The Iranian Two Step

This is good stuff….as a student of international relations this is perfect example of how not to act.

WE have a ceasefire between the US and Iran (at at least I think we do) and on Friday Iran opened the Straight of Hormuz to shipping traffic….

Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and world markets were celebrating. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on X that the waterway is once again open to commercial traffic, reports the Wall Street Journal. He said it will remain open at least through the duration of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Oil prices plunged about 10% on the news, with benchmark Brent down to roughly $90 a barrel, per CNBC. The Dow surged more than 500 points, or 1.1%, and the S&P 500 also rose about 1%.

President Trump hailed the move on Truth Social. “Iran has just announced that the Strait of Iran is fully open and ready for full passage,” he wrote in all-caps. “Thank you!” However, he added that the separate US blockade on ships entering and exiting Iranian ports would remain in effect “until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete.” He said reaching a final deal should “go very quickly” from here on out.

Then our clueless leader had to go on stage and chest thump about taking Iranian uranium in his clumsy way…….then on Saturday a 180….

Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it wouldn’t end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping. Iran’s joint military command said that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state … under strict management and control of the armed forces,” per the AP. It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect. The announcement came the morning after US President Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait’s reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear program.

The conflict over the choke point threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes that the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again. Control over the strait has proven to be one Iran’s main points of leverage and prompted the US to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US, and Iran.

Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week’s ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that deal didn’t cover Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week’s ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait wouldn’t stay open if the US blockade remained in effect. Data firm Kpler said that movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran’s approval. US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.

Only an extremely stupid person does not know when to keep their idiot mouth shut.

The logical question now is what comes next?

Oil prices plunged and the stock market boomed on Friday after Iran and the US said the Strait of Hormuz was largely open to commercial traffic. An Iranian official suggested the move isn’t permanent as peace negotiations continue, though President Trump said on Truth Social that Iran promised to never close the strait again, and declared that the Hormuz “situation is over.” Related coverage:

  • Questions: Plenty of questions were unanswered about how freely ships will be able to move and even whether they may have to pay a toll to Iran, notes the Washington Post. Further complicating things was that the US was leaving its own blockade of Iranian ports in place. It may take awhile for the details to clarify, but “assuming this holds, then I think it’s great news,” Jerry Kalogiratos of the shipping company Capital Clean Energy Carriers tells the New York Times.
  • Uranium: One of the sticking points in talks has centered on Tehran’s stash of enriched uranium. On Friday, President Trump said in a Truth Social post that Iran had agreed to hand over its stockpile, though Tehran hasn’t confirmed. “We’re going to get ‌it together,” Trump told Reuters. “We’re going to go in with Iran, at a nice leisurely pace, and go down and start excavating with big machinery. … We’ll bring it back to the United States.”
  • Oil/gas prices: The cost of a barrel of Brent crude plunged 10% to under $90 a barrel, and that could translate into a quick reduction in gas prices, says GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan, per NBC News. “This could accelerate sending fuel prices lower starting this weekend with the national average likely falling below $4/gal to perhaps $3.65-$3.85,” he wrote. The average price was $4.09 Friday morning.
  • The talks: The Times reports that US and Iranian negotiators were finalizing a three-page memo that contained the broad strokes of a peace deal. It could be signed at a second round of talks in the coming days.

Now that Donny has fucked up this attempt at a ceasefire…..where will he go now?

For one he will start seizing ships….

The US military is preparing to board and seize Iran-linked commercial vessels on the high seas in the coming days, officials say, widening a maritime campaign that has so far centered on the Persian Gulf region. The move follows Iran’s assertion that it is again tightly controlling the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with reported attacks on commercial ships there. The Trump administration is using increased naval activity and economic leverage to pressure the Iranian government over its nuclear program and its control of oil exports, the Wall Street Journal reports.

And now he has made one of his ill-conceived sweeping statements…..

President Donald Trump has issued his latest threat to Iran and said that if officials fail to make a deal with the United States “the whole country is going to get blown up.”

The president also made threats Sunday morning to target civil infrastructure after it was reported that Iranian forces were refusing to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this weekend.

“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump wrote. The posts appeared to be an effort to bring the regime to the table for 11th-hour talks before the U.S.-Iran ceasefire expires next week.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-iran-negotiations-infrastructure-bridges-b2960588.html

Iran ddoes not need nukes….it has the Straight of Hormuz.

Will someone give this twat a Big Mac and Diet Cola and tell him to go sit in the corner?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–19Apr26

I would like to start this week’s round-up with a quote from Leo Tolstoy….”An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person’s main task in life – becoming a better person.”

Almost the same shit different week and some of it is hitting close to total absurdity.

Let’s start with the most absurd of the BS….

Children younger than 13 years old are under investigation by the FBI after the agency designated an online group as an “extremist” threat, a group whose members consist of a large number of children, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein reported Tuesday.

The group is known “764” and was designated by the Justice Department as a Nihilistic Violent Extremist group, a designation that the Trump administration established to succeed the Biden administration’s “Anti-Authority and Anti-Government Violent Extremists” designation, itself established in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

“Publicly, the FBI casts these investigations as a crusade to protect the children from predatory adults. What they rarely mention is that many of the suspects are children themselves,” Klippenstein wrote in a report on his Substack. “To obscure this ugly reality, law enforcement portrays itself as merely focused on social media and gaming platforms – ones that just so happen to be popular among children, like Roblox.”

The Trump administration established its new Nihilistic Violent Extremist designation, in part, in response to the killing of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, with many in the MAGA movement attempting to link Kirk’s killing with support for transgenderism, and despite no evidence that the suspected killer was motivated by such beliefs.

The new designation has also been cited by the Trump administration as a tool to provide “political cover” for its campaign against transgenderism, according to a national security official who spoke with Klippenstein on the condition of anonymity. The Trump administration has also used new standards to define domestic terrorism to justify heightened surveillance on peaceful protests, a leaked memo from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security has revealed.

https://www.rawstory.com/department-of-justice-2676710170/

Are you dildos serious?

Then there is the mash-up of Trump being portrayed as Jesus…..but the MAGA idiots say it was in good fun….and Pistol Pete, the fake religious zealot that he is has proven what a moron he and his boss really are….he has been having prayer meetings at the Pentagon and lately he ended it with a religious quote….

Pete Hegseth cited a prayer largely invented by Quentin Tarantino for the movie Pulp Fiction to praise a rescue mission during the Iran war.

The defense secretary was speaking at a worship service at the Pentagon on Wednesday when he began echoing the “great vengeance and furious anger” monologue delivered by Samuel L. Jackson’s hitman character.

During the religious event, Hegseth led a prayer that he said was delivered to him by the lead mission planner of the rescue operation for two Air Force crew members shot down in Iran.

Hegseth said the prayer had been recited for the rescue team ahead of the operation and was entitled “CSAR 2517,” or “Combat Search and Rescue 2517,” which he said, “I think is meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-pete-hegseth-cites-fake-pulp-fiction-bible-verse-in-bonkers-prayer-meeting/

And lately he has been trying to school the pope on theology….saying such crap has he ever read the bible?  Interesting since this idiot has not.

Pistol Pete is like most christians….fake.

As we approach our 250th anniversary Donny is trying to turn a celebration into a cheap side show…..he has many plans for the DC Mall but this one is just plain silly.

Freedom 250 is working with the Department of the Interior and other federal agencies on logistics and permitting for the massive temporary buildout, organization said. The efforts are separate from those planned by America250, the nonpartisan commission created by Congress to plan the signature celebration.

Where a world’s fair might showcase cultural offerings from nations around the globe, organizers say the Great American State Fair will feature immersive exhibits from across the country.

Each of the 50 states and six territories will design pavilions with interactive experiences highlighting their unique characteristics and contributions. Five other national pavilions will center around the themes, Made in America, American Heartland, American Innovates, The American Canvas and Faith & Family.

Semi-permanent “Beaux-Arts” style structures will house the exhibits, Freedom 250 said. The white buildings will line the National Mall, extending from the U.S. Capitol to the Washington Monument. A smaller replica of Trump’s proposed “Triumphal Arch” is slated to sit on the fair grounds.

I hear Donny is proposing mass pardons for his slugs….

President Trump has been saying he’ll leave no staffer unpardoned when his time in office ends, insiders say. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources “familiar with his private comments,” reports that the president has repeatedly joked to aides and advisers that he’ll pardon essentially anyone who has been near him in the West Wing, at one point saying he’d clear “everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval.” In another meeting earlier this year, he delivered a similar line but put the distance from the Oval Office at 10 feet. The remarks, often delivered with a laugh, have been frequent enough that some staff now trade jokes about them, though many believe he’s serious.

Trump has floated the idea of a farewell news conference to announce sweeping pardons for administration officials, the sources say, though they aren’t aware of specific promises tied to specific conduct. He has also raised pardons when aides worry that decisions could lead to prosecutions or congressional inquiries. Democrats have said they could launch multiple investigations if they win control of the House in the midterms. The White House pushed back on criticism of the comments. “The Wall Street Journal should learn to take a joke, however, the President’s pardon power is absolute,” said White House press secreatary Karoline Leavitt.

The power is one Trump has embraced. In his current term, he has pardoned more than 1,800 people, far more than in his first term, including around 1,500 who took part in the Capitol riot, the Guardian reports. Other pardons have benefited allies and donors, including a crypto billionaire whose company supported Trump’s digital-currency venture. Trump has also pardoned numerous sports figures and issued pre-emptive pardons to Rudy Giuliani and others involved in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.

Seriously we should just accept the pardons of robber barons that raped this country for it was worth leaving behind a shell of it’s former self?

If we were talking and I used the term ‘corner store’ most would know what I meant….but apparently Donny has no clue (kinda like with everything else)….

President Donald Trump paused his prepared remarks on Thursday to confess he had “never heard” the term “corner store” before.

The president was in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he touted last year’s passage of his “No Tax on Tips” policy, which was included in the omnibus budget the Republican-controlled Congress passed in July. The provision allows employees who receive tips to deduct up to $25,000 in tips when filing their taxes.

Trump also boasted of the tax cuts included in the bill. While doing so, he was tripped up by the inclusion of the term “corner store,” which had been written into his speech.

“The great big beautiful bill also slashed taxes on millions of Americans, small businesses, including restaurants, dry cleaners, corner stores,” the president said before pausing his speech. “What is a corner store? I’ve never heard that term. I know what a quarter store is, but I’ve never heard it described. A corner store. Who the hell wrote that, please?”

‘Who the Hell Wrote That?’ Trump Stops Mid-Speech To Say He Doesn’t Know What a ‘Corner Store’ Is

For years now we have been bombarded with accusations that the ‘liberals’ have been allowing voter fraud to continue…..and yet most of that that was uncovered were perpetrated by GOPers…..like this one….

An election clerk in a far-right Michigan county has been purging voter rolls without authorization, Votebeat reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the Michigan Bureau of Elections “sent a letter to Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop on Tuesday saying it had received information suggesting she had made voter registration changes ‘that fall outside the scope of your statutory authority and fail to comply with the law.'”

Bishop allegedly sent confirmation and cancelation notices to voters who had not participated in the last two elections, per the report — despite the fact, the letter noted, that “Michigan law is explicit that a clerk may not cancel, or cause the cancellation of, a voter’s registration solely because a voter has missed one or two elections.” She then altered the statuses of these voters in the Qualified Voter File, “without any agreement or delegation of authority allowing you to do so from the affected local jurisdiction.”

https://www.rawstory.com/michigan-gop-2676748877/

This issue has been bullshit since day one but when we are dealing with voters with the IQ of bovine fecal matter it becomes a ‘thing’.

This last piece has nothing to do with Donny but it does illustrate how disgusting his ‘buddies’ are…..

https://wegotthiscovered.com/news/idf-spokesman-argues-murdered-one-year-old-lebanese-baby-probably-terrorist-had-it-coming-either-way/

A one year old terrorist?  How completely racist bullshit but that is Israel…..

That is the dirty politics that is Donny’s show….I feel a bath coming on.

I hope everyone enjoys their Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–18Apr26

Another week has gone by and not much has changed in the world….same idiots ruining life for us peasants.

Local–For the next week the French Quarter Festival in NOLA will be going on…..a good time filled with local music and a few national notables….all music from gospel to rock to afro-carib…..in case anyone is out in the neighborhood….https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/music/after-dark-shows-fqf/article_1f453b44-6779-4e7d-8f1c-75154094515a.html

I have gone several time and it is well worth the trip if you like music.

Plus it is also a major food fest with all sorts of local cuisine available…..

https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/eat-drink/here-s-your-french-quarter-fest-2026-food-guide-new-vendors-creative-dishes-nola-tradition/article_80850d2f-aac4-4c1d-9157-cc6c3ddc9e35.html

I can attest there is some damn yummy food available.

Personal–Yesterday I had an appointment with my cancer doctor and Wednesday I had an appointment with my lung doctor and the two are debating the new spot on my left lung….the cancer wants another biopsy and lung did one 2 months ago and it was negative and besides I am already taking chemo for the lung so why would a new spot appear….so to say the least I am on my lung doctors side she seems to make more sense.  We will see who wins that debate.

Speaking of cancer….there may be a new better way for treatment….for pancreatic cancer….

A pill that goes after one of the toughest cancers just delivered what one doctor called “truly transformational” results for patients. Revolution Medicines said on Monday that its drug daraxonrasib nearly doubled survival time in a late-stage trial, with patients living a median 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy, reports CNBC. The company reported a 60% reduction in the risk of death and said the drug hit all main and secondary goals in patients whose disease had already worsened on other treatments. CEO Mark Goldsmith called the data “practice-changing” and said the company will quickly seek FDA approval, using a priority voucher that could speed the review to a matter of months. Pancreatic cancer has just a 13% five-year survival rate, the lowest of any major cancer.

Daraxonrasib targets RAS mutations, which fuel tumors in about 90% of pancreatic cancers. For years, RAS was thought to be “undruggable,” notes the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Side effects include a frequently seen skin rash that doctors say is usually manageable, per CNBC. “For patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, new treatment options are urgently needed to increase survival time and improve quality of life,” Harvard medicine professor Brian Wolpin said in a release, per OncLive. Full trial data will be presented at an upcoming medical meeting, while a second Phase 3 trial in newly diagnosed patients is underway, per CNBC. Investors have taken notice: Revolution’s shares jumped more than 30% following the news, pushing its market value above $26 billion.

This sounds like good news for at least one of the many cancers.

There is more on the curing of cancer….

Remember back in the dark days of Covid and that twat that some call a president said that bleach would eradicate it….well the big mouth tool is at it again….

While appearing on the latest episode of Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast Triggered, Dr. Mehmet Oz — the longtime TV personality-turned-Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — revealed yet another among President Donald Trump’s many bizarre beliefs: that diet soda must have anti-cancer properties because “it kills grass.”

Dr. Oz and the president’s eldest son were discussing Trump’s health and dietary habits when Oz shared the eyebrow-raising anecdote.

“He’ll hit the red button, and then comes the diet soda pop,” said Oz, referring to a button Trump had installed in the Oval Office. “Your dad argues that diet soda is good for him because it kills grass when poured on grass, so therefore it must kill cancer cells inside the body.”

At this, Trump Jr. gave a “what are you gonna do?” shrug.

Oz went on, saying he once confronted the president about his propensity for Fanta: “I said, are you kidding me? So he starts to sheepishly grin and he says, ‘Well, you know — this stuff is good for me, it kills cancer cells. It’s fresh squeezed so how bad could it be for you?’”

https://www.alternet.org/dr-oz-trump-health/

Was he joking or does this mental midget believe this shit?

Do you have ‘bixonimania’?

Eye irritation plus too much screen time may earn you a new diagnosis from some chatbots: a disease that doesn’t exist. A Swedish researcher invented a bogus condition called “bixonimania,” complete with AI-generated author, fake university, and preprints packed with obvious jokes and admissions that “this entire paper is made up,” reports Nature. The idea was to test whether AI language models would be fooled, and they were: Within weeks, major AI systems—including earlier versions of ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Perplexity—began confidently describing bixonimania as a real eye disorder related to blue light, even offering prevalence estimates and advice to see an eye doctor.

More worrisome is that at least one peer-reviewed paper cited the fictitious disease before being retracted, suggesting that some researchers are relying on AI-generated references without reading them, says Almira Osmanovic Thunstrom of the University of Gothenburg, who created the ruse. Even a cursory reading of her fictitious paper would have made clear it was bogus given all the “easter eggs” within, notes Inc.com. AI systems have begun correcting themselves on bixonimania, and their makers say the latest models are safer and more accurate. But as Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School puts it, “we and our health shouldn’t be the beta testers for companies.”

I think that is enough with the medical news….

Do you recall the huge floating island of garbage in the Pacific?

There is some news about the clean-up….

When we picture the open Pacific, we imagine endless blue water and not much else. Marine researchers, however, are now seeing something very different: places like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch where plastic waste has built a kind of artificial shoreline far from any land.

In the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, the huge rotating current system between California and Hawaii, floating objects tend to get trapped instead of drifting away.

That’s where you find what people commonly call the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a region that now holds tens of thousands of tons of plastic pieces sturdy enough to move around the ocean for years at a time.

https://www.earth.com/news/great-pacific-garbage-patch-so-large-now-home-to-dozens-of-life-species/

A bit of alt energy…..

In the United Arab Emirates, where water is more valuable than oil, new research suggests large solar farms could trigger their own rainstorms.

A modelling study led by climate scientist Oliver Branch at the University of Hohenheim found dark solar panels absorb more heat than the surrounding reflective desert sand.

This temperature difference drives updrafts that can lead to rain, potentially providing water for tens of thousands of people.

The researchers modeled solar panels as nearly black surfaces that absorb 95% of incoming sunlight.

When solar farms exceeded 15 square kilometers, the increased heat contrasted sharply with the reflective sand around them, increasing the updrafts that drive cloud formation, but it needs a source of atmospheric moisture.

However, the model showed that moist, high-altitude winds from the Persian Gulf would suffice.

A 20 square kilometer solar field would increase rainfall by nearly 600,000 cubic meters under the right conditions, equivalent to 1cm of rain falling across an area the size of Manhattan.

https://www.techradar.com/pro/maybe-its-not-science-fiction-solar-panels-are-causing-rainwater-to-fall-in-one-of-the-driest-places-on-earth

Then there is wind energy and what that idiot prez had to say……

President Donald Trump blamed “windmills” for the U.K.’s sagging economy.

When informed of this during an interview with Fox Business News, Trump said, “They gotta stop with the windmill,” without addressing that the IMF forecast blames the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

“They have the North Sea, in Aberdeen Scotland. It’s one of the biggest, most incredible oil fields anywhere in the world, it’s got hundreds of years left. And you know what they do? They closed it because …they want so much, the oil companies are begging them. You know, they called me, they’re begging, ‘please speak to them.’ They made it impossible because of the environmentalists, the horrible environmentalists that hurt that country so badly.”

https://www.themirror.com/news/politics/trump-blames-windmills-uk-economy-1791480

This jerk off cannot go a day without saying something stupid.

My disgust has left me wanting some fresh air….I hope everyone has a pleasant nday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

The Danger Of Music

Today is my day with the cancer doctor so I want to leave you with some history….it is never too late to learn.

Think back to the early 2000s and all the mash-up about this hip hop song or another…..Congressional mental midgets held hearings to try and ban the music of a generation…..thank goodness their attempts to ban music did not succeed but it did elevate the sells of the songs and albums in question.

The conservative South has always had a hard on for music if it was not clean and wholesome (whatever that means)….in my youth songs were deemed too shameful for radio…..I am talking about rock icons and their traditionally great songs….songs like Louie, Louie, Gloria, Light My Fire, etc etc.  They wanted anything that did not conform to what these narrow minded twats considered proper…..

T o show you how bad it was I have a video explaining what songs were banned and why….it is a lengthy video but you will see just how far conservatives in the South will go to control what people listen to as music.

Rock classics were not acceptable to the conservative religious twats in the South and were banned from the radio.

Only The Best For Our Boys

That disgusting individual in the White House likes to portray himself in some sort of delusional light of patriotism….and he is always going on about that he is doing the absolute best for our troops.

I came across this article about the food being served to our troops off Iran waiting in ships to be deployed…..

Some stellar food prep…..

Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with proclaiming that “an army marches on its stomach”.

Yet, the maxim that military success depends on well-fed soldiers seems not to have reached those in charge of American armed forces in the Gulf.

US marines deployed to the Middle East – poised to strike Iran if a fragile ceasefire collapses – are complaining of dwindling rations and inedible food.

One “meal” – photographed on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier – consists of what appears to be a pre-cooked gyros slice, a pile of an unknown brown substance and some boiled carrots.

Another picture, taken on the USS Tripoli, shows a spoonful of shredded meat and a single tortilla on tray.

The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship with 3,500 marines and sailors onboard, has been at sea since leaving its base in Okinawa, Japan, for the Middle East more than a month ago. It is engaged in Donald Trump’s blockade of Iranian ports.

One marine told her father that food was being rationed, the coffee machines were broken, and fresh vegetables and fruit had long disappeared.

Dan, 63, a veteran marine, told USA Today: “We have the strongest military in the world. You shouldn’t be running out of food, and you shouldn’t not be able to get mail on the ship.”

Postal deliveries to serving troops in the Middle East were temporarily suspended after the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28. By April, the service was suspended indefinitely because of what the military called “airspace closures” and “logistical impacts” of the war.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/04/17/trumps-troops-served-tortilla-spoonful-meat-trays-navy/

The photos in the article are as disgusting as the asshole that is doing this top them.

I mean even MREs or C rats would be better than that plate of puke from Donny.

They say moral is super low among the troops and that could explain this story…..

Bill Galvin has spent much of the past month answering the phone.

“It’s been very, very busy,” he says. Galvin is the counseling director at the Center on Conscience and War, which helps run the 24-hour GI Rights Hotline, set up to inform service members of their options for military discharge.

Most callers are asking how to apply to become a conscientious objector — a difficult, invasive and rarely used process. But they’re also airing their concerns and frustrations, often anonymously, as the hotline allows them a space to do so without repercussions.

Military members are citing myriad reasons for wanting to leave, but the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has been a powerful motivator. In March alone, Galvin’s center took on more than 80 new clients — almost twice as many as it takes on in an average year. The busiest single day saw 12 new clients join, with one person saying four other members of their platoon were also interested.

https://www.alternet.org/conscientious-objector/

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/10/nx-s1-5771612/military-iran-war-trump-conscientious-objector

I say good for you and go for it….if enough stop fighting maybe the old bastards will do the dying…..we could use a few less.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Tax Day Comes And Goes

Sorry to be a bummer but I just had to say something.

April 15th was a couple of days ago…..did you go through the agony of preparing your taxes only to learn you owed the government?

Will it be a burden on your finances?

Well do not worry for no one will take up the slack for our ‘saviors’, big business, has gotten a swell deal from the government…..did you?

Dozens of America’s most profitable corporations avoided paying any federal income taxes in 2025, according to an analysis out on Tuesday from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The 88 companies—which include Tesla, Southwest Airlines, Live Nation, Palantir, Citigroup, and many others listed in the S&P 500—brought in a collective $105 billion in pretax income last year.

ITEP found that 2025 saw a spike in corporate tax avoidance, enabled in part by new loopholes created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump and by his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the corporate tax rate to 21% from its previous 35%.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is expected to hand the wealthiest 1% of Americans $117 billion in tax cuts this year, while those in the bottom 95% are set to pay more in taxes while facing across-the-board cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

It also allowed multimillion- and billion-dollar corporations to find new ways to avoid paying taxes. More than half of the tax-avoiders listed in the report used a provision in the new tax law allowing companies to immediately write off capital investments, reducing their collective taxes by $11.4 billion.

Pharmaceutical and tech companies, meanwhile, were able to take advantage of tax write-offs for research and development, exempting them from approximately another $4.4 billion.

In total, the corporate tax avoidance documented in 2025 by the researchers helped to rob the public coffers of yet another $26.7 billion, enough to give every public school student a free lunch for a year, according to a University of Missouri analysis of the National School Lunch Program.

https://www.alternet.org/big-beautiful-bill-taxes/

I am so proud of this country for making the hard working public pay all the goddamn bills while the robber barons sit on their fat asses smiling like that fat cat from Alice in Wonderland.

I am starting to like this NYC mayor more4 these days……he sees what I see….I wish others did…..

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is using Tax Day to remind Americans that the nation’s tax code is “rigged” to protect the superrich while making the case for a more equitable system.

In a Guardian op-ed co-written with Nobel laureate in economics Joseph Stiglitz and Paris School of Economics professor Gabriel Zucman, New York’s democratic socialist mayor lamented that the world is living with greater wealth inequality than ever before, with just 0.0001% of the global population holding the equivalent of 16% of global wealth—more than the bottom half of humanity.

Mamdani and the economists attributed the global surge in inequality in large part to America’s “regressive” tax system, which has grown dramatically more favorable to the wealthy over the past half-century.

Compared to 1960, when the 400 richest Americans paid roughly half their incomes in taxes, they now pay about 24%—helped by a combination of lower marginal tax rates and loopholes that allow billionaires and corporations to shield their wealth and effectively pay a smaller share of their incomes than everyone else.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/zohran-tax-day

Ain’t capitalism great?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The “JD Vance Curse”

Most of us know of that religious dickwad we call VP….but have you noticed that everything he touches turns to shit?

This is a look at this ‘curse’ by Buzzfeed….makes for some interesting reading…..give it a try….

Let’s talk about something people are calling the “JD Vance curse.”

In case you didn’t know, the VP is on a bit of a losing streak.

Some say it all started when he, you know, kind of maybe allegedly helped kill the pope.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/jd-vance-curse

Just puts this clown in the light that he deserves…..and amateur trying to wear big boy pants.

Time for him and his boss to disappear from our memories.

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Add A Drum Roll

The talks failed with Iran and then Donny says they will restart in a couple of days and now we know that he is sending more ground troops to the region on stand-by.

The US is sending thousands of additional troops to the Middle East and is considering restarting the bombing campaign against Iran or launching ground operations in the country, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed US officials.

The report said that the forces include 6,000 troops aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush and its accompanying warships. Notably, the Bush traveled around southern Africa on its way to the region instead of going through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, the typical route of US warships, signaling the US is concerned the Houthis in Yemen could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

About 4,200 other US troops, including thousands of Marines, are heading to the region from the Pacific aboard the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. The Post said they are expected to reach the Middle East by the end of April. Once both forces arrive, the US will have more than 60,000 troops in the region.

The buildup and the US blockade of Iranian ports are framed as an effort to get Iran to agree to US demands for a diplomatic deal. But according to President Trump, the US is continuing to demand that Iran make a commitment to never again enrich uranium for civilian purposes, a condition that’s seen as a non-starter and will likely lead to a renewal of the bombing campaign if the US sticks to it.

The current ceasefire between the US and Iran will expire on April 22 if it’s not extended. Other reports have said that President Trump has considered launching “limited” strikes in Iran to get Tehran to capitulate, but any renewed bombing campaign would mean a return to full-blown war.

Concerning possible ground operations, the Post report said that Trump administration officials have “discussed everything from launching a complex Special Operations mission to extract Iranian nuclear material, to landing Marines on coastal areas and islands to protect the strait, to seizing Kharg Island, an Iranian export facility in the Persian Gulf.”

(antiwar.com)

Is this a bluff?

Will Americans die because of Israel?

Now flash forward to the other side of the world…..a small island nation of Cuba.

Donny and that little idiot Marco have been threatening Cuba for a couple of months and now word comes that there may be more to their jaw slapping than BS….

The Pentagon has increased its preparations for a possible attack on Cuba, according to media reports, as President Trump has made clear that war against the island nation may be his next military intervention.

Zeteo first reported the ramped-up plans for war with Cuba, saying that in recent days, “officials at the Pentagon and elsewhere in the US government were quietly given a new directive that came straight from the Trump White House. The message: ramp up your preparations for possible military operations against Cuba.”

USA Today affirmed the Zeteo scoop, reporting that military planning for war with Cuba has increased in case President Trump orders an attack on the country.

Trump may be eyeing an operation similar to the attack on Venezuela that resulted in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as Zeteo reported that the administration is discussing plans to “attack and kidnap Cuban leaders.”

Since the attack on Venezuela, which killed at least 83 people, including four civilians, the US has been dealing with Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s vice president, who was sworn in as acting president. The US has eased sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to control its oil industry and oil experts, and has cut off Cuba from Venezuelan oil, part of a ramped-up blockade that’s caused a devastating humanitarian crisis in the country.

The US has been engaged in some negotiations with Cuba, but it’s unclear what sort of deal would satisfy the US, as the main driver of the policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would likely not accept an arrangement that keeps the current government in power.

On Monday, President Trump told USA Today that the US “may stop by Cuba after we’re finished with this,” referencing the US-Israeli conflict against Iran. The president has previously said that he wants to have the “honor” of “taking Cuba” and that he feels that he “can do anything I want with it.”

In the face of the pressure and threats from the US, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has said he will not step down and has vowed that Cuba is ready to fight.

“An invasion of Cuba would have costs. … It would affect the security of Cuba, the United States and of the region,” Diaz-Canel told NBC News in a recent interview. “If that happens, there will be fighting, and there will be a struggle, and we will defend ourselves, and if we need to die, we’ll die, because as our national anthem says, ‘Dying for the homeland is to live.’”

(aqntiwar.com)

This wrinkled old bastard and his idiotic cohorts are determined to set this world on fire.

Are you people happy now?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Open Letter To Trump Voters

Today is Tax Day…..so I will give you something to try and take your mind off of the hurt to come.

This is an open letter by S.E. Cupp, who is a conservative commentator but a conservative with a brain (very few of those lefty)…..she wrote this letter last week when Donny threatened to destroy Iran and their civilization.

Tuesday morning, the president of the United States threatened genocide against another nation, all because he does not know how to get out of a war he started to distract Americans from his terrible economy, disastrous immigration headlines, and attempts to bury the Epstein files.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” he wrote on Truth Social, the social network he had to create so he can say deranged things like this without being deplatformed.

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he continues flippantly, suggesting that he will “probably” nuke a nation that just a month ago he was insisting he wanted to liberate.

In case it needs pointing out, this threat of genocide would be a war crime, as are the many threats he’s made to strike Iranian infrastructure like water and bridges.

So as we sit on the precipice of what could be NUCLEAR WAR, my question to Trump voters is this: what more are you willing to ignore?

What more are you willing to “compartmentalize” while you tell yourself this is all an acceptable bargain to get judges and tax cuts?

What indefensible, illiberal, un-American and inhumane garbage are you willing to defend in service of MAGA’s childish obsession with “owning the libs”?

How much more chaos, b.s., gaslighting, lying, grifting, incompetence and corruption are you willing to put up with?

And how much economic pain and destruction are you willing to suffer so that he can get rich and spend your taxpayer dollars bombing other countries, suing his political enemies, and building monuments to himself?

Ten years ago, Trump told us exactly who he was, and he’s been revealing himself ever since.

He was a bad person then. During campaign rallies and his presidency, you watched as he made fun of disabled people, prisoners of war, women, and children. You ignored it.

He was a bigot then. You watched as he defended neo-Nazis, called for travel bans against Muslims, called African countries “sh­-­hole nations,” denigrated Black and Brown communities in American cities, called Mexican immigrants rapists and murderers, called himself a nationalist and welcomed white supremacists into the party. You ignored it.

He was a misogynist then. You watched as the “Access Hollywood” tape came out, as woman after woman told their stories of rape and sexual assault, as the Epstein rumors swirled for years, as porn stars revealed their affairs, as he made fun of women’s faces and biology. You ignored it.

He was a fraud then. You watched every story about the fraudulent Trump University and Trump Foundation, stories of tax fraud, licensing scams, real estate fraud, contractor non-payment, election interference, and now crypto corruption. You ignored it.

He was a terrible Christian then. You watched as he repeatedly broke nearly every Commandment, every tenet of Judeo-Christian faith, all while corrupting the religious right to sell bibles with his name on them. You ignored it.

He was a terrible conservative then. You watched as he abandoned nearly every long-held conservative principle that Republicans had stood for, from lowering the debt and deficit, to anti-protectionism, to family values. You ignored it.

And he was a terrible leader then. You watched as he turned American against American, broke the trust of our allies, propped up our enemies, sent his own supporters down dangerous.

So what now? Does he need to nuke a nation to lose your trust and respect? Does he need to shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue to test your moral compass? Does he need to bankrupt our country, destroy 250 years of American exceptionalism, undo 70-year-old international treaties, and start WWIII to get you to finally object to one more second of his unhinged lunacy?

If not now, when?

Sincerely,

Sane America

S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.

She hit the nail on all heads.  I was seldom a fan of hers in the past but at least now she can communicate with a brain…..something her contemporaries cannot muster.

Now that that corrupt MAGA POS has CNN will she be silenced?

Tell me what you think of her letter.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Worry About Iran?

Since our dear beloved leader has decided to venture into this ill-conceived war with Iran prices have shot up even more4 than before it all began.

But according to some d/bag from Kansas that is not what we should be worried about…..

A Republican senator on Tuesday tried to sell wary Americans on President Donald Trump’s war with Iran by telling them that national security is more important than any financial pain they’re feeling in the form of higher energy costs.

During an appearance on Newsmax’s “Wake Up America” program, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) tried to assuage Americans’ concerns about the spike in gas prices caused by the war by informing viewers that the US is “the leading producer of oil in the world, we’re exporting more than we’re importing.”

The US exporting more of its own oil to foreign countries whose regular supplies have been disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz does nothing to lower US gas prices and, if anything, will push them higher.

As a Monday Wall Street Journal article explained, “prices at the pump are poised to keep rising if the US exports more oil and gas and drains its inventories,” especially since “the jump in exports doesn’t yet correspond to an increase in US oil production.”

Later in the segment, Marshall acknowledged that Americans were feeling pain at the gas pump, but he said it was worth it to stop the supposed threat from Iran, which did not attack the US and, according to US intelligence estimates, was not close to producing nuclear weapons.

“I’m sorry that gas prices are going up,” he said. “But help is on the way, and your national security, yes, is even more important than your pocketbook.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/roger-marshall-gas-prices

What a disingenuous twat!

US is doing all this bullshit to placate Israel for some sick reason.

But not to worry it will get worse as long as that pasty asshole runs this country…..we can only keep working to see that this tool gets his comeuppance……and soon.

When this Iran debacle is done Donny will find another way to manipulate the markets to keep his ‘buddies’ in pocket change.

Sickening isn’t it?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”