That day there were so many people who acted heroically, helping to protect and care for their fellow human. It was a spirit you saw shining on Flight 93 when a group of passengers succeeded in diverting a plane meant to be used as a weapon, sacrificing themselves in the process. You saw it in the helping hands stretched out to ease the way for those trying to make it down the twin towers. It was there among the first responders who arrived at ground zero.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani:
We are faced with a decision this November. A decision that will affect us all for years to come.
This James Talarico interview on Jimmy Kimmel has been censored by the Trump administration’s FCC. Is this really the kind of America you want for your children? Is this the kind of America those people who sacrificed themselves for on 9/11 would be proud of? An America that oppresses any opposition to those in power?
And isn't it time to remember who our true friends are?
"It belongs to all."
ReplyDeleteThat is most definitely not the message being propounded at Trump's party in Texas these past few days.
They say that actions speak louder than words. I think Trump and his cohorts actions have been giving the same message for a while now. Like those voters in South Carolina said, it's time people stood up for their rights.
ReplyDeleteI was listening to Fareed Zakaria today and he mentioned that apparently Putin had suggested to Chinese leaders that they dump Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds in an effort to destabilize the US economy. Not surprised that Putin would suggest this and I was pleased to note that China refused. At least they understand that the global economy is still very much intertwined and the repercussions would hurt them as well.
ReplyDeleteI also note that Trump is still completely clueless as to Putin's motives in his actions. Not surprised there.
As someone mentioned to me, the US has been adept at putting in place the least competent of people in the most critical of places.
Talarico for president. Just a passing thought.
ReplyDelete"Talarico for president."
ReplyDeleteFirst things first. He needs to win his race for Senator first. Then we'll think 'bout whether he can pull an Obama move on the U.S.Presidency.
________________________________
"I also note that Trump is still completely clueless as to Putin's
motives in his actions."
Or, maybe not. He still thinks he's gonna seize the Presidency by hook or by crook ('course he chickened out the first time; he very well might TACO again this time.) But, once he's a dictator, as he currently figures it to happen, he thinks the dynamics will change and Putin and Xi and Kim will wanna buddy up to him and divide the world's spoils between the three of them. (In the end, Kim will get left out of course.)
"…the US has been adept at putting in place the least
competent of people in the most critical of places."
I believe the Trumpkan/Republicans refer to that as "American Exceptionalism".
I believe the Trumpkan/Republicans refer to that as "American Exceptionalism".
ReplyDeleteROFL!!
It seems that a Russian oligarch paid for Don Jr's wedding party.
ReplyDeleteTrump is saying no big deal.
Not surprising.
"Trump is saying no big deal."
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to wait and see if the Trumpkan/Republicans running for office (and their loyal voters) echo this "no big deal" attitude.
(I've been expecting leaks of information damaging to Trump to increase as Trump becomes more vulnerable to potential discipline. I've suspected a lot of people may be sitting on evidence of malfaction in Trump's administration and family on the theory that there was no reason to leak--wasn't gonna get any follow up anyway, and then they'd be in trouble with Trump for nothing gained. A Democratic Congress (big "D" on "Democratic") could change that calculation.)
The Supreme Court declined to take up Trump's request for "pre-approval" of his plan to meddle with the mail ballots in theupcoming mid-term elections. That leaves Trump's plan tied up in the various district and appelate courts which have been almost universally critical. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas would have let him proceed. Brett Kavanaugh said there wasn't time to effectively implement the plan. (Of course, implementing the plan was never the plan; the plan was to seize the ballots under some pretext yet to be disclosed.)
ReplyDeleteDon't for a minute think that Trump will give up on blocking a Democratic win in November. He's got another gambit ready and waiting in case of this contingency.
The Houthis have made inroads into blocking the Red Sea route for Saudi oil. Gas prices will continue to rise along with everything else, especially if the Houthis succeed in blocking the Suez Canal.
ReplyDeleteCostco has started to ration motor oil. They know what is coming. Makes those prepper YouTube channels look prescient.
Yes, I think you are right, Trump has a backup plan. Will Republicans go for it?
Trump has banned various news outlets from The White House, including CNN.
ReplyDeletePrecursor to nullifying the elections or declaring martial law?
"Precursor…?"
ReplyDeleteProbably just Trump being bored. Trying to redirect headlines to himself and his edicts during a slow news week.
Or trying to deflect from the news that we almost stopped and boarded a Chinese vessel that an intelligence report partly compiled by AI suggested the ship was carrying components to build a nuclear weapon?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Mike Johnson has recessed the House to avoid a vote on impeachment Hegseth. He obviously has his priorities. Dealing with AI isn't one of them.
Test
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt was doing that thing yesterday where I couldn't post.
ReplyDeleteThe polls are not Trump's friends now. I hope they are right.
Mayhe they are unhappy with the rendition of immigrants. Maybe they are unhappy with gas prices, and the prices of everything else as a result. Maybe they noticed that Trump was even alienating Canada.
We'll see.
"It was doing that thing yesterday where I couldn't post."
ReplyDeleteI had noticed your test posts.
Trump has defied the public polls before. They've had trouble predicting the turnout levels of his supporters. Perhaps they've managed to get their models aligned with real world performance now. One can only hope.
It seems Trump has come up with a plan to lower diesel prices. Buy Russian! Yes, I kid you not. How special.
ReplyDeleteI don't expect to see prices go down for consumers. I expect instead that the oil companies will take this opportunity to reclaim their lost profits from the recent bottleneck out of the Persian Gulf.
ReplyDeleteTrump has asked Zelenskyy to stop targeting Russian diesel infrastructure. Zelenskyy refused and Trump said Ukraine needs a new president. Personally I don't think it is Ukraine that needs a new president.
ReplyDeleteI was in line at the grocery store yesterday and the lady in front of me bought a squash. She was a little perturbed at the $11 price tag.
ReplyDeleteThe other lady bagging her groceries said she might need to get a part time job just to afford to eat. She was obviously a retiree.
The Indians are getting restless.
"Zelenskyy refused."
ReplyDeleteMore than merely refusing, Zelenskyy took some shots at Trump, although later he thought better of it and let Trump's replies go unanswered. I think Trump should expect some pushback on that decision from the campaign trail as well. Certainly the rest of NATO will look at this askance.
Ukraine is popular with bi-partisan support for its fight against Russia. There are also people who do not like the idea of buying fuel from Russia when they are under sanction.
ReplyDelete"There are also people who do not like the idea of buying fuel
ReplyDeletefrom Russia when they are under sanction."
Trump has ostensibly set aside those sanctions by decree. This Congress isn't going to hold him to compliance with the governing law when he's issued a decree in violation of the law. I don't think his Federalist Society judicial majority will hold him to compliance either.
However, there are politicians both in D.C. and in Brussels who strongly disapprove of backing off the oil sanctions against Russia. And Trump's been losing stature with a lot of them.
That doesn't mean Trump will let up on Ukraine.
It appears the Trump administration may have quietly cut off defensive intelligence sharing with Ukraine, leaving them vulnerable to air attacks from Russia.
ReplyDeleteI'd reckon the Ukrainians have at least another three weeks to navigate this betrayal. It is possible that Trump will back off his support for Putin after the mid-term elections. But, that's not guaranteed, and it may not even be probable.
And Trump has announced the immediate commencement of "massive" drilling in Greenland for oil and gas to be controlled by the United States. (All news to Greenland so far as I can tell.) Trump's obviously trying very hard to jawbone diesel and gasoline prices down in the few weeks that remain before the November elections.
Trump has rejected the now traditional international monitors for the upcoming mid-term elections. TheHill Doesn't take a genius to figure out why.
ReplyDeleteI heard somewhere that the Star Link feed has been somewhat restored. Don't know if that is true or not. But Trump appears to be getting more desperate as the impact of higher gas prices rolls down hill into consumers pocketbooks. He is trying to pressure everyone to improve his cohorts chances of reelection. Betraying Ukraine, and ultimately his own country, may not be the best way to do that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think you mentioned earlier that it is doubtful that any agreement with Russia would really improve the situation with the prices anyway. And, it may be too late.
"…it is doubtful that any agreement with Russia would really
ReplyDeleteimprove the situation with the prices anyway. And, it may be
too late."
Trump was hoping the mere announcement of the waiver of sanctions on Russian diesel would be enough to create a market effect. That was a vain hope. Trump has lost his credibility with the markets as well as with politicians who deal with him. And the markets know that the initial supplies of diesel will be snapped up by buyers with pipeline access to the Russian distilleries, i.e. Europe and western and central Asia.
And, in any case, it is indeed coming too late to penetrate the American voters' perceptions of Trump's performance.
As for the Starlink being partially restored, Musk can see which way the election is heading as well as Trump can.
Musk has injected millions of dollars into the Republican reelection coffers. He seems to be hedging his bets.
ReplyDeleteAs I remember that didn't work too well for him in Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteIt seems Trump hasn't yet figured out whom to blame for the throttling of Ukraine's air defense system. They tried to blame Elon Musk, but Musk declined to stand still for that. So now they gotta find someone else. Trump's latest pronouncement on the subject was that neither he nor Musk were responsible. (That's gonna haunt him later.) He shed no light on the selection of a designated fall guy. The Pentagon has ceased answering questions on the matter.
ReplyDeleteWhomever the blame ultimately falls on is a sideshow to the real problem for Trump, which is his discovery of how unpopular that move has been within in Trumpkan/Republican alliance.
Headline: "Trump issues order to bypass Russian sanctions in bill named for late Lindsey Graham
ReplyDeleteThis general waiver is in addition to Trump's earlier waiver of specifically diesel fuel sanctions.
So… Trump's doubling down on his support for Putin. We'll have to see how well that plays out in the November elections. (Might come too late to make any difference.)
Headline (Reuters): "Rubio says Trump to take up to 60 days to weigh Russia sanctions"
ReplyDeleteLooks like the blow back has caught Trump's attention. He sent Rubio out to try to knock down some of the heat.
Huh! Wait long enough and the winds change. Hopefully he does the TACO thing again, like with the livesteam of the execution.
ReplyDeleteI will probably still do my Betrayal post anyway. When I get the time to write it.
Trump isn't giving Rubio's effort much support. Instead he's ragging on Zelenskyy again.
ReplyDelete