What with the oval office redecorated as a bordello and our Grifter-In-Chief accepting $400 million planes from foreign sources, with the draconian cuts to programs meant to help the sick, disabled, elderly and families just trying to survive being rolled out in order to cut taxes for those who really can afford taxes it’s been a dark few months. So much so that it has been hard to watch the news. But sometimes there comes a flicker of light, of hope, but maybe also of sadness over what could have been.
For anyone who watched the DNC, or who read the social media accounts and watched the YouTube videos, you may remember Gus Walz. He is the son of our governor Tim Walz here in Minnesota. His public display of emotion over his father’s being nominated for Vice President was either accepted as a very nice reaction to what for him was a wonderful thing or ridiculed. It is those who ridiculed his behavior who really should be ashamed. Since that time there has been no follow up, until now.
Gus Walz did an interview, speaking about his situation and what happened at the DNC. He really is an amazing person and should be heard.
106 comments:
Thursday's done and Trump has nothing to show for his public eagerness to get a meeting with Putin. And even Trump can't have missed the snub implied by Putin's designation of 'second tier' functionaries to represent Russia at a meeting Trump was trying to hype. (Marco Rubio pronounced that yesterday ended in a "log-jam", but it's hard to figure how he came up with that metaphor as the Russians apparently didn't meet with anybody yesterday.) The Ukrainian Defense Minister supposedly will be heading the Ukrainian delegation, which will show up today. (Zelenskyy says his mandate is to discuss a cease-fire.) Marco Rubio doesn't appear to be on the cards for today either. Now that that's become known, maybe the Ukrainian Defense Minister will bail out as well.
All turned out to be much ado about nothing. This sometimes happens when Trump's involved.
Winner of this one was Zelenskyy, clear winner. Trump was looking for a way to blame his failure to achieve a cease-fire on Ukraine, but Zelenskyy, with Putin's help, seems to have avoided that outcome.
Zelenskyy has lived with Putin for a long time. He understands him. Zelenskyy will have taken the measure of Trump as well. Sometimes there is a person who meets the moment. That person is Zelenskyy, despite Trump & Co.'s attempt to bully him at the White House.
Near as I can make out what happened, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for approximately two hours. The Russians made unacceptable demands, most of them made three years ago, but a few new equally outrageous demands.
And then they broke up the meeting without scheduling another meeting (thanks largely to Trump's pronouncement that "nothing will happen" until Trump and Putin meet to resolve things--they may get a prisoner swap going though).
I think Putin came across as the recalcitrant party, in spite of Trump's best efforts to rehabilitate him and lay the blame for lack of cease-fire on Zelenskyy instead.
It looks like Trump's "big, beautiful" bill tanked on the shoals of hard line Republican opposition.
Comey seems to have stirred up a nornet's nest with his post that read "8647".
Hardline supporters of Trump are using that as an excuse to scream for an investigation of him. They, and Trump, are saying it was a call to assassinate Trump.
Next on the chopping block in Trymplandia, free speech.
Meanwhile, that parade on June 14th to commemorate the birth of the Army and Trump is set to cost between $25 - $45 million.
"Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill tanked…"
They've already passed a "continuing resolution" funding the government into October. So, they got plenty of time to pull it out and dry it off. Whether they can eventually get the votes is another question entirely. They were hoping to rush it through quick and early, before factional Republican resistance builds up. But failing that, they've got 'til October. (Of course, this could complicate their upcoming action to raise the debt limit. That's coming at 'em in August or September, depending on bills that come due and taxes that come in.)
________________________________
Attorney General Bondi says she already got the FBI on Comey. I'm okay with that. Gives them something useless to occupy their time with. They need something useless to keep them busy, the more useless things they're puttering with the better it'll be for the nation. They are rather thin skinned after all.
________________________________
25-45 million is just the opening bid. Last time Trump had them schedule a birthday parade for him they came back with a more complete bill including multi-millions for road repair after ranks of Abrams tanks rumbled down the streets of Washington D.C. Trump backed down on account of the cost. He may back down again for the same reason when they get the full price tag ready sto present to him.
The Trump administration has announced that Trump will hold consecutive phone calls with Putin and then Zelenskyy soon.
It seems the crash of the Trumpkan/Republican funding bill requires his personal attention right here in the states. An immediate turnaround trip to meet with the foreigners is second fiddle stuff.
I have heard the price tag for that parade and it's aftermath could go as high as $90 million.
Meanwhile, there are No Kings protests ramping up for June 14th.
FEMA is floundering even as tornadoes rage across the south.
"No Kings protests"
With any luck those'll be larger than the earlier "hands off" protests. (A simultaneous, or even subsequent, protest in D.C. better attended than the parade would be an especially good sign.)
As for FEMA: Trump has been fairly blunt about his preference to do away with the agency, throwing disaster relief back onto the state governments of those states affected by the disasters. In fact the last director of FEMA testified in congress against such a plan and was promptly fired--meet the next morning by security personnel, relieved of his badges of office, and perp walked right back out the door. Makes Trump's preference kinda clear.
________________________________
"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it is
in the early stages of vetting a potential reality show that
would have immigrants competing for a fast-track to
citizenship.
TheHill
________________________________
Russia launched its single largest drone attack ever against Ukraine last night, an act of aggression the Ukrainians attribute to their participation in the "peace talks" in Turkey.
"'It's been a tough night. The Russians have always used war
and attacks to intimidate everyone in negotiations,' Andriy
Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering
Disinformation, said on Telegram about Sunday's attack."
Reuters
The House Budget Committee is supposed to reconvene at 10:00 pm tonight to re-vote on that budget bill they tanked late last week. Politico Maybe it'll clear the committee this time.
With any luck those'll be larger than the earlier "hands off" protests. (A simultaneous, or even subsequent, protest in D.C. better attended than the parade would be an especially good sign.)
Larger protests would be nice, especially if they outnumber the parade in scope. But I don't hold my breath. I take a little comfort that I know of quite a few people who are of the same belief as those protesting, but who for various reasons will not be out protesting. So I would like to think the protests are merely the tip of the iceberg.
As for FEMA: Trump has been fairly blunt about his preference to do away with the agency...
As climate change worsens there will be more death and destruction. The kind that only a central federal agency can really handle effectively. It is also likely that those in the path of a lot of that are in red states. So, I guess we will see how that flies with MAGA folks.
"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed it is
in the early stages of vetting a potential reality show...
What can I say, we have already seen that the Trump administration is showcasing the worst of America. Let the crassness roll on.
The House Republicans got their budget bill out of the Budget committee in last night's re-vote. The four fiscally conservative Republicans who voted against it voted "present" this time, which left it with a balance in favor, and so it goes.
Mike Johnson and his leadership team apparently agreed, in writing, to make changes that those fiscal conservatives want (and Senate Republican won't like at all), but right now the changes aren't made, but the bill's out of the committee anyway. Politico
More useless things to keep them busy….
"Trump is demanding a ‛major investigation’ into Harris’
lengthy list of celebrity endorsements, singling out
Springsteen as well as Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Bono, and
claiming they were illegally compensated. "
Politico.EU
Trump has issued a tweet on the subject of the Ukraine/Russian talks. He tells us that his telephone talks went wonderfully, excellently. And he anticipates the Russians and the Ukrainians might "immediately" begin negotiating for a cease-fire. In other words, two hours on the phone and he got squat out of Putin.
He also seemed to signal that Trumpian interventions in the imaginary cease-fire talks have come to an end.
This is probably good news for Zelenskyy and Ukraine. It keeps Trump further away from his best opportunities to revert to type (i.e. Putin worship) And Putin already threw cold water on Trump's anticipation of cease-fire talks. TASS, the Russian News Agency, quoted Putin as sying they would only begin to discuss a cease-fire after other "relevant agreements" had been reached.
What Trump's likely to do in the future is still anybody's guess. But, Zelenskyy has managed to avert a major policy shift towards rapprochement between Trump and Russia for the time being at least.
Apparently some reporters caught Trump on the move and got a chance to ask follow up questions. (Trump may have made himself 'catchable' for just this opportunity to respond to Putin's public statements.)
First thing of note: Trump is not ready to elevate sanctions against Russia for refusing the cease-fire proposal.
Second thing: Trump and Putin opened talks about a prisoner swap, nine Russians for nine Americans. (Trump gets some favorable headlines in the American press, in return for what we don't know.)
Third thing: Putin said that negotiations "to end the war are 'generally on the right track'", making no mention of a cease-fire agreement.
Clearly, Trump's still looking for some way to make a favorable impression on Putin here.
If Putin thinks things are going well, we can assume they are not.
Trump has told House Republicans not to touch Medicaid. I'll believe it when I see it.
Meanwhile CBS has people jumping ship due to pressure from Trump, specifically his lawsuit against 60 Minutes.
Independent journalism seems to be on the chopping block.
"If Putin thinks things are going well, we can assume they are not."
Indeed they are not.
Trump confirmed it later--he's dropped his prior demand for a cease-fire. Going further, he now supports Putin's counter-proposal that the warring parties 'negotiate' terms for a cease-fire, giving Putin a license to stall at the negotiating table and giving Trump an excuse for not going along with sanctions (no new ones, possibly not even enforcement on the old ones).
In effect, he capitulated to Putin's demands as soon as Putin put out a public statement outlining those demands. Zelenskyy is probably lucky that Putin didn't publicly demand the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces--Trump might have gone along with that too. And Putin's probably wondering what else he should have demanded.
Elon Musk recently tweeted that he'd spent enough on politics ($190,000 to get Trump elected) and he saw no reason to spend any further money on politics. He's done with that (for now).
And… Sec. of State, Rubio has announced that the Russians are going to " to send the U.S. 'terms for what they would require in order to reach a ceasefire' with Ukraine." Politico
This does not seem to comport with Putin's understanding that the Ukrainians are expected to negotiate terms with the Russians. (But it does comport with some earlier reports that the Russians and the Ukrainians were going to compose separate conditional 'terms' for a cease-fire then supposedly negotiate from there.)
They're waffling back and forth about what Trump's actually agreed to--Rubio and Trump not agreeing on the details. (You'll perhaps recall that Rubio threw cold water on Pope Leo's offer to host peace talks, only to have Trump speak favorably of that possibility within hours.)
It may take a few days for Trump to figure out exactly what Putin wants of him. Then we'll have to worry again about Trump rushing to comply.
"Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs
committee of Russia's Federation Council, the upper
legislative chamber, said Russia and the U.S. had emerged as
negotiation partners against Europe and Ukraine.
"‛Based on the results of the conversation between Putin and
Trump, there is a feeling that two consultative and negotiating
groups have finally, but not irrevocably, formed: Russian-
American and Ukrainian-European,' he wrote on social
media."
WaPo
The House has passed their reconciliation budget, 215 to 214.
We can call that a fair victory for Trump and Mike Johnson.
A federal judge has granted Harvard a restraining order against the Trump administration.
The Supreme Court deadlocked on the religious school issue.
At least there are some people standing up to Trump.
Rumor has it, though, that the "Big, Beautiful Bill" has a line in it that exempts Trump from having to follow judicial orders.
So fascism continues to roll across the land.
If we ever manage to get rid of Trump and his acolytes I think they should be held, not just criminally responsible, but financially responsible for the destruction of the US economy because of Trump's horrendous economic policies.
I notice Trump is starting to slap widespread tariffs on our trading partners again. Seems he was somehow unable to "do a deal" with all those folks he assured us were clamoring for tariff deals with Trump's America.
The threatened return of tariffs doesn't seem to have calmed the stock market nor the money market.
________________________________
"Rumor has it, though, that the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' has a line in
it…."
I believe they were trying to create that power by authorizing the selective "impoundment" of congressionally appropriated funds (even though that's consistently been held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for decades now). They were also trying to limit the federal courts' jurisdiction in regards to several of Trump's fetishes, specifically including immigration. I'm not sure if any of those efforts made it into the final House draft, but they're going nowhere in the Senate, clearly unconstitutional--so it's not something I've been watching.
________________________________
"…they should be held…financially responsible…"
Ain't gonna happen though.
________________________________
Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, is reported to have said that Russia will release it's list of demands for a permanent peace as soon as the current round of prisoner exchanges is complete. Reuters (And he bitches 'bout lots of other stuff too.) He doesn't express any Russian interest in a cease-fire in the interim.
________________________________
Kyiv's been hit with an air attack, variously described as "large scale" and "massive" in the press.
I notice Trump took time to post an extended blast against Putin as "CRAZY" (in full caps) on Sunday. The newest round of prisoner swaps finished on Sunday. Could be Trump's anticipating what's gonna be on Putin's newest list of demands, supposedly comin' out here soon now. Perhaps he figures Putin's demands could be an embarrassment to his own long-time positioning as Putin's pet.
The Russians have responded that Trump seems to be suffering from "emotional overload". (Now there's something that could deleteriously affect Trump's status as Putin's pet.)
New development in what's slowly turning into a snark war between Trump and the Russians:
"'What Vladimir Putin doesn't realize is that if it weren't for
me, lots of really bad things would have already happened in
Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He's playing with fire,' Trump
said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday.
"The president, who prides himself on having friendly
relations with Putin, did not elaborate. Top Russian security
official Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Trump's criticism.
"'Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and
'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one
REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!'
Medvedev wrote in English on the social media platform X."
Reuters
Don't reckon it needs any further comment from me.
"MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - Russia will announce the next
round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in the
nearest future, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on
Wednesday.
"The neutral status of Ukraine remains one of Russia's key
demands in the peace negotiations, Lavrov added."
(I haven't seen any evidence that anybody else has agreed that Russia will announce the next round of direct talks with Ukraine. Could be the Russians are being a bit presumptuous there?)
________________________________
The snark between Russian and American diplomats has widened a little bit--lower levels taking up the task from Trump and Medvedev. Reuters Lowering the levels of snark trading likely will lower the level of snark traded going forward.
________________________________
"Headline: Musk says he’s ‘disappointed’ with Trump-backed megabill"
Cautious, as always, not imply any direct criticism of Trump.
In response to reporter's questions, Trump said today that it'd take a week and half, maybe two weeks for him to figure out if Putin was serious about making peace or was just 'tapping' him along, as Trump phrases it. Politico.EU (Trump seems to be talking about a permanent peace deal within two weeks--an almost absurd proposition--and seems to have abandoned all consideration of an interim cease-fire.)
Musk was okay with decimating the federal government, but when the chickens come home to roost in the private sector, it's another story.
Maybe Musk gets what the stock market has been pointing at for some time, Trump's grasp of economics is rather limited.
A federal court has just blocked Trump's "liberation day" tariffs.
They kept wondering how long Trump would tolerate Musk hogging the spotlight. It just occurred to me to wonder how long Trump and Putin will share it. There can only be one top dog and Trump has been intent on claiming that roll.
"A federal court has just blocked Trump's ‛liberation day’
tariffs."
The New York City based Court of International Trade, unanimous decision. I was expecting this to happen. But I'm not expecting the Supreme Court to necessarily follow the law here. They could go either way on this. (The federal court also ordered the feds to give back any tariffs already collected. Trump'll be squealing like a stuck pig in short order.)
________________________________
"There can only be one top dog and Trump has been intent
on claiming that roll."
Putin, on the other hand, clearly doesn't figure Trump's even playing in the same league with him. Putin sees Trump as a pretender, and pretentious, an unreliable flake who Putin couldn't rely on if he wanted to, which he don't.
Trump's ego won't allow him to notice that fact, but it's true anyway, even without Trump's notice.
Oh, and Marco Rubio has just announced that the Trump administration, via the Dept. of Homeland Security and the State Department will begin "aggressively" revoking Chinese student visas. This will serve the dual objectives of screwin' with China, and screwin' with American universities, both favored targets of Trump's bile.
White House announcement: Elon Musk is leaving his position with the Trump administration. Reuters
Don't reckon Musk could have expected much different. He'd announced that he was done supplying Trump with cash, and then criticized Trump's tariff regime. Criticizing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" was apparently a last straw, but it had to be comin' down the pike.
Trump'll be squealing like a stuck pig in short order.)
Looks like the Trump administration appealed. The appeals court reversed it.
Putin sees Trump as a pretender, and pretentious, an unreliable flake who Putin couldn't rely on if he wanted to, which he don't.
Funny, many other people feel the same way.
Oh, and Marco Rubio has just announced...
Yes, anything to give our opponents a win.
Criticizing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" was apparently a last straw, but it had to be comin' down the pike.
Well, while Musk may appear to be a complete idiot, sometimes he calls it right.
The acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N. announced at the Security Council meeting yesterday that it was in Russia's "best interests" to acquiesce to Trump's call for a 30 day cease-fire.
"The deal on offer now is Russia's best possible outcome.
President Putin should take the deal."
Reuters
(I'm not real clear on what Trump thinks he's offered--good chance Putin isn't real clear on it either--almost certain whatever it is, it's not been cleared with Zelenskyy.)
The Russians don't seem to be biting on that opportunity. They're making claims that they've completed their "term sheet" as Trump's people described it--their written list of demands for a permanent peace. But, near as I can make out they've not let anybody see the list, not even Trump. Putin seems to want to spring it on the Ukrainians and the rest of the world (including Trump) at a meeting between low-level Russian diplomats and whomever Ukraine sends to Istanbul on the 2ⁿᵈ of June. Apparently the Ukrainians have also completed a "term sheet" and submitted it to the Trump administration; presumably it's gotten to the Russians via Trump. Zelenskyy doesn't appear to be willing to go along with the 'secret agenda' plan the Russians are nurturing, so there's no meeting actually scheduled for the 2ⁿᵈ as of yet. The Russians are demanding the Ukrainians commit to the June 2ⁿᵈ meeting, but so far have rejected all requests that they disclose their written demands (beyond what's been allowed to leak to the press). The Ukrainians are insisting the Russians share their "term sheet" as a condition precedent to the June 2ⁿᵈ meeting. And it the conversation seems to have shut down around that point.
It all seems very disorganized.
Yes, well, as far as I can tell anything that includes Trump is disorganized, not to mention handled incompetently.
Later article from Reuters clarified the 'deal' that the acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. thought "was on the table". He was referring to Trump's call for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, which has already been accepted by Ukraine. (This is good news for Ukraine.)
"The Trump administration is escalating its campaign against
Harvard University — and looking for new ways to bring the
storied institution to heel.
"The White House convened officials from nearly a dozen
agencies on Wednesday to brainstorm additional punitive
measures, according to one administration official and a
second person familiar with the meeting, who were granted
anonymity to share details. The administration official said
that forthcoming actions are expected from the State,
Treasury, Health and Human Services and Justice
departments, among others, and could happen as early as
next month."
Politico
Morons! When they openly conspire to punish Harvard their later attempts to justify their actions against Harvard as justified by (insert fake reason here) will not be accorded a presumption of good faith when looked at later by the courts. They shouldn't be leaking their intent to punish Harvard and their search for means to do so.
We always knew they were incompetent. It might be the only thing that saves us.
Near as I can make it out this Sunday morning: The Russians claim to have finished their "term sheet" requested by the Trump administration, but they still haven't let anybody see it, including Trump. Under those conditions it's not clear the Ukrainians will show up at the meeting Russia has announced for tomorrow in Istanbul. (My guess--Zelenskyy sends somebody to ask for a copy of the "term sheet" in exchange for a promise to get back to them later with a considered response to it. The Russians may well declare this to be insufficient and refuse to release the text of their "term sheet".)
Looks like I guessed wrong. ↑↑ Reuters is reporting that the Ukrainians are going to formally present their "term sheet" to the Russian delegation in Istanbul tomorrow and apparently attempt to advance a discussion based on their idea of what a peace should look like.
Obviously, the Russians won't be having any of that.
(Reuters has confirmed that the Russians already have a copy of Ukraine's "term sheet", sent them by the Ukrainians themselves.)
What the Russians will be doing is trying to work out a surrender by the Trump administration on behalf of Ukraine in a different forum. Foreign Minister Lavrov put in a call to Marco Rubio today to try to get that process moving. Rubio did not seem eager to engage with surrender talks. Reuters (The Russians may have to go directly to Trump for that.)
The Ukrainians launched a major attack on long range Russian airplanes last night. The word I heard was 159 destroyed. Details unfolding.
It sounds like it was a year in the making. That is BT, before Trump.
"The word I heard was 159 destroyed."
I been reading 40-41 seriously damaged or destroyed. (Russians seemed seriously pissed either way--"peace" talks in Istanbul broke up after about an hour. Ukrainians came in with a list of children absconded into Russia in the early days of the war and demanded their return--that didn't meet with an easy reception either.)
The Ukrainian Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, has confirmed that Russia handed over its own "draft peace accord" (presumably subsuming the demand elements of the "term sheet" requested by the Trump administration, but probably not amenable to the implementation of an interim ceasefire).
BBC confirms: Russia did reject Ukraine's call for an immediate, interim ceasefire.
Yes, you are right, it is around 40 or 41 planes. I don't know where I heard 159. But, in any case, it is a sizable number. And it was a very clever "trojan horse" type of plan! Kudos to the Ukrainians!
"But, in any case, it is a sizable number."
And they targeted top of the line product, very expensive planes--weren't taking out mere fighter aircraft.
It sounds like the Ukrainians got a Russian bridge now.
Ah, it was the Crimean bridge they went after again. They blew up part of it.
"It sounds like the Ukrainians got a Russian bridge now."
I think the Ukrainians did knock out a bridge in the Donbas region. (Plus the hit on the Crimean Bridge and the two bridges in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions.)
________________________________
The Russians fairly clearly intended to ramp up their offense in Ukraine these last few weeks. Part of that might be a simple 'summer fighting season' type of thing, but clearly some of it was to make a political statement about how Russia is willing to grind right along in a dragged out war.
The Ukrainians had a statement to make as well. I'm not sure either Putin nor Trump were ready for that.
________________________________
The United States created and has chaired "The Ukraine Defense Contact Group", a gathering of 50 nations, (heavily represented by NATO and EU members, but including allies in the Pacific theatre as well, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc., as well). They're meeting today in Brussels. The United States not only isn't chairing the meeting this time, we're not sending any representatives at all--nobody from the Trump administration will be in attendance. AssociatedPress The supreme allied commander of NATO will be there, American Gen. Chris Cavoli, but he's there on behalf of NATO; he's not going to be a representative of the United States.
I was just thinking how disgusting and incompetent the Trump Administration is. They confirm this thinking every day by their actions or lack of actions.
The recent White House gathering devoted to finding ways to screw over Harvard University has apparently not produced results fast enough to satisfy President Trump. So he's taken matters into his own hands and issued an executive order blocking any further visa for prospective Harvard students. Or indeed for any visa applicants who admit to a connection to Harvard University.
We'll see how long it takes for a federal judge to throw that one out.
(Trump's also ordered another travel ban against nations he doesn't like. Heavy on the Islam but also including a selection of additional targets across the the 'third world'.)
It looks like the Trump/Musk bromance may really be history.
Trump is floating the idea of canceling Musk's government contracts and Musk is talking about forming another political party. Divorce's can be so messy.
Pity it didn't happen earlier, before they screwed up the country.
The country was already "screwed up", else we'd never have reëlected Trump (nor elected him for the first time for that matter).
Musk broke the taboo when he tweeted that his money had elected Trump and Trump was "so ungrateful". It was predictable that Trump would react badly to that. (Indeed it's almost inconceivable that Musk didn't expect Trump to react badly to that--criticism of Trump is taboo for the Trumpkins.)
Musk's threat to form his own political party is credible I suppose. He must have had something like this in mind when he took that personal shot at Trump.
It'll be interesting to see how much success Musk has on this path. (Musk's efforts to form a third party very well might become a real threat. Mobs can be unpredictable sometimes. The rabble can sometimes break loose from the rabble-rousers.)
It occurs to me… Musk going independent might seriously compromise Trump's efforts to overstay his tenure in the White House.
The country was already "screwed up", else we'd never have reëlected Trump (nor elected him for the first time for that matter).
You're right. The country I used to believe we were would never have elected him. That is really what is so sad.
I am not sure really what to make of Musk. Is he crazy, drug addled or does he, and other people, have some kind of plan to make an end run around Trump?
I think Musk has judged Trump to have hit his high point (without having been able to effectively consolidate enough power in his own hands) and further judged that Trump's on the downhill slide from here on out.
Could be Musk is moving against Trump too soon.
Trump is already backing off from confrontation with Elon Musk. Politico
Musk should remember… Putin backed down from a confrontation with Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group, let Prigozhin walk away from that one.
Now Prigozhin is dead under 'mysterious' circumstances--and Putin's still in power.
________________________________
This didn't take long…
"A federal judge late Thursday temporarily blocked President
Trump’s proclamation that blocks visas for foreign students
planning to attend Harvard University…"
TheHill
________________________________
The United States has announced sanctions against four (4) judges of the International Criminal Court. NYT
Day Two of the Trump/Musk contest was a day of quiet contemplation, at least on the surface. Neither party made any overtly offensive moves. The White House PR machine was calling it a détente, but most watchers seem to figure it as less than that; probably the first day of a new "cold war" ‛tween Trump and Musk.
Been no move to kiss and make up. Rather, they're both measuring the next set of moves. A détente could emerge from this, but it's not where they were as of yesterday.
It looks like Musk may have caved. At least on the surface. He has deleted some of his posts attacking Trump.
Prighozin tried to walk it back too. Still ended up dead.
________________________________
I'm given to understand that Trump has publicly claimed to have the power to cancel Musk's government contracts.
(Whether he believes that or not is up for grabs, the threat is the point.)
Protests in LA and Paramount against ICE raids. These look a little less peaceful than usual.
DC is hosting the World Pride parade and festival today and tomorrow. Just a week before Trump's lame birthday parade. Now wouldn't it be something if Pride had more attendees than Trump?
"Protests in LA and Paramount against ICE raids."
Trump isn't going to miss this opportunity. He's already taken charge of the California National Guard and ordered them into the streets, under his authority, ostensibly to quell the "insurrection".
I'm getting hints from the media, folks are expecting a vicious Russian offensive to begin almost any minute now. That seems to be a consensus opinion of European NATO powers and the Trump administration.
They been expecting it for nigh on a week, ten days now.
Wonder what's holding it off?
By the way, the Ukrainians downed another Russian SU-35 fighter jet over the Kursk region of Russia on Saturday. Maybe it's things like that been holding off the anticipated 'vicious' Russian response?
After all the headlines about the National Guard being on the streets in California, they finally got them out on the streets in California today.
Trump has declared that masks will not be allowed. His authority for that is questionable. His intent to incite is fairly clear.
It looks like the crowd has increased.
Probably lured by Trump's calling out the National Guard. The protests actually looked liked they had decreased before he did that.
If he meant to incite a riot, he's doing a good job.
Does seem to have been in increase in violence in the California protests yesterday, but doesn't seem like any of the conflicts have yet involved the troops Trump has taken under his command.
The protestors seem to be engaging with city and county authorities.
Trump now has United States Marines holding the line in downtown Los Angeles. Step up in intensity from using appropriated National Guard troops.
It seems that the protests will merge into the No Kings protests on June 14th.
I loved Newsoms speech. He was spot on.
Merging? I'm not sure it'll be seen that way across the county.
You can bet FoxNews will bill it as immigration protests spreading nationwide. (With the 'No Kings' element getting subsumed.) I'm not sure how the more 'mainstream' media will handle the 'merger'.
Video of the fleeting and then rapidly repented (and later denied) arrest of California Senator Sen. Alex Padilla doesn't show the lead up Kristi Noem's security detail getting physical. It does show that Padilla identified himself before being bum rushed out of the room and thrown to the ground and handcuffed. From what I could see I'd reckon it unlikely that Padilla was "rushing" the podium as the Trump administration claims (angles of contact, so far as they're apparent a second or so after contact was made, don't seem to support such an assertion.) But it is clear he wasn't trying to escape the grasp of the agents and advance on Sec. Noem.
I think the immigration protests are already spreading nationwide.
It will be hard to see where the immigration protests end and the No Kings protests begin if the former continue on until then. That was what I meant by merger.
I too didn't see Padilla rush anybody.
Security overreacted. Or maybe it was done to intimidate. They are showing that it doesn't matter who you are. This is their country and they can do as they please.
"Or maybe it was done to intimidate."
I'm going with that reading. Trump seems to have given up on the idea of getting reëlected, so he's gonna havta overstay his term. He thinks immigration is his best bet for being able to declare martial law and cancel the 2028 elections. So he's trying to turn that issue as violent as he can as soon as he can. (Preferably well before any potential Democratic legislative comeback in the 2026 mid-term elections.)
The Trump administration was just recently opened formal negotiations with the Iranians to try to curb their nuclear ambitions.
So, the Israeli have, this evening (early morning Middle-Eastern time) begun bombing runs against targets in Iran. The explosions are audible in Tehran.
Looks like Netanyahu doesn't trust Trump either.
"LOS ANGELES, June 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday
temporarily barred President Donald Trump from deploying
National Guard troops in Los Angeles, finding that the Guard
was unlawfully mobilized by Trump.
"Judge Charles Breyer ordered the National Guard to return to
the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who sued
to restrict its activity. Breyer's order will take effect at noon on
Friday."
I was just looking at a map of the planned No Kings protests. While the protests against the deportations have spread they are not nearly as numerous as what is planned for Saturday. Of course, that doesn't tell us how many people will actually show up. What I found rather interesting is that the No Kings protests are in every state. I think the number in Florida Is more than Minnesota. Florida, a very red state.
I just assembled my new sign. I just have to do the writing.
Israel has hit military, including nuclear, targets in Iran. They have killed senior military leaders as well as nuclear scientists.
I'm curious about the extent of support the Russians will throw behind the Iranians now that Israel has hit inside Iran (and apparently Israel intends to continue to prosecute the attack).
I think we can safely assume Trump will quickly find that his groveling for Putin brings him no more influence in this conflict than he's been able to exert in the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. Which is to say, 'none'.
miscellaneous: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a pause on the enforcement of Judge Breyer's order demanding the return of control of California's National Guard back to Governor Newsome. They're supposedly gonna hold a hearing on it on Tuesday.
Apparently, some Israeli sources have leaked information that Israel "coordinated" their attack on Iran with the United States. Reuters Trump ain't gonna be happy that info got out.
The US has been denying any involvement in the attack.
Trump, however, appears to be supportive.
Of course, what is a lie and what is truth?
It is hard to tell sometimes with the Trump Admin.
In any case, Iran will assume we were involved no matter what we say.
If there is still any domestic opposition in Iran this may be an opportunity for them.
Considering prior statements coming out of the Trump administration, they were clearly expecting the attack. Netanyahu had let them know it was coming even if he didn't come right out and ask for help with intelligence and targeting and for political support.
It appears that the Trump administration is at least using this attack to try to get Iran to deal. They are warning of more "brutal" attacks if they refuse.
Do you remember when Zelensky said the US was diverting 20,000 missiles to the Middle East? I assume the Israeli attack on Iran was why.
"It appears that the Trump administration is at least using
this attackl…"
Trump trying to leverage Israel's attack on Iran for his own goals is highly unlikely to help convince doubters of America's non-involvement.
I actually missed it when Zelenskyy went ballistic over the missile diversion last week (pun intended). But, you're almost certainly correct about why it was done. The Iranians will no doubt make the same connection. We very well may find ourselves targeted to the extent the Iranians can afford to expend ammo on any available American targets.
That brings me back 'round to my question about Russian support for Iranian war efforts. Putin has declared that the true enemy in his war on Ukraine is the Anglo-Saxon alliance of America and Britain and the NATO alliance he views as led by that Anglo-Saxon alliance. He might view this expansion of war into the Middle East as no more than a second front to his war further north.
Whether that would frighten him or anger him is anybody's guess. At least, I have little insight as to how he's going to react to this new development.
Last I looked it was still forecast to rain at parade time in D.C. today.
One can hope.
I have been watching the skies here too. It has been raining constantly the last few days.
I am hoping it holds off for our protest.
It sounds like the No Kings organizers are recommending not protesting in DC. Not so much because they fear retaliation, but because they don't want to be misidentified as Trump supporters.
Trump is apparently doing carve outs for some industry's immigrant workers.
But they have yet to come to the realization that immigrant workers are critical in more than just a few industries.
They have yet to come to the realization that this WILL affect THEIR pocketbooks in the long run as they ruin the economy.
"Trump is apparently doing carve outs for some industry's
immigrant workers."
They've supposedly 'paused' raids at "agriculture…, restaurants and operating hotels."
________________________________
"Trump, ahead of Saturday’s celebration, warned protesters
they would be met with 'a very big force' if they demonstrate
at the event near the National Mall."
TheHill
Trump's parade lasted a little over an hour in real time (all day on FoxNews--with four hours of prime-time "live" coverage of an event that ended in a little over an hour). Protests were minimal in D.C. (and do not seem to have been met with a 'very big force' as threatened); attendance at the parade was likewise unimpressive. Crowd sizes are variously reported--"tens of thousands" according to FoxNews (which supplied "canned" crowd noise for its "live" coverage) and also as according to the Trump administration, "several thousand" according to most other sources.
I understand the protests were cancelled in Minneapolis due to the assassination of local politicians.
Yes and no. Protests still occurred. I want to write about the events of yesterday. I was a little busy yesterday so didn't have time to comment.
Post a Comment