IST Saturday News Dump–27Feb26

We are closing in on the last of yet another month….there is so much news that gets pushed aside for the silliness that is our clueless leader and his antics and rhetoric…..it is my gig to try and bring some of the missed news to my readers.

Local–Lots of Spring like weather so the different festivals have begun….the crab, the oyster, the crayfish, etc and this will continue through the Summer….there are 10 cities across the coast and they all have multiple festivals yearly….so always something to do.

Personal–Yesterday was another chemo session and I feel like crap…..this time the side effects are brutal.

Somewhere last week I did something that screwed my back up so I have been walking like the old man that I am.

Shall we begin?

I start with news from the UK and if any of my readers have more info please past it on…..

In parts of the UK, a $3.50 Cadbury chocolate bar now comes with a clear plastic force field around it. Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Co-op are among the chains putting chocolate candy in anti-theft boxes as retailers and police say sweets are increasingly being stolen to be resold through illicit markets, reports the BBC. The Association of Convenience Stores says chocolate has shifted from being an item targeted by casual shoplifters to a staple of organized theft, alongside alcohol, meat, and coffee.

The Heart of England Co-operative reports losing nearly $340,000 to chocolate theft last year alone, calling it a “massive issue” and adding that a single offender can swipe thousands of pounds’ worth in a week. Some shop owners now fill shelves just halfway, move chocolate away from prime spots, install AI-linked CCTV, and pin photos of known shoplifters at cash registers to fend off thefts.

The British Retail Consortium logged 5.5 million shop theft incidents last year, as well as 1,600 episodes of daily abuse or violence against staff. Retail groups are pressing for more police support, tougher sentences for repeat offenders, and crackdowns on the networks reselling stolen goods. Britain’s “most prolific” chocolate thief was busted in September and sentenced to 20 months behind bars, per the Sun.

Do you do regular exercise?  Then here is something to consider…..

February is when a lot of gym shoes start gathering dust—but economist Emily Oster argues in a New York Times op-ed that the real problem isn’t our willpower, it’s the way exercise research is framed and sold to us. Instead of focusing on how to keep people moving for the long haul, she writes, studies and headlines obsess over which workout is “best”: running vs. swimming, walking vs. jogging, Zone 2 vs. something else. The problem is that most of this research is nonsense: The gold-standard randomized trials we’d need to truly compare these regimens are so large and costly they rarely exist.

What we mostly have, Oster explains, are observational studies that blur the line between correlation and causation. Swimmers in one study looked worse off than runners—not because swimming “doesn’t work,” but because swimmers tended to have more health risks to begin with. Similar flaws underpin buzzy claims about step counts and “one minute of vigorous equals an hour of light” activity. Oster’s advice is that people find an exercise tailored to their own likes and lifestyle, and stick with it on a regular basis. “It doesn’t really matter which exercise people do—they just need to do it past February.”

Read the full piece

WE have seen a lot of info passed around about microplastics…..this one is disturbing….

Plastic has turned up in an unexpected place: inside most of the prostate tumors examined in a new study. NYU Langone Health researchers report finding microplastics in nine of 10 prostate cancers they analyzed—and at concentrations about 2.5 times higher than in nearby noncancerous tissue. The small pilot study, based on samples from 10 men undergoing prostate removal, will be presented at an American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting on Thursday. It is billed as the first Western research to directly compare plastic levels in prostate tumors and healthy prostate tissue, per ScienceDaily.

The team took stringent steps to avoid contamination with plastic used in labs, using nonplastic tools and carrying out testing in rooms designed for microplastic analysis. “Our pilot study provides important evidence that microplastic exposure may be a risk factor for prostate cancer,” study lead author Stacy Loeb said in a news release. One theory: The particles may spur long-lasting inflammation that promotes cancer development.

Loeb, a professor in the NYU Grossman School of Medicine’s Departments of Urology and Population, says other research found possible links between microplastics and dementia and heart disease, but there was little evidence before now linking them to prostate cancer. Researchers stress the sample size is limited and larger studies are needed, but say the findings add to calls for tighter controls on plastic exposure.

  • Stanford University School of Medicine urology professor Michael Eisenberg, who wasn’t involved in the study, tells NBC News that while the study doesn’t establish cause and effect, “we are finding many signals about the astonishing prevalences of micro/nanoplastics and the concerning associations with health problems.”

Now for your medical minute…..with a little history thrown in….

Rxcrement may not strike us as something doctors should use to treat patients. In fact, most people today would view feces with revulsion – but this was not always the case. In fact, there are many ancient Greco-Roman medical texts that mention the waste product being used for medical purposes. Now, researchers have found the first direct evidence that such remedies were used by some Roman-era physicians.

Ancient medicine was very different from its modern variation, though one could argue that the shadows of the past still linger in some areas of modern practice and wider culture. Regardless, for centuries before the advent of modern scientific medicine, health, illness, and treatment were all intimately wrapped up with scent and ritual. Consider the incense-filled temples of ancient Egypt or the perfumed baths of Imperial Rome; fragrances and smells played an important role in purification, healing, and protection.

It is within this complex medical framework that the use of feces in treatments fits. In addition to the use of strong-smelling oils, herbs, and resins for treating disease or warding off evil forces, excrement – particularly animal dung – was mentioned in numerous medical texts as a remedy for various ailments. Egyptian sources from the 16th century BCE describe the medicinal value of dung mixed with other aromatic agents.

Later still, authorities like Pliny the Elder and Galen regarded dung treatments as good for conditions such as inflammation, infections, and reproductive disorders. Although they may have been spoken about with euphemisms, they were nevertheless understood as part of ancient pharmacology.

https://www.iflscience.com/prescription-for-poop-first-direct-evidence-shows-romans-used-human-feces-as-medicine-82522

They does it for me for this Saturday….I hope everyone has a lovely day and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“Peace President” Is At It Again

After some time of breast pounding the Idiot in the White House has started another war…..this time it is with our old nemesis Iran.

The US and Israel launched an attack Saturday on Iran, with the first apparent strike happening near the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian media reported strikes nationwide, and smoke could be seen rising from the capital. President Trump said in a video posted on social media that the US had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” the AP reports. He said Iran has continued to develop its nuclear program and plans to develop missiles to reach the US.

  • Trump said the US had launched a “massive” operation to “prevent this very wicked radical dictatorship from threatening America,” per the BBC. He acknowledged that there could be American casualties, saying “that often happens in war.”
  • “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said. “Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.”
  • Trump appealed to the Iranian people to “take over your government—it will be yours to take.” “This will be probably your only chance for generations,” he said. “For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond.”
  • The New York Times reports that US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the campaign could last for several days and it will be far more extensive than the strikes that targeted nuclear facilities last year. The sources say dozens of US strikes are being carried out from bases around the Middle East and at least one aircraft carrier.
  • It wasn’t immediately clear whether the 86-year-old Khamenei was in his offices at the time of the strike, the AP reports. He hasn’t been seen publicly in days as tensions with the US have grown. The US has assembled a vast fleet of fighter jets and warships in the region.
  • An Israeli official tells Reuters that the joint operation had been planned for months and the date of the attack was decided weeks ago. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “historic leadership” and said Israelis will need “endurance and fortitude” in the days ahead, with Iranian counterattacks expected, the BBC reports. “This murderous terrorist regime must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity,” Netanyahu said. Like Trump, he called for regime change, saying, “Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.”

How will this end?

The son of the Shah should be slobbering all over himself for he may get to be boss and make the Iranian people pay for what they did to his father.

Now there is Cuba…..should they be thinking ahead to a possible US strike and conflict?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Guns In The Age Of Donny

Note:  Today is my chemo session and because of the side effects this will be my only post today…..sorry about that….not to worry I will be back as soon as possible.

I guess a good place to start is with a recent set of findings….

A sweeping new review of nearly 30 years of gun policy research finds a small number of firearm laws consistently show measurable effects on deaths and violence in the United States, while many others remain surprisingly unproven.

The report, released by the RAND Corporation, concludes that policies focused on limiting access during moments of crisis, such as safe-storage requirements, waiting periods, and age restrictions, are associated with reductions in suicides and some homicides. At the same time, laws that expand public carry and legal protections for the use of deadly force are linked to higher rates of violent crime.

The findings underscore how much of the gun debate is driven by assumption rather than evidence, and how narrow the list of policies with strong data behind them really is.

https://www.wearethemighty.com/military-news/rand-us-gun-policy-research-data/

Under Donny’s control ICE has been the focus of the news especially all the people they have killed and at the same time massive shootings has taken a backseat to the antics of the Goon Platoon.

We know our Little Donny cares nothing for our Constitution and that seems to carry over into the realm of guns a GOP standard or it use to be….

…

Trump and his MAGA underlings have decided, in other words, that the Second Amendment—long an inviolable part of Republican orthodoxy—does not apply to anti-ICE protesters. This has dismayed not only guns rights groups but even some Republican lawmakers. “Why is a ‘conservative’ judge threatening to arrest gun owners?” Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky asked on X. Representative Greg Steube of Florida tweeted at Pirro, “I bring a gun into the district every week…. I have a license in Florida and DC to carry. And I will continue to carry to protect myself and others.” Of course, they were in the minority: Most Republicans have remained silent, tacitly acknowledging that they don’t have absolutist positions on gun rights and states’ rights after all.

(newrepublic.com)

Everything this admin does is hinkey in some way or another…..and guns are no different….

n December 31, in the waning hours of 2025, the Washington Post reported on an internal ICE document that concerned the agency’s “wartime recruitment” strategy, or rather its attempt to expeditiously swell its ranks of deportation officers. The memo, according to the Post, had in mind a pool of ideal candidates who lead a “patriotic” lifestyle and have an interest in “military and veterans affairs,” “physical training,” “gun rights organizations,” and “tactical gear brands.”

The memo’s logic was easy enough to understand, since what it described, if you read between the lines, was an informal paramilitary that was waiting to be tapped. Over the last month—as a violent federal occupation has unfolded in Minneapolis, where veteran immigration agents brutally killed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti—both the memo and the new recruits it would draw into the fold began to take up outsized space in my mind. For a long time now, the gun rights movement has been animated by the promise of a violent reckoning, a sentiment nurtured by the groups that represent it and Republican politicians, who seek to channel a wild, truculent energy into votes and profits. It seemed the promise was being fulfilled in Minneapolis, like the fatal denouement of a production that had one harbinger after another.

Minneapolis Is the Violent Reckoning the Gun Rights Movement Has Long Wanted

This ‘new’ recruitment floes in the face of democracy and creeps closer to a police state….

Picture it: an America with no guns.

Our children would be safe in school. Our neighborhoods would be positively dreamy. Life expectancy would rise and America might just get a shred of respect from the rest of the world, which looks at us these days as the complete maniacs we most certainly have become.

But you think I’m the one who has completely lost his mind.

Never happen, Earl. Guns are here to stay.

You know, it wasn’t so long ago, that some sort of meaty gun control actually looked doable. Back then, when America was at least semi-sane, gun control was my No. 1 issue. I railed about it. I marched for it. I joined gun-control groups, and put some of my limited treasure into furthering this noble cause.

Hadn’t we seen enough of our children brutally slaughtered in all those classrooms?

America: Awash in Guns and Fast Becoming a Police State

For years the argument about guns was the 2nd was there so the people could protect themselves from the government….now think about this….what is happening in our cities with the Goon Platoon, who are acting as agents of the government, is it not what the whack jobs in the Tea Party were so concerned with happening?

If not then just what the Hell was the 2nd intended to be used for if needed?

I have found it interesting that the gun echo chamber has fallen silent in the days of ICE.

If you have any ideas then please voice them here and we all can try to understand.

I Reads, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The “Trap” Is Sprung!

My summation of the SOTU speech was ma bust….but there were things happening that people should know about…..like the devious trap he set for the Dems during his speech….

A clever turn for Little Donny….

Expect one moment from President Trump’s State of the Union to live on repeatedly in political ads as the midterms near, one that involves the volatile issue of immigration. Coverage:

  • The moment: About an hour into his speech, Trump declared: “One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight, I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle: if you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Watch it here, via NBC News.
  • Split room: Republicans stood en masse and applauded, while Democrats remained seated. “Isn’t that a shame?” Trump said, referring to the Democrats, per Fox News. “You should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
  • The trap: The Washington Post reports that Trump himself came up with the idea to create a viral moment. The story uses the word “trap” to describe his plan, as does a New York Times analysis. “Trump set his trap,” writes Shawn McCreesh. “With one maneuver, Mr. Trump divided the room, asking viewers to see the two camps as he saw them: There were the Good Americans and there were those willing to jeopardize the country’s security.”
  • Going viral: Already, the conservative nonprofit American Sovereignty is out with an ad highlighting the moment, reports Politico. “Remember this when you head to the polls in 2026, 2028, and beyond,” tweeted the Trump War Room, along with video. Stephen Miller and Vice President JD Vance also were trumpeting the moment, as were multiple GOP heavyweights.
  • The bet: Even as polls show Trump underwater on immigration and the economy ranking as voters’ top concern, the president’s camp is certain that immigration still motivates the Republican base. As the Politico analysis puts it, “Republicans are betting President Donald Trump just handed them the lifeline they need to win on immigration again.”
  • Democrats: They remain hopeful that Americans will see the administration’s immigration tactics as too harsh, and were shrugging off the criticism. “Of course we support Americans,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters. “We’re not going to be a prop in Donald Trump’s little show.”

This was a genius move especially with an election looming on the horizon….no matter what the Dems would do it will be used against them in campaigns.

There was NO way for the Dems to come out of that theatrical moment unscathed.

At this point it is Donny 1, Dems 0….Dems need to be more prepared for this type of trick from the master scammer.

Maybe this will get people interested in the SOTU speech…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“I Am The Destroyer Of Countries”

It appears that our leader (I use the term loosely) that it is his right too destroy countries that deems unworthy.

He proved just what a complete idiot he is and his lack of knowledge of the Constitution…..this after SCOTUS slipped him a mickey on his dumbass tariffs.

Reacting to a U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling his tariffs policy unconstitutional, U.S. President Donald Trump launched into an unhinged rant on Friday confirming that he considers himself above the law as any tinpot authoritarian leader would.

The court ruled 6-3 that the U.S. Constitution makes clear that only Congress can levy tariffs, which are really taxes, on the U.S. population. Thus Trump’s extensive tariffs, imposed since January 2025, are illegal and American consumers and companies are due a refund of around $200 billion, the court said.

The ruling unleashed Trump in full psychotic mode, railing against justices as “fools and lapdogs;” the plaintiffs in the lawsuit the court ruled on as “sleazebags, major sleazebags” serving an unnamed foreign power and he announced a new 10 percent worldwide tariff “over and above our normal tariffs already being charged” in defiance of the court.

Trump argues he is still allowed to impose tariffs over the heads of Congress by the authority of the 1974 Trade Act. That act allows a president to unilaterally impose tariffs of up to 15 percent (hence the new 10 percent measures), but only for 150 days, after which Congress must continue them.

However, Friday’s ruling means he must vacate the existing tariffs, which he is so far refusing to do.

Trump tries to justify his existing tariffs as having been imposed under an emergency act. But the court struck that down, arguing in essence there is no economic or national security emergency in the United States today.

In his madness, Trump furiously claimed he had authority to impose embargoes and “destroy countries” but the Supreme Court dared rule he couldn’t even put a single dollar tariff on a nation’s imports. He exclaimed:

“I am allowed to cut off any and all trade or business with that same country. In other words, I can destroy the trade, I can destroy the country. I’m even allowed to impose a foreign country-destroying embargo. I can embargo, I can do anything I want, but I can’t charge one dollar because that’s not what it says, and that’s not the way it even reads. I can do anything I want to do to them, but I can’t charge any money. So I’m allowed to destroy the country, but I can’t charge them a little fee.

Think of that. How ridiculous is that? I’m allowed to embargo them, I’m allowed to tell them you can’t do business in the United States anymore, ‘we want you out of here,’ but I want to charge them $10. I can’t do that.

It’s incorrect, their decision is incorrect. But it doesn’t matter because we have very powerful alternatives … .”

In fact, Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution asserts Congress has the authority to “lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,” and to regulate commerce with foreign nations.  Embargoes, such as those on Cuba, North Korea and Iran, are imposed by Congress, not the White House (unless there is an emergency).

Trump: ‘I Can Destroy Countries’

This arrogant twat needs to be chopped down a peg or two….he clearly thinks he is an absolute ruler…..time for him learn differently.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

SOTU–2026

I know I am a glutton for punishment and I suffered through the almost 2 hour speech…..lots of manure was spread and lots of lies were passed on to the viewing audience.

This is a summation for those that want to know what fresh Hell Donny has in store for the nation.

President Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the US economy. But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about their finances and feel they haven’t benefited from Trump’s policies. He took the high road to honor the gold medal-winning US men’s Olympic hockey team and a war hero before pivoting abruptly to a darker tone as he ridiculed Democrats. He focused much of the first hour of his record-setting one-hour, 48-minute speech on the economy, something Republicans had urged him to do as they head into the midterm elections. Here are takeaways from the speech from the AP:

  • Economy: Much of the nation is worried about the direction of the economy, but Trump says the good times are here, insisting repeatedly that rising costs are no longer a problem. “The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” he said. He cheered the lower cost of gasoline, mortgage rates, prescription drug prices and the rising stock market: “Millions and millions of Americans are all gaining.” Such optimism, as so many Americans are feeling economic strains, risks painting Trump as out of touch. Just 39% of US adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in February, according to AP-NORC polling.
  • Patriotism: For a president who always seems to be spoiling for a fight, Trump also tried to summon Americans’ innate patriotic impulses. In addition to the hockey team, he singled out war heroes and those who had taken brave stands in other countries, using the moment to bestow numerous presidential medals in an effort to give the address a more positive gloss. It underscored the president’s media savvy and understanding that even if a moment isn’t appreciated completely in real time, it can have an afterlife in the days following speech, especially on social media. Yet in one revealing moment, Trump lamented why he couldn’t give a congressional medal to himself.
  • A negative turn: The Republican president soon took aim at Democrats and blamed them for many of the nation’s ills. Trump said rising health care premiums are “caused by you,” suggested Democrats “are not protecting” Social Security and blamed them for the nation’s affordability crunch. “You caused that problem. You caused that problem,” Trump said as he glared at the Democratic side of the room. He seemed to get angrier as the speech progressed. “These people are crazy, I’m telling you, they’re crazy,” he said. “Democrats are destroying this country.”
  • SCOTUS: By Trump’s standards, he held his tongue when it came to the Supreme Court. After the court struck down his tariff policy last week, Trump said the justices who voted against one of his signature issues were an “embarrassment to their families.” By Tuesday, he simply called the ruling “unfortunate.” Trump sought to treat the ruling with indifference, insisting that tariff revenues were “saving” the US, ignoring the fact that the levies haven’t made a significant dent in government debt. He said the tariffs were paid by foreign countries even as virtually every study concludes that costs have been paid by US firms and consumers.
  • Elections: The president also used the speech to reprise his attack on the integrity of US elections. “Cheating is rampant in our elections,” Trump said. Trump has made such claims for years, focused on his 2020 election loss, claims rejected by dozens of courts and his own attorney general at the time. “They want to cheat. They have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” Trump said of Democrats. “And we’re going to stop it. We have to stop it.”
  • Minneapolis: Sometimes what’s not said is as notable as what is. Trump has highlighted immigration since the very first speech in which he announced his 2016 presidential campaign. And on Tuesday night, he revived much of the same language he’s used throughout the past decade, blasting “criminal aliens” and warning of “drug lords, murderers all over our country.” What he didn’t mention: the most aggressive immigration enforcement tactics that threatened to bring the US to the brink earlier this year. He didn’t mention the deaths of two US citizens in Minneapolis last month at the hands of federal agents. And he made no acknowledgement of the broad concerns in the US about Trump’s approach on immigration, as demonstrated by the 60% of US adults who disapproved of his handling of the issue in February, according to AP-NORC polling.
  • Iran: Trump has already built up the largest US military presence in the Middle East in decades. And in his speech, he outlined a rationale for using those forces to launch a major military strike against Iran. The president said that Iran and its proxies have “spread nothing but terrorism, death and hate,” adding that its leaders have killed at least 32,000 protesters in recent weeks. He also warned that the nation has developed missiles that can threaten Europe and is working on missiles “that will soon reach” the US.

For those that watched something more special…..Donny hit all his usual high points….Dems did it (whatever it was), still harping on giving himself the medal of honor, massive voter fraud (none has ever been found), justification for starting another conflict with Iran, according to Donny we live in a ‘golden age’….still looking for where my life is golden.

But if you are interested in a fact check on his rambling speech….

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5716277/trump-state-union-fact-check

Or if you do not like NPR there is another….

https://abcnews.com/Politics/fact-checking-trumps-state-union-address/

All in all it was note worthy…..how?  I is amazing that one person can lie and scam for 2 hours straight.

The Dems had their shot, just not as much time as Little Donny to make their case….

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger offered a sharp contrast to President Trump’s depiction of the nation as being in a “golden age” during his State of the Union, arguing in her Democratic rebuttal that costs remain high for many Americans more than a year into his second term. Her message, that families are still struggling under Trump’s policies, is one Democrats plan to carry nationwide ahead of the midterm elections. Party leaders point to Spanberger’s double-digit victory in Virginia last November as validation of a disciplined, cost-focused campaign they now hope to replicate across the country, the AP reports.

Spanberger was flanked by American flags as she delivered the speech from Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum with restored 18th-century buildings, invoking the site’s role at the heart of Virginia’s early opposition to British rule. Spanberger said she wanted to “plainly and honestly” speak to people watching at home. She structured her speech around a series of direct questions: “Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? Is the president working to keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad? Is the president working for you?”

I think she asked the right questions….but is anyone listening?

Sadly I do not think the Dems hit it out of the park with their speech….but I was not expecting them too bring it home.

All in all a wasted night of TV…..but it was interesting for me for I am a sick political junkie.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Big Night For Donny

Tonight we will be subjected to the off topic rants and accusations of our Dear Leader in his SOTU speech….it will be a contentious one….some Dems will opt out and Donny will be still fuming about the SCOTUS decision on his silly tariffs.

President Trump delivers his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, and he’s tipping his hand on only one aspect of it in advance: “It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” he told reporters on Monday, reports the New York Times. Tariffs, inflation, immigration, and Iran are just a few of the topics on the agenda as the midterms loom. One other aspect getting attention: the awkwardness of Supreme Court justices attending days after Trump slammed some of them as “disloyal” and “lap dogs” because of their decision to invalidate his tariffs. For Chief Justice John Roberts in particular, it will be quite a contrast from last year’s first joint session of Congress, which was all “warmth and good vibes,” notes USA Today.

This year, Roberts authored the opinion that has led to days of attacks on the court by the president, and Roberts was joined not only by the court’s liberals, but by two Trump appointees, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett—whom Trump called “an embarrassment to their families.” Asked whether those justices were still welcome at Tuesday’s address, Trump answered they were “barely invited” and said, “I couldn’t care less if they come.” Meanwhile, at least half a dozen Democratic lawmakers plan to skip the speech in favor of an alternate event at the National Mall, reports CNN.

I am sure that Donny will have something to say about the decision for he cannot let anything goo especially if someone has defied him in some way and SCOTUS has done just that.

There is word that some Dems will invite some Epstein survivors to the speech….grandstanding  and some prominent people are calling for average viewers to tune out.

I am a political junkie I cannot not watch the speech and write a summary of what I saw and heard….it should be entertaining…..at least for me.

Stay tuned for I will post my thoughts on the disaster that will be the SOTU speech for 2026.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Independents?

2026 is an election year and of course there is much talk about the possibility of a Blue Wave and the hope for a change in direction for this country.

Sorry to be a downer here but….dream on!

Reports are coming out the that the young are not satisfied with the GOP or the Dems and are identifying themselves as independents….

More Americans than ever are stepping away from the two-party labels. A new Gallup survey finds that 45% of US adults identified as political independents in 2025, the highest share in more than three decades of telephone polling and up from 43% in recent peak years. Just 27% of adults called themselves Democrats and 27% Republicans. The shift is driven largely by younger Americans: Majorities of Gen Z and millennials, and more than four in 10 Gen Xers, now claim the independent label, compared with about a third or less of baby boomers and older adults. A big factor in recent swings is tied to unhappiness with whatever party is in power, which the AP notes may bode well for Democrats in the midterms.

  • All these independents, however, are not precisely in the political middle. When asked which party they lean toward, 20% of all adults were independents who favored Democrats, 15% leaned Republican, and 10% did not lean either way.
  • Combining party identifiers and leaners, Democrats held a 47% to 42% edge over Republicans in 2025, reversing a three-year period of GOP advantage and returning to a pattern last seen in President Trump’s first term. The Democratic edge widened over the course of the year, from parity with Republicans in early 2025 to an eight-point lead by year’s end.
  • On ideology, conservatives still outnumber liberals. Thirty-five percent of Americans described themselves as conservative or very conservative, 28% as liberal or very liberal, and 33% as moderate. However, the conservative lead over liberals—seven points—is the smallest margin going back to 1992. The biggest ideological shift has come inside the Democratic Party, where 59% now identify as liberal, up from 25% in 1994.

https://apnews.com/article/poll-independents-moderates-republicans-democrats-trump-ba353eb6807fd854f5b6e6de52d152fa

Glad to see that people are getting dissatisfied with the two corrupt parties….but with that said do you see any change?

I hate the term ‘independent’ for it is not accurate….these people will still vote for one of the two parties that are destroying this country.

They will not look for a true alternative so they are not independent voters they are just lazy twats.

This next election will be the chance for some real change or at least the beginnings….but will the voter actually want change or just a repeat of stupid voting habits?

Now would be a good time to voice your opinion.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Always A Zionist Prick

Our ambassador to Israel is one Huckabee who was always been a religious zealot with little to say that made sense.

Like his butt buddy Donny, this a/hole had to pen his useless mouth and piss off the world.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has sparked a diplomatic firestorm, drawing a rebuke from 14 countries after expressing support for the idea of Israel taking over land stretching from Egypt to Iraq during an interview with Tucker Carlson.

Huckabee made the comments when pressed on his Christian Zionist view that the modern state of Israel has the divine right to the land that it controls. Carlson asked how far that goes, pointing out that the promise God made to Abraham in Genesis suggests his descendants would have all the land between the Euphrates and the Nile Rivers, which includes Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and parts of Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee said. When pressed further, Huckabee insisted that Israel wasn’t trying to take that land, but the idea of a “Greater Israel” has support within the Israeli government, and Israel currently occupies parts of Syria and Lebanon, and continues to expand illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and its occupation of more than 50% of Gaza.

In response to Huckabee’s comments, a joint statement was released by the foreign ministries of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Organization of Islamic States, and the Arab League.

The countries expressed “their strong condemnation and profound concern regarding the statements made by the United States Ambassador to Israel, in which he indicated that it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.”

The statement said Huckabee’s comments constitute “a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region.”

“The Ministries reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands. They reiterated their firm rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza Strip, their strong opposition to the expansion of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and their categorical rejection of any threat to the sovereignty of Arab states,” the statement said.

(antiwar.com)

This idiot was a worthless candidate when he ran for the presidency and he has not got any better with age….if this ass wad is a ‘man of god’ then I am a female soccer star from Latvia.

It is loud mouths like this prick that give religion a bad name and turns people off.

This nation needs to try and repair its standing in the world and dipshits like Huckabee makes that impossible.

He needs to be recalled and shown the door for he is unfit to wear the mantle of ambassador.

We have enough of these zealots that poison the minds of the less educated with their bullshit….he needs to be silenced.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

18 Years And Still Going Strong

Yesterday I got the message from WordPress…..it was my anniversary, 18 years, but for 19 years I have been blogging…..first on another platform and then a switch to WP.

18 Year Anniversary Achievement
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 18 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.
I want to thank all those that have hung with me through thick and thin….your time and participation is much appreciated and know that I cherish all those regulars that spend their time here on IST.
Thank you so much…..now onto another sterling year.
chuq