Who Lost and Who Won Today in America?

The following vignettes have been snatched from today's headlines to give you a broad view of a day in the life of Americans.

- Americans are facing a government shut down, as Democrats Jeffries and Schumer are demanding to meet with Trump to avoid a shut down on Oct.1. If Trump doesn't come out of his gilded Oval Office to negotiate the American public will get the short end of the stick...again. 

- In a rare bipartisan moment, the House of Representatives voted 215-207 to table a censure motion against Rep. LaMonica Mclver (D-NJ). All but five Republicans went full MAGA in their attempt at political retribution.

- An armed man was arrested at in Glendale, Arizona stadium ahead of Charlie Kirk's memorial. The far-right influencer is being treated like a white Martin Luther King among conservatives... and most of our government from Trump, Vance, Hegseth, Miller, Rubio, Pirro, and every MAGA minion in the Trump Party plan on attending the event. The stadium holds 63,000 which I'm pretty sure will show up.

- In a disgusting display of right-wing servitude, the House and the Senate passed a "National Day of Remembrance" for Charlie Kirk. You know, like the Nazi Party did when one of their influencers - Horst Wessel - got shot and martyred with his own Day of Remembrance. Just saying. History sometimes repeats itself.

- Dictators will be dictators. Trump ordered the third lethal attack against boats coming from Venezuela in his undeclared war against a country that is now on full war standing waiting for his next move. I can't blame them. If no one stops these early attacks Trump will get bolder. By the way, Congress has been bypassed, and the spineless Republicans are sitting back and letting Trump trample all over his enemies - domestic and foreign.

- Chicago protestors clashed with ICE agents who got their tear gas out while "pacifying" those civilians exercising their First Amendment rights.

- Disney Civil War! Marvel stars betray the Mouse and lead mass boycott after Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by Disney and ABC. Protestors are gathering outside Disneyland and ABC studios daily since they censored Kimmel.

- A mysterious giant gold statue of Trump on the National Mall suddenly appeared. He was holding a giant bitcoin and smiling stupidly. The plaque read In Honor of the First Bitcoin President. At first some thought it was a protest against Trump, but actually it was just the opposite. Some young Christian college group were really honoring their glorious leader. I wonder how long that will stay there?

As it Stands, these slices of life in the USA are pretty much the same every day.

Will Fighting for Free Speech Unite Americans? I'm Not Sure

FREE SPEECH has become a major issue in America today as Trump gets bolder every day going after his many enemies. The media was always on top of the first-felon's revenge list when he got back in power.

Our thin-skinned president particularly wanted to get rid of late-night comedians who made fun of him for years. Trump bullied networks and got Stephan Colbert's show canceled (effective May 2026) for starters.

Then he bragged Jimmy Kimmel would be next. And so, it was. Kimmel was canceled. The purge isn't going to end there, however. Trump's talking about Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers being his next targets.

Who officially made the decision to cancel Kimmel? 

Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-Chair Dana Walden made the decision to preempt the show indefinitely. It really helped that Trump had given them their marching orders to eliminate Kimmel's show weeks ago. It should be interesting to see if Kimmel comes back (with no apology) or if he sues their asses off.

Kimmel's suspension comes alongside wider efforts by Trump and other conservatives to police speech following Charlie Kirk's killing.

Will defending the First Amendment unite the majority of Americans? We're at a crossroad right now - today - where our freedom of speech is withering away beneath this newly formed authoritarian regime.  

Former President Barack Obama wrote in a social media post recently that the current administration had reached a "new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like" and that media companies needed to stand up to the "government coercion" rather than capitulate to it.

Well said. 

Free speech is under siege by a corrupt regime that seeks to dominate every area of our lives. Books are being censored at a rate that the Nazi party would have been proud of. Libraries are under siege from far-right Christian groups who want to install alternate realities in their version of the nation's history.

Senate Democrats yesterday accused the Trump regime of using Charlie Kirk's murder to silence critics. They pointed out it was a blatant case of censorship and state-controlled speech. The Republican reaction was an extended yawn before changing the subject.

Because they are minority in Congress, the Democrats can only bring up the violations of free speech which occur on a regular basis. Republicans have stifled every effort to bring resolutions to the floor to investigate the numerous crimes the Trump regime has - and is - committing. 

As it Stands, sadly, I'm not even sure if free speech rights are something the majority of Americans are capable of rallying around. I say this because the polarized society we currently exist in has two versions of the Constitution and the truth.

Patsy Patel Plays Stupid - It Was Easy - At Congressional Hearings

If you haven't seen the recent Senate and House hearings featuring FBI Director Kash Patel you're missing out on some great entertainment.

Patel proved he was a puppet for Trump by gaslighting Congress with his pop-eyed denials of reality. 

He was like a caged honey-badger every time he was asked a question by a Democrat. Republicans made it clear, they were giving Kash a pass because their glorious leader told them to.

What we know about one of Trump's principal puppets 

- During Patel's time with the first Trump administration, he was involved in several notable controversies, largely related to his work as an aide for the House Intelligence Committee and his later roles in national security. He cemented his loyalty to Trump by being his mole and ferreting out Don the Con's enemies.

- After Trump's first term, Patel remained a vocal supporter, appearing frequently on right-wing media and serving on the board of the Trump Media & Technology Group.

- In his children's book Government Gangsters, Patel created a list of over 50 current and former government officials, including some of Trump's own appointees, whom he accused of being part of the "Deep State," aka Democrats and liberals. 

He also wrote a three-part series of kids' books called The Plot Against the King.

- Establishing himself as a MAGA combatant who fiercely advocated Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, Patel championed January 6 rioters as patriots and unfairly persecuted political prisoners.

- At the end of Trump's first presidency, when he was still a Pentagon official, he spread the crazy idea that Italian military satellites had been employed to turn Trump voters to Joe Biden votes in the 2020 election. 

- Patel has been supportive of the looniest conspiracy theory in MAGA land: QAnon. To be clear, QAnon ideology has fueled attacks on democracy, inspired insurrectionists, and perpetrated some of the most dangerous falsehoods in modern politics.

- A lawsuit was filed on September 10, 2025, by three former senior FBI officials - Brian Driscoll, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans - against Patel and US Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleging wrongful termination based upon political motivations.

In Patel's distorted reality, Trump is a messianic figure, waging a covert war against unseen enemies. Patel has gladly played the patsy and has no intentions of carrying out his oath of office as long as Trump lives.

The fact that Patel is the head of the FBI shows what a dire state our government is in right now. Trump's MAGA minions have affected every branch in Congress...and beyond. 

Seen today on social media: GOP Politics 101: Make shit up...make it scary...believe your own made-up story...scare other people with those stories...when called out...look a squirrel!

As it Stands, despite rumors Patel may be in some hot water with some Republicans, you can bet he will not be fired. One caveat: If he is fired, Trump will just give him a job somewhere else in the government...or he'll make up a new position for him.

Now MAGA Has CANCELED Jimmy Kimmel... Who is Next in the Purge?

               It's no laughing matter.

Right-wing cancel culture is even going after comedians. Remember what Paramount did? They canceled Stephen Colbert whose show will shut down next May.

Now the cowards - specifically Disney's ABC - have canceled Jimmy Kimmel Live by pre-empting the show indefinitely. That's MAGA coward speak for "your fired."

What horrible thing did Jimmy do?

During his monologue Monday night Kimmel raised the possibility that the alleged assassin Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.

But that was not all... Oh horrors!

He also said (cover your children's eyes and ears) that, "The MAGA Gang (is) desperately trying to characterize the kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."

It's the truth. Kimmel was using his First Amendment right to speak on any topic he wanted without fear of an authoritarian regime retaliating. The culprit who was so butt-hurt that he threatened to take legal action against Disney and ABC, was Federal Communications Commission Chair, Brendan Carr...who by the way was originally appointed by Trump in 2017 and then reappointed by Trump in 2024.

What we have here is a chapter out of Orwell's 1984 where the glorious leader shuts down any talk against his regime. You can't even joke about the snowflake bastards without them suing you. And even if Kimmel wasn't joking, he still had every right to say what he did.

Americans better get used to Big Brother reprograming everything they see on TV because it's open season on our freedoms. Freedom of speech has suddenly become a thing since Trump slunk back into the Oval Office eight months ago.

And what will happen to Stephan Colbert if he brings up what happened to his friend Jimmy Kimmel? Will he get canceled indefinitely if he says something about it tonight?

And what about Seth Meyers? Or Treavor Noah? Or Jon Stewart? Or John Oliver? Or Jimmy Fallon? Or Chelsea Handler?

It's painfully obvious that this regime intends to purge late night comedians that don't kiss Trump's fat butt. That's because he's an orange snowflake.

As it Stands, it's no laughing matter what Trump and his minions are doing to our freedoms.

Conservative Snowflakes Melting Down After Kirk's Death

Touchy! Touchy!

You better not say anything negative about recently assassinated - and now saint - Charlie Kirk, or the Party of Trump will come after you.

Weeping MAGA minions are melting down if anyone points out Kirk's real legacy of hate and racism. And guess who's responsible for stoking the fire immediately after Kirk's death?

If you said, Trump, Stephan Miller and JD Vance you were 100% correct. Both Miller and Vance who guest hosted on the Charlie Kirk Show wept crocodile tears and promised vengeance against the "leftists." You may wonder how they came to the conclusion it was a "leftist" who murdered Kirk. This despite the shooter's family ALL voting Republican and Robinson's (the killer) affection for Trump - he dressed up like him one Halloween. 

It was really touching listening to the vice president of the United States and White House deputy chief of staff eulogize the conservative firebrand who founded a youth MAGA organization that's poisoned thousands of students with lies. Miller said Kirk told him: "We need to have an organized strategy to go after left-wing organizations that are promoting violence in this country" the day before he was shot.

In a moment that made me want to hurl Miller, between heartly faked sobs, promised "I will write those words onto my heart (?) and I will carry them out."

To back up Miller's threat Trump promised retribution against progressive institutions at large. It was Trump's latest declaration of war against the American public's free speech.

The backlash against Kirk's perceived enemies - Democrats and liberals - started as soon as the news broke that Kirk was shot on stage. Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden began a stream of increasingly unhinged social media posts blaming the Democrats and the media for his death. That was without any evidence and before authorities apprehended Robinson.

When a reporter pointed that out to Van Orden he replied, "You know what? Knock it off!" Talk about a snowflake. 

Conservatives' efforts to blame some vague "they" for these attacks are not a slip of the tongue: it crafts a narrative of victimhood aimed at enacting retributive repression or violence against their political opponents.

By the way, the crazed MAGA morons are proving their scared to death of Transexuals. Because the shooters roommate was a transgender person MAGA land has been ranting about those dangerous transgenders like they are leading an all-out assault against America. The only assaults I've seen are against transgender people who are being marginalized and villainized by Christain Nationalists and neo-Nazi groups. And we must not forget, the whole Trump administration.

The whining and words of retribution spewing from the dark side of America will continue as long as it's political viable. Trump will continue to use Kirk as a foil until he gets distracted by something else - like building a 200-million-dollar ballroom next to the White House. 

As it Stands, I've been told that Trump got so excited when he heard about Kirk's assassination that he soiled twice as many diapers that day.

A Tale of Two Americas: The Great Divide Over Democracy

It's a fact accompli.

Let there be no doubt. 

We are living in a country so divided it's become two versions of America. One side defending Democracy and the other side promoting authoritarianism. It's not a tale of two cities; it's a tale of two Americas.

The growing partisan divide between the Democratic and Republican parties has widened since Trump appeared in politics by winning the 2016 election. The two parties have divergent views on nearly every issue, from the economy to climate change. According to geopolitical researchers America's partisan divisions are more extensive and profound than those in many other Western democracies.

Once the bastion of free speech and equality among all people, America is now looked upon by the world as a failing experiment in Democracy.

We are so divided it extends to consumer behavior. Since 2016, brand preferences and purchasing decisions have increasingly been influenced by consumers' political identities.

Americans widely share a profound and growing distrust in the government, media, and even their fellow citizens. A majority of voters in both parties also express a willingness to vote for candidates who have violated democratic principles.

Culture differences manifest in conflicting worldviews that challenge a common American identity, which makes it harder for different groups to communicate and trust each other. It's a deep divide between nationalism and political correctness that is far wider than in many European countries. That's how bad it is here.

Fact: the U.S. economy remains deeply unequal. In the first quarter of 2025, the top 10% of earners owned almost two-thirds of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 50% owned just 2.5%.

The ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans has grown consistently over the past several decades. Democrats have shifted moderately to the left, while Republicans have moved significantly to the right, leaving little common ideological ground.

Issues like climate change, gun control, and immigration are now highly partisan, where historically there was more agreement. Beyond policy differences, affective polarization describes the growing emotional animosity between partisans.

Particularly troubling to me is the religious and secular divides that are aligned with political identity. There's a Republican Jesus and there's the historical Jesus who loved mankind so much he gave his life to save people's souls.

I'm waiting for blue and red states to build walls around their borders and to vet visitors to see if their ideology fits with state standards.

As it Stands, which America do you live in? 

Conspiracies Seed Violence That Leads to Political Upheaval

When it comes to political violence Americans are numb and jaded.

Repeated attacks against lawmakers and political figures have had a numbing effect upon the public at large.

Experts say that when people see violence repeatedly, their early shock begins to dull, and the societal impulse to demand change fades. Despite the escalation of violence on the front pages of newspapers, TV, and social platforms, the public's heightened exposure seems to be breeding a kind of passive normalization rather than resistance.

How bad is the violence in political circles today?

Let's put it this way; Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University recently said, "You'd have to go back to the pre-Civil War era to find a similar level of threats and acts of violence."

Research from Princeton University's Bridging Divides Initiative found that threats and harassment against local officials increased by 10% in 2024 compared to the previous year.

The U.S. Capitol Police reported that threats against members of Congress more than doubled between 2017 and 2024.

And get this; according to 2025 Global Peace Index, global peacefulness is continuing to decline, driven by geopolitical tensions and conflicts that are resisting traditional resolution methods. It's not just the United States experiencing record levels of violence.

Another sobering thought is online radicalization, fueled by disinformation and conspiracy theories, is inspiring unpredictable acts of violence by lone actors. It was a radicalized young man who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.

One of the signs that the public are becoming desensitized to political violence, is the news cycle around violent incidents is shorter. There are exceptions, however. In Kirk's case he's being treated like a martyr among conservatives and the coverage surrounding Kirk is more extensive than usual.

Take a look at the most recent school shooting last week in Colorado. Coverage of that horrible event has been minimal. Americans are so jaded about school shootings the coverage has been spotty at best, thanks to the NRA lobby that doesn't want to see any restrictions on their deadly toys.

As a result, we're seeing a chilling effect on civic engagement, with local officials and politicians becoming less willing to run for re-election or to participate in public events. The Republicans in particular are leery of holding town halls where their constituents have been unloading on them in an aggressive fashion. 

Political leaders across the spectrum are facing increased security concerns. While some appeal for unity, others like Trump, have been criticized for blaming the "radical left" for the attack on Charlie Kirk.

As it Stands, the one thing political experts agree on is that conspiracy theories are the major driver of extremism and violence in our country today.