Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Republican Crime Blotter: Another Republican DUI Hire

 



Former Fox couch shouter, white Christian nationalist, and current Secretary of Defense (!) Pete Hegseth can take comfort in knowing he's not the only publicly - exposed DEI DUI hire in the Malignant Fascist's orbit:

The chief of staff for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was arrested on drunk driving charges just hours after President Donald Trump concluded his address to Congress, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Hayden Haynes, who has served on Johnson's staff since 2017 and in the chief of staff role since 2023, "hit a Capitol vehicle around midnight and was arrested and released with a citation to appear in court," said the report.

Capitol Police told NBC News in a statement, “A driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m. We responded and arrested them for DUI.”...

Too much "Jesus juice" celebrating the Golden Calf/ Malignant Fascist's triumphant SOTU, eh!?  We might be more sympathetic if it weren't for the destructive hypocrisy of these holier- than- thou guardians of public morality (their cramped, perverse version of it, that is).  

The story notes that the case is under the jurisdiction of the D.C. Office of Attorney General, and therefore can't be ignored by a corrupt U.S. Attorney's Office in the person of ex- Trump attorney Ed Martin covering for Republican miscreants. 

(Image:  DUI Haynes and his boss, white Christian nationalist Speaker Mike "Moses" Johnson / AP)


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Sydney)

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

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Martin Sutovec, caglecartoons.com, Slovakia)

(Nick Anderson, The Contrarian)


(Dave Granlund, politicalcartoons.com)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free-Press)


(Maarten Wolterink, Leiden, Netherlands)

(Bruce MacKinnon, The Halifax Chronicle Herald, Canada)

(Lisa Benson, Counterpoint)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)

(Brendan Loper, The New Yorker)


Skeets Of The Day

 

Putin asset's SOTU, etc. --

 

Elon got this right. According to the AI chatbot called Grok, which was developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, there is a “75-85% likelihood” that the person who delivered the State of the Union address on Tuesday night is a “Putin-compromised” Russian asset. www.azcentral.com/story/opinio...

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— Craig Crawford (@craigcrawford.com) March 5, 2025 at 9:33 AM

 

Laughter the appropriate response. Embarrassing. Stupid. Illegal. Not going to happen. Politically strange and alarming.

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— Barry McCaffrey (@brma64.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 1:26 AM

 

Must be exciting for our military officers to learn that they may be going to war against NATO (Canada, Denmark) while helping Russia take Ukraine. Exactly what they signed up for!

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— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 10:52 PM

 

A simple criterion for evaluating Trump policy actions is "would US adversaries like Putin support this?" and here, as with so many others, the answer is yes.

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— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 9:41 AM

 

What's that Musk-y smell?  The rotting corpse of clueless irony, and a fitting reaction -- 


BREAKING: irony dead.

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— The Lincoln Project (@lincolnproject.us) March 4, 2025 at 10:13 PM

 

Someone allowed a Cybertruck to be a part of a Mardi Gras parade tonight….it didn’t go well 🤣 I 💜💚💛 NOLA

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— WuTangIsForTheChildren (@wutangforchildren.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 10:03 PM

 

Trump thanks his presidential immunity patron John Roberts --

 

Here’s the clip with audio

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— Jordan (ChaosOverClarity) (@jordanlowrance.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 11:24 PM


Only five votes for a decision to pay people for work already done?? --

 

This is a wildly dangerous sign — the idea that there are only five SCOTUS votes for paying congressionally mandated invoices for work *already* done!? This should be as basic a test of Article I as you can get. And that does not bode well for decisions to come.

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— Garrett M. Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 9:44 AM

 

Only five votes on the Supreme Court for Article I of the Constitution of the United States bsky.app/profile/stev...

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— Adam Serwer (@adamserwer.bsky.social) March 5, 2025 at 9:35 AM

 

Eggs-actly! --

 

Who would’ve have thought it was easier to tank the US economy then it was to bring egg prices down?

— Kelly Davis (@kelly11davis.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM


Slava Ukraini! Vive la France! --

 

Look what's happening at the French Embassy in Washington DC.

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— Bornabrit1 (@lindarothwell.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM


Order up! --


I have no sympathy. Zero fucks to give.. Colbert is right about the turd soup. This is just a "Thank you sir, may I have another" by the stupid cult.

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— Jennifer Shin (@jennifershin.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 11:16 AM

 

 

QOTD: A Self-Inflicted Depression


Economist Robert Kuttner, writing today in The American Prospect about the Malignant Fascist's mindless engineering of a depression with his tariffs and decimating of Federal programs and employees agenda:

"A related key question is whether Trump has any master plan for the economy here, or whether he is just batshit crazy. The evidence is that Trump’s effort to destroy the government reflects a certain malign consistency, but that his effort to destroy the economy is based on sheer ignorance and impulsivity.

His economic policy is internally inconsistent, and totally at odds with his political need to tame inflation. He is on track to have the kind of stagflation that did in Jimmy Carter, only far worse—and self-inflicted.

Live by bullshit, perish by bullshit.

Trump has the power to issue commands in the domains that he controls, but he can’t command the stock market to levitate, or prices to moderate, or consumers to feel confident, or people who have just been laid off to go out and shop.

In a couple of weeks, the budget talks will reach the point of an increasingly likely government shutdown. Closing the government will be even more of a hit to total demand and consumer and investor confidence.

In agreeing to reopen the government, Democrats are in a good position to demand that Trump reopen the whole government, starting with the parts that Musk has illegally shut down. In the meantime, this engineered crisis is entirely Trump’s." (our emphasis) 

Whether play-by-Republican-rules Dems will seize the opportunity to have Musk's cuts restored in return for keeping the Government open is rather unlikely, and is even more unlikely to be accepted by nihilistic MAGAts who fear not only the MF, but his co-President and paymaster Musk. As long as the MF and his co-President are widely blamed and punished for a coming depression -- one which will hopefully impact his cult members the most severely -- we'll stand by with the popcorn.

 

Mid-Week Song

 

While this year's BRIT awards -- the UK's Grammys -- were rightfully dominated by Charli XCX who won five awards, our favorite Sam Fender won the Best Alternative Rock Act.  His latest album, "People Watching," co-produced by Adam Granduciel of War on Drugs, received wide acclaim for its songs and their lyrics.  A track from that album, the Springsteenesque "Crumbling Empire" with Granduciel on acoustic guitar and keyboards, is a stinging commentary on working class life in the UK.  It's our song for today. 

  

Trump Tariffs And Things That Go "Boom"



...[W]e're gonna have growth in the auto industry like nobody's ever seen — plants are opening up all over the place, deals are being made — never seen. That's a combination of the election win and tariffs. It's a beautiful word, isn't it? That, along with our other policies, will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom. It's going to boom..." -- economics- illiterate Malignant Fascist in last night's slow- rolling hate- and liefest, (the longest in SOTU history at 1 hour, 39 minutes), telling us that U.S. automakers are thrilled! with his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.  The Trump tariffs will, indeed, allow our auto industry to boom ... as in "BOOM! There goes what's left of our auto industry!" (Perhaps he was thinking of co-President Elon Musk's Teslas that actually do go "boom!")

How does the auto industry really feel about those Trump Tariffs?

“Our American automakers, who invested billions in the U.S. to meet these [domestic and regional content] requirements, should not have their competitiveness undermined by tariffs that will raise the cost of building vehicles in the United States and stymie investment in the American workforce, while our competitors from outside of North America benefit from easy access to our home market,” said former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, president of AAPC, in a statement Monday night.  [snip]

This isn’t hypothetical,” the trade group’s CEO, John Bozzella, said in a statement. “All automakers will be impacted by these tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Most anticipate the price of some vehicle models will increase — by as much as 25 percent — and the negative impact on vehicle price and vehicle availability will be felt almost immediately.  [snip]

“President Trump has talked a lot about making our U.S. auto industry stronger, bringing more production here, more innovation in the U.S., and if his administration can achieve that, it would be one of ... the most signature accomplishments,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in February during the Wolfe Research investor conference. “So far what we’re seeing is a lot of cost and a lot of chaos.”  (our emphasis)

CNN did some fact- checking as best they could considering the rapid- fire lies and nonsense coming out of the Malignant Fascist's pie hole.  Their annotated speech is here.


Kimmel On The Malignant Fascist's Speech To Congress

 

We'll leave it to the great Jimmy Kimmel for the wrap up of the Malignant Fascist's speech to Congress last night. No surprise that the MF spewed hate, lies and silly boasts, which Kimmel comments on hilariously. The introduction of the MF by the "Sergeant at Arms" is particularly good. There was even an appearance by DOGEbag leader, illegal immigrant, and South African fascist Elon "Skipping Dipshit" Musk, minus his chainsaw.

 

If you can't get enough, check out Stephen Colbert's take and the official Democratic response by Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).


Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

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

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(Tim Campbell, Counterpoint)

(Nick Anderson, Tribune Content Agency)

(Tom Curry, El Diario de Coahuila, Mexico)

(Jeff Danziger, The Rutland Herald, VT)

(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

(Lalo Alcaraz, LA Weekly)

(Pedro Molina, Counterpoint)

(Drew Sheneman, Tribune Content Agency)

(Matt Wuerker, Politico)


Skeets Of The Day

 

Real America --

 

In the past several weeks, the U.S. leadership has demonstrated explicit hostility towards Ukraine and aligned its rhetoric and policy with Russia. It’s time to say it plainly. America’s leadership has switched sides in the war. The American people have not, and they should speak up.

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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) March 4, 2025 at 9:01 AM

 

That’s right. 🇺🇦

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— Scott Galloway (@profgalloway.com) March 3, 2025 at 7:52 PM

 

The "crowning achievement of Putin's FSB career" --

 

Extraordinary comment from Tory MP Graham Stuart: “We have to consider the possibility that President Trump is a Russian asset. If so, Trump's acquisition is the crowning achievement of Putin's FSB career.” (Narrator: It’s extraordinary because our own gd government didn’t say it first.)

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— Lisa Reyna Loe (@lisaloe.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:53 AM

 

I have no idea what Trump’s relationship is with the Russian government. However if the Russians were able to place an agent at the top of the US government, that agent would be hard pressed to do more damage to US society and international relationships than Trump is doing now.

— Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 11:44 AM


"As dumb as he is aggressive" JD Vance --

 

It is difficult to appreciate just how badly JD Vance’s comments are going down with military leaders, families of fallen soldiers & citizens across Europe. This is the UK’s most popular independent radio station, LBC. “Wow. A Vice-President who is as dumb as he is aggressive.” @lbc.co.uk

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:45 AM


Expect the worst --

 

This is quite a kicker in Thomas Edsall’s latest op-ed. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/o...

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— Joel Siegel (@joelsiegel.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 6:01 AM


Tariffs and the Trump economy --

 

Not to like toot my own horn but *every time* I bring up tariffs on the radio I define them: "tariffs are taxes American businesses pay to import goods from abroad." Given all the lies and the fact that many Americans didn't take international economics 101, I encourage others to do this as well.

— Danielle Kurtzleben (@titonka.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 8:50 AM

 

Here’s the amazing thing: a recession would be *entirely self-inflicted,* turning a nicely running economy into trash, and all over petty grievances and a complete lack of basic economic understanding

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— kidsilverhair.bsky.social (@kidsilverhair.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 7:10 AM

 

November 2024: Trump will save the economy March 2025: We have returned to subsistence agriculture

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— pixelatedboat aka “mr bluesky” (@pixelatedboat.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 8:34 PM


What's that Musk-y smell?  Tariff retaliation -- 


At this point countries should consider banning Musk products and sanctioning him outright like he’s a Russian oligarch. Nothing better you could do for the pro-constitutional forces in the US than helping economically annihilate this man

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— Will Stancil (@whstancil.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM

 

Freeland: As prime minister, I will fight back with retaliatory tariffs and our retaliation is going to be surgically targeted to create the maximum pressure on The White House.. An example of a measure that I will put in place as prime minister is 100% tariffs on Teslas.

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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM

 

Republican Senator and General were hooking up, but we got screwed --

 

The senator and the general were hooking up, but the citizenry were the ones who got screwed. www.propublica.org/article/joni...

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— Tim Weiner (@tim-weiner.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 8:27 AM

 

Not that Trump has any authority to do this, but the threat is what counts --


ahhhhhhhhhh

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— Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 (@josephpolitano.bsky.social) March 4, 2025 at 7:38 AM

 

Reporting to headquarters --


LETTER TO PUTIN Donald Trump writes a letter to his new boss, Vladimir Putin, describing the last week. Created with @hailuoai.bsky.social share/subscribe: youtu.be/rQzRLNdouy4

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— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 10:41 AM

 

 

As Tariffs Kick In, The Dow Drops

 

After yesterday's sell off, Wall Street is poised today for more declines as the destructive and unnecessary tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China take effect. The Malignant Fascist has consistently misunderstood tariffs, not acknowledging that it's actually a tax on American consumers, and believing the money raised will offset the inflationary damage and likely recession they will produce. From the Associated Press:

"Wall Street lost momentum before the opening bell Tuesday and markets in Europe and Asia slid after new tariffs were imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, and more retaliatory tariffs were announced by China.

The declines added to a big selloff Monday. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each fell 0.6% in premarket trading. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%.

China’s tariffs on American beef, corn, soy and other farm products announced Tuesday expanded the potential impact of Trump’s trade tactics, said Francis Lun, CEO of Geo Securities in Hong Kong.

'I don’t think China will buy any more U.S. farm products. The orders will go to South America,' Lun said. 'I think all in all, it’s a lose-lose situation. Nobody gains anything.'

Anxiety over tariffs is also bleeding into the corporate side of the economic equation. Target reported Tuesday that sales and profit in the crucial holiday quarter both fell from a year ago, though they were better than expected. The Minnesota retailer said there will be 'meaningful pressure' on its profits to start the year because of tariffs and other costs." (our emphasis)

As various sectors of the economy and the consumer start to suffer from inflationary pressure and supply chain interruptions due to tariffs, in a just world, the MAGA voters should be the only demographic to suffer the consequences. If they thought the price of eggs was too high under the Biden Administration, they haven't seen anything yet. FAFO.

BONUS: As tariffs are applied, tech bros are just beginning to FAFO. Cyber grift bros, too.

 

"It's Up To Europe Now"

 



Now with the treasonous Malignant Fascist openly siding with imperial fascist Russia in its attempt to bring Ukraine into it's "Greater Russia," the nations in the European Union and the UK will be critical to Ukraine's fight for survival. With a large but untapped arms capability, Europe is now motivated to supplant what will be lost through the Putin-approved actions of the MF, as noted in our post below. Fortunately, with the addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO, significant, advanced weapons capability has been added. But can an awakened Europe meet the challenge?  Nobel Prize laureate Paul Krugman writes in his Substack post:

"Does Europe have the resources to save Ukraine? Of course it does. The European Union and the UK combined have ten times Russia’s GDP. European aid to Ukraine has long exceeded US aid, and Europe could easily replace America’s share. In the early stages of the war, the US provided the bulk of the military aid, but even that gap has greatly narrowed.

Can Europe step up fast enough? There are, as I understand it, some important weapons systems America may stop supplying that Europe can’t quickly replace. But as Phillips O’Brien has pointed out, we’ve been hearing predictions of Ukraine’s imminent collapse for at least a year, when the reality is that Russia has achieved only minor and meaningless territorial gains at immense cost in men and materiel. [snip]

Trump probably imagines that he can bully European leaders into standing aside and letting his friend (or boss?) Vladimir win. And given Europe’s history of timidity, you can understand why he might think that. But European leaders are certainly saying the right things now and also talking, in a way I’ve never seen before, about in effect declaring independence from the United States."  (our emphasis)

As always, please read Dr. Krugman's entire article. Incalculable damage has been done to the Atlantic alliance by the MF and his fascist coterie in service to the Russian aggressors. Also Russia's friends will now be tempted to imitate Russia's aggression without fear of the MF responding. That's the situation the world is in now, thanks to the gangster MF and his ally / leader Vladimir Putin.

The MF's cult controls the Congress and the Supreme Court, but it's still a minority party and a regime doing unpopular things. The 2026 mid-term elections (if held) will determine whether the MF's treasonous activities and his destruction of our democracy at home will remain unopposed institutionally. In the meantime, organized grass roots resistance will need to grow in size and intensity.

(photo: the flags of the European Union)

America: Russia's New Vassal State

 



With no incentive to obscure his allegiances any more, America's first traitor President is turning the United States into Russia's new vassal state.  Hyperbole?  In less than two months in office, the Malignant Fascist has:

-- weakened our economy and our alliances by imposing ruinous tariffs on our good neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and threatening to pull out of NATO (again), which has been a deterrent keeping the likes of war criminal Putin from overrunning Europe;

-- ended the USAID program that projected America's "soft power," good will, and humanitarian aid across the globe, much to the delight of his master Putin and anti- democratic autocrats everywhere;

-- and weakened our military readiness by installing DUI Hegseth as Defense Secretary, purging the top ranks of competent, non- political flag officers, and installing loyalist Lt. Gen. Dan "Raizin'" Caine (USAF-Ret.) as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Caine has been reported as saying he would "kill for" for the Malignant Fascist).

This couldn't follow a Russian dream scenario better if it was crafted in the Kremlin, which it may well have been.

We've noted some other recent moves that have placed the Malignant Fascist in Putin's orbit, the most egregious and shameful being his ambush Oval Office meeting with the heroic President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a disgusting spectacle that will live in infamy.  Now he and his fascistic henchmen are pulling out all the stops in their service to Putin and his imperial Russian ambitions:

Suspending Military Aid

US President Donald Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine on Monday, a White House official said, sharply escalating pressure on Kyiv to agree to peace negotiations with Russia.

The move comes just days after a stunning public clash between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, who is seeking a rapid end to the war.

Trump earlier on Monday had declined to rule out a pause when quizzed by reporters, but any disruption in the flow of US arms to the front line would rapidly weaken Ukraine's chance of beating back Russia's invasion...

Pausing cyber operations against Russia

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, rolling back some efforts to contend with a key adversary even as national security experts call for the U.S. to expand those capabilities.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, on Monday confirmed the pause.

Hegseth’s decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But the Trump administration also has rolled back other efforts at the FBI and other agencies related to countering digital and cyber threats.

The Pentagon decision, which was first reported by The Record, comes as many national security and cybersecurity experts have urged greater investments in cyber defense and offense, particularly as China and Russia have sought to interfere with the nation’s economy, elections and security...

Russia Gloats Over "A New World Order"

Reactions in Russia to Friday's dramatic meeting between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were predictably jubilant. The Kremlin also approved of Trump's decision to halt military aid to Ukraine.

"Trump told the cocaine clown the truth to his face: the Kyiv regime is playing with the third world war. The ungrateful pig received a strong slap on the wrist from the owners of the pigsty… Military aid to the Nazi machine must be stopped," Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, wrote on his social media, reacting to the spat in the Oval Office.

Trump's accusations that the Ukrainian president is "gambling with World War III" went down especially well in Moscow.  [snip]

The apparent split between the US and EU did not go unnoticed in Moscow, with [Russian spokesclown Dmitry] Peskov saying, "The fragmentation of the collective West has begun."

The Kremin spokesperson wasn't the only one who saw Europe's geopolitical importance diminish.

"Everything is now decided by a big triangle: Russia, China, and the United States. It is in this triangle where a new world order will be shaped," Dmitry Kiselyov, host of a Russian flagship propaganda show, concluded, accusing Europe of wanting to prolong the fighting in Ukraine...

There will be more acts of obedience and compliance to Russia, have no doubt.  The once unimaginable needs to be imagined now.  We need to adjust to this reality and fight back harder than ever.  Over 75 million of us voted to keep the Malignant Fascist out of office, and more would likely do so now that they see the damage he's wreaking.  Our democratic allies in Europe and North America and elsewhere are with us, but we need to do this ourselves, because we need to redeem this country from what it's become -- Russia's new vassal state. 

 

Monday, March 3, 2025

Pic Of The Day -- Who's The Boss?

 

(click to enlarge)

This is your occasional repeater quiz:  which one looks like the boss?

(Photo:  beta and alpha male/ underling and boss at Helsinki summit, July 16, 2018 / Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images)


Skeets Of The Day

 

Putin asset Trump asks you to look away --

 

If the test of a theory is its predictive power, then Trump-Russia is the most robust theory in all contemporary political science.

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— David Frum (@davidfrum.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM

 

We should worry about migrant rape gangs, says the man who just pressured Romania to free the Tate brothers so they could return to the U.S.

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— Eric Columbus (@ericcolumbus.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM

 

Shutting down cyber offensive against Russia --

 

Something odd here. CBS News confirms other media reports: "Hegseth has issued a directive to U.S. Cyber Command to pause planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions." The CBS News then notes that National Security Advisor Michael Waltz said he's unaware of the directive.

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— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM


Europe takes the lead for democracy;  French PM:  Zelenskyy "didn't fold" --

 

Sir Keir Starmer has announced a £1.6bn missile deal for Ukraine, following a summit of European leaders in London. The prime minister also announced "a number" of allies had signed up to a "coalition of the willing" alongside France's President Macron. www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....

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— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 10:26 AM

 

Polish Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa and 38 other former political prisoners of Poland's communist regime have condemned Donald Trump's treatment of Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, which they said reminded them of communist interrogation techniques

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— Notes from Poland (@notesfrompoland.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 8:26 AM

 

Pour l'honneur de la responsabilité démocratique, pour l'honneur de l'Ukraine et pour l'honneur de l'Europe, le Président Zelensky n'a pas plié.

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— François Bayrou (@bayrou.fr) March 3, 2025 at 2:15 PM


Holding Trump to account --

 

Baldwin: "Trump a little over a week ago said on Fox News, 'I'm not touching Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.' And he said it multiple times. The next morning he endorsed the Republican House budget which calls for nearly a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicaid."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 3, 2025 at 12:22 PM

 

Chris Murphy: "Everyone who signs up to work for Donald Trump is signing up for one single project, and that is the transition of American democracy to a kind of kleptocratic oligarchy in which the billionaires rule and get to steal from regular Americans."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 3, 2025 at 12:15 PM


Sketchy --

 

This is sketchy as hell

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— Molly Jong-Fast (@mollyjongfast.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 11:06 AM

 

Hold on to that Trump crypto! US taxpayers are coming to bail you out soon!

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 8:08 AM

 

There it is: Trump announces the US will not be enforcing its new shell company registry, which is the single-best tool to counter kleptocracy.

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— Casey Michel (@cjcmichel.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 6:15 AM


What resistance looks like --

 

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1.bsky.social) March 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM


The (brain)worm turns --

 

RFK Jr finally recommends vaccination to deal with the measles outbreak hitting Texas right now. This is quite the about face for a man who’s been spreading harmful anti-vaxx rhetoric for years. www.axios.com/2025/03/03/k...

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— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 10:10 PM


Standing up at the Oscars --

 

“Anora's having a good night. I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian."

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— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 10:13 PM

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

 

(click to enlarge)


 


Fascist illegal South African immigrant Elon "Skipping Dipshit" Musk and his DOGE bag bros continue their illegal rampage through the Federal government, as the lives of workers and recipients of Federal assistance are torn apart. We're waiting to see when the skipping dipshit's young army gets to money that the Feds spend on him.

 

What Resistance Looks Like, Cont. -- Bernie FTW

 

We were impressed with Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) interview on Meet the Press yesterday.  He easily brushed aside lightweight Kristin Welker's leading questions intended to both-sides issues and slammed the Malignant Fascist on his alignment with war criminal Putin and on proposed cuts to entitlement programs.  His forceful, confident responses are models that Democrats should employ in fighting the oligarchic fascism overwhelming the country.  Check out the brief, embedded vid of him speaking to a packed, enthusiastic crowd in Omaha, NE, recently.  This is the energy we're looking for.

Tesla Stock Still Sinking Over Musk's Lunacy

 



South African fascist and illegal immigrant Elon "Skipping Dipshit" Musk's Tesla company is apparently suffering from his demented DOGE operation and their illegal, cruel and catastrophic cuts to Federal programs and workforce. And his destruction is far from over (see "Ugly" in the post below). The blowback from consumers can be seen in car and truck sales and in demonstrations around the nation at Tesla dealerships. Tesla largely forms the basis of Musk's wealth. From the Associated Press:

"Elon Musk’s car company is required each year to report to investors all the bad things that could happen to it, and the latest version lists every imaginable threat from costly lawsuits to out-of-control battery fires to war and another epidemic.

But there’s barely any mention in the latest annual update of Musk’s full-bore entry into right-wing politics, which some experts say is turning off potential customers who don’t share his views.

'It’s marketing 101: Don’t involve yourself in politics,' said New York brand consultant Robert Passikoff. 'People will stop buying your products.'

It may be too late.

Tesla sales plunged 45% in Europe in January, according to research firm Jato Dynamics, even as overall electric vehicle sales rose. That comes after a report of falling sales in California, its biggest U.S. market, and the first annual drop globally for the company last year.

'I don’t even want to drive it,' said Model 3 owner John Parnell, a Democrat from Ross, California, adding that he also is cancelling his order for the company’s Cybertruck, losing a $100 deposit. 'He’s destroying the brand with his politics.'” (our emphasis)

Musk's plan seems to be the corrupt targeting and elimination of Federal agencies and regulations overseeing businesses that he owns, not only Tesla but SpaceX / Starlink and Neuralink. There's also his ketamine-damaged persona which was seeking the ultimate power position of co-President when he bought the White House for the Malignant Fascist, and now rampages through the Government while the MF watches. In Musk's case, it's looking increasing like the more he destroys, the more he loses, and it couldn't happen to a more worthy sociopath.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

A U.S. judge on Saturday declared President Donald Trump's firing of the head of a federal watchdog agency illegal in an early test of the scope of presidential power likely to be decided at the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington had previously ruled Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers, could remain in his post pending a ruling.
 
Jackson said in her ruling  that upholding Trump's ability to fire Dellinger would give him "a constitutional license to bully officials in the executive branch into doing his will."
 
The Justice Department filed a notice late on Saturday saying they were appealing Berman's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
 
Dellinger, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and approved by the Senate to a five-year term last year, said in an email to Reuters he is "grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position."
 
He added his "efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue."...  (our emphasis)
The convicted felon Malignant Fascist will continue to press this and other challenges to his power as a would- be autocrat.   Eventually, along with other cases challenging his assuming dictatorial powers, this will end up in front of the Republican Supreme Court, as corrupt a group as has ever sat in judgement other than in Russia or Nazi Germany.

The bad:

Legendary investor Warren Buffett made a rare comment on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying punitive duties could trigger inflation and hurt consumers.

“Tariffs are actually, we’ve had a lot of experience with them. They’re an act of war, to some degree,” said Buffett, whose conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway has large businesses in insurance, railroad, manufacturing, energy and retail. He made the remarks in an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell for a new documentary on the late publisher of the Washington Post, Katharine Graham.

“Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ’em!” Buffett said with a laughter. “And then what? You always have to ask that question in economics. You always say, ‘And then what?’”

This marks the first public remark from the 94-year-old “Oracle of Omaha” on Trump’s trade policies. Last week, Trump announced that the sweeping 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will go into effect March 4 and that China will be charged an additional 10% tariff on the same date. China has vowed to retaliate...
(our emphasis)

The moron madman seems determined to wreck the "goldilocks" economy gifted to him by President Biden through ruinous tariffs affecting consumers, multiple industries and agriculture, as well as through his mass deportation of immigrant labor.  "But we didn't vote for that," the plaintive cry of the American cuckoo was heard throughout the land.

The ugly

Elon Musk is calling Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” prompting suspicion that the world’s richest man is merely hoping to privatize a social safety net that has existed since the 1930s — and has kept millions of elderly, poor and disabled Americans from destitution.

The billionaire argued Friday on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast that the United States government is “one big pyramid scheme” before blasting Social Security as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” 

When asked to clarify, Musk said, “Well, people pay into Social Security and the money goes out of Social Security immediately, but the obligation for Social Security is your entire retirement career. If you look at the future obligations of Social Security, it far exceeds the tax revenue.”

Musk, who oversees Trump’s cost-cutting initiative for federal spending, the Department of Government Efficiency, added that “people are living way longer than expected” and thus the government’s obligation to pay the debt “will be much worse in the future.”

He is far from the first conservative to characterize Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” which refers to a type of fraud in which existing customers get payouts that come from the investments of new customers. 

The Social Security Administration has said it could face a shortage of funds by 2035. But many Democrats have argued that the program’s funds should simply be shored up by eliminating the cap on Social Security taxes for high earners, meaning that people who make a lot of money would pay proportionately more into the program.

Elsewhere during his podcast appearance, Musk shared debunked claims about Social Security...  (our emphasis)

The illegal immigrant South African, ketamine- addled richest man in the world would love to see us go back to the Depression era when there was no social safety net, and if you lost your job and savings in an economic crash it was tough nuts;  so you worked until you dropped.  It's not like most retirees can live on their Social Security alone now as it is.  What is ugly and galling is that this sociopathic ignoramus has no clue what it's like to live on a budget, or to try to plan for a secure retirement.  He wasn't brought up in American and hasn't the foggiest notion of what the lives of average Americans are like.  This skipping dipshit who started his business with his daddy's millions now has the shitfaced gall to chainsaw his way through our country, to hell with the consequences and who gets cut in the process. (To underscore his basic un- American core, he's calling for the U.S. to get out of NATO and the UN -- Putin's got another asset in DC!)

But, if you want to see how a real Ponzi scheme works, the convicted felon Malignant Loser's got one going.