For the past few weeks the focus of the so-called “liberal media” has been on the roller coaster ride of the stock market. While it appears to me Trump is sending “hints” to investors who are raking in massive profits on the upward parts of the ride. That said, I believe the DAMAGE has already been done in regard to Trump’s destroying America’s standing in the “free” world. I actually believe if Trump changed his tune today America’s former allies are already at the point where they CANNOT trust America, period, full stop. After all, Trump was elected by the American people. So, it’s “we the people” who are responsible for all this DAMAGE.

OK, how much DAMAGE is there? OMG, where to start. For me, it started almost immediately after the inauguration (where, if you remember, Musk threw a couple Sieg Hiels in the inauguration ceremony). Shortly thereafter, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was, in essence, destroyed by the Musk/Trump administration. By some estimates, OVER 3 MILLION people in some of the poorest places around the globe will be DEAD by the end of this year, because of us. The reach of USAID went much further than that, including support for Ukraine keeping “the lights on” in regard to Vladimir Putin’s outrageous assault on their nation.

Oh yes, USAID was, in some way, investigating (f)Elon Musk in one or more of his businesses. I believe it was Starlink and its terminals in Ukraine. I have no idea of the details and, obviously, I’m too lazy to do a little research to find out. However, this is just one of the alleged instances of a conflict of interest regarding Musk and his Dogeshits. There were, allegedly, something like 17 government investigations into Musk’s business empire which, apparently, fell into the category of “waste, fraud, and abuse” – so they’re now gone. Poof! As Musk goes back to being a CEO he’ll have much less to keep him up at night – more time for his 14 children.

Possibly GREATER DAMAGE lies on the horizon – it’s just that, to me, the ruthless willingness of Musk/Trump to say things like “no one’s dying” because of eliminating USAID is preposterous and puts them into the pure EVIL category – but, domestically the major DAMAGE is likely to be the destruction of a functioning Department of Justice (DOJ). “We the people” are inching closer and closer to the reality (which I predicted months ago – I read “Project 2025) of an administration which refuses to abide by actual court decisions. They’ve ILLEGALLY taken approximately 300 PEOPLE off the streets, declared they are gang members, and sent them to a gulag in El Salvafor – where the U.S. is paying El Salvador to keep them (In incredible TORTURE like situations), Of course, with NO “due process.” You know, that annoying promise of our constitution!

Just yesterday I heard Trump say something like, “If we had to give all of these people ‘due process’ it could take years.” This is coming out of the mouth of the man who blocked the “right wing” immigration bill during the final year of the Biden administration. That legislation was designed to get more agents at the border and provide MORE immigration judges to speed up the process of determining which people who migrated to the U.S. were eligible to remain and work here. From my perspective the United States, which is a “nation of immigrants,” should be welcoming to those who come here and are eligible to stay based on our system of laws. (I believe they should get a “green card” – but, obviously, I’m not sure)

However, speaking of “due process.” Where would Trump be today without it. For heaven’s sake – he allegedly committed OVER 85 FELONIES the last time around. He was found GUILTY by a jury of 12 people, including a MAGA supporter, of 34 FELONIES for actual “election interference” when he hid the payments to a couple women he had illicit affairs (adultery, for all you MAGA “Christians”) with to keep “we the people” in the dark after the Access Hollywood tape was made public. Additionally, Trump was alleged to have violated the Espionage Act and, in essence, attempting a coup on January 6th, 2021. By MOST accounts he would have been convicted had those cases gone to trial. Trump used his “due process” rights to “delay, delay” until, somehow, “we the people” gave him a “get out of jail free” card. Why would anyone outside the U.S. trust us?

Additionally, the Congress is controlled by republicans and MOST of them are living in fear of a nasty Trump “tweet” to the point where they vote for stuff they know is ridiculous in order to show their “loyalty.” (Or should I say “fealty?”) Republicans in Congress, for years, have been the reason legislation which would be favorable to “we the people” never seems to get passed (with the exception of Biden’s first two years). This all started with Newt Gingrich back in the 90’s and was put on steroids by the “filibusters” (which really don’t seem like real filibusters to me) of Mitch McConnell. Sadly, the democrats are such wimps at messaging, the American public has no idea how we got to this place. We’ve been inching toward fascism since the days of Ronald Reagan and the republican tax cuts for the wealthy. (The newest version is on the horizon.)

The point is, when the executive branch of government isn’t being “checked” by the legislative branch AND the judicial branch – we have devolved into a fascist state. I keep hearing pundits (when I choose to watch TV “news”) using the term “authoritarianism” as to where Trump is leading us. For some reason they’re afraid to use the term “fascism” – but, that’s exactly where we’re headed. I’ve pointed out numerous times here when you have a government/corporate partnership, that’s the definition of a fascist state. Just look at the $239 MILLION Trump raised for his inauguration (where Musk flashed the Sieg Hiels with NO pushback from republicans) – OVER one hundred corporations donated AT LEAST a million dollars for what? For some parties? Of course not, it was to publicly demonstrate fealty to Trump. Full stop! (Many were companies that claimed they would no longer support anyone involved in the INSURRECTION back in January of 2021) The world is watching!

But, I’ve only mentioned the “tip of the iceberg.” What do you think is the reaction around the globe of Trump potentially crashing the world’s economy over his lifetime fantasy with tariffs. Up until a day or two ago I’ve NEVER heard Trump indicate he had even the basic understanding of who pays for a tariff. Do you think that might add to the anger people around the globe who’ve been traditional allies of America as Trump risks the world economy out of stupidity? Again, “we the people” caused this to happen so it’s no surprise people in Europe are turned off to America for this reason. The Chinese people are making fun of Trump and Vance – and, the Chinese government is going to make Trump “grovel” in order to even begin a negotiation. And, Europe – they are planning to “go it alone” out of self defense.

But, as always with republicans, there’s more. This one digs at my heart similar to the USAID disaster. I know people from Ukraine. I know one woman who is a classroom assistant in the school district where I worked whose grandfather (and, therefore, her mother) refuse to leave Ukraine despite the ILLEGAL assault on their nation from Vladimir Putin – the world’s number one WAR CRIMINAL. Just the thought of the United States abandoning Ukraine as it FIGHTS to save it’s fledgling democracy (and prevent Putin’s fever dream of remaking the Soviet Union) makes me sick to my stomach. One of the charities I support is focused on help for the many orphans being created by Russia’s ILLEGAL assault. But, it’s Europe where the danger of Trump’s ignorance lies. How do you think they’re viewing Trump’s TRAITOROUS pivot toward Russia?

Trump, to me is simply verifying he’s a TRAITOR. After all, as I said above, he led an attempted coup (against the American government) back in 2021. Since he took office in January 2025 Trump has given repeated signals he’s taking the side of Russia. He keeps touting how he’s going to bring the war to an end by ripping Ukraine off of its “rare earths” while failing to even suggest that Russia would simply need to withdraw its troops in order to end the war on that day. Trump is suggesting that Russia would be “sacrificing” by keeping “only” the territory it now controls – 20% of Ukraine. (And, Oh by the way, do you trust Putin regardless?) Trump is further turning the Europeans against “we the people” – and, understandably so – while he’s being made to look like a fool by both Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

In my mind the DAMAGE Trump is causing approaches an irreparable condition already. How could ANY of our traditional allies trust America at this point? (And, it’s going to get MUCH worse before it gets better) Obviously, both Putin and Xi know they can “play” Trump “like a fiddle.” So, where will he turn? North Korea? The Middle East? Certainly not Africa. Oh, I forgot – Trump is in really good standing with El Salvador – at least at the time I’m writing this. Keep in mind, there’s well over 3 1/2 years left of this fiasco – short of republicans coming to their senses – or, the American people revolting by voting in enough democrats in 2026 for the FINAL impeachment – although, if that were the case it would require impeaching BOTH Trump and Vance.

I’m not one who believes we will still have “free and fair elections” in 2026. (I truly hope I’m wrong) Remember, Trump idolizes Putin and republicans idolize Orban of Hungary. You can see it in Trump’s executive order aimed at making ALL elections federal – and, giving the election data from each state to his co-president (the Sieg Hiels flashing) Musk. In other words he wants to “Make America like Russia.” Myself, along with MANY others – to the plugged ears of MOST Americans – warned about Project 2025. I mean, Trump’s “puppet masters” put it all out on the internet in WRITING. People simply needed to read at least some of it.

One of these days take a good look at the White House “ceremony” of the Executive Orders Trump is signing virtually every day. The person who brings the document to him to sign EXPLAINS what is in the document – virtually directing Trump as to what he’s expected to sign. I, personally, don’t believe Trump has any idea what to expect when these orders arrive at the “resolute desk” – he simply dutifully signs them. My guess is, after today’s signing ceremony, he, along with his Secret Service detail, were off to one of his golf courses. He’s AVERAGING at least two rounds of golf each week. (As someone who loves golf, I can attest that takes up MOST of those two days – plus costs the taxpayers MILLIONS for the plane trip and putting up the Secret Service – usually in one of his own properties. A great strategic grift.

Speaking of grifting – here’s another example of the DAMAGE Trump is doing to the United States (and, of course, our constitution) which falls into the category of “unbelievable grifting.” Trump came up with a “meme coin” – which I must admit I have no idea what that is – at the beginning of his presidency (I believe it was started right after the election) where people “invest” in these “coins” and Trump’s family gets the money (?) – honestly, seems like a huge ponzi scheme to me, but what do I know? – but, at the bare minimum, Trump gains MILLIONS from the trading fees. Now he’s offering a dinner invite (and trip through the “White House” – the original offer of that “perc” was revised to leave us all to our imaginations because of the OBVIOUS illegality) to the “Top 220 “investors” in his $Trump coin – whatever that is. You can’t thumb your nose at the emoluments clause in the Constitution any more than that.

Final Thought: Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters will continue their assault on our Constitution believing they can outlast all of us protesters. It’s just one scandalous executive order a day (or, many times more than one) and they’ve turned their rabid policies toward intimidating (and now arresting) judges who they see as standing in their way – a source of intimidation Putin would be proud of. They’re also setting their sights on the media (with several parts of the corporate “mainstream” media already “bending the knee”), corporate law firms (many have already proven themselves to value money more than our democratic republic), and the major universities around the country. Here! Here! – to Harvard for fighting back!

As I said above, there’s more than 3 1/2 years of this on the horizon. “We the people” MUST remain resolute for the long haul. And, Trump’s disregard for our constitution MUST be documented for such time as he’s no longer the president. In addition, the actions of his sycophants in the “Justice Department” need to be memorialized for such time as when “we the people” are able to reclaim our “democracy.” No matter what the Supreme Court has decided in the past 15 years – Citizen’s United up through the infamous “absolute immunity” decision – we MUST realize it’s incumbent upon the American people to stand firm in the face of this assault on the Constitution. Here’s what BULLIES understand – stand firm and “punch back.” Retribution can be a two way street.

Repairing the relationships with our traditional allies, however long that might take, will have to wait until the appropriate time. Maybe the mass protests will send the right message to them, but we can’t forget “we the people” (apparently – read Greg Palast) voted for this – for a second time! And, after Trump was convicted of 34 FELONIES for “election interference.” Not to mention massive FRAUD and sexual assault. (remember that every time you hear Trump accuse someone else of what he’s been proven GUILTY) My prayers are that in the meantime (based on Trump’s turncoat “switch” to Putin) the Europeans will find a way to support Ukraine as they fight for their democracy. Ukraine should offer their “rare earths” to the EU. Stay tuned…..

The Department of Government Efficiency Is a Lie — And It Might Destroy Us All

Musk. Trump. Putin. Labor spies. Stolen data. This isn’t a thriller. It’s what’s happening inside your government — right now…

Thom Hartmann

Apr 16, 2025

America is under siege, but not by foreign armies or rogue terrorists. Instead, the threat is coming from inside the house: unelected billionaires who are quietly hijacking our democratic institutions from within.

Although it’s entirely possible that they are collaborating with foreign autocrats, including Vladimir Putin, who are also billionaires and thus share their unique authoritarian worldview.

And thanks to the bravery of a whistleblower named Daniel Berulis, we now have a window into what may well be one of the most brazen and dangerous power grabs in American history.

This isn’t cheap or even ordinary corruption: this is the sort of thing that happens in Third World countries, like when Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines used cronies and spies to infiltrate government agencies and neutralize political opponents, or when Vladimir Putin installed former KGB allies into key Russian institutions to crush whistleblowers and rig judicial outcomes, or when Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales dismantled anti-corruption agencies and handed sensitive state information to business elites.

It’s the sort of corruption that destroys democracies from the inside out.

Berulis risked his career, his safety, even his life to reveal what’s happening inside Elon Musk’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” or DOGE — a name that sounds innocuous enough, until you understand what they’re actually doing.

DOGE, according to Berulis’ bombshell disclosure, managed to breach the National Labor Relations Board’s computer systems and extract what he described as “the equivalent to a section of the New York Public Library” in sensitive data. This isn’t just bureaucratic overreach — it’s a digital smash-and-grab, right out of the authoritarian playbook.

And make no mistake: this is not some crackpot theory. Shortly after DOGE operatives created accounts inside the NLRB system, a login attempt came from a Russian IP address using one of those accounts — with the correct credentials. Within minutes of the breach, the data may have already been in the hands of the Putin government.

That’s the same Vladimir Putin who press reports say has been in regular telephone contact with both Donald Trump and Elon Musk for the past two years.

What’s being looted here isn’t just random bureaucratic files. We’re talking about the private information of whistleblowers, union organizers, witnesses in federal cases, proprietary corporate data, and labor rights enforcement strategies. Including complaints and complainants against Elon Musk’s companies.

In other words, the raw materials for dismantling organized labor in America — and for targeting, harassing, or discrediting anyone trying to stand up to corporate power, including Elon Musk’s multiple efforts to stop or break unionization attempts in his own companies.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s the naked truth, verified by a growing number of insiders and corroborated by NPR, which reports that at least eleven government officials and staffers have confirmed their fears about DOGE’s data exfiltration campaign.

Here’s the conflict of interest that should make every American’s hair stand on end: Elon Musk’s companies — Tesla, SpaceX, and X — were themselves under investigation by the NLRB for alleged labor violations. At least until Musk’s underlings fired the people investigating him and his companies.

Musk now has his own handpicked operatives inside the very agency tasked with holding him accountable. It’s like giving the bank robber a master key to the bank and letting him wander the halls at night. It’s a grotesque perversion of the rule of law, a corruption of the most fundamental principle of American justice that no one is above the law.

And if the information DOGE extracted gets used in court — or even leaked selectively — it could permanently tilt the scales of justice in favor of Musk and his corporate cronies. Labor law experts are already sounding the alarm, warning that even the possibility of access will have a chilling effect on union organizing and whistleblowing.

Just imagine you’re a worker trying to form a union. Would you still speak out, knowing your employer might now know your name, your address, your testimony, and your strategy — thanks to a government program run by that very employer’s billionaire CEO?

But it gets worse. Much worse. According to longtime employees within the Department of Labor and other agencies, the DOGE teams aren’t seasoned experts or trained cybersecurity professionals. They’re “new arrivals,” many of them with no vetting, no security clearance, and no relevant experience. Some have even worked with criminal hackers, and another reportedly runs a website based in Russia.

Yet they were granted sweeping access to some of the most sensitive data systems in the federal government. It’s a digital coup executed not by hackers, but by political loyalists and tech-bro mercenaries handed the keys to the kingdom by billionaire benefactors.

When Berulis tried to do the right thing — when he and his colleagues reached out to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to report the breach — they were stonewalled. Their alert was “disrupted by higher-ups without explanation.” And Berulis himself received a specific threat reminiscent of KGB strategies.

Internal cybersecurity teams were told by the Trump administration to stand down. One furious staffer at the Interior Department confessed that “every single alarm system we have regarding insider threats is going off,” but they were ordered to ignore them. That’s not just a red flag; it’s the flashing neon sign of a government being gutted from within. Or being turned over to Russian intelligence.

And don’t let the bureaucratic language of “data breaches” and “access credentials” lull you into thinking this is harmless IT stuff. These are national security breaches.

If this is what it appears to be, the Rosenbergs went to the electric chair for far less.

This is a modern Watergate, but instead of burglars breaking into a filing cabinet, they’re downloading 10 gigabytes of information with a keystroke. Instead of physical threats, DOGE’s enforcers are using drones to photograph whistleblowers, and notes are being taped to front doors like something out of a dystopian thriller.

Yet that’s exactly what happened to Berulis: a threatening note, drone surveillance, and an unmistakable message — shut up or we’ll make your life hell.

This is how authoritarianism functions in the 21st century. It doesn’t need a dictator in a military uniform when it has billionaires in boardrooms, access to surveillance technology, and cronies embedded deep within the machinery of government. It replaces accountability with loyalty. It replaces oversight with secrecy.

And it replaces democracy with intimidation and control, just like in Hungary and Russia.

Even if Musk and DOGE never use the data they’ve extracted, the damage is already done. The fear is out there. As labor expert Kate Bronfenbrenner put it, “Just saying that they have access to the data is intimidating.” And that’s the point.

This isn’t just about controlling government agencies and the courts; it’s about creating a culture of fear so pervasive that no one dares to challenge power. Workers won’t organize. Regulators won’t enforce. Whistleblowers won’t come forward. Democracy withers not with a bang, but with a whimper of silence and complicity.

And let’s not pretend this is all just theoretical. DOGE’s operations are still underway, expanding into other agencies, extracting more data, disabling more security protocols, silencing more voices.

Congress is beginning to stir — Rep. Gerald Connolly is calling for an investigation — but the clock is ticking. While bureaucrats write memos and hold hearings, the digital pillaging continues unchecked.

This is not some far-off threat. It’s happening here, now, and it’s being orchestrated by some of the richest men in the world who have zero accountability to the American people.

The same billionaires who already own our social media platforms, our space infrastructure, and our news cycles now want direct access to our government’s innermost workings. And they’re getting it.

The soul of American democracy is on the line. The question now is: will we let it be sold to the highest bidder, or will we stand up, speak out, and reclaim it?

Berulis showed us what courage looks like. Now it’s our turn.

Because if we don’t stop this now, it won’t just be our data they’re coming for — it’ll be our freedom.

The Hartmann Report is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my daily work to stop the fascists trying to destroy our form of government, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

I want to say last year in July the SCOTUS made the most egregious decision, by my calculation, in the history of the Courts in America – but, actually, upon further reflection the decision was clear much much earlier. Donald Trump was facing FOUR serious FELONY allegations related to his foiled attempted coup of January 6th, 2021 and he was claiming he had “absolute immunity” from prosecution. The district court Judge in Washington DC clearly pointed out that “no one is above the law” and “shot down” his absurd argument. Of course, in his act of “delay delay” he appealed to the Court of Appeals in D.C. and they ruled America does not have kings.

The ruling of the three judge panel of the D.C. Appeals Court was widely, by constitutional experts, considered rock solid – air tight. Most of these scholars suggested the SCOTUS would (SHOULD) simply decline Certiorari – which simply means the Court SHOULD decline the case letting the Appeals Court judgment stand. After all, Jack Smith had attempted to by pass the Appeals Court just a few months earlier and take the appeal on an emergency basis to the SCOTUS. So, why would the Court take the case now, many people asked themselves? The answer I gave (and, I thought I was correct at the time) was they wanted to help Trump STALL in order to make it impossible for his trial on the attempted coup charges to take place.

Well, I was partially correct. I did figure out (it didn’t take a brain scientist to do this) several of the Justices on the Court were avid Trump supporters – and, wanted to make sure there’d be no trial before the November election. By stalling the arguments and the Court’s decision up until the LAST day in both cases – they succeeded, big time! Here’s what I got completely wrong – because, to me, Trump’s argument was so STUPID even these Justices would see right through it.

By a six to three ruling – and, this might go down in history as the WORST Supreme Court ruling in history (and, that includes Citizen’s United, Dobbs, the gutting of the Voting Right’s Act, and many other BAD rulings by the court), THIS Court actually ruled in Trump’s favor – suggesting that as long as he can claim his action is an “official duty” he, for all intents and purposes is IMMUNE. To me, that should go down in the history of the United States as the “Presidents are Kings in the United States” ruling. I wasn’t the only one, at the time, suggesting the Court had just given up their own – equal branch of government – part of our system of “checks and balances” – to a rogue president.

Were they not able to see through their own corrupt eyes they were enabling a future president to, in essence, declare he or she was not subject to the will of the Court? I guess that’s rhetorical. Did they willingly give up their power or are they just so STUPID they didn’t understand the potential consequences of this decision? It’s clear they wanted Trump to be the “next conservative president” – in the words of Project 2025. And, now that they’ve created a MONSTER do they have the guts to attempt to rectify the problem – THEY created? Based on the rulings I’ve seen so far since Trump 2.0 the answer is a resounding NO.

Maybe Justice Barrett is recognizing the peril to the United States THEY’VE created. Just Maybe. Justice Roberts? Also, maybe he’s going to have dreams at night regarding the place he’s going to hold in American History (just in case we still record American History) and, who knows, maybe he’ll have a granddaughter or grandson some day ask him “what part did you play in the destruction of the American democratic republic? How did you deal with the TRAITOR (remember, Trump’s a FELON, he was accused of Espionage violations and attempting a coup – how else can he be described?) who turned America into a fascist state? That remains to be seen!

However, what doesn’t remain to be seen is whether or not the Trump 2.0 administration will follow the rulings of the courts. I mean, the Congress appears to be helpless in doing anything to stop the dismantling of the government agencies “we the people” have come to “take for granted” we can depend on. In fact, the Congress is part of the conspiracy – they’re right in the middle of the process of destroying Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) while (f)Elon Musk’s Dogeshits are busy dismantling one agency after another – without even the hint of Congressional authority or oversight. It’s the most INCREDIBLE thing I’ve seen in my 77 years. I was not capable of imagining someone as dumb as Donald Trump could pull this off.

But, about a year ago, after I’d heard rumors regarding the publishing of “Project 2025” I decided to take those rumors seriously and I downloaded a copy of the “manifesto” to my desktop. I then started reading it. As I read, the hair on my back almost immediately stood on end. I made it through the intro and about 100 pages when I realized I needed to read no further. (The intro would likely have been enough) I concluded: “This is a roadmap to fascism.” The “BRAINS” behind the Trump 2.0 administration lie right in that Project 2025 manifesto. They are the ones – by inference – filling out all the “executive orders” (You know, what republicans always complained about if a democratic president signed one) and the chaos created in Trump 2.0 is a key part of their “strategy.”

I want to say they’re succeeding in places “we the people” aren’t paying attention to – although, when they decided to take on Social Security they may have “stuck their hand in a hornet’s nest.” Here’s the deal, though; The “final straw” based on the way our government is situated right now, to “finishing the job” of destroying our constitutional democratic republic is Trump telling the courts to, as I’ve put it in recent posts, “pound sand.” For the unsophisticated out there, that means giving the courts the “one finger salute.” Project 2025 complete.

It’s very heartwarming to watch as democrats – mainly Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (AOC) – hold town halls in so-called “red districts” – where the republican member of Congress representing that district is following orders from their leaders and NOT holding town halls. This past weekend Senator Sanders and AOC spoke to an audience of 20,000 (they could only cram 16,000 of them into the venue) this was in Salt Lake City UTAH! and they had an audience of an estimated 36, 000 in Los Angeles. Voters are eager to speak their frustrations and there is anger all across America and democrats are going into “red” districts to accommodate the angry voters there. This is obvious, but there’s a serious “catch.”

Since reading as much of Project 2025 as I could (stomach) and listening to as much of Trump as I could (stomach) I’ve come to a conclusion. All these democrats stirring up angst to be vented at the next “mid term” election might be “barking up the wrong tree.” I hope I’m wrong – but my math ability to understand two plus two has told me Trump and the Project 2025 thugs have a different view of how the 2026 elections will unfold. They remember 2018 and I don’t believe they have any intention of reliving that experience. At best, I believe they’re planning a Russia type “free” election for 2026. At worst, I believe they may be planning for no election at all.

I’m not sure if they can suppress enough votes to pull off option one, but that would be the obvious way they might attack our “free and fair elections.” Republicans are pushing the SAVE Act through Congress which would require people to PROVE their legal status in cases where their – in the case of a woman who takes her husband’s surname at marriage – name on their photo ID differs from their name on their birth certificate. I take that to mean you’d have to show your birth certificate to register to vote and possibly have to prove you’re “legal” after you’ve already voted. This would REALLY affect women, but if my mother hadn’t sent my birth certificate right before she died I’d have no idea where to find it. (Actually, I’m not sure what I did with it)

Maybe they can pull off totally corrupting our “election” process – a process which has been the envy of the world – until Trump came along. Numerous people have tried to prove our elections are full of fraud – only to FAIL every time! But, that’s not stopping Trump and his Project 2025 puppet masters. Here’s what I figure: If they can’t corrupt the elections via voter suppression (they’ve already got a “head start” in that regard – see Greg Palast) they will find an “emergency” requiring something like martial law to fulfill their “deplorable” plan. If you remember, Trump told a Christian group prior to the 2024 election this would be the last time they’d have to vote with an assurance something like “we’ve got it all figured out.” Hyperbole? Don’t count on it!

Final Thought: You might wonder why Trump has value to the 170 or so authors of Project 2025 – who I refer to as the “puppet masters.” Well, he’s got a lot of characteristics which make him extremely “valuable – usable” to them. I’ll list some off the top of my head, in no particular order: He’s a pathological LIAR – he’s so “expert” at LYING he believes his own LIES as the LIES roll off his tongue. He’s a lifelong RACIST – (see “very fine people” from Charlottesville) from the early days of refusing to rent to BLACKS in his father’s tenements to his one page adds in the “Times” arguing for the DEATH penalty for FIVE innocent New York “boys of color,” to his leading the “birther” movement against Barack Obama. He’ll do just about ANYTHING for money – and, he’s really raking it in this time around – do you think the Justice Department is going to enforce the “Emoluments Clause” of the Constitution? Trump has blown that part of the constitution “out of the water” long ago.

Is he going to be held accountable for turning (f)Elon Musk loose on the federal bureaucracy with his “chainsaw” – lopping off Congressionally authorized programs on a daily basis? Will the Musk/Trump administration be held accountable for destroying agencies like Social Security and Medicare when it happens? Will Musk be investigated and (hopefully) prosecuted for his allegedly ILLEGAL schemes at buying votes? Will anyone in Trump’s administration be held to account for things like texting national security secrets on social media aps – where they’re obviously using the aps to get around the Federal Records Act? And, will their be accountability for disappearing people from this country with NO due process? Will he be held accountable for extorting law firms and universities around the country he doesn’t like? I could go on and on – but the obvious answer to all of the above is NO! And, the MAIN reason circles right back to our C.S. SCOTUS who left Trump with the idea he really IS a “king.” My hope is he’s more like Humpty Dumpty! Stay tuned…..

Over the previous couple of years the car insurance I pay has virtually doubled. That likely makes car insurance the worst driver of inflation in this country. I’ve attempted to figure out why this is happening. The replies I get from the insurance people I’ve talked to indicate the supply chain issues created by the COVID pandemic are at the heart of the increases. However, I personally suspect the issue of Climate change is also a driving force behind these increases. Many of the insurance companies have elected to move out of states like Florida, California, and other places where the costs of replacing damaged property caused by hurricanes or wildfires is exorbitant.

So, now with the tariffs initiated by Trump on cars and car parts coming from Canada, Mexico, and China (the tariff on China is 125%) I’m bracing myself. This will give State Farm (my insurance company) another excuse to increase my monthly car insurance bill. My wife and I have been with State Farm for over 25 years, but I finally decided to check around to see if I could save some money. Well, Progressive gave me a quote which was significantly better than what we had EXCEPT they wouldn’t insure our home – saying it was in a “wildfire” zone.

Our home is NOT in a “wildfire zone.” In fact, in the last year as I was going through the incredibly stupid process of getting a building permit to add 8 feet to our existing detached garage I discovered our home is actually right on the edge of a wetlands. With a little further questioning I was told the likely reason we couldn’t get a “bundle” with Progressive is because we live in a rural setting. My final question was are they (State Farm, and virtually all the other companies) increasing our rates because we’re …..old? As I suspected, the answer was …. yes. So, I’m not getting any younger and Trump’s tariffs are going to give State Farm another reason to “sock it to me.” Giving me another reason to believe Trump SUCKS!

I’m waiting in anticipation of tomorrow’s reaction to today’s over reaction to Trump’s “pausing” some of the tariffs. The reality is there are STILL enough tariffs in place to cause major DAMAGE to America’s economy. How soon will Trump back away (cave) from his outrageous tariffs on China? My wife and I are both retired teachers and we have friends in China who we met during a student exchange program (over a period of years) where we kept the teachers in our home for three or four weeks at a time. My wife even went to China to spend time with them. We love them very much and it really bothers me that Trump is potentially creating a problem which will be difficult (if not impossible) to recover from.

I’m not naive about the differences between China’s government and our government – in fact, it feels to me as if Trump is attempting to make our government worse than theirs. The reality, though, to me, is the Chinese people are wonderful people – at least the ones we’ve met. Initiating a “trade war” with China, Canada, Mexico, and the EU, to me, is among the STUPIDEST actions I’ve seen from any politician in my lifetime. Of course, most of “we the people” are figuring out we have a STUPID president who has brought a bunch of STUPID lackeys into his administration.

When Vladimir Putin first helped Trump “win” the presidential election in 2016 I realized I was going to need to read a lot of books about Trump because I was going to be writing a lot of rants while he was in office. (Little did I understand the rants would continue for nearly 10 years.) Here’s what has stuck out to me from many of those books I read (I donated almost all of them to a local bookstore a couple years ago). First, Trump has gone through BANKRUPTCY six times – with three of them from bungling the management of casinos. Yep, I guess that’s why his “base” believes he’s a business genius – or is it because they watched him in “The Apprentice” thinking he MUST be a good businessman to do reality TV?

But, let’s just focus on his record as our so-called TWICE IMPEACHED two time popular vote LOSING 34 times convicted FELON president – Trump 1.0 and Trump 2.0. In his first administration Trump pulled off something no other president has managed to accomplish in history – the MOST net jobs LOST during his first administration in the history of the nation. Trump’s supporters (rightfully) blame the COVID pandemic, but the reality is his incompetence made the pandemic FAR worse than it should have been. To the tune of an estimated 200 – 300 THOUSAND lives. Plus Trump and Moscow Mitch called a democratic proposal which would have “crushed the virus” dead on arrival at the Senate. Apparently, that’s a “title” (the job loss “king”) he wants to surpass in his second administration. (The lost jobs – hopefully not the lost lives)

Musk/Trump and their DOGEshits are lopping off government jobs in record numbers, they’re going after Medicaid and Food Stamps in their budget proposal and, it appears, attempting to feed their fever dream of toppling Social Security and Medicare by attacking it from the inside out using Musk’s DOGE bros. They have no idea what they’re doing – but, they’re doing a good job of it. I predicted when Trump took office it would take him six months to destroy the economy – but, it’s looking like I was giving him too much credit. He’s not only taking a “wrecking ball” to the government’s bureaucracy, but in the past week or so, directly to Wall Street and the financial sector of our economy as well.

Now, I’m not one who judges how the economy is doing entirely based on the stock market and the other related markets – and, as I’ve said here before, I’m no economist – but, I do have the ability to observe and listen to those people who do understand how the markets work. Trump and his “beloved” tariffs have upended pretty much the entire system and, to me, the Trump characteristic which is likely to undermine America’s economy past the breaking point is his inability to admit a mistake. (not to mention his incompetence)

After about three days of accelerating sell offs in the stock market – followed by a sell off in the bond market (as I understand it, those two things aren’t supposed to go in the “same direction”) – Trump gave a “heads up” to his prime benefactors – who will likely remain anonymous because of our corrupt justice department – to “buy now” shortly before he rolled back (caved on) his so-called “reciprocal tariffs” leading to a spike upward in the stock exchanges. Of course, once investors realized most of the tariffs remain, the stock market tanked again the next day. Over the course of my life, when you see the large swings – both up and then down – in the market, it’s a bad sign. If we’re lucky it will just be a recession we’re facing – although worst case scenario could be a depression. (Trump is good at “worst case scenarios“)

Yes, I realize during economic downturns for those who still have a job it’s a recession, for those who lose their jobs it’s a depression. What is apparent is those in the Trump 2.0 administration have NO idea what they’re doing. It’s possible they don’t understand what the effect will be once they’ve torpedoed Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. We’re talking about HALF the nation’s people being very unhappy with Trump et al, but, worse yet, the SHOCK to the economy will be unimaginable. I really don’t think the Musk/Trump administration is thinking this through very well. (Full disclosure, I have a vested interest in each of the programs continuing – and, being strengthened)

So, here’s where I think we’re headed – and, of course, I hope I’m wrong. The logical conclusion of “we the people’s” brilliance in, along with Putin (of course), electing Trump 2.0 will be Trump BANKRUPTCY #7. Only this time the victim of his bankruptcy will be us. Or should I say the U.S. (Plus, the world) And, despite how STUPID this will be, the bottom line is the STUPID ones are “we the people.” We allowed a FELON who attempted a coup just four years earlier with a history of bankruptcies back into the “White House.” The first four years of incompetence wasn’t enough! We wanted an even worse case of his incompetence. Go figure.

Here’s what I’ve learned in the past week – stuff, which apparently is going right over Musk/Trump’s head. Bonds are the supposed “safe haven” where people put their money during times of recession or economic uncertainty. Like when the stock market is experiencing daily MAJOR fluctuations – with the general direction DOWN. So, when investors are selling BOTH stocks and bonds, at the SAME TIME, that could be signaling something really BAD. Apparently, the bonds which are considered the “safe haven” because they are protected by the “full faith and credit of the American government” are supposed to go up when the market is going down. It sounds to me as if there are investors feeling as if that “full faith and credit” is a bit dodgy with these republicans in charge.

Here’s another aspect of this. Trump is pushing things to the limit with China and China, from what I can figure out, has less motivation to “work things out” (ie “negotiate“) with the Trump administration than vice versa. In fact, MANY of those bonds are held by the Chinese government and, should they want to really “stick it to Trump” they could begin selling them. Not sure what that would do to the world economy, but it appears it would be “life changing” for the American economy – and, I don’t mean that in a good way. I’m just inferring what I can, but it doesn’t sound at all good to me. Maybe Trump is causing the world to “get along without” us now.

Combine that with at least half the country in economic peril once they accomplish their goal of destroying our social safety net and, I think you can see where this might go. Trump was protected from his SIX previous bankruptcies by an ability to use the courts to his advantage (surprise surprise) – he shielded himself from personal economic harm via the laws of incorporation – (Plus his daddy was funneling him HUNDREDS millions of dollars) – just like the corporate raiders like Mitt Romney over the years who’ve pilfered the assets from corporations they took over and then declared them to be bankrupt. I don’t think you can do that with a country – although I could be wrong. One thing’s for sure – it won’t be Trump bearing the brunt of his destroying America’s economy – it’s almost as if that’s the plan. Maybe he’ll fuel up his plane and fly to Russia once the job’s been completed. Who knows? Again, I hope I’m wrong.

Final Thought: Trump has succeeded in corrupting virtually EVERY department in our government with the most significant one being the Justice Department. I mean, who is Pam Bondi and the other Trump sycophants there going to investigate? They’re busy defending the yarding out of people around the country without “due process” – the founding “principle” of our nation’s government. This is the exact scenario our Founders attempted to prevent with our system of “checks and balances.” It’s been apparent for some time the Congress, now controlled by republicans, has completely ceded it’s role as an “equal branch of government” refusing to check Trump’s whims. But….

Sadly, the SCOTUS last year, in essence, created the problem we’re now facing when it not only knee capped its own role as a check on the government but left Trump with the impression (and, maybe correctly) that he can do “whatever the hell he wants.” The Trump Justice Department is, in essence, telling district court judges to “pound sand” as they are OBVIOUSLY ignoring court rulings. And, as I watch the SCOTUS, it appears to me they are uneasy on making clear rulings against the Trump administration because they’re worried Trump will tell them to go pound sand as well. And, then Project 2025 will be complete. Honestly, I keep thinking things couldn’t be worse – but, sadly I feel the “worst is yet to come.”

One more thing: There’s been a photo op which has really bothered me lately – almost as much as when Trump stood in front of a church outside the confines of the “White House” in Trump 1.0 and had his picture taken holding a bible upside down. Recently, Kristi Noem, one of the most incompetent of Trump’s appointees – the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – took the time to “one up” Trump with her picture in front of one of the cells in the El Salvadore prison (torture chamber?) where Trump’s “team” rushed out 260 or so “gang members” from Venezuela who were seeking asylum in America – many who WEREN’T gang members at all, while ignoring an order blocking the transfer by a judge in D.C. This is apparently where Trump thinks he can send ANYONE he doesn’t like while ignoring their “due process.”

I haven’t been able to get that photo out of my mind because it shows how many PEOPLE are held in each cell block – it’s “deplorable.” And, we KNOW there’s at least SEVEN people, and probably a lot more, who SHOULDN’T have been part of that “shipment” of PEOPLE to this “deplorable” prison. As Adam Serwer says in the book I’m reading, “The cruelty is the point.” One judge has ORDERED them (Trump et al) to bring a father from Maryland back and, so far, they are responding with “pound sand.” (They even have admitted in court this man was sent in “error”) By rights ALL 260+ PEOPLE sent to that prison should be sent back in order for them to be able to defend themselves in court. Musk/Trump/Vance et al don’t appear to believe in “due process.” Like the rest of the constitution, it’s an annoyance to them. To me, sending people to this prison is unquestionably “cruel and unusual punishment.” (Even for alleged “gang members.”)

Here’s the disgusting photon: And, from my vantage point in any other time in our nation’s post WW II history Ms. Noem would NEVER have been appointed to this office, or if she had, she’d be asked to resign. This photo op is – you guessed it, “deplorable!” Stay tuned!!!

To me, it’s not difficult to understand what Trump, and his puppet masters, are doing with all the SUDDEN actions which kind of unearth the minds of leaders around the world PLUS “we the people” trying to keep up. I believe this is what I’ll call the “shiny object” theory of governing. Trump and the authors of Project 2025 (they’re easy to forget in this atmosphere) have a goal of turning the U.S. into a fascist nation by, in essence, destroying the traditional fabric of the nation. So, while Trump has EVERYONE’S attention on the crashing stock market – the DOGEshits are still busy kneecapping the Social Security administration and virtually every other government department EXCEPT the one with the MOST “fraud, waste, and abuse” – the Department of Defense.

The republican Congress appears to be all in on undermining Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security – where MOST of the federal budget resides – although, for good measure, the republicans are also planning to eliminate SNAP (food stamps) and other programs aimed at us normal Americans. Their plan, which has been poorly disguised, is to cut enough from these programs – they refer to as “entitlements” – plus to raise enough from his tariffs to offset a $5 TRILLION tax cut MOSTLY for those in the “top 1%” of America’s earners and, of course, his corporate friends. Right now, most people are focused on the stock market.

So, our so-called “liberal media” is not focused on the destruction of USAID (and, the lives being lost as the result), the elimination of the Department of Education (and, all the low income schools, plus their students, which will be affected), all the scientists who’ve been fired at the CDC, the FDA, and NIH, the people fired at the IRS (so that BILLIONAIRES will no longer need to worry about being audited), the EPA, and I could go on and on. The DOGEshits have even invaded the National Institute of Peace – which is not a government entity – they needed Federal Marshalls and DC Police to get in the doors so they could force the employees out the door. And, on top of all this, we’re no longer talking about “Signalgate.” What that means is Trump’s cabinet members are likely continuing to ILLEGALLY communicate via insecure aps in violation of the Federal Records Act.

Every day there’s going to be something else – and, “we the people” are doing exactly what I predicted before Trump 2.0 was officially underway – “chasing our tails.” Today, while the stock market was responding to what people like me knew would happen – in just a matter of days – as disaster lurked Trump “paused” MOST of the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” for 90 days. That’s kind of like their (Trump’s et al) plan to dismiss corruption charges against New York’s Mayor Eric Adams “without prejudice” – allowing them to re-file them if Adams didn’t kneel to their orders. (The judge dismissed the charges “with prejudice” so that they may NOT be re-filed) So, now, Trump can threaten to put the tariffs back in place based on – well, who knows?

Today’s “shiny object” – other than Trump’s “pausing” SOME of the tariffs (the tariffs are still in place – just not as severe) is that Trump actually signed two executive orders aimed at two members of his former administration, Miles Talor (aka “anonymous”) and Chris Krebs, ordering the “Justice Department” to initiate “investigations” of both of these men. I said that correctly, Trump is ORDERING who the “Justice Department” is to be investigating. This is beyond outrageous! Chris Krebs is an expert in cybersecurity who made sure the 2020 election was FAIR. That was his “fault.” Trump called Miles Taylor a “traitor” – I’m not kidding. The man who attempted a coup d’etat on America’s government (i.e. a TRAITOR) loosely throwing that word (traitor) around so that “we the people” forget who the TRAITOR actually is.

My father was in the Army during WW ii and he was a lifelong republican. When I watch what Trump is up to I don’t think it would have been difficult to convince him that Trump is inflicting exactly what Hitler was attempting to “inflict” on America – but, Trump is so much closer to succeeding. He’s got the 170 or so authors of Project 2025 filling out executive orders for him to sign which makes things easy for him – allowing him to get two or three rounds of golf in each week. So, Trump is now “going after” individuals PLUS his attacks on law firms and universities – sadly, some of them capitulating. Capitulation, by the way, has been proved by HISTORY as the WRONG answer.

Long ago I wrote that when the Justice Department becomes unreliable this country is in BIG danger. Well, that day is here (it has been since last November 5th). The Supreme Court has given Trump unimaginable – and, to me, unconstitutional – POWER and Trump is pushing it to the limit. (Was there any question he would do so?) The top three “leaders” of the Justice Department are/were Trump’s personal lawyers – unthinkable at any other time in American history. And, now Trump is ordering the Department to go after selected individuals from his first administration who displeased him. But, the stock market……

There are so many parts of America that are simply “chugging” along as if everything is normal – and, some of them are “places” I could easily choose to “reside.” I have always been either involved in or a “fan” of various sports. I have a love of baseball and basketball, for example – and, it’s very easy to allow myself to get emerged in following my favorite teams. For some reason, I’ve always (well, since the late 1990’s) followed the stock market – so the “wild swings” of the past week have captured my interest as well as MANY others. It’s too easy to concentrate on my fantasy baseball team than what is happening to the country I’ve loved for the 77 years of my life. (Well, I don’t think I actually “loved” this country until I was a teenager – I remember crying with my classmates as school was dismissed because JFK had been murdered) I say that because I recognize how easy it is for Trump to cause me – and MILLIONS of others to “miss” what he’s doing which is the MOST important “stuff” for “we the people” to see. (and participate in the fight against it)

For example, two issues that are resulting in the actual loss of life directly related to Trump policies are the destruction of USAID (I’ve written about this several times now) and the ILLEGAL invasion of Ukraine by Trump’s idol Vladimir Putin. People who depended on the food and medicine from America they had received through USAID and were almost instantaneously cut off by the DOGEshits have been dying in numbers I don’t know – but ANY child dying because of this egregious action is too many. And, of course, the courageous people of Ukraine are taking on unnecessary losses because of America’s betrayal under Trump (Trump attempting once again to EXTORT Volodymyr Zelenskyy while kissing up to Putin) – which if we had a Congress with ANY “balls” would have already resulted in IMPEACHMENT #3. These things are being part of the “news” in America now seemingly ONLY on the fringes.

Trump has succeeded in getting his appeasement of Putin to be “old news” – not “fake news.” And, to me, this capitulation is MUCH more serious than the wacky reaction of Wall Street to Trump’s “scandal a day” way of governing. Now, don’t get me wrong here – I do NOT consider Trump to be a “smart” person – other than he knows how to align himself with whoever it is that will make him richer. Therefore, you see out front Elon Musk and his DOGEshits while in the background you DON’T see – but, they are orchestrating things – Russel Vought and the rest of the Project 2025 team. Trump is signing the executive orders, making the occasional STUPID public statements, and playing golf as much as he can. I won’t say he hates America, I’ll just say, from my viewpoint point, he doesn’t give a s@#t about America.

And, after you work your way through a couple hundred pages of Project 2025 you quickly realize the authors of that “manifesto” really don’t like America’s constitutional form of government – and, they’ve made a plan to end it. I put links in my posts to the document “Project 2025 – Manifesto of the next conservative administration” several times, but the final time I was forced to give my email address (stupidly I did it) which was then passed on to the email lists of (what seems like) every republican seeking office – most significantly Trump. Therefore, I stopped putting up that link – but, I still recommend people get and read that document. They (meaning the authors – a bunch of rich executives from various industries and occupations) are “knee deep” into succeeding at destroying the America we’ve known. If they end up pulling off their plan it will be because “we the people” weren’t paying close enough attention. Wild stock market swings appear to get a lot of attention but there’s little reference to Project 2025.

The antidote to all this would be republicans in Congress acting as if their oath to the constitution was more important to them than the threat by Musk/Trump to destroy that very constitution. (I refer you to Musk’s Sieg Hiels at Trump’s inauguration celebration) Nixon was BAD, but he was stopped by the republicans in his own party. Sadly, the republicans in today’s Congress are an incredible bunch of COWARDS – who care only about keeping their “gigs.” Honestly, they make me just as sick, if not more, than Trump – who was indirectly referred to as a “moron” by his co-president.

Final Thought: One thing I haven’t written much about, but which I’ve thought a lot about, is how democrats are putting their hopes on the 2026 mid term elections. And, I have to add – I have a lot of hope they’re correct. But, here’s the rub – I believe if Trump and his puppet masters have their way their either won’t be a 2026 election or they’ll figure out a way to suppress enough democratic leaning voters that it will be an election Vladimir Putin could be proud of – if you get my drift. Trump actually promised a group (I believe it was a “Christian” group) of his voters that if they elected him in 2024 they wouldn’t have to vote anymore. Here’s exactly what he said: “Get out and vote! Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore! Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore.” Yikes!!!

Here’s another thing I’ve been wondering about – a lot. So, it appears the republicans (and Trump and the puppet masters) may succeed in undermining Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. (plus SNAP – food stamps) It appears their plan is to defund Medicaid and SNAP in their “very large” reconciliation budget legislation. This will affect MILLIONS of Americans – mostly very young or very old. Plus, it appears their strategy to get rid of Social Security and Medicare is to weaken them from the inside until they “collapse.” Obviously, this will affect MILLIONS more – mostly old people like me.

If they succeed, I’m guessing the ANGER will be elevated even more than it is now – there’ll be lots of protests – likely making Trump think: “Now’s the time for martial law.” I certainly hope these thoughts are just a product of my active mind – but, I have done a lot of reading regarding Trump and these people behind the scenes who I believe are “pulling the strings.” It seems to me the foundation of the Project 2025 agenda has been set – and, MOST of “we the people” still have no idea what it is. Remember, right wing republicans in America have opposed the programs they always refer to as “entitlements” (ie Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid) since their inceptions. It appears to me, they FINALLY feel they will be able to destroy them. The end result – should they succeed – is very scary to me (not only because I’m collecting my Social Security and Medicare benefit at the age o 77) because of what it will do to our nation.

If you missed it, (f)Elon Musk referred to Social Security as the biggest “Ponzi scheme” of all times – that while the CEO of corporations built on our government’s largess. His auto business has a price to earnings ratio approximately 20 times higher than, for example, General Motors. With significantly lower earnings per share. I’m no economist, but that seems to me to be a “house of cards.” My point here is Musk has no need of Social Security, but he does have his sights set on the MASSIVE tax cuts republicans will ram through Congress once again. (just like they’ve done in every administration since Reagan – except HW Bush) “Rince and Repeat” – this happens every time Americans vote a republican into the “White House.” (They just might succeed in their “fever dream” of undermining Social Security this time around) Stay tuned……

What do you do when you’re in a country, a very wealthy country, with a bumbling numskull at the helm, and no relief in sight for almost four years. And, of course, I’m talking (writing) about Donald Trump and the FACT that (without action by Congress) he’s going to be president of the United States of America for THREE more long years and NINE MONTHS. Yikes! By now, everyone who pays attention to this knows that Trump hit the world economy with a bunch of poorly thought out tariffs last week, right before he took a long weekend to go down to Florida and play golf.

Not only was he playing golf (while the rest of the nation was experiencing the largest Wall Street sell-off in years (well, since the last time he was president – go figure) but he was also hosting the Saudi funded “LIV” golf league at one of his golf courses in Florida. On one of the nights during his “vacation” he managed to hold a ONE MILLION dollar a plate fundraiser at his gaudy Florida “club” which he calls his residence. On the way back from Florida on Sunday it was reported he commented that “you have to take your medicine” regarding the impact his tariffs are having on the U.S. and World economies. He’s reaping unbelievable amounts of “emoluments” in Trump 2.0 with a big middle finger to those he’s hurting.

And, his “hurting” goes way beyond the financial calamity he’s imposing on the rest of us – Joe Biden left him an economy which was the “envy of the world.” It took him just over 2 months to begin the process of tanking it. But, the DAMAGE he’s inflicting is far worse and will probably not be “fixed” in my lifetime. One of the previous books I’ve read was by Anthony Fauci – one of America’s greatest scientists of the past half century – notwithstanding Trump attempting to put the blame of the COVID pandemic on him. A significant portion of Fauci’s book was focused on the fight against the AIDS epidemic back in the latter part of the 20th century into the 21st. During this “fight” the scientists involved in attempting to find a vaccine for the epidemic came up with drugs which, as I remember the reading, allowed people with HIV to live almost normal lives.

During the administration of George W Bush – a president who I’ve said little positive about – a program with the acronym “PEPFAR” – The Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief – was developed at the National Institutes of Health where Fauci was one of the leading doctors. Bush OKed the funding which began a program providing assistance for MILLIONS of people in Africa (you know, Trump’s “shithole countries”) – where people with HIV got relief, and the spread was slowed down – including, as I remember it, (I’ve since given the book to someone else to read) women with HIV being able to have healthy HIV “free” births.

That program, along with all the other programs which were administered through the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) were abruptly discontinued almost the day Trump took (lied about – refusing to put his hand on the Bible) the oath of office. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food aid was left to rot in the warehouses where it was stored – all the while people around the globe who were counting on the food for survival were – SOL. As the Musk/Trump administration was cutting off this aid, people were DYING as a direct result. To me, this sin is worse than the tanking of the markets – although, who knows the long term affect of that move – “we the people” just have to “take our medicine.”

As a bit of a digression – I’ve got to mention about the Saudi golf league funneling a BUNCH of money directly into Trump’s pockets – which, to me, is bad enough. But in the past I’ve read that Trump has become involved in the negotiations to merge that league with the PGA (golf) tour and the European Tour – the best golfers on the planet. I started playing golf as a hobby over 60 years ago. I never made it to my goal of becoming a “scratch” golfer and with the maladies I’m experiencing in my “old age” I’m coming to grips with the fact I’m likely not going to live long enough to shoot my age. (One of the last two things on my bucket list – the other one is likely as far out of reach – to see Trump behind bars) I still have hopes of getting healthy enough to spend a couple months each year golfing – HOWEVER, I’m not sure how I’ll react if the PGA succumbs to the Saudi “sports washing” – i.e. throwing the MONEY at the tours and the tours taking it. Enough of my digressing.

When I think about all the DAMAGE the Musk/Trump administration is causing to America’s traditional institutions (well beyond USAID) I have to wonder if this Trump induced CRASH of the world stock exchanges isn’t a way to get people’s attention off of what Musk/Trump are doing to agencies like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. If you don’t want to look for “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the budgets of the Department of Defense and you want to take a butcher knife to America’s economy, the logical place to “attack” is where the poorest and least able to fight back reside. Reports have been “out there” for several weeks now about the plan in the House republican’s budget proposal for cutting Medicaid and SNAP (food stamps) as a way to offset the nearly $5 TRILLION in tax cuts (mostly for corporations and those residing in the upper tiers of America’s wealthy). Where are all those budget hawks in the republican caucus?

Honestly, I’m not surprised at all at their willingness to cut programs like Medicaid and SNAP – although, the backlash is going to be significant. (My guess is it will recede by the 2026 mid-terms and/or they’ll be able to lie their way out of it – i.e. it’s Joe Biden’s fault) What does surprise me is their willingness to once again RAISE the debt ceiling – this time by a proposed $5TRILLION. Remember, when Trump left office the first time he had run up 25% of ALL the national debt in history. Just as Bush/Cheney did in 2009 to Obama/Biden Trump had left Biden/Harris with an even greater MESS in 2021. And, just as Obama/Biden left Trump/Pense an economy on the upswing so did Biden/Harris leave to Musk/Trump this year. And, just as republicans always do, MORE tax cuts “for the rich” (Mainly) and an acceleration of the national debt – this time in just 3 months.

I mean, not only are Musk/Trump closing departments like the Department of Education (cuts I’m personally gutted by – knowing how it will affect kids from low socio-economic families), several departments under the umbrella of HHS (Health and Human Services) – including the CDC, FDA, and the NIH – to name a few, but they’ve also INVADED – and I mean that LITERALLY) – the United States Institute of Peace. (USIP) The Institute of Peace is an INDEPENDENT, non profit, national institute funded by Congress and “tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peace-building measures.”  Following years of proposals for a national peace academy it was founded during the days of Ronald Reagan.

It’s totally independent from our government (although Congress funds it), it owns its own building separate from the “government,” and it was actually INVADED by Musk’s Dogeshits – who got the Metropolitan Police to help them “get in” and they promptly forced ALL of USIP’s personnel to LEAVE the building. Then they (the Dogeshits) changed the locks on all the doors. Not the kind of government action you would expect in a representative democracy. Now, I haven’t heard much about what has happened since the BREAKIN – My guess is it’s just part of the nearly 60 lawsuits filed against Musk/Trump’s administration – but, it raises other questions in my mind.

Like, for example, when “everyone” is trying to figure out what really is Trump’s plan (if he’s capable of having one) for implementing tariffs which, within three trading sessions pushed Wall Street into “bear” territory. Me, not being an expert on the economy OR the stock market, seems to remember people who are experts suggesting Wall Street is a predictor of what lies ahead in the economy. There must be something to that because virtually everywhere I’ve looked in the previous 5 days the topic of conversation is Trump’s tariffs. What if the purpose is to get people’s minds off of all the other stuff Musk/Trump are “up to?” I’ve felt from the beginning of Trump 2.0 that his “flooding the zone” strategy would be aimed at furthering his own pocket book while “we the people” are looking elsewhere.

I mean, if there’s one thing consistent in all the stuff I’ve read about Trump over the years is that he’s able to FOCUS on one thing more than any other – and, that’s what is going into his pocket book. And, he was trained in revenge by mob lawyer Roy Cohn – which explains how he’s attacking those who even investigated his CRIMINAL conduct that his voters chose to ignore. His first term ended with the worst job record since Herbert Hoover and he might be headed to topping that this time. Trump has no idea what he’s doing and his “advisors” are afraid to tell him the truth. So, here we are.

It should be obvious by this time why Vladimir Putin was so involved in trying to help Trump back into the “White House.” Putin couldn’t have a better “useful idiot” in charge in America if he’d been allowed to bypass the election process and simply hand pick him. We’re seeing the results of this “deplorable” election all over the world. How many lives will be lost because of Trump’s hubris? I certainly don’t know, but it actually scares me to think about it. Is there any hope, or are we simply going to have to endure this for at least the next 3 1/2 years. (And, I’m not even taking into account here that I believe one of the things Musk/Trump are doing is further “rigging” our future elections to make us “more like Russia.” – pay close attention to their voter registration “plans”)

Well, this past weekend, there were massive demonstrations against what Musk/Trump are doing. I actually drove to the one in the city close to where I live and there were LOTS of protestors there – I can’t walk very far and there was NO parking for many blocks so all I could do was honk my horn with a “thumbs up” acknowledgement to the people I saw there. Will “we the people” soon tire of going out and publicly protesting the DAMAGE Musk/Trump are inflictin on us and the people we love? I certainly hope not – but, put yourself in the place of Trump and his advisors.

In March of 2024 Trump was CONVICTED by a unanimous jury of 34 Felony counts resulting from his “election interference” prior to Trump 1.0. Keep in mind Trump cheats routinely (he considers it being “smart” if he gets away with it) and if his lips are moving he’s LYING. He can’t help himself – at this point it’s all “ingrained.” So, the American people were (or should have been) aware of this – PLUS he was accused and indicted for an additonal 50 some FELONIES – including violation of the Espionage Act and voters “looked the other way.” He attempted a coup d’etat on January 6th, 2021 in an attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election. Yet voters looked the other way. And, he’ll be busy blaming Joe Biden and Barack Obama for the “necessity” to give “we the people” our “medicine” via purposely tanking the stock market. My guess is Musk/Trump believe this will “wash over” just as having a CRIMINAL leading our country did in the 2024 election – and, why wouldn’t they believe that?

Here’s why Musk/Trump, in m view, have a warped view of the likely future events. They have forced Europe and the UK into the position of planning to defend themselves from Russian aggression without the alliance they’ve had since WW II. The very reason NATO was formed after WW II was to create a block to further “Soviet” expansion. (The Eastern Europeans formed the Warsaw Pact in response) Since then, the Soviet Union dissolved (much to Putin’s chagrine) and, now, Putin wants it back – beginning with the invasion of Ukraine. I’m sure it’s obvious to Putin he won’t succeed (even in toppling Ukraine) as long as the United States is an adversary. Enter Trump.

Well, the Europeans – who experienced WW II on their soil, and have a vivid memory of Hitler – are now viewing Putin as potentially the 21st Century’s version of Hitler – potentially with Trump at his side. (And, I don’t think I’ve ever had a feeling I hope more to be wrong) They are ramping up their war time economies – and, keep in mind, the Germans are capable of, in my view, extraordinary wartime production. France is also gearing up for potential war with Putin and Russia. The next few months will be very “telling” and my hope is the American people WON’T do their usual act of political amnesia and that the protests will grow exponentially and “we the people” will DEMAND our nation honors it’s article 5 obligation to NATO. While some Europeans are revolting against their authoritarian dictators – “we the people” ushered in a wannabee! It remains to be seen what can be done about that. God help us!

Final Thought: I often wonder about the extent Trump is a Russian asset. The more I think about what he and his co-president (Musk) are doing, it is beginning to be obvious he’s working in the interests of Vladimir Putin. What do they have on him? Would the “pee tape” be enough to cause Trump to sell out his own country and the Western alliances formed after WW II? I honestly hope not, but the evidence is mounting to the contrary. Just the “you’ve got to take the medicine” comment about him blowing a HUGE hole in the stock market just really hit me the wrong way. Not to suggest MANY of his other comments have done so as well. But, this assault on the World’s economy – from the country which was sitting on top after the pandemic – is almost like Putin’s revenge. (For all the sanctions post invasion of Ukraine)

If I’m at all on to something here, it’s time for the Congress – including republicans – to remove this threat from our country’s government. If he’s purposely – which is what it seems at this point – attempting to throw the world into a “Great recession” or “depression” he becomes an even worse TRAITOR – than the man who attempted to have his thugs overthrow the 2020 election on January 6th, 2021. I mentioned above all the people who are DYING due to the Musk/Trump reckless attack on our fundamental institutions (ie USAID) but, what I didn’t mention was all the Ukrainian’s (including MANY children) are DYING at the hands of Putin’s WAR CRIMES. This could become clear very quickly – as the markets are headed into an even deeper chasm starting with Monday’s trading. (I probably won’t post this until after that reality strikes) Stay tuned…….

(Or did it start when he came down that ugly escalator?)

OMG – well no one can say they weren’t warned. The predictions regarding Project 2025 were REPEATED over and over – with the bulk of America’s voting public paying no attention to the warnings. It’s not going to do any good for those who were making those warnings to be saying “I told you so.” However, in the name of my ego, “I told you so.” Naturally, my voice is not a loud one – I just write out my frustrations because, well, it makes me feel a bit better – but, it doesn’t do anything to solve the problem. For years I’ve been pointing out Trump will continue LYING to “we the people” and using the power of his office to intimidate people/groups into funneling (ILLEGAL) emoluments to himself and his family. And, there’s a plethora of BILLIONAIRES who’ve discovered how to get Trump to help them get even RICHER!

The MASSIVE tariffs which he instituted yesterday will end up being no different. He’ll be looking for countries which will cave to his BULLYING just like the large law firms in America who value their bottom line more than our country. Trump is planning on a continuation of his windfall (personally for him) due to the tariffs. And, once he’s cratered the economy to the point where it’s either in recession or (God help us) possibly a “depression” – his BILLIONAIRE benefactors will be right there to fight over the “scraps.”

Here’s the deal – at least from my simple perception. Trump had already turned our major trading partners (Europe, Mexico, Canada, and the UK) against “we the people” by various actions he’d implemented before the ill-fated tariffs. His cozying up to maybe the WORST dictator in the world, Vladimir Putin, and his outrageous BULLYING of Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already given a middle finger to our traditional allies. Then he hits them with these OUTRAGEOUS tariffs – LYING through his teeth as he presented the STUPIDEST economic plan in a HUNDRED years.

No matter what happens going forward, for the next almost FOUR (long) years – and, likely well beyond then even if “we the people” are successful in voting this version of the republican party into the history books – our “allies” will be unable to TRUST the United States. Trump is acting like a deranged puppet – me knowing, at least for the most part, he’s being used by the authors of Project 2025 to achieve their fantasy of destroying out constitution for the sake of their fascist fever dream. Really, the only two I’m aware of who are somewhat public are Stephen Miller and Russel Vought. The two of them can do a LOT of DAMAGE.

Therefore, “we the people” must brace ourselves with what lies ahead. My son is planning to buy some clothes and shoes online soon and I told him do it right away because clothes and shoes are a couple of items which will be directly affected by the tariffs. I mean, my understanding is Trump put a 50% tariff on Viet Nam! When I saw that I couldn’t help but think he’s completely lost his mind. Does he really believe facilities which produce clothing are in America’s future. Trump pulled America out of the Transpacific Partnership in his first term – a trade agreement designed to mitigate the presence of China in South Asia and Southeast Asia – and, now Trump will accomplish pushing those countries to be closer to China. Xi Jinping couldn’t be happier.

Here’s another thing I worry about – and, I’m not sure why because I don’t have virtually any knowledge of how currency trading works – but, for my lifetime the main currency in the world is the dollar. I get the feeling that if Trump pushes this far enough that will change and I have no idea how that will affect our economy – but, it seems as if it might not be so good. Virtually every economist I’ve listened to (or read) in the past few weeks are saying the result of these tariffs will be a significant TAX on those of us who are not in the upper ranks as far as wealth goes. Additionally, the two dangers I hear the most are that inflation could go up to – well, I don’t know – but “up” is the “wrong answer. The other thing is a recession. The economists I listened to are warning about “stagflation” – which again – I know LITTLE about – but, I believe it’s when the economy is going into recession while there is inflation. Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.

And, really, I believe the question must be asked (over and over) – does Trump even have a plan? Are these tariffs something he’s ruminated on since he was in his teens? Where did the idea come from. I’ve listened to him – and to his press secretary – who, like almost all press secretaries when they hold their first briefing. said she would NEVER LIE from the podium – either LIE about tariffs or prove she has no idea what a tariff is. The bottom line is a tariff is a TAX. Full stop!

My best guess as to what is happening is Trump/Musk and ???? are putting this tax on working Americans (mostly) in order to justify the impending $5 TRILLION tax cut republicans are planning to ram through with their budget legislation. Their plan is to get rid of Medicaid and SNAP (Food stamps) – two of America’s traditional ‘institutions” (for lack of a better word – I’m old) aimed at the poorest Americans, children, and the elderly. The DAMAGE from ending those two programs is hard for me to imagine. And, of course, I have a personal interest in what’s going to happen to Medicare and Social Security. I just have this feeling the DOGEshits are going to muck up those programs to the point where they collapse. That would really be the mother of all DISASTERS!

I’m certainly not smart enough even to be able to picture how Social Security and Medicare could be rebuilt once Musk and his “boys” get through with it. If you haven’t listened to (f)Elon Musk lately, as he rails against those who have had enough of him – saying he doesn’t understand why anyone would say anything mean to him with a “I haven’t done anything wrong.” This is a guy who allegedly is a regular user of Ketamine – which I only know my son says its bad stuff. Apparently, the fact he’s the CEO of some companies makes him qualified to take his “chainsaw” to our government.

And, today I saw a headline where, apparently, Musk is claiming the election for Judge in Wisconsin was rigged. I’m not kidding. It appears he got hold of this “conspiracy” based on posts on his social media platform by Alex Jones and Roger Stone. I’m really not kidding. Those are two of the best LIARS on the planet. I mean, it was Jones who lost a defamation lawsuit over his pushing conspiracy “denial” about the MURDERS of children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School. And, Stone, well, just do some online research and you’ll be able to see how he values the “truth.” Musk’s candidate – to which he donated a reported $25 MILLION – lost by 10 points. In Wisconsin, that’s a LANDSLIDE – so I would counsel Musk to shut the f*@k up!

In a couple days there’s going to be a MASSIVE public demonstration in opposition to virtually everything which is happening to our government over these past 70+ days. I’m not able to do much walking, but I’m going to see if I can use my cane and participate in the local version of the protest. My guess is there will be many people there – every time I drive past the Tesla showroom there seems to be a fairly large number of people protesting his involvement in the destruction of our republic. I’m guessing a lot of those people will be at the protest this weekend (April 5th).

Kind of reminds me of the late 60’s when the protests over the Viet Nam war took shape. They lasted into the early 70’s and several protesters were MURDERED by National Guardsmen who opened fire on a group of students on the campus of Kent State University. Is Trump going to resort to something like that. As I remember it (I’m old – memory’s not so good) those murders galvanized those who were protesting. I really do hope the same scenario doesn’t play out this time around. Nixon was HORRIBLE, but he was nothing compared to Trump. Trump and his puppet masters are “going for the downs” – they want to completely remake our government – without that pesky constitution. Are the tariffs a way to weaken our republic making it easier to “finish” the deal of Trump’s coup – which started on January 6th, 2021?

Final Thought: Remember, Trump has already proven himself to be a TRAITOR. (I would counsel Musk – a TRAITOR is someone who attempts to overturn his/her own government – NOT someone who is a military hero and former astronaut) Aligning himself with some really awful people who helped manipulate social media and a bunch of BILLIONAIRES – mostly Musk (who likely was responsible for Trump’s “victory”) – allowed Trump to CON his way back into the “White House.” He made a bunch of “on day 1” promises which were similar to Mexico’s going to pay for the wall – and, enough of America’s gullible public actually believed him.

That, in a nutshell, is why I believe the DAMAGE Trump is doing will last far beyond his time in office – which can’t end soon enough for me. The Europeans and our other allies not only can’t Trust Trump, but they can’t trust the American people. What if “we the people” would vote in another tyrant the next time, or the time after that, or…….. We’ve proved WE are untrustworthy because there’s so many of us who are politically illiterate and easy to manipulate. That’s the one thing Trump has clearly proven. As he’s often said, “I love uneducated voters.” Yikes!

Just think – “we the people” voted into office as our “leader” a 34 times FELON – who was facing another 50+ allegations of SERIOUS felonies – whose LIES had been documented in his first term to over 30,000 and who could surpass that this time. He’s setting “we the people” up to be vulnerable to the next pandemic (with RFK Jr’s help), this “hit” to the economy (from the tariffs) could be worse than what happened as he bungled his way through the COVID pandemic. It just goes on and on – the guy’s a HUGE loser and we’re stuck with him for over THREE more unimaginable years.

I have to add: This week the Midwest and South are being hit by devastating tornadoes, rain storms, and flooding with at least 7 dead and massive amounts of property damage. This is happening while Trump and his dog killing Secretary of Homeland Security are getting rid of FEMA. And, while this is ALL happening, including the stock market crash due to the tariffs – Trump is off to a golf course. He could give a s*@t! Stay tuned….

That was yesterday – today the market’s DOWN another 5% – meaning, for the sake of what Peter Navarro claimed was going to be $6 TRILLION in added revenue over the next ten years (taxes on working families, mostly) the markets have shed OVER $6 TRILLION in just two days. Who says Trump isn’t a “stable genius?”