Embedded Files
NEXT MEETING: 04/13/26, 7 PM, OZARK-DALE LIBRARY
Focus on Other Actions and Statements By Republicans (Maybe Not Covered Elsewhere) That are Either Outrageous or Otherwise Detrimental to the General Public:
Rep. Tony Gonzales admits to affair with former staffer, calling it a "lapse in judgment"
Comment: "Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he had a relationship with a former staffer who later died by suicide, but alleged the controversy that has engulfed the situation is 'about power and money'."
Comment: He admitted it only after getting caught and after dropping out of his reelection bid.
Comment: Do you think "the controversy that has engulfed the situation" might have something to do with the suicide of the former staffer he had an affair with?
Comment: Thanks to GOP House "leadership," Gonzales will likely serve out the remainder of his congressional term, rather than being forced to resign.
GOP leaders call on Rep. Tony Gonzales to drop his bid for reelection
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/04/g-s1-112476/tony-gonzales-texas-republican-runoff-ethics
Comment: "House Republican leaders have called on Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, to end his bid for reelection, as the third-term lawmaker continues to face fallout over allegations of a past affair with a member of his staff."
"The announcement from Republican leadership follows the decision by the House Ethics Committee to launch a formal investigation into Gonzalez, who earlier this week was forced into a May runoff in the Republican primary in his district."
Comment: "The ethics panel voted to establish a subcommittee to probe allegations that Gonzales 'engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his congressional office and/or discriminated unfairly by dispensing special favors or privileges'."
"This comes after Gonzales faced increasing pressure from Members in his party to resign or drop out of his race after explicit text messages from him to his then-employee Regina Santos-Aviles were published in the San Antonio Express-News. NPR has not independently verified these text messages."
"Santos-Aviles died by suicide last September."
"Gonzales has previously denied wrongdoing, but in an interview Wednesday with conservative radio host Joe Pagliarulo, Gonzales said he 'made a mistake'."
Comment: The outrage is that Republican leadership in the House did not demand that he resign his seat immediately. Gonzales' "mistake" very likely resulted in the suicide of Regina Santos-Aviles, his former congressional staff member. As a result of the failure of Republican leadership, Gonzales will remain in office for the rest of 2026.
IRS leader Bisignano declines to answer questions over unlawful taxpayer data disclosures to ICE
https://apnews.com/article/treasury-irs-tax-season-hearing-6c7c06dc077b2e7f5b63fe6123186291
Comment: "The head of the IRS largely declined to answer questions about recent unlawful disclosures of taxpayer data when he was questioned by lawmakers at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, saying they happened before his tenure began."
Comment: " ......... several Democratic lawmakers zeroed in on a federal judge’s finding that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information 'approximately 42,695 times' to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of an agreement between ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S. Immigration and border security are a major part of the agenda of President Donald Trump, a Republican."
ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it
Comment: "Activists and journalists spoke of tactics they felt were intimidating: agents photographing their faces or license plates; calling them by name; or leading them to their homes. Immigration lawyers told NPR their clients had been subjected to facial recognition technology. One ICE agent, testifying under oath, spoke of an app that showed the likely home addresses of people targeted for deportation."
"The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and Border Patrol, is using a broad web of surveillance tools — purchased as its budget has ballooned under this administration — to monitor, apprehend and intimidate both the people it seeks to deport and the U.S. citizens critical of its policies, in the real world and online."
"While other law enforcement agencies have access to surveillance tech, ICE has become a leader in these tactics, according to lawyers and privacy advocates."
Trump nominee to lead nation's cyber agency removed from post as senior DHS adviser
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-nominee-cisa-cyber-agency-removed-as-senior-dhs-adviser/
"Sean Plankey, the Department of Homeland Security senior adviser and Trump nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was escorted out of the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters late Monday and had his access badge removed, according to sources familiar with the matter. The nominee to lead the cyber defense agency has left his role at DHS, though circumstances behind the sudden move remain unclear."
"Plankey, a retired U.S. Coast Guard officer, formerly served as senior adviser to the homeland security secretary for the Coast Guard, a role he held while awaiting Senate action on his nomination to lead CISA, the agency responsible for protecting federal civilian networks and U.S. critical infrastructure from cyber threats."
Comment: Outside observers certainly have a hard time explaining these events.
Comment: More chaos and confusion from the Trump administration, regarding a critically important responsibility, especially as we go to war with an adversary having significant cyber warfare capability.
Kash Patel gutted FBI counterintelligence team tasked with tracking Iranian threats days before US strikes, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/politics/patel-fbi-national-security-division-firings-iran
Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Invited to Pentagon War Briefing
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/convicted-jan-6-rioter-invited-135533215.html
Comment: "A convicted Jan. 6 rioter was one of the 'journalists' picked by Pete Hegseth to attend the defense secretary’s bad-tempered Iran war briefing."
"During the violent storming of the Capitol in January 2021, Brandon Straka had yelled 'go, go, go' as rioters pushed toward the building, and urged a member of the crowd to seize a police officer’s shield, shouting 'take it, take it'."
"In a Stop the Steal group chat, Straka messaged fellow organizers as the Capitol was being overrun: 'F--k no!! I’m at the Capitol and just joined the breach!!! I just got gassed! Never felt so f-----g alive in my life!!!' "
"Straka pleaded guilty in October 2021 to a federal misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct on Capitol grounds."
Comment: "Straka, who has since touted Trump’s support to boost his career as a 'media personality,' said he was given a 'front row seat' to the Defense Department’s briefing on Monday."
"He posted a photograph to X of himself in the Pentagon briefing room wearing a bright red PRESS lanyard, announcing he was about to be briefed by the defense secretary on U.S. military strikes against Iran."
"Straka was among a cohort of handpicked pro-Trump media figures now constituting the Pentagon’s replacement press pool, after much of the mainstream press corps walked out rather than sign a restrictive Pentagon gag order last October."
Trump admits Iran war could change little in the end
Comment: Here are some definite changes: America will be poorer due to the war's cost and economic impacts. Some US military families will lose their loved ones. America's reputation will be damaged. A lot of folks in the Middle East will be killed (including some in allied nations). Oil and gas infrastructure will be destroyed, impacting the world's economy.
Trump says he fears Iran’s next leader could be ‘as bad as the previous person’
Comment: It's a shame that Trump didn't think about that possibility before launching the war.
How Florida’s term-limited governor is creating a ‘police state’ as his legacy
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/02/florida-ron-desantis-police-state-legacy
Comment: "Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Republican hard-right governor, will be termed out of office in barely 10 months’ time. Civil rights groups watching a slew of new restrictive laws passing through the state’s legislature say his bequest will be a 'police state', where government officials dictate what residents can do, say or believe."
"They point in particular to two House bills they say restrict free speech, and which have already found favor with Florida’s veto-proof Republican majority:"
"HB1471 would give a handful of state officials unprecedented power to designate as a 'terrorist group' any organization whose aims and policies they do not like, including non-profits operating for religious, charitable and social justice purposes."
"HB945 creates a 'counterintelligence and counterterrorism' unit within the Florida department of law enforcement that critics say will be used to spy on groups or individuals whose 'actions, views, or opinions' are deemed 'a threat or are inimical to the interests of this state'."
"But there are others: an education bill that blocks state funds from any campus where students 'advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism', such as the gun control walkouts that followed the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school."
"Another House bill that passed smoothly through committee scrutiny seeks to limit anonymous complaints against law enforcement, which will lead to 'fewer investigations and more coverups'."
"And a 'foreign influence' bill looks to outlaw certain groups that, among other criteria, are identified as engaging in 'political activity' in the state."
"Opponents see that proposal as an attempt to crystalize DeSantis’s December executive order that designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a leading Muslim civil rights group in the US, as a 'foreign terrorist organization'."
Update: Federal judge blocks Florida governor's foreign terrorist label of Muslim groups - March 4, 2026
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/federal-judge-blocks-florida-governors-000056475.html
Comment: "A federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement on Wednesday of an executive order issued last year by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that designates two Muslim groups as foreign terrorist organizations."
"U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker wrote in his preliminary injunction that the First Amendment bars the governor from continuing the troubling trend of using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others’ constitutional rights."
Ron DeSantis spent $1.2m per day to open and operate ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/02/ron-desantis-12-million-on-alligator-alcatraz
Comment: "After spending taxpayers’ money, Florida governor will likely be left holding bill for $608m promised by Trump administration"
Comment: "Ron DeSantis, Florida's Republican governor, spent $1.2m of taxpayers’ money per day to open and operate the notorious immigration jail known as Alligator Alcatraz, court records obtained by the independent investigative news website the Florida Tributary reveal."
"A switch in position by Donald Trump’s administration also now looks likely to leave Florida on the hook for at least $608m spent on the harsh Everglades detention and deportation facility and other immigration jails, the outlet said. That was despite gloating by DeSantis in September that the state would be reimbursed from federal funds."
"James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s former chief of staff and Florida’s unelected attorney general, admitted last week the possibility that a federal reimbursement grant the governor had insisted was locked in might not be delivered after all."
Comment: "The Tributary revelations, meanwhile, provide a clearer picture of the murky finances of the remote jail, which include allegations by critics that tens of millions of dollars in lucrative no-bid contracts were doled out in secret to the governor’s political allies."
"The Associated Press reported in July that DeSantis officials were being vague to local authorities about plans for the construction of the jail, but were already sending in preferred contractors having used an executive order and emergency declaration to seize the site, a remote, barely used airport partially situated on ancestral Indigenous American tribe land, and owned by Miami-Dade county."
Comment: Alabama taxpayers can only be happy that we don't live in Florida and have to pay that $608 million cost that DeSantis incurred trying to impress Donald Trump and to line the pockets of his political cronies.
Comment: There is a lesson for our Alabama legislators, if only they would pay attention: The Trump administration cannot necessarily be trusted when it comes to fulfilling verbal commitments. Get the commitment in writing and be prepared to go to court, if the promise is broken. Trump has a history of "stiffing" folks, even as a real estate developer.
Fact Check: Department of Education hung Charlie Kirk banner on DC building near education heroes message
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/department-education-charlie-kirk-banner/
Comment: It's hard to believe, but as Snopes points out, the statement is true.
Comment: "Kirk's portrait appeared alongside images of education advocates Booker T. Washington and Catharine Beecher."
Department of Education hangs Charlie Kirk banner outside DC building
Comment: Why is Republican political commentator Charlie Kirk on a banner posted along side such American history figures as Benjamin Franklin and Martin Luther King Jr. He was certainly no martyr for education? Before he was shot, Charlie Kirk made several controversial prejudicial (some say racist and sexist) comments regarding minorities. Being a recent MAGA celebrity and martyr does not make one an American historical figure or hero.
Leaked Interior Department database reveals US plans to revise historical information
https://www.aol.com/leaked-interior-department-database-reveals-023837138.html
Comment: "An internal government database first reported by the Washington Post and posted on two public websites on Monday revealed the scope of the Trump administration's effort to revise or remove information on African-American history, LGBT rights, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites."
Comment: "Trump has targeted cultural and historical institutions - from museums to monuments to national parks - to remove what he calls 'anti-American' ideology."
"His declarations and executive orders have led to the dismantling of exhibits on slavery, the restoration of Confederate statues and other moves that civil rights advocates say could reverse decades of progress."
"The Interior Department spokesperson alleged the internal working documents were edited in a misrepresenting way before being released. The spokesperson also labeled the release as inappropriate and illegal, without specifying the law it allegedly violated."
" 'Employees who altered internal records and leaked in an effort to hurt the Trump administration will be held accountable,' the spokesperson added."
Trump Parties With Millionaires as American Troops Die
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hosts-big-money-party-as-missiles-are-fired-at-americans/
Comment: "Millionaires, Republican Party elites and big-spending donors were at Mar-a-Lago to party while Trump’s war raged across at least 10 countries."
Video: This federal judge ruled against Trump. Then the death threats rolled in | 60 Minutes - March 1, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiUU1JLoT2E
Comment: "Federal judges say criticism from President Trump can put their safety at risk. The White House says the president 'understands the dangers of political violence.' "
Trump Officials Attended a Summit of Election Deniers Who Want the President to Take Over the Midterms
https://www.propublica.org/article/election-denier-summit-trump-midterms
Comment: "Several high-ranking federal election officials attended a summit last week at which prominent figures who worked to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election pressed the president to declare a national emergency to take over this year’s midterms."
"According to videos, photos and social media posts reviewed by ProPublica, the meeting’s participants included Kurt Olsen, a White House lawyer charged with reinvestigating the 2020 election, and Heather Honey, the Department of Homeland Security official in charge of election integrity. The event was convened by Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, and attended by Cleta Mitchell, who directs the Election Integrity Network, a group that has spread false claims about election fraud and noncitizen voting."
"Election experts say that the meeting reflects an intensifying push to persuade Trump to take unprecedented actions to affect the vote in November. Courts have largely blocked his efforts to reshape elections through an executive order, and legislation has stalled in Congress that would mandate strict voter ID requirements across the country."
"The Washington Post reported Thursday that activists associated with those at the summit have been circulating a draft of an executive order that would ban mail-in ballots and get rid of voting machines as part of a federal takeover. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer who worked on the executive order and had a client at the summit, told ProPublica these actions were 'all part of the same effort'.”
_______________________________________________________________
Trump condemns racist video showing Obamas as apes after removing it, but says he won’t apologize
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/06/trump-obama-post-white-house.html
Trump won’t apologize for sharing since-deleted racist video depicting Obamas as apes on Truth Social
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/06/politics/donald-trump-obamas-apes-truth-social
Trump's racist post about Obamas is deleted after backlash despite White House earlier defending it
Comment: "President Donald Trump's social media post featuring former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle was deleted after a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats who criticized the video as racist."
"The Republican president's Thursday night post was deleted Friday and blamed on a staffer after widespread backlash, from civil rights leaders to veteran Republican senators, for its treatment of the nation's first Black president and first lady. The deletion, a rare admission of a misstep by the White House, came hours after press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed 'fake outrage' over the post. After calls for its removal for being racist -- including by Republicans -- the White House said a staffer had posted the video erroneously and it had been taken down. "
Comment: Do you believe that a staffer was responsible and that Trump had no knowledge of the Obama's depictions as apes?
Comment: "There is a long history in the U.S. of powerful white figures associating Black people with animals, including apes, in demonstrably false and racist ways. The practice dates back to 18th century cultural racism and pseudo-scientific theories in which white people drew connections between Africans and monkeys to justify the enslavement of Black people in Europe and North America, and later to dehumanize freed Black people as an uncivilized threat to white people."
Comment: "While it was still up, Trump's post drew condemnation from across the political and ideological spectrum."
"The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the assassinated civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., resurfaced her father's words: 'Yes. I'm Black. I'm proud of it. I'm Black and beautiful.' She praised Black Americans as 'diverse, innovative, industrious, inventive' and added, 'We are beloved of God as postal workers and professors, as a former first lady and president. We are not apes.' "
"The U.S. Senate's lone Black Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, called on Trump to take down the post. 'Praying it was fake because it's the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House,' Scott, who chairs Senate Republicans' midterm campaign arm, said on social media."
"Another Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, is white but represents the state with the largest percentage of Black residents. Wicker called the post 'totally unacceptable; and said the president should apologize."
"NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement, 'Donald Trump's video is blatantly racist, disgusting, and utterly despicable.' "
Court records: Chicago immigration raid was about squatters, not Venezuelan gangs
Comment: "Newly revealed arrest records show that a high-profile immigration raid on a South Shore Chicago apartment building last year that became a symbol of President Trump's harsh immigration tactics actually targeted squatters, not Venezuelan gang members."
Comment: "Quickly after the Sept. 30, 2025, raid, the Department of Homeland Security published a dramatic video of the operation showing agents with their guns drawn, some rappelling out of a Black Hawk helicopter onto the roof, and leading people away with their hands zip-tied."
"On multiple occasions, the Trump administration has said the building was frequented by members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang."
"But arrest records for two of the men show the government's stated reason for the raid was to take out squatters, not gang members. The documents were included in a motion filed in an ongoing case challenging warrantless arrests in Chicago."
"In the documents, DHS stated 'this operation was based on intelligence that there were illegal aliens unlawfully occupying apartments in the building.' There is no mention of criminal gangs or Tren de Aragua."
Comment: More Trump administration lies that illustrate the concept of "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story."
Census Bureau plans to use survey with a citizenship question in its test for 2030, alarming experts
Democrats erupt over Trump push to rename Dulles, Penn Station
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/06/trump-schumer-dulles-penn-gateway-democrats-nyc
Comment: "House Democrats reacted with swift fury Thursday evening over reports that President Trump floated renaming Dulles Airport and Penn Station after himself in exchange for unfreezing $16 billion in funds for the Gateway Development Project."
Comment: "Since returning to office last year, Trump and his allies have waged a wide campaign to rename major American institutions and landmarks after the president."
Comment: Trump's vanity and narcissism knows no bounds.
Trump wants Penn Station, Dulles Airport named after him in funding deal with Schumer, sources say
https://abcnews.com/US/trump-penn-station-dulles-airport-named-after-funding/story?id=129910999
Comment: "Sources told ABC that Schumer rejected Trump's offer."
cnn.com: Trump promises Schumer funding for NY tunnel project — if Penn Station and Dulles Airport are renamed after him
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/politics/schumer-trump-ny-funding-rename
US attorney says it will not prosecute companies that cooperate in criminal investigations
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-attorney-says-not-prosecute-204948909.html
Comment: "Federal prosecutors plan to increase incentives for companies that cooperate during criminal investigations, including promises not to prosecute them, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan said on Thursday."
"Jay Clayton's remarks at an industry conference come as the Justice Department is scaling back corporate crime enforcement and refocusing on immigration and drug cases under the Trump administration."
"Companies need to know there is a specific benefit to cooperating with U.S. prosecutors in rooting out wrongdoers, Clayton said at the Securities Enforcement Forum in New York."
"That includes offering companies so-called non-prosecution agreements, or NPAs — deals which Democrats have criticized in the past."
" 'Our approach is going to be: let's get an NPA signed as quickly as possible that calls for continued cooperation,' he said."
"Clayton, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said the different approach on cooperation would benefit shareholders, too."
Comment: That sounds like a heck of a "get of jail free" card. Apparently, crime DOES pay if it involves white collar crime and corporate crime favored by the wealthy. Why hold up a liquor store, when one can steal big bucks through corporate fraud, and then escape prosecution by "cooperating."
Comment: Is this what Trump means by "draining the swamp?" Is this what the GOP means by "law and order?"
AG Ken Paxton files lawsuit to stop CAIR from operating in Texas; CAIR calls it an "anti-Muslim publicity stunt"
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/texas-ken-paxton-lawsuit-cair/
Comment: "Texas filed a lawsuit in Collin County on Thursday that seeks to ban the group Council of American-Islamic Relations from operating in the state."
"In a statement announcing the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged that CAIR is the 'American face' of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group based in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit."
" 'Ken Paxton's lawsuit is another frivolous, politically motivated and anti-Muslim publicity stunt that again wastes taxpayer dollars,' the statement said in part."
Comment: "CAIR was founded in 1994, and calls itself the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. Critics claim that CAIR's founders had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is also tied to the ideology behind terrorist groups like Hamas and ISIS. CAIR has said those claims have been debunked, it has advocated against all forms of bigotry and racism, and condemns all violence, including terrorism."
DC National Guard deployment costs more than $1M per day, has no public safety impact: Democrats
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5725168-dc-national-guard-cost/
Comment: "Democratic Sens.Andy Kim (N.J.) and Gary Peters (Mich.) released a report Thursday estimating that Washington’s National Guard deployment is costing the federal government well more than $1 million per day."
"That means a price tag of some $330 million since deployments began in August, at about $1.65 million per day for the hundreds of National Guard members deployed in Washington, D.C."
"Kim said the Trump administration’s decision to deploy soldiers has 'no clear strategy, no evidence of effectiveness, and no end in sight' in a statement alongside the report’s release."
Comment: That's a lot of money to pick up litter, which is what many of the guardsmen have been tasked to do.
Trump officials propose testing a citizenship question amid a push to alter the census
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/05/nx-s1-5584085/census-citizenship-question
Comment: "Participants in this year's field test of the 2030 census may be asked about their U.S. citizenship status, the Trump administration revealed Thursday."
"The proposal, which is part of a regulatory filing for the test, comes months after President Trump — in the middle of a redistricting push for new voting maps that could help Republicans keep control of the U.S. House of Representatives — put out a call on social media for a 'new' census that would, for the first time in U.S. history, exclude millions of people living in the country without legal status."
"In Congress, a growing number of Republican lawmakers are backing similar controversial proposals to leave out some or all non-U.S. citizens from a set of census numbers used to determine each state's share of congressional seats and Electoral College votes. "
"According to the 14th Amendment, those census apportionment counts must include the 'whole number of persons in each state'."
Comment: Accurate census information, including all people not only citizens, is used for a number of purposes, not just for determining "a state's share of congressional seats and Electoral College votes."
Comment: If Republicans want to limit the census count to citizens, they are welcome to try appending the U.S. Constitution. Otherwise, per the 14th Amendment, the census needs to count all the people in the country.
Comment: Apparently, many Republican politicians either haven't ever read the U.S. Constitution or don't care what is says.
Trump shifts explanation of why DNI Gabbard was at FBI Georgia election office raid
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Thursday again shifted explanations of why Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard was at a controversial FBI search of a Georgia election office where 2020 ballots were seized amid his continuing false claims of voter fraud."
"Trump told attendees of the National Prayer Breakfast that it was Attorney General Pam Bondi who 'insisted' that Gabbard oversee the Jan. 28 raid at the Fulton County Elections Hub and Operations Center."
Comment: "Gabbard, who attended the prayer breakfast along with Bondi, has given Congress a different account."
"In a letter obtained by ABC News and sent Monday to Sen. Mark Warner and Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence Committees, respectively, Gabbard framed her involvement as part of what she described as her job to ensure U.S. election security."
" 'My presence was requested by the President and executed under my broad statutory authority to coordinate, integrate, and analyze intelligence related to election security, including counterintelligence (CI), foreign and other malign influence and cybersecurity,' she wrote."
Comment: The Trump Administration might find that it is easier to keep their story straight, if they only told the truth.
Tulsi Gabbard's office examined voting machines in Puerto Rico
Comment: "The Office of the Director of National Intelligence says it obtained and examined electronic voting machines in Puerto Rico last year to look for possible security vulnerabilities."
"Authorities in Puerto Rico voluntarily handed over the equipment to ODNI, which wanted to evaluate the risk to the machinery given that 'similar infrastructure is used throughout the United States,' an ODNI spokesperson said in an email."
"News of the move by the office overseen by Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, follows President Donald Trump's calls to 'nationalize' future elections and have the federal government 'get involved' in some states where he says there is a risk of fraud."
Comment: "Gabbard says Trump instructed her to be present last week at an FBI search of an election center in Fulton County, Georgia, where agents seized ballots from the 2020 election."
Ex-DOJ official's call for pro-Trump federal prosecutors could be 'dangerous,' former prosecutor warns
https://abcnews.com/US/doj-officials-call-pro-trump-federal-prosecutors-dangerous/story?id=129812882
Comment: "Over the weekend, the former chief of staff of the Justice Department -- who was one of Attorney General Pam Bondi's top advisers during her first seven months on the job -- issued a public call for lawyers who 'support President Trump' to join the Justice Department's ranks."
"In a post on X, the former chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, seemed to suggest he could help such applicants become career federal prosecutors -- who by law are supposed to be apolitical."
" 'DM me,' Mizelle wrote, referring to direct messages sent privately to him. 'We need good prosecutors.' "
"Forty minutes later, one of President Donald Trump's top policy advisers, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, reposted Mizelle's message, adding, 'Patriots needed.' And then on Monday, the current U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quinones, also reposted Mizelle's message, saying, 'We are hiring!' "
"There are political appointees within the Justice Department, including certain leaders based in Washington and the U.S. attorneys who oversee offices around the country -- but the assistant U.S. attorneys, or AUSAs, who investigate and prosecute cases in those offices are supposed to be nonpolitical and nonpartisan."
"Appearing on a conservative podcast on Monday, Mizelle said he has received 'hundreds and hundreds of inquiries already' from lawyers looking to become AUSAs. But his posting, and the subsequent promotion of it by current senior government officials, has roiled some former federal prosecutors on both sides of the political spectrum."
" 'We shouldn't have a favorite politician in the Justice Department; we should have a favorite document, and that's the Constitution,' former prosecutor Perry Carbone told ABC News."
Tennessee to test Stephen Miller’s plan of enlisting states for immigration enforcement
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/04/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-plan
Comment: "Bills mandate ICE cooperation, school status checks and criminalize information release, testing constitutional lines"
"The power to enforce immigration law rests with the federal government. But Trump adviser, Stephen Miller, has a vision for states working in coordination with federal immigration officials, and he’s attempting to test it out in Tennessee."
"Earlier this month, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that Miller had been meeting in Washington DC with Tennessee speaker of the house, Cameron Sexton, to craft model legislation for states around the country."
"A few weeks later, the speaker announced a suite of eight bills that would turn state and local police officers, judges, teachers, social workers and others into an auxiliary extension of the federal immigration system. It makes the presence of an undocumented person with a final deportation order a state crime in Tennessee. And it mandates that officials report the presence of undocumented persons to ICE, while criminalizing disclosure of information about immigration enforcement activities to the public."
" 'The president’s behind us,' said Knoxville-area representative and deputy speaker, Jason Zachary, on a video taken from a talk with a conservative group, describing Sexton’s contact with Miller. 'The president has promised his support on social media for us, and we are being told Tennessee will go first.' ”
"Last year, Tennessee also established an immigration enforcement division under its department of safety and homeland security, and made the records collected by the chief immigration enforcement officer exempt from Tennessee’s already limited public records access laws. Confidentiality extends to records for grant programs administered by the department, preventing watchdogs from examining what local law enforcement agencies do with federal grant money for immigration enforcement."
"Legislation filed on 15 January doesn’t just extend that confidentiality; it demands it. A state or local official, including judges, 'negligently' releasing identifying information of officers involved in immigration enforcement would face a felony and removal from office."
"Senate Bill 1464, criminalizing disclosure, appears to be aimed directly at Freddie O’Connell, the Nashville mayor who issued an executive order last year to track and publish ICE contacts in the city. O’Connell briefly published the names of some ICE agents as part of the effort."
Comment: Tennessee seems well on the way in helping Stephen Miller create the first ICE police state in the nation. Will Alabama follow Tennessee's lead? It's up to you to stop it!
Florida bill seeks to ban use of ‘West Bank’ in schools and state agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/04/florida-ban-west-bank-schools-state-agencies-bill
Comment: "The bill would mandate use of the biblical term ‘Judea and Samaria’ after a similar effort passed in Arkansas"
Justice Department review found Trump ally Ed Martin improperly leaked grand jury material in probe of president’s foes | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/politics/ed-martin-review-improperly-handled-grand-jury
Steve Bannon calls for immigration agents at polling sites during midterms
Politico: Steve Bannon calls for Trump to deploy ICE and military troops to polling sites
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/04/steve-bannon-ice-military-polling-sites-00765331
Comment: "MAGA commentator Steve Bannon voiced support for Donald Trump’s push to nationalize elections, calling on the president to deploy ICE officials and military troops to polling sites."
"Trump said in a Monday podcast interview that 'the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,' despite the fact that the Constitution grants states explicit jurisdiction over election administration. His call sparked outrage from Democrats and largely fell on deaf ears in the GOP — but Bannon, a conservative firebrand who has been a prominent voice in election conspiracy theories, was forceful in his support for the idea."
Comment: Bannon's proposals appear even more dangerous when you consider that Steve Bannon was the chief White House strategist during the first Trump Administration.
CNN: Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard’s office obtained and tested voting machines in Puerto Rico
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/04/politics/gabbard-office-obtained-voting-machines-puerto-rico
Trump tries a third time to move hush-money case to federal court in bid to get conviction tossed
Comment: "The president was found guilty in state court in May 2024. The federal judge who denied Trump’s previous requests to move the case said he would issue a decision soon."
Trump doubles down on suggesting federal government 'get involved' in state elections
Comment: "He listed Atlanta, Detroit and Philadelphia after making unfounded fraud claims."
Comment: Linked artice includes video.
CNN: When Trump makes election threats, it’s best to believe him
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/03/politics/when-trump-makes-election-threats
Trump says Republicans should ‘nationalize’ elections
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/02/trump-nationalize-elections-2026-midterms-00760015
Trump suggests GOP should ‘take over’ voting process in multiple states ahead of midterms
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5719458-trump-suggests-republican-voting-takeover/
Comment: Please read this article and let your elected state and federal officials know that you do not approve of Trump's plans to federalize control of elections (in violation of the U.S. Constitution),
Tulsi Gabbard arranged Trump call with FBI agents after Georgia election raid: Sources
https://abcnews.com/US/dni-director-arranged-fbi-agents-searched-georgia-election/story?id=129794862
Comment: "Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard arranged for FBI agents who searched the Fulton County Elections and Operations Hub in Georgia last week to have a phone call with President Donald Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation."
Comment: "It is very unusual for the president and the DNI to speak to line agents from the FBI about an ongoing criminal investigation -- especially one that implicates an election in which Trump was a losing candidate."
Why The Trump-UAE Crypto Deal Made No Financial Sense—For The Emiratis
Comment: "The sale of 49% of World Liberty Financial to an Emirati tycoon appears to have been an incredible deal for Donald Trump. But what did the UAE get out of it?"
Comment: "It’s worth noting that the United States and the UAE went on a dealmaking spree together last year. In his role as the UAE’s national security advisor, Tahnoon secured his country access to powerful AI chips that the U.S. had previously kept close to the chest due to national security concerns. That deal was announced on May 15, just two weeks after the Binance-MGX-USD1 deal went through, and was reportedly negotiated in part by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who along with his son Zach co-founded World Liberty Financial."
"The Defense Department also announced potential arms sales totaling $1.4 billion to the UAE, where the U.S. has an Air Force base and 3,500 deployed troops, that same month. The UAE did make a big promise in exchange for the above deals: $1.4 trillion in investments in the United States over ten years. That figure is more than twice as large as the tiny monarchy’s entire annual economy. Just last month, MGX, the state-owned, Tahoon-chaired UAE investment firm, was able to purchase a stake in the Trump-brokered sale of TikTok."
"All this smoke has Democrats in Congress shouting fire. 'Trump’s crypto cons are the Mt. Everest of corruption—selling influence to line his own pockets,' Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, who serves on the Foreign Relations committee and introduced the 'End Crypto Corruption Act' in 2025, said in a statement to Forbes. 'Corruption, plain and simple,' Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted on X, formerly Twitter. 'Trump is bought and paid for by Abu Dhabi royals,' Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego wrote."
Comment: Who would have thought that the deserts of the Middle East would be so "swampy?" Time to drain the swamps, in both the UAE and the Trump White House!
White House faces questions over UAE royal's investment in Trump family's crypto firm
How a ‘spy sheikh’ bought 49% of the Trump family’s flagship crypto company: ‘We’ve got some pretty meaningful investors’
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spy-sheikh-bought-49-trump-173701801.html
Comment: "Just four days before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, two lieutenants to a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family signed a contract to funnel $500 million into a Trump family crypto company. The investment into World Liberty Financial was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brother of the president of the United Arab Emirates, the Wall Street Journal reported. A spokesperson for the Trump family crypto company confirmed to Fortune that the transaction had occurred."
"In exchange for half a billion dollars, a company tied to the politician, who’s an Emirati national security advisor and sometimes referred to as the 'spy sheikh,' received 49% in equity in World Liberty Financial. The company was founded in 2024 as a DeFi platform, or business that puts banking activities like lending and borrowing on the blockchain. It’s one of the Trump family’s main crypto businesses."
"Meanwhile, the two sheikh lieutenants who signed onto the World Liberty deal also hold top positions at G42, a technology and venture capital firm backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family. When asked by Fortune in May whether G42 backed the Trump family crypto company, Eric Trump, son of the president and cofounder of World Liberty Financial, said: 'I’m not going to get to who the investors are, but we’ve got some pretty meaningful investors.' "
"The investment comes amid scrutiny over a landmark AI deal that saw the U.S. agree to give access to advanced AI chips to the Abu Dhabi–based G42, which is also a significant investor in AI. Fiacc Larkin, a senior executive at G42, is an advisor to World Liberty Financial, according to his LinkedIn and first reported by the New York Times."
" 'Any claim that this deal had anything to do with the administration’s actions on chips is 100% false,' said a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial."
Comment: Do YOU believe the above statement from the "spokesperson from World Liberty Financial?"
Ed Martin out as leader of DOJ's 'weaponization' group, sources say
Comment: "Trump loyalist Ed Martin has been stripped of his role leading the Justice Department’s 'weaponization' working group, tasked with investigating prosecutors who pursued past investigations into the president and his allies, two people familiar with the discussions told NBC News."
"Martin had been serving as interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, but the longtime right-wing activist faced opposition from Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a key member of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
"Instead, President Donald Trump made Martin the pardon attorney and director of the 'weaponization working group' established by Attorney General Pam Bondi in response to one of the president’s executive orders. Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro was eventually named U.S. attorney for D.C."
"The working group is seeking to examine work including that of former special counsel Jack Smith; any federal cooperation with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted Trump hush money case; the Justice Department’s handling of cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack; and criminal prosecutions of anti-abortion activists, among other issues."
Comment: The outrage is that there is a DOJ "weaponization working group" at all. This group seems to be involved in seeking retribution from anyone who performed their jobs in investigating or prosecuting Donald Trump or his political allies. The fact that Ed Martin had acted as DC U.S. Attorney (even on an interim basis) is also outrageous. One has to wonder what Ed Martin did, or didn't do, to lose his position as the head of the "weaponization working group". Did Trump think that Martin was not aggressive enough in pursuing Trump's perceived enemies?
Video: Trump says Kennedy Center to close for 2 years following artists' backlash - February 2, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmUIv4ht-Ww
Trump says Kennedy Center will close for two years for renovations
Comment: "Several performers canceled after the center's board voted to add Trump's name to it last year."
"President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he has determined that the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington should close for about two years."
"Trump, who wrote on Truth Social that the decision is 'totally subject' to approval by his handpicked board, said that the center will close on July 4 and that 'financing is completed, and fully in place.' He did not elaborate on where the funding came from. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on questions about the funding."
Comment: "A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Trump’s announcement, what the center’s board thinks of the issue or what would happen to the center’s existing programming."
Comment" "The renaming drew criticism from Kennedy family members and members of Congress. Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, who is on the board as an ex officio member, sued the administration for changing the center’s name, claiming it was not a lawful move, as the center was established by legislation."
"In a statement Sunday, Beatty blasted Trump's announcement to temporarily close the center, saying he 'has acted with a total disregard for Congress'."
" 'The Kennedy Center is congressionally funded, and Congress should have been consulted about any decision to shut down its operations or make major renovations, especially for two years,' Beatty wrote, and questioned what would happen to employees, artists and others who hold agreements with the facility."
" 'And let’s be clear: remodeling the premises won’t restore the Kennedy Center to what it was. But a return to artistic independence will,' she added."
"Since the renaming, a flurry of artists have canceled their appearances at the center, including the composer of the hit musical 'Wicked,' Stephen Schwartz, who dropped out from hosting a gala for the Washington National Opera. The opera has since left the center, where it had performed since 1971."
Video: Trump shares bizarre new painting of himself as MAGA conductor with Charlie Kirk in orchestra - January 31, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An3nOllUMc8
Comment: When does zealousness and narcissism become complete madness?
Video: Ruhle: Is the White House for sale? - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_1BWSJ9MAA
Comment: "Stephanie Ruhle highlights the administration's latest deal with a mining company that also has ties with the Commerce Secretary's former firm, now headed by his two sons."
Atlanta FBI boss reportedly ousted after questioning DoJ’s renewed interest in 2020 election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/atlanta-fbi-boss-reportedly-ousted-fulton-county
Comment: "The special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office was reportedly removed from his post after questioning the Trump administration’s renewed interest in investigating the role of Fulton county, Georgia, in the 2020 election."
"The agent, Paul W Brown, had expressed concerns around the unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton county, which have been perpetuated by Donald Trump since he was defeated by Joe Biden in the 2020 election, according to an MS NOW report on Friday. Citing sources, MS NOW also reported that Brown refused to carry out searches and seizures of records connected to the election that Trump lost four years before winning a second presidency in 2024."
"News of Brown’s ouster came after the justice department on Thursday executed a search warrant and seized records from the Fulton county elections office in the Atlanta area. Authorities seized 700 boxes related to 2020 election results in the county, which Biden won."
Comment: "Brown was replaced the week before the service of the search warrant at the elections office, as first reported by the Associated Press. The personnel decision was not publicized by the FBI, and the AP said the reason for Brown’s removal was not immediately clear."
Video: FBI raid of election offices ignites debate over voting security and federal authority - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFCdIFjoCNo
Comment: "The FBI’s move to execute a warrant at voting offices in Fulton County, Georgia, and the presence of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard have ignited a fierce debate over election security and federal authority. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at UCLA and author of 'A Real Right to Vote'."
FBI raid in Georgia has little legal basis – but serves Trump’s goal to weaken trust in election results
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/30/trump-fulton-county-raid-election
Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot shut down Texas Latino voting group, judge rules
Comment: "Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton failed to offer 'any plausible proof' that Jolt Initiative, a nonprofit that aims to increase civic participation among Latinos, is violating the law, a federal judge ruled Thursday."
"Paxton had filed a lawsuit in state court accusing Jolt of submitting 'unlawful voter registration applications,' specifying in a press release that the group was 'attempting to register illegals, who are all criminals.' The suit, which seeks to revoke Jolt’s nonprofit charter through a legal mechanism known as a quo warranto petition, was put on ice by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, who said in his ruling that Paxton appears to be operating in bad faith."
"The attorney general’s case against Jolt 'supposes absolutely no wrongdoing,' and indicates that the attorney general may be 'harassing (Jolt) and fishing for reasons to investigate its organization'.”
Comment: Another case of a GOP politician abusing his office to inhibit citizen voting and to intimidate organizations encouraging civic and political participation.
New documents reveal the breadth of Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/30/jeffrey-epstein-files-bannon-musk-00758613
Comment: Most of those discussed in the linked article are Republican or are far right leaning.
Trump orders IndyCar race on streets of DC as part of nation's 250th celebration
https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-orders-indycar-race-streets-dc-part-nations/story?id=129715111
Comment: One is reminded of the Roman phrase translated as "bread and circuses." According to Wikipedia: "In a political context, the phrase means to generate public approval, not by excellence in public service or public policy, but by diversion, distraction, or by satisfying the most immediate or base requirements of a populace, by offering a palliative: for example food (bread) or entertainment (circuses)." The phrase was "originally used it to decry the 'selfishness' of common people and their neglect of wider concerns. The phrase implies a population's erosion or ignorance of civic duty as a priority."
Video: Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against IRS a ‘clear conflict of interest,’ says former U.S. attorney - January 30, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKFTQPoBll8
Video: Trump sues IRS, Treasury Department for $10 billion dollars over leaked tax records - January 29, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irtVXCB4byk
Comment: What do you think are the chances that the Trump administration agencies will put up a serious legal defense against this ridiculous attempt by Trump to extort billions from the U.S. Treasury (your tax dollars)? Do you think that Trump's actions are a conflict of interest?
Trump posts discredited conspiracy theories following seizure of 2020 ballots in Georgia
Comment "In the hours after FBI agents seized 2020 election ballots from an elections facility in Georgia on Wednesday, President Donald Trump posted a series of thoroughly discredited conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election -- and the 2016 election too."
"Fulton County officials said Wednesday that the FBI seized original 2020 voting records while serving a search warrant at the county's Elections Hub and Operations Center. The FBI said they were conducting court-authorized activity at the facility, but said they would provide no further information."
"Late Wednesday night, the president reposted to his social media platform a claim that Italian military satellites had been used to hack into U.S. voting machines to flip votes from Trump to Joe Biden."
' "China reportedly coordinated the whole operation,' the post reads. 'The CIA oversaw it, the FBI covered it up, all to install Biden as a puppet.' "
"That was just one of a flurry of posts and reposts by Trump making discredited claims about the 2020 election, directly tying the allegations to the FBI's seizure of ballots on Wednesday."
" 'This is only the beginning,' Trump said, reposting other posts about the FBI's action in Georgia. 'Prosecutions are coming.' "
"The development comes after Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims that there was voter fraud in the 2020 election, specifically in Georgia, that contributed to his election loss. Georgia officials audited and certified the results following the election, and numerous lawsuits challenging the election results in the state were rejected by the courts."
"Among the statements posted and reposted by Trump following the FBI's actions in Georgia is one on the 2016 election that falsely claims that 'Barack Hussein Obama' falsified intelligence and 'conspired with foreign powers, not one, not two, not three, but four times to overthrow the United States government in 2016.' "
"In addition to being baseless, the claim ignores the fact that Obama was president in 2016, so if he tried to overthrow the government, he would have been overthrowing himself."
Comment: Madness! One wishes that Trump could be polygraphed to see if he truly believes these wild conspiracy theories. If he does, it might be time to consider invoking the 25th Amendment, If it's all just a lie, there needs to be an investigation into possible plans to interfere with the 2026 midterm elections, somehow justified by these false claims.
FBI’s Search of Georgia Election Center Is “Dangerous,” Experts Warn
https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-fulton-county-voting-records-search-warrant
Comment: "When the FBI executed a warrant on Wednesday to seize records from the 2020 presidential vote in Fulton County, Georgia, it marked both an extraordinary event in the history of American elections and a significant escalation in President Donald Trump’s breaking of democratic norms, several legal experts said."
Comment: "The warrant served on the Fulton County election center sought ballots, tabulator tapes, digital data and voter rolls, which it alleged might constitute 'evidence of the commission of a criminal offense.' It cited stiff criminal penalties related to 'the procurement, casting, or tabulation' of fraudulent ballots."
" 'I’m not aware of something like this happening ever before,' said Rick Hasen, a professor at the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. 'The idea that federal officials would seize ballots in an attempt to prove fraud is especially dangerous in this context when we know there is no fraud because the Georgia 2020 election has been extensively counted, recounted and investigated.' ”
"Trump and his allies filed over 60 legal cases across the nation seeking to overturn the 2020 election results — all of which failed, even those before Trump-appointed judges."
" 'This just looks like a way to use the might of the federal government to further Trump’s voter fraud narratives,' Hasen said."
Comment: "At a press conference, Fulton County Commission Chair Robb Pitts said that the ballots had been 'safe' in the county’s custody and defended its handling of the election as fair and accurate. But now that the ballots had been seized, he said, the county 'can no longer satisfy … that those ballots are still secure.' "
FBI seizes 2020 ballots in Georgia in apparently unprecedented action, alarming local officials
Border Patrol agents who fatally shot Alex Pretti placed on leave: DHS
Comment: "The two U.S. Border Patrol agents who were involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti last weekend in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NewsNation on Wednesday."
Comment: "Sources told NewsNation on Wednesday that 'three days of administrative leave are given to any agent following any officer-involved shooting per department policy. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin called agents being placed on leave 'standard protocol'."
Comment: "Administrative leave is full pay and not a disciplinary status, the source said. If an agent had his gun and badge pulled, they would be considered on restricted duty, not administrative leave, the source told NewsNation."
Comment: Three days of paid leave with no disciplinary status! "Standard protocol." What about accountability for the unjustified shooting of a U.S. citizen?
The Hill: Trump claims without evidence Omar ‘probably had herself sprayed’
Common: "President Trump, without evidence, suggested Rep. IIhan Omar (D-Minn.) staged an incident during her town hall Tuesday night when a man sprayed her with an unknown substance."
" 'I don’t think about her. I think she’s a fraud,' Trump told ABC News. 'She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her.' ”
CNN: Trump’s response to Ilhan Omar attack betrays his growing callousness
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/politics/response-donald-trump-ilhan-omar-attack
Assailant convicted after Barron Trump calls London police to report crime he saw on video
https://apnews.com/article/uk-barron-trump-beating-witness-assault-953d26487fcd965523609325c2d0487a
Comment: Normally, the President's children are not hounded by the press and investigators. However, certain aspects of this story sound a little "fishy." Why was Barron Trump video chatting with a young Russian woman in London? Why was her "boyfriend" beating her up because he was jealous, yet he felt sorry for Barron because he thought she was leading him on? Could this be a Russian intelligence effort to place Barron in a compromising position? Should Barron be reminded that he needs to be careful with his associations, given the position his father holds?
There’s no way to normalize Trump’s attacks on democracy
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5706665-trump-targets-political-enemies/
Comment: The linked article is a summary of just some of the outrageous actions taken in the first year of the Trump administration, focusing on attacks to democracy and the rule of law.
US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports
Comment: Trump's attempts to rewrite history and to deny science?
Bondi's injection of voter rolls demands into Minneapolis ICE tensions draws claims of "ransom"
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/politics/pam-bondi-voter-rolls-minnesota-ice
Critics slam Pam Bondi’s demand for Minnesota voter rolls amid ICE surge
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/26/pam-bondi-minnesota-voter-rolls-ice-surge
Comment: "There was widespread outrage after the attorney general, Pam Bondi, pushed for access to Minnesota’s voter rolls as the state reeled from the killing of Alex Pretti over the weekend."
"Bondi included the demand for voter rolls in a letter she sent to the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, on Saturday urging him to 'change course' in the state. In addition to turning over the voter rolls, Bondi also said the state should turn over data on those receiving public assistance and repeal sanctuary city policies in the state."
"The request for voter rolls stood out because it has nothing to do with immigration enforcement – the Trump administration has not presented evidence of widespread voter fraud by non-citizens in Minnesota or elsewhere. In a court hearing on Monday as part of a request to end the surging federal immigration enforcement presence in Minnesota, an attorney representing the state described Bondi’s request as a 'ransom note'. "
Comment: "Ransom note" seems like an appropriate characterization of Bondi's letter.
Republicans go all-in on 'Sharia law' attacks ahead of Texas primary
Comment: "Anti-Muslim rhetoric has emerged as a potent ingredient in the looming Texas Republican primary while candidates compete to raise fears about the spread of Sharia law in the state and portray themselves as the toughest option to stand against it."
"From the state’s white-hot GOP Senate primary down to local races, Republican candidates are pledging to fight the hardest against a proposed residential development of 1,000 homes centered around a Mosque north of Dallas, while issuing dire warnings about the supposed threat of Islam and questioning their opponents’ commitment to the cause."
"Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and his top primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, have sparred in attack ads and on the trail over that project and Afghan refugee resettlement program, at times veering into inflammatory anti-Islamic rhetoric. Cornyn called for a federal investigation into the project; Paxton launched several probes and in December sued the development over alleged securities fraud."
Comment: " 'The Muslim community is the boogeyman for this cycle,' said Texas GOP consultant Vinny Minchillo. 'One hundred percent this message works — there’s no question about it. This has been polled up one side and down the other, and with Texas Republican primary voters, it works. It is a thing they are legitimately scared of.' "
"Muslim advocacy organizations and Democrats decry the ads as racist and grossly inaccurate characterizations of those communities."
" 'The Texas GOP has declared war on Islam in Texas, claiming that Islamic leaders in the state are implementing Sharia law and using it in court,' said Joel Montfort, a north Texas-based Democratic strategist. 'None of it is true, it is just fearmongering and racism to stir up the GOP base and get them to vote.' ”
Comment: "Fearmongering and racism" used by Texas candidates in their GOP primary races. Is it any different here in Alabama?
Judges, inundated with immigration cases, don’t mince words on ICE tactics
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/26/minnesota-immigration-cases-ice-00746275
Comment: "A Myanmar refugee nursing a five-month-old, arrested and shipped to Texas. A Mexican man who sustained severe skull injuries during an arrest by ICE and was shackled in the hospital against doctors’ wishes. A Kenyan woman detained after picking up seizure medication. A Ukrainian refugee arrested for no apparent reason."
"In other words, an ordinary weekend for federal judges in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s mass deportation push in the Twin Cities."
"The district’s seven full-time judges and 10 partially retired judges have been inundated by hundreds of emergency lawsuits from immigrants targeted by ICE during the operation. They’re working weekends to manage the backlog and juggling a crush of individual cases under intense national attention."
"And in all but a handful of cases, those judges have ruled that the Trump administration violated the law, sometimes flagrantly."
"The judges, representing appointees of nearly every president since Ronald Reagan, have grown increasingly alarmed by what they see as a pattern of defiance by the administration, shocking behavior by ICE and rampant targeting of people with no criminal history, despite Trump’s claim to be targeting 'the worst of the worst'."
Video: Todd Blanche says federal agents ‘acting humanely’ amid public outcry: Full interview - January 25, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mr_DGYWnU4
Comment: Watch Asst. Attorney General Todd Blanche try to shift blame and try to defend the indefensible, with regard to the Pretti shooting.
Video: Velshi: To honor Renee Good and Alex Pretti, keep up the fight for the truth - January 25, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak2upY6B3pk
CNN: What Trump officials claimed about Alex Pretti — and what the evidence actually shows
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/25/politics/trump-officials-shifting-rhetoric-alex-pretti
Border Patrol chief praises agents who killed Alex Pretti
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/25/minnesota-shooting-border-patrol-greg-bovino
Trump officials stick "terrorist" label on Americans killed by DHS
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/25/trump-officials-stick-terrorist-label-on-americans-killed-by-dhs
Trump and Democrats harden their stances after Minneapolis shooting
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/24/minneapolis-shooting-ice-trump-democrats-00745630
Comment: "Just hours after federal agents shot and killed a 37-year-old man in Minneapolis, Trump administration officials called the deceased a 'would-be assassin' and blamed Democrats for siding with 'terrorists'.”
"Democrats, meanwhile, renewed calls for Minnesota officials to investigate the shooting and characterized the president’s immigration actions as 'a campaign of organized brutality'.”
"With few official details released on the latest shooting in Minneapolis, the White House and Democrats retreated to heated rhetoric in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s incident, with President Donald Trump accusing state officials of 'inciting Insurrection' and Democrats accusing federal agents of 'murder'."
" 'A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists,' deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller wrote on X Saturday, referring to a tweet from the Democratic National Committee about the shooting that stated 'Get ICE out of Minnesota NOW.' "
"Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota focused her anger on ICE, posting on social media: 'This appears to be an execution by immigration enforcement. I am absolutely heartbroken, horrified, and appalled that federal agents murdered another member of our community.' ”
"In Saturday morning’s shooting, a 37-year-old man was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis who claimed he approached federal officers with a 9 mm gun but didn’t specify if he was holding or brandishing the weapon. Various videos of the incident appear to show the man holding a phone."
Comment: "Trump, in a post on Truth Social, described the man who was shot Saturday as a 'gunman' and suggested a cover-up by Minnesota Democrats. The Justice Department has subpoenaed several Democratic Minneapolis [Minnesota?] state officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, who called the DOJ’s subpoena a 'partisan distraction'.”
Comment: As you read this article, please take a look at videos of the Alex Pretti shooting and determine which position has more credibility (Trump administration stance or that of Democrats). And if you believe that the Trump administration is lying to us about this shooting, ask yourself what other things are they misleading or lying about. How can any administration govern, if it has no credibility?
Trump’s ‘pay-to-play’ politics fuel a ‘new gilded age’, experts say
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/23/trumps-politics-gilded-age
Comment: "Major donors reap influence and material benefits, ethics experts argue, as money and governance intertwine"
Comment: "Donald Trump's 'pay-to-play' governing and fundraising style is helping forge a new gilded age where many super rich donors to Trump’s Maga Inc Pac and other top Trump causes are reaping big political and financial gains, including lax regulations, federal contracts and other benefits, say scholars and analysts."
"The transactional style of the US president has been a financial boon to cryptocurrency, AI and fossil fuel interests, among others, which have showered seven- and eight-figure donations on Trump’s Super Pac, inaugural committee and pet projects such as his oft-touted mammoth White House ballroom."
Video: Slavery exhibits at President's House in Philadelphia removed after Trump administration directive - January 22, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LshCuxbwXE
Trump admin removes memorial honoring people enslaved by George Washington in Philadelphia
Justice Department says Jack Smith report on Trump investigation ‘belongs in dustbin of history’
Comment: "A report by former special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents belongs in the 'dustbin of history' and should remain sealed, the Justice Department said in a sharply worded court filing Friday."
" 'The illicit product of an unlawful investigation and prosecution belongs in the dustbin of history. The United States will leave it there,' prosecutors wrote."
"The department’s position echoes that of Trump, whose lawyers this week asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to permanently block the release of the Smith report. It adds to the likelihood that a detailed report on a criminal investigation once seen as posing significant legal peril to Trump might continue to remain hidden from public view."
"Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Biden and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after he left the White House following his first term."
"Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith's team after Trump’s November 2024 election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution."
Comment: How can Jack Smith's second volume of his report be called an "illicit product of an unlawful investigation and prosecution?" We all saw pictures of highly classified documents strewn on the bathroom floor at Trump's club at Mar-a-Lago.
Comment: Jack Smith testified that he had evidence sufficient to criminally indict Donald Trump for his retention of these documents. Pam Bondi's and the DOJ's position that they will fight disclosure of Smith's report stinks of a cover-up, bordering on obstruction of justice.
Comment: Ailleen Cannon's initial blocking of the Jack Smith classified documents report was legally based on the theory that its disclosure might prejudice a trial of Trump's codefendants (and employees) Walt Nauta & Carlos De Oliveira. Since the charges against the codefendants have been dropped, Aileen Cannon has little justification for keeping the Jack Smith classified documents report sealed.
Trump escalates Carney feud after Davos dust-up
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/23/trump-carney-davos-canada-peace-board-gaza
Comment: "President Trump on Thursday rescinded Canada's invitation to his 'Board of Peace' for Gaza, deepening a feud with Prime Minister Mark Carney that reignited at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week."
Comment: "It's the latest sign of a splintering partnership between the U.S. and one of its longest-standing allies."
Comment: " 'Canada and the United States have built a remarkable partnership in the economy, in security and in rich cultural exchange,' Carney said on Thursday night."
" 'But Canada doesn't live because of the United States. Canada thrives because we are Canadian.' "
"Trump responded on Truth Social by revoking Canada's invitation to join the Board of Peace."
Comment: "It wasn't just Trump adding fuel to the fire. Separately, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent floated the idea of Alberta seceding from Canada to join the U.S."
UK PM, others outraged at Trump's comments downplaying NATO allies' role during Afghanistan war
Trump Suggests Invoking Article 5 to Get NATO to Help With U.S. Border | TIME
https://time.com/7357315/trump-nato-article-5-test-truth-social-post-us-border/
Comment: Another ridiculous remark from Donald Trump. It's doubtful that Trump is serious, but this sarcastic remark is meant to distract us from other issues and to downplay and demean the legitimate importance of NATO's Article 5 responsibility.
Video: Mayor Frey Asked About Him, Walz Being Subpoenaed By DOJ: 'Do You See This Simply As Retribution?' - January 23, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnz6D3dcMhM
Comment: Minneapolis Mayor calmly responds to Trump's outrageous campaign of retribution.
Unsealed court documents suggest Trump admin detained Tufts student for writing op-ed critical of Israel | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/court-documents-student-israel-op-ed
ICE has been entering homes without judicial warrants since last summer, sources say
Comment: "Administrative warrants are signed by officials in ICE field offices and generally permit officers and agents to make arrests — a lower legal standard than a warrant signed by a judge or magistrate, which is broadly what is needed when law enforcement enters a home."
"The news comes as ICE continues to ramp up operations across the U.S. to boost deportations, and as questions grow around its tactics."
"American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project attorney Spencer Amdur said the policy 'flatly violates the Fourth Amendment' of the U.S. Constitution, which protects from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government."
" 'It’s part of a consistent pattern of trying to disregard clear legal limits on their authority,' he said of the Trump administration."
"The officials did not specify how many homes had been entered. But they told NBC News that the May memo followed a March 2025 opinion from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the General Counsel, though DHS legal opinions are not the same as settled law."
Video: The difference between administrative and judicial warrants - January 22, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urpTDaXcuL4
ICE warrant memo: What we know about the policy that experts say threatens a fundamental American right | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/politics/ice-memo-warrantless-entry-what-we-know
Video: ICE memo allows agents to enter homes without judicial warrant: Whistleblowers - January 22, 2026
https://abcnews.com/video/129445546/
Trump threatens pollsters after New York Times survey shows sagging disapproval - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/22/trump-poll-nyt-approval-00740786
Comment: "President Donald Trump threatened legal consequences for The New York Times after a poll released by the outlet found that independent voters have soured on his leadership at the one-year mark of his second term."
"Just 34 percent of independent voters told the New York Times/Siena poll that they approve of the president’s job performance. Fifty-two percent of independents told the Times that they believe the country is worse off than it was last year before Trump took office, while 24 percent said it’s now in a better place. The president took to Truth Social to vent his frustration on Thursday."
" 'The Times Siena Poll, which is always tremendously negative to me, especially just before the Election of 2024, where I won in a Landslide, will be added to my lawsuit against The Failing New York Times,' Trump wrote on Thursday. 'Our lawyers have demanded that they keep all Records, and how they ‘computed’ these fake results — Not just the fact that it was heavily skewed toward Democrats. They will be held fully responsible for all of their Radical Left lies and wrongdoing!' "
" 'Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense,' he wrote in a subsequent post."
Comment: Another Trump attempt at intimidation and extortion, or simply the ravings a narcissistic madman?
White House posts digitally altered image of woman arrested after ICE protest
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/22/white-house-ice-protest-arrest-altered-image
Comment: Apparently, unsatisfied by it's capacity to spew lies verbally, the Trump administration is now relying on high tech to visually spread their falsehoods.
Jack Smith expects to be indicted by Trump DOJ
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/22/jack-smith-expects-indictment-trump-doj
Comment: "Former special counsel Jack Smith believes the Trump administration will indict him, he said during congressional testimony on Thursday."
Comment: "Smith's prediction follows the Trump administration's epeated prosecution of the president's political enemies. President Trump has called Smith a criminal."
Comment: "Hours into the public hearing, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) asked Smith if he thinks the Justice Department would 'find some way' to indict him."
" 'I believe they will do everything in their power to do that because they have been ordered to by the president,' Smith said."
"Balint responded, 'That is very concerning.' "
Opinion - How far is too far for Trump?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/opinion-far-too-far-trump-140000971.html
ICE says its officers can forcibly enter homes during immigration operations without judicial warrants: 2025 memo
Comment: Linked article also includes a video (January 21, 2026).
Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, memo says
https://apnews.com/article/ice-arrests-warrants-minneapolis-trump-00d0ab0338e82341fd91b160758aeb2d
Comment: "Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge's warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches."
"The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to enter a residence based solely on a more narrow administrative warrant to arrest someone with a final order of removal, a move that advocates say collides with Fourth Amendment protections and upends years of advice given to immigrant communities."
Comment: "For years, immigrant advocates, legal aid groups and local governments have urged people not to open their doors to immigration agents unless they are shown a warrant signed by a judge. That guidance is rooted in Supreme Court rulings that generally prohibit law enforcement from entering a home without judicial approval. The ICE directive directly undercuts that advice at a time when arrests are accelerating under the administration’s immigration crackdown."
"The memo itself has not been widely shared within the agency, according to a whistleblower complaint, but its contents have been used to train new ICE officers who are being deployed into cities and towns to implement the president’s immigration crackdown. New ICE hires and those still in training are being told to follow the memo’s guidance instead of written training materials that actually contradict the memo, according to the whistleblower disclosure."
"It is unclear how broadly the directive has been applied in immigration enforcement operations. The Associated Press witnessed ICE officers ramming through the front door of the home of a Liberian man, Garrison Gibson, with a deportation order from 2023 in Minneapolis on Jan. 11, wearing heavy tactical gear and with their rifles drawn."
"Documents reviewed by The AP revealed that the agents only had an administrative warrant — meaning there was no judge who authorized the raid on private property."
"The change is almost certain to meet legal challenges and stiff criticism from advocacy groups and immigrant-friendly state and local governments that have spent years successfully urging people not to open their doors unless ICE shows them a warrant signed by a judge."
Comment: "The memo, signed by the acting director of ICE, Todd Lyons, and dated May 12, 2025, says: 'Although the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not historically relied on administrative warrants alone to arrest aliens subject to final orders of removal in their place of residence, the DHS Office of the General Counsel has recently determined that the U.S. Constitution, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the immigration regulations do not prohibit relying on administrative warrants for this purpose.' ”
"The memo does not detail how that determination was made nor what its legal repercussions might be."
Comment: Given that the memo was not widely shared and that written training materials contradicted the information found in the memo, it suggests that ICE suspected (and perhaps knew) that the memo guidance was unconstitutional.
Trump says individuals will soon be prosecuted for 2020 election
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/21/trump-2020-election-prosecutions-00738778
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Wednesday said individuals will soon be prosecuted for their role in what he called the 'rigged 2020 election,' continuing his fixation on an election he lost."
"Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said 'everybody now knows that' the 2020 presidential election was rigged and 'people will soon be prosecuted for what they did.' "
"Trump did not elaborate on who will be prosecuted or with what crimes they would be charged with, and The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
Comment: "Though Trump has claimed that there was widespread voter fraud, federal judges and election officials have refuted the claim. In 2022, Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr also said there was no evidence of the alleged massive voter fraud."
"Trump has spent much of his return to office relitigating his defeat to Biden. The Department of Justice sued Fulton County, Georgia — which is home to Atlanta — for ballots and other election materials from 2020 at the end of last year. The DOJ has also sued dozens of largely Democratic-controlled states for access to their voter rolls."
"Trump has also repeatedly sought to assert federal control over elections, and has seen an executive order attempting to direct changes to the states largely blocked."
Comment: The madness continues. Trump's inability to accept reality has significant impact to DOJ resources, to our elections, to our privacy, and ultimately to our democracy.
CNN: Trump revels in Davos about making the rich even richer
Comment: "President Donald Trump told business executives Wednesday at the World Economic Forum that he's made them much richer."
"The president spoke to a wealthy audience at the Davos economic forum in Switzerland as Republicans back home press him to focus on affordability, a top concern for Americans getting squeezed by higher prices ahead of the midterm elections."
" 'I don't even ask anybody how you're doing now,' Trump said of his conversations with business executives. 'It's like everybody is making so much money.' "
" 'A couple of people in the room, I can't stand them. And they've become very rich. There's nothing I can do about it,' Trump said to laughs."
"The CEOs of Visa, Cisco, Salesforce, JPMorgan Chase and Amazon were among the high-profile figures gathering for Trump's reception for global business leaders."
Comment: Trump had no comment about how the middle class and the poor were doing.
Comment: There's a lot of people in this country, they can't stand him. And there's something they can do about it, starting in November 2026.
Trump's Davos digs: The U.S. allies he dissed in his speech
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/21/trump-davos-speech-greenland-canada-denmark-france
Comment: "President Trump lashed out at U.S. allies Wednesday during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland."
Comment: The linked article provides details of how Trump insulted Denmark, France, Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Trump responds to Carney: "Canada lives because of the United States"
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/21/trump-davos-speech-carney-canada
Comment: "President Trump said in Davos on Wednesday that Canada should be 'grateful' to the U.S. for the 'freebies' it receives because of the two nations' relationship."
Comment: "Trump's dig at Canada came a day after Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered his own warning at the World Economic Forum over the 'rupture' of the world order."
Comment: "'Canada lives because of the United States,' Trump said Wednesday before taking a direct jab at Carney. 'Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.' "
"Trump said Carney 'wasn't so grateful' in his address."
"Carney avoided naming Trump in his speech — a strategy a Canadian official previously told Axios was deliberate. However, the official indicated that Carney's remarks were aimed squarely at the president's recent actions."
Comment: "As Trump pushes a vision of hemispheric dominance — coupled with threats of the U.S. making its northern neighbor the '51st state' — Ottawa has reportedly started preparing for how to repel a U.S. invasion."
"Just before 1am ET Tuesday, Trump added fuel to the simmering fire between the U.S. and Canada with a Truth Social post depicting an altered map with Canada covered in the American flag."
Comment: "Beyond Trump's flirtations with annexing the U.S. ally, the cross-border relationship has been strained by the president's tariff threats — and Canada's subsequent strategy to diversify its trading partners."
"Carney, the former central banker turned prime minister, has since moved to ease trading relations with China."
Comment: Trump publicly insults our northern neighbor and makes threats to its sovereignty.
Comment: While Trump makes these ridiculous statements and tries to bully Canada, Canada is taking decisive action. It's rallying the world against Trump and the U.S. and is diversifying its trade relationships to others beside the United States. This will have serious consequences to the U.S. economy.
Renee Good’s family attorney responds to Trump saying he hopes her father is still a fan: ‘The family is unified’ | CNN Politics
Comment: Trump's statements are unbelievable. A family loses their daughter and Trump worries about how the daughter's death will impact the family's feeling toward him! Just how narcissistic and self-centered can a person be?
Stephen Miller Says MN Authorities Ordered to ‘Stand Down and Surrender’ to Federal Officers as Anti-ICE Protests Intensify
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/stephen-miller-says-mn-authorities-115814708.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s top aide, Stephen Miller, shockingly declared that local and state law enforcement have been ordered to 'stand down and surrender' as anti-ICE protests continue to grip the state."
"In a social media post late Sunday night, Miller said, 'Only federal officers are upholding the law.' ”
"He added: 'Local and state police have been ordered to stand down and surrender.' ”
"Miller’s post came in response to New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, who wrote that 'local cops have gone AWOL' earlier Sunday."
"Miller’s wild remark came days after he called the anti-ICE protestors in Minnesota 'an insurgency' as Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to use the military against U.S. citizens in the Gopher State."
Comment: Given Miller's highly placed position in the Trump White house, his irresponsible statement that "police have been ordered to stand down and surrender" could have been easily misconstrued as an order from the president or other federal authority. Miller has no authority to issue such an order, and, therefore, he should be formally censored or lose his job because of this post. Unauthorized statements like this is the reason why members of the military are repeated cautioned against obeying an illegal order.
Recruiter pitches joining the military to Minneapolis high school students to protect their families from ICE | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/19/politics/recruiter-military-ice-deportation
Putin invited to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ Kremlin says
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/19/putin-trump-board-of-peace-kremlin.html
Men detained in El Salvador's notorious prison detail harrowing experiences: "You're in hell"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-deported-venezuelans-endured-at-cecot-60-minutes/
Comment: This article also contains a "60 Minutes" VIDEO (17 minutes) which should be watched in its entirety. The article text often follows the dialogue from the video. The allegations against DHS officials and Salvadorian prison officials, often substantiated with supporting evidence, indicate behavior that is truly outrageous and shameful.
Here’s where Trump’s most jaw-dropping promises stand a year into his second term
Comment: "From toppling Venezuela's leader to ordering mass deportations, from turning once independent government entities into rubber stamps to demolishing the East Wing for a White House ballroom, President Donald Trump spent his first year back in office trampling political norms and testing institutional checks and balances."
"Some of his ideas that once seemed implausible, if not outright fanciful, are now reality. But there are other things that Trump could not deliver on."
" 'I’ve kept all my promises and much more,' Trump insisted during a speech this week in Detroit."
"With his administration nearing the one-year mark, here’s a look at where some of his most jaw-dropping promises stand:"
Comment: Read the linked article and take a look. As crazy as it has been, it could have been even crazier.
Miller amid Greenland push: Nations not entitled to territories ‘they cannot defend’
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5694105-stephen-miller-greenland-acquisition-defense/amp/
Comment: "White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Friday doubled down on the Trump administration’s argument that acquiring Greenland is 'essential' for U.S. national security."
" 'The new domain of international competition is going to be polar competition,' Miller told Fox News's Sean Hannity, seeking to justify President Trump’s proposal to take over the Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. 'That is where more and more resources are being spent by our nation’s adversaries and rivals is the ability to control movement, navigation, lanes of travel in the polar and arctic region.' ”
"He added that because Denmark 'cannot defend' Greenland, citing weaknesses in their military and economy, that it should not have claims to the land.
" 'To control a territory, you have to be able to defend a territory, improve a territory, inhabit a territory,' Miller said. 'Denmark has failed at every single one of these tests.' ”
Comment: So, according to Stephen Miller, concepts like democracy, rule of law, and self determination of the territory's people are not important. He thinks it's all about military power, colonialism, and survival of the fittest.
Federal officials investigating Renee Good's partner, sources say
Comment: "The federal investigation into the fatal shooting by an ICE officer has focused in part on Good’s partner, including whether she may have impeded a federal officer moments before he fired, sources say."
Comment: "The federal investigation into the shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross is focusing more on Becca Good, including what officials said were her possible ties to activist groups, and less on Ross’ actions when he fired into Renee Good’s vehicle during an immigration operation last week, the people said."
Giving Trump the Nobel peace prize medal is ‘absurd’, say Norwegian politicians
Comment: Political leaders in Norway have condemned the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s 'absurd' decision to present her Nobel peace prize medal to Donald Trump, accusing the US president of being a 'classic showoff' who takes credit for other people’s work."
Comment: "The Nobel Peace Center said on social media that 'a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel peace prize laureate cannot'. The organisers of the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute, had already said that the prize 'cannot be revoked, shared or transferred' when Machado first revealed her plan – a sentiment reiterated by the institute on Friday."
Comment: "Kirsti Bergstø, the leader of Norway’s Socialist Left party and its foreign policy spokesperson, said: 'This is, above all, absurd. The peace prize cannot be given away.' ”
"Trump’s recent threats to invade Greenland, she said, demonstrated why he was not a worthy recipient. 'Trump will no doubt claim that he has now received it, but it cannot be transferred, and Trump’s repeated threats toward Greenland clearly demonstrate why it would have been madness to award him the prize,' Bergstø said."
"Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, the leader of the Centre party, said: 'Whoever has received the prize has received the prize. The fact that Trump accepted the medal says something about him as a type of person: a classic showoff who wants to adorn himself with other people’s honours and work.' ”
"Raymond Johansen, the Labour former governing mayor of Oslo who is now secretary general of Norwegian People’s Aid, said the situation was 'unbelievably embarrassing and damaging'."
Comment: This is how Europeans view the current President of the United States, and who can blame them?
Trump Hands First Sale of Swiped Oil to His Megadonor’s Company
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-hands-first-sale-swiped-150105918.html
Comment: "The Trump administration’s first sale of Venezuelan oil to a U.S. buyer landed with a familiar name: a company linked to one of the president's biggest campaign donors."
"The initial deal, worth about $250 million, went to Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader. A senior Vitol trader involved in securing the contract has poured millions into political action committees backing Donald Trump’s re-election and met with the president at the White House just days before the agreement was finalized."
"That senior oil trader is John Addison, and one of Trump’s most generous supporters. According to donor records compiled by OpenSecrets, Addison gave $5 million in October 2024 to Maga Inc and more than $1 million to two other Trump-aligned political action committees. In total, his donations tied to Trump’s re-election effort amounted to about $6 million."
After Trump warned about Tylenol and autism, researchers investigated — and found no link
Comment: “Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it. Fight like hell not to take it.”
"That was the message from President Donald Trump when he and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced in September that women should avoid Tylenol during pregnancy due to what they described as a link to autism."
"The risk had not been substantiated by robust scientific evidence when Trump issued the warning. Now, a group of researchers have responded with what may be the most thorough analysis yet of the existing science on the topic."
"Their review, published Friday in the medical journal he Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Heath, found no link between acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol, also known as paracetamol — taken during pregnancy and autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or intellectual disability."
Comment: Trump and RFK Jr. sent the medical community on another wild goose chase, after making unsubstantiated claims based on a hair-brained theory concocted by two individuals having absolutely no background in either science or medicine. And in the process, it scared expectant mothers around the country and defamed a widely used pain reliever and its maker.
RFK Jr.’s Health Department Secretly Scrubs Its Own Science
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rfk-jr-health-department-secretly-172356588.html
Comment: "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had the Food and Drug Administration’s longtime consensus on cell phones quietly erased to make way for an investigation into his claim they emit cancer-causing radiation."
"A prevailing body of research backed by multiple health organizations has found no conclusive evidence of such health risks, including the FDA, but the agency’s webpages stating as much have now been taken down."
" 'The FDA removed webpages with old conclusions about cellphone radiation while HHS undertakes a study on electromagnetic radiation and health research to identify gaps in knowledge, including on new technologies, to ensure safety and efficacy,' HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon told The Wall Street Journal."
"Previous versions of the webpage, obtained by the Daily Beast, show a steadfast position refuting suggestions that phones have long-term health consequences."
" 'The FDA’s physicians, scientists, and engineers regularly analyze scientific studies and publications for evidence of health effects of exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phones,' the FDA website said in October 2025. 'The weight of nearly 30 years of scientific evidence has not linked exposure to radio frequency energy from use of cell phones to health problems, such as cancer.' "
" 'The FDA also monitors and analyzes public health data on cancer rates in the U.S. population. The data clearly demonstrate no widespread rise in brain and other nervous system cancers in the last 30 years despite the enormous increase in cell phone use during this period. In fact, the rate of brain and other nervous system cancers diagnosed in United States has decreased for the last 15 years or so.' ”
Comment: It sounds like RFK Jr. is planning to study this issue, and spend your tax dollars, until he gets some kind of endorsement of his unscientific, preconceived, and incorrect relationship between cell phone emissions and cancer.
Press advocates condemn Pentagon move to seize editorial control of Stars and Stripes
Defense Department says military newspaper Stars and Stripes must eliminate 'woke distractions'
Comment: "The Pentagon said Thursday that it is changing the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes so it concentrates on 'reporting for our warfighters' and no longer includes 'woke distractions'."
"That message, in a social media post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's spokesman, is short on specifics and does not mention the news outlet's legacy of independence from government and military leadership. It comes a day after The Washington Post reported that applicants for jobs at Stars and Stripes were being asked what they would do to support President Donald Trump's policies."
Comment: "The outlet's mission statement emphasizes that it is 'editorially independent of interference from outside its own editorial chain-of-command' and that it is unique among news organizations tied to the Defense Department in being 'governed by the principles of the First Amendment'."
"Congress established that independence in the 1990s after instances of military leadership getting involved in editorial decisions. During Trump's first term in 2020, Defense Secretary Mark Esper tried to eliminate government funding for Stars and Stripes — to effectively shut it down — before he was overruled by the president."
Comment: There goes the "outlet's mission statement" and the will of Congress under the reign of Trump and Hegseth.
Trump Pardons Convicted Fraudster (Again) Along With Big-Time MAGA Donor’s Father
CNN: Trump’s pardon of convicted woman is the second time he’s erased her sentence in a criminal case
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/16/politics/wanda-vazquez-trump-pardon-puerto-rico
Video: Former DOJ Attorney speaks out after resigning, says Department of Justice is ‘no longer founded on the truth’ - January 16, 2026
Department of Justice investigating Gov. Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Frey, U.S. officials say
Comment: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are under federal investigation, two U.S. officials told WCCO on Friday afternoon."
"Walz and Frey are being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, the officials confirmed."
Trump threatens to use the Insurrection Act to end protests in Minneapolis
Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to Minneapolis protests
Comment: "The 19th century law allows the president to deploy active-duty service members domestically without congressional approval."
Comment: "Deploying the military for domestic law enforcement purposes usually requires congressional authorization, but invoking the 19th-century law would permit Trump to do so unilaterally. It also allows for the federalization of National Guard troops under certain circumstances. The law is rarely used. President George H.W. Bush was the last to invoke it, during the Los Angeles riots in 1992."
Video: Trump Suggests U.S. Cancel November's Midterms Due To His Administration's 'Success' - January 16, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VCqEWYYd54
Trump Suggests U.S. ‘Shouldn’t Even Have’ November Midterms
Comment: "President Donald Trump said he thinks the U.S. 'shouldn’t even have' midterms in November, according to an interview with Reuters published Thursday, ramping up his attacks on the upcoming election after repeatedly expressing alarm about the possibility of Republicans losing control of Congress."
Comment: "Trump claimed to Reuters that because of his administration’s many accomplishments during his second term, 'When you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election [in November].' "
"White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later claimed Thursday that Trump was 'simply joking' and 'speaking facetiously' by saying that, telling reporters the president was saying, 'We’re doing such a great job … maybe we should just keep rolling.' "
Comment: Given Trump's habit of floating/threatening unprecedented and often unlawful plans and then evaluating the pushback before proceeding with them, it is very difficult to take anything he says as a 'joke'. If citizens don't take what he says seriously and then push back against his plans, they might find that his "joke" turns out to be a future reality.
Anger in Iceland over incoming US ambassador’s ‘52nd state’ joke
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/15/anger-iceland-incoming-us-ambassador-52nd-state-joke
Comment: "Thousands sign petition calling on Iceland’s foreign minister to reject Trump ally Billy Long’s nomination"
Comment: "Thousands of people have signed a petition expressing anger after Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland reportedly joked that the Nordic country should become the 52nd US state."
"On Wednesday, hours before top officials from Greenland and Denmark were to meet with the US in the hope of warding off Trump’s threats to seize the Arctic island, the news outlet Politico said it had heard of musings regarding another Nordic island."
" 'We heard that former Rep Billy Long, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Iceland, joked to members on the floor last night that Iceland will be the 52nd state and he’ll be governor,' Politico wrote in its morning newsletter."
"The reaction in Reykjavík was swift. In a statement to the Guardian, Iceland’s foreign ministry said it had contacted the US embassy for clarification. 'The ministry for foreign affairs contacted the US embassy in Iceland to verify the veracity of the alleged comments,' it said."
"In a petition calling on Iceland’s foreign minister, Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, to reject Long as ambassador to the country, critics said: 'These words, spoken by Billy Long, whom Donald Trump has nominated as ambassador to Iceland, may have been said in jest. Still, they are offensive to Iceland and the Icelandic people, who have had to fight for their freedom and have always been a friend to the United States,' the petition read."
"Within hours of its launch, more than 3,200 people had signed the petition, backing the call for the US to 'nominate another person who shows greater respect for Iceland and the Icelandic people'."
Comment: Before being appointed ambassador to Ireland, Billy Long was nominated to be head of the IRS. The nomination was considered so troublesome, it was withdrawn before it came up for a vote in the Senate.
'Department of War' rebranding could cost as much as $125M, hundreds of millions more if it becomes legal name: CBO
Comment: "The Congressional Budget Office estimates it will cost taxpayers anywhere from $10 million to $125 million for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to rebrand the Defense Department as the 'Department of War'" -- a number that would grow to 'hundreds of millions' if it became official."
"The range is the first government cost estimate since President Donald Trump announced last fall that he wanted to "restore" the name of the Defense Department to the War Department."
"Only Congress can change the name of a federal agency, so Trump last September signed an executive order calling for the new name to be used as a 'secondary title,' or essentially a nickname for the sprawling department."
Comment: Is this how you want your tax dollars spent?
Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants
Comment: "The Trump administration sent shockwaves through the U.S. mental health and drug addiction system late Tuesday, sending hundreds of termination letters, effective immediately, for federal grants supporting health services."
"Three sources said they believe total cuts to nonprofit groups, many providing street-level care to people experiencing addiction, homelessness and mental illness, could reach roughly $2 billion. NPR wasn't able to independently confirm the scale of the grant cancellation. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) didn't respond to a request for clarification."
Comment: "Kessler said he has reviewed numerous grant termination letters from 'Salt Lake City to El Paso to Detroit, all over the country.' "
"Ryan Hampton, the founder of Mobilize Recovery, a national advocacy nonprofit for people in and seeking recovery, told NPR his group lost roughly $500,000 'overnight'."
" 'Waking up to nearly $2 billion in grant cancellations means front-line providers are forced to cease overdose prevention, naloxone distribution, and peer recovery services immediately, leaving our communities defenseless against a raging crisis,' Hampton said. 'This cruelty will be measured in lives lost, as recovery centers shutter and the safety net we built is slashed overnight. We are witnessing the dismantling of our recovery infrastructure in real-time, and the administration will have blood on its hands for every preventable death that follows.' "
"Copies of the letter sent to two different organizations and reviewed by NPR signal that SAMHSA officials no longer believe the defunded programs align with the Trump administration's priorities."
Update: "After NPR's reporting, the Trump administration reversed its decision and confirmed that sweeping cuts to mental health and addiction programs worth more than $2 billion are being reversed."
Comment: Who sent the original letters? Was this some kind of sick joke, or is the Trump administration so incompetent that one faction doesn't know what the other faction is doing? Even though policy was quickly reversed, the chaos and confusion it created was immense.
Video: Trump flips off autoworker at a Ford plant - January 14, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujyx658gNN0
Comment: That's the President of the United States making that obscene gesture. Keep this video in mind if anyone reprimands you for making an anti-Trump statement and asks that you to respect the office of the president.
Red-state Republicans seek climate ‘liability shield’ for fossil fuel industry
Comment: "US lawmakers in two red states are attempting to shield the fossil fuel industry from climate liability."
"In Oklahoma, a newly introduced bill would bar most civil lawsuits against oil companies over their role in the climate crisis, unless plaintiffs allege violations of specific environmental or labor laws. A similar proposal in Utah would block lawsuits over climate-warming emissions, unless a court finds the defendant violated a statute or permit."
" 'I think anyone in America who breathes the air around them and also believes in corporate accountability ought to be very concerned about these types of end-runs against accountability,' said Jay Inslee, the former governor of Washington state and a former trial attorney."
"The proposals appear designed to prevent parties in either state from joining the growing wave of US climate accountability litigation, which has seen more than 70 states, cities and local governments sue major oil companies for allegedly misleading the public about climate risks."
Comment: "The measures come as fossil fuel companies and their political allies push for broader protections from climate lawsuits nationwide. Last year, 16 Republican state attorneys general urged the justice department to provide a 'liability shield' for oil companies, while lobbying disclosures show that ConocoPhillips and the American Petroleum Institute pressed Congress on draft legislation to limit climate liability. Lawmakers have also pursued narrower efforts, including a failed attempt to block Washington DC from enforcing consumer protection laws against oil companies, and a Maryland bill last year that would have barred state and local climate lawsuits but never reached a vote."
"Both Oklahoma and Utah are oil-producing states where the fossil fuel industry wields significant political influence. The Guardian has asked the American Petroleum Institute and the bills’ sponsors whether industry groups lobbied for the proposals."
Classified legal memo argues Trump wasn’t constrained by US or international law for Maduro capture operation | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/13/politics/memo-maduro-capture-olc
Republican congressman proposes bill to make Greenland 51st state
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/greenland-randy-fine-bill-51st-state/
Comment: "A Republican congressman from Florida introduced a bill Monday to annex Greenland and make it the 51st U.S. state as President Trump threatens to seize the autonomous Danish territory."
Comment: "Rep. Randy Fine said his new legislation would authorize Mr. Trump 'to take whatever steps necessary to annex or acquire Greenland.' "
Comment: In his very short time in the House, GOP Rep. Fine has made many outrageous statements. He seems determined to keep his name in the news, whether being famous or infamous.
Trump failed to overturn the 2020 election, but how about 2026?
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5685230-trump-election-corruption-reforms/
Comment: "In a recent interview with a panel of New York Times reporters, the president said he regretted not ordering National Guard troops to seize voting machines he believes would have proven the 2020 election was stolen. But that idea, he said, had limitations."
" 'I don’t know that [guard members] are sophisticated enough,' he said, very much in the present tense. 'You know, they’re good warriors. I’m not sure that they’re sophisticated enough in the ways of crooked Democrats, and the way they cheat, to figure that out.' ”
"The president has other, more sophisticated people for that work. And they are already on the job. From top to bottom, the president has staffed out the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, the agencies most directly involved with overseeing the casting and counting of ballots, with people who agree with his allegations about 2020."
"The vetting process went all the way down to entry-level positions to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2020. Then-Attorney General Bill Barr and others wouldn’t go along with the plan of raising doubts, baseless or not, about the results in order to muddy the water and buy time for Trump allies in key states to throw out or supplant the official results."
"On the things that matter most to Trump — tariffs, deportations and the expansion of his powers generally — his team has worked relentlessly and audaciously to give him what he wants. And one must assume that will include the results of the coming midterm elections."
"Who's behind the masks": Raskin seeks answers on Jan. 6 defendants hired by ICE
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/13/ice-trump-january-6-justice-department-dhs-jamie-raskin
Video: DOJ prosecutors resign in protest over handling of ICE shooting investigation - January 13, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhEjsrh-moI
"Darkest day" for rule of law: Ex-federal prosecutors react to U.S. Attorney's Office resignations
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/us-attorney-office-resignations-reactions-darkest-day/
Comment: "Former federal prosecutors said that they were shocked by the abrupt resignations of several individuals in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota on Tuesday, a move two sources familiar with the matter said stemmed from pressure to investigate the widow of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE officer last week."
"Doug Kelley, a former assistant U.S. attorney for seven years in Minnesota, said he had not spoken directly with any of the six career prosecutors who stepped down from their posts, but called the resignations the 'darkest day' for the rule of law that he had seen in his five decades practicing criminal law."
" 'When you have six people who are of good will and who have been dedicated public servants and have spent their lives enforcing the law as objectively as possible — if they feel the need to resign because of orders they have gotten that will violate their conscience, to me, that is a great statement on their part that this is not tolerable by them,' Kelley told WCCO News."
Senior Minnesota US attorneys quit over DOJ demand they ‘investigate’ widow of motorist shot dead by ICE agent
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/senior-minnesota-us-attorneys-quit-183401342.html
Mass exodus hits Justice Department's Civil Rights Division amid lack of action in Minneapolis, sources say
Comment: "Several career prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced they are leaving the department, shortly after they learned there would be no civil rights probe into the fatal shootig of a Minneapolis woman by a federal immigration agent, according to six sources briefed on the matter."
"At least six prosecutors, most of whom are supervisors in the Civil Rights Division's criminal section, will be leaving their jobs. Their decision to depart was announced in a meeting to staff on Monday, the sources told CBS News."
"The announcement came after CBS News reported on Friday that career prosecutors in the section had offered to drop all of their work to help investigate the Minneapolis shooting, but they were told there would be no criminal civil rights investigation."
Comment: "Although the Justice Department contemplated treating the investigation as a 'color of law' civil rights investigation into the excessive use of force, it later changed course, two different sources briefed on the matter told CBS."
"Now, the investigation is being treated as an assault on a federal officer, in which Ross, as opposed to Good, is seen as the victim of a crime, the sources added."
DOJ sees no basis for civil rights investigation following ICE shooting in Minneapolis, official says
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5687963-doj-not-investigating-renee-good-shooting/
Comment: Nothing to see here! [sarcasm added]
Trump threatens to sideline Exxon from Venezuela’s oil: ‘They’re playing too cute’
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/12/oil-trump-venezuela-exxon-mobil-darren-woods.html
Comment: "President Donald Trump said Sunday that he would “probably be inclined” to keep U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil out of Venezuela."
"His comments come shortly after Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the Venezuelan market is 'uninvestable' in its current state."
"Trump has been pushing for U.S. oil companies to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela’s energy sector."
Comment: What right does King Donald have to deny Exxon from operating in Venezuela while other U.S. oil companies are given permission? This is just another example of Trump meddling in U.S. business activities, picking winners and losers based upon how much tribute they bestow on him.
Trump threatened GOP senators who voted for war powers resolution in 'angry' calls
Comment: "Hours after the Senate voted to advance the war powers resolution rebuking the White House's current and future actions in Venezuela, President Donald Trump placed 'angry' calls to each of the five Republicans who crossed the aisle, according to people with knowledge of the calls."
"Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Todd Young, R-Ind., voted with Democrats to require the administration to get congressional approval for future military action in Venezuela."
"Thursday's vote was a procedural motion, and it advances the legislation to a full Senate vote that will require a simple majority."
"Soon after the vote, Trump threatened each senator with primary challenges, vowing to unseat them, the people said."
Comment: More attempts at intimidation and extortion from Donald Trump, trying to keep GOP congressional cowards in line.
Trump Regrets Not Seizing Voting Machines After 2020 Election
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/11/us/trump-voting-machines-2020-election.html
Comment: "In an interview, the president said he should have ordered the National Guard to take the machines to find evidence of fraud, but added that the Guard might not have had the sophistication to do so."
Comment: If "sophistication" means GOP corruption, the National Guard probably would not have agreed to that. Even GOP Georgia election officials found that there was no evidence of fraud in 2020, despite Giuliani's outrageous claims.
Comment: Over 60 post election court cases failed to provide evidence that there was widespread fraud that would have changed the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump lost, period.
Video: Watch: Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the U.S. Investigation Targeting Him - January 11, 2026
https://finance.yahoo.com/video/watch-fed-chair-jerome-powell-031500720.html
Comment: "In a video statement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the investigation over his testimony about the central bank’s building renovation project is part of President Trump’s ongoing campaign to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates."
Hegseth’s fight against Kelly moves into untested legal waters
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hegseth-fight-against-kelly-moves-110000926.html
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is forgoing a promised court-martialing and taking a behind-closed-doors track to attempt to punish Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)."
"The administrative move — which seeks to reduce Kelly’s retirement rank and military pension — is the latest in the bitter back-and-forth between the Trump administration and the retired Navy captain after he joined five other Democratic lawmakers in a November video reminding service members that they were obligated to refuse illegal orders."
"While Hegseth is taking Kelly into uncharted legal waters, using an action typically meant to scrutinize service members’ active-duty conduct, a Pentagon packed with President Trump loyalists could unfairly tip the scales against the Arizona Democrat, according to military law experts."
" 'The bottom line is, this is not lawful,' Rachel VanLandingham, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former judge advocate, said of Hegseth’s bid to reduce Kelly’s rank under the military code. 'It’s just never been done.' "
”Hegseth on Monday issued a letter of censure to Kelly, claiming the senator’s actions were prejudicial to good order and discipline. The letter kicks off the proceedings against Kelly, with Navy Secretary John Phelan to make a recommendation to Hegseth within 45 days as to whether a reduction in retired grade is warranted. Hegseth will then decide if he will reduce Kelly’s grade.
"Hegseth is basing the proceedings under 10 U.S. Code § 1370(f), which determines when a reduction in retirement grade is allowed. Under such law, Phelan is solely responsible for the grade reduction recommendation, with no board involved, according to Todd Huntley, a retired Navy captain and former judge advocate."
Comment: Of course, there "is no board involved." How could any military trial board find Kelley guilty of anything, since he just restated a rule that all military personnel are instructed to follow. No trial. No court-martial. That's justice in Trump's America.
'Border czar' says ICE shooting victim's actions 'could fall within that definition' of domestic terrorism
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/border-czar-says-ice-shooting-152046456.html
Comment: " 'Border czar' Tom Homan weighed in on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s allegations that the ICE shooting victim was engaged in 'domestic terrorism,' telling NBC News’ 'Meet the Press' that 'if you look up this definition of terrorism, it certainly could fall within that definition.' "
"Shortly after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good last week, Noem painted Good’s actions as 'an act of domestic terrorism,' though she did not provide evidence."
"Asked on 'Meet the Press' whether Noem was correct to label Good a domestic terrorist, Homan said, 'I don’t know what Secretary Noem knows.' "
" 'What I know, I can tell you is what they did is illegal,' he continued. 'And if you look up this definition of terrorism, it certainly could fall within that definition.' "
Comment: With this ridiculous attempt to justify statements from Kristi Noem, Donald Trump and other administration officials, Tom Homan destroyed whatever shred of credibility that he had left.
Man convicted for carrying Pelosi's podium during Capitol riot seeks Florida county office
Comment: "Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission on Tuesday. That was the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot, where he was photographed smiling and waving as he carried Pelosi's podium after the pro-Trump mob's attack on Jan. 6, 2021."
Comment: "He's far from the first person implicated in the Jan. 6 riot to run for office. At least three ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2024 as Republicans. And there are signs that the Republican Party is welcoming back more people who were convicted of Jan. 6 offenses after Trump pardoned them."
"Jake Lang, who was charged with assaulting an officer, civil disorder and other crimes before he was pardoned, recently announced he is running for Secretary of State Marco Rubio's vacant U.S. Senate seat in Florida."
Scoop: Bannon quietly making moves toward 2028 run
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/10/steve-bannon-2028-campaign-maga
Comment: "Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon is laying the groundwork for a 2028 run for president, two people familiar with his thinking tell Axios."
Comment: "The MAGA godfather isn't serious about becoming president — that's not the point. Instead, he's told allies he wants to shape the debate and pressure Republican candidates to embrace an 'America First' agenda — including a non-interventionist foreign policy, economic populism and opposition to Big Tech."
Comment: "Bannon adamantly denied a run to Axios, calling the idea 'bullsh*t' and saying he's been focused on something else for 2028: supporting a third term for President Trump, despite the Constitution's two-term limit on presidents."
Comment: Are the inmates running the asylum over at the Republican Party?
Demands grow for ICE accountability, but Trump administration cutbacks leave fewer options
Comment: "Minnesota leaders and demonstrators are calling for accountability after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a 37-year-old woman during an operation. But the Trump administration has restructured key federal agencies in ways that leave fewer avenues for investigations that could determine whether the officer’s response was overly aggressive, legal experts said."
"The Department of Homeland Security has substantially cut back staff and sought to shutter three agencies, the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, watchdogs that are tasked in part with investigating instances where there was a misuse of or excessive force by officers and agents. DHS officials have said the divisions were 'roadblocks' to immigration enforcement operations."
"A whistleblower report sent to Congress last year alleged that as a result, hundreds of complaints were left and that staffing had been cut so much that the agencies could not properly do their mandated work. Homeland Security officials have said the agencies are now just better streamlined."
"The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which is typically involved in prosecutions of law enforcement officers accused of using excessive force, has lost hundreds of lawyers over the course of President Donald Trump’s second term in office. It dismissed lawsuits against a number of local police departments and ended investigations into patterns and practices of unconstitutional behavior, including in Minneapolis. Department officials have said the division is focusing on important administration priorities."
Comment: "Focusing on important administration priorities" like undermining the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
'We had whistles. They had guns,' says wife of Minnesota woman killed by ICE agent
Comment: "Trump administration officials have painted Renee Good as a domestic terrorist who tried to run over an officer with her vehicle. State and local officials in Minneapolis, as well as protesters, have rejected that characterization."
Comment: "Far from the worst-of-the-worst criminals President Donald Trump said his immigration crackdown would target, Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado who apparently was never charged with anything beyond a single traffic ticket."
NYTimes.com: Trump Lays Out a Vision of Power Restrained Only by ‘My Own Morality’
Comment: And we know how much morality Donald Trump has!
Video: 'Difficult that we'll get a fair outcome': Walz speaks about ICE shooting investigation - January 8, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKNNynUNsw
Comment: "Minnesota Governor Tim Walz spoke about the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an ICE agent and said that a 'fair outcome' in the investigation would be very difficult. He questioned the Trump administration's response and called for an independent probe into the incident."
Video: Kristi Noem says deadly ICE-involved shooting was result of 'act of domestic terrorism' - January 7, 2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_CgIquoU8o
Comment: Kristi Noem is lying.
New White House webpage rewrites history of Jan. 6 Capitol riot and 2020 election
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-webpage-january-6-attack/
Comment: "A new webpage under the official whitehouse.gov domain, rolled out five years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, rewrites the history of the attack on the Capitol that took place as Congress was affirming Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election."
"The website expresses views long promoted by President Trump that the Jan. 6 attack was a 'peaceful march,' blames Capitol Police for 'escalating tensions,' and repeats Mr. Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen."
" 'The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as 'insurrectionists' and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government,' the new webpage says."
"Thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol that day and breached the building after smashing through windows on the first floor. They vandalized the Capitol, forced the evacuation of lawmakers and their staff and assaulted police officers on site with flagpoles, bear spray and other objects. More than 150 officers were injured. Five police officers who served at the Capitol died in the days and weeks afterward."
Comment: "On the day Mr. Trump was inaugurated for his second term, he pardoned more than 1,00 people who were convicted or charged in the attack, among them, individuals convicted of violent and serious crimes, including assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy."
"The new webpage puts forth a different view of the president's clemency, declaring Mr. Trump pardoned 'January 6 defendants who were unfairly targeted, overcharged, and used as political examples. They were not protected by the leaders who failed them. They were punished to cover incompetence.' "
Comment: Remember folks, these lies, this garbage, was posted on "the official whitehouse.gov" website, paid for with your tax dollars.
Comment: When the Trump administration blatantly lies about the January 6th insurrection and lies about slain Minneapolis ICE protestors being domestic terrorists, how can we believe anything they say, including economic information like the unemployment rate & inflation, or DOJ/FBI criminal charges? The Trump administration has no credibility left.
White House rewrites January 6 history and blames police for deadly attack on 5-year anniversary | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/politics/white-house-january-6-website
How Jan. 6 was remembered — and rewritten — on its 5th anniversary
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/06/january-6-anniversary-capitol-riot-00713422
Comment: "A new White House website, with ominous black-and-white images of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the Jan. 6 select committee, offered an alternate and largely false narrative of events at the Capitol that day — one that forcefully denied Trump’s role in stoking the riot and labeled those who stormed the Capitol 'patriotic Americans'."
"Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson eschewed calls to mount a bronze marker legally mandated by Congress that would serve to honor those who protected the Capitol from the worst attack it had seen since the war of 1812."
" 'He’s trying to cover up for the fact that Republicans continue to disrespect those brave men and women of the Capitol Police department who defended our country on Jan. 6,' House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a brief interview."
"Democrats held a mock hearing to mark the anniversary of the event featuring firsthand witnesses to the violence that day. Their testimony underscored the increasingly diverging narratives that continue to define the historic attack."
A Jan. 6 plaque was made to honor law enforcement at the Capitol. Its whereabouts are unknown
Comment: "Approaching the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the official plaque honoring the police who defended democracy that day is nowhere to be found. It's not on display at the Capitol, as is required by law. Its whereabouts aren't publicly known, though it's believed to be in storage."
Comment: Ask Speaker Mike Johnson where it is.
Trump's wealth grew in 2025, but his investors took lumps
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/02/trump-2025-investments-trump-coin-djt
Trump’s Jaw-Dropping Time Spent Playing Golf Is Revealed
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-has-spent-a-jaw-dropping-number-of-days-at-golf-courses-in-2025/
Comment: "President Donald Trump spent a quarter of the days in his second term at a golf club."
"Trump, 79, has visited golf clubs 88 times over the course of this year since he returned to office in January "
"The total was compiled by the Trump Golf Tracker, based on the president’s public schedule and a tally of all the times his motorcade arrived at his golf club in December."
‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/01/trump-kennedy-center-canceled-programs
Trump says construction of the ‘Triumphal Arch’ to begin in ‘2 months’
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/31/trump-arch-washington-dc-america-250-00708590
Comment: "The proposed structure — modeled loosely on European victory monuments — is one of several high-profile projects Trump has personally championed as part of the semiquincentennial celebrations, a sprawling effort expected to include national and local events across the country."
"The president has at times displayed a model of the proposed arch in recent months. There have been plans to build it by the Lincoln Monument, on the other end of a bridge leading to Arlington National Ceremony."
"Trump has framed the project as a patriotic landmark meant to honor American history and military service, though critics have raised questions about cost, aesthetics and whether the executive branch has the authority to unilaterally move forward with such construction in Washington."
"He has also promoted an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on White House grounds on June 14."
Comment: The last item above illustrates the tasteless ideas promoted by Trump. The Triumphal Arch is a monstrous copy of the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. It is totally inappropriate for placement in Washington DC. No one man, not even the President, should be able to unilaterally construct such a monument, without congressional approval.
Capitol riot 'does not happen' without Trump, Jack Smith told Congress
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/31/g-s1-104190/capitol-riot-trump-jack-smith-transcript
7 takeaways from Jack Smith’s congressional testimony
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/31/takeaways-jack-smith-congressional-testimony-00708747
Comment: "House Republicans decided to publicly release the transcript of special counsel Jack Smith’s Dec. 17 closed-door deposition on New Year’s Eve — while most of Washington was tuned out for the holiday."
"Smith used the day-long grilling before the House Judiciary Committee to mount a robust defense of his investigation into Donald Trump for seeking to subvert the 2020 election. He forcefully rebutted claims that his work was tainted by politics and delivered a granular defense of his office’s tactics and prosecution strategy — all while repeatedly restating his view that Trump was guilty of a historic crime. He also revealed some new information about his witness list, and gave Judiciary Republicans a new opening to attack Cassidy Hutchinson’s infamous testimony."
Stephen Miller Is The New Republic’s 2025 Scoundrel of the Year
https://newrepublic.com/article/204636/stephen-miller-new-republic-2025-scoundrel-year
Kennedy Center reportedly changed rules before vote to add Trump’s name
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/31/trump-kennedy-center
Comment: "The Kennedy Center reportedly adopted bylaws earlier this year that would limit voting to Donald Trump-appointed trustees – a controversial move that appears to reveal the long-held plan to install Trump’s name to the center."
"The bylaws, in a possible breach of the institution’s charter, were revised in May and specified that board members appointed by Congress, known as ex-officio members, could not vote or count towards a quorum, according to the Washington Post."
"The new rule was in force when the board voted unanimously on 18 December to add Trump’s name to the center, rebranding the building as the Donald J Trump and the John F Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts."
"The name change has since triggered a wave of protests. Artists have cancelled bookings and members of Congress have vowed to overturn the name change. Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio, is even suing to reverse it on the grounds that changing the center’s name requires an act of Congress."
Video: Team Trump ensured Tom Homan skipped normal background check amid bribery probe - December 30, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx3hTEqEZak
U.S. removal of cemetery panels honoring Black World War II troops spurs anger in Netherlands
Comment: "Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections."
"Sometime in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside the United States, removed the panels from the visitors center at the American Cemetery in Margraten, the final resting place for roughly 8,300 U.S. soldiers, set in rolling hills near the border with Belgium and Germany."
"The move came after President Trump issued a series of executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 'Our country will be woke no longer,' he said in an address to Congress in March."
"The removal, carried out without public explanation, has angered Dutch officials, the families of U.S. soldiers and the local residents who honor the American sacrifice by caring for the graves."
"U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo seemed to support the removal of the displays. 'The signs at Margraten are not intended to promote an agenda that criticizes America,' he wrote on social media following a visit to the cemetery after the controversy had erupted. Popolo declined a request for comment."
"Some 1 million Black soldiers enlisted in the U.S. military during the war, serving in separate units, mostly doing menial tasks but also fighting in some combat missions. An all-Black unit dug the thousands of graves in Margraten during the brutal 1944-45 season of famine in the German-occupied Netherlands known in the Hunger Winter."
Comment: Perhaps the people of the Netherlands want to honor all of the WWII U.S. troops that liberated them and do not want to be part of the racist attempts by the Trump administration to rewrite history. Perhaps the people of the Netherlands know about the vital role of black troops running the Red Ball Express, supplying fuel for the tanks and supplies for combat troops as the Netherlands, France, and Belgium were liberated. Perhaps the people of the Netherlands know that during the Battle of the Bulge, black truck drivers, cooks, etc. grabbed their guns and helped stop the Nazi onslaught into the rear area behind the collapsed American front lines.
Comment: It's outrageous that the Trump administration is attempting to exhibit some of the same racial attitudes expressed by our WWII Nazi opponents.
Video: Trump Reveals White House Ballroom Renovations 'Bigger' Than Planned - December 29, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjvoDBfkJ04
Comment: Watch Trump try to justify his monstrosity, as it keeps getting bigger, more intrusive, and more costly.
Video: The top Trump administration legal battles of 2025 - December 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3eJQTdUsy8
Comment: "This video summary cover many topics, but it is by no means comprehensive. Because it is a summary, it is unable to address the issues in any detail. However, the summary serves as a reminder of some major Trump related legal battles events. Once the viewer is reminded of the 2025 battles, he/she can use the articles and videos presented in our news article section (presented in reverse chronological order) to explore the facts and issues associated with those battles in greater detail. These articles/videos are provided under many of the news subpage topics, for example "The 2nd Trump Administration," "More Outrages From GOP." "Resistance to Trump Agenda," the "US Congress, etc."
Trump says broadcast licenses should be terminated if networks are "almost 100% Negative" about him
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-broadcast-licenses-terminated-100-negative/
Comment: "President Trump said early Wednesday that TV broadcast licenses should be revoked if newscasts and late-night shows are almost entirely negative about him and the GOP."
" 'If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn't their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated? I say, YES!' Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social in the wee hours of the morning."
"The post came minutes after the president criticized 'The Late Show' host Stephen Colbert, calling him a 'pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success.' The show is set to end in May 2026."
Comment: "The FCC is an agency that issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, many of which are owned and operated by television networks. Carr said during a Senate hearing earlier this month that it's 'not formally an independent agency.' Axios reported that during Carr's testimony, the word 'independent' was removed from the agency's website."
"The FCC states on its website that 'Broadcasters – not the FCC or any other government agency – are responsible for selecting the material they air.' It also notes that 'The First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matter.' "
Comment: Donald Trump threatens broadcast television networks with loss of their broadcast licenses in an attempt to extort favorable media coverage. He's using the FCC, which was once considered an independent federal agency, in this abuse of presidential power. According to the FCC's own website, "[t]he First Amendment and the Communications Act expressly prohibit the Commission from censoring broadcast matter." Yet the Trump administration is making threats that broadcast licenses be terminated if network broadcasters fail to adjust their media content to favor "President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party." The fact that the FCC now claims that it is not an independent agency, gives credence to Trump's threats.
Trump administration wants to set quota for denaturalizing American citizens
Comment: "The Trump administration says it wants to establish a quota for next year to denaturalize up to 200 American citizens per month."
Comment: "In a document circulated recently to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department, the administration says it wants to denaturalize 100 to 200 people per month in 2026. It also says USCIS should work with the Department of Justice to meet that quota. NPR hasn't seen the document, which was first obtained by The New York Times. USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told NPR that the goal is to prioritize the denaturalization of people who have been found lying or misrepresenting themselves in the naturalization process. Now, the Trump administration wanting to denaturalize people is not new. Establishing a quota is. Elizabeth Taufa is with the San Francisco-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center. She says denaturalization has historically been used in rare cases."
Comment: Naturalized citizens subject to denaturalization should be provided due process on an individual basis in accordance with the rights of any other U.S. citizen. That due process is inconsistent with any quota system that the Trump Administration can come up with. If the Trump Administration can establish evidence sufficient to support an indictment, they are free to prosecute any citizen that illegally lied or misrepresented "themselves in the naturalization process." However, any denaturalization process should be based on an individual legal basis (with standard due process procedures accorded to any other U.S. citizen) rather than some administrative procedure incorporating quotas that the Trump administration comes up with.
Kash Patel’s New Armored BMW Sparks New Controversy Over Alleged Job Perks
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel is using new luxury BMWs for his travel that the agency purchased at his request, MS Now reported Monday, commissioning the German-made cars as the FBI director already faces a House investigation for his alleged misuse of taxpayer funds."
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation.
Comment: "At least six career staff were placed on leave after DHS opened an investigation into whether they misled the agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, into taking the test."
Comment: "At least six career staffers at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were suspended with pay this summer after organizing a polygraph test that the agency’s acting director, Madhu Gottumukkala, failed."
Comment: So, the CISA acting director failed a polygraph, and rather than investigate him as a potential national security risk, DHS decides to investigate those who arranged for the polygraph. What is wrong with this picture? Has CISA or DHS been infiltrated and compromised?
White House pushes Smithsonian to comply with review to receive federal funding | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/21/politics/white-house-smithsonian-review
Comment: Apparently, the Smithsonian will have to present Trump's version of history or risk loss of federal funding. How much black history/culture, Hispanic history/culture or Native American history/culture do you think will be presented in Trump's version of America?
Fact-checking Trump's plaques for past presidents at the White House 'Walk of Fame'
Comment: "In a break from tradition, President Donald Trump decorated a White House walkway with bronze plaques for each U.S. president. In an even sharper break with tradition, the plaques were written in a style echoing Trump's Truth Social posts, with misleading or false descriptions of recent Democratic presidents."
Comment: Please read some of the outrageous statements made by Trump, listed in the linked article. Disgusting!
Video: The Trump family business empire is growing, the WSJ reports - December 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3inhJwXrZk4
Comment: "A second-term boom in crypto and other areas has created billions in new wealth for the first family, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reporter David Uberti joins Morning Joe to discuss."
White House says US would be ‘lucky’ if Trump stayed for third term
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/trump-third-term-alan-dershowitz
Comment: "The US would be 'lucky' if Donald Trump remained in office for a constitutionally prohibited third term, the White House has said following revelations that he discussed the possibility with the lawyer and constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz."
"The bold assertion came despite successive polls showing plunging approval ratings for Trump amid widespread discontent over his administration’s economic performance and lingering controversy over his links to the disgraced late financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein."
" 'There has never been an Administration that has accomplished as much in less than one year than the Trump Administration,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Axios."
" 'The American people would be lucky to have President Trump in office for even longer.' ”
"Her comments came after Dershowitz, a prominent Trump supporter who acted as his defense lawyer after he was impeached by Congress during his first term, told the Wall Street Journal that he had informed the president that the constitution was unclear on whether he could run again."
"That judgment is at odds with the view of most constitutional experts, who say the 22nd amendment unambiguously bars Trump from seeking a third term."
Republican eyes rogue vote to expel Ilhan Omar from Congress
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/18/ilhan-omar-expel-congress-vote-randy-fine
Comment: "Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) told Axios on Wednesday that he is 'actively considering' forcing a vote to expel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from Congress."
Comment: "The House has struggled this year to curb the use of tools like expulsion, censure and impeachment by renegade members as a cudgel against their political adversaries."
Comment: "Fine's effort would almost certainly fail because expulsion requires a two-thirds vote in the House. If all Republicans vote to expel Omar, roughly 85 Democrats would need to join them."
Comment: "Since entering Congress earlier this year, Fine has garnered a reputation for his unflagging support of Israel and a series of unapologetically Islamophobic remarks."
"Fine, who is Jewish, has advocated the mass expulsion of American Muslims. He's also said Palestinians in Gaza need to be forced into unconditional surrender — citing the Japanese surrender in WWII after the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki— and said in one post about the Israel-Hamas war: 'Release the hostages. Until then, starve away.' "
"This has put him at stark odds with Omar, a Somali-American Muslim and staunch critic of Israel who has repeatedly clashed with Fine."
Trump’s handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump Kennedy Center
https://apnews.com/article/trump-kennedy-center-performing-arts-8b7159067174f3a0070b877c149ff0a7
Hegseth overhauling chaplain corps, targeting ‘new age’ concepts
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5653054-defense-secretary-overhauls-chaplain-corps/
Comment: Apparently, military personnel will now have to adhere to the gospel according to Pete [Hegseth].
White House adds plaques below Biden and Obama portraits, calling them ‘the worst President in American history’ and ‘divisive’
Comment: "The Biden plaque refers to him as “Sleepy Joe Biden” and calls him “the worst President in American History.”
Comment: "The White House has installed plaques on the exterior of the building bashing President Donald Trump's predecessors, including Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and promoting disinformation about their administrations."
"The plaques were hung up below presidential portraits that have been on display on Trump’s recently added 'Presidential Walk of Fame' in the White House colonnade."
"The one placed under the portrait of the 'Autopen,' which stands in for President Joe Biden's portrait, refers to him as 'Sleepy Joe Biden' and calls him 'the worst President in American History.' The plaque contains a number of derisive statements about the former president, referring to Biden’s 'severe mental decline', 'the Biden Crime Family' and his 'Radical Left handlers'."
Comment: Please read the linked article and ask yourself whether Trump's childish comments, composed by himself, are worthy of anyone occupying the office of President of the United States. Lies and ridiculous caricatures cannot be allowed to distort history. Time will show who the worst President in America History really was. Many already know, and it's not Joe Biden.
Video: Donald Trump sues BBC for $5bn - December 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZeXIL5w1XU
Comment: "Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC, alleging the corporation's Panorama documentary portrayed him in a 'false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious' manner."
"The complaint relates to the broadcaster's editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol building."
Comment: Another insane extortion attempt from the grifter-in-chief?
Exclusive: House Judiciary Committee expands Jack Smith probe | CNN Politic
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/16/politics/jack-smith-house-probe
Comment: More insanity from Jim Jordan and other House Republicans to further Trump's campaign of retribution against former special council Jack Smith for just doing his job.
Tommy Tuberville’s anti-Muslim attacks land senator on civil rights group’s extremist list
Comment: "U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville accelerated attacks on Muslim Americans over the weekend, calling for the forced deportation of those of the Islamic faith."
"The Alabama Republican’s remarks followed attacks on a school for Muslim children and Somali immigrants in Minnesota, accompanied by the filing of two bills targeting Muslims. The moves drew condemnation and led to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights group that advocates on behalf of people of the Islamic faith, placing him on a list of anti-Muslim extremists."
Comment: "In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuberville said he considers it 'a badge of honor' to be labeled as an extremist by the organization."
"Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor for a likely run against Tuberville for the office next year, condemned the senator’s remarks in an interview on Monday."
" 'It is really a sad state of affairs when you have a U.S. senator who is so bigoted with religious bigotry as Sen. Tuberville is,' he said. 'We need to be a state for all people, and a welcoming state, and make sure everyone in the state is treated with the same dignity and respect.' "
Tommy Tuberville wants a war; he could learn from this GOP governor
Comment: "Tommy Tuberville wants you to believe Americans are at war. With each other."
"A race war. A political war. A religious war. Any war’ll do. The U.S. senator and wannabe Alabama governor talks of 'us' and 'them' all the time, in his inimitable Gomer Pyle-down-a-QAnon-rabbithole style."
"Montgomery is 'a war zone,' he said recently. In talking about reparations, he argued that Democrats 'want crime because they want to take over what you got.' And while he argued that he was talking politics and not race, a lot of people didn’t hear it that way."
"Divide and conquer. Fear and loathing. Tell America it is broken."
" 'We lost New York,' he said as if enemy combatants had stormed Hell’s Kitchen after Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race there. Muslims, he warned with the same mouth that speaks reverently of religious freedom and rails against extremist ideologies are 'just going to spread throughout the country'."
"And Sunday, during a tragic weekend of senseless killing across the nation and the world, in an era when political violence is on the rise and Americans of all flavors are worried about it, he doubled down."
" 'Islam is not a religion. It’s a cult,' Tuberville posted on social media Sunday. 'Islamists aren’t here to assimilate. They’re here to conquer. Stop worrying about offending the pearl clutchers. We’ve got to SEND THEM HOME NOW or we’ll become the United Caliphate of America.' "
Comment: "Sure, we’ve seen politicians incite crowds before. The words of George Wallace and Bull Connor baited klansmen again and again to bomb and murder."
"But do not think this is normal. Do not think it is necessary or reasonable. Do not think it is business as usual. It’s not. And you don’t even have to look back too far to see it. Even in Tuberville’s own party."
Comment: The article goes on to contrast Tuberville's rhetoric with that of former Alabama governor Bob Riley, a conservative Republican, who once stated:
Comment: " 'I believe that instead of resisting change, Alabama should embrace change, hold it tight, and never let it go,' he said. 'The University accepted the change that began here, and because of the diversity and new ideas that came with it, it’s a better university.' "
Comment: "In parting he issued this challenge to the state."
Comment: " 'As we leave here tonight, let us each resolve to have the courage not only to accept change, but to be catalysts for change like Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood were so many years ago. And, let us work to mend the broken fences of eras past and move forward as Alabamians united toward a better future for generations to come.' ”
Comment: For those Republicans who think in terms of Bob Riley's concept of conservatism, please remember that you don't have to vote for Tommy Tuberville and the current MAGA philosophy. There are alternatives.
Christianity Today Editor Slams Trump’s “Disgusting, Immoral Behavior”
Comment: "Donald Trump’s reaction to Rob Reiner’s death has outraged just about everyone."
Republicans rebuff Trump's post on Rob Reiner
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/15/trump-rob-reiner-death-00690682
Comment: "In a post to Truth Social, Trump acknowledged the 'very sad' deaths of Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, but did not extend sympathies to the Hollywood stars."
" 'Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,' Trump said, referring to a term used primarily by Trump supporters to describe those who harbor a deep dislike of or criticism for Trump."
Comment: "Trump on Monday suggested that Reiner was killed for his 'obsession' over the president."
" 'He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before,' Trump said. 'May Rob and Michele rest in peace!' "
Comment: In fairness, it should be noted that Trump's outrageous statements were too much for some Republican politicians.
Comment: "Some Republicans are pushing back against President Donald Trump after he attributed Hollywood director and progressive activist Rob Reiner’s death as the likely result of the 'anger he caused others' through 'TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.' "
Comment: " 'Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered,' said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). 'I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.' "
Comment: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a staunch ally turned critic of Trump, said the deaths of Reiner and his wife are 'a family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies'.”
Comment: Note that Trump's narcissism makes it impossible for him to understand that Reiner's dislike for Trump was not the catalyst for this tragedy.
Trump says building DC triumphal arch is domestic policy chief’s ‘primary thing’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/14/trump-arch-washington-dc-policy-chief
Comment: "Amid concerns that he has failed to address a worsening affordability crisis, with health insurance premiums about to spike dramatically for over 20 million Americans, Donald Trump revealed on Sunday that his domestic policy chief’s main priority is building a triumphal arch for Washington DC."
Trump reups threat to primary Indiana Senate Republicans for blocking redistricting efforts
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5647385-trump-indiana-redistricting-primaries-2026/amp/
Comment: "President Trump early Saturday reupped his vow to support primary challenges against Indiana Republicans that opposed redistricting efforts, singling out GOP leader state Sen. Rodric Bray."
" 'Republicans in the Indiana State Senate, who voted against a Majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, should be ashamed of themselves,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Headed by a total loser named Rod Bray, every one of these people should be 'primaried,' and I will be there to help!' "
Comment: "The president has lashed out at Hoosier State senators in the days since the upper chamber failed to advance a new GOP-favored map. He has also suggested Bray is out the door after senators voted 19-31 vote against the state House-passed measure — with 21 Republicans joining 10 Democrats to reject it."
"Ahead of the vote, Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith (R) warned the senators that the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from the state if the redistricting effort failed."
Comment: This last threat seems highly unlawful and seems like it would fall under the category of Abuse of Power, adversely impacting the citizens of Indiana who pay federal taxes like everyone else. Under a new Democratic Party controlled Congress perhaps this Trump threat could be investigated.
Comment: In the meantime, citizens everywhere might wish to remind their state and federal lawmakers that the best way to counter a bully is to stand up to him, preferably in numbers.
The Shakedown: Trump’s DOJ Pressured Lawyers to “Find” Evidence That UCLA Had Illegally Tolerated Antisemitism
https://www.propublica.org/article/ucla-antisemitism-investigation-trump-doj
Comment: It is difficult to summarize the outrageous acts taken by Trump and his DOJ to extort UCLA and the University of California system. Please read the entire linked ProPublica article.
Sign language services ‘intrude’ on Trump’s ability to control his image, administration says
Comment: "The Trump administration is arguing that requiring real-time American Sign Language interpretation of events like White House press briefings 'would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public,' part of a lawsuit seeking to require the White House to provide the services."
"Department of Justice attorneys haven’t elaborated on how doing so might hamper the portrayal President Donald Trump seeks to present to the public. But overturning policies encompassing diversity, equity and inclusion have become a hallmark of his second administration, starting with his very first week back in the White House."
Comment: Another example of Trump's vanity and narcissism impacting his ability to be president to all his constituents, including the deaf. This insensitivity is consistent with his well known attitude toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Trump administration replaces America 250 quarters honoring abolition and women’s suffrage with Mayflower and Gettysburg designs
Comment: "In an unexpected move, most of the original designs for the 'America 250' coins that were approved by two official committees in 2024 were abandoned and replaced. Most notably, the Black Abolition, Women’s Suffrage and Civil Rights quarters were replaced with quarters that instead commemorate the Mayflower Compact, Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address."
Comment: "In the case of the America 250 coins, the designs were discussed across multiple meetings in 2024, with the final report from the Commission of Fine Arts published on Oct. 24, 2024."
"The final recommendations were for a dime that bears a 'Liberty Over Tyranny' design; five quarters that would have the 'Declaration of Independence,' 'U.S. Constitution,' 'Abolitionism,' 'Suffrage' and 'Civil Rights' as their respective designs; and a half-dollar that would bear a 'Participatory Democracy' design."
"The original dime and half-dollar images remained unchanged in the officially accepted designs unveiled on Dec. 10, 2025. However, all quarter designs were changed, eliminating the proposed images representing the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Abolitionism, Suffrage and Civil Rights, with the exception of the reverse side of the Declaration of Independence quarter."
"No official explanation for these changes were provided during the U.S. Mint’s design unveiling event. But it is not hard to see how the nation’s current political climate, in which President Donald Trump has complained that the Smithsonian focuses too much on 'how bad slavery was' and not enough on the 'brightness' of the country’s history, may have played a role."
"This is significant for two primary reasons. One, the process for choosing the design was supposed to reflect public input, via the public meetings with the two advisory committees regarding these changes. But these fundamental changes were ultimately decided by the Secretary of the Treasury out of the public eye, likely in concert with other members of the Trump administration."
"Second, these changes of the America 250 quarters reinforce a more traditional and exclusionary view of nation’s founding and continued progress. The new designs sideline Americans’ historical struggle against oppression and social injustice and are demonstrative of the Trump administration’s collective efforts to bar government statements and initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion."
"The selective editing of American memory portrayed on the America 250 coins is not only a breach in established process, but it’s also a missed opportunity to provide new and diverse representation in an easy, yet meaningful, way."
Comment: Will Trump take any means to deny our history and to "whitewash" and masculinize it, including redesigning our coinage to eliminate references to slavery, women, suffrage, or civil rights? Is it Trump's vision to return America to the days, when only white male property owners could participate in our democracy? Is that Trump's idea of when America was great?
Video: Trump administration orders U.S. national park gift shops to purge merchandise promoting DEI - December 11, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79wiVyQnOXs
Comment: Who can guess what merchandise Trump or Stephen Miller might claim is promoting DEI? Do you suppose they will try to write out Blacks, Native Americans, and other racial minorities out of American History? What about downgrading the historical contributions of women, who are actually a numerical majority in this country. If this sounds crazy, just look at the words and phrases the Trump administration tried to delete from federal grant requests based on DEI considerations. (Please see recent news article below.) Then look at his administration's redesign of our coinage. (Please see news article immediately above.)
Head Start centers told to avoid 'disability,' 'women' and more in funding requests
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/11/nx-s1-5640757/head-start-hhs-funding-dei
Comment: "Some Head Start early childhood programs are being told by the federal government to remove a list of nearly 200 words and phrases from their funding applications or they could be denied. That's according to recently submitted court documents."
"The list of words includes 'accessible,' 'belong,' 'Black,' 'disability,' 'female,' 'minority,' 'trauma,' 'tribal' and 'women'."
"The list was submitted on Dec. 5, as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by Head Start programs in a handful of states – including Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin and Illinois – against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr."
"The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration's ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in federal programs conflicts with Head Start's statutory mandate. That mandate includes, among other things, providing 'linguistically and culturally appropriate' services as well as early intervention services for children with disabilities."
"In response to NPR requests for comment or clarity on the list, HHS Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard wrote, 'HHS does not comment on ongoing litigation.' "
Comment: Have you ever heard of anything as ridiculous as prohibiting the use of relevant words and phrases in a federal grant request?
Comment: For those who have read George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," please compare the Trump administration's prohibition of certain words and phrases, with the Orwellian concept of "Newspeak." [From Wikipedia - "In the appendix to the novel, 'The Principles of Newspeak', Orwell explains that Newspeak follows most rules of English grammar, yet is a language characterised by a continually diminishing vocabulary; complete thoughts are reduced to simple terms of simplistic meaning."]
CNN: Trump announces pardon for Tina Peters, increasing pressure to free her though he can’t erase state charges
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/11/politics/trump-pardons-tina-peters-election-denier
Comment: "Peters, the former Republican clerk of Mesa, Colorado was found guilty last year on state charges of participating in a scheme to breach voting systems that hoped to prove Trump's false claims of mass voter fraud in 2020."
Massie introduces bill to pull US out of NATO
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5642964-massie-introduces-nato-withdrawal-bill/
Comment: "Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would pull the United States out of the NATO alliance."
"Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said she would co-sponsor the bill, while Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber."
Comment: Putin is rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Fortunately, at this time, this bill has little chance of passing. However, it sends a terrible message to our allies and to our adversaries.
Stephen Miller Slammed Over Stock Sales Right After Big Trump Deal
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stephen-miller-slammed-over-stock-104814474.html
Comment: "Questions have been raised after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sold shares in a mining company shortly after it announced a major deal with the Trump administration, sending the company’s share price skyrocketing, according to a report."
"Miller, one of President Donald Trump’s most loyal allies, sold between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of shares in MP Materials after the government agreed in July to invest $400 million in the company in exchange for a 15 percent stake and a commitment to buy its products, The New York Times reported."
"The day before the deal was announced, MP Materials’ share price stood at $30.03. The following day, it rose to $45.23 before hitting a historic high of $76.58 on Aug. 14, the date Miller sold his shares. The stock later peaked at just under $99 on Oct. 14, but has since fallen to $59.82 as of early Wednesday morning."
"It does not appear that Miller broke any laws by selling his stock in MP Materials, which produces rare earth minerals and magnets, and a White House official told the Times he purchased the stock several years ago. However, ethics experts say there are potential concerns about conflicts of interest, given that a senior White House official held onto such shares for so long while working closely with the president."
" 'This is a large investment in an obscure company that just happened to massively benefit from the unusual interventions of the Trump administration,' Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, a government ethics watchdog group, told the Times. 'At minimum, it’s a really bad look.' "
Trump launches $1m ‘gold card’ visa scheme amid immigration crackdown
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/10/trump-us-gold-card-visa-launch
Comment: "Wealthy immigrants will be able to buy residency, and $5m 'platinum card’ will exempt holders from some US taxes"
About face: Lawsuit targets plan to put Trump's image on popular national parks pass
https://abcnews.go.com/US/face-lawsuit-targets-plan-put-trumps-image-popular/story?id=128292660
Comment: "Federal law requires the pass to use the winning photo from an annual contest."
Comment: Just how narcissistic can Trump be?
Axios: Trump blasts allies, praises strongmen — and claims "NATO calls me daddy"
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/09/trump-europe-decaying-orban-erdogan-interview
Trump thrashes European leaders in wide-ranging interview: ‘I think they’re weak’
Comment: "President Donald Trump denounced Europe as a 'decaying' group of nations led by 'weak' people in an interview with POLITICO, belittling the traditional U.S. allies for failing to control migration and end the Russia-Ukraine war, and signaling that he would endorse European political candidates aligned with his own vision for the continent."
"The broadside attack against European political leadership represents the president’s most virulent denunciation to date of these Western democracies, threatening a decisive rupture with countries like France and Germany that already have deeply strained relations with the Trump administration."
" 'I think they’re weak,' Trump said of Europe’s political leaders. 'But I also think that they want to be so politically correct.' "
" 'I think they don’t know what to do,' he added. 'Europe doesn’t know what to do.' "
"Trump matched that blunt, even abrasive, candor on European affairs with a sequence of stark pronouncements on matters closer to home: He said he would make support for immediately slashing interest rates a litmus test in his choice of a new Federal Reserve chair. He said he could extend anti-drug military operations to Mexico and Colombia. And Trump urged conservative Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, both in their 70s, to stay on the bench."
Comment: Is this how you feel about our European allies? How do you feel about Trump cozying up to Putin and undermining NATO?
Comment: Trump says "he would endorse political candidates aligned with his own vision for the continent." How would you feel about European leaders meddling in U.S. elections? If you wouldn't like it, think about how Europeans will respond to Trump's threats to meddle in their elections.
'Remigration,' once a fringe idea, becomes a mantra for the Trump administration
Comment: "The recent shooting of two National Guardsmen in D.C. has revived calls from the Trump administration for 'reverse migration,' or 'remigration.' But those ideas trace back to European extremists."
Florida’s DeSantis declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization
Florida governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization
Comment: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a 'foreign terrorist organization,' following a similar step by Texas last month."
"The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order DeSantis posted on the social media site X. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood."
"Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government."
"The order instructs Florida agencies to prevent the two groups and those who have provided them material support from receiving contracts, employment and funds from a state executive or cabinet agency."
"In an emailed statement, CAIR and its Florida chapter said the organization plans to sue DeSantis in response to what it called an 'unconstitutional' and 'defamatory' proclamation."
Video: Fareed's Take: The Trump administration's attack on experts - December 07, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vRLc0SEEJY
‘Sort of blackmail’: Billions in rural health funding hinge on states passing Trump-backed policies
Comment: "Democrats and health advocates described the strategy as highly unusual, and some fear it could be wielded to favor political allies."
Supreme Court could topple yet another campaign finance limit
Comment: "The Supreme Court could eliminate one of the remaining checks on money in politics in a case that worries advocates fighting the influence of deep-pocketed donors."
"In a challenge involving Vice President JD Vance, the court will consider on Dec. 9 the Republican Party’s argument for overturning a 2001 decision that upheld a rule aimed at preventing wealthy donors from bypassing limits on what they can give candidates by funneling money through political parties."
Comment: "Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, who authored other campaign finance rules that have been partially overturned by the Supreme Court, wrote in a brief for the case that getting rid of the coordinated spending limits would be 'the next step in the march toward allowing unlimited money to swamp American elections and drown out the will of the voters.' "
"But the court could also avoid the issue by dismissing the case after hearing it."
"After President Donald Trump took office, the Justice Department stopped defending the federal rule."
"The lawyer the court then appointed to argue in support of the rule said the justices don’t have to weigh in now because there’s no threat that the federal government will enforce the coordination restriction."
Comment: So, since the Trump administration doesn't plan on enforcing the law anyway, in the short run it doesn't practically matter which way the court rules, or if it rules at all.
Comment: Failure to enforce laws it doesn't like. Allowing illegal campaign funding of GOP candidates. Does the level of Trump administration corruption know any boundaries?
Hegseth declares end of US 'utopian idealism' with new military strategy
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/06/hegseth-reagan-forum-defense-strategy-00679736
Comment: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday launched a full-throated attack on post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy, castigating former presidents and generals by name while declaring the age of American 'utopian idealism' over."
"Hegseth, speaking at the annual Reagan Defense Forum, outlined a new military focus on the Western Hemisphere, demanded allies fend for themselves and took a more conciliatory approach to China’s armed forces."
"His remarks underscored the new National Security Strategy released late Thursday and previewed the Pentagon’s own upcoming strategy, which will lay out the military’s global priorities."
" 'Out with idealistic utopianism,' he said. 'In with hard-nosed realism.' "
"The Defense secretary’s speech revealed an administration moving toward a policy that recognizes zones of influence led by great powers — China in the Pacific, the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere and Europe broadly, although he made only a passing reference to Russia."
"The U.S. should not be 'distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefined wars, regime change, climate change, woke moralizing and feckless nation-building,' Hegseth said. 'We will instead put our nation’s practical, concrete interests first.' "
"The Pentagon chief also used the defense industry-focused forum to more forcefully outline the Trump administration’s strategic refocus closer to home."
Comment: "Hegseth also suggested the military would become more involved in patrolling the southern border with Mexico. 'We’ll secure the border in part by organizing training and equipping units specifically for border defense missions, including operations in the land, maritime and air,' he said."
"While defense strategies in recent years have focused on deterring China, Hegseth suggested the upcoming one would take a softer approach."
Comment: "The Trump administration will 'rightly prioritize our homeland and hemisphere,' he said. 'Threats persist in other regions, and our allies need to step up, and step up for real.' "
Comment: This article, needs to be read closely, in its entirety, by citizens and especially by any politician running for federal office Hegseth's speech, in conjunction with the Trump administration's new National Security Strategy (see article below), indicates a radical departure from the U.S. World leadership role that this nation has provided for the last 75 years. The new strategy, if you can call it that, seems to regulate the U.S. into a regional power role, operating in a sphere of influence consisting of the Americas, while surrendering east Asia and the Pacific to a Chinese sphere of influence. While Hegseth's speaks of Europe being in the U.S. sphere of influence, recent statements regarding NATO indicate that Trump may let the Europeans fight it out alone with Russia for control there. Trump and his ad hoc diplomatic and national security team (a very small group of loyal, but single minded isolationists) are ignoring experienced diplomatic, intelligence, economic, and military professionals that are much better equipped to evaluate such a fundamental change to American foreign and military policy. One can have little confidence in the ability of Trump's team to foresee the ramifications and unintended consequences of the radical strategic changes being proposed. If you think Trump's chaotic international trade policy has been a disaster, this new National Security Strategy can be even worse.
Trump administration National Security Strategy claims Europe facing "civilizational erasure" within 20 years
Comment: "The Trump administration claims in its new National Security Strategy, published early Friday morning, that some of America's oldest allies in Europe face 'the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure' due to immigration and the purported erosion of democratic principles."
"Accusing the European Union and other unnamed transnational bodies of allowing unchecked immigration and curbing free speech, the document claims that, 'should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less,' and that 'it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies' to the United States."
"The document claims Europe suffers from a 'lack of self-confidence' that 'is most evident in Europe's relationship with Russia.' "
"It says that European countries have a 'significant hard power advantage' over Russia, but because of Russia's war in Ukraine, they now 'regard Russia as an existential threat.' "
President Trump recently proposed a plan to end the brutal war sparked by Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which was drafted without Ukrainian or European involvement and largely reflected Russian demands."
"The plan drew a careful diplomatic response from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and from America's NATO allies, which have been trying to show a united front and continue supporting Kyiv's defensive efforts."
Comment: While the Europeans may have a diplomatic response to this GARBAGE strategy, Americans should demand that the authors of this so called "strategy" be immediately polygraphed and have extensive background checks to insure that they have not been compromised by the Russians. This drivel sounds like it has been concocted in the Kremlin to further weaken the NATO alliance, a long term goal by Putin. Based on Trump's continued attacks on democracy, human rights, and our Constitution, it is likely that the Europeans are starting to fear that civilization in America is threatened. Many in America fear that if Trump remains unchecked, that is our fate.
Comment: The Trump administration implies that Europe shouldn't "regard Russia as an existential threat." Do they not comprehend that Putin has violated the sovereignty of a European nation (Ukraine), demands territory, and threatens other eastern European countries, in his dream of recreating the old Soviet empire and its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe? This is what Europe fears, along with Russia's large nuclear arsenal to intimidate them without a reliable nuclear deterrence from the U.S. The published "strategy" claims that within 20 years, the Europeans may not be reliable allies. One could easily imagine that with Donald Trump and his current America First philosophy, Europe is beginning to fear that the U.S. is not a reliable ally. Putin is rubbing his hands in anticipation, as the NATO alliance is threatened by Trump.
RELATED ARTICLE - Kremlin says new US security strategy accords largely with Russia's view
Comment: "The Kremlin on Sunday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's new national security strategy and said it largely accorded with Russia's own perceptions, the first time that Moscow has so fulsomely praised such a document from its former Cold War foe."
Comment: "The strategy, signed by Trump, also warned that Europe faces 'civilizational erasure', that it was a 'core' U.S. interest to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and that Washington wanted to reestablish strategic stability with Russia."
" 'The adjustments that we see correspond in many ways to our vision,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin when asked about the new U.S. strategy."
Comment: Of course, the Russians love Trump's new national security strategy. It sacrifices Europe and gives Putin exactly what he wants.
CNN: Accused DC pipe bomber told FBI he believed the 2020 election was stolen, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/05/politics/accused-pipe-bomber-made-statements
Comment: Another disturbed individual driven to attempted violence by Trump's rhetoric. One wonders if he had been caught sooner, whether he would have been pardoned along with the Capitol rioters.
GOP ramps up scrutiny of green card holders and U.S. citizens
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/05/republicans-green-cards-citizenship-immigration
Comment: "In Congress, the GOP's immigration crackdown increasingly includes more scrutiny of people who have already navigated the lengthy legal process."
"After two National Guard personnel were shot last week in D.C., the Trump administration has paused asylum, vowed to expand its travel bans to more than 30 countries and called for a review of green card holders from 19 countries."
Comment: Please read the linked article for other GOP plans to attack the rights of naturalized U.S. citizens and valid green card holders.
Video: President Trump wins FIFA’s first ever peace award - December 05, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYEwMWnzihg
Comment: "President Trump has won FIFA’s first peace award which has drawn criticism from human rights group due to his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, CNN’s Amanda Davies reports."
RELATED ARTICLE: Soccer peace prize for Trump triggers complaints about Infantino to FIFA ethics investigators
Comment: "FIFA president Gianni Infantino's public support for Donald Trump and a peace prize awarded to the U.S. president are the subjects of formal complaints to the global soccer body’s ethics investigators."
"FairSquare, a London-based human rights nonprofit, said Tuesday it filed requests for investigations into Infantino’s alleged breaches of FIFA’s statutory duty to be politically neutral."
Video: Donald Trump celebrates 'great honour' of winning Fifa peace prize - December 05, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKj4tzMZfyk
Comment: This so called "peace prize" is widely seen as a means for FIFA (world soccer organization) to flatter Donald Trump who has continued to whine that he should have recently received the Nobel Peace Prize. Please note that the FIFA head is a good pal of Trump, and he needs Trump's help in securing travel visa's for soccer fans coming to the U.S. for FIFA's World Cup matches. Trump has promised that visa applications will be expedited for those ordering their World Cup tickets through FIFA.
Comment: This award and Trump's reaction to it would be comical, if it weren't so embarrassing.
Video: White House taps new architect for ballroom project amid design concerns - December 05, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3UorhI9rSk
Trump replaces architect overseeing $300m gilded ballroom project
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/04/trump-ballroom-architect
State Department to deny visas to fact checkers and others, citing 'censorship'
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/04/nx-s1-5633444/trump-content-moderation-visas-censorship
Comment: "The State Department is instructing its staff to reject visa applications from people who worked on fact-checking, content moderation or other activities the Trump administration considers 'censorship' of Americans' speech."
"The directive, sent in an internal memo on Tuesday, is focused on applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, which are frequently used by tech companies, among other sectors. The memo was first reported by Reuters; NPR also obtained a copy."
" 'If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible' for a visa, the memo says. It refers to a policy announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May restricting visas from being issued to 'foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans.' "
"The Trump administration has been highly critical of tech companies' efforts to police what people are allowed to post on their platforms and of the broader field of trust and safety, the tech industry's term for teams that focus on preventing abuse, fraud, illegal content, and other harmful behavior online."
Comment: Apparently they don't want to admit anyone that dares to question the gospel of Trump.
Comment: One wonders whether foreign doctors who correctly call out the dangers of RFK's anti-vaxx policies will be charged with censorship and denied entry into our country.
Comment: One wonders if any foreign journalists who question some of Trump's insane statements (or lies) can be charged with censorship and denied into our country.
Comment: One wonders if any foreign student at a U.S. university who speaks out against wartime atrocities committed by Israel can be deported, because his/her statements contradict official U.S. foreign policy.
Trump preps bid to recoup millions in Georgia case legal fees
https://thehill.com/homenews/5630706-georgia-trump-lawsuit-costs/
Comment: "President Trump’s criminal prosecution in Georgia stemming from the 2020 election is officially dead, but it’s not the end of the story." "Trump is preparing a bid to recover millions of dollars in attorney’s fees, leaving taxpayers on the hook for the failed case."
"Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead defense attorney in Georgia, has made clear the president will pursue the effort. He said so directly in posting a screenshot of the relevant section of state law (GA Code §17-11-6) to his LinkedIn.
"Georgia lawmakers passed the provision, which enables state criminal defendants to recover their legal bills upon dismissal when the prosecutor is 'disqualified due to improper conduct on the part of such prosecuting attorney,' just this year."
"No Republican voted against it, and several high-ranking Democrats crossed party lines to support the measure as well. It was championed by then-state Sen. Brandon Beach (R), whom Trump named as the U.S. treasurer as the package made its way through the legislature this spring."
Comment: Who says crime doesn't pay?
Comment: Perhaps taxpayers in Georgia can sue Trump and his lawyers in a CIVIL RICO lawsuit. That would be real justice, but it is probably not practical.
DOJ claims it has the power to decide who gets Trump’s sweeping 2020 pardon
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/04/trump-pardons-2020-election-ed-martin-pam-bondi-00677119
Comment: "When Donald Trump issued a sweeping pardon for allies in his bid to subvert the 2020 election, he stretched the boundaries of the pardon power in unprecedented ways."
"The pardon’s language is so vague and limitless that it could apply to thousands of people. And now Trump's Justice Department says it’s up to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Pardon Attorney Ed Martin to decide who, and which possible crimes, Trump actually meant to cover."
"There’s no modern precedent — and maybe no historical precedent, either — for a president to delegate his pardon power to subordinates on a pardon this vaguely worded."
"Even past examples of blanket pardons, such as Andrew Johnson’s sweeping clemency after the Civil War, Jimmy Carter’s pardon for Vietnam-era draft dodgers and Joe Biden’s pardon for marijuana offenses relied on more explicit criteria."
Comment: "Trump’s latest blanket pardon applies to 'all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting, activities, participation in, or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors … in connection with the 2020 Presidential election.' And while Trump identifies 77 recipients, he emphasizes that the pardon is not limited to the initial list. Trump then charges Bondi and Martin to issue pardon certificates to 'eligible applicants.'
"Pardon experts say this unusual delegation of pardon power is exacerbated by the vague language of the pardon itself, essentially leaving decisions about who’s covered to the judgment of Trump’s subordinates."
Comment: Of course, there's no opportunity for corruption in the granting of pardons here. [sarcasm added]
Video: Jack Smith subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee - December 03, 202
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz1rfav_fB4
Comment: Please note that Jack Smith had already volunteered to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, but he wanted to do it publicly, rather than behind closed doors. The recent subpoena requires closed door testimony. Why? Please see related video (below) from late October:
Related Video: Jack Smith calls Trump's bluff; turns the tables with open hearing request - October 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wY3_Q55ngU
David Gentile no longer required to pay $15.5M in restitution after Trump’s commutation
Comment: "Convicted fraudster David Gentile, a former private equity executive whose seven-year sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump shortly after entering prison, will not have to pay the $15.5 million in restitution associated with his conviction, according to a grant of clemency Trump signed in late November."
"Gentile and his business partner, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 of conspiring to defraud thousands of investors in a capital funds scheme totaling $1.6 billion and using funding from investors to 'pay distributions and create a false appearance of success.' He was sentenced in May."
Comment: David Gentile gets out of jail AND gets to keep the money. With Trump in office, maybe crime DOES pay.
Trump says he does not want Somalis in US as ICE plans Minnesota operation
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c208x9v68w3o
Comment: "US President Donald Trump has said he does not want Somali immigrants in the US, telling reporters they should 'go back to where they came from' and 'their country is no good for a reason'."
" 'I don't want them in our country, I'll be honest with you,' he said during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Trump said the US would 'go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country'."
"His disparaging comments came as immigration authorities were reported to be planning an enforcement operation in Minnesota's large Somali community."
"In response, the prime minister of Somalia said he would not give Trump's comments importance and suggested they should be ignored."
"Officials in Minnesota have condemned the reported plan for an immigration enforcement operation, arguing it could unfairly sweep up American citizens who may appear to be from the East African nation."
"Minneapolis and St Paul, which together are known as the Twin Cities, are home to one of the largest Somali communities in the world and the largest in the US."
"The reported plan, and Trump's comments, represent an intensification of the president's recent attacks on Minnesota's Somali community, whose decades-long protected status in the US he recently pledged to revoke, and its Democratic politicians."
Trump says he doesn't want Somalis in the U.S., urges them to go back to their homeland and fix it
Comment: "President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he did not want Somali immigrants in the U.S., saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on U.S. social safety net and add little to the United States."
"Trump's contemptuous description of the entire immigrant community is the latest example of him pointedly attacking the Somali diaspora in the United States. Somalis have been coming to Minnesota and other states, often as refugees, since the 1990s. The president made no distinction between citizens and non-citizens."
"The president's comment came days after his administration announced it is halting all asylum decisions following the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington. The suspect in last week's incident is originally from Afghanistan but Trump has used the moment to raise questions about immigrants from other nations, including Somalia."
Comment: "Trump also renewed his criticism of [Rep.] Omar, whose family fled the civil war in Somalia and spent several years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the U.S."
" 'We can go one way or the other, and we're going to go the wrong way, if we keep taking in garbage into our country,' Trump said. 'Ilhan Omar is garbage. She's garbage. Her friends are garbage.' "
"On Tuesday, Omar punched back at Trump on social media, saying: 'His obsession with me is creepy. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.' "
"Trump added about Somali immigrants: 'These aren't people that work. These aren't people that say, 'Let's go, c'mon. Let's make this place great.' These are people that do nothing but complain.' "
"Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Trump's message 'wrong' and said Somali immigrants have helped improve his community."
" 'They have started businesses and created jobs. They have added to the cultural fabric of what Minneapolis is,' Frey said. 'To again, villainize an entire group is ridiculous under any circumstances. And the way that Donald Trump is consistent in doing it, I think calls into question major constitutional violations. And it certainly violates the moral fabric of what we stand by in this country as Americans.' "
Trump asks judge to keep blocking release of final report on classified documents probe
Trump: Jack Smith classified documents report should remain secret
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/02/trump-jack-smith-classified-docs-report-00673178
Comment: "Trump’s request is a break from the Justice Department’s handling of all special counsel reports in recent decades."
Comment: "President Donald Trump argued Tuesday that former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report — chronicling the criminal case against him for hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago — should never be made public."
"Trump urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in a new court filing to extend her 11-month-old order blocking the Justice Department from releasing the full report, which Smith submitted shortly before Trump’s second inauguration."
"Trump’s request is a break from the Justice Department’s handling of all special counsel reports in recent decades. Typically, those reports are provided to Congress and made public, even when they have included damaging findings about the incumbent administration. DOJ released another report Smith compiled detailing his findings about Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election shortly before President Joe Biden left office."
Comment: Do you think Trump's effort to keep the report secret has anything to do with the likelihood that Jack Smith laid out a compelling legal case against Trump that he illegally removed and hoarded highly classified documents (included SCI documents) and stored them in an unsecured manner (in his Mar-A-Largo bathroom)? The report might also discuss details of the the National Archive's attempts to retrieve the documents, and Trump's alleged attempt to thwart them by hiding the documents. The report might discuss the danger to our national security if these documents were accessed by our adversaries, and discuss the possibility they were.
Comment: If Jack Smith had been allowed to present his findings at a criminal trial, and if Donald Trump had been convicted, what do you think his sentence might have been? If anyone, other than a former President, was convicted of doing what Trump allegedly had done, he would likely be spending considerable time (possibly life) behind bars at the Federal Supermax facility in Florence Colorado.
Video: BREAKING NEWS: Matt Gaetz Questions Pentagon Press Secretary As Member Of The Media - December 02, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr03nOg0ajQ
Comment: This is what happens when real journalists are banned from the Pentagon because they refused to sign an agreement which would significantly limit them from aggressively doing their job. Instead you have a disgraced former GOP congressman, Matt Gaetz, asking softball questions to a Pentagon press secretary so that she can parrot administration talking points, and pretend that it is news coverage.
MAGA conspiracy theorist and Trump influencer Laura Loomer receives credentials and desk at Pentagon after media purge
Comment: "Far-right influencer and outside Trump adviser Laura Loomer officially has a desk and credential at the Pentagon, after virtually all mainstream news organizations covering the Defense Department handed in their badges in October rather than agree to a new set of rules restricting their coverage to pre-approved information."
" 'The Washington Post and Dan Lamothe used to occupy this desk inside the Pentagon Press room,' Loomer wrote on X on Monday. 'Now it’s mine!' "
"Reporters from other newly welcomed outlets including RedState and Fearless Media soon were also claiming to be using Lamothe’s old desk, sharing photos of what appeared to be different spaces inside the Pentagon press offices."
"The mix-up prompted mockery and corrections from the recently exiled Defense Department press corps."
Comment: "Online commentators mocked the new crop of Pentagon reporters for being unable to accurately report which desks they were using."
Comment: "On X, Lamothe said he actually gave up the desk in March, well before the new crop of reporters came in, and joked that he had now 'lost count' of how many alleged desks he had at the military HQ."
" 'May it treat you well on your occasional trips to Washington, Laura,' he added in a message for Loomer, an online influencer known for her Islamophobic views and attacks against nominees and staff deemed insufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump. 'I assume it'll sit empty much of the time, as it has for weeks now.' "
Comment: Who do you think are the purveyors of actual "fake news," the mainstream media Pentagon reporters or this new batch like Laura Loomer?
Trump told crews working on his White House ballroom to ignore permitting, zoning or code requirements: report
Trump’s Golf Habit Is Costing Taxpayers a Fortune: Report
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-golf-habit-is-costing-taxpayers-a-fortune-report/
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s love of golf is costing U.S. taxpayers an eye-watering amount that far exceeds his first-term spending."
"New analysis by HuffPost found that Trump’s beloved hobby has already cost American taxpayers nearly $71 million since his return to the Oval Office in January, and is expected to total more than $300 million by the time his second term ends."
"If that figure turns out to be accurate, it would be nearly double the $151.5 million Trump spent on similar sporting outings while in office between 2017 and 2021."
" 'I really wish I could tell you that it would make anyone in America change their mind about him, but the corruption is so baked in, so endemic, and so ludicrous that it feels like the collective reaction will be a shrug,' conservative political consultant Rick Wilson told HuffPost."
Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/politics/trump-david-gentile-commutation.html
Comment: "President Trump has set free a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims."
Comment: "Mr. Gentile and a co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 of securities and wire fraud charges, and sentenced in May."
"Unlike a pardon, the commutation granted to Mr. Gentile will not necessarily erase penalties that could be associated with his conviction."
"Mr. Schneider, who was sentenced to six years, does not appear to have received clemency from Mr. Trump. "
"In a social media post on Thanksgiving, Alice Marie Johnson, Mr. Trump’s 'pardon czar,' said she was 'deeply grateful to see David Gentile heading home to his young children.' "
"Mr. Trump has used the unfettered presidential clemency power to forgive an array of white-collar crimes and to make political points, including by casting prosecutions of his supporters as corrupt witch hunts like those that he claims had targeted him."
"It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Gentile had connections to Mr. Trump or to the president’s supporters."
Trump to pardon ex-Honduras leader serving drug trafficking sentence in US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/28/trump-pardon-honduras-hernandez-drugs
Comment: "Hernández was convicted in 2024 of accepting millions in bribes to protect cocaine shipments"
Comment: "In March of last year, Hernández was convicted in US courts of accepting millions of dollars in bribes to protect US-bound cocaine shipments belonging to traffickers he once publicly proclaimed to combat. Speaking during closing arguments at the trial, assistant US attorney Jacob Gutwillig said Hernández had 'paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States'."
Comment: "Trump’s announcement to pardon Hernández comes even as the Republican leader casts himself as being tough on combating drug problems."
" Trump’s administration designated multiple drug cartels as 'foreign terrorist organizations' and used claims of a 'war on drugs' to justify deadly airstrikes on vessels across the Caribbean and Pacific. These strikes have prompted the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations to condemn the operations as extrajudicial executions."
Comment: Trump claims to be fighting drug trafficking and then pardons one of the leaders in the activity. Who says crime doesn't pay, especially when you've got friends like Donald Trump?
Trump Announces Pardon for Honduran Ex-President Convicted in Drug Case
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/world/americas/trump-pardon-honduras-hernandez.html
Comment: "President Trump announced on Friday afternoon that he would grant 'a Full and Complete Pardon' to a former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who, as the center of a sweeping drug case, was found guilty by an American jury last year of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States."
"The news came as a shock not only to Hondurans, but also to the authorities in the United States who had built a major case and won a conviction against Mr. Hernández. They had accused him of taking bribes during his campaign from Joaquín Guzmán, the notorious former leader of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico known as 'El Chapo,' and of running his Central American country like a narco state."
"The judge in his case, P. Kevin Castel, had called Mr. Hernández 'a two-faced politician hungry for power' who masqueraded as an antidrug crusader while partnering with traffickers. And prosecutors had asked the judge to make sure Mr. Hernández would die behind bars, citing his abuse of power, connections to violent traffickers and 'the unfathomable destruction' caused by cocaine."
"The prosecution stretched across Mr. Trump’s first term and concluded during Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s time as president. In the end, Mr. Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in prison in Federal District Court in Manhattan, capping what prosecutors had presented as a sprawling conspiracy."
"A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, where Mr. Hernández was tried, declined to comment. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent, who worked on the investigation into Mr. Hernández and spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, called the pardon 'lunacy'."
"Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations at the same agency, also reacted with disbelief to the news of the pardon. Mr. Vigil said the move imperiled the reputation of the United States and its international investigations into drug trafficking."
" 'This action would be nothing short of catastrophic and would destroy the credibility of the U.S. in the international community,' Mr. Vigil said on Friday."
"Mr. Trump’s vow to pardon such a high-profile convicted drug trafficker appeared to contradict the president’s campaign to unleash the might of the American military on small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific that his administration says, without evidence, are involved in drug trafficking. That campaign has so far killed more than 80 people since it began in September.
Comment: "Since Mr. Trump took office this year, Mr. Hernández’s family has attempted to portray his conviction as political persecution by the Biden administration. But the investigation into his ties with drug traffickers took place primarily during Mr. Trump’s first term."
"His cause was taken up by figures like Roger Stone, the conservative political operative and Trump ally. Mr. Stone claimed that Mr. Hernández had been 'trapped' and was a victim of a conspiracy tied to the U.S. government."
Comment: One might have guessed that Roger Stone was somehow tied into this scandal.
Comment: And Republicans claim that they are the party of law & order!
Hegseth reportedly plans to cut support to US scouts group for being ‘genderless’
Comment: "Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, has said it is 'surprised and disappointed' by a report that the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, could sever all military ties to the organization for being 'genderless' and failing to 'cultivate masculine values'."
"In a draft memo to Congress obtained by NPR, Hegseth criticized Scouting America, which began admitting girls in 2018, for purportedly attempting to 'attack boy-friendly spaces'."
" 'It is no longer a meritocracy which holds its members accountable to meet high standards,' Hegseth wrote."
"The US military has provided support to the Scouts for more than a century. But in the memo, Hegseth said: 'The organization once endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt no longer supports the future of American boys.' "
"His proposal, which has not yet been sent to Congress, calls for the Pentagon to pull medical and logistical aid to the National Jamboree, a gathering of up to 20,000 Scouts at a remote site in West Virginia about every four years. It also looks to prohibit Scouting troops from meeting at military installations in the US and abroad."
Comment: "Congress requires the Pentagon to support the Jamboree. It lends trucks, ambulances and medical teams free of charge. But Hegseth can withhold that aid if he determines providing it would be 'detrimental to national security'."
Comment: Is Hegseth saying that by admitting girls, Scouting America "is no longer a meritocracy which holds its members accountable to meet high standards?"
Comment: Is Hegseth suggesting that the Pentagon should withhold congressionally mandated funding for Scouting America on grounds that it would be "detrimental to national security?''
Comment: If these are Hegseth's positions, is he sane enough and qualified enough to be Secretary of Defense (War)?
Comment: In any event, one would hope that our Secretary of Defense (War) would reprioritize his efforts and concentrate on more important Department of Defense (War) issues.
RELATED: GOP co-chair of Scouting Caucus calls Hegseth proposal to cut ties ‘nearsighted’
https://thehill.com/homenews/5623663-glenn-thompson-pentagon-proposal-scouting-ties/amp/
Outrage as 'dangerous' vaccine skeptic Ralph Abraham gets top CDC role
Comment: "Louisiana's top health official, who has opposed widespread vaccination for diseases including COVID-19 and the flu and promoted discredited remedies for the coronavirus, has been named principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to multiple reports."
"The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the appointment of Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, NBC News and The Washington Post reported."
"Abraham, who recently ordered his health department to stop promoting mass vaccinations during an uptick in influenza cases, will work under Jim O'Neill, a top aide to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the CDC's acting director."
"Some public health experts condemned the appointment. 'Dr. Abraham is unqualified,' said Thomas Farley, who served as health commissioner in both New York City and Philadelphia. 'It's dangerous.' "
Comment: "Abraham has been skeptical of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. During the coronavirus pandemic, he promoted unproven treatments including the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, which is used to treat parasitic worms in humans."
"The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration have warned against the use of both drugs to treat COVID-19. The FDA found ivermectin has no efficacy against Covid-19. In March 2020, as the pandemic was first raging across the world, U.S. health officials approved the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment, but they rescinded that approval months later after the drug was found to have no effect as a preventative or treatment for COVID-19. Abraham, who at the time was a Republican member of Congress, continued to promote hydroxychloroquine after the FDA revoked its emergency use authorization."
" 'Anyone who promoted ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID while discouraging the vaccine is profoundly unqualified to lead the CDC,' Farley told USA TODAY. 'It's pseudo-science.' "
Video: Secy. Noem made final call on deportation flights, says DOJ - November 26, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsuYTU77VdA
Kristi Noem made call to hand over deported men to El Salvador, DOJ says
Comment: "The Justice Department acknowledged Tuesday that it was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who decided to proceed with the deportation of 100 Venezuelan men to a notorious prison in El Salvador despite a judge’s order to keep them in U.S. custody."
"The disclosure came in response to demands by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg that the administration identify the officials involved in authorizing an unprecedented deportation operation in March that sent the men to a prison known for abusive treatment."
"Boasberg recently resumed his bid to conduct contempt proceedings over the episode, after an appeals court released a months-long hold on the process."
"Noem’s call ensured that the deportees — rounded up and expelled with virtual no due process after President Donald Trump invoked war powers to designate them as members of a transnational gang — would remain imprisoned in El Salvador under harsh conditions for months, until the U.S. helped broker a prisoner swap that resulted in all of the men being returned to Venezuela."
"The assertion that it was Noem who made the decision, despite a frantic effort by lawyers for the men — backed by Boasberg — to halt the transfer, adds a wrinkle to the murky timeline surrounding the deportation effort."
"DOJ officials say Noem’s decision was informed by legal advice from the top levels of the Justice Department, including Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, and the Department of Homeland Security. That advice relied on an unusual claim that Boasberg’s oral order to turn around the deportation flights had no force. And his subsequent written order, they argued, was similarly ineffective because the flights had already left U.S. airspace."
" 'After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador,' Justice Department attorney Tiberius Davis wrote in the new filing. 'That decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order.' "
Comment: This case has many confusing facets. However, the thing to remember is that senior politically appointed officials in Bondi's U.S. Department decided to ignore a ruling from a federal judge, using a very dubious legal opinion, and then let DHS Secretary Kristi Noem immediately proceed with the deportation, directly contradicting the judge's order. Now the judge is holding contempt hearings to see who to hold responsible. Of course, the Trump administration is attempting to use loopholes to fight the proceedings.
Alleged Witkoff-Kremlin call on Ukraine was 'standard negotiation,' Trump says
Comment: "The Kremlin's top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, confirmed there is a 'preliminary agreement' for U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff -- and likely Jared Kushner -- to visit Moscow next week, as the White House claims momentum toward a possible Ukraine-Russia peace plan."
Comment: Why is Steve Witkoff, a real estate developer, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, negotiating with the Russians instead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and/or experienced state department diplomats? Witkoff and the Russians came up with the original 28-point peace plan that gave the Russians everything they wanted and was very unfair to the Ukrainians. It was widely rejected by the the Ukrainians, the Europeans, and a large bipartisan segment of the U.S. Senate. Of course, Putin loved it.
Comment: Marco Rubio went to Geneva, cleaned up the mess created by Witkoff and worked out a reasonable compromise that is close to satisfying the Ukrainians and the Europeans. Why isn't he headed to Moscow to negotiate the deal with the Russians? Witkoff's and Kushner's roles "smells fishy."
Comment: The linked article also contains video that helps to describe the situation. You may also wish to explore additional related articles and videos listed under the "foreign policy" news heading on this website.
CNN: Trump brushes off concerns about Witkoff’s interactions with Russians as leaked transcript roils Washington
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/26/politics/trump-witkoff-russian-call
CNN: Georgia prosecutor kills the historic election interference case against Trump and allies
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/26/politics/georgia-prosecutor-drops-trump-election-interference-case
Comment: One might argue that the case should have been heard in federal court, rather than in Georgia state court. Nevertheless, the case should have been heard somewhere!
CNN: Hegseth focuses on potential punishments for Sen. Kelly in confrontation over ‘illegal orders’ video
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/26/politics/hegseth-kelly-unlawful-orders-video
Analysis: Pentagon move against Mark Kelly shows Trump’s quest for vengeance is endless | CNN Politics
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/25/politics/mark-kelly-letitia-james-comey-trump-analysis
Video: Pentagon launches investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly after video to military troops - November 24, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4weVpLbQO_I
Comment: Sen. Mark Kelly committed no crime. Any FBI agent involved in any investigation of Kelly, based on his statements, is violating FBI policy and should be punished and reprimanded, and that includes Kash Patel if he officially ordered the investigation based on instructions from Hegseth or Trump. As for Trump, this constitutes an abuse of power, an impeachable offense.
Pentagon says it’s investigating Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly after video urging troops to defy ‘illegal orders’
Comment: "The Pentagon announced Monday it is investigating Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over possible breaches of military law after the former Navy pilot joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for troops to defy 'illegal orders'."
"The Pentagon’s statement, posted on social media, cited a federal law that allows retired service members to be recalled to active duty on orders of the defense secretary for possible court martial or other measures."
"It is extraordinary for the Pentagon, which until President Donald Trump’s second term had usually gone out of its way to act and appear apolitical, to directly threaten a sitting member of Congress with investigation. It comes after Trump ramped up the rhetoric by accusing the lawmakers of sedition 'punishable by DEATH' in a social media post days after the video was released last week."
"In its statement Monday, the Pentagon suggested that Kelly’s statements in the video interfered with the 'loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces' by citing the federal law that prohibits such actions."
Comment: "Kelly said he upheld his oath to the Constitution and dismissed the Pentagon investigation as the work of 'bullies'."
" 'If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,' Kelly said in a statement."
Comment: "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Kelly was facing investigation because he is the only one of the lawmakers who formally retired from the military and is still under the Pentagon’s jurisdiction."
Comment: "Other Senate Democrats came to Kelly’s defense, with Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accusing Trump of using the Pentagon 'as his personal attack dog' and saying 'this is what dictators do.' "
"His fellow Democratic Arizona senator, Ruben Gallego, said 'Mark told the truth — in America, we swear an oath to the Constitution, not wannabe kings.' "
Experts Say Democratic Video Not ‘Seditious,’ as Trump Claims
https://www.factcheck.org/2025/11/experts-say-democratic-video-not-seditious-as-trump-claims/
Video: ‘Threats are very, very real’: Ex-DHS official says Trump is serious about wanting Democrats jailed - November 23, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ0KnB40064
‘Horribly wrong’: US veterans condemn Trump’s politicization of military
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/22/trump-military-veterans
Comment: "Veterans have condemned the politicization of the military after Donald Trump accused Democratic lawmakers of 'sedition, punishable by death' after a small group of them released a video in which they urged US soldiers not to follow any 'unlawful' orders."
Comment: " 'He uses sedition and treason very broadly and inappropriately,' said David Frakt, a retired air force officer and attorney in the judge advocate general (JAG) corps, the military justice branch. 'The irony is that if anyone committed sedition or treason, it was the people that he urged to overthrow the government on January 6 [2021] – and you know, he pardoned all of those people and calls them patriots and martyrs and all the rest.' "
Comment: "A duty to disobey illegal orders is not new: it 'has always been the law, said Coretta Johnson Gray, a former air force attorney. What is unusual now is the heightened anxiety among service members who normally operate without questioning the legality of typical orders."
Comment: "Facing a questionable order, a service member’s first responsibility is to get clarification from their chain of command, she said. Following that, they should seek guidance from a military chaplain or a member of the judge advocate general’s corps."
"However, given that one of the first acts of incoming secretary of defense Pete Hegseth was to fire or demoting legal advisors to the service branches, there are concerns that the JAG corps is becoming politicized, too."
"Gray further expressed alarm that many military lawyers are quitting the service. 'It’s important to have good people who have integrity in these positions, because if you get rid of everybody who could even question, you really got a problem.' "
Abbott’s Moves to Restrict Muslims Leave Some Concerned and Puzzled
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/us/abbott-texas-muslim-investigation.html
Comment: "Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has announced a flurry of steps this week aimed at thwarting Islamic groups in the state, moves that both worry and baffle Muslims and religious experts."
"On Tuesday, he declared that the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups, was a foreign terrorist organization, an accusation the group said had no basis in fact. The following day, he directed law enforcement officers to investigate an Islamic organization in Dallas, saying the group was illegally enforcing Islamic 'Shariah law' in the state."
"In a letter sent on Wednesday to district attorneys and sheriffs in two North Texas counties, Mr. Abbott suggested there were multiple entities in the state 'masquerading' as legal courts, but he named only one: the Islamic Tribunal, an independent institution that has operated in the Dallas area for more than a decade."
"The letter quoted from the tribunal’s website to suggest it was illegally posing as a rival court to the Texas judicial system and speculated that the court could recommend stoning as a punishment."
"Other faith groups operate ecclesiastical tribunals in the United States that resolve spiritual matters and disputes that overlap with the traditional court system. In Judaism, rabbinical courts known as beth dins rule on the details of divorce agreements, among other issues. Catholic dioceses, including the diocese of Dallas and others throughout Texas, also operate courts to handle cases of church law, including marriage and annulment."
"The governor’s statement said the Islamic Tribunal was different from other faith-based arbitration bodies because it was 'purporting to replace actual courts of law to evade neutral and generally applicable laws.' "
RELATED: Muslim civil rights group sues Texas for labeling it a terrorist organization
Trump: Military courts may investigate Democrats' video he called "punishable by death"
https://www.axios.com/2025/11/21/trump-investigate-sedition-video-democrats-congress-veterans
Comment: "President Trump suggested in an interview aired Friday that the Department of Defense is investigating the six Democratic Congressional veterans who released a video this week urging service members to reject unlawful orders."
Comment: "The threat of an investigation into the message is highly unusual and escalates the president's trend of policing Americans' protected free speech when it's critical of him or his allies."
NBC News: Trump says he wasn't threatening Democrats he accused of 'seditious behavior, punishable by death'
Comment: It sure sounded like a threat. The words peak for themselves.
Trump’s DoJ investigating unfounded claims Venezuela helped steal 2020 election
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/21/trump-doj-venezuela-2020-election
Comment: "An investigation of this sort underscores how Trump’s justice department is becoming a major weapon in the president’s efforts to rewrite the history of his 2020 loss – while potentially strengthening the administration’s case for military action against Venezuela."
"While there were a variety of conspiracy theories that helped fuel Donald Trump’s 2020 'Stop the Steal' movement – dead voters, stolen, fraudulent or forged ballots, and secret computer servers in Germany – the purported influence of Venezuela was always a central claim. It asserted that electronic voting in the US was secretly controlled by the impoverished regime, both by President Nicolás Maduro and his deceased predecessor Hugo Chávez."
"Not only was it bizarre on its face, but a judge in Delaware ruled it false in 2023, and Fox News, Newsmax and OAN later paid a total of hundreds of millions in total damages in defamation claims. At heart, the theory was that Smartmatic, which had the contract for electronic voting machines in Los Angeles, and Dominion, which ran voting in many other parts of the country, had been created or influenced by Venezuela to fix elections."
"The revival of the claim appears to bind together two themes: Trump’s consistent 'rigged election' complaints, and his antagonism to Venezuela’s socialist regime."
"With a military buildup in the Caribbean and increased sabre-rattling from the Trump administration towards Maduro, the unfounded election-rigging theories could provide another rationale for military action against Maduro."
Comment: Apparently, the primary "rationale" may be Trump's obsession with his 2020 election loss.
Swiss gold and Rolex gifts to Trump arouse ‘disgust’ in Europe
Comment: "Billionaires gave desk clock and engraved gold bar weeks before Trump slashed tariffs on imports from Switzerland"
Lindsey Graham blocks House-passed bill to repeal shutdown deal provision allowing $500,000 lawsuits from senators
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lindsey-graham-blocks-bill-repeal-provision-allowing-lawsuits-senators/
Comment: Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, blocked a Democrat-led effort to approve a House-passed measure to repeal a controversial provision that allows senators to sue for $500,000 if federal investigators search their phone records without their knowledge."
"Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat, sought unanimous consent to approve the measure after the House unanimously passed the bill Wednesday, saying the provision many lawmakers are looking to repeal, which was tucked in last week's funding package, represents a country that 'is not serving the people'."
" 'Last week Republicans in Congress passed a government funding bill that denies affordable health care to millions of Americans,' Heinrich said. 'But what most people don't know is that they also voted to provide millions of dollars to a few Republican senators in a blatant, tax-funded cash grab.' "
"The new law requires service providers to notify senators if their phone records or other data are seized or subpoenaed, and senators are entitled to $500,000 for each violation. It also applies retroactively to 2022, allowing the senators whose phone records were seized during special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the 2020 election to sue the federal government."
"But Graham, one of the senators whose phone records were subpoenaed, blocked the bill. Any single lawmaker has the power to block a bill's passage under unanimous consent rules."
Comment: What Jack Smith did in 2022 was not illegal. He got a subpoena. Give the gravity of the situation (attempt to overturn the 2022 election) Jack Smith was justified in investigating to see if Trump had any conspirators in his attempts to overturn the election results. With a subpoena, any citizen's phone records can be obtained. Lindsey Graham seems to think that he is special and exempted because he is a Senator. Apparently, the Republicans just granted themselves (Senators only) this special exemption retroactively. They even allowed their members to sue the government for large awards up to $500,000 for each violation, even though the practice was not illegal at the time of the "violation." The House of Representative looked at the politics of this retroactive law, and voted to repeal it. Most members of the Senate also want to repeal it, but Lindsey Graham used a procedural method to stop a unanimous consent method, thereby halting a quick and easy repeal of this ridiculous law.
Department Of Homeland Security Blames Immigrants For Grocery Prices And Healthcare Costs
Comment: "The Department of Homeland Security used its official X account on Thursday to blame undocumented immigrants for a host of national problems including unemployment, public safety concerns, traffic and the cost of rent, homes, groceries, cars and healthcare."
Comment: "The DHS blamed immigrants for welfare spending, unemployment and women not feeling 'safe walking down the street,' though experts have largely agreed immigration is not the most prevalent factor in any of these problems."
"The agency said the cost of cars and groceries could also be blamed on the immigrant population, but former Ford CEO Mark Fields told CNN that mass deportation efforts could actually be what leads to an increase in the cost of cars due to labor shortages, and the same has been said for food prices."
"The DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has repeatedly used its X account to criticize immigrants, while the agency carries out mass deportation efforts first promised during Trump’s presidential campaign."
Comment: DHS arguments sound similar to those used by the Nazis when blaming "the Jews" for all of Germany's problems in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Video: White House Defends President Trump After He Called Reporter 'Piggy' - November 19, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by80myL7jeU
‘Unforgivable’: Trump’s ‘piggy’ insult is stoking more outrage than usual
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/19/trump-quiet-piggy
Comment: "It’s one outrage in days full of outrageous material."
" 'Quiet, piggy,' Donald Trump told a female reporter in a press gaggle, pointing his finger at her angrily."
"It wasn’t the first time – not even the hundredth time – the US president has attacked the media. And it’s hard for any storyline to break through the administration’s 'flood the zone' strategy, much less one like this. Nothing seems to stick. But the 'quiet, piggy' clip has taken off, several days after the admonishment occurred on Air Force One last Friday, and without much help from the media itself."
" 'I don’t know why the ‘Piggy’ thing is bothering me so much,' wrote Hank Green, a YouTuber and author. 'It’s one more unforgivable thing in a list of 20,000 unforgivable things, but I’ve been mad about it for like 12 straight hours.' "
Comment: "Lashing out at a female reporter with a derogatory insult amid a news cycle dominated by politicians splitting hairs over a man who ran a sex-trafficking outfit – it was pretty on the nose."
"But the clip also pinged around the internet in the same news cycle as Trump telling another female reporter it was rude to ask Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist whom the CIA determined was killed at the direction of the crown prince."
" 'You’re mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial,' Trump said of Khashoggi, responding to a question from ABC News’s Mary Bruce. 'A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman that you’re talking about. Whether you like him, or didn’t like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that. You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that.' "
"The combined force of two outbursts at female journalists in a single news cycle – for asking about a child sexual abuser and a murdered colleague – went beyond the standard-fare Trumpian attacks on the media."
Comment: " 'These incidents are not isolated; they are part of an unmistakable pattern of hostility – often directed at women – that undermines the essential role of a free and independent press,' the Society of Professional Journalists said in a statement Wednesday."
Texas governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization
Comment: "Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday declared one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a 'foreign terrorist organization' under a proclamation that he said allows the state to try shutting them down."
"He also designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations 'a transnational criminal organization' and said it would not be allowed to buy land in the state. The proclamation also included the Muslim Brotherhood."
"Neither the CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood are designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government."
"CAIR told Abbott in a letter that his announcement had no basis 'in law or fact.' The group accused his office of stoking 'anti-Muslim hysteria'."
" 'You do not have the authority to unilaterally declare any Americans or American institutions terrorist groups, nor is there any basis to level this smear against our organization,' wrote Robert S. McCaw, CAIR’s government affairs director."
Trump calls for ABC broadcast licenses to be revoked after reporter's question
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-calls-abcs-broadcasting-licenses-be-revoked-2025-11-18/
Comment: "U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that broadcasting licenses used by affiliates of Walt Disney's ... ABC should be 'taken away' after he disagreed with a question posed by a reporter for the network."
"Trump made the comment after a reporter for ABC News asked Trump about the Jeffrey Epstein political scandal during an Oval Office event with the Saudi crown prince."
" 'I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it's so wrong,' Trump said."
"Trump's comments were his latest effort to pressure regulators to target a media outlet that has drawn his ire but to date he has had little success."
"Trump praised Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, whom he had tapped to lead the agency in January. 'He should look at that,' Trump said of removing the licenses."
"Carr visited with Trump in Florida this weekend, according to a social media post from Carr."
"It was the second time in recent months that ABC has been in Trump's cross-hairs."
"Trump has repeatedly called on the FCC to revoke the station licenses of ABC and Comcast-owned NBC ... and charge them for using the public airwaves."
"The FCC, an independent federal agency, issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, not networks. The FCC can revoke a license under a rarely used public interest standard but it has not done so for more than four decades."
"Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez rejected Trump's threats. 'The FCC doesn’t get to decide whether the news coverage of those in power is acceptable,' Gomez said. 'It has neither the legal authority nor the constitutional right to pursue broadcasters for their journalism. These threats sound ominous, but they’re empty.' "
"Earlier this month, Trump called on NBC to fire late-night talk show host Seth Meyers and criticized the host's satirical monologue."
Comment: Another Trump administration attempt at intimidation and extortion to obtain favorable media coverage, in violation of the principles of the First Amendment?
Convicted fraudster who had sentence commuted by Trump gets 37 years for new fraud conviction
Comment: "A New Jersey man whose lengthy prison sentence for fraud convictions was commuted by President Donald Trump in 2021 is now headed back to federal prison for another fraud conviction."
"U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp, sitting in Trenton, handed down a 37-year sentence on Friday to Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein, 51, of Lakewood, who is also known as Mike Konig. Shipp also ruled that Weinstein must pay $44,294,803 in restitution, which is due immediately, according to court documents."
"Weinstein was convicted in March on charges he helped defraud dozens of investors out of $35 million. Prosecutors have said Weinstein and others falsely promised investors access to deals involving scarce medical supplies, baby formula and first-aid kits supposedly destined for wartime Ukraine."
"This marked the third time Weinstein had been convicted in a New Jersey federal court for defrauding investors. The first case involved a real estate Ponzi scheme, and the second stemmed from additional fraud he committed while on pretrial release."
Comment: So, the guy had already been convicted twice for fraud, and Trump commutes his sentence in 2021, at the end of Trump's first term. One wonders if Trump is going to provide the nearly $45 million of restitution to his victims, resulting from the latest fraud? For that matter, one wonders if Trump is going to let him out again.
President Trump wants Seth Meyers fired. The FCC chair amplified the message
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/17/nx-s1-5610501/trump-seth-meyers-fired
Comment: "Trump seems to have had enough with Meyers, as he had with late night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel."
" 'NBC's Seth Meyers is suffering from an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS),' the president posted on Truth Social on Nov. 15. 'He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his 'show' is a Ratings DISASTER. Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!' "
"Less than an hour later Trump's tirade was reposted on X by Brendan Carr, chairperson of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates radio, TV, wire, satellite and cable across the country."
"While the FCC can fine broadcasters for indecency, it has limited authority over content. According to its website, 'The limitations on the FCC's power to restrict or ban speech begin with the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which decrees that the federal government 'shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.' ' "
"Carr's repost drew quick criticism."
"In an email to NPR, Lisa Macpherson, policy director at the consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, wrote that Carr's intervention is 'a distortion of the FCC's authorities in an effort to force the media to toe the line for President Trump.' "
Comment: It's bad enough that our thin-skinned president can't take a joke, without the FCC getting involved, possibly in an attempt to intimidate a broadcast television network.
Indiana lawmaker is the victim of swatting after Trump criticized him over redistricting
Video: How President Trump is changing the pardon process, according to former pardon attorney - November 16, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI_V6Z6tk30
Comment: This is the actual "60 Minutes" video, referenced in the link below.
How President Trump is changing the pardon process, according to former pardon attorney
Comment: "President Trump has changed the pardon process in his second term to reward the wealthy and well-connected, according to former Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer."
" 'All of the traditional rules and procedures pertaining to pardons have been thrown out the window,' Oyer said in an interview with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. 'This administration appears to be working around the Justice Department rather than with the Justice Department to vet and review applications for pardons.' "
"Oyer oversaw pardon applications at the Justice Department from 2022 until this past spring. She said the Justice Department standards and requirements are being overlooked in the president's second administration."
"Traditionally, people have applied for clemency by filing petitions through the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Justice Department. There, some of the longstanding regulations in place for assessing pardon applications include evaluating whether an individual had demonstrated good conduct for a lengthy period of time following their conviction. People who apply for pardons typically have to be out of prison for at least five years and show that they've behaved well and taken responsibility for their actions."
"According to Oyer, the Pardon Attorney's office would seek the views of U.S. Attorneys offices who had prosecuted these cases, the judges who had imposed the sentences, and any victims of the crime. Once a candidate appeared to meet the criteria for a pardon, the office then conducted a thorough background investigation through the FBI. According to Oyer, this was 'to ensure that they were someone who was truly deserving and who could safely contribute to their community if they were granted the relief that a pardon provides.' "
"But after Trump's second inauguration, Oyer said, the longstanding practices around clemency changed."
" 'I understood that clemency was going to be conducted entirely out of the White House without input from the Office of the Pardon Attorney,' Oyer said. 'This was a departure from over 100 years of practice.' "
"Oyer was fired in March after she says she opposed restoring gun rights to actor and Trump supporter Mel Gibson, who had been convicted of domestic battery. She has since become a vocal critic of the Trump administration. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which had traditionally been staffed by nonpolitical appointees, is now run by Ed Martin, an ally of Mr. Trump."
Trump Organization Is Said to Be in Talks on a Saudi Government Real Estate Deal
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/world/middleeast/trump-organization-saudi-development-deal.html
Comment: Possible conflict of interest, as Trump family business deal coincides with Trump's foreign policy dealing with Saudi Arabia as U.S. President?
Trump pardons Jan. 6 rioter for gun offense and woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents
Comment: "President Donald Trump has issued two pardons related to the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, including for a woman convicted of threatening to shoot FBI agents who were investigating a tip that she may have been at the Capitol, officials said Saturday."
"In a separate case, Trump issued a second pardon for a Jan. 6 defendant who had remained behind bars despite the sweeping grant of clemency for Capitol rioters because of a separate conviction for illegally possessing firearms."
Video: “It’s aristocracy”: Secret donor network shaping MAGA's future - November 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M44n8lgvtzk
Comment: "The Washington Post is out with new reporting on the Rockbridge Network, the secret donor group lifting JD Vance, and their theory that an 'aristocracy' is the best path forward for our country."
Video: FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff - November 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2aHMU05PdQ
Comment: "FBI Director Kash Patel granted waivers to Deputy Director Dan Bongino and two newly hired senior FBI staff, exempting them from polygraph exams normally required to gain access to America’s most classified information, officials said."
"As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say."
"The FBI denied that Bongino or the other senior staff members failed polygraph tests."
"Patel, Bongino, Marshall Yates and Nicole Rucker did not respond to requests for comment."
FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
Comment: "As the FBI’s deputy director, Bongino receives some of the country’s most sensitive secrets, including the President’s Daily Brief. His ascent to that position without passing a standard bureau background check is unprecedented, insiders say."
Comment: Please read the entire linked article for details.
Video: Trump says he’s asking DOJ to investigate Epstein’s ties to some of his perceived political enemies - November 14, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvyMCvGdo1Q
Comment: Is there probable cause, or even a reasonable cause, to launch a formal DOJ investigation of Bill Clinton or any other of Trump's "perceived political enemies?" Is this just an attempt to deflect attention from Trump's name showing up in the Epstein files, expected to be released in the future?
NYTimes.com: In Matt Gaetz Scandal, Circumstances Left Teen Vulnerable to Exploitation
Comment: In case you have forgotten, Matt Gaetz was Trump's first choice to be the Attorney General of the United States. Even the Senate Republicans didn't have the stomach to rubberstamp that Trump nomination.
CNN: Trump pens letter asking Israeli president to pardon Netanyahu in corruption trial
https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/12/middleeast/trump-netanyahu-pardon-letter-intl
Comment: Why is Trump meddling in the judicial actions of another sovereign country? It's bad enough that Trump continually pardons corrupt actors in this country. Now he wants to assist in similar actions elsewhere. This is outrageous. Let the Israelis deal with Netanyahu in their own judicial system.
Video: Trump urges Israel's president to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu - November 12, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYCmfdMPjow
‘A classic authoritarian tactic’: outrage over Trump’s pardons for friends and allies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/11/trump-pardons-justice-department
Comment: "Donald Trump’s unprecedented pardoning spree for political and business friends since returning to the White House has prompted warnings from ex-prosecutors and legal scholars of 'corrupt' pay-to-play schemes, conflicts of interest and blatant partisanship."
"It has included hundreds of Maga allies, a cryptocurrency mogul with ties to a Trump family crypto firm, disgraced politicians, and others who could yield political and financial benefits."
Comment: "Recently, Trump has sparked strong criticism for commutations or pardons that seem increasingly aimed at boosting political allies and some Trump family business interests, say legal experts and ex-prosecutors."
Comment: Please read the linked article for specific examples of ethically questionable Trump pardons.
Video: Trump pardons allies over efforts to overturn 2020 election - November 10, 2025
Comment: Note that video also contains some other Trump related news.
Trump’s sweeping 2020 election pardon raises alarms ahead of the midterms
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/10/donald-trump-pardon-2020-election-allies-00646073
Comment: "President Donald Trump’s adversaries say his sweeping pardon for dozens of alleged co-conspirators in the plot to subvert the 2020 election sent an unmistakable signal: If you do it again, I’ll protect you."
"The extraordinarily broad pardon, signed Friday but revealed Sunday night, has little substantive effect for its recipients. Trump can pardon only federal crimes, and his administration had already pulled the plug on any lingering investigations stemming from the 2020 election. Some of the clemency recipients are still facing state-level criminal charges in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin — though some Trump allies argue the pardons could derail those cases."
"The mass pardon — the first in history to cover people accused of criminally conspiring with the president who issued it — comes as Trump continues to stoke false claims about rampant cheating by Democrats and sow doubts about the integrity of future elections. And his opponents see the pardon as a permission slip for similar efforts in 2026 and 2028."
" 'Trump is sending a message to his supporters that if you commit a crime in the name of Donald Trump, I’ve got your back,' said Liz Oyer, the former U.S. pardon attorney, whose successor Ed Martin announced the sweeping clemency on X and released a 15-page statement explaining the move."
"Oyer said the pardon was written so broadly that it could apply to countless people who aided Trump’s effort to stay in power despite losing the 2020 election — and the vaguely worded document permits Martin and other Justice Department officials to decide for themselves who receives a pardon certificate."
" 'That’s just not how pardon paperwork is written,' Oyer said."
"The move also appeared to be a way for Trump to test the well-settled boundaries of the pardon power itself, with allies like Martin and election attorney Cleta Mitchell suggesting it should cause the pending state cases to crumble. The pair argue that the presidential pardon could cover state-law crimes because the purported electors were engaged in activity related to a federal election, though legal scholars say that rationale is a stretch. A spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Trump’s pardon would not influence her handling of the case there, which has remained in limbo as she fights a judge’s ruling that the grand jury process was flawed."
In SNAP appeal, Trump administration says it faces more harm than people who can't buy food: ANALYSIS
https://abcnews.go.com/US/snap-appeal-trump-administration-faces-harm-people-buy/story?id=127338565
Comment: "There is a paragraph on page 22 of the Trump administration's appeal of a federal judge's requirement that it make full November SNAP payments that has to be seen to be believed."
"The opening sentence asserts that 'the district court's order threatens significant and irreparable harm to the government which outweighs any claimed injury to plaintiffs.' "
"In plain English, the Justice Department is telling the court that it would hurt the federal government more to comply with a judge's order requiring full food stamp payments than it would hurt millions of low-income Americans to potentially starve."
"Let's simplify this further: the government is arguing that once the money is spent, it can't be unspent (and that would be horrible). But the hungry can't eat tomorrow (and that's not as bad). That is the contention."
Comment: "The Justice Department's appeal thus functions as both legal brief and ideological statement. It asks the courts to privilege administrative convenience over human need."
"If that argument succeeds, the precedent would reach far beyond SNAP. It would signal that any time a court orders the government to meet a statutory duty—to pay benefits, deliver services, or enforce protections—the executive may claim 'irreparable harm' merely because it prefers not to act. That is not separation of powers; it is the substitution of political preference for law."
"Judge McConnell, for his part, put the matter bluntly: 'This should never happen in America.' He was referring to the spectacle of a federal government choosing to let its citizens go hungry while pleading poverty amid abundant reserves."
"The Justice Department's legal arguments transform that spectacle into doctrine."
Democrats seize on Trump administration’s efforts to fight food stamp payments
https://apnews.com/article/trump-snap-food-stamps-court-8bdaf319f25ea0854abb3bbd494b7f90
Comment: This action by the Trump administration illustrates just how far Republicans will go to win a government shutdown battle. To stop the ACA (Obamacare) subsidies they were willing to fire large portions of the federal workforce and then starve their own constituents (most SNAP recipients were in Republican held states/districts). How is it possible for more reasonable Democrats to outlast such a heartless group of politicians? They don't give a d**n about the people they are supposed to represent.
Comment: The only way to combat this outrageous callousness is to get rid of the congressional perpetrators in November 2026.
Trump team is secretly handing out massive tax breaks to wealthy American corporations: report
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-team-secretly-handing-massive-191513201.html
How the Trump Administration Is Giving Even More Tax Breaks to the Wealthy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/08/business/trump-administration-tax-breaks-wealthy.html
Comment: "With little public scrutiny, the Trump administration is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts to some of the country’s most profitable companies and wealthiest investors."
"The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service, through a series of new notices and proposed regulations, are giving breaks to giant private equity firms, crypto companies, foreign real estate investors, insurance providers and a variety of multinational corporations."
"The primary target: The administration is rapidly gutting a 2022 law intended to ensure that a sliver of the country’s most profitable corporations pay at least some federal income tax. The provision, the corporate alternative minimum tax, was passed by Democrats and signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. It sought to stop corporations like Microsoft, Amazon and Johnson & Johnson from being able to report big profits to shareholders yet low tax liabilities to the federal government. It was projected to raise $22 billion over a decade."
"But the succession of notices the Treasury and I.R.S. have issued beginning this summer means the tax could bring in a fraction of that."
Comment: "With its various tax relief provisions, the administration is now effectively adding hundreds of billions of dollars in new breaks for big businesses and investors. The Treasury is empowered to write rules to help the I.R.S. carry out tax laws passed by Congress. But the aggressive actions of the Trump administration raise questions about whether it is exceeding its legal authority."
Comment: " 'Treasury has clearly been enacting unlegislated tax cuts,' said Kyle Pomerleau, a tax economist at the American Enterprise Institute, a right-leaning think tank. ' Congress determines tax law. Treasury undermines this constitutional principle when it asserts more authority over the structure of the tax code than Congress provides it. ' "
"The alternative minimum tax isn’t the administration’s only effort to roll back taxes on large businesses and wealthy individuals. Last month, the Treasury and I.R.S. granted new tax relief to foreign investors in U.S. real estate. In August, they withdrew regulations to prevent multinationals from avoiding taxes by claiming duplicate losses in multiple countries at once. And, as The New York Times previously reported, the Treasury and I.R.S. have rolled back a crackdown on an aggressive tax shelter used by big companies, including Occidental Petroleum and AT&T. That amounts to another $100 billion in cuts — and likely far more, according to tax advisers."
Comment: Please read this linked article in its entirety. There are numerous other outrageous tax breaks given.
Video: Trump Wants Washington Commanders Stadium Named After Him, Report Says - November 8, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saH1yhEHj80
Comment: "Trump's ego and narcissism knows no limits!
White House says Washington Commanders naming new stadium after Trump would be "beautiful"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/washington-commanders-new-stadium-after-trump/
Out-of-touch Trump talks up economy among sycophants and stars in Miami
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/trump-miami-american-business-forum
Comment: "It was the week in which Republicans took a beating at the polls, the government shutdown became the longest in history, and 42 million people across the country, including 3 million in Florida, saw their federal food aid slashed."
"But in the alternative reality of Miami, where tickets to an overwhelmingly conservative business conference headlined by Donald Trump cost up to $1,990, and billionaires from Saudi Arabia rubbed shoulders with equally wealthy American tycoons such as Jeff Bezos and Ken Griffin, those events created barely a ripple."
"Instead, in a gesture that appeared almost to mock the widening disparity between the city’s haves and have-nots, organizers of the America Business Forum cooked up a little treat for attendees: a $50 gift card to spend on food to sustain themselves while they listened to their president congratulate himself for a 'golden age' he said his 'economic miracle' had delivered."
"Advocates say the move, along with the high-budget opulence of the conference itself, was an ill-timed insult to more than a half-million Miami-Dade county residents who just saw their own ability to buy essential groceries for their families kiboshed by the gutting of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap)."
Republican Insider Admits Party Is Now Open to Actual Nazis
Comment: "Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger accused the party of a growing tolerance of Nazis, blasting Tucker Carlson's interview with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and the Heritage Foundation’s defense of it."
"Kinzinger, a former member of the House Jan. 6 committee, made the savage remarks during an appearance on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. His comments followed Carlson’s two-plus-hour interview with Fuentes, a self-proclaimed white nationalist and vocal antisemite."
"He slammed Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts for standing by the former Fox News pundit amid the uproar that followed the interview."
"Roberts, whose organization spearheads Project 2025, called Carlson 'a close friend of the Heritage Foundation' and denounced the 'venomous coalition' criticizing him."
" 'Congressman…I don’t understand why it’s a difficult question at all,' Cooper began. 'Shouldn’t—I think all Republicans would condemn Nick Fuentes’ hateful comments, full stop.' "
" 'Yeah, you’d think,' Kinzinger replied. 'But remember, Donald Trump invited him... to Mar-a-Lago to have lunch with him and Kanye.' "
Trump pardons Tennessee Republican convicted of federal public corruption charges
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/trump-pardons-former-tennessee-house-speaker
Comment: "Donald Trump has pardoned the former Tennessee state house speaker and a one-time aide of public corruption charges after the White House said the Biden administration's justice department 'significantly over-prosecuted' both for a minor issue."
"Glen Casada, a former Republican state representative, was sentenced in September to three years in prison, and his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren, was also convicted and received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The case centered on their actions after both had been driven from their leadership roles and were accused of running a scheme to win taxpayer-funded mail business from lawmakers."
"The moves continued a pattern of Trump, a Republican, using his second presidency to bestow unlikely pardons on political allies, prominent public figures and others convicted of defrauding the public."
BBC: Serbia clears the way for controversial Trump-linked property plan
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1e3q6g5n00o
Comment: "Serbia's parliament has passed a law which paves the way for a controversial property development led by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in the capital Belgrade."
"His firm Affinity Partners has sought to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex on the site of the former Yugoslav Army headquarters."
Comment: "Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic, who has pursued close ties with Trump, backed the plans despite protests and legal challenges."
"Last year, the Serbian government stripped the building of its protected status and agreed a 99-year lease with Kushner's firm, which had set out plans for a $500m (£379.9m) development."
"The decision triggered demonstrations and led to an investigation into whether a Serbian official had forged documentation used during the process to change the building's status."
Comment: "Opposition politicians have labelled the decision unconstitutional, including Aleksandar Jovanovic, who described it as a crime, and told the AFP news agency that the landmark would be replaced with 'casinos and Jacuzzis'."
Comment: "The passage of the law has also been criticised by architectural experts, and comes after Transparency Serbia, an anti-corruption organisation, raised concerns about state-backed developments."
Comment: "The decision to clear the way for the development comes as Vucic's government seeks to maintain good relations with both Washington and Moscow."
"Serbia has been impacted by both Trump's tariffs and sanctions on Russian interests in the country, including on its sole oil-refinery, the majority Russian-owned Nafna Industrika Srbije (NIS)."
Comment: Is our foreign policy towards Serbia being hijacked by Jared Kushner's business interests? Even the appearance of corruption has negative impacts to our reputation in the region.
Video: Trump’s ‘Russia Obsession’ driving an investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan - November 6, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IBp8lpXFZA
The DOJ has been firing judges with immigrant defense backgrounds
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/g-s1-96437/trump-immigration-judges-fired
Comment: Do you suppose that Bondi's DOJ feared these judges might empathize with immigrants and be less likely to rule against them? If so, there's nothing like putting one's thumb on the scale of justice.
Price of Trump’s planned victory arch for DC revealed - and it has 8 zeros
Comment: "The proposed monument, which is set to be built in the lead-up to the country’s 250th anniversary next year, is estimated to cost $100 million, according to Axios, citing unnamed White House insiders."
Comment: "The report did not say how the massive undertaking will be financed, though sources noted that Trump has raised $1.9 billion from private donors to help pad his war chest and pay for various construction projects, including his ballroom, which led to the demolition of the East Wing."
Comment: Is this how you want your tax money spent? Even if Trump gets the project funded with corporate donations, what will be the resulting hidden costs associated with favorable legislation/consideration given to these donors?
Video: New gold script sign appears outside Oval Office - November 5, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfKQCUo74JA
Republicans try to turn national Democratic candidates into Mamdani copycats
Comment: "Republicans got their midterms bogeyman in Zohran Mamdani. Now comes the challenge: making the incoming New York City mayor’s brand of democratic socialism sink candidates outside his liberal bubble."
"They’re getting right to it."
"Republicans’ House campaign arm launched digital ads Wednesday morning across 49 battleground districts tying Democrats to the 'socialist mayor' who 'built his movement on defunding the police and abolishing ICE.' "
" 'This is the future House Democrats want,' a male narrator intones over images of Mamdani and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who issued a late-stage endorsement of the mayor-elect. 'And your city could be next.' "
Comment: Lies, fear-mongering, and gerrymandering. It's all the GOP has.
UFC White House to include ‘dignitaries from around the world’ as part of Trump birthday bash
Comment: "The UFC White House mixed martial arts (MMA) event, which is expected to air live on CBS, is being planned for June 14, 2026 on the ripped-up lawn of the White House. No tickets will be sold and no UFC fans will be permitted to attend, from both a logistical perspective and security standpoint."
" 'Dignitaries from around the world' will join U.S. President Trump for a special invitation-only dinner before attending the UFC White House extravaganza, according to a report from Variety. The event is part of the promotion's billion-dollar streaming deal with Paramount, inked just a few weeks back."
Comment: Wonder how may of the "dignitaries from around the world," will be tyrants, despots, and autocrats anxious to watch two modern day gladiators beat each other to a pulp? Will Trump preside as a modern day Caesar?
Comment: SInce UFC ("Ultimate Fighting Championship") is in a billion-dollar deal with CBS, how much money is being paid to broadcast this event and who is getting paid? Is Trump or his family getting paid to stage this bout at the White House? Does the public get any monetary benefit for the use of public facilities and the endorsement of a public official (President Donald Trump)?
Comment: Do you think this MMA event is appropriate for the White House? What kind of message does this send, as the U.S. touts itself as the leader of the "civilized" world?
Texas Gov. Abbott says he’ll ‘impose 100% tariff’ on New Yorkers who move in
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5588695-abbott-tariffs-new-yorkers-texas-election/
Comment: Not sure what Abbott is trying to say, but he may be trying to be cute. If so, his joke telling is about as competent as his ability to be governor.
Trump's National Guard deployments aren't random. They were planned years ago
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/03/nx-s1-5593112/national-guard-mass-deportations-trump-2026
Comment: "President Trump's deployments of National Guard troops to U.S. cities have outraged his political rivals, tested legal precedents and led to nationwide protests."
"The courts are weighing in on their legality. But — if successful — they could also fulfill a long-running administration goal of employing America's military to aid in the mass deportation of immigrants without legal status, according to an NPR review of past comments from Trump and his allies. It's a move that would stray significantly from past federal use of the Guard, challenging laws that dictate how the U.S. military can be used domestically. And with the 2026 midterms looming, some experts worry Guard troops could even be used as a tool of systemic voter suppression and intimidation."
"Trump has sent troops into four Democratic-led cities and threatened to send them to several more, claiming they are needed to crack down on crime and protect federal immigration facilities and officers. Those deployments, and the White House's rhetoric around them, have regularly conflated violent crime and illegal immigration into a single crisis, blurring the lines around the role of the Guard and federal agents."
"Taken one at a time, the deployments can seem random or fickle — Trump will often muse about sending troops into a city, only to back track his comments and focus on a different city days later."
"But the president and several others in his inner circle — most notably Stephen Miller, a senior aide to Trump in his first term, and now Trump's right hand man on immigration — have long talked about using the National Guard to help with mass deportations and immigration raids, despite U.S. laws broadly preventing the military from being used for domestic policing. To get around those laws, both Trump and Miller have talked about invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to deploy the military within the U.S. in certain situations."
Comment: "Using the National Guard for immigration enforcement is an idea that Miller had talked about publicly in the years before."
"In 2023, Miller appeared on the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk's podcast to talk about how mass deportations under Trump's hopeful second term could work."
" 'In terms of personnel, you go to the red state governors, and you say, give us your National Guard. We will deputize them as immigration enforcement officers,' Miller explained. 'The Alabama National Guard is going to arrest illegal aliens in Alabama, and the Virginia National Guard in Virginia.' "
"Miller doesn't specify how that would be legal — under U.S. law, the military can't be used for domestic policing unless authorized by the Constitution or Congress. For Democratic-run states that don't comply, Miller said, the federal government would simply send the National Guard from a nearby Republican-run state."
Trump says ICE raids "haven't gone far enough"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-ice-raids-havent-gone-far-enough-60-minutes/
Comment: "President Trump, who campaigned on immigration and closing the border, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids 'haven't gone far enough'."
"As part of his crackdown on immigration, ICE agents have raided neighborhoods throughout the U.S. One video shows a mother being tackled by an agent. Tear gas was used in a Chicago residential neighborhood. Car windows have been smashed to grab drivers."
" 'I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,' Mr. Trump said."
"He said he's OK with the tactics being used by ICE 'because you have to get the people out.' "
Comment: Many of the linked articles on our Immigration/Border Security page describe other actions/tactics taken by ICE and CBP that Trump is OK with.
Video: ‘Grifting off the Presidency’ Fmr. Trump official blasts GOP’s excuses for his corruption - November 2, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uxKi56DxQQ
Comment: "Former DHS Chief of Staff during Donald Trump's first administration Miles Taylor, and former Special Counsel Norm Eisen join The Weekend to discuss Trump’s ongoing retribution campaign at the DOJ and how his family is cashing in on the Presidency."
FBI fires top official amid Kash Patel’s outrage over reports of agency jet use
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/02/fbi-fires-top-official-kash-patel-jet-use
Comment: "Patel reportedly became furious after revelation he flew to visit girlfriend as agency fires official who oversees fleet"
FBI Ousts Leader as Patel Fumes Over Attention to Agency Jet Use
Comment: "The FBI forced out a senior official overseeing aviation shortly after Director Kash Patel grew outraged about revelations of his publicly-available jet logs indicating he’d flown to see his musician girlfriend perform, said three people familiar with the situation."
"Steven Palmer, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, became the third head of the critical incident response group—which includes FBI pilots—to be fired or removed in Patel’s short regime, adding to a year filled with retributive terminations."
Comment: "Patel was angered this week by social media posts and news stories calling attention to his use of an FBI jet that arrived in State College, Pennsylvania, where his girlfriend, country music artist Alexis Wilkins, sang the national anthem at a wrestling match, said the individuals, who spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation."
"Palmer was told he needed to immediately resign or be fired, which the individuals said was at least partially connected to Patel’s fury over the negative media cycle on his personal travel."
"Palmer’s position included supervising the FBI’s aviation units, but Patel’s flight schedule was readily traceable through online tracking services and he reposted photos of himself with Wilkins at the event on his personal X account."
"The people familiar with the matter said they were baffled as to why Patel might’ve blamed Palmer for the travel details."
"FBI directors are required to use government aircraft for personal or business travel in order to maintain secure communications. But public attention of Patel’s weekend outing—fueled by an X post from a former FBI agent turned outspoken Patel critic—comes after Patel had criticized predecessors for personal travel on taxpayer-funded jets."
Trump tells Ilhan Omar to leave the country
Comment: President Donald Trump on Saturday went after Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for her Somali heritage, urging her to leave the country in a social media post, reprising an attack he used several times throughout his time in office."
" 'She should go back!' he wrote on Truth Social, alongside a video of Omar speaking to a crowd. It was not immediately clear when the event was, but the video of Omar speaking has been circulating among right-leaning social media accounts for at least a couple weeks."
"Omar was born in Somalia, fled a civil war in the country when she was 8, and arrived in the U.S. after spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp in 1995. She became an American citizen in 2000."
"Trump’s MAGA allies, including Laura Loomer, were quick to amplify his post across their social media channels."
"This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that the president has suggested Omar should be removed from the country."
Comment: If Donald Trump will attempt to insult, intimidate, and bully a duly elected United States Congressperson (and American citizen), Ilhan Omar, are any of us safe from his wrath and abuse of presidential power? This is why Donald Trump and his MAGA sycophants must be stopped.
Trump hosted 'Great Gatsby' Halloween party hours before SNAP funding lapsed
Comment: "President Donald Trump has come under fire after he hosted a 'Great Gatsby'-themed Halloween party just hours before millions of Americans lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits."
"The Friday night fête at Mar-a-Lago was themed 'A little party never killed nobody,' according to the White House, referencing the song from the 2013 film adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel."
"Guests were seen wearing 1920s attire and there were hosts in flapper attire greeting the invitees, which included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Ivanka and Tiffany Trump, and their husbands, Jared Kushner and Michael Boulos."
Comment: "Fitzgerald's 1925 novel has been celebrated by literary scholars for years for its depiction of the wealth and class divisions in the country that took place during the 1920s."
"Several Democrats noted the symbolism and criticized the president for throwing the bash while the government shutdown continues."
"Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin accused Trump of not caring about Americans who could go without SNAP benefits because of the shutdown."
" 'Last night, Trump made it even clearer that he doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself and his wealthy friends,' he said in a statement."
"Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy reshared a photo from the party on his social media and commented, 'The way he rubs his inhumanity in Americans' face never ceases to stun me.' "
For News Articles links from before November 1st, 2025, please go to one of the following, depending on the article date:
https://sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/old3-more-outrages-from-gop
https://sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/old2-more-outrages-from-gop
OR
https://sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/old-more-outrages-from-gop
There you will find a continuation of the news links & comments from the period prior to November 1, 2025. The article history can be viewed as follows:
www.dalecodemocrats.com (latest)
sites.google.com/view/dem3oldnews/home/ (May 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/dem2oldnews/home/ (Nov 2024 election - April 30, 2025)
sites.google.com/view/demoldnews/home/ (Prior to 2024 election)
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