Free Press Pushes Back Against Trump and Hegseth's Lies

We still have a free press, but just barely.

Trump's doubling down on his long-time crusade against truth in reporting has been getting assistance from Pentagon Pete since the illegal war was started.

Hegseth's chest-thumping claims on the Iran war paint a different image of the scenes on the ground. 

Data from the U.S. military show that the pace of operations in Iran has been fluctuating since Trump declared war, contrary to Hegseth's bombastic claims of "more and larger" waves of strikes.

Thanks to the U.S. Central Command we have data that shows the average number of strikes per day. Despite Hegseth's lies, the strikes have risen and fallen over time, even as Hegseth claims we're hitting them harder every day.

Meanwhile Trump told reporters recently that the U.S. has obliterated (he loves that word) Iran's defenses. The fact is Iran has been hitting key bases in the Middle East even as Hegseth claims he destroyed their fighting ability.

The good news is the news media has pushed back on Hegseth's Pentagon policy restricting press access. 

A federal judge has struck down Hegseth's ridiculous rules. 

The judge, Paul Friedman, ruled the policy - which forced journalists to sign agreements not to solicit unapproved information - was unconstitutionally vague and amounted to viewpoint discrimination.

Outcome: the court ordered the reinstatement of credentials for journalists. The Pentagon filed an immediate appeal, but I don't see it going anywhere.

The Committee to protect Journalists published a special report by Leonard Downie Jr. titled "The Trump Administration and the Media." The report stated: Trump has habitually attacked the news media in rallies, responses to reporter's questions, and many hundreds of tweets.

From funding cuts and executive orders to billion-dollar lawsuits, the Trump regime has mounted an historic assault on independent journalists and press freedom.

History tells us dictators always try to intimidate the free press or outright shut it down if they can. See Nazi Germany.

As it Stands, press protections are integral to the First Amendment, including the right to report without fear of government interference.

GOP Lawmakers Follow the Bouncing Ball Regardless of Where it Leads

           Hey! Karaoke fans I've got a good one for you. 

It's called following the bouncing ball which is a classic sing-along technique popularized by Fleischer Studios in the 1920s.

Viewers were invited to follow a ball-shaped icon bouncing on lyrics to guide the rhythm. It allowed audiences to sing along to on-screen text.

The bouncing ball is sometimes used as a metaphor for ignoring complex details to focus on simplistic guided narratives.

We currently have Congressional Republicans who follow Trump's bouncing ball every day. Like the old TV show Sing Along with Mitch, the tune has been updated to sing along with Don the Con in Congress.

It doesn't matter if the ball ends up in a sewer, the spineless GOP lawmakers will faithfully follow it. To get the full effect watch a video of these cowards in action to appreciate their slack-jawed subservience.

Following the Bouncing Con is an act of daily devotion. Only the most gutless go where no sane person would, clinging onto Don the Con's every declaration.

The sounds of stupidity echo through the Congressional corridors as slavish GOP members sing along to "Donnie's Always Right," a cult classic.

While Trump's playing with toy soldiers on the carpet in the Situation Room his generals are following the bouncing Con's orders to the detriment of our military infrastructure and national security.

As it Stands, the way I look at it is those spinless GOP lawmakers are going to end up going off a cliff while following Don the Con's bouncing balls.

What's Trump's Doing About the War Today? Answer: Selling His Special Sneakers

           Trump is really unhinged today. 

The war isn't going his way so he's ranting about everything but the hot mess he created in the Middle East.

This morning's frantic social media posts included one so bizarre I couldn't believe my eyes at first. But there it was. Donnie decided to remind the world about his tacky line of overpriced gold sneakers.

The First Felon shamelessly posted on Truth Social that his "Never Surrender" high top shoes were being listed for sale at $180,000 at a sneaker convention in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. You read that right. $180,000 for a pair of Trump sneakers. By the way, I strongly suspect that sneaker event isn't happening soon.

Think about that for a moment. For starters the seller of these sneakers never found a buyer after a year of trying. The shoes originally sold for $399 at Sneaker Con Jeddah on Feb. 4th. There's a video of the seller apparently struggling to offload that same pair of sneakers.

This kind of distraction is Trump's go to tactic for not facing reality when it gets disastrous... like what's happening in his mindless war right now.

Israel launched a widespread strike on Iran's world-largest gas field, South Pars, triggering retaliation from Tehran against key energy sites across the Gulf Arab states. An Iranian drone struck a Saudi Aramco refinery in Yanbu, on the Red Sea, and the damage is still being assessed.

Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi Refinery was also struck by an Iranian drone causing a "limited" fire. 

Qatari authorities said that Iranian missile attacks caused "extensive damage" at the Ras Laffan terminal, which carries about one-fifth of the global supply of liquid natural gas. It caused gas production at Ras Laffan to come to a halt.

With the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz closed to countries that aren't sanctioned by Iran, energy prices are surging worldwide.

Trump's knee jerk reaction to today's dismal news was another sign that his dementia is getting worse. He rambled about windmills, (actually turbines but don't tell him that) a source of grievance over 20 years old. 

He also took the time to praise GOP National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who is running for a North Carolina Senate seat. No mention of course, that Whatley is a convicted child sex offender.

As it Stands, what's it going to take for Republicans in Congress to recognize the obvious threat that Trump poses to America and the entire world?

Despite Trump's 'Bigly' Distractions the Epstein Files Won't Disappear

In the past when a president decided to wage war on another country it was the BIG news of the day. It stayed that way, more or less, until the war was over. 

For a brief moment when Trump mindlessly started a war with Iran it was the BIG news of the day. Americans and their allies were shocked, disturbed, and deeply suspicious because Trump illegally bypassed Congress and gave several accounts of why he started the war.

After considering Trump's excuses for launching an illegal war (I just had a good feeling) everything points to his desperation to bury the Epstein files. 

Yes, we are talking daily about the ravages of war and the destruction of the entire Middle East and its economic effects upon America and the rest of the world. 

But the Epstein files are gaining momentum daily. Two days ago, The House Oversight Committee requested testimony from one of the prison guards, Tova Noel, who was on duty at the Metropolitan Corrections Center in New York when Jeffrey Epstein died.

Tova Noel - along with another guard Michael Thomas - were charged in a federal indictment in 2019 (During Trump's first time in office) with falsifying records to make it seem as though they completed their required rounds of the Special Housing Unit, when they did not.

Guess what? Noel and Thomas later reached a deal with prosecutors, and the case was dropped in December 2021.

Yesterday, Attorney General Pam Bondi was subpoenaed to testify on April 14th before a House Oversight Committee over the Epstein files. The committee had asked her to voluntarily testify but she refused.

The Republican-led investigation committee believes "about half" of the Epstein files are still being held by the Department of Justice and she is covering up for Trump. The carefully worded subpoena says they plan to question her "Mismanagement" of the Epstein files. 

I expect this new phase of accountability to involve questioning Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick who denied visiting Epstein Island when in fact he did.

For the last week we've been hearing about Epstein's Zorro Ranch in New Mexico and the possible crimes committed there. I wouldn't be surprised if this investigation is going to turn up more dirt on Epstein and associates.

I am surprised that so many Republicans on the committee seem to want the truth and are becoming more proactive in their pursuit of it.

It's no wonder why Trump is becoming increasingly desperate to change the subject of his complicity with his long-time pedophile buddy.

As it Stands, I'm concerned about what Trump's next distraction will be. You know there will be one.

Gambling on Death: No Barriers to Making Millions in Today's World

I was thinking about that 1975 low budget film Death Race 2000 the other day when I realized we're currently betting on deaths to make money.

For those not familiar with the movie, Death Race 2000 it's a story of champion meets champion in a future car race across the country where hitting pedestrians scores points. The movie, produced by Roger Corman, has become a cult classic. It's stars, David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone went on to become Hollywood legends.

In the 2026 version we have a death race with a twist. There's an International Betting platform called Polymarket where users can bet on individual deaths, like heads of countries for example, and mass deaths caused by unnamed wars and violence globally.

A journalist for the Times of Israel newspaper, Emanuel Fabian, had published a short blog post reporting that an Iranian missile had struck an open area outside a Jerusalem suburb, harming no one... when the threats started coming.

According to The Washington Post Fabian received a chilling message on his phone.

"You have 90 minutes left to update the lie," a stranger said. "If you do this - you solve in a minute the most serious problem you have caused yourself in life. And you won't remember me anymore in a week," the message warned.

Other threats began to pour in threatening his life and family. He didn't know at first that his blog post triggered a dispute on the prediction market Polymarket on whether an Iranian missile would strike Israel on March 10th.

Apparently, his post scored a win for some Polymarket users who had bet against a missile strike occurring that day. The losers were angry and went after Fabian like crazed honey badgers. That didn't stop him from keeping the post however, and he reported the threats to the police.

Here's an example where an anonymous user on Polymarket won $400,000 betting on the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro just hours before U.S. forces kidnapped him and took him back to the U.S. Bettors had ponied up $7 million dollars in a typical waging transaction for the site.

In Fabian's police report he shared a message written in Hebrew on WhatsApp by a user calling themself "Haim" who said if he caused him to lose his $900,000 bet, he would invest no less than that to finish him.

Polymarket is not open to American users, so another betting platform called Kalshi was created for American bettors. Users can bet on future events from elections to dictators being kidnapped, or assassinations of prominent figures.

As it Stands, the dystopian future that Death Race 2000 portrayed has been replaced by a reality much more deadly, where human lives worldwide have been reduced to betting chips.

MAGA Fashion Trend Sweeps Senate

When we last left Donny, he was playing with plastic soldiers on the carpet in the White House. 

Since then, Trump has decided to dress his minions for grifting success.

The trend started slowly when Trump bought his senate minions shoes like his. 

The minions didn't complain when the shoes didn't fit because he guessed at everyone's size. They grinned and bore their pain for dear leader.

Trump didn't stop there, however. Oh, hell no!

The narcissist-in-charge decided to dictate what his supporters should wear - from top to bottom. Whitey tighties like Trump's were the foundation garment paired with a white sleeveless wife-beater t-shirt.

The first suck-up to show off his underwear was Mark Rubio (see photo above) who showed up at a staff meeting to share his new fashion statement. Little Marco was applauded by his fellow minions who quickly left in order to purchase their own Trump-endorsed whitey tighties.

In the next meeting Sen. James Langford strolled in wearing an imitation of Trump trousers that hung loosely on his skinny ass and pooled around the top of his Trump shoes. Not to be outdone Sen. Tom Cotton wore the signature pants, but that they were too short for his long legs. However, he still maintained a baggy look that gave him a bubble ass.

Once the word was out, the sycophants had to dress like dear leader they scrambled to comply. Senate GOP Leader John Thune proudly sported an extra-long red tie even though he tripped every time he took a step.

Instead of the Senate button Trump's cronies wore a button with Trump's orange mug surrounded by the motto, "Seal of Stupidity."

Wearing the same clothes as the first felon soon wasn't enough to show proper loyalty. The imitation of dear leader's clothes morphed into a hair and makeup challenge that his puppets found to be fun.

Sen. Ted Cruz took the prize for imitating the bird's nest on top of Trump's fat head. Using a combination of chicken feathers and week-old strands of angel hair pasta he created a matching headpiece that even fooled Trump who thought it was real hair like his. Wink! Wink!

After applying bronzer to their faces some of the senators appeared to be Hispanic-looking whereupon the others tried to deport them. 

The senate's latest demonstration of servile and spineless allegiance was noticed by House MAGAnuts who wasted no time in copying their gutless colleagues. 

As it Stands, I'm waiting for Trump to monetize this latest fashion statement for his followers and to open up a retail store called, "The House of Trump." Motto: Fashions for fascists.

Modern Protest Song Parodies That Will Give You Hope

I still remember hearing the protest songs from the 60s and 70s against the Vietnam war. They inspired me then and now the modern protest song parodies do the same thing.

One of the things I really enjoy about the modern protest songs is they repurpose familiar tunes to critique political figures and social issues, using humor and recognition to drive the message.

Examples include parodies of "Sweet Caroline" directed at Donald Trump, along with various online creators reimagining classic pop, folk, and rock hits to address topics like climate change, racial injustice, and political polarization.

There are so many songs to choose from you could spend the day laughing.

One of my favorites, and I have several, is the parody of "Man or a Muppet?" called "Man or MAGAt?" that explores political divisions and identity in modern America.

Next, we have a satirical folk ballot called "The Night They Drove Old Donny Down" parodying "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."  Link.... The Night They Drove Old Donny Down

Here's a recent parody that'll tickle your funny bone; "TACO Man." 

What happens when a president, a chicken suit, and a taco collide under a disco ball?

Link...TACO MAN

You'll get a kick out of this parody about Pete Hegseth who doesn't think women qualify for combat.

"Fight Like a Girl" highlights Hegseth's distain for women in the military. Link... Fight Like a Girl – Satirical Rock Protest Against Hegseth’s “Male Standard”

Because Trump is such a reprehensive person this song parody hit's the mark "Simply Reprehensive." It was based on Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible."

Link... Simply Reprehensive

We sure didn't start the fire, but it sure feels like Trump has!

This song is a parody of Billy Joel's classic 1989 song "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Link... We Didn't Start the Fire

I absolutely love this parody of "Paint it Black" another Brick in the Wall song for those who hate Technology.

Link...Paint it Black

The Founders know how to do great parodies. It's hard to believe that one dumb schmuck can crash an economy of an entire country. Their response is "I Raised the Tariffs" mimicking Bob Marley's hit, "I shot the Sheriff."

Link... I Raised the Tariffs

Here's a hot subject right now regarding our war in Iran. The Marsh Family produced "Grief and Destruction" a parody of Barry Mc Guire's "Eve of Destruction." It really hits home!

Link...Grief and Destruction

The parodies I listed above are only a small sampling of what you can find on YouTube today.

As it Stands, I hope you enjoyed these parodies and are inspired by them. 

"Staying Alive" in a World of Challenges

                           If you're a brother or whether you're a mother

You're staying alive, staying alive

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha,ha,ha, stayin' alive."

The Bee Gees

We are living in the worst of times with wars abroad and at home. 

With a dictator in charge, we're losing our rights and freedoms daily. Doublespeak is the order of the day as Trump tries to tell us everything is okay.

But we're staying alive as the maelstrom of lies assaults us as we go on our way. Every day we try to live our lives the right way and not get caught up in the hate that comes our way from a regime that just won't go away.

We know what's true and what's not despite everything they do. Our eyes don't lie no matter what they try. We can plainly see the Trump regime is a catastrophe.

Every day the lies grow like unwanted weeds as the regime's misdeeds increase by degrees. 

But Americans have heart and we're not going to let this evil regime tear us apart. Alas! We have cult members throughout the land who happily follow dear leader's hateful brand.

Despite the regime's many lies we can still see the truth with our own eyes. We don't like what we see happening in our country - the Land of the Free.

As it Stands, I hope you're stayin' alive and managing to thrive.

Patriotic Propaganda Versus the Reality in the Middle East

According to the "Patriotic Press," defined as right-wing outlets, here's what's currently happening in the world:

Trump says Iran war is over and we're just mopping up now.  Cleaning house as it were.

Pete Hegseth says Iran's leadership is destroyed and the remnants are hiding underground.

Trump tells countries not to worry about the dangers in the Straits of Hormuz. 

Reality is telling us a different story.

The Straits of Hormuz is controlled by Iran, and 16 ships have been attacked since Trump told other countries to "get some guts" and still go through those dangerous waters. 

Talking points on the Iran war have been a moving target. Officials keep giving conflicting takes of the operation's goals. Despite claiming he won the war Trump says the U.S. needs to finish the job, and we may need to go "further."

Today the Pentagon deployed a Marine Expeditionary Unit (with 2,200 ground troops) and additional warships to the Middle East. That doesn't sound like the war is over to me.

What is the so-called Secretary of War Hegseth doing during this deadly phase of Trump's illegal war?

He's attacking the Pentagon press (which is as right-wing as you can get) over unflattering photos they're taking of him when he's speaking. New rules. All photos have to be vetted by Hegseth minions.

And this is in the middle of a hot war caused by Trump who "had a good feeling" about attacking and conquering Iran.

Nothing is too petty or stupid for Hegseth who bragged during one recent press conference about "wounding and disfiguring" Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. He even hinted that he might not be alive.

The next day Khamenei appeared at a pro-regime rally in Tehran urging his disciples to kill the American invaders. Proof that Hegseth doesn't know what he's talking about.

When Hegseth claimed there is "no clear evidence" Iran has placed mines in the Straits of Hormuz despite international concerns about how dangerous the Strait is.

So, what happened? Over 16 ships have been attacked, and the contested Strait has burning hulks of oil cargo ships lighting up the night skies.

The farce continues as Trump told G7 leaders on a conference call that Iran is about to surrender. You can imagine what they thought about that statement.

The world knows Trump is crazy and desperate because his "little excursion" got out of hand and is plunging the U.S. and the world into a chaos he can't control.

As it Stands, our economy weeps as Trump's alternate reality wreaks havoc on the homeland and the world.

Americans see Trump Has Only One Endgame - and it Doesn't Involve the War Against Iran

In Trump's rapidly dimishing brain there is only one thing he's sure of; he wants to make the Epstein files disappear. He wants the infamous documentation of his relationship with Epstein to be struck from the minds of Americans forever.

That's not going to happen. Trump secretly realizes that and it's the reason for the chaos here and around the world. 

The war on Iran is a multilayered grift where Trump and his tech boys get richer, but its top priority was to distract Americans from the steady drip of incriminating information leading towards a possible impeachment and a felony trial thereafter.

The Trump regime has waged a domestic war against immigrants and American citizens that was designed to be so cruel it would make the Epstein files fade from our minds. By creating his own private army - aka ICE - Trump was able to point his fingers at democratic cities and states and cause pure havoc in communities nationwide.

Every time some information about the Epstein files made the news Trump pointed at a city and let his attack dogs create chaos there. 

The tactic grabbed headlines pretty effectively for a while but even the atrocities committed by ICE couldn't prevent more damaging Epstein evidence from surfacing.

Despite horrific news on the war front about the U.S. bombing a girl's school there were headlines about the Zorro Ranch, one of Epstein's many properties, that is now being examined by local authorities to see what criminal activities occurred there while Epstein owned it.

Note: The Zorro Ranch was almost investigated in 2019, but Trump shut down the DOJ's efforts at the time.

I wonder if journalists and lawmakers are really so naive that they think Trump has an endgame for his illegal "excursion" in the middle east? 

The messages out of the Pentagon are pure propaganda designed to keep Americans in the dark about how badly things are going over there.

With a regime that routinely lies most Americans are realizing how devasting the lies have been and how many Americans were sacrificed here and abroad. But they also want to know what Trump is concealing about his friendship to Epstein.

As it Stands, Trump is playing a long game of chaos hoping to avoid justice for his crimes.

When a War Comes Home: Drone Threats in the Homeland

Despite our First Felon's claim the war with Iran is almost over we're hearing about increased terror threats here at home. 

Talk about Iranian "sleeper cells" being activated has made Americans uncomfortable, but they didn't see that as a major threat to the homeland. No bombs were dropping on American soil, so the war wasn't that serious a threat to the civilian population. Or that was the general assumption.

Buckle up because the FBI warned police departments in California in recent days that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones on the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News.

It's nervous time plus ten. The alert explained "We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unspecified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran."

A spokeswoman for the FBI office in LA declined to comment on the alert. 

The White House is silent about this latest threat to civilians in America.

Just the idea that Americans are actually being targeted here at home, concerns me.

This shocking news comes on the back of another growing concern among U.S. Intelligence officials about the expansion of drone use by Mexican drug cartels and the chance the technology could be used to attack American forces and personnel near the Mexican border.

Are we feeling safe yet? The Trump regime is blithely downplaying the threats and telling us not to worry because the war is almost complete, and we've actually already won it.

The so-called Peace President has been exposed for a warmongering capitalist whose getting richer, along with his family, every day.

The longer Congress stays idle about this war that's expanded to our homeland, the worse it's going to get. They need to pass a War Powers Resolution (which they've stubbornly avoided thus far with the help of MAGA lawmakers) to rein in Trump's madness.

GOP lawmakers need to grow spines and stand up to our power-mad dictator who's determined to destroy our democracy at the cost of American lives in the military and here at home.

As it Stands, while Trump wages an illegal war, he also wants to trademark his name with America's 250th birthday. Think about that for a moment.