Tag: donald trump

The Smell of Blood Money

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

Whoohoo! Happy days are here again.

Europe To Spend $100BN It Doesn’t Have, To Buy Weapons America Doesn’t Have, To Arm Soldiers Ukraine Now Lacks

This is the headline of an article on ZeroHedge which attempts to explain what happened in Washington yesterday between Donald Trump and the seven dwarves of Europe1 in their discussion of the situation in Ukraine.

Here’s what Trump had to say after the meeting.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests, President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron,
of France, President Alexander Stubb, of Finland, Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni, of Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United
Kingdom, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Friedrich Merz, President of the European Commission, Ursula
von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, in
the White House, which ended in a further meeting in the Oval
Office. During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for
Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various
European Countries, with a coordination with the United States
of America. Everyone is very happy about the possibility of
PEACE for Russia/Ukraine. At the conclusion of the meetings, I
called President Putin, and began the arrangements for a
meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin
and President Zelenskyy. After that meeting takes place, we will
have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself.
Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been
going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance,
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve
Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine. Thank you for
your attention to this matter!

Yes, he should be happy and quite proud of himself because, just a few minutes later he said this in response to a question from a reporter.

“We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons,”

Spoken like a true hero and peacemaker, a very compassionate, loving way to make the stakeholders of the military-industrial complex (MIC) extremely happy. And richer than ever. Yes, the sale of weapons is really what counts in this matter. BLM! Bottom Lines Matter! The war in Ukraine can eventually be brought to an end–someday–AFTER we have milked this cash cow for as much as we can get out of it. Did it ever cross his mind that while he’s raking in the dough along with his cronies (partners-in-crime) that average, everyday people in Ukraine are being mercilessly slaughtered?

The fact of the matter is that Donald (Colonel Bombast) Trump could end the war in Ukraine in one day, just as he promised he would while on the campaign trail. All he would have to do is to declare that the US would no longer write any more checks to Ukraine, it would no longer allow US weapons to be transferred to Ukraine (whether they were given or paid for), it would no longer use its intelligence “services” to coordinate and work with Ukraine, it would immediately drop the sanctions imposed on Russia, and demand that the EU follow in lockstep with his directive.

Boom! End of war. But he won’t do that. We all heard that, right? “We’re not giving anything. We’re selling weapons.”

Ain’t it grand?

  1. Starmer (UK), Macron (France), Merz (Germany), Meloni (Italy), Stubb (Finland), Rutte (NATO), and the smallest of them all, Ukraine’s own, Vlad Zelenskiy, plus the fairy godmother, Ursula von der Leyen, the head honcho of the European Commission, who can’t resist the temptation to keep the war going at any cost. ↩︎

Colonel Bombast: “He Shouldn’t Have Said That.”

Roger Mitchell4 Comments

“AND I’M GOING TO SLAP HIM SILLY BECAUSE HE DID!”

On Friday, August 1, Donald Trump stated that he had ordered two US nuclear submarines to be “repositioned in the appropriate areas” as a response to a statement made by Dimitry Medvedev, one of Vlad Putin’s close advisors and a former president of the Russian state.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-nuclear-submarines-repositioned-medvedev-f8e9b870fa107f6b6209e7a22f8ada43

This is high-stakes theater at its most hilarious, or it would be if it wasn’t also extremely dangerous for the entire world.

So, really what did Medvedev say and why did Trump feel the need to respond so forcefully, not only with his rhetoric but also with the action described above?

“Trump’s playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10… He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn’t Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war,” –Dimitry Medvedev

To which, of course Trump couldn’t resist answering.


“…tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” — Donald Trump

All this culminated with his announcement that he had ordered the subs into position. What a joke! What a farce! What a circus! The comedy of this exceeds even that of the recent 12-day “war” with Iran which ended with the US strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iran’s subsequent strike on al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, all of which were given advance notice so as to not let the situation escalate out of hand. Blow for show, in other words, akin to the ridiculous “sport” known as professional wrestling.

The only problem is that we might all be blown to smithereens if something goes horribly wrong.

  1. Trump ordered two nuclear subs into the “appropriate area”, just in case. Well, just in case, what exactly?
  2. Are these subs nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed? This is a big difference and highly crucial. Nuclear-powered subs with conventional weapons are not the same as nuclear-armed subs which can take out an entire country with one salvo.
  3. Did the Pentagon actually send these subs to their new coordinates or was this “order” simply ignored because wiser heads decided not to follow it and only played along with the game, stroking Trump’s ego so he could feel like he’s really in control?
  4. Has Russia responded to Trump’s “repositioning” by doing some of their own? Did they already have subs in position somewhere off the eastern seaboard of the Atlantic Ocean, say, 500 miles east of New Jersey, ready at a moment’s notice to take out Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston? Is this a legitimate possibility?

Trump, for all the good he has done in educating the average American about the dangers of being subservient to the Deep State, sounds like he has taken his own words to heart, believing that all he has to do is issue ultimatums, threats, and veiled insinuations at which everyone else, including his own closest enemies, will repent of their sins with fear and trembling. “B’God, those pesky Russians, especially Medvedev, had better shut their potty mouths and start listening to me. Or else!”

The major problem with this is that he has offered up so much bullshit in the past that he has no credibility left on the world stage when he speaks. Remember that he promised to end the Ukraine War in twenty-four hours once he had gained the Oval Office? Yeah, well, things aren’t quite as simple as they appeared when he was playing to throngs of adoring audiences on the campaign trail.

Trump, in my opinion, is increasingly seen as someone who can be ignored and sidelined. He is not consistent, does not act diplomatically, refuses to hold to his word even when it hurts, bluffs constantly, and does not hesitate to change course politically if he thinks it will benefit him. Compared to this, Vladimir Putin comes across as reasonable, calm, logical, unmoving, and steadfast.

But, then, what should I expect? After all, I did compare Trump to a wrecking ball, appointed only to destroy what already is to clear the way for what will be. With all due respect to that, I am not disappointed. It is happening. In real time. And we get to watch it unfold.

Hang on to your life. Trump isn’t going to.

Face it, MAGA! The Man lied to You.

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

And you still act like a groupie?

I am really confused. Why did Donald Trump spend so much time and energy on the campaign trail talking about releasing the Epstein files and then refusing to actually do it when he had the power to make it happen? Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are both small potatoes and it’s obvious that someone or something scared them s*itless. But Trump? He’s as big as they come and should have seen the way the wind was blowing, yet continued on with his endless, mindlessly bloviating promises to his supporters who ate them up like red meat thrown to a mad, ravenous pack of wild dogs. Something doesn’t add up, in my opinion. I don’t know what. Two things come to mind, though:

  1. Trump was completely clueless when he was on the trail and no one bothered to set him straight even though it was plainly evident he was going to triumph “bigly” over Kamala Harris and sweep into Washington with a huge, cohesive mandate to clean house, only to find out later, after the fact, that he couldn’t say anything at all, could not expose any of the putrid rotting stench emanating from the scandal, or,
  2. He understood all along what was going on and simply misled his followers (true believers, all), telling them what they wanted to hear, a.k.a., itching ears syndrome, knowing full-well that he would abandon them as soon as he could and do it in such a fashion that there would be no question about walking it back.

I find it difficult to believe the first option. If he didn’t know, he should have. Trump has been in bed, so to speak, with the muckety-muck, high-powered, extremely wealthy, movers and shakers all his life. He had the overt backing of Miriam Adelson, an ardent Zionist, to the tune of $100 million tossed into his campaign budget. He was closeted with numerous other Zionist proponents and made his intentions toward Israel plain, earning himself the derogatory nickname, “Zion Don”. To say that none of these well-connected persons, among many others, had an inkling about Epstein’s (alleged) connections to Mossad and did not caution him to tone down the rhetoric is unlikely. Either they knew and kept quiet or they were also clueless.

Given my opinion of government and political leaders, it is easier for me to assume, without proof, mind you, that he blatantly flat-out lied to gain votes and backing. Part of the game, you know. Anything goes. The end justifies the means. After all, the man does not have a reputation for honesty or honest dealing and has shown his utter contempt for anyone who dared to show even a smidgeon of resistance over his actions. Thomas Massie, for instance, the embodiment of America First, whom Trump has declared persona non grata over their differences on a budget bill. Or the millions of MAGA men and women he casually jettisoned when the notice on Epstein was given because they became upset at the news. Or the hundreds of J6’ers and their families that he let twist in the wind because it was convenient when he could have laid down the law and turned them loose forthwith.

No, I have no problem at all saying that Trump deliberately lied to “his” people, the very ones whom he rode into the White House for the second time, or maybe the third, depending on who you ask. The only thing that adds a jarring, discordant note to my theory is that he appeared to be visibly agitated and angry (watch Marco Rubio’s eyes speak volumes while he says nothing at all) at the hearing which broke the news that Epstein had no client list, that there was no evidence of pedophilia, no blackmail, and that there would be no more investigations on the subject. “It is finished”, thundered the verdict, sealing the box closed forever, much as the Romans hoped to do when they rolled a massive stone over the tomb where Jesus’ body was laid after his crucifixion. (Note: see here for more similarities between Jesus Christ and Jeffrey Epstein)

Why was Trump so angry? Why did he lash out at the reporter who dared to ask him a simple question about the files? If he was complicit with the scheme all along AND if he was an accomplished liar as I have asserted, it would seem logical that he would have simply blown this all off with a practiced air of aplomb and sangfroid. He most definitely was not as “cool as a cucumber” under the pressure. I cannot decide if his moral conscience was bubbling up to the surface and struggling to be let out or if he was truly livid at the fact that his word was being questioned and that the issue refused to die. Probably the second. If his name was Greta Thunberg, his response would have been “How dare you?”

If he didn’t know, he was incompetent. If he did know, he was complicit. Either way, he deserves to be turned out of office and relegated to the “dustbin of history”. Officially, this would happen after the 2026 elections IF the Democrats manage to scrape together a majority of Congress, but this is not certain because it appears they are actively trying to collectively commit suicide and destroy the party. Constitutionally, it could happen IF J.D. Vance were to depose him with the strong support of Trump’s cabinet via the 25th Amendment, Section IV, which we were introduced to during the waning days of the Biden Administration. It does look, at least to my untrained eye, like he has visibly changed and grown old in the last few months and his speech and actions increasingly seem to be schizophrenic and erratic.

Regardless, public trust in the federal government has been broken, probably irrevocably, and Epstein’s List may loom large in the history books as the straw that broke the camel’s back. I tend to agree with Charles Hugh Smith who seems to think so.

“Perhaps when we look back on the Epstein Affair, we’ll understand that it broke the back of Americans’ faith in their political and law enforcement institutions. A great many Americans are not party loyalists; they voted for Donald Trump as the independent “outsider” who vowed to clean house, an independent who used one of the parties as a convenient platform.”

“If even an “outsider” is incapable of cleaning house, then it’s hopeless, and if the two parties have failed us, then where do we turn? That is both an open question, and a taboo, for the corporate media is already churning out narrative control about the 2028 election being a “contest” (heh) between flimsy cardboard cutouts of failed ideological covers for systemic corruption.”

“America’s elites aren’t above the law; there is no law. But don’t say it out loud; it’s an unbreakable taboo.”

No, don’t say anything out loud. Just sweep it under the rug and hope that no one notices.

Face it, MAGA. You’ve been lied to. And you took it.

Jesus, Jeffrey, and Existential Paranoia

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

I have read that one of the reasons why Jeffrey Epstein’s (non-existent) list of wealthy, powerful men and women will not be released is that it would cause so much turmoil and chaos that the entire Western system of government could collapse. Under such a scenario, the Pullers-of-Strings who now control the corridors of power would be exposed to public ridicule, scorn, and hatred on such a level that they would be deposed and someone else would take their place, thus upending the entire apple cart.

God forbid! We can’t have that! This is America, after all, the land of the fraudulent and the home of the buffoons.

Well, bring it on. I’m down with that.

“It is preferable that one man should die than that the whole nation should perish.” — John 11:50

Two thousand years ago, the high priest Caiaphas used this argument to persuade his fellow priests and Pharisees that it would be better for the Jewish nation if Jesus Christ were to die, thus creating the rationale which they immediately pursued with single-minded zeal.

“Then from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.” — John 11:53

In this sense, Jeffrey Epstein and Jesus Christ are alike and Donald Trump is acting like Caiaphas, trying his dead-level best to quell an uprising which might very well cause the overturning of the nation, the death of the current power regime. If only Epstein would just die and be dead and go away forever, everything would be MAGA for all eternity. In Donald’s view, that is. The rest of us might beg to differ.

The only problem is that Epstein, although being dead (?) for more than five years, simply won’t stay that way and his “resurrected presence” haunts The Powers That Be (whoever they might be, Trump is only a puppet on a string) to this day. Jesus was dead for three days and His resurrection and Presence have created consternation, worry, and fear among rulers and tyrants ever since.

The truth cannot be buried forever. Sooner or later, it will be brought to life and the agents of death have no power to stop that from happening. In fact, the more they try to suppress it, the more pressure is brought to bear on the issue. Eventually, all will be known. No telling how long it will take, but Jeffrey Epstein will “out” and the world will finally know what is actual and real about his “little black book”, whose names are written therein, and what their deeds amounted to. My guess is that once Epstein’s List has been made fully public, JFK, the USS Liberty incident, and 9/11 will follow soon after.

Like that of Jesus’ day, the world paradigm is changing. Trump, like Caiaphas, is fighting a losing battle.

There are a lot of “conspiracy theories” wandering around about Epstein’s cadre of associates, all of whom plausibly deny that they had sex with any of his girls, many of whom were under the legal age of consent. Take your pick. I’m not going to regurgitate them more than I already have (see the opening paragraph above). What I am going to mention is that someone, arguably more powerful than Trump, got to him and his staff in some “yuuge” way, enough so that they lied through their rattling, clattering, clacking teeth about the issue. Just watching their body language and the way they reacted to comments or questions was enough to convince me. The real question is “whodunit”? I don’t think it was a coincidence that Trump did a 180 turn as soon as he walked Bibi Netanyahu out the door of the Oval Office and kissed him goodbye. There are no coincidences in politics. Draw your own conclusions from that.

While there are no coincidences in politics, there certainly is irony, and what I find deliciously ironic is that history, which doesn’t repeat itself, appears to be rhyming. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were the ones who openly schemed to have Him crucified, believing that He wouldn’t be able to “stir up” more trouble if he were dead and buried. Wouldn’t it be sweet if their modern-day compadres (those who will not be named, use your imagination to determine who I mean) were the ones to stifle and suffocate Epstein to death (even though he’s (allegedly) already dead), in the vain attempt to keep him (or at least his List) from creating extreme difficulty, hardship, pain, and suffering for them and their untold, unlimited riches and power.

The more I think about this, the more excited I get.

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. — James 5: 1-4

“The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath and distress them in His deep displeasure.” — Psalm 2: 2-5

I would not want to be in their shoes. Nothing would be worth that.

Epstein Revisited: Random Thoughts on the Debacle

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

“Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later.” –1 Timothy 5:24

Jeffrey Epstein is gone, so it is said, and he has been preceded by widespread judgment about his evident sins. There are those whose sins have not yet been made evident, but their time is coming. Those sins may be covered up and secreted away for a time, but sooner or later, the evidence will be brought into the light. They cannot be hidden forever.

How do these people sleep at night? With everything that is going on in the current Epstein saga, it would seem that they must be frantic, wondering how and when their own “sins” are going to be exposed for the whole world to see. This explains why there is so much time, effort, and expense being implemented to keep the whole affair under very tight wraps.

Donald Trump and his administration have lit a fire which will not be easily extinguished. My opinion is that it will not be, but will burn and burn until the whole landscape is scorched and blackened. Blatantly and deliberately lying about everything to do with this does nothing except add more fuel to the fire. Refusing to allow “transparency” to do its work does nothing except make people more curious and generates what might be called a feeding frenzy. Call it the Streisand Effect.

“The Streisand Effect, also known as the Barbra Streisand Syndrome, refers to the phenomenon where attempts to suppress, hide, or censor information result in increased public attention and dissemination of that information. The term originated from an incident in 2003 when Barbra Streisand sued photographer Kenneth Adelman and Pictopia.com for publishing an aerial photograph of her Malibu home, which inadvertently drew far more attention to the image than it would have otherwise received.”

“The effect is often attributed to psychological reactance, where people become more motivated to seek out information that is deliberately hidden or restricted. This phenomenon has been observed in various contexts, including legal battles, online censorship, and corporate attempts to manage public perception. For example, when companies or individuals try to remove content from the internet, it often leads to the content becoming more widely shared and discussed.”

“Other notable examples include the case of Sci-Hub, where the founder’s efforts to make academic papers freely available led to increased attention and support for the platform despite legal challenges. Similarly, attempts by organizations like the Church of Scientology to censor information about Tom Cruise resulted in greater public interest and dissemination of the content.”

“The Streisand Effect highlights the challenges of controlling information in the digital age, where the act of suppression can often amplify the very information it seeks to conceal.” — from a Brave AI search

No amount of frantic shoveling is going to bury this monster. Trump and his team would be better off if they just simply told the truth and let the chips fall where they would. The chances of this happening, of course, are slim to none, as these people, their associates, acquaintances, and handlers have no knowledge about the timeless wisdom which encourages people to,

“Confess your sins to one another…so that you may be healed.” — James 5:16

Who is the big winner in all this? Not Trump, Bondi, Bongino, nor Patel. They are tarnished forever. However, there is one person who appears (at least to me) likely to benefit greatly from this debacle and the visible rending of the MAGA movement: Thomas Massie. Remember how Trump vowed to “primary” Massie because of his resistance to the “Big, Beautiful Bill”? If Massie plays this right, he can parlay the anger, antipathy, and feeling of betrayal against Trump into another landslide victory. All he has to do is keep the incident openly in front of his constituents and encourage the “backsliders” to join with him. Between now and the 2026 primary, this will (should) play a “yuuuge” part in Massie’s campaign.

It was only a year ago that Kamala Harris was attacked from all sides because she did not call out Joe Biden’s obvious (evident) mental deterioration and take action to remove him from the office. How long will it be before J.D. Vance is roasted for the same “sin”, because it is clearly evident that Trump is rapidly losing it. He cannot maintain a coherent narrative or program, constantly changes his story or policy for no good reason, and appears to be increasingly schizophrenic. Trump is becoming completely unhinged and Vance, for the good of the country and the world, will have to step in, sooner or later, and guide him off the stage–calmly and quietly if possible, but forcefully if necessary.

If the Democrats regain control of Congress in 2026, impeachment proceedings against Trump will almost certainly follow and the likelihood that he will be run out of office increases dramatically. Vance, by acting pre-emptively could eliminate this possibility and set himself up in good shape for a 2028 presidential run. I have no doubt, politics being politics1, that he has considered this.

In spite of all this, many people will continue on with their worship and adulation of Trump, believing fervently that he is The Answer to all the problems which face themselves and America. What will it take to bring them to a point where they are able to see the light, to wash the mud out of their eyes, to confess their sins of idolatry? I do not know, but I suspect it will not be pleasant nor wealth-generating.

These are interesting times. May you prosper and succeed even as you live in them.

  1. I describe politics as the practice of getting what you want by manipulating other people and is always at their expense, to their detriment, which is an adaptation of this quote by Frederic Bastiat–“Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else.” — https://poorrogersalmanac.com/2024/10/19/the-practice-of-politics-continued/ See also here. ↩︎

Officially Confirmed: Epstein Did(n’t) Kill Himself

Roger Mitchell7 Comments

“Never believe anything (in politics) until it has been officially denied.”

By this time, you probably are aware that an “official” statement has been made concerning Jeffrey Epstein, the front-man of the criminal blackmailing scheme which (allegedly) video-taped numerous high and mighty men of “elite” status engaging in sex acts with (allegedly) under-age girls. According to this memo, Epstein did not traffic any under-age (or over-age, for that matter) girls or women. He did not blackmail anyone. There are no lists of clients who availed themselves of his “services”.

Officially, Epstein has been exonerated from all charges, rumors, insinuations, and any type of misinformation and disinformation which anyone might care to promote and expound on. Officially, he has been declared a saint and all efforts to sully his name will be squelched. Officially, that is. Actually, I’m quite surprised that they didn’t deny the existence of the “Lolita Express” which Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Prince Andrew, among others, including Trump, did not ride on.

Most importantly, according to this report, he really did kill himself, contrary to the headline of this article. Committed suicide. By himself. With assistance from no one. This, despite all the circumstantial evidence which shows that there is a three-day dead cat in the woodpile somewhere which stinks to high heaven. Video cameras which didn’t work in a high-security prison. Video which is clipped and cropped mysteriously at exactly the moment in question. Guards who fell asleep and did not check on him every 30 minutes in flagrant violation of the rules. Cellmates which were transferred to another location the day previous to the incident. Broken bones in his neck which are more representative of strangulation by force rather than voluntary suicide by hanging.

Nothing to see here, move on.

Donald Trump, AG Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel and his right-hand man Dan Bongino have all come out and courageously verified what everyone knows deep down to be the truth, i.e., that THERE IS NOTHING TRUE AT ALL about the rumors and speculation surrounding Epstein and his girl Friday, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is actually serving a twenty year sentence for, get this, trafficking under-age girls for sex with powerful men who were on the list which doesn’t exist. No, there is nothing true about all this.

Now, that last sentence is absolutely true. The whole thing is a farce, a lie, a cover-up. It ranks at least as high as the JFK assassination in Dallas on November 22, 1963, in which Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman and one of his bullets changed course abruptly in four different directions. The major difference between these two instances is that there are still many people who swear by the Warren Commission report about Kennedy, while today virtually no one believes the line about Epstein, even if they do parrot the “official” narrative and carry water for those who pull their strings.

There is one other similarity between JFK and Epstein. The case is closed. Closed. Officially closed. There will be no more investigation, no more fact-finding ventures, no more questioning, no more publicity, no more “conspiracy theorizing”. The administration of Donald Trump and Co. has issued its last report and there will be no release of any files pertaining to the matter. In due time, it will all be forgotten.

Except that it won’t be. There is simply too much about this that doesn’t pass the smell test. Anyone with a sense of reason, common sense, and a nose for the truth can discern that we have been lied to…again, this time with vehemence, bigly, as Trump would say. Just a few days ago, Trump aggressively reacted to a journalist who asked him a question about the sordid mess. Bondi testified to a “list of clients” which was on her desk in February waiting for her attention, but somehow it vanished within three months. Patel and Bongino went into office vowing to overhaul the FBI and cleanse it of corruption, but changed their tune as soon as they were installed.

And the beat goes on.

The one good thing to come out of this is that people who once would have believed whatever they were told by the authorities can now see the brazen lie for what it is. A brazen lie. We know that they are lying. They know that we know they are lying. We know that they know that we know they are lying. The beat goes on. However, with each passing day, as more and more people express their skepticism and disbelief, it becomes more difficult for those in power to maintain the farce. We have been lied to so much, so many times, about so many things that no one believes them anymore. My father had a story about a man he knew who had the reputation of a liar. If he came by and said, “Good morning”, you would go to bed, thinking it was night. This is where we are at today.

Remember Aesop’s Fable about the boy who cried, “Wolf!” and the beating he got when the townspeople finally got tired of his shenanigans? Why should we expect anything different to happen here?

Government and its attendant institutions have lost the trust of the American citizenry. Blind faith in the system has been shattered and will never be restored. Donald Trump has shot his bolt…and missed. From here on out, he will be increasingly irrelevant until he disappears like Pam Bondi’s “client list”.

“I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold he was no more; indeed, I sought him, but he could not be found.” — Psalm 37: 35-36

Try as much as I can, I am unable to call to mind anyone at present who does not spread himself more than Donald Trump. When it comes to calling attention to himself, he has no equal. In his world, there is only One and He knows it. Reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar, who was also compared to a tree and was cut down to size. See Daniel 4 for the story.

Victimization: Running Out of Steam

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

I like to think of myself as caring and compassionate, especially toward those who are beaten down and needy through no fault of their own. I have no problem with slipping a Benjamin into the hand of an elderly widow or young mother who I am certain is not able to pay her electric bill. Yet, there are some things which simply cause me to rebel, to resist. One of these is the claim by some that they are eternal victims and that everyone must excuse their behavior because…

Well, you know.

Blacks in America are pretty good at this. They (or their ancestors, or perhaps only some) were made slaves by white people centuries ago and, due to that unfortunate tidbit of history, ought to have everything handed to them on a silver or gold platter today. Never mind that the ones who enslaved them (or their ancestors, or perhaps only some of them) were probably also black. Never mind that the term, Slav, which classifies a middle-European race, likely sprang from the fact that white people from that region were probably also “slaves”. Never mind that the black ancestors who were enslaved have long been dead, as have been their “masters”, and that there is no connection between myself and a black man in San Francisco or Atlanta as a result of that specific situation. Everyone knows they are victims and must be compensated.

Enough of that! Let’s get to the real meat here.

Earlier today, I watched a short “news” brief by ABC on the retaliation by Iran because of the Israeli strikes on that country on June 13. Friday the 13th. Exactly sixty-one days after President Donald (Cap’n Warp Speed) Trump had told the Iranians they had sixty days to conform and comply with his nuclear “negotiations”. If they didn’t, well, at least he warned them of the terror and suffering that was to come.

Anyway, ABC had a reporter on the ground in Bet Yam, a community which had received numerous missile strikes from the Iranians. (Where the heck is Iron Dome when you need it?) One of the complaints was that children, at least two, had been killed. Let’s be real clear about this, at least two Israeli children had been killed from the missile strikes and, for that, we ought to be outraged. Yet, there was not a word about the thousands of Palestinian children who have been coldly slaughtered in the name of “security” and “Greater Israel”, even though it is (and can be) completely documented. Nothing said at all about the Iranian children who died as a result of Israel’s aggressive action.

No! NO, NO, NO! Our children are dying!! Ours, not theirs. We ought to be the ones who are sympathized with, pitied, and something must be done about it!!!

Pat Benatar had something to sing about this. “I’m going to harden my heart…”

Truth is, I have trouble with ginning up any sympathy for the Israeli claim, because I know that the Israeli State is killing, has killed, an untold number of Palestinian or Iranian children. I can have pity for them, but…that’s about as far as it goes. The problem is that they have been claiming to be “victims of circumstance” for as long as I can remember, at least since the “oppression” in Egypt during the time of Moses, some 3500 years ago. How long does one have to be a victim before it becomes embedded into the DNA and bloodline?

Remember Pinnochio? The fox and the cat?

Is this wrong? Do I have a bad attitude? Am I in need of a readjustment in some camp somewhere?

I can, and do, feel sadness at the violent deaths of two Israeli children, but I also recognize and understand that this is payment received for the evil, violent, murderous behavior exhibited, pursued, and acted upon, by decades of Israeli leadership and society, which knew (know) only one thing: violence for the sake of power is to be pursued to the ultimate end, which is death. All that matters is that we win, no matter how much it costs, nor how many others have to die so that we can achieve our goal, our end. If some of those who die are our own, well…collateral damage.

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” — Jesus Christ, as recorded in Luke 6:38.

Elon Musk: Honest Outrage or Play-acting?

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

Perhaps I was too hard on Elon Musk. Perhaps. Time will tell. But, he’s a big boy and can handle a little bit of honest opinion, truthful or not.

Nevertheless, I still think my criticism has validity and this article bears that out. Musk is a businessman who tried to operate in Washington under business-like protocols and was screwed as a result. It bears repeating–government is not a business nor can it be run like a business. I do give him credit for discovering that, however, and hope that he will continue to entertain the notion and allow it to guide his future. His outrage at the Republican version of out-of-control government spending appears to be, seems to be, heartfelt and sincere. Unlike his erstwhile boss, Donald Trump, who simply cannot resist owning it.

“Passing THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL is a Historic Opportunity to turn our Country around,” Trump posted on social media. He urged senators Monday “to work as fast as they can to get this Bill to MY DESK before the Fourth of JULY.”

There is nothing ambiguous about this bill. It will raise federal spending by a huge amount, increases the deficit, and raises the so-called “debt ceiling” (a misnomer which means nothing since it is ignored continually). Granted that there are some concessions (No Tax on Tips, for instance), but the fact remains that the entire spectacle is a smoke-and-mirrors show, orchestrated entirely by the Republican Party and Donald Trump, which will do absolutely nothing to slow down or stop America’s headlong plunge into the bottomless pit of bankruptcy and fiscal destruction.

Yeah, but…! Yeah, but…!

“And the beat goes on. The beat goes on.” — Sonny and Cher

In my opinion, Donald Trump is like the character, Baron Bomburst, in the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, except that I think the moniker, Colonel Bombast, would be more appropriate. It will take an enormous amount of positive change on his part to persuade me otherwise. Elon Musk, though, may have made a breakthrough with me and should he run for President in 2028 (if there is an election), I might decide to get on board.

But, no, probably not. I’m in the process of cleaning myself up and, regardless how you might portray it, politics is dirty.

The Death of Due Process: Mahmoud Khalil

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

What in the world? This is America, after all, The Land of the Free and the Home of Constitutionally Protected Freedoms as delineated in the first ten amendments, commonly known as the Bill of Rights.

Chances are pretty good that if you were to ask any average American about Mahmoud Khalil, he or she would respond with one word. “Who?” If this person derived their politics from the right side of the ledger who vigorously supports Donald Trump, then the odds go up that, on learning about the status of Mahmoud Khalil, the answer would immediately come back with double the quantity of words and heightened intensity. “Good riddance!” In this, they will echo the words of Kristi Noem, who could not let a good opportunity go to waste.

A week ago, I posted an article in which I explored the issue of Tren de Aragua, a notorious, violent, criminal gang from Venezuela which operates internationally (including the United States), and was designated by Donald Trump as a Foreign Terrorist Organization via an Executive Order on his very first day in office, second term. Since then, the administration has been active in rounding up and deporting alleged gang members back to Venezuela or shipping them off to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, whichever is easier, more effective, and less costly.

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear right now. I do not support the importation and keeping of violent criminals into this country. Undoubtedly, there are people here who ought to be removed from American society–violently, if necessary. Nevertheless, there are rules to follow in the process, the foremost among them being the 5th Amendment to the Constitution:

“No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” .

Now, of course, this brings up the question of whether or not the government is operating according to the 5th Amendment. I cannot say. I don’t know. If it is, well and good. If not, then we have a problem which will only get worse as social, economic, and political circumstances worsen and degrade. In order to maintain the trust of the American people, it is incumbent on the administration to make sure it works within the law whether it advances the political agenda or not.

Which brings us to Mahmoud Khalil. Born in Syria of Palestinian origin and a citizen of Algeria, legally admitted to the US with Green Card and permanent resident status, Columbia University student, married to an American woman, soon to be a father. He was arrested in the lobby of his apartment complex in New York City, on March 08, then shipped without notice to Jena, LA, where he was held incommunicado without notice to his attorney or pregnant wife. He was the first person arrested after Trump had promised to crack down on university student protests over the conflict in Gaza.

Obviously, Khalil had broken some law or committed a crime, right? After all, if you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to be afraid of. Right? Why else would the government go after him if he was innocent? As it turns out, he had been involved in the protests at Columbia, acting as an intermediary between the university and the main body of participants. He had been open and cooperative with the university and the media and refused to mask his face, becoming widely known to the public and giving the administration a clear target to aim at in the battle against “anti-semitism”, a term no one can define well but which is politically useful. Sort of like “freedom-fighters” and “democracy”.

Marco Rubio, the current Secretary of State has alleged that Khalil engaged in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States”, but he produced no evidence to this effect and did not accuse Khalil of committing any crime whatsoever. In a court case before Jamee Conans, an immigration judge in Louisiana, Rubio brought out an arcane law as precedent to prove that he could legally deport Khalil, whether he was guilty of any wrong-doing or not. CNN described it this way.

“The administration previously said it based its deportation order for Khalil on an obscure provision from the Immigration and Nationality Act – which provides broad authority to the Secretary of State to revoke a person’s immigration status if their “activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” to the country.”

““For cases in which the basis for this determination is the alien’s past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful, the Secretary of State must personally determine that the alien’s presence or activities would compromise a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest,” the memo from the secretary reads.”

OK, let’s get this straight. Marco Rubio has applied an obscure regulation from 1952 to justify his action against Khalil, who has not had any criminal charges filed against him. According to the memo seen above, Khalil’s “past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations that are otherwise lawful” are sufficient to require his deportation. His beliefs? His words? The company he keeps? Not only in the past and currently, but also those to happen at some time in the future?

What is this if not a full-throated assault on free speech in America, a guaranteed right covered by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution? If any Secretary of State (there are many, they change all the time) can determine arbitrarily that a person is a “threat to national security” at any time and for any reason, and use the overwhelming power of the federal government against them, does this not rip the guts out of the 1st Amendment? Since the powers-that-be today will not be those in charge tomorrow, how can anyone be certain that what he says or believes today will not be held against him tomorrow when the politics have shifted? The fact is that he cannot and this type of action by Rubio and Trump will only have a chilling effect on what is said and done in this country.

The 5th Amendment is toast. The 1st Amendment is almost gone. With those out of the way, who can guarantee that the 2nd Amendment, the so-called Right to bear Arms, will not be targeted next? When the Goon Squad breaks down your front door to confiscate your guns, what authority can you appeal to for deliverance, especially if you have refused to stand up for those who were taken out and beaten in the War against Free Speech, Beliefs, and Friendships?

Where is Martin Niemoeller when you need him?

The Trump administration has been given the green light to deport Khalil by Jamee Comans, an immigration law judge in Louisiana, who justified her ruling based on Rubio’s statement. Khalil’s lawyers have until April 23 to appeal the decision and it is quite possible that this case will be heard all the way to the Supreme Court.

An ironic twist to this saga is that the Leftists who were so keen to cancel, censor, and silence their critics a few years ago are now howling loudly on behalf of Mahmoud Khalil, while the Rightists who complained loudly and bitterly about being told to sit down and shut up are now advocating that Khalil be treated in exactly the same way. Or worse.

Fairness, integrity, and consistency. I guess it all depends on which version of justice you subscribe to. Go figure.

Weep, Our Beloved Country

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2025/03/no_author/international-law-is-now-suspended-if-not-eliminated/

“A law cannot exist if there are individuals or organizations that fall within its scope but which stand “above the law” — can’t be prosecuted no matter how flagrantly they violate it. EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW IS THE FOUNDATION-STONE OF LAW, and if any exceptions can be allowed, those are ONLY the ones that are stated IN the law as being NOT within its scope — and, thus, the fundamental principle of law is that a law exists ONLY if all individuals or organizations that fall within its scope are subject to investigation and prosecution if they violate it. Otherwise, it’s NOT a “law.” To call it a law is false. The United States Government and its colonies such as Israel can’t be prosecuted for violating international law no matter how flagrantly they violate it. Consequently, international law no longer exists. What DOES exist, then? The traditional ethic does: Might makes right.”

Might makes right. More than anything else, this philosophy is the one which most people subscribe to and practice, regardless of what they privately espouse. It is the order of modern American politics which stands for holding to a particular model of government until power is seized, at which point all the “true” points are discarded in favor of raw power. Because we can, and the foot-soldiers in the trenches cheer and applaud everything which the top command is doing, whether it adheres to the principles espoused or not. Because the “war” must be won. By fair means or foul, and it doesn’t matter who gets hurt in the process. War is painful, after all, and the Dastardly Democrats or the Rascally Republicans must be beaten down, never to rise again, in order to usher in the Golden Age of Utopia for All Humanity. Er, I mean, all persons because it’s forbidden to create a label which includes the letters written as “…man…” Mankind, humanity, humankind, human beings, human rights, etc. All gone. All outlawed. All discarded. Because…discrimination, you know, which simply is nothing more than making a choice between different options and possibilities. There ought to be a law.

But seriously, folks.

I don’t follow Eric Zuesse. I do read his articles from time to time and I am never disappointed, even though I may disagree with him vehemently. In this case, I think he is spot on and his argument can be applied directly to what is happening today in American jurisprudence. Namely, the idea that the Executive Branch of federal government can do anything it wishes and no one will complain. Because…they can. Might makes right, indeed!

A law is not a law IF the people who administer the Law are above the Law and are not held accountable by the Law IF they transgress the Law. Can it be put more plainly than that? In other words, if Donald Trump, and Co., decide to move in a certain direction regardless of the Law, who is going to hold him (them) accountable? After all, they are the Power and, as everyone knows, Might makes Right.

Right? Of course, right.

OK, enough of beating around the bush. Let’s bring this in for a landing.

We hear all the time from “Conservatives” that we must “return” (as if we ever left it) to The Constitution (the highest law which cannot be transcended), yet the Constitution declares these rights (of the individual) to be inviolate. Meaning that they cannot be superseded by any law, whether Congressional, Judicial, or Executive, or regardless as to whether they are popular, conservatively speaking.

  1. The 5th Amendment to the Constitution. “No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” .

Pretty plain, right? Cut and dried, right? No person, right? Unless, of course, this applies to an “illegal immigrant” who also happens to be a member of a “terrorist” gang (designated by the Executive Branch, i.e., the President) as a threat to the “national interest”. In that case, those who are guilty (whether they are charged or not is irrelevant) of this “crime” (violation of law) are subject to immediate deportation to their country of origin OR removal to a prison system run by the El Salvadoran government, which we pay buku bucks for, generously provided by the US taxpayer.

This does not appear to be any different than the “war” waged on La Cosa Nostra, i.e., Mafia, which has been ongoing for decades and does not appear to have an end point. Except that the action against Tren de Aragua has the support and vociferous backing of half the population of the US, which Donald Trump is counting on to allow him to completely circumvent the 5th Amendment to the Constitution, which all his supporters depend on to keep the country safe from the depredations of a tyrannical government. We MUST get back to the Constitution, right? Except when it is convenient to discard it, of course.

Whatever happened to “Innocent, until Proven Guilty”? Does this mean anything, anymore?

I admit that Tren de Aragua probably is criminal. It is probably based on force, violent in nature, to achieve its ends, i.e., the compliance of those it seeks to subjugate. That being said, is there any realistic, theoretical, philosophical, difference between this one specific gang and others which are larger and have much more power, e.g., the United States of America, which can be said to impose its power and influence around the world? As far as I can see, the only difference is one of size and scope.

I could applaud the current administration for its stance and actions, except for one niggling reminder. First, they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I wasn’t a socialist. Yes, I said nothing when those in power came for Tren de Aragua because I was not a member of the group and, besides, I liked what Trump & Co. was doing. Never mind that the end of this is that when they came for me, there was no one left to speak up for me.

Should we be concerned? Absolutely, yes, we should, but not necessarily in the manner so prevalent in conservative circles today. If the government can arrest and punish anyone at all based solely on an accusation, then who is safe? Am I safe? Are you? How do you know?

“By their works, you shall know them.”

What is most interesting about the article by Eric Zuesse is that he mentions the Peasant’s Revolt of 1525, which resulted in the deaths of perhaps as many as 100, 000 common, ordinary, everyday, persons who simply wanted an end to the abuses perpetrated on them by those more powerful, and which can be summarized as follows:

“Laws should be made more equitable so that all are equal before it and no one gets harsher or more lenient treatment for the same crime.” — https://www.worldhistory.org/Twelve_Articles/

Imagine that! The Law applied equally and without discrimination! No one, not even Donald Trump, Elon Musk, nor Chuck Schumer above it!

We have a long way to go.

Orange-haired Wrecking Machine

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

It has been barely a month since Donald Trump took office as President and already monumental changes have occurred. As Vladimir Lenin famously said, “There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.” Trump appears to have learned the lesson well from his first term during which he was drubbed from every direction and, with the assistance and support of his staff, is aggressively making his mark on America and the world. Whether it will be “great” or not remains to be seen. If Trump succeeds in dismantling and rearranging the federal government, a long overdue event, it will bode well for the future of this country—in the long run. The short run is a different story. Getting from our current situation to “Happy days are here again” is not going to be a pleasant journey, even if you are a starry-eyed supporter of everything which he is accomplishing.

America, the Hegemon, has run its course. After 1-1/4 centuries of empire-building (marking the Spanish-American war as the beginning), it is obvious to clear-minded thinkers that there is nothing left except to change course and operate in a different manner. We cannot bully our way anymore as in the past. Threats only have an effect on small insignificant countries like Colombia, which caved recently on the issue of repatriation of immigrants to the US. Large, near-peer nations (Russia, China, e.g.) are charting their own destiny and have the power to make it happen, with or without the “blessing” of Washington.

Closer to home, financial collapse and ruin are on the horizon. After decades of constant inflation from 1971 onward (Nixon’s decoupling from the gold standard) and unfathomably massive deficits (call them by their real name–unpayable debts), the economy is on extremely shaky ground and will probably experience a severe recession in the near future, almost certainly within the next four years. It is conceivable that this will be worse than the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and it is not necessary to resort to “conspiracy theories” to understand that. The dollar is strong vis-a-vis all other currencies only because they are even weaker, not through any real value of its own. The current run-up in the price of gold is a telling indicator. The day is long gone when all problems could be solved by throwing money at them.

What does this mean for us? Put as simply as I can, it’s going to hurt. Bigly. There are going to be serious consequences for America’s actions and many of them will be personally disruptive and destructive. Lifestyle changes are going to become the order of the day and many of these will come about because there is no other choice. Adapt or die. Simply expecting that the State or society will allow us to remain as we were is a foolish exercise in complacent irresponsibility. Those who cling to the past will almost certainly perish. At the very least, they will become irrelevant.

For too long, we have believed in the State to protect us from every conceivable danger and inconvenience. Today, that false god is bankrupt and toppling. The motto, “full faith and credit of the US government”, is no longer valid and does not apply. It is like a decrepit, derelict building which has long outlived its original purpose and must be destroyed to make way for the future.

Donald Trump, like any good wrecking ball, is loud, disruptive, and causing a lot of damage to the existing structure. However, wrecking balls are good for only one purpose–deconstruction. Trump is not going to “save” America, but he may clear the way for others to come behind him and start the rebuilding process all over again. Time will tell.

Leather gloves, hard hats, steel-toed boots, dust masks, and safety goggles are the order of the day.

Coming of the Light: The Next Four Years

Roger Mitchell3 Comments

Today, December 21, 2024, is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. In my latitude, that means daylight arrives only a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. and darkness falls shortly after 5:00 p.m., for a total of about nine hours of light sufficient that I don’t need to rely on artificial illumination. From here on out, for the next six months, the daylight spans will become increasingly longer, until June 21, 2025, when the cycle will reverse.

Also looking forward, not necessarily toward more light, on January 20, 2025, just 30 days from now, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. This will make many people absolutely giddy with delight and euphoria as they expect that he (and his cohorts) will transform the current System of Governance into one in which justice is reached at last, (at least for those on our side), governments actually protect their citizens from harm of all kinds, money is once more made valuable, wars are fought and won decisively against “our” adversaries, and everyone’s life becomes more free and prosperous as long as they are not drug dealers, illegal immigrants, anti-Semites, Democrats, and progressive Utopian zealots who do not know the difference between a boy and a girl.

Ah, yes. Good times, good times!

I watch what is happening today and I don’t know if I should laugh or cry, because it is evident to me that the American Empire is thrashing about in its death throes and the next four years under Trump will not resurrect it to vigorous life again. It was bad under Biden, it will not improve under Trump. In all likelihood, more people will be worse off then than they are now and, what is just as likely is that most of them will remain clueless as to why this happened. For many of them, the ignorance will be deliberate. As Bionic Mosquito (see here or here), one of my correspondents, commented recently,

“People don’t want to open the door on one false belief because they are afraid (or maybe know) that once one false belief falls, their entire worldview will crumble. It scares most people to consider that their house is built on sand. So they defend, no matter the evidence.”

Yes, once the foundations of a system crumble, the entire worldview changes. Those who believe the notion that The State, The System, is the natural order of things and that everything will be lost without it will do anything and everything to avoid coming to the conclusion that they have believed in a veritable fountain of lies. Instead, they will cling desperately to the sinking ship, dancing upon its increasingly steep decks, refusing to jump into the icy cold water of political, social, and economic reality, or the lifeboat that is personally responsible life. True believers will go down with the ship and, in the US, there are millions of them. The nostrum that Trump will make the bad things go away is delusional, but it is one which will be held tightly and, when it fails, will be explained away in the manner of all excuses which are adamantly opposed to the truth–“If only we had tried harder…”

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

Thou Shalt Not Murder, except by Majority Vote

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

I’m looking at the early returns of the 2024 election. It appears that the state of Montana has gone decisively Republican and conservative, at least in the higher offices, most of which have been decided by wide margins. Some localized races have bucked the trend, ensuring that there will be plenty of contention in days to come. Donald Trump pulled out (estimated) an astounding victory of nearly 60%, with the Senate seat, both House seats, the Governor, and all state-wide offices running neck-and-neck with him.

What I find ironic is that CI-128, a ballot initiative which would enshrine the “right” to an abortion into the State Constitution, also passed by a wide margin, virtually identical with Trump’s drubbing of Kamala Harris in the state.

This tells me one of three things:

  1. There are a lot of hypocrites in the Republican/Conservative side of the Big Tent, which means the moral condition of the country will simply tend to worse and worse. But, then, this was already a given and has manifested itself in the past in myriad ways.
  2. This election was not about a “return to morality and Christian values”, but was probably more a judgment about the state of the economy, that is, money, and the voter’s own personal bankroll. If this is true, then America still has a long way to fall before it crashes hard.
  3. The voters of Montana have shifted from a position of welcoming and soliciting government intervention into their lives to one of telling the “rulers” to butt out. Not necessarily bad, in my opinion, but unfortunately, the weakest, most vulnerable persons among us will pay the price with their lives, all because we refuse to control ourselves.

“Thou shalt not murder, except by majority vote.” History will record the repercussions of this decision.

The End of the Show (and the American Experiment)

Roger Mitchell2 Comments

In barely four months, American voters will “elect” a person who will serve as the President of the United States for the next four years. Currently, Donald Trump is running well ahead of anyone else and appears to be on his way to another term in the White House. Joe Biden, on the other hand, appears to be in a state of fog and is losing support rapidly in the wake of his recent disastrous “debate” performance with Trump. Yet, he remains in office and it is not certain that he can be dislodged from the ticket to allow for a more viable candidate.

Viable candidate, of course, means someone who can be sold to the voters as the least evil of all the evils available. “Vote for our most recent selection. At least (s)he is better than Joe Biden, who was our previous selection until he publicly demonstrated that he couldn’t even fall off a podium without help.”

What a joke! But this is the state of affairs in the American Empire and, sadly, we all have to live with it.

There are many various options ventured which the Democrat Party has at its discretion, but all of them seem to be nothing more than wildly thrashing about in an act of desperation. Sort of like drowning and grabbing at anything in the attempt to stay afloat. Gasping for breath while taking in water. Knowing that you are going down and doing everything possible to stave off the inevitable.

It is going to be difficult, probably impossible, for the Democrats to produce anyone who can go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump, especially considering the very short time between now and the election in November. Their options are quite limited:

  1. Keep Joe Biden and hope for the best. Manipulate the election as much as necessary to produce a “win” in November, even if it means that no one can deny the fraud and the theft with a straight face.
  2. Remove him from the ticket at the Party convention in late August, giving them even less time to convince voters that they can “win”.
  3. Invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment.
  4. Convince him (or his wife, Dr. Jill Biden) to resign to make room for a better candidate.
  5. Convince him to die peacefully in his sleep.

This really boils down to only two choices: either Joe Biden or anyone else. Anyone else, no matter how odious they are or how much the American public despises them. Really now, who do they have? Kamala “Cackling” Harris? Gavin “Gruesome” Newsom? Hillary “Deplorable” Clinton? Michelle “Big Mike” Obama? Barak “Hope and Change” Obama? Any of these would instantly turn half the country into a “two-minute hate” session which would extend through the election and continue on for years if, by some chance, (s)he managed to “beat” Trump.

In my opinion, if Donald Trump manages to avoid “dying peacefully in his sleep”, he will sweep to an electoral victory and gain the White House again. Regardless who the Democrats put up, Trump will wipe the floor with them. Therefore, I will stick my neck out, go out on a limb, and make a prediction: Joe Biden will stay on the ticket and will receive his “pink slip” in November, officially retiring on January 20, 2025. There is really no good reason to change him out now. It will not make a difference in the end. At least, he would be able to claim with some degree of honesty that he “lost, but did not quit”.

Trump is bought and paid for. He will do as he is told. So will any of the Democrats opposing him. So will you. It is no longer profitable to continue the illusion.

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” — Frank Zappa

We have reached the point where the stage has been cleared, the scenery has been removed, the curtains have been pulled back, and the brick wall is plainly evident for anyone who is aware. Those who direct the action and pull the strings have just exposed their intentions for the entire world to see. The farce of “constitutional representation”, “democracy”, and “We, the People”, has been played out to the last act which is now bringing the entire spectacle to an end.

Whether Joe Biden continues to the election or not is irrelevant. Whether another Democrat wins the election is irrelevant. Whether Donald Trump wins the election is irrelevant. Whether the American populace is content with their “options” or not is irrelevant. The velvet glove has come off and the iron fist has been exposed. It does not matter who becomes President, the puppet-masters behind the scenes are going to continue calling the shots until the entire theater burns to the ground, quite possibly to the fireworks of nuclear explosions popping off everywhere.

“We made the grade and still we wonder, who the hell we are.” Welcome to the Grand Illusion.

We’re All in this Together. Aren’t We?

Roger Mitchell3 Comments
Tyranny Is Upon us: Law and Juries Are Weaponized

Just to ensure that everyone understands and has no misconceptions about it, I DO NOT support or endorse Donald Trump in any way. I think he is a loud, obnoxious, lying, narcissistic blowhard who is only concerned about his own vanity and pride. Oh, and the size of his bank account which seems to grow larger no matter what happens.

That being said, what has just happened to him cannot, in any way, be seen as “justice” or adherence to “law”. The impartiality of justice and the court system has been (is being) shredded. The fact that Trump can be dragged through the muck publicly to the cheers of his enemies and detractors only makes that possibility more probable and likely for the rest of us. In fact, anyone who says or does anything which is in opposition to the contrived and dominant narrative of the moment is in danger of being forcefully (violently?) prosecuted, found guilty, and punished.

Trump’s case is an example of what all of us might face in the future…if we do not speak out about the injustice of it all. We understand this implicitly, yet there are millions who would make excuses for the prosecution and there are just as many, perhaps more, who will privately complain about it, but do nothing at all to stop it–especially if it means inconvenience and personal cost to them.

America has devolved into a society of quarreling factions squabbling over a carcass of something which was once alive and healthy, like a pack of jackals fighting over a scrap of dead meat and, as long as we get the scrap (getting OUR candidate elected in the next election), we exult that our bellies are full today. America is no longer beautiful but has become an ugly spectacle which is almost too obscene to look at, let alone participate in.

(This was first published at Western Montana News. Read it here.)

God Does Not Forget

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

“There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

For context, you should read this article first.

https://amgreatness.com/2023/11/08/abortion-not-trump-is-the-gops-albatross/

So…if we paid attention to the “advice” which Matthew Boose (author of the article) dispenses, the only reason why Donald Trump is rolling over the opposition in the Republican Party primaries and (probably) in the general election, is that he is willing to compromise his stance on the issue of abortion. According to Boose, the people want legal access to the “right” to kill their unborn children and will not be denied, therefore, it behooves the Republican Party to stop being stupid about this issue and give them what they demand. Otherwise, when November comes and the mail-in ballots are counted, well, surprise, surprise! The Democrats will have emerged victorious yet again. All because America cannot shake its commitment to its assault on the youngest and most vulnerable among us and the politicians who desire to “lead” ought to be aware of that and act correspondingly.

Whatever happened to principle and standing firm on what you believe to be true, regardless of the cost? The indiscretions, mistakes, and sins of Martin Luther King, Jr., should not distract nor discount from the truth that he stated as seen in the comment above. But, then, he was only repeating what he had heard about someone else who lived and died two thousand years earlier, in part due to an intransigent, determined, and dedicated refusal to compromise with the evil so rampant in Judea at that time.

Abortions on demand have been legal across the entire United States since the Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, handed down January 22nd, 1973. That ended with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022 when the issue was kicked back to the individual states and, much to the dismay of the left side of democracy, many of the states started putting real restrictions on the practice. Note that it took more than forty-nine years of massive blood-letting before the Supreme Court recognized that it had misread the Constitution and changed its course.

But, then, what are we to expect from a people who believe that they are God and try to act like it?

Today, and until the end of this election cycle, it is not likely that Donald Trump will say anything about abortion on demand and, if he does, it will be some mealy-mouth squealing about not interfering in a woman’s personal health care. If he does, you can bet your bottom dollar that he will not be forthright and thunderously call for an immediate end to the slaughter. If he defied the “political wisdom” and made such a ringing declaration, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Matthew Boose’s of the world would instantly jump on him roughshod and call him out as a destructive force in the Republican Party. Not that they do not already see him that way, but as the pre-eminent standard-bearer of the conservative Right, he has them in a fix and there is not much they can do about it.

Abortion on demand, widespread throughout society, is suicidal. It literally kills the future. If there is one legitimate reason why America needs to import millions upon millions of young, military-age men from foreign countries, it is because we have killed our own, in the womb, before they were ever born. Social Security, soon to be Social Insecurity, is going to run out of money within the next ten years, partly because we have destroyed at least 60 million potential workers and payees into the system. Oh, yes, actions have consequences. This one is catching up fast and America is being destroyed before our eyes.

What will the Republicans do this year? What will Trump do? My expectation is that they and he will do nothing to rock the boat. In the interest of gaining power, there will be nothing said nor done which will alienate any potential support, particularly on such a divisive topic. After all, winning is everything, right? And if we have to throw a few sacrificial lambs into the maw of Moloch, well, it is better that they go quietly and without too much fuss. The important thing is not to speak the truth and stand firmly for it, but to beat the Democrats and get Joe Biden out of the White House.

All’s well that ends well, right? But America is not ending well and our fixation on keeping abortion legal is part of our collective, mortal sickness.

We may be able to ignore the carnage and drown out the cries through our noisy, busy lives, but God does not forget. God does not forget.

Making a Mockery out of Law.

Roger Mitchell1 Comment

Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, has recently announced that, if elected, he would immediately write an Executive Order requiring all Americans to wear a face mask when in public. Of course, ‘public’ means whenever anyone else can see you. And also, of course, this is designed as an immediate vote getter which will play well with those people who believe that ‘government’ means ordering everyone else to fall into line with whatever happens to be the political whim of the day. Or else!

This is about as stupid as it gets!

First, the president does not have constitutional authority to order such an action.

Second, even if he did, he does not have what it takes to enforce the edict short of turning the country into East Germany, v.2, complete with its attendant surveillance system and willing informers everywhere.

Third, by making the wearing of masks mandatory for everyone, everywhere, he runs the risk of being completely ignored by a large contingent of the population. Being ignored is the worst thing which can happen to a politician. Being ignored is absolute hell for anyone who wants to force their worldview on anyone else. I know. I’ve been there. My experience tells me that the best thing for Joe Biden is to simply not pay any attention at all to what he says or does. It will make him a better man.

Do not get me wrong. I do not have any more love for Donald Trump than I do for Biden. However, it strikes me as incongruous and inconsistent that so many people shriek about the “tyranny” of Trump’s actions, but would automatically welcome Biden’s tyranny if he were to be elected and put his plans into effect. Whether face masks work or not is irrelevant. Tyranny is tyranny in whatever flavor it comes and it should be resisted wherever it shows up.

Or perhaps, mocked?