SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025
But also, what Seth Moulton said: We start by thanking the ornamental pumpkins which "have brightened our pathways a while."
In this difficult time, it makes good sense for people to take their pleasure where they can honorably find it. Our neighborhood's ornamental pumpkins and winter squash—first cousins to Atticus Finch's mockingbirds—have been giving us a smile every time over the past several weeks.
Here's what Atticus said:
Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ʼem, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy....They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin...
We think of that statement every time we look on our neighborhood's front-steps pumpkin displays. In their vast array of presentations, the pumpkins and the winter squash seem to know how visually amusing they are. Without making a sound, they seem to be singing their hearts out for us.
They seem to be giving all that they have. For enjoyable photos, start here.
Then too, we turn to the amusing question of the World Series seventh game. We attended a seventh game once, right here in Baltimore, Maryland.
It was Game 7 of the 1971 series. We strolled roughly one mile to Memorial Stadium and bought two tickets—at the ticket booth!—on the very day of the game.
Baseball was different then. According to Baseball Reference, these were the official attendance figures for the four games played in Baltimore as roving gangs ruled the streets:
Game 1: 53,229
Game 2: 53,239
Game 6: 44,174
Game 7: 47,291
Were there really six thousand unsold tickets for that Game 7? (The Pirates won, 2-1, in two hours and ten minutes.)
We can't say we remember those empty seats. But even as game time approached, Game 7 wasn't a sellout. That was a different time.
Finally, it was Jennifer Bowers Bahney to the rescue at yesterday's Mediaite. On yesterday morning's Morning Joe, Rep. Seth Moulton had done a very unusual thing.
Instantly, Scarborough cut him off—as, of course, he should have. Bowers Bahney wrote it up and she provided the videotape:
Scarborough Shuts Down House Democrat Who Claimed Trump ‘Took Advantage of Young Girls With Epstein’
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough jumped on a Democratic lawmaker Friday for declaring that President Donald Trump “took advantage of young girls” when he was associated with convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Seth Moulton’s (D-MA) comments came after Morning Joe’s Willie Geist asked, “What is the most effective message for Democrats in this moment?”
“The Democrats are here to help working people in America, and Republicans are here to protect the billionaire class,” Moulton said. “And what you see time and again from this White House, you know, if you’re a criminal, you’re going to buy your way to freedom with Trump. If you are one of the people like him who took advantage of young girls with Jeffrey Epstein, then we’re going to sort of make that go away. I mean, fundamentally, Speaker Johnson—”
Scarborough interrupted to say, “We don’t have evidence that he took advantage of young girls with Jeffrey Epstein.”
“Right, right, right.” Moulton [sarcastically] answered. “Just, common sense be damned.”
The report continues from there. That was a very unusual thing for Moulton to do. Instantly jumping in, Scarborough did what a journalist should.
Why does the Trump administration seem to be trying so hard to keep the Epstein files hidden? In Blue America, it's natural that we might want to believe that Moulton has the answer.
That said, there's no evidence of such misconduct on Trump's part. For what it's worth, Amy Wallace, who co-wrote the new book by the late Virginia Giuffre. has explicitly said that Giuffre "never talked about him in any sense that he was involved in any of this."
We saw Wallace, an experienced journalist, restate that point on cable just last week.
What may be in the Epstein files? Will the files ever go public? Could Moulton's speculation turn out to be right? Will the American government, such as it was, ever be "open" again?
We can't answer those questions. Also, we don't believe that Blue America can really expect to prosper by adopting the mud-wrestling tactics on display within the playrooms of the current head of state.
For whatever reason, the president emits a never-ending stream of false or unfounded statements. He's more skilled at that game than most Blues are. For him, a war of unfounded statements will frequently result in a win.
Ornamental pumpkins.
ReplyDeleteThe World Series.
The Epstein files.
Nicely done.
Meanwhile it is high time to revisit the fact that the two most prominent forensic pathologists in the US noted that they had never seen a suicide hanging result in three neck fractures.
You think Trump broke Epstein’s neck?
DeleteSomeone did.
DeleteSomeone broke his neck. You think they did it as a random act?
DeleteMoulton did not say that Trump took advantage of young girls. He said "If you are one of the people like him [referring to Trump] who took advantage of young girls with Jeffrey Epstein, then we’re going to sort of make that go away." "Like Trump" is not the same as "Trump." Many people who resemble Trump in wealth and amorality have clearly done with young girls what Trump has not been shown to have done.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a winning message.
DeleteWe will not know for sure what Trump did with young girls until the rest of the Epstein files are released, as promised.
DeleteWhy not ask Melania what Epstein was doing and how involved Trump was in those activities? She surely knows.
Matt Gaetz is a real winner, amirite?
DeleteSomerby ignores that Virginia Giuffre was working at Mar a Lago when she was recruited there by Ghislaine Maxwell, by Giuffre's own account. How is that having no involvement?
ReplyDeleteBut the biggest evidence that something is fishy with Trump is how hard he has been working, at political and financial cost, to suppress the release of the Epstein Files. That is where "common sense" comes in. We also have the evidence that Trump expects loyalty but does not return it, so the idea that Trump is protecting others with his refusal to release more Epstein files flunks the common sense test.
Trump's name appears in the first set of Epstein Files, on Epstein's flight logs and in his contact list. Trump is in the Epstein birthday card. He is in photos with Epstein. Epstein was at Trump's wedding to Maples. Epstein introduced Trump to Melania. Epstein said Trump was his best friend. But we're expected to believe that Trump had nothing to do with Epstein's activities with young women, despite the fact that one of them describes being introduced to Trump by Epstein at his offices.
Somerby wants to hang his hat on a statement Maxwell made under coercion (in order to be transferred to a cushier prison), that Trump never did anything wrong with young girls. But is hanging around with others who are doing such things OK? For a president of the USA? Of course not. Hanging around with a sex trafficker should have been disqualifying in his first presidential run.
Maxwell, convicted for arranging for rich old men to rape children, would never lie to the Felons personal attorney, er DOJ. Makes sense, amiright?
DeleteMoulton was not telling lies, but when Somerby concludes with this, he implies that the accusations against Trump concerning Epstein are lies:
ReplyDelete"Also, we don't believe that Blue America can really expect to prosper by adopting the mud-wrestling tactics on display within the playrooms of the current head of state.
For whatever reason, the president emits a never-ending stream of false or unfounded statements. He's more skilled at that game than most Blues are. For him, a war of unfounded statements will frequently result in a win."
The reason for not lying should never be that one isn't good at it, or that opposition is better at it, so we aren't going to win with our own lies. Surely Somerby has a stronger moral code than saying one shouldn't lie if they won't get away with it.
Moulton didn't lie. Where is Somerby's famous test of the lie, the one where the liar must be aware that their lie contains false info, must have an intent to deceive? That is what Somerby invoked to excuse Trump's lies -- maybe he believes them, Somerby claimed. I think it is highly likely that Moulton believes Trump is guilty of misbehavior against women along with Epstein. Many of us have followed the evidence (and there is lots of it) to that conclusion. Is it then a lie when Moulton says it is common sense that Trump was involved with Epstein?
If no one talks about Trump's Epstein involvement until there is ironclad proof, then we must tolerate a man who abetted sexual predation against children, as our president. That is intolerable. It is a bridge too far for anyone moral, as are many of Trump's other behaviors. This should be the final straw for moral people. Added to the things Trump has been convicted of doing, there is no reason to keep this man in office.
The Epstein Files need to be released, and we need to remove Trump via impeachment proceedings, because we are not a country that tolerates men who prey on children as our nation's leaders. And it is equally important to find out who the rest of Epstein's customers were.
Great Britain showed courage and drew a firm line by expelling Andrew from his royal offices. We must do the same with our elected officials and those who hold high positions in business and in universities and wherever they are currently hiding. Trump is the main obstacle to this happening.
Somerby's own dishonesty in protecting Epstein by dithering about whether Moulton's common sense is justified stinks as rancidly as anyone else's protection of these predators.
Well said, exposes Somerby's hypocrisy.
Delete"Where is Somerby's famous test of the lie, the one where the liar must be aware that their lie contains false info, must have an intent to deceive?"
DeleteThe "famous test" isn't necessary because he didn't accuse Moulton of lying. He accused Moulton of stating something as a fact without any evidence.
That’s why Somerby talked about us blues not lying? Because Moulton didn’t lie?
Delete10:55 Agreed up until the point that I can accept that if the files are released they will be authentic, at this late date. Bondi is Trump’s personal lawyer.
ReplyDelete"For him, a war of unfounded statements will frequently result in a win."
ReplyDeleteBut should it? When we allow the president to engage in lies and get away with it, aren't we complicit in his deception? The Republicans certainly are, in my opinion.
Somerby frames this as a battle, a matter of winning and losing, but the president is not fighting a fight but serving the people. What is the excuse for lying to the people who one has been elected to serve? We the People certainly win nothing when that happens.
Where is Somerby's outrage? Why does Somerby get away with turning a difference of opinion (is there enough evidence to say that Trump was involved with Epstein) into a lie? Moulton wasn't lying but saying what we on the left tend to believe, despite Trump's attempts to wiggle off the Epstein hook. By characterizing Moulton's statement as a lie, Somerby distances himself from that shared belief on the left (but we already know Somerby is not one of us) and he maligns Moulton, who is telling the truth as far as we blues are concerned. Somerby is the one lying about Moulton's statement. And he is doing it to protect a piece of shit like Trump. Why would Somerby do that?
We blues should be proud to be called "bad liars" in so many words, by someone like Somerby, who never made a direct statement in his life, until it comes to defending Trump and the Epstein customer list.
"Why does Somerby get away with turning a difference of opinion (is there enough evidence to say that Trump was involved with Epstein) into a lie?"
DeleteGlad you asked. But the thing is, your question doesn't replicate the Seth Moulton statement.
Moulton said Trump "took advantage of young girls with Jeffery Epstein" and it was this statement Somerby praised Scarborough for refuting.
You, somewhat pathetically, attempted to rephrase Moulton's statement as Trump "being involved with Epstein", a far squishier, mushier statement no doubt reflecting the squish and mush inside your head.
Scarborough didn't refute Moulton's statement. He claimed Moulton had no evidence, upon which Moulton said there was plenty of evidence, including the withholding of the Epstein Files.
DeleteMy point was how could Trump be so involved with Epstein and not also be involved in his main business activity -- the traficking of young girls.
Somerby, and Scarborough are wrong, there is a ton of evidence. Trump even admits to this stuff, about dating a 10yo in ten years, about how hot this or that 12yo is, how he walks in on teenage pageant contestants as they undress, etc.
DeleteSomerby hopped on today to express "roving gangs ruled the streets" in his beloved Baltimore and to deflect from Moulton expressing the world's most obvious notion.
Somerby is not just a right winger, he is a slimy one.
You say "Trump admits to this stuff" and then nothing in the "stuff" you list turns out to be "taking advantage of young girls with Esptein."
DeleteIt's not really that complicated.
I think hiring teens so close to the working age limit is exploiting them, even if he did it to save money instead of for sex (although they were pool girls). They were 14 years old. Trump also hired illegals at Mar a Lago, but no one seemed to care about that during the election.
DeleteEpstein (via Maxwell, who was his partner in crime and life) approached those young teens and recruited them for his sex ring. They have said this in their testimony. Luring them to engage in sex with old men (which they refer to as being raped) is not what Maxwell promised them, when she recruited them from Mar a Lago, Trump's resort.
You may disagree that this is taking advantage of them with Epstein (who arranged the parties they served at), but that is your problem. I've supported what I said.
Trump has taken advantage of young girls, in the manner of Jeffery Epstein, and possibly along with Jeffery Epstein, and there is evidence for both including Trump's own declarations.
Delete4:27 you are the one trying to make it more complicated.
People like Somerby want to be excessively literal when it suits their agenda, or engage in inference when it suits their agenda - they will flip flop as needed; here these sexual predator defenders suddenly want to be super literal, but it just exposes their hypocrisy.
Surely nome of us want to defend sexual predators (such as Trump and Epstein) the way Somerby and Scarborough seem to be doing.
I could be wrong, if so, more power to you, defend away.
Birds singing is a metaphor for snitches snitching. Somerby is giggling over that one. Trump is protecting the men who abused children because he knows that if he doesn't, they will testify against him. The "suicide" was a warning to all others to keep quiet about what they know. Trump included.
ReplyDeleteThere is a circle of guilty men. When Somerby mocks Moulton by claiming that he is the liar, not those who are refusing to investigate Trump's sexual assaults, Somerby is complicit. Why would he be, if he were a good decent person? Does he love Trump enough to sacrifice his own integrity this way? I don't think so. Why, then, is Somerby calling blue America liars when we talk casually about what Trump has obviously done?
No evidence, says Somerby. Why is there no evidence? Because Trump has been hiding it. Somerby knows that, so mocking Moulton with the absence of evidence that Trump is hiding (to conceal his own guilt and that of others) is part of the game for Somerby. Blues do not side with sexual predators. Somerby is doing that today, in public, so how then do we believe that he is part of blue America? We are not the men who believe having lots of money means you can sexually exploit children. That's not even the right -- it is the billionaires and powerful people who treat laws as if they are optional and think it is OK to live by their own morality -- which tends to mean doing whatever they want to whoever they want.
No wonder Melania has left Trump. No wonder Somerby has no woman in his life. Women tend not to want to hang out with men who mistreat them, if only by repeating Gutfeld's daily jokes about women being whales. Giggle, giggle says Somerby, that's no lie. Moulton is the liar, he says.
"Birds singing is a metaphor for snitches snitching. Somerby is giggling over that one. "
DeleteRight, Somerby is writing for the streetsmart offender crowd. Duh.
It is a mainstream understanding of snitches "singing".
DeleteHis intended meaning is made evident by this headline on today's essay:
"Mockingbirds singing, if you can see it!"
Why would he add "if you can see it,"?
Obfuscating is Somerby's favorite form of lying.
So whenever someone talks about birds singing, they're not really talking about birds singing, they're talking about snitches.
DeleteYou're a moron.
Trump threw a Great Gatsby themed Halloween Party at Mar a Lago yesterday. Way to read the room!
ReplyDeleteThe plot of Great Gatsby is that rich people get to commit crimes and cover them up, because they are rich. How is that not rubbing our noses in the wealth of these criminals, or do we assume they are all illiterate?
DeleteHere is how Kristi Noem celebrates Halloween:
Delete"— Tear gassing trick-or-treaters: Noem’s new definition of American values. Puppy killer Noem refused to pause operations in Chicago so children can trick or treat. What have we become? Brutal is probably a good word, to begin with. In another example of the Trump regime’s frantic efforts to harass, imprison, and deport brown people — and perhaps to gin up an insurrection that could justify suspending elections — Noem denied Illinois Governor Pritzker’s request to hold off on the tear gas and masked terror operations for Halloween. When ICE recently raided a Chicago apartment building, they then trashed multiple apartments, ripping up furniture, smashing windows, breaking and scattering possessions, and removing and carting away phones and laptops. No warrants signed by judges were presented and one ICE thug, when asked about the shivering zip-tied American citizen kids standing in the freezing cold, said, “Fuck the children.” Setting aside the invocation of Epstein (and Trump?) the phrase immediately brings to mind, the brutal sentiment appears to be one embraced by ICE Barbie herself…"
https://hartmannreport.com/p/saturday-report-11125-tear-gassing
"Fuck the children!" seems to be the new Republican campaign slogan -- except they are doing away with elections. Rumor is that Trump is selling 2028 red hats with that slogan on them.
DeleteI think you mean, "fuck the children after we force you to have them."
DeleteSpeaking of lying, the Republicans have been lying about the shutdown. They could have ended it a long time ago. Thom Hartmann explains how:
ReplyDelete"— The GOP’s dirty little secret exposed, courtesy of Donald Trump: Republicans in the Senate could have ended the shutdown anytime they wanted. Ever since the shutdown started, I’ve been shouting into the wilderness that Senate Majority Leader Republican John Thune (who now holds the position Mitch McConnell held for so long) could reopen the government with the GOP’s so-called “clean continuing resolution” or “clean CR” any time he wanted. All it takes to suspend or even eliminate the filibuster rule — which is neither in the Constitution nor any law, but merely a Senate rule — is 51 votes. Republicans have 53 senators and the Vice President adds a 54th, so it shouldn’t be a particularly heavy lift. I pointed it out on Ali Velshi’s program, and a few days later Congressman Ro Khanna and I discussed it on my program; he went on to point it out over on Fox “News” (the host thought he was discussing reconciliation; they don’t hire the best and the brightest over there). But virtually none of the mainstream media have bothered to point out this simple reality; instead, they go along with the story that Republicans are essentially helpless victims of evil Democrats who are holding the nation hostage. Finally, though, Trump himself let the bomb drop in a posting on his Nazi-infested social media site, writing: “WE are in power, and if we did what we should be doing, it would IMMEDIATELY end this ridiculous, Country destroying ‘SHUT DOWN’… It is now time for the Republicans to play their ‘TRUMP CARD,’ and go for what is called the Nuclear Option — Get rid of the Filibuster, and get rid of it, NOW!” I’ve argued for years that the filibuster helps the GOP and special interests far more than Democrats, and Schumer, et al, should have nuked it years ago when they had the power to do so. Hell, it was originally put into the Senate rules back in the early 19th century to protect against the passage of legislation outlawing slavery! Thune could suspend the filibuster for a single bill or blow it up altogether; either would be an improvement over the status quo. Yes, it would enable Republicans to pass more of their toxic and destructive legislation over the short term, but it would — importantly — also let Americans see the unvarnished consequences of Republican policies. And when Democrats come back into power, they could get a lot more done without the filibuster, including rolling back Citizens United and establishing an absolute right to vote. Let your Republican senators know (202-224-3121) they should take Trump’s advice and end the filibuster!"
Epstein got away with his sex trafficking ring for so long because many men believe that girls in their young teens are fair game sexually. This isn't only a belief of criminals like Epstein, but of fundamentalist religions and those who think that children should have rights like adults (like giving sexual consent). Nicholas Kristof explains why this is a bad idea, for those who are too mentally slow or lacking in empathy to understand what child sex/marriage does to young girls. How it harms them.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/opinion/child-marriage-us.html
Men cannot say they care about young girls when they are willing to coerce them and destroy their lives by refusing to wait until the girls know what they are doing.
Somerby's coyness about Anne Frank (who was beautiful he says, while being murdered by Nazis) and the farmgirl Antonia (beloved by White Supremacists) and Malala (who just wanted to go to school without being killed) provides an ugly reminder that the idealization of female preteens leads to bad outcomes for the girls involved. Ask any Epstein victim.
Preteen girls are children. The men who lust after them are pedophiles and criminals.
"the idealization of female preteens leads to bad outcomes for the girls involved"
DeleteNeither Anne Frank nor Malala was idealized prior to being murdered/attacked. Antonia is a fictional character.
You're talking nonsense.
Anne Franke was idealized after her death via plays and by publishing her journal. Malala was idealized when she became famous worldwide for her attempts to open schools to girls. She won a Nobel Peace Prize. Antonia, a fictional character who was symbolic of white immigrant women in traditional farm roles who settled the American West, was the focus of White Supremacists in the US. Somerby idealized all three by writing about them himself, along with two "courageous" girls from his classroom in his own posts.
DeleteSomerby has idealized them by using gushy language about their looks and courage. Antonia is typically idealized by White Supremacists as the epitome of American womanhood, which men should strive to protect. Cather's description of Antonia is considered by some critics to be part of the emergence of racial nativism in the US, not because of Cather's own beliefs but because of the men who read and used her writing to exemplify their own goals. Somerby has mooned over Antonia several times, using similarly gushing language, choosing excerpts when Antonia is in her early teens being described by the male protagonist age 10 who has a crush on her.
Somerby's essays are available for anyone to read, going back to the beginning of his blog. If you were not here when he wrote this earlier stuff, that doesn't mean he didn't write such things, didn't do what I am describing.
My point is the inappropriateness of describing the beauty of a 14 year old Holocaust victim, or a young girl who was attacked on the road because she tried to go to school, the inappropriateness of describing Antonia through her young admirer's eyes when her beauty is the least interesting and least important thing about her in that novel. It is creepy when a grown man like Somerby describes the beauty of a farmgirl as seen by a 10 year old.
In all three cases, these are children, not young women and certainly not sex objects (Anne Franke was killed), so applying language that describes their beauty is wrong and harmful to them, because it encourages men to think they are marriageable at age 11 or 13, as Kristof describes. Somerby has also written essays suggesting that our society enables and even approves of May-December romances, because Lauren Bacall married Humphrey Bogart at age 17 and because there are underage movie stars shown in movie plots with much older men. Somerby used these examples to defend Roy Moore, who was running for office when accusations that he sexually abused 14 year old girls emerged in the press.
I'd suggest you go back and re-read my comment at 12:40. It excerpted a quote of yours stating a cause and effect relationship, and then stated why that relationship didn't exist.
DeleteNothing you wrote @ 1:46 contradicts me.
Spot on. Agree, Somerby is a creep.
DeleteTrump's withholding of SNAP funds is illegal. Why isn't the press and people holding Republicans and Trump accountable for breaking the law and harming American families who depend on SNAP for food?
ReplyDeletehttps://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-31-2025
DeleteI am proud that Joe Neguse is representing my district in congress. More legislators should be turning things back on the Republicans when the press tries to blame Democrats for the shutdown.
Somerby -- we don't have to lie to win. The truth is sufficient to let Republicans see how they have been conned. MTG gets it. Other Republicans apparently don't care about starving families without work.
"Somerby -- we don't have to lie to win."
DeleteWhen has Somerby ever said we have to lie to win?
Here, in today's post:
Delete"Also, we don't believe that Blue America can really expect to prosper by adopting the mud-wrestling tactics on display within the playrooms of the current head of state.
For whatever reason, the president emits a never-ending stream of false or unfounded statements. He's more skilled at that game than most Blues are. For him, a war of unfounded statements will frequently result in a win."
He says we cannot win because we don't lie as well as Trump does, so we shouldn't tell lies because we will lose by doing it. That implies we must be better liars in order to win, liars who are as good at it as Trump is.
@12:22 - On the contrary, giving people money without Congressional approval would be unconstitutional. A couple of local judges somehow decided otherwise, but their decisions makes no legal sense.
DeleteFuck off you lying piece of fascist shit David.
DeleteDavid is outright lying here. His being stupider by way of right wing garbage news he consumes does not excuse his mendacity. He fucking knows SNAP continued just fine during shutdowns during his last joke of a term. They had funding plans posted online prior to this shutdown till they pulled them down. David's a sick and cruel old piece of shit gonna die soon full of hate and fear. Yea David, you go you fucking nasty ass bitch.
DeleteTrump posted
DeleteOur Government lawyers do not think we have the legal authority to pay SNAP with certain monies we have available, and now two Courts have issued conflicting opinions on what we can and cannot do. I do NOT want Americans to go hungry just because the Radical Democrats refuse to do the right thing and REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. Therefore, I have instructed our lawyers to ask the Court to clarify how we can legally fund SNAP as soon as possible. It is already delayed enough due to the Democrats keeping the Government closed through the monthly payment date and, even if we get immediate guidance, it will unfortunately be delayed while States get the money out. If we are given the appropriate legal direction by the Court, it will BE MY HONOR to provide the funding, just like I did with Military and Law Enforcement Pay. The Democrats should quit this charade where they hurt people for their own political reasons, and immediately REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT. If you use SNAP benefits, call the Senate Democrats, and tell them to reopen the Government,
As you can see, Dickhead in Cal is just trolling now. He is a fucking mendacious fascist bastard.
DeleteOn the contrary, giving people money without Congressional approval would be unconstitutional.
When Congress authorizes spending that King Orange Chickenshit decides not to pay, that is fucking fine and dandy with Dickhead in Cal.
Dickhead in Cal, you fucking depraved racist gruesome excuse for a human being fascist freakazoid, which judge offered a conflicting opinion?
AI Overview
Yes, as of October 31, 2025, two separate U.S. federal courts issued consistent rulings on the matter of SNAP benefits during a government shutdown, not conflicting ones. Both judges ordered the Trump administration to use available contingency funds to continue paying benefits.
Consistent Conclusion: Two federal judges, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts and U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell in Rhode Island, ruled nearly simultaneously that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was required to use its contingency funds to continue the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments during the ongoing government shutdown.
Suck on that, DiC.
DeleteDiC would prefer to rely on Pam Bondi for guidance legally. Or maybe that attractive insurance lawyer that Trump sent after Comey and others, who can't find her way around a courtroom.i
DeleteDavidinCal still believes that the refs screwed the Germans at Stalingrad.
DeleteThe Russians tackled the German head coach. No penalty was called.
Delete"The Democratic Party delivered a brutal putdown to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Saturday over his continued refusal to swear in Adelita Grijalva, despite her election victory in Arizona 40 days ago – the longest delay on record between a congressional candidate’s win and their swearing in.
ReplyDeleteJohnson has faced allegations that his hesitancy to swear Grijalva in stems from his fear of a discharge petition, a legislative tool introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to compel the Justice Department to release files on Jeffrey Epstein. The petition remains just one signature short of having garnered enough support to force a vote on the matter, and Grijalva has pledged to support it.
“It’s been 40 days since [Grijalva] was elected by her constituents,” wrote the Democrat Party on its official X account to its more than 2.4 million followers. “Mike Johnson: Stop protecting pedophiles, swear in Adelita Grijalva, and release the Epstein files.”
The extreme lengths to which Republicans, at Trump's demand, are going to protect those described in the Epstein Files amounts to a confession of guilt. This makes Republicans the party of pedophiles, complicit after the fact, in every dirty act described by the victims. There are 1000+ young girls who serviced old men for money as part of Epstein's operation. Trump and Epstein were best friends (according to Epstein and others) during that time. The idea that Trump didn't know and approve of what was happening is ludicrous. Trump doesn't have to have had sex with any teens to be guilty along with Epstein and his customers.
Why would so many rich and famous men be giving Trump whatever he wants these days? There is evidence that Epstein himself was coercing his clients into giving him money, laundering funds through banks. The transfer of money through Epstein's hands is a part of this story too, without much public reporting. Trump is acting like the king of grifters, receiving billions for reasons that make little sense and appear to be manufactured cover-up stories, like his ballroom and his other projects. Epstein-related blackmail would be an obvious explanation for why this powerless old man is suddenly receiving so many expensive gifts from such a variety of sources.
This is why the Epstein Files need to be release. We need to understand why Trump has the support of so many unusual men in his daily grifting. I think the answer will be obvious when the files are released, Trump is impeached and we can follow the money trail back to those who slept with teens.
Meanwhile, if Trump didn't have sex with Epstein's girls, that doesn't mean he did nothing illegal along with Epstein in his blackmail operation. Media network mergers may not be the whole explanation for why Trump is able to tell the press what to write about him and what to suppress about others.
From Rawstory:
ReplyDelete"During her appearance on Morgan's show this week, Miller erupted when confronted by commentator Cenk Uygur. "Quite frankly, I'm really sick and tired of this racist bigoted rhetoric that comes from people like you against my husband, against my family and my children," she yelled.
The confrontation escalated when Miller threatened Uygur, saying, "You better check your citizenship application and hope that everything was legal and correct."
"The bottom line is this," wrote Mahdawi. "The wife of the US homeland security adviser apparently threatened to denaturalize someone because she didn’t like the fact he criticized her."
She went on, "To be clear, Trump can’t legally take away the citizenship of someone born in the US. But as we all know by now, Trump rarely seems to look at the law as an impediment."
This incident reflects a broader trend within the MAGA movement of threatening critics with deportation or citizenship revocation. Representative Nancy Mace has even suggested deporting Representative Ilhan Omar "back to Somalia," The Guardian columnist wrote.
The Justice Department has already announced plans to prioritize efforts to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizenship, a policy that seems designed to intimidate political opponents.
The article concludes that Miller's threat was more than a personal attack, it was "a warning to everyone in America: criticize MAGA and there will be consequences."
This is reflected in the procedures of ICE. They grab people regardless of citizenship status. Citizens may be released a few days or weeks later. They do not listen to anyone trying to show them papers or tell them about their situation. That is considered resisting and results in violence.
It is a short step from denaturalizing naturalized citizens to deporting birthrite citizens. This is the essence of disappearing people, especially when there is no way of tracking where someone was taken.
Katie has the same sense of entitlement as other Trump cronies, in this case borrowed from her husband Stephen Miller. I do not want to live in the dictatorship Trump has already established, much less one that gets worse. It is time to get rid of these Republicans by voting in Democratic candidates on Tuesday and in the midterm elections. Until then, peaceful protest at least helps us feel like we are doing something to resist.
Katie Miller went on Fox News to mock her husband's virility (laughing about how he is a "sexual matador"), this after supposedly hooking up with Elon "cold sore" Musk.
DeleteMeanwhile, Vance is having some kind of intimate thing with "merry widow" Erika Kirk, and it is more than just sharing eyeliner.
These are deeply weird people.
He's using the grieving widow as leverage to convince his wife to convert to Christianity to seem more presidential.
DeleteWe know he's not human. Anyone know what kind of life form he is?
He’s a bacterium.
DeleteNow Trump is targeting Seth Meyers:
ReplyDelete"Trump then asked, "Why does NBC waste its time and money on a guy like this???" before making a claim about unlawful conduct.
"NO TALENT, NO RATINGS, 100% ANTI TRUMP, WHICH IS PROBABLY ILLEGAL!!!" according to the president."
This is our senile president declaring it illegal to be anti-Trump.
It is only a matter of time before Trump exits. According to Raw Story's D. Earl Stephens:
ReplyDelete"I want to type with some precision about what the grotesque, 79-year-old Trump is, and what he is not.
Donald John Trump is provably an America-attacking, uncouth, convicted felon and bigoted slob who is both sick in mind and physical health. He drags his heavy left leg around with him like so many of his failed relationships. He visits the doctor more often than he goes to church, and lately has had more screenings than a 150-year-old house in a mosquito-infested swamp in Louisiana.
He is terminally ill, and second-term challenged.
He’s a morbidly obese mountain of hate, whose swollen ankles should hire one of the 1,200 lawyers he has in his employ, and sue for lack of support.
Just Monday, this lumbering lout casually bragged to a bunch of fawning reporters, “I got an MRI, it was perfect.”
This was significant news that as usual didn’t get the attention it deserved by an incompetent corporate media that has been brought to heel by their abuser with the short leash.
MRIs aren’t handed out at alleged routine medical checkups like lollipops.
“OK, Mr. Trump, let’s take your height, weight, and a MRI …”
Magnetic Resonance Imaging is used to detect and/or monitor potentially serious issues inside our bodies. The deteriorating Trump is a walking, talking medical crisis, and you don’t need a doctor to detect that.
I’ve typed for some time now that maybe instead of wondering if our country will survive these next three-plus years of Trump, this question should be asked instead: Will Trump survive these next three-plus years?
In Japan Tuesday, he spent part of the afternoon aimlessly wandering around Akasaka Palace like Frankenstein after an all-night bender at the biergarten. It has to be seen to be believed, as newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does her best to keep Orange Frankenstein in her general vicinity.
Cont.
Delete"This is where I feel obligated to tell you that if Joe Biden had been seen doing this, it would have been headline news for several months — the things bulletins are made of. With Trump it gets little to no mention at all, before attention is turned back to the 73 other circus events he has loosely choreographed, including insane talk of a third term.
Trump is in obvious failing health, so yapping about anything past next month, much less 2028, is a massive waste of everybody’s time. But that’s exactly what Trump did right after breathlessly breaking the news of his “perfect” MRI.
That’s when he said he “would love” a third term because of his “popularity with supporters,” who just can’t get enough of a guy who is about to end SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans, many of whom are THEM.
And oblige me while I stop here to remind you of this, before continuing:
Every bill to help feed people in my long lifetime has been passed by Democrats. Every bill to starve them has been passed by Republicans.
Look, in the next year or so, as the evidence mounts that Trump is deteriorating faster than a snowball in the Arizona desert, his health will finally grudgingly be flagged by the very so-called media experts, who are now fixated on this fictional third term.
So let me step to the head of the line and type this: He should resign immediately, and go off to spend whatever little time he has left on some golf course, dragging that leg around, stiffing caddies, and punishing golf carts and playing companions.
Meantime, there is something else that bothers me about these busted, cloudy forecasters who warn of another term despite the feeble, wandering old man who is right in front of their damn eyes: They are giving this 350-pound pile of sludge some form of inevitability and power he simply doesn’t have.
I understand Republicans have spent decades and billions of dollars turning our Constitution into some perverted document with optional wording, but the 22nd Amendment clearly spells out, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Stop normalizing something that should have never even been a thing.
Finally, by talking of this fictional third term, we are distracting from his myriad failings as both a president and a man. There’s a better-than-average chance this monster abused children with his dead buddy, Jeffrey Epstein. The list of Epstein’s worshippers that Trump’s-bought-and-paid-for attorney general said was on her desk has allegedly gone missing, and with it evidence that would potentially tie him to absolutely unthinkable crimes.
Just a month ago, there was significant bipartisan steam behind getting these Epstein documents released. Every minute wasted talking about third terms sprinkled with fairy dust dissuades us from talking about how unfit for life this appalling man is.
But if you can’t get enough of worrying about things that will never happen, I’ll give you something pleasant to fixate on that most certainly will:
In the next 20 years or so, there will in fact be big talk of a Trump third term — maybe even a fourth or fifth one. History’s worst will convene, and Trump and his beady red eyes, will elbow his way further downward and make it clear in his special way that only he can handle the heat of yet another term in his new home.
That’s when I reckon, Lucifer will be only too happy to oblige …"
Somerby says that ornamental pumpkins and winter squash are close cousins to mockingbirds, who do nothing but sing. Those pumpkins are nice at Halloween and squash make nice Thanksgiving decorations, but they are far from inoffensive. The carved pumpkins attract squirrels who eat the flesh and leave them shrunken and collapsing on porches as smelly garbage. Squirrels just love them but they don't know what to do with the remains, which neighbors leave in a rotten moldy mess, while they are off visiting loved ones in other parts of the country. So I find the birds far less annoying.
ReplyDeleteThere are sources of pleasure in each of our lives. Taking the time to enjoy them is a good idea, no matter what your age. But we must not forget that others at Halloween and Thanksgiving are out of work (through no fault of their own), suffering from fear and threats by ICE agents, perhaps afraid to stand in church and shelter and food lines, unable to receive former SNAP benefits because Trump is too busy partying Gatsby-style at Mar a Lago. Donating some pumpkin pie or squash to a relief agency is more important this year than previously because Republicans lack empathy and are meddling in the precarious balances the poor and needy have had with life in previous seasons.
I'm glad Somerby loves those mockingbirds, but our religion tells us to think about our neighborhoods too, the ones who don't find a porch pumpkin a delicacy and are hiding out instead of enjoying those winter squashes.
Step up and be a good person, Somerby.
People are much closer cousins to squirrels than pumpkins are.
DeleteAnonymouse 5:55pm, as always, all this useless anonymouse lecturing posing as genuine concern. If you truly cared, you'd be knocking on doors, seeking donations of ornamental pumpkins to make pumpkin bread, pies, and casseroles for the homeless, instead of chastising Bob Somerby and all the neighborhood squirrels.
DeleteWe blues don’t need nudging to help others. Pretend blues might. Somerby mentioned birds and pumpkins but not people in need. That worries me.
Delete"Step up and be a good person, Somerby."
DeleteWTF? An anonymous commenter presenting themselves as the moral arbiter of who's a good person.
Easy enough to say that good people don’t starve the poor.
DeleteGot it. Somerby's post today advocated starving the poor.
DeleteTrump is threatening military solutions against multiple foreign countries and has ordered the military to start testing nuclear weapons again. We should be worried about this obviously demented fool in charge of our country. He can cause major problems if someone isn't following him around to talk him out of pushing some button or authorizing a strike.
ReplyDeleteSi vis pacem, para bellum i
DeleteTrump plays with toy soldiers like little boy.
DeleteMore TLS from DiC, who (deliberately?) confuses threats with preparation.
DeleteDavid said, “If you want peace, prepare war. Go!”
DeleteThe Secret to Work-Life Balance: I used to be stressed and overworked. Now, I'm earning over $220/hour working remotely, and I have more time for myself and my family. My friend's success story inspired me to take the plunge. This incredible opportunity has allowed me to achieve the perfect work-life balance. I can now spend quality time with my loved ones, pursue my hobbies, and relax without worrying about money..
ReplyDeleteVisit This...... Www.Paycash1.site
Another damned ICE recruitment ad…
Delete"If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet"
ReplyDeleteSee, few Nobel Peace Prize candidates are peaceful enough to add the word 'sweet' in reference to a vicious attack they're threatening to make.
That's why I think Trump's a shoo-in.
White House Cordons Off Reporters From West Wing Communications Offices
ReplyDeleteCheung claimed in a Friday post on X that reporters had been caught eavesdropping on meetings with senior members of the Trump administration in Upper Press. Some reporters also supposedly made surreptitious recordings of those engagements and photographed sensitive documents.
https://dailycaller.com/2025/11/01/white-house-restricts-reporters-west-wing-communications-offices-national-security-council-memo-steven-cheung-karoline-leavitt/