Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Kim Kiss Up:  rejected! --

WSJ tees up the Ultimate Humiliation. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/world/asia/t...

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 7:26 AM

The Malignant Fascist isn't the only one with a "human binky" --

Totally normal that the Secretary of Defense needs a babysitter.

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— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 8:30 PM

Speaking of binkies, why the reluctance to have a background check? -- 

The question is: why did Natalie Harp resist applying for a security clearance? What doesn't she want anyone to find out? www.ms.now/news/trump-a...

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— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu) August 20, 2026 at 4:15 AM

 

She didn’t have a clearance but she was the gatekeeper for phone calls from foreign leaders. Im sure this was all well documented too in compliance with the Federal Records Act and Presidential Records Act.

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— Bradley P. Moss (@bradmossesq.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 11:15 PM

Our crazy national debt and MAGAt hypocrisy -- 

Looking forward to all the "fiscal conservatives" who have never said a thing about runaway war spending or costly tax cuts for a rich to immediately become fiscal hawks again the moment a Democrat becomes president www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/b...

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— Jonathan Cohn (@jonathancohn.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 7:52 AM

 

its just funny because during obama the debt and “certainty” were the most important things to ever exist for businesses and corporations and the media

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— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 8:22 AM

Sen. Jon Ossoff rattling the corrupt and dysfunctional Trump regime and corporate press --

Listen to the clarity with which Jon Ossoff describes the dynamics of the Trump White House. Does any political journalist with half a brain disagree? And yet they won’t use those same words. And they won’t tell the public what he’s saying, beyond one short soundbyte. www.ms.now/the-last-wor...

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— Dan Froomkin/Press Watch/Heads Up News (@froomkin.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 7:54 AM

 

I gotta say, Jon Ossoff is getting more negative press for noting that Trump enjoys traveling with the one aide who (as he's remarked) actually cares deeply about him—a fact Trump wouldn't even deny—than Trump has ever gotten for calling for his political opponents to be executed

— Seth Abramson (@sethabramson.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 12:58 AM

The Trump - Epstein scandal isn't going away -- 

Re-upping my thread from a year ago because the Trump-Epstein scandal isn’t going away.

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— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) August 20, 2026 at 6:51 AM

Poll that the MF won't like -- 

Trump has lost 38 points of white working class support in under two years

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 19, 2026 at 7:42 PM

My Pillow guy ranting that the MN Republican primary election was "rigged".  Total clown. -- 

Mike Lindell has finally surfaced after losing his primary for MN governor. He says his election was rigged and stolen because there was “major deviations and anomalies on election night” and he’s demanding a recount.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 8:56 PM

The Onion reports -- 

“This custom, state-of-the-art service container is covered in beautiful 24-karat gold and outfitted with the latest security and antimissile technology,” Donald Trump said as he showed off the luxury catering truck, which reportedly cost U.S. taxpayers $900 million.

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) August 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM

 

 

Republican Crime Blotter -- Child Sexual Molestation Edition

 

The adjudicated sexual abuser Malignant Fascist's party/ cult seems to harbor more than its share of pedophiles, doesn't it?

A former Florida lawmaker and political ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis was arrested Tuesday and accused of molesting a young boy at the child’s home, on fishing excursions and while on a family cruise, arrest records show.

Michael Caruso, a 67-year-old Republican whom DeSantis appointed as Palm Beach County’s clerk of courts and comptroller a year ago, was taken into custody by local police and officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

“Being in a position of public trust provides no shield from accountability,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement Tuesday.

After the arrest was announced, DeSantis suspended Caruso from his post and noted in an executive order that the allegations include lewd or lascivious molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition, kidnapping, child abuse causing mental injury, and luring or enticing a child.

Caruso had regular and unsupervised access to the child, a probable cause affidavit released by the governor’s office said.

Caruso is accused of preying on the boy more than half a dozen times since Thanksgiving 2024, sometimes under the guise of playing “tickle monster,” according to the affidavit...

Also, he was proud to support the crime-fighting (except for pedophilia) Malignant Fascist:

It's as if a large sieve was placed over America and all of the pervs, fascists, crackpots, criminals, liars, etc., were collected, and they called themselves "MAGA / Republicans."

National Debt Hits $40 Trillion Under Trump

 

The reckless, tax cuts for the rich Malignant Fascist has succeeded in increasing the national debt to a staggering $40 trillion, a development that will surely impact the cost of living and interest rates on purchases.  From the Associated Press:

"The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.

The milestone figure was recorded just five months after the U.S. hit a record $39 trillion debt in March. It reached $38 trillion five months before that, in October.

The unprecedented $40 trillion figure highlights competing administration priorities, from boosting defense spending that the U.S. relies on to carry out President Donald Trump’s almost-6-month-old war in Iran to lowering the cost of gas and groceries. [snip]

...experts say the exploding debt and the latest record milestone are already affecting Americans’ pocketbooks by raising borrowing costs for things like mortgages and cars, lowering wages from businesses that have less money available to invest, and creating more expensive goods and services." (our emphasis)

The billions of dollars in tariffs that filled the Treasury's coffers and had to be paid back after the Supreme Court ruled that they were collected illegally factors into this figure.  The MF, in his five and a half years in office, has racked up $11.5 trillion in debt or 28% of the total.  That should be in every Dem's stump speech from now until the mid-terms. 

Dementia Don's Further Descent Into Madness: "ECONOMIC D-DAY"!

 

Another day, another bonkers piece of performance "art" from Demented Don, this time threatening Iran with "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!"  Those all caps signify he really means business this time!

We can only imagine how these puerile screeds are seen in the capitals of the world, much less in Iran.  The projections ("These maniacs are on the ropes" -- you look like the maniac on the ropes, Don) and the irony ("Their navy is gone" -- the men and women of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln would like a word) is the Malignant Fascist's mouth once again writing checks that he can't cash.

"ECONOMIC D-DAY" -- what genius came up with that bit of bombast?  He won't get any allies with any sack to step into his self-made quagmire.  And you know who the biggest supporters of the Iran regime are?  His besties in Russia and North Korea.  We seriously doubt he intends any "TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences" for his mentor or his love letter correspondent.

But, anyway, "THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER" (so you won't be paying attention to the economy, Epstein files, corruption, ICE assaults, election subversion, etc., etc.).

BONUS:  Amplifying on the performance "art" nature of the threat:

“Iran’s largest trading partner is China; its second largest trading partner, I believe, is Russia. It also trades with North Korea, a little bit with India. These are not countries that the Trump administration has that much influence over,” [CNN's Fareed] Zakaria said on Wednesday’s edition of “Anderson Cooper 360°.”

Zakaria added that it was a dubious proposition for the U.S. to cut off trade with China over the issue of Iran.

“We’ve already seen how that would work ’cause the Chinese would cut off their exports of rare earth, and all kinds of crucial things that the United States depends on. So it seems unlikely that you’re actually gonna get at the core problem,” Zakaria said.

 #TACO.

 

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Jack Ohman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Daniel Boris, @cartoonmovement)

(Mike Smith, Las Vegas Sun)

(Benjamin Slyngstad, @slyngstad_cartoons)

(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)

(Ann Telnaes, anntelnaes.substack.com)

(Morten Morland, The Times, UK)

(Michael de Adder, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)

(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)

(Emily Flake, @eflakeagogo)

Dementia Don's Temper Tantrums Driving Staff Away

 

The demented, narcissistic sociopath with the nuclear codes is getting crankier than ever and taking it out on White House staff (sad!):

President Donald Trump is reportedly yelling louder, for longer periods and acting significantly "meaner" toward his inner circle, driving a wave of recent high-profile White House departures.

According to insider reports detailed on "The Daily Beast Podcast," multiple senior officials are exiting the administration due to a toxic, increasingly hostile West Wing environment.  [Ed.: very sad!]

The reporting coincides with a series of major staff exits at the White House.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she will step down at the end of August. While she publicly cited a desire to spend time with her family, insiders indicate the intense internal pressure and Trump's sharpening temperament heavily influenced the timing.

White House Counsel David Warrington departed his post amidst the shifting operational environment.

Deputy National Security Advisor Andy Baker, a key ally of Vice President J.D. Vance, has also exited the administration.

"It's a clear sign that people see how badly this second term is going," said David Rhode, senior executive editor on national security for MS NOW on Monday, August 17.

While Trump has historically been known for an aggressive management style, sources close to the administration note a distinct shift in his behavioral patterns during his current term.

Insiders report that his pattern of blaming staff for self-inflicted political problems has left top aides completely burned out, with some describing the daily work environment as "total misery."  [Ed.:  very very sad!]

The White House and Trump allies have generally pushed back on these characterizations, framing staff turnover as typical for a high-pressure administration or a natural rotation ahead of the midterm elections.  [snip]

Multiple former aides, including former White House lawyer Ty Cobb, have publicly stated that Trump's cognitive and behavioral shifts are "palpable," pointing to an escalation in his volatile outbursts.

Reports from the West Wing frequently detail longer, louder screaming matches directed at senior staff. Outside observers note a distinct increase in public temper tantrums, verbal reprimands of judges and lawmakers and rambling speech patterns during his second term... (our emphasis)

Well, first, it couldn't happen to more deserving fascist clowns, who worked hard to get him elected (twice!). 

We should note that his Chief of Staff Natalie Harp Susie Wiles is departing soon after the November mid-term blue tsunami, doubtless to dodge the flying ketchup.  We expect by the time next January rolls around, the concept of "total misery" will have to be re-defined by those remaining in the Malignant Fascist's orbit.  Maybe his new Chief of Staff/ co-President Natalie will be available to empty his fecal extrusion device.

Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Fail / let's talk about it / Bone Spurs doesn't want to --

 

We aren’t talking enough about those Destroyed American Bases….

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— Brant Reeves (@bireeves95.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 8:58 PM

 

Trump calls concerns about the conditions on the USS Lincoln a “CNN fake news report”

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 2:39 PM

 

Netanyahu gone wild --

Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early Tuesday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there. Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria's military. n.pr/4x41sVr

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— NPR (@npr.org) August 19, 2026 at 9:10 AM

 

Trump's insane decision punishing ally South Korea --

"Scaling back the exercise is, of course, an insane decision, which does nothing but hurt an ally, and tempt an adversary to think—correctly—that American leadership is feckless." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

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— Tom Nichols (@radiofreetom.bsky.social) August 16, 2026 at 10:28 PM

 

Step aside Stephen Miller, Natalie is the new co-President / babysitter --

“She has at times ruffled feathers among White House aides by immediately following through on Trump’s directives without first checking in with the chief of staff, the communications office or the national security team.” Fantastic.

— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 6:44 AM

 

Dems, this is how politics works --

 

Sen. Ossoff mentions Natalie Harp, it got some social media buzz, then professional media jumped on it. Two theories of politics that are wrong: 1) Do economic policy, act above the fray, media will do the rest on its own 2) Public opinion is static, politicians’ job is to measure then follow it

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— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 7:48 AM

 

Sen. Jon Ossoff says Trump is a “draft-dodging crook president” at Georgia town hall meeting

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— Jon Cooper (@joncooper-us.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 6:23 PM

 

Making America Sick Again, measles outbreak edition --

NEW: Measles Used to Be in Our Rearview Mirror. Now Cases Are Reaching Record Highs. In other parts of the world that have let their guard down to vaccine-preventable diseases, long-forgotten scourges have roared back and killed and disabled children.

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— ProPublica (@propublica.org) August 18, 2026 at 8:00 AM

 

Democrats in array and winning everywhere --

 

Democrats in array, once again. Nice to see.

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— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 7:31 AM

 

Pennsylvania State House District 12 Special Election 27 of 27 Precincts Reported: 🔵 Brandon Dukes – 8,434 (50.2%) 🔴 Scott Timko – 8,346 (49.6%) Trump won this district by 18 points in 2024.

— VoteHub (@votehub.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:17 PM

 

Huckleberry Graham's sister 🎵 don't know much 'bout foreign policy (or her state) --

 

Darlene Graham just bumbled through one of the worst responses to a question during a political debate you'll ever see

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 18, 2026 at 11:05 PM

 

Trump-endorsed senate candidate Darlene Graham: “There’s 50 million people in SC.” The population of SC is 5.5 million.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:53 PM

 

The right partner at the right time --

 

No one wanted to be his partner, but she saw the champion no one else saw. Original post

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— Massimo (mirror) (@rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 2:26 AM

 

 

Mid-Week Song

Singer / songwriter Gracie Abrams' latest album "Daughter from He'll" was released last month, following tours with Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, and last year's American Music Award for New Artist of the Year. She's a gun safety and reproductive rights activist when she's not writing, recording and touring. Today's choice is a studio version of "What If It's Right?", with Marcus Mumford, off of her album.  

QOTD: Full Time Babysitter

 

At the risk of over-covering the Natalie Harp story (nah!), here, from the ever-readable Amanda Marcotte, writing at Salon.com, the coda of her article on the declining Malignant Fascist's "security blanket / human binkie" Natalie Harp and her role to boost the MF's morale and ego:

"Whatever the extent of Natalie Harp’s duties, it seems undeniable that she is there to keep the temperamental president calm by distracting him from his own failures with words of praise. That he needs this is a sign of profound weakness. Stable adults do not need full-time babysitters. That Harp’s job even exists is a testament to Trump’s incredible narcissism, but it also carries more than a whiff of elder care and suspicions about medical conditions that require monitoring and placating.

The White House’s extreme response only serves to underscore how worried they are about the narrative being created — one they themselves weaponized against another aging president, Joe Biden. By flipping out at anyone who brings it up, they’re only ensuring more people are paying attention." (our emphasis)

The explosive, over-the-top reaction to Sen. Ossoff's mild dig at her constant presence hit a major nerve in Trumpworld, as Marcotte notes. The signs of the MF's physical and mental decline are simple to spot, and increase every week. While there's ample innuendo of a physical relationship between the two (even though the elderly MF is looking physically feeble), the real "service" she seems to perform for the extreme narcissist is psychological, telling him how successful and potent he is, reassuring him constantly. It's troubling that he needs the reinforcement and that she believes it herself. 

 

How The Natalie Harp Affair Should Guide Us

 

Jamelle Bouie has a smart take on Natalie Harp, the smart Ossoff attack line, the White House / MAGAt "hit dog hollers" reaction, and what the lesson is for Democrats going forward (hint: don't be afraid to be aggressive and down-and-dirty). This is a good explainer video to share.

 

BONUS:  Steve M. has a similar take and advice.

BONUS II:  More Harp weirdness reported.

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Steve Nease, politicalcartoons.com, Canada;  additional context here)

(John Cole, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

(Monte Wolverton, caglecartoons.com; context here)

(Christopher Weyant, Boston Globe)

(Steve Sack, stevesack.substack.com)

(Rick McKee, caglecartoons.com)

(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Chris Britt, Creators.com)

(Kevin Kallaugher, kaltoons.substack.com)

(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Peter Steiner, @plsteiner)

A President Who Hates What America Stood For

 

Nobel laureate Paul Krugman explains why the sick and narcissistic Malignant Fascist's embrace of the tyrant Kim Jong Un's regime is especially repellent, but expected:

"I know that Donald Trump does something new and terrible every day, sometimes several times a day. Yet his betrayal of South Korea in favor of his 'very good relationship with Kim Jong Un' stands out even among his many betrayals.

Why? Because North Korea isn’t simply a bad government, just another murderous authoritarian regime. It is something that has become rare, even among dictatorships: a full-blown totalitarian state, in which the government controls every aspect of life and even thinking dissident thoughts is a crime. [snip]

Much of the commentary I’ve seen about Trump lashing out at South Korea has focused on the damage to U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy. How can anyone consider us a reliable ally at this point? Fair enough.

But it’s even more important to realize that Trump clearly prefers a nightmarish, totalitarian dictatorship — the worst regime on the planet — to a vibrant, successful democracy. A democracy, by the way, that more than 36,000 Americans gave their lives to defend during the Korean War.

America has a president who hates everything our nation was supposed to stand for." (our emphasis)

These are dark time in which the nominal leader of the nation is actively promoting our adversaries, while deliberately alienating our long time allies (Canada, Mexico, the UK, the European Union, South Korea, Taiwan, and on and on).

Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Quagmire: Hormuz nuz, delusions, quagmire, --

 

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 5:49 AM

 

He can say it however many times he wants, the fact remains that Iran is still targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and the situation won’t stabilize until the administration pulls their heads out of their ass.

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— Angry (@angrystaffer.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:56 AM

 

Silver lining of the media treating the U.S.-Iran MOU as a big achievement—Hormuz open! Nuclear deal soon!—is that with the 60-day deadline passing and nothing actually achieved, they’ve given themselves permission to frame the situation negatively, breaking out the word “quagmire.”

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— Nicholas Grossman (@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 9:39 AM

The Malignant Fascist's constant companion -- 

Decent chance that she’s making her own policy decisions by control of his accounts. She may also be influencing what information does & does not get to him. I wonder if she’s in classified briefings.

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— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:07 PM

 

Is Natalie Harp writing his 4am Truth social posts too?

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— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline.com) August 17, 2026 at 11:57 PM

 

The reason the White House is so sensitive about Trump and his relationship with Natalie Harp is because, well . . . because it's a bit awkward

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— Brandon Friedman (@brandonfriedman.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:45 PM

Another poll shows the Malignant Fascist losing ground --

 

Enten: "Trump net approval hits a term two low, 31 points underwater ... at the beginning he was at +6 points. He's 37 points from where he was ... President Trump was unpopular going into the midterms during his first presidency, but not anywhere as unpopular as this ... he's doing 19 points worse"

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:18 AM

The mentally unfit MF threatens to bomb Oman (where 25,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed) -- 

When did it become normalized for the President of the United States to threaten to "bomb the shit out of" our allies—our *allies*—without that immediately leading to a serious conversation about whether he's mentally fit to serve as president

— Seth Abramson (@sethabramson.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 9:27 PM

Advice to our broken media (which they'll never take) -- 

"The news media need to say plainly, in big headlines: Trump is building a dictatorship. Use the D word. Say that this is the most corrupt presidency in American history, which it obviously is. Say that the president is mentally unstable, which he obviously is." My Stop the Presses newsletter.

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— Mark Jacob (@markjacob.bsky.social) August 18, 2026 at 7:16 AM

The Make America Sick Again movement in high swing --

The share of kindergartners with exemptions from school vaccine requirements for the 2025-2026 school year rose to a record high, according to federal data. The sharp increase comes as the U.S. battles its worst measles resurgence in 35 years.

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— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) August 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Food poisoning Vaccine cancellation & rampant disease Restoring gun rights to convicted criminals

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— Doc Zombie - Trauma Therapy for Americans (@doczombie.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 11:14 PM

 

Important book on Silicon Valley's swing to the far right is out now -- 

The day has come! “The Nerd Reich” is now available at your favorite local bookstore. I’ll be on @msnowreports.bsky.social at approximately 10:30 am ET to talk about it. Tune in. And buy it! First week sales make a huge difference. If you keep reading, I keep fighting.

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— Gil Durán (@gilduran.com) August 18, 2026 at 10:06 AM

Voting today in several states. We need to stop being the MF's decoys -- 

Vote like your life depends on it, or the life of a friend, relative, or neighbor. Because it does. We’re the decoys now.

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— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 5:22 PM

 MAGAt Rep. Nancy Mace, tatted up and ready to mingle --

She’s one neck tattoo away from announcing a podcast.

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— 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 (@sundaedivine.lol) August 18, 2026 at 7:49 AM

 

 

The Trump Crime Family's Grift Bank

 

If you haven't read about this latest Trump Crime Family get-rich-quick grift, Christopher Bates at Electoral-vote.com has a brief summary of the "World Liberty Bank":

"The griftwatch is eternal with this president. We could easily write an item about grifty behavior from him and/or his kids every single day, and not run out of things to cover. The only reason we don't is that it quickly moves into beating-a-dead-horse territory. Everyone should know he's on the take, at this point, and that the powers that might hold him accountable (outside the court system, sometimes) are not currently doing so.

"This story is sleazy enough, however, that we just could not let it pass. World Liberty Financial (WLF) is, of course, the Trump family's crypto business. However, it cannot legally issue its own stablecoins (bitcoins tied to reserves of some commodity, commonly U.S. dollars) because it is not a bank. Instead, it has to rely on a middleman and, of course, the middleman ends up with some of the profits and a lot of the power.

"The owners of WLF (including the Trumps, who hold 38% of the company in their own names) do not want to give up their profits or power. So, they have come up with a solution: World Liberty Bank. WLF applied for a charter with the Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and yesterday federal officials who work for Donald Trump gave preliminary approval to Donald Trump to open his own bank.

"It is not a done deal yet. There are still hoops to be jumped through, and maybe the Trumps won't be able to jump through them all. Or maybe it will take long enough that by the time final approvals roll around, the Department of Treasury will no longer be under the control of Trump, and will say "no." These are possibilities, though we are not at all confident in them.

"If the Trumps do get to run their own bank, particularly if Trump is still president (and Todd Blanche is still AG), the possibilities for grift are endless. Trump was already bandying about ideas for a third Trump-branded cryptocurrency. Imagine how many different coins they might issue, and how much they might fleece the rubes the base for, especially if the wolf is guarding the henhouse. Trump also has a habit of ordering his businesses to transfer funds to his personal accounts, and then having the businesses declare bankruptcy. This is what happened with his casinos and it could happen here. Perhaps most obviously, a Trump-run bank would allow for money laundering on an industrial scale. The first 50 accountholders would all be Russian oligarchs.

"It is clear, at this point, that Trump does not give a damn about hiding his corruption. He was more subtle during Trump v1.0, but now all bets are off. Maybe this is a variant of his usual strategy of muddying the waters with so much crap, it's hard to focus on any one bad act. Or maybe he's just gotten more desperate, since his time as president (and maybe his time on Earth) will soon run out. The Democrats are going to try hard to make this stick to the President and his Party in 2026. We do not know if they will be successful, but we do know that Trump has given them an embarrassment of (purloined) riches to work with."

We see the primary business for this "bank" would be to launder money for oligarchs and criminal organizations around the world, with the Trump Crime Family getting their beak wet at every transaction.  The voiding of this charter needs to be among the first acts of a new Democratic administration (if we get there and elect a junkyard dog Democrat as President).  Hoping for prison for some or all of the participants in this outrageous, unprecedented scheme may be too much to hope for, but it's sure goddamn deserving.

(Image:  Alexandra Citrin-Safadi/WSJ)

 

Disney Sues FCC On First Amendment Grounds

 

Under the vindictive Malignant Fascist, his FCC has been used as a tool of coercion and censorship, threatening media outlets if they have programming that offends the MF.  Now, Disney / ABC is pushing back on the FCC's threat to challenge its broadcast licenses by suing the commission.  The Associated Press reports:

"Disney filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission alleging a violation of its First Amendment rights.

The suit comes after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday recently defended the agency’s actions against ABC, saying broadcasters have a duty to 'operate in the public interest' and the FCC is merely trying to restore that standard.

Carr has said the country should have a 'trusted, respected news media, and we’re not there.'

ABC had accused the agency of a brazen attempt to chill its constitutionally protected free speech — and by extension, that of every media outlet in the country. The network’s July comments came in its latest filing to the agency, expressing its formal opposition to the FCC’s early review, launched in April, of eight ABC local broadcast licenses well before they expire." (our emphasis)

The "public interest" that Carr refers to is clearly meant to be the MF's interest.  ABC's late night host Jimmy Kimmel has been relentless in his satirization of the buffoonish MF.  The pressure tactics worked on Paramount during the merger with Trumpist David Ellison's Skydance Media, which was approved by the FCC after Stephen Colbert's CBS show was cancelled as an obvious favor to the MF. 

Late last year, the MF sued the BBC for $10 billion under a bogus claim that a BBC documentary misrepresented the MF's instigation of the January 6 riot, causing him economic damage.  The BBC now has the MF on the ropes by asserting its right to see the MF's business and financial records to argue whether he was damaged financially or not.  Pushing back against a bully and his acolytes is better than rolling over and handing him your lunch money.