QOTD -- Trump's Focus

 

Former President Barack Obama, at a rally in Cleveland, OH, today, comparing the Malignant Fascist's tacky White House renovations to the golden palace of Saddam Hussein:

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but [Trump] seems very focused on home renovations. He should be on HGTV. The guy’s building a ballroom that’s bigger than the White House. Paved over the Rose Garden and put a helicopter pad on the South Lawn. And there’s gold everywhere, what’s up with the gold?

“He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake factory, just gold everywhere."

In addition to being funny, it's absolutely true.  The Malignant Fascist's  focus, as always, has been on himself and aggrandizing his deeply insecure, fragile ego.  Are the American people finally getting it?  We'll see in 10 days.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com, Canada;  context here)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(Pedro Molina, Tribune Content Agency)

(Robert Ariail, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, SC)

(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)

(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)

(Ann Telnaes, anntelnaes.substack.com)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com)

(Vaughan Tomlinson, King Features)

Skeets Of The Day

 

The deepening corruption of the Malignant Fascist and his regime --

So witkoff/kushner toadie sell out negotiations involves cutting Russian companies in on US energy deals? Are we giving Alaska back to Russia?

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 9:13 PM

 

I thought he was going to drain the swamp?

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 12:33 PM

The MF's racist, xenophobic attacks against Rep. Ilhan Omar must stop -- 

The pedophile protection party’s president is laundering right-wing conspiracy theories through the most corrupt DOJ in American history. Whenever the news turns bad, this creep reaches for one name: mine. So let’s make it crystal clear. My name has always been Ilhan Omar.

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— Ilhan Omar (@ilhanmn.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 3:30 PM

The national security risk of dangerous white nationalist megalomaniac Musk --

Nationalizing Elon Musk's companies (or anyone's companies) would probably poll poorly right now, so consultants will insist it's a losing issue. But I'm pretty sure if Democrats went all-out on a persuasion campaign, explaining Mamdani-style *why* it's necessary, it would become a winning issue.

— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 5:04 PM

 

“.. The world’s richest man poured $446 million of his own money into this year’s midterm elections, mostly aimed at preserving the Republican Party’s control of Congress, recent election filings show.” @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/elections/in...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 4:57 PM

 

Once again, the White House, Musk and the Kremlin all in lock-step that Ukraine must be destroyed.

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— Jay in Kyiv (@jayinkyiv.bsky.social) October 24, 2026 at 8:14 AM

Apt description of the despicable Ramaslimey -- 

And still stuck at Trump’s kids’ table.

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) October 24, 2026 at 6:42 AM

Billionaires are on the ballot, too -- 

A shortage of places to park the world’s growing fleet of luxury vessels is driving up prices — and turning marinas into a hot new asset class for investors. ft.trib.al/NZH7w9t

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— Financial Times (@financialtimes.com) October 24, 2026 at 9:00 AM

Smug narcissist Bill Maher reacts to critics of his second dinner with the MF. Asshole -- 

“Yeah I did it again, bitches. Fuck you, I like these dinners.” @billmaher lashes out, defends himself for having dinner with Trump again. He says Trump had good etiquette, never lost his temper or yelled… How nice! Imagine being this far up your own ass.

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 11:24 PM

It's the start of the NBA season, and everyone wants to get into the act -- 

punkin dunkin

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— Oregon Zoo (@oregonzoo.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 12:44 PM

 

DOJ's Alaska Senate Race Interference Suit "Won't Go Anywhere"

 

Notre Dame Law School election law professor Derek Muller, writing at Election Law Blog, tells us why the Department of "Justice's" scheme to block the Alaska Senate election result certification if Democrat Mary Peltola wins won't work :

The Department of Justice has filed United States v. Alaska in federal court. The gist of the case is this: there’s a risk of voter confusion from having two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, and the State of Alaska should not be permitted to certify its results “pending an investigation” to determine whether any votes cast for the one Sullivan were meant for another.

The case isn’t yet ripe, obviously, but the Department is pre-suing both to signal to the public that it’s “doing something” and that it’s ready if the result goes against the GOP in the state. And of course it probably would have helped Alaska if the Department thought about weighing in months and months ago, when there was feasibility in assisting with respect to the remedy.

Such factual investigation is essentially impossible (the best evidence that voters preferred one Sullivan over another is how they marked their ballots) and a reason why parties bring ballot access cases before the ballots are printed rather than after, so such a factual caveat is largely meaningless.

But setting aside the factual issue, the legal argument is one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen. It cites the preamble to the National Voter Registration Act–its “findings and purposes”–as the source of law for the claim. That part reads, “The purposes of this chapter are . . . to protect the integrity of the electoral process.” 52 U.S.C. § 20501(b)(3).

The Department excised the “The purposes of this chapter are” language throughout its complaint and replaced it with something not in the statute. For instance, it claims that certifying the result “would violate Defendants’ duties under the NVRA to ‘protect
the integrity of the electoral process.'” That is certainly not what the NVRA does. This language places no “duties” on a state outside of those enumerated in the chapter. And, of course, the Department cannot find any ballot access rules in the chapter.

I also cannot imagine anything some election litigators in the Republican Party might want less than to open this language of the NVRA to freewheeling litigation around the United States in future elections.

Some, in a panic, might react that the Department is trying to deny certification of an election in a state. Of course that’s what the Department is trying to do. But the legal claim is so absurdly thin, there’s essentially no likelihood of success. (I write essentially because, of course, one never knows how one judge or two judges on a panel might react, but I think the Supreme Court will have nothing for this claim.)

In short, like many Department letters over the last few years, it is designed to win the press release rather than the litigation. This one simply takes the form of a complaint... (our emphasis)

The best way to forestall these kinds of risible, un-Constitutional power grabs is for voters to overwhelmingly vote for Democrats -- in Alaska and every other State on every ballot line.  Trying to pull off a coup when you're losing by big margins everywhere in the country isn't something that would seem destined for success, especially with these low-voltage clowns running the show.

BONUS: 

This dumb hack has no power to do that. States don't have to listen to anything he says.

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— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 4:54 PM

BONUS II:  A pic of Alaska's ballot, showing Sen. Sullivan identified as "incumbent" (4th line):

 

(Photo:  Consigliere Blanche with Trump Crime Family boss at trial for covering up hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, 4/16/24 / Mark Peterson, Pool, AFP via Getty Images)

 

Political Ads Standing Out

 

In the last few days leading up to the mid-term elections, Dem Senate candidates have been releasing some effective ads.  Here are three:

It's not too late to join the fight for the Senate in these states:

Troy Jackson for Senate (Maine)

Abdul El-Sayed for Senate (Michigan)

James Talarico for Senate (Texas)

Tainan, Taiwan

 

Travel and food vlogger Mei takes a break from her travels in Japan to visit Taiwan. In this episode, she explores Taiwan's oldest city, Tainan, and the city's temples, Sicao Green Tunnel and wetlands, the Anping Tree House, restaurants and lots of food stops, markets, flowering gardens, the retro charm of Shennong Street and its shops and alleys, and more.  Please watch full screen and have a nice Saturday morning getaway.

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com; context here)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Ruben Bolling, gocomics.com)

(Bruce Plante, caglecartoons.com)

(Rob Rogers, Tinyview.com)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune; context here)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times free Press)

(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)

(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)

(Niall Maher, The New Yorker)

"Hollowed Out In the Age Of Trump"

 

In an analysis posted on MSNOW.com,  Eric Garcia, author and senior correspondent for The Independent writes about the narcissistic felon's grip on his party and how it's hollowed the party out in several states:

"Earlier this week, during a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, President Donald Trump admitted that Democrat Roy Cooper is “going to become your senator and it’s crazy.”

It was especially embarrassing for Cooper’s Republican opponent. As chair of the North Carolina GOP, Michael Whatley ingratiated himself with Trump to such an extent that Trump made him chair of the Republican National Committee. [snip]

Just down the Atlantic coast, Georgia Republicans are also reeling in their Senate contest. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is running away with the race against Rep. Mike Collins, an ultra-MAGA conservative who has come under fire for his ties to his white nationalist influencer son-in-law.

The two Senate contests, though, are just portents of much bigger problems facing North Carolina and Georgia Republicans — two state parties hollowed out in the age of Trump. [snip]

While Trump, over the past decade, has displayed a remarkable ability to survive and win elections, his acolytes in these former GOP strongholds are losing down the ballot. These two phenomena are connected: Trump has turned the Republican Party that cares about electing like-minded individuals into a party meant to support him, and him alone. In doing so, it has lost its ability to save itself." (our emphasis)

Garcia also notes the comparable situation in formerly red Arizona, which is set to flip three MAGA Republican seats and retain their Dem Governor.  The more he meddles in local politics, the more voters turn to Dems, so that's a good thing.

(photo: Trump focused on a male ass, as he dances to "YMCA")

 

Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein-Trump files coverup / crooked Blanche elides 38,000+ Trump mentions --

BULLSHIT

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— Katie Phang (@katiephang.bsky.social) October 21, 2026 at 5:39 PM

 

Operation Epic Quagmire / oil price surges again on prospect of new U.S. - Israel attacks --

 

Brent crude oil tops $116, a six-month high, with WTI topping $102, as tensions swell in the Middle East www.cnbc.com/2026/10/23/o...

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— mapocoloco.bsky.social (@mapocoloco.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 9:54 AM

 

Trump says 12-yr-old girl is "fair game"/ Smarmy Ramaswamy's corporate backers / ad backfires --

 

Trump says 12 year old girl is fair game is definitely the winning home stretch message.

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— Schooley (@schooley.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 4:53 PM

 

Ramaswamy has produced an attack ad weaponizing the rape of his opponent, Amy Acton, when she was 12 years old. It features Acton’s mother, who abandoned Acton after she was raped by her step-father, fleeing the state with her husband. Here is the corporate money helping fund that ad.

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— Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 8:37 AM

 

Trump and JD Vance decided backing the vile Ramaswamy ad would galvanize MAGA voters, but it instantly backfired as many GOP officials condemned the spot. Now it could help cost them both races in Ohio. Oops! On the pod, @jimswift.bsky.social explains this so well: newrepublic.com/article/2169...

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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 7:44 AM

Liars Trump and Musk playing with Ukrainian lives, allies notice --

 

The Starlink system used by Ukraine’s military was suffering from low speeds limits early on Friday, despite President Trump saying that SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk had restored the service.

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— The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) October 23, 2026 at 7:43 AM

 

America's NATO allies come to the grim realization that if Trump/Musk can do this to Ukraine they can do it to the UK, Germany or France, too. Which means StarLink is not a reliable service provider; indeed it's a national security risk. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...

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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 9:22 AM

 

Texas (and America) is not for sale, you ketamine- addicted South Afrikaner fascist --

NEW AD: Have you seen these anti-Talarico attack ads? Elon Musk paid for nearly all of them. The world's first trillionaire knows if he drags the most corrupt politician in Texas across the finish line, Ken Paxton will owe him everything. Elon Musk: Texas is not for sale.

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— Team Talarico (@teamtalaricohq.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 2:44 PM

 

Trump Crime Family: Prince of Thieves Jared Kushner's corruption --

The US government is literally for sale to the highest bidder.

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— Maria Drutska (@mariadrutska.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 11:39 PM

 

Give Melon the Nobel (Pulitzer?) Peace Prize and watch Trump's reaction 😆 --

Guy has been certifiably On One lately. Some real foreign policy chops as a dark wizard / talent agent

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— Jake Lahut (@jakelahut.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 9:49 AM

 

DUI hire Whiskey Pete Hicseth Hegseth's impeachable stewardship --

 

Man, Hegseth's Department of War is even more buffoonish than everything else. Kinda amazed how the US military didn't just have some basic war plans they could activate. Their lack of preparedness is astonishing. meidasnews.com/news/so-much...

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— Laleh Khalili (@lalehkhalili.bsky.social) October 23, 2026 at 5:23 AM

 

A MAGA dating site (Happy Friday!) --

 

Donald Trump announces MAGA dating site youtu.be/hUWA2CcYTgg?...

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— J-L Cauvin (@jlcauvin.bsky.social) October 20, 2026 at 2:07 PM

 

 

Weekend Music

 

Today we're featuring "Who You Callin' Crazy," the newest release and a bonus track from The Rolling Stones' latest album, "Foreign Tongues, Loose Lips" edition.  Still rocking solid in their seventh decade as a group.

Criminal Probe Opened Against Lewandowski

 

Corey Lewandowski, the former "advisor" and rumored lover of disgraced Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, is under investigation by the "Justice" Department for alleged misconduct regarding DHS' contracting.  From The Guardian::

"Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and ⁠top aide at the Department ⁠of Homeland Security, ​is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government, three US officials and a fourth person familiar with the matter told Reuters ⁠on Thursday.

The investigation began with a criminal referral to the justice department from the internal watchdog at DHS, according to the four people. The DHS inspector general’s office has been investigating ⁠Lewandowski’s involvement in the handling of certain government contracts, according to one of the people, a DHS official. [snip]

Lewandowski served as a top aide to the former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem during her tenure leading DHS. Trump fired Noem in March after ⁠months of controversy, including the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal officers ​in Minneapolis and lawmakers’ questions over a $220m advertising contract promoting Noem that was ​awarded without a standard bidding process.

Lewandowski had signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority ​as a special government ‌employee, according to the ​DHS official. Certain grants ​and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were put on hold at Lewandowski’s direction, according to two of the people, both of whom are DHS officials."(our emphasis)

Lewandowski is alleged to have shaken down contractors for a kickback arrangement through a company owned by a Noem contributor.  Noem is likely up to her neck in the allegations, too, as the couple was inseparable throughout her term in office.  Stay tuned as the Trump Mafia story continues.

(photo: Birds of a feather [sleep together?] ) 

 

Trump Sides With Ramaswamy On False And Vicious Acton Ad

 

What else should anyone expect from a person mentioned over 38,000 times in the Epstein pedo files, who is a convicted sexual abuser, adulterer, and complete moral and ethical cipher, when commenting on Ramaswamy's scurrilous attack ad:

No empathy in the slightest for the victim of years of pedophile rape, just more vicious attacks and insipid political sniping and commentary.  Siding with the rapist, who fled with Amy Acton's mother to avoid prosecution, is another low point for the Malignant Fascist, who is already somewhere in 9th circle of Hell territory.

If that wasn't enough, he sicced his Super PAC on the family of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, calling them liars just as he called Amy Acton a liar (and Stormy Daniels, and E. Jean Carroll, and the 28 women who've accused him of sexual misconduct, etc.).  Some might call that a pattern of behavior.  

Now he has the teeny tiny brass balls to call even more victims "liars."  That would get him a Nobel  Pultizer Prize for Irony if they had one (don't tell the moron MF they don't).  How sick a country have we become to tolerate this evil shitstain in the highest office in the land, and the most powerful in the world?  And how sick does a political party have to be to follow and exalt this garbage person under any and all circumstances?

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Clay Jones, claytoonz.substack.com)

(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Arcadio Esquivel, caglecartoons.com, Costa Rica)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)

(Steve Nease, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Marian Kamensky, caglecartoons.com, Austria)

(Matilda Borgström, The New Yorker)

Skeets Of The Day

Operation Epic Quagmire: oil futures up, more war ahead -- 

BRENT CRUDE FUTURES RISE BY MORE THAN 3% TO $112.55 PER BARREL, REACHING HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE MAY.

— FinTwitter (@fintwitter.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 6:16 AM

Twelve days from the midterms, Trump can't escape the unpopular Iran war, which continues to dominate news coverage. Yesterday the NY Times reported the U.S. and Israeli militaries have drawn up specific plans for renewed strikes on Iran after Election Day.

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 9:40 AM

 

Trump's bottomless corruption -- 

It's really not normal for a sitting president to pursue over a dozen new foreign developments while he's serving in office. Trump is truly unabashed when it comes to profiting from the presidency.

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— CREW (@citizensforethics.org) October 22, 2026 at 9:24 AM

 

Sen. Jon Ossoff: “Public money is going to the first family’s financial interests, and they want the rest of us to fend for ourselves if a hurricane hits.”

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— The Bulwark (@thebulwark.com) October 22, 2026 at 9:21 AM

... and his bottomless dementia --

The Pulitzer Peace Prize everyone. bsky.app/profile/meid...

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) October 21, 2026 at 8:24 PM

Corrupt MF personal lawyer AG Blanche saying the quiet part out loud-- 

 

🚨🚨🚨 Q: Is there any scenario in which DOJ would try to block states from certifying the election? AG TODD BLANCHE: Yes, of course. It is not DOJ's intention to improperly interfere with elections or the state certification process, but ...

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) October 22, 2026 at 11:53 AM

Steve "Witless" Witkoff's ass kissing of "humanitarian" Putin gets rude awakening -- 

As Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff praised Putin as a "humanitarian," Russia unleashed a barrage of more than 20 ballistic missiles on Kyiv overnight that killed two people and injured more than 30, Ukrainian authorities said. www.ft.com/content/9f0c...

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— Scott Horton (@robertscotthorton.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 6:13 AM

Ramaslimey actually poll-tested his pedo- enabling ad against Amy Acton.... -- 

Genuinely wonder what Ramaswamy's campaign guys saw in their poll tests that made them think this would work.

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— Eric Michael Garcia (@ericmgarcia.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 9:24 AM

....And Amy Acton focuses on issues effecting Ohioans in contrast -- 

 

Wow! Amy Acton’s new ad is shocking. She’s talking about the issues Ohioans are concerned about and not trashing her opponent. To be fair, she doesn’t need to. Vivek already trashed himself.

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) October 22, 2026 at 9:10 AM

 

Netanyahu's "ethnic cleansing" of Gaza.  Despicable --

 

Ethnic cleansing in broad daylight

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 8:25 AM

Zuck's plan to weasel out of paying higher taxes in CA --

 

Will never understand people who have more money than they could spend in 1,000 lifetimes being like "no, I need enough for 1,001 lifetimes."

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— scarylawyerguy.bsky.social (@scarylawyerguy.bsky.social) October 22, 2026 at 9:06 AM

Cincinnati Bengals diss the horrible, pedo-protecting JD Vance --

 

JD Vance greeting Bengals players and most are ignoring him lol

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— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) October 21, 2026 at 5:11 PM

A compilation of "Assman - in - Chief" Malignant Fascist's obsession with men's bodies -- 

‘Assman-in-Chief’: Anderson Cooper Plays Montage of Trump Marveling at Men’s Bodies

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— Mediaite (@mediaite.com) October 21, 2026 at 10:07 PM

Speaking of which.... -- 

BREAKING: After publicly obsessing over how "round and muscular" GOP Senator Jon Husted's ass is, during his past three rallies, Donald Trump invites the world famous Chippendale dancers to the White House for a private meet-n-greet. #DonaldTrump #JonHusted

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— Paulley Ticks (@tomadelsbach.bsky.social) October 21, 2026 at 6:19 PM

 

 

QOTD: Take Starlink Out Of Musk's Hands

The coda to an excellent article by Nobel laureate Paul Krugman writing in Substack about the danger of letting ketamine-addled South African white supremacist dork Elon Musk retain control of a national security asset like Starlink:

"In modern warfare, where communication and real-time information are as important as rockets and artillery, Starlink is as central to national security as Lockheed Martin. Decisions about which countries have full access to Starlink’s capacity are as much a matter of foreign policy and national security as decisions about which countries will be allowed to buy and operate U.S. high-tech weapons.

Such decisions cannot, must not, be left up to private individuals. This would be true even if these individuals were patriots who supported democracy and American values. They definitely shouldn’t be left in the hands of this guy.

Musk will surely, and rightly, be the focus of many investigations if Democrats win the midterms. But don’t expect this to chasten him: His response to the prospect has been to make menacing threats.

Which reinforces the point that control of Starlink must, one way or another, be taken away from Elon Musk. It’s a matter of national security: we cannot let private individuals make foreign and defense policy, and it would be totally irresponsible to leave a crucial military asset in the hands of a racist, authoritarian conspiracy theorist." (our emphasis)

We would go beyond that and find a way of cutting off Musk's access to Government contracts as he poses a national security risk through his support of our foreign adversaries.  SpaceX is overdue for competition, and NASA should be in control of our space efforts and of the hardware to accomplish it, not a megalomaniac zillionaire.  Not, as Krugman puts it, in the hands of "this guy." 

(photo: What you see is what you get)