politics

I’m Laughing…

by MyBaconPress

Donny is telling his faithful loyalists that he’s “gagged” in court. “They won’t let me speak.” Well, they don’t just let the defendant have a chat in the courtroom but that’s not a gag. His gag order only prevents him from attacking court staff (except the judge), their families, witnesses, their families, or prosecutors families.

We’ve seen this before from him and I’m still not used to it. He’s not faking this. If he can’t say horrible things about people, he has nothing to say. What kind of mind is that? He continues to claim prosecutors have no case. Then it should be an easy matter to get in there and prove your innocence, right? No problem. So just do that. But, no. He has to attack, threaten, and intimidate.

What a loser.

I know I’ve said it before but I’m just tired of his shtick. He really needs new material. Yeah, we get it, Donny. Everybody lies but you. Everybody is out to get you. YOU’RE the big fighter able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but you’re ALSO getting pushed around by the DOJ like you’re, you know, a criminal. It’s all political. Biden is a senile old fool and ALSO the mastermind behind this entire criminal prosecution. Yawn. BOR-ING!

Barring some unexpected development, opening statements start Monday. I expect the prosecutor to lay out facts, supported by evidence. I expect the defense to whine. Then cry. Then obfuscate. Then cry some more. “C’mon, guys, this isn’t fair!” His BEST defense is, “You shouldn’t do this to an ex-president” but that defense is terrible. In fact, the ex-president shouldn’t have committed those crimes.

The media thinks his actual best hope is finding a juror who can’t be convinced, that is, a MAGA who slipped through the cracks. But playing for a hung jury isn’t anywhere near winning. When a chess player is in a game that hasn’t gone their way, the last ditch effort to keep from losing is called a stalemate, a tie. But in chess, a tie ends the game. For Donny, a tie ends THAT trial but might well lead to another. So even that is no guarantee he walks away from this.

In truth, this is the “little trial.” Odds are best he loses but I don’t see him going to jail over this one. Unless the case is bigger than just paying off his side-honeys, he cooked his books (by his own dumbass admission) to the tune of about $280,000. That’s not much in corporate criminal terms. He likely won’t go to jail, even if they find him guilty. He’ll likely face a fine and perhaps some probation. BUT…

He WILL be a felon. I think THAT is my favorite part of this, particular, trial. If he’s found guilty, he won’t be able to vote for himself come November. MAGA really should take note of that – even Donald Trump won’t be voting for Donald Trump. Why would anybody else?

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MAGA Mike did a not-so-MAGA thing. I’ll be interested in seeing how this plays out. He worked with Democrats and reasonable Roepublicans to pass aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The Freedumb Caucus is very upset with him for doing something that helps someone. That runs the risk of looking like a win for Joe Biden, although it’s really just doing the right thing. MAGA HATES when Congress does the right thing.

MAGA Marge has already filed the paperwork to remove Johnson as Speaker. She has a handful of like-minded marginals on her side. She CAN call for his removal though she has not done so as of this writing. MAGA media started right away talking about Johnson now heading a “coalition government.” MAGA HATES cooperation.

It’s curious because I have MAGA Mike down as the person willing to overthrow the November election on false pretenses in order to install Donny, like they wanted Mike Pence to do in 2021. If Johnson is removed, he loses power to do that. Besides, how long would it take them to find yet another Speaker? They don’t HAVE another fifteen months.

So, I suspect there will be much MAGA moaning and shouting but Marge won’t pull the trigger on removal. That gives Johnson a chance to do the right thing a time or two just to provide the appearance of reasonableness. MAGA can be mad at him today (or pretend to be) but they need him in the Speaker position on January 3rd if they’re going to try to pull off their next coup attempt.

I’ll tell you this: I’m not looking for Johnson’s removal. But if they do? I’m going to laugh and laugh and laugh…

Roepublicans…

by MyBaconPress

Oh, those wacky Arizona Roepublicans. First, they celebrate the fact that they have one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the nation. It was already on the books, just waiting for some dysfunctional sycophants to overturn Roe v Wade and when Roe was overturned, the Arizona GOP was giddy. Then the GOP from sea to shining sea started reaping the rewards of their “success” by losing election after election.

Eventually, it dawned on them that maybe people aren’t happy about overturning Roe. To be clear, the GOP doesn’t care if people are happy. In fact, they prefer when people are not. But they DO want to win elections so, they started lying about Roe, acting as if they have no idea how that happened or even who did it.

They also started lying about their intentions for restrictions in the future. After the Arizona State Supreme Court upheld their cruel little law, the Arizona GOP made the rounds in the media, insisting the law went too far and this can not, WILL NOT stand. But, hey, the GOP controls the state legislature, right? If anybody can overturn their restrictive law, it’s the state legislature, right? So, let’s get to work…

No. Just, no. They won’t even bring the legislation repealing their law up for discussion, let alone a vote. Let’s think this through, shall we? What could it possibly mean, when the Arizona GOP claims they want to change a law and absolutely has the power to do so but when given the opportunity, they decline to proceed? I think it means actions speak louder than words and the Arizona Roepublicans lie, lie, lie.

I’ll tell you this: You should never pay any attention to what any Roepublicans anywhere say. People can, and will, say anything, especially cons. Words are easy to string together. Instead, pay attention to what they do – and vote accordingly…

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Recently, I was turned on to a website by a young friend of mine. The site is called ‘Ground News.’ It’s a news aggregator but is a little different from some of the others. THIS site collects stories from around the web – both sides – and groups them by subject. But the best part is, they also rate the truthfulness of the stories. They show the political leanings of the publisher – left, center, or right, AND they show how much attention each “sphere” is giving the story.

That last bit is pretty cool. You can see it with a glance. They use a bar under the stories coded blue (on the left), white (for center), and red (on the right). It illustrates, in real time, something I’ve suspected for a long time: cons often don’t know what’s going on in real life because nobody’s telling them. At least, nobody they trust.

As an example, auto workers in Tennessee recently voted to join the United Auto Workers union. The story was covered by left-leaning sources and center-riding sources but there were only two mentions in right-leaning sources. One was from a local paper in Tennessee and the other was, um, in German and printed in Frankfurt, Germany! That one was likely not really helpful for English readers in America.

The little bar below the stories showed a long blue bit and a long white bit and a just barely noticeable red bit. So, with just a glance I can see that the left knows about the unionization success and so do readers of center-based news, but cons haven’t heard anything about it. (They’re only told when unions “fail,” or appear to. That’s because their dogma teaches that unions are bad and they MUST support the dogma. It’s FAR more important than the truth.)

Some don’t show any red at all. I’ve only seen a couple of stories that work the other way, a white bar, a red bar and little to no blue and when I have, they’re rated ‘Mixed Factuality’ or ‘Low Factuality.’

I’m new to the site, but I recommend ‘Ground News’ if you’re looking for accurate information. You could also use it to find pure gobbledygook, too, I presume, if that’s what you’re interested in but why would anybody want to do that?

Donny’s Defense…

by MyBaconPress

Unlike Donny’s other lawyers, his defense team from the firm of Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, and Barrett is having some real success. I suppose it’s MUCH easier when you are literally both the team for the defense AND the judges in the case, like this group.

They’ve appealed to themselves to determine whether some of the pesky laws used to convict some of the J6 rioters – and to indict their precious defendant, Donny – might be made to, you know, just…go away. Specifically, they don’t like the charge of ‘Obstruction of an Official Proceeding.’ “Using ‘laws’ to try to determine whether or not someone is a ‘criminal’ makes it very difficult to defend criminals,” Chief Defense representative, John Roberts, didn’t say. “We would prefer to have fewer laws so our job is simpler.”

Fortunately, they’re not only the defense team. They’re the judges, too, so odds are good they’re going to honor their request. “This is why we get so much money,” Clarence Thomas didn’t confess, “we have more pull than most defense teams and our clients often prevail in the highest court. Spare a dollar?”

There is no word on how quickly the court will rule, but based on past issues they’ve taken up, if it helps their client to rule quickly, they’ll rule quickly. On the other hand, if it helps their client to wait, they’ll wait. “It is incumbent upon the court to provide the appearance of deliberation and deep thought on these very not-so-complex issues,” Samuel Alito didn’t add.

“Glorious President-for-Life Trump is finally paying the right legal team,” Gorsuch didn’t say, “and we’re going to give him his money’s worth. It’s our most precious legal standard, here at RATKG&B: come through for the highest bidder.”

“I can belch my name!” Kavanaugh has definitely said.
“Yes, Brett, we know…” answered Amy Barrett, who should be home – barefoot and pregnant – and so isn’t a “true” woman…

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Donny’s going to be relying on that legal team – RATKG&B – more and more in the coming months because he certainly can NOT rely on keeping his own big mouth shut. He’s GOING to spill the beans in each of his cases, one by one. It’s practically guaranteed. He has already done it in his “hush money” trial. It’s really a “cooking the books” trial but the hush-money-to-the-porn-star angle is more fun for the left.

Whenever he sees a camera these days, he likes to walk up and repeat his litany of lies – all in one sentence if he can. It has become quite tedious, listening to him. It’s always the same, boring collection of words that all boil down to, “Waah, poor me! I feel SO sorry for myself! These guys are such meanie-pants! Don’t they know I’m a big-boy tough guy? Why are they pushing me around so much?” Then as his mind melts, “Oh, what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a few little laws like these could destroy my beautiful wickedness?”

But then, AFTER the “poor me-gasm,” he gets into the specifics of his crimes and just – confesses. He did it again Tuesday morning when he told reporters that all he did was give money to his attorney and write it down as legal expenses. Yes, that IS what he did. That’s exactly what he did. The thing is, they weren’t legal expenses. They were, by legal definition, campaign expenses. He was paying women he had cheated on his wife with to keep their mouths shut in order to protect his campaign.

For clarity, in case you’re confused, he slept with Playboy model Karen McDougal ($150,000) while Melania was carrying Barron. Then, four months after Barron was born, Donny slept with porn star Stormy Daniels ($130,000). It’s pretty clear there were no “legal services” connected with any of that and they don’t suddenly become legal services just because you funneled your illegal payments through your shyster attorney.

Somebody should explain it to him. Donny, you’re accused of giving money to your lawyer to pass along to your paramours and then recording the cost as a “legal expense.” DON’T go out in front of the cameras you love so much and TELL them that “all you did” was give money to your lawyers and write it down as a legal expense. How the hell are we supposed to show you’re NOT guilty when you go running around proclaiming your own guilt?

I’ll tell you this: I’d bet that someone – many someone’s in fact – have tried to explain it to him. Over and over and over again. He’s just not capable of keeping his mouth shut when he needs to.

All Rise…

by MyBaconPress

I’ll tell you this right up front: I don’t like Donny. You may have noticed. I don’t make much (okay, any) effort to hide it. I’m not going to sugar coat it. I don’t like the guy. He strikes me as a terrible human being. I think he’s guilty based on all I’ve seen in the media. BUT… I honestly believe if I had been called to jury duty for his case, I could set aside my personal feelings for the guy and make a judgment based on the evidence. I really do.

For one thing, I think justice is more important that my feelings about the defendant and I would NOT want to participate in punishing an innocent person – even a person I don’t like. The other thing? News outlets get things wrong sometimes. I understand, clearly, that what I hear in the media and what comes out of a courtroom might be different things and I believe the courtroom has the higher standard.

I should acknowledge that maybe I’m just kidding myself, safe in the knowledge that I’m not going to be called for his trial but I don’t think so. Justice is important to me. As an example, like many people, I strongly suspect OJ killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, even though he was acquitted. But had I sat on his jury? I would have voted for acquittal, myself, because of the cop caught carrying around a vial of blood in his pocket for hours at OJ’s house, coupled with testimony that blood spots had not been noted, for example in the entryway, and then were suddenly, clearly present.

I never thought the cops were trying to frame an innocent man, there. I thought they were trying to secure the conviction of a well-connected rich man they had had more than enough trouble with through the years, only to watch him avoid legal consequences over and over. But mishandling evidence could mean anything from simple and honest oversight to outright framing the wrong guy. It would have kept me from voting to convict. I could do it with Donny, too, and if I could do it, others can do it…

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This is a day I didn’t think was going to happen. No, I know Mondays happen. I’m talking about Donny’s trial. The ‘cooking-the-books-to-pay-off-the-porn-star’ trial. It’s starting. Back in March, I wrote “At this point, I’ll believe Donny faces justice when he actually meets justice – and not one second sooner.” Yeah, I was having a rough day but I stand by the statement. A trial and a conviction are two different things and an upheld conviction is something else again. There’s STILL a long way to go, folks.

But the fact that he’s even in a courtroom represents some of that justice I was on about earlier and I’m pleased it’s finally happening. According to the media, Trump didn’t just pay off Stormy Daniels, the porn star. He ALSO paid off a woman named Karen McDougal, a Playboy model he also slept with and paid hush money to. He paid Daniels $130,000 through Michael Cohen. He paid McDougal $150,000 through the ‘National Enquirer.’

They “bought” the story as an exclusive with the intent of never publishing it. It’s a trick called ‘Catch and Kill.’ As an “exclusive,” she couldn’t talk about it. Then, they locked the story away and that was that. Donny allegedly reimbursed his friend David Pecker, the owner of the Enquirer, using the same bookkeeping manipulation he used to pay back Cohen.

When Bill Clinton got caught having an affair, there was a howling chorus of people out there crying, “Why doesn’t Hillary leave Bill?” I haven’t heard the same about Melania. But from what I can tell, hers has become a marriage in name only, assuming it was ever anything else.

Melania appears to be contractually obligated to make a few campaign appearances with Donny. Very few. HE tries to present a picture of a happy marriage. HER presentation is more, “I hate this guy and I’m about to puke.” I guess they can make her show up but they can’t make her smile. Now she gets to be treated to the details of the affairs, laid out point by point as they move through the trial. Make that, “I hate this guy and I’m about to puke – but the money’s good.”

I imagine Melania will be free to divorce Donny AFTER the election. After the election, the divorce won’t matter. He’ll be in, and since he appears determined to never leave, why the hell would he keep a woman around who despises him all day, every day? But his sham marriage deceives the rubes and THAT’S what he needs.

I’ve heard polls show that a conviction in this trial could hurt Donny among his base. I’m not sure I believe that, either. MAGA has a seemingly endless capacity to convince themselves of the most ridiculous things and even if he’s convicted by a jury of his peers, how hard will it be for the deceived to decide he’s been framed? Donny’s already calling it the ‘Biden Trials,’ as if Joe had anything to do with them, whatsoever.

Still, the possibility that he might actually face some kind of justice is stronger today than ever. Yes, he’s been given every break. The deference from the system has been frustrating, angering, even. But, on balance, the system seems to be working, albeit glacially slowly. Maybe, just maybe, there’s hope, after all…

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Okay, speaking of glacially slow, I wish people would STOP ripping on Aileen “loose” Cannon and Alina Habba as “stupid” just because they do so many stupid-seeming things that delay the trials. Whether or not those things are stupid depends entirely on ones goals, doesn’t it? Sure, if the goal is a proper trial using proper procedure, Cannon is an idiot. But that’s not HER goal. HER goal is to disrupt and, hopefully, derail the trial. EVERY so-called “stupid” move she makes, facilitates that goal. If it advances her game, exactly the way it’s supposed to advance her game, how “stupid” could it be?

It’s the same with Habba. People keep sneering at her because she files motions that should be embarrassing to a lawyer. “WHY,” people ask, “would she do THAT?” I presume she KNOWS her motions are ridiculous. The point is not the validity of the motions. The point is the delay. Every one of those motions must be ruled on, dumb or not. That takes time. I have the exact same question about Habba I have about Cannon. If it advances her game, exactly the way it’s supposed to advance her game, how “stupid” could it be?

I suspect I could easily endure the entire world calling me a dummy if it resulted in millions of dollars in my pocket and these two women clearly feel the same way. The only true measure of how stupid they might be is this: did they got the money up front?

It’s STILL Israel…

by MyBaconPress

Have you heard of FISA? That’s the ‘Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.’ It’s a clandestine program in which our government monitors potential foreign bad actors. Donny HATES it. He hates it because it was through FISA surveillance of Russians that the trump campaign was found to be communicating with those same Russians before the 2016 election. (HE claimed the US Government was spying on him. They weren’t. They were spying on the Russians and caught him. That’s different.) Donny sent out the order: “Kill FISA!”

The Freedumb Caucus tried. They wouldn’t let MAGA Mike bring the bill to the floor, at first, likely STILL bitching they don’t have border legislation because they killed it themselves. But then? Unexpected compromise in the ranks. The original authorization was for 5 years. They agreed to lower the number to 2 years. That made it okay in the MAGA mind because it means Donny gets to mess with the law if he gets back into the White House. Yet another reason to vote against Trump – and ALL Republicans, for that matter…

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Well, this is getting bigger, this “conflict” in the Middle East, but the news in America keeps presenting it as Israel defending itself. I keep seeing Israel as the antagonist. Iran dropped some missiles into Israel yesterday. The press talks about the “attack on Israel,” but it was a response. I even think Iran showed great restraint in their response. They limited their attack to a military target in a less populated area. Even Israel acknowledged, Iran didn’t do a great deal of damage. To me, that means they sent a message.

Yes, it’s ‘diplomacy-by-bomb’ but that happens all over this brutal world these days and it’s seen as acceptable. There’s some magical formula. Send a few bombs targeted to do only a little damage, and to a legitimate military target, it’s a “message.” It’s what HAMAS should have done in October, 2023.

Iran wasn’t just sitting around, bored, looking for some evil to perpetuate in the world. Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing several Iranians. Iran responded with a “measured attack.” Iran is not the aggressor, here, as nearly as I can tell. They dropped their missiles onto the base, then said they were done. Message sent. They won’t do any more unless they’re provoked again. (At this point, I would bet Netanyahu won’t stand down, though.)

Israel attacked. Iran responded. The papers are full of “What will Israel’s ‘response’ be?” Israel won’t be “responding.” Israel will be “escalating. This is all happening because of the extent of Israel’s “response” to the October 7, 2023 HAMAS response to Israeli antagonism in the region. But Israel’s “response” has not been “measured” by any means. Netanyahu has seized this opportunity to eliminate Palestinians in Gaza once and for all. No, they say otherwise. Words. I stand by the idea that actions speak louder than words and herding 2 million people into a single city and then attacking that city? When there is no place left to run to? I have a difficult time coming up with an accurate description other than ‘genocide.’

“Hey,” Israeli apologists will say, “Israel didn’t attack the city, they only threatened to.” They DID attack. No, they ARE attacking. Granted, not with bullets and bombs. THIS attack is being made, currently, with famine and disease, two VERY effective weapons. Israel even went so far as to murder a group of humanitarian aid workers trying to provide aid to the population, warning off, with their actions, other do-gooders who might want to help. I guess well-coordinated, carefully planned “accidents” happen in war. Words.

I feel like we’ve seen this before in history, where human beings are concentrated together and then allowed to starve to death or die of the conditions but I just can’t quite…

I try to see this from other points of view but no matter how I look at it, I see Israel as the aggressor, both in Gaza AND with Iran. American corporate media will continue to pound the message that Israel is the victim because they see the effectiveness of a heavily repeated lie in MAGA media. Maybe they can do that to ALL of us. But I don’t think they’ll succeed.

I’ll tell you this: The only people who will see Israel as the victim, here, are people who WANT to see Israel as the victim. The rest of us are going to follow the evidence and allow it to take us where it will. Meanwhile, our tax dollars continue to rain death and destruction on human beings the world over. I can’t TELL you how much I wish it was otherwise…

Standard Republican Play Number One: Lie!

by MyBaconPress

Boy, they sure celebrated when Roe was reversed, didn’t they? Cons, I mean. They were all over it. They still are. They just don’t want anybody to know it. Arizona was downright giddy that their civil war era law against abortion was going to take effect automatically after Roe was overturned. The only exception to that law was for the life of the mother. A string of recognizable Arizonans made the rounds, thrilled at what they get to do to women, now. And some of them are women!

Sensible people fought the law in court. While that played out, the GOP started losing election after election. There has been nothing ambiguous about Republican intentions. They want all abortions gone. Period. There has been enough talk about a national ban at the Federal level that I believe them. 100 percent. They may or may not throw a bone to ‘life-of-the-mother’ concerns and occasionally even to rape and incest but they don’t WANT to. Every sperm is sacred, you know. Even as they lose elections, the red states seem to be competing to see which state can get away with being the most cruel to women.

But that election thing. People keep rejecting the GOP because we know what they did, what they’re doing, and what they WANT to do. It turns out, most Americans prefer choice. And then the Arizona State Supreme Court upholds the 1860’s law and it comes into effect. Now we’ve all been reminded that the GOP took women’s right to choose away and the GOP wants to make the procedure even more difficult to get, no matter what. We’re ALSO watching them try to remove access to contraception.

When your actual and honest goal is a complete, nationwide ban on abortions for all women, any age, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother, but people hate, hate, HATE that your actual and honest goal is a complete, nationwide ban on abortions for all women, any age, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother, what do you do?

Standard Republican Play Number One: Lie! Don’t lie a little. Lie a LOT! Lie everywhere. Lie on television. Lie on radio. Lie in the newspapers. Lie on the internet. Act confused as to why people seem to think the GOP wants to ban abortions. Where EVER did they get THAT idea? Dismiss the truth as though people have simply misunderstood. Blatantly claim the exact opposite of the truth. Lie, lie, lie! And sure enough, right on cue, here they come.

Virtually all of the Arizona Republicans who were so giddy when Roe was overturned have come out, one after another, to announce that the decision from the Arizona Supreme Court cannot stand, WILL not stand. They are OUTRAGED they got what they wanted. Just ask them. Then, the Trumpery himself comes out with a video statement full of, well, it’s Donny.

It turns out, Donny has a “tell” when he’s lying. (A “tell” is an involuntary physical movement or mannerism that occurs when lying, like a tic.) I don’t know how I missed Donny’s tell for so long but I can’t miss it now. Have YOU spotted it? It’s pretty simple. You can ALWAYS tell when Donny’s lying because his lips are moving. Yeah, I know, that used to be an old joke. Sadly, 45 has turned it into a new truth.

Anyway, he puts out this video. After years of bragging everywhere he could, at every chance he got, that he is the one who eliminated Roe (which was true, I’ve got to confess), NOW he puts out a video that claims he’s an abortion moderate. All he ever wanted, he claims was for individual states to choose just how cruelly they treat their females. (I want to write “women” there but some of the “women” in question are still little girls. No matter for the GOP. Bitch got herself pregnant, bitch can pay the price.)

In his lying video, he claims that “all legal scholars, BOTH sides, wanted and, in fact, demanded” that Roe be overturned. That’s a lie. He said Democrats “support abortion up to and even beyond, the ninth month.” Beyond the ninth month? What a stupid lie. The GOP, in it’s efforts to trick people into thinking false things, has pushed this false narrative that suggests Dems get pregnant just so they can wait until the ninth month to abort the baby because what fun that will be! Anybody who believes that is a drooling moron. I mean, I don’t mean to be unkind but…hey, wait a minute. Does that mean we can still “abort” Donny?

He wasn’t just “misspeaking” though. He doubled down on it. He went into detail about how killing babies after they’ve been born is “execution,” which, it would be if anybody was doing that anywhere. But they’re not. Then he repeated that he just put abortion back where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, also not true. At this point, thinking people had plenty to take issue with in his lying statement. But then, he lied that he thinks it’s in the right place, now, and individual states should decide for themselves.

Ooh, that angered the right. HOW, they wanted to know, could he leave it to the individual states after all of their years of claiming it’s a state’s rights issue? Doesn’t he realize that not ALL women suffer if some women maintain control of their bodies? In their fury, they have confessed their heartfelt desire to gain the very national ban the GOP politicians are now trying so hard to downplay. (read: lying about.)

Then he gave away the game; we must win elections. Then he said a bunch of things intended to scare his already terrified base, just standard stuff from the Dumbass, then reaffirmed “we have to win.” Even MAGA has realized that this is a losing issue for the GOP. In classic con style, they don’t rethink their position. They just lie about it because they can’t do ANY of their cruel desires if they have no power. The GOP MUST win. And if they do? Women across the country will lose. Bigly…

Desperately Poor “Billionaire…”

by MyBaconPress

Russia, Russia, Russia! It became something of a battle cry for MAGA since 2016, when the Trump campaign was found to be communicating with Russians. Donny used his political power and a few obsequious toadies to cover that one up and he got away with it. Then he started ridiculing those who had considered he had an improper association with the Russians. But you know who keeps turning up in Donny’s life, saving his ass (or trying to), over and over again? Russians, Russians, Russians!

They were there for him in 2016. We know they were trying to smear Joe Biden with misinformation about bribes, which the GOP glomed onto and ran with – until their “informant” was arrested for lying to the FBI. They were STILL there for him in 2022, when his media company was just about to tank. Donny tried to merge his company with another in 2021 but regulators opened a securities investigation into the company and while they were working that out, Trump media took emergency loans to keep afloat, including from an entity called ES Family Trust. ES Family Trust opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered in Dominica, in the Caribbean. Mostly, Paxum Bank’s claim to fame is that they provide financial services to the porn industry.

So, what is ES Family Trust? It’s a trust operated like a shell company by a guy named Anton Postolnikov. You’ll never guess his national identity. Okay, trick question. He’s a hybrid, Russian-American. His trust is set up in St. Petersburg, Russia although it lists it’s address as a residential home in Hollywood, Florida – a home which was sold in December, 2023. He’s a co-owner of Paxum Bank and he’s currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security into the Trump Media merger. Oh, and did I mention he has close ties to Vladimir Putin? C’mon, at least pretend to be shocked. Yeah, me neither…

So, if Postolnikov owns a bank, why set up a shell company to finance Donny? Because Paxum Bank isn’t licensed to make loans in the US and Donny needed the money fast. $8 million dollars worth, according to the Guardian. The loans were provided in the form of convertible promissory notes, meaning repayment would come in the form of Trump Media stock. The estimate is that ES Family Trust’s stake is somewhere between $20 million and $40 million dollars, which makes perfect sense in a company with no value, no income, and no assets.

From there? It gets murky. Downright shady, some might say. Classic Donny, I’d say. Murky deals with hard to follow financial flows, unclear ownership, and ties to people subject to various misdeeds and criminal investigations? Yep, that sounds like Donny all over…

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Speaking of Donny’s failing media company, people are talking about him taking the cash from his overvalued stock before it crashes entirely. He’s not supposed to be able to take any for six months but that’s an impediment that the board can remove – and Eric and Don, Jr are on the board. But here’s the thing; who’s going to buy it?

Consider; this stock is worthless. I mean, it has value right now because MAGA (and possibly foreign actors) pumped the value up early on. They started buying shares at a furious rate, turning the stock into what’s called a ‘meme stock.’ Think Gamestop. It became a trendy thing to buy, even though the company behind it had horrible financials. It’s one thing for people to claim faith in their dear leader when nothing is on the line. It’s another thing entirely when there’s actual money people are actually losing.

And if you got in late, oh, boy are you losing money. It got up to nearly $70 dollars a share. Then the frenzy cooled and people started looking at what they were buying – and they didn’t like what they saw. What’s to like? A company that lost $56 million dollars in a year on revenues of $4 million? So, today, as of this writing, the stock is down to $37.20/share, just over half of that amount. It won’t be too much longer until it reaches it’s proper value. Then it will likely be de-listed. So if you got in at $35/share because you love Donny, and you hold, no matter what, because you love Donny? You’re going to lose your money.

If I told you I had a company with extremely low revenues, deep debt, an unpopular, failing product, few advertisers, and steadily dropping usage, how much are you going to in invest? Right. And that’s exactly how much people should be investing in Trump Media. So who does Donny sell to in order to realize that cash windfall? MAGA can’t buy that much stock. Nobody who knows what their doing will buy any of that stock. That leaves people who don’t give a rat’s tail about the stock – they intend to buy the GOP presidential candidate for their own purposes.

When I was in the Air Force, it was illegal for people to be gay. Now, I’m not gay so it didn’t affect me. But I always thought the position was stupid for one, glaring reason: the only reason being gay was illegal was because it might set someone up for blackmail, creating a security risk. But the only reason anybody could blackmail a gay person in the military is because the military made it illegal to be gay. That’s called circular reasoning.

But I’ll tell you this: Donny being financially beholden to international criminals and strongmen and other unsavory characters really WILL set him up to be blackmailed and controlled. That’s NOT circular reasoning. Donny’s financial desperation (unexpected from a self-described “genius businessman billionaire”) has put him in a vulnerable position where he can be exploited by any number of bad actors. Is MAGA really going to try and put THAT into the White House? Sadly, yes. Hey, America, how about we don’t let them?

People Leave…

by MyBaconPress

If you live in California, you have, no doubt, noticed gas prices on the rise again. This happens here every year. Why? Greed. We’re never told that, of course. Each year, we’re offered an “explanation.” The explanation is reused, year after year. In part of it’s efforts to combat air pollution, California requires a special summer gasoline blend. It’s actually an EPA program but California embraced it right away. Every year, the refiners act as though the whole thing came as a surprise that caught them off guard. And why wouldn’t it? It’s only been happening since 1989. They’ve only had 35 years to plan for the switch and prepare for it.

There’s also “refinery maintenance.” Please note: local news commonly reports stories of refineries having threatening emergencies of various kinds due to “maintenance issues.” They’re clearly NOT maintaining the bits that need maintaining. I think what they’re maintaining is the highest prices at the pump they can get away with.

I just saw the story again, ‘Why gas prices in California “have gone ballistic.”‘ Go ahead. Guess why. Oh, refinery maintenance. And, at least this article mentioned the “normal penchant for speculative buying in the second quarter.” Oh, okay. THAT probably explains how gas prices can go up .23 cents in one week – while only going up .04 cents nationwide.

I’ve been listening to these same excuses for 35 years. They don’t hold up under scrutiny but with today’s corporate owned media, there won’t BE much scrutiny. Still, I wish they would at least try to come up with new excuses. Or better yet, they could just speak the truth. “Screw you! We can, so we do!”

It’s one of the very best reasons to leave gasoline powered vehicles behind and embrace electric cars…

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Campaign season. Again? Isn’t it always campaign season in the United States? Biden seems to be focusing on how well the economy is doing right now. MAGA thinks it’s all “fake.” Of course, they think the economy was buzzing along under Donny. They just don’t seem to understand numbers.

I know MAGA gives Donny a pass on destroying the economy. Mostly, that’s because he’s Donny and they give him a pass for everything – the advantage of being a cult leader. Biden took over a completely wrecked economy, also because of Covid-19, but MAGA disses Biden’s success at recovering the economy after Donny’s failures. In truth, though, anybody trying to be fair would have to acknowledge that Covid-19 did damage, so maybe MAGA overlooking the crash is at least partially warranted.

Of course, if we’re REALLY trying to be fair, one would ALSO have to acknowledge that it was Donny who dismantled the team America had in place for just such an eventuality in the first place. He had applied his mini MAGA mind and decided that the program was just more government “wasteful spending.” So he dismantled it. Then, Covid-19 hit, as if to demonstrate “dumb” in real time. Most of the world got the message. MAGA made excuses.

Of course, Donny doesn’t give two figs about the national economy. Mostly, he’s focused, these days, on his very own, personal “economy” – and how he can get more money from his rubes, er, supporters to prop it up a little while longer. He will, too. Cult members are a trip, aren’t they?

We’ve seen cult members commit murder for their glorious leader with Manson’s cult. More often, we see them commit suicide for their glorious leaders, like in Waco or the People’s Temple. With Heaven’s Gate, they killed themselves in an effort to hitch a ride on a comet. I hope they got there. Otherwise, they just look real, real stupid.

MOSTLY, these days, Cult 45 is good for money for Donny. They DID do some of that killing on J6 and they’re being primed to be ready to do more if needs be in the very near future but, for now, it’s mostly about money. From time to time, I find myself wondering how many MAGAS fall out over time.

There is a commonality around cults we don’t hear about as much. People leave. The more extreme the demands of the cult leader, the more questions are generated and people leave. This happens commonly once the leader announces God has told him he has to have sex with the underage girls of the “community.” But even then, FAR too many members just hand their daughters over.

You can find living, one-time People’s Temple members. Or Branch Davidian members. There are even living, one-time Heaven’s Gate members. They’re still living because they left the cult before the final implosions. That’s not an easy thing to do, leave a cult.

It’s no easier for Cult 45 but we all know it’s happening. People DO get the courage to leave and I’m hopeful more and more of them will follow suit in the coming months. Donny’s rants are getting crazier and crazier. His financial demands could bankrupt huge swaths of America and he’s working as hard as he can to dismantle the American system.

Even some MAGA will see (eventually) how bad that will be for them, personally, and fall away. When that happens, let’s not punish them for having been MAGA, okay? People get sucked into things they shouldn’t. It’s an emotional thing, not intellectual. If they can manage to pull themselves out, we should welcome them back to reality with open arms. I think that’s important to say because MAGA loses die-hard members every day.

So let’s not abandon all hope, shall we? As disappointed as we are that Donny isn’t going to face justice before the election, he still has to win the election and that’s not going to be automatic. In fact, I’d say the odds are getting longer every day. Ever since his successful trumpery in 2016, his shtick is wearing thin – boring, even – and his losses mount. And those losses are everywhere – elections, money, AND supporters. Given a chance, the law WILL eventually catch up to him.

It might even be fair to say he’s adding a new reason to vote against him in November. Like thinking Americans needed another reason to vote against him in November, right? His goal is to stall until the elections. If he wins the election, he misuses his powers as President to protect himself by removing those legal problems – and ends America. But if he loses the election? Well, all he did was stall until November. THEN, the trials proceed as they should. THEN he faces jail.

So I’ll tell you this: If YOU think Donny should, at a minimum, be tried for the crimes of which he stands accused, vote against him. That means voting Biden, like it or not…

I Thought Of A Buyer…

by MyBaconPress

Now that we know we have an ex-president for sale (damaged, as is) I have a tremendous concern over exactly who might end up buying him. I doubt it well be Putin. Clearly, Putin already has complete control over Donny so there’s no incentive. But it most likely won’t be anybody we would want controlling an active President, should the very worst occur. So that’s been on my mind. Then? Well, I figured out the best person to buy Donny: Chuck Schumer!

Okay, maybe $175 million is too big of a bite for a Senator. (Then again?) So how about the DNC? They could count it an investment. They end up controlling Biden as a Democrat AND Donny as a debtor. Their control over 45 only lasts until the case is over and the money surrendered (or returned, the less likely scenario). But Donny dances as he’s told to when he has no choice. We’ve SEEN it with Putin. Could you imagine him running a campaign and NOT being allowed to hurl mean, nasty, paranoid, terrified, little slurs and insults at anybody – because the DNC ordered him not to?

Do you think Donny would reject the lifeline because it came from Democrats? Don’t be ridiculous. That would require an ethical position and Donny’s lack of ethics is one of MAGA’S favorite features of the guy. C’mon, Dems. Buy Donny. You know you want to. Just do it. And then? FORCE him to behave like a human being…

Yeah, I know. But it would be fun…

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Coupla new frauds. Of course. They just never end with this guy. It seems Mr. Hankey, who tried to post Donny’s $175 million dollar bond, ALSO offered to post Donny’s original $464 million dollar bond. The thing is, if one has secured the money one needs to pay a bond, and then walks into court and says they don’t have the money? Why, that’s fraud on the court. It’s an ethics violation that could get his lawyers in trouble. This one won’t matter much. It’s too hard to prove exactly when the lawyers discovered that Hankey had offered to post Donny’s bond. Besides, it’s looking like Hankey can’t even cover the $175 million dollar bond, let alone $464 million. I’m just struck by the idea that even as he loses in court over fraud, he STILL engages in fraud. It’s easier to train a puppy! (Hey, has anyone tried a rolled up newspaper?)

Hankey’s company, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, has a net worth of $138 million dollars. If I remember my basic math, $138 million is LESS than the $175 million they’ve just promised to cover. If they haven’t fully collateralized the loan, that would wipe them out. Because Knight isn’t registered in New York, they have to prove they can cover the bond amount – and how they’ll cover it. They filed some of the paper needed but not all, so the bond was rejected. They quickly filed an amendment but it, too, falls short. They have 10 days from that day (April 4) to get this right or the bond will be “without effect.” The thing that gets me? Knight would STILL have to put the money up until Donny finds another bond. Knight could STILL lose the money – and it wouldn’t even help Donny.

Also, he’s trying to pump up his social media site. He claims it’s awesome, growing, and very popular. By any real measure, it’s none of the above. He’s hemorrhaging money. It already has comparatively low membership and many of those people are leaving the site. Those who stay are choir members, preaching to each other. (BOR-ing!) He’s hemorrhaging money. He’s locked up in legal battles with his co-founders. He’s hemorrhaging money. People who know stocks are betting against Donny’s company by short-selling the stock. They expect further losses. Oh, did I mention, he’s hemorrhaging money?

As much as MAGA might ask you to believe his company is great because it’s associated with Donny, it turns out, the only thing that matters to smart investors is the possibility of profit. Smart investors don’t see that at TMTG. They see leadership in-fighting and huge financial losses, with nothing suggesting a turn-around. In short, an unstable, non-viable organization destined for bankruptcy. You know, a Trump Company. You know who else thinks Trump is lying about ‘Truth Social’ in an effort to bump up the stock? The SEC. That’s the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It turns out, when one goes public, there are rules one must follow. The SEC has a rule barring “manipulative and deceptive devices” to pump up stocks. Lying about the success of the site is definitely ‘manipulative and deceptive.’ The SEC will be looking into this. It could cost the company even more money – the very last thing TMTG needs. MAGA is already out there, working three jobs to try to maintain the lifestyle Donny prefers. Maybe it’s time to mortgage the house, too. It’s looking like Donny is going to need more of their money soon. They should just cut to the chase, send him every last dime and move into the streets. He’s not going to be happy with anything less…

For Sale: Former President, as is…

by MyBaconPress

So now Netanyahu has attacked a non-profit charity trying to supply humanitarian aid to Gaza, killing seven of it’s members. I’ve heard Israel knew the timing of the delivery of the humanitarian aid. They knew the route the group was taking to and from the drop-off location. So how do they “accidentally” blow the thing up in an “unfortunate incident?”

Actions speak louder than words. I believe now more than ever before, Netanyahu has a goal: elimination of ALL Palestinians in Gaza – and he has provided NO path for escape, so “elimination” MUST mean something else, yes?

I’ll tell you this: I know Biden may not be able to stop Netanyahu. That guy has a single-minded, dedicated goal. But Biden can sure as hell stop providing the weapons Netanyahu is using to do his dirty work. I believe Netanyahu is DEEP into the world of war crimes, now, and because the US is providing many of his weapons, we’re complicit. I don’t WANT to be complicit in war crimes…

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Nor would I want to be complicit in any of Donny’s crimes, either. People around him go to jail. He keeps slithering away. But did you hear that the $175 million “discount” bond he posted got rejected? The judge said the filing lacked important details – including a current financial statement. That dude seems unable to tell the truth, even when it’s in his own interest. The bond was “returned for correction,” and that’s all it should be. It SHOULD be nothing, a “clerical error” kind of thing. But this is Donny the Trumpery, here.

He got his bond from a subprime lender in the first place, meaning he paid extra high fees (if he paid any at all to his sycophantic “lender”), and now they “fail” to supply the required financial information along with the filing? Okay, it should be made clear, it’s the bonding company that needs to include it’s financial statements, not Donny. It’s not enough to claim they have the $175 million. They have to show it.

Letitia James still has to cool her heels, though. She can’t start the collection proceedings right away. Donny gets a chance to re-file and, if he can, he will.

But, hey, now’s your chance! If YOU would like to own and operate Donald J. Trump, give him the $175 million dollars he needs now. Think of how cool it would be to order Trump to do something, and watch him hop to it, like Reek in Game of Thrones. He’d still spit his hateful rhetoric at the world, except you. He’d have to be nice to you, no matter what.

You could get your hands on strategic goals of the United States. You could order him to give you military secrets. You could get the nuclear codes. (You could probably get his nude photos of Ivanka, too, ’cause when you own him, he’ll let you do it. What choice does he have?) Oh, hey, wait a minute. Doesn’t that mean that some foreign person or power could get the SAME control the same way? Hey, is THAT why Donny never – EVER – has a negative word to say about Putin?

You know what? I think it might be a bad idea to put a person bound and beholding to others into the most powerful office on Earth. Especially if the “others” are from adversarial nations. I, for one, don’t WANT a President who answers, first and foremost, to Vladimir Putin…

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I saw this headline from Fox Not News: “Former teacher opens up after OnlyFans gig led to her resignation…'” It seems, to me, that girl “opened up” before her resignation. “Here, let me open up my top for you.” That’s what led to her resignation! She was put on administrative leave for “conduct unbecoming of a professional educator.” What?!? Professional educators don’t have sex? My FATHER was a professional educator! How did I get here? (Stow it. I look too much like him…)

To me, it says a LOT about teacher pay in Ohio, where this happened. She tried other side gigs first but they took too much time with not enough return. I know that teachers take a lot of guff about “not working” because of the summers thing. But during the school year? A decent teacher works their ass off. Between class time, homework corrections, and lesson plans, there’s a LOT going on – and they NEVER get the resources they need, so they dip into their own pockets – which, clearly, already don’t sustain them.

I get the conundrum. On the one hand, participating in adult fare offends the puritanical sensibilities of many Americans. On the other hand, it might be difficult for some of her students to separate her in-class activities from her after-hours activities. In a perfect world, of course, children are “protected” from seeing such dirty, dirty stuff. But we all know this world ain’t perfect. Kids have the advantage when it comes to technology. And, really, how smart does one have to be to click ‘yes’ to the question, ‘Are you 21?’ Well, that was easy…

I’ll tell you this: the answer, along with that woman’s breasts, seems to be right in our faces: pay the teachers a living wage. How about we DON’T force our teachers to publicly display their “ends meeting” in order to make ends meet? Of course, we’d likely have to tax rich people to cover it and we can’t have that so I guess we’d better get used to the ‘teacher by day, dominatrix by night’ paradigm. You can’t have it both ways.

Well, you can, but it costs extra…