HIS Stunts to Bury Epstein Files Aren't Fooling Americans

HE shut down the government.

Then HE fired thousands of workers

After that HE illegally invaded American cities with military combat units in a display that every dictator in the world would recognize. 

Meanwhile HE's ordering the DOJ to hunt down his political enemies (and people HE just doesn't like) in an open display of totalitarian power.

The list gets deeper every day.

Qatar On HIS Mind

HE got a gift airplane from Qatar, a Muslim country that is well-known for financing terrorist groups like Hamas. HE's allowing that same Qatari government to build a military base in Idaho - something the US has never allowed a foreign country to do before. 

And HE signed a deal to build a Golf Course and Hotel Resort. It's still not clear what other gifts HE's getting or what other gifts he's giving. 

I'm sure it's just coincidence that Attorney General Pam Bondi was a lobbyist for Qatar for two years. It so just happens that the are other suspicious connections to Qatar in the current administration. 

Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was also a lobbyist for Qatar. Then we have Kash (bug eyes) Patel, FBI Director and right-wing extremist who served as a security and intelligence consultant to the Embassy of Qatar, through his firm, Trishul LLC, from early 2021 until November 2024. 

Steve Witkoff the special envoy to the Middle East had his investment in New York's Park Lane Hotel for $623 million purchased by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund.

Lee Zeldin, the administrator for the EPA worked for a venture capital firm which was founded by the Qatar royals.

Qatari links to HIS administration may run deeper according to a Wall Street Journal in 2018 article that claimed Qatar had a list of 250 people close to him to influence him.

The Clincher.

The lengths MAGA Mike Johnson is going to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein Files are ridiculous and disturbing.

Shutting the House down to avoid swearing in of a new Democrat who represents the needed vote to release the infamous pedophile, is blatantly partisan... and chickenshit.

Regardless of all the stunts HE is pulling HE isn't fooling anybody. The fact that HE keeps piling on diversions shows HE's desperate to hide the Epstein files.

As it Stands, you know who HE is. Our traitorous president.

Trump Deserves a Nobel 'Impeachment' Prize for Qatari Air Base in Idaho

"It's not fair!" the first felon ranted when he found out that he didn't receive a Nobel Peace prize. 

What Trump deserves is to be impeached for the crimes he and his minions are committing daily.

Now we're finding out that Trump has instructed Secretary of War Defense Pete Hegseth to put another country's air force base in Idaho! It sounds unreal but unfortunately its true.

The luxury Boeing 747 that Qatar "gifted" to Trump is starting to show the benefits the Qatari's are reaping for their open bribe to Donny.

In a press announcement Hegseth said, "I'm proud that today we're announcing - we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emiri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."

This is how dystopian things are becoming. Who could have ever imagined the United States would ever allow another country to build an air force base in America's heartland hosting a contingent of Qatari F-15s?

Hard core MAGA supporters were shocked at the news. Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist during Trump's first term and architect of the MAGA movement told Newsweek in a text message, "There should never be a military base of foreign power on the sacred soil of America,"

Right wing extremist Laura Loomer told reporters, "I have never felt more betrayed by the GOP," over the move. In a post to Hegseth, who she calls friend," you should know how bad an idea it is to allow Terror financing Qataris who fund HAMAS and the Muslim Brotherhood to have an AIR FORCE BASE ON US SOIL."

Loomer added, "It's a shared delusion. We're not building peace. We're building a launchpad for the Islamic disaster."

What's really scary is that Trump's own followers are actually trying to preserve America's autonomy. A red line has been crossed in MAGAville. Even more telling Trump has accused Qatar of funding terrorists for years and now they're suddenly our buddies.

It's obvious what's going on. The deal isn't about patriotism; it's about power deals and quiet compromises that bypass the people and Congress.  Another example of the new coziness with Qatar, Trump struck a deal to build a luxury golf course resort there. The corruption is so blatant during his second term because Trump no longer has to contend with any governmental guard rails to preserve democracy. He even has the Supreme Court in his pocket.

To be clear, this isn't just about military co-training with foreign governments, we do that all of the time. We invite friendly governments to train with our pilots on American bases. This is the first time we're letting another government (with a dubious history) imbed a foreign military base on American soil.

As it Stands, this deal with the devil is more than enough to start impeachment proceedings, along with his other unconstitutional acts.

Staged Shows of Power Illustrate How Weak Trump Really Is

The same man who dodged the draft with bone spurs and tried to overthrow the government in 2021, is obsessed with showing how tough he is. The truth is Trump is a weak coward misusing the powers of the presidency to pursue his perceived enemies.

In other words, Trump is the enemy of the people. Instead of leading he's dividing and polarizing the nation every day. It's a sick irony that the man who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy six times is now blatantly grifting cryptocurrency and meme coins in the White House.

Trump has declared war on American cities run by Democrats. He's illegally sending the military into states in a show of force as his private army, formerly known as ICE, attacks people of color daily on the streets, in the stores, in churches, in schools, and in businesses.

Today Trump is bragging about making permanent cuts to "Democratic programs." 

"We'll be cutting some very popular Democratic programs," he gushed like a schoolboy in love with his own image. "Frankly, because that's the way it works," he boasted.

The ongoing assault against Democratically run cities and states is getting more intense. Trump's bitch lapdog Kristi Noem is buying buildings in Chicago and Portland to permanently imbed Trump's private army like ticks on a dog.

As a transactional tyrant bullying Americans and countries abroad, the first felon has become democracy's worst nightmare. 

No sane scenario could have foretold the ascent of a demented real estate tycoon to a world leader. It should have never happened. Shame on all of the voters who elected the glorious leader. Their stupidity has rocked our republic to its very foundations.

Gathering all of the military top brass from every branch of service was another childish display of Trump's power. 

It was unreal watching a felon convicted on 34 counts lecture the best and brightest the United States military has to offer. He made it clear that if they weren't loyal to him, and not the Constitution, he'll ruin their careers and arbitrarily fire them. It was a cheap display of cowardice cloaked in faux patriotism.

While the world looks on, they see a rapidly deteriorating (both mentally and physically) 79-year-old man who lies so often he's a legend among truth-deniers worldwide.

Because cowards can be bullies Trump wields a big stick against both federal and civilian laws and norms. He ignores judge's rulings when he's not busy attacking them for decisions he doesn't agree with.

As it Stands, no matter how much makeup Trump wears he can't hide the fact that he's insecure and he fears people of color, women, and judges who uphold the law.

A Tragicomedy in America: A Lighter Moment on Trump's Assault of American Cities

(Photo of ICE Barbie and a Jan.6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump over her left shoulder. Below Chicken Man and Antifa army)

Question: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Answer: He wanted to protest at an ICE Detention Center.

Protests against ICE in blue cities are being shown in two versions. 

In the alternative universe of cowardly Republicans, they are showing fake videos of what's happening at so-called besieged ICE faculties that need protection from the US military. 

In reality it's more like an ongoing tragicomedy starring Trump's private army pretending they are in imminent danger. From showing videos of riots from years ago to outright lying about what's really happening on the ground...in particular Portland, Oregon, Trump's minions' desperation is showing. 

Breaking on right wing media: "DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stares down an army of Antifa and a guy in a chicken suit from the rooftop of the ICE facility in Portland."

In the real world there was a guy in a chicken suit, but he wasn't accompanied by an army.

On the ground reports and videos show two small groups of people standing on the ground below that were in fact reporters with cameras, a single digit number of protestors (one had a megaphone) holding up posters, and one guy in a chicken suit who seems to have gotten under Noem's thin skin.

Trying to look and sound cool and in charge Noem told the right-wing reporters accompanying her clown show that, "the guy in the chicken suit could do better," in a voice dripping with sarcasm and stupidity.

Meanwhile the guy with a megaphone was inviting Noem to "come on down, I got a subway sandwich for ya!" The small chorus of protestors were chanting "No dogs here! Woof! Woof! Woof! referring to Noem's admission in her book that she shot a puppy after deeming her "untrainable" and "less than worthless."

If it wasn't so horrendous scenes like the above would be funny. Protestors at ICE facilities are showing up in complete costumes like the chicken man lately. It's surreal watching ICE agents firing pepper balls and throwing cans of tear gas at people dressed up like frogs, ponies, and other animals. It's almost like watching a scene from Saturday Night Live in hell, but no one is laughing at how serious the illegal city takeovers are. And what a threat they are to our freedoms.

There was a time, no so long ago, when Americans would have been shocked to see the head of Homeland Security and a group of heavily armed agents and snipers staging a show of strength on a government facility besieged by less than 10 protestors and a gaggle of reporters and photographers.

Not now. It's part of reality we're forced to live with. Finding comedy in chaos is one way of coping with the repeated assaults on our rights.

As it Stands, our current tragicomedy has its roots in ancient Rome where dramatist Plautus wrote the play, Amphitryon. His blend of humor and darkness set the stage for future generations.

Trump is Enjoying the Shutdown while the Majority of the Country Suffers

During this current government shutdown Americans are waking up each day to a president with the mental capacity of an eight-year-old who thinks trolling Democrats with AI generated memes is fun.

He's enjoying the break away from the Epstein files as an opportunity to show his power over federal employees. A memo is circulating in the GOP swamp today about not even paying the workers back after suspending their pay during the duration of the shutdown. Now that's cold. Especially since a law was passed in 2019 that protected federal employees from being cheated out of their money. 

Fun fact: this is the first time there's been a shutdown when one party controls both houses and the executive office.

Here's a scary thought, this shutdown is the most normal thing Trump's done since being in office. It's certainly more normal than the U.S. government taking stakes in private companies, or the president selling his own cryptocurrency, or the military being deployed to American cities, et cetera.

Shutdowns are normal in the sense that both parties use them as a bargaining tool. What's not normal is how Trump's henchman Russ Vought, who runs the office of Mangement and Budget, is cutting funds to Democratic cities like New York and California and saying it's because of the shutdown.

We haven't seen this tactic in the past when a president punishes his own constituents that are in blue states. Ideally the president treats all Americans alike. Because the first felon doesn't give a damn about non-wealthy citizens, he's frolicking through the shutdown to the music of The Village People's YMCA.

Doubling up on his assault on democracy Trump has gone on a dangerous campaign to take over Democratic cities using the military as a cudgel against local governments. His unconstitutional attacks against American citizens in blue states are unforgivable.

Another aspect of this shutdown is the Democrats don't believe Trump or his cronies will negotiate in good faith. Why should they? Based upon recent experiences Trump's word is not worth a wooden nickel.

The fact is Trump already owns the longest shutdown, thirty-five days, in history while he was in office for the first time in 2019. That he may stubbornly go for a new record is a possibility.

In Trump's twisted brain the shutdown presents a great opportunity to pretend he's still hosting The Apprentice and firing people willy nilly.

As it Stands, Trump is having a grand old time while the majority of Americans are already feeling the negative effects of the orange baboons made for TV shutdown.

The Burning of Cities Only Exists in Trump's Imagination

Fact versus fiction is in the news today...again.

Trump's apocalyptic view that American cities are war zones on fire is right out of an online conspiracy theory based on zero facts. In other words, he's lying about what is really happening in his targeted blue states.

The first felon is so far gone mentally that he thinks his fantasies are reality and continues too blatantly deny the truth about what's really happening on the ground in front of reporters, who know he's spewing falsehoods.

In the span of 48 hours Trump tried to get the Oregon National Guard to flood the streets of Portland and failed because of pushback from the state and federal court. Within hours he tried to send the California National Guard which he had federalized into Oregon. Again, the courts stopped him.

It still didn't slow Trump down however as he's reportedly sending the Texas National Guard into Chicago, Illinois, despite Gov. Pritzker's lawsuit attempting to block the unconstitutional invasion of his state.

Instead of following the other state judges lead and granting an emergency stay in a day, U.S. District Judge April Perry indicated she wouldn't be able to take any action until Thursday at the earliest...and worse yet, she declined to sign the state's temporary restraining order.

It was a Trump appointed judge who said Trump's claims of widespread violence and disorder in Portland were "untethered to the facts," noting that protests were relatively small. Two judges in two days emphasized that deploying federal troops for domestic law enforcement purposes risks "blurring the lines between civil and military federal power," which undermines the Constitution.

It's important to look into the full context of what's happening. There's a broad pattern of the Trump administration's effort to use the National Guard to respond to protests in Democratic-led cities. 

The ongoing legal challenges are expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court and will likely set a major precedent on the limits of a president's authority to use the National Guard within the states. 

Seeing how this is Trump's Supreme Court don't be surprised if they give Don the Con clearance to go to war on American cities. I hope not.

As it Stands, all sane Americans need to pushback against the looming specter of martial law and a president who simply doesn't care about the rule of law.

Trump Illegally Sends in California National Guard to Invade Oregon

UPDATE:

Monday Morning.

Federal Judge stops Oregon invasion from Federalized California National guard in late night ruling.

The first felon and his bullies are recklessly invading American cities and when they're stopped by judges, they ignore the standing laws and court orders in open defiance.

In other words, Trump and his lickspittles are giving American citizens the "finger" and not worrying about any retaliation.

A day after Trump's efforts to deploy the Oregon National Guard to Portland were blocked by a federal judge, Trump defiantly sent in the California National Guard who had been federalized during their occupation of Los Angeles.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to sue the federal government to halt the deployment, calling the move a "breathtaking abuse of power" and a "political weapon."

In addition, Oregon Governor, Tina Kotek, stated that her office received no official notification from the federal government regarding the deployment of California troops, and accused the administration of intentionally circumventing the judge's ruling. 

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield noted that the federal court had already found the federal government's claims of an insurrection to be "simply untethered to facts." How appropriate seeing as we have a president who is untethered to facts and lives in a hateful bubble.

White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, defended the action as a "lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland." Once again, they have no proof of a city at war - and have been told as much by a federal judge - but Trump and his minions invaded Portland Sunday (Oct. 5th) like stormtroopers.

I won't blame the soldiers who are forced to carry out these illegal actions against the American public. 

They have to obey orders... up to a point.

When senior officers tell them to open fire on civilian protestors, they are going to have to choose between what's right and what's wrong. Just like the national guard troops had to during the Kent State University Massacre in 1970 when they were called upon to murder peaceful protestors.

The Trump administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words - ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by Trump himself, as political opponents.

Trump is outright ignoring reality. He just doesn't care. Like an eight-old who was never potty-trained he shits wherever he pleases and let's others clean up the mess.

As it Stands, this current blurring of the lines between civil and military federal power is threatening all of our freedoms.

'Night of Broken Glass': History Repeats Itself in Chicago

Photo of Chicago high rise building that was raided in the middle of the night. Note broken glass.

This time it's people of color. 

Last time it was the Jews.

Trump's not so secret stormtroopers aka/ICE agents raided a five-story apartment building in Chicago two nights ago.

The scene was reminiscent of the infamous "Night of Broken Glass" in prewar Germany.

Here's what happened: 

In the dead of night 300 ICE agents surrounded a Chicago high rise apartment. They were backed up with armored riot trucks. Helicopters overhead were shining their search beams on the heavily armed agents as they stormed into the building. All of the residents of the building were summarily driven out of their beds (including children) without explanation.

Imagine someone bursting through your front door and attacking your whole family. All they saw were masked men invading their living spaces and herding them out of the building like animals in the middle of the night. Eyewitnesses reported seeing children, some unclothed, separated from their mothers and restrained with zip ties. Flash bangs were going off everywhere.

It was a night of horror. Adults and children were crying and screaming. Ice agents rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters in a scene right out of war in a foreign country.

Residents were detained outside the five-story South Shore building for hours. Everyone was detained, including U.S. citizens. Finally, the children were snatched away from their parents and taken into custody without knowing if they'd ever see their parents again.

The whole event was a page out of history. 

Nazis brutally and violently raided Jewish homes throughout the late 1930s, most notably during the widespread pogrom known as Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass," on November 9-10, 1938. This event occurred amid a larger, sustained campaign of persecution that involved both mob violence and state-sanctioned property seizures.

You don't have to be an historian to draw the parallels. What's happening in America today is uncomfortably reminiscent of the rise of fascism in Germany. Masked Ice agents are prowling the streets of cities throughout the country arresting people of color. They don't even have to have a reason for detaining people thanks to our crooked Supreme Court.

There's a reason why people keep comparing Nazi Germany to Trump's regime. Our president is following Hitler's playbook along with his Project 2025 agenda to take our freedoms away. Each day brings new violations of the Constitution and new lows in governing. 

As it Stands, Someday, if they even exist, future historians will document the rise of fascism in the greatest republic in modern history.

Blog Break: Back on Sat. Nov. 4th @ 5 p.m. PST - Meanwhile Check Out Archives

Every now and then I need to take a break from my blog and defending Democracy to just chill out. No politics. Just play. I'll be back in a few days.

If you look to the right of this page, you'll find past posts that I think you'll enjoy. I don't hold back criticizing Trump's corrupt regime and the First Felon's constant lies. 

I've been posting on this blog - As it Stands - for 17 years. In all that time I never saw Democracy threatened like it is now. We're experiencing Constitutional crisis's every day. There's been no let up as Trump exacts vengeance against his perceived enemies.

I'm convinced that a majority of Americans are already sick of Trump. That includes Republicans. As each day passes, we are seeing our rights eroded by a wanabee King with dementia.

At some point the American people are going to have to unite against Trump's authoritarian regime and vote his lackey's out of office in the midterms.

In the meantime, I encourage all Americans to protest against the machine Trump forged.

As it Stands, we must never stop defending our freedoms and rights according to the Constitution.

A Dark Day for Democracy: Trump/Hegseth Lecture to Military is MAGAfied

Senior U.S. military officers from all the armed forces were forced to listen to a MAGAfied agenda by a 5-time draft dodger. 

Men and women officers with decades of leadership were lectured about how to do their jobs correctly under the new regime. Over 800 top leaders were told that they had pussyfied all of the armed forces by pushing a "Woke" agenda.

The moment was a stark reminder of how Trump and Hegseth are working to dismantle decades of improvements in the military that they call - with scorn - DEI. 

Trump told reporters just before the meeting that he'll emphasis fighting the enemy within. What does that mean? It certainly sounds ominous.

During Trump's unhinged speech he told the leaders in the audience that they should use "Dangerous" U.S. cities as "training grounds."

For what? To practice killing enemies? That's the military's mission... killing foreign enemies. Not raking up leaves in a park in Washington D.C. Or worse yet, turning their weapons upon protestors and calling it a training exercise.

Just looking at the assembled officers forced to listen to MAGA speak was embarrassing. Those men and women know more about leadership than Hegseth and Trump will ever know. Watching Hegseth prance up and down the stage reminded me of a Monty Python skit minus the laughter.

Hegseth ranted, "an era of politically correct, over sensitive, don't-hurt-anyone's feelings leadership ends right now." The alcoholic Trump appointee was clearly in his glory spewing hate-filled changes he planned to infuse into the military.

It was a demeaning display accusing military officers of letting their charges get out of physical shape. Hegseth demanded that there be no more fat generals (I wasn't aware that was a problem), and that the physical standards for everyone will now be at a "male level" which of course is a way to discourage women from joining the military. 

According to MAGA standards those women should stay at home and serve their husbands without question. I had to chuckle when Hegseth spewed, "No more beardos, the era of unacceptable appearance is over."

"Beardos?" Talk about childish. Hegseth solemnly warned his audience "it's time for a new position or a new profession." How clever. Let's get rid of all of America's top officers if they don't shave off their beards. That'll make them combat ready...right?

Especially egregious was Hegseth's admission that he's "overhauling" the DOD's Inspector General's Office. 

This comes on the heels of an ongoing investigation into his recent stupidity using an unsecured server (SignalGate scandal) during a top-secret conversation about attacking Iran. What do you want to bet the office will not charge him with anything now?

To add insult to injury Hegseth said he is "clearing the way for leaders to be leaders" while the real leaders had to sit there and listen to a lunatic that can't hold his booze. It was a bizarre and foreboding moment in our military history which will be remembered as the day Trump took total control of the military with the help of his lapdog Hegseth.

As it Stands, I can't help but wonder what those elite military leaders were thinking during the weirdest dog and pony show ever staged in American military history.

Trump's Distractions from the Epstein Files Increase Daily

As the calls for releasing the Epstein Files increase the First Felon has ramped up his daily diversions.

Monday - Trump met with international war criminal and also Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu today to discuss how to further disenfranchise the Palestinian people still alive in Gaza. 

For the record the Supreme Court meets today to discuss the Ghislaine Maxwell case.

Meanwhile....

Trump's cat and mouse game of keeping the government open is in its last phase. Trump met with Democrats today to discuss the government shutdown. As expected, Trump didn't budge, and it looks like there's going to be a shutdown on Tuesday night at midnight. 

The city of Portland is in Donny's crosshairs as he threatens protestors who don't want to see another city surged by Trump's private police force (formerly known as ICE) any day now. He's promising to use "full force" on any citizens who resists the upcoming invasion.

In his ongoing retribution campaign Trump has managed to find a lawyer stupid enough to concoct a case against former FBI director James Comey. The case is baseless as evidenced by the first lawyer resigning rather than pursue the trumped-up charges. I'm betting the case doesn't even go to court it's so weak. Trump knows it but considers this a good diversion from the Epstein Files.

In a sweet irony the political crises that dogged Trump's first term, including two impeachments and a probe into alleged campaign collusion with Russia, the people propelling the push for more transparency on Epstein have largely been his supporters, not just his political foes.

Trumps typical diversion playbook has included accusing former president Obama of treason, to staging a public war against the Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, former FBI Director Christopher Wray, and other prominent Democrats.

A recent Reuters/Ipso poll showed most Americans think Trump's administration is hiding information about Epstein. And for good reason. Anyone following the coverup knows it started early in the First Felon's return to Washington D.C.

In the past 48 hours, Trump has asked his Truth Social followers "How did (former USAID administrator) Samantha Power make all of that money?" 

Who cares? Most of the idiots that follow Trump don't even know who she is. But the post might make them curious. Mission accomplished.

Without a shred of evidence Trump's director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, claimed the Obama administration officials planned a "treasonous conspiracy in 2016" aimed at Trump. It was more meat for the base he's trying to hold on to.

The thing that all of these diversions have in common is they are forged by lies by the MAGA morons serving in his corrupt administration. 

After a while even Trump supporters are going to get tired of the fake flack and demand an accounting on Epstein.

As it Stands, Trump whose ascent has been linked to a litany of unproven claims now finds his political power threatened by a conspiracy theory he can't shake.