An American “Gulag”?

The inspiration for this post came from an article that I read…..

In a criminal arrest, the legal system creates an immediate paper trail: police reports, court logs, and attorney filings. But inside immigration detention, the process works under an entirely different set of rules.

In this episode of “Inside Story,” host Lawrence Bartley and reporter Aala Abdullahi explore how rapid transfers across the country leave families unable to locate their loved ones. More than 1 in 10 detainees are moved out of state within their first 24 hours in custody, while the government’s online locator system frequently lags or shows no assigned facility. Because deportation is a civil administrative process rather than a criminal one, individuals face repeated transfers without the right to appointed counsel or stable court jurisdiction.

Drawing on federal transfer data and accounts from families and attorneys, they examine how the rapid expansion of detention isolates individuals across the country

(marshallproject.org)

That brings me to the idea of a gulag.

Gulag?

Most Americans, that could actually read, became acquainted with the term ‘gulag’ from a couple of books written by a former prisoner….Former prisoner and Nobel Prize-winning author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote two books about the Gulag: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Gulag Archipelago.

But what is a gulag?

A Gulag was a vast system of forced labor camps and prisons in the Soviet Union.

  • The Acronym: The word comes from the Russian abbreviation Glavnoye Upravleniye Lagerey, meaning “Main Camp Administration” or “Chief Administration of Corrective Labor Camps”.

  • Literal Meaning: It originally referred to the specific government agency that ran the Soviet secret police labor camps, but it came to mean the entire prison and camp network.
    • Conditions: Prisoners faced brutal conditions, extreme weather in remote areas like Siberia, starvation, and long hours of hard manual labor used to build Soviet infrastructure and industry

    A horrific condition that Russians had to face if they were not in favor with the regime in power.

    I bring this up because of Donny and his ICE thugs and their arrest of anyone with brown skin…..the excuse is the round-up of illegal immigrants….

    I write this because there has not been sufficient reporting on this ‘camps’ that house those arrested by ICE…..and the conditions smack of gulag tactics.

    This is what these ‘prisoners’ have to look forward to if arrested….

    Conditions inside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities are severe, overcrowded, and frequently inhumane, according to reports from oversight groups, medical experts, and human rights organizations

    • Surge in Fatalities: According to data analyzed by KFF, deaths in ICE custody have risen sharply, making recent years the deadliest on record for the immigration detention system. [1, 2]

    • Lack of Care: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that detained individuals face severe medical neglect, delayed treatment for chronic conditions, and outbreaks of infectious diseases like tuberculosis and measles.  Sanitation Failures: Detainees and inspectors have documented overflowing toilets, lack of basic hygiene supplies like soap, poor ventilation, and insect infestations in various facilities.  Physical and Verbal Mistreatment: Legal filings and witness statements gathered by the Vera Institute of Justice cite instances of verbal harassment, physical abuse, and intimidation by facility staff.

      Punitive Isolation: A report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) states that ICE frequently uses solitary confinement to punish minor infractions or retaliate against complaints and hunger strikes, worsening mental health issues like PTSD and depression. Packed Cells: Whistleblower reports and legislative inspections detailed by Human Rights Watch show that populations have swelled past facility limits, leaving people to sleep on concrete floors or in prolonged chains.

      • Inmates: It held millions of people, including common criminals, prisoners of war, and political dissidents or innocent people accused of opposing the state. [1, 2]

      Those listed conditions smack of the conditions within the ‘gulag’ system in the Soviet Union.

    To me this treatment of ‘prisoners’ is ripe with human rights violations but we know that Donny and his Minions care little about the rights of humans.

    Am I wrong in this thought?

    But more of this……it is beginning to look very familiar to an old fart like me….

    Recently, one is drawn to recognize the parallels between the NKVD bread trucks and black SUVs filled with ICE officers, who mask their faces and offer no identification as they snatch children and adults off the street because they have melanin in their skin or speak with an accent. Like the NKVD, ICE officers shoot people without substantive explanation, detain more than 66,000 people, many without criminal records, including occasional citizens, and ship them off to undisclosed detention centers. They have also deported hundreds of thousands of people, often without notice or due process.

    https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/stalinization-of-america-parallels-authoritarianism

    We are better than this and as long as we ignore these deplorable conditions and treatment of people makes us a smaller people.

    Americans should be outraged but instead they spend their time bitching about TikTok or Instagram….and that to me makes us a pathetic nation.

    Anyone want to wade in?

    I Read, I Write, You know

    “lego ergo scribo”

What’s The Plan, Stan?

Now the Dems have made all their speeches it is time for them to get down to work on a plan to stop the slide of this country into chaos….but what will that plan be?

According to Democratic leadership, including House Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, the party plans a fast-paced legislative push focused heavily on cost-of-living and affordability issues:
  • Healthcare: Restore expired Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance premium subsidies and reverse $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted by Republicans.
  • Trade & Tariffs: Advance legislation to rescind President Trump’s global tariffs, starting with a targeted push against levies on Canadian products.
  • Foreign Policy: Bring forward war powers resolutions to force an end to the U.S. military involvement in the war in Iran or require formal congressional authorization.
  • Taxes & Economy: Pursue tax proposals that raise taxes on high earners and large corporations to provide tax relief for lower- and middle-income families, alongside initiatives to lower grocery, gas, and housing costs.

Will this be where the Dems go or will they be seeking revenge and dive head long into investigations?

Jeffries has stated the plan….(not that I trust him to stand by this plan)….

Jeffries has said Democrats would harness the political capital of a new majority to reinstate expired Affordable Care Act health care premium subsidies and reverse nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts that were included in the president’s signature domestic policy law, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

“Well, Day One plan is going to be to make sure we’re going to be focused on healthcare, focused on driving down, right, the high price of groceries and gas and housing,” Jeffries told ABC News’ Capitol Hill correspondent Jay O’Brien during a sit-down interview in Nebraska ahead of the election.

House Democrats have also indicated they will quickly consider legislation to end Trump’s global tariffs and restore congressional power over trade policy.

As American voters send a signal to lawmakers rejecting the status quo, Democrats also promise to act to end the war in Iran and also plan to focus on addressing the “affordability crisis” they blame on failed Republican policies — promising to lower the cost of groceries, healthcare and gas.

(abcnews.com)

Lofty promises…..I do not trust the leaders as far as I can throw them….do you?

I will be watching their plans and actions from this day forward.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What To Do? What To Do?

After a few days to let the wins sink in the Dems need to decide what will they do now that they have the Congress….

Democrats have flipped the US Senate and House of Representatives in a massive rebuke of Republicans and Donald Trump’s agenda. With Democrats majorities in both chambers, the final two years of Trump’s presidency will look markedly different from the first half. But what can Democrats actually do with congressional power?

After a string of wins in Republican districts across the country pushed Democrats past the 218-seat threshold needed to capture a majority, Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become majority leader and Republicans will lose their ability to pass legislation through the chamber without Democratic support. A Democratic majority can launch investigations into the administration, demand documents and testimony and subject senior officials to sustained congressional scrutiny.

If they decide to go after Donny and his minions then where do they begin?

Political reporter Joseph Gedeon laid out the most consequential investigations Democrats could launch. Here are a few of the investigations:

  • The family business: Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, has ranked Trump family corruption first on his list of priorities, while Representative Jamie Raskin has requested information on the business dealings of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and son Donald Trump Jr.

  • Epstein and the emails: Thanks to a tag-team effort by Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, the Department of Justice was forced to release millions of files related to Jeffrey Epstein last year. But off the bat, the justice department blew the legally mandated deadline to disclose the files. Then it released only about 3.5m pages of the 6m in its possession; it said it had deemed the rest duplicates. And there has been bipartisan consternation about heavy redactions in some places, and the apparently accidental disclosure of the names of victims in other places. The justice department is now facing a lawsuit from journalist Katie Phang over many of these issues. Even under a Republican-controlled Congress, the oversight committee under its GOP chair, James Comer, has been a rare spot of bipartisan comity, with members of both sides routinely (but not always) acting in concert to subpoena witnesses and hold them in contempt when they don’t cooperate. Expect that to continue in any new Democratic Congress.

  • The Pentagon and the war: Jason Crow, a Colorado congressman who sits on the armed services and intelligence committees and co-chairs the House end corruption caucus, says he will start with the Pentagon, citing reports of defense money steered toward companies linked to the Trump family.

  • Impeachment: Jeffries says Democrats have ruled nothing out regarding impeachment this time around, while the current Republican House majority leader, Steve Scalise, predicts an attempt on “Day 1”

I think that the Dems should demand accountability but they should also address all the promises they made to the people….the economy, healthcare, housing, etc.

If they concentrate on investigations then they will insure that next election they will be watching on TV for their chances will have been over.

Anything to add?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Remember The Fifth Of November

This will be my final post for today for I go get nuked with chemo and I usual feel like crap afterward.

This is a post I wrote about 15 years ago with some English history that not many Americans know….

Remember….Remember…..The 5th Of November

If any of my UK readers would like to add to our knowledge please feel free to do so….

Any other thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Just Another Bullsh*t Lie?

There was another story that needed a bit of attention but the election took the limelight.

Minutes before the country went to the polls Dear Donny made a shocking statement…..

President Trump says a big annual check to Israel is nearing its end. In a Fox & Friends phone interview Tuesday morning as US midterm voting got underway, he said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed the US will halt roughly $4 billion in yearly aid “at the end of the year,” describing the spending as “a wasted thing” and asserting Israel is “fine with it” because it is now “very successful.” “We’ve already agreed that by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel,” he said, per Al Jazeera. ‌”Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

A Netanyahu spokesperson said Israel was unaware of such a deal and would seek clarification, reports NBC News. It’s not clear which funding Trump was referencing; a $3.8 billion-a-year military aid package outlined in a memorandum of understanding runs through 2028. Oil markets reacted fast: Brent crude slid more than 3% to about $101 a barrel, with traders betting Trump’s stance signals less risk of a wider conflict involving Iran. The move comes after US warplanes struck an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

This would be fantastic news if it did not come from Donny or was uttered on election day.

We all know just what a liar this tool is and how he tries to manipulate the politics around him….I personally do not believe this for a goddamn moment….AIPAC would be outraged spending all that cash and Donny does this to them….his statement is a well placed lie.

…

The timing of Trump’s announcement raised eyebrows, coming on the morning of the midterm elections. Commentators opined that the announcement appeared aimed at undercutting criticism from progressive Democrats and the president’s own disaffected supporters.

Skepticism is also rooted in the fact that US military assistance to Israel technically cannot end by the end of the year.

First, the current US-Israel military assistance memorandum of understanding, signed under then-President Barack Obama in 2016, provides $38 billion over 10 years, including $33 billion in foreign military financing and $5 billion for missile defense. The MOU runs through September 2028, not December 2026.

Netanyahu faces an uncertain political future after indecisive parliamentary elections last month, and as The Times of Israel noted Tuesday, he has discussed phasing out American assistance, but over a decade—not abruptly ending it this year.

Second, Section 219 of the House-passed fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act would establish a United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, coordinating joint research, development, testing, and industrial cooperation in areas including missile defense, drones, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. The highly contentious provision would significantly integrate the two countries’ defense industries and institutionalize cooperation.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-israel-aid-cutoff-stunt

So relax all you Israel worshipers the terrorist state of Israel will not lose its funding from the US…..this was merely a lame attempt by Donny to influence the election in some minor way.

The master bullsh*tter strikes again.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How To Explain The Vote

There are still a few races that are not set in stone…..Mississippi being one of them (go figure)….

But there are a few reasons why Donny is losing his cool….

To say Democrats won big on Election Day almost seems like an understatement, with flips of longtime GOP seats that handed both the House and Senate to the opposition party, per the Guardian. The outlet notes that preelection polls “failed to fully predict the extent of the party’s massive wins,” with surveys holding back somewhat on Dem prospects, partly due to polling missteps in 2024. However, the way things panned out turned out to be “way, way worse than Republicans anticipated,” notes the Washington Post. Some big takeaways from the Democrats’ successes in Election 2026:

  • Furious voters: An “angry electorate” is credited by Reuters for the GOP’s losses, with nearly two-thirds of voters in exit polls pointing the finger at Trump for the high current cost of living, and 75% noting they were dissatisfied or angry with the country’s direction.
  • End of Trump’s sway? NBC News reports that election results mirrored Trump’s own sinking approval ratings. The president “tried to persuade Republicans across the country to show up and vote for GOP candidates,” the outlet notes. “But he had lost his influence with them. It’s harder to persuade voters to follow you if they don’t think you’re doing a credible job.”
  • Gerrymandering gamble: It didn’t pay off in many districts that were redrawn to favor Republicans, per the New York Times, which cites Dem wins in North Carolina and Florida, among other places. “So many of our colleagues made the patriotic and courageous decision to stay and fight,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. “They didn’t run away from the fire. They ran toward the fire and helped put it out.”
  • Billionaires’ bust: Besides Republican candidates, tech tycoons were another group that suffered big losses, including SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who poured nearly $450 million into GOP races around the nation, per CNBC. The results “are a wake-up call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the economy,” said Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who won his Senate race in New Hampshire, becoming the first openly gay male US senator.
  • MAGA implosion? The Wall Street Journal reports on the “cracks” that have emerged in the “Make America Great Again” contingent, with preliminary results showing that some key demographics that helped propel Trump back to the Oval Office in 2024—including Hispanic, Black, and non-college-educated white voters—rejected him this time around.
  • Latino angle: NPR reports that they’re now “a true swing group in America,” though it cautioned against treating Latinos like a monolith. Axios notes one staggering example: In Texas’ heavily Hispanic-leaning Starr County, Democratic Sen.-elect James Talarico led by almost 60 points, which was a 75-point reversal from two years ago.

Now that Dems think they are in control….what will be their first punch at Donny?

It amazed me the number of non-white governors we will have in 2027…..and most are Dems which is amazing after all the races they lost in the past….I guess a shitty president will help out.

Anything to add

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Look Who’s Smiling Now

That would be the Dems in this contest….it appears they had a very good election in this round…..Donny is not happy….and he has an excuse as usual….

With the midterms shaping up to be a rout in favor of Democrats, President Trump weighed in with a brief assessment of what went wrong for his party about 10:40pm. “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” On the campaign trail, Trump had repeatedly struck a similar theme.

“You have to pretend I’m on the ballot,” he told a rally in Georgia last month, per the Georgia Recorder. “OK, the story is this: We get 49% more votes when I’m on the ballot. When I’m not on the ballot—I guess it’s a compliment—but people don’t show up so much.” Republican candidates, however, apparently didn’t feel the same way. Axios reported that they essentially stopped mentioning him in ads as the election drew closer.

Shall we take a look at the successes of the Dems?

I am sure the big news has made it to every corner of the internet….the Dems have both Houses…..

The AP reports that Democrats have won control of the House as part of a massive midterm backlash to President Trump’s policies that also saw the party take control of the Senate by flipping seats in states including Texas, South Carolina, and Kansas. The New York Times projects that the party will win around 255 seats, giving them their largest majority in almost 20 years.

  • The swing toward Democrats saw the party win in districts that Trump won by double digits in 2024, reports CNN. Several Democrats, including Rep. Shomari Figures in Alabama, won despite efforts to defeat them through redistricting.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the first Black House speaker, handing Democrats control of key committees and subpoena power that could reshape Trump’s second term, NBC News reports. Democrats are signaling aggressive oversight of Trump’s administration, business dealings, and immigration policies, while some members are openly discussing a possible third impeachment. Jeffries says nothing is off the table, even as party leaders also pledge to target Trump’s Iran policy, tariffs, and health-care rollbacks through legislation.

Our promise to the country in the new Congress is that, beginning on Day 1, we’re going to hold the crooks accountable,” Jeffries said ahead of the election. On Tuesday night, he said, “America is back,” CBS News reports. “Today begins the great American comeback,” Jeffries said. “This is a change election, and we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, has signaled that he wants to remain the party’s leader even when Republicans become the minority party, the Hill reports.

Do not trust Jeffries!  He is a stooge for the corporations.

Now the Senate will be in Dem hands (for a change)….

Democrats have retaken control of the US Senate, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican control of governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Trump, the AP reports. The midterm elections that came to a close Tuesday channeled voters’ deep frustration with high prices, the war in Iran, and concerns about government corruption. The House remains too early to call, but Democrats have already flipped seven seats as they try to win the majority in that chamber as well.

Democratic control of the Senate will profoundly reshape Trump’s final two years in office and likely hamstring his ability to push his agenda, including his hopes for sustaining a conservative shift to the Supreme Court. Democrats charted an extraordinary path to Senate victory through some of the most conservative states in the nation. Josh Turek defeated Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas as part of a cascade of stunning victories. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in Texas, Annie Andrews upset Darline Graham in South Carolina, Sherrod Brown beat Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio, and Roy Cooper took an open North Carolina seat. Other close races were still to be called.

A new day is coming….that is the promise of the Dems as they have control….but that is only words….will their actions show the day has arrived?

Surely you have a few thoughts……

I Read, I Write, You Know

Lego ergo scribo”

Are The Votes Being Bought?

There has been a record amount of people going to vote and likewise a record amount of billionaires buying votes wherever they can…..

Some of the richest people in the US have spent unprecedented sums of money to influence the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections, and a Sunday report in The New York Times estimated that the top 20 biggest donors alone have spent a combined $2 billion in federal races this cycle.

The single largest funder of the 2026 midterms, by a wide margin, is far-right billionaire Elon Musk, who has shoveled nearly $450 million to help GOP candidates.

In fact, pro-Republican donors account for the five largest individual contributors to midterm races.

In addition to Musk, the other largest donors this cycle are industrialists Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who have given $150 million to help elect Republicans; flagship GOP Senate super PAC One Nation, which has spent $138 million; venture capitalists Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz, who have given $116 million; and hedge fund investor Jeff Yass, who has given $110 million.

On the Democratic side, the top spenders have been flagship Democratic Senate super PAC Majority Forward, which has spent $104 million, and George and Alexander Soros, who have given $103 million.

The Times’ report echoes an analysis published last week by the Brennan Center for Justice showing that the 40 largest individual donors to the 2026 elections had spent a combined $2.4 billion as of mid-October.

According to Brennan, this represents the single largest amount of money spent on a midterm election ever since the US Supreme Court’s landmark 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC unleashed limitless political campaign spending.

The Brennan analysis reveals that the spending of the very largest donors has grown dramatically over the last decade.

“The donations coming from the top 40 donors for the midterms total eight times the amount from the top 40 donors by mid-October in the 2014 midterms (the first full midterm cycle after Citizens United), adjusted for inflation,” the analysis explains. “The cutoff to be in the top 40 has also increased to 10 times what it was four cycles ago, to $25 million.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2026-midterms-top-donors

None of this should be a surprise to anyone capable of following the money….but no matter the winners we will get the best government money can buy.

The only winners in this election will most likely be the oligarchs…..not us peasants.

Can you see it?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Election Day–2026 (Cond)

The day has finally come and we will make our wishes known through our vote….for better or worse….the decision will be made.

Here’s what is known at this time….

Election Day is here. Just don’t expect Election Day night to answer all the midterms’ burning questions. Tight races, mail voting rules, and ranked-choice systems in states like Alaska, Maine, Arizona, and California mean some key contests—and possibly control of Congress—could take days or even weeks to sort out, reports the New York Times.

  • The consensus: As anyone following coverage this year knows, forecasters give Democrats a great chance of flipping the House and a decent chance of flipping the Senate. Nate Silver, for example, puts the percentages for those outcomes at 95% and 80%, respectively, at his Silver Bulletin.
  • Poll caveat: Nate Cohn of the New York Times notes that Trump-era polls have previously underestimated Republican support, and there’s a “real possibility” of that happening again. The president’s supporters tend not to respond to pollsters’ queries.
  • You pick:The Wall Street Journal has a detailed look at state-by-state forecasts, and its tool allows readers to make their own projections.
  • record: Tuesday might be Election Day, but a record number of people already have cast their ballots, reports USA Today. The University of Florida Election Lab puts the figure at roughly 54 million.
  • Early results: Axios cautions those watching results come in Tuesday night against drawing early conclusions, mainly because right-leaning states such as Florida report first. “In every national election since 2018, the House and Senate votes counted by 9pm ET were 4 to 9 percentage points more Republican than the final result,” its analysis notes.

That is just about everything you could possibly want to know….with the exception of the winners…..that will be a post for tomorrow or as soon as the winners are known.

The turn out looks pretty good which I was not expecting here in my state of Mississippi….this is a Deep Red State and most think it is a fore drawn conclusion on who the winners will be….

What will the outcome be….a reinforcement of Donny and his destructive policies or possibly a new way forward?

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Election Day–2026

Today is the big day!  The day when Americans could make a difference.

They tell us there is good news as we ready our vote….

The election eve math looks promising for Democrats in both the Senate and House. A final New York Times/Siena poll of seven key Senate battlegrounds finds Democratic candidates leading in five Republican-held states—Kansas (5 points), Maine (6 points), Ohio (5 points), Texas (7 points), and Alaska (2 points)—and essentially tied in Iowa. In Michigan, the only surveyed seat they already control, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is up by double digits (11), though the poll was taken before the weekend stunner that saw Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in the race.

The shift is tied to sour views of President Trump’s economic stewardship: Only 38% of likely voters in these states approve of his performance. Voters now give Democrats a clear edge on handling the cost of living, foreign wars, and “what’s best for ordinary people.” Democrats are also winning independents, younger voters, and Latinos. Pollsters caution that late-deciding voters are breaking Republican, but if these numbers hold, Democrats would capture the Senate. They need a net flip of four seats. As for the House, it’s essentially “Democrats’ to lose,” reports the Washington Post. They need a net flip of three seats, and scores of competitive races have been shifting in the party’s favor, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

That looks promising but we know just how unreliable polls and such have been in the last 20 years.

We shall see how inaccurate these are this time around……

AS we Americans go to the polls to vote our desires for government there will be an large portion of those votes for Donny and his choices.  Ever since he, Donny, won years ago people have been trying to make sense of why so much loyalty to one that is hurting them in so many way.

Why do these people refuse to withhold their allegiance?

There is a few answers….

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are cratering. Even his Make America Great Again, or MAGA, diehards have reservations.

This fact was evident to me when I attended MAGA rallies in three states on Oct. 24-25, 2026. One was a Turning Point USA get-out-the-vote event outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Along with a few dozen America First stalwarts wearing white “America the Beautiful” caps, I sat on a wooden table under a small picnic pavilion listening to speakers such as MAGA activist Scott Presler and Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser. Meuser reeled off MAGA talking points, including the supposed threat posed by transgender athletes and bathroom use, immigrant voter fraud and the “billionaire anarchist George Soros.”

Remarkably, the speakers barely mentioned Trump. The audience clapped politely, but the energy was tepid compared to the many MAGA rallies I attended in 2024, when the Pennsylvania landscape was dotted with Trump and MAGA signs. This time I saw none.

The numbers bear out what I observed.

A mid-October 2026 poll found that only a third of U.S. adults approve of the job Trump is doing; 71% feel the country is on the wrong track. The majority of Americans are pessimistic. A growing number worry about government corruption.

The reason?

There’s the war with Iran that has resulted in U.S. soldiers being killed and wounded. The conflict is costing billions of dollars and spiked the price of gas. But most of all, Trump has lost support on the economy amid growing inflation and an affordability crisis.

Remarkably, despite the headwinds, many of Trump’s MAGA loyalists still back him. This point was underscored by the Harrisburg event I attended as well as Trump’s midterm rallies, where attendees still enthusiastically chant “U.S.A.” and are decked out in red caps and MAGA merch.

Why?

https://www.alternet.org/trump-rally-fan/

What comes to my mind is….a successful propaganda machine.

Plus the bigotry that lay hidden for many years was allowed to come forward into the world of Donny….and his supporters do not want to return to the days when they had to hide their hatred.

No matter what he does to destroy their lives he will continue to get their support….I know….it sounds stupid….well it is!

What do you think is the reason for this misplaced loyalty?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”