Day: February 24, 2025

Alternate History–Trump-Style

Over the years Donny has made some amazing claims about the history of things….but one of his most semi-intelligent comment came when talking about Ukraine/Russia conflict.

President Trump on Tuesday appeared to blame Ukraine for starting its war with Russia, despite the fact that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s anger that Ukraine was not invited to Tuesday’s US-Russia talks, and his assertion that Ukraine won’t agree to any peace deal it wasn’t a part of negotiating, Trump said, per CNN:

  • “I think I have the power to end this war, and I think it’s going well. But today I heard, ‘Oh well, we weren’t invited.’ Well, you been there for three years. You should’ve ended it after three years. You should’ve never started it. You could’ve made a deal.”

Trump also falsely claimed Zelensky has just a 4% approval rating, Axios reports. As for the supposed “deal” Ukraine could have made, Trump said, per the BBC, that it “would have given them almost all of the land, everything, almost all of the land—and no people would have (been) killed, and no city would have been demolished.” He said Russia wants “to stop the savage barbarianism.” As for whether Ukraine is an equal member of peace negotiations, he wouldn’t answer the question directly, the Hill reports, but only said, “Their people are being killed, and I think they have to make peace. I said that was not a good war to go into, and I think they have to make peace. That’s what I think.”

He might have a better grip on the world around us if he less time eating Big Mac and laying in bed.

But do I know?

I see US and Russia could normalize ties soon….Little Marco working his special brand of international relations….

Following a high-level meeting between US and Russian officials, the State Department said Washington and Moscow will begin taking steps to normalize the diplomatic relationship between the two superpowers. US-Russian diplomacy sank during the first Donald Trump administration, and Joe Biden cut nearly all contact with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff met with a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. During a press conference after the meeting, Rubio said the parties agreed on four points.

“First is that we are going to work – we’re going to point our teams’ respectively to work very quickly to reestablish the functionality of our respective missions in Washington and in Moscow.” He continued,  “For us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally.”

(antiwar.com)

Some stupid never changes.

And now the Us has sided with Russia at the UN on the Ukraine situation.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly condemned Russia for the war in Ukraine on Monday, though the US joined Moscow in voting against the measure, reports the Washington Post. Others in the “no” camp included North Korea and Belarus. The final vote on the resolution put forth by Ukraine—which calls for all occupied territory to be returned—was 93-18, with 65 abstentions.

Maybe there is something to the rumors going around the news sites.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

They Are Coming For Medicare

As promised a look at the Medicare situation taking shape in DC.

This post is for retirees and those close in on retirement…..

A benefit that many of us old farts depend on is soon to be under the knife…The Trump admin and the wretched GOP are looking at the program for cuts….

Beltway journalists reported Thursday on “confusion” spreading throughout the White House and the Republican caucus following U.S. President Donald Trump’s endorsement of a House plan that would slash Medicaid and comments from the administration that suggested Trump will not protect Medicare—but Democratic lawmakers and progressive advocates said the message was crystal clear.

” Donald Trump and Elon Musk want to cut taxes for billionaires like themselves—and pay for it by gutting Medicare and Medicaid,” Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement. “They don’t care if families have to take on crushing debt to pay for care, as long as it makes them much, much richer.”

Mitchell offered the translation of contradictory statements from Trump that came Wednesday, with the president expressing support for a House resolution aimed at imposing his border and energy policies and extending his 2017 tax cuts that primarily benefited the wealthy.

The House resolution “implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it,” the president said, suggesting his opposition to a Senate proposal that would push for two separate bills.

Calling for $2 trillion in spending cuts in order to fill the $4.5 trillion hole the tax cuts would blow in the deficit, the proposal would include potential cuts of $880 billion to Medicaid, which have made some Republicans in Congress express doubt that they could support the package without angering millions of constituents who rely on the low-income healthcare program.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-on-medicaid

And after some lame campaign promise to guard the benefit….they LIED!

Howard Lutnick, Trump’s billionaire buddy turned commerce secretary, has confirmed that the administration was simply lying to MAGA supporters about not touching Social Security and Medicare.

“Back in October … I flew down to Texas, got Elon Musk to [set up DOGE], and here was our agreement: that Elon was gonna cut a trillion dollars of waste fraud and abuse,” Lutnick told Jesse Waters of Fox News Wednesday night. “We have almost $4 trillion of entitlements, and no one’s ever looked at it before. You know Social Security is wrong, you know Medicaid and Medicare are wrong. So he’s gonna cut a trillion and we’re gonna get rid of all these tax scams that hammer against America and we’re gonna raise a trillion dollars of revenue.”

Just last week, President Trump promised that “Social Security won’t be touched, other than if there’s fraud or something. It’s going to be strengthened. Medicare, Medicaid—none of that stuff is going to be touched.”

Fast forward a week, and he endorsed House Republicans’ budget plan, which is expected to make an $880 billion cut to Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

This is a long cry from the party that was telling its voters—many of whom are elderly conservatives on government benefits—that they wouldn’t lay a finger on the programs they need most.

(newrepublic.com)

You were warned numerous times during the campaign and yet 40-50% of you voted for this….how stupid do you feel now?

Hatred makes one stupid and stupidity has found a home here in America.

And when one is stupid then Project 2025 can be used with full support.

I reiterate….You Were Warned!

Speaking of Medicare I start my next round of treatment today, 5 days a week for 6 weeks, I do not know how it will effect me or my writing…..hopefully I will continue my ‘crusade’.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Never Get Your Hopes Up

Recently it was reported that the SecDef has ordered a look into cutting, a major cut, of Pentagon spending.

I think it is a great idea but as I wrote when the news broke….I do not believe there will be much cutting going on….

And now for the rest of the story….

Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert G. Salesses said in a statement on Wednesday night that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of Pentagon spending to realign spending to fund priorities of the Trump administration.

The statement from Salesses came after a report from The Washington Post said that Hegseth ordered a plan to cut Pentagon spending by 8% each year over the next five years. But according to the statement from Salesses, the idea is to redirect spending and not actually make cuts to the budget.

“Secretary Hegseth has directed a review to identify offsets from the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget that could be realigned from low-impact and low-priority Biden-legacy programs to align with President Trump’s America First priorities for our national defense,” Salesses said.

“The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities,” he added.

On Thursday, Hegseth said that the Trump administration would be taking $50 billion away from “woke Biden-era non-lethal programs and instead spend that money on President Trump’s America First, peace through strength priorities.”

Hegseth criticized The Washington Post for reporting on misrepresenting his memo, which he said was “clear as a bell.” The Pentagon chief said he wanted the “biggest, most badass military on the planet.”

In his statement, Salesses said that through the Trump administration’s budget, the Pentagon “will once again resource warfighting and cease unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called “climate change” and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy.”

Salesses said spending priorities from the Trump administration include the “Iron Dome for America,” referring to an order from the president to establish a major new missile defense system, a project that would be a boon for the weapons makers and likely start a new arms race. Trump has also backed a budget plan drawn up by House Republicans that would increase military spending by $100 billion.

More info here….According toBreaking Defense, the memo issued by Hegseth included 17 categories of spending that would be exempt from the offsets:

(antiwar.com)

As I seem to always warn….never get your hopes up for the billionaires will always win out.

Better luck next time reining in War spending.

On a side note….the price tag for trump’s golf outings for one month….$10.7 million….so while his thugs and hatchet men are destroying the government he has time to play golf….we are so goddamn lucky (sarcasm)….

Apparently Trump and golf is his version of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”