Gromnir

well, to be fair, the 2000 camp david thing happened after yitzhak rabin were assassinated, so... am suspecting bill clinton and @Gorth disagree about why camp david failed, but am gonna suggest it were the second intafada which marks the end o' any o' the parties involved being serious about even the possibility o' a lasting peace. *shrug* from a practical pov, am suspecting it don't matter much. for more than a couple decades, nobody has been serious about even trying to forge a lasting peace in the region. edit: Almost all of the Fulbright board resigns, citing Trump administration interference The former members said they voted to resign on Wednesday, effective immediately, "rather than endorse unprecedented actions" that they believe violate the law, compromise U.S. national interests and undermine the Fulbright program's mission and mandates. "Our resignation is not a decision we take lightly," they wrote. "But to continue to serve after the Administration has consistently ignored the Board's request that they follow the law would risk legitimizing actions we believe are unlawful and damage the integrity of this storied program and America's credibility abroad." ... only five months in and trump killed cisa, stopped enforcing white collar crime as part o' doj, stopped investigating foreign bribery and domestic terrorism as part o' the fbi mandate, gutted usaid, fired attorney generals w/o cause in addition to many thousands of probationary employees and hundreds o' other relative minor disruptions to dozens o' different departments, but few seems to notice or care. HA! Good Fun!

not directed at elerond, but am having been seeing "pre-emptive" language to describe the israeli attacks from various news sources... particularly fox. is wrong. words matter. HA! Good Fun!

this would never have happened if trump were President. HA! Good Fun!

the thing to keep in mind is that almost half the country don't see anything wrong with what happened to mr. padilla. in fact, am suspecting 1/3 o' the country woulda' been more pleased if the senator were visibly injured during the altercation. am serious. tell us with confidence that Gromnir is wrong. doesn't matter that what the senator were doing was legal. doesn't matter that alex padilla had been escorted into the presser by both fbi and national guard; no "busting in," nonsense. doesn't matter that the senator did in fact announce his identity as a senator, though again, as he were in the fed building at the time of the presser, he had an escort that knew his identity. etc. facts don't matter. the reality don't matter. even if you do the impossible and convince somebody that alex padilla didn't do anything illegal, then chances are you will hear whataboutism or some kinda deflection. alex padilla is one of them, so when bad things happen to him, the initial reaction is gonna be that not only did the senator deserve the treatment he received, but that he shoulda' gotten more it... and by now, trump politicians know what trump voters want. when nixon were convinced by republican Congressmen to resign, those republicans, almost to a man, were primaried during the next election. trump is ignorant of history, but am gonna suggest near all senators and most representatives serving in 2025know history... and am certain those political creatures is aware that their constituents don't care about what is right and just unless it is they/them who is doing wrong. perhaps worse, the independents and democrats who either voted for trump or didn't vote for harris, are somehow ok with what is happening to social security, the va, pepfar, free speech, legal immigrants from afghanastan and venezuela losing their protected staus (another one am disappointed @Guard Dog can remain quiet regarding 'cause he knows what it means to be sending translators and those who helped US troops back to afghanistan,) and due process. they is ok with trump's corruption with market manipulation and his meme coin. they is ok with cecot. they is seeming ok with just about anything save whatever may personal be important to them. for gd? second amendment rights? for a farmer in north carolina? perhaps if the ice raids start happening on north carolina hog farms or... unless it affects 'em personal, trump voters or those who couldn't be bothered to vote against him, cares little that trump is gutting norms and freedoms. heck, even when people is personal impacted, chances are they still can't admit they were wrong, 'cause we don't do that anymore. again, when we saw the reaction to trump's muslim ban promise, we finally got it-- an increasing % of americans want them/they to suffer. First Amendment? due process? basic christian values? none o' that minor stuff matters 'cause trump is a fighter who is finally going after the real bad guys: illegals; libs; smart-arsed college professors; etc. "A poor Russian peasant’s neighbor has a cow, but the peasant himself has none. Every day the peasant has to walk by his neighbor’s field, where he sees that cow. He admires the cow, even adores it, envying the animal to the point of obsession. He even dreams about the cow at night. One day, the peasant goes into the forest to cut wood–and he finds a sprite bound to a tree with bonds that only a mortal can undo. The sprite promises the peasant that, if he frees her, she will grant him any one wish. So he unties her…and says, “Kill my neighbor’s cow.”" globalism is working. here in the US we are all becoming more russian, eh? HA! Good Fun! ps try and imagine how the alex padilla situation woulda' played out in 2015. if the dhs secretary's security detail had done the same thing to a sitting US Senator, the dhs woulda' likely apologized, right? maybe jeh johnson explains that security reacted with perhaps an overabundance of caution to the presence o' a large man with no visible press ID at the presser. woulda' been described as a truly unfortunate and regrettable mistake, right? in 2025, mike johnson is suggesting his colleagues in the senate should be calling for padilla's censure. never admit fault. double-down. gaslight with the help of fox news and turn this seeming loss into a win. too many republican voters like seeing a democrat US senator getting man handled, so go with a victim blaming effort, right? but, if harris was President, nothing would change, so...

just a reminder, 'cause with all the new illegal and improbable, people convenient memory hole the old. cecot. the US government sent an unspecific number o' people to this place no trial. not even a hearing. we can't be certain o' how many american residents were sent to el salvador, nor has the fed confirmed the identities o' those sent to cecot 'cause o' some ambiguous amalgam o' "state secrets" and "terrorism." we only know for sure the details regarding one person sent to cecot: abrego garcia. the only reason we learned the circumstances o' the abrego garcia situation is because a government lawyer admitted that the fed made a mistake by sending mr. garcia to cecot. that lawyer were fired. the government public says that everybody sent to cecot is a gang member, but the fed has offered no proof in court o' such 'cause "state secrets" and "terrorism." sure, we has been told via caroline leavitt and fox news that everybody "deported" were a nasty and terrible nogoodnik, but that ain't the same as going before a judge and providing affidavits, is it? why would you take on faith that the government is being truthful 'bout this? the only way we have even a rough idea o' who was sent to cecot, other than abrego garcia, is 'cause news outlets such as the washington post and sixty minutes did research... pieced together info from lawyers and family members o' persons with immigration cases who sudden disappeared from ice facilities contemporaneous with the military jets going to el salvador. cbs managed to get ahold of an internal government document via a leak which provided identities of most/many sent to cecot, but the government has only voluntarily provided the number o' persons sent to el salvador via the alien enemies act and traditional deportation efforts. again, since there were no trial or hearing, plus something-something "state secrets" and "terrorism" means there is literal no proof that the people we sent to cecot is criminals, gang members or undocumented. regardless, even if the government had held the hearings SCOTUS says 9-0 (even thomas and alito agreed on this point) were a necessary prerequisite to deport people under the alien enemies act, that ain't what happened in reality. the more than a hundred people, some o' whom might be american citizens who never committed a crime for all we know, were not deported back to their country o' origin. those +100 people (something 'tween 137 and 250?) were sent to serve out an indefinite period o' incarceration in a facility which manages to make a few o' those siberian gulags look like resort spas. ... where is the outrage? serious, what is wrong with americans that this don't bother more people? particular from the i don't trust the government and you could be next crowds, where is the justified anger? why is this not an inflection point for more people? how is this so last week/month already? in case it isn't clear, am a bit disappointed. HA! Good Fun! ps @Malcador not that it matters. shame is no longer a thing.

you just can't help yourself, can you? ... there is no american shared reality. facts mean nothing. we had a comprehensive response, but it just ain't worth it. you didn't see a difference during trump 1.0 and you can't see the danger after the past five months of 2.0. if a President calling out the marines to confront protesters doesn't move you, then... am not surprised that you tenaciously embrace brobdingnagian false equivalency as a defense for your they are all bad mantra even after the deluge of unprecedented authoritarian and unconstitutional actions by trump, actions which has managed to shock even our self who predicted chaos and corruption. no, am not surprised. however, am nevertheless genuine disappointed.

is arguable that tank man during trump 1.0, although far less dramatic, were mattis, kelly, esper, milley and to a lesser degree, mcmaster. Donald Trump called them 'my generals.' They call him a threat to democracy: ANALYSIS READ: The Full Statement From Jim Mattis trump were shocked that his his generals (and other former or current military officers such as esper) were the people in the administration who most aggressive resisted the subversion of Constitutional norms. unfortunate, the deference command officers is trained to afford civilian leadership meant that those generals had a difficult time public condemning the Commander in Chief, in spite o' the fact those military men were part o' the administration in a civilian capacity. mcmaster maybe gets a partial pass as he were technical still a general when serving as national security advisor to the President? am genuine sympathizing with milley as he were not serving in a civilian role during the trump years. regardless, trump's romantic notions about tough guy generals and admirals who were complete loyal to him were crushed midway through his first term. thank goodness. who wouldn't feel safer today if mattis, kelly and milley were still in the white house/pentagon as trump contemplates sending US troops out to confront protesters. tank guy ultimately didn't stop the chinese crackdown. converse, trump's generals were a bit more effective in their defense o' the Constitution even if their efforts were less obvious, although it is tragic that those same generals couldn't bring themselves to vocal condemn trump publicly when it mighta' made a difference. what if? HA! Good Fun! ps the white house lawyers, the actual fed government attorneys as 'posed to trump's personal attorneys, were also bulwarks against trump excesses, although they were constrained by law and ethics from public disclosing trump actions and conversations. for trump 2.0, the admin has perhaps managed to dig up a few more jeffery clarks in addition to the clowinsh appointments such as judge jeanine, alina habba and pam bondi? less cartoonish and perhaps more dangerous is the competent trump personal lawyers who now work within the doj: todd blanche; emil bove; susan necheles.

in 2020 and 2021, we were confident most command officers would refuse to comply with illegal orders from a commander in chief... not all, but most. trump is an ignorant clown, but he knows how to measure and test weakness in people. am thinking the fort bragg campaign-style speech, delivered at this moment, were calculated. boiling the frog.

Exclusive: DHS secretary sought military arrests and drones in Los Angeles in leaked letter this story should be getting far more attention. if the trump administration uses the military to conduct law enforcement operations, then you got a crossing the rubicon kinda event. am baffled that so many don't understand just how unprecedented this is. “We need … support to our law enforcement officers and agents across Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and Federal Protective Services (FPS),” Noem wrote, “as they defend against invasive, violent, insurrectionist mobs that seek to protect invaders and military aged males belonging to identified foreign terrorist organizations, and who seek to prevent the deportation of criminal aliens.” for years we have been warning 'bout the questionable use o' the terrorist label to enhance punishments and reduce due process rights o' defendants, but the use o' the military to conduct arrets o' protesters on the grounds those protesters is supporting terrorism is not something we saw as likely until recent. today is kinda predictable that ice barbie would use "terrorist organizations" to legitimize what in 2015 woulda' been unthinkable to every republican US senator. imagine how @Guard Dogwoulda' reacted if jeh johnson, the secretary of DHS under obama, had invoked the hobgoblin of "terrorist organizations" to call up and use the marines to arrest and possible shoot protesters during the ferguson kerfuffle? personal, we had our eyes opened to the genuine danger o' trump when he proposed a muslim ban... and the crowd on hand cheered. the cheering crowds is what worried us. we knew something were wrong not just with trump, but with too many americans. ten years pass and am waiting for america to catch up to where we has been since 2015, but that just ain't happening. instead, many republicans such as lindsey graham and marco rubio, who knew trump were vile in 2016, now thinks trump authoritarianism is keen and folks like gd has decided that politics is just too much o' a bother to be worried 'bout the possibility o' marines shooting protesters on the streets of american cities. so it goes HA! Good Fun! ps highly recommend the following sources for summaries o' the legal issues regarding the federalization o' the national guard and the surrounding issues: “The Insurrection Act” by Any Other Name: Unpacking Trump’s Memorandum Authorizing Domestic Deployment of the Military and there is likely no better source than steve vladeck when constitutional law and the military intersect.

double-post apologies, but seeing as the previous post exhibits our typical lack of brevity, we didn't want this link to get lost/buried. Former DOGE engineer says federal waste and fraud were 'relatively nonexistent' I, probably stupidly, was asked by a — not even a journalist but a writer who just has a blog about my business going open-source, and I spoke to him. He had a bunch of questions about me working for DOGE and I felt that Elon was pretty clear about how he wanted DOGE to be maximally transparent. That's something he said a lot in private and publicly. And so I felt, OK, cool, I'll take him at his word. I will be transparent and sort of "ask forgiveness not permission" sort of thing. I said mostly that the government was not as inefficient as I was expecting. And then, my access got revoked pretty shortly after. I didn't get notified. I was basically ghosted and I just got an email notification that my access was no longer valid. HA! Good Fun!

hogwash... other than the last point which is not only what we already stated 'bove, but has repeated ad nauseum-- legal ≠ right. however, "the first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" state of nature don't have laws and that is where those with power is able to most egregious exploit the weak. sure, the rich is best positioned to exploit law, but too many people have the situation reversed. is not the powerful who need law but rather is the weak. legal is indeed often an excuse for cowardly exploitation, but absence o' law makes such exploitation assured save in extreme small scale scenarios such as family and tribal. am also observing how the US has most prospered as we get further removed from a reliance on cheap labor. is bass ackwards and self defeating that we still rely so much on many kinds o' labor as automation shoulda' replaced most such jobs by now. tell 1980s Gromnir we would still have living people working in US auto factories in 2025 other than to maintain the robots and we woulda handed you a copy o' megatrends. this country, and most western economies, has prospered as they moved towards high skilled and service-based. counter-intuitive, as "labor" needs has become increasing expensive, American fortunes has accelerated. also, the recent dock worker strike where the union strong-armed management into promising to not implement automation were in addition to being luddite asinine, it went a long way towards undermining the "exploitation" narrative. is a relative small % o' the US economy which genuine requires cheap labor, but that small % is nevertheless vital. am not suggesting amazon treats its workers fair or that manufacturing management in general isn't trying to maximize their quarterly report earnings by cutting corners, but some schnook who read marx for the first time in 2020 is in for rude reality shocks and the world economy ain't what it was... and never will be again. we worked roofing in the early 90s and back then there were white guys on the roof with us. today? even so, is many important jobs which functional require illegal immigrants, 'cause is no way to keep numerous industries running without people doing jobs americans simply will not do. food processing. residential construction. agriculture. etc. and yeah, tiny screw jobs need cheap foreign labor... and the 2025 US don't even have the capacity to do such jobs regardless o' a dollar amount, which is why the US shoulda' subsidized apple to develop such infrastructure in mexico instead o' china. if the US had spent money on developing mexico in partnership with companies like apple and others who instead spent money in china, many o' today's problems wouldn't exist... including the immigration issues. regardless, *insert eye roll here* should add to our bruce, sharp_one, comrade yellow, dark priest and lexx list. HA! Good Fun! ps if it makes you feel better, in ten years when the china labor/population situation gets real for people, am suspecting the global economy is in for some rough times, and unskilled/low-skilled labor is sudden gonna be in a historic strong position if only temporarily. so, huzzah! maybe in a decade the workers o' the world will finally have a chance to unite, but we wouldn't count on it even then as the demand for automation and ai will finally overcome to perpetual stoopid which is the nostalgia fantasy o' the highly paid US (or any other western economy) factory worker.

illegal immigration is actually a boon for the US, but no politician could ever admit it. illegals do jobs no american will do and they lower inflation in the process. illegals pay taxes without drawing on entitlements. illegals commit less crime than natural born citizens. etc. in 10 years when china is f'd 'cause o' their self-made population apocalypse, they is gonna need millions o' indian foreign workers if they don't wanna see their economy implode. most o' europe as well as japan and korea is facing similar issues but is gonna take a bit longer for the impacts to hit home-- not enough workers or consumers and an aging population bleeding a nation dry is a problem you address ten years ago. is a problem the US suffers from to a far less degree 'cause? illegal immigration. our population and birth rate ain't been dropping the same as most o' the eu... and far less severe than japan. and again, china is already complete f'd. the US never could have gotten increased birth rates, low-pay labor and an increased consumer base in the numbers needed through legal immigration. like it or not, and in spite o' some real short-term costs, illegal immigration is arguably one o' the USA's greatest advantages. however, illegal immigration is illegal... even if it ain't criminal. we pass laws through representative democratic process and it not matter if those laws is wise when we decide whether they is legal. being in the US undocumented, like were the case for elon musk, is illegal, and there is statutory punishments for such infractions. that said, there is a reason illegals do not get criminal trials for their deportations and it ain't cause they is non-citizens. illegal border crossing or overstaying a visa is a petty infraction, akin to a speeding ticket. 'cause the punishment don't include loss of liberty (imprisonment,) deportation proceedings fail to trigger sixth amendment protections... though try and explain to us how sending people to cecot avoids such; we dare anybody to try and explain. regardless, arresting those suspected o' illegal immigration is not illegal. the current ice efforts is clear designed to provoke and inflame, but the arrests themselves... maybe what ice is doing is wrong, but it ain't illegal. trump sending troops to california is illegal and wrong. btw, the government lies and misleads. a 413% increase in assault o' ice agents? why not say what were the assaults and how many were assaulted? notice the government didn't claim any ice agents were seriously injured yes? if a child grabs the sleeve o' an ice agent while the agent is arresting the child's parent, that counts as an assault. if a citizen husband attempts to embrace his undocumented wife while she is being arrested and he happens to touch an ice agent in the process, that is an assault. and btw, if there were a 500% increase in la ice arrests over the course o' the past week, then how much would you expect assaults on ice agents to increase over the same period if all other factors remained constant? of the 118 undocumented rounded up by ice at the time o' their press release, only five were gang members, and am gonna remind people that being a gang member is not in and of itself illegal. please note that a handful o' crimes committed by those apprehended by ice is listed, but nowhere does it mention how many people had criminal records. one? why not say the number of criminals unless it is a comical small number? so yeah, this ice operation were performative and likely meant to help with trump's sagging poll numbers, 'cause the truth o' the matter is that trump's base, and many other americans, approve o' bad things happening to the undocumented. however, what ice did, rounding up undocumented individuals, were not illegal. the thing is, if more democrats had gotten off their asses and voted in 2024, we wouldn't be in this situation in 2025, so am actual a bit less sympathetic than you might suspect. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/exploring-why-more-latinos-voted-for-trump-and-what-it-means-for-future-elections Geoff Bennett: There are people of faith who would wonder how you are able to look beyond Donald Trump's moral character, the felony convictions, the divisive rhetoric and cast your vote in support. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez: It's a legitimate question and something we have to discuss. And I put that right next to abortion demand without any restrictions, even in the late term, late-term abortion here versus character, tweets, rhetoric, personality and bravado. So I have to measure this. I have to measure government coming and intruding in how I raise my children versus character, rhetoric, tweets and bravado. So we measured it. Latinos measured it and went like — and many Latinos went, like, man, we don't like the guy. Many Latinos say, we don't like the guy, but his policies were amazing and his policies lined up with what I believe. And the Democratic Party sounds good, but the policies are counterintuitive to who I am as a Latino and as a Christian. Now, there may be, there may be an opportunity here. Let me explain. The policy of mass deportations, that policy is — it is controversial. I don't deny it. And what our understanding is mass deportations will take place regarding targeting primarily criminals, those that are involved in the terrorist activities. (Crosstalk) Geoff Bennett: Potentially, but the scale of what the Trump campaign has promised would likely extend beyond those undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes. So the question is, what does that mean for Latinos who live in mixed-status families or who are here legally, but are profiled and caught up in what could be this mass deportation effort? Rev. Samuel Rodriguez: Now, I could tell you right here to your audience, I would be the first one vociferously protesting if the administration comes after families that have been here 20, 25, 30 years, 15 years, God-fearing, hardworking, not living off government subsidies, whose children were born here. I will be the first one protesting, because that's not my understanding. And I can't disclose my conversations with the president-elect's team, but I can tell you that there have been multiple assurances from very powerful individuals to yours truly directly, regarding the targeted audiences. And we're talking about those involved in nefarious activities. So my understanding is that good, God-fearing, hardworking families that have been here for years, for years and are not living off government subsidies and whose children were born here, these families will not be targeted. I hope and pray that they adhere to — adhere to what they conveyed with yours truly regarding the mass deportation efforts. ... at least on twitter, we don't see mr. rodriguez's promised protests. a quick search reveals no news articles where he complains he were misled. nothing. most o' the protesters ain't complaining about the Constitutional issue which worries Gromnir. we know trump sent troops with the intent o' provoking a greater response and we see this move as yet another step towards overt authoritarianism, but that ain't what has people in the streets of la. ultimately, people are protesting 'cause when trump said he were gonna do mass deportations, not enough americans listened or believed. we dislike trump and his policies, but the folks we blame most for our current situation is all the democrats and independents who didn't vote, or who voted for trump 'cause o' the price of eggs, trans athletes and vaccine mandates... mandates which were imposed at the state and local level for chrissakes. Stephen Miller has set his sights on new targets to find undocumented migrants: Home Depot and 7-Eleven so ice goes out and legal does the bidding o' stephen miller who is implementing the policy goals trump promised during his campaign. for those only motivated to protest now, we got less sympathy. but again, sending troops to california is actual a different issue for us than the ice roundups. trump is clear exceeding authority granted to him by the Constitution, unless scotus once again goes ahead and invents a new trump authority which did not exist for the past 238 years. HA! Good Fun!

russia? bad hong kong? bad. united states? ... according to stephen miller, the above linked protest necessitates the involvement o' military troops? they lie. the terrible part is that maga knows trump and his minions lie. there was never $2 trillion in waste, fraud and abuse... wasn't even hundreds of billions. how many fired fed workers, maga faithful, learned they were perpetrating waste, fraud and abuse? there is no white genocide happening in south africa. tariffs won't make americans rich. that hurricane were never predicted to reach alabama. rubio and musk said nobody has died 'cause o' usaid cuts. lies. etc. maga knows they lie, but 'cause is a polarized tribal thing where you gotta defend us from them, maga types willingly and beyond all reason, believe and promote the next lie. as a rando example, a person who perhaps knows trump is lying about tariffs and white genocide in south africa, nevertheless contorts themselves into knots trying to convince the rest o' us that trump and stephen miller is telling the truth about los angeles. and again, “Indeed we can think of no better example of the police power, which the Founders denied the national government and reposed in the states, than the suppression of violent crime and vindication of its victims.”-- J. Rehnquist, us v morrison (2000) in 2020, numerous states asked for help from the national guard. converse, the federal government cannot send troops to california, oregon, washington or illinois to do ordinary law enforcement. however, those states is gonna need go through the courts to get relief, which is gonna take time... and perhaps when the Court final addresses the issue, some catastrophe sparked by the presence o' national guard troops will have already occurred, at which point trump will invoke the insurrection act. regardless, even if there were chaos happening in los angeles, real widespread l007ing and property destruction, the fed couldn't send troops unless the states asked for aid. it's a law thing. it's the freaking Constitution. repeat: "ordinarily it is up to the states to decide whether to request fed troop assistance. is extreme few recent examples o' the fed not responding to state requests and sending in troops and the only post ww 2 examples we can think o' off hand is when Presidents sent troops to the south to protect school kids post brown v. board o' education, or when they ordered military to protect protesters from state governments related to mlk assassination, the aforementioned brown v. board and the civil rights act legislation." another repeat for those curious refusing to pay attention... what trump is doing is unconstitutional, but illegal, immoral or unthinkable don't prevent him from doing it. why is this not penetrating? HA! Good Fun!

frontline does good work. HA! Good Fun!

for those interested in the law, The National Guard in Los Angeles "We are told that the president has authorized National Guard personnel to “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur.” This phrasing of the mission is nearly identical to the text of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel memo, which stands for the modern executive branch understanding of the protective power." extreme limited. however, as local law enforcement is aware that the presence o' troops, as often as not, exacerbates protests rather than quells 'em, which is why state officials is so reluctant to send in troops. many law and order people wonder why local law enforcement tends to stand idly by while "riots" happen, but the prudent response is to do less. sure, the post mortems after a riot-that-got-out-of-hand invariably condemn local law enforcement for not acting sooner to crack skulls and make arrests, but initial cop reluctance in the face o' protests is the reasonable course o' action. once cops make a show o' force, or troops get involved, there will be an accident which will at least initial inflame the protests. predictable. near inevitable. is why govenors is reluctant to call in troops and am suspecting it is exact why trump and stephen miller is so eager to see boots on the ground. aside, federal troops only just showed up within the last hour, but to call what has occurred thus far "riots" is a bit hyperbolic... much as happened in the summer o' 2020. the largest concentration o' protesters thus far has been estimated at about 100--1 car burned and another car vandalized. law enforcement officers were attacked receiving minor injuries. compared to a philadelphia sports team winning a national title, this has been kinda tame thus far. those who attack law enforcement who is lawful executing their duties should be prosecuted. period. however, such has nothing to do with sending in the national guard. again, the examples o' a President sending in federal troops to quell violence anywhere but fed property when state officials did not request military aid is extreme limited and is so not like a few 2020 examples when governors requested federal support. “Indeed we can think of no better example of the police power, which the Founders denied the national government and reposed in the states, than the suppression of violent crime and vindication of its victims.”-- J. Rehnquist, us v morrison (2000) regardless, the authority being granted to fed troops is extreme limited, so for the moment this is mostly a performative action meant to trigger the libs... right up until the federal presence results in an escalation o' violence. maybe such escalation won't happen this time, but if this is the new normal, eventual there will be an accident or event which results in catastrophe. such an eventuality is part o' the plan. HA! Good Fun!

found a trick for giving our dogs medications-- chicken skin. one of our dogs requires multiple medications daily and she don't like taking meds. our dog is preternatural cunning about pill syringes/pillers and perhaps ironic, the chewable meds the vet prescribes is the worst as they is oversized and it is harder to disguise 'em as they has odor/flavour. am having tried hiding pills in any number o' foods, but the dog rejects the alloy o' pill + meat/cream cheese/whatever. commercial pill pockets is useless. however, am having noticed none o' our dogs meds is including microcapsules, so am able to mortar and pestle the pills into a powder w/o screwing up the med efficacy. we then combine the pills with a paste made from chicken skin. we remove chicken skin from thighs or breasts and then cook the skin in the oven at 375F until is dry and virtual all the fat has rendered. jaques pépin refers to the stuff as "chicken bacon" and he uses it in all kinda recipes, but for our purposes we make sure the rendered skin has no salt or seasoning added. the dry chicken skin may be crushed into a paste which retains only a little oil. a relative small amount o' the resulting chicken paste may then be combined with our powdered dog meds to form a tiny round "pill" which the world's most persnickety dog never rejects. dunno if anybody else has ever had trouble with dogs and meds, but for those who do, and if pill syringes/pillers don't work as advertised, the chicken skin option might be worth a try. takes a bit o' effort to mortar and pestle meds not to mention the chicken skin prep, but for those who has difficult canines... also, we made the stew o' violence and it is surprisingly tasty, particular if you like a bit o' sweet in your pork. we ordinarily shy away from sweet pork or beef offerings, but this were enjoyable as the sweet is not overpowering. red wine vinegar substitutes for kobold blood (we couldn't find kobold blood even at corti brothers,) and any dry red wine will work as a replacement for black currant wine. 3lbs o' pork shoulder is what we used 'stead o' boar. HA! Good Fun!

sherman, set the wayback machine to april 16, 2025. these predictions ain't particular insightful... am just paying attention. HA! Good Fun!

before marvel and dc were indulging in the retcon, Presidential administrations were getting the same treatment. from the jfk presidential library: The 1960 election campaign was dominated by rising Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. In 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. American leaders warned that the nation was falling behind communist countries in science and technology. Three years later, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory and its pilot captured. The incident led to the cancellation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's planned trip to Moscow and the collapse of a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. In Cuba, the revolutionary regime of Fidel Castro became a close ally of the Soviet Union, heightening fears of communist subversion in the Western Hemisphere. Public opinion polls revealed that more than half the American people thought war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. ... as such, the first heading from the 1960 democrat party platform should come as no surprise National Defense The new Democratic Administration will recast our military capacity in order to provide forces and weapons of a diversity, balance, and mobility sufficient in quantity and quality to deter both limited and general aggressions. When the Democratic Administration left office in 1953, the United States was the pre-eminent power in the world. Most free nations had confidence in our will and our ability to carry out our commitments to the common defense. Even those who wished us ill respected our power and influence. The Republican Administration has lost that position of pre-eminence. Over the past 7 1/2 years, our military power has steadily declined relative to that of the Russians and the Chinese and their satellites. This is not a partisan election-year charge. It has been persistently made by high officials of the Republican Administration itself. Before Congressional committees they have testified that the Communists will have a dangerous lead in intercontinental missiles through 1963—and that the Republican Administration has no plans to catch up. They have admitted that the Soviet Union leads in the space race—and that they have no plans to catch up. They have also admitted that our conventional military forces, on which we depend for defense in any non-nuclear war, have been dangerously slashed for reasons of "economy"—and that they have no plans to reverse this trend. As a result, our military position today is measured in terms of gaps—missile gap, space gap, limited-war gap. To recover from the errors of the past 7 1/2 years will not be easy. This is the strength that must be erected: 1. Deterrent military power such that the Soviet and Chinese leaders will have no doubt that an attack on the United States would surely be followed by their own destruction. 2. Balanced conventional military forces which will permit a response graded to the intensity of any threats of aggressive force. 3. Continuous modernization of these forces through intensified research and development, including essential programs now slowed down, terminated, suspended, or neglected for lack of budgetary support. A first order of business of a Democratic Administration will be a complete re-examination of the organization of our armed forces. A military organization structure, conceived before the revolution in weapons technology, cannot be suitable for the strategic deterrent, continental defense, limited war, and military alliance requirements of the 1960s. We believe that our armed forces should be organized more nearly on the basis of function, not only to produce greater military strength, but also to eliminate duplication and save substantial sums. We pledge our will, energies, and resources to oppose Communist aggression. Since World War II, it has been clear that our own security must be pursued in concert with that of many other nations. The Democratic Administrations which, in World War II, led in forging a mighty and victorious alliance, took the initiative after the war in creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the greatest peacetime alliance in history. This alliance has made it possible to keep Western Europe and the Atlantic Community secure against Communist pressures. Our present system of alliances was begun in a time of an earlier weapons technology when our ability to retaliate against Communist attack required bases all around the periphery of the Soviet Union. Today, because of our continuing weakness in mobile weapons systems and intercontinental missiles, our defenses still depend in part on bases beyond our borders for planes and shorter-range missiles. If an alliance is to be maintained in vigor, its unity must be reflected in shared purposes. Some of our allies have contributed neither devotion to the cause of freedom nor any real military strength. The new Democratic Administration will review our system of pacts and alliances. We shall continue to adhere to our treaty obligations, including the commitment of the UN Charter to resist aggression. But we shall also seek to shift the emphasis of our cooperation from military aid to economic development, wherever this is possible. ... "civil defense" and "arms control" were the next most prominent issues addressed. trump may not be aware o' what is the nuclear triad, but kennedy and mcnamara sure as hell did. oh, and bay of pigs, anybody? am always a bit perplexed by the 2025 image o' kennedy as a dove. 'course washington and jefferson got their own reimagining long before kennedy, so is nothing particular noteworthy 'bout a post administration edit. HA! Good Fun!

and ... there is more than a few additional examples o' crazy and senile, but we have gone so far around the bend it doesn't even seem worth it for pundits to remark that trump is wearing a maga hat at a west point commencement speech for chrissakes. HA! Good Fun!

am gonna admit we were surprised it took trump a month to approve fema funds for arkansas. am cynical enough to believe that trump was planning on treating fema the same way he is handling tariffs-- if a disaster hits a red state and the governor of the state in question grovels obsequiously enough, offers to praise trump public and perhaps provide his family business new enrichment opportunities, then... but if a disaster comes to california or washington, then am suspecting fema funds is gonna be hard to find and the needed bribes and genuflection is gonna be increased signifficant. as a possible explanation for the curious treatment o' arkansas, perhaps huckabee and arkansas were simply victims o' timing. being the first major disaster locus for the new administration, trump needed to prove to the other 49 states (and smattering o' territories,) that he was willing and able to let even his most devoted voters suffer. if the past month is an indication o' what huckabee gets post disaster, then imagine what jb pritzer has to look forward to when historic storms hit. regardless, whenever trump does curious or odd, am always trying to figure out how such behavior aligns with one o' his four guiding principles: greed; vanity, willful ignorance, vengeance. is rare we cannot explain a trump move once we consider how one or more o' the aforementioned beasts is being fed by Presidential action or inaction. HA! Good Fun!

after seeing liza minnelli playing the part o' sally bowles, it is difficult to wrap our head around the image o' judi dench in the same role. is our understanding that the reality o' ms. dench being a less than accomplished dancer or singer bothered english audiences not at all, which is just so english in our mind. is also impossible for us not to think o' joel grey as the emcee, but am gonna observe how an alan cumming take on the character is just what the kennedy center needs at the moment. HA! Good Fun!

so... there is no need to explain why immunizing the fed executive from the consequences o' a failure to comply with court orders is dangerous, right? ... trump is taking sh!t coin and qatar jet bribes right in plain view while ambushing ramaphosa with easily discredited conspiracy theory "articles" his aides presumably plucked straight from some 4-chan cellar, while inventing for himself the power to tariff individual companies... and that is just stuff from the last few days. you not need to be from the future to recognize the threat this administration poses, and yet almost half o' americans is active cheering for skynet, and some other significant percentage o' people is convinced they are all bad, so it doesn't matter that trump is breaking foundational Constitutional principles 'cause kamala woulda' been just as bad. serious? even so, when confronting maga cultists or they are all bad devotees, you must be empathetic and patient 'cause the snowflakes only entrench further when confronted with the abject lunacy o' their FAITH. *sigh* HA! Good Fun!

with the "african president" meeting in the oval office, trump is appealing to the sense o' pervasive white american victimhood. claim the media is ignoring white genocide in south africa speaks to his base bigly. doesn't need to be true. furthermore, by sharing readily disprovable nonsense, trump is deflecting from the current sucking chest wound which is his big beautiful bill. the republican sponsored legislation provides tax breaks for the rich (and for tanning beds... serious,) while cutting medicaid, snap benefits, and 'ccording to the cbo, will necessarily result in the need to automatic reduce hundreds of billions of dollars in medicare benefits. of course the media is gonna criticize trump lies. more than a few media sources is even gonna suggest there is a racial animus to trump lies, a claim which further infuriates the trump base. even so, anything which distracts from the big bastard bill is good, right? ok, the amusing part for us is leopards eating faces aspect. if trump's firehose o' lies and pain direct affect you, then there is puzzlement and consternation, but no epiphany. you were fired 'cause 'o misguided doge cuts to the va or a fireman training facility? huh, that's was weird. you were benefiting from a life saving protocol being funded by nih, only to have rfk jr. suspend the program? yeah, that was a mistake. you are a south african who knows for a fact that trump is lying about white genocide o' farmers? yup, that were a blunder. all those folks, people who know trump is lying and/or enriching himself and the wealthiest .01% at their expense, nevertheless go along with all the other trump bs which don't personal affect them. why believe trump and fox news about tariffs? why believe trump and fox news about the immigrant invasion? why believe trump about blm summer protests from 2020, the stolen election or his mar-a-lago documents? there is a special kinda obtuseness that trump has been unique able to tap into and exploit. even when individuals know trump is lying about a, b, and c, those same people nevertheless take at face value trump and fox claims about d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n... is genuine baffling to us that so many have faith in trump even after they witness the face-eating-leopard eating faces. am understanding the strength o' grievance and outrage, or rather we thought we had an understanding. we once thought, back in 2015, that it took a special kinda stoopid to fall for trump's lies and false promises. our mistake. HA! Good Fun! ps having elon in the oval office for the meeting with ramaphosa while musk is simultaneous working on his starlink deal with south africa were a curious look. wouldn't an ordinarily cynical person question whether some o' the US pressure on south africa were engineered by musk to create a better bargaining situation for elon? why have elon standing there as if to punctuate the validity o' such concerns?

maha am not sure that limiting access to a vaccine which likely saves many thousands every year, as well as implementing significant cuts to medicaid, will make americans healthier... and am dubious that switching from canola to beef tallow is gonna make the difference. well, on the positive side, a smoking habit (past or current) is a covid risk factor, so am s'posing you could always take up smoking if you wanna continue to get the covid shot. rfk jr. is correlation v. causation stoopid, so is likely he would be convinced that an advertising campaign to encourage nationwide smoking would be a maha positive. if everybody took up smoking, life expectancy would drop and all those related conditions which old people suffer would decrease. less chronic disease. win? in any event, if you don't care about life insurance and you really want a covid shot this year, you could always take up smoking... and as ignorant as such sounds, it is no more ridiculous than at least half of rfk jr's idiotic plans and conspiracies. HA! Good Fun!

am legit conflicted 'bout the shocking ignorance o' those trump has put in power. on the one hand, if these jokers were more knowledgeable and capable, they would be better able to carry out their agenda o' destruction. on the other hand, a clown with a flamethrower is only marginal less dangerous than would be a more serious engine of chaos. as to china... am gonna note that we also heard from some o' the same board experts in january and february of 2022 that it were journalists and politicians in the west who were "banging the drums of war." all the concern 'bout putin predations were overblown, right? HA! Good Fun!