Trump's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Polls

 

The latest Reuters/ipsos poll has more bad news for Dementia Don:

President Donald Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his presidency with an overwhelming majority of Americans concerned the U.S. war with Iran will last a long time, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that concluded on Monday.

Just 33% of respondents in the four-day survey said they approved of Trump’s performance in the White House, while 64% disapproved. Trump’s approval rating, down from 35% in a poll that closed earlier this month and lower than at any point in his current term, has now tied the lowest level of his prior term reached in December 2017.

After returning to the White House last year with just under half the country approving of his presidency, Trump’s popularity this year took a hit after he ordered strikes on Iran alongside U.S. ally Israel. The ensuing conflict paralyzed a fifth of the global oil trade, triggering a surge in the price of gasoline which is weighing on U.S. households - and on Trump’s Republican allies defending congressional majorities in November midterm elections.

Trump, who campaigned on promises to keep inflation in check and avoid long-lasting wars, initially pledged the conflict with Iran would take a few weeks, and argued the war was the only way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon that could threaten the world.

But Iran has proved resilient and has kept the oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz largely bottled up even as the conflict has cooled.

Some 80% of Americans - including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans - think U.S. involvement in Iran “will go on for an extended period of time,” the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 16% said the conflict would likely end in a few weeks.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 1,166 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction. (our emphasis)

You can fool some of the people some of the time... 

We're pretty sure Dementia Don's comfort binkie, Natalie, won't be showing him this poll.

(Photo:  he's got his gold doo-dads to keep him warm, too / Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images)

Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein-Trump Files coverup / Todd?  Todd? --

 

Where are the documents Todd? - Katie Phang

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— IslandMapleTree (@buttermaple.bsky.social) August 15, 2026 at 5:03 PM

 

Operation Epic Fail / bombing allies, cozying up to tyrants --

 

Trump wakes up this morning threatening to bomb Oman. Welcome to another week with an unhinged madman running the country.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 7:26 AM

 

In Trump’s war against Iran, North Korea actively sided with Iran, and Trump chooses to reward them for it. So weak!

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— Joni Askola (@joniaskola.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 3:46 AM

 

Trump, the "absolute crook," and the media's silence --

 

“What an absolute crook” — Ossoff on Trump

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 16, 2026 at 7:57 PM

 

It’s a searing indictment of the media that the family business run by the US president had *hundreds* Of bank accounts closed by Capital One based on suspicions that they were involved in money laundering And-especially since Trump is a convicted felon-it barely registered as a story

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— Adam Cohen (My Personal Views Only) (@axidentaliberal.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:46 PM

 

'sup with Trump's ass? --

As a proctologist, this looks like a fecal extrusion device, although it appears he's using a fairly heavy duty model. We only prescribe these to patients who diarrhea themselves 24/7.

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— Lagoogoo Doll (@matchbox30.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:03 PM

 

The U.S.S. Lincoln disaster --

 

The USS Lincoln disaster is the latest reminder of why Pete Hegseth still has a job. He is laser-focused on flattering Trump's ego, instead of running the military. Trump's ego is why that ship has been deployed so long. My analysis as to why. www.salon.com/2026/08/17/p...

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— Amanda Marcotte (@amandamarcotte.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 6:59 AM

 

Republican SCOTUS:  pay E. Jean Carroll, Trump! --

As expected, SCOTUS rejects Trumps' unusual attempt to seek reconsideration of the court's decision in June not to hear his challenge to E. Jean Carroll's $5 million jury verdict against him.

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— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 9:32 AM

 

Why we can't have nice things, health insurance edition --

 

A reminder that we don't lack national health in this country because it would cost too much. It would actually save tons of money. We lack it because it would not enrich businesses and their executives like the current system does. bsky.app/profile/jent...

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— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 8:47 AM

 

Republicans' Medicaid cuts are a ticking time bomb for the US health care system. newrepublic.com/article/2142...

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— Jonathan Cohn (@jonathancohn.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 8:22 AM

 

Weak on ICE.  Dump this out-of-touch former corporate lawyer --

 

ICE can’t be reformed. What voters are we courting by being weak on this issue? Do we have some massive Dem donor that owns concentration camps or something?

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— Allison Gill (@muellershewrote.com) August 16, 2026 at 9:23 PM

 

Winning! --

 

New FT poll: Is the economy going in the right or wrong direction? 64% wrong 25% right Are you better or worse off since Trump took office in Jan 2025? 53% worse 21% better 36% Approve of Trump 55% Disapprove giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

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— Bill Grueskin (@bgrueskin.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 4:32 PM

 

Taking responsibility, Japanese style --

 

Why a viral apology from a Japanese volleyball player reveals something profound about their culture

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— Digital Brain (@yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 8:27 AM

 

 

QOTD: Kicking America's Allies

 

The deranged and petty Malignant Fascist threw a hissy fit yesterday against the annual joint military exercise with South Korea, praising his tyrannical friend Kim Jong Un and instructing Whiskey Pete Hegseth to limit our involvement this year.  The MF pointedly noted that South Korea had declined to join his disastrous war on Iran as a factor in his tantrum.  The Atlantic's Tom Nichols writes that this is a pattern with the mentally disturbed MF, cozying up to our adversaries and kicking our long term allies and blaming them for his failures:

"America and the rest of the world are now witnessing a public exhibition of narcissistic rage. Trump embarked on a war for personal glory, and what he got instead was ongoing humiliation. He clearly finds it all unbearable.

Trump both fears and respects the autocrats who rule Russia, China, and North Korea, and so he dares not cross them. Instead, he is seeking to assuage the psychic injury of his loss in Iran—including the American public learning of the shameful conditions to which he has subjected U.S. forces—by kicking America’s allies, the nations he can punish without fear that they will kick him back.

The Iran war was not the president’s failure, you see. Others failed the president. Those disloyal South Koreans, who every few years drag him into a needless confrontation with that respectful and peace-loving young man in Pyongyang, refused to help him topple the Iranian regime. And because Trump is unable to subdue Iran, unable to replenish stocks of U.S. weapons he should never have expended in this war, unable to take care of the service personnel he has put in harm’s way, someone is going to pay. The most convenient target he could find, at least for the moment, was South Korea."  (our emphasis)

As Nichols points out, when things go wrong, someone must be held responsible but never the MF. It's a foolish move and one sure to please Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow, not to mention Teheran.

 It's worth noting that we maintain nearly 30,000 armed forces in South Korea, and this petty act by the MF makes their position far less secure.  And if the ignorant MF is wondering how Iran's missile production is so efficient, North Korea has been the source for missile technology, materials and technicians for decades, contributing to his failure in Iran. 

(photo: The MF and his role model. Reuters)

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

 

 (click to enlarge)

Our very stable genius detective president is always on the case, be it ninja vandals who mar his vanity projects, election fraud only in those elections that MAGAts lose, and finding his way out of the war he started and has lost.  A veritable Sherlock!

Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here.

 

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

A massive store devoted to President Donald Trump gear and other MAGA merch is closing, and it’s because even deep in a deep red state, fans are just not that into him anymore.

Slate recently visited the Trump Superstore just outside of Knoxville, Tenn., and found everything on sale at 50% off or more as the shop prepares to shut down.

“We’re not busy anymore,” one employee told Slate.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported last month that the store was closing in part because its owner was moving to Florida. But owner Bill Hays laughed at that.

“The girl that reported that did not know what she was talking about,” Hays told Slate, adding that he’s not retiring or moving. “I don’t think she wanted to say we were closing for lack of business, but that’s why we’re closing.” 

An employee named Dan was even more blunt, telling Slate that Trump “really is dwindling, dwindling, dwindling.”

When asked whether he meant Trump’s health or his popularity, Dan said the latter.

“You can see more and more Republicans are not happy with their life situation,” Dan said. “People really are saying, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to do a full load of groceries or I’m going to put my electric bill on a credit card this month.’”

Trump’s overall approval rating has plunged to historic lows, and affordability is a key reason. His approval rating on affordability specifically is now 43 percentage points underwater, according to The Economist’s poll tracker.

Even in Tennessee, where Trump once enjoyed massive popularity, his numbers are falling: Trump entered office with his approval rating 24 percentage points above water. Now, the latest polls show his approval at 47% and disapproval at 45% in the state, just 2 percentage points above water, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. 

Rest easy, MAGAts!  The thing you elected twice, your cult leader, is doing just fine with his unprecedented graft, crypto businesses, pardons-for-payoffs, and other grifts he's been running to enrich himself to the tune of $2 billion since 2025.  He has also asked that you STFU about "affordability," and high gas and grocery prices, and his endless war of choice with Iran.  Thank you for your attention to this matter!

The bad:

The water level at Lake Powell, the United States’ second-largest reservoir, has fallen to a record low, heightening concerns about the ongoing crisis in the Colorado River system.

The alarming milestone at Lake Powell, reached Saturday, comes about a week after the river’s other major reservoir, Lake Mead, also hit a historic low. Plummeting water levels pose a major threat to the Colorado River Basin, which is a key resource for wildlife, hydropower and more than 40 million people in seven U.S. states.

The historic lows come as the federal government and states that rely on the river — California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado — struggle to reach agreement on a long-term management plan for the dwindling resource. Persistent overuse combined with a record-dry winter and rising temperatures have been depleting both Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Lake Powell’s elevation dropped to 3,519.91 feet (1072.9 meters) above sea level on Saturday, dropping just slightly below a previous record set in April 2023, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake is more than 20 feet (6.10 meters) lower than it was at the start of the year, USBR data shows.

The reservoir is now about 30 feet (9.1 meters) away from the point at which turbines would stop producing hydroelectric power. Federal officials warned in April that a “major intervention” would be necessary to avoid reaching that threshold by the end of this year.

USBR in July proposed a 10-year plan that includes major potential water cuts for Arizona, California and Nevada.

The crisis has been in the making for years. Both reservoirs are at the lowest they have been in nearly seven decades, and levels may continue to drop, USBR data shows.

The last time their combined storage was this small was in May 1957 when Glen Canyon Dam that holds back Powell was being built, according to a recent paper published by a group of academics and retired water officials. Powell began to fill in 1963.

The depletion has also impacted Lake Powell’s substantial tourism industry, forcing marinas in the reservoir to adapt. Boat ramps have closed or moved, new ones are being added and marinas have been temporarily relocated to deeper waters.

The southwestern US is experiencing a megadrought that has lasted since 2000, exacerbated by climate change (a term you don't see in the article above).  With an incompetent, vindictive, and corrupt Malignant Fascist administration in Washington, DC, as a party to reaching a resource management plan, we can only say, "Good luck with that!"

The ugly: 

In 2022, Assistant Chief Adam Glueck, of the Cape Girardeau Police Department in southeastern Missouri, purchased electric shock gloves for his officers after learning about them at a trade show. And his employees, he said, couldn’t get enough of them. “If I try to take away the gloves from those officers at this point I think we may have a mutiny on our hands,” Glueck joked on a podcast interview a couple of years later. “They’ve grown really attached.” 

The shock gloves, he went on to explain, allow their wearer to inflict pain without leaving the sort of marks that could look bad to witnesses or leave an officer vulnerable to lawsuits. 

“In today’s society, you know, everybody’s filming everything, everybody has a cell phone,” Glueck said. If an officer punches someone on camera, that can go viral in an instant; even a standard taser leaves puncture wounds. But “the glove is low optic, and it looks better on camera, and it looks better to those witnesses. With a glove, there are no burn marks or scars.” [Ed.: yeah, you wouldn't want to have your brutality have any negative consequences for you!]

The gloves, manufactured by a company called Compliant Technologies, have been used by police, sheriffs, jail wardens, and even school resource officers for years. They’ve been described by groups like Amnesty International as “readily misused for torture.” And this week, ICE published a plan to order $20 million worth of them. 

The device is called a GLOVE, which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. It looks like a regular padded black utility glove, but when the wearer presses a small button on the glove’s wrist, it produces a painful electric shock. 

“We have a saying: Feeling is believing,” Compliant Technologies CEO Jeff Niklaus said in one 2022 YouTube video. In promotional clips, you can see people losing control of their limbs, falling to the ground, and crying out in pain after a light touch from the GLOVE. In 2022, the company called it a “weapon” in Instagram posts. Since then, though, it’s downgraded the language to “a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation device,” branding the technology on its website as “humane.”...  (our emphasis) 

In a better, more just world, everyone involved with these "de-escalation" torture devices should spend time in prison, from the Torquemadas at the company, to the local law enforcement seeking to cover up brutality, to ICE leadership who ordered $20 million worth of them, to every goon that uses them.  But here we are... for now.  That's the slippery slope to fascist America that we're on.

Sunday Reflection

 

“No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you've come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.”  -- Madonna Louise Ciccone, singer, songwriter, author, actress, dancer, record producer, born in Bay City, Michigan on this day in 1958.  One of the most influential musicians of our time (and best selling female music artist of all time), Madonna racked up 18 multi-platinum albums, acted in such movies as "Desperately Seeking Susan," and "A League of Their Own," and wrote a series of children's books.  But that still scratches the surface of her life and career, which symbolizes change, freedom, longevity, and creativity.

Today's Cartoons

 

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(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)

(Michael de Adder, Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada)

(Bart van Leeuwen, Oedipoes.com, Netherlands)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Vaughan Tomlinson and Charles Graeber, Weekly Humorist)

QOTD -- On Karoline Leavitt's Departure

 

"... She stood behind the seal of the White House wearing her little cross around her neck and became the glossy public mouth of an administration marinating in brutality, corruption, retribution, greed, deceit, autocracy, and spiritual putrefaction.

"She didn’t brief so much as infect, flicking that forked tongue across every steaming mound of bile that sloughed off Donald Trump and buffing, burnishing, bleaching, and bullshitting it into something she hoped Americans would swallow, transforming lying into liturgy, degradation into doctrine, indecency into catechism, until the grotesque sounded governmental simply because she said it beneath chandeliers with a seal behind her.

"She became an apologist for depravity, an acolyte of authoritarianism, a servile little lickspittle for sin, a lacquered lackey for a sexual reprobate whose appetites, abuses, lies, and grotesqueries were already smeared across decades of public history, and she fucking knew exactly who she was protecting. Goddamn right she knew..." -- a brief excerpt from political commentator and podcaster Jo Carducci (a.k.a., JoJoFromJerz), firing a well-deserved salvo on the departure of White House Spokesliar Karoline Leavitt, on her "Are you f'ng kidding me?" Substack.  The entirety of her masterpiece is a must read and should be saved for when, after a likely long future career in fascist propagandizing, she shuffles off this mortal coil and an obituary needs to be written.  By her sheer evil and moral vacuity (while displaying that cross around her neck every moment!), she will be remembered as The Worst White House Spokesliar in a long history of spokesliars (so far!).

(Photo:  via Getty Images)

Trump Determined To Punish Americans With Tariffs

 

There is perhaps a no greater example of the idiotic and unstable Malignant Fascist's habit of shooting himself in both feet than his obsession with tariffs.  Those tariffs, as any economist or business dealing with imported goods or materials, add to the prices consumers pay for everything from clothing to car parts.  The MF has always misunderstood who pays the tariff, consistently saying that it's the foreign country exporting to us, when it's paid by the importer and ultimately the consumer.  Emeritus Professor of Economics at Babson College Kent Jones writes in Salon.com:

"President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements no longer cause the market gyrations that they did in 2025. But their sticker shock for American consumers is becoming increasingly clear – just as economic sentiment is souring ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.

Many business groups had hoped that the tariff wars would end in February, when the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s emergency tariffs. They got a rude awakening five months later, however, when Trump announced a raft of new import taxes to replace the levies that were struck down. [snip]

On one level, Trump’s tariff fixation is a mystery. Tariffs continue to be unpopular, and it’s unclear why Trump would double down on them before midterm elections when his approval ratings, including on the economy, are so low.

But on another level, Trump’s embrace of tariffs can be understood as an instrument of personal power. He has long viewed them as tools for negotiating leverage, and he recently declared that U.S. tariffs 'aren’t high enough.' The president also has deflected criticism of their impact on consumer prices by claiming erroneously that foreigners pay for them. [snip]

And now that tariffs have had time to work through the economy, researchers have found an impact on prices. The Dallas Federal Reserve recently estimated that the Fed’s preferred inflation measure would have risen without tariffs at an annual rate of 2.3% in March, instead of its actual 3.2%. Meanwhile, an analysis by the Yale Budget Lab concluded that consumers are paying anywhere from half to the entire cost of the levies through higher prices, depending on the goods." (our emphasis)

 If it weren't hurting families' budgets, we'd be all for his mindless use of tariffs to show his power and for retribution for imagined slights by foreign countries because it'll cost him and his slavish cult in the mid-term elections. The MF foolishly says affordability is a "hoax," something voters will show him is very real in November.

 

Helping Ukraine -- Verified Charities

With the people of Ukraine under continuous, deadly barrage from war criminal and Trump mentor Vladimir Putin, there's no better time to consider making a donation to one of the many verified charities helping those brave and unbowed people.  To that end, we're re-posting this (partial) list of verified charities that have been helping the people of Ukraine, although some may be inactive at this time (via The Philadelphia Inquirer).  Please feel free to share this list, and please consider giving:

World Central Kitchen

What they do:  They have served millions of meals and have teams active in hundreds of cities and towns in Ukraine. They have also built a logistics network of delivery vans, trucks, trains, and warehouses throughout the country, delivering millions of pounds of food to families—sometimes in areas completely cut off due to fighting and near the Russian border.

How you can help:  There are many ways to donate to WCK;  see their website.  This is a registered nonprofit, so donations are tax deductible.

🌐 wck.org

Project HOPE

What they do: Founded in 1958, Project HOPE responds to humanitarian emergencies and disasters. Currently, according to the group’s website, the group is aiding those in Ukraine by mobilizing its emergency teams and “sending medical supplies and standing by to provide health screening and care for refugees.”

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 projecthope.org

 

GlobalGiving

What they do: GlobalGiving uses its funding to support local nonprofits working in affected areas. Currently, “GlobalGiving’s local partners in Ukraine are bringing relief to displaced families and people in high-risk areas.” According to the group, your donation will support refugees with food, shelter, and clean water, as well as providing health and psychological support.

How you can help: Donate to the group’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund online. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 globalgiving.org

 

UNICEF USA

What they do: Over 510,000 children have been affected by the conflict so far, and the UNICEF emergency response is working to address their needs by preparing health, hygiene, and emergency education supplies, as well as distributing safe water to affected areas, providing children with psychosocial care, and helping kids separated from their families. At the moment, UNICEF is trying to raise $66.4 million to be able to continue their programs and offer immunization, healthcare, child protection, and cash assistance.

How you can help: Donate on the UNICEF website. UNICEF USA is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 unicefusa.org

 

International Medical Corps

What they do: International Medical Corps helped Ukrainians during conflict in 1999-2000 by delivering medicine and training more than 500 local doctors and medical staff. In 2014, they partnered with the Ukraine Ministry of Health to support mobile health services and train medical professionals on preventing and controlling infections. As the crisis develops, the International Medical Corps has added mental health counseling to the services available for the community.

How you can help: Donate on the group’s website. Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

🌐 give.internationalmedicalcorps.org

 

United Help Ukraine

What they do: United Help Ukraine receives and distributes food donations and medical supplies to people in Ukraine. The group’s current priorities: Aiding Ukrainian soldiers and their families, helping displaced people from Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, and raising awareness of the current situation.

How you can help: Donate via PayPal, or by check payable to United Help Ukraine, Box 83426, Gaithersburg, Md., 20883. This is a registered nonprofit so all donations are tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/UnitedHelpUkraine.org

 

Revived Soldiers Ukraine

What they do: This nonprofit provides medical aid for people affected by military conflict. The group buys medication and medical supplies, helps support army hospitals, and works to improve the living standards for soldiers and their families.

How you can help: Donate directly through the group’s website, through PayPal or Patreon, or make it your preferred Amazon nonprofit, which donates 0.5% of the amount of your Amazon purchases to the group. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 rsukraine.org

Sunflower of Peace

What they do: Sunflower for Peace offers medical assistance to Ukrainian orphans, people displaced by war, and people heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. In February 2022, the group started asking for donations to prepare first aid medical tactical backpacks for paramedics and doctors on the front lines. These kinds of backpacks — usually handled by Marines, special military forces, and military groups — are used to save lives in areas without access to hospitals or emergency care.

How you can help: Donate on Facebook. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 facebook.com/sunflowerofpeace

 

The KYIV Independent

What they do: The KYIV Independent is an independent media outlet reporting in English. The organization has been covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict, doing fact checking, and reporting on human rights. Since the group is not affiliated with any government and reports in English, it is becoming an important window into what’s happening in Ukraine right now.

How you can help: Since its creation in 2021, The KYIV Independent runs mainly on donations. Donate through GoFundMe or Patreon.

🌐 kyivindependent.com

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

What they do: This group runs an emergency program with $1 million in funding that helps the approximately 300,000 Jewish people in Ukraine. The fellowship has staff and volunteers on the ground in Ukraine, and also funds the country’s Jewish organizations to give Ukrainian Jews the chance to move to Israel. Funds are also used to provide the Ukrainian Jewish community with food, medicine, and heat. This group is U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

How you can help: Donate online.

🌐 help.ifcj.org

 

Voices of Children

What they do: Voices of Children provides psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by war. Their main focus is on the front lines in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Donations help finance art therapy and mobile psychologists, and help families in need.

How you can help: Donate directly on their website.

🌐 voices.org.ua

 

Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE)

What they do: Created in 1945 to help people overcome the devastation of WWII, CARE’s works to end poverty, and achieve equity and social justice worldwide. In Ukraine, the group is working on providing girls, women, and elderly people with water, food, and hygiene kits. They currently have a Ukraine Crisis Fund specially focused on continuing their work in the country, and providing psychological support, recovery, and cash assistance.

How you can help: Donate using a credit card or through PayPal on their website.

🌐 care.org

 

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

What they do: The Red Cross’s International Committee provides shelter, food, first-aid training, and humanitarian aid around the world. The group has been supporting people in Ukraine for almost a decade and as the crisis continues, they are adding to their help comfort kits for individuals and families in need.

How you can help: Donate to the ICRC on its website.

🌐 icrc.org

 
American Red Cross

What they do: In Ukraine, the American Red Cross is currently helping U.S. military people and families deployed in the region. So far, they have sent 30 staff members to Europe to help U.S. military members in Ukraine connect with their families back home, and are delivering hygiene items and resources to service members and U.S. State Department staff abroad. They can not help Ukraine with blood directly, because it can’t be sent without special request from the U.S Department of State, the United Nation, or other affected Red Cross networks.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 redcross.org

United Ukrainian American Relief Committee (UUARC)

What they do: Created in 1944, the UUARC was created to help Ukrainians in refugee camps during WWII relocate to the U.S.. They are currently working in coordination with the Ukrainian Embassy to coordinate medical supplies, food, offering shelter, and taking care of injured people and refugee.

How you can help: Donate on their website or send a check to the United Ukrainian American Relief Committee, Inc. 1206 Cottman Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111. For medical donations call 215-728-1630. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 uuarc.org

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

What they do: The JDC has been helping the Jewish community around the world since 1914; for the last 30 years they have focused on helping Ukraine’s Jewish population. They aid elderly Jewish people, children, and families by providing food, medicine, and utilities. At the moment, JDC is preparing to send psychosocial support to Ukraine as mass displacements increase, as well as delivering food packages, and providing online support.

How you can help: Donate on their website. They are U.S. registered, so your donation is tax deductible.

🌐 jdc.org

 

 ____________________

If you are at all concerned about giving to these or any other charities, you can verify their authenticity by going to Charity Navigator, which evaluates charitable organizations.  Thank you!

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria;  context here)

(Patrick Chappatte, The Boston Globe)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Matt Davies, Newsday)

(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)

(Chris Britt, Creators.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Hilary Campbell, @cartoonsbyhilary)

Skeets Of The Day

Operation Epic Fail: Cadet Bone Spurs denigrates Navy /winning! delusion--

Trump to service members doing a record long deployment in deplorable conditions: Fuck you, I'm going to my country club for a weekend of golf. bsky.app/profile/acyn...

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 1:58 PM

 

Remember how he and Hannity kept saying how we already won the war back in March? Now he's saying a 9-month deployment on a ship is "not nearly long enough."

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— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 1:40 PM

 

While USS Lincoln personnel were experiencing poor conditions, Pete Hegseth attended the White House UFC match. Here he is at the event with GOP candidate Brandon Herrera who refers to children as cum trophies.

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— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) August 15, 2026 at 8:46 AM

 

Unless the ship sinks or faces a mutiny it'll only be the third or fourth worst story involving Trump and an aircraft carrier after the Ford fire, the Bonhomme Richard total loss and the Roosevelt COVID outbreak. And just ahead of the Houthis making the Truman turn so hard an F-18 fell off.

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— Zeddy (@zeddary.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 1:53 PM

 

Trump says that after Iran is defeated he’s going to declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 14, 2026 at 3:57 PM

Never ending corruption of Trump and his grifting family -- 

Wow they must have made a really persuasive case!

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 6:26 PM

The out-of-touch Malignant Fascist's economy slipping away --

 

Via @bencasselman.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/b...

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— The Upshot (@upshot.nytimes.com) August 15, 2026 at 9:39 AM

 

Trump (2024): "Gasoline will be back to $2, and maybe even less than that." Trump (2026): "For you to pay a tiny, little bit more for your gasoline…You're at $4, it's okay, I'll never apologize."

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— Home of the Brave (@ofthebraveusa.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 4:52 PM

More deaths in ICE detention facilities. This is what MAGAts voted for -- 

Third person dies at New Jersey immigration detention center www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

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— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 2:44 PM

The Malignant Fascist's master class on incompetence --

 

Trump is brilliant if his purpose is to squander America's influence. But if his aim is to contain Iran's nuclear program, his war of choice provides a master class in incompetence. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) August 15, 2026 at 9:42 AM

Always the perv (and why are the cop cadets laughing / clapping?) --

Trump: These young beautiful girls, these young beautiful girls, these young beautiful girls in the White House, they come in. Now I'm not supposed to say beautiful, but what the hell. These young, these gorgeous, beautiful girls, they want to be safe and they come say Mr. President, thank you, sir.

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— Headquarters (@headquartersnews.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM

 

He is saying this in front of uniformed law enforcement officials who are smiling and laughing.

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— Bradley P. Moss (@bradmossesq.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 4:03 PM

Sen. Susan "Concerned" Collins can't imagine a thuggish future under the Malignant Fascist -- 

Really cool there's a woman who does not know the future exists who has also been a sitting U.S. Senator for three full decades.

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— Ben Collins (@bencollins.bsky.social) August 14, 2026 at 7:08 PM

The Onion has another scoop --

 

Trump Downplays Significance Of Trump Tower Found On Epstein Island https://theonion.com/trump-downplays-significance-of-trump-tower-found-on-epstein-island/

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) August 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM

 

Quotes Of The Day -- Trump's Mid-Term Messaging

 

"The economy is doing unbelieveably from the standpoint of Wall Street." --  the Malignant Fascist, August 14, 2026.

"Our energy costs are way down, our groceries are way down, everything is way down, and the press doesn't report it... so I don't want to hear about the affordability..." -- the MF, August 14, 2026.

Said the sub-moron bubble boy, pathological liar, con man, fraudster, business bankrupter, and grifting/grafting billionaire (January 2025- current).

Much more here.  And here.  And still more from another crooked piece of shit.