Can we start moving from calling it a "deportation campaign" and start calling it a "detention campaign?" It seems A LOT of people are being DETAINED, at a huge cost to Americans and a boon to the companies who are contracted to manage these facilities while neglecting the detainees. By all appearances, it's about cruelty and money.
I wouldn't do it and have no money anyway, but after trumpy was re installed into the presidency in 24 I said to my wife that a lot of people close to trumpy and some wall street speculators were investing heavily in the geo group concentration camp company and other private prison scammers.
We could spend days on private prisons, but suffice to say you are not going to get humane institutions run for profit. We have subcontracted government responsibilities since Reagan, much to our detriment.
It is about the cruelty or maybe even more just a callous disregard for lives they don’t feel matter. But let’s not forget the other part which is propping up of the private prison industry which is making big money off of these people. An industry, i would argue, should not exist.
Couldn't agree more. There have been complaints about people going hungry in these detention camps because there isn't enough bulk to the food they get. The same thing happens in prisons and jails all over America. Every. Single. Day. Food is based on calories needed to sustain a person. If you feed prisoners fatty, non-nutritious food (like hot dogs), they end up getting smaller portions that leave them hungry. The only way to alleviate that, if you have the money, is to buy overpriced non-nutritious snacks from the commissary - another prisoner rip-off. I know Americans don't have much empathy for criminals, but a lot of people who commit misdemeanors have drug problems. The drugs suppress their appetite and they don't notice how much weight they have lost. Imagine getting jailed for petty theft, you don't have the drugs to make you oblivious, your body is emaciated and crying out for more food, only to be given child size portions that leave you starving. Prison and jail reform are desperately needed in this country. And that includes the "detention centers" that Trump is stuffing innocent people into.
As far as I can tell the current regime believes that there are NHI (no humans involved) within the walls of their concentration camps. 🤬 Every day my feelings of the purpose of building more detention (concentration camps) around the country is to house people like you and me. They can’t tolerate people who are standing up for what is proper. In their minds might makes right. 😢
Lest we forget what's really going on here: The GEO Group and CoreCivic, two apex private prison corporations, reported record profits in 2025 and are on track to break those records in 2026.
Both corporations spent massively on Republican candidates in 2024 election cycle, and made hefty donations to Donald's 2025 inaugural committee. Money well spent.
The massive corruption we have seen in the last couple of years alone is staggering. I wish more journalists would do some real investigative work to put this more in the public eye. It is eating this country alive.
I think that is going to be the lasting story of Trump's presidency - the bare, transparent corruption. Like the Nazis, we will be learning new depths of their corruption for decades after they have been erased from the scene of their crimes. We've had corrupt president before, like Garfield, McKinley, Nixon and Clinton, but comparing any of them to Donald Trump is like comparing a random subway murder to the Holocaust.
I think it should also be stressed it's not truly deportation, which by definition means being sent to your country of origin. This system keeps the US taxpayer on the hook, shipping people to third countries to be further imprisoned!
Sometimes timing is everything. A married couple I know well met at the Boeing Helicopter plant in Mesa AZ. They put in their 20+ years, retired, and have a pension that would make an ex-Jersey cop green with envy. Good for them.
Agreed. Either they are siphoning tons of money off to private prison corporations or they are punishing people for exercising their due process rights instead of “voluntarily” abandoning their asylum cases. There’s not much more deportation going on than usual, just more cruelty and exploitation.
Sumeeta - Exactly - no significant increase in removals compared to Obama & Biden, but the cost per removal goes way up, and the government-conducted violence against both immigrants and US citizens is astonishing for a "first world" country.
The "mass deportations" are still enormously popular with Trump's GOP base, and even among rank and file GOP voters. I'd guess that something like 40% of voters are either enthusiastic about mass deportations, or are approving at least in concept - and they aren't interested in hearing the dirty details. As they say, "they voted for this".
Until that changes, Trump and his henchmen will continue to pursue this agenda wholeheartedly, even if the results don't quite match the rhetoric. It's really all they've got to keep the animals from becoming restless. When you think about it, other than ending DEI, what material improvement has this administration made in the daily lives of anybody who voted for him? They need the tingle-down-their-leg fantasy of mass deportations, or they've got nothing.
"Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., by striking contrast, we see the low revealing itself fully as what it is."
As a DC resident I have to object to this. We all know Trump is always in Mar-a-Lago which is objectively a lower low of a place. A bigger swamp, filled with a more disgusting group of people does not exist in America than Florida.
Not to mention ICE goons and National Guardsmen enforcing martial law. I have close relatives living in D.C., and I'm heartsick about what the orange clown has done to your city. He wants to build an arch to himself next, then tear down the destroyed institution formerly known as the Kennedy Center and replace it with God-knows-what gilded atrocity.
Just a reminder not to put the National Guard in the same light as ICE. The Guard doesn't arrest or even remotely act like ICE. They are in the unwanted situation of being called upon by Trumpster.
Honestly, the city is still probably the greatest in the country. You can see the resistance everywhere. I think Trump understands that not even the National Guard could keep him safe from the over half-million Trump haters in this city. Hence, his occupancy of Mar a Lago.
The arch is going to get built in Virginia. So, that's their problem. The Kennedy Center may be the most inaccessible site in the city, and I live right on the bus line that goes straight to it. It's always struggling for relevancy, and I won't particularly miss it. Honestly, that whole span from the Lincoln Memorial to Georgetown should be demolished and reimagined in a more pedestrian friendly way.
Yes, yes, and yes. A special hat tip to the grand jury who refused to indict the guy who chucked a sandwich at the National Guard, and, when lesser charges were filed, the jury that acquitted him. Also the grand jury that refused to indict the Democrats who told troops they don’t have to follow illegal orders. Also the successful boycott of the “Trump - Kennedy” Center. Americans can be proud of their capital city, despite the goon in Mar-a-Lago and, occasionally, the White House.
Point taken—the CBP is a much more deserving target than the National Guard, who just traipse around as though on the look for a purpose to be here, so far without success.
Maybe in absolute numbers, a Florida resident should know, although there could well be a not insignificant number of non-disgusting people just laying low. But in absolute numbers, you also named the biggest swamp of all, owned by Swamp Rat Number One (my nomination for his Secret Service Nickname).
I'm glad that today's coverage begins with the courage of our Minnesota freedom fighters, because much of the rest (alas, necessarily) takes us into the weekend with more tales from the Republican Men Behaving Badly file, desperately trying to evade any sense of accountability for their choices and actions as if a birthright.
On the lighter side, President Cockwomble mutters his way through a "comment" on the Mountbatten-Windsor arrest as a "sad" thing rather than due process. All legalities aside, can anyone believe for even a moment that he feels "sad" about anything? That is an emotion that comes from the soul, something that he evidently does not have, since no scrap of empathy or compassion for others, sharing the same origin, ever are to be found within him.
I confess that I had not heard about the Gonzales matter, alarming though it is, but also I am not surprised that there are still other power brokers in that orbit who are desperate to evade and avoid any sense of responsibility for driving people to extremes as they seek to cover up any trace of their malfeasance, for purely selfish reasons of self-interest and self-importance, consequences for others be damned. Here as elsewhere, the ongoing dogged determination to save oneself at any cost and deny all sense of personal responsibility makes me shudder at what these people are capable of, and how apart they see themselves from our civil (and increasingly uncivil) society that used to be grounded in morality no less than the letter of the law. Apparently laws are for the little people, and morality is something imposed upon others but optional for the self as long as you have power and wealth and someone to cover your ass, not necessarily in that order.
It's not a good frame of mind to take through the weekend. Thankfully there still is some Olympic competition to remind us of the better angels of our human nature. And spring is not too far off. I hold on to such things rather tightly when reminded how our own society has far too many people in power failing upward rather than gravity pushing them down to the bottom, where they clearly belong.
"All legalities aside, can anyone believe for even a moment hat he feels "sad" about anything?" Of course, that he has not been given a Noble Piece Prize for all of his ignobel efforts. (Different spellings intentional).
He’s never felt sad. When Felon Trump, er Swamp Rat Number One (thank you David), was newsworthy to Newsweek, the magazine ran an article about school children being bumped out of an event because of his plane. I forget the details of what was so important; these children missed out on a school trip that was promised. DonOld blamed his wife. It was her fault. You can’t feel sad if it is never your fault.
Disagree Katherine (although, you are welcome for SRNO), that you can't feel sad if you are not at fault. I feel deeply sad and saddened by ICE actions in Minneapolis, especially for Renee's and Alexi's children. Sad is not a word that implies fault or lack thereof, so that it is "neutral" for SRNO.
Right, as I said, he feels sad for himself because he has not been given the Noble Piece Prize he believes he deserves...another sign that he is unfairly treated, in his own mind.
Okay. I concede. He feels sad, which represents nothing to the real world. He has to waste his time talking about something he doesn’t want to do. How about that?
As a subscriber to a Texas newspaper, I was already aware of the Tony Gonzalez scandal. But thank you for getting more eyes on this story. In Trump's Republican party, there are zero consequences for being a douche bag.
Then there’s James Comer, Gym Jordan, Tommy Tuberville, and the entire Cabinet. Diogenes would have given up and looked for the nearest bar to wait out the four years.
One more international story that I don't think is getting nearly enough discussion: The sentencing to life in prison of former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol. That's what real accountability for a coup attempt against the constitution and the will of the people looks like!
If you are Donald Trump just think how sad it must be for him to see a personage such as the ex-prince hauled off by the police. What has the world come to where a member of one of the oldest and grandest royal houses gets taken in like a common criminal. What has happened to droit de seigneur? You mean a lord can’t do as hr pleases — he did after all produce an heir and a spare who cares after that? If the privileges and prerogatives of hereditary monarchy can’t protect you then what can? Just so sad what the world has.
Over here though we now have a huge banner with the visage of Trump gazing down Hitler like from the DOJ building in DC. That is just the middle finger to justice and rule of law in this country, but rather fitting given our inability to hold the powerful to account.
In Britain we like to periodically remind the royals of their place as powerless pets of Parliament who can be disposed of, and replaced, at any time if they get ideas above their station or otherwise misbehave. They mostly learnt their lesson in the 17th century. So we’ve not had to kill a monarch since 1649 or depose one since 1688.
Other than those who lost their place due to having the temerity to convert to Catholicism or marry a Catholic (which was automatic until the law was repealed in 2013) Andrew might well end up being the first royal to be removed from the line of succession since Prince Charles Edward who was stripped of his British titles in 1917 for fighting for Germany in WW1.
It’s a pity other countries can’t keep their heads of state on such a short leash.
Shortish leash at least! But true your monarchs decided their heads are more valuable to them than absolute power. Though I would say like much of the West Britain has a leadership problem hence the cycling through so many hapless Prime Ministers.
Yeah. And with another, whose authority has already been fatally undermined by Epstein related matters, quite probably going to be forced to resign after the likely to be disastrous for Labour local elections in May.
If we keep working our way through the population eventually we might find somebody competent…
I know. I’m tempted to go off on a long spiel about my views on What Went Wrong. However, I’m getting increasingly off topic so will spare people that.
It's a viscous cycle. Got to push forward with ever more law breaking, lest you become vulnerable to being held to account for crimes already committed.
Oh boy, the imaginary ballroom. There is no greater allegory for America right now than the White House itself, a heap of trash destroyed on a whim by a madman with access to a bulldozer with absolutely no say from the People, which our media describes invariably as a large, grand ballroom.
It's a heap of rubble. Am I the only one who sees the Emperor's New Clothes here? You guys see a heap, right? Not just me? The gaslighting gets intense. I tried Googling "White House present day" and NONE of the images were contemporary. I asked their AI why and it told me: "Restricted Areas: Employees at neighboring buildings, such as the U.S. Treasury Department, have been directed not to take photos or videos of the ongoing construction."
No taking pictures of the People's House! Remember what it used to look like because you're not allowed to see what it looks like today.
Besides grifting and sexual assault, bldg demo is a thing he actually knows something about, not his usual Dunning-Kruger style expertise. He’s such a dolt that he impacted his own health in the process…
If you add King Midas to the Emperor's New Clothes, it doesn't look good for T's future. Especially since he doesn't have the humanity to know what he's missing when his world is filled only with gold and he's seen buck naked. Also add The Beatitudes or Bob Dylan (the winner now will later be last), and whoo boy, not looking good at all. Sad?
The other day while watching the news, I mentioned to my wife that the State of the Union no Democrats should attend. Instead in their place, victims of Epstein should sit on the empty side of the chamber in the first few rows right in front so DJT could see them. Could imagine the rage Trump would feel! He would likely go off script and could not help himself!
The offenses against basic decency continue to pile up and become harder to ignore. Keep pointing them out! Things like converting 1 million sq. ft warehouses for human containment are coming. I think these places will have their own human gravity if they come to be. What firms are being contracted to design and build these places? We should find out and start asking lots of questions. No business should be able to become a Topf and Sohn for our own time.
Trump 2.0 has been no surprise. What has surprised me is the almost total capitulation of the GOP congress. Trump 2.0 = GOP Congress. There is no distinction between the two. I suppose it really shouldn't have come as this big a disappointment since I was well aware of the 40+ years the GOP and it's allies have been grasping for more power and their donors have happily supported the GOP so as to continue the great wealth transfer. I think it surprised me because it would have taken so few of them to derail Trump. It's not like his actions haven't been egregious. But no, didn't happen. Not even a handful could be found too act remotely like any one anonymous citizen of Minneapolis. To find a modicum of courage, to even mumble a 'no'.
Given the above, it is absolutely no surprise that no one in the GOP is addressing Mr. Gonzalez. The power of one measly House seat is far more important at the moment than holding him accountable for his reprehensible and intentional smearing of his staffer. Toxic masculinity at it's apex.
“I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad to me. It’s a very sad thing. When I see that, it’s a very sad thing. . . . So I think it’s a very sad thing.”l
Notice that “it” is sad. For Trump, “sad” is not an emotion. It’s just his way of saying he does not approve of the wealthy and connected being held to account for any misconduct (unless, of course, they are Democrats, in which case they are to be condemned for anything at all),
I tell ya, what it takes to bring a Democratic candidate down and what it takes to bring a Republican candidate down are not the same. Remember Cal Cunningham, Democrat who lost to Thom Tillis in 2020 in no small part because of some inappropriate texts he got torched for? That wouldn't even make the ledger for a Republican candidate. Obviously, there are hundreds of things in Trump's history that would end any Democrat's career. For Mark Robinson in NC's most recent gubernatorial race, it took the revelation of his secret past as a flamboyant pervert and black Nazi to tank his chances. George Santos got elected and he was a total freakshow, even though the full extent of it was not known at the time of his election. And now you have Tony Gonzales, who may survive a primary even though he is obviously lying about the mistress who set herself on fire over their affair.
My wife noticed something about the Franken "scandal." The woman on the USO tour that Al made some unfortunate pictures with got her start in the public eye via the Miss Hooters pageant.
Funny how someone all too willing to sell their image to horney guys then got to act offended by a crude joke photo.
There are two standards in this country. People urging Democrats to do more don't seem to "get" this. Democrats always have one hand behind their back. A Republican senator would have brazened it out and raised millions in the process.
What I read about those photographs was from a professional photographer who questioned their legitimacy. He felt that some doctoring occurred. Never found out if that was true or not.
I have some MAGA friends who are just incensed that one of our Senators has announced she won't be attending the State of the Union address. She should "Respect the Office" they say.
I've lost all of my energy and desire to be vocal about my opinion...mostly because it falls on deaf ears and they just turn it around to "He just has TDS"...but perhaps if DJT respected the office first...our Senator wouldn't have an issue attending it.
Would they have been incensed if a MAGA Senator announced they were skipping a State of the Union when Joe Biden was in office? "Respect the Office," right?
Believing that Trump feels sadness about anything not directly connected to him is a bit of an ask.
He may be sad about not getting a Nobel Peace prize--although maybe sad isn't actually the correct emotion. It seems like anger is more on point. So I am not sure that he actually feels sad about ANYTHING.
Because, like a toddler that doesn't get their way, any time he doesn't get what he wants he just gets angry and throws a tantrum--and finds some other way to salve his bruised ego. Like a fake version of the Nobel prize or grandious building project (ballroom, Triumphal arch, new Trump center for the performing arts). Or just standing in front of a crowd (or cameras) and just bald-facedly lying about how great he is and how great what he has done is.
It is my earnest desire that, at some point, all of the people involved in the Epstein circle get their just desserts. That all of the people (regardless of partisanship) lower on the chain in government and law enforcement and PR or whatever, also get THEIR just desserts.
It is also my earnest desire that he live long enough to leave office in disgrace and that he is around to see his name torn from all the things he put it on and watch his projects razed, as they should be.
Like Hercules cleaning the Augean stables, wash all of the shit away.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum
These people--and the people that surround them, believe that they are all indispensible, that the world and economy and the government will somehow stop w/o them, would do less well w/o them.
Maybe we need to demonstrate how replaceable these people actually are. The world would be improved by their absence and the disappearance, even if only for a while, of the immunity of the powerful and connected to the consequences of their actions.
It is good that the people of the US are finding their anger and their courage... because it is the anger (properly channeled) and that courage that will end this excrement extravaganza, even if only for a time. Because our "leadership" is NOT going to do it w/o severe pressure to do it.
A character in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. He is the epitome of what Rand saw as the "best" human being--all around genius, political agitator, who believed that civilization and wealth were the product of people like himself pursuing their own self interest without control or regulation.
The problem is that most of the people that idolize Galt and the philosophy of Rand, aren't exactly geniuses...and aren't as indispensible as they believe they are.
Although given the smiley face at the end of your question, I assume that you are being a bit ingenious (as the question of who is John Galt is a thread in the book).
She was Jewish. Had an abortion, turned in fellow writers to McCarthy’s witch hunt, and brooked no criticism from anyone. Perfect fit with today’s Occidental believers.
Same here. I remember someone was so surprised when I said I skipped her Occidental nonsense that took him two hours to read. I said it was nonsense. I don’t think he liked that.
The word "sad" is central to Trump's lexicon, and does not refer to anything involving empathetic (hah!) sorrow. Rather, it's a put-down, similar to the spin now given to "pathetic", meaning 'lame' 'weak' 'loser' 'inferior' 'just wrong' 'yucky' etc.
In the context of delivery, the "sad" relating to Andrew or Maxwell is spun more reflectively than the aggressive "SAD!" at the end of a Truth Social screed, but the core meaning is still there: the high and mighty are supposed to rule, to be exalted - not to be brought low by mobs, fake news, disposable pussy etc.
Donald Trump couldn’t care less about Epstein’s victims. He told MTG he was worried the revelations “might hurt his friends”, and now he’s sad for the perp’s families. Imagine, when Nancy Guthrie is found, his proclaiming his sadness for the family of the kidnapper.
Can we start moving from calling it a "deportation campaign" and start calling it a "detention campaign?" It seems A LOT of people are being DETAINED, at a huge cost to Americans and a boon to the companies who are contracted to manage these facilities while neglecting the detainees. By all appearances, it's about cruelty and money.
Shouldn't we call them concentration camps? Don't we need to throw some shade?
It's not throwing shade if it's true. They ARE concentration camps.
Let's call a shade a shade! True that.
I wouldn't do it and have no money anyway, but after trumpy was re installed into the presidency in 24 I said to my wife that a lot of people close to trumpy and some wall street speculators were investing heavily in the geo group concentration camp company and other private prison scammers.
We could spend days on private prisons, but suffice to say you are not going to get humane institutions run for profit. We have subcontracted government responsibilities since Reagan, much to our detriment.
National socialism anyone ?
The Dilly archipelago
It is about the cruelty or maybe even more just a callous disregard for lives they don’t feel matter. But let’s not forget the other part which is propping up of the private prison industry which is making big money off of these people. An industry, i would argue, should not exist.
CoreCivic and the GEO group. You wouldn't believe what they charge per detainee, and they get slave labor to boot.
https://www.hcn.org/articles/a-billion-dollar-ice-contractor-is-fighting-to-pay-detainees-as-little-as-1-a-day/
Private prisons and masked secret police. How is it that a supposedly free society has accepted these?
100 percent agreed brother. 🌊
Couldn't agree more. There have been complaints about people going hungry in these detention camps because there isn't enough bulk to the food they get. The same thing happens in prisons and jails all over America. Every. Single. Day. Food is based on calories needed to sustain a person. If you feed prisoners fatty, non-nutritious food (like hot dogs), they end up getting smaller portions that leave them hungry. The only way to alleviate that, if you have the money, is to buy overpriced non-nutritious snacks from the commissary - another prisoner rip-off. I know Americans don't have much empathy for criminals, but a lot of people who commit misdemeanors have drug problems. The drugs suppress their appetite and they don't notice how much weight they have lost. Imagine getting jailed for petty theft, you don't have the drugs to make you oblivious, your body is emaciated and crying out for more food, only to be given child size portions that leave you starving. Prison and jail reform are desperately needed in this country. And that includes the "detention centers" that Trump is stuffing innocent people into.
As far as I can tell the current regime believes that there are NHI (no humans involved) within the walls of their concentration camps. 🤬 Every day my feelings of the purpose of building more detention (concentration camps) around the country is to house people like you and me. They can’t tolerate people who are standing up for what is proper. In their minds might makes right. 😢
Lest we forget what's really going on here: The GEO Group and CoreCivic, two apex private prison corporations, reported record profits in 2025 and are on track to break those records in 2026.
Both corporations spent massively on Republican candidates in 2024 election cycle, and made hefty donations to Donald's 2025 inaugural committee. Money well spent.
The massive corruption we have seen in the last couple of years alone is staggering. I wish more journalists would do some real investigative work to put this more in the public eye. It is eating this country alive.
I think that is going to be the lasting story of Trump's presidency - the bare, transparent corruption. Like the Nazis, we will be learning new depths of their corruption for decades after they have been erased from the scene of their crimes. We've had corrupt president before, like Garfield, McKinley, Nixon and Clinton, but comparing any of them to Donald Trump is like comparing a random subway murder to the Holocaust.
Unfortunately I don’t know what,if anything, it will take to convince the MAGA base.
And there you have named the two guiding beacons of this Misadministration, cruelty and money.
amorality...
<poof!> morality has vanished.
I think it should also be stressed it's not truly deportation, which by definition means being sent to your country of origin. This system keeps the US taxpayer on the hook, shipping people to third countries to be further imprisoned!
To be tortured to death.
I suspect in some cases to be enslaved.
Our utterly unforgivable media doesn't care enough about non-white people to investigate.
Well, Boeing is collecting millions of dollars for doing something.
https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/immigration/dhs-to-spend-nearly-140-million-on-its-own-boeing-fleet-for-ice-deportation-flights
Sometimes timing is everything. A married couple I know well met at the Boeing Helicopter plant in Mesa AZ. They put in their 20+ years, retired, and have a pension that would make an ex-Jersey cop green with envy. Good for them.
It would be much more cost effective to issue ankle bracelets and let them live, earn, and pay for their own food and living!
But then there’d be no money for the private prison people, who donated to his campaign.
And ICE would not have the intimidation factor that Trump so desperately wants to use to control all of America.
Agreed. Either they are siphoning tons of money off to private prison corporations or they are punishing people for exercising their due process rights instead of “voluntarily” abandoning their asylum cases. There’s not much more deportation going on than usual, just more cruelty and exploitation.
Sumeeta - Exactly - no significant increase in removals compared to Obama & Biden, but the cost per removal goes way up, and the government-conducted violence against both immigrants and US citizens is astonishing for a "first world" country.
Under Trump, as always: waste, fraud, & abuse
I’m not sure that the US is still a first world country.
gulag
I you wait a few months you can call it a genocide or at least slavery.
The "mass deportations" are still enormously popular with Trump's GOP base, and even among rank and file GOP voters. I'd guess that something like 40% of voters are either enthusiastic about mass deportations, or are approving at least in concept - and they aren't interested in hearing the dirty details. As they say, "they voted for this".
Until that changes, Trump and his henchmen will continue to pursue this agenda wholeheartedly, even if the results don't quite match the rhetoric. It's really all they've got to keep the animals from becoming restless. When you think about it, other than ending DEI, what material improvement has this administration made in the daily lives of anybody who voted for him? They need the tingle-down-their-leg fantasy of mass deportations, or they've got nothing.
"Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., by striking contrast, we see the low revealing itself fully as what it is."
As a DC resident I have to object to this. We all know Trump is always in Mar-a-Lago which is objectively a lower low of a place. A bigger swamp, filled with a more disgusting group of people does not exist in America than Florida.
I think meant in the sense of seat of government / Congress and not locals!
Not to mention ICE goons and National Guardsmen enforcing martial law. I have close relatives living in D.C., and I'm heartsick about what the orange clown has done to your city. He wants to build an arch to himself next, then tear down the destroyed institution formerly known as the Kennedy Center and replace it with God-knows-what gilded atrocity.
Just a reminder not to put the National Guard in the same light as ICE. The Guard doesn't arrest or even remotely act like ICE. They are in the unwanted situation of being called upon by Trumpster.
Honestly, the city is still probably the greatest in the country. You can see the resistance everywhere. I think Trump understands that not even the National Guard could keep him safe from the over half-million Trump haters in this city. Hence, his occupancy of Mar a Lago.
The arch is going to get built in Virginia. So, that's their problem. The Kennedy Center may be the most inaccessible site in the city, and I live right on the bus line that goes straight to it. It's always struggling for relevancy, and I won't particularly miss it. Honestly, that whole span from the Lincoln Memorial to Georgetown should be demolished and reimagined in a more pedestrian friendly way.
Yes, yes, and yes. A special hat tip to the grand jury who refused to indict the guy who chucked a sandwich at the National Guard, and, when lesser charges were filed, the jury that acquitted him. Also the grand jury that refused to indict the Democrats who told troops they don’t have to follow illegal orders. Also the successful boycott of the “Trump - Kennedy” Center. Americans can be proud of their capital city, despite the goon in Mar-a-Lago and, occasionally, the White House.
And that's where it all started. (subway sandwich guy)
Jonathan - for the record, in line with Dave Yell's Comment above, the sandwich was thrown at a CBP agent, not the National Guard - see https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5600772/trump-justice-federal-surge-subway-sandwich
For sure tho - most people rightly bristle against over-armed, militarized federal forces in their city or town
Point taken—the CBP is a much more deserving target than the National Guard, who just traipse around as though on the look for a purpose to be here, so far without success.
Maybe in absolute numbers, a Florida resident should know, although there could well be a not insignificant number of non-disgusting people just laying low. But in absolute numbers, you also named the biggest swamp of all, owned by Swamp Rat Number One (my nomination for his Secret Service Nickname).
I'm glad that today's coverage begins with the courage of our Minnesota freedom fighters, because much of the rest (alas, necessarily) takes us into the weekend with more tales from the Republican Men Behaving Badly file, desperately trying to evade any sense of accountability for their choices and actions as if a birthright.
On the lighter side, President Cockwomble mutters his way through a "comment" on the Mountbatten-Windsor arrest as a "sad" thing rather than due process. All legalities aside, can anyone believe for even a moment that he feels "sad" about anything? That is an emotion that comes from the soul, something that he evidently does not have, since no scrap of empathy or compassion for others, sharing the same origin, ever are to be found within him.
I confess that I had not heard about the Gonzales matter, alarming though it is, but also I am not surprised that there are still other power brokers in that orbit who are desperate to evade and avoid any sense of responsibility for driving people to extremes as they seek to cover up any trace of their malfeasance, for purely selfish reasons of self-interest and self-importance, consequences for others be damned. Here as elsewhere, the ongoing dogged determination to save oneself at any cost and deny all sense of personal responsibility makes me shudder at what these people are capable of, and how apart they see themselves from our civil (and increasingly uncivil) society that used to be grounded in morality no less than the letter of the law. Apparently laws are for the little people, and morality is something imposed upon others but optional for the self as long as you have power and wealth and someone to cover your ass, not necessarily in that order.
It's not a good frame of mind to take through the weekend. Thankfully there still is some Olympic competition to remind us of the better angels of our human nature. And spring is not too far off. I hold on to such things rather tightly when reminded how our own society has far too many people in power failing upward rather than gravity pushing them down to the bottom, where they clearly belong.
"All legalities aside, can anyone believe for even a moment hat he feels "sad" about anything?" Of course, that he has not been given a Noble Piece Prize for all of his ignobel efforts. (Different spellings intentional).
President Cockwomble for the win!
Sorry, the first syllable of the "name", being capitalized, is too big for the bearer.😏
Deutschmeister - ahh, an additional point of light for the weekend: the outcome of Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump 👏
He’s never felt sad. When Felon Trump, er Swamp Rat Number One (thank you David), was newsworthy to Newsweek, the magazine ran an article about school children being bumped out of an event because of his plane. I forget the details of what was so important; these children missed out on a school trip that was promised. DonOld blamed his wife. It was her fault. You can’t feel sad if it is never your fault.
Disagree Katherine (although, you are welcome for SRNO), that you can't feel sad if you are not at fault. I feel deeply sad and saddened by ICE actions in Minneapolis, especially for Renee's and Alexi's children. Sad is not a word that implies fault or lack thereof, so that it is "neutral" for SRNO.
Well, I would counter that Trump constantly feels very sad - for himself. He truly believes he is unfairly treated. Part of the mental delusions.
Right, as I said, he feels sad for himself because he has not been given the Noble Piece Prize he believes he deserves...another sign that he is unfairly treated, in his own mind.
Okay. I concede. He feels sad, which represents nothing to the real world. He has to waste his time talking about something he doesn’t want to do. How about that?
Fine, making him do something he does not want to do is a good use of his time to otherwise promote himself.🥂
I, for one, have never seen a party so FULL of sexual predators, liars, and corrupt grifters. They congregate around Trump like moths to the flame.
As a subscriber to a Texas newspaper, I was already aware of the Tony Gonzalez scandal. But thank you for getting more eyes on this story. In Trump's Republican party, there are zero consequences for being a douche bag.
Isn’t being a douche bag a CV requirement for them now?
Question #1 at their job interview.
"When you're caught doing something improper or illegal, how do you respond?
Golden answer: "I deny it. I lie. I lie and deny until the dust settles."
Shakes hands: "Mr. Shady McNasty, welcome to our club."
Yeah. The "respectable" ones from years gone by have all revealed their bag or taken one on.
Shooting your puppy = uniquely qualified to be DHS Sec. Bonus points for extra-marital affair with unsavory political operative. RIP Cricket.
And to think that the people of Texas may very elect Ken Paxton as their next Senator. The SOB ain't getting my vote.
I just got back from early voting. I went with Talarico. Paxton is winning his primary without spending a dime. It's terrifying.
Prime examples: Ted Cruz, Ken Paxton, Tony Gonzales
Then there’s James Comer, Gym Jordan, Tommy Tuberville, and the entire Cabinet. Diogenes would have given up and looked for the nearest bar to wait out the four years.
Yes, the list is endless. I was just mentioning those in Texas although I left out a few there too!
Stop. You're making me gag.
You know that feeling when you tip back in your chair just before you fall backwards? That's the feeling I get when I think about these humanoids.
Yeah. And it hurts when you land!
Every time.
One more international story that I don't think is getting nearly enough discussion: The sentencing to life in prison of former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol. That's what real accountability for a coup attempt against the constitution and the will of the people looks like!
Amen to that. It’s what real genuine governments do. Not the clown show we’ve got.
I hope Trump is paying attention, though. What's going on in England and South Korea must frighten him. I hope so.
Got to check on the ketchup inventory to see how bad he is taking the news.
Good thought. I'm sure there will be some tossing of the old plates and cutlery tonight.
If you are Donald Trump just think how sad it must be for him to see a personage such as the ex-prince hauled off by the police. What has the world come to where a member of one of the oldest and grandest royal houses gets taken in like a common criminal. What has happened to droit de seigneur? You mean a lord can’t do as hr pleases — he did after all produce an heir and a spare who cares after that? If the privileges and prerogatives of hereditary monarchy can’t protect you then what can? Just so sad what the world has.
Over here though we now have a huge banner with the visage of Trump gazing down Hitler like from the DOJ building in DC. That is just the middle finger to justice and rule of law in this country, but rather fitting given our inability to hold the powerful to account.
In Britain we like to periodically remind the royals of their place as powerless pets of Parliament who can be disposed of, and replaced, at any time if they get ideas above their station or otherwise misbehave. They mostly learnt their lesson in the 17th century. So we’ve not had to kill a monarch since 1649 or depose one since 1688.
Other than those who lost their place due to having the temerity to convert to Catholicism or marry a Catholic (which was automatic until the law was repealed in 2013) Andrew might well end up being the first royal to be removed from the line of succession since Prince Charles Edward who was stripped of his British titles in 1917 for fighting for Germany in WW1.
It’s a pity other countries can’t keep their heads of state on such a short leash.
Shortish leash at least! But true your monarchs decided their heads are more valuable to them than absolute power. Though I would say like much of the West Britain has a leadership problem hence the cycling through so many hapless Prime Ministers.
Yeah. And with another, whose authority has already been fatally undermined by Epstein related matters, quite probably going to be forced to resign after the likely to be disastrous for Labour local elections in May.
If we keep working our way through the population eventually we might find somebody competent…
One would hope. Competent leadership was a British selling point for decades — one of the characteristics the EU liked about Britain.
I know. I’m tempted to go off on a long spiel about my views on What Went Wrong. However, I’m getting increasingly off topic so will spare people that.
Separating head of state from head of government makes it easier, apparently.
It's a viscous cycle. Got to push forward with ever more law breaking, lest you become vulnerable to being held to account for crimes already committed.
Cue the midterm elections and their fear a Democratic Congress may want to open a few windows and get out the disinfectant.
Department of injustice, his asshole visage belongs there !
Very Stalinesque, as well.
Has frump ever expressed feeling sad for the abused girls and women? Why has that failed to be in the news every day?
Oh boy, the imaginary ballroom. There is no greater allegory for America right now than the White House itself, a heap of trash destroyed on a whim by a madman with access to a bulldozer with absolutely no say from the People, which our media describes invariably as a large, grand ballroom.
It's a heap of rubble. Am I the only one who sees the Emperor's New Clothes here? You guys see a heap, right? Not just me? The gaslighting gets intense. I tried Googling "White House present day" and NONE of the images were contemporary. I asked their AI why and it told me: "Restricted Areas: Employees at neighboring buildings, such as the U.S. Treasury Department, have been directed not to take photos or videos of the ongoing construction."
No taking pictures of the People's House! Remember what it used to look like because you're not allowed to see what it looks like today.
Poisoning DC not just a metaphor- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/01/07/trump-east-wing-ballroom-asbestos-lawsuit/
Yikes. Well I’m sure asbestos is of no concern to the 🍊moron.
Besides grifting and sexual assault, bldg demo is a thing he actually knows something about, not his usual Dunning-Kruger style expertise. He’s such a dolt that he impacted his own health in the process…
Indeed.
If you add King Midas to the Emperor's New Clothes, it doesn't look good for T's future. Especially since he doesn't have the humanity to know what he's missing when his world is filled only with gold and he's seen buck naked. Also add The Beatitudes or Bob Dylan (the winner now will later be last), and whoo boy, not looking good at all. Sad?
The other day while watching the news, I mentioned to my wife that the State of the Union no Democrats should attend. Instead in their place, victims of Epstein should sit on the empty side of the chamber in the first few rows right in front so DJT could see them. Could imagine the rage Trump would feel! He would likely go off script and could not help himself!
Awesome idea! I would watch that!
Same here. My wife smiled and chuckled at that suggestion!
That's perfect. With the images of the passed ones too.
The offenses against basic decency continue to pile up and become harder to ignore. Keep pointing them out! Things like converting 1 million sq. ft warehouses for human containment are coming. I think these places will have their own human gravity if they come to be. What firms are being contracted to design and build these places? We should find out and start asking lots of questions. No business should be able to become a Topf and Sohn for our own time.
We know who these businesses are. GeoGroup. Palantir. CoreCivic.
Trump 2.0 has been no surprise. What has surprised me is the almost total capitulation of the GOP congress. Trump 2.0 = GOP Congress. There is no distinction between the two. I suppose it really shouldn't have come as this big a disappointment since I was well aware of the 40+ years the GOP and it's allies have been grasping for more power and their donors have happily supported the GOP so as to continue the great wealth transfer. I think it surprised me because it would have taken so few of them to derail Trump. It's not like his actions haven't been egregious. But no, didn't happen. Not even a handful could be found too act remotely like any one anonymous citizen of Minneapolis. To find a modicum of courage, to even mumble a 'no'.
Given the above, it is absolutely no surprise that no one in the GOP is addressing Mr. Gonzalez. The power of one measly House seat is far more important at the moment than holding him accountable for his reprehensible and intentional smearing of his staffer. Toxic masculinity at it's apex.
This is what happens when the GOP grooms their voters for decades to vote party above Country.
“I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad to me. It’s a very sad thing. When I see that, it’s a very sad thing. . . . So I think it’s a very sad thing.”l
Notice that “it” is sad. For Trump, “sad” is not an emotion. It’s just his way of saying he does not approve of the wealthy and connected being held to account for any misconduct (unless, of course, they are Democrats, in which case they are to be condemned for anything at all),
kinda like how all the royals of Europe were sad when Henry XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined back in the 18th century...
Soooo... are we going to attack Iran this weekend to distract from the tariff ruling?
Of course! The Board of Peace said so!
I tell ya, what it takes to bring a Democratic candidate down and what it takes to bring a Republican candidate down are not the same. Remember Cal Cunningham, Democrat who lost to Thom Tillis in 2020 in no small part because of some inappropriate texts he got torched for? That wouldn't even make the ledger for a Republican candidate. Obviously, there are hundreds of things in Trump's history that would end any Democrat's career. For Mark Robinson in NC's most recent gubernatorial race, it took the revelation of his secret past as a flamboyant pervert and black Nazi to tank his chances. George Santos got elected and he was a total freakshow, even though the full extent of it was not known at the time of his election. And now you have Tony Gonzales, who may survive a primary even though he is obviously lying about the mistress who set herself on fire over their affair.
If you have no shame, the GOP is your home.
Remember what brought down Gary Hart and John Edwards? Seems quaint now.
The all timer for me is Al Franken being forced out of the Senate for stupid juvenile behavior.
My wife noticed something about the Franken "scandal." The woman on the USO tour that Al made some unfortunate pictures with got her start in the public eye via the Miss Hooters pageant.
Funny how someone all too willing to sell their image to horney guys then got to act offended by a crude joke photo.
There are two standards in this country. People urging Democrats to do more don't seem to "get" this. Democrats always have one hand behind their back. A Republican senator would have brazened it out and raised millions in the process.
Had the Texan Gonzales been a democrat we would know more about the affair than we know about Nancy Guthrie.
What I read about those photographs was from a professional photographer who questioned their legitimacy. He felt that some doctoring occurred. Never found out if that was true or not.
Interesting!
What's also Interesting is the ethical standards that are applied to a comedian working a USO tour!
And Al Franken.
Stuff like that is only career-killing if Democrats do it.
I have some MAGA friends who are just incensed that one of our Senators has announced she won't be attending the State of the Union address. She should "Respect the Office" they say.
I've lost all of my energy and desire to be vocal about my opinion...mostly because it falls on deaf ears and they just turn it around to "He just has TDS"...but perhaps if DJT respected the office first...our Senator wouldn't have an issue attending it.
Would they have been incensed if a MAGA Senator announced they were skipping a State of the Union when Joe Biden was in office? "Respect the Office," right?
And in the 'I feel bad for Andrew' comment didn't Trump say he himself had been completely exonerated'?
Trump has been saying “I have been completely exonerated” a lot lately. He always adheres to the Big Lie rule of thumb. Just keep repeating the lie.
Trump IS a BIG lie.
And he's so idiotic, he'll never realize what an affirming tell it is.
Not in so many words, but certainly by his demeanor and refusal to even acknowledge that his bosom buddy, JE had done anything wrong, either.
He actually did yesterday in so many words. And he said that being totally exonerated made him an expert on the topic.
Thanks, I missed that in all of the other flack. Of course, being in Europe does not increase my info flow....
I am suffering from information overload, it's difficult to keep all of the atrocities straight.
Clearly, you forgot the first syllable of your first noun, mis-.
Nice.
You haven't discovered Wikipedo?
Oh Lord it took me a minute to get your spelling . 👱♂️👱♀️
He said exoneration in the sentences before he talked about how sad it is that Andrew was arrested. A lot of media only showed the sad language.
Yes. James Comer said it so it must be true!
Believing that Trump feels sadness about anything not directly connected to him is a bit of an ask.
He may be sad about not getting a Nobel Peace prize--although maybe sad isn't actually the correct emotion. It seems like anger is more on point. So I am not sure that he actually feels sad about ANYTHING.
Because, like a toddler that doesn't get their way, any time he doesn't get what he wants he just gets angry and throws a tantrum--and finds some other way to salve his bruised ego. Like a fake version of the Nobel prize or grandious building project (ballroom, Triumphal arch, new Trump center for the performing arts). Or just standing in front of a crowd (or cameras) and just bald-facedly lying about how great he is and how great what he has done is.
It is my earnest desire that, at some point, all of the people involved in the Epstein circle get their just desserts. That all of the people (regardless of partisanship) lower on the chain in government and law enforcement and PR or whatever, also get THEIR just desserts.
It is also my earnest desire that he live long enough to leave office in disgrace and that he is around to see his name torn from all the things he put it on and watch his projects razed, as they should be.
Like Hercules cleaning the Augean stables, wash all of the shit away.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum
These people--and the people that surround them, believe that they are all indispensible, that the world and economy and the government will somehow stop w/o them, would do less well w/o them.
Maybe we need to demonstrate how replaceable these people actually are. The world would be improved by their absence and the disappearance, even if only for a while, of the immunity of the powerful and connected to the consequences of their actions.
It is good that the people of the US are finding their anger and their courage... because it is the anger (properly channeled) and that courage that will end this excrement extravaganza, even if only for a time. Because our "leadership" is NOT going to do it w/o severe pressure to do it.
Exactly right, the entire Epstein Class all think they're John Galt.
Who is John Galt? ;)
A character in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. He is the epitome of what Rand saw as the "best" human being--all around genius, political agitator, who believed that civilization and wealth were the product of people like himself pursuing their own self interest without control or regulation.
The problem is that most of the people that idolize Galt and the philosophy of Rand, aren't exactly geniuses...and aren't as indispensible as they believe they are.
Although given the smiley face at the end of your question, I assume that you are being a bit ingenious (as the question of who is John Galt is a thread in the book).
Yes, it's a reflex. Anytime I see or hear an Ayn Rand reference “Who is John Galt?” pops out. With a smirk on my face.
But, but, but. Galt was really, really humble, and didn’t want anything for himself. Just like DonOld! /s
Yeah annie randys tomes are basically their bible .
She was Jewish. Had an abortion, turned in fellow writers to McCarthy’s witch hunt, and brooked no criticism from anyone. Perfect fit with today’s Occidental believers.
I read atlas shrugged and the fountainhead when I was a young man and did not buy what she was selling.
Same here. I remember someone was so surprised when I said I skipped her Occidental nonsense that took him two hours to read. I said it was nonsense. I don’t think he liked that.
The word "sad" is central to Trump's lexicon, and does not refer to anything involving empathetic (hah!) sorrow. Rather, it's a put-down, similar to the spin now given to "pathetic", meaning 'lame' 'weak' 'loser' 'inferior' 'just wrong' 'yucky' etc.
In the context of delivery, the "sad" relating to Andrew or Maxwell is spun more reflectively than the aggressive "SAD!" at the end of a Truth Social screed, but the core meaning is still there: the high and mighty are supposed to rule, to be exalted - not to be brought low by mobs, fake news, disposable pussy etc.
Indeed.
Donald Trump couldn’t care less about Epstein’s victims. He told MTG he was worried the revelations “might hurt his friends”, and now he’s sad for the perp’s families. Imagine, when Nancy Guthrie is found, his proclaiming his sadness for the family of the kidnapper.
As we saw in Renee Good's case, it's going to depend on who the kidnapper voted for.
Yeah, probably.