Is Anyone Paying Attention?

[davina61]

Just a thought but all the places that dumb idiot attacked are oil producers.

[Courtney G]

America was colonized by religious zealots but our founding fathers knew that religious beliefs must never be its cornerstones. They enshrined that ideology when they framed our system of governing.

There are 2 billion muslims in the world (about a quarter of its population) but walk around the U.S. South and you'd think they're a crazy fringe group. And a primary tenet to most religious types is that theirs is the only true one and that all others should be destroyed.

For context, there are 2.3 billion christians.

White people are a minority in the world. There are more black people and many more Chinese people. Yet, in the U.S. we treat everyone who is not white as a minority.

We fight over religious beliefs, land, race and oil. It's foolish. In the U.S., uneducated white Christians love to believe that poor, non-white people are the problem and rich white people are the solution. trump has been a failure as a businessman but they created a fake "Trump Tower" TV set, gave him a script to read and made up a false reality in which he's a genius deal-maker. Uneducated white people ate it up. It got him elected. This is very well-documented.

This is where we're at. Racist white Christians woke up, spoke up, and made uninformed decisions.

By the way, I'm not suggesting that all Christians (or white people) are racists, nor am I saying that none of them are educated. I'm just saying that trump appealed to/worked up the monster inside of a specific subgroup of us. The one that hates that they aren't in charge of everything, that they have to share things equally with people who aren't white or Christian or who don't generally fall in line and defer all power to the Rich Old White Guys, as we've been taught we're supposed to do. Think about AOC or Ilhan Omar or Jasmine Crockett. Can you guess why they are hated so viciously?

[Devlyn ✅]

"The first thing to remember is that people have a penchant for violence, it just so happens that every religion has people in it."

~ Michael Jerryson

[Karen_A]

You've got to pick up every stitch...

`

It's the season of the "witch burning" for this administration.

[Lori Dee ✅]

My point was not about religion. There is nothing wrong with religion in and of itself, nor was the point to frame one religion over another.

My point was that the political movement, known as Christian Nationalism, has infiltrated down into the command and staff of our military, and the troops who are hearing these messages are offended by them. They recognize that they swore to uphold the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and its expression.

However, when political operatives use religion (any religion) as a motive for political, even criminal action, then a stop must be put in place. It is illegal for any government official to declare war or take military action without Congressional approval, except in cases of imminent threat or self-defense.

Congress is now deciding what to do to rein in the actions that have created hostilities in the Middle East. However, by the time Congress makes a decision, the damage will already be done.

Meanwhile, the military actions in Venezuela have disappeared from the media. There seems to be no further interest in Trump's claim that he will do a "friendly takeover" of Cuba. And little has been mentioned so far about military action in Ecuador, except that we are helping that government.

We are not the World Police Force, and our military services are not law enforcement. We should not be intervening in the issues of a sovereign country without permission, without approval from Congress or the American people.

We get bent out of shape when we hear about other countries meddling in our elections (true or not). So why would we have any authority to meddle in the affairs of another country at all? It is none of our business, and we don't like it if someone does that to us.

[davina61]

The "assassination attempt" on Trump sounds like a lie to give them an excuse to carry on.

[Sephirah]

At this point, Donald Trump comes across like a toddler, sitting in the Oval Office, playing with those plastic army men parents used to buy their kids.

He mock-fights battles in his own head... and the world actually suffers because people have to do what he says. He has no concept of reality, or consequences. He just wakes up in a morning and thinks "wouldn't it be cool to bomb <insert country here>?"

Then when people get rightly annoyed with the guy, he takes his toys and plays elsewhere. Meanwhile everyone else is trying to undo the damage he did. It's an extraordinary state of affairs. I am half convinced the guy just wants to create as much carnage and chaos as he can before the folks of the US finally get rid of him. So he will be remembered long after he is gone. So they'll still be talking about him in a hundred years.

He is a massive narcissist and literally only cares about himself and his own image.  There was a quote the other day from a UK radio presenter: "Donald Trump makes George W. Bush look like Einstein." I can't disagree.

[Lori Dee ✅]

There is an old saying:

"There is a purpose for everyone in this world. For some, it is to be a bad example."

[Sephirah]

There is an old saying:

"There is a purpose for everyone in this world. For some, it is to be a bad example."

I would agree with this more if he hadn't got in twice. He was a nutjob the first time. But to get a second bite of the cherry... how bad an example do you have to be? Or... like, how bad is the other guy?

[Lori Dee ✅]

He has no concept of reality, or consequences. He just wakes up in a morning and thinks "wouldn't it be cool to bomb <insert country here>?"

The reasons he does things are easily explained by this chart from 2024:

[Sephirah]

The reasons he does things are easily explained by this chart from 2024:

I saw a video of the execs of the big oil companies telling Trump to basically F-off after the whole Venezuela thing. It wasn't financially viable for them to go in and make a profit off his carnage. Because, you know, when you start wars with places... they become unstable. You can't just be like "Let's invade whatever country because they have oil." It doesn't work.

That's why he's ignored his half-assed, Venezuela "Let's get oil from this country!" He doesn't think more than 2 minutes in front of his face. If things don't go according to plan, he just moves on to the next boneheaded thing... while the world picks up the pieces. He is the worst kind of bull in a china shop.

[Lori Dee ✅]

I saw a video of the execs of the big oil companies telling Trump to basically F-off after the whole Venezuela thing. It wasn't financially viable for them to go in and make a profit off his carnage. Because, you know, when you start wars with places... they become unstable. You can't just be like "Let's invade whatever country because they have oil." It doesn't work.

That's why he's ignored his half-assed, Venezuela "Let's get oil from this country!" He doesn't think more than 2 minutes in front of his face. If things don't go according to plan, he just moves on to the next boneheaded thing... while the world picks up the pieces. He is the worst kind of bull in a china shop.

That is because he wanted companies other than Chevron to move the oil for him. Now he just confiscates the tankers and keeps the oil. More countries = more tankers to confiscate.

The question to ask is: Where is the money that came from selling that oil?

Oil prices are up, not down.

[Sephirah]

That is because he wanted companies other than Chevron to move the oil for him. Now he just confiscates the tankers and keeps the oil. More countries = more tankers to confiscate.

The question to ask is: Where is the money that came from selling that oil?

Oil prices are up, not down.

Someone's gotta pay for the bombs they used on Iran. It's a massive fustercluck.

[Lori Dee ✅]

This morning's news reports have me concerned. There seems to be little coverage beyond the headlines, but there are tells that indicate what is happening. Let's read between the lines and sniff this out.

NPR reported:
Trump fires Kristi Noem. And, DOJ releases some missing Epstein files
March 6, 20267:14 AM ET
By Brittney Melton
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/06/g-s1-112721/up-first-newsletter-kristi-noem-iran-beirut-trump-epstein-venezuela 🔗

It has been two months since U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In that time, the U.S. and Venezuela have quickly mended their relationship. Officials from the two countries have struck oil deals. Now, they are discussing critical minerals and have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations.

This week, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had a meeting with Venezuelan officials, including Venezuelan Interior Secretary Diosdado Cabello. Cabello is wanted in the U.S. for narco-terrorism. NPR's Eyder Peralta, who is in Caracas, says the meeting could have been awkward, but instead, there were many smiles. Burgum says the Venezuelan government will soon make it easier for the U.S. to do mining in its country. (Emphasis added)

Since the Venezuelan Interior Minister is wanted in the U.S. on narco-terrorism charges (same as Maduro), why was he not kidnapped and extradited to the U.S.?
If he makes a deal for oil and minerals, is all forgiven by this Administration?

The article also states, On social media, Trump said Noem would move to a role as "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," a new security initiative he said the administration would announce on Saturday.

So, when an official is fired for incompetence, and whose only qualification is loyalty, they get a bigger role?

What exactly is this new role?

The Hill reports:
What we know about Noem's new 'Shield of the Americas' role
by Ashleigh Fields - 03/05/26 4:08 PM ET
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5769654-trump-appoints-noem-shield-americas/ 🔗

The regional coalition of countries in Latin America will work together on ideology and policy initiatives that help secure the Western Hemisphere, according to the White House.

The Shield of the Americas will be guided in part by the president's foreign policy initiatives dubbed the "Donroe Doctrine," fashioned after the Monroe Doctrine. The administration has described the doctrine as enlisting "established friends" in the Western Hemisphere to pursue U.S. aims and expanding ties by "cultivating and strengthening new partners."

Since Trump returned to office last year, he directed the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," announced plans to "take back" the Panama Canal, and pushed efforts to acquire Greenland and make Canada the 51st state.

We know very well what this Administration's "ideology and policy" initiatives are.

The article goes on to claim that this coalition will focus on "counterterrorism".

Yet, U.S. officials have struck a deal with a wanted narco-terrorist for oil and minerals in Venezuela. As I have stated here for over a year now, it is not about terrorism at all.

It has gone from Executive Orders that apply only to the U.S. Executive Branch enforcement policies, then to state laws, then to federal regulations, and now to international policy. The coalition meets tomorrow in Miami.

I have no doubts that "gender ideology" will be a part of any agreements made at that meeting, or in subsequent meetings.

We need to watch this expansion across the Western Hemisphere very closely.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Trump signs an executive order to create federal voter lists
The order, which is expected to be quickly challenged in court, is the president's second effort to use executive authority to shape the country's election rules.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/trump-signs-executive-order-create-federal-voter-lists-rcna266092 🔗
NBC News - Jane C. Timm and Ryan J. Reilly
March 31, 2026, 4:12 PM MDT

President Donald Trump is again trying to exert control over American elections, signing an executive order Tuesday that aims to create federal lists of citizens and ask the U.S. Postal Service to transmit mail ballots to only those people.

The executive order, his second related to elections since he retook office last year, is sure to be quickly challenged in court. The U.S. Constitution gives states the power to set voting rules and administer their own elections, though Congress has the ability to set some regulations, too.

The order asks the Department of Homeland Security to create "state citizenship lists" from federal citizenship and naturalization records, Social Security records and other federal databases.

Those lists would then be sent to the states to verify their voter rolls, and the USPS would be asked to transmit ballots only addressed to people on state citizenship lists. It's unclear how the USPS, a chronically underfunded agency, would absorb the mandate to police election mail as required by the order.

Election experts said they expected the order would be deemed unconstitutional by the courts.

"The Constitution clearly gives the power to regulate these issues related to mail ballots to the states."

--------------------------------

Violation after violation after violation.

I suspect that Homeland Security's creation of "state citizenship lists from federal citizenship and naturalization records, Social Security records, and other federal databases" has less to do with voting than we are told.

Big Brother is watching you.

[Lori Dee ✅]

At least 77 court rulings concerning Trump's second term include sharp criticism from judges
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2026/06/politics/trump-judges-criticism-vis/ 🔗
CNN - Amy O'Kruk, Isa Mudannayake, Dejania Oliver and Byron Manley
Published June 22, 2026

CNN reviewed hundreds of court rulings and media reports to identify 77 cases since the start of Trump's second term in January 2025 in which judges sharply criticized the administration or federal entities' policies and their execution. The orders were issued by 69 different judges, more than a third of whom were appointed by Republican presidents, including Trump himself.

In the 77 rulings CNN identified, dozens of federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties — including several of President Donald Trump's appointees — have accused the Trump administration of acting unlawfully, disregarding constitutional limits, retaliating against political opponents and, in some cases, openly defying court orders.

While the opinions differed in subject matter, patterns emerged. Critical remarks in judges' orders and opinions tended to cluster around three types of misconduct: abuse of power, bad-faith behavior, and suspected retaliation.

In the majority of rulings reviewed by CNN, judges' criticism falls under abuse of power, meaning the government acted in a way that exceeds or violates the legal limits of their authority. Judges criticized examples of abuse of power in 64 of the 77 cases. Abuse of power is a sign that something has gone "very wrong," said Vladeck.

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We saw this coming over a year ago, and yet it continues. Over and over and over.

[Laura Squirrel]

We saw this coming over a year ago, and yet it continues. Over and over and over.

Cue my mother telling me for the 50000000000000th time: "We can't do anything about it," and she wonders why I am always depressed.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Democrats warn of a Trump election takeover. What's really happening?
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/11/politics/democrats-trump-firing-election-officials 🔗
CNN - Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf
July 11, 2026

Democrats are reaching DEFCON 1 levels of alarm about President Donald Trump's efforts to influence the coming election.

"All the signals are flashing red," wrote Democratic strategist and CNN political analyst David Axelrod.

 "On the square, the @GOP would take a beating this fall, largely because of Trump's unpopularity," Axelrod said, "So he's setting up Plan B–do whatever you need to do to win. Anything. Anyone who says 'Well, he wouldn't do THAT' hasn't paid attention."

Use your imagination, in other words, and don't be surprised at anything Trump does in the four months until Election Day.

-----------------------------

Read the full article for more.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House to build a ballroom that no one asked for.

He doesn't care about people who are suffering, as he knows he can't be re-elected. So he puts his name and mugshot on everything he can.

A court has ruled that building the ballroom without going through proper channels is likely illegal. So he increased the work:  200+ workers, working 20-hours per day, 7 days a week. It is now 65% complete.

The Supreme Court ruled that he can continue for now and will decide later whether it is illegal.

Donald Trump has warned that not even the Supreme Court will be able to halt construction of his ballroom project because he built it with indestructible concrete that can't be taken down.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-set-defy-scotus-ballroom-164201950.html 🔗

By the time the matter is decided, it will be too late. It already is.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth:

Massive heat domes are causing temperature rises that are breaking records across the entire Northern Hemisphere, from Asia, across North America, and into Europe.

Drought is everywhere, and rivers are drying up. Nuclear reactors and power generators are being shut down due to insufficient water supply.

Puerto Rico (a U.S. Territory) is currently rationing water.

Wildfires continue to burn everywhere. We have volcanoes and earthquakes, hurricanes, and thousands of people losing everything.

Gas prices are up. Grocery prices are up. But Trump doesn't pay for gas, nor does he go grocery shopping. He doesn't care.

He doesn't care about helping people, even the ones who elected him. He doesn't care about helping his party get elected. He only cares about his own legacy.

Sometimes I wonder what planet I am on.

It will take decades to undo all the damage he has done. And while we are focused on that, Winter will arrive, and the countries south of the equator will move into summer. I wonder if the global events we see here in the north will also happen in the south this summer. I wonder how long it will take, and how much devastation will need to happen, before we wake up and decide to start acting like adults.