Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Christopher Weyant, caglecartoons.com)

(David Rowe, Financial Review, Australia)

(Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

(Ed Wexler, caglecartoons.com)

(Kevin Kallaugher, gocomics.com)

(Dave Whamond, caglecartoons.com)

(Paul Duginski, caglecartoons.com)

(Joel Pett, Tribune Content Agency)

(Gary Markstein, Creators.com)

(Nick Anderson, Raw Story)

(John Darkow, Columbia Missourian)

(Adam Douglas Thompson, The New Yorker)


The Malignant Fascist's Market Manipulation

 



With the delusional and deceitful Malignant Fascist's war of choice on Iran going south and with the vital Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to most shipping, the MF has seen voter discontent rise over gas prices and the prospect of ground troops.  His strategy has been to issue statements on his ironically-named social media site "Truth Social" that are intended to present a rosy picture of non-existent "peace talks" and victories.  It seems to have lost it's magic, according to this Associated Press report:

 "As the Iran war intensifies, President Donald Trump has prioritized efforts to calm the financial markets — trying to keep oil prices from exploding upward, stocks from cratering and interest rates from surging.

When the markets have flashed danger, Trump has been quick with a social media post or a remark to claim the war he launched last month could soon end. He’s publicly declared that the markets are doing better than he expected, even with the S&P 500 stock index declining over the past five weeks and the global oil benchmark up roughly 60%. [snip]

The White House sees the stock, energy and bond markets as a way to indirectly reach voters. Trump has staked his economic agenda on cheap prices at the pump, robust gains in 401(k) accounts and cheaper mortgage rates.

But that messaging appears to be wearing thin as the president’s various pronouncements have done little to change the reality that a large chunk of the world’s energy supplies is stranded by the conflict. Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how he’s handling the economy and only 35% support him on Iran, according to a March survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. [snip]

Trump’s strategy of giving mixed messages has started to work against him, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale University School of Management and co-author of the new book “Trump’s Ten Commandments: Strategic Lessons from the Trump Leadership Toolbox.”

'The uncertainty is now soaring,' Sonnenfeld said. 'As the messaging to calm markets with false reassurances is having diminishing credibility in financial markets, so, too, has Trump diminished public confidence.'”  (our emphasis)

The MF is profoundly ignorant, but can see stock prices down and gas prices up, along with tanking poll numbers.  Iran's decimated leadership is certainly on to his market manipulation, with their parliament speaker Ghalibaf calling out the MF's tactic by saying 

"Heads-up: Pre-market so-called “news” or “Truth” is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator. Do the opposite: If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long. See something tomorrow? You know the drill."

The MAGA cult hasn't caught on yet, and the greedy hustlers on Wall Street are happy to use the MF's false optimism to pump stocks up, only to see the MF's statements prove false shortly after.  The rest of us "know the drill," and are watching for the MF's latest lie.


Border Barbie's Cross-Dressing Husband

 



Those Republicans sure like their cosplaying.  The =ugh= New York Post has the "salacious" tale of the husband of cosplaying Border Barbie Kristi Noem's "bimbofication fetish":

Former Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem is “devastated” by salacious allegations her husband Bryon lives a double life where he cross-dresses and chats online with fetish models.

“Ms. Noem is devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time,” Noem’s representatives told The Post.

According to reporting by the Daily Mail, Bryon Noem chatted up women from the so-called “bimbofication” fetish scene, in which adult performers augment their breasts with massive amounts of saline to achieve a “Barbie doll”-like appearance.  [Ed.:  we believe that's called the Mar-a-lago look.]

Citing “hundreds” of messages purportedly sent by three women from the scene, Noem’s husband enthusiastically praised their heavily augmented appearances, and proclaimed he coveted “huge, huge ridiculous boobs,” according to the Mail.  [Ed.:  "huge ridiculous boobs" - he must be a big fan of the Malignant Fascist!]

One photo the Mail claims Bryon Noem shared with the women features him wearing pink hot-pants and a flesh-colored, skin-tight suit.

He appears to have put balloons in his shirt to mimic comically oversized, lopsided breasts – complete with fake protruding nipples.

His face is fully visible in several of the photos, one with a completely straight visage and an other making a flirtatious kissy-face with pursed lips.

Bryon, who made his fortune in the insurance industry, allegedly sent women he met in the online fetish community some $25,000 via Cash app and PayPal as he admired their over-the-top bust sizes and “amazing” curves,” the DM reported.

HE traded selfies with one woman he pledged to worship like a “goddess,” telling her, “you turn me into a girl,” before asking if he should “put in leggings.”

One of the models claimed she once butt-dialed “Jason” and heard a voicemail greeting saying “Noem Insurance, leave a message.”

When she Googled Noem Insurance, she found pictures of Bryon and his DHS secretary wife, accordng to the Daily Mail.

When she confronted him about it, he reportedly told her that “he didn’t care” 

The Post has not confirmed the details reported by the Mail.

The outlet spoke to national security experts who surmised her husband’s alleged proclivities could have left the former DHS secretary – who was fired last month – vulnerable to potential blackmail.

The Noems have three children, daughters Kassidy, 31, and Kennedy, 29 and a son, Booker, 23. Kassidy and Kennedy both have children of their own.

In a 2022 interview with Elysian, Kristi Noem said, “We are such a transparent family” over their willingness to put their family life out there, adding that they’re “an open book.” [Ed.:  apparently the book is "Kinky Family Fetishes."]

However big questions have swirled about the state of the Noems’ marriage in recent years, primarily concerning the ousted DHS chief’s relationship with Trump confidant Corey Lewandowski.

Lewandowski, who is also married, has been by Noem’s side at high-profile events, even sitting side-by-side across from Guyanese President Irfaan Ali during a meeting in the South American country earlier this month.

Their cozy appearance came just weeks after she was grilled over the alleged affair in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which she dodged questions as Bryon sat directly behind her.  [Ed.:  was he wearing Gucci or Prada?]

Well, if she spent more time with him, rather than Corey, she might not have been "blindsided."  And they could have done their cosplaying as a family.

Here's one of the money shots via =ugh again= The Daily Mail:


On the obviously serious note that any foreign security service having this information would have made the former head of Homeland Security vulnerable to blackmail, who did her FBI background check? Was it handled personally by FBI Director Kash "No Credit" Patel or some other incompetent flunky?  What a bizarre, dysfunctional regime full of bizarre, dysfunctional people.

(Top photo:  Kristi Noem Facebook)


Skeets Of The Day

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury: moving goal posts, losing friends, the lost deal --


President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, likely extending Tehran’s firm grip on the waterway.

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— The Wall Street Journal (@wsj.com) March 31, 2026 at 6:03 AM

 

Now France is denying airspace…

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— Matthew Gertz (@mattgertz.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 7:21 AM

 

Trump to the UK and Europe: "The U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore." RIP Special Relationship RIP NATO Putin's glee must be sickening.

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— Helen Kennedy (@helenkennedy.com) March 31, 2026 at 8:42 AM

 

It was called the Iran nuclear deal. You threw it out because it was negotiated by a black president.

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— Oliver Willis (@owillis.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 8:44 AM


Nice that the reddest states are getting hardest hit with gas prices -- 


States with the largest percentage jump in average gas prices compared to a month ago: Utah up nearly 54% Tennessee up 46% Idaho up 45% Louisiana and Florida up 44%

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— Patrick De Haan (@gasbuddyguy.bsky.social) March 31, 2026 at 8:41 AM


Some sick, cruel, un-American fuckery from the Trump regime, part infinity -- 


ICE agents will be stationed outside graduation events for the nation’s newest Marines to identify whether any of their family members are undocumented, according to the Marine Corps.

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— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) March 31, 2026 at 8:20 AM


Plenty of fraud for JD Vance to investigate right in front of him --


The call is coming from inside the house.

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— Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 6:35 PM


It figures that this guy is a big fan of the pedo President -- 


Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by Trump gets prison sentence for possessing 'enormous child pornography collection'

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— Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” (@ryanjreilly.com) March 30, 2026 at 11:50 PM


Miss Lindsey had to go and get butched-up after Disney World. Drop him on Kharg Island -- 


Lindsey at Disney World with a bubble wand.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 12:26 PM

 

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚He posts this hours after TMZ posted photos of him walking around Disney World with a Bubble Wand! πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 8:13 PM


"...and have a good flight!" -- 


Rusty TSA Agent Sticks Hand Into Wrong Cavity

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— The Onion (@theonion.com) March 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM

 

 

SCOTUS Hears Birthright Citizenship Case Tomorrow

 



Chris Geidner at LawDork writes about the oral arguments being heard Wednesday on the "birthright citizenship" issue so dear to the hearts of our fascist white nationalists:

...On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments over the legality and constitutionality of Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship in the United States.

Trump appointed three of the nine justices on the court, and, in a pair of rulings in 2024, the court made Trump’s second term possible — first by preventing states from enforcing the Insurrection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, keeping Trump on the ballot, and second by dramatically expanding the scope of presidential criminal immunity, delaying Trump’s criminal trials beyond his re-election.

Now, days after millions of people came out across the nation in protest of this man and his presidency, the Trump administration will be asking the justices to uphold Trump’s executive order as “compl[ying] on its face with“ the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, as well as federal law implementing the same.

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States,” the amendment states.

No court has sided with the Trump administration on that question thus far. No district court, no appeals court, no judicial body. In Trump’s first year back, the conservative justices blocked “universal injunctions” in cases about the birthright citizenship executive order, but the opinion from Justice Amy Coney Barrett made clear the decision was only about the universal injunction remedy — not the merits of Trump’s order. When cases went back down, and a new case was filed, courts again found paths to keep the order broadly blocked — through multi-state litigation or class-action litigation.

That should not change when the Supreme Court rules — likely this June — but we will get a picture of where things stand when the justices take the bench to consider Trump v. Barbara, the new case filed after the universal injunction decision, on Wednesday.

The "brains" behind this, of course, is the Malignant Fascist's own white nationalist alter ego Stephen "PeeWee Goebbels" Miller, who harbors a pathological hatred of immigrants and their children.  Geidner, however, is hopeful that the plain language and intent of the Constitution will be upheld:

Ultimately, this should not be a close case. As American Immigration Council’s Aaron Reichlin-Melnick told Law Dork on March 27, “My hope is that what we hear is that it’s going to be at minimum 7-2, and that we don’t lose any further justices than that.“ Although his view is one I share, it does reflect the alarming reality that Justices Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito are more willing to align with Trump — and Miller — in their ideological project than anyone else on the court, even more so than the three Trump appointees.

Whether they do so here — and whether they have any other support — will be front and center on Wednesday. Coming out of Wednesday, Trump — and the rest of us — will have a better idea of what people remain able and willing to stand up against Trump’s anti-immigrant authoritarian project and whether those people include a strong majority of the Supreme Court...

It's just another "how did we get to this point" moment in our history.  The thought that a case that is this profoundly and absurdly un-American on its face, be slapped down by multiple lower courts, and still find its way to the Republican Supreme Court is still shocking, even though it was a central agenda item in the MF's "Project 2025" autocratic blueprint known years before the 2024 election.  How the Court rules in June (?) is going to be another watershed in whether we become an authoritarian, un-Constitutional republic of the Epstein-class elite right -- or not.

(Image:  Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic, Getty)


"A Throne Fit For A King" (Or A Narcissistic Buffoon)

 

Appearing on the National Mall in Washington, DC (quite possibly for a short time), a throne fit for our would-be king:


 



From The Independent (UK):

A massive gold-and-marble throne outfitted with a gilded toilet has been placed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to criticize President Donald Trump for prioritizing remodeling a White House bathroom amid the government shutdown last year.

Two days after nationwide “No Kings” protests,the toilet sculpture titled “A Throne Fit For a King” appeared near the Lincoln Memorial. The Secret Handshake, the group behind the art installation of a statue showing Trump holding hands with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, created the new piece.

"In a time of unprecedented division, escalating conflict, and economic turmoil, President Trump focused on what truly mattered: remodeling the Lincoln Bathroom in the White House,” a plaque on the side of the art piece says.

It is a reference to Trump’s Truth Social posts from October, in which he boasted about the glitzy, newly renovated bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom, as the government remained shut down for more than a month.


This is political satire in both its highest and lowest form.  Bravo to The Secret Handshake, and please keep it up!

(Photos:  top two via The Independent;  bottom via curlytales.com)


"Throne Out"

 

ICYMI, Stephen Colbert was back last night with a review of the massive "No Kings" protests (plus more great signs and one particular balloon), ICE airport "help," the Operation Epic Epstein Fury folly and our simpleton wartime "leader," and a looming helium supply problem. 

Monday, March 30, 2026

QOTD -- Putin's Punchline




"...Trump is objectively the most popular foreign public figure in Russia, second only to Putin in raw media mentions. But it is not for the reasons the White House would prefer. Russian TV routinely features jokes about how Trump can be manipulated into doing things that clearly damage U.S. interests. On-air banter mocks his “psychological deadlines” for Russia to accept a cease-fire as meaningless. Television hosts and studio guests don’t conceal their satisfaction with the current U.S. administration, not just because it includes people like U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard—whom Russian television has called “our girlfriend” for her frequently Kremlin-aligned views—but also because they see the United States’ geopolitical self-immolation as a boon that Moscow could never have engineered on its own. To Russians, Trump is the face—and often the punchline—of that process.

Trump’s malleability is a constant theme in these discussions. He is not portrayed as a serious politician to contend with but as someone between a useful fool and an irritating obstacle. Russian state TV flatters Trump when convenient, mocks him otherwise, and threatens him when he steps out of line. During one panel discussion, a military pundit calmly explained that Russia should force Donald Trump to make decisions that weaken the United States while reminding viewers that Washington remains “an adversary.” Nevertheless, Trump insists that he has a “great” relationship with Putin, who supposedly “respects” him. But it is Putin’s government that micromanages the media outlets that openly ridicule Trump
...." -- Alexey Kovalev, writing in Foreign Policy ($), linked by LGM.


"No Kings" Signs

 

A small assortment of signs from the March 28 "No Kings" protests, gathered from Bluesky.

(click on images to enlarge)







Skeets Of The Day

 

The Epstein-Trump files coverup --

 

A new investigation has reportedly backed up evidence given by a woman who has accused Donald Trump of sexually abusing her when she was 13.

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— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 6:23 AM

 

"Iran, if you're listening . . ."

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— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 8:10 PM

 

Operation Epic Epstein Fury / market manipulatin' & war crimin' in public / epic tweets --


Right on time to manipulate the markets, along with a threat to commit war crimes and terrorize civilians and noncombatants.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 7:50 AM

 

A Trump tweet for everything.😏 #Epstein

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— ▪️Jules▪️ (@northjules.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 8:23 AM

 

Trump's priorities --


Gas skyrocketing, bombs dropping, our standing in the world in tatters, taxpayer dollars up in flames — meanwhile this oligarch dictator wanna-be brags about his new ballroom and the “Corinthian” columns How is every American not sickened by this?

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 10:26 PM

 

We sure this will bring down gas prices??

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— Governor Newsom Press Office (@govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov) March 29, 2026 at 11:30 PM

 

🎢 Hello darkness my old friend... --

 

It could be worse. It could be Melania Coin.

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— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 3:49 PM

 

Your bias is showing, New York Effing Times  --

 

The NYT says today’s #NoKings protests had “no shortage of skeptics,” and then quoted exactly one of those skeptics: The chairman of the Ole Miss College Republicans (as of 2025.) But of course, the Times doesn’t ID him as such. He’s just a Concerned Youth.

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— Joe Adalian (@tvmojoe.bsky.social) March 28, 2026 at 10:18 PM

 

Duke collapse;  alum Stephen Miller sad? --

 

AS CALLED ON UConn Huskies radio by Mike Crispino Duke radio by David Shumate Westwood One by Scott Graham

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— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog.xyz) March 29, 2026 at 7:31 PM

 

I didn't think that Duke loss could possibly get any sweeter and then I realized Stephen Miller probably had a sad viewing party in the White House and, ah, yeah, that did it

— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 7:45 PM

 

No wonder his head comes to a point --

 

This is how you know he’s not helping with any of his kids’ homework

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— Gianmarco Soresi (@gianmarcosoresi.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 1:00 PM

 



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— Anti ICE Account (@c0nfluence.bsky.social) March 29, 2026 at 5:34 PM

 

Sakura season at night --

 

Cherry Blossoms 🌸 Sakura Season 🌸at night in Japan πŸ‡―πŸ‡΅

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— ContempraInn 🌹 (@contemprainn.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 7:01 AM

 

 

TACO On Cuba Embargo?

 



In the chaotic and disturbed mind of the Malignant Fascist consistency and coherence are impediments to his constant state of mental flux.   For example, after the MF removed Venezuelan dictator from power, he declared that its oil would be embargoed for Cuba, further suggesting that he might try to topple the Cuban government.  Complicating his plans recently, a large Russian oil tanker headed for Cuba to provide oil for the desperate island, as living conditions and blackouts there worsened. 

Late yesterday, in an unexpected TACO turnabout, the MF announced that he wouldn't have a problem with the Russian tanker providing the oil to Cuba, in violation of his oil "embargo."  AP reports:

“'We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need … they have to survive,' Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington.

When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was true, Trump said: 'I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it’s Russia or not.'

On Monday, Russia’s Transport Ministry said the oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying 'humanitarian supplies' of about 730,000 barrels of oil.

The vessel is sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom following the war in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia had previously discussed its oil shipment to Cuba with the United States. 'Russia сonsiders it its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our Cuban friends,' he told reporters."  (our emphasis)

Of course, all bets are off when it comes to kowtowing to the MF's role model and good friend, Russian thug and war criminal Vladimir Putin, who's also a friend of the Iranian regime and is providing satellite intel, material and upgraded Shahed drones for use against U.S. and Israeli targets. The Iranian attack on Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia destroyed a sophisticated U.S AWACs plane valued at a billion dollars, and injured many U.S. servicemembers.

 

Today's Tomorrow Cartoon

 

(click to enlarge) 



It would be nice to see the Malignant Fascist shrink down to the size he deserves to be, along with his poll numbers, respect from allies, and declining mental faculties. He certainly has lots of sycophantic midgets who would make him feel right at home.

Please consider supporting Tom's work by going here.


The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

The Trump administration was hit Thursday with a new lawsuit from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein over what they say was a “deliberate” oversight from the Justice Department (DOJ).

“The United States, acting through the DOJ, made a deliberate policy choice to prioritize rapid, large-volume disclosure over protection of Epstein survivors’ privacy,” the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said, according to a report from NBC Los Angeles.

“[The DOJ] outed approximately 100 survivors of the convicted sexual predator, publishing their private information and identifying them to the world. Survivors now face renewed trauma. Strangers call them, email them, threaten their physical safety, and accuse them of conspiring with Epstein when they are, in reality, Epstein’s victims.”

In its recent release of millions of Epstein-related documents, the DOJ accidentally exposed the identities of several victims, redacting the material only after discovering the errors. The oversight stands in direct violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandates victim-identifying information be redacted.

The plaintiffs are seeking from the Trump administration a minimum of $1,000 in damages per survivor, and have also named Google in their lawsuit for allegedly “refusing victims’ pleas to take down” search results that reveal victims’ personal information.

“No survivor of sexual abuse should have to live in fear that a stranger can type their name into a search bar and instantly find out about their worst trauma,” said Julie Erickson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in a statement last week, per NBC Los Angeles. “Yet that’s exactly what happened here.”

The pedophile- protecting rats should be facing criminal charges for doing this to keep victims from coming forward -- and that's exactly what these bastards intended.

The bad:

... The war is at a critical point. If there is no deal between the Americans and the Iranians, Trump has very few choices. He could declare victory, saying America has destroyed Iran's military, therefore it is mission accomplished, and that opening the Strait of Hormuz is not his responsibility. That could melt down world financial markets and horrify his already disgruntled allies in Europe, Asia and the Gulf. A wounded, angry Iranian regime would have plenty of scope to put more pressure on the world economy.

More likely, Trump would decide to escalate the war. The Americans have more than 4,000 US Marines on ships heading to the Gulf, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne on standby and are discussing further reinforcements.

No-one is talking about a full-scale invasion of Iran, but it is possible the Americans will try to capture islands in the Gulf, including Kharg island, Iran's main oil terminal. That would involve a series of challenging and dangerous amphibious landings. That might even suit Iran, which wants to drag the Americans into a longer war of attrition. Iran calculates that the regime's capacity for pain is greater than Trump's.

Trump has found in Iran that he is coming up against the limits of his power. The Iranian regime has a different definition of victory and defeat than he does. For them, mere survival is victory.

But now they are hoping for more, believing that control of the Strait of Hormuz gives them new leverage to make demands, perhaps even to make strategic gains. The Iranians have demanded, among other things, a promise not to be attacked in future and recognition of their control of the Strait of Hormuz as a price for opening it to all shipping.  [snip]

The longer the war continues, the greater the consequences for the region and for the wider world. One leading Iran analyst, Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group told me they could be "catastrophic".

In 1956 the United Kingdom and France went to war alongside Israel after the Egyptian president Gamal Abdul Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal, a global waterway that was as  significant a chokepoint for the world economy as the Strait of Hormuz is now. They attained all their military objectives but were forced to withdraw by President Eisenhower of the United States.

For the British, it was the beginning of the end of their imperial domination of the Middle East.

America is faced by the rise of China. When the history is written of their competition to be the world's strongest power, Trump's badly planned war against Iran might be seen as a turning point, a waystation of decline, as Suez was for the United Kingdom.

Our kakistocracy comes through again.  Here's another opinion on why the "excursion" is likely to be an operational success, but a strategic failure.

The ugly:

Architects are warning that President Donald Trump’s ballroom vanity project has disastrous design flaws.

The National Capital Planning Commission, which Trump has stacked with loyalists, is expected to take a final vote on the ballroom on April 2. But the president has already entirely demolished the East Wing to make way for the new event space. 

Ahead of the vote, the New York Times published a piece on Sunday by a trained architect, fine arts expert, and urban planning writer who warned about serious flaws in the ballroom mockups. 

The authors warned that the ballroom has “fake windows on the north side,” columns that “block interior ballroom view,” and an “unnecessarily big” rooftop area.

The Times story also warned about “its stairs lead nowhere,” as several of the staircases from the ground appear not to be connected to a way into the ballroom.

The ballroom, as it stands, is set to be more than three times the size of the White House, which will disrupt the historic property’s symmetry, the experts also noted.

“The hurried reviews, with construction cranes already swiveling above the White House grounds, are an abrupt departure from how new monuments, museums and even modest renovations have been designed and refined in the capital for decades,” the Times wrote. “And the ballroom will be worse off for it, architects warn.”

The scale and scope of the project have changed since the Trump administration first demolished the East Wing, once home to the Office of the First Lady and her staff. The White House has maintained that the new ballroom’s $300 to $400 million price tag will be “privately funded.”

The president’s vanity project has been met with immense public pushback. Around 98 percent of 32,000 public comments are against the construction of the ballroom, according to a review by the Times...

Stairs that lead to nowhere, fake windows, a giant blob attached to the White House.  It all sounds like a metaphor, doesn't it?  More here.

 

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Across The Universe, Cont. -- Barred Spiral Galaxy

 

(click on image to enlarge)


From NASA/ ESA, March 27, 2026:

IC 486 lies in the constellation Gemini (the Twins), around 380 million light-years from Earth. Classified as a barred spiral galaxy, it features a bright central bar-shaped structure from which its spiral arms unfurl, wrapping around the core in a smooth, almost ring-like pattern.

This wide-field view also features a vibrant scene of distant background galaxies and foreground stars. Some stars appear with characteristic diffraction spikes. However, much of the field is dominated by the more diffuse, orange-red smudges of far more distant galaxies.

[Image Description: The face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy IC 486 dominates the right side of this image. The wide-field view is dominated against a black background of space by many distant galaxies that appear as orange-red dots throughout the scene. A few foreground stars are also visible.]

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. J. Koss, A. J. Barth


Today's Cartoons

 

(click on images to enlarge)

(Tchavdar Nikolov, Prass Press, Bulgaria)

(Bill Bramhall, New York Daily News)

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

(Malcolm McGookin, caglecartoons.com, Canada)

(Ella Baron, The Guardian, UK)

(Bruce Plante, caglecartoons.com)

(Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News)

(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)

(Joe Heller, hellertoon.com)

(Jimmy Margulies, King Features)

(Mort Gerberg, @mortgerberg)


Troops Wounded, Billion Dollar Plane Destroyed -- Thanks Trump Pal Putin!

 

(click on images to enlarge)


An E3-AWACS ($1 billion) destroyed by an Iranian missile several days ago at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.  U.S. servicemembers were also wounded in attacks on the base, some seriously.
 

In a purely coincidental occurrence:

Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In an interview in the Gulf nation of Qatar on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he was “100%” confident Russia was sharing such intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces across the Middle East.

“I think that it’s in Russia’s interest to help Iranians. And I don’t believe — I know — that they share information,” he said. “Do they help Iranians? Of course. How many percent? One-hundred percent.”

During the interview, Zelenskyy shared a summary of the daily presidential briefing he receives from Ukraine’s spy agencies. The report stated that Russian satellites had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 20, March 23 and March 25.

On March 26, Iran attacked the base, which hosts U.S. forces as well as Saudi troops. The strike wounded a number of American service members, two U.S. officials said Friday, though none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.  [snip]

NBC News reported earlier this month that Russia was providing intelligence to Iran on the location of U.S. forces in the Middle East, citing four sources with knowledge of the matter. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied providing Tehran with intelligence in an interview with French media on Thursday, though he said Moscow has sent military equipment to Iran under their long-standing military alliance...

Will the Malignant Fascist do anything to keep his pal Putin's from putting more American lives in peril (not to mention billion dollar planes)?  Will he start taking Ukraine's side in their war with the war criminal Russians?  Hahahaha...

(Photos: via Air Force amn/NCO/snco FB)

 

The Epstein-Maxwell Nuclear Sites Spy Story




Investigative journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez has a detailed and extremely disturbing story involving Ghislaine Maxwell, her late father Robert Maxwell,  Jeffrey Epstein, Israeli intelligence and the Russian government, involving two of our nuclear National Laboratories in New Mexico. We're presenting the first paragraphs as a quick gloss, but once you start reading the full article at this link, it's hard to stop. It's an incredible recounting of espionage, greed and treachery while Epstein-Maxwell's pedophile sex trafficking went on:

"In 1985, a British media mogul walked into Sandia National Laboratories — one of the most sensitive nuclear weapons facilities in the United States — and signed a contract to install surveillance software that federal investigators would later allege was engineered to spy on its own users.

In 1993, a convicted sex offender purchased a ranch at the precise geographic midpoint between that facility and Los Alamos National Laboratory, the other crown jewel of American nuclear weapons research. He equipped that ranch with an industrial-sized spy-grade private microwave communications link running directly to a relay tower at Sandia Crest.

In 2023, a Texas family with documented ties to Russian officials and the Trump White House purchased that ranch, terminated most of its federal communications licenses — but kept the microwave link to Sandia Crest running, in the dead man’s company name.

The British media mogul was Robert Maxwell. His daughter is Ghislaine Maxwell. The sex offender was Jeffrey Epstein. The Texas family is Donald and Mary Catherine Huffines."  (our emphasis)

The Zorro Ranch is under investigation by the State of New Mexico, and their state legislature has established the Epstein Truth Commission to delve into corruption and criminal activity at the ranch. It's clear that the threads they will be pulling will extend far beyond New Mexico.

(photos:  Robert Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell. © Ron Sachs/CNP via ZUMA Wire and © Dan Herrick/ZUMA Wire)