“It’s Good To Be The King!”

Posted: August 16, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Despite a court order, a tarp still covers the name above the entrance to The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts that once sported Donald Trump’s name. This week the Center’s Board, consisting mostly of members appointed by Trump, voted to put Trump’s name back on the center. Under the main sign, a new sign will be added that reads “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump.” In addition, and contrary to the court order, the Board voted to close the Center for two years for renovations. Probably to allow Trump to cover everything in more gold plating from Home Depot. This is part of a pattern where Trump and his administration work hard to circumvent the law.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

In his increasingly bizarre behavior, Trump proves daily that he has no moral center, lies about everything, and acts like a spoiled toddler. He wants what he wants when he wants it and throws a hissy fit if he doesn’t get it. The problem is, that he is the most powerful man in the country, if not the world, and he can bring the weight of the entire U.S. government down on the head of anyone that defies him. He is cunning. Not too smart, but cunning. Like an animal stalking its prey, he is relentless and inventive in finding new ways to get what he wants. It is clearly evident that our laws are inadequate to stop a president from doing whatever pops into his head. We know now what can happen when a president has no moral compass or ethical core, but does have an over riding interest in increasing his own power and wealth. Those around Trump are using him to implement their vision of the “American Way” which is founded in the driving belief that only white wealthy Christian men are the rightful heirs to the country. Everyone else is there to serve their purposes.

Some recent events are almost comical in their banality and pettiness. Yet, they are also a direct threat to our foundational beliefs. It is just not that he is laser focused on his various vanity projects. These escapades also indicate a full-on assault bypassing the courts and the Congress. There are multiple examples that lead me to believe that Trump and his cohorts are working hard to establish his right, not just desire, to do whatever he wants.

Only a few weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v Barbara, Trump issued an Executive Order (E.O.) attempting to restrict the rights of those born in the U.S. Even though the court was clear that the original intent of the amendment included everyone born here, with some very specific exceptions that primarily include foreign nationals in the U.S. with diplomatic immunity. Trump’s E.O. tries to squeeze as much out of the terms of the original amendment that states it applies to everyone “subject to the jurisdiction” of the federal government by expanding the number of groups he claims are not under federal control. More troubling, Trump and his main hit man Stephen Miller espoused — again!– their belief that the amendment only applies to children born to formerly enslaved people. The Supreme Court specifically debunked that belief, and yet here we are. Back to the courts, I suppose.

In March of this year, Trump signed another of his ubiquitous E.O.s, this time impacting voting rights. He had a previous attempt in 2025 that was stopped by the courts. His latest effort would essentially take from the states and Congress the Constitution’s provision that only they can set the rules for voting. Among other things, he is trying to attack mail-in voting by directing the United States Postal Service (USPS) to not deliver mail-in ballots to anyone not on an approved list provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and mandates that the states must use the approved lists to determine which citizens are eligible to vote. The DHS list of “citizens” is notoriously inaccurate (it has been for years) and it ignores the fact that such a list could be easily manipulated by agents of the Trump regime. It is clearly an end-run around previous rulings blocking Trump from dictating election rules in his previous E.O. and to circumvent the provisions of the Constitution. So far district and appeals courts have blocked this E.O. but Trump is now appealing directly to the Supreme Court on an “emergency” basis through the Shadow Docket. (The Shadow Docket is supposed to be reserved for real national emergencies, stays of imminent executions and the like, not manufactured emergencies as Trump so often tries to declare. Under the Shadow Docket there are no oral arguments, often no written arguments or signed opinions, and it can be difficult to understand the legal arguments for their decisions. Another end-run.)

Trump is also going to the Supreme Court based on a declared “national security emergency” to overturn lower court and appeals court stays to stop the construction of Trump’s nearly one billion dollar ball room. Such an attempt is yet another insult to our laws and the role of Congress. The opinion from the bench about the the case clearly delineates that Congress has the right and responsibility to approve and oversee construction projects at the White House beyond routine maintenance. (This is the same ball room that would cost no taxpayer money. Ha Ha.) Trump asserts that the National Historic Trust, the organization bringing the suit, is “TREASONOUS” (sic) and that he is entitled to do what he wants with The People’s House because, well, because he’s the president and as such, he can do whatever he wants.

One more example of his ignoring the law is the ongoing saga of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool. Charges of vandalism and other felonies were dropped after the government charged four innocent bystanders of destroying the Reflecting Pool. The prosecutor in the case said that there was no evidence of their involvement and that, indeed, it was shoddy workmanship that led to the problems. Trump went ballistic. We have now learned that the Attorney General for the District of Colombia is convening a Special Grand Jury to investigate a case. Special Grand Juries are rarely used. However, they can investigate a potential crime and issue a report, even if they find there is insufficient evidence to prove that a crime was committed. It is a perfect tool to go after anyone Trump wants to see suffer at the hands of the government. While it is currently unknown as to the reason for it, it could well be to assuage Trump’s ire over no one being taken to trial for damaging his special vanity project. Time will tell, but it is yet another example that Trump and those that feed his every desire, will look for any loop hole or quirk in the law to make someone’s or some group’s lives miserable and costly. Trump looks at E.O.s and other declarations as is if they are imperial declarations from the throne that shall not be challenged. Thankfully for our democracy, there are still people and organizations that are willing to defend our rights. Most of the time, those that challenge Trump win their cases. Unfortunately, sometimes that does not seem to matter as we have seen over the last year and a half that he will gladly ignore Congress or any court ruling that goes against him. His track record of noncompliance spans key executive actions involving immigration, federal spending, mass layoffs, agency rollbacks and more.

Beyond his toddler grievances and belief that he should get whatever he wants, there is a bigger reason for such actions. It would be easy to focus merely on the pettiness and petulance and silliness of it all. Unfortunately, whether it is Trump or his closest advisors, there is a reason for all of it. They are laying the groundwork for their authoritarian plans. There are so many of these instances that we can become inured to their significance. They go further each time in an attempt to make it seem routine, even as they work to undermine and neutralize the other branches of government. Their vision of the Unitary Executive is really about authoritarianism. Personally, I think that they are on the path to interfering with the elections in order to solidify their grip on the reins of power. I do not predict how, but it will happen. They already tried in 2020. Whether it will be voter suppression, seizing ballot boxes, declaring elections delayed due to a national emergency, or simply declaring the election void if they do not win, I think we are only limited by our imagination. ICE is fast becoming a large private para-military force on the streets ready to do his bidding. Trump in 2028 anyone? Trump “jokes” about it more and more often. Unfortunately, he may be one of those people that has no funny bone. I have never heard him be, well, actually funny. I would speculate that all of his jokes are really trial balloons. Categorize the reaction, say it over and over until people stop paying attention, declare that no one objects, and then do it.

Two more things to watch. The Treasury Department will no longer enforce the law. Specifically, the Corporate Transparency Act which passed on a large bi-partisan basis in 2021 (thanks to then Senator Marco Rubio) designed to rein in the use of shell companies to hide drug money, money laundering, and other corrupt or illegal financial transactions. Corruption can now conduct business as usual. I am sure that Trump, Inc. was sad to hear about it. But they were probably happy to hear that World Liberty Trust — a company integral to the Trump family windfall profits from cryptocurrency — was granted bank status by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) this week. With approval of bank status, World Liberty can issue stablecoins, a cryptocurrency backed by secure investments such as U.S. Treasury bonds and can be traded for U.S. dollars. Let’s see — no more monitoring of shell companies, their own bank, unaccounted for donations from private investors, unaccounted for Venezuelan oil money and on and on and on. “It’s good to be the king!” as Mel Brooks memorably said in the movie The History of the World, Part I. How brazen can they get?

By nature, I am an optimist. I do not want to dwell in the depths of the implications of Trump’s actions. However, I am also not naive. Something is going to happen, I just do not know what. I hope I am wrong. I am also surprised (disappointed?) at how many people do not realize or believe that he is systematically trying to take away our rights and traditions.

The next six months will reveal a lot about our future as a country.

The Epstein Class Carries On

Posted: August 9, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.