CLOSED...we've gone fishing

 House Speaker Mike Johnson has effectively stalled action on the Epstein files by adjourning the chamber early, delaying any votes until September. (BBC)

House Speaker Mike Johnson has closed the House for session multiple times, notably during the 2025 government shutdown, which lasted 54 days. This was the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, and the House was not in session for most of that period. Additionally, Johnson frequently canceled votes and sessions when internal tensions flared or legislation wasn't going his way, contributing to an unusually light legislative calendar. (AXIOS)

The Constitution requires that neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other chamber. This rule ensures that Congress remains available to conduct legislative business. (USA Facts)

Members of the House of Representatives earn an annual salary of $174,000. Additional leadership positions, such as the Speaker of the House, earn higher salaries, with the Speaker making $223,500. (Indeed).

So, let us understand this, shall we…when MAGA Mike decides that any House business might interfere with the wishes and wants of his Lord and Master, Trump, MAGA Mike just adjourns for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months. It ain’t the people’s business he is taking care of, but the business of taking care of Trump. Even though the House passed the Epstein Transparency Act, MAGA Mike decides to waylay that information, hoping that it will go away…And as MAGA Mike adds even more “We’ve Gone Fishing Days, Sorry We Are Closed, he and his Republican Fascist cohorts still receive a salary as if they are actually working for their Constituents.

The Trump Iran War, Mile High Gas Prices, Inflation on the rise, Pedophiles, including Trump, still face zero consequences, Affordability is unaffordable, people living paycheck to paycheck if they are lucky enough to have a job, Trump, having the Taxpayers pay for his Ballroom/Reflecting Pool/Triumphant Arch/privatizing public golf courses in DC, and the Voting Rights Act dismantled, but MAGA Mike says don’t worry be happy.

Please explain all of this, and then explain why the fuck you would vote to re-elect or even elect a single Republican come November!

And now this!

 Apparently, President Donald Trump’s “full, complete and unconditional” pardon for the roughly 1,500 rioters who violently assaulted the U.S. Capitol building and Washington police officers on Jan. 6, 2021, including those who pleaded guilty to felony charges and others who were serving prison time, did not go far enough. This week, a new class action lawsuit was filed by a group of participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection, claiming that the federal government owes them $18 million for injuries they allegedly suffered. It might be laughable if there wasn’t a real chance they could collect. (SLATE)

THE MADDNESS DOES NOT STOP, SLOW DOWN, BUT GETS STRONGER, AND STRANGER.

The Trump-inspired Insurrectionists, the Trump-motivated Domestic Terrorists, the people Trump was counting on to keep his Dictatorial position of Dear Leader intact, the Enemies of the State, are now demanding that they were the victims of the January 6^th attack on our nation, and as victims are due compensation. Yep, read that again!

Trump’s Army, Trump’s violent army of insurrectionists, has now decided that we, the people, whom they so despised and wanted to destroy, are the good guys, and the rest of us, not members of Trump’s army, are the villains.

In a real world of law and order, a respect for the Constitution and Democratic principles, this would be nothing but a big laugh, maybe a parody on SNL or an article in ‘The Onion’, but since Trump needs all of the votes he can get to keep the Republican majority in Congress, and keep himself out of jail, this lawsuit has a chance to actually become our reality. 

The crazy, bat shit, criminal actions within and by the Trump Reich keep on piling on!

 

 

Let them STARVE

 The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody.” (Donald Trump)

“When asked about the comment during a Friday night interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump said it was a “perfect statement.” “I’d make it again,” he continued. “You can imagine how many people stopped the soundbite at ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation’ so what’s your response to that?” Baier asked, “It’s very simple, when people hear me say it, everybody agrees,” Trump said. “Short-term pain, it’s gonna be short-term pain.” (HuffPost).

Yep, I have to rehash the arrogant, selfish quote by Trump, because, for once, he has stated his true intentions, and when asked again if he might want to rethink his ignorant, nonchalant “I give no shits” commentary, he demonstrates his loathing for anyone who is not one of his billionaire puppet masters.

Trump, aloof, and (no MAGA, not a Populist Idol that you pretend he is), says “short-term pain,” because living from paycheck to paycheck, prioritizing food, healthcare, housing, utilities, and if you can afford to drive your car, are all silly inconveniences.

“Short-term pain,” meh, so what if you run out of money now, boo-hoo, you are not Patriotic enough, you are not American enough, you just don’t care enough. 

Trump does care, however, that Americans’ finances are used to soothe his insecure, narcissistic machinations, such as his Ballroom, his Triumphant Arch, his Reflecting Pool, his swimming pool, and his Golfing outings to not only Mar-a-Lago but also all of his golf properties. Oh yeah, and his billion dollars a day cost to continue a war in Iran, which he started with absolutely no idea or care about how to stop.

Maria Antoinette has been paraphrased as saying to her French citizens, “let them eat cake.” In Trump’s case, it sounds more like let them starve!

 

 

 

 

 

Keep letting them rig

 Tina Peters deserves due process, not political clemency. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has sent a dangerous signal to election deniers that with enough political pressure, accountability becomes negotiable. (MS NOW)

Being pissed off, for me, does not just stop with the Christian Nationalist/Fascists MAGA Republicans, those who believe that Democracy is useless when it doesn’t work in their favor, but when I witness injustice, or is it indifference by Democrat politicians, my ire and anger must be shouted out toward their careless, and “let’s fuck the Constitution actions.

The Democratic Governor of Colorado just provided the same middle finger used by the Republicans to the Constitution and the American public, by permitting clemency toward a very insidious and evil person, who decided that she was the one who could fuck around with democracy.

Tina Peters was found guilty “by a jury of her peers — in conservative Mesa County — on seven counts, including four felonies, of orchestrating an illegal breach of her county’s voting equipment. She let an unauthorized outsider into a secure elections room, directed staff to shut off surveillance cameras and copied hard drives from voting machines — all to try to prove conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that were never true.”  (MS NOW)

Why this should matter, I believe, is evident, but I will shout it out, as I see it. Peters tried her best to deny the people of Colorado their ability to keep their votes legitimate. Peters was found by a jury of her peers to have committed various crimes. Tina Peters gave zero shits about truth. She deserved prison time, and now wham bam thank you, Governor Polis, you too, are playing the same Tina Peters game by saying screw all that law and order, I am more powerful, and I will determine right from wrong.

The other real thing here is that so far, Trump and his Fascist Republicans are doing everything in their power to undermine the Midterm elections. From canceling the Voting Rights Act to gerrymandering districts, the Trump Reich has also been screaming that voting is somehow rigged, especially when the Republicans lose. By ignoring the crimes of Tina Peters, Governor Polis, as I see it, is sanctioning anyone who wants to truly rig the elections to do so, and not to pay any consequences for their felonious actions. Shame on you, Governor Polis, shame.

 

 

A SCHLEPPER

  

A "schlepper" is a Yiddish term that can mean a servant who carries things or a pejorative insult for someone who wanders aimlessly or acts in a slovenly manner. (Yiddish Dictionary)

Schlep: To tote, to drag, to be a burden. (Chabad. Org)

The first thing our SCHLEPPER-IN-CHIEF says upon his departure from China is that they have a ballroom! A jealous Donald Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ballroom in a suck-up post following the Beijing summit. “While flying back from China, the 79-year-old president whined that “China has a Ballroom, and so should the U.S.A”—while suggesting a deadline for his own $400 million vanity project at the White House.” (Daily Beast).

Perhaps his desire for a Ballroom is about the only honest thing Trump and his band of liars within his Reich have stated about his taxpayer-paid trip to try and get out of the Iran War, which he, and he alone, started.

Schlep, he toted his ailing, failing ass to China, praising just how wonderful an authoritarian President Xi is and has been. Schlep, he dragged his sorry ass, sloping shoulders, extra orange dyed skin, and absent look on his face as if someone every five minutes had to remind him where he was. Schlep, it was burdensome to normal Americans who once took pride in a President who did not praise dictators, fought mightily hard for a democratic Taiwan, and insisted that human rights were a priority. 

Watching Trump walk slovenly while complimenting Xi's hard-liner rule, as Trump’s cadre of Oligarchs preened and served as props for Trump…having the tax payer pay for his son Eric (the Dumber of Dumb and Dumber Trump sons and his wife Lara, scamming some business for Trump Enterprises along with Brett Ratner (the douche that directed the flop propaganda production of Melania, and who has been and still is accused of sexual harassment by six women)…and having Trump return home without any “ART OF THE DEAL”, was disgusting.

He is a SCHLEPPER, and all he and his ilk are good for is TO SCHLEP!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want receipts!

 Trump is in China. Trump praised and praised President Xi of China for being a strong, dynamic leader of the people. Xi had not found the time to meet Trump upon Trump’s arrival, but nonetheless, Trump, who told the media that he and Xi would have the biggest and best hug when they met, trudged onward and into the night, with only a few lower brass Chinese officials and a high band to greet him.

Trump’s entourage included some of the wealthiest and least paying taxpayers of America, the Tech Oligarchs, and Billionaire CEOs, and of course, because if corruption is to be done correctly, the Dumber son of Dumb and Dumber, Eric Trump, and his licking ass wife, Lara Trump.

Not a single expert on Chinese American affairs from the past was invited, because in the case of Trump, as he has publicly stated, he doesn’t prefer to be in the company of anyone who might be smarter than he. Oh, yeah, Little Marco came along for the ride, so he could once again return home and speak to the American people out of both sides of his orange-tinted mouth.

In public, Trump bragged, not only about the greatness of Xi, overlooking Xi’s lack of freedom of speech, tyrannical treatment of those he defines as enemies, and of course Xi’s continued myriad of support of Iran, but did his usual bull shit routine about how, he Trump has known Xi longer than any other President of the US, and how much of a Bro relationship he and XI have.

The cost estimate for this trip is that, just for Trump, the starting price is $3 million for the American taxpayer. But does that take into account the costs borne by all the American Oligarchs who are using taxpayers to pay for their business trips, and, oh yeah, the cost of the American taxpayer picking up the tab for yet one more Trump Family business deal?

Hmm, aside from the end of a democratic Taiwan, and more Chinese products arriving in America, and Trump’s attempt to change the conversation from the Iran War, the Epstein Files, and the affront of affordability, and Trump Family Business, and the Oligarchs making a larger profit, will there be anything in it for those of us who are paying for this?

 

Trump and China

 The exact cost of Trump's trip to China has not been publicly disclosed, but estimates for his trips to similar destinations have ranged significantly, with some reports suggesting costs could be around $3 million per trip based on previous travel expenses. (the dispatch.com)

The trip to China is being funded by the U.S. government, as the CEOs are part of a delegation accompanying President Trump. This includes business leaders with significant interests in China, highlighting the importance of their presence during negotiations. Trump Will Bring 5 Billionaires Worth A Combined $870 Billion On His China Trip. (Forbes)

The “Look Over There,” Trump trick book (so we don’t look for the release of the Epstein Files, or the price of gasoline, the rise in inflation, and of course, Trump’s war of choice in Iran) now includes his trip to China. 

Bidding farewell as Trump travels to China, ready to drool over yet another authoritarian leader, President Xi, Trump actually left us with a bit of truth, something he is averse to. Trump stated, "Not even a little bit" when asked about considering Americans' financial situations during negotiations with Iran, emphasizing that his only concern is preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

A few things, as one of the millions of taxpayers paying for this trip. What is Eric and Laura Trump doing there, and how much more will it cost me for them to do a private bunch of Trump Empire deals? If 5 of the Billionaires whose net worth is a combined $870 Billion and who are also going to do some private business deals while in China, how come they can’t pay, or better yet, why didn’t they insist on paying for this business excursion?

And oh yeah, Trump, what exactly will you be trading to get Xi, to stop aiding the Iranians in shooting down our bases, supporting their government and their proxies? Trump goes to China, watch out, Taiwan!