I may just be surrendering to stereotypes, but I'd expect the general population of veterans to lean strongly towards being Trump supporters. How easy will it be to "support" them without finding yourself supporting a pro-Trump rally as well? I mean, I understand that the Veterans' Administration is being targeted for something like 80,000 layoffs by the end of the month. And I understand that veterans, in general, have priority in hiring for federal jobs, and so are bearing a disproportionate percentage of the DOGE hits to federal jobs. But that doesn't mean the veterans who show up to be 'supported' aren't going to be overwhelmingly Trump supporters, and maybe they'll make that known.
Marko Rubio has said that the Trump administration is meeting with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia to acquire a list of concessions Ukraine is willing to offer to Trump (for Trump's triumphant delivery to Putin at their later meeting). It's not a negotiation after all. It's another pressure campaign against Ukraine on behalf of Russia.
Today's supposedly the day that the Trumpkan/Republicans in the House demonstrate their fealty to Trump by passing a continuing resolution to fund his favored federal programs until September. Trump has decreed, in all caps, that there shall be "NO DISSENT". We'll have to wait and see if he can force that one through--it's already beyond Mike Johnson's ability to wrangle. But there are few indications that they're going to buck Trump on this.
(Not likely they're gonna be able to pass the budget outline to go along with it. That, and a bypass or increase of the federal debt limit, will likely take longer to work out.)
It's sounds like they have included an increase in pay for our military. I wonder how that jives with the huge cuts they are asking the Pentagon to make?
Musk is saying most federal spending is entitlements, big one to eliminate. So they are going to throw Grandpa and Grandma in the nursing homes out on the streets.
They have eliminated the exemption from student loan paybacks if you are working in a care facility for a certain number of years. I know they have a similar program for medical professionals if they work in undeserved rural areas where it is hard to attract medical personnel because of lower pay etc. I would assume that has been eliminated too. So good luck getting medical care in rural areas.
Correcting myself… It was an official "White House statement" that referred to Trump but did not directly quote him, and Medicaid was included in the stuff supposedly 'off limits' to Musk and DOGE.
I'm thinking to congratulate Zelenskyy's negotiating team in the peace talks in Saudi Arabia. They've managed to get a joint statement along with the United States issued, calling for a 30 day cease fire in the Russian/Ukraine war. That's much better than I thought they'd get out of it, and I was expecting it to take rather longer. My first thought is that Zelenskyy's team seems to have gotten one over on Trump. (Might have helped that Marco Rubio is a false convert to the Trump cause. Rubio's lack of an ethical position of his own may have made him amenable to a suggestion that seems like a quick win for the Trump cause.)
CNN is saying that the US has restored aid and intel sharing to Ukraine. Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire. Now they are waiting on Russia's response.
Something tells me that this already ain't workin' out the way Trump had it planned (to the extent that Trump ever plans anything except stirrin' the pot and hopin' to be able to grab the entrée out first for himself).
The Ukrainians seem to have managed a way for him to claim a headline, and he grabbed for it. And suddenly their position is much better than it was yesterday.
The House passed their 'continuing resolution' to fund the government through September. (Mostly due to Trump's insistence; Johnson's pleas didn't move enough House Trumpkans.) Now they've got to get it past a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. I'm not sure what the odds are for that.
I'd been wondering what concessions Canada had extracted for pulling back on its electricity export tariffs. Turns out the 25% U.S. tariff on imported steel and aluminum is now world-wide, imposed on everybody, rather than specific to Canada, Mexico, and China. (China has an another 20% added on, but Canada only gets hit with the now 'standard' 25% tariff.) It's apparently this detargeting of Canada that got the electricity sur-charges lifted.
Oh, I hadn't heard that Canada lifted the electricity tariff. I was just talking to someone who lives in northern MN who was concerned about that. I don't think it would have affected MN that much, as we don't get a lot of electricity from Canada.
It's kind of hard to keep up with the latest tariff info, it changes so fast.
TheHill is all but predicting Senate passage of the House's version of a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through September. (I.E. they won't mount a filibuster--not necessarily the same thing as voting in favor though.)
"Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday showed that egg prices have hit a record high of $5.90 per dozen, surpassing the previous record of $4.95 per dozen in January. USDA predicted that egg prices could increase more than 40 percent in 2025." Politico (near the bottom)
A judge has blocked parts of Trump's Executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie.
“The president is certainly entitled to his own beliefs, entitled to his own causes, and entitled to his own dislikes,” Howell said. But the president cannot “bring the federal government down on his political opponents … as he has done here.”
$9.12 at the local Walmart (grade A extra large white, 18 count). $9.99 at slightly upscale supermarket Can't find grade AA eggs on the shelves. Nowhere.
I wonder, who is the more likely to commit violence against the Trump administration when they collapse the economy and ultimately the country, the far left or their followers whom they have betrayed?
It may well be the Trump administration who's the most likely to commit the first violence. (I recall Trump's unsuccessful efforts to call out the Army against protesters in D.C. during his first term in office.) Whether the administration strikes first against the 'woke liberals' or against their own disillusioned supporters may decide the question of who fights back first. ________________________________
My local Trumpkan/Republican congressman just yesterday announced that he was no longer going to be holding 'town hall' meetings. Meetings already scheduled are cancelled as of yesterday. Further citizen interactions with the congressman will be conducted via 'virtual' town hall meetings, the first of which is currently scheduled for never. And he appears to have concluded that the proper 'social distance' for a congressman is now increased from the the six feet recommended during the Covid 19 plague to something more along the line of 20-30 yards. Situationally appropriate physical barriers (especially bullet-proof acrylics) also seem to be increasingly favored. ________________________________
Chuck Schumer has announced that the Senate Democrats will not filibuster the 'Continuing Resolution' passed by the House and sent over to the Senate late Tuesday. So that potential problem has been taken off the Trump administration's current list of pending complications.
Yes, they have passion and outrage. Schumer, on the other hand, has a plan, which they do not. (I don't know if it'll work out for him, but it's better than having passion and outrage but not having a plan.)
"Another couple of judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the fired probationary workers."
And yet, Trump and Musk are still firing probationary workers. (Hadn't noticed them takin' any steps towards reinstating previously fired workers either--in spite of what a couple of judges might have ordered them to do.)
"A judge has blocked parts of Trump's Executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie."
And, as he did with the court orders against his indiscriminate firings of probationary employees, Trump has simply ignored the court order there, and issued yet another executive order, targeting yet another politically affiliated law firm. Politico
The Trump administration has decided that the time has come to start publicly bragging their intent and ability to defy court orders they don't like. Politico
Do you know anything about Trump letting some kind of license expire that facilitated energy transactions with Russian banks? It sounds like it has something to do with secondary sanctions on Russia?
I'd read about it. The expiration of the license was ordered by Biden, but there's a time-delay involved to allow financial transactions under way to clear. But Trump had taken no actions to extend the license. Reuters
I just noticed… The Trump administration is trying to get the D.C. Court of Appeals to remove Judge James Boasberg from the case where the DOJ had done an emergency "war-time" expulsion of Venezuelan illegals (on the theory that a Venezuelan criminal gang is the equivalent of the Venezuelan government). The judge scheduled a hearing over the Trump administration's flaunting of his order to turn the plane around and bring it back, and so they're now going to the Court of Appeals to try to get him removed from the case entirely. (Supreme Court is the next step I suppose.)
Lookin' to me like the Trump administration has decided that now's the time to seek to overturn Marbury vs Madison and establish Trump as the Supreme judicial authority of the United States. I think he's going to try to use the problems with illegal immigration as his vehicle--on the theory that's what'll bring his dedicated Trumpkins out to support his intended coup against the republic. I think he's goin' for it now--he's not gonna wait until he's ready to declare himself unbound by the Twenty-second Amendment Rather, he will try to establish his supremacy first, and then declare himself not bound by the Twenty-second Amendment. (Perhaps he'll declare it to be unconstitutional.)
I was expecting him to go at this a little slower. But, I now think he's goin' after Führer status probably before this first year is out. ________________________________
Trump's supposed to call Putin today to talk about Ukraine.
The Dear Leader has rehired those probationary workers, but has also put them on administrative leave. So while they are getting paid they have been ordered to do nothing.
I think Chief Justice Robert's may feel the same as you.
"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Robert's said in a statement released by the Sumpreme Court. "The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."
The Trump administration has announced a "deal" for a limited cease fire between Ukraine and Russia, covering "infrastructure" (most notably energy and power). Russia was apparently willing to agree to this because warm weather has already come to Ukraine and the Ukrainians don't need the power on quite as desperately as they did a couple of months ago. The Trump administration was desperate for an announcement, any announcement, to cover up Trump's failure to move the Russians, so Putin gave 'em something that doesn't really matter. And now they're makin' a big deal over it.
So Trump couldn't even get the limited 30 day ceasefire he wanted, even after giving in to many of Putin's demands in advance. Putin is still making maximalist demands while his deputy security chief rants on X.
God spare us from idiots and crooked opportunists on all sides. Dmitry Medvedev is a drunken bum. JD Vance is a sycophantic know-nothing. Marco Rubio is a turncoat. Donald Trump is a bullying narcissist. Vladimir Putin is the mafia boss of a failing state. We simply cannot depend on any of these chumps to sort things out.
Europe needs to grow a spine and open its cheque book (as well as appropriating Putin’s foreign reserves). Ukraine and Europe need to go it alone, cutting out the US if necessary and presenting Putin with an ultimatum. If Putin wants to declare war on any countries beyond Ukraine, let him try it. But Europe has to be prepared for that, because they have to be prepared to meet Putin head on whether he or his drunken bum deputy are bluffing or not.
Zelenskyy has nothing to lose by going with Europe because everyone else wants to throw Ukraine to the wolves. If Europe lets that happen I'll be as ashamed to be European as I would be to be American.
I actually agree with most of that. Almost all of it in fact. One exception: JD Vance is a Hell of a lot smarter than you give him credit for. He's an evil bastard, but he's smart; he knows what he's doing--he scares me. His potential to survive the coming Trumpkan crash with an intact political base scares me. (He may not have the charisma and acting talent. He was grinnin' like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat after he managed to blow up the Zelenskyy/Trump meeting back on the 28th. Can't go givin' it away like that; folks are apt to notice.) Second exception: It's too early for Zelenskyy to "go with Europe" and offend Trump again. There may be advantages to be had in letting it drag out long enough for Trump to get frustrated with Putin. (I ain't optimistic, but it's worth lettin' the long shot play out.)
Yes, I tend to agree about Vance. The one thing that might save us there is that a lot of people do not like him.
Petes is right about Europe. She needs to stand fast against Putin. Until we can settle our problems the US will not be a good source of help.
I am encouraged by the town hall meetings, as some people have already noticed they remind them of the town halls that were dominated by the Tea Party movement way back when. We would do well to steal a leaf from their playbook. We must fight back using as many methods as feasible. I do like the Tesla boycott as well. Showing people that they are not alone in their disgust and dislike of the current Trump administration and its policies will encourage them to stand up and be heard. As the economy worsens and the cuts start to create real hardship for people that dislike will grow.
The fanatical Trump supporters will never be reached, but I think there are still people out there who may start to understand the danger when their lives are adversely affected.
There are also quite a few people here who support Ukraine and are seriously angry about Trump's asinine behavior towards the Ukrainians and all of our friends. That has been brought up at one of the town halls I have seen video of.
"A highly touted partial ceasefire in Ukraine, brokered by Donald Trump, disintegrated shortly after the end of a phone call between the U.S. president and Russian leader Vladimir Putin during which it was agreed. "An hour after the confab, where the two leaders settled on a very partial 30-day ceasefire halting attacks on “energy and infrastructure,” 40 Russian drones flew into Ukrainian airspace, striking civilian buildings including a hospital in Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, and an energy substation in Sloviansk, Donetsk region." Politico.EU
The administration is busy trying to spin it as something other than Putin blowin' off Il Duce L'arancione, which is what it is. Trump himself is busily ignoring that particular subject (although he's working both Ukraine and Russia for a different outcome) I was looking around this morning for whatever excuse/explanation/spin Trump had settled on overnight, but he doesn't appear to have gotten his head around it enough to comment on it himself.
The Trump administration claims to have "moved beyond" their demand that Zelenskyy sign over an ownership interest in Ukraine's mineral wealth. Reuters (They seem to have finally figured out that Zelenskyy put one over on them with that promise. No way in Hell that was ever gonna happen soon enough for Trump to make a profit on it--probably Elon Musk won't live long enough either.)
Supposed to be a second hearing before Judge James Boasberg tomorrow. The judge is going to allow the Trump administration one more chance to answer his questions about why his order to turn the plane around was not adhered to.
"A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that Ukraine and Russia are ‛just a breath away from a full ceasefire’ after three years of war. "‛We are just a breath away from a full ceasefire, and then we can begin to talk about not just peace for a week or six months, but an enduring peace that the people of Ukraine and Russia and the world can rely on, and that is what America has helped facilitate, and that’s what we’re continuing to do each day,’ State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told anchor Nichole Berlie on ‛NewsNation Now.’" TheHill
I don't believe a word of it. These people are living in fantasy land. ('Course, that's probably what led them to vote for Trump to begin with.)
I am waiting to see what the Supreme Court decides on the various cases, especially the birthright citizenship case, that will come before them. It will be then that we will see if Trump and his enablers have managed to corrupt our judicial system as well as the Legislative Branch of government.
65 comments:
I may just be surrendering to stereotypes, but I'd expect the general population of veterans to lean strongly towards being Trump supporters. How easy will it be to "support" them without finding yourself supporting a pro-Trump rally as well?
I mean, I understand that the Veterans' Administration is being targeted for something like 80,000 layoffs by the end of the month. And I understand that veterans, in general, have priority in hiring for federal jobs, and so are bearing a disproportionate percentage of the DOGE hits to federal jobs.
But that doesn't mean the veterans who show up to be 'supported' aren't going to be overwhelmingly Trump supporters, and maybe they'll make that known.
An interesting thought. From what I have read in veterans comments they also seem to be strong supporters of Ukraine and certainly not Russia.
We will have to wait and see what happens on Friday.
Marko Rubio has said that the Trump administration is meeting with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia to acquire a list of concessions Ukraine is willing to offer to Trump (for Trump's triumphant delivery to Putin at their later meeting). It's not a negotiation after all. It's another pressure campaign against Ukraine on behalf of Russia.
Today's supposedly the day that the Trumpkan/Republicans in the House demonstrate their fealty to Trump by passing a continuing resolution to fund his favored federal programs until September.
Trump has decreed, in all caps, that there shall be "NO DISSENT". We'll have to wait and see if he can force that one through--it's already beyond Mike Johnson's ability to wrangle. But there are few indications that they're going to buck Trump on this.
(Not likely they're gonna be able to pass the budget outline to go along with it. That, and a bypass or increase of the federal debt limit, will likely take longer to work out.)
It's sounds like they have included an increase in pay for our military. I wonder how that jives with the huge cuts they are asking the Pentagon to make?
There is at least one Repuclican that is a hard no. Trump is already whining about that and threatening he should be "primaried".
Musk is saying most federal spending is entitlements, big one to eliminate. So they are going to throw Grandpa and Grandma in the nursing homes out on the streets.
They have eliminated the exemption from student loan paybacks if you are working in a care facility for a certain number of years. I know they have a similar program for medical professionals if they work in undeserved rural areas where it is hard to attract medical personnel because of lower pay etc. I would assume that has been eliminated too. So good luck getting medical care in rural areas.
Trump has already found it necessary to address Musk's swing at entitlements, and declare Social Security and Medicare off limits to Musk's DOGE cuts.
Ahh, but what about Medicaid?
Someone told me they may be reconsidering the student loan exemption removal thing.
Correcting myself… It was an official "White House statement" that referred to Trump but did not directly quote him, and Medicaid was included in the stuff supposedly 'off limits' to Musk and DOGE.
I'm thinking to congratulate Zelenskyy's negotiating team in the peace talks in Saudi Arabia. They've managed to get a joint statement along with the United States issued, calling for a 30 day cease fire in the Russian/Ukraine war.
That's much better than I thought they'd get out of it, and I was expecting it to take rather longer.
My first thought is that Zelenskyy's team seems to have gotten one over on Trump. (Might have helped that Marco Rubio is a false convert to the Trump cause. Rubio's lack of an ethical position of his own may have made him amenable to a suggestion that seems like a quick win for the Trump cause.)
CNN is saying that the US has restored aid and intel sharing to Ukraine. Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire. Now they are waiting on Russia's response.
Something tells me that this already ain't workin' out the way Trump had it planned (to the extent that Trump ever plans anything except stirrin' the pot and hopin' to be able to grab the entrée out first for himself).
The Ukrainians seem to have managed a way for him to claim a headline, and he grabbed for it. And suddenly their position is much better than it was yesterday.
The House passed their 'continuing resolution' to fund the government through September. (Mostly due to Trump's insistence; Johnson's pleas didn't move enough House Trumpkans.) Now they've got to get it past a Democratic filibuster in the Senate.
I'm not sure what the odds are for that.
I'd been wondering what concessions Canada had extracted for pulling back on its electricity export tariffs. Turns out the 25% U.S. tariff on imported steel and aluminum is now world-wide, imposed on everybody, rather than specific to Canada, Mexico, and China. (China has an another 20% added on, but Canada only gets hit with the now 'standard' 25% tariff.)
It's apparently this detargeting of Canada that got the electricity sur-charges lifted.
Oh, I hadn't heard that Canada lifted the electricity tariff. I was just talking to someone who lives in northern MN who was concerned about that. I don't think it would have affected MN that much, as we don't get a lot of electricity from Canada.
It's kind of hard to keep up with the latest tariff info, it changes so fast.
TheHill is all but predicting Senate passage of the House's version of a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through September. (I.E. they won't mount a filibuster--not necessarily the same thing as voting in favor though.)
"Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday showed that
egg prices have hit a record high of $5.90 per dozen,
surpassing the previous record of $4.95 per dozen in January.
USDA predicted that egg prices could increase more than 40
percent in 2025."
Politico (near the bottom)
Canada strikes back at U.S. tariffs--dollar for dollar. (Although they are going to let the electrical tariffs slide for now.) Politico
A judge has blocked parts of Trump's Executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie.
“The president is certainly entitled to his own beliefs, entitled to his own causes, and entitled to his own dislikes,” Howell said. But the president cannot “bring the federal government down on his political opponents … as he has done here.”
I bought eggs last week. They were $12.49 for an 18 count.
$9.12 at the local Walmart (grade A extra large white, 18 count). $9.99 at slightly upscale supermarket Can't find grade AA eggs on the shelves. Nowhere.
Movin' right along… Trump's personal envoy, Steve Witkoff, is to sit for a private audience with Putin tonight. Politico.EU
Protesters were arrested after storming Trump Tower to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil.
I have been wondering since I heard about the Tesla dealerships protester problem when Trump's properties would he targeted by someone.
I wonder, who is the more likely to commit violence against the Trump administration when they collapse the economy and ultimately the country, the far left or their followers whom they have betrayed?
I just recently viewed an altercation at a GOP townhall and that thought crossed my mind.
It may well be the Trump administration who's the most likely to commit the first violence. (I recall Trump's unsuccessful efforts to call out the Army against protesters in D.C. during his first term in office.) Whether the administration strikes first against the 'woke liberals' or against their own disillusioned supporters may decide the question of who fights back first.
________________________________
My local Trumpkan/Republican congressman just yesterday announced that he was no longer going to be holding 'town hall' meetings. Meetings already scheduled are cancelled as of yesterday. Further citizen interactions with the congressman will be conducted via 'virtual' town hall meetings, the first of which is currently scheduled for never.
And he appears to have concluded that the proper 'social distance' for a congressman is now increased from the the six feet recommended during the Covid 19 plague to something more along the line of 20-30 yards. Situationally appropriate physical barriers (especially bullet-proof acrylics) also seem to be increasingly favored.
________________________________
Chuck Schumer has announced that the Senate Democrats will not filibuster the 'Continuing Resolution' passed by the House and sent over to the Senate late Tuesday. So that potential problem has been taken off the Trump administration's current list of pending complications.
Yes, we may see how far the rot in this country has gone, when we see is if the American military will fire on American citizens.
Some Democrats are furious with Schumer.
Another couple of judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the fired probationary workers.
"Some Democrats are furious with Schumer."
Yes, they have passion and outrage. Schumer, on the other hand, has a plan, which they do not. (I don't know if it'll work out for him, but it's better than having passion and outrage but not having a plan.)
Meanwhile, Vance seems to be persona non grata wherever he goes, the latest being the Kennedy Center where he was booed.
I hope Schumer does have a plan. Keeping my fingers crossed.
There are definitely signs of discontent. I just don't know is these are Trump voters.
"I hope Schumer does have a plan."
You may want to review the advice of James Carville, prior thread
Get out of the way and let it happen naturally.
"Another couple of judges have ordered the Trump
administration to reinstate the fired probationary workers."
And yet, Trump and Musk are still firing probationary workers. (Hadn't noticed them takin' any steps towards reinstating previously fired workers either--in spite of what a couple of judges might have ordered them to do.)
That doesn't surprise me. Trump and Musk do not care about judges' rulings because as far as they are concerned they are the law. Judges be damned.
"A judge has blocked parts of Trump's Executive order
targeting the law firm Perkins Coie."
And, as he did with the court orders against his indiscriminate firings of probationary employees, Trump has simply ignored the court order there, and issued yet another executive order, targeting yet another politically affiliated law firm. Politico
The Trump administration has decided that the time has come to start publicly bragging their intent and ability to defy court orders they don't like. Politico
Do you know anything about Trump letting some kind of license expire that facilitated energy transactions with Russian banks? It sounds like it has something to do with secondary sanctions on Russia?
I'd read about it. The expiration of the license was ordered by Biden, but there's a time-delay involved to allow financial transactions under way to clear. But Trump had taken no actions to extend the license. Reuters
Yes, I remember now. So much has happened since then. I forget what went on when things were still normal.
I just had to share this. It was good to hear Zelenskyy laugh. He has so little down time.
I just noticed… The Trump administration is trying to get the D.C. Court of Appeals to remove Judge James Boasberg from the case where the DOJ had done an emergency "war-time" expulsion of Venezuelan illegals (on the theory that a Venezuelan criminal gang is the equivalent of the Venezuelan government).
The judge scheduled a hearing over the Trump administration's flaunting of his order to turn the plane around and bring it back, and so they're now going to the Court of Appeals to try to get him removed from the case entirely.
(Supreme Court is the next step I suppose.)
Forbes ↑↑
Lookin' to me like the Trump administration has decided that now's the time to seek to overturn Marbury vs Madison and establish Trump as the Supreme judicial authority of the United States. I think he's going to try to use the problems with illegal immigration as his vehicle--on the theory that's what'll bring his dedicated Trumpkins out to support his intended coup against the republic.
I think he's goin' for it now--he's not gonna wait until he's ready to declare himself unbound by the Twenty-second Amendment Rather, he will try to establish his supremacy first, and then declare himself not bound by the Twenty-second Amendment. (Perhaps he'll declare it to be unconstitutional.)
I was expecting him to go at this a little slower. But, I now think he's goin' after Führer status probably before this first year is out.
________________________________
Trump's supposed to call Putin today to talk about Ukraine.
The Dear Leader has rehired those probationary workers, but has also put them on administrative leave. So while they are getting paid they have been ordered to do nothing.
I think Chief Justice Robert's may feel the same as you.
"For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision," Robert's said in a statement released by the Sumpreme Court. "The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose."
The Trump administration has announced a "deal" for a limited cease fire between Ukraine and Russia, covering "infrastructure" (most notably energy and power). Russia was apparently willing to agree to this because warm weather has already come to Ukraine and the Ukrainians don't need the power on quite as desperately as they did a couple of months ago.
The Trump administration was desperate for an announcement, any announcement, to cover up Trump's failure to move the Russians, so Putin gave 'em something that doesn't really matter. And now they're makin' a big deal over it.
More talks are anticipated.
So Trump couldn't even get the limited 30 day ceasefire he wanted, even after giving in to many of Putin's demands in advance. Putin is still making maximalist demands while his deputy security chief rants on X.
God spare us from idiots and crooked opportunists on all sides. Dmitry Medvedev is a drunken bum. JD Vance is a sycophantic know-nothing. Marco Rubio is a turncoat. Donald Trump is a bullying narcissist. Vladimir Putin is the mafia boss of a failing state. We simply cannot depend on any of these chumps to sort things out.
Europe needs to grow a spine and open its cheque book (as well as appropriating Putin’s foreign reserves). Ukraine and Europe need to go it alone, cutting out the US if necessary and presenting Putin with an ultimatum. If Putin wants to declare war on any countries beyond Ukraine, let him try it. But Europe has to be prepared for that, because they have to be prepared to meet Putin head on whether he or his drunken bum deputy are bluffing or not.
Zelenskyy has nothing to lose by going with Europe because everyone else wants to throw Ukraine to the wolves. If Europe lets that happen I'll be as ashamed to be European as I would be to be American.
I actually agree with most of that. Almost all of it in fact.
One exception: JD Vance is a Hell of a lot smarter than you give him credit for. He's an evil bastard, but he's smart; he knows what he's doing--he scares me. His potential to survive the coming Trumpkan crash with an intact political base scares me. (He may not have the charisma and acting talent. He was grinnin' like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat after he managed to blow up the Zelenskyy/Trump meeting back on the 28th. Can't go givin' it away like that; folks are apt to notice.)
Second exception: It's too early for Zelenskyy to "go with Europe" and offend Trump again. There may be advantages to be had in letting it drag out long enough for Trump to get frustrated with Putin. (I ain't optimistic, but it's worth lettin' the long shot play out.)
Yes, I tend to agree about Vance. The one thing that might save us there is that a lot of people do not like him.
Petes is right about Europe. She needs to stand fast against Putin. Until we can settle our problems the US will not be a good source of help.
I am encouraged by the town hall meetings, as some people have already noticed they remind them of the town halls that were dominated by the Tea Party movement way back when. We would do well to steal a leaf from their playbook. We must fight back using as many methods as feasible. I do like the Tesla boycott as well. Showing people that they are not alone in their disgust and dislike of the current Trump administration and its policies will encourage them to stand up and be heard. As the economy worsens and the cuts start to create real hardship for people that dislike will grow.
The fanatical Trump supporters will never be reached, but I think there are still people out there who may start to understand the danger when their lives are adversely affected.
There are also quite a few people here who support Ukraine and are seriously angry about Trump's asinine behavior towards the Ukrainians and all of our friends. That has been brought up at one of the town halls I have seen video of.
"A highly touted partial ceasefire in Ukraine, brokered by
Donald Trump, disintegrated shortly after the end of a phone
call between the U.S. president and Russian leader Vladimir
Putin during which it was agreed.
"An hour after the confab, where the two leaders settled on a
very partial 30-day ceasefire halting attacks on “energy and
infrastructure,” 40 Russian drones flew into Ukrainian
airspace, striking civilian buildings including a hospital in
Sumy, in northeastern Ukraine, and an energy substation in
Sloviansk, Donetsk region."
Politico.EU
It sounds like a big FU to Trump. As far as Putin is concerned he is still big dog on the block and Trump is only a wanna be.
I see that Tesla was booted from the Vancouver International Auto Show over "safety", or so the headline on CNN says.
Hmm...a bit of more bad news for Musk.
"It sounds like a big FU to Trump."
The administration is busy trying to spin it as something other than Putin blowin' off Il Duce L'arancione, which is what it is.
Trump himself is busily ignoring that particular subject (although he's working both Ukraine and Russia for a different outcome)
I was looking around this morning for whatever excuse/explanation/spin Trump had settled on overnight, but he doesn't appear to have gotten his head around it enough to comment on it himself.
The Trump administration claims to have "moved beyond" their demand that Zelenskyy sign over an ownership interest in Ukraine's mineral wealth. Reuters (They seem to have finally figured out that Zelenskyy put one over on them with that promise. No way in Hell that was ever gonna happen soon enough for Trump to make a profit on it--probably Elon Musk won't live long enough either.)
Supposed to be a second hearing before Judge James Boasberg tomorrow. The judge is going to allow the Trump administration one more chance to answer his questions about why his order to turn the plane around was not adhered to.
"A State Department spokesperson said Thursday that Ukraine
and Russia are ‛just a breath away from a full ceasefire’ after
three years of war.
"‛We are just a breath away from a full ceasefire, and then we
can begin to talk about not just peace for a week or six
months, but an enduring peace that the people of Ukraine
and Russia and the world can rely on, and that is what
America has helped facilitate, and that’s what we’re
continuing to do each day,’ State Department spokesperson
Tammy Bruce told anchor Nichole Berlie on ‛NewsNation
Now.’"
TheHill
I don't believe a word of it. These people are living in fantasy land. ('Course, that's probably what led them to vote for Trump to begin with.)
These people are liars and it is hard to believe anything they say.
I am waiting to see what the Supreme Court decides on the various cases, especially the birthright citizenship case, that will come before them. It will be then that we will see if Trump and his enablers have managed to corrupt our judicial system as well as the Legislative Branch of government.
Post a Comment