Are We Entering The New Dark Ages?

2025 will be the beginning of a repeat of the Guiled Age (19th-early 20th century)…..

Too many once critical opponents of Trump are starting to change their tunes and basically asking….what could go wrong?

Heads up here…I AM NOT ONE OF THEM!

I have read all 900+ pages of Project 2025 and anyone that has been awake for the last couple of decades should see the problem that is rising on a dim horizon.

Personally, and I am not alone, I think the US could be entering into a new Dark Ages….

Donald Trump has moved at warp speed to nominate people to serve in his Cabinet and other important government posts who have chosen loyalty to him as their most important virtue, making a mockery of merit even as the nominees claim to uphold meritocracy.  

Moreover, like Trump himself, his nominees denigrate science and scientific expertise, subscribe to conspiracy theories, are eager to impose litmus tests in the arts and education, and seem hostile to the world beyond America’s borders.

Elections have consequences, so the saying goes.

And if that wasn’t enough to remind us that elections have consequences, the president-elect announced that on the first day of his administration, he will order a mass deportation of millions of immigrants and impose stiff tariffs on this nation’s most important trading partners.

While much of the post-election commentary has focused on its implications for American democracy,  there is another side to what will unfold starting on Jan. 20. When he takes office, Trump, who promised to Make America Great Again, seems determined to lead America into a period of scientific, cultural, educational, and global retrenchment, which collectively might be called the new “Dark Ages.”

Some see Trump as reviving the so-called Gilded Age of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an era of great prosperity as well as technological and industrial growth. It was an era dominated by corrupt “captains of industry” or “robber barons” whose corrupting influence also extended to government and politics. 

However, leaders in the Gilded Age did not reject science and rationality. Quite the contrary, they embraced both because they saw them as essential to the growth of capitalism. And they invested in culture and the arts, rather than trying to make them hue to a particular orthodoxy.

https://www.salon.com/2024/12/07/welcome-to-the-new-dark-ages/

I am a person of meager means and I am not thrilled about the policies Trump has threatened the country with…..these policies will do nothing to make my life better if they are put into action.

Some of these ‘nominees’ are truly ‘successful’ business men…..but very very few have done anything to help this nation and its people….they have raped (metaphorically) and back-stabbed to get their millions and billions but that does nothing for me.

I want the people to lead my nation that look at the people and how to improve their lives not as a pack of peons to be exploited.

Do not fret far from finished with my criticisms.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Nihilism,Narcissism….

Today is a full day of medical stuff and Since I am having such a terrible time dealing with the effects of my treatments I will be posting a lot of other people’s stuff….I hope no one minds.

This is a re-post of a very good and detailed post that says a lot….hopefully someone is listening besides me….

Narcissism, Nihilism, and the Destruction of America or Why We’re so Fucked

Time for us Americans to start taking a close look at what we have done to this country.

I hope everyone has a good day.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Getting Old Sucks!

It is Sunday and I usually post some obscure question or delight my readers with something entertaining….but today I would like to post on something that we all must go through in our lives….aging.

When we are young we do not think about grow old until one day you realize your reflection shows wrinkles you did not know were there and you start growing hair in places it did not grow before…..and when you get up from sitting and your body sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies–Snap, Crackle and Pop.

I was doing fine until about 55 I broke my leg, 2 operations, then I lost 4 toes, then I was diagnosed with diabetes then I was told I have 2 types of cancer and then there is the treatments…..so when I say ‘getting old sucks’ I mean it.

Old age gives you a new mindset and of course the contemplation of one’s mortality…..but we can soldier through if we just rethink old age.

Whether you are a Gen Zer entering the workplace or a boomer entering retirement, there’s no denying the fact that you aren’t getting any younger.

But does the thought of growing old sting? Even though aging often has a negative connotation, it doesn’t have to.

Western culture tends to define aging as a gradual physical decline — associating it with aches, pains and a foggy memory — and becoming out of touch with a fast-paced society (e.g., the internet meme “OK boomer”). We are led to believe that our best days are a summit that will pass us by.

But when we look at the science of aging, fundamental pieces of this negative narrative start to vanish.

Alan Castel, a professor of psychology at UCLA, is an advocate for aging victoriously. “Our own attitudes about aging do influence how we age,” Castel says, “so if you think positively about what can happen as you get older, then you might be active and healthier, and you might live longer.”

In his book Better With Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging, Castel cites a study in which researchers used Catholic nuns’ diary entries from when they were in their 20s to determine their levels of happiness. Of the most cheerful nuns, 75% lived to age 80, but only 40% of the least happy nuns lived that long. The happiest nuns lived about 10 years longer than the least happy nuns.

Castel uses this example to support his view that there are things you can do today — whether you’re 25 or 65 — to live a happier, healthier and longer life.

https://100.ucla.edu/impact/its-time-to-rethink-aging

Getting older is not the end of the world, but it is getting closer, we need to knowledge the aging process and learn to cope.

That is all for me today….enjoy your Sunday and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–14Dec24

We are back with more stuff!

It has been an eventful week….Syria craps on Assad….CEO shooter is arrested….so on and so forth….but that is for others to deal with for this Saturday is the ‘Dump’ of news that was not readily reported.

Locally–We down here are into our normal weather pattern for this time of the year…..warm temps….rain….colder temps for a few days and then the cycle is repeated about every 5-6 days.

Personal–I had three treatments for my cancer from a radiation beast called ‘the Cyber Knife’…..an intimidating machine that sucks the energy out of your body….and I have a few more before a break for scans so they can check the results of that focused radiation….the problem is I am fatigued and cranky….Sue just ignores me.

I apologize but I have had a hard time staying upright after the treatment so if I miss anything please forgive me…..hopefully this energy loss with fad soon.

Enough morbid stuff….moving on to the meat of the ‘Dump’….

More news on the number 1 plastic polluter…..Coke….

Coca Cola is not your friend. Yes, they may be one of the most successful brands in history–but that is all the more reason not to trust them. Sure, they have a fun and cheerful image and a flagship product that is sweet and bubbly and goes well with everything from whiskey to pizza but, as you know, it’s packed full of sugar (high-fructose corn syrup in the US) and regular consumption could lead to obesity, diabetes, cavities, and a ton of health issues. I used to love Coke as a kid, I’d have one every chance I could, and it wasn’t long before I was overweight–slimming down, and cutting out the sugary beverage, took much longer.

But hey, I believe in personal freedoms, so if you want to drink Cokes, smoke or vape, microwave plastic containers of questionable sushi, and then go get a spray tan, that is on you. Yet, I also believe in responsibilities, both personal and corporate and the Coca Cola company has been wildly irresponsible to the point of bringing down the quality of life for billions of people around the world. When it comes to plastic pollution, they are currently the worst in the world (and have been for much of the past decade) and recently, in the wake of the stalled UN plastic treaty, abandoned their own goals towards reusable packaging and doubling down on single-use plastic. 

https://www.surfer.com/news/plastic-polluter-1-coca-cola-is-not-your-friend

Medical news…..sleep apnoea….they are working on a tongue implant…..

A new electronic chip that zaps the tongue’s nerves could relieve millions of patients with a common disorder that stops them from breathing in their sleep.

The technology has the potential to eliminate the need for uncomfortable machinery that some people rely on when going to bed.

Sleep apnoea, a condition that causes breathing to periodically stop while an individuall is sleeping, affects around 8 million people in the UK.

The most common type, obstructive sleep apnoea, is marked by choking sounds, loud snoring, and waking frequently. It occurs when the walls of the throat relax and widen or close.

The three-hour procedure to fit the Genio Nyxoah implant was carried out by medics at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) earlier this month.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/nhs-tounge-implant-sleep-apnoea-b2663840.html

Then there is the billionaire that is trying to breed a ‘huge white family’….

An infamous insurance billionaire has been accused by several women of operating a bizarre “baby project” to build a giant white family.

In a wide-reaching exposé, Bloomberg reports that North Carolina insurance tycoon Greg Lindberg operated this scheme by manipulating young women into donating eggs to him — and signing over their parental rights — in exchange for millions of dollars.

One of these women, who was identified only by the pseudonym Anya, is the biological mother of a five-year-old boy who she says she hasn’t seen in four years because her now-ex-boyfriend, Lindberg, has used the contracts she signed to keep him from her.

After divorcing his wife and losing custody of his first three children, the disgraced insurance executive and father of 12 has, per several people familiar with his natal ambitions, become obsessed with having an ever-increasing vassal of progeny. In particular, he was said by these sources to want children who could never be taken from him — hence having the women sign their parental rights away.

With an army of lawyers and well-paid in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics on his payroll, most of Lindberg’s reproductive scheming has apparently been legal due to the fertility industry’s lack of oversight.

https://futurism.com/neoscope/billionaire-birthing-scheme

Nuke power is becoming a big issue no especially with big tech looking for more and more power to fuel their AI……there could be an answer to the price of uranium….

Nuclear energy is a controversial subject for many people. Although traditional nuclear energy, derived from uranium or plutonium, has been hailed as a reliable, low-carbon energy source, it has also raised significant objections from environmentalists, the public, and policymakers alike. Many of these objections have related to nuclear energy’s overall safety, its high costs, limited resource availability, and considerable issues with its long-term waste management and environmental impacts.

This is why the nuclear industry is interested in alternative fuels for future nuclear reactors, and one candidate may be thorium, which has been gaining scientific interest for some time.  

Thorium is a naturally occurring, silvery, and slightly radioactive metal that was named after Thor, the god of thunder in Norse mythology. The metal is significantly (three to four times) more abundant than uranium is in the Earth’s crust, but to date, it has had very little use as a power source. There are a few reasons for this, though the most important is that thorium is not fissile, which means it cannot sustain a nuclear chain reaction like isotopes of uranium (particularly uranium-235).

However, there are ways to use thorium to create fissile materials suitable for fuel. Thorium-232 is the only naturally occurring thorium isotope, but it is fissionable rather than fissile. This means it needs high-energy neutrons to undergo fission – a process where an atomic nucleus is split into smaller nuclei, releasing large amounts of energy. However, irradiating thorium-232 so that it absorbs a single neutron allows it to transmute into uranium-233, a fissile material that can be used to fuel nuclear reactors.

https://www.iflscience.com/could-thorium-offer-long-term-potential-as-a-nuclear-energy-source-77142

Finally….I like sake if goes down nicely and then kicks your butt…..but there is some that is a bit too pricey….

A Japanese sake maker is going where no sake maker has gone before: space.

Asahi Shuzo, the company behind popular Japanese sake brand Dassai, plans to blast sake ingredients to the International Space Station (ISS) to ferment a very special brew.

If it works, just one 100ml bottle will be offered for sale on Earth at 100 million yen, or about $653,000. A standard serve is 80ml, making it one very expensive drink.

“There is no guarantee of 100% success for the fermentation tests,” said Souya Uetsuki, the brewer in charge of the project at Asahi Shuzo.

He said the difference in gravity could affect how heat transfers in fluid, causing a different fermentation process in space than on Earth.

The company has paid Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency for access to the Kibo experiment module, part of the ISS developed by Japan, where tests can be conducted in a “special microgravity environment.”

The national space agency said they would not comment on the privately paid project.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/12/science/sake-space-japan-launch-intl-hnk/index.html

That does it for me today….I am sorry that it is not ask detailed as it has been in the past…..but at least I am still trying.

Have a wonderful Saturday….and as always….Be Well and Be Safe

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Trumpian Foreign Policy

A look ahead to 2025 and the possibilities of a new foreign policy, a Trumpian foreign policy.

I admit that I am not a big fan of most of the polies of Trump when it comes to foreign policy…..but I do likje that he wants to extricatre the US from Ukraine…..I agree with the idea just not sure about the action.

Foreign policy. Trump declined to go into specifics on foreign policy, but he said the Middle East is “going to get solved.” Asked if he trusts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, “I don’t trust anybody.” He described the war in Ukraine as less complicated, but harder to “solve” than the Middle East. “I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia,” he said.

Beyond that let’s look at some his other policies…..

Nixon—and in the process, reminisce about a conservative internationalist, a hawk with a heart of gold, at a time when right-wing ideas about foreign policy have gotten weirder and dumber and more inchoate. The base no longer cares for the bomb-droppers. But they ran the show in the first Trump term, and will in the second, if only because they are the only ones who can.

The Grand Strategy Summit is a reflection of this absurd configuration. Trump has, for the entirety of his political career, eviscerated the foreign policy establishment, arguing that it is both too eager to start wars and too timid once it has. But beyond a relatively simple heuristic—Trump admires strongmen and scorns long-standing alliances with democratic allies—there is no Trump doctrine.

Eager to cast himself as a modern-day isolationist, Trump was nevertheless a reckless and trigger-happy president, who very nearly started wars with both Iran and North Korea. Trump and much of his base have rejected the neoconservative framework that has dominated Republican foreign policy for decades. But instead of shunning the hawks, he empowered them, placing men like O’Brien and his predecessor John Bolton in positions of high authority.

What is the new Republican Grand Strategy? America faced an “Axis of Authoritarianism,” O’Brien said: Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Pyongyang. “Four powers. They’ve got internal lines of communication between them.” It’s unclear what he means by this. “Internal lines of communication” is a very Strategy term, but you would typically hear it in relation to the movement of troops around a field. Here, he seems to mean that all four countries are in Asia.

https://newrepublic.com/article/186299/brainless-ideas-guiding-trumps-foreign-policy

I still do not see much thought put into foreign policy other than platitudes about our entanglements in organizations.

Time will tell if his decisions will have a lasting effect…..whether good or bad….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Big Immigration Crackdown

According to the promise of our new fearless leader there will be a massive crackdown on immigration….farmers are trying to head this off at the pass….but this ‘promise’ is nothing new…..it happened back in the mid to late 19th century and it was the Chinese that was the anger of the people.

That’s right yet another opportunity for me to drop some history and maybe some knowledge of things to come.

This is a detail look at what transpired around what became known as the “Chinese Exclusion Act”…..

This 1882 law is now popularly known as “the Chinese Exclusion Act.” It banned both skilled and unskilled Chinese laborers from immigrating to the US for ten years. Symbolically and politically, this bill was a big deal: it was the first significant crackdown on immigration in American history, a message that the federal government opposed Chinese immigration, and a reaffirmation that Chinese immigrants already in America could never become citizens.

However, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was just one in a series of federal laws against Chinese immigrants — and, as Beth Lew-Williams makes clear in The Chinese Must Go, this 1882 law was actually quite ineffective. Basically, President Arthur and Congress threw a bone to the insurgent anti-Chinese movement, but they provided few resources for federal enforcement against Chinese immigration and introduced a bunch of loopholes that allowed Chinese immigrants to continue coming in.

In the years after the Act’s passage, West Coast newspapers and populist agitators grew angry that Chinese immigrants were still entering the country and demanded that the government do more. This was the beginning of what you might call the national fight against “illegal immigration” — because before this virtually all immigration to the United States was legal.

Historians have found that the economies of towns suffered after they kicked out their Chinese residents.

So, if there’s a lesson from Qian’s study, it’s that, yes, maybe immigration restrictions and expulsions or deportations can actually help some native workers. But, really, the cost is tremendous — not just for the immigrants themselves but also for almost everyone else.

https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2024/11/26/g-s1-35805/chinese-expulsion-act-railroads-immigration-crackdown

Please read the entire article…..there was a huge cost to this crackdown as there will be if another one takes place.

If you worry about the economy then maybe Trump’s big idea will not play well as it did in the 19th century.

Class dismissed!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2025 And Beyond

There have been talks and predictions that Trump will extend his presidency beyond 2028…..that is if he makes it that long…..but short of wild predictions is there a way legally that he could extend his rule?

Why yes there is….but to use the term ‘legally’ is a bit of a stretch…..more like a few dirty tricks would be more accurate.

Under the U.S. Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, President-elect Donald Trump will be term-limited after he returns to the White House on January 20, 2025. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

The last U.S. president to serve more than two terms was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was elected in a landslide in 1932 and was serving his fourth term when he died in office on April 12, 1945. But the 22nd Amendment has limited post-1940s presidents — from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama — to two terms.

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on November 22, however, attorney Berin Szóka lays out some of the tricks that Trump might resort to in the hope of remaining in the White House after January 20, 2029.

One possible trick, Szóka warns, is Trump trying to run for vice-president in 2028 — and another is Trump and his MAGA allies trying to change the rules.

There is a reason there are term limits on the presidency….

The purpose of presidential term limits is to protect democracy and ensure democratic competition. In recent years, however, many African presidents have attempted to amend constitutions to pursue extended mandates. For example, in Kenya, a motion was tabled before the senate in September 2024 to extend the presidential term limit from five years to seven. This sparked furious public debate.

The vast majority of presidential or semi-presidential systems around the world have a presidential term limit. The roughly 16% that do not are not well-functioning democracies, but rather authoritarian or semi-authoritarian systems.

Quite often autocratic presidents extend term limits as part of a strategy to consolidate . In Venezuela, for instance, Hugo Chavez in 2007 lost a referendum to eliminate presidential term limits. He succeeded on a second attempt in 2009, and remained in power until his death in 2013.

https://phys.org/news/2024-11-presidential-term-limits-democracy-dangerous.html

Do you think that there will be an attempt to make this the imperial presidency?

If so then read this….

Trump has been musing about serving three terms for a long time. In a 2018 fundraiser with donors at Mar-a-Lago, he praised Chinese President XI Jinping for being elected president for life, calling Xi “great,” and suggesting, “Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.” At a campaign rally in Wisconsin in August 2020, he declared: “We are going to win four more years. And then after that, we’ll go for another four years because they spied on my campaign. We should get a redo of four years.”

…

By its terms, the amendment prohibits presidents from being elected more than twice. It is silent as to whether a president can legally assume office more than twice by other means.

The distinction is critical because the hardcore reactionaries who dominate the Supreme Court, where any 22nd Amendment challenge involving Trump would wind up, consider themselves to be strict “textualists.” This means that they profess to focus on the plain meaning of the words contained in the Constitution, regardless of the practical consequences. As Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett put it in her October 2020 Senate confirmation hearing: “I interpret the Constitution as a law and … I interpret its text as text, and I understand it to have the meaning that it had at the time people ratified it. So that meaning doesn’t change over time and it’s not up to me to update it or infuse my own policy views into it.”

https://www.alternet.org/22nd-amendment/

According to the Constitution he cannot run again….now is there a possibility that he could try an end run on the Constitution? 

Yes there is for he has been trying ever since his first term…..but will he be successful?

And how many Americans are just going to shrug off what is coming as something to look forward to as days go by?

That is the $64 question.

You wanna weigh in on this?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How To Mend A Broken Country

For almost 2 decades this country has been massively divided and divided to the point of a possible no return.

It is sad that a country that use to be a beacon to the world has become a laughing stock to that same world.

Can we fix what is broken?

First, citizenship is far more than just voting….that one simple fact escapes so many Americans…..

On the eve of a big national election, it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of presidential politics. The White House, after all, is often called the “highest office in the land.” But in all the turbulence that comes with campaigning, it can be too easy to lose sight of the enduring things that really matter. As if to remind us that we should not overly focus on presidential politics, Justice Felix Frankfurter once said, “In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen.” This is a lesson we would do well to remember.

Of course, this suggests the importance of voting in a presidential election – or any election at any level of government. “We the People” hold in our hands the decisions about the representatives who are to conduct the daily work of governing. That’s why every vote matters – and of all people I would know. I won my first election for the Washington State House of Representatives in a recount by a mere 29 votes out of 52,000 cast.

But even with the signal importance of the act of voting, there is far more to being an American citizen.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/11/02/citizenship_is_about_more_than_voting_151890.html

But how can things change?

I think the problems are several but leading in my mind is the Electoral College and party primaries….but here is a piece from theconversation.com

Now that the elections are over, you might be left feeling exhausted, despondent and disillusioned – whether your preferred candidate won or not. You are not alone.

Survey after survey has found that Americans agree that the political system is not serving them.

Americans say they are angry at the political dysfunction, disgusted with the divisive rhetoric, weary from the lack of options, and feel unheard and unrepresented. I am a mathematician who studies quantitative aspects of democracy, and in my view, the reason for this widespread dissatisfaction is evident: The mechanisms of American democracy are broken at a fundamental level.

Research shows that there are clear mathematical fixes for these malfunctions that would implement sound democratic practices supported by evidence. They won’t solve every ailment of American democracy: For example, Altering Supreme Court rulings or expanding voting access are more political or administrative than they are based in math. Nevertheless, each of these changes – especially in combination with one another – could make American democracy more responsive to its citizens.

https://theconversation.com/americans-agree-politics-is-broken-here-are-5-ideas-for-fixing-key-problems-243553

I have read many articles along this line….some stellar ideas but that is all they have….ideas….maybe they should pick one and go at it with force.

I believe that those are stellar ideas….the problem is the parties….they will not want change because too many make way too much cash off the system as it is now.

Congressional Progressive Dems have a good idea….

In the wake of U.S. federal elections resulting in Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress—in no small part due to Democrats’ failure to win working-class votes—leading congressional progressives are pushing a plan to rebuild the Democratic Party by rejecting corporate cash and uplifting low- and middle-income Americans.

In a memo first shared with Punchbowl News, outgoing Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), incoming Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas), and CPC members Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) urge the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to “rebuild our party from the ground up.”

The lawmakers call on DNC leadership to “create an authentic Democratic brand that offers a clear alternative and inclusive vision for how we will make life better for the 90% who are struggling in this economy, take on the biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals who have rigged the system,” and expose GOP President-elect Donald Trump’s “corporate favoritism” to “create a clear contrast with Republicans.”

  • Reform, restructure, and rebrand the Democratic Party from the ground up and commit to a 50-state strategy that builds power through state parties;
  • Embrace grassroots donors and reject special interest and dark money, including by reinstating the DNC’s 2008 ban on corporate political action committee donations, and pushing to prohibit super PAC spending in state primaries;
  • Rebuild Democrats’ multiracial, working-class base by uplifting poor, low-, and middle-income voices and concerns; and
  • Highlight recent electoral successes while working to build broad coalitions to win elections.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/democrats-working-class

These are excellent ideas and I will wait to see which person wins the DNC chair…..I am thinking this will not fly with the new chair…..why?  In DC money speaks the loudest.

Whatcha think?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Plutocrats Are Coming!

In case no one is paying attention let me give you a rundown of the nominees that Trump is putting up for the cabinet and other governmental gigs….

But first for those not sure just what the Hell a plutocrat is…. A plutocrat is someone who uses their wealth to buy political power.

Looking over this list of robber barons I think a better term would be kakistocracy….government by the worst persons; a form of government in which the worst persons are in power.

Now that is defined let’s move on to the people waiting for confirmation….

Scott Bessent, hedge fund manager and former CIO of Soros Fund was picked by Trump to lead the Department of the Treasury. Net worth: $1 billion.

Massad Boulos, Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law and the CEO of a Nigerian motor vehicle company, is set to become a senior advisor to the White House on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. Net Worth: Around $1 billion.

Doug Burgum, former North Dakota governor and CEO of Great Plains Software, who Trump picked to head the Interior Department. Net Worth: $1.1 billion.

Stephen Feinberg, a co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management who ran the firm’s defense sector investments, appears to be in line to become the number two at the Pentagon. Net Worth $5 billion.

Jared Isaacman,  CEO of the Pennsylvania-based processing firm Shift4 Payments, who also founded the defense firm Draken International and sold it to Blackstone in 2019 for a reported nine-figure sum, is Trump’s pick for administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Net Worth: $3 billion.

Charles Kushner, Ivanka’s father-in-law, founder of Kushner Companies real estate firm, and beneficiary of a Trump pardon, as ambassador to France. Net Worth: $1 billion.

Kelly Loeffler: the former Georgia GOP senator married to is married to Intercontinental Exchange founder Jeff Sprecher, was chosen by Trump to run the Small Business Administration. Net worth: $1.1 billion.

Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, is Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary. Net worth: $1.5 billion.

Linda McMahan, who Trump tapped to head (or kill off) the Department of Education, the former CEO of the World Wrestling, and chair of the America First Policy Institute. Net Worth: $3 billion.

Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and Twitter and reportedly the world’s richest human, was tapped by Trump to co-head the Department of Government Efficiency. Net Worth: $344.6 billion.

Mehmet Oz, TV doctor and snake oil salesman, who Trump wants to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Net worth: $100 million to $315 million.”

John Phelan, a financier and founder of MSD Capital, is Trump’s Secretary of the Navy nominee. Net Worth: Around $1 billion.

Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former pharmaceutical exec, who Trump tapped to co-head his dismantling of the federal government group known as DOGE. Net Worth: $1 billion.

Warren Stevens, Trump’s pick for ambassador to the UK, is the head of Stephens, Inc., the Arkansas investment bank founded by former Clinton backer Jackson Stephens. Net worth: $3.4 billion.

Donald Trump, TV personality who was re-elected President of the United States. Net Worth: $6.6 billion.

Steve Witkoff, a real estate tycoon who owns 51 major properties, including the Woolworth Building, in Manhattan, is slated to serve as Trump’s envoy to the Middle East. Net worth: $1 billion.

There you have the complete list (for now) of the worse people possible to lead this country.  Not one of them gives a toss about your life or your families struggles.

Hang on to your cup for the continuous kicks to the nuts will be everlasting.

Please comment if you so desire.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo

The Hegseth Express

I have made my thoughts known about the person that Trump wants as the Secretary of War…this Hegseth dude…..there are some in Congress that think like me that this slug is not qualified to oversee the nation’s largest budget and for that reason must not be confirmed.

It appears that Trump has stepped in and flexed his muscle to get his lackey through the confirmation process….

The most vocal opponent to his confirmation was Sen. Ernst but now that has changed….

A week ago, it seemed that Pete Hegseth’s chances of becoming the next defense secretary were doomed, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis floated as a possible replacement. Things look much different now, however, after what Punchbowl News describes as a “vibe shift” on Capitol Hill in favor of the nominee.

  • Key senator: Hegseth met with GOP Sen. Joni Ernst on Monday, who had been voicing serious doubts. Afterward, however, Ernst signaled her support, describing the meeting as “encouraging” and praising his “responsiveness and respect” for the process, per Axios. Ernst has been seen as a “tough sell,” notes Punchbowl News, because Hegseth opposes women in combat roles (she served in Kuwait and Iraq) and has faced allegations of sexual assault (she is a survivor of sexual assault).
  • Strategy: Ernst had faced a fierce public backlash from Trump allies who suggested she may not last in the Republican party if she opposes the president-elect’s pick. “The swarm of MAGA attacks” was “a warning of what’s in store for others who express skepticism of his personnel choices,” per a Politico analysis. Hegseth “became a cause” for Trump allies, one of them tells the outlet, and his success would bode well for other controversial nominees such as Kash Patel for the FBI and Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence.
  • Still close: Hegseth is still not a slam dunk to win approval. He meets this week with two other female GOP senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. But the New York Times notes that even if they and Ernst end up voting against Hegseth, he would be confirmed if the rest of the GOP coalition holds. A wild card would be if the woman who accused Hegseth of a 2017 sexual assault came forward. Police investigated the allegations but did not bring charges.
  • Hegseth’s campaign: The nominee appeared on Fox News Monday night and told Sean Hannity that the “left is trying to turn this into a trial in the media, a show trial” and that “we’re not going to let that happen.” He added: “I’m going to walk in the door of every one of these senators as an open book, willing to answer their questions because they deserve answers.” Trump himself and JD Vance also have voiced support for Hegseth in recent days, and Politico reports that Vance has been strategic in shifting sentiment in the Senate.

He will make it as the ‘king’ of budgets….and he will be one of the worse secretarys in recent history….

Show just how weak the GOP has become when one person can dictate their principles and at the same time screw the cfountry for the future.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”