The Epstein Class Carries On

Once again Donald J. Trump disparages our military by putting himself in the same category as those that won World War II. Remember that President “Bone Spurs” got numerous mysterious medical waivers to avoid the draft during the Viet Nam War. He is using borrowed valor to try and make himself seem like a great leader which is directly out of the Dictator’s Handbook (see Stalin, Kim Jong Un, Mussolini, Franco, Pinochet, etc.). He could not even get the details correct, probably out of ignorance. The uniforms are incorrect, the ranks are incorrect, the covers (headgear) are incorrect, just about everything about the image is historically incorrect. Note, however, that he gives himself more stars (higher rank) than either of those next to him that actually earned them. Somehow he also ends up with better hair and no headgear — doesn’t want to mess up his “do”. To say nothing about the fact that one would think the president could better spend his time doing something other than posting AI memes. (Image courtesy of @realDonaldTrump, accessed via Truth Social)

“Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.” — Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on 18 June 2026 via an “X” post commenting on the fiasco at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington D.C.

We live in scary and exhausting times. It is hard enough to live ones own life but knowing at the same time that the Trump regime, along with his buddies in the Epstein Class, are trying daily to enhance their own power and wealth makes it down right discouraging. Nothing seems to be going well for the country, unless you are a billionaire or a Trump insider. The war in Iran is a total debacle at the expense of our fine military men and women. Jobs are being lost in record numbers. Inflation is increasing. Food is not safe as diseases spread. Measles, once thought statistically eliminated in the U.S. is roaring back as the number of cases soars. Federal aid for disasters is tied to how your state’s Electoral College votes were assigned. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP — colloquially called food stamps) funds are being drastically cut and children are going hungry. Health care funds are being slashed. One of the most successful programs in the history of the federal government — Head Start which helps get kids off to a good start in their lives and in school — is changing the criteria for regulating what is taught and who can go with the loss of nearly two billion dollars from the program.

The list goes on and on. Meanwhile, Trump and his family get richer and richer. This is the same man that cheated on his wife with an adult film star, bragged on tape about sexually assaulting women, was adjudicated to be held civilly liable for sexual assault, was convicted on thirty-four felony counts, attempted to overthrow a free and fair election, is the only man to be impeached twice as president, and who was best friends with Jeffrey Epstein, to just name a few highlights. I know life isn’t fair, but really?

His administration is using the Department of Justice (DOJ) to go after everyone on Trump’s “enemies list.” Primarily people that tried to hold him accountable or criticized him. The spineless United States Senate, once the embodiment of collegial work for the good of our country, is a laughing stock. They just confirmed Todd “Carte” Blanche as the Attorney General. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said that “Well, there’s nothing we can do to rein in the president.” Umm, here’s an idea. How about voting “no” on the nomination of a guy that is going to end up creating a nearly two billion dollar slush fund to pay convicted criminals and who gave the president and his family the promise that they would never be audited for their tax shenanigans in perpetuity. A provision that is estimated to mean a profit to Trump of anywhere from 100 million to one billion dollars in taxes he will never have to pay. Other Republican Senators opined that they voted for him because Trump might nominate someone worse. I doubt it, but could one not still vote “no” on all unqualified or corrupt nominees? Why is the architect of the Epstein Files cover up the best choice for Attorney General?

The worst part? Trump is so embarrassed by his Reflecting Pool screw up — and to prove he can never be wrong — he ordered the arrest of innocent bystanders to have them charged with felonies for “vandalizing” his decrepit pool. This should be a five alarm warning bell to all of us. Essentially, Trump and his goons picked up people at random off the street to charge them with crimes that could result in ten years in prison. Our fellow citizens were rounded up for no reason other than merely to please Trump. Incredibly, the cooler head that prevailed was the Attorney General of the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro of Fox News fame. She dismissed the charges based on evidence that the contractor totally botched the entire job. Still, Trump will not leave it alone and is threatening to arrest more people for “cutting” the liner on his vanity project. That the members of the regime do not honor their oaths to the Constitution does not surprise me anymore. What concerns me is that rank and file prosecutors, law enforcement officers, National Guardsmen and others at the working levels are doing whatever they are told to do in violation of their oaths. “Just obeying orders” is not a legal nor a moral excuse.

The total incompetence of this Administration can best be seen in the total disaster unfolding in the war of choice against Iran. All is not well as Iran currently holds all the cards — to put it in Trumpian terms. It turns out that this not the “little excursion” that he claimed it to be. Trump and his minion Hegseth do not know how to honorably end the war. Both are searching frantically for a way out while still declaring “victory.” According to multiple media reports, Trump is looking for something, anything, that he can declare proves that he won the war. The latest scheme is to find a way to get the Strait of Hormuz open and then go home. Recall that the Strait was open to ships of all nations under international law and freedom of navigation. Trump will not care if the Iranians charge a “service fee” or a “tax” or an “environmental fee” as long as they do not use the word “toll.” Iran and Oman are reported to be negotiating the terms for re-opening the Strait without U.S. involvement, even as Trump keeps saying he has solved the issue. Gone is any talk of a nuclear deal.

Evidence of Trump’s and Hegseth’s total lack of understanding of warfare, strategy or the consequences of armed conflict is the widely reported lack of long range precision offensive and defensive munitions. As we used to say “prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.” Reports indicate that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine briefed the president and Secretary of Defense on the dangers of this type of operation in terms of geo-political consequences and the impact it would have on the future readiness of the Armed Forces. He was ignored and here we are. It turns out that “lethality” — Hegseth’s favorite word — is insufficient to win wars. On a small scale — in the greater scheme of things but not small to those involved — one can see the lack of logistical or operational planning in the plight of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). Family members of those aboard are raising holy hell about the reported conditions on board. No soap. Very little food. “Care packages” from home take months to be delivered, if at all, by which time cakes, cookies, the little day-to-day brighteners from home are ruined. Broken equipment. Falling morale. A total nightmare for a front line asset conducting combat operations every day and night. They have been deployed for over nine months. They set a record with over 200 consecutive days at sea. That is unsustainable. Equipment breaks, people get exhausted, mistakes start to happen. The flight deck on a carrier is inherently dangerous. It is an accident waiting to happen. When people are tired their concentration lapses. It is a miracle that no major accident has yet to occur. But, here is what is telling. Why is it there for so long? Why was there no rotation plan for ships and other units to come in and out of theater at specified times? Where are the supply ships to deliver the soap, the mail, the little things that keep the Sailors and Marines going day and night? None of that is happening because of their piss poor planning. Hegseth said it would be over in four weeks, six at the most. We are now approaching six months. There was no long range plan. I still have no idea what the original strategic goal was. It was never explained or articulated. Trump and Hegseth attacked because they thought it would be easy and fun.

This weekend Aramco, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, had a facility hit in Jubail, in eastern Saudi Arabia. The war continues whether or not Trump wants it to. Meanwhile, even though seemingly everyday Trump tells us there will be a “deal” in a day or two, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council laid out six conditions for reopening the Strait, which realistically is about all Trump can expect to get out of any “deal.” The terms specify that the U.S. must cease all threats against Iran, permanently end all military operations against Iran and its allies, end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, provide compensation for damage inflicted during the war, remove all sanctions and release all frozen Iranian assets. All of which was not part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), the agreement reached with the Iranians during the Obama Administration that limited Iran’s capability to produce enriched uranium. Trump tore it up because he could do better. He absolutely did not do better. And here we are.

Meanwhile this weekend, Trump’s other signature deal, the so-called “Board of Peace” plan for Gaza that Trump claims has solved all of the problems in the Middle East and that he boasted was agreed to by Israel and Hamas just got blown up. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected the entire fifteen point plan.

Stand by for Trump to act out in some way. Or maybe he will not care because he is too busy with his vanity projects and shaking down corporations and ordinary citizens for yet more money. He even has a staffer that he calls “The Princess of Darkness” that calls CEOs of company’s and corporations and tells them how much protection money they must ante up to do business that “the boss” would like a contribution of certain millions of dollars for his political campaign fund, presidential library or a D.C. monument, thank you very much. They pay. He has 800 million dollars in his campaign fund, which in an interview yesterday Trump said he may or may not use to help re-elect Republicans because it is “his” money to do with it as he sees fit. We still do not know where the billions in Venezuelan oil money is going. But, for 100,000 dollars a month, you can sign up to get Truth Social posts before the rest of the public gets them so that you can conduct insider trading sound business deals before anyone else knows what is happening.

Have a nice day.