We Are ‘Domestic Terrorists’

Do you actively criticize or protest Donny and his merry band of crooks?

If so you may be labeled a domestic terrorist…..Donny and the Hand Job Gang has defined it as….

The brainchild of National Security Council official Sebastian Gorka, the “Counterterrorism Strategy” weaves together Trump’s war on the wider world — which stretches from interventions and wars in Yemen and Iran to Nigeria and Somalia to Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea — with the administration’s war on dissent at home, which has targeted immigrants, legal observers, activists, protesters, and the press.

Now, according to the Trump administration, the nation is battling three major types of terror groups: “Legacy Islamist Terrorists,” the long-standing focus of America’s counter-terror efforts; “Narcoterrorists and Transnational Gangs”; and “Violent Left-Wing Extremists, including Anarchists and Anti-Fascists.”

This last group is defined in the document as people the administration deems to be “anti-American, radically pro-transgender, and anarchist.” This puts antifa — a fictional foe that is actually a collection of ideas and not an organization — on par with actual terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and drug-trafficking syndicates such as the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

How Trump’s New Counterterrorism Strategy Puts You at Risk

According to these slugs that definition would be me….

I will not deny that I think that Donny and The Slugs are a cancer on our society and the sooner we can eliminate the tumor the sooner we can rebuild this once great country….

So since I am a big mouth opponent am I worried that they will come get me while I sleep?

I will lose little sleep worrying about that….but will they charge me with being a ‘domestic terrorist’?

Unless something changes….there is no federal statute to charge anyone as ‘a domestic terrorist’….you can be charged for a lot of things but a domestic terrorist is not one of them in a legal sense.

Despite officials’ proclivity for the phrase, there is no federal statute to charge someone with domestic terrorism. Federal law does define domestic terrorism—criminal acts “dangerous to human life,” intended to intimidate civilians or influence government policy. But as the FBI noted in a November 2020 memo, “This is a definitional statute, not a charging statute.” The bureau prefers the term domestic violent extremism “because the underlying ideology itself and the advocacy of such beliefs is not prohibited by US law.”

Federal sentencing guidelines already allow for an “enhanced penalty….if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism,” and it’s easy to see its potential for abuse. When leaders of the far-right Proud Boys were convicted for organizing the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, prosecutors alleged the mob violence that day was “no different” than blowing up a building.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly disagreed but still felt “the constitutional moment we were in that day is something that is so sensitive that it deserves a significant sentence.” Kelly applied terrorism enhancements and sentenced them each to over a decade in prison. (All participants received a presidential pardon in 2025.)

Over the past 25 years, we’ve learned the government won’t waste an opportunity to increase its power in the name of fighting “terror,” whether at home or abroad. The Trump administration already claims the authority to label people “domestic terrorists” based on such perceived offenses as “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity.” The FBI cited January 6 as justification to dramatically increase surveillance of American citizens who opposed then-President Joe Biden. We should look skeptically at any further expansion of power that will supposedly fight “terror.”

(reason.com)

But I am sure if needed Donny and his Magic Sharpie will do the honors.

If you criticize Donny and his Band of Tech Bro thieves are you worried about them coming for you?

Me?  I just say…’Bring It On!’

Tell me what you feel.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

I Hate Defeatism!

“…Land of the free and home of the brave…”

When I returned from Vietnam I began my campaign of protesting the war and I was met with an amazing amount of defeatism…..I started my protests for after seeing that war first hand I could stand by and turn my head and ignore the horrors and the sacrifices.

Defeatism can be found in most aspects of life….your life, your job, etc but for this post I want to address political defeatism.

Personally I hate defeatism to me it is just throwing hands up and accepting crap and no inclination to change things.

First we need to define the term so there is NO confusion.

Defeatism….is a term used to describe an individual’s mindset or attitude characterized by a pervasive belief that failure is inevitable, and success is unattainable. This defeatist thinking can manifest in various aspects of life, including work, relationships, and personal goals. It often leads to a lack of motivation, low self-esteem, and a reluctance to take on challenges.

There seems to be a wealth of defeatism these days especially on blogs….it is fear that drives this cancerous feeling.

I can’t say for certain, but I got the clear sense that there is a wide-spread fear among Americans these days of openly expressing opposition to the aspiring orange tyrant in the White House. Putting an anti-Trump bumper sticker on a car could lead to vandalizing of the vehicle, saying something critical of Trump could mean losing friend, a job, or ruining a family gathering. I even heard that one of my J-School alums didn’t want to sign the Class of ‘69 protest letter or even to have a copy of it sent to his email address, explaining to a mutual friend that “I still have a journalism job” and thus even being associated with such a document!

A common comment I heard from people when I expressed my outrage at Trump’s executive orders like the blocking of already-awarded federal research grants, the revoking of already-approved Green Cards and student visas for foreign students, the deportation of children who are US citizens, and the president’s ignoring of judicial and even Supreme Court orders, has been a dismissive and resigned “Yeah, that’s the new normal now.”

I cannot recall observing that sort of defeatism and fear during the dark years of American atrocities in Indochina. When we learned of massacres of civilians in Vietnam by US troops, or of the carpet bombing by B-52s of North Vietnam and later of Cambodia, the news fueled mass marches across the country and in the nation’s capital.

This is the only way to stop what Shipler and I are noticing: a withdrawal from protest. That cannot be allowed to happen. As Shipler writes, “History is still in the hands of the people, for a time. Whether this enters American history as a passing phase or a fundamental turning point will depend on whether Americans mobilize. To make courage contagious. ‘In a free society,’ said Abraham Joshua Heschel during the civil rights movement, ‘some are guilty, but all are responsible.”

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/05/15/fear-of-protesting-trump-policies-spreads-in-us/

Then there is apathy….defeatism and apathy go hand in hand and to the ruination of the nation….

A new kind of plague has spread across the West: the plague of resignation, marked by diminished voter turnout and a general retreat from political engagement. People feel frustrated by a system that seems to yield little change, regardless of their involvement. But treating this “plague” requires an understanding of its cause. While it’s easy to diagnose public sentiment as apathetic and cynical, we must ask what fuels this mindset and what might reverse it.

At the heart of this apathy is a deep-seated reluctance to self-examine or step beyond comfort zones. Many, especially on the political left, hold fixed beliefs about who holds power and who bears responsibility for society’s ills. There’s a pervasive notion that those in power are inherently to blame, that the powerful are perpetually working against the interests of ordinary people. This perspective is often accompanied by the view that any issue of injustice or inequality can be traced back to the “evil” actions of the elite. The public, in turn, finds a certain comfort in this approach. It allows people to feel moral and justified, focusing their frustrations outward rather than examining their own roles and responsibilities.

Apathy and defeatism: the plague of politics

American history will be written by the people.  Will you be part of the ‘brave’ or part of the defeatism that is striking fear in Americans hearts?

Even at my advanced age I refuse to live in fear and reject defeatism in all it’s forms

Who will stand with me?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Someone Please Rescue Our 250th

We are rapidly approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country….and to celebrate Donny is making it all about himself and not this great nation.

There has got to be some way to rescue this event from the claws of Donny and his egotistical mind.  A auto race, state fair, BBQ or a UFC match is not the way to commemorate our beginnings.

I was around for the celebration in 1976 and its was the way to celebrate the beginnings of the US of A….it was and will be heads above the silliness the Donny thinks will celebrate our country.

On the 250th anniversary of the United States, some details of the celebrations might seem familiar from the celebrations in 1976 of America’s 200th. People sip from cans decorated with the Liberty Bell and a big round number. Commemorative vehicles drive or fly around with founding documents. Federal dollars and private donations flow toward politicians’ goals. A president directs federal funding toward his pet projects.

A big difference is just how prominent Trump is making himself this time around. It wasn’t always headed this way: Congress created the United States Semiquincentennial Commission in 2016, during the Obama administration. In 2020, Trump created the 1776 Commission—an advisory body committed to propagating whitewashed American history—which Biden disbanded on his first day in office in 2021. Trump reassembled it in 2025, more determined to make the national birthday about him, his followers, and their shared visions of the past. While Richard Nixon sought to leverage bicentennial funds to motivate political support in the 1970s, Trump uses the semiquincentennial moment to promote himself. Trump is even attempting to align a semiquincentennial UFC match with his own 80th birthday.

As historian Marc Stein traces in Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s, a national birthday can launch a much broader, more inclusive, and ambitious national project. Yes, the bicentennial too involved politicians advancing their own aims, and it involved selling things, with a proliferation of commemorative objects. But the events and their backlash also helped promote broader goals. Stein writes of the urban planners who sought to direct bicentennial resources toward remaking cities and revamping tourist destinations. He writes of the contingent of the New Left that hoped to rekindle what they viewed as the radicalism of the founders, and of marginalized communities, who mobilized for a reexamination of American history and for reform in contemporary society. Sometimes these groups disagreed about the past and agreed on the future. Sometimes they disagreed about the future, despite shared ideals of the past.

https://newrepublic.com/article/209315/rescue-america-250th-trump

I will not participate in anything the Donny and his clowns have planned for this point in our history.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

If At First You Don’t Succeed…..

We are closing in on another general election and the Dems are scrambling looking for a counter to Donny and his MAGA idiots….and they are starting to talk about a failed candidate from the past….Hillary.

Hillary Clinton is headed to New Hampshire, and the trip has one pundit wondering about 2028. “At first glance, the idea of another Clinton run sounds crazy,” writes Peter Lafflin in the Washington Examiner. But he lays out a plausible, if long-shot, scenario. During the trip, the former secretary of state, senator, and first lady will deliver the keynote at the state party’s McIntyre-Shaheen Dinner in late April, a slot historically tied to would-be presidents. “You can bet her allies will be watching closely to see how she is received,” he writes.

Lafflin contends that, despite Clinton’s age—she will be 81 in 2028—and her loss in 2016, she may be more viable than many in a crowded 2028 field: She’s been sharp and combative in recent public outings, has deep party ties, strong support among Black voters, and sky-high name recognition that could translate into early-state pluralities. Laffin sketches a scenario where she rides the “establishment lane” into a showdown with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a progressive challenger—hardly a sure thing, he admits, but “it isn’t crazy, either.”

Read the full piece.

I shake my head but what does hillary think?

During an appearance at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Clinton was directly asked if she was “thinking about running again.”

Her answer was immediate. “No. No, I’m not. But I think we’ll have some very good candidates. Some of them were at Munich.”

Those remarks come after senior editor Peter Laffin described her as a “plausible” candidate in the Washington Examiner.

I think that is best we do not need another corporate Dem in office.
Then there is word that Harris is contemplating another try….

Former Vice President Kamala Harris kept the door open on a possible third presidential run, saying that she’s “thinking about it,” eliciting cheers from a majority of the crowd at the National Action Network Convention on Friday.

“Listen, I might, I might. I’m thinking about it, I’m thinking about it,” Harris responded when Rev. Al Sharpton, during their chat at the New York City convention he hosts, flatly asked her if she’s planning to run again.

“I’ve been traveling the country the last year, I’ve been spending a lot of time in the South and many other places, and the one thing I’m really clear about, also, is the status quo is not working, and hasn’t been working for a lot of people for a long time, and part of the issue is the need to get rid of some of the bureaucracy in government and to understand that the people want — they don’t want process, they want progress. And that’s the work that needs to be done,” Harris said.

(abcnews.com)

Once again I say NO!

She failed last time….we need new blood in the the party not a rehash of old tired ideas that have not proven there worth in decades.

This whole idea of anyone but Donny will get us nowhere near the place this country should be.

Anyone have a different take?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Justice Thomas–Just Another Political Hack

We know the Chief Justice Roberts is a political hack ans now Justice Thomas has opened his mouth and once again proved that he is a hack as well.

I have known he was one for years  and his wife is worse than him….there are so many times he should have recused himself but instead vote to assist the people in the suit.

His latest performance is around the abortion pill….

Justice Clarence Thomas sharply criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling preserving nationwide access to an abortion medication, arguing the drug manufacturers were operating a “criminal enterprise.”

On Thursday (May 14), the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold nationwide access to the abortion pill mifepristone, according to The Guardian.

In October 2025, the state of Louisiana sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for allowing mifepristone to be prescribed remotely and mailed to patients, arguing that mailing the medication violated the state’s abortion restrictions and federal law.

This ruling halted a May 1 order from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that would have significantly restricted nationwide access to mifepristone.

In Thomas’s dissent, he argued that the plaintiffs — Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, two mifepristone manufacturers — had not shown they would experience irreparable harm if access to the medication remained blocked.

“Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise,” Thomas wrote. “They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.”

He also pointed to the Comstock Act, passed in 1873, which broadly bans the mailing of anything considered “obscene, lewd or lascivious”, arguing mifepristone fits that description.

Thomas was joined by Justice Samuel Alito, who argued the ruling conflicted with the court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which gave each state the individual authority to regulate abortion.

In a similar case from 2024, the Supreme Court ruled against a lawsuit filed by The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), a coalition of conservative medical organizations and physicians.

The lawsuit challenged FDA rules allowing expanded access to mifepristone, including mail delivery and telehealth prescriptions.

(binnetweork.com)

Yo Thomas the only criminal enterprise here is the Supreme Court.

Then Thomas spoke at the Univ of Texas about ‘god given’ rights and how Progressives are destroying that….

Justice Thomas is perhaps one of the most revered living justices on the right. Conservative lauded his speech, calling it “extraordinary.” “In addition to its sweeping condemnation of progressivism, his speech is an immediate classic in civics formation,” wrote Andrew Walker, professor of Ethics and Public Theology at Southern Baptist Seminary. “But that the speech’s content is now so foreign, so unfamiliar, to so many, reveals how successful progressivism has been in memory-holing our national inheritance. Progressivism is a civic, moral, and theological cancer. It must be fought against and defeated if there is to be an American order (and moral decency).”

https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/news/2026/05/clarence-thomas-warns-progressivism-threatens-americas-god-given-rights

Sorry Bubba the only cancer on society is your Oreo ass and the ilk that you represent.

BTW….what are those ‘god given rights?’  Name them!

These people like Thomas and his ilk are pathetic and creepy and will lie just to keep their positions in life….time for this one and well all of them to step down and let more competent people take over the Court….these people are doing more harm to this country than anyone they point their fingers at in their BS….

Any thoughts that you would like to share?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Restore Religious Myths

As a political historian I find this whole affair a worthless waste of time and an affront to the Constitution and DoI.

Yesterday Donny plans to prayer vigil on the National Mall as part of the 250th celebration it’s aim is to restore religious fervor….

The Trump administration plans to stage a nine-hour prayer event on the National Mall on Sunday that organizers describe as a bid to “rededicate” the US to its Christian foundations. They’re using public money set aside for the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Washington Post reports. Billed as Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, the gathering is being run through Freedom 250, a public-private partnership created by the White House. Although the announcement talks of unity, the program is dominated by Protestant speakers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson are scheduled to speak. President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are sending recorded messages.

Religious historians say the scope and tone of the event stand out from presidential observances that have typically featured broad, nonsectarian invocations. Of the 15 faith leaders listed as participating, 14 are Christian, including seven evangelical leaders and two Catholics, per USA Today. The only non-Christian religious leader listed is Orthodox Jewish Rabbi Meir Soloveichik. Amanda Tyler of the Baptist group BJC argued that the administration is promoting a false notion of the US as officially Christian and blurring church-state lines. Supporters, including Regent University scholar Mark David Hall, likened the jubilee to a Thanksgiving proclamation and emphasize that participation is voluntary.

The event also will also showcase what organizers call a Freedom Truck, one of six mobile exhibits using material from conservative groups PragerU and Hillsdale College to promote a “pro-American, Judeo-Christian” story of the founding. “This is really an affront to the American religious community,” said the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, CEO of the Interfaith Alliance. “They are using an event like this, which could be the opportunity to showcase the incredible diversity of American religious life, which is so rich and beautiful and powerful … to rewrite American history.” Gates open at 9am, with music, military bands, and speeches continuing until 6pm.

Basically I think this is BS from a panty waste of a leader.

Thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington on Sunday for “Rededicate 250,” a massive 8-hour prayer rally blending worship music, patriotic imagery, political figures and prominent Christian leaders in an event supporters described as spiritual renewal and critics viewed as another step toward the normalization of Christian nationalism in American politics.

The event, tied to upcoming celebrations marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, featured speakers repeatedly invoking themes about restoring America’s “Christian roots” and reaffirming the United States as “One Nation Under God.” Organizers, called Freedom 250, framed the gathering as a national rededication of the country to God through prayer, worship and public faith.

https://www.salon.com/2026/05/17/christian-nationalists-pray-for-a-return-to-americas-christian-roots/

As a political historian I find this whole movement to be utterly ridiculous.

After 250 years of a religious freedom Donny and his worthless christian nationalists are trying to make this country something it was never intended to be.

Those who insist that America was founded as a Christian nation run roughshod over the historical record. They use the words of the Founding Fathers to support Republican jeremiads on the moral decay of American life. If only this country could return to its Christian roots, they say nostalgically, everything would be okay.

And how do they demonstrate that America was founded as a Christian nation? By selectively choosing texts from the writings of the Founders without any effort to explore them in the context of the 18th-century world in which they were written. Just because John Adams and George Washington quoted from the Bible or made reference to God does not mean that they were trying to construct a Christian nation. Granted, the Founding Fathers were the products of a Christian culture, but most of them were never comfortable with the beliefs that defined this culture. Very few of them would qualify for membership in today’s evangelical churches.

https://www.hnn.us/article/is-america-a-christian-nation-what-both-left-and-r

The idea the this nation was founded on christian beliefs is a myth….more info for you….

https://www.au.org/about-au/history/is-america-a-christian-nation/

The Founders thought that government should be secular….not favoring one religious belief over any others….and that is where it should stay.

It is that simple and Donny and the Band of Toads are trying to make it more complex than that….with the use of lies and more lies.

America should stay the secular nation it has alwasys been….PERIOD!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Yet Another Great Idea

From time to time the Congress comes up wityh some excellent ideas….sadly they are just that…ideas….they usual;ly go by the wayside…but at least some try to do what is necessary.

Awhile back I figured that there was about 100+ lobbyist per members of Congress and all have buckets of cash….time for that to change….I would be okay with shutting down “K” Street immediately but that would be a dream not a reality.

There is at least someone trying to put these a/holes away….

Congress members would be permanently banned from becoming lobbyists after they leave office under a new bipartisan bill, first reported by CNBC.

The legislation would not only ban senators and U.S. House members from being registered lobbyists, but would also prevent then from being compensated for trying to influence lawmakers and staff on behalf of companies or groups — closing a loophole that would allow former lawmakers to lobby without being a registered lobbyist.

The effort, from Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., comes as a growing number of lawmakers are speaking out against profiting from their elected positions. Numerous bipartisan bills have been introduced this Congress to ban things like members owning and trading stocks, or banning themselves from betting on prediction markets.

The new bill, which is unlikely to become law, would hold violators to a penalty of $50,000 per violation or up to five years in jail.

“Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low, and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street is a big part of that,” Scott said in a statement to CNBC. “We need to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and that’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to put government clearly back on the side of the people.”

(cnbc.com)

I can see Warren leading this drive…but Scott from Florida….the MAGA twat for Donny?

Does he realize what this bill would do?  If so why would he bite the hand that feeds the GOP?

I have always thought Scott was a bit off center and this does little to change my mind.

I wish them luck with this bill but I think they are just stabbing wildly in the dark.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Hawai’i Has The Right Idea

Since those political hacks we called the supreme court made it possible for corporations to have more clout than the people of this nation the money has been pouring into the super PACs making our elections more about who can draw the most donors than the policies that help the population.

Now the state of Hawai’i is trying to do something about this miscarruage of our system…..

The state of Hawaii has passed a law that poses a direct challenge to the infamous 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which opened the door to unlimited corporate spending in US elections.

Democratic Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Thursday signed into law a bill that takes aim at the court’s ruling that corporations are effectively people with full free speech rights who can face no limits on what they can contribute to political organizations.

As explained by More Perfect Union, the law, which is set to take effect next July, classifies corporations as “artificial persons” who do not have a constitutional right to make political donations.

“The bill could limit the influence of super PACs,” noted More Perfect Union, “and be a model to challenge the influence of money in politics.”

Democratic Hawaii state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, a supporter of the law, said on Thursday he was proud that Hawaii has become “the first state in the nation” to take direct action challenging Citizens United.

“As elected leaders, we do not serve artificial entities,” Keohokalole said. “We serve the people.”

US Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, hailed the law as “big news” that should inspire opponents of limitless corporate political spending across the US.

“The far-right Supreme Court hijacked the Constitution to let corporations spend in our elections,” said Casar. “But we are not powerless. We can fight back.”

The new law passed despite opposition from Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, who argued that defending it in court could be difficult and expensive.

The law’s passage earned praise from campaign finance watchdogs who have long called for overturning Citizens United and reestablishing guardrails for corporate cash in US democracy.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/citizens-united-law-hawaii

I say bully for them!

This is worth the fight no matter the cost.

Should be a template for all states.

The problem is if it goes to the supreme court those twats will strike it down….

The fight must go on.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–17May28

Another dreary week under the boot heal of Donny and the Tech Bros….

Been a typical week from our Dear Clueless Leader….big talk about the senseless war to measuring DC for more destruction in the name of Trump.

Let’s begin with his ill-conceived war with Iran….we have seen what the price tag for this stupidity will but let’s look at what the price tag will be for you personally….

An updated analysis released Thursday finds that President Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran will cost Americans significant money at the gas pump this year.

The report, released by the office of Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), projects that if gas prices remain at their current level of over $4.50 per gallon, it will cost a US drivers an extra $73.06 per month—or $876 per year—to fill up their cars compared to what they were paying before Trump attacked Iran in late February.

For a family with two cars, this would mean forking over an extra $1,753 for gas this year

https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-war-gas-cost

I am so glad this douche bag is putting America first.

As long as we are talking about the war with Iran….there maybe a name change coming….

The Pentagon is considering renaming the war with Iran from “Operation Epic Fury” to “Operation Sledgehammer” if President Trump decides to restart the full-scale bombing campaign against Iran, NBC News reported on Tuesday.

Sources also told NBC that the US currently has more firepower in the region before the US and Israel launched the war on February 28. “We are in a better spot now than on February 27,” a US official said. “We have more firepower and capability.”

The potential name change is part of the Trump administration’s effort to maneuver around the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which was an attempt to rein in the Executive Branch’s disregard of the Constitution’s requirement that Congress has the sole power to declare war.

The resolution does not supersede the Constitution and states that to introduce US forces into hostilities, the president must have a declaration of war or authorization from Congress, or a “national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces,” none of which the Trump administration had before launching the war.

The War Powers Resolution also includes a 60-day deadline for the president to end any unauthorized military action or obtain authorization from Congress, which has been falsely reinterpreted to give the president 60 days to wage war without congressional authorization.

(antiwar.com)

And that is how you pull an end run on Congress.

And now for the more stupidity that is the Trump admin….

We all know that he wants his name everywhere and has set upon building more monuments in his honor….like the Arc De Trump and now a gold course in DC….

Along the banks of the Washington Channel in the nation’s capital sits the East Potomac Park, a popular green space offering 330 acres of open fields, picnic grounds, tennis courts, and lanes for running and cycling. At over 100 years old, the park is a celebrated “part of the culture in D.C.” But according to renovation plans obtained by the Washington Post, President Donald Trump wants to radically change the park, installing an “exclusive” golf course at the expense of public access.

“Based on the renderings being circulated to potential donors,” reports the Post, “the public golfing facility in the park that has long attracted hackers of all stripes because of its affordability and accessibility would be gone, as would a miniature golf course, the oldest continuously operating one in the country, which underwent a $1 million renovation in 2024. Hains Point, the tip of the peninsula popular with early-morning birdwatchers and weekend barbecuers, would be incorporated into the new course and seemingly inaccessible to anyone not playing golf.”

https://www.alternet.org/trump-golf-course-2676873876/

Donny is not through yet…..the Garden of American Heroes…..

President Donald Trump‘s proposed National Garden of American Heroes will take up a large portion of the Washington, D.C., waterfront – and won’t honor any Native Americans, Hispanics or Democratic presidents.

During the Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore in 2020, Trump gave a speech in which he vowed to establish the National Garden of American Heroes through an executive order as part of his second-term plan.

The order mandates the creation of a task force to establish this garden and to have it open to the public by no later than July 4, 2026.

The list of statues includes “historically significant” Americans, such as former presidents, Founding Fathers, frontiersmen, people who assisted with the discovery of America and African-American abolitionists.

https://uinterview.com/news/trumps-next-construction-project-the-40m-garden-of-american-heroes-wont-honor-any-native-americans-hispanics-or-democratic-presidents/

This dick wad never tires of spending money on his vanity.

Now let’s look at some of the morons that enable this douche we have for a leader…..we will start with some fake pastor….

American Reformed Christian pastor, podcaster, and self-confessed plagiarist Dale Partridge says he knows one of the major causes of homosexuality among men, and it is “liberalism.”

Partridge made his comment about liberalism after watching a video of a transphobic MAGA influencer, Kaitlin Marie Bennett, asking questions to a college student dressed in a skirt. The student was part of socialist Democrat protest urging the president of the University of Central Florida to turn the school into a “sanctuary campus” that won’t aid federal immigration officials in arresting undocumented and international students.

The student fell silent when Bennett mockingly accused the student of acting like a “fascist” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer for having a reserved campus protest space meant to exclude her and other counterprotestors. The student’s silence seemed to stem more from a disinterest in participating in a bad-faith debate rather than an inability to debate their position.

After showing a part of Bennett’s video, Partridge said, “Not only does liberalism make men gay, it makes them incapable of thinking, okay? Liberalism is just, like, feminized politics. So the moment you hit them with equivalency or make them think in categories, they shut down.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/05/conservative-pastor-knows-what-turns-men-gay-its-not-what-you-think/

If you think guy is a moron then wait until you read what Boebert has to say….

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) says that aliens from outer space are actually “fallen angels and Nephilim” from the Old Testament of the Bible, according to Right Wing Watch. On Friday, President Donald Trump released declassified government UFO files.

“God is the creator of the universe,” Congresswoman Boebert says in recorded video published Friday by Right Wing Watch. “He’s never not going to create.”

The Colorado Republican lawmaker said that it’s “always been something in my mind to say, ‘Well, how can we be the only ones?’ Like, God’s not going to stop creating just with us.”

https://www.alternet.org/send/lauren-boebert/

Where did this mental midget get this “information”?

Responding to the disclosures, Jeremiah J Johnston of the Christian Thinkers Society attempted to debunk the files, offering a spiritual explanation for the mysterious lights and “orbs” spotted in the night sky.

Johnston went on to argue that, for him, UFOs can be categorized in four ways: misidentified objects like ice crystals or tricks of light; classified human technology like spy drones or satellites; angelic activity; and demonic activity.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ufo-photos-files-angels-christians-pentagon-b2975843.html

I have 2 problems with his assessment…..”Christian thinkers and angelic activity…..christian thinkers I believe that is what is called an oxymoron.

How many rocks must they look under to find these complete idiots?

They just keep getting more silly by the week, huh?

Most news watchers know about the deadly ‘hantavirus’ that broke out on cruise ships….and Donny has an answer….under normal circumstances a prez would put an infectious disease expert in charge of any program involving this virus….but not our dumbass Donny….

When 18 American passengers who were onboard the MV Hondius were potentially exposed to Hantavirus, the Trump administration dispatched Dr Brian Christine to temper growing fears about another possible pandemic.

For a doctor who specialised in penile implants and surgical treatments for erectile dysfunction, the deadly outbreak is perhaps his most difficult public health challenge to date.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/05/15/brian-christine-us-hantavirus-response/

Once again Donny proves just how damn ignorant he is….a stable genius putting a penile implant doctor in charge of a deadly virus response….classic stupid.

But the silliest statement of the week was from the usual suspect….that idiot in charge….

On Monday, during a routine press event, president Donald Trump casually made an announcement that in any normal White House would have kicked off days of frenzied coverage — either about a revelatory inflection point in the history of medicine, or about the mental wellness of the country’s chief executive.

The president’s apparent claim? That an unnamed new drug can bring patients back from the dead.

“We’ve taken people that were dead,” Trump fomented. “We had a person given the last rites — gone, the kids are crying and everything — and started them on this drug. And the person became better. It works.”

You think we’re joking? Here’s the clip:

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/trump-drug-dead-back-to-life

I think with that statement my post is done….there is only so much stupid one can write about before a drink is needed.

To try and talk people off the roof I give you a humorous video….

I hope you enjoy your Sunday and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–16May26

Half way through May and things are not any better.

This is for all the old acid heads….Wavy Gravy turns 90…..

Ninety years does not seem like enough time to contain the life of Wavy Gravy. The hippie icon is probably best known as the emcee of Woodstock, but his impact on American culture goes far beyond those three days of peace and music.

He was Albert Einstein’s neighbor, Bob Dylan’s roommate, and the official clown of the Grateful Dead. His friends are a who’s who of 1960s counterculture: Lenny Bruce, Ram Dass, Ken Kesey. He’s been a beatnik poet, a hog farmer and a jester. An actor, an activist, an artist. A Merry Prankster, a Yippie and an ice cream flavor. He introduced granola to the hippies at Woodstock and ran a pig for president against Richard Nixon.

Wavy Gravy, most famous counterculture icon alive in Berkeley, turns 90

Local–we finally got some rain after months of little to none….4+ inches in a couple of days…..even with that we are still in drought condition.

Forecaster say we are in for a brutal Summer….oh goody more 110+ temps….can’t wait for that.

Personal–A week of no scans,pokes, prods or meetings….and it was hard to keep from just sleeping all day…..but I have two pups that refuse to let me do nothing.

Let’s begin with more cancer treatment advances (hopefully)….

Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have designed a new cancer treatment by borrowing a strategy from bacteria that live inside tumors. Instead of attacking cancer cells directly, the approach targets how those cells generate energy.

In prostate cancer models, the therapy delivered its strongest results when combined with radiation, a standard treatment. Tumor growth slowed dramatically. The key component is a lab-made peptide called aurB, derived from a bacterial protein. Once inside cancer cells, aurB disrupts the mitochondria, the structures responsible for producing energy.

Without that energy supply, tumor cells struggle to survive and multiply. The findings were published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-turn-cancers-own-bacteria-against-it-in-breakthrough-therapy/

One of my cancers is prostrate and the biopsy is truly humbling but there may be a better way….

A new urine test may soon change how doctors monitor men with low-risk prostate cancer, offering a much less invasive way to check whether the disease is becoming dangerous.

Researchers found that the test performed better than common methods such as PSA blood tests and MRI scans when deciding which patients truly needed repeat biopsies.

The study, published in The Journal of Urology, suggests that the test could help many men avoid unnecessary procedures while still catching cancers that become more aggressive and require treatment.

New urine test could spare thousands of men from painful prostate cancer biopsies

All this research needs to be fast forward for cancer patients have only a small window most of the time.

Speaking of research….death…..the great mystery

Humans have been pondering the nature of death since prehistoric times, with evidence of funeral practices dating back to early hominids more than 400,000 years ago. In the millennia since, our curiosity about death has grown more and more complex, with most of the world’s most prominent religions and folklore traditions seeking to answer the mysteries of life’s end. However, it wasn’t until the mid-1900s that researching death became a true science. Known as thanatology, the study of death has yielded fascinating evidence for what it physically feels like to die, and how the mind reacts to those final moments. It may sound like a grim field of study, but thanatology has actually unearthed some surprisingly soothing answers to the mysteries of death.

Thanatology is a uniquely challenging field because, as they say, dead men tell no tales. How can you study an experience without any firsthand accounts? There’s no easy way around this problem, but researchers have a few resources to work with. Believe it or not, near-death experiences, known in the medical field as NDEs, are coming to be seen as valuable evidence. Instances in which people’s hearts stopped but were later resuscitated have revealed unexpected findings about both the physical and emotional experience of dying. On top of that, there have been a handful of cases in which people actually died while undergoing neurological imaging, providing the most intimate look at mortality that doctors have ever observed. It turns out, many of our preconceptions about death have been all backwards.

https://www.sciencing.com/2165883/what-scientists-know-about-death-that-you-didnt-until-now/

There use to be a time when America stood for freedom of the press…..I said use to be….

Reporters Without Borders warned Thursday that the United States is facing a “press freedom crisis” as President Donald Trump and his subordinates wage an aggressive assault on the media that has included threats of treason charges and imprisonment against journalists.

The Trump administration’s active disdain for press freedom has pushed the US to its lowest-ever rank on Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, which ranks countries based on numerous indicators including legal protections for journalists, reporter safety, and overall political hostility toward the press. The US landed at 64th out of 180 countries on the latest version of the index, falling seven spots compared to last year.

“The US has experienced a steady decline in the RSF Index over the past decade, but President Trump is pouring gasoline on the fire,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF’s North America section. “Trump and his administration have carried out a coordinated war on press freedom since the day he took office, and we will live with the consequences for years to come.”

“The index shows that this decline is measurable and ongoing, but preventable,” Weimers added. “Our message is clear: Protect legal rights, ensure accountability for attacks on media professionals, and support independent media to restore American press freedom.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-press-freedom-index

How sad is this?

Recently my friend Pete, bettleypete.com, posted on some unanswered questions and I have found one that I never had thought about….

What’s in a fart? This question, far from rhetorical, was one put to Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in the early 2000s. A nurse had asked if quietly farting during an ongoing operation could be considered a contamination of the sterile field.

“I realised that I didn’t know,” Kruszelnicki told Brisbane’s Triple J radio. “But I was determined to find out.”

Farts, known to science as flatulence, are a fact of life. We have seen evidence of the passing of wind in fish, sloths, and certainly humans. Hardly surprising when you consider the internal marble run that is our digestive system.

When we eat, digestion begins in the mouth as we chew up food. Enzymes in our saliva help to break it down further, and our gut mixes it all together with acid until it forms a substance called chyme.

That gas escapes through our rectum and is released into the air. It’s normal and healthy in most cases, but there’s no getting away from the fact that a fart must pass through a valley of bacteria on its way out into the world. So, does any of it hitch a ride?

https://www.iflscience.com/if-a-nurse-farts-in-an-operating-theatre-does-it-cause-contamination-a-doctor-decided-to-investigate-83453

As long as I am on the fart thing….

We are up to our butts in ‘smart’ things, phones, homes, etc and now we have one for farts….

People have a poor grasp of how often they fart, but smart underwear can provide a more accurate measure of flatulence, helping to spot gut-related conditions that might go undiagnosed like lactose intolerance.

Brantley Hall at the University of Maryland and his colleagues have designed a small hydrogen-detecting device that you can attach to your underwear to measure the frequency of farts, or flatus. “It’s like a medium-sized coin, like a nickel or a two-pence piece, and a couple of coins thick. And it clips on adjacent to the perineum,” says Hall.

He and his colleagues got 37 people to use the device to record what happened after consuming lactose, the sugar in dairy products. Producing excess intestinal gas is a hallmark of lactose intolerance, because if people don’t have the enzyme lactase to break down lactose, microbes ferment it instead. This produces hydrogen, leading to bloating and releases of gas. The trouble is, about one-third of people with lactose intolerance don’t report symptoms – sometimes because they don’t know they are farting.

The researchers put the participants on a low-fibre diet for two days to minimise microbiome activity and establish a baseline of farting. Then, on the morning of the third day, each person received either 20 grams of lactose or of sucrose. On the fourth morning, they consumed the other sugar. The participants and research teams didn’t know who was getting what.

Of the 37 participants, 24 were sensitive to lactose and farted over 1.5 times more than their baseline during the day after consuming it, according to the smart underwear. The day with higher gas production corresponded to the lactose consumption in 22 of these people.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2525189-smart-underwear-detects-lactose-intolerance-by-tracking-your-farts

Smart Underwear….what’s next?

Do you have weird dreams?

Those weird dreams you sometimes have aren’t just neurons firing aimlessly inside your brain at night. Although they may warp reality into something half-familiar and wholly bizarre, mounting evidence suggests that dreams are actually mirroring your personality traits and lived experiences. As you fall into the deepest phase of sleep, the way your experiences transform into strange movie reels in your subconscious is anything but random. In fact, your most vivid and memorable dreams are the ones with the deepest connection to your daily life and personality traits.

New research from a team of neuroscientists led by Valentina Else of the IMT School for Advanced Studies in Lucca, Italy, documented many unexpected connections between dream contents and waking life. The study analyzed recorded dream reports and compared the visions in dreams to data about individuals’ personality traits, psychological profiles, cognitive skills, and sleep habits. Else used AI models known as natural language processing tools to get to the bottom of dream structures and descriptions. And it turns out your brain isn’t just replaying the past. Dreaming is more of a dynamic process that merges lived experience with who you are.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a71251558/your-weirdest-dreams/

That is enough useless information for this Saturday.  If the weather is nice go out and have some fun and just relax….and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”