AMBUSH IN THE OVAL OFFICE

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Photo CNN

As the Days Without National Shame Count remains steadfast at 0, 2 schoolyard bullies masquerading as president and vice president of the United States, ambushed their guest, a president of a valiant country at war. It was planned, it was a staged, it was National Inquirer level reality TV aimed at making Tr*mp and J.D. seem tough to the Make America Go Away braindead watching Fox, Newsmax, OAN and Russian State Media.

In less colorful language, it was just incredibly rude, sophomoric behavior.  Zelinsky is worldly, he knew he had to pay homage the Orange ego and to a lesser extent, to the Yale Hillbilly.  Zelinsky was ready to sign a transactional agreement, the only kind Tr*mp understands, to keep his country in the fight. What he did not know, nor did anyone else except the bully brothers, was that he was walking into a trap, a shocking manipulation of protocol and American history.  It was more than a new low in the oxymoron that is now American diplomacy, it was premediated backstabbing of the Ukrainian people and their tremendous sacrifices during the past 3 years of Russian atrocities.  It was theater, it was The Apprentice: World Leaders Version and it was yet another big show by an insecure, weak man that 77,000,000 Americans rotely voted for last November.  And it showed, again, a complete lack of understanding of how American security is premised as much on soft power, the rule of law and shared western values as it is on America’s unmatched military might.

Zelinsky, not cowering as expected, keeping his comments respectful but admirably refuting the lies and attacks, stood up for his country and pushed back with facts.  The King and his Jester were not about to listen to that, so the meeting ended with a snide but revealing comment “This is going to be great television”.  That is all it is to this president, a TV show with him as the star, firing people and world leaders at will because it makes him feel powerful.  And oh yea, no lunch for you Z. But more concerning is the incompetence and lack of intelligence of this administration in how to deal with allies, and how that is fundamentally different than dealing with autocrats, dictators and our enemies.  Not. The. Same. This is the rules-based world order being deconstructed, not a condo deal in Manhattan using daddy’s money and cheating your subcontractors.

No doubt the intellectually flatlined MAGA maniacs saw this all completely differently.  They saw it as it was intended to be seen, a victory by their very own strongman, standing up for America First.  The reality is that America does not even factor into the mindset of Tr*mp except as a tool to manipulate the base.  It is all about Tr*mp and everything, everything about him is all about money and power, America be damned.

FIRST THEY CAME FOR…

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Photo Credit New Republic

First they came for women’s rights, and I did not speak out—because I was not a woman.

Then they came for the Trans people, and I did not speak out—because I was not Trans.

Then they came for the FBI, CIA and DOJ, and I did not speak out—because I was not that.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

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Oh, and while the king was looking down

The jester stole his thorny crown

The courtroom was adjorned

No verdict was returned

Today, in a few moments, an adjudicated rapist, convicted felon, Traitor will be sworn in as president of the United States of America.  Read that again please.

The Traitor won a slight majority of the vote, but less than a third of all eligible voters.  No matter, we await a storm of bad decisions for America, many will be acted upon today, as there is no reason to delay the curtain of darkness descending across the land. 

So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry

And them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye

Singin’ “This’ll be the day that I die

This’ll be the day that I die”

Much of America, including most of the people who think they have reason to be happy, even gleefully smug today, will suffer. Many of those who believe in the Constitution, Democracy and the inherent good and inclusiveness of America, have given up.  That is exactly what the oligarchs, kleptocrats and lawless billionaires want you to do.  In fact, they need you to do that in order for them to satiate their greed.  No, do not give in to them.  Fight back, every day.  We are all exhausted, but do not give in.  No sunshine patriots here.

But do give yourself this day of mourning and acknowledge our overwhelming grief for the country.  Then gather your strength, your passion and your love of country, and get ready to fight again tomorrow.

Freedom is never given freely by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. -Martin Luther King

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL

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Who is the most corrupt, inept, misogynistic, racist, sexist, anti-Constitution, anti-democracy, flat out over the cuckoo’s nest wacko of them all? 

This second wave of Tr*mp appointments and nominations does not yet have a clear answer to this question. The first wave of course had slam dunk winner druggie pedophile Matt Gaetz, who was even a bit too much for the compliant Republican apologists and lapdogs drinking the orange Kool Aid.  This group may be more competitive, and no clear winner may emerge until, well, someone does something really stupid.  Any day now.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy-Stephen Miller. Straight out of central casting (“Hey, I need a stone faced, evil looking Nazi for this next scene”), another election liar, he promoted articles from white nationalist publications such as VDARE and has proudly made the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of extremists…and there is more.

Counter Terrorism Chief-Sebastian Gorka. London born, the former Hungarian TV personality and Fox News contributor was permanently banned from YouTube for repeatedly spreading lies about a stolen 2020 election, had his first radio show (America First) banned for copyright violations, is a member of the Hungarian Order of Vitez, an organization under the control of Nazis in WWII, and was detained in 2016 for attempting to board a plane at Ronald Reagan Airport with a 9MM handgun…and there is more.

Co-Leader Department of Government Efficiency-Vivek Ramaswamy. He partnered with Chinese state-owned CITIC Group and through a series of questionable maneuvers including investment in his own company, walked away with $175,000,000.  Ramaswamy  claims he is a “scientist” and stated “I developed a number of medicines” and…no he didn’t, he was an entrepreneur and financer. He has cofounded a number of companies, did some unregistered lobbying with South Carolina behind closed door sessions, wants to use the U.S. Miliary to attack Mexican drug cartels, and has repeatedly claimed the Jan 6 Insurrection was an inside job.  Like a few others on this list, he claims tech companies stole the 2020 election…and there is more.

Ambassador to France-Charles Kushner.  Another convicted felon and now an ex-con, good son Jared’s dad, was convicted in 2005 of illegal campaign contributions, witness tampering and tax evasion, so he enjoyed prison for 2 years and was disbarred in 3 states.  This upstanding businessman once hired a prostitute to seduce his brother in law, recorded it and sent the tape to his sister. Just think about that. But he is a good dad. He once met with the president of Harvard and quickly followed with a $2,500,000 donation to the school.  Soon thereafter, son Jared, his high school grades and test scores Mariana Trench deep below minimum Ivy League standards, was admitted to Harvard…and there is more.

Ambassador to Greece-Kimberly Guilfoule. Another former Fox News something or other where she agreed to a $4,000,000+ settlement with an assistant for sexual harassment. The assistant claimed Guilfoule was at times naked in the office and shared photos of her male lovers genitalia.  At several fundraising events she bragged about Gavin Newsom’s large penis, sigh.  She apparently checks most of the boxes of being in the Tr*mp inner circle of dis-appointments…and there is more.

Ambassador to Israel-Mike Huckabee. Baptist minister, another Christian Nationalist, claimed Obama grew up in Kenya (nope, did not), used $50,000 of his company money for a trip to Qatar and then publicly praised the country.  Another election denier (liar)…and there is more.

Director of FBI- Kash Patel. Former Attorney General William Barr once told Tr*mp that if he considered naming Patel as head of the FBI it would happen “over my dead body”.  Patel wants to close down FBI headquarters in DC (Russia, China and drug warlords thank you), he is widely recognized as having lied and lied and lied some more about specific FBI operations and their intelligence findings.  Yet another blatant Tr*mp lap dog for sure…and there is more.

Center for Disease Control-Dave Weldon.  Yes, of course,  another vaccine safety denier and has said Jesus is one of his biggest political influencers.  Was white Jesus a Republican? He was president of the Alliance of Health Care Sharing Ministries, a trade group claiming to be an alternative to health insurance, but with no legal obligation to pay medical bills.  Weldon has said autism is caused by vaccinations, not untypical of a Christian Nationalist…and there is more.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator. Mehmet Oz-dual Turkish-U.S. citizen medical doctor, banned from presenting by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery due to academic dishonesty (so, plagiarism). Oz was paid over $50,000,000 to promote a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme for Usana Health Services.  Jumped on the insanity bandwagon and promoted hydroxychloroquine (malarial drug) as effective cure for COVID-19 (nope, definitely not).  Purely coincidentally, he owns $600,000+ of stock of companies manufacturing hydroxychloroquine and, in a tragic example of accepting “collateral damage”, endorsed a 2-3% child mortality rate as acceptable for opening schools during the pandemic.  The Wizard owns untold hundreds of thousands of dollars in health companies that benefit directly from Medicare…and there is more.

Secretary of Department of Education- Linda McMahon.  She does not have any teaching experience, nor education management experience. But, hey, that’s OK as she is the former head of the World Wrestling Entertainment (an entire industry that is as fake as fake gets).  Somehow, while running this illustrious organization, she was hit with a lawsuit accusing her of failing to act against the sexual abuse of children in the Ring Boys scandal.  Multiple senior and star wrestling WWE employees were known to have sexually abused many of these young boys. And not a priest in site. McMahon claimed she had received a bachelor degree in education.  Not true.  Her bachelor was in French, which maybe requires an education to learn and perhaps that was the confusion…and there is more.

Secretary of Department of Veterans Affairs-Doug Collins.  A former military chaplain, Collins is just one more minion that has stated lies regarding election fraud in Georgia.  In fact, the Georgia Republican Secretary of State has called him a liar. Collins opposed the Affordable Care Act, rejects global warming science and vehemently opposes same sex marriage…and there is more.

Secretary of Homeland Security-Kristi Noem.  She proudly boasted about killing the family puppy because she was, well, she was just damned angry.  But puppycide was not enough and he needed more of a kick, so she tied the family goat to a pole and shot the poor bleating creature.  Hold, hold, yes, more coming.  Noem is not a good shot and merely painfully wounded the goat, so she left the suffering animal, got more ammo, returned and finished it off with another shot. I wonder how she handles her anger with kittens and bunnies. When her daughter failed the South Dakota real estate appraiser license test a second time, the maximum number allowed, Noem summoned a significant number of her senior administration executives to the governor’s mansion and soon thereafter her daughter had the license.  As governor she so completely mismanaged the Covid-19 Pandemic that South Dakota had one of worst infection rates on the planet and the highest death rate in U.S.  Emulating her cult leader, she claimed she met in person with Kim Jon-un, but that is an absolute lie, …and there is more.

Director of Voice of America-Kari Lake.  Did we say election denier?  Of course she is but ambitiously spreads that lie to other elections such as her loss for Arizona Governor. She is another Fox news person and spreader of lies about the Covid-19 pandemic, you have to wonder if all of these Tr*mp miscreants attended the same Tr*mp University dumb-ass brainwashing course.  Lake brought a lawsuit against Arizona, challenging her loss for governor, and she lost, then lost, and lost again at the 3 levels of Arizona state courts. Lawsuits against her however are more successful, she was successfully sued by her county recorder for defamation.  And just to make this more strange, she claimed drag queens were harmful to children and yet, allowed her minor daughter to attend a private drag queen event..and there is more.

This insanity is exhausting. Is the Orange King simply yanking America’s chain?  Or is he that far gone that common sense and at least trying to fake competency are but a distant memory?  

If you possess a modicum of decency and common sense, if you have the rudiments of rational thinking, if you simply have the brain of a Scarecrow, you may be exhausted and bordering on numb, looking for a way to survive this onslaught of assaults on America.

If you are a member of the Orange Cult and dutifully worship your Orange King, none of this matters to you.  And so, here we are.

SEND IN THE CLOWNS

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“When the clown enters the palace, the clown does not become a King, the palace becomes a circus”. Turkish Proverb.

Weeks away from the greatest show on earth and already the Bozo Brigade is piling into the MAGA clown car. No one who did not vote for the former president is surprised. Disgusted, sickened, but not surprised. As for the Made America Go Away sheep, they are eagerly sucking in the exhaust behind the car on the way to the Forum. Sure, there are a few, very few, Republicans in government who are feigning signs of being uncomfortable. Rest assured they will revert to being loyal, spineless bootlickers and confirm each clown if the Dictator for a Day tells them so.

Director of National Intelligence-Tulsi Gabbard. Previously called Trump “corrupt” and “unfit”, has never worked in Intelligence, spread discredited Russian propaganda, and tightly wrapped up in Russian based conspiracy theories, seems to have no issues with Assad and Putin from her past comments. Unqualified and unfit.

Secretary of Defense-Pete Hegseth, Fox and Friends host Pete Hegseth, yea, nothing to even say here. But there is. Start with a 2017 accusation of sexual assault, a resume positive reason for the convicted felon and adjudicated rapist Tr*mp to appoint Hegseth to the job. Fittingly, Hegseth believes women should not be allowed in combat roles. His national Guard unit security manager on the antiterrorism team considered him an “Insider Threat” due to Hegseth’s bicep tattoo associated with white supremacists groups. Hegseth was pulled by his DC National Guard unit from guarding Joe Biden’s January 2021 inauguration. Quite a resume for Secretary of Defense.

Head of Department of Health and Human Services– JFK Jr., the vaccine opponent (of ALL vaccines, stating they are the cause of Autism among other lies), once compared vaccines to the Holocaust. A big time fluoride conspiracy nut in the vein of fictitious general Jack D. Ripper in the movie Dr Strangelove; “Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had top face”. Kennedy has claimed a worm ate part of his brain (well, maybe so!) and once left a dead bear cub in Central Park. Entire Kennedy family has disowned him.

Secretary of State-Mark Rubio, well, he’s not any of the things the others are, seems relatively normal (relatively, everything has a caveat now) and might actually be able to learn on the job, but at what price?

Ambassador to Israel-Mike Huckabee, darling of the far right Christian group United For Israel who are big believers in Biblical End-Times prophecy, you know, fire and brimstone and all Jews convert to Christianity and we float up to heaven and…you get the vision. Huckabee thinks being gay is “an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle”, lacks diplomatic experience, of course. Wrote a children’s book titled “the KiDS GUiDE to President Trump” that stated “Get Congress to approve death penalty for drug smugglers and human traffickers”. A children’s book!

Ambassador to UN-Elise Stefanik, NY Congresswoman, believes in unconditional aid to Israel “what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions”. She considers the UN antisemitic. Stefanick lacks any real diplomatic and UN experience, surprise! She tried to get Tr*mp”s impeachment expunged from the Congressional Record

Attorney General-Matt Gaetz, the Head Bozo. He was under investigation by the FBI and recently the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct, illegal drug use, sex trafficking and a host of other niceties before he resigned. To say he lacks character and moral compass does not quite capture who he is. The man would not be hireable as a public defender in a small town. He relished sharing sex videos of women he slept with to others in Congress (and they did what about this?), and bragged about how he crushed Viagra and mixed it with Red Bull for his all night sex parties, including sex with a minor (yes, there is a witness). Eerily looks like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

Credit Eduardo Bera

There are more coming; a tsunami of the unfit, inexperienced, conspiratorial cultist , to say nothing of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Born to wealth, he is going to help run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE, Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency by the way), donated at least $130,000,000 to the cause, has almost destroyed Twitter, turned it into a hate speech bot-posting mega joke, gets off on spreading lies “(UK) Civil War is brewing”, conspiracy theories (attack on Paul Pelosi), attacking Twitter/X advertisers “Go f–k themselves”, manipulated the stock of Tesla, stating the company had secured funding that it had not, named 2 of his 10 kids X AE and Exa Dark Siderea, ad nauseam. Sure, put him in charge of efficiency. He has such an innate understanding of how people work and what motivates.

It’s not over, it’s only beginning. You’ll need to take notes to keep up.