Sunday, May 24, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

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(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(Steve Brodner, stevebrodner.substack.com)

(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Michael Ramirez, Las Vegas Review-Journal)

(Adam Douglas Thompson, The New Yorker)


Sunday Reflection: Forever Young Birthday

 



Legendary composer, poet, singer, and Nobel laureate for literature Bob Dylan (5/24/1941) is arguably the most significant figure in popular musical culture in the latter half of the 20th century, along with The Beatles.  His songs are poetry, which he transformed into memorable musical compositions. "Blowing In The Wind," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" just scratch the surface of the body of his iconic songs.  His music spans 6 decades, from his heroic role in supporting the Civil Rights Movement to the present, from trenchant critiques of American prejudice to gospel music and love songs.  He launched his "Never Ending Tour" in 1988, and it remains active. 

One of his songs, "Forever Young," from his 1974 album "Planet Waves," expresses wishes from a father to his child, and is universal in its sentiment:

"May you grow up to be righteous

May you grow up to be true

May you always know the truth

And see the light surrounding you

May you always be courageous

Stand upright and be strong

May you stay forever young

May you stay forever young"

Happy 85th birthday to a forever young cultural giant.

 

The Mad King's Ballroom Obsession

 



The megalomaniacal, degenerate Malignant Fascist has long had delusions of majesty, typical of someone with a profound narcissistic personality disorder.  His frequent portrayals of himself as Jesus or a mythical hero support that.  One of his great obsessions for years has been a grand, golden ballroom on the grounds of the White House, and early in his disastrous second term he unilaterally tore down the historic East Wing of the White House in order to build a monstrous, 90,000 square foot monument to himself.  Paul Blumenthal, writing in the Huffington Post, lays out the history of his obsession with the golden ballroom, and what it says about his priorities. An excerpt:

"The ballroom is billed as a safety need for the administration, but in reality, it is just a safe haven, where the president can do what powerful elites, like the European nobility of yore, have always done in ballrooms — host lavish parties, state balls and dinners for foreign dignitaries outside of the public eye. The ballroom stands as a symbol of elite retreat from society and the anti-democratic reaction that grips the nation’s oligarchs at the moment. Trump’s wistful glances at the hole in the White House lawn show his desire to be securely encased from democracy in the glitz of a ballroom fit for Versailles.

This is the story of Trump’s second term. His ballroom then stands as a monument to his own narrow self-interest, elitism and disgust with the country’s longstanding democratic and republican culture that looks down on the trappings of monarchical excess."  (our emphasis)

After yesterday's shooting incident a block from the White House, the MF used the incident to again push for his absurd ballroom, which he has demanded $1.4 billion for, including $1 billion in "security enhancements" that include a bunker, health facility, and military space (!) that strike many as a fortress for the wannabe dictator's plans for a third, unconstitutional term.  For now, it stands as a symbol of how little he cares about the serious problems facing American families, which have been exacerbated by his destructive policies.

(photo: The MF and his obsession /Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)

Republicans In Disarray Over Rumored Iran Deal

 

The hawks are pushing for more war as the Malignant Fascist claims an agreement with Iran is near:

Key Senate Republicans are raising concerns about a reported peace deal being negotiated with Iran, arguing it would be a disaster for the United States that would make meaningless the war launched by President Trump nearly three months ago.

“The rumored 60-day ceasefire — with the belief that Iran will ever engage in good faith — would be a disaster,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a post on social platform X.

He said the effects of the joint military operation between the U.S. and Israel titled “Operation Epic Fury” would “be for naught” if the deal as he understood it went forward.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close ally of President Trump who for years has pushed for U.S. military action against the Iranian regime, said a premature deal could fundamentally shift the balance of power in the Middle East in Iran’s favor.

“If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” Graham wrote Saturday in a post on X.

The South Carolina Republican added that such a perception would become a “nightmare for Israel” over time, questioning the rationale behind the war entirely.  [snip]

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in that role in the first Trump administration, also harshly criticized what he understood as the deal. He wrote in a post on X that it sounded as if it had been negotiated by officials working for the Obama administration. Both Trump and Pompeo have criticized the Iran deal negotiated by that administration as being too weak.

The deal being floated is “Not remotely America First,” Pompeo wrote.  [snip]

Later on Saturday, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote on X that Pompeo “has no idea what … he’s talking about,” adding that Pompeo is “not read into anything that’s happening.” [Ed.:  he also said about Pompeo, "He should shut his stupid mouth and leave the real work to the professionals."  Nice sanewashing!]

The president is facing growing pressure on multiple fronts to take measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Americans face four-year record high gas prices, which hit a national average of almost $4.53 ahead of Memorial Day. 

Republicans fear they could lose their House majority in this fall’s elections amid falling approval ratings for Trump, and the Senate majority is also now seen as being within reach of Democrats...  (our emphasis)

And here we thought MAGA was all about no more foreign wars.  Silly us!

The deal Pompeo was referring to, of course, was the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated under Obama, which the moron Malignant Fascist tore up in 2018, because we can't have any credit given to a black Democratic President, can we!?

In any event, the future Graham, Wicker, and Pompeo fear is already here:  the blundering of the moron Malignant Fascist into a war with Iran (at the urging of Bibi Netanyahu) has already given Iran a strategic victory and de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz.  Turns out Iran had the cards all along.

Meanwhile --




Saturday, May 23, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(David Horsey, The Seattle Times)

(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)

(Patrick Chappatte, The Boston Globe)

(Chris Britt, Creators.com)

(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Daniel Boris, @danboriscreates)

(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(R.J. Matson, CQ/ Roll Call)

(Ali Solomon Mainhart, @alisolomain)


"Epic Corruption In Plain Sight"

 



From Michael Waldman, Brennan Center for Justice, on the Malignant Fascist's "Epic Corruption in Plain Sight": 

"...There is a zone of lawlessness around the Oval Office, erected by the Supreme Court when it granted current and former presidents effective immunity from prosecution if their crimes involved 'official acts.' Loot the taxpayers, misuse government power for graft, and you’re off the hook.

Last week, the president filed a report with the Office of Government Ethics detailing the stock trades he made this year. It is a novelistic tale of profiteering, recognizable as insider trading in every way except, perhaps, under the law. 

Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer offers a useful guide.

In recent months, as Paramount and Netflix vied to buy Warner Brothers, Trump bought stock in all three companies. Now the Justice Department is considering whether to approve Paramount’s purchase of Warner Brothers.

As CNBC reported, Trump 'scooped up shares' in the data firm Palantir. Soon after, he abruptly praised the firm. 'Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has proven to have great war fighting capabilities and equipment,' Trump posted, even highlighting its ticker name. 'Just ask our enemies!!!' All this while Palantir was winning big federal contracts.

He invested in Oracle while brokering its deal to buy TikTok.

Just this week, he paraded off Air Force One in China, flanked by the CEOs of Nvidia and Boeing. Trump bought millions of dollars of Boeing stock before the trip, which led to the sale of 200 Boeing airplanes to the Chinese government. Among his biggest purchases has been Nvidia stock, which has seen steep increases after the U.S. government cleared 10 Chinese companies to purchase its advanced chips, in a big reversal from earlier national security concerns..." 

Financially stressed Americans going about their daily lives may only be getting a fraction of the fraction of the corporate media's coverage of the MF's corruption, if that.  (Some have said, beyond the risk they run for angering the unstable MF, the notion of the MF's corruption is already "baked in" and, therefore, not much a story for them -- which, of course, allows him to get away with just short of murder.)  This fog of cowardice/ exhaustion needs to be overcome by a strong focus on the MF's corruption during the campaign season and beyond.  It's not only a righteous focus, but a politically potent one for Democrats.

(Illustration:  Khoa Tran, Vanity Fair/ photos from Getty Images)


Skeets Of The Day

 

The deranged Malignant Fascist is fantasizing Iran as a state. He's insane. --


The president posts an image of Iran as a US state

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 23, 2026 at 10:17 AM


MAGA, is this what you voted for?

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— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 9:11 AM


The MF's Iran shell game: threaten, say agreement is near, collapse. Rinse and repeat --


Every week, it's the same go-round. Trump says there's a great deal just over the horizon and threatens apocalyptic violence if he doesn't get it, and then it all falls apart, and the cycle repeats.

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— Lindsay Beyerstein (@beyerstein.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 1:24 PM


Revising history: J6 insurrectionists and the Jim Crow state. No surprise they're connected --


Most folks don't realize how central events like J6 were to the Jim Crow state. Dozens of unprosecuted coups & massacres—actively encouraged by those in power—revived the fundamental logic of the pre-emancipation state: that Black Americans had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect."

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— Dr. William Horne (@wihorne.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 8:46 AM

 

“.. the latest attempt by the Trump administration to reframe the Jan. 6 siege and to paint the rioters who participated in it as victims.” @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 8:02 AM


Howard "Nutlick" bribes Congress prior to his hearing on his Epstein connections -- 

 

Totally normal stuff. Completely standard for cabinet secretaries to give millions to those charged with overseeing them. Especially in relation to Epstein. Yup. Nothing to see here. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u...

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— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:02 PM


South Afrikaner fascist racist Musk's SpaceX rockets continue to crash. Like his Teslas. -- 

 

Surprising no one, things did not in fact go according to plan.

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— Nash (@radiodeadair.com) May 23, 2026 at 12:59 AM


Ukraine pummels Russia's Black Sea fleet. Slava Ukraini! --

 

🚨Incredible night vision footage from Ukrainian forces striking Russian warships in Novorossiysk port last night. Ukrainian long-range FP-1 drone successfully hit the Admiral Essen frigate (Project 11356) and a Project 1239 missile boat. Big blow to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) May 23, 2026 at 10:16 AM


Also, attending Junior's wedding might interrupt his "executive time" or golf.  Great father. -- 


If I were related to Trump, I too would have my wedding in a country that doesn’t allow entry to felons.

— Helen Kennedy (@helenkennedy.com) May 23, 2026 at 11:04 AM


A reminder to demand the release of the full Epstein files. -- 

 

LIMO DRIVER: 13-year-old girl, 3 o'clock.

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— Paulley Ticks (@tomadelsbach.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 5:22 PM

 

 

The Epstein-Trump Files Nationwide Bus Tour

 



Overdue, and maybe coming to a town near you:

A New York installation displaying millions of physical files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will be going nationwide.

Organizers behind the popular “Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room” exhibit are taking the concept on a nationwide bus tour this summer, the Daily Beast has learned.

The exhibit, currently on display in New York’s upscale TriBeCa neighborhood, showcases thousands of printed volumes of files connected to Epstein.

Miles Taylor, an organizer of the tour and former Trump DHS official turned Trump antagonist, said that visitors to the New York exhibit have been “completely blown away” by the sheer volume of information the government had on the sex pest. 

“Folks who came in, with no personal connection to the situation, people would leave in tears, because by the time you get to the end of it, it was a very powerful experience of sexual assault survivors that’s told through this exhibition,” he told the Daily Beast in an interview.

The current display in lower Manhattan, just blocks from the jail where Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2019, has welcomed a steady stream of visitors since opening on May 8.

The exhibit puts a particular focus on Epstein’s long friendship with President Donald Trump, which ended sometime in the 2000s. The president’s name is mentioned thousands of times in the Epstein files, although he has denied any wrongdoing. 

“The Epstein files for a lot of folks are a news abstraction, and I think for people who visited, all of a sudden, it becomes an understanding of the magnitude of the victims and the survivors, and also how deep the relationship goes between Trump and Epstein,” Taylor said.

“People have a superficial appreciation of that, but then you go there, you see the survivors’ memorial, you see the physical timeline, you see the literal weight of the literally tons and tons of printed files,” he added. “It blows people away.”

On the nationwide tour, organizers expect celebrities to drive the bus at times, and said they have received outreach from lawmakers and congressional candidates who want to make the tour part of their campaigns.

The tour is expected to launch after the July 4 holiday, but the specific stops and dates are still being finalized. Organizers are hoping it will remain on the road until the 2026 midterm elections, which are expected to be a catastrophe for Republicans...

Well try to keep you apprised of the stops and dates planned.  

The importance of continually reminding Americans of the Malignant Fascist's close, sordid friendship with Epstein/ Maxwell and subsequent felonious cover- up of criminal pedophile actions and actors, including by the squalid p.o.s. occupying the Oval Office, cannot be overemphasized.  It's the largest sex trafficking/ pedophile scandal in American history, and the fact that the Malignant Fascist is so deeply implicated (more than 38,000 mentions in the Epstein-Trump files!) demands that this is kept in front of the news until victims get the justice they deserve.  This bus tour deserves our support.

(Gif:  "She's hot" said the Malignant Fascist to his best friend)


Gabbard's Betrayal And Comeuppance

 



With Dem turncoat and hollow opportunist Tulsi Gabbard being pushed out as the Director of National Intelligence, it's clear that her influence over the corrupt Malignant Fascist's destructive policies was nil and that she tried to worm her way into his good graces by conspiracy mongering. From CNN:

"Months before announcing her resignation Friday, citing her husband’s diagnosis of a rare form of bone cancer, Gabbard was routinely sidelined from some of the administration’s biggest foreign policy decisions of Trump’s second term.

When Trump’s national security team gathered at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day to watch the US operation in Venezuela unfold, Gabbard was thousands of miles away posting pictures on social media from a beach in her home state of Hawaii.

Ahead of Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear sites last summer, Gabbard posted a video warning that the world is 'closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before,' which angered Trump and the White House and put her on the sidelines." (our emphasis)

Her former beliefs that wars of regime change and international intervention were contrary to U.S. interests were set on the shelf as she declined to resign as the MF attacked Venezuela and Iran.  Instead, she focused on conspiracy theories involving the 2020 election:

"While Gabbard was sidelined when it came to international deliberations, she shared Trump’s suspicions of the so-called 'deep state.' Rooting out those perceived as being against Trump’s interests in the intelligence community became a main focus of her time as DNI." (our emphasis)

That prompted her absurd and controversial declassification moves and presence in Atlanta as FBI agents searched boxes of ballots and other records related to the 2016 and 2020 election:

"She declassified documents from the intelligence community’s assessment on 2016 Russian election interference in order to claim President Barack Obama was behind a 'treasonous conspiracy' against Trump. She took voting machines in Puerto Rico to try to prove baseless claims of election rigging. And in January, pictures of Gabbard on the scene in Fulton County, Georgia, as FBI agents seized ballots from the 2020 election raised serious questions over why Trump would want his top spy chief present — given that the DNI is barred from domestic law enforcement operations." (our emphasis)

There will be mourning for Gabbard in the Kremlin, whose state media referred to her as "our girl Tulsi" for her seeming embrace of Russia's interests.  It's clear that Gabbard was willing to do anything to be close to power, dumping her "principles" and going from an anti-interventionist supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders to a senior position with the odious bully MF.  Her political career is likely wrecked, and so it should be.  The fewer Gabbards we have in civic life, the better.

(photo: A secretive Gabbard at the Fulton Co. board of elections facility / Elijah Nouvelage, Reuters)

 

Tomorrow's World Yesterday

 

We have two clips from BBC Archive from 40 years ago, one concerning the latest technology at the time, and the other asking children in 1986 how they foresaw the future in 2020 (when they talk about robots and computers, think AI).  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Friday, May 22, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Ann Telnaes, anntelnaes.substack.com)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)


(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)

(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Asher Perlman, @asherperlan)


Blanche Raked Over Coals



From (unfortunately) the New York effing Times, describing the angry reaction of Republican Senators to the lawless Malignant Fascist's corrupt Attorney General corrupt personal lawyer Todd "My Roy Cohn" Blanche trying to sell the $1.8 billion Trump Thug Slush Fund to the Senators, some of whom are facing reelection:

"...what unfolded in an ornate room just off the Senate floor on Thursday morning was a two-hour blowup in which dozens of Republican senators vented their anger and concern about the president’s fund at Mr. Blanche.

They questioned its legal basis, whom it would pay and how the process would work. And they made it clear they wanted no part of the plan, the product of a deal struck between Mr. Trump’s lawyers and his own administration to use money that Congress does not control to pay off purported victims of government mistreatment, potentially including some of the rioters who violently assaulted their workplace during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

By the end, Republicans were so livid that party leaders scrapped planned votes on the party’s top priority — a $72 billion immigration crackdown measure it had planned to muscle through before Memorial Day — punting action for fear of having to cast votes on the fund." (our emphasis)

At least, for a few days, they delayed the odious funding for the ICE / Border Patrol goons, who are shaping up to be his multi-purpose "enforcers" for future use.  They'll return thinking that the furor over the Trump Thug Slush Fund has died down, when much to their surprise it will erupt again. 

(photo: Trump's thugs battle police / John Minchillo, AP)

 

Skeets Of The Day

 

Buh-bye Putin plant Tulsi --

 

BREAKING: The White House forced US intelligence official Tulsi Gabbard to resign from her post, a person familiar with the matter said. Gabbard posted her resignation letter on X reut.rs/3PxKi24

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) May 22, 2026 at 1:35 PM

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury / endgame is surrender / "Iran your gas prices up" --

 

"On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war. It will exercise leverage with dozens of the richest nations in the world." From Robert Kagan, @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

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— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 3:56 AM

 

SPOTTED in rural Tennessee: “Iran your gas prices up” sticker⛽️

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:27 AM

 

Consumer sentiment never this low before --


We have *never* before seen consumer sentiment this low.

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— Justin Wolfers (@justinwolfers.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 10:20 AM

 

Cratering poll numbers --

 

Trump absolutely cratering in new Fox poll: 29-71 on economy 24-76 on inflation He's underwater among whites *and* rural voters (!) Among independents he's at 24 percent (!!) On the pod, @jamescdownie.bsky.social is good on the collapse of the Trump coalition: newrepublic.com/article/2108...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 7:31 AM

 

The message --

 

Sen. Ossoff: I am running in Georgia against two Trump lackeys who would be voting for this ballroom and this insurrectionist slush fund. They're pro-war, they're pro-tariff, they're pro-cutting healthcare.

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— Headquarters (@headquartersnews.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 2:03 PM

 

The"flirting" stage is past, dammit;  get ready to move --


Democrats Flirt with Radical Reforms Needed to Dethrone Supreme Court talkingpointsmemo.com/news/democra...

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:26 AM

 

Support voting rights, support Southern Blue --


🚨 THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT SHALL RISE AGAIN! Become a *RECURRING* supporter of all 9 Southern state Democratic parties at once! #Blue26 secure.actblue.com/donate/vrast...

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— Charles Gaba ✡️ (@charlesgaba.com) May 22, 2026 at 9:41 AM

 

Most.  Corrupt.  Regime.  Ever.  --

 

Here's how the corruption works: Thursday: RJ Reynolds donates $5M to Trump Saturday: Trump invites RJR execs to Mar a Lago; execs ask to loosen regs on flavored vapes; Trump calls up RFK Jr. and tells him to change it Friday: FDA changes the policy

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— Chris Murphy (@chrismurphyct.bsky.social) May 21, 2026 at 1:21 PM

 

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (ret.) on Ukraine in NATO;  hunting Russians -- 


HODGES: Eventually Ukraine will be invited to join NATO, people will wake up and realize that we'll get better the day Ukrainians are members. Ukraine is best military in Europe. Ukraine is becoming net security exporter. Ukraine's going to be heart of European defense industry.

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— Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:11 AM

 

Recently, Ukraine has been systematically hunting Russian logistics in occupied territories, destroying supply routes, vehicles, and military equipment deeper behind the front line. More and more videos are showing the same thing: Russia’s rear is no longer safe.

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— SAINT JAVELIN (@saintjavelin.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 9:06 AM

 

MAGAt Republican values / a father's love --


Trump can find time to golf but not to go to Donny Jr’s wedding www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/u...

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— Elizabeth Spiers (@espiers.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 7:59 AM

 

Once more with feeling (Happy Friday!) --


Stephen Colbert wrapped up The Late Show with this joyful performance of 'Hello, Goodbye' with Sir Paul McCartney Crew and audience join them onstage, then McCartney switched the lights out at The Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Beatles performed on the same stage in 1964 Thank you Mr Colbert 👏 👏 👏

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— Ian Johnson (@mrianjohnson.bsky.social) May 22, 2026 at 8:52 AM

 

 

Weekend Music -- Memorial Day

 

Monday is Memorial Day in America, a day we remember those service men and women in all wars who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.  We gratefully honor their service.  

Eighty-one years ago in World War II we saw the defeat of fascism and militarism.  But as we have sadly learned, this is a struggle that didn't end in 1945.  It continues to the present day all over the world...  and most disturbing to us, in our own country.  It would be an appropriate way to honor the memory of those who died in this struggle by defeating fascism once again in our time.

So, as has been a tradition with us, we're recognizing Memorial Day with "Beneath the Southern Cross," part of the original Richard Rodgers soundtrack for the NBC "Victory at Sea" World War II documentary series from the early 1950s.  The title refers to the constellation Crux (or Southern Cross) easily visible in the South Pacific.  The RCA Victor Orchestra led by Robert Russell Bennett performs the song, also familiarly known as "No Other Love Have I."  Have a safe and memorable weekend.

"Paying To Court The Mad King"

 



From Nobel laureate Paul Krugman, writing on his Substack platform today, commenting on Wednesday's CNBC interview of Amazon mega billionaire weenie Jeff Bezos, in which he lauded the Malignant Fascist and defended low taxes for his Epstein class cohort:

"Last year Bezos and other tech billionaires evidently believed that they could insulate themselves from criticism — and secure their wealth against both taxation and regulation — by allying themselves tightly with Donald Trump. Notably, Amazon, along with Apple, Google, Meta, and Microsoft is one of the companies paying for Trump’s grotesque ballroom.

But Trump is now exploring new frontiers in presidential unpopularity, and Republicans are facing a wave of public revulsion so strong that it will probably overwhelm even their strenuous efforts to rig the midterm elections.

So paying court to the mad king isn’t looking like the smart political move Bezos and his ilk thought it was. How, then, can they defend themselves against the threat of taxes and regulations that might make them slightly less rich?

Well, Bezos evidently thought that the threat to his billions was sufficiently important to justify going on CNBC to lecture the rest of us about the evils of taxation — but not sufficiently important for him to learn a few facts first.

Somehow, I don’t think this new political strategy will work."  (our emphasis)

The public revulsion that Republicans are facing is increasingly being applied to the mega billionaires / Epstein class as income inequality and rising inflation hit the middle and working class families, thanks to their cult leader's destructive policies.  Krugman cites chapter and verse where Bezos' self-serving "facts" are bogus and misleading.  Pushback like this on the false statements of tech bros and their enablers needs to happen regularly and forcefully.

BONUS:  It's no surprise that Bezos is cheap when it comes to charity. Moneywise reports that he's only given 2% of his wealth to charitable causes, and he hasn't signed the Giving Pledge to give his fortune to philanthropic causes. That's in contrast to his former wife, Mackenzie Scott, who's given far more of her wealth to charity.

He also paid zero taxes in 2007 and 2011.

(photo: CNBC)