Tag: military

Twozdaz Theme Music

Twozda in Ashlandia finds us cold. Blue sky is in firm command. Sunlight washes over the valley.

It feels like something is broken or disconnected in the weather systems. The temperature is unfolding from 30 F. Alexa and online sources say we’ll get to 61 F today. I don’t know that they can be trusted. My systems and three other local systems all noted 29 to 31 degrees F temperature. At the same time, Alexa and online sites claimed our temperature was 40 F.

This is the same thing we went through several weeks ago; what we observed and felt locally is not what the national systems reported. Back in those weeks, we were steeped in cold fog while the national systems were trying to tell us it was sunny with some clouds. You can see why I’m not sure if we’ll get a high of 61 degrees.

No news has come from the Mom or Dad fronts. I had a long conversation with Dad’s wife yesterday. She related that after the fact, they conjecture Dad may have had a stroke, a-fib, or both. He had no idea how he ended up on the floor. Dad is doing very little talking or eating since that day. Only soft foods are permitted, such as eggs, apple sauce, and oatmeal. Swallowing those challenges him.

His wife says that he responds to voices. Though his eyes are closed, he’ll turn his head toward the speaker. She’s not sure if he recognizes her voice.

She also related that a few days before his fall, she discovered Dad had plotted to move away. He told her that he’d been on the phone with his other son and resolved the transportation issues and had identified all of his needs.

His son confirmed, yes, he and Dad were speaking about this almost every day. My brother was just going along with it to humor Dad; he certainly wasn’t going to help Dad move away. His part was just to indulge Dad because Dad was energetic and into the planning.

The revelations made me smile. I recognized Dad in that. He likes being in charge, making decisions, leading the way. He does not like having others take care of him. Making those plans were his way to stop from being a burden and getting back to being in charge.

Today’s theme music comes from a mental melange. Dreams, thinking, and headlines are all poured into this. Part of that thinking comes from Dad’s predicament.

Overviewing what was going on in my head, The Neurons placed “Wake Up Everybody” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes in the morning mental music stream. It’s a song I probably haven’t heard in years. It’s also possible I subconsciously heard it going on in the background somewhere.

I first learned of this song from my Black friends and co-workers. It wasn’t featured on the radio stations that I normally had on. Released in 1975, when I was a young airman in the U.S.A.F., I thought Teddy Pendergrass’s vocals put beautiful and heartfelt power to the words.

The opening lyrics were what I heard today but there was a little verse which I think about as I considered the world’s news and politics. Here they are.

Lyrics (h/t to AZLyrics.com)

Wake up, everybody, no more sleeping in bed
No more backward thinking, time for thinking ahead
The world has changed so very much from what it used to be
There’s so much hatred, war, and poverty, whoa, oh

The world won’t get no better
If we just let it be
The world won’t get no better
We gotta change it, yeah, just you and me

It’s quite the song of hope. It seems like we had more songs like this back in the last century. Moreover, we seemed to be moving toward them. No, it wasn’t straightforward, level progress but it did seem measurable. This century feels and appears very different to me.

Coffee has been served. My hope continues that peace and grace come by to give us all a lift. I know I would appreciate it.

Cheers

3

Mundaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Trump directly attacked Venezuela this week, two strikes on two other nations in one week.

Disappointed, I wasn’t surprised. My immediate response: was this a military action or CIA activity?

I was also concerned about deaths, injuries, and property damage and destruction.

Other questions came up for me:

  • Did Trump consult with Congress beforehand?
  • Did the strike have any military and economic success?
  • How do Americans view this attack?

Trump’s increasing attacks on Venezuela and other nations are disconcerting. I worry that they’ll translate to open warfare or counter attacks.

Some comments associated with news of the attack surprised me. Several individuals cited President Maduro’s unpopularity with Venezuelan citizens as a solid reason to attack Venezuela.

I would turn that attitude back on them: Trump is unpopular in the United States. Does that provide other countries with a legal rationale to attack the United States?

Trump and his administration frame this as part of an ongoing war against ‘narco-terrorists’. They’ve not introduced any evidence to support the claims.

The true reasoning is very opaque. Trump often inspires speculation. I think it’s partly due to his established pattern of lying and his growing struggle to remain coherent.

I, with many others, often wonder: is this latest military action to distract us?

Trump has reasons to distract us. The list begins with polling, worries over the economy, and the Epstein files.

While we speculate, there’s certainly valid reasons for the speculation. As this year ends, many polls show growing disapproval for Trump, his government, and the consequences of his actions.

Trump and his administration’s behavior toward the Epstein files lends circumstantial evidence that Trump worries about the files’ contents. Delaying the release of files didn’t help. Neither does Trump’s recurring insistence the files are a ‘Democrat hoax’. Each denial increases our wonder about what the Epstein files say about him.

There’s a third pillar supporting speculation that the attack was a distraction. One, Bondi had the FBI comb through the files for content about Trump. Second, the files were heavily redacted after release. Three, a million more documents were ‘suddenly found’ and released.

Last, though, Trump continues to tout the economy as the greatest. Data doesn’t support him. One quarter showed surprisingly strong GDP growth. That doesn’t translate to Trump’s unbounded enthusiasm. Many professional forecasters project meager average GDP growth for 2025, just 1.9%. 2026 isn’t looking much better.

Job growth has been weak. Unemployment is rising.

Headline inflation isn’t sharp, but affordability worries people.

With such a weak economy and other indicators, I don’t think attacking other nations improves our situation. And that is my largest concern about Trump and the attacks.

They’re illogical, and do nothing to improve conditions in the United States.

That’s why I really wonder if they’re just distractions.

7

Sundaz Theme Music

I looked out the window, and what did I see? Blue skies and sunshine looking down on me. No clouds nor fog! No snow but there is some frost. I did notice yesterday that our southern and northern mountains lack snow but the eastern mountains had snow. Snow there makes sense because the eastern mountains are higher.

It’s 27 at my house now, 29 at SOU’s weather station at the Farm, 30, according to Alexa, and 31 on the net’s weather report on MSN. We’re basically in accordance as elevations, mountain shadows, and the sun’s angle affect the temperature readings. They have forecast a high of 51 F for this late December day.

Yes, this is Sunda, December 28, 2025. Just three more sleeps and 2025 will bow out.

Dad’s end of life situation is worsening. I didn’t get an update yesterday but I understand how emotionally taxing that must be for his wife. She’s lived with him longer than me or my mother and is probably closer to him and knows him better. I will say that Dad and I have a lot of shared personality traits and easily move closer through conversations. As we were both in the Air Force for 20 years, he and I do seem to understand one another. His daughters, my sisters, either don’t speak to him because they’re angry and resentful, or only speak to him when they want something. He has another son, too, through his second marriage, and that son and I get along. He, too, only lived with Dad for about ten years.

Dad was active and gregarious all his life, flirting with women, charming everyone. He kept busy although he grew to enjoy sitting down and watching NBA basketball and college and NFL football. He was in the military 20 years, then worked as a grocery store assistant manager for about ten years before purchasing and running his own grocery store. Married twice, divorced twice, although he lived with another woman for ten years. He eventually moved to Texas and settled there, running a huge truck stop for twenty years, finally stepping down from that in his early eighties. That’s when he met and married his current wife. Back when Dad was in the military, he frequently had a second job, managing a club, bartending, or working in a store. He loved playing poker and he was highly skilled with a pool stick. He’s outlived his own father by almost thirty years.

On the other hand, Dad was never into arts, music, or dancing, admitting, “They’re not my thing.” He enjoyed a good steak and loved Italian and Chinese food but was never a foodie, and didn’t eat candy, sweets, or pastries.

Dad’s wife just texted me that she’s waiting for the nurse to arrive and will then send an update.

For Dad, I’m going with Van Halen and “Jump”. That’s because one of Dad’s usual, casual response was often, “Might as well.” That line is repeated through “Jump”, as in, “Might as well jump.” It’s an upbeat song, and he was pretty upbeat overall.

Hope peace and grace find you before the year’s end. Cheers

3

Fridaz Theme Music

Hey, good morning, sunshine. It’s Frida, December 26, 2025. After a rainy night, the clouds shuffled aside and sunlight broke in on us. We were warned that snow might fall in the night. Peerings out the window provide no visuals that snow was encountered in our area.

My system says it’s 41 F outside. The net claims 38 F with light rain. Alexa claims 41 and cloudy. SOU marks it as 44 F. We’re basically in agreement, then, in a six degree range. That range makes sense. SOU is lower down and about a mile away. The location is subject to being foggy. If fog doesn’t show, it’s subject to being sunny. Projected highs aren’t far off with the given range as 43 to 46 degrees F.

We’re settling into the post-Christmas groove. I find this an odd period. People are coming down from the holiday high of eating, giving, and receiving. Schools are closed, as are some businesses. Others are forced to trudge back to work. It’s a Frida but lacks a Frida vibe.

Next week brings the New Year. My cynical side asks, “How many other nations can the Trump Regime attack before the year’s end? How many more people can this administration kill and displace?” Being a peace president isn’t easy, you know. That’s why Trump wanted a department of war, so he could push for peace. He’s going to threaten, bomb, bully, or kill everyone into peaceful. It’s ‘do as I say or else’ diplomacy. Which is also is political tactic, and his negotiating stance. It’s all ‘do as I say or else’.

The ‘or else’ side of things is diminishing. Everyone has the measure of Trump’s blustering. He can’t do much economically. That’s largely because he severely damaged the United States’ economic power by breaking trade agreements, and levying tariffs. That leaves Trump with the greater danger for the rest of us, to employing the power of the U.S. military, which is still potent.

With that in mind, thinking over 2025 and looking ahead to 2026, The Neurons came up with the Grateful Dead song, “Casey Jones”. “Trouble ahead, trouble behind.” Yep, Trump is driving us toward a no-win, no-way-out situation of isolation.

By the way, what does everyone think about Trump bombing another place at about the same time that the DOJ found a million more Epstein Files? That seems like suspicious serendipity to me. I can imagine a conversation inside the place formerly known as the White House:

Trump’s minions: “We’re going to announce that Justice just discovered one million more Epstein files.”

Trump: “Whatever.”

TM: “We’re also announcing we’re releasing them.”

Trump: “Bomb someone. Quick.”

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, Christmas brunch was at at friend’s house, and a Czech student was present. She’s from a small village. Her school there covered elementary school through ninth grade and had only 117 students. After hearing her version of Christmas celebrations in her village, with baby Jesus delivering presents, I asked the net for more info. I learned that Martin Luther had encouraged this idea to help move people toward Christianity.

I also ended up looking up Sinterklaas. I’d mentioned that figure as another interesting Christmas variation. They all claimed to have never heard of Sinterklaas, so I had to look him up just to reassure myself that I wasn’t nuts.

I hope your holidays were and are pleasant for you. Hope, too, that whatever troubles 2025 brought to you drop away and that 2026 is less problematic and troublesome for all of us. Fingers crossed. At least we’re going to be seeing longer periods of daylight up north now, having crossed the solstice boundary.

Got my coffee. Here we go again. Cheers

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Mundaz Wandering Political Thoughts

News that made me gag.

Trump unveils new ‘Trump class’ fleet of battleships

With Trump involved, so many ways to contemplate this news evolves.

Will they be gold plated battleships?

With Trump trying to turn back time and erase history, how many masts and sails will the Trump class of ships have?

Will the Trump class of battleships be as successful as Trump Steaks, Trump Air, Trump Institute, and Trump University?

  • Trump Steaks began sales in 2007 and ended in 2007 after poor sales.
  • Trump Air began in 1989 and ended in 1992 after financial issues and was not sustainable as a long-term airline under the Trump name.
  • Both Trump University and Trump Institute started in 2005 and were effectively done by 2010 amidst financial and legal issues.

Which will be finished first: a Trump class battleship, the Trump ballroom, a Trump cellphone delivery, Trump’s next impeachment trial, Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico, or Trump’s funeral?

Is the Trump class of ships as real as Trump’s ACA replacement plan?

Are Trump’s promises and assurances about this new class of ships named after him any more significant than his promises to reduce inflation on day 1?

Does Dozy Donny’s statements about this new class of ships carry the same weight as his promise that “Mexico will pay for the wall?”

Dizzy Donny is referring to it as the ‘Golden Fleet’. Is it possible he’s thinking of ‘the golden shower’, like the one he had in Russia?

“The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person,” Trump said.

Yes, sure. Just look at what he’s done to the White House’s East Wing, Oval Office, and Rose Garden. They’re sooooo aesthetic.

Not.


3

Five Short Dreams

Experienced five short dreams last night. That’s contrary to recent habits which had long, meandering dreams. I’ll only bore you with one.

This was military related. I was tasked with retrofitting a secure file cabinet fitted with a combination lock to ensure it could store Top Secret/Special Compartmentalized Information, along with Communications Security items (COMSEC), militaryese for code books. Some old military guy was half-heartedly overseeing my activity. Meanwhile, I was on shift with a young member. I expected the young airman to handle all the day’s routine events but had to address that with him several times, issuing reminders to complete the shift checklist, inventory our weapons, standard Air Force command post stuff during my career.

Then I attacked the file cabinet. It’d been previously cleared for classified but wasn’t considered robust enough for our new needs. I’d never done anything like this and lacked instructions. Pulling out drawers, I saw a sort of white, thick lining on them. I needed to pry that out, I decided, and hunted down a hammer, along with a large screwdriver, to pry the stuff out. But then, lo, when I went to apply the brute force and leverage, the pieces slipped right out.

I thought that would be the hard part and was delighted it went so well. Then, though, I had to do paperwork to document this thing’s new existence and use. I had the proper forms but someone had marked all over them and it wasn’t clear to me what to do.

As I puzzled that out, that old military guy came in and queried me about how it was going. I related that I’d finished the safe part. Somehow a crowd gathered to one side. The old guy boasted that he could probably crack the vault in less than three minutes and proceeded to make that effort. I drifted away from that effort to finish the paperwork, deciding, make a decision and do the best I can.

Dream end

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Mundaz Theme Music

Greeting fellow humans. Welcome to the last month of the tumultuous year of 2025.

It’s Munda, December 1, 2025. 33 F at my house, though out there in Ashlandia’s sunnier spots, it’s reported to be up to 40 F. Clear skies blue with promise and bright sunshine arch over us. They’re suggesting that we’ll see the mid to upper 50s today. Yesterday never felt warm and hissed with a chill that whispered, “Winter is standing right behind you.”

Today’s music comes from dressing again. Yesterday and the previous day, I wore jeans. I told my wife I was going old school. That came from the realization that I used to wear jeans regularly and I don’t often wear them these days. Anyway from that, I laughingly sang to Papi, “Forever in Blue Jeans.” The Neurons jumped right on that and fed the 1979 Neil Diamond song to the morning mental music stream.

Trump released another trant. A trant is a text-based social media scree filled with typos, capital letters, incorrect information, and exclamation points. It’s a neologism formed from combining Trump with rant. Trant.

Dizzy Donny’s latest trant was about his misconception of Senator Kelly’s suggestion to military members to disobey unlawful or illegal orders. After releasing and deleting an error-filled version, Donny T came up with one that satisfied his low standards.

Trant #1

Trant #2

Dozy Donny finishes with a capitol letter scream, “DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE!!!” Whatever happened to “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”?

I wish the nation would do what needs to be done and remove him from office and get him therapy. But MAGAts and the GOP like this sort of *cough* leadership.

But Senator Kelly is not suggesting that military members be insubordinate or disloyal. He and the other Democrats are reminding them, as others often do, that their duty is to the U.S. Constitution and to perform legal orders.

Coffee is making its way down the esophagus to the proper places. Hope peace and grace show today but not holding my breath. Here we go, into the years final month. Cheers

3

Sundaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Sometimes, good news seeps in through the cracks in the new authoritarian government Trump is attempting to establish.

We may have seen a few such cracks.

The Trump Regime has been attacking and destroying ships. These are purported to be Venezuelan. Purported to be drug dealers transporting drugs destined for the United States. Purported to be narco terrorists.

Trump, a royal ass, doesn’t believe that the Constitution, laws, precedence, or rules of engagement applies to him. This recipe is equal parts arrogance, ignorance, wealth, and enablement. The enablement and complicity to make Dizzy Donny think and do as he does rides in on the shoulders of Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation, the Roberts Court, and Congressional Republicans. That includes those Republicans such as Mitch McConnell, who didn’t think it necessary to do anything about Trump after Donny T was impeached. Twice. With this foundation, the Trump Regime doesn’t bother providing evidence about the truth of what they’re doing when they attack and kill non-combatants on the open seas using the military. So what if they kill innocents; Trump is worried about getting into heaven and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He’s so dense, he doesn’t understand how all his actions, every day, conspire to let either of those ever happen outside of the altered reality where he plots and gloats.

Now, though, some lawmakers are saying, hey, that shit that you’re doing is illegal. Using Seal Team 6 to kill civilians on your own sayso isn’t how it works, and we’re going to investigate.

Lawmakers voice support for congressional reviews of Trump’s military strikes on boats

Republicans and Democrats are saying these are potential crimes and need to be investigated. The problem, as we know from history, is that Republicans have twin habits of dropping their principles when Trump is involved, and stonewalling efforts to learn the truth. Adept at lying and twisting logic, the provide enough cover that they can hold out until a new distraction arises and the public and press drift their attention away. We can only hope that there were be truthful, honest, and principled investigations that result in legal action. I wouldn’t put any money on it, though.

Our second ray of feeble sunshine cracks in via the Pentagon. What, the Pentagon? Really? Home to the peace-loving Duplicitous Donny’s House of War and its drunken mouthpiece, Hegseth the angry inch?

Cast your thinking back eleven days.

Slotkin, Kelly lead Democrats in military, intelligence appeal: ‘You can refuse illegal orders’

That appeal spun the Trump regime up like a broken overwound top, especially that triumvirate of thickwitted tiny-brains, Trump, Miller, and Hegseth. Immediately seeking some way to counter this, they shouted, “Sedition!” Trump called the six Democrats “traitors” on social media, arguing “they should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL.” Never mind that whole freedom of speech thing. Or politics and political opposition. Etc.

Now a plethora of articles and experts are emerging suggesting that prosecuting Senator Kelly is probably going to fail, much in the same way that Trump’s attempts to prosecute Jame Comey and Letitia James resulted in a lot of egg on the faces of those executing Trump’s orders.

Experts Doubt the Pentagon Can Punish Kelly Over the ‘Illegal Orders’ Video

Doubts raised over Mark Kelly’s illegal orders punishment

Won’t stop Trump and Hegseth from trying, of course. Their ignorance runs too deep.

Of course, what Senator Kelly and the other Democrats said is well understood by U.S. military members. A poll published in the Military Times several months ago reiterated their understanding.

4 in 5 US troops surveyed understand duty to disobey illegal orders

With his Aug. 11, 2025, announcement that he was sending the National Guard — along with federal law enforcement — into Washington, D.C. to fight crime, President Donald Trump edged U.S. troops closer to the kind of military-civilian confrontations that can cross ethical and legal lines.

Indeed, since Trump returned to office, many of his actions have alarmed international human rights observers. His administration has deported immigrants without due process, held detainees in inhumane conditions, threatened the forcible removal of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and deployed both the National Guard and federal military troops to Los Angeles to quell largely peaceful protests.

When a sitting commander in chief authorizes acts like these, which many assert are clear violations of the law, men and women in uniform face an ethical dilemma: How should they respond to an order they believe is illegal?

~snip~

Yes, it’s not much sunshine. We take what we can. We must remain patient, hopeful, but proactive, resist as we can, when we can.

If we can.


2

Fridaz Theme Music

When black Frida comes, it’ll be chilly, with limited, diluted sunshine in Ashlandia. This is November 28, 2025. Just a few more daz and the eleventh month of 2025 will be in the books. Meanwhile, it’s 43 F and a high of 55 F is hoped. Rain? WTH knows?

A little tomfloofery for your day is in the link. Click and enjoy this interaction between two species.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1D5u1AAETU

Today’s music was derived from looking out the window. I was visiting the back scene with Papi, gathering some sunshine against my face and gazing on the leaves on the ground. Dead and dying leaves passed through my thoughts. Instantly Les Neurons began a song in my morning mental music stream about dying leaves and dirty ground. The words were there along with pieces of melody and fragments of sound. What was missing were the title, performer, and the rest of the song. As it didn’t come to me, I took to technology to recover the rest. The answers: “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” by The White Stripes. I thought it a bit cruel of The Neurons to do that to me, trying to me think and remember when I hadn’t even had my coffee yet. Sometimes, I swear, I don’t know what gets into The Neurons.

We had a delightful Friendsgiving, meeting a few new people and visiting with a dozen and a half friends. The food was its usual delicious, the standard for these outings. Standard and straightforward T Day offerings but with organic stuff, vegan offerings, and gluten-free choices.

We chatted briefly about politics. “We ain’t buying it,” was chatted up. We also discussed “A House of Dynamite”, a movie about potential nuclear way now playing on Netflix. One wonders how the Dizzy Donny Regime would respond to detection of an incoming ICBM, given that Donny cut the head off the senior military ranks, replacing them with people more politically reliable to Donny but less experienced. Some had even retired at lesser ranks and were returned to service to take up new positions. Not reassuring.

Hope you had a decent Thirstda. Now out and onward. Cheers

1

Twozdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

It’s just a few days before the annual food-shopping-football orgy called Thanksgiving in the United States. And man, Trump has ramped up his incessant gobbling.

Affordability? “Gobble gobble,” Trump says. “Just a another Democrat con job,” the great Con-in-Chief declares.

Sure, who you gonna believe? Your wallet and bank account, or Dizzy Donny, a practiced and regular liar? TACO insists prices are down. Independent data sources say otherwise. Overall, for me, personally, prices are up. But once again, Trump exposed his own lies when he declared prices were down and that consumers don’t pay tariffs, and then declared he was lowering tariffs to reduce prices.

Just like the Epstein files, isn’t it? “Democratic hoax,” Dozy Donny woke up and shouted, over and over and over, fearful of what the files say about him and his former BFF, J. Epstein. One thing which has become clear is that Epstein thought that Trump was evil and stupid. Crazy. “The worst person he’d ever known.”

Seems like a pretty accurate assessment.

Dizzy Donny Trump and future with with Trump’s BFF, Jeffrey Epstein.

If you do believe Trump, ask him where the Trump mobile phones are. Orders are in, but phones aren’t being delivered. And they’ve apparently veered away from that ‘Made in the U.S.A.’ promise. Trump will blame someone else for the lack of deliveries and the manufacturing location. That’s TACO’s MO. No disaster or deception is ever his fault, no matter how much his fingerprints and name are on it. Talk about hoaxes and deceptions. He’s a walking deception.

The Trump Mobile phone is nowhere to be found after months of delay

“Sedition!” Trump bellows. “Gobble gobble gobble.” Too many experts quickly explained in the press and on the net that sedition doesn’t mean what Trump thinks it means. Dozy Donny is hungry for distractions and some kind of victory. Senator Mark Kelly and five other Democrats gave Trump an opening in his eyes, when they reminded military members that their oath is to the U.S. Constitution, and not to the POTUS, and that they have a moral obligation to not obey illegal orders.

Of course, what is an ‘illegal’ order for the military? That’s thorny as hell. When a subordinate is given an order by a superior, it’s inferred that it’s legal. It takes moral courage to stand up and say, “That’s an illegal order. I’m not doing it.” Many people lack that backbone to directly challenge authority. The Just Security website has collected multiple opinions about the legality of Trump’s attacks on unarmed civilian Venezuelan boats and Slate article provided a thoughtful summary about the situation.

Collection: U.S. Lethal Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers

One opinion on Just Security shares JD Vance’s reaction to comments about the legality.

~snip~

In the early days after the first lethal strike, Vice President J.D. Vance gleefully said he “didn’t give a shit” whether the strike was illegal. And after government officials have (totally implausibly) suggested that the strikes are part of an armed conflict against the cartels, the President shrugged his shoulders at a reporter’s question about seeking a “declaration of war” from Congress, responding that “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be, like, dead.”

~snip~

And there it is, nicely encapsulated in that reaction and paragraph: the TACO Regime just doesn’t give a shit about the law. Get it yet?

The GOP practices of lying and bullshitting the public continues at a brisk pace. The weekly feature, “Congressional Cowards” in Daily Kos covered the phenomena of GOP lawmakers now trying to get credit for the release of the Epstein files after fighting them.

Republicans who dodged Epstein vote now want credit

GOP lawmakers are patting themselves on the back over the fact that President Donald Trump will now be forced to release the Epstein files.

Of course, the lawmakers who now want credit for the virtually unanimous passage of the bill don’t deserve it. For months, they either stayed silent as Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked a vote on the bill or made excuses for their delay tactics.

In actuality, just four Republicans can take credit for the success of the legislation.

~snip~

But the one who really pissed me off was a rep. out of Texas. His releases about the Epstein files parrot Dizzy Don to a tee.

~snip~

But perhaps the most shameless Republican is Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas. Before the discharge petition succeeded, Nehls wrote on X that he would be “voting NO on the Epstein Hoax.”

“The Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax to distract us from the winning of President Trump and his administration,” he wrote. “My message to my Republican colleagues: Don’t let this noise keep us from delivering on the mandate the American people gave us.”

But Nehls quickly changed his vote to a “yes” once Trump gave his blessing. 

“As President Trump has said, we have nothing to hide. I voted YES to release the files so we can move on from the smear campaign the Democrats have manufactured, and continue to advance policies that benefit hardworking Americans,” he wrote on X.

~snip~

Gag me with the proverbial fucking spoon.

Meanwhile, the corruption in the Trump Regime seems to be spreading.

Lawmakers Call for Probe of How Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Got Piece of $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts

In recent days, five U.S. senators and two representatives requested documents from the Department of Homeland Security and a formal investigation into how a firm closely tied to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended up receiving money from a $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign.

The demands came in response to a ProPublica story this month that revealed that the Republican consulting firm had been secretly working on the ads, which star Noem. The company, called the Strategy Group, has long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. Its CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS.

Under Noem, DHS bypassed the normal competitive bidding process when awarding the contracts — allocating the majority of the money to a mysterious Delaware LLC that was created days before the deal was finalized. The Strategy Group does not appear on public documents about the deal.

~snip~

Sure, how did that happen? DOGE and the Trump regime gutted contract and spending oversight by firing multiple inspectors general earlier this year. IG are independent watchdogs who oversee federal agencies and root out waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. Removing them encourages corruption. And Trump leads by example, lying, bullying, and grifting. Why should those he hires be different?

You’re known by the company you keep.

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