracy.. hahaha You must think me looney tunes, but there it is. A possibility. The Ballroom for Donnie, and a new bunker for Miller and friends. Donnie is dispensable, and will be replaced soon, I am sure. JD was hand picked as someone who would be willing to do Miller and Vought’s bidding.
Initially my first thought also was, what an idiotic thing to say (imagining what a “breached security system” could result in …), but then I thought, he’s bluffing! Yet another lie told to circumvent the necessary review and approval process.
Hard to decide what is stupidty and what is nefarious. I tend to keep landing on the side of stupidity though—Halligan being my prime case, and Hegseth with Signal
Miller and Vought are always on the nefarious side.
And then there is the whole separate category of grifters—Kushner and Witkoff
https://popular.info/p/kushners-serbian-boondoggle-collapses
Georgia, that's a pretty good summary. We need a spreadsheet with three columns where we can classify all the personnel in the Trump regime with these headings: Dolts, Villains, Swindlers. My preferred, more colorful headings would be: Dumb Asses, Bad Asses, Crooked Asses.
Surprised he did not complain that Security is temporarily relocated to the Lincoln bedroom.
I'm supposed to believe our national security was ALL in the basement of a dining hall? Please! If that were so, Secret Service staff would never have allowed any destruction of the East wing. "Hamper SS ability to function"?? None of us just fell off the turnip truck. All this crap is like a bad movie you aren't allowed to leave.
There is some potentially good news in spite of Trump's insanity.
I have been researching Russia's financial situation and its reliance on oil revenues. Russia is so flat broke it can't pay its workers in factories, some armament factories are closing because they have no money and it has stopped all the recruitment bonuses and injury/death payments. It looks like China is paying the bills.
Trump's cutting funding to Ukraine is what is preventing an end to the war.
Say prayers that the EU frozen assets issue gets resolved this week in Europe.
If you want the details:
https://georgiafisanick.substack.com/p/russia-is-in-a-cash-crunch-crisis
Write your Senators and Representatives.
FYI, a friend who listens to Denys Davydov, who reports "Updates from Ukraine", concurs that Russia keeping up is unsustainable/unwinnable. Detailed accounts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GGm8MVVkmo
Thanks so much for the link. So much is going unreported, or the media takes what Trump says at face value, or "unnamed administration sources who spoke ..."
I scout the edges for what's not mainstream, and so I know many people who are normally invisible to the public, but sincere and thoughtful as they integrate from far-flung sources. I'm glad for people's attention (there's so much we don't know--how can one?)
It’s because of Putin and his collection of kleptocrats. They were even recruiting freed prisoners and some North Koreans to fight Ukraine.
And they put them in the front lines--cannon fodder--leaves room in the prisons for dissidents who you wouldn't want to give a gun to.
Yes.
And the North Koreans, having no actual military experience, got their blanks handed to them. As prisoners, they got a taste of what the world outside NK is like. They were returned with stories to tell.
Many rumors of Putin being unable to pay the troops.
If that is true.. that is historically a bad situation
BLB. But good for Ukraine I HOPE
That's frequently when the rank and file starts turning on their officers and government. I wonder if anyone knows how many officers have been fragged?
The rest of the world needs to defang us as we defanged the Germans.
Nope. WE are the calvary. No one is coming to save us. So, saddle up and do something instead of waiting around like a dummy for someone to ride to your rescue. Geez.
I never forget that his father was KKK and his “adopted” father was KGB.
KKK was a democratic organization there Virginia. Oooops. Perhaps you’d like to support JFK’s father and JFK was one of my favorite presidents of all time. Do you want to talk about his dad and how he got rich?
We are incapable of saving ourselves. The absolute, irrefutable proof of this terrible truth is here: https://www.readtpa.com/p/the-rules-of-grief?publication_id=2282&post_id=181719855&isFreemail=false&r=cb67r&triedRedirect=true With the rise of the white-supremacist techno-Übermenschen, Christonazi MAGATry has become our national ethos; racio-mysogynistic hatred rules -- and barring some unforeseen miracle, will do so until our species is extinct.
Oh, good grief. Paranoid much?? Take your meds, hon.
Quite obviously, Ms. 93clementine, you have never lived amongst the MAGATs or in the South, which is not only MAGAT-land, but is ruled by a white majority that still fanatically seeks vengeance for Appomattox. As to the magnitude of irreversible white racism, the first post-Katrina Pew Poll shows 77 percent of the nation's whites refusing to acknowledge the brazenly obvious racism and ethnic "cleansing" inflicted by the Bush II "relief" program; that is probably our best race-hatred index to date. (I forgive you the name-calling, as you are obviously unaware of the bottomless hatred and sadism Trump has legitimized into "true Americanism.")
I have white friends who lived through Katrina. They agree with your assessment about the "relief" program. They have "improved" their lives by moving to... Mississippi, which they describe as "Third World America".
You know every time you open your mouth, you display your ignorance even more when you talk about the past. I will guarantee you that if you go out on the street and ask anybody including most Democrats about App Maddox, they won’t even know how to spell it let alone pronounce it or know anything about it. Jesus.Geez.
And I bet 2% of the public know what you’re talking about when you mentioned the bush II relief program I do really believe that you will die hopeless and that’s a shame because there’s so much to live for in this great country.
How long is it going to take for the majority of you to stop living in the past? It is now December 2025 first day of winter and you’re acting exactly like it’s the first day of winter as cold as ice. Maybe you’d like to talk about Bill Clinton in the White House and the cigar ? Or the recent photos of him in a pool with a woman in the background with her face blacked out.
Or perhaps you’d like to instead discuss Obama’s completely divisive cultural rhetoric Trevon could’ve been my son. The police acted stupidly. There are pages and pages of Obamas reference to race…. Dividing America inthe process and the birth of BLM. RATHER THAN ALL LIVES MATTER . And one of the more significant reasons for the George Floyd summer of love because people couldn’t wait for justice which finally came after $2 billion worth of destruction 1000 police injured cities burnt to the ground sections of cities taken over by thugs.
Historical nonsense with no application to today other than the hate that is dug into you and is keeping you alive like a lethal blood clot, just waiting to burst
Or perhaps you would like to revisit the inflation reduction act that raised grocery price is 20% double the price of gasoline triple the rate of mortgages and drove inflation to 7 to 9% the second highest in history behind beloved Jimmy Carter who was a great man after he left the presidency…
Magas. Those that wish for American greatness again. They need to wish for it after the destruction that’s been left behind in its stench-filled wake…by Mr non compos mentís.
Was it….you got it or amerigotit ? Lol. And if you didn’t hear it “live” … you can listen to it on your record player omg.
And I have an even touched on the biggest issue to every American and all the polls last November, which was the border and illegal immigration… which is cost this country hundreds of billions of dollars in free medical free housing and free food when 2 million of our own are starving out on the street living intense and people are crying about no money for medical care with that money, sure could’ve been put to a better cause than supporting illegal immigration. Unconscionable
Happy holidays
Once again the lost soul speaks. Nice big words that mean absolutely nothing in real life. Are you trying to tell me that all this changed in nine months? And before that we were just all Loving like during the George Floyd riots when every single criminal in the country got involved with not being able to wait for justice. And got it anyway, but too late.
Cavalry
Oops. Sorry for the mistake. I try to get it right but sometimes … Thanks.
I want the Canadian calvary to come in and do that, TC. Hell, they can take us Californians, if they want.
Death to the Republican (Fascist) Party. Every single Republican Senator is a sniveling coward or traitor.
I'm in favor of Canada annexing New England . . .
Did you see Andy Borowitz's headline on Monday? I laughed out loud.
" Republicans finally announce their healthcare plan. They tell Americans to move to Canada.!"
Please, New York, too!
And pop down here and grab Colorado too, please
Ditto for WA state!
Thanks! I’d like to see the Northern California redwood forests again! 🇨🇦
As I have posted before, when i am most in need of comfort, I imagine this on our newly liberated streets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpDqjOrdYlk
(though I'm certain I will not live long enough to see it.) Why the Scots? Because by threatening to annex Canada, Trump has declared the entire British Commonwealth his regime's enemy; though the British Empire is long gone, the Black Watch remains one of the deadliest infantry regiments on this planet. And Trump's siding with Putin over Ukraine has done likewise to France -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za7csILlUPo&t=4s -- their Foreign Legion is always deadly -- and to Germany. Though Germany's military spirit has been dormant since 1945, it never died: -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6vcr-X1Wxw Watch how quickly Germany rearms. Look closely at the footage, you'll see they've already brought back the jackboot... Such is the new, inescapably apocalypse-doomed world the Trump Regime is making of our planetary motherland.
Then there's this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x41dUEvn60g
Thank you for posting this.
Only this time the Krauts are the good guys...
{Interesting that the soldiers and sailors are carrying Mausers.}
Their '98Ks are parade rifles...like our '03 Springfields, M1s and M14s. Dunno if they still have functional firing pins; some of ours do, some don't. (And some of our accurized M14s remain on duty as sniper rifles.)
Sadly, GJ Loft, I agree with your conclusion.
You Californians have already been taken by some of the most incompetent politicians you’ve ever elected. And I lived there for 30 years in Calabasas and watch my neighbors burn to the ground because of the ignorance and the lack of focus on their job!
Who could take on the world’s biggest bully? Maybe us pulling a Hungarian protest. Oops, it’s shopping season…
No TC, we and only we need to defang this regime. The rest of the world would thank us forever.
To paraphrase you, "The rest of the world needs to defang US as we defanged the Germans"
We’re watching it in real time. Not past or future, as we live and breathe, for now. Not one soldier should be sacrificed for his insane agenda.
JD, I agree. The orange idiot needs to be taken out, newborn another, stroke, heart attack, whatever
Maybe Putin will get sick of his games, he has a collection of “solutions”
Marlene, I totally agree with your French! Trump wants to get us into a forever war so that he can die in power and then pass it on to one of the criminal cretins he brought into this world. They should change their last name to grift. No one who understands military actions or war seems to think that taking Venezuela is going to be easy, peasy, lemon squeezy! However, Trump and Hegseth (Secretary of the Dept of War Crimes)seem to think that they are just playing a video game with their strikes. It is do demented.
Drumpf punching down as always. Seems like he wants to do to Venezuela, what his bro Putin is doing to Ukraine.
Another lost soul with the Russian bull crap I guess you haven’t heard the news ? Like the most of the people here change the channel pal, and see what the rest of the world sees not just the micro bubble that exist here.
Alas, there are many historical examples.
What could go wrong? Everything?…..
Murphy’s Law will definitely come into play here and will attach to everything Trump and Kegseth do. It already has with their illegal bombings of fishing boats, and Democratic and some Republican politicians see through Trump and Kegseth’s flagrant lies.
Kegsbreath should be impeached already. Get him out of there.
Definitely, he’s totally incompetent except for asserting petty authoritarianism.
And preening.
Yes, and preening and putting on the fake tough guy masculinity. It didn surprise me at all when Kegseth became Secretary of Defense, one of the first things he did was to build a makeup studio in the Pentagon so he could be made up in time for television appearances. He’s as vain as his boss Trump.
Well we just lived through everything that could go wrong and we survived for four years of somebody who was not even home in his own head let alone the lying deceitful Cabinet members who told us that the border was secure and the borders are Eco that sentiment and here we are 11 million lies later.
Add to your statement: the ridiculous assertion that Venezuela is "stealing our oil, land, and assets..." I mean, what the fu*k is he talking about? Only Trump can write this bull shit idiocy as only he is demented enough to initiate something like this. I have no doubt that Vance will parrot Trump. When did Maduro or even his predecessor, Chavez, ever steal oil, land, or other assets from this nation? This is not rocket science; all this nation is asking is for proof needed to make any sense of what he's saying. Wile's statement of Trump's "alcoholic personality" is right on the mark. Like all of Trump's sycophants, she cowers after revealing a moment's courage of truth. If anyone would ask me who I would trust in the written piece by Whipple, make no mistake that it most certainly would not be Wiles. Lucy..... you've got some 'splaining to do!
Did Venezuela nationalize the oil industry and confiscate the assets of some of the foreign oil companies operating there earlier this century? Chevron is operating there under some limited arrangement? I'm guessing Trump will refer to this tonight in his speech (but others will have to provide a clearer picture).
Quite possible, Robert. The nationalization was for **their oil**. And that is essentially what Trump said he wanted as it was listed first on his demands. As for the “assets”, when harvesting another nation’s oil, and that nation tells that, or those companies to leave, what they leave behind is their bad luck and potential loss. I don’t remember Trump going back, or threatening Afghanistan regarding all the military equipment left behind. Long and short of it: Trump clearly is nothing more or less than a delusional maniac.
Having had discussions with a number of MAGA folks, T's supporters are no better. They excuse everything T does, including murder. Why? Amathia (Intelligent ignorance; willful stupidity,) assuming that they have any character. Otherwise, pure racism, xenophobia, white protestant nationalism. We are dealing with a sickness, a sickness of the mind, a sickness of the soul, a sickness of the heart. We are now wallowing in a cesspool of incompetence and self-dealing.
Richard, I keep contact with some of my former work cohort (former cops, like me) who see nothing wrong with the conduct regarding the Navy's destruction of small boats allegedly carrying drugs. One of them is a supervisor who chastised me on at least two occasions, for not clearly articulating probable cause for my drug arrests. Another is a former SWAT supervisor who was adamant (then) about clear articulation of details regarding raids, and meticulous documentation of every element of the high risk warrants that we served. Unbefreakinglievable.
A sickness of the mind, soul, heart, and conscious indeed. Fed by propaganda that they so willingly consume that gives them permission to hate those who (in their narrow minds) have caused their "fall" from the dominant position they assume is their God given right to dominate.
"Discussions" with the MAGA folks is a waste of time. The blinders that they wear are nothing short of staggering. Whoever said this was right: "Don't argue with stupid people; they'll simply bring you down to their level and beat you up with experience." Being an atheist myself, I see this condition of amathia in those who have strong religious beliefs, particularly my own family members in Texas and New Mexico. Have they never heard of LUCA? Do they not know that all life (plants, animals and insects) on earth share the same DNA, irrefutable proof that we all descended from a common ancestor? I look at them from the perspective that they must be treated with great care, given the extreme fragility of their brains and lack of critical thinking skills.
Well then read my post above there richard come to your senses. You talked to two people and depict them all like that just like Hillary did and you know it cost her. It cost her the election when she use rhetoric like that. Basket of deplorable’s based on three people that she knew. And the two that you knew or the 10 that you knew.
These hate filled people in charge of our country have got to go, before they push some other country into dropping a bomb on us. putin must be dancing in the kremlin.
I think your French is perfect. Normally I start with WFT !
WTAF here, with "actual" being the adjective here.
Everything is “national security” with these assholes. I want us to begin demanding of Congress impeachment proceedings on the basis of “national security.” The dictator threatens the safety, security and well-being of the United States with every criminal act he perpetrates every single day. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
You are excused!! And I agree 100%
What can go wrong is the felon child rapist is going to start a war with Venezuela to distract us from his criminal behavior with epstein...I'm convinced he was engaged in child trafficking and rape - even his loyal base might not be down with that.
And lying, “zealous” enablers.
Trump is going to start a war with Venezuela to distract America from the release of the Epstein Files. We MUST NOT BE DISTRACTED! And we must DEMAND CONGRESS DETERMINE IF A WAR SHOULD START OR NOT!
He’s starting a war so that he can declare martial law. He already gloated beforehand that “he can do aything” under martial law. Straight from the authoritarian’s playbook: you can expect the cancelling of elections, the military deployed in Blue cities and rounding up of “enemies of the state” - i.e. everyone who doesn’t worship him and kiss his bloated orange @$$.
What if he gave a war and nobody came?
That's what I've been wondering...
Keep in mind the timing. Total blockade of Venezuela on 12/16, Epstein files must be produced 12/19.
He is going to war to destroy Maduro and "control" the Western Hemisphere. It isn't about Epstein, but about returning us to the 1890s world of gunboat diplomacy, beggar-thy-neighbor tariffs, and whites-only social Darwinism. It's the publicly stated goal of the country's new National Security Strategy, put out just in time for the joyous holiday season.... 🎄
https://sylvestercat.substack.com/p/a-nightmare-before-christmas
It’s Come As a Foreign Service Officer, I served as Political Officer in Chile (1966-1969). To prepare for this assignment, I read THE SHARK AND THE SARDINES. This was a vivid account of American historical involvement in Latin America (lots of military invasions/occupations.
I resigned from the Foreign Service shortly after Nixon/Kissinger took office. Their involvement in Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere I found despicable.
Trump has now transformed the 1823 Monroe Doctrine into an imperial Trump Doctrine. He is endeavoring to apply a woefully outdated 19th century policy in the 21st century.
I too detested Nixon and Kissinger’s endorsement of Operation Condor.
Kathy I am proud to be a member of the Nixon White House Enemies List.
Trump and Kegseth think they can take on Maduro, but he is more than capable of putting up a challenge to us. Fighting in Venezuela would be far more difficult than either of them realize.
“Kegseth” is perfect! It fits the person. Can you do one for Kavanaugh too?
Kavanaugh=Truthnaught
Kegsbreath
That too is a perfect description of Pete Hegseth.
I haven’t thought of it, maybe someone else can. Kegseth was relatively simple given his history of alcoholism.
Kavanaugh has the same history. Look at him. I watched during the whole Senate confirmation hearing in horror at who was getting past the committee.
I know he does. Personally, I’d never have supported him, especially after Kavanaugh carried off his tirade against the Clintons and Christine Blasey-Ford’s testimony about Kavanaugh and his friend Mike Judge trying to rape her. This maladministration was determined not to do a full search on Kavanaugh. It reminded me of the Anita Hill fiasco. I believe Christine Blasey-Ford told the truth as did Anita Hill, but both Kavanaugh and Thomas became SCOTUS justices,
Do they actually think that Maduro won’t fire back? They’re all crazy.
I think they really believe it, and they will be in for a very nasty surprise when he does. Maduro gave an interview recently and mentioned he has drones and other equipment provided to him from China and Russia. Trump and Kegseth should also be prepared for Cuba to put up a fierce fight if they are dumb enough to try to invade.
His buddies want the vast amounts of oil in Venezuela. And they will pay him b personally billions to use and abuse our military, paid for by our tax dollars, fought with our son’s and daughters’ blood and guts to secure their investments.
And the right wing zealots and tech bros see the world like children do….instead of doing it the hard way, cheat or break it and start over. It isn’t easy to deal with Russian, Europe, South Korea/Japan, China, the ME, Iran, Mexico and Vanaga, Cental and South America and Africa all at once. Not to mention domestic America. They aren’t skilled or smart enough and got rid of the people who were because they spotlighted their own ignorance. Career, intelligent, seasoned diplomats think they’re comp,tee unserious shitheads. BECAUSE they ARE.
So Americans are left to the whims of billionaires instead of a functioning government. Ooohh. Mr and Mrs Dell, more soup, Please?! Billionaires replacing healthcare with a 1500 dollar voucher? School? See the churches. Social security…instead of you working and paying ina nd having a retirement, we’ll give anyone 10 and under a couple thousand bucks to invest with…guess who…the billionaire class we have to bailout every decade. Think about that….1/2 of Americans aren’t even I. The stock market but you’re going to give their kids money beacsue they’re savvy investors? It’s insane.
And the “brilliant” MAGA administration seriously thinks they can just carve the world into the Five Families like 1970 NYC. Trump heading the western hemisphere, Putin in Europe, Xi in China, MBS in Middle East, Trump/Kushner in Israel and I guess they’re so predjudice, they didn’t consider Africa. But if there is to be a 6th family, it could be Musk running Africa from South Africa, of course.
Every year, they’ll have a big convention with lots of oranges around a big table and decide what happens in their sphere.
The hubris of these imbeciles to imagine this world,all the work and peace kept that had gone before them was all wrong. THEY know better. Look at the ineptness around this wildly insecure and idiotic scumbag. There is literally no redeeming quality in this man or those who suck off his teat. Or should I say…OUR TEAT. we’re being robbed blind.
After his comments about the Reiners, I’m beyond angry. Just sad for all of us, especially our children. There is no better indicator that we have failed them as free citizens than by electing that disgrace and waste of skin.
I agree with everything you said except for using the word inept to describe them. Inept suggests maybe some stumbling on the way to honing one's skills. These folks are incompetent, completely lacking the skill sets required for the positions they hold. And their outsized egos will brook no self reflection or moment's doubt that their every action is 100% perfection. This is the pinnacle of their lives and they think they will go down in the history books as the best of the best. In no other 'administration' would so many fools and outright idiots hold this much power and do this much damage.
I grant you that, they are incompetent except at doing the things Trump thinks are essential for the DoD, like firing competent senior officers because they are women, or are Black. Kegseth thinks the services have all been male, but quite a few women have honorably served, and not just as nurses. Kegseth doesn’t want to acknowledge anyone other than white males as people who have served our country.
I was hopping mad at his indecent remarks about Rob and Michele Reiner.
Well the idiot can’t call himself a whitie as he is orange.
I think Rubio is driving this policy-bus, not Trump. This is Marco's passion project. Trump doesn't care about foreign policy unless there's some grift opportunity and/or it serves him politically, which is why I think the timing is not an accident. And Hegseth is happy for the chance to be a video-game warrior, never actually having to get his moussed hair mussed.
If Rubio is driving the Latin America ‘policy bus,’ it’s akin to having a drunk driving a school bus. As for Trump, he couldn’t identify Latin American countries on a blank map. His ‘policy time’ is filled by his postings on Truth Social.
Trump is playing as ‘king’ with a royal court of sycophant nincompoops.
Can't think how this will help Little Marco emerge from the clothes dryer. Perhaps he thinks this will be a "slam-dunk" and no need to ask General Petraeus-like questions, such as "tell me how this ends..." Who really knows?
He is going to war for the excuse to suspend the November 2026 elections!!! Do not let this happen!
States, not 47, conduct elections.
Yes, Steve, beware of Friday the 19th! Most of the news media will be perplexed about which story to cover: The US bombing of Venezuela or the Release of the Epstein Files. (FOX, OAN, Newsmax, etc. won’t be perplexed. They will focus on the bombs. Forget the Epstein Hoax.)
Beware of Friday the 19th and be sure to tune in to the Trump speech on the 17th.
The defense that 'we bulldozed all the security infrastructure of the White House when we tore down the East Wing' and therefore MUST proceed with building a ginormous ballroom over it has to be the most ridiculous argument in the history of lawsuits.
A cautious, conservative legal response might be worded thus: PERHAPS YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BROKEN THE LAW BY TEARING DOWN THE EAST WING IN THE FIRST PLACE, ASSHOLES!"
Or tearing down the East Wing in a responsable way as to protect and preserve the security infrastructure. Idiots!!!!
What that is, is irrefutable proof Trump's (ultimate) purpose is to destroy the nation -- most likely to hand it to Putin.
Are you paying attention to what is happening in Russia? In the last week Ukraine took out 2 $400 million submarines in port in the Black Sea. Additionally, the Ukrainians have incapacitated several shadow fleet tankers around the world. They are cutting off supplies of gasoline to Crimea and many other parts of Russia. And Ukraine is still bombing Russian oil facilities every day.
If Putin loses the war or is ousted, then Trump is in big trouble.
Especially if -- ultimate karmic irony -- Putin's tyranny provokes a second communist revolution, the resurrection of the USSR and a new anti-nazi alliance with the rest of Europe -- which then defeats the Christonazis' "Unified Reich" as the Third Reich was defeated in 1945. I can imagine the liberation of the coastal cities and the Blue States in general as joyously ecstatic as the liberation of Paris in 1944...
You can bet on the "most likely " part of your comment Loren. 😉
It's like the young man in court facing conviction for murdering his parents and claiming extenuating circumstances on the grounds that he's an orphan.
ICTT, rebuilding the East Wing makes the most sense. How can we make that happen? Left to build the “ballroom” he will go forward with the equally horrible arch, his Brandenburg Gate.
MLMinET Posted this above. This ain’t about a ballroom. https://thedreydossier.substack.com/p/trump-isnt-building-a-ballroom?r=4j4yo&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay&triedRedirect=true
A great many red flags there impossible to ignore...As with all things Trump, peer beneath the horseshit to find out what's going on.
OMG. Drey Dossier....
Impulse control.
Yup — he ain’t got none.🤪
Yes, and he has never had the ability to control his worst impulses. His dementia also contributes to Trump’s increasing inability to control his worst impulses.
An all too common side effect of having power, of which money is a species.
Sad.
Our reality is 😢 But we have to continue to hope and speak up. We deserve better. Demand accountability.
There’s a calendar on my spreadsheet so we can target our calls/letters/emails/faxes to flood offices in an organized manner.
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Nokings) as a resource to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Add a comment to help keep this bumped ✊ New eyes seeing this means new ripples for change! 🤞
Thank you, Megan. I agree, we’re not those ‘self-made’ westerners waiting for the cavalry. We’re not a hapless lot floating out to sea.
Thanks to you we have NAMES, and contact information. If we feel our representatives are difficult to reach we can organize some go visits. Make it human, disciplined, peaceful.
We also do know where and when to show up… even in winter.
Megan thank you for this spreadsheet!
You’re welcome! Thanks for speaking up right now!
Susie Wiles Says the Quiet Part That Has Been Visible All Along
Perhaps the most striking moment was Wiles’s treatment of the Epstein narrative itself. She confirmed Trump appears in the documents while rejecting the fantasy-driven claims made about others. That distinction matters. It is the difference between evidence and propaganda. Trump’s long documented social proximity to Epstein has never required exaggeration to be disturbing. The record stands on its own. By contrast, the obsessive inflation of Clinton allegations has functioned as a displacement tactic. Wiles punctured that asymmetry, and in doing so exposed how selective outrage has replaced factual accountability.
Her comments on Elon Musk, Russell Vought, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. further illustrated the ideological incoherence of the current governing coalition. An “odd duck” tech oligarch with unchecked influence. A zealot architecting policy from a theocratic blueprint...
https://essayx.substack.com/p/susie-wiles-says-the-quiet-part-that
Thank you, Megan!
thank you.
Thank you for creating it and keeping it updated!
Thanks as always!
If you believe anyone in this “administration” is going to offer any sort of briefing or explanation or come seeking Congressional approval for this war on Venezuela then I have a bridge you may be interested in. Sure hope Schumer, Jeffries et al have a planned next step beyond outcries and pearl clutching.
It might help to have an organized persistent, public demand to restore the Constitution.
i don't think that that alone will do much good J L...
True, but I think most human events, especially those that build more than destroy, are a confluence of factors coming together, and I think if we are to close, or a least get some purchase on this hole in the boundaries of human decency it will need to be approached from many angles. I think that takes an overall commitment to trying to do this right.
The "planned next step" is called winning the mid-terms. Seriously, I always do something of a double-take at hearing this: just what sort of power do you think an arithmetical minority actually has?
You are walking at night and cop points a gun at you and says "hey asshole! Stop or I'll shoot!" You dont stop, of course you dont stop, your rich and white! The cop shoots you and never even sees a courtroom for it, you are dead and the world is a better place.
You know what the cop never needed? A Congressional majority. It's hard to understand why the Republicans in Congress understand this with such clarity and the Democrats in congress not at all.
The power that, somehow, in some mysterious way, causes people to actually _obey_ these dipshits.
Being threatened by a psychotic who goes wink-wink, nudge-nudge to his Proud Boy types 'standing by' to dox or send a pizza to a would-be renegade can go a long way to forcing obedience. A few might go "well, that's another fine mess I've gotten myself into" but most seem oblivious.
They are (not) oblivious; they are gleefully celebrating the fact their racial and misogynistic hatreds -- the latter including apocalyptic hatred of our Mother Earth -- have replaced the Constitution as the cornerstone of national policy.
Clearly there is no plan to stop him. Look at the numbers on Substack. Not enough to make an impact. People may not like what he’s doing. It is, after all, an abomination. But they aren’t willing to do anything. A march every few months is not going to stop him.
Isn't that what Trump is serving up tonight in his speech?
Or maybe how Democrats are responsible for the higher ACA premiums, inflation, and the lousy unemployment numbers
Or how he's ended another 2 wars
Or he's pulling out of NATO
Or all of the above, in a single word salad with a dozen strands of weave, "you know, the weave, I invented the weave"
He's just going to rant about nothing for an hour, while his cronies/Republicans bow before him. Ugh. I sure won't be watching.
Mojave, when I read statements like this one in today's Dr. Richardson's Letter, my anger rises, along with my blood pressure. Here is the statement. "In the case of the strikes on the small boats, the administration has not provided evidence of its claims either to the public or to Congress, whose permission to continue the strikes is REQUIRED by the 1973 War Powers Act, if indeed the country is in armed conflict." Will someone please explain to me why this REQUIREMENT has not been met. I'm sure I see things too simply, but all my long life I've been used to people and institutions being held accountable for their immoral and illegal actions. I'm used to ACTION when unjust and cruel events have happened. I know there's always been corruption, but how can Trump just do what he wants to without action by the Congress to stop him? I guess the fact that Republican Congess members are afraid to criticize him is one answer. I stayed mystified at how difficult it has been to rein in this deranged, incompetent president, who's damaging words and actions to so many continue to prevail and to be normalized.
When the governing body had become immoral and illegal itself, they abdicate their constitutional responsibilities.
Ally, im trying to understand how that governing body became so corrupt so quickly. What a hold Trump has over these people who's responsibility is supposed to be protecting the people.
They are corrupt because 77 million of our fellow Americans put a known corrupt operative in charge and elected a
boot-licking majority to the legislature. The 77 million did this with malicious intent. This is what they voted for. The 77 million are the problem. If a miracle occurs, the legislature might flip in 2026, but until then, we’re shit outta luck.
That is the 64$ question, isn’t it.
I don’t have an answer, except that sometimes the answer is bot not understandable or articulable.
Been waiting…
So basically the person closest to Trump on a daily basis just confirmed much of what we only suspected: he is a mentally ill, racist person with no impulse control who is using the office for his own vendettas, Vance is a craven (and paranoid) opportunist, Vought is a hard-core racist and sexist, they are murdering people in the oceans of another country using false pretenses to force regime change, and Musk is a chronic drug user and it affects his judgment? Did I miss anything?
Honestly, did you or I (or anyone) really need Suzie Trump to confirm what's staring the country right in the face now? The twisted fuck who refers to himself in the third person? The one with eyes so clearly deranged they look like a chameleon's about to open his mouth and snatch a fly off the wall with his tongue, the guy who keeps saying don't believe your own lying eyes?
How much more confirmation of nutty fuckupery do we really need?
We all know it but it's not the informed people on this board who still haven't read the memo! It's still pretty much: 1/3 "He is my Lord and Savior!", 1/3 "WTF!?!?!?" and 1/3 "What's going on and why should I care...why are my groceries so high?" The third group is only now coming around a little and it's because they are paying a little more for some things. Otherwise, completely uninterested in learning more and trying to stop it.
The royal "we".
And they all want as much money and as many assets as they can grab.
The tail is wagging the rat really hard, and the rat is already dead and decomposing, but destroying everything around it. Like the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It will take decades to undo the damage to our scientific and medical research capabilities, to our military and intelligence communities, to our law enforcement and judicial agencies, to our international standing and to our own self-respect. Oh, and the economy is shit too, which appears to be the only thing most Americans care about. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/12/17/trump-national-center-atmospheric-research-climate/
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
So we somehow have ships on the borders of Colombia, Brazil, and Guyana?
Hello Tim.... From HCR Today per DJT... "America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States".... .... DJT's Ignorance is Astounding... I Thought that these are Venezuelan Resources...
No. It’s Donny-boy’s oil now. Why? Becayse he says so.
Hello Dutch Mike... What is notable about the Susan Wiles Interviews, is that there are no Brakes on DJT's Clown Car Of Doom...
Problem is, when it crashes, it will take a whole lotta people _and_ planet Earth with it...
Trump naturally feels himself entitled to other countries’ assets and natural resources.
Trump feels himself entitled to EVERYTHING - the whole world, and all the people and living things in it. It's all his to do with as he pleases.
That’s correct. He doesn’t care about legalities if he wants something.
same as it ever was, D...what invading force asks permission?
Exactly. Rule by force...
Lebensraum...
...but you can't call him Hitler. That is just insulting and disrespectful, boohoo.
Hey, Apache— So, if he could finish a complete thought this would almost make sense.
Chevron is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, and it built (and/or funded) the infrastructure to extract and export oil from there. The country’s national oil company also uses this infrastructure, so as a result, Venezuela, owes Chevron barrels of money.
Chevron, in turn, pays Venezuela for the use of its land, the right to drill, and licensing fees, but that is separate from and barely makes a dent in what the company is owed.
This is where it gets (more) stupid.
Trump put ridiculously high tariffs on Venezuelan oil, like +25%. As if that wasn’t cutting into Chevron’s revenue enough, he declared the country a terrorist state and made it illegal to exchange any money with it or pay its government in currency of any kind.
So Chevron has been paying the fees it owes to Venezuela with oil, and as a result Chevron’s exports from there are down over 50%.
This is all more than the stable genius wants to deal with, I mean, over six bullet points are needed to explain it, so it’s much easier to say Venezuela is stealing the oil Chevron should be drilling, or “our” oil. 🙄
Thanks Tim... I've Read that Chevron has not kept up the Extraction Infrastructure.... The Oil is still a Venezuelan Natural Resource... Ever Wonder Why DJT Has Declared Bankruptsy 6X?.... Regardless, this Situation is a Mess....
I suspect that if Chevron hasn’t maintained the infrastructure it’s out of fear that Maduro would nationalize the industry entirely, and confiscate everything.
Getting him out and installing María Corina Macha, the Nobel laureate who’s already made it clear she will simp for Trump, would solve that.
Hello Tim... "simp"?... That means what?... Venezuela is a Mess... It could have been one of the most Prosperous Countries in the World, but because of Gross Political Mismanagement, it is a Failing State... If DJT succeeds in Regime change, and María Corina Macha is installed, I wish them Luck... DJT will probably install one his Mar-a-Lago Puppets...
Simp; Act a puppet or useful idiot.
“The U.S. should not be “distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation-building,” Hegseth said. “
🤔
He needs to create a crisis so massive and so threatening that he believes he will be able to declare martial law and the suspension of the elections next year. There is nothing…NOTHING…he would not do to save himself. Catastrophic war, chaos and widespread violence are undoubtedly the core of the playbook. He knows the elections will, if allowed to be free and fair, will gut his Congressional majority. He cannot allow that. He does not give a damn about the nation or we the people. He WILL start a war and he WILL use it to sow an international calamity. He care about no one and nothing but himself.
Once again: What if he gave a war and nobody came? Doesn't anyone here remember the 1960s/early 70s?
Unless sane people stop him.
So it will be war with Venezuela "Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us." You couldn't make this stuff up. The man is totally deranged. He belongs in a cage.
When did Venezuela steal land from us, or anything???? Have I been in a coma?
South America stole our name...
Randy loves you❤️
🤣
It’s Trump’s go-to false accusation, accustomed to success as he is when claiming victimization. Except now he’s really gone off the deep end.
Vipers are never victims
That’s how I feel. Since when did it become our land or our oil?
He “remembers” stuff that never happened.
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!! Excuse me for using Trump's writing technique but we have all got to stand up and say NO. This madman and his band of idiots have got to be stopped now. He is committing murder and piracy on the high seas and now is starting a war. We have not heard one good reason for any of this and I will not be sending my grandchildren off to war to stroke this idiots ego. It is time to hit the streets and not stop until he is gone.
I’m so with you. I’ll go to jail for whatever it may take to keep my only grandchild from sharing his grandfather’s fate.
Janet, you are my hero. I was so touched by your words.
Where is the orange felon getting the idea that US land was taken? He is totally insane.
The “they stole our land and our oil” argument is bonkers. Maybe on the land, they (bc I do not think Trump is doing this alone, this is Miller & co) see the “invasion” by immigrant workers as taking our land, much as Vance blames housing prices on immigrant people?
So we justify starting a war because we have some Venezuelan immigrants in this country? What stupid person would even buy this argument? (I know-the 1/3 that still approve).
That worthless bitch Wiles demonstrated in her interviews that she is the worst, most incompetent person to ever cosplay as "Chief of Staff" in the history of such a position in the White House. The rest of them prove themselves thieves and lackeys and criminals guilty of crimes against humanity. Traitors to America, every one of them.
They al - every damned one of these traitors - needs to be hanged, drawn and quarted. In public. And then the bodies tossed in an anonymous pit to return to soil. Covered over and unmarked.
And every ICE thug also needs to be hanged for crimes against humanity.
There cannot be any of this bullshit about "leaving the past behind to concentrate on the future, as Obama and Biden stupidly did. The Republican party needs to be *destroyed*.
This time, the traitors don't get to take their horses home for the spring planting.
None of them have any immunity for official actions so the next admin can go after them. So many crimes to investigate.
This country does not want to admit that vipers have committed war crimes in our name. We’ve had some doozies. We paint their portraits, hang them beside our founders, Abe, FDR, etc., and pretend to revere them or sane wash the criminal behavior. Bush and Cheney were guilty of so much with the support of Republicans, many of whom now denounce chump. We need to call them what they are, but, like elections these days, so much opposition to calling things what they are. Orwellian is the word of the day. Although “slop” has a ring to it….
I have zero interest in “reconciliation” after this is all over. We made that mistake after the civil war and let the cancer cells regrow and metastasize. The fascist traitorous organization that has become the Republican Party needs to be outlawed and dismantled. Eventually another center-right party will emerge but the GOP has to go, its members should be given one chance and one only to recant, its buildings and infrastructure should be seized and converted to public use, and its funds should be distributed to all who have been hurt by their actions of this terrible time. The country needs a complete and total reboot, with the virus contained and eliminated, when this is done.
Mapping Trump's rush to another war and what it will cost America.
Trump attacks Venezuela to distract from the Epstein files. What will his stunt cost American taxpayers?https://thedemlabs.org/2025/12/15/trump-attacks-venezuela-distract-epstein-files/
Could Venezuela be America's next Vietnam? How many Americans may die fighting there?
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/10/21/venezuela-is-america-next-vietnam-trump-illegal-war/
Trump seizes Venezuelan ship: Remember the ship attack that sparked the Vietnam war?https://thedemlabs.org/2025/12/11/trump-seizes-venezuelan-ship-gulf-of-tonkin-ship-attack-vietnam-war/
Trump pardons big drug dealers while Hegseth blows up tiny alleged drug boats: Follow the hypocrisy.
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/12/11/trump-pardons-big-drug-dealers-while-hegseth-blows-up-tiny-alleged-drug-boats-hypocrisy/
... and Rob Reiner vs Donald Trump: Compare their legacies
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/12/16/rob-reiner-trump-legacies/
Refuse to fund this fiasco, start date Dec 19, surprise
Is dt&co trying to stage a horrible real live sequel to the pirates of the Caribbean? Or, do they really believe they are so untouchable that they can do anything they want with no repercussions? And a (fake) peace prize for what, waging war at home and abroad? Screwy, all of it. The sooner this bad show ends the better.
"Donald Trump believes 'there’s nothing he can’t do, nothing, zero' as US president, the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, said in a rare interview that shines an unvarnished spotlight on his second administration."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/16/susie-wiles-trump-interview
He says that himself. The bully won…
We'll see.
Thank you Professor HCR
Maybe a little slow here .. What oil and land has been taken from the U.S.? Genuinely curious if this has ANY salience as I"m not familiar with our history with Venezuela, but that seems a very bizarre excuse.
Also, when has it been up to a school to complete or do a manhunt for a shooter at any University, College, or a school from K-12?
Maybe I’m just a bit nuts to think that the FBI Director should be involved in finding the person who murdered two young students, Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov and there are nine students still in the hospital suffering from gun shot wounds that occurred at Brown University.
Yet FBI Director Kash Patel plays hooky from his job to do a podcast with his girlfriend with Stephen Miller’s wife instead of directing the manhunt for the Brown University shooter, who by the way is STILL ON THE LOOSE! And this dimwit again, placed on now the official way to communicate anything and everything is by way of that Musk owned social platform known as “X” misinformation about the perpetrator because he’s the most incompetent, inept individual ever to oversee the FBI ever since its inception. And frankly don’t like to call anything “X” because it sounds like a really low grade porn movie from the 70’s and it’s nasty and I’m not using a damn thing owned by Musk ever.
Good lord this regime is blowing up boats in the Atlantic and the Pacific with no real credible intel. Our country, all of us as American’s in this country are murdering people because of this regime with no reason except by some say so from a guy who’s now the Secretary of (War) instead of Defense who’s possible an alcoholic because a 79 year old feeble man and this incompetent idiot both like to play the kids game Battleship is absolutely bonkers!!
If that orange-bronzed-makeup packed baboon thinks anybody wants to listen to his annoying voice and all his lies he’s sadly mistaken. He can’t go one day in fact an hour without a microphone shoved in his face or be on multiple social media platforms..
FFS… let the damn drugs in cause this earth 2 is nuttier than Aunt Gertie’s fruitcake…Sorry for venting …
Patel is glued to social media. Obviously it’s all he cares about. He keeps getting it wrong btw. Let him go back to social media FT.
Yep you’re absolutely correct.. He can find a basement somewhere and peddle away his life into obscurity..
I’m wondering the same thing about the land and oil. He’s manufacturing a reason for war but the facts are easily proving him wrong but will anyone call him out on this?
Have no idea where that Felon is going with this whole situation blowing up boats and murdering g people.. it’s horrific…
Good article from Professor Robert Reich today. He posed the questions as to what is tRump’s driver for Venezuela. Can’t even think about crawling into that noggin of hate of that Felon, but Reich’s article thought provoking. Learn something new everyday ..may want to check it out..
It pains me to think that "...released on Twitter" has become the new "...released an official statement" reflects how our government operates and "communicates" with us.
Totally agree - Same here. In order to get the “official statement” from our government. The thought of needing to give the man making a Trillion dollars a year in a salary excluding the all the other perks is by far nauseating and so far off the ideals of this country.. smh way too often anymore
I had to go off-hand; my head was getting misshapen from all the smacks with my right hand...
LOLOL