UPDATE: CHUCK SCHUMER AGREES...Robt. Reich says let the government shut down, force Republicans to turn against Trump

Robt. Reich - Donald Trump

JUST IN:  Chuck Schumer Says He's Now Willing To Risk A Government Shutdown

There is no one I know of more aggressive in pointing out Donald Trump's lies, corruption and his abuse of power in an orchestrated destruction of America than Robert Reich. The former Sec. Labor for Bill Clinton, pulls no punches in his opinion on the forthcoming potential shutdown of the U.S. government. It is scheduled to run out of money September 30, and even as a veteran of a government closing during his tenure with Clinton, Reich feels it just might be best to let it shut down and force cowardly Republicans to come to their senses and challenge Donald Trump. In Robt. Reich's own words...

"Under ordinary circumstances, people like you and me — who believe that government is essential for the common good — would fight like hell to keep the government funded beyond September 30.

'But we are not in ordinary circumstances. The U.S. government has become a neofascist regime run by a sociopath.

"That sociopath is using the government to punish his enemies. He’s using the government to rake in billions of dollars for himself and his family."

And here's his reasoning...

"He’s using the government to force the leaders of every institution in our society — universities, media companies, law firms, even museums — to become fawning supplicants: pleading with him, praising him, and silencing criticism of him.

"He is using the government to disappear people from our streets without due process. He is using the government to occupy our cities, overriding the wishes of mayors and governors.

"He is using the government to impose arbitrary and capricious import taxes — tariffs — on American consumers. He is using the government to worsen climate change. He is using government to reject our traditional global allies and strengthen some of the worst monsters around the globe."

It would be a national tragedy to keep the government open to the mass of Donald Trump suck-ups that don't have the balls to use their constitutionally given rights to put the reins on the Oval Office lunatic and say, whoa, you're way out of line. Shutting down his dictatorial moves once and for all. Then reopen the government to a new democracy. Reich's own words again...

"So I for one have decided that the best route is to shut the whole f------ thing down."

He added...

"Morally, Democrats must not enable what is now occurring. Politically, they cannot remain silent in the face of such mayhem."

At best, Democrats have been observers on the political scene, for the last several years. Like their

Republican counterparts, who are cowards, Democrats have lost their taste for aggressive politics, in a period when it should have been running at full power. The GOP has outdone them in federal and state offices, and are also known for their dirty politics like voter access, campaigning, and institutional manipulation. Republican's specialty is suppressing votes and are unparalleled in the creation of misinformation. Democrats have let this happen with a weak agenda and party confusion.

Reich is convinced if Democrats stand firm on the closing of the government on Sept. 30, it will give them "a chance to show America that they have chosen to become conscientious objectors to a government that is no longer functioning for the people of the United States but for one man." But to do this they have to discover the party's aggressiveness of the past and not budge when challenged. Robert Reich says...

"They can then use their newfound leverage — the only leverage they’ve mustered in eight months — to demand, in return for their votes to restart the government, that their Republican compatriots give them reason to believe that the government they restart will be responsible."

It just may be now or never... 

 

Is there anyone in Donald Trump's Cabinet that isn't crazy?

Hegseth, Noem, Bondi

Let's start with Kristi Noem, Sec. Homeland Security, who killed her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, because he was untrainable, supposedly dangerous. Then there's Pete Hegseth, Sec. Defense, who leaked highly-sensitive attack details in yet another unclassified Signal chat, this time to his wife and brother, putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at greater risk. And another looney, Pam Bondi, Attorney General, who said that Trump's fentanyl seizures saved 258 million lives in his first 100 days in office, experts say is a gross exaggeration. All major suck-ups but crazy as the maniac they work for.

However, the one who has literally broken the mold for crazies is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for his recent performance at a Senate hearing. Sen. Michael Bennet from Colorado shredded RFK Jr. calling out all his lies and conspiracy theories emphasizing how the Sec. Health was demolishing the American health care system. Trump's stooge was exasperated, acting like a wild animal who had been caged for months. ABC News said...

"He spent about three hours defending himself and his actions a week after the ousting of Susan Monarez as CDC director and major vaccine changes, including limiting access to the COVID-19 vaccine."

Here's more to this...

Monarez, who was in the job for only a month, was pushed out after she declined to fire top officials and pledge to support Kennedy's vaccine policy changes, a source familiar with her conversations with the secretary previously told ABC News.

And then there's this shocker...

"Doctors and other public health experts have pointed out that Kennedy has filled open CDC positions with people who have earned income testifying against vaccine makers and hold vaccine skeptical views."

RFK Jr.

RFK Jr. obviously has his own agenda which is anti-vaccine, actually just anti-science, and is determined to destroy years of medical advancement and research in this field based on his lunatic theories and beliefs. And here's a switch, Kennedy's family has called for his resignation, but Donald Trump is backing him after the Senate hearing. RawStory is reporting...

"The internet had a fiery response Friday to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s bizarre plans to announce research revealing a potential connection between an over-the-counter medication and pregnancy — dubbing him an 'insane clown' and 'fool.'"

We're talking about Tylenol causing autism in a child when taken by a pregnant mom. The article pointed out the fact that autism had been around years before Tylenol came on the market, making RFK Jr. look like a complete idiot. The RawStory article is full of comments by women about Kennedy that more than puts him in his place and well worth reading. The piece also mentions the Tylenol scare of many years ago when someone was tampering with the product. I believe it has been squeaky clean since then and now this.

Here's one for the books, a Kennedy  crackpot adviser, a doctor, mind you, claims COVID-19 Vaccine Gave King Charles and Kate Middleton Cancer. Couldn't resist throwing this in, just illustrating the whackos that RFK Jr. collects around him. Funny? Yes. But tragic when you consider these nut cases are in control of America's health.

The Daily Beast picked up on the ABC News article adding that a Donald Trump adversary, Chris Christie, "suggesting the health secretary’s tenure under President Donald Trump could be nearing an end." This, in the face of Trump's recent support of RFK Jr. Here's the take...

In an appearance on ABC News’ This Week, the Republican lawmaker and Trump foe said Thursday’s Senate hearing, where Kennedy faced off against critics from both parties, “just confirms what all of us around this table have known for decades: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a foolish man, full of foolish and vapid ideas.”

And finally, a classic example of what this country is dealing with in a world of Republican lies and misinformation, Trump’s former chief of staff Reince Priebus takes this position on RFK Jr...

“I saw a decent, humble, caring guy,” Priebus said. “I think he’s trying to do the right thing.” He argued that Kennedy was simply trying to “balance the benefits of the COVID shot.”

It is this kind of Republican orchestrated lies and misinformation that Democrats have not figured out how to combat. Until they do, Donald Trump and his crazies will go on their merry way. 

Donald Trump is trying to get to Heaven and wants you to fund it

Wouldn't you know, even in his attempt to get in to Heaven, Donald Trump has to do a con job where the world's foremost grifter asks you for money to get him there. He wants fifteen dollars and his idiot followers will no doubt shower him with more riches. There is a report on results I'll mention later, but some believe he is just capitalizing on recent talk of his death. And where the hell did he get $15.00? Although most would agree, this amount places too high a value on the Oval Office lunatic. But he does try to qualify his existence by the fact that the assassin's bullet's miss meant he was saved for a reason. 

Here are his own words...

‘But I believe that God saved me for one reason: TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’

The Metro piece continues...

Trump rambled in the email, telling his supporters they had been with him through ‘everything’ – his impeachments, a ‘rigged’ election, ‘sham’ legal cases and his assassination attempts.

All of which a balanced and intelligent person knows is just hallucinations from a mentally deranged individual who has dropped off the other side of nowhere. In his appeal for your money, Trump digresses through a delirium of imagined accomplishments where "His email bolstered himself up into a sort of ‘immortal’ leader." According to the Federal Election Commission, $1,865,656.03 has been raised so far. Christian groups have responded as if this isn't really a hoax, but Donald Trump actually attempting to get into heaven and justifies advice...

"In a column published in Christianity Today, Russell Moore wrote: ‘Jesus said that it is very difficult for those who are wealthy or powerful to enter his kingdom (Mark 10:25). He said that to follow him means we lose our lives in order to find them again in his life.

"‘To actually enter heaven, you have to give up that mindset of earning your way there. You have to recognize your own need for something you can’t win or achieve or earn,’ he added.

"‘To see the way to heaven, stop thinking of yourself as a president or a billionaire, if only for a moment. You can’t get to heaven with the art of the deal.’"

Either Russell Moore isn't the brightest guy at Christianity today, he's naive enough to believe Trump's malarky, or he is just one of the evangelical suck-ups. Either way, Donald Trump has about as much chance of getting into Heaven as he has turning into an honest, respectable human being. Hands down, neither will happen. 

 

Liberals are breaking loose onto the political landscape

I'm back...had to attend to some medical issues and other problems. During my absence my blog has exploded with traffic numbering 14,800 readers yesterday, 10,000 already today, two months over 100,000 each, and averaging 80,000 per month. All since the first of the year, when Donald Trump recaptured the White House. You know that Nasty Jack Buzz is totally anti-Republican, more specifically anti-Donald Trump, the reason for the headline above, and my belief that support for Trump is dwindling fast indicates the nation is finally realizing we are on the precipice of losing our democracy.

I heard something recently in the media that a large portion of the American public have resigned themselves to accept Trump as a dictator, letting him make all their decisions, but feeling they will be better off with this. In a recent Google AI poll...

"around 44% of Americans express sentiment that aligns with giving former President Donald Trump extensive power, though no mainstream poll frames the question with the loaded term 'dictator.".

Maybe these morons are salvageable, at least a portion, but, regardless, the rest of our country must move ahead and work toward ridding the U.S. of Donald Trump and his administration of imbeciles. And it's not just the left that is reacting, Republican Rep. from Kentucky, Thomas Massie, is "spearheading a bipartisan bill for transparency on the notorious late sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein." This is one of, if not the biggest, obstacle facing Trump today. Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna’s bill to force the DOJ to release the so-called Epstein files in full have garnered support...

"Three of MAGA’s strongest soldiers are flipping on President Trump to back Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna’s bipartisan discharge petition to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files in full."

And they are...

Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Nancy Mace have all come out in support of the discharge petition, while virtually everyone else in their party cowers in fear of angering the president further.

This is just the beginning so please keep reading my blog for more of what is eventually going to bring down Donald Trump and his corrupt administration. And...THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for your support.

Laura Loomer has Donald Trump by the balls...again

 

Donald Trump - Laura Loomer

The Donald Trump mass firing across the U.S. government are unconscionable on their own, but letting a fellow lunatic talk him into cutting loose the director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Timothy Haugh and his civilian deputy Wendy Noble is questionable for the security of the American public. Loomer even confirmed it on her Twitter post...

"NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble have been disloyal to President Trump. That is why they have been fired ... Thank you President Trump for being receptive to the vetting materials provided to you and thank you for firing these Biden holdovers."

How the hell have they been disloyal in this short period Trump has been in the White House? Of course, this question cannot be answered. ABC reports...

"Loomer has frequently spread misinformation. In July, she claimed in a social media post, without citing evidence, that President Joe Biden had a medical emergency after landing at Joint Base Andrews."

There's more...

"She had also started unsubstantiated claims about family members of Judge Juan

 

Merchan in Trump's New York hush money case, including that his daughter posted a fake photo of Trump in jail on social media, which the court has denied. It prompted Trump to share Loomer's posts and spread the rumors."

In other words, in a critical national security situation of two very competent individuals, NSA Director Tim Haugh and his deputy Wendy Noble, The Oval Office lunatic has let a misinformation crackpot tell him what to do. And the USA is now more vulnerable. Loomer was shunned during the 2024 election campaign because of her previous inflammatory rhetoric, with Republican leaders limiting her access to Trump. But once in the White House, the conspiracist called t-RUMP and got an appointment.

CNN reported this statement from Loomer...

“This is called vetting,” Loomer wrote on X early Friday, adding of the NSA leaders: “Their firings are a blessing for the American people.”

You might want to read Loomer's X post, above, as it reeks of misinformation about the NSA staff fired as well as someone formerly fired by Trump, Gen. Mark Milley, who called the White House maniac a fascist. But it looks like Loomer is just getting started...

"And it appears Loomer’s work isn’t finished. In the days since her meeting with Trump, Loomer has publicly accused the president’s advisers of failing to block Republicans whom she sees as unfaithful to Trump from top White House and administration jobs. In response to what she calls a 'vetting crisis,” 'Loomer recently announced she was starting an opposition research firm to dig into the backgrounds of executive branch hires on her own."

Here's what The Guardian had to say about the white nationalist and conspiracy theorist...

"Loomer, 31, has been involved in politics as an advocate of Trump. She twice unsuccessfully ran for Congress, in 2020 and 2022, in south Florida and had been known for staging protests including handcuffing herself to a Twitter office after the service banned her and jumping a fence at a home owned by the then House speaker Nancy Pelosi."

The Guardian has much more about Loomer that is worth reading. 

And what I want you to take away from this post is the fact that Donald Trump has some very dangerous supporters and that Laura Loomer is by far one of the most dangerous. 

Is there anything right about tariffs?

 

Markets plunge after Trump slaps tariffs on world

What do tariffs do?...

Tariffs on imports are designed to raise the price of imported goods and services to discourage consumption. The intention is for citizens to buy local products instead, thereby stimulating their country's economy. Tariffs therefore provide an incentive to develop production and replace imports with domestic products.

What are the effects of tariffs?...

Tariffs affect consumers in two main ways. First, they increase the cost of what we buy when the added cost, which companies pay as a tax to the federal government, gets passed on to consumers. Second, they might reduce the range of products available by making some importation unprofitable.

 On what tariffs do, it would seem the push for citizens to buy local products would not be so necessary when you have a thriving economy. According to Chicago Booth Review...

"The White House released a brief on October 30, just days before the election, touting the latest quarterly data. Under the Biden administration, real GDP rose 12.6 percent, rightly cheered in the report as “a historically robust expansion” that repeatedly defied forecasts. Since the pandemic, economic growth in the US has far outpaced that of our peer nations. Business investment is up; unemployment is low."

The above is what Joe Biden passed along to Donald Trump. 

Sure, we want everyone to buy American. But, is that need so justified when we have a

Tariffs stock market concerns

thriving economy as described above? And, are tariffs justified when they increase costs to the public and we could end up in a vicious trade war, accompanied by a damning recession? On the other hand, CNBC has come up with tariff comparisons between the United States and several countries. This is very interesting, but I am going to concentrate on just those nations that are similar in size to the U.S.

China tariffs charged to the USA, 67%; Trump charge 34%. Israel charges 33%; U.S. 17%. Japan 46%; U.S. 24%. India 52%; U.S. 26%. Here's a switch, U.K. 10%; U.S. 10%. And again, United Arab Emirates 10%; U.S. 10%. Likewise, Australia 10%; U.S. 10%.

There's more...

The White House told CNBC’s Eamon Javers on Wednesday that the new reciprocal rate on China will be added to existing tariffs totaling 20%, meaning the true tariff rate on Beijing under this Trump term is 54%.

Trump said his plan will set a 10% baseline tariff across the board. But as his charts make clear, many countries are set to face significantly higher rates. “We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us,” Trump said in an announcement in the Rose Garden at the White House.

Here is some U.S. tariff history from Wikipedia...

The United States pursued a protectionist policy from the beginning of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. Between 1861 and 1933, they had one of the highest average tariff rates on manufactured imports in the world. After 1942, the U.S. began to promote worldwide free trade. After the 2016 presidential election, the US increased trade protectionism.

It would appear that world trade has proven one of the reasons for the current tariff policies of the U.S. In the past, America has been a fair country, working with its allies around the world for equal economic prosperity. That is, until Donald Trump started his demolition of diplomacy. The outlook now is increased consumer prices, a potential trade war, and a possible recession. Is this what you elected Donald Trump for?

 

Did Cory Booker stir the silent left?

 

Sen. Cory Booker

The silent left, you know, the apathetics; that bunch that has taken an oath to hear no politics, see no politics, speak no politics. They're convinced what they have to say and their vote don't count so they just stay home and fester. Did Sen. Cory Booker's 25 hour speech, a new record, start the pot simmering when he turned up the flames of democracy? This is the first dramatic move the left has made in a long time and the hope is the base won't let Cory Booker down. Here is Sen. minority leader Chuck Schumer's full statement on the speech...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to applaud Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) for his record-breaking, 25 hour floor speech fighting for American families against the injustices of the Trump administration. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday, my good friend, Senator Booker, delivered the longest address in the history of the Senate to lay the case of Republican cruelty for all of the American people to see.

And as important as the length of Senator Booker’s speech was – and it was phenomenal, the stamina, the preparation, the focus he showed by speaking for 25 hours was amazing enough – but just as amazing was what he said. He shined a light on the terrible dangers the Trump administration poses to the country we love.

I thank him for his brilliance, for his moral clarity, for his inextinguishable passion. It was a speech for the ages. It will be long remembered not only here in the Senate, but throughout America. It was a tour de force like we rarely see here.

Senator Booker, I thank you, the Senate thanks you, but most of all, the American people thank you.

The Silent Left

Take note of the last paragraph where Schumer shares thanks and ends with, "...but most of all, the American people thank you." I personally feel the 'American people' were ready for this and with some help from the left, the long-awaited steps against Donald Trump and his administration will begin. Do you realize, folks, we have nothing to lose. t-RUMP and the White House maniac #2, Elon Musk, have plunged the U.S. into utter chaos with the mass closing of critical agencies and the firing of valued employees.

Booker might have limped off the floor after his 25 hour, 5 minute speech, but what he said was a firm declaration of the corruption and destruction by Donald Trump and his minions, as they destroy the U.S. government. Here's the scenario...

"It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist and southern Democrat, to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957."

And this from the U.S. House...

"House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in Congress, slipped into the Senate chamber to watch Booker on Tuesday afternoon. He called it 'an incredibly powerful moment' because Booker had broken the record of a segregationist and was 'fighting to preserve the American way of life and our democracy.'”

The Senator wrapped up his speech and then yielded the floor to enthusiastic applause, as reported by ABC...

"From all Americans, this is a moral moment. It's not left or right -- it's right or wrong," Booker said after continuing his speech and touching on everything from cuts to federal programs initiated by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to the controversy surrounding Trump administration officials' use of the Signal messaging app.

I definitely think the pot has been stirred. 

Donald Trump’s NEW reality show...GHASTLY

 

Trumpelstiltskin

To kick off today's show, after we have enormous, replicated, perplexing blather from its creator, Donald Trump's new reality show features a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision...

"...not to release their experts’ assessment that found the risk of catching measles is high in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lagging."

And according to ProPublica, this is why RFK Jr.'s CDC did not release the report: “because it does not say anything that the public doesn’t already know.” If ever we have seen RFK's stupidity at work, this takes the case. Of course we wouldn't want to re-alert the public to the dangers of the vicious spread of measles; the Kennedy dropout doesn't think there is any danger.

Just what we need, the new Canadian Prime Minister told Donald Trump, "...the country’s relationship with the U.S. was “over.” This in response to t-RUMP'S asinine actions against our northern neighbor and friend for years. And then the Oval Office lunatic backed off, according to The New Republic...

“I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada.”

Go figure.

Revisiting the antics of RFK Jr., this conspiracy maniac forced the FDA’s top vaccine scientist, Peter Marks, the nation’s top vaccine regulator and an architect of the U.S. program to rapidly develop coronavirus vaccines, to resign. This estimable professional in his field was offered the choice to resign or be fired. He resigned, but added...

“It is unconscionable with measles outbreaks to not have a full-throated endorsement of measles vaccinations,” Marks told The Washington Post.

And this is why was he was fired...

"A Department of Health and Human Services official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said that Marks did not have a 'place at FDA' if he did not buy into Kennedy’s vision for the agency."

A vision that has already seen two people die from measles in the U.S.

As a means to call attention to a major intelligence blunder by the Trump administration and their moves to "downplay" their strategy, as well as reconfirming their credibility, The Atlantic, reported by Mother Jones...

"...on Wednesday published new exchanges that confirmed war plans—including launch times—of the upcoming mission to bomb Houthi targets across Yemen were discussed in the Signal chat that accidentally included the publication’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg."

The reaction was also prompted by the fact...

"Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, smeared the publication and denied that classified information was discussed in the chat."

After botching confidential U.S.intelligence, then Donald Trump resorts to lying about it. Cause for impeachment?

Now the Apprentice has-been wants to “'[Restore] Truth and Sanity to American History' by ordering the Smithsonian Institution to teach only the good stuff about America." Wonkette adds, with a bit of sarcasm...

"...which has always been just and right and perfect except when Democrats stole elections.

Here's the scenario...

"The order instructs Vice President JD Vance, who by law is one of 17 members of the Smithsonian’s board of regents, to “work to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo,” because, the order lies, Joe Biden came in and made the Smithsonian, and indeed all American history curricula everywhere, all woke, all by himself."

Nothing is sacred to this fruitcake, but what is at stake here is an accurate history of our country. 

Terrifying: A Donald Trump third term. Here's the headline from Tag 24: "Trump says he is 'not joking' about possible third term as US president." And I'm not joking, if anything can awaken the apathetic American public, four more years of Donald Trump could do it. Of course, the Constitution specifies a two-term limit, but what the hell does t-RUMP care about a 237-year-old document. In his conversation with NBC News, Trump said, "There are methods which you could do it."

This is not about a third term, this is about a continuing dictatorship. But here is one plan NBC News came up with...

"NBC News asked about a possible scenario in which Vice President JD Vance would run for office and then pass the role to Trump. Trump responded that 'that’s one' method."

 “But there are others, too,” Trump added.

Asked to share another method, Trump simply responded “no.”

The key to this piece is a 237-year-old document that has stood the challenges of time.

Trump sends J.D. Vance to Greenland, where he pisses off the people by being there and they completely ignore him. Here's what the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen had to say...

"The Danish foreign minister on Saturday scolded the Trump administration for

 

its 'tone' in criticizing Denmark and Greenland, saying his country is already investing more into Arctic security and remains open to more cooperation with the U.S."

Of course Trumpelstiltskin and his big mouth chimed in...

"...Donald Trump maintained an aggressive tone, telling NBC News that "I never take military force off the table" in regards to acquiring Greenland.

And that's not the White House maniac's only threat this week, he threatens to bomb Iran if a nuclear deal can’t be reached. His actual words...

“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing.”

Iran had already rejected direct negotiations with the administration in response to a letter from Donald Trump. Now a country with strong support for terrorism doesn't trust Trump.

Coming up...Donald Trump's shell game.

 

The Donald Trump collection...DISORIENTED

 

Donald Trump disoriented

It is almost impossible to select one blog post subject these days when talking about Donald Trump. So, here is a selection that should delight even the most radical Republican...

The Trump gang is downplaying the Signal issue, but new polling suggests that the president is facing a growing revolt over it among GOP voters. Read more

Rachel Maddow says "GOP poll numbers 'dropping like a stone.'" 

"New polling from Gallup just out today shows that there's no issue in which the American people like what Donald Trump is doing,"

"On his handling of the economy, Trump is 18 points "under water," Maddow said, and 19 points under water on his relations with Russia.

"He's underwater on his handling of the federal budget, energy policy, on foreign affairs, on the Ukraine war, on the environment. On even his relations with the dreaded news media!"

Read more 

A member of Denmark's parliament has warned the United States: "We cannot be allies with US if Trump tries to take our territory away." Vance is in Greenland while Trump exclaims, "he wouldn't rule out using economic and/or military methods to take over the island. Read more

In his 1949 novel, 1984, George Orwell warned of the Surveillance, Manipulation, and Authoritarianism that t-RUMP's administration has forced on Americans. Orwell's dystopian society is no longer fiction, it has become the reality of today. What we are experiencing is Donald Trump's escalation to the dictatorship he has been string for years. Read more

This headline says it all: "Vaccine skeptic hired to head federal study of immunizations and autism." That's right, RFK Jr. hired a long-discredited researcher and vaccine skeptic to conduct a government study on whether vaccines cause autism. Read more

Are we really getting rid of Elon Musk? He says "he'll 'ditch Trump' and quit Washington D.C. after DOGE purge." DOGE employee said, "President Trump has been very clear, scalpel not hatchet and that's the way its been getting done." Bullshit! Here's what the House Committee on the Budget said just last week: "DOGE's Mass Firings Result in Gutted Services and Higher Costs." Read more

Steve Bannon attacks the courts to keep Trump out of prison. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ordered President Donald Trump to preserve all records from the "Signalgate" scandal. Bannon's concern is that when [not if] the Democrats come back into power, Trump's track record of dodging prison time for his criminal charges will run out. Read more.

New Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, says 'old relationship' with US 'is over.'

t-RUMP, the White House sham, cowers and plans his next stupidity. Read more

Here is Canada in retaliation: "Canada 'rage room' lets visitors smash Trump, Vance, Musk portraits to release tariff angst." But, "Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says there may be a limit to Ottawa's ability to escalate a tariff war." Read more

Signal chat won't go away. "U.S. District Judge James Boasberg orders Trump administration to preserve Signal chat on Yemen strikes."  The same judge, earlier this month, temporarily blocked Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport more than 200 alleged migrant gang members to El Salvador without due process. Read more

The New Republic reveals Trump's cluelessness over what he is doing. "The American public knew before Donald Trump that top administration officials had conducted airstrikes on Yemen via a Signal chat, and now it appears that the president has been left in the dark on other intelligence matters too. Read more

Is Trump losing interest in governing? Not that he has ever really governed but AlterNet has concerns...

"over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office."

Read more 

Here's a headline that is irresistible: "The American Dream is officially over," by Donald Earl Collins of Aljazeera. Collins adds, "All because the rich must always steal from the poor." Sound familiar? Bernie Sanders has been saying that for years. Here's an example...

According to a report from Moody’s Analytics in February, the richest 10 percent of Americans (households with an annual income of at least $250,000) [12.7 million households] drove half of all US consumer spending (about $10 trillion) between September 2023 and September 2024.

Read more 

 RFK Jr.'s vitamin A conspiracy sends kids to the hospital. Here's the scenario...

As the New York Times reports, overuse of Vitamin A — health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s purported measles cure, alongside cod liver oil, which contains the same vitamin — has led to liver damage and yellowed skin in children infected with measles.

Read more 

And, so much for today...

If we have a mental case in the Oval Office, shouldn't we do something?

 

Post-traumatic embitterment disorder (PTED)

The person that has been elected to run the United States should have his or her hands on the pulse of the country. Recently reelected Donald Trump does not. He is more concerned with retribution toward his enemies and most recently, slapping tariffs on any country that disagrees with him. I Googled "revenge and mental illness" and found there is Post-traumatic embitterment disorder (PTED), which is defined as a pathological reaction to a negative life event. The perfect description of t-RUMP in action against his adversaries.

And there is more to identify Trump as losing it. Apparently there was public knowledge about the recent Signal intelligence breach before the White House maniac knew. Then, "Trump casually admitted that he was not aware that several U.S. army members had gone missing during a training exercise in Lithuania." It isn't so much that he didn't know; the problem is that he didn't care that he didn't know. The New Republic comments...

"But the armymen were known to be missing as early as Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., the Lithuanian military said, so why Trump was still unaware of the situation more than 24 hours later is unclear."

"The lapse in Trump’s knowledge begs the question, however, as to just how much intel the president has been left out of within the folds of his own administration."

The question, however, is whether or not Trump even wants the intel. And more from TNR...

"During another White House press briefing on Monday, Trump fumbled by admitting that he was not only not invited to his Cabinet’s Signal exchange, in which his top officials discussed when, how, and where they would bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, but that he actually had no idea it had happened."

 

AlterNet exclaims there are...

"Concerns are mounting over President Donald Trump’s ability, willingness, or even interest in engaging with the most pressing issues facing the country, as he increasingly—and casually—admits to being unaware of critical matters. His repeated declarations of ignorance, often delivered without hesitation or concern, have deepened alarm among critics who warn of a dangerous void in informed leadership in the Oval Office."

The concerns are relative to the two points already mentioned, but illustrates how Trump's mental efficacy is on the minds of major media. There's more from AlterNet...

“Hegseth is doing a great job. He had nothing to do this. Hegseth? How do you bring Hegseth into it? He had nothing to do with it. Look, it’s all a witch hunt,” Trump told the reporter. He then went on to try to blame Signal, saying he thought it could be “defective.”

If this is the response of someone with all his marbles in the right place, then the study of psychology has gone down the drain. And it is Huff Post that reflects on the most prevalent psycho side of  Donald Trump's psyche, his early morning rants on Truth Social...

"President Donald Trump fired off a series of wild messages on a number of topics during a flurry of activity on his Truth Social website in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

"Trump railed against a judge, attacked PBS and NPR, defended his tariffs and sent a warning to Europe and Canada, which were once key U.S. allies."

 The key words here are, 'were once key U.S. allies.' The question is how many more allies will we lose before the people of this country finally stand up to Donald Trump?

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Has Donald Trump made you feel ill?

 

Back in September of 2017, columnist Dana Milbank said, "President Trump is killing me. No, really. He’s killing me." Here's the story from Milbank...

"I went for my annual physical last month, and, for the first time in my 49 years, I had to report that I’ve not been feeling well: fatigue, headaches, poor sleep, even some occasional chest pain. My doctor checked my blood pressure, which had always been normal before: alarmingly high!"

The columnist couldn't explain any of this because his lifestyle was one of different physical activities designed to keep him in good shape. A regulated diet didn't help much; EKG was normal; and sleep apnea, among other possibilities, was ruled out. Even a CT scan didn't reveal anything threatening. Then, Holy crap, Dana Milbank felt a THUD. He was suffering from Trump Hypertensive Unexplained Disorder. He commented...

"For almost five decades, I had been the picture of health, but eight months into Trump’s presidency, I was suddenly ailing. Trump is the only variable, I told my doctor. “He sure is variable,” my doc replied, endorsing the diagnosis."

Milbank knew THUD was real when his editor told him he was warned by his doctor that his blood pressure had become borderline. And then to confirm for himself that THUD was for real, he bought a blood pressure cuff. As an example, spending the evening with friends, his blood pressure was 116/67. On another occasion he remembered that Trump’s term would last another 40 months, his blood pressure was 159/97. This is the outcome...

"Psychotherapists tell me that they are unusually busy and that most clients are talking about Trump, who is exacerbating whatever neurosis, depression or other conditions they had. This is probably quantifiable, but I am too fatigued to do this work. My heart can only take so much."

Fast forward to 2019, the headline says, "Research Suggests Trump’s Election Has Been Detrimental to Many Americans’ Mental Health."  Following are examples of THUD...

Overeating. Headaches. Fainting. Irregular heartbeat. Chronic neck pain. Depression. Irritable bowel syndrome. Tightness in the chest. Shortness of breath. Teeth grinding. Stomach ulcer. Indigestion. Shingles. Eye twitching. Nausea. Irritability. High blood sugar. Tinnitus. Reduced immunity. Racing pulse. Shaking limbs. Hair loss. Acid reflux. Deteriorating vision. Stroke. Heart attack. It was a veritable organ recital.

 Over a two-year period things got no better. Active research included a broad segment of the American population, from young adults to women, to racial and LGBT communities. Findings were still negative...

The American Psychological Association‘s 2016 “Stress in America” survey, conducted online among some 3,400 American adults and published in February of 2017, found that 63 percent of respondents regard the future of the country as “a significant source of stress”; some 56 percent “say that they are stressed by the current political climate.” The 2018 edition of the survey showed that the number of Americans who view the future of the country as a significant stressor had jumped to 69 percent; those who saw the political climate as a source of stress had jumped to 62 percent.

 And in 2017, two Harvard experts said, "Donald Trump’s presidency could make Americans sicker," but they suggested reasons other than polarizing politics...

"His administration’s proposed cuts to health and well-being programs could also hurt the population's health, if history is anything to go by, they said."

"Their commentary, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, points to study after study documenting health effects that occur after landmark elections."

Fast forward again, this time to present day after t-RUMP is in the White House again. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) projected in July of 2024...

"From eliminating the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to cutting Medicaid benefits, increasing Medicare Part D prescription drug prices and eliminating reproductive freedom nationwide, Donald Trump’s Project 2025 would have disastrous, deadly consequences on our country’s health care system."

Project 2025 is the blueprint for Trump if he wins a second term. Written by many of his former advisers, the 900-page document contains hundreds of policy proposals that would benefit the wealthy and corporations at the expense of working families and give Trump unprecedented executive power and control over our lives. Read our overview blog to learn about all the harms this blueprint would cause if implemented.

The above, in a different fashion than Dana Milbank's mental approach, explores the more physical aspects of how Donald Trump takes our health from us through the elimination and cutting back of programs that support medical care. Aljazeera comes right out and says it in February of this year: "How Project 2025, which Trump disavowed, is shaping his health policies." Here is the scenario...

Few voters likely expected President Donald Trump in the first weeks of his administration to slash billions of dollars from the nation’s premier federal cancer research agency.

But funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) were presaged in Project 2025’s “Mandate for Leadership”, a conservative plan for governance that Trump said he knew nothing about during his campaign. Now, his administration has embraced it.

If you want a brief explanation of Project 2025, go to this BBC site. If you want to keep your well-being, I suggest you write your Congress person and tell them you are not willing to give up your health for Donald Trump or any other Republican.

BERNIE IS BACK!

Bernie Sanders in Colorado

Yes, Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, who has been serving in the U.S. Senate since 2007, and ran for President in 2016 and 2020, is back on the campaign trail fighting Donald Trump's oligarchy. He is being accompanied by the Progressive New York Repreesentative, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In my mind, Bernie had two questionable presidential losses. One, 2016 against Hillary Clinton, orchestrated by the DNC, and two, 2020, against an insurmountable presumptive candidate, Joe Biden.

Okay, Bernie is 83, will be 87 when he would run. But don't forget AOC, only 35, and certainly capable of taking over the presidency if something happened to Bernie. She'd make a great vice president for the Bern since they obviously have the chemistry. And we are seeing a new Bernie Sanders with his current focus on defeating Donald Trump's oligarchy. Not that he had forgotten his working class ideology, it is just obvious today that a strong force from the left is needed to conquer the would-be king.

My wife and I still receive emails from Bernie and just this past week he alerted us to his current trip through Nevada, Arizona and Colorado. The rallies drew 34,000 in Denver, another 11,000 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Arizona, heavily Republican, had crowds of 15,000 with thousands more watching online. And Nevada numbers aren't clear but the campaign quotes in the thousands. Bernie's and AOC's group said they expected a total of 51,000 for the trip. Arizona, Colorado alone had 60,000.

In his email, Bernie expressed frustration of the last Democratic votes between those who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Also noted was the loss in this election of working people, young people and Latinos. In other words, the Dems have completely lost contact with their base. Added to this is the fact that the Democratic Party has the lowest approval rating in decades. The Bern asks why and answers his own question. The establishment politicians just don't get it anymore.

The good news is that Americans across the country have had it with oligarchy. His three state rally speaks to this end indicating a need to reject the corporate wing of the party and head for the grassroots. People don't want authoritarianism and the huge tax breaks Donald Trump plans for the wealthy people of this country in favor of shifting the emphasis back to working class families. Voters are fired up nationwide, illustrated by the fact that thousands came out to Bernie/AOC meetings in Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin.

American Oligarchy by Mother Jones

This is what Bernie had to say at the Denver rally...

“In the hundreds of rallies that I have done, we have never, ever had a rally as large as this,” Sanders said. “And Denver, your presence here today is not just significant for Colorado. You are sending a profound message all over the world. The whole world is watching, and they want to know if the people of America are going to stand up to Trumpism, oligarchy and authoritarianism.”

There's more...

“Abraham Lincoln talked about a government of the people, by the people, for the people,” Sanders said. “Well, Trump has a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires. And what these guys are busy doing right now is going after Medicaid, going after Social Security, going after nutrition. The rich want to get richer and they don’t care who they step on.”

Bernie Sanders has been talking about oligarchy for years, reports NPR, but, now he talks about his favorite subject...

"...the Democratic Party has also turned its back on the American working class and suggested the party capitalize on this moment by championing policies that address things like income inequality, health care and climate change."

I have thought, and still believe, that the Bern should have won in 2016. There was talk that Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida representative and head of the DNC at the time, did some finagling that won the Democratic nomination for Hillary Clinton. Clinton, of course, who blew it in the last lap and we ended up with t-RUMP's first term. And it was then the seeds were sowed for the oligarchy Bernie Sanders is fighting today. Here is one of his recent statements...

"We will not allow you to move this country into an oligarchy," Sanders pledged, speaking directly to Trump. "We're not going to allow you and your friend Mr. Musk and the other billionaires to wreak havoc on the working families of this country. No, you're not going to destroy Social Security. You're not going to destroy Medicaid. You're not going to destroy the Veterans administration."

Although the Democratic Party has become unpopular, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

said, "voters still have power to push back against Trump administration policies..." and adds...

"Ironically, the most divisive forces in this country are actually starting to bring more of us together," she said. "And that's important, because the same billionaires who are taking a wrecking ball to our country derive their power from dividing working people apart."

Americans are sick of Trump in only the short time he has been in the White House. I don't know what it will be but I sense we are on the cusp of reestablishing our democracy. 

 

Rodrigo Duterte goes to Hague Tribunal ...Is Donald Trump next?

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