I took a look at the Fox News website and their top story right now is about an investigation into Russia-gate. So it is clear that the rigth wing press is standing by their man.
There is simply no equivalent in the mainstream press.
This grandma ain’t scared. Perhaps it might be discerning to not be stereotypical in referencing the elderly. What about all the reported Trump support from young men 18 to 35. Why no stereotypes of them? Maybe because they don’t have boat parades.
As I have written elsewhere, this is a revival of a T-shirt motto I saw at UCSB decades ago: If you can't dazzle them with Brilliance, baffle them with Bullshit.
I’m surprised that the “elder” part hasn’t caused a steep drop in Fox viewers; maybe it has. It’s been known for a long time that their audience skews geriatric, and unless they are getting new recruits, the life expectancy math should have caused a death spiral.
I agree wholeheartedly and I am an Elder. I can barely stand to see the spin. During the pandemic I would check out how they were skewing reality and being Pied Pipers to the old folks to hurry up and shuffle off the mortal coil, "don't listen to the totalitarian woke folks who think wearing a mask and getting a vaccine might help you stay alive"....then, after seeing their parents die after being lied to, they voted for a criminal org takeover anyway. Now, I can't even bear to tune in to their stream of bashing the truth to the tune of their death wish--the entropic Force from the shadow side of the subconscious is Strong in those cruel souls and reinforced by the American sense of entitlement..
What is taking the worst beating? Immigrants? Economy? International relations? Nope. Not even close. The truth (which is always the first and most profound casualty of war).
I had high hopes for the Dominion trial. Then it was the family feud between Murdoch and his three children. Now I am looking to Smartmatic, whose trial starts in November. Will somebody rid me of this troublesome company?
Interesting that both the WSJ which is reporting on Epstein-gate and Fox News which is not, are owned by the same person. He must assume a lot about the different audiences consuming these media.
The only point is that these are non political people who are in business. By the way not all those who receive corporate subscriptions have reading recommendations.
Oh my. There's one thing wrong here. "Objective journalism" is an oxymoron in any psychological or philosophical milieu. You're showing enormous bias in your reporting about reporting.
It's probably just my affection for David Hume, but I'm not sure that attempting to be objective would be like attempting to be a giraffe. But there is method to the journalistic madness. Yet I always ask myself, "What if the journalist was writing from the point of view of a Namibian?"
We are not saying objective journalism, but there are facts, and there are lies, and by third grade we are supposed to start developing the ability to differentiate them.
Michael Wolff said that Rupert Murdoch detests Trump. Like many others who privately confess their disdain for Turmp (and once did so publicly), he has found it personally beneficial to stroke his ego and promote his power lust.
According to Wolff, Rupert always wanted to make a U.S. president, but he isn't proud that the president he made is Donald Trump.
Some zealous Trump-boosters see him primarily as an aggressive agent for their own political agenda. Some might be making a profit from publicly supporting him, but a bigger incentive for many was probably the fear of losing audiences and opportunities by being publicly critical. At the beginning of the Trump era, conservative media voices learned that they would probably lose their gigs if they didn't get in line.
Murdoch has way more emotional investment in his newpapers. They made him his fortune and standing as a global powerbroker. He let Roger Ailles run Fox pretty much unsupervised except to check the bottom line.
Keep in mind that there two versions of the WSJ existing side by side. The WSJ news department/bureau is excellent and reports accurate and dependable news. The Editorial Room of the WSJ is dominated by right-wing ideology and frequently peddles economic theories that have never been true, ie: Tax cuts stimulate major economic growth and pay for themselves.
Interesting enough there was an opinion piece in Fox News yesterday (?) that wasn't very pro-Trump about Epstein. I was surprised and started wondering if this is Fox changing in baby steps to match WSJ
I want to know the content of the meeting that JD Vance had with Murdoch. I feel like Vance told Murdoch, "Go ahead and destroy Trump! I will have your back when I take over the presidency."
That’s a coincidence; I just wrote to my daughter that ‘hair-on-fire’ headlines and stories work in the right wing sphere, but not among normies. When I see such a lefty headline - and they are common in the YouTube independent media environment - I’m automatically suspicious. And rightly so, because the content rarely lives up to the 4-alarm headline. There is something very different about how we are wired.
It's all about attention. And this could be no more true than the character and behavior of the orange orangutan in office. His need for attention is the gravity of a Black Hole.
I think the tariffs are a platform for Trump to keep himself the center of attention, more than any economic strategy, however flawed that cover story is.
Before a Black Hole, a neuron star implodes, explodes, and collapses sending out its gamma rays---the most powerful energy in the electromagnetic spectrum--to the universe before getting sucked in. Oh how they are trying to play pretend. Seriously hoping the Epstein files are the tilting (certainly titillatingly salacious referring to an earlier comment on Fox News as elder porn) that send Trump and all his lying, cheating, self congratulatory minions into the dark pit of no return where the torment he is giving others now in cages is now their "do unto others, as you would have them do to you" backfiring karmic reel.
Be careful of the hopium. It's addictive and causes unrealistic expectations. Stay sane by understanding that character is destiny: His character is our destiny - at least for a while. (I just stick around to say humiliating things about him).
I agree on the 4-alarm headlines, but I hardly call them lefty. I read Dean Blundell who is very tongue-in-cheek in his writing, and I would say, he is not lefty or righty, but more a social media maven who is used to grabbing attention. Olga Lautmann can do that too with her podcasts, but then in her regular Trump Tyranny Tracker she is balanced, and gives facts, and good analysis. I imagine as a medium YouTube invites this high drama tone more. I would not be a good YouTuber for that reason. My articles have very to the point titles.
How long can the Obama et al/treason thing go on without actual arrests? So now Bondi is going to have both unreleased Epstein files and unarrested 2016 coup plotters on her plate. What’s next?
Seems like the frustration level amongst the MAGAe is going to reach the boiling point soon.
Speaking of the main stream press... right now Trump is touting his 15% tariff on Japan - up from around 2% pre-Trump. Why does the press corp sit there like brainless crash dummies?
Here is the question they should be asking: "Mr. President, we all know that Japan will not be paying this 15% tariff - our own importers pay it and pass the cost on to American consumers. Your tariff increase means Japanese goods, including cars and electronics, are now going to cost us an average of 13% more. HOW IS THAT A GOOD THING?"
A free press has obligations. They should start fulfilling them by holding leaders to account for their obvious stupidity!
Bondi set up a DOJ “strike force” to assess Gabbard’s charges Barack Obama.
Another Trump strike force?
“When our research and campaign legal team can't back up any of the claims made by our Elite Strike Force Legal Team, you can see why we're 0-32 on our cases.”
Here is where I get lost, probably just because the application of simple logic to Trump's crap makes it appear like a steaming pile in the hot sun. BUT if we were to assume that based on intelligence indicating that the Russians were playing around with the 2016 election President Obama said "follow up on this and if possible find information that will damage Trump's operation by tying it to the Russians" why is this not 1. legitimate instructions given to government agents by the "Unitary Executive" and 2. totally covered by Presidential immunity EVEN if it was true (which it clearly is not). So really, what the hell?
I agree many in MAGA are sticking to trump, but there is a not insignificant number who are not. Go to the conservative sub in Reddit and search for the mega thread in Epstein. The second one. The mods are trying desperately to bury this issue and there are (1) many comments about the mods' heavy handedness in deleting and unpinning posts and comments on the topic, and (2) many comments about how this seems like a cover up. The mods are still working to delete opposing comments because I've seen them be deleted. So there are some in MAGA that feel trump is acting suspicious and want the files released.
I saw a poll that a majority of Republicans want the files released. MAGA is a majority of Rs, so some of that majority who want the files released are MAGA.
Re: "So the attorney general and the deputy director of the FBI are screaming at each other. A “senior administration official” is telling the Wall Street Journal all about it. And the president is personally involved in decisions not to release information containing reports about his own behavior."
One would think the right wing fever swamp would be all over this. This is the kind of thing that would have sent Alex Jones into orbit a few years ago. Same thing with Charlie Kirk and Nick Fuentes. What about Rogan? And where, oh where, is National Review? Nothing to see here? And Fox News? At some point, doesn't Megan Kelly and Shannon Bream and the rest need to say something?
I did hear some things from Alex Jones and Fuentes a few days ago, but that's about it. There's a lot more that needs to happen here.
I think the Democrats have handled Rogan and the rest of the bros completely wrong through this entire Trump era. I think a lot of them consider these guys muscled-up dopes, dudes who sit around talking about girls and football and watching MMA fights and, because of that, they're neither capable of understanding anything of substance nor really interested in it. Additionally, they're not reachable and, in their minds, not worth reaching because they're so damned primitive.
That's wrong. These guys watch fights and football games because there is a clear winner and loser. They're all muscled-up because that's important to them. They're competitive. All that testosterone drives their behavior and their outlook. Just watch how they deal with a fighter or an athlete whose performance is sub-par or who loses a fight and then blames the refs or comes up with some other excuse.
"Dude! Man up! You got beat! You got beat because you suck! Don't talk to me about the refs! You suck. And because you suck, you got beat. And you're never gonna win until you face reality. You gotta get back in the gym, man!"
That's how Democrats need to deal with these guys. "Gentlemen, look. This guy, Donald Trump, told you what you wanted to hear and you bought it. All he really wanted was money and power and to get that he needed your votes and, because he's been doing this for a long, long time, he conned you. No shame in that. A lot of guys got conned by Donald Trump over the years. Now you just gotta open your eyes and recognize it. He's got the money and the power and you got, what? Alligator Alcatraz? Is that helping you? Higher inflation. Is that helping you? More military conflicts over nothing. Is that helping you? Members of your family are gonna find it harder to get the help they need. Is that helping you? Grabbing abuelo, who's been busting his hump doing landscaping for thirty years to raise kids and send them to school. Is that helping you? No! He got what he wanted and he gave you nothing. Time to man up and quit covering for this guy."
That's the language of the gym and they'll get that.
This is outstanding. Probability that the Dems actually do this or anything like it is alarmingly low, but that doesn't detract from the insightfulness of your post. I have plenty of policy disagreements with AOC, but she seems to be one of the only prominent Dems to have the stones to take the fight to the right.
The reason trump's campaign went after that market is b/c they are not bright, have any sense of right and wrong and are totally into themselves first.
Let's not act like that market can be broken with common sense, smarts or being told they were lied to.
I agree with most of the replies that this is very good, dcicero.
One thing that crew IS quite shrewd at, however, is sniffing out inauthenticity. Never mind the gerontocracy; but can a prime-aged leader like Jeffries go on one of these shows, do his thing where he threads the needle trying not to alienate even one of the party's bratty micro-constituencies, and come off as authentic? Hell no.
Who can come off as authentic? AOC, as some here say. Bernie does it, despite his age. Most likely Mamdani could too. Is it just the left flank that can do this?
Again, hell no. Every Bulwark reader knows Kinzinger or Denver Riggleman can do it. Chris Murphy can do it. More Dems gotta figure it out. Or be replaced by those who already have.
A guy like Kinzinger can do it. The guy was a pilot. Did he get through flight school blaming the instructors for poor evaluations? No! He took those poor evaluations and said, "Okay. What do I need to do to improve. Then he went and did that."
I've heard this from every military pilot I've ever met. These guys were always the best at everything and then they wind up at flight school and they get evaluated as below average on some task. A lot of them fall apart. New experience for them. They get in their own heads. They can't get past it. The guys who succeed accept it, figure out what they need to do, do it and move on. Total meritocracy, not unlike being an MMA fighter. And that's why guys like Kinsinger can do what he does and why he comes off as authentic. It can't be faked.
Bratty micro-constituents is a perfect description of the Progressive Left. As Carville puts it, they're not interested in actually winning elections, just getting attention to their cause.
To be clear I didn't intend it to apply to "the Progressive Left" writ large. I mean it for the professional activism class of individual and group actors. The agents who made the 2020 Dem primaries a weird, precision-pissing contest on identity politics and relentless "inclusion" (ultimately rejected by voters, of course, in favor of the . . . authenticity of the two old fogies).
My son has been, and still is, kinda, a big Rogan fan. He is quite intelligent and generally well-informed, loathes Trump and all his works, and has very little use for the Democratic Party.
Well, there's that too. The Democrats have built a brand so noxious that a huge number of people want nothing to do with it. I vote for Democrats not because I agree with them or like how they behave, but because the moment requires it.
And that is why they lost in 2024, because their brand, as marketed, sucked for too many people. Some stayed home, other voted for "the other guy" who at least will "shake things up", without realizing he meant every single forking word he said that could be reduced to "burn it all down and let me rule it anew, and to hell with anyone with less money than me who does not like that."
More like, MSM did a number on the Democratic Party by under reporting, and showing, bias for Felon Trump. Having read the many, and I mean many comments., written by WAPO former subscribers-the paper lost over 300,000 in 2024-who pointed out the paper’s bias, there is truth to my opinion. Likewise, that was a criticism of the NYT by its subscribers.
Ego. What Rogan and the pod bros have in common with Trump is ego. They are smart; they don't buy into the wimpy DEI stuff; they like to think they aren't "fooled" by politics as usually practiced in this country; they think wimpy rules keep them from becoming billionaires. Trump is like them in their view and that's why they were supportive.
I agree with this, too. I think they liked all the "locker room talk." Watch these podcasts. A lot of what's said is "locker room talk." They don't like the finger-wagging progressives who want to tell them they're "problematic." They don't want to hear that certain things can't be said because they're, say, transphobic or perpetuating cis-normative gender roles or whatever. It all sounds like bullshit to them. And the people telling them this stuff disgust them. Their response: "Get off me, bro."
Trump comes on and he sounds like them. He likes the same stuff they do: MMA fights, beauty pageants, attractive women, sports. He says we need to make stuff here, that we've been getting ripped off by everyone and that's gotta stop, that the wimps and losers from Harvard and Oberlin and Columbia are looking down on them and telling normal hard-working people what they can and can't say all the while knowing most of them couldn't change the oil in their cars if someone put a gun to their heads. Why wouldn't they go for a guy like that?
What's needed is to demonstrate that Trump is full of crap and has been lying to them, that they've been had. None of it was real. It was all cosplay. He's what he appears to be: a really rich guy protecting his really rich friends and using them to get more rich. His ego is bigger than any of them detected.
To the bubble part, I agree and that's why Democrats have to get into that bubble. Cede that ground to them and they'll just live there, figuring they've won the fight because no one will go there and fight them.
They like the fight, by the way. Trial by combat's not a bad thing. It's a problem solving tool. "Two men enter. One man leaves." Get in there and smack them around and maybe they'll gain some respect for the guy who did it. They might listen to a guy like that. Say you're not going to "platform" them or it's beneath you or somesuch and you're just proving their point. You're a wimp. You can't handle The Octagon.
This isn’t a coverup gone wrong. This is a coverup done Trump.
The goal was never to fool you. It was to drown the median citizen, to flood the field with such brain-rotting stupidity that the very concept of truth curdles. That’s the strategy. That’s always been the strategy. The American public, limp with apathy, has let it work. Maybe this time is different. Maybe this story is so evil, so stupid, that it breaks through.
But as the Epstein files smolder just offstage, Tulsi Gabbard babbles about Hillary Clinton’s “psycho-emotional instability,” and Russian dossiers of tranquilizer schedules get dragged across the feed, Obama, Obama, 2016, Benghazi, ghost-traitors, it should be clear: This isn’t meant to be believed. Not by you. Not by the thinking. It’s meant to infect the bloodstream of discourse. To trigger the gag reflex of the masses. To turn inquiry into exhaustion, or at the very least, to throw a shiny thing in front of the dogs so they stop barking for a second.
Maybe this becomes a rare moment of national lucidity.
Although a lucid nation likely wouldn’t have elected a man (twice) whose incompetence consistently eclipses his scandals.
The playbook is always obvious: Say something so absurd it hijacks the news cycle. Spew enough bullshit to turn oxygen into smog. Make you feel insane for caring. Give the populous the stupidest deniability imaginable. Wait until they start using it.
It’s always worked.
Maybe this time it won’t.
But idiocy isn’t the glitch. It’s the reality. So I wouldn’t count on it.
Yeah, I'm just slightly sanguine myself. I think of Trump as a ship. The Trumpstein Chronicles are the only crack in the hull we've got right now. So pry on the fuckin' thing 25hrs a day.
He sexually assaulted at least one woman and has to pay her millions of dollars. He’s a lurker and lecher who creeps on young women and girls. Creepy creeper!
The Trump Administration should name the new Russian dossier against Hillary the “Steal Dossier”. Now THAT would break through with the median, “low information nee no information” voter. By the end of next week they’d completely forget about the ‘Epstein cover-up’, which is just so complicated. I mean, who can follow it anyway?
I hate to admit Bannon is right, but “flood the zone” is very effective, and to them it comes naturally. Because the zone really is naturally flooded with sh*t in their world; all they need to do is open the gates.
Yeah. you are right, it’s not a strategy they cooked up in some smoke-filled war room. It’s who they are. The sewage doesn’t need to be manufactured, just redirected. Open the gate and let their nature do the rest. It makes it a very impactful strategy.
Logic says that at some point in time, change happens. It’s tiresome saying, this is the time, although, there will be a time for change. Maddening, isn’t it.
We seem to be getting to the point in the Epstein saga when it is not safe to be ketchup in the White House, if previous experience is any indicator.
If you have not laid in a decent supply of popcorn, be sure to do so soon, before the prices rise due to supply and demand issues, not to mention general inflation that is likely to go higher as the President turns more and more of his attention away from the people's business and toward his own self-preservation campaign. I'm not usually one for gossip columns and innuendo, but the daily leaks from inside the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW has a certain addictive component to it as the participants both curry favor from above and jockey for position with their own well-being in mind. The President still may wriggle off the hook somehow, as he is a professional at doing so and there does not seem to be a smoking gun, so to speak, about his personal involvement in Epstein's known abuses. But there is a very real sensation this time that he is not in control of the process, that time and circumstance are working against him in ways that he is not familiar with and does not know how to manage. It is not a recipe for success. Instead it seems more likely to be the beginning of peeling back layers of the onion, and perhaps in some other areas of importance. That, too, can be entertaining to watch. More popcorn, please and thank you.
The smoking gun is/is in the files. If it weren't, they would be releasing them. Even a part of them, which indicates he must be everywhere.
Even if their BFF broke in the early aughts, Trump had years to speak out against Epstein and he did not. Instead, he gave the the prosecutor who gave Epstein a slap on the wrist a position in his admin.
For my part I'm withholding consideration of the files until there is an actual ability to see them. Testimony from Maxwell would be the other area where a smoking gun might be found. On the former, fingers crossed that there will be enough pressure to finally induce a look at what actually is there, minus necessary redactions for people (victims) whose names should not be disclosed. On the latter I fear DJT, through channels, already is dangling a pardon if she continues to hold out. One more reason why the power of the presidential pardon and its unlimited potential for abuse should be reevaluated.
Of course he's dangling a pardon. He was clearly desperate to get to Maxwell before she needs to respond to a congressional subpoena.
Insiders from the first Trump administration reported that after she was arrested he kept worrying out loud about what she might say, and he suggested pardoning her. Advisors told him it would be a bad look.
He has surrounded himself with very different advisors this time.
Her attorney has to have required some kind of immunity for her to speak to anyone about anything, let alone Bove, the Felon's next Appellate Judge (for life).
IF there is a federal pardon signed and "executed" by the Felon, then she would have absolutely no basis to refuse being questioned, under oath, by less than friendly members of Congress when a subpoena is issued. And, it would be, whether before Milquetoast Mike sends everyone home to try to sell BBB to the rubes, or after they return.
Once she gets immunity, she will say anything she wants. If it happens as you say then MAGA will turn on itself, those saying she is controlled by Felon Trump, and those saying she sold out.
I do not think that will play well with his base. He spent years agreeing with QANON that he would unmask the deep state pedophile cabal, because it consisted of Democrats. Now he wants everyone to look the other way. His base won’t accept anything Maxwell says if she signs a NDA.
The instant I heard Todd Blanche wants to speak to Ghislaine, the skeptic in me thinks; HMMM, so he wants to talk to a pedifile who is serving 20 years? Wink, wink: pardon.
Interviewing potential witnesses is normal for counsel in a case, and normal for prosecutors/law enforcement before bringing a case. Now, as I wrote above, she should still demand immunity to discuss other offenses in which she was involved.
The other names that should be redacted is any co-conspirator who has not been charged, which is all of them, since none of them have been charged. Unless Bondi wants to bypass DOJ policy not to name anyone under investigation until they've been charged. Which is entirely possible. But I can see a class action lawsuit for defamation on the part of all uncharged whose names are made public.
I don't know why Bondi didn't reply to the release-the-files mania with this cause it would be a legitimate reason, based on years of DOJ practice.
Of course, they already bypassed the policy by naming Brennan and Comey under investigation.
The smoking gun could be the copy of the Birthday Book allegedly with the signature of one each Felon (not clear on where that scrawl appears). That book, according to Epstein's attorney, is part of his estate and the property of his heirs who might be inclined to part with it, at least temporarily, if asked politely. That story just broke a couple of hours ago on NYT online.
I’m not stocking up on popcorn. If the President gets his way, the price of corn will plummet when Coca Cola starts using cane sugar again.
If there was no smoking gun, Trump would have released all of the documents already. And the evidence must be substantial. I’m sure Trump has confidence that he can spin anything short of video. The idea they’re withholding documents to protect innocent people is preposterous. Trump would throw his whole family under the bus to protect himself.
It will be interesting to see what happens. At this point I’m curious about Epstein’s finances and where that tangled web leads.. We know he donated money to MIT’s Media Lab and most of the money came after his initial conviction — it created a scandal when reported on. But why was he donating money there in the first place? What was in it for him.
Time is not on the felon’s side. He is increasingly saying ridiculous things, and his minions can’t seem to control him. He has health problems that cannot be hidden either. We might not need a smoking gun because his paranoia is increasing.
Kinda funny and kinda serious. I recently downloaded The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which I’ve read twice in my past. It feels relevant more now than when I read it as a student and later as a parent of students.
Agree. I sometimes do a thought experiment of trying to imagine the few MAGAs I know perpetrating personal violence against me, and it was unsettling to have it feel very real. And the religious ones are the most real. I’m a woman who lives alone in a challenging physical environment, which feels close to the universal definition of witchery.
It’s a shame and typical of our current politics that the focus on the differences between Hillary and Donald is something so superficial, when so much existential is at stake.
Jensen Huang is correct, Donald Trump is a uniquely American autocrat. He was invented by the media, and rules by social media.
He has always been seen as a narcissist and sociopath, but redefining him as a child sexual abuser clarifies the origin of many of his behaviors. He keeps secrets, lies, and uses violence to control people. No one can question or criticize him because that could lead to someone finding out his secrets. He needs complete control or there will be hell to pay.
Uniquely American? I guess so, because of the outrageousness of the sociopathy and the magnitude of the risks. But perhaps more a uniquely adept manipulator of social media. Apart from that, we have a lot to learn about what comes next from less narcissistic autocrats like Orban and Erdoğan.
'Gabbard and the White House have been beating this drum all week, making chronic use of the rhetoric about “a years-long coup to try to undermine President Trump’s presidency.”'
This makes so much sense. Obama directed an investigation of the Trump campaign, but intentionally withheld it from the public during the campaign to prevent it from influencing people to vote against Trump, so that once Trump was in office and Obama was not, the investigation could be used to undermine the Trump presidency Obama refused to try to prevent by disclosing the existence of the investigation during the campaign.
TREASON!
Yes I'm joking. The cork board is very full of thumbtacks and red yarn on this one. And I'm not sure even all of the base is buying it, but rightwing media sure is running with it anyway.
You have to admit; it was a master stroke by that Shifty Black guy from Kenya to devise such a grand scheme, and then NOT tell anybody about it! Cuz Obama knew back then that Trump would be a bad president, would lose his reelection bid, would plot a coup, would have a sympathetic Judge set up in Florida to kneecap his prosecution, would kill RBG, and then would have an absolute chokehold with the Supremes all lined up to grant him immunity, would get reelected, would have Pam Bondi lined up to claim review of all the “planted” evidence of his ties to a pedophile & sex trafficker and then conceal it, and SHAZAMMMMM! Make poor Trump look like someone who might indulge in “secrets” with the pedo. You gotta hand it to Obama. Who’d have thunk it??
What I've learned from rightwing media: Obama, a total idiot as a president, but an omniscient evil genius when it comes to framing and sabotaging Trump.
I knew a Special Forces member whose brother was a huge conspiracy buff long before Trump. The SOF guy tried to inject some reality by repeating, “We’re not THAT good!” Conspiracy folks never seem to be bothered by the massive talent they ascribe to their enemies.
When I was posting on Fox News for the past 8 years...I would occasionally throw out "If the Dems are that clever and powerful, then maybe they should be in charge"
Seriously...the amount of foresight, clandestine actions and control necessary to pull some of these claims off would be the envy of the world's best spy agencies.
Bless you for putting yourself and your thoughts where I fear to tread, in the weird sphere. Seriously. My own reflexes are as if I’ll acquire a taint just by clicking.
Not the “real” press- or what hollow shell they bear some resemblance thereof- but Fox is leading with the Obama detritus 24-7. When they’re not deep diving into the, ‘auto-pen’ crisis, that is…
And I think in a rare instance, the coverage will be very negative to the admin, though of course the NYT will try to find a way to sugarcoat it for Trump.
The timing of that meeting between Bondi and Trump is intriguing. In May, Elon and Trump were still on good terms and having late night slumber party chats over ice cream. So, I think:
1. When Elon dropped the "really big bomb" on June 5th, he was telling the truth and with personal knowledge of the facts.
2. That same day, FBI director Kash Patel told Joe Rogan that he had no idea how Elon could have known about Trump being in the Epstein files. So, it looks like Kash lied to Joe and his millions of listeners.
From what I understand he can’t tell the two apart — people who have looked into his background will testify to that. My comment borrowed a bit from Casablanca.
I’m still burning up that they put 1000 people on the task of looking for Trump references in the files but can’t seem to find anyone who could scrub the victims names and pornography. Once again the best advice is “don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do” (and there’s the extra caution that listening to what they have been saying in the last couple days could very well make you stupider!)
Would love to get this gang under oath asking questions about how that 1000 person effort came about.
I've been saying all along that Bondi is only doing what Trump is ordering her to do. I imagine she's thinking that some of these moves are stupid and obvious, but it's what the boss wants her to do.
Remember when Trump said about the 2020 election fraud claims "Just make the claim and the GOP will do the rest"? This is the same thing but opposite. Trump/Bondi will make ludicrous claims and their media and GOP surrogates will do the rest. It's happening, but fortunately, there are few MAGA voices pushing back on the lies. Even they could tell it's BS.
Agreed! And certainly not all of them are going to be willing to perjure themselves. Insulating themselves from a potential perjury charge would require putting all their eggs in the basket that is already shredding in pieces.
The problem with putting these fools under oath, is they will cling to the “I don’t remember,” or take the Fifth Amendment. We will be fast asleep before the debacle finishes.
I 100% agree, but that's valuable in itself...they had the chance to exonerate themselves but all they did was plead the 5th. Especially meaningful if done under their own DOJ.
Funny how they can make these accusations with straight faces when they serve an unhinged delusional psychopath who telegraphs his lunacy every time he opens his mouth or bangs out an incoherent tweet.
Been thinking about why the Epstein story actually has legs and ultimately it is simple. Sex sells. Americans love sex scandals and the trashier the better.
Which brings me to Bill Clinton. Over 8 years the Republicans tried to throw scandal after scandal at Bill. Whitewater. Ron Brown. Vince Foster. The public Did. Not. Care. What did they finally care about? A cigar and a blue dress.
Once the public and Bill's political enemies got a hold of the Monica story it wouldn't die. The democrats did everything they could to kill it. Clinton did everything he could to kill it. No dice. I don't think Epstein is any different. If anything it will be far harder to kill because of Twitter and YouTube. As Trump is finding out.
Clinton eventually got impeached but it didnt truly bring him down. So what is different now? Clinton's fellow democrats had no interest in pursuing that case, unlike many of Trump's fellow MAGAs. Clinton also enjoyed a Gallup approval rating between the high 50s and low 60s during the entire run of the scandal. The public wanted juicy gossip but in the 90s a male boss having an affair with his much younger subordinate was not a big enough deal to make people actually dislike Clinton. It did in fact earn him a lot of atta boys. Sex with underage girls though? Different story.
Do we think that Trump is going to crack 50% as a pedophilia and sex trafficking scandal unfolds around him? Do we think his approval ratings will go up? Do we think that Mike Johnson will be able to keep defending him as this gets bigger and bigger and as his own party members demand a full investigation? If there is anything these MAGA lunatics hate more than Nancy Pelosi it's sexual deviance. And the Epstein case has all the deviance you can ask for.
For the first time in 10 years I think there might be something that can actually unseat the Orange king. Or at least damage him so badly that he is in effect neutered and his movement eats itself. It's already shut down Congress for the next month.
The Clinton impeachment looks so quaint now. Imagine being impeached for lying about getting a blow job in the White House nowadays!
You are right--- the pedophile angle is devastating for Trump. Even if he never engaged with anyone who was underage himself just being close to Epstein and Maxwell's sex trafficking racket is enough.
During Obama's term I spent a significant amount of time with people who told me that Obama must be a socialist/communist/Marxist because of the people he associated with.
I'm hearing crickets from these same people about Trump now. But they also aren't defending him.
The "elite pedophile conspiracy" thing is a serious thing for a number of Qanon MAGAs--- but most of my MAGA friends and associates (at this point) don't care. If they had videos of Trump raping 15 year olds they'd still support him. They wouldn't like it but they'd rather have a pedophile in office than a Democrat. Sad
Clinton had a booming economy and personal charm. He did regular addresses to the nation. Most of us at the time thought that Hillary was the one who should be impeaching him (power imbalances were not a thing yet). I honestly thought, yes, he’s a scamp, but he’s our scamp. He did so many things that I now hate with the benefit of my 20/20 hindsight, but at the time?
"It’s all shoddy enough to make you wonder if they’re making it stupid on purpose." I'm a retired university professor. Faculty had a saying, "When they cheat, they cheat stupid." I think this is universal.
If Trump really did have American security as his top priority, that Nvidia deal wouldn’t have gone through. His priority are his rich donors, the guys who were lined up behind him on Inauguration Day. To him, the US has only business competitors, or customers.
The universities who are wrangling with Trump should take a page from the Wall Street Journal. They tell about his birthday card to Epstein, he sues. They reveal the very next day that his name is mentioned numerous times in the files: “sue us some more, tough guy”.
Those polls must be getting to him, he’s throwing out the biggest 800 lb. squirrel he can find, “Obama Treason!”. I somehow don’t think that Jedi mind trick’s going to work, because he’s no Jedi.
Well...unfortunately....I read a post by one of my MAGA FB friends yesterday and it was touting the definition of "Treason". I was wondering if there were some of my MAGA compadres that were buying the Trump misdirection play to Obama and, disappointedly, there are.
I shared some counterpoints to the argument and laid into Trump and his supporters pretty hard for their inability (or choosing not to?) to see the grift.
I believe we've nearly reached the "I didn't inhale" portion of Trump's desperate claims when it comes to his 15 year relationship with Epstein.
I took a look at the Fox News website and their top story right now is about an investigation into Russia-gate. So it is clear that the rigth wing press is standing by their man.
There is simply no equivalent in the mainstream press.
Fox never had a connection with reality. Their sole purpose is to provide right-wing elder porn to their audience.
Scaring grandma; pissing off grandpa. That's the business model.
Oh, and the gam cam. Very important.
This grandma ain’t scared. Perhaps it might be discerning to not be stereotypical in referencing the elderly. What about all the reported Trump support from young men 18 to 35. Why no stereotypes of them? Maybe because they don’t have boat parades.
I’m stereotyping Fox News junkies, not the elderly … although there is overlap.
True. Still I am amazed at the bullshit.
As I have written elsewhere, this is a revival of a T-shirt motto I saw at UCSB decades ago: If you can't dazzle them with Brilliance, baffle them with Bullshit.
Go Gauchos!
Class of '79! 📣🏄♀️
'69 sends greetings.👍🥂
‘81 here
Sounds like good bumper sticker material; Battle them with bullshit!
But, Dave, only if you qualify it like "Trumpies:" or "Trump Says:"
Trumpster should put that on his cap.
I’m surprised that the “elder” part hasn’t caused a steep drop in Fox viewers; maybe it has. It’s been known for a long time that their audience skews geriatric, and unless they are getting new recruits, the life expectancy math should have caused a death spiral.
One could only hope. And yes, we're cut from a different cloth.
All elder-porn is gross. Especially this.
I agree wholeheartedly and I am an Elder. I can barely stand to see the spin. During the pandemic I would check out how they were skewing reality and being Pied Pipers to the old folks to hurry up and shuffle off the mortal coil, "don't listen to the totalitarian woke folks who think wearing a mask and getting a vaccine might help you stay alive"....then, after seeing their parents die after being lied to, they voted for a criminal org takeover anyway. Now, I can't even bear to tune in to their stream of bashing the truth to the tune of their death wish--the entropic Force from the shadow side of the subconscious is Strong in those cruel souls and reinforced by the American sense of entitlement..
What is taking the worst beating? Immigrants? Economy? International relations? Nope. Not even close. The truth (which is always the first and most profound casualty of war).
The nasty bullying bombast and stomping on the truth is agony. The environmental damage to all eco-systems in war is also profoundly self-destructive.
It's just all so effed up. I realize that we have to accept some effed up messes. But tons of it, everyday, is just effed up.
The resilience of nature is amazing. It is more resilient than our "spirits."
I had high hopes for the Dominion trial. Then it was the family feud between Murdoch and his three children. Now I am looking to Smartmatic, whose trial starts in November. Will somebody rid me of this troublesome company?
Faux News
As they admitted in the Dominion lawsuit.
Interesting that both the WSJ which is reporting on Epstein-gate and Fox News which is not, are owned by the same person. He must assume a lot about the different audiences consuming these media.
Yes. The WSJ is read by businessmen by and large - and many have an employer paid subscription. Fox is watched by aging fools.
Lots of independent investors read the Wall Street Journal too. My dad was one of them for years.
I include independent investors as businessmen. Only meaning not some group if imaginary Libtards.
Fair enough, but these independent investors didn’t have free subscriptions or implied “read this” instructions foisted on them.
The only point is that these are non political people who are in business. By the way not all those who receive corporate subscriptions have reading recommendations.
You really don't need the adjective before "fools".
Yes - a fool is a fool at any age.
And WSJ has won awards for its journalism. It is a competent newspaper. Fox Noise is the equivalent of “The Enquirer.”
And military people on their bases
The business community looks to the WSJ for real facts. Their news division is objective and reality-based. Their editorial page on the other hand...
It does highlight what an opportunist Murdoch is, because he knows the facts, and he knows lies, and he sells both.
He is not exactly Joe Friday; "Just the facts maam".
Oh my. There's one thing wrong here. "Objective journalism" is an oxymoron in any psychological or philosophical milieu. You're showing enormous bias in your reporting about reporting.
Oxymoron: FOX News. Come to think of it, just moron.
You have a point. The distinction is that some reporters attempt to be objective.
It's probably just my affection for David Hume, but I'm not sure that attempting to be objective would be like attempting to be a giraffe. But there is method to the journalistic madness. Yet I always ask myself, "What if the journalist was writing from the point of view of a Namibian?"
We are not saying objective journalism, but there are facts, and there are lies, and by third grade we are supposed to start developing the ability to differentiate them.
Your condescension is much appreciated.
Michael Wolff said that Rupert Murdoch detests Trump. Like many others who privately confess their disdain for Turmp (and once did so publicly), he has found it personally beneficial to stroke his ego and promote his power lust.
According to Wolff, Rupert always wanted to make a U.S. president, but he isn't proud that the president he made is Donald Trump.
Love of money is the root of all evil? Such a novel idea.
Some zealous Trump-boosters see him primarily as an aggressive agent for their own political agenda. Some might be making a profit from publicly supporting him, but a bigger incentive for many was probably the fear of losing audiences and opportunities by being publicly critical. At the beginning of the Trump era, conservative media voices learned that they would probably lose their gigs if they didn't get in line.
Exactly! Whoda thunk it?
I have despised Murdoch as long as I have known of his existence. Nothing is changing on that.
Murdoch has way more emotional investment in his newpapers. They made him his fortune and standing as a global powerbroker. He let Roger Ailles run Fox pretty much unsupervised except to check the bottom line.
A bottom line which took a dive when they lost the Dominion Voting Systems case.
Keep in mind that there two versions of the WSJ existing side by side. The WSJ news department/bureau is excellent and reports accurate and dependable news. The Editorial Room of the WSJ is dominated by right-wing ideology and frequently peddles economic theories that have never been true, ie: Tax cuts stimulate major economic growth and pay for themselves.
Like the Laffer curve
What a bunch of bullshit that was.(Laffer curve) Two lines in that graph intersect; Hey that s our economy!
Spot on!
Interesting enough there was an opinion piece in Fox News yesterday (?) that wasn't very pro-Trump about Epstein. I was surprised and started wondering if this is Fox changing in baby steps to match WSJ
I want to know the content of the meeting that JD Vance had with Murdoch. I feel like Vance told Murdoch, "Go ahead and destroy Trump! I will have your back when I take over the presidency."
I believe FOX is controlled by his son.
Spreading the love, far and wide.
That’s a coincidence; I just wrote to my daughter that ‘hair-on-fire’ headlines and stories work in the right wing sphere, but not among normies. When I see such a lefty headline - and they are common in the YouTube independent media environment - I’m automatically suspicious. And rightly so, because the content rarely lives up to the 4-alarm headline. There is something very different about how we are wired.
It's all about attention. And this could be no more true than the character and behavior of the orange orangutan in office. His need for attention is the gravity of a Black Hole.
I think the tariffs are a platform for Trump to keep himself the center of attention, more than any economic strategy, however flawed that cover story is.
Before a Black Hole, a neuron star implodes, explodes, and collapses sending out its gamma rays---the most powerful energy in the electromagnetic spectrum--to the universe before getting sucked in. Oh how they are trying to play pretend. Seriously hoping the Epstein files are the tilting (certainly titillatingly salacious referring to an earlier comment on Fox News as elder porn) that send Trump and all his lying, cheating, self congratulatory minions into the dark pit of no return where the torment he is giving others now in cages is now their "do unto others, as you would have them do to you" backfiring karmic reel.
Be careful of the hopium. It's addictive and causes unrealistic expectations. Stay sane by understanding that character is destiny: His character is our destiny - at least for a while. (I just stick around to say humiliating things about him).
Like the YouTube headlines in screaming yellow that announce "ALL HELL IS BREAKING LOOSE" in all kinds of places.
Exactly! I have the feeling that The Bulwark experimented with that “screaming” model for a while on YouTube, then gave it up.
The Bulwark does this occasionally too lol.
I agree on the 4-alarm headlines, but I hardly call them lefty. I read Dean Blundell who is very tongue-in-cheek in his writing, and I would say, he is not lefty or righty, but more a social media maven who is used to grabbing attention. Olga Lautmann can do that too with her podcasts, but then in her regular Trump Tyranny Tracker she is balanced, and gives facts, and good analysis. I imagine as a medium YouTube invites this high drama tone more. I would not be a good YouTuber for that reason. My articles have very to the point titles.
Well, I didn’t name any specifically. I was referring to a familiar genre that cross my screen often.
How long can the Obama et al/treason thing go on without actual arrests? So now Bondi is going to have both unreleased Epstein files and unarrested 2016 coup plotters on her plate. What’s next?
Seems like the frustration level amongst the MAGAe is going to reach the boiling point soon.
I want to see Obama sue Trump for defamation.
Speaking of the main stream press... right now Trump is touting his 15% tariff on Japan - up from around 2% pre-Trump. Why does the press corp sit there like brainless crash dummies?
Here is the question they should be asking: "Mr. President, we all know that Japan will not be paying this 15% tariff - our own importers pay it and pass the cost on to American consumers. Your tariff increase means Japanese goods, including cars and electronics, are now going to cost us an average of 13% more. HOW IS THAT A GOOD THING?"
A free press has obligations. They should start fulfilling them by holding leaders to account for their obvious stupidity!
Bondi set up a DOJ “strike force” to assess Gabbard’s charges Barack Obama.
Another Trump strike force?
“When our research and campaign legal team can't back up any of the claims made by our Elite Strike Force Legal Team, you can see why we're 0-32 on our cases.”
Jason Miller in 2020
Here is where I get lost, probably just because the application of simple logic to Trump's crap makes it appear like a steaming pile in the hot sun. BUT if we were to assume that based on intelligence indicating that the Russians were playing around with the 2016 election President Obama said "follow up on this and if possible find information that will damage Trump's operation by tying it to the Russians" why is this not 1. legitimate instructions given to government agents by the "Unitary Executive" and 2. totally covered by Presidential immunity EVEN if it was true (which it clearly is not). So really, what the hell?
I agree many in MAGA are sticking to trump, but there is a not insignificant number who are not. Go to the conservative sub in Reddit and search for the mega thread in Epstein. The second one. The mods are trying desperately to bury this issue and there are (1) many comments about the mods' heavy handedness in deleting and unpinning posts and comments on the topic, and (2) many comments about how this seems like a cover up. The mods are still working to delete opposing comments because I've seen them be deleted. So there are some in MAGA that feel trump is acting suspicious and want the files released.
I saw a poll that a majority of Republicans want the files released. MAGA is a majority of Rs, so some of that majority who want the files released are MAGA.
The only thing I would expect from the mainstream press is that there is absolutely no predicate for an investigation. I searched and there's not much. No NYT, no WaPo. But CNN is on it: https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/22/politics/how-tulsi-gabbard-is-trying-to-rewrite-history-of-the-russia-investigation.
Is Rupert schizophrenic?
Re: "So the attorney general and the deputy director of the FBI are screaming at each other. A “senior administration official” is telling the Wall Street Journal all about it. And the president is personally involved in decisions not to release information containing reports about his own behavior."
One would think the right wing fever swamp would be all over this. This is the kind of thing that would have sent Alex Jones into orbit a few years ago. Same thing with Charlie Kirk and Nick Fuentes. What about Rogan? And where, oh where, is National Review? Nothing to see here? And Fox News? At some point, doesn't Megan Kelly and Shannon Bream and the rest need to say something?
I did hear some things from Alex Jones and Fuentes a few days ago, but that's about it. There's a lot more that needs to happen here.
I'm keeping my eye on Rogan. How long before Joe begins suggesting that Kash Patel lied to him and his listeners on June 5th.
I think the Democrats have handled Rogan and the rest of the bros completely wrong through this entire Trump era. I think a lot of them consider these guys muscled-up dopes, dudes who sit around talking about girls and football and watching MMA fights and, because of that, they're neither capable of understanding anything of substance nor really interested in it. Additionally, they're not reachable and, in their minds, not worth reaching because they're so damned primitive.
That's wrong. These guys watch fights and football games because there is a clear winner and loser. They're all muscled-up because that's important to them. They're competitive. All that testosterone drives their behavior and their outlook. Just watch how they deal with a fighter or an athlete whose performance is sub-par or who loses a fight and then blames the refs or comes up with some other excuse.
"Dude! Man up! You got beat! You got beat because you suck! Don't talk to me about the refs! You suck. And because you suck, you got beat. And you're never gonna win until you face reality. You gotta get back in the gym, man!"
That's how Democrats need to deal with these guys. "Gentlemen, look. This guy, Donald Trump, told you what you wanted to hear and you bought it. All he really wanted was money and power and to get that he needed your votes and, because he's been doing this for a long, long time, he conned you. No shame in that. A lot of guys got conned by Donald Trump over the years. Now you just gotta open your eyes and recognize it. He's got the money and the power and you got, what? Alligator Alcatraz? Is that helping you? Higher inflation. Is that helping you? More military conflicts over nothing. Is that helping you? Members of your family are gonna find it harder to get the help they need. Is that helping you? Grabbing abuelo, who's been busting his hump doing landscaping for thirty years to raise kids and send them to school. Is that helping you? No! He got what he wanted and he gave you nothing. Time to man up and quit covering for this guy."
That's the language of the gym and they'll get that.
This is outstanding. Probability that the Dems actually do this or anything like it is alarmingly low, but that doesn't detract from the insightfulness of your post. I have plenty of policy disagreements with AOC, but she seems to be one of the only prominent Dems to have the stones to take the fight to the right.
Disagree.
The reason trump's campaign went after that market is b/c they are not bright, have any sense of right and wrong and are totally into themselves first.
Let's not act like that market can be broken with common sense, smarts or being told they were lied to.
I think they can be peeled off, if not entirely broken, by learning (not being told) they were lied to.
I agree with most of the replies that this is very good, dcicero.
One thing that crew IS quite shrewd at, however, is sniffing out inauthenticity. Never mind the gerontocracy; but can a prime-aged leader like Jeffries go on one of these shows, do his thing where he threads the needle trying not to alienate even one of the party's bratty micro-constituencies, and come off as authentic? Hell no.
Who can come off as authentic? AOC, as some here say. Bernie does it, despite his age. Most likely Mamdani could too. Is it just the left flank that can do this?
Again, hell no. Every Bulwark reader knows Kinzinger or Denver Riggleman can do it. Chris Murphy can do it. More Dems gotta figure it out. Or be replaced by those who already have.
Absolutely right.
A guy like Kinzinger can do it. The guy was a pilot. Did he get through flight school blaming the instructors for poor evaluations? No! He took those poor evaluations and said, "Okay. What do I need to do to improve. Then he went and did that."
I've heard this from every military pilot I've ever met. These guys were always the best at everything and then they wind up at flight school and they get evaluated as below average on some task. A lot of them fall apart. New experience for them. They get in their own heads. They can't get past it. The guys who succeed accept it, figure out what they need to do, do it and move on. Total meritocracy, not unlike being an MMA fighter. And that's why guys like Kinsinger can do what he does and why he comes off as authentic. It can't be faked.
Bratty micro-constituents is a perfect description of the Progressive Left. As Carville puts it, they're not interested in actually winning elections, just getting attention to their cause.
Yes, Chris Murphy. Also Pete B. And Rep Sarah McBride, D-DE, who speaks from within the Progressive Left (see https://youtu.be/0Zw4rAm-GsU?si=S0ftaAELfl6Jpnip).
To be clear I didn't intend it to apply to "the Progressive Left" writ large. I mean it for the professional activism class of individual and group actors. The agents who made the 2020 Dem primaries a weird, precision-pissing contest on identity politics and relentless "inclusion" (ultimately rejected by voters, of course, in favor of the . . . authenticity of the two old fogies).
What is the difference between them and the other Progressives?
My son has been, and still is, kinda, a big Rogan fan. He is quite intelligent and generally well-informed, loathes Trump and all his works, and has very little use for the Democratic Party.
Well, there's that too. The Democrats have built a brand so noxious that a huge number of people want nothing to do with it. I vote for Democrats not because I agree with them or like how they behave, but because the moment requires it.
And that is why they lost in 2024, because their brand, as marketed, sucked for too many people. Some stayed home, other voted for "the other guy" who at least will "shake things up", without realizing he meant every single forking word he said that could be reduced to "burn it all down and let me rule it anew, and to hell with anyone with less money than me who does not like that."
More like, MSM did a number on the Democratic Party by under reporting, and showing, bias for Felon Trump. Having read the many, and I mean many comments., written by WAPO former subscribers-the paper lost over 300,000 in 2024-who pointed out the paper’s bias, there is truth to my opinion. Likewise, that was a criticism of the NYT by its subscribers.
Ego. What Rogan and the pod bros have in common with Trump is ego. They are smart; they don't buy into the wimpy DEI stuff; they like to think they aren't "fooled" by politics as usually practiced in this country; they think wimpy rules keep them from becoming billionaires. Trump is like them in their view and that's why they were supportive.
I agree with this, too. I think they liked all the "locker room talk." Watch these podcasts. A lot of what's said is "locker room talk." They don't like the finger-wagging progressives who want to tell them they're "problematic." They don't want to hear that certain things can't be said because they're, say, transphobic or perpetuating cis-normative gender roles or whatever. It all sounds like bullshit to them. And the people telling them this stuff disgust them. Their response: "Get off me, bro."
Trump comes on and he sounds like them. He likes the same stuff they do: MMA fights, beauty pageants, attractive women, sports. He says we need to make stuff here, that we've been getting ripped off by everyone and that's gotta stop, that the wimps and losers from Harvard and Oberlin and Columbia are looking down on them and telling normal hard-working people what they can and can't say all the while knowing most of them couldn't change the oil in their cars if someone put a gun to their heads. Why wouldn't they go for a guy like that?
What's needed is to demonstrate that Trump is full of crap and has been lying to them, that they've been had. None of it was real. It was all cosplay. He's what he appears to be: a really rich guy protecting his really rich friends and using them to get more rich. His ego is bigger than any of them detected.
That is still an uphill fight. These boys, not men, refuse to grow up, and live in a bubble.
To the bubble part, I agree and that's why Democrats have to get into that bubble. Cede that ground to them and they'll just live there, figuring they've won the fight because no one will go there and fight them.
They like the fight, by the way. Trial by combat's not a bad thing. It's a problem solving tool. "Two men enter. One man leaves." Get in there and smack them around and maybe they'll gain some respect for the guy who did it. They might listen to a guy like that. Say you're not going to "platform" them or it's beneath you or somesuch and you're just proving their point. You're a wimp. You can't handle The Octagon.
Teump does know how to sell himself, and he sold himself to Rogan.
I like it!
He will always tell the truth if/when it's profitable.
FYI, I came across this from National Review: "The director of national intelligence makes a frivolous argument" (https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/07/russiagate-re-revisited-gabbard-urges-doj-to-prosecute-obama-officials/).
This isn’t a coverup gone wrong. This is a coverup done Trump.
The goal was never to fool you. It was to drown the median citizen, to flood the field with such brain-rotting stupidity that the very concept of truth curdles. That’s the strategy. That’s always been the strategy. The American public, limp with apathy, has let it work. Maybe this time is different. Maybe this story is so evil, so stupid, that it breaks through.
But as the Epstein files smolder just offstage, Tulsi Gabbard babbles about Hillary Clinton’s “psycho-emotional instability,” and Russian dossiers of tranquilizer schedules get dragged across the feed, Obama, Obama, 2016, Benghazi, ghost-traitors, it should be clear: This isn’t meant to be believed. Not by you. Not by the thinking. It’s meant to infect the bloodstream of discourse. To trigger the gag reflex of the masses. To turn inquiry into exhaustion, or at the very least, to throw a shiny thing in front of the dogs so they stop barking for a second.
Maybe this becomes a rare moment of national lucidity.
Although a lucid nation likely wouldn’t have elected a man (twice) whose incompetence consistently eclipses his scandals.
The playbook is always obvious: Say something so absurd it hijacks the news cycle. Spew enough bullshit to turn oxygen into smog. Make you feel insane for caring. Give the populous the stupidest deniability imaginable. Wait until they start using it.
It’s always worked.
Maybe this time it won’t.
But idiocy isn’t the glitch. It’s the reality. So I wouldn’t count on it.
I would love to be wrong.
Yeah, I'm just slightly sanguine myself. I think of Trump as a ship. The Trumpstein Chronicles are the only crack in the hull we've got right now. So pry on the fuckin' thing 25hrs a day.
Yeah. It might not be enough, but it’s what we’ve got. A crack’s a crack, and if the hull gives way, it won’t be from a single blow.
We will need more…
there is more - the Saudi - Kushner deal
the wash Dc Trump hotel stinks but not like the Saudi thing
Unfortunately the DOJ is Felon Trump’s personal lawyers, so nothing will come of this until the Republicans are out.
And in addition, Trump incessantly blames the former black President for his problems.
He can't give it up. He's still blaming the Central Park Five, even though they were vindicated by DNA evidence years ago.
Trump is a racist & a real creep. Let's just say it!
He sexually assaulted at least one woman and has to pay her millions of dollars. He’s a lurker and lecher who creeps on young women and girls. Creepy creeper!
The Trump Administration should name the new Russian dossier against Hillary the “Steal Dossier”. Now THAT would break through with the median, “low information nee no information” voter. By the end of next week they’d completely forget about the ‘Epstein cover-up’, which is just so complicated. I mean, who can follow it anyway?
All you need to keep repeating everywhere is over 1,000 girls were groomed for sex with adult men. That people understand.
The republicans are great at those, “say it till your face turns blue” strategies. The Dems, ‘not so much’.
I hate to admit Bannon is right, but “flood the zone” is very effective, and to them it comes naturally. Because the zone really is naturally flooded with sh*t in their world; all they need to do is open the gates.
Yeah. you are right, it’s not a strategy they cooked up in some smoke-filled war room. It’s who they are. The sewage doesn’t need to be manufactured, just redirected. Open the gate and let their nature do the rest. It makes it a very impactful strategy.
It works on me. I often feel overwhelmed and disassociate. Then I feel guilty for that.
No guilt in feeling overwhelmed in 2025 America. Thats just the reality of being someone who is aware, and has feelings. Keep being you!
Your first two sentences are spot-on.
I agree. Although I also believe that sentences 3-26 are spot on. I may be biased, though.
They are correct, but I really like the concision of the first two sentences. Crisp.
Thanks, Linda, for being you. I was trying to be funny. (The problem is I’m not funny) I appreciate the heck out of you taking the time to respond.
Lucidity is not back on the menu, boys
Logic says that at some point in time, change happens. It’s tiresome saying, this is the time, although, there will be a time for change. Maddening, isn’t it.
We seem to be getting to the point in the Epstein saga when it is not safe to be ketchup in the White House, if previous experience is any indicator.
If you have not laid in a decent supply of popcorn, be sure to do so soon, before the prices rise due to supply and demand issues, not to mention general inflation that is likely to go higher as the President turns more and more of his attention away from the people's business and toward his own self-preservation campaign. I'm not usually one for gossip columns and innuendo, but the daily leaks from inside the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW has a certain addictive component to it as the participants both curry favor from above and jockey for position with their own well-being in mind. The President still may wriggle off the hook somehow, as he is a professional at doing so and there does not seem to be a smoking gun, so to speak, about his personal involvement in Epstein's known abuses. But there is a very real sensation this time that he is not in control of the process, that time and circumstance are working against him in ways that he is not familiar with and does not know how to manage. It is not a recipe for success. Instead it seems more likely to be the beginning of peeling back layers of the onion, and perhaps in some other areas of importance. That, too, can be entertaining to watch. More popcorn, please and thank you.
The smoking gun is/is in the files. If it weren't, they would be releasing them. Even a part of them, which indicates he must be everywhere.
Even if their BFF broke in the early aughts, Trump had years to speak out against Epstein and he did not. Instead, he gave the the prosecutor who gave Epstein a slap on the wrist a position in his admin.
For my part I'm withholding consideration of the files until there is an actual ability to see them. Testimony from Maxwell would be the other area where a smoking gun might be found. On the former, fingers crossed that there will be enough pressure to finally induce a look at what actually is there, minus necessary redactions for people (victims) whose names should not be disclosed. On the latter I fear DJT, through channels, already is dangling a pardon if she continues to hold out. One more reason why the power of the presidential pardon and its unlimited potential for abuse should be reevaluated.
Of course he's dangling a pardon. He was clearly desperate to get to Maxwell before she needs to respond to a congressional subpoena.
Insiders from the first Trump administration reported that after she was arrested he kept worrying out loud about what she might say, and he suggested pardoning her. Advisors told him it would be a bad look.
He has surrounded himself with very different advisors this time.
Her attorney has to have required some kind of immunity for her to speak to anyone about anything, let alone Bove, the Felon's next Appellate Judge (for life).
IF there is a federal pardon signed and "executed" by the Felon, then she would have absolutely no basis to refuse being questioned, under oath, by less than friendly members of Congress when a subpoena is issued. And, it would be, whether before Milquetoast Mike sends everyone home to try to sell BBB to the rubes, or after they return.
BINGO!
Yeah, but any testimony following a pardon will not satisfy the Qanon folks.
Good. Then the cracks become a canyon, The Grand Canyon.
Do not trust Maxwell! She'll have her hand out, "What do you want me to say?"
Once she gets immunity, she will say anything she wants. If it happens as you say then MAGA will turn on itself, those saying she is controlled by Felon Trump, and those saying she sold out.
Her immunity will include an NDA. Guaranteed. And these days, who would want to get on the wrong side of trump when he has all the power?
I do not think that will play well with his base. He spent years agreeing with QANON that he would unmask the deep state pedophile cabal, because it consisted of Democrats. Now he wants everyone to look the other way. His base won’t accept anything Maxwell says if she signs a NDA.
The instant I heard Todd Blanche wants to speak to Ghislaine, the skeptic in me thinks; HMMM, so he wants to talk to a pedifile who is serving 20 years? Wink, wink: pardon.
MAGA would bust apart at the seams if he pardons Maxwell. Nothing could make him look more implicated in the conspiracy than that.
how about the truth? My geusss is that t***p knew and looked away
Maybe you could explain why Tod Blanch questioning Ghislaine is NOT witness tampering ?
Interviewing potential witnesses is normal for counsel in a case, and normal for prosecutors/law enforcement before bringing a case. Now, as I wrote above, she should still demand immunity to discuss other offenses in which she was involved.
I can't. None of this makes sense to my rational brain.
You are not a lawyer like D C!
The other names that should be redacted is any co-conspirator who has not been charged, which is all of them, since none of them have been charged. Unless Bondi wants to bypass DOJ policy not to name anyone under investigation until they've been charged. Which is entirely possible. But I can see a class action lawsuit for defamation on the part of all uncharged whose names are made public.
I don't know why Bondi didn't reply to the release-the-files mania with this cause it would be a legitimate reason, based on years of DOJ practice.
Of course, they already bypassed the policy by naming Brennan and Comey under investigation.
The smoking gun could be the copy of the Birthday Book allegedly with the signature of one each Felon (not clear on where that scrawl appears). That book, according to Epstein's attorney, is part of his estate and the property of his heirs who might be inclined to part with it, at least temporarily, if asked politely. That story just broke a couple of hours ago on NYT online.
We’ve never witnessed the entire United States government being a bowl of scorpions before. I prefer Orville Redenbacher.
I prefer plain buttered. None of that kettle or carmel for me
No butter, plenty of salt!
Both! I forget to add salt. Thanks for the reminder, Carolyn!
I'm here for you. Anytime!
Lots of 🧈, lol
Plain buttered popcorn is half the reason to go to movies!
I like kettle. To each his own.
My wife loves Kettle. Last nite we had corn on the corn with butter and salt for the first time this season. Nothing better ,Linda!
Is there an upper limit to hypocrisy? Is cognitive dissonance a gateway to mental breakdown?
I have been with my jumbo tub of buttered popcorn for about three weeks now. And I'm enjoying the show like I am at the movies.
I’m not stocking up on popcorn. If the President gets his way, the price of corn will plummet when Coca Cola starts using cane sugar again.
If there was no smoking gun, Trump would have released all of the documents already. And the evidence must be substantial. I’m sure Trump has confidence that he can spin anything short of video. The idea they’re withholding documents to protect innocent people is preposterous. Trump would throw his whole family under the bus to protect himself.
It will be interesting to see what happens. At this point I’m curious about Epstein’s finances and where that tangled web leads.. We know he donated money to MIT’s Media Lab and most of the money came after his initial conviction — it created a scandal when reported on. But why was he donating money there in the first place? What was in it for him.
Ah, you're pointing directly at chaos theory.
Time is not on the felon’s side. He is increasingly saying ridiculous things, and his minions can’t seem to control him. He has health problems that cannot be hidden either. We might not need a smoking gun because his paranoia is increasing.
"Fits of cheerfulness". Who knew that was a thing?
Only for women. It’s not coincidence that both Hillary and Kamala were criticized from every media source for their laugh.
Next stop: Witchery!
Kinda funny and kinda serious. I recently downloaded The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which I’ve read twice in my past. It feels relevant more now than when I read it as a student and later as a parent of students.
I just watched a series of lectures on the connections between religion and violence. The fears and violence surrounding witchcraft is mind boggling.
Agree. I sometimes do a thought experiment of trying to imagine the few MAGAs I know perpetrating personal violence against me, and it was unsettling to have it feel very real. And the religious ones are the most real. I’m a woman who lives alone in a challenging physical environment, which feels close to the universal definition of witchery.
But never Carlson or DeSantes!
Well, it does differentiate Hillary from Trump- who although he does have fits, but they cannot be defined as, “Cheerful”
It’s a shame and typical of our current politics that the focus on the differences between Hillary and Donald is something so superficial, when so much existential is at stake.
Jensen Huang is correct, Donald Trump is a uniquely American autocrat. He was invented by the media, and rules by social media.
He has always been seen as a narcissist and sociopath, but redefining him as a child sexual abuser clarifies the origin of many of his behaviors. He keeps secrets, lies, and uses violence to control people. No one can question or criticize him because that could lead to someone finding out his secrets. He needs complete control or there will be hell to pay.
Uniquely American? I guess so, because of the outrageousness of the sociopathy and the magnitude of the risks. But perhaps more a uniquely adept manipulator of social media. Apart from that, we have a lot to learn about what comes next from less narcissistic autocrats like Orban and Erdoğan.
Agreed, but try replacing the word, "control," with "adoration."
'Gabbard and the White House have been beating this drum all week, making chronic use of the rhetoric about “a years-long coup to try to undermine President Trump’s presidency.”'
This makes so much sense. Obama directed an investigation of the Trump campaign, but intentionally withheld it from the public during the campaign to prevent it from influencing people to vote against Trump, so that once Trump was in office and Obama was not, the investigation could be used to undermine the Trump presidency Obama refused to try to prevent by disclosing the existence of the investigation during the campaign.
TREASON!
Yes I'm joking. The cork board is very full of thumbtacks and red yarn on this one. And I'm not sure even all of the base is buying it, but rightwing media sure is running with it anyway.
You have to admit; it was a master stroke by that Shifty Black guy from Kenya to devise such a grand scheme, and then NOT tell anybody about it! Cuz Obama knew back then that Trump would be a bad president, would lose his reelection bid, would plot a coup, would have a sympathetic Judge set up in Florida to kneecap his prosecution, would kill RBG, and then would have an absolute chokehold with the Supremes all lined up to grant him immunity, would get reelected, would have Pam Bondi lined up to claim review of all the “planted” evidence of his ties to a pedophile & sex trafficker and then conceal it, and SHAZAMMMMM! Make poor Trump look like someone who might indulge in “secrets” with the pedo. You gotta hand it to Obama. Who’d have thunk it??
What I've learned from rightwing media: Obama, a total idiot as a president, but an omniscient evil genius when it comes to framing and sabotaging Trump.
They suggested the same about Biden, Sleepy Joe can't run the country but Dark Brandon is an evil genius.
If only Dark Brandon had shown up to the debate!
It’s remarkable how he can be so incompetent and yet so brilliant at the same time.
Well put!
I knew a Special Forces member whose brother was a huge conspiracy buff long before Trump. The SOF guy tried to inject some reality by repeating, “We’re not THAT good!” Conspiracy folks never seem to be bothered by the massive talent they ascribe to their enemies.
When I was posting on Fox News for the past 8 years...I would occasionally throw out "If the Dems are that clever and powerful, then maybe they should be in charge"
Seriously...the amount of foresight, clandestine actions and control necessary to pull some of these claims off would be the envy of the world's best spy agencies.
Bless you for putting yourself and your thoughts where I fear to tread, in the weird sphere. Seriously. My own reflexes are as if I’ll acquire a taint just by clicking.
There was a second spitter! (Hats off to Seinfeld and their hilarious take on Oliver Stone's JFK.)
I'm pleased the press doesn't seem interested at all in this Obama "treason" BS and the questions reporters lob at them about it are very skeptical.
Not the “real” press- or what hollow shell they bear some resemblance thereof- but Fox is leading with the Obama detritus 24-7. When they’re not deep diving into the, ‘auto-pen’ crisis, that is…
Yeah, I think the press will be interested if arrests take place, but we all know that they'll only take place in rightwing AI generated fever dreams.
And I think in a rare instance, the coverage will be very negative to the admin, though of course the NYT will try to find a way to sugarcoat it for Trump.
They usually do.
Not to mention the guy making all of the claims won that election and won again 2024...so these are the most incapable insurrectionists of all time.
Or is The Chosen One just that good?
Don, the rightwing media will run after anything that moves based upon the air movement of a brain fart expelled by the Felon.
As convoluted as that was it's easier to follow than Trump.
Perfect crackhead logic.
The timing of that meeting between Bondi and Trump is intriguing. In May, Elon and Trump were still on good terms and having late night slumber party chats over ice cream. So, I think:
1. When Elon dropped the "really big bomb" on June 5th, he was telling the truth and with personal knowledge of the facts.
2. That same day, FBI director Kash Patel told Joe Rogan that he had no idea how Elon could have known about Trump being in the Epstein files. So, it looks like Kash lied to Joe and his millions of listeners.
Kash Patel lie! I’m shocked, shocked to hear that going on.
If he can not distinguish between the truth and a like, how can he tell when he says the one or the other?
From what I understand he can’t tell the two apart — people who have looked into his background will testify to that. My comment borrowed a bit from Casablanca.
I’m guessing Elon is one of the WSJ sources.
Well isn’t that shocking. 😉
I’m still burning up that they put 1000 people on the task of looking for Trump references in the files but can’t seem to find anyone who could scrub the victims names and pornography. Once again the best advice is “don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do” (and there’s the extra caution that listening to what they have been saying in the last couple days could very well make you stupider!)
Would love to get this gang under oath asking questions about how that 1000 person effort came about.
I've been saying all along that Bondi is only doing what Trump is ordering her to do. I imagine she's thinking that some of these moves are stupid and obvious, but it's what the boss wants her to do.
Remember when Trump said about the 2020 election fraud claims "Just make the claim and the GOP will do the rest"? This is the same thing but opposite. Trump/Bondi will make ludicrous claims and their media and GOP surrogates will do the rest. It's happening, but fortunately, there are few MAGA voices pushing back on the lies. Even they could tell it's BS.
Agreed! And certainly not all of them are going to be willing to perjure themselves. Insulating themselves from a potential perjury charge would require putting all their eggs in the basket that is already shredding in pieces.
The problem with putting these fools under oath, is they will cling to the “I don’t remember,” or take the Fifth Amendment. We will be fast asleep before the debacle finishes.
I 100% agree, but that's valuable in itself...they had the chance to exonerate themselves but all they did was plead the 5th. Especially meaningful if done under their own DOJ.
Hillary Clinton’s “intensified psycho-emotional problems, including uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness”
As opposed to Trump with whom we get all of the uncontrolled fits of anger and aggression and none of the cheerfulness.
Funny how they can make these accusations with straight faces when they serve an unhinged delusional psychopath who telegraphs his lunacy every time he opens his mouth or bangs out an incoherent tweet.
Been thinking about why the Epstein story actually has legs and ultimately it is simple. Sex sells. Americans love sex scandals and the trashier the better.
Which brings me to Bill Clinton. Over 8 years the Republicans tried to throw scandal after scandal at Bill. Whitewater. Ron Brown. Vince Foster. The public Did. Not. Care. What did they finally care about? A cigar and a blue dress.
Once the public and Bill's political enemies got a hold of the Monica story it wouldn't die. The democrats did everything they could to kill it. Clinton did everything he could to kill it. No dice. I don't think Epstein is any different. If anything it will be far harder to kill because of Twitter and YouTube. As Trump is finding out.
Clinton eventually got impeached but it didnt truly bring him down. So what is different now? Clinton's fellow democrats had no interest in pursuing that case, unlike many of Trump's fellow MAGAs. Clinton also enjoyed a Gallup approval rating between the high 50s and low 60s during the entire run of the scandal. The public wanted juicy gossip but in the 90s a male boss having an affair with his much younger subordinate was not a big enough deal to make people actually dislike Clinton. It did in fact earn him a lot of atta boys. Sex with underage girls though? Different story.
Do we think that Trump is going to crack 50% as a pedophilia and sex trafficking scandal unfolds around him? Do we think his approval ratings will go up? Do we think that Mike Johnson will be able to keep defending him as this gets bigger and bigger and as his own party members demand a full investigation? If there is anything these MAGA lunatics hate more than Nancy Pelosi it's sexual deviance. And the Epstein case has all the deviance you can ask for.
For the first time in 10 years I think there might be something that can actually unseat the Orange king. Or at least damage him so badly that he is in effect neutered and his movement eats itself. It's already shut down Congress for the next month.
Know hope.
The Clinton impeachment looks so quaint now. Imagine being impeached for lying about getting a blow job in the White House nowadays!
You are right--- the pedophile angle is devastating for Trump. Even if he never engaged with anyone who was underage himself just being close to Epstein and Maxwell's sex trafficking racket is enough.
During Obama's term I spent a significant amount of time with people who told me that Obama must be a socialist/communist/Marxist because of the people he associated with.
I'm hearing crickets from these same people about Trump now. But they also aren't defending him.
The "elite pedophile conspiracy" thing is a serious thing for a number of Qanon MAGAs--- but most of my MAGA friends and associates (at this point) don't care. If they had videos of Trump raping 15 year olds they'd still support him. They wouldn't like it but they'd rather have a pedophile in office than a Democrat. Sad
But right now their choice isn't between a pedophile and a Democrat. It's between a pedophile and JD Vance.
Quaint, that is the perfect word to describe the Clinton scandal as compared to trump's.
The cover up always gets you. And this one is really bad.
Clinton had a booming economy and personal charm. He did regular addresses to the nation. Most of us at the time thought that Hillary was the one who should be impeaching him (power imbalances were not a thing yet). I honestly thought, yes, he’s a scamp, but he’s our scamp. He did so many things that I now hate with the benefit of my 20/20 hindsight, but at the time?
“America’s unique advantage that no country could possibly have is President Trump.”
Because no other country is that f***ing stupid.
trump's stupidity is an advantage to China.
"It’s all shoddy enough to make you wonder if they’re making it stupid on purpose." I'm a retired university professor. Faculty had a saying, "When they cheat, they cheat stupid." I think this is universal.
If Trump really did have American security as his top priority, that Nvidia deal wouldn’t have gone through. His priority are his rich donors, the guys who were lined up behind him on Inauguration Day. To him, the US has only business competitors, or customers.
The universities who are wrangling with Trump should take a page from the Wall Street Journal. They tell about his birthday card to Epstein, he sues. They reveal the very next day that his name is mentioned numerous times in the files: “sue us some more, tough guy”.
Those polls must be getting to him, he’s throwing out the biggest 800 lb. squirrel he can find, “Obama Treason!”. I somehow don’t think that Jedi mind trick’s going to work, because he’s no Jedi.
It'll work with a few magats, they're kinda gullible that way.
Well...unfortunately....I read a post by one of my MAGA FB friends yesterday and it was touting the definition of "Treason". I was wondering if there were some of my MAGA compadres that were buying the Trump misdirection play to Obama and, disappointedly, there are.
I shared some counterpoints to the argument and laid into Trump and his supporters pretty hard for their inability (or choosing not to?) to see the grift.
I believe we've nearly reached the "I didn't inhale" portion of Trump's desperate claims when it comes to his 15 year relationship with Epstein.
Nice simile.
"Trump was not telling the truth."
NO! Say it ain't so!! Not telling the truth? Trump? Surely you can't writing this.
The way we know he's lying is when his lips are moving.