It’s Only Thursday…

I’ll tell you what’s weird. I received… no, that’s not right. My ESTATE received a notice from the VA expressing their condolences on my passing. “Wait,” I wondered, “am I dead?” I don’t actually FEEL dead, you know? Well, no, nobody knows what it “feels” like to be dead except dead people and I’m not one. (Unless this is a ‘Sixth Sense’ kind of deal and I just don’t KNOW I’m dead.)

Possible spoiler alert: if I AM dead, then I can tell you that when you’re dead, you’ll feel just like you did when you were alive. Sadly, that means all the same parts that hurt right now will continue to hurt. That’s not better. But how cool is it that I can still type on my computer? Or can I? Can you read this?

I received my “bummer for you” notice from the VA on a Saturday. They weren’t around on the weekend so I had to wait until Monday morning to contact them. It seems they were willing to accept me talking to them on the telephone – ostensibly live – as evidence I’m not dead yet, which I appreciate. I’m assured the whole mess will be straightened out soon, but in at least one official computer, I spent a couple of days “dead.” Now I’m alive again. Resurrected, in a manner of speaking.

What do you know? Jesus ISN’T the only one to pull off that trick! You’all might want to be impressed NOW and avoid the rush…

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Okay, back to the swamp. Sorry. I thought to myself, “Why would I watch? He’s going to lie – just, make things up out of whole cloth – and claim great successes he has yet to accomplish and never will.” I should have trusted my instincts. But I tuned in for a bit. Guess what? He lied. He just made things up out of whole cloth. He claimed great success but has actually only produced damage and suffering. In fairness, his goal is damage and suffering so, I guess, technically, that IS “success.” It’s just not the kind of “success” any decent human being would aspire to, right?

I DID get to see Rep. Al Green escorted out for speaking the truth. He addressed the dumbass lie that The Felon has a “mandate.” That’s a sin in Washington DC these days, speaking the truth. I’m sure the right is all aflutter about Green doing it during the speech. They’ll conveniently forget the way that behavior became “acceptable” during the Obama administration when GOPrick Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted “You lie!” during Obama’s State of the Union. MTG then copied the behavior during a Biden address. NOW it’s an outrage?

One of 47’s falsehoods was about “trans” mice. He claimed someone was using millions of dollars to switch the sexes of mice. The problem? The word he saw was “transgenic,” not “transsexual.” Transgenic means the mice are genetically modified to accept human illnesses for research purposes. Now, I’ll tell you the truth, I didn’t know “transgenic,” either. But I guarantee you, I would have at least looked it up before I stood up in front of the world and made an utter fool of myself berating the misuse of money to change mouse sexes. I’d bet a DOLLAR there’s a dictionary in the White House. (I might lose that. Donny might have determined that dictionaries are a liberal plot and demanded their removal…)

President Musk and sub-president trump HAVE initiated their assault on Social Security. For clarity, that’s not just “liberal” Social Security. Are you a bright red MAGA, proudly wearing the mark of the beast on your forehead, supporting Trump in all things at all times, showing up at rallies, buying busloads of cheap, foreign-made crap The Felon hawks at every opportunity? Yeah, he’s coming for YOUR Social Security, too.

He DID say, twice that I heard, that Elon Musk is in charge of the illegal DOGE. I’m guessing the lawyers jumped all over that since it directly contradicts a court filing the government made. I THINK lying to courts is still a bad thing and now, with 47’s help, the court KNOWS the maladministration lied…

And have you HEARD his “idea” about the ‘Gold Card?’ Yeah, that will be for SALE! “Oh, you want to come to the United States and be a citizen? Here fill out this paperwork. Get yourself a lawyer because it’s a fuckin’ labyrinth of confusion and potential missteps that will cost you time and money and can easily derail success. Set aside the next couple of years of your life because you’ll need to be going back and forth from the embassy to answer questions, or provide more detail. No, it isn’t easy coming to America but it’s important that we screen every applicant to minutest detail to ensure only decent people get in…”

“OR, you could just pay Donald Trump $5 million dollars for a ‘Gold Card’ and walk right in. Oh, a Gold Card? Yeah, that’s a Green Card PLUS! YOU get immediate, unscreened access to the United States, PLUS Trump gets $5 million of your dollars. It’s a win-win.” And what could go wrong?

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For today, many Republicans are publicly disavowing The First Felon’s ridiculous claim that Ukraine invaded Russia. I expect they’ll be brought to heel soon, but for now, they’re accidentally expressing truth. The latest I’ve seen is H.R. McMaster. You remember McMaster. He was 47’s National Security Advisor during Trump’s first failed efforts in the White House. He knows Donny personally and better than you do.

McMaster did an interview with ’60 Minutes’ where he said, “Vladimir Putin couldn’t be happier, because what he sees is all of the pressure on Zelensky, all of the pressure on Ukraine and no pressure on him.” McMaster noted that Putin is a “master manipulator” with a deep understanding of how to work Trump to Russia’s advantage.

“He appeals to President Trump’s sense of aggrievement,” McMaster said. “And he’s been very successful at it because he’s a master manipulator and one of the best liars in the world.” (Editors note: I think Trump sees Putin as a role model.)

47 handled it with his usual aplomb and posted this to his failing social media platform late Sunday, “H.R. MCMASTER IS A WEAK AND TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE LOSER!” I don’t know. It seems like projection, to me, but it’s also stupid. If he’s an “INEFFECTIVE LOSER,” does that mean he’s ineffective at being a loser? Does that mean he’s a winner? If he wants lessons at being an effective loser, he should talk to the Democrats. Those idiots lose everything!

Then he added a separate post: “We should spend less time worrying about Putin, and more time worrying about migrant rape gangs, drug lords, murderers, and people from mental institutions entering our Country—So that we don’t end up like Europe!”

There he goes again, protecting Putin and working hard to distract the morally defective MAGA faithful by talking about all the scary, scary things they spend their days, nights, weekends, and vacations being terrified about, but never, ever see with their own eyes and in real life. Rape gangs. What a buffoon.

Donald J. Trump has humbled and humiliated the United States of America on the world stage. He’s an embarrassment and he has reduced the nation to a laughing stock. “…so we don’t end up like Europe!” I would MUCH rather end up like 2025 Europe than the 1939 Germany he’s working so hard to make us.

I’ll tell you this: I think the very FIRST person President Musk should send to Mars is Trump and Musk should go with him to make sure he gets there safely. Oh, no return trip? Bummer…

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I strongly suspect that 47’s “path to peace” for Ukraine is for Ukraine to surrender the land Russia has stolen – and probably whatever other land Putin wants. I suspect that is the real reason that conversation became so testy the other day. I mean, obviously, it was an ambush, but it would have helped to have Zelenskyy in a state of mind to defend Ukraine’s situation and discussing the possibility of just giving away the store to Putin in private before the press came in would be just the ticket.

Now Donny (by which I mean Putin) has suspended arms deliveries from the US to Ukraine. According to Reuters, the Kremlin says suspending military aid is the best hope for peace in Ukraine. So there you go. The First Felon has violated a treaty in which the US promised to defend Ukraine and turned his back on people fighting to defend themselves from an illegal invasion AND made Putin giddy by weakening Putin’s opponent.

Look, I know nobody is going to do anything about it, but how does that NOT make Trump a traitor, offering aid and comfort to an adversary? I have LONG since understood Trump is a Russian asset, handled personally by Putin. I’m not exactly surprised whenever 47 does things intended to help Russia. But I AM disappointed every time…

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Did you know that The Felon took all the boxes retrieved from the FBI Mar-a-Lardo search back to Mar-a-Lardo? It makes it so much easier for his Russian friends to come in an get copies…

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Wow, two of the corrupt kangaroos joined the rational few to order The Felon to pay the money already spent by USAID contractors. 47, in his normal style, intended to just stiff them. In a 5-4 ruling, the Way High Court said he has to pay. John Roberts and Amy Coney-Barrett did the right thing. Bought and paid for Clarence “give me more” Thomas, Samuel “I’m gettin’ mine” Alito, Neil “Luv my stolen seat” Gorsuch, and Brett “I like beer” Kavanaugh continue to suck.

I’ll tell you this: It always surprises me when this horribly corrupt court does the right thing for some reason…

It’s The Morality, Stupid…

I hear a LOT, these days, from lefties who are suggesting strategies for the next election. Oh, we could do this or we should do that. Uh-huh. So far, 47 has been a wrecking ball of lawbreaking. Evidence suggests he took the White House through cheating in the first place and since getting there, he has pretty much ignored the law in general. He does what he wants to do, legal or not, AND empowers toadies to do the same. So, um…

What in this HELL makes you think that come “election” time, he’s suddenly going to gain some great respect for the Constitution and stand down and accept the outcome of any election, whether he likes it or not?

My whole life, ‘voting’ has been the “solution” to whatever political problem ailed us. Don’t like the guy? Vote him out. Much of my life, that worked. I’m not sanguine that it’s going to work anymore. I suspect we’re going to start seeing Republican “wins” by, like, 94% all of a sudden, especially The Felon in his NEXT “election.”
“No, he can’t run again.”
“Haven’t you been paying attention?”
“No, the Constitution says…”
“The Constitution specifically says he can’t even hold office THIS time, yet there he is. What does HE care what the Constitution says?”
“Well the Supreme Court said…”
“The Supreme Court ruled the exact opposite of what the Fourteenth Amendment actually reads. They ruled by preference, not the law. When it gets to them, they’ll just pretend they read that a person can only serve two terms at a time, or some such.”
“But that doesn’t make sense.”
“Neither did their ruling on the Fourteenth Amendment. Or Citizen’s United, for that matter. The current SCOTUS IS the ‘Deep State,’ these days…”
“Well, crap!”

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Around the turn of the century, Measles was declared eradicated. Then the moral-defect crowd decided, for political reasons, that vaccines are bad. Now? Kids are dying. Excellent work.

Have you noticed that when The First Felon in infesting the White House, the United States also becomes embroiled in some medical emergency? It’s almost as if he brings the pestilence. The LAST time, it was worldwide. THIS time it seems contained to the US, which seems appropriate, but the end result for Americans is the same: we’re screwed because we don’t have a competent leader when we need one.

LAST time it was “drink bleach and get a black light into the body.” And THAT was when he was surrounded by competent doctors with competent medical opinions. NOW all he has is RFK, Jr. – the very picture of medical incompetence.

Okay, that was fun to write but in fairness, RFK, Jr sent vaccines to address the problem in Texas. (And, of course, it’s Texas.) Weird, but that’s what happened. I’m guessing there’s a pending rebuke for actually turning to actual science to solve a science problem. That’s generally a no-no in MAGA land…

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I use a source called ‘Ground News’ to track the amount of coverage a given story is getting in the press. It’s not perfect. It doesn’t cover opinions as much as journalism for example. Since most of MAGA media consists of “opinion” – the euphemism they use for “false stories” – I can’t be sure of the extent they’re hearing about the recent White House ambush on Zelenskyy.

But as far as journalism, there’s not much happening. The right is mostly not covering the outburst. The left has been focused. Journalists on the right have taken a somewhat ho-hum attitude. That’s because it’s yet another betrayal by Trump. I’ll tell you this: I ALWAYS expect the worst from him and he never lets me down. And yet, every time he behaves exactly the way I expect him to behave, I STILL feel disappointed. I keep hoping (against hope) that maybe, just this ONE time, he’ll demonstrate some basic, human decency. Intellectually, I KNOW he won’t. He can’t. And yet, I hope. I guess that makes it more of a wish.

WHY is it a betrayal? Because the US is obligated by treaty, along with other NATO nations, to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression, specifically. You see, when the USSR collapsed, Ukraine was left with a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons. In fact, at the time, they held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

Do you think Putin would have invaded Ukraine had they kept those weapons? I doubt it seriously. But they didn’t keep them. In fairness, when Ukraine was released from USSR control, those weapons represented a huge cost I doubt they were ready to shoulder but there are options. They might well have found a way. But they didn’t need to. Under the Budapest Accords, Ukraine chose to eliminate their nuclear stockpile in exchange for security guarantees. They received their guarantees. They kept their part of the bargain. Now 47 can’t bring himself to honor the promise if Zelenskyy doesn’t a) pay him and b) grovel appropriately.

Now, obviously, Trump doesn’t understand what a real tough guy looks like, but Zelenskyy IS one. He’s not going to grovel and he’s certainly not going to say “nice things” about the invader. The First Felon is out of his depth, here. He should just let grown ups handle things and shut his pie-hole.

Just as an aside, according to Reuters, ‘Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski said there were “whispers from the White House that they may try to end all U.S. support for Ukraine… I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world.”‘

Today she describes herself as “sick to her stomach.” Tomorrow she’ll vote with the majority anyway. Honor seems to be yesterdays news, along with decency, honesty, and empathy. This is just the latest example of MAGA moral decline. They’re cheering the aggressor and deriding the victims…

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I’m glad to know I’m not the only one concerned about the MAGA moral decline and it offers me hope to know there are still sane Republicans in this country. David Brooks is one such and he DOES NOT like what’s going on. After 47 ambushed Zelenskyy in the White House in an apparent attempt to get some good footage for the Kremlin, Brooks said this: “Donald Trump believes in one thing. He believes that might makes right. And, in that, he agrees with Vladimir Putin that they are birds of a feather. And he and Vladimir Putin together are trying to create a world that’s safe for gangsters, where ruthless people can thrive. And we saw the product of that effort today in the Oval Office.”

“And I have — I first started thinking, is it — am I feeling grief? Am I feeling shock, like I’m in a hallucination? But I just think shame, moral shame. It’s a moral injury to see the country you love behave in this way.”

At this point, deeply loyalist MAGA are probably lost to their fate but there are still moral Republicans and they need to keep speaking up. Our once-great nation is lost but decent Americans NEED the world to see that we’re not all bad…

Keep Shouting…

Well, wow! THAT was something, wasn’t it? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the US in an effort to gain security guarantees in exchange for access to Ukraine’s rare earths. I haven’t seen much of JD Vance since the “election” but he was there this time. His role seemed to be in reminding Zelenskyy that 47 doesn’t do ANYTHING unless he gets a verbal handjob talking about how great he is, so Zelenskyy had better bow low in supplication. “You CAN’T say ‘Thank you’ enough…”

THEN Vance accused Zelenskyy of not negotiating with Putin. Zelenskyy corrected that false information. Of course, this is the ‘fact-free maladministration’ and facts are viewed as something of a mortal sin in the White House these days. So, obviously, Vance and Putin’s Puppet just had to push back – against facts. Something of a shouting match ensued.

At one point, The First Felon started trying to pressure Zelenskyy to say “something nice” about Putin. Zelenskyy refused. I get that. Imagine someone coming into your house and murdering your entire family. Everyone knows who did it. An arrest is made quickly and when the killer gets to court, the judge says he’ll hand down the sentence only AFTER you say “something nice” about the killer. THAT is the situation Zelenskyy is in, and 47 wants Zelenskyy to say something NICE about Putin?!? Frankly, I think Zelenskyy showed great restraint in that room. Oh, but as always with this crowd, the plot thickens.

It turns out, there was secretly a member of Russian State TV, TASS, embedded with the hand-picked press pool in the room that day. Reuters wasn’t allowed in. AP wasn’t allowed in. But TASS got in. When I heard THAT part, I understood The First Felon’s focus on getting Zelenskyy to say something nice about Putin. My guess? That was Trump’s assignment. “Make him to say something nice about me on camera,” Putin ordered, “We take from there.”

If there was something nice to say about Putin, and Zelenskyy HAD said it, the Russians would have put that crap on a loop and put it out into the world in a matter of minutes. It would have been a tremendous propaganda coup for Russia. But Trump failed. (I wonder if he still gets paid…) Zelenskyy MAY have been too smart for Trump’s clumsy efforts but, mostly, I just don’t think there IS anything nice to say about Putin so Zelenskyy was just being honest.

When the White House was asked how a Russian state TV “reporter” got into the room, the answer was – get this – he wasn’t supposed to be there. Remember, this was a hand-picked press pool, but this guy just wandered in? They pointed out that after Trump failed to secure the required footage, the TASS “reporter” was escorted out. (No, they didn’t quite phrase it that way. That’s just what happened…)

Wait, can we roll that back a little bit? Did you say someone just…wandered into the Oval Office? In the White House? Can people DO that, just wander in to the Oval Office? It’s very curious how a TASS “reporter” managed it – and only long enough to witness 47 trying to get Zelenskyy to say “something nice” about Putin. Very curious, indeed.

I’m sure, by now, MAGA thinks 47 was in awesome form, pretending to be a tough guy, and that Zelenskyy got what he deserved, but, really, MAGA is the least dependable source on the planet these days. They know nothing. Much of the rest of the world understood exactly what happened: Trump made a fool of himself. Again. Yet another blunder from the Blunderer-in-Chief.

Also, this marks not one, but TWO more failures on The First Felon’s part. One, he failed to cajole Zelenskyy into giving Putin the footage he wanted and, two, he failed to resolve that war. Technically, he had ALREADY failed on that one, having promised peace within 48 hours of being elected. But NOW he hasn’t even settled the issue 48 hours after a meeting on the topic. Nope, make it three failures.

He ALSO failed to secure the deal to gain access to Ukraine’s rare earths. Fail, fail, fail. It turns out, diplomacy and negotiation involves more than just shouting “Make a deal!” at someone. And, by the way, has anybody heard the details of the “deal” he wants Zelenskyy to make? Based on Trump’s previous fealty to Putin, I’d guess that Trump “recommends” that Zelenskyy just give Putin what he wants and call it even.

I’ll tell you this: I’m starting to believe that Trump may not be the master of the deal that he pretends to be, outside of criminal activity, I mean…

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You’re looking for money. You need it and you need a LOT. Why are you rooting around in the couch cushions for loose change and ignoring the huge jar of cash sitting on the counter? In my mind, that’s the equivalent of what Musk’s criminal DOGE group is doing. They intend to find savings in order to partially pay for the tax cuts they want. THAT, they insist, means eliminating people from jobs that need to be done. But so long as they can SAY those jobs don’t need to be done, they’re good, right? Setting aside, of course, that people can SAY anything. It’s still the same as seeking loose change in the cushions.

Meanwhile, there are billions of dollars being handed over to huge corporations that are in very good shape and don’t need any help at all. How is THAT not fraud, waste, and abuse? In America, corporations are the true welfare queens. Corporate welfare is about twice what the US pays in social welfare. But rich people benefit from corporate welfare, so the rich people are coming after social welfare.

Oh, it should be added that social welfare almost always creates value. People get their money back. That makes it an investment. Corporate welfare, on the other hand, doesn’t really benefit anybody since the corporations that receive it don’t need it. As it happens, when you give something to someone who doesn’t need it, he just throws it on the pile. It doesn’t help anyone. So, of course the rich people are coming after social welfare.

Republicans are working day and night to throw millions of people out of their jobs and their health insurance but Elon will still get his subsidies. We don’t even know how much Elon takes, for sure, because some of his welfare comes through the Pentagon. And NOW, his criminal position allows him to secure even more of your money. How could THAT be a conflict of interest, MAGA wonders.

If the criminal DOGE was interested in saving money, they’d look at corporate welfare. Since they’re not looking at corporate welfare, they must have some OTHER goal in mind. Every day we’re moving closer to needing those guillotines. Then? We’ll need an economic system that works well for everyone, not just rich people…

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The First Felon is ramping up his blame machine. The economy is about to experience a huge downturn. It’s the direct result of the current incompetence in the White House but, since 47 is pathologically incapable of taking responsibility for the things he does, he’s marching people out to blame, um…(checks notes) – Biden. Wait, Biden? Oh, of course he is.

Then again, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Biden DID set him up. Biden left ALL of the economic indicators in favorable positions as he shuffled out the door. Inflation was down, gas was more affordable, unemployment was down. Consumer confidence was rising. The stock market just kept hitting new record highs. Things were looking good. But to hear Trump tell it, hidden in the weeds in there, somewhere, Biden left an economic bomb.

The really amazing part is, not ONLY did Biden leave a bomb set to go off, he managed to set it to go off only AFTER 47 started making his own moves. If I understand correctly, had The Felon simply not made any changes, the bomb would never have gone off. But that’s not the end of it. SOMEHOW, Biden tricked 47 into firing people by the tens of thousands AND initiate an incredibly stupid, totally unnecessary trade war against, well, against the whole world.

That means that Biden set a bomb so detailed, SO intricate, Donny couldn’t even describe it, let alone diffuse it. AND… he performed this feat of amazement even though he was trapped in the throes of debilitating senility. That, right there, is a master class in the senile genius of incompetent accomplishment.

Well, it’s either that or 47 is lying AGAIN in an effort to deflect blame for his own failures…

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MAGA Mike the Johnson is lying, too. By now, you’ve likely seen the videos of Congress critters holding town halls in which the crowd is openly hostile and shouting at their representative to do something. That’s gotta suck for the representative, but I suppose it’s the price one pays when one aligns themselves with evil. They’re not going to do anything to stop this, but they have to take the shouting from furious people.

MAGA Mike says the people shouting are paid protestors. Well, unless someone asks for proof. THEN, he admits he doesn’t know if they’re paid but instead pivots to “they’re Democrats,” ignoring the fact that they are also constituents. He says they come early and fill the seats. He calls it an “old trick.” THAT part, I believe. He would know the strategy. It certainly explains videos of cons shouting down their Democratic representatives, right?

The thing is, the cons were shouting because they didn’t know the truth about what the left was doing. The left is shouting because we DO know the truth about what the right is doing. That is to say, we’re shouting for the right reasons. So, keep shouting

Petty Prevarications…

It doesn’t happen very often, but it turns out, there are only two ways this thing can be. Either MAGA knew what they were signing up for, or they didn’t. If they did, if they KNEW 47 was going to hand the government over to Musk to watch the richest man on the planet attack the weakest and most defenseless people, well, there’s going to be a special place in hell for them. THEY, at least, get what they deserve.

If they didn’t though, they should really step up and say so. We’ve seen a few brave souls doing that, stepping up to confess they got played. I would guess that’s a hard thing to do, especially in this current social climate where cons reduce everything to their ridiculous “culture war.” People don’t LIKE confessing they got conned. It’s hard to blame them. They feel stupid and they’re embarrassed. Some of them will admit it, at least to themselves, and change tack. They’re not likely to swing left, of course, but they’ll pull back from supporting the conman, as well.

But after arguing with people about voting for 47, then actually doing it, then seeing the results of that vote, some become even more dedicated to their position. It would not be the first time in history someone supported something spectacularly wrong and then stuck to it in a desperate but vain attempt to prove they were NOT wrong. That’s called false pride.

But make no mistake, there ARE people out there who are all in on this. They’ll make excuses. They’ll defend his actions. For whatever reasons, they’re going to enjoy the destruction…

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Well, shit’s on now. Musk is coming after your social security. It turns out, Musk is a moron, not a genius. He’s been lying about finding people receiving Social Security checks. The problem? The people in question, he says, are 150 years old. I suppose people are supposed to believe the Social Security Administration has been mailing checks to people who are 150 years old. I suspect even MAGA isn’t dumb enough to accept that.

As it happens, the COBOL program the Social Security Administration uses, fills in a date by default when the birth date isn’t entered. That date? May 20, 1875. That date was used by the programmers who wrote the program because that’s the date the International Bureau of Weights and Measures was created. It’s an homage.

Musk is using it as a lie. In fact, he just lies and lies and lies. Like 47, he makes things up on the fly. He has claimed billions in fraud. He hasn’t proven one cent. Do you know why? He’s lying! Even when he DID try to show where he found fraud, he lied. He overstated what he found, likely because he’s not an auditor and doesn’t understand what he’s looking at, and many of his claims are just smoke and mirrors. It happens SO often and has gotten SO bad, if Musk says he found a quarter on the sidewalk (which he would DEFINITELY pocket, being so needy) I would consider it a lie until he proved it. Going forward, I recommend you do the same. Musk is a liar and he’s lying all the time. MAGA may never figure it out, but the rest of us can see clearly.

Look, it makes sense that in an organization as large as the US government, there are going to be some errors. There is going to be some fraud, waste, and abuse. That’s why we had inspectors general. They caught things. Never forget, the woman Ronald Reagan immortalized as the greatest fraudster in history, the so-called “welfare queen,” received that “honor” by getting caught! People might get away with it for a while, sometimes. Then they get caught. Then they go to jail (or in one infamous case, become President of the United States.)

It looks like ELON is the fraud, his efforts are a total waste, and his actions are abuse. Technically, that means I’VE found more fraud, waste, and abuse than Muck – and it didn’t cost you a penny. You’re welcome…

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This will be fun. 47 recently claimed that Ukraine shouldn’t have started the war with Russia. Yes, that’s exactly backwards, but what do you expect from this “stable genius?” Every knowledgeable person on the planet knows that Putin attacked Ukraine. Russia started this war without cause, a violation of the Geneva Conventions. Surprisingly, some Republicans stood up to correct the record.

“To the extent that the White House said Ukraine started the war, I disagree. I think Vladimir Putin started the war.” – Louisiana Senator John Kennedy.
“I do not agree that President Zelensky is to blame in any way…this was a rogue invasion by Russia” – Maine Senator Susan Collins.
“When it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others” – South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham.
“It is quite clear who started that war. It was absolutely Russia, at Putin’s directive.” – Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.

Those four have now committed the ultimate GOP sin; they’ve spoken factual truth. For now, for the moment, they sound smarter than 47. 47 doesn’t like people who are smarter than him – which is why he hates everybody. So, here’s the game: Let’s see how long it takes each of them to step up to a microphone somewhere and “clarify” their position to ‘Ukraine started the war.’ I mean, ‘Strong backbone’ is NOT a standard feature of Republicans, these days…

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I dunno. I think he’s being petty. A short time ago, ‘Time’ magazine featured a depiction on it’s cover that showed President Muck sitting behind the Resolute Desk. NOW, 47 has removed the Resolute Desk from the Oval Office. To be clear, this is not a completely unheard of move. Presidents can choose from something like six different desks. It’s just that the Resolute Desk has become sort of a tradition since being gifted to the White House. The First Felon says it’s only temporary as the Resolute Desk needs some work.

I know it’s a tiny little thing but I don’t believe him. The whole world has been watching Elon pulling on The Felons’ leash since taking over. 47 doesn’t seem to like it but he absolutely takes it. The word is, see, Elon can prove Elon’s efforts to steal the “election” at The Felon’s request, so Elon gets to call the shots. THAT means 47 has no voice in these matters and when ‘Time’ shows Elon behind the Resolute Desk, 47 can’t say anything. But he CAN remove the desk. Sure, it’s petty but when have you ever even HEARD of anyone as petty as Trump? If this is the only measure he’s got to “get even,” that’s what he’ll do.

Then again, maybe the Resolute Desk just needs some refurbishment…

What’s Real?

I don’t expect good things, with this. Gavin Newsom is out there making a big show of ‘Trump-proofing’ California, as the Guardian called it. Is he, though? I mean, he’s trying and I appreciate that. But here’s the deal. Federal law supersedes state law. California has access to abortion enshrined in their constitution. It means nothing. Several states had outlawed abortion in their constitutions and Roe v Wade rendered those provisions inactive. That’s why they were ready when Roe was overturned.

I appreciate Newsom’s efforts. At this point, I’d like to see California (and, perhaps the rest of the west coast) secede from the union and form a new, better country. That won’t happen, though. Remember the Civil War? There’s no provision for secession.

If you want to register protest, you have to do it where they live. Close your wallets. I mean that. Don’t buy anything you don’t absolutely HAVE to buy. That will be difficult, of course. If such a concept was successful, many people would lose their jobs as factories shut down. (If nobody is buying, nobody is selling, so there’s no need for manufacturing.)

The people refusing to buy would feel the pain along with everyone else. Then again, we’re all about to feel the pain anyway. It might offer some small comfort to have at least a modicum of control over how the pain spreads.

Think of it like that movement women are embracing. They’re beginning to go with a movement in which they refuse to sleep with anyone (well, any men) until women’s rights are restored. I think that’s solid thinking. It’s called the “4B movement.” It originated in South Korea and the “B’s” in question are Korean words that basically mean women are keeping themselves TO themselves so long as they don’t have bodily autonomy. Yeah, everyone feels that. The question is, who feels it first and who feels it worst?

Newsom’s efforts are inspiring but they will amount to nothing in the long run. Federal law supersedes state law. Truthfully, closing our wallets is the ONLY thing I can think of to defend ourselves…

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Here’s irony. One of the ways Trump scared hell out of his acolytes was to tell them Kamala was “going to start World War III.” Okay, so, it wouldn’t be Kamala in the first place. We’ve enjoyed the BIDEN administration, not the Harris administration. Two conflicts HAVE started, but the actions I expect from Trump will only inflame them.

Trump withdraws US support for Ukraine. Europe steps in to make up the shortfall. The US withdraws from NATO. Putin feels emboldened to respond to European “interference” and all of Europe is engulfed in war.

Trump tells Netanyahu to go ahead and finish off the Palestinians. The Middle East isn’t going to just sit around and watch that happen. Suddenly, THAT entire region is burning and fighting and killing.

It sounds, to me, like TRUMP is about to start World War III by encouraging the growth and escalation of the conflicts…

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Not that it’s going to make any difference, but the more I think about it, the less I believe it. I mean, look, we had several states working feverishly to eliminate as many Democratic votes as they could, but along with that, we KNOW the Russians were calling in bomb threats all over Georgia. No, not “all over.” In expected Democratic districts. We have no idea how or where else Russia might have intervened and now that corruption is the rule of the day, we’ll never know.

But it turns out ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ was ‘Real, Real, Real,’ after all…