And worse still, Xi made it clear he understands the U.S. is in decline, economically, militarily and politically. And he knows how desperate Trump is, for assistance getting the Strait of Hormuz open, so we can only assume he used that leverage to secure Trump’s commitment to completely abandon our past support for Taiwan, as China seems poised to conquer its much smaller, democratic neighbor. Should this come to pass, China will have demonstrated its dominance over the U.S. and no amount of spin doctoring will undo any of the historic damage as the U.S. becomes designated as a former superpower.
Donald Trump is as horrid as always and his crimes know no bounds. Even though he is cognitively slipping, and is at a point where he cannot learn new things, a necessary requirement for his job, he still remembers how to steal, grift and kill. He is an international war criminal, and a criminal in his own land, on his own throne as he would have it. He is surrounded by people who are willing participants in all his crimes and he in their crimes. Do we trust these people? NO! Do we trust anything this regime does or tells us? NO! Do we trust him on anything? NO!
Xi was able to gaslight Trump without Trump realizing it. He sent little girls to greet him referring to the Epstein files, and I heard he gave Trump rose seeds referring to the Rose garden that Trump mowed down. He also made a deal with Boeing that was 300 planes less than he had originally ordered. And, he will probably not order more than one. That is all that is needed to copy it and then produce the same planes faster for less money, and then undercut Boeings market. The same with anything else the US was promised. Xi does not fulfill these deals that he makes with Trump, but then Trump does not fulfill deals he makes either. And, that is the only way in which they are currently equals. Trump is destroying the US position in the world, which under him is for the best. Less influence and he can do less damage. Hopefully some day an international court will hold him accountable. Meanwhile it is up to us.
CNBC has detailed Trump's stock "deals" in Q1 2026:
"President Donald Trump reported thousands of financial transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars — including large purchases and sales of tech giants Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta — in the first three months of 2026, new disclosure forms reveal."
"Trump’s filings with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics show more than 3,700 transactions, with the total amount for each listed as a range rather than an exact figure" per CNBC.
So considering the Trump Transactions, which became public on Thursday, 5/14/26, the "range" are valued somewhere between $220 million & $750 million according to a Reuters' analysis. So that's conflicts (COI's) in a range up to 3/4 of a billion with a "B" Bigly dollars.
Late Breaking News: Xi Jinping Offers Trump 50 Billion in Crypto to Stay Out of Taiwan
(Spoof)
May 15, 2026
An administrative assistant high up in the Chinese government secretly recorded a conversation between President Trump and the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and immediately boarded an international flight to an unknown destination. The recording has been analyzed by voice recognition officials and the voices are genuine. The following is a verbatim recording of the private conversation.
General Secretary Xi: “You know Donny we will not allow Taiwan to remain rogue forever. America must not interfere with our affairs.”
President Trump: “Maybe we should talk about building a Trump Hotel along the Yellow River. What do you think, Xi?”
General Secretary Xi: “Stop beating around the bush, Donny. I know what you came here for. The only question is how many pieces of Kung Pao Chicken you want.
President Trump: “50 I want 50 big pieces. Do you get the message? I want 50 billion in crypto and you can invade Taiwan tomorrow. Forget about the hotel. Your people won’t visit. I want 50 Kung Pao Chicken now do we understand each other?”
General Secretary Xi: “We must proclaim something of an international agreement as a cover. The world mustn’t know that I bought off your big fat ass for 50 billion dollars. Let’s say you are lowering the tariffs and China agrees to buy all your soybeans for the next 10 years. OK?”
President Trump: “I’m very glad that we have made this honorable arrangement. It must remain a secret. Go invade and liberate your island. My son Eric will be waiting for the deposit.”
General Secretary Xi: “Let’s go eat some Kung Pao.”
(From my blog you are welcome to join there is no pay wall)
I don’t envy the job of whatever aide they chose to explain to Dump what a Thucydides Trap is.
On a side note, Graham Allison’s Harvard Ph.D thesis on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis remains the go-to analysis for all political scientists. “Where you sit is where you stand” — his phrase describing who had President Kennedy’s ear during this time remains a meme for understanding the sources of real power. As Allison roughly put it, the outcome was eventually determined by three parties — the United States, the Soviet Union and the US Air Force, with compromises made by all three in order to diffuse the most dangerous moment in global history.
I’ve been unfairly critical of Bob Dylan for more than six decades. To be fair to myself, it wouldn’t surprised me if Bob’s been unfairly critical of Bob for six decades. We should be thankful that he wasn’t like everyone else — pretending not to see what was coming — instead of jumping to the dubious conclusion that he was wrong because he didn’t know precisely how long it would take.
So … to be more specific … the “dubious conclusion” is that the first one now will later be last right away. It was dubious because MY brain added the last two words (even though trying to be patient for decade after decade not knowing when it will happen is frustrating).
Now … “the slow one” (aka: me) suddenly got fast when a “the best time for the first one now to later be last was six decades ago and the second-best time is now” idea popped in my head, then the “First Family” concept popped into my head, then the “Oh … I get it. It’s the other way round!” idea popped into my head, and then my already very high opinion of Bob suddenly improved significantly. And I say “fast” because all the popping happened in rapid succession.
So, in practical terms, from Honest Abe and Company to Dissembling Don Limited, tick tock. And known that when you pretend you’re being threatened, or that it’s a surprise to see the karma seeds you’ve been planting everywhere are growing, all we’re going to say is, “Get a bathrobe.”
I'm happy to discuss what's happening as long as point is the metaphorical horns and how we're going to stop pointing them at the metaphorical cape and start making the metaphorical matador think about the possibility that we figured that out.
Our idiot would be dictator returns from China bragging about his fantastic dealings with Xi and the results he’s so proud of:
“I sort of, I think it was a commitment. I mean, you know, it was sort of like a statement, but I think it was a commitment. It’s a great thing. It’s a lot of jobs.”
This gas bag has come up with a sequel without a ghostwriter this time…
The Fart of the Steal.
It truly amazes me that Trump and his cast of caricatures can continue to find new ways to lower the bar and debase the USA.
‘The Fart of the Deal’ indeed Larry. Trump has the energy of the loud drunken uncle at Christmas who corners everyone near the potato bake explaining his “big business deal” with the bloke at the pub — except this uncle somehow got the nuclear codes and an international press conference. The frightening part isn’t the incoherence anymore, it’s watching half the family nod along politely while the house quietly burns down around them.
Xi gave him a little box of takeout Sweet and Sour Pork for the trip back home, together with an extra egg roll, in case he gets the munchies during his late-night gaslight shade tweeting. Xi told him it was “a really big trade deal.”
There was a dish that the Chinese were rumored to have named for Nixon after his visit in 1972. Sweet & Sour Dick is what they apparently came up with and would be suitable leftovers to send Donold off on his mad tweet-a-thon home.
Hearing Trump go on and on about his wonderful "relationship" with Xi reminded me of the wonderful "love affair" he had with Kim Jong Un. Wasn't Trump also going to keep North Korea from developing a nuclear bomb? How did that turn out?
Trump insultingly called Kim Jong Un 'Little Rocket Man' but North Korea did already have nuclear weapons by then. They've had them for about 20 years now, the first successful nuclear test was in October 2006.
#shorts - Drey Dossier responds to Kevin O’Leary 40,000 acre Stratos Data Center in Utah and Trump deregulation on quick profits. (link to audio-video)
*the Stratos Data Center continues from yesterday’s news & protests*
Stratos Project in Box Elder County. A 40,000-acre data center and natural gas power plant complex in Box Elder County, backed by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary. Nine gigawatts at full capacity. More than double Utah’s entire current power consumption. A 50 percent increase in the state’s carbon emissions.
Big Money acts like it owns the US, and it trying to do so literally. It's a hell of a way to celebrate the signing of The Declaration of Independence.
For sure, but I think we should acknowledge the 250th anniversary of the Declaration in respectfully and accurately, somehow visibly contrasting Trump's certain garish "medicine shows".
We've done a very effective job of boycotting the Kennedy Center which will likely remain closed until 2029.
Apparently, the dimwitted Republicans on SCOTUS didn't understand the implications of allowing Trump to do anything he wants. He is spending our money with reckless abandoned on monuments to himself.
Do you think he even knows he single handedly lost the war with Iran?
The CLARITY Act (Trump's Crypto bill) is a huge conflict of interest with a July 4 White House deadline to sign it into law. If it passes, it could destablize the entire world's economy. Call/write your Senators -- (202) 224-3121) -- to demand #noclarityact.
"Trump's Crypto Bill Just Cleared Committee—Here's What It Actually Does" -
the clock is real regarding The CLARITY Act (Trump's Crypto bill) is a huge conflict of interest with a July 4 White House deadline to sign it into law. 🔥 Everyone write to your Senators and Elizabeth Warren understands this — Share far & wide ✅ the video of Elizabeth Warren is embedded in above link from UNFTR
Elites? Insiders? Billionaire CEOs to China with criminal Donald?
George Packer has a deft take on how today’s near-total corruption has taken over.
Talking with Preet Bharara on the latter’s podcast, the former gave the example of how Silicon Valley AI czar David Sacks arranged with criminal Donald to have the American taxpayer ready to bail out all the most reckless when their meme coin Ponzi schemes crash.
George Packer called this newest arrangement “a form of corruption by warping the public interest for private purposes.”
One frequent commenter here, Jay Jay, put it another way. He recently referred to people who "will not bear to see others hungry, unhoused or unhappy."
This parallels the podcaster (and also frequent commenter to Heather’s) Michael Corthell, whose own most recent reference to the difference between democracy and autocracy noted how "A democracy asks, 'What do we owe one another?'”
Both Jay Jay’s and Michael’s favoring democracy rely on the possibility that others in our public life read enough novels, memoirs, and histories on our human (and natural) conditions, or see the movies, hear the songs that do.
Do schools nurture humane literacy? Or have they replaced that with the instruments instead for abstracting, numbering, quantifying, grouping, commodifying, and packaging life – elites also cynical enough to rape the 1,200 underage girls and young women other dehumanized trafficked to them?
"the difference between democracy and autocracy noted how "A democracy asks, 'What do we owe one another?'”
Exactly. Not just thy brother's keeper; freedom in a social sense (as opposed to the solitary sense of a hermit in a wilderness) exists to the extent we recognize and respect the boundaries of one another's unalienable rights, and that maintains them as unalienable, as it is obvious at points in history where rights are NOT defended. Our civilization is based on a social contract. Adults used to tell us kids back in the Jurassic that with freedom comes responsibility.
When I think of all the crap is was told as a kiddo, it's a wonder I can think at all.
'Cept some of it WAS true, and that was part of it.
True enough but high school and college were bright spots for me. Middle school (we called it Jr. High) was a mix and elementary school was a slog. Though an urban public school, it was more like church school in several ways, and with respect to history in particular, a lot of what we were taught was just plain unsupportable folklore. Many of the organized activities for boys unrelated to school fed us more folklore.
Getting rid of yet disproportionate folklore, J L?
We can think of this need now in the era of AI. Very positive uses. And also extinction level threats.
Criminal Donald and soon Taiwan-grabbing-Xi could have agreed to smart people dealing seriously with the regulations AI needs.
But nowhere in the world will smart, decent people surface so long as so many schools remain in the hands of those speaking exclusively euphemism, cliché, slogans, group identity orthodoxies, plus all the quantifying, dehumanized rationality, and packaging conceits built in all machine-gradable testing.
We all need a basic kit of socially necessary skills and we need to agree on a workable social lingua franca. We are wise to value and even encourage responsible forms of diversity. Yes to solidarity and no to conformity. No to stratified societies and authoritarianism. I think this fits with a dynamic, fruitful, education, and fits with foundational American philosophical ideals.
I doubt that everybody who heard that song was aware that the color rendering in Kodachrome slide film really was pumped up for brighter, more colorful shots. Pros were more partial to less advertised Ektachome, that rendered color more faithfully. Both were Kodak products.
Yes, school testing leads straight to rape! Stop reading novels and POOF! You turn into Jeffrey Epstein, quicker than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Brilliant! Why haven’t all of us figured that out? 🤪
I found White House spokesperson David Ingle's statement that Trump "only acts in the best interests of the American public" immensely calming. No conflicts of interests. Well, of course not, perish the thought. Lovely pictures from Beijing: interesting to note that Trump is shorter than Xi. Xi is reported to stand at 5'11. Ten years ago, Trump was reported to be 6'3".
One hardly missed Melania from the pictures: Ms Harp was always there amidst the dark suits.
When I worked for a big multinational, before sending executives to China and Japan they made them attend training sessions and read books on Oriental ways of communication and how to interpret them. Near the top of the list, as I recall, was "Yes" does not mean yes.
And that corporation wouldn't have been a successful multinational if it hadn't learned about other cultures! Would you agree, broadly, that the west operates linearly, directly, while China is indirect and moves along a circle?
Thus, "yes" might not mean "yes," but it also doesn't mean "no." "Yes" and "no" are endings, and the Chinese know there is no ending to a circle, just more possibilities along the Way.
At this point all I can hope for is a finger to come down and write the words found in the book of Daniel for another tyrant. And it’s not just him. Another account of the Epstein links links Wilbur Ross to the mayhem and shenanigans of an elite cloistered thread of diabolical mostly male criminals. The finger needs to write the words on our sky in every language .
The only thing I sometimes think about re Trump is what planet he is actually living on - his mindset certainly doesn't reconcile with the reality on this planet.
King Donnie DuFu the Consumate Perp's rendition of his China trip and the state of affairs domestically and around the globe is packed full of gibberish deceit and conceit! Find a circus for this clown who seems to think WE THE PEOPLE are idiots who believe his sham.
It seems that State visits by Trump Administration are not geared to deal with issues that are essential to the US, rather they are geared to sell pots and pans to those who make pots and pans more efficiently that the US.
#shorts - follow-up to yesterdays Stratos Data Center -Yay for a small WIN, still shows that #ResistanceCounts - Save the Great Salt Lake, which is in drought crisis
Trump may be under the thumb of Russia and Putin, but it looks like China may be the winner of the global power vacuum.
Putin's folly in Ukraine has weakened Russia and Xi played Trump like a cheap fiddle.
And worse still, Xi made it clear he understands the U.S. is in decline, economically, militarily and politically. And he knows how desperate Trump is, for assistance getting the Strait of Hormuz open, so we can only assume he used that leverage to secure Trump’s commitment to completely abandon our past support for Taiwan, as China seems poised to conquer its much smaller, democratic neighbor. Should this come to pass, China will have demonstrated its dominance over the U.S. and no amount of spin doctoring will undo any of the historic damage as the U.S. becomes designated as a former superpower.
Donald Trump is as horrid as always and his crimes know no bounds. Even though he is cognitively slipping, and is at a point where he cannot learn new things, a necessary requirement for his job, he still remembers how to steal, grift and kill. He is an international war criminal, and a criminal in his own land, on his own throne as he would have it. He is surrounded by people who are willing participants in all his crimes and he in their crimes. Do we trust these people? NO! Do we trust anything this regime does or tells us? NO! Do we trust him on anything? NO!
Xi was able to gaslight Trump without Trump realizing it. He sent little girls to greet him referring to the Epstein files, and I heard he gave Trump rose seeds referring to the Rose garden that Trump mowed down. He also made a deal with Boeing that was 300 planes less than he had originally ordered. And, he will probably not order more than one. That is all that is needed to copy it and then produce the same planes faster for less money, and then undercut Boeings market. The same with anything else the US was promised. Xi does not fulfill these deals that he makes with Trump, but then Trump does not fulfill deals he makes either. And, that is the only way in which they are currently equals. Trump is destroying the US position in the world, which under him is for the best. Less influence and he can do less damage. Hopefully some day an international court will hold him accountable. Meanwhile it is up to us.
If you are a US citizen or have US residency, would you please read my piece explaining the campaign to impeach Trump and his cabinet and help us get 2 million signatures by signing the petition in it? https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/indivisible-abroad-supports-the-impeach?r=f0qfn
If you can't find the link to the petition in the above piece, here it is.
https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/
CNBC has detailed Trump's stock "deals" in Q1 2026:
"President Donald Trump reported thousands of financial transactions totaling hundreds of millions of dollars — including large purchases and sales of tech giants Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta — in the first three months of 2026, new disclosure forms reveal."
"Trump’s filings with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics show more than 3,700 transactions, with the total amount for each listed as a range rather than an exact figure" per CNBC.
So considering the Trump Transactions, which became public on Thursday, 5/14/26, the "range" are valued somewhere between $220 million & $750 million according to a Reuters' analysis. So that's conflicts (COI's) in a range up to 3/4 of a billion with a "B" Bigly dollars.
Late Breaking News: Xi Jinping Offers Trump 50 Billion in Crypto to Stay Out of Taiwan
(Spoof)
May 15, 2026
An administrative assistant high up in the Chinese government secretly recorded a conversation between President Trump and the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and immediately boarded an international flight to an unknown destination. The recording has been analyzed by voice recognition officials and the voices are genuine. The following is a verbatim recording of the private conversation.
General Secretary Xi: “You know Donny we will not allow Taiwan to remain rogue forever. America must not interfere with our affairs.”
President Trump: “Maybe we should talk about building a Trump Hotel along the Yellow River. What do you think, Xi?”
General Secretary Xi: “Stop beating around the bush, Donny. I know what you came here for. The only question is how many pieces of Kung Pao Chicken you want.
President Trump: “50 I want 50 big pieces. Do you get the message? I want 50 billion in crypto and you can invade Taiwan tomorrow. Forget about the hotel. Your people won’t visit. I want 50 Kung Pao Chicken now do we understand each other?”
General Secretary Xi: “We must proclaim something of an international agreement as a cover. The world mustn’t know that I bought off your big fat ass for 50 billion dollars. Let’s say you are lowering the tariffs and China agrees to buy all your soybeans for the next 10 years. OK?”
President Trump: “I’m very glad that we have made this honorable arrangement. It must remain a secret. Go invade and liberate your island. My son Eric will be waiting for the deposit.”
General Secretary Xi: “Let’s go eat some Kung Pao.”
(From my blog you are welcome to join there is no pay wall)
I don’t envy the job of whatever aide they chose to explain to Dump what a Thucydides Trap is.
On a side note, Graham Allison’s Harvard Ph.D thesis on the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis remains the go-to analysis for all political scientists. “Where you sit is where you stand” — his phrase describing who had President Kennedy’s ear during this time remains a meme for understanding the sources of real power. As Allison roughly put it, the outcome was eventually determined by three parties — the United States, the Soviet Union and the US Air Force, with compromises made by all three in order to diffuse the most dangerous moment in global history.
I’ve been unfairly critical of Bob Dylan for more than six decades. To be fair to myself, it wouldn’t surprised me if Bob’s been unfairly critical of Bob for six decades. We should be thankful that he wasn’t like everyone else — pretending not to see what was coming — instead of jumping to the dubious conclusion that he was wrong because he didn’t know precisely how long it would take.
So … to be more specific … the “dubious conclusion” is that the first one now will later be last right away. It was dubious because MY brain added the last two words (even though trying to be patient for decade after decade not knowing when it will happen is frustrating).
Now … “the slow one” (aka: me) suddenly got fast when a “the best time for the first one now to later be last was six decades ago and the second-best time is now” idea popped in my head, then the “First Family” concept popped into my head, then the “Oh … I get it. It’s the other way round!” idea popped into my head, and then my already very high opinion of Bob suddenly improved significantly. And I say “fast” because all the popping happened in rapid succession.
So, in practical terms, from Honest Abe and Company to Dissembling Don Limited, tick tock. And known that when you pretend you’re being threatened, or that it’s a surprise to see the karma seeds you’ve been planting everywhere are growing, all we’re going to say is, “Get a bathrobe.”
Per Bob:
🎶 Broken idols, Broken rules, Broken treaties, Broken vows, Broken hands on Broken ploughs 🎶
🎶 Ain't no use Talkin', nothin's Workin',
Ain't no use Jivin', ain't no use Jokin' everything is broken" 🎶
Per Bob, "you better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone."
Per me:
“You’ve been sold a high-priced bill of goods.
He’ll turn all your friends into mean ugly hoods.
He’ll say he’s not done nothing wrong at all.
Then put you in detention halls.”
(/From “Blue Daze” YouTube “ Catman Bill - Hartford)
I'm happy to discuss what's happening as long as point is the metaphorical horns and how we're going to stop pointing them at the metaphorical cape and start making the metaphorical matador think about the possibility that we figured that out.
Trump traveled to China with a box of white flags. Taiwan and Europe should take this very seriously.
Like a pawnshop banjo!
Don’t leave Netanyahu.out. He’s got Trump’s attention.
: (
🔥🇺🇸🔥
🔥🎻🔥
🔥🗽🔥
Courtesy of POTUS #47, Donald - J for “Judas” - TRUMP
Which he is, were we showering him with compliments!
Our idiot would be dictator returns from China bragging about his fantastic dealings with Xi and the results he’s so proud of:
“I sort of, I think it was a commitment. I mean, you know, it was sort of like a statement, but I think it was a commitment. It’s a great thing. It’s a lot of jobs.”
This gas bag has come up with a sequel without a ghostwriter this time…
The Fart of the Steal.
It truly amazes me that Trump and his cast of caricatures can continue to find new ways to lower the bar and debase the USA.
‘The Fart of the Deal’ indeed Larry. Trump has the energy of the loud drunken uncle at Christmas who corners everyone near the potato bake explaining his “big business deal” with the bloke at the pub — except this uncle somehow got the nuclear codes and an international press conference. The frightening part isn’t the incoherence anymore, it’s watching half the family nod along politely while the house quietly burns down around them.
Xi gave him a little box of takeout Sweet and Sour Pork for the trip back home, together with an extra egg roll, in case he gets the munchies during his late-night gaslight shade tweeting. Xi told him it was “a really big trade deal.”
Trump said “I could eat Chinese food every day” to which Xi replied “we do”.
Sooooo stupid he doesn’t even realize when he has been insulted and made a fool of.
🤡
There was a dish that the Chinese were rumored to have named for Nixon after his visit in 1972. Sweet & Sour Dick is what they apparently came up with and would be suitable leftovers to send Donold off on his mad tweet-a-thon home.
How about f**k the ruling class.
...the Epstein class
Not so good, Mike, given the fate of the 1,200 underage girls and young women.
Yep, that works.
Hearing Trump go on and on about his wonderful "relationship" with Xi reminded me of the wonderful "love affair" he had with Kim Jong Un. Wasn't Trump also going to keep North Korea from developing a nuclear bomb? How did that turn out?
I think that was a done deal, but KIm "flattered" Trump. Iran did not.
Iran has concerns for Palestinians, J L, especially in West Bank, which few others do.
Trump insultingly called Kim Jong Un 'Little Rocket Man' but North Korea did already have nuclear weapons by then. They've had them for about 20 years now, the first successful nuclear test was in October 2006.
#shorts - Drey Dossier responds to Kevin O’Leary 40,000 acre Stratos Data Center in Utah and Trump deregulation on quick profits. (link to audio-video)
*the Stratos Data Center continues from yesterday’s news & protests*
https://substack.com/@thedreydossier/note/c-258281068?r=kxzps&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Stratos Project in Box Elder County. A 40,000-acre data center and natural gas power plant complex in Box Elder County, backed by Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary. Nine gigawatts at full capacity. More than double Utah’s entire current power consumption. A 50 percent increase in the state’s carbon emissions.
Big Money acts like it owns the US, and it trying to do so literally. It's a hell of a way to celebrate the signing of The Declaration of Independence.
We should boycott any shindig that Trump organizes, like how we boycotted his birthday tank parade last year. codeword: crickets
For sure, but I think we should acknowledge the 250th anniversary of the Declaration in respectfully and accurately, somehow visibly contrasting Trump's certain garish "medicine shows".
JL Graham, the criminal is trying to rig the largest crypto heist of the century in the next few weeks.
A heist, JaKsaa, which requires our rescue of the Ponzi leaders such as Donald.
We've done a very effective job of boycotting the Kennedy Center which will likely remain closed until 2029.
Apparently, the dimwitted Republicans on SCOTUS didn't understand the implications of allowing Trump to do anything he wants. He is spending our money with reckless abandoned on monuments to himself.
Do you think he even knows he single handedly lost the war with Iran?
Again, ref. "Eddington".
Corruption, betrayal, loyalty to none but himself.
The CLARITY Act (Trump's Crypto bill) is a huge conflict of interest with a July 4 White House deadline to sign it into law. If it passes, it could destablize the entire world's economy. Call/write your Senators -- (202) 224-3121) -- to demand #noclarityact.
"Trump's Crypto Bill Just Cleared Committee—Here's What It Actually Does" -
https://youtu.be/TWbD-_UyrfQ?si=XE5DHkGaJymeDmfF
thanks DC Policy Geek - 👺 UNFUKNBLVBL
https://youtu.be/TWbD-_UyrfQ?si=XE5DHkGaJymeDmfF
the clock is real regarding The CLARITY Act (Trump's Crypto bill) is a huge conflict of interest with a July 4 White House deadline to sign it into law. 🔥 Everyone write to your Senators and Elizabeth Warren understands this — Share far & wide ✅ the video of Elizabeth Warren is embedded in above link from UNFTR
Thanks, DC. This is way over my head. Warner is one of my Senators. I'll be sure to urge him to vote no.
What a mess. Can the GOP please become a real party again?
No. It needs to die. A stake through its dumb, treasonous heart, please. Die, Dracula, Die…
It is a "party" in Orwell's sense. It ceased to be "the party of Lincoln" long ago except in name.
Sorry, speaking as a life long Dumocrst, the Greedy Old Parasites need to be gone.
The Rapepublicsns are a disgrace following this pedophile with their tails wagging and tongues hanging out. They are useless.
Elites? Insiders? Billionaire CEOs to China with criminal Donald?
George Packer has a deft take on how today’s near-total corruption has taken over.
Talking with Preet Bharara on the latter’s podcast, the former gave the example of how Silicon Valley AI czar David Sacks arranged with criminal Donald to have the American taxpayer ready to bail out all the most reckless when their meme coin Ponzi schemes crash.
George Packer called this newest arrangement “a form of corruption by warping the public interest for private purposes.”
One frequent commenter here, Jay Jay, put it another way. He recently referred to people who "will not bear to see others hungry, unhoused or unhappy."
This parallels the podcaster (and also frequent commenter to Heather’s) Michael Corthell, whose own most recent reference to the difference between democracy and autocracy noted how "A democracy asks, 'What do we owe one another?'”
Both Jay Jay’s and Michael’s favoring democracy rely on the possibility that others in our public life read enough novels, memoirs, and histories on our human (and natural) conditions, or see the movies, hear the songs that do.
Do schools nurture humane literacy? Or have they replaced that with the instruments instead for abstracting, numbering, quantifying, grouping, commodifying, and packaging life – elites also cynical enough to rape the 1,200 underage girls and young women other dehumanized trafficked to them?
"the difference between democracy and autocracy noted how "A democracy asks, 'What do we owe one another?'”
Exactly. Not just thy brother's keeper; freedom in a social sense (as opposed to the solitary sense of a hermit in a wilderness) exists to the extent we recognize and respect the boundaries of one another's unalienable rights, and that maintains them as unalienable, as it is obvious at points in history where rights are NOT defended. Our civilization is based on a social contract. Adults used to tell us kids back in the Jurassic that with freedom comes responsibility.
When I think of all the crap is was told as a kiddo, it's a wonder I can think at all.
'Cept some of it WAS true, and that was part of it.
Actually, J L, the lyrics of "Kodachrome" go:
When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school /
It's a wonder I can think at all
True enough but high school and college were bright spots for me. Middle school (we called it Jr. High) was a mix and elementary school was a slog. Though an urban public school, it was more like church school in several ways, and with respect to history in particular, a lot of what we were taught was just plain unsupportable folklore. Many of the organized activities for boys unrelated to school fed us more folklore.
Getting rid of yet disproportionate folklore, J L?
We can think of this need now in the era of AI. Very positive uses. And also extinction level threats.
Criminal Donald and soon Taiwan-grabbing-Xi could have agreed to smart people dealing seriously with the regulations AI needs.
But nowhere in the world will smart, decent people surface so long as so many schools remain in the hands of those speaking exclusively euphemism, cliché, slogans, group identity orthodoxies, plus all the quantifying, dehumanized rationality, and packaging conceits built in all machine-gradable testing.
We all need a basic kit of socially necessary skills and we need to agree on a workable social lingua franca. We are wise to value and even encourage responsible forms of diversity. Yes to solidarity and no to conformity. No to stratified societies and authoritarianism. I think this fits with a dynamic, fruitful, education, and fits with foundational American philosophical ideals.
🎶Kodachrome! ✔️
I doubt that everybody who heard that song was aware that the color rendering in Kodachrome slide film really was pumped up for brighter, more colorful shots. Pros were more partial to less advertised Ektachome, that rendered color more faithfully. Both were Kodak products.
Yes, school testing leads straight to rape! Stop reading novels and POOF! You turn into Jeffrey Epstein, quicker than Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Brilliant! Why haven’t all of us figured that out? 🤪
Your own personal experience has taught you, ICTT, testing can be balanced.
Seeing it as one linear automatic causality only defies the decent respect all might have for many possible accompanying contexts.
zzzz…. 😴
I found White House spokesperson David Ingle's statement that Trump "only acts in the best interests of the American public" immensely calming. No conflicts of interests. Well, of course not, perish the thought. Lovely pictures from Beijing: interesting to note that Trump is shorter than Xi. Xi is reported to stand at 5'11. Ten years ago, Trump was reported to be 6'3".
One hardly missed Melania from the pictures: Ms Harp was always there amidst the dark suits.
Did you catch Eric Trump's wide smile as he said how much he loves China, even as he continued to claim he has no business there?
When I worked for a big multinational, before sending executives to China and Japan they made them attend training sessions and read books on Oriental ways of communication and how to interpret them. Near the top of the list, as I recall, was "Yes" does not mean yes.
And that corporation wouldn't have been a successful multinational if it hadn't learned about other cultures! Would you agree, broadly, that the west operates linearly, directly, while China is indirect and moves along a circle?
Thus, "yes" might not mean "yes," but it also doesn't mean "no." "Yes" and "no" are endings, and the Chinese know there is no ending to a circle, just more possibilities along the Way.
Mainly the most corrupted parts of the west operate linearly, Susan.
Western humanities teach far differently than our assembly line rational, our packaging corporate dehumanized.
LOL, Anne-Louise...I think!
(Laughter) Yup.
At this point all I can hope for is a finger to come down and write the words found in the book of Daniel for another tyrant. And it’s not just him. Another account of the Epstein links links Wilbur Ross to the mayhem and shenanigans of an elite cloistered thread of diabolical mostly male criminals. The finger needs to write the words on our sky in every language .
The only thing I sometimes think about re Trump is what planet he is actually living on - his mindset certainly doesn't reconcile with the reality on this planet.
He doesn’t let reality get in the way of his delusional thinking.
King Donnie DuFu the Consumate Perp's rendition of his China trip and the state of affairs domestically and around the globe is packed full of gibberish deceit and conceit! Find a circus for this clown who seems to think WE THE PEOPLE are idiots who believe his sham.
One picture worth many words:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/14/800038851/cartoon/the-summit/
Absolutely perfect JL.
And WTF did the chosen oligarchs do while Trump pissed away our democracy?
Obviously, Musk was doing Ketamine, but what about the others.
It seems that State visits by Trump Administration are not geared to deal with issues that are essential to the US, rather they are geared to sell pots and pans to those who make pots and pans more efficiently that the US.
#shorts - follow-up to yesterdays Stratos Data Center -Yay for a small WIN, still shows that #ResistanceCounts - Save the Great Salt Lake, which is in drought crisis
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYC9XKenczt/?igsh=MTVscmVtb2V6Y3c0aw==
All I can say about Trump and his sycophants is 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
A true vomitocracy.