Trump's 'Throne of Illusions' is in Jeopardy

I try to avoid making broad statements, but I feel compelled to make one today; everyone on the planet knows Trump is a liar and living like a king in his fantasy kingdom.

I recently read a book - The Autumn of the Patriarch - by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, that talks about an unnamed dictator, an illiterate who rises to power and brutally takes control of a country. The eerie resemblance to Trump is captivating.

The "autumn" in the title refers to the corrupt patriarch's physical and mental decay, his growing paranoia, his psychological isolation, and his inability to form genuine human connections.

In the book the dictator surrounds himself with sycophants, creating a false reality, complete with fake news and newspapers, including a single copy of the national newspaper with the news rewritten to please him. In this way he can maintain his throne of illusions.

Sound familiar?

Here we are with a sundowning president (who would be king) with emerging mental decline who requires a "diaper nurse" who follows him around everywhere and is available 24 hours a day. 

Was Marquez a prophet? When you look at Trump's cabinet and staff, they're all simpering sycophants. Fake news is one of Trump's foundational attacks against any media he doesn't like. His short daily briefings are akin to a toddler's show-and-tell time with photos and videos they know will please him.

The patriarch/dictator in the book and Trump have many things in common, including the need to maintain a throne of illusions to stay in power. When those collapse the consequences are disastrous for everyone involved.

At this point in Trump's scandalous second term, it's apparent he's even crazier than ever before... and crueler. He doesn't give a damn about his own party which is struggling to maintain a majority in the upcoming midterms.

To be perfectly clear, Trump doesn't care about his supporters or the rest of the country. He's a dangerous lame duck trying to make a legacy for himself with vanity projects paid for by American taxpayers.

As it Stands, when (you'll notice I didn't say if) the Democrats take Congress back this November Trump's throne is in jeopardy.

During These Hard Times it's Nice to Know Trump Has Won 2 Golf Tournaments at His Properties

Kim Jong II was a North Korean dictator who supposedly shot an impossible 38 under par (a total score of 34) the first time he ever played golf. 

Kim Jong II was the father of the current dictator Kim Jong Un. 

While he hasn't bragged about his golf game, Kim Jong Un does get along well with Trump who adores him. They seem to have a mysterious bond. 

The old North Korean dictator reportedly did a lot of amazing things but today we're going to take a look at the president of the United States awesome golf record.

At 80 Trump recently won two golf tournaments at two of his many courses. He participated in the annual "caddies' day" tournament during the Aug. 21 weekend at Trump National Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, New York. He followed that victory up with another at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

In both games he received a trophy for winning the "super senior" and "senior" division" after supposedly shooting a 70 (par is 72 at the club's two courses.)

Now it's time to point out that Trump has a widespread and well-documented reputation for cheating at golf. Sportswriter Rick Reilly even chronicled Trump's cheating in his New York Times bestselling book, Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.

Isn't it encouraging that Trump has the time to cheat at his favorite game while there's a never-ending war in Iran? While the economy is staggering from high costs caused by his terrible tariffs and his stupid war, you have to give our first felon a break. 

After all his body and brain are rapidly deteriorating and it's inspiring watching him waddle from his golf cart to the tiny ball awaiting him at each hole.

I'll bet that Republicans hoping to get re-elected, or elected, in the midterms are just thrilled by Trump's power at the links. I suspect they'd rather he played golf than accompany them on their campaign tours.

As it Stands, the phrase "playing the fiddle while Rome burns" is a metaphor created by later historians. I've just updated it to "playing golf while America burns." 

Is the Kennedy Center Facing a 'Death Spiral'?

Our petty president is once again proving he's a terrible toddler and is threatening to demolish the "Decrepit" Kennedy Center.

Why? Because a judge has ordered that he take his name off the front of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts because he illegally put it up there in the first place. Trump defied the order and tried another sneaky tactic to keep his name on the marble wall. That also failed.

Just two years ago the Kennedy Center was thriving and then a freight train called Trump changed all of that when he slunk back into the White House. His push to renovate the facility with additions intended to glorify him personally has spurred a legal battle that goes back to February of 2025.

It was a hostile take-over in every sense of the word. Trump fired all of the board members appointed by former president Joe Biden, fired the center's president (Deborah Rutter) and board chair (David Rubenstein) and installed himself as the new board chairman.

Trump's new hand-picked board later voted to add his name to the building in December 2025, but a federal court ruled the move illegal on May 26, 2026, and ordered his name removed. That triggered the ongoing legal and administrative battle over the venue to this day.

Meanwhile the venue's decline began as the finances deteriorated after the name change. The public hated the change. Many considered it blasphemous that Trump would try to take over a memorial for a popular president who was assassinated. Attendance quickly and dramatically decreased and the artists who performed there left rather than be associated with Trump.

Now for the first time, a desperate Trump is threatening to demolish the iconic Kennedy Center if he isn't allowed to follow his plans for the site, including adding his name to the front of the building.

Trump's corrupt lawyers claim that without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate into an unsafe, decrepit structure. 

It's interesting to note that before Trump got his dirty little mitts on the Center it was doing fine. It was actually making money from donors and public attendance. Those donors (and attendance) dried up when Trump seized the building. 

Ironically the board members claim that without prominent recognition of Trump and his efforts, donors will not contribute, and the Center will continue to be in a financial and structural death spiral. 

What began as a living memorial to a slain president is now facing extinction because Trump is petty little bitch. There's a hearing planned in DC on Thursday (Aug.27) to address this latest assault on what Trump calls a "Woke" institution.

As it Stands, Americans are learning firsthand what a malicious narcissist means.

Trump Plans Another 'S----Show' Grift

One of the reasons Republican lawmakers don't want to participate in Trump's latest grift is because they're being singled out to finance his so-called Midterm Convention.

It's their own fault, however. They elected a clown and now are part of his circus presidency.

If you never heard of a Midterm Convention for either party, it's because this is another first for Trump's 2nd term grift spree. Like a greedy fascist ringleader Trump is touting the event as having "lots of Great Entertainment" and "a RALLY like none other." 

This latest version of money-grabbing is coming from the wallets of GOP lawmakers who are expected to cough up $25,000 for themselves and a guest to attend the two-day convention in Dallas, Texas. By the way, that's the cheap rate, with the highest tier asking for $100,000 from lawmakers.

Trump has been squeezing his loyalists to attend his latest personal fundraiser the last few weeks by sending out invitations, way after lawmakers had already committed to other events.

The timing couldn't be worse for GOP lawmakers who are already facing a blue wave in November. Republican campaign strategists are seething and swing district lawmakers aren't exactly clamoring to be associated with Trump.

That doesn't trouble Trump who looks at the event as another opportunity to shake down corporate America. The potential optics are toxic for the whole Republican party. It's also another opportunity for Trump to be the center of attention.

The midterm convention is going to take place two days before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and GOP lawmakers are loath to be photographed carousing in elephant hats with the party's wealthy elite.

Meanwhile Democrats look at this latest grift as a political gift. And why not? Watching Trump rubbing his stink of failure on Republicans who are trying to get elected distancing themselves from the most unpopular president in American history is entertaining.

As it Stands, Trump is playing concert promoter again - remember the Great American State Fair debacle? - so prepare yourself for multiple performances of Proud to Be an American by Lee Greenwood.

News on Trump's Ballroom Bunker Blues

This may come as news to many Americans.

The White House already has a protected bunker that was completed during the Obama administration.

Despite that, Trump's lawyers are arguing that Trump's ballroom/bunker project is a national security issue that will give future presidents a bunker-grade, fortified complex.

Sounds great. But there's a big problem with that argument. About 60 feet below the Oval Office there's a state-of-the-art highly protected bunker that can shelter dozens of people for weeks and is built to withstand a nuclear blast. In the case of a national emergency there's a secure command center for the president.

Chief Justice John Roberts allowed part of the project to continue construction - the bunker - in an emergency docket filing last week in spite of the federal court rulings ordering all construction to stop as the legality of the project is examined.

The case is now before the full Supreme Court where the regime is counting on another victory by Trump's conservative lackeys. Critics warn that by the time the court hears the case the project will be finished. A fait accompli.

That was the idea from the start. Trump's favorite method of dragging out court cases while he goes ahead with construction projects has been effective numerous times and this project is no different.

Right now, Trump's corrupt lawyers are calling the project a "military complex" that needs to go forward.

Okay. What about the existing "military complex" that's currently lingering below the White House? Does the regime destroy it? Do they keep it? If they do, will they sell a membership for billionaires who want to hide in style?

These are all questions that may never be answered. The Trump regime has been staying mum about the bunker's presence since he first displayed posters of his gilded ballroom. 

Trump knows all about the existing bunker because Secret Service agents rushed him to it on Friday May 29, 2020, when hundreds of protestors were gathered outside the White House over the murder of George Floyd. Afterward Trump lied to the media and claimed he just went there briefly to "inspect it."

It appears Trump forgot all about that inspection. His lawyers came up with a dodge by adding a secure bunker below his vanity project and claiming it's a national security issue of the utmost importance.

They might get away with it too. The complex is already reportedly 65% complete. The regime has 250 workers on 20-hour shifts working to finish it.

As it Stands, Trump isn't going to let laws slow him down when it comes to his vanity projects in Washington DC.

Trump Ignores Judges Orders and is Actively Politicizing the US Postal Service

The bottom line of Trump's recent executive order is the US Postal Service is being used to suppress votes, despite an August 11th judicial ruling that ordered Trump to keep his tiny hands off of the postal system.

In fact, Trump's executive order would supplant the states' authority to administer elections. The proposed rule would recast the Postal Service as an auditor of state voter rolls and an arbiter of ballot validity.

The idea that Trump is misusing the postal service as a gatekeeper of who can vote by mail is a violation of the Constitution by commandeering state resources. Not that that deters our first felon who is openly lawless in his second term.

The restrictions on mail-in voting are part and parcel of Trump's main mission to disenfranchise voters in the midterms. Critics argue the postal service could use the new rules to gather information and reject ballots in states that do not comply with Trump's demands.

In June, US District Judge Indira Talwani blocked Trump's attempt to illegally coopt the postal service. 

The judge ruled a second time on August 11, this time addressing the case brought by voting rights groups. Once again, she issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the rules from taking effect, noting that there were fewer than 90 days until the midterms.

Talwani wrote, [Where Trump's executive order] is presently causing confusion and threatening both increasing chaos and erosion of trust in our democracy, the court finds that enfranchisement heavily outweighs the executive's attempt to unconstitutionally insert itself in the domain of election regulation."

Despite that ruling the Postal Service has issued a "final order" to restrict mail-in voting on Friday Aug. 21st. In the ruling the agency said it would deliver mail ballots only in states that provide voter information to the Trump regime.

However, there's some hope the scheme can still be stopped. The Postal Service acknowledged that injunctions issued in courts in California and Massachusetts must be lifted in order for Trump's scam to be implemented.

The fight is not over yet. While Trumps' executive order was blocked by two federal courts, his regime has asked the Supreme Court to move quickly to clear the way for the new restrictions in time for the midterm elections.

(UPDATE: The Supreme Court didn't waste any time. On Monday it allowed the regime to move ahead with implementing key portions of Trump's executive order. In a 6-3 ruling they gave Trump the green light. The unsigned decision declared that the states filed their lawsuit too soon!)

As it Stands, I'm not surprised at how quickly the high court responded, proving it's Trump territory now. 

Tariff Terrorist Trump Strikes Again

It only took Trump about a year and a half to turn our once longtime ally Canada into an enemy.

After months of threatening the Canadian economy to go along with Trump's version of a trade deal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney walked away from the negotiations Saturday.

The result was a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. Carney immediately retaliated with 50% tariffs on American goods. It should have never come to this bitter trade war, but Trump loves bossing other countries around and illegally forcing his will on them.

After Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" in April where he illegally levied steep tariffs on nearly all US trading partners, the Supreme Court had to step in and stop the grift - even going so far as ordering Trump to pay back the nations he tried to rip off.

That barely slowed our first felon down. He quickly came up with another cockamamie scheme under untested authorities to keep imposing arbitrary tariffs. 

This latest assault against Canada shows how stupid he is. One of the reasons our economy is staggering is his terrorist tariffs.

Here's some key findings provided by the TAX FOUNDATION on Trump tariffs by the numbers:

* US tariff policy has changed more than 50 times since January 2025. 

* It's estimated new tariffs apply to 54% of US goods in 2026.

* It's estimated Trump's tariffs increased taxes by an average of $1,000 per US household in 2025, before the Supreme Court's ruling that struck down the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariffs.

* In 2026, it's estimated the tariffs will increase taxes by an average of $840 per US household, as the new tariffs have not fully replaced the struck down IEEPA tariffs.

Trump's tariff imposition on Canada is going to be a blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga, according to Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Once again Americans will see their costs go up thanks to Trump's favorite way to punish other countries that don't give in to his demands.

Under Trump the national debt has ballooned to 40.05 trillion according to an August 2026 report from the US Treasury Department. 

As it Stands, as long as Trump is in charge there's going to be a mismatch between spending and revenues thanks to his tariffs, vanity projects, and his war in Iran.

Trump Term One; 'Cryptocurrency is a Scam' then Trump Term Two; 'Have I Got a Deal for You'

When the subject of cryptocurrency came up in Trump's first term, he told Fox Business "it was not money" and "it was based on thin air."

Trump still believed cryptocurrency would negatively impact the dollar in 2021 (after losing his first attempt to get re-elected) and told Fox News that it "seemed like a scam." He also strongly emphasized that "he wanted the U.S. dollar to remain the "currency of the world."

But then something strange, and vile happened.

In September 2024, Trump announced that his sons would enter the cryptocurrency marketplace with a new venture called World Liberty Financial (WLF). The new company struggled and was losing money until Trump got re-elected in November. Then it suddenly soared in value.

To assure a friendly and profitable relationship the crypto industry became the largest corporate donor - $238 million - to the Trump inauguration, money Trump was free to spend as he wished.

 A Trump business entity owns 60 percent of WLF and is entitled to 75% of all revenue from bitcoin sales. By December 2025, the Trump's had profited $1 billion on proceeds, while holding $3 billion worth of unsold tokens. 

To ensure ongoing profits the Trump regime took a series of crypto-friendly actions and decisions. They reduced crypto regulation and dropped investigations into crypto firms and crypto crime. The fix was in.

A House Judiciary Committee report determined that the cryptocurrency policies were in fact used to benefit Trump and his family. The Trump regime ignored it and plowed ahead with more digital assets like meme coins.

The grift goes on. On Wednesday Trump met with his tech bros in the White House, which just happened to coincide with US financial regulators advancing new frameworks for digital assets.

In a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll the majority of Americans believe Trump and his family are illegally profiting from the whole crypto industry. Yet all they can do is watch the blatant corruption mocking the Constitution like hostages in a bad dream.

The irony is voters in the last election were warned about Project 2025, a map to destroy our freedoms and a path to profit for MAGA loyalists. However, they chose to shoot themselves in the foot. 

As it Stands, hopefully Democrats winning the midterms will put obstacles in Trump's destructive drive to destroy our Democracy.

Just the Event Americans Want to See: An IndyCar Race in Washington D.C.

The nation's economy is staggering like a drunk in a dark alley.

 American's feel trapped in the never-ending Trump/Epstein war. 

The GOP has stripped healthcare from millions of Americans in the last 18 months of Trump's second term.

The streets are no longer safe with lawless masked ICE goons invading schools, libraries, court houses and numerous other public places.

What to do about all of these challenges?

How about having an IndyCar race around the nation's capital? Now there's an idea that only a stable genius could come up with.

Just imagine. The track 1,7-mile, 7-turn street circuit will wind around the National Mall. Pretty exciting stuff watching drivers racing past iconic federal landmarks, including the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

Just don't talk about the major disruptions involved in a town where they already have the national guard patrolling year around.

Okay. Let's just talk about what a major fundraiser this is for Trump's Freedom 250 slush fund. Like all the patriotic events sponsored by Freedom 250 it's another chapter in Trump's upcoming Grift Book that won't be completed until 2028.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest Americans' problems aren't just going to go away when Trump pulls stunts like this. I'd hazard to say there's millions of people pissed off with these taxpayer diversions.

They all boil down to one thing; Trump is busy creating his own reality and the hell with the rest of us. Just look at his vanity projects in Washington D.C. Enough said.

I find it incredible that so many people try to act like Trump is normal and it's no problem that he's a convicted felon and sexual abuser who has started a war he can't finish.

There's nothing normal about Trump who is in the end stage of dementia and has a young woman following him around to change his diapers and also write endless hateful tweets for him to post.

As it Stands, this weekend's spectacle featuring racers going 240 mph around the nation's capital is a perfect metaphor for democracy being ran over. 

Republicans Pleading for Gas Money: 'Hey Buddy! Got Some Cash for Gas?

It's fair to point out that the price of gas is gutting MAGA politicians who are running for office in November. 

It's their own mistake by supporting the Epstein/Trump debacle in the Middle East. The surging prices are payback for their own stupidity. No wonder political analysts are predicting a Blue Wave in the midterms.

The result of their buffoonery is having to plead to their supporters for gas money so they can conduct their campaigns. 

A desperate Sen. Susan Collins told her supporters in a fundraising email this week that "organizing a tour of this scale takes a lot of coordination, enthusiasm, and quite literally fuel." 

Sen. Collins, who supported Trump's illegal war numerous times flipped the script in April and actually voted against Trump's War Powers Act. But it was too late by then. Her constituents with good memories are fleeing and she's found herself in a tough re-election battle with Democratic state lawmaker Troy Jackson.

This is not an isolated case. In May, Sen. Dan Sullivan told his supporters "To continue ushering in America's Golden Age and delivering results for Alaska, I'm personally reaching out to you to ask for a grassroots donation of $3, $5, or $10 dollars," and that contribution will, among other things, "pay for the gas as we visit isolated areas of Alaska." 

To state the obvious, soaring gas prices have become a major political liability for all Republicans. The regime's spin machine says the high prices are a necessary sacrifice for national security against nuclear proliferation. Talk about a load of crap. No one but a MAGA moron buys that story.

Remember how Republicans hammered Democrats on gas prices in 2024? Now those prices are soaring again - and this time, the roles are reversed. The prices are now even higher than they were going into the last election. Gas has soared to an historical high.

Here's something that's scary: energy analysts see a future where prices spike after the midterms if Trump feels less bound post-election to keep in check any aggression against Iran that could cause gas prices to rise further.

Trump has said he would "never apologize" for the recent increases in gas prices because he's stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. That of course is blatant lie after looking at the last six months of the conflict started by our first felon.

I'm enjoying the irony of Republicans currently being blamed for high gas prices when just two years ago they ran on the issue of bringing down gas prices under the evil Biden administration.

As it Stands, perhaps Karma is true and "What goes around comes around."

'Trump Is Doing God's Work' and other Right-Wing Blasphemies

 "Women aren't supposed to make coffee"...the Bible says " He-Brews" - Anonymous

While enjoying my coffee fix this beautiful morning, I recalled something I read last week about a right-wing Evangelical pastor's claim that God sent Trump to save America.

Trump's religious base, white evangelic men, seem completely untroubled by the most profane president in modern history. These 'Men of God" have an attitude toward women that's disturbing and defiantly not biblical.

According to one Evangelic thinker, Lance Wallnau, "Trump is a "modern day King Cyrus" an ancient king chosen by God to "navigate in chaos."

Okay. I'll go along with the chaos part. Trump has turned the White House and our government into one hot seething bed of chaos with his profanity and irreverence.

Oh yeah...and his daily lies. Seems to me that one of the 10 Commandants instructs good Christians not to lie.

The King Cyrus comparison has become more explicit in the wake of Trump's presidency. 

For example; an Israeli organization, the Mikdash Educational Center, minted a commemorative "Temple Coin" depicting Trump and King Cyrus side by side, in honor of Trump's decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

For believers who subscribe to this account, Cyrus is a perfect historical antecedent to explain Trump's presidency. 

He was a nonbeliever who nevertheless served as a vessel for divine interest.

In backing our porn star president, evangelicals have chosen to turn their back on nearly every bad behavior listed in the Bible, to back someone willing to overturn laws - like Roe vs Wade - effectively taking away a woman choice over her own body.

Right-wing religious zealots do not represent Christianity honestly. For the sake of politics, they are willing to worship at Trump's altar of greed and power.

According to the Bible, God sent Jesus down to teach us what's right and wrong. 

As it Stands, I can assure you God wouldn't have sent Trump on any kind of mission representing holiness. Let alone salvation.