war – Site Title

The Muzzle? (Archives)

Update: It’s interesting how the posts or articles I wrote way back when things were more sedate and not as explosive as it is now is coming into play again. The blockade at the Straits of Hormuz is taking place and it is a show of power and more specifically to show who has the upper hand. How will it turn out? This is the question on everybody’s mind. Scary? Yes, because a new world order is emerging, not one of diplomacy but one that blows off steam from both ends of you know what! The end result? Who knows, TACO might, just might pull back at the last moment as he has done many times before things escalate further or he might thump his chest and spew “hate” as he is doing now. Who put grandpa in charge? That’s my question.

A friend asked me yesterday, “Why don’t you write more about politics?” My answer to him, “I’m trying to stay away from it and trying to keep it at a bare minimum.” I do mean that but the current administration makes it hard to do so. If it’s not one thing than it’s another. Drama and plenty of it is at the core of this administration.

Associated Press refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and that set a chain of events in motion. They were barred from access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and events held at the White House. The AP has filed a lawsuit calling it unconstitutional.

“The constitution prevents the president of the United States or any other government official from coercing journalists or anyone else into using official government vocabulary to report the news.”

Does it matter? Not one iota!

A district judge and a Trump appointee declined AP’s request for full access to the White House temporarily.

Trump has said, “We’re going to keep them out until such time as they agree that it’s the Gulf of America.”

Do you see what’s happening here?

Joy Reid, a political commentator and television host was fired by MSNBC due to network restructuring, that was the official claim. The lady is Black and is an outspoken critic of Trump and she voices her opinions on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Her reporting is of the no holds barred variety. Katie Phang, of Asian descent, also lost her show but she will remain at MSNBC in a less visible position.

Trump celebrated the firing by saying this:

“Lowlife Chairman of ‘Concast,” Brian Roberts, the owner of Ratings Challenged NBC and MSNBC, has finally gotten the nerve up to fire one of the least talented people in television, the mentally obnoxious racist, Joy Reid.”

Really? Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?

In her final show, Joy Reid had this say.

“How do you resist – when fascism isn’t just coming. It’s already here? So, what, if anything can you do about it?”

She further added: “The first rule is to fight back, to never stop resisting. Do not obey in advance, as (anti-Trump historian) Tim Snyder put it…..Even if it’s scary or uncomfortable or inconvenient, just keep saying no, or finding creative ways to say no in small ways and large.”

Fascism is defined as a “far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist ideology characterized by a dictatorial leader” where society and economy is controlled by government and where “free press” as we know it might become a thing of the past. The message is “bow to the king and kiss the ring” or else you will suffer the same fate!

Just Words?

A friend sent me this article early this morning and it hit the nail on the coffin where Trump is concerned. Read on to find out why.

An Aussie’s reply to Trump’s rant about ‘NATO not being there for us.’

Mate. You run a country with 600,000 homeless people sleeping on the street tonight. A country where 40% of adults can’t cover a $400 emergency without borrowing money. A country where insulin costs more than a car payment and people are rationing it to survive. A country where medical debt is the number 1 cause of bankruptcy. A country where women are dying in hospital car parks because doctors are too scared of abortion laws to treat a miscarriage.

You lock up more of your own citizens than any nation on earth. More than China. More than Russia. More than North Korea. The land of the free has 2 million people in cages, and a quarter of them haven’t even been convicted of anything. They’re just too poor to make bail.

Your life expectancy is going backwards. You’re the only developed nation where that’s happening. Your infant mortality rate is worse than Cuba’s. Your kids do active shooter drills between maths and English while you sell the gunmaker’s stock to your mates.

Your minimum wage hasn’t moved in 15 years. You’ve got teachers working 2 jobs and veterans sleeping under bridges and you just spent a trillion dollars flattening a country that didn’t attack you.

And you’ve got a convicted felon, adjudicating raping, paedophile protecting, porn star shagging insurrectionist running the biggest dumpster fire war campaign since the Taliban thanked you very much for losing again.

And you’re calling Greenland poorly run?

Greenland has universal healthcare. Free education. One of the lowest incarceration rates in the world. Nobody goes bankrupt there because they got sick. Nobody dies in a waiting room because their insurance said no.

“NATO wasn’t there when we needed them.” When exactly was that, champ? September 11? Because NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in history FOR YOU. Soldiers from dozens of countries deployed, fought, bled, and died in Afghanistan FOR YOU. Australia wasn’t even in NATO and we still showed up. For 20 years.

And you pulled out at 2 a.m. without telling anyone and left them to deal with the mess.

So maybe before you start calling other countries poorly run, have a look at your own backyard, you spray-tanned aluminium siding salesman. The only thing poorly run in this picture is your f**king mouth.

Credit: Jim Scroggins – original author unknown

He said it like it needed to be said and that part about, “have a look at your own backyard,” really hits home doesn’t it?

The Psychobabble (Archives)

Update: Another 48 hours? Another two days? Another day? We’ve seen it all and as the latest deadline draws near, the world is waiting to see if he will backtrack again after having thrown the gauntlet down. Will there be another deadline coming up or will he do the unthinkable? He’s backed himself into a corner and coming out of it is going to be difficult if not impossible. The man who loves to see himself as the “winner” and as someone who does everything better than anyone else with lots of “common sense” and “acumen” is facing an enemy who’s about to show him up in the worst possible way. Go big or go home, those are the choices. I think that this time around, he has bit off more than he can chew.

It’s coming from the highest office in the land and from the Liar-in-Chief and a convicted felon at that.

Not really surprising you might say BUT it is. Liars lie and convicted felons? Well, they are adapt at unleashing more crimes especially if they have not been held accountable the first time around. The man in question has 34 convictions to his name. What does that tell you? Perhaps, he is not fit to be POTUS?

According to one source, America still has the #1 economy. It’s just a matter of time before he wrecks that as well. As for America’s “reputation, trustworthiness, dependability, morality, believability and exemplary conduct, Donald Trump and his political followers have managed to quite literally cause a global earthquake on the magnitude of 10……he has certainly ruined the image of the United States beyond its borders.”

If that’s not enough, the daily “Psychobabble” coming out of the White House and from one person in particular is hard to bear and for SOME of us, it is akin to mental torture.

The lies keep on coming and his dreams of acquiring Canada as the 51st state to Greenland being next in line is jarring to say the least. The man has big dreams of which nightmares are made of. He spouts lies forgetting that he is on the world stage and that fact checkers are hard at work proving him wrong. Even if they do, he’s off to his next rant repeating those lies over and over again and with a straight face I might add while the rest of the world cringes at those bold-faced lies.

It does not matter because Orange Jesus will stand on his head if he has to and declare it to be the truth and nothing but the truth. It’s what liars do but the fact that the “lies” are used blatantly to bolster his image and to make him seem like Mighty Mouse is scary but what’s scarier is the fact that his supporters are backing him up and eating everything up and that folks is unimaginable to the normal mind at least.

21st Century Coup? (Archives)

Update: This was his latest message to Iran filled with expletives meant to “bully” and bring it down to its knees. Malignant narcissism at its best? Here is the message:

“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!” Time to invoke the 25th Amendment?

Trump’s power grab and brazen attempts at moving away from elected officials and centralizing power in a few selected hands is more than alarming but is it an attempt at hijacking government as is and establishing an authoritarian entity, one to his liking and that of co-president Elon Musk?

Some call it, “robbing the poor to enrich the wealthy.” Nobel laureate, Paul Krugman says, “Mr. Trump’s philosophy is simple: let the uber-rich do whatever they want, with little or no oversight. The result will be vast wealth for a select few while life grows nastier and shorter for the many.” Furthermore, it is all directed at “seeking retribution against his political opponents.” He further adds that the 47th president is postering like a monarch and “the real danger is letting his illusion of power become reality.”

Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!

Rule of Law? Out the window!

The Constitution? Who cares!

Democracy? Only if it panders to the “me” aspect.

Fascism? It is in the making!

Harold Meyerson observes in The American Prospect, “As to the wider world, if we ever sought to be that beacon on the hill, we’re now the bully on the hill. America, Trumpified.”

Trump 2.0 is front and center and it is an accelerated version causing destruction as he sweeps away everything standing in his way and moving towards being the de facto leader for life!

Lord Have Mercy!

Trump’s Downward Spiral (Archives)

Update: I wrote this piece way back when he was eyeing his second-term, unfortunately he made it. However, the insults, the bullying, talking out of both sides of his you know what, the all about me concept, and add aggression to it and you get the full picture of his presidency. Oh, I forgot lying. He does it like a pro and without flinching. Is his presidency on a downward spiral? Looks like it but who knows? He might survive this debacle as well. One thing is for sure, Iran is giving as good as it gets and they have got his “goat” right now!

The man with the not so HUGE hands and the perpetual orange face decided to take it one further when faced with questions at the National Black Journalists Association Convention. Shocking is not the word for it but stupidity sure is. His answers did not make sense and his rant, well that is typical Trump.

He went from calling a reporter rude, nasty and wasting his time and as if that wasn’t enough he resorted to racial tropes saying that VP Kamala Harris “happened to turn Black” during her political career as if it was a pre-planned choice.

The man is old, his cognitive skills are declining, his IQ is questionable especially in light of his recent rantings on why Harris, a product of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father should NOT call herself BLACK! His vicious insults hit below the belt and he takes the saying, “When they go low, we go higher,” to a new all-time LOW. The man doesn’t even know what that means. His motto is, “When they go low, I go much lower and stay there to wrestle in the mud!” Perhaps, insults is all he has left of a crumbling political landscape as he watches it take a dive knowing full well that he doesn’t stand a chance against Harris, debate or otherwise.

Harris has made it crisp and clear. “If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.” The gauntlet has been thrown, let’s see if the orange TV personality and former president will accept the challenge. One thing’s for sure, it will be a massacre of the worst kind. Going up against a former prosecutor is a daunting task but pair it with a much younger individual and you’ve got disaster on your hands. “Old,” “feeble,” and all the other derogatory insults he piled on Biden is coming back to haunt him and rightfully so. What goes around, comes around.

“Ding-Dong,” or not, Harris is ready to trump Trump and not in a subtle manner either. The lady has her wits about her and she knows exactly where to hit to draw the least amount of blood but enough to slay the dragon or rather an “old” and “feeble” man who deserves trumping. She is capable of doing it without so much as an insult or histrionics. The wannable dictator and convicted felon needs to be shown the door and who better than Kamala Harris to do just that.

Harris is well on her way to victory having garnered enough votes to become the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee and having raised $310 million US in July, double the amount Trump did in the same month. She is gaining in strength and popularity and driving Trump off his rocker!

Rihanna said it best in her song, “Take a Bow,” and it goes like this.

“But you put on quite a show

Really had me goin’

But now it’s time to go

Curtains finally closin’

That was quite a show

Very entertaining

But it’s over now

Go on and take a bow.”

Hey Donald, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

Breaking News!

This was released by President J. Trump.

I AM PLEASE TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE INDEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTIVE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

Hmm….I must say he is getting good at walking back. Why is the message in all caps? You have to ask him that along with the spelling mistakes. I’m waiting to see what Iran says about this. They’ll probably have a different take on it. Where is he getting this from? United States of America and Iran have had very good and productive conversations over the last two days? Delusional and not all there but at least the world is not going to hell in a hand basket!

Here is Iran’s response.

Iran’s foreign ministry had this to say:

“We deny what US President Donald Trump said regarding negotiations taking place between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Can you trust someone who can’t spell “which?” Perhaps he had witch hunt on his mind which would make sense because this saber rattling of the highest order was just that. Is he going to claim a glorious victory? What do you think?!!

Loose Lips Sink Ships

An article about President Trump and his inability to keep “secrets.”

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com

Update: I wrote this during Trump’s first term and nothing has changed it seems. If anything, he is shooting off “bullets” before his mind can catch up with him! The bully is front and center and he is using the office of the presidency to back him up. Talks of taking Greenland by force, talking down to the allies and single-handedly dismantling the “Old World Order” is all within his grasp and he is leaving nothing to chance. Now, he has issued an ultimatum to Iran thinking or rather not thinking which is more the case. The problem is Iran is not taking it sitting down and it looks like the “bully” has met his match! Time is running out and it is a wait and see approach now. “Playing chicken” is not going to end well for the man in diapers but that hasn’t stopped him before so why should it now? Will he walk it back as he has done before? We will find out soon enough.

This is what I had to say back then.

The 45th President is in hot water again and this just days after the controversial firing of FBI Director, James Comey. The president alleged that the firing was due to Comey “not doing a good job,” and instead of leaving it at that, he went on to tweet a thinly veiled threat suggesting that there was a taped recording of his conversation with Comey further adding, “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press.” That threw him into the eye of the hurricane where he has been ever since.

As if that wasn’t enough to throw his presidency into a downward spiral, the president was off and running to his next debacle. This one involves allegations that he divulged classified information to Russian diplomats in the Oval Office. The Washington Post reported that Trump revealed highly classified information on the Islamic State group during his meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador, Sergey Kialyak. Yes folks, ignorance is bliss and where the new President is concerned, it’s enough to “sink ships,” or his Presidency.

The latest morsel of “red meat” was just what the press needed to send them scrambling to get the best angle on the developing story as dreams of “impeachment” riddled through the minds of die-hard Trump haters. Not so fast people. There is such a thing as damage control and the White House has been doing just that sending in the “big guns” to take care of business. If Spicer’s “stare down the press” tactics hasn’t worked, well, maybe sending in National Security Advisor HR McMaster might just do the job. In his no-nonsense fashion, he denied that the President had revealed, “Intelligence sources or methods,” but reviewed, “a range of common threats to our two countries including threats to civil aviation.” Was that enough to calm the “storm” and bring it to a screeching halt? Guess again.

Trump’s questionable tweets and actions have put his Presidency in turmoil once again and not even all the President’s men and women can put it back together again. This latest drama is one of his own making and if he doesn’t stop shooting off tweets from the White House during the early morning hours instead of getting some sleep, this situation is only going to get worse. Perhaps, he should take a tip from the 44th President, Barack Obama, when the going gets tough, go golfing. There is no better way to let off some steam than by shooting a small ball into a round hole at the same time cussing under your breath about all the wrongs of the world that needs righting. A surefire way to keep the lid on an explosive situation and you come off looking like a winner.

One last thing, the office of the President deserves a modicum of decorum and spouting off “secrets” at the drop of a coin and shooting off tweets like a teenager is not the way to get it.

–

“Stupid is as Stupid Does” (Archives)

Nothing much has changed except for the fact that “stupidity” can be a precursor to war! We are right in the middle of one with no idea where it is going and why it got started in the first place. I bet they don’t know either.

Trump’s modus operandi is always the same. Open mouth and insert foot! The man doesn’t care if it’s the truth, lies or made-up exaggerations. It’s all fair game to him as long as it gives him the upper hand but that is only in his mind. We know better and the fact-checkers know better too. His racist-tinged lies, inaccuracies and hoopla are affecting his campaign but he doesn’t care. Trump knows best because he is the ‘man’ as far as he is concerned.

On Thursday, he stepped up to the podium again and inserted more than his foot in his mouth this time around. He degraded veterans and gold-star families by saying that mega-donor, Miriam Adelson is a national hero. Not realizing what he had just said, he went on his merry way. According to the self-proclaimed ‘stable genius’ they are one and the same. “The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest award you can get as a civilian, it’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor, but civilian version. It’s actually much better, because everyone gets the Congressional Medal of Honor – that’s soldiers. They’re either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead.”

Hmm…..what else would you expect from someone who received five military draft deferments during the Vietnam War and is absolutely clueless about what it means to put your life on the line for your country.

“Ignorance is the absence of knowledge, stupidity is the refusal to acquire or accept it.” Unknown

Kevin D. Williamson says in his article, “Lazy, Stupid, Childish,” that “Trump’s three big problems as a candidate are precisely the same qualities that mitigated the worst of what might have been a much worse Trump presidency the last time around. He is lazy, he is stupid, and he is childish.”

Perfectly said but let’s add ‘crazy’ to that as well. He further adds, “Trump’s stupidity is wrapped up in his laziness. Anyone who has heard Trump speak or read his unedited writing knows that he is not an especially intelligent man. But his native stupidity is compounded by his ignorance – the fact that he is too lazy to do his homework and acquire the kind of grasp of the issues that would make him a more effective candidate.”

No chance of that ever happening because Mr. Trump marches to his own drumbeat and his stupidity arises from that one simple fact. Mr. Williamson knows exactly why Trump’s stupidity is front and center. He says, “there is a reason he wanders all over the place in his speeches – it isn’t only arrogance and self-centeredness. He’s dumber than nine chickens.”

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Martin Luther King

Michael Moore, “Fahrenheit 9/11” director is hopeful that Donald Trump will do more of the same as he faces off with Kamala Harris on the debate stage in September. His prediction is that, “Trump could struggle when facing the Democratic VP onstage. I think I’m going to see what I was hoping for for eight years. Once anybody gets under that thin skin anything could happen. On live TV? Trump could explode, start talking like a 12-year-old, or get up and leave.”

Or, he could resort to name-calling, race-baiting and jump up and down like the spoiled little brat he is. Regardless of what he does, he will be facing off against a much better candidate who knows where to strike while the iron is hot. And that folks is the absolute truth and it will be something to watch.

Pete Hegseth (Archives)

This is what the United States SECRETARY OF WAR had to say about the Iran war. He defended Operation Epic Fury like he did those tattoos he carries. He went on to say Donald Trump was righteously avenging every wrong having been done to every American servicemember over multiple generations. “A man who always puts Americans first,” talking about Cadet Bone Spurs, was now going to “finally draw the line after 47 years of Iranian belligerence.”

Then he went on to tout American strength and might. “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump we are finishing it.”

Hmm…he had a lot more to say but in similar vein. “Turns out the regime that chanted ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’ was gifted death from America and death from Israel,” finishing with a smirk on his face.

One source went on to say, “deluded people in the service of cult-like devotion should never be put in charge of lethal weapons.”

I totally agree.

Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, was sworn into his new role by Vice President JD Vance on January 18th.

“When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense.” Was it missing? The warrior culture I mean.

He further added, “He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on lethality, meritocracy, warfighting, accountability and readiness.” He also said, “this is the most important deployment of my life.”

All fine and good. Let’s take a good hard look at the 29th secretary of defense. First of all, he is the least qualified person to ever serve in this position. However, he has two things going for him according to Michael J. Hicks, an Opinion Contributor with USA Today.

“First he doesn’t give a whit about our Constitution. Indeed, he seems eager to fire generals based solely on their willingness to obey the legal orders of the reelected president.”

Hmm….

One of the two characteristics that make him a perfect candidate to serve under Trump.

Second, “Hegseth’s private life provides close parallels to those of the 47th president. Hegseth has cheated on at least two of his three wives, divorcing two.”

By the way, is the President aware that Hegseth once claimed on national TV that he hasn’t washed his hands for 10 years because, “germs are not a real thing. I can’t see them; therefore they’re not real.” He later claimed it was much ado about nothing. So, what does the 47th president and self-professed germophobe think about this and more importantly did they shake hands? He’s good-looking so germs don’t matter that much right?

Let’s look at Pete Hegseth’s tattoos. The man has multiple tattoos and two of them are often associated with extremist groups. The chest tattoo of the Jerusalem cross and an arm tattoo of the Latin phrase, “Deus Vult,” meaning “God Wills it.” Hegseth gave pushback saying, “I don’t give a damn – but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at (Trump’s) DoD.”

It did but for targeting immigrants with tattoos. Trump thinks immigrants with tattoos are all criminals. What’s good for the goose is also good for the gander? Not in this administration.

If you kowtow to the “new Messiah” all things are possible is the message. Tattoos, sexual assault charges and no qualifications don’t matter. If you do the bidding, you’ve got it made!

Gaggle of Fools (Archives)

I thought it was appropriate to repost this article again at a time when the so called self-proclaimed “Peace President” has both feet firmly planted in a war that will have dire consequences in the long run. He’s not worried about that, he’s worried about how the world will view him. Is he bored?

Do we care? Do the drapes in the White House ballroom look great when 4 servicemen had given up their lives for who knows why? No plans, no objectives, and no goals. Well, goals he has. He wants to be the one to say that he brought whatever it is to the Middle East, he doesn’t know what that is yet. He’ll make up the reasons as he goes along. Big talk, reckless babbling, chest thumping, AND no clear path forward. Do we care if he is bored? Not one iota. Do we care about the number of lives lost and the long-term implications of “poking the bear?” Absolutely. Fools abound and there is a gaggle of them holding court and that right there is the problem.

Photo by Musa Tuğrul Karataş on Pexels.com

“Common sense is a flower that doesn’t grow in everyone’s garden.” Unknown

Trump is calling the Signal breach debacle a ‘witch hunt’ and Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, is standing on his head and denying that the Signal chat messages contained any classified materials. However, The Atlantic published those messages on Wednesday and it was clear to everyone whether you’re an expert on operational security or not, that a massive breach of sensitive information had taken place. The Trump regime is sticking to wordplay. More specifically, “Attack plans vs. War plans.” Does it matter? According to them, it does.

Instead of taking accountability and trying to correct a mistake, they are thumping their chests and blowing smoke in every direction. However, the truth remains. One source had this to say, “We don’t provide that level of information on unclassified systems, in order to protect the lives and safety of the servicemembers carrying out these strikes. If we did, it would be wholly irresponsible. My most junior analysts know not to do this.”

The Defence Secretary should have known this if he had been qualified. Therein lies the truth of the matter.

“Sometimes the majority only means that all the fools are on the same side.” Unknown