MAHA? Hah!

Attribution: Making America Healthy Again by Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News, NY

Share

Author: patd

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad." "How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

44 thoughts on “MAHA? Hah!”

  1. the “elump” derangement according to maher


    Bill reacts to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s messy public spat.

  2. Another morning, another wait for the idiocy of sfb-2025 to produce more garbage.

    World Pride in D.C. today. Pride Parade this afternoon. If you have never experienced a Pride Parade, especially a large one like D.C. or Denver, or NYC, you should do one. It is about thousands of happy smiling people. If your politician is in a parade ask to join in. It is a blast!

  3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/06/07/starlink-white-house-security-doge-musk/

    Elon Musk’s team at the U.S. DOGE Service and allies in the Trump administration ignored White House communications experts worried about potential security breaches when they installed Musk’s Starlink internet service in the complex this year, three people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
    The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said those who were managing White House communications systems were not informed in advance when DOGE representatives went to the roof of the adjacent Eisenhower Executive Office Building in February to install a terminal connecting users in the complex to Starlink satellites, which are owned by Musk’s private SpaceX rocket company.
    The people said those managing the systems weren’t able to monitor such connections to stop sensitive information from leaving the complex or hackers from breaking in.
    It could not be verified whether the rooftop terminal remains installed or if anything would change now that Musk has receded from the government. A “Starlink Guest” WiFi network appeared on White House phones in February, prompting users only for a password, not a username or a second form of authentication, according to the people. That WiFi network was still appearing on White House visitors’ phones this week.
    The White House referred questions to the U.S. Secret Service, which said it could not discuss specific technology systems for security reasons.
    “We were aware of DOGE’s intentions to improve internet access on the campus and did not consider this matter a security incident or security breach,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
    Traditionally at the White House, personal phones on guest WiFi networks need names and passwords that are tracked and expire after a week, the people said. Work computers are locked down with security programs and staffers’ interactions with the outside world are “very thoroughly tracked,” with the device identifiers and times of all transmissions recorded, said one of the people, who left the government after the Starlink installation.
    “Starlink doesn’t require anything. It allows you to transmit data without any kind of record or tracking,” this person told The Post. “White House IT systems had very strong controls on network access. You had to be on a full-tunnel VPN at all times. If you are not on the VPN, White House-issued devices can’t connect to the outside.”
    A full-tunnel VPN connection protects all data that’s sent and received and can also monitor or block any content.
    “With a Starlink connection, that means White House devices could leave the network and go out through gateways. … It’s going to help you bypass security,” another person said.
    Starlink did not respond to a request for comment. It has said previously that the satellite connections are harder to hack.
    Some former White House officials have gone to Democrats on the House Oversight Committee with their concerns, but the members have not gotten answers to their questions about Starlink, a spokesperson for those Democrats said.
    “Brave whistleblowers have shared concerning and vital information with the Committee, and we are pursuing multiple investigations into the Trump Administration’s use of Starlink at the White House and across government,” Stephen F. Lynch (D-Massachusetts), the committee’s acting top Democrat, told The Post in an email. “It could have the potential to undermine our national security by exposing sensitive data and information to hackers, our adversaries, or those wishing to do Americans harm.”
    While intelligence agencies ban phones from their buildings for security reasons, the White House must allow them for some calls and emails because the White House serves many functions. But since the White House is a key focus for espionage operations from around the world, communications there have been among the most heavily policed in the country.
    The communication restrictions set by the Pentagon’s Defense Information Systems Agency are severe. Only approved devices can access official resources, and they have extensive security software installed to guard against attacks and to monitor any digital traffic leaving the building.
    The Starlink roof installation, initially reported by the New York Times, triggered a confrontation between DOGE employees and the Secret Service. The opposition by White House staff has not been previously reported.
    Starlink is allegedly being used at other government agencies as well. A whistleblower from the National Labor Relations Board said that Starlink was installed there, and a former senior employee at the General Services Administration told The Post that DOGE employees used it on-site at least through last month.
    Starlink’s satellite connections are harder to hack than conventional U.S. telecommunication networks, which were thoroughly penetrated by China in a campaign revealed last year. But end-to-end encrypted phone communications, such as those over the Signal app, are not readable by hackers unless the devices themselves are hacked — or they are backed up by other software that gets hacked, as was recently found to be the case with TeleMessage.
    Any added security from satellite connections does not solve the inability to monitor for restricted data leaving the premises, the people said.
    Such monitoring could also catch malicious software coming into the building to potentially hack White House machines, an even bigger fear among staffers, security experts said.
    It is unclear why DOGE was so insistent on Starlink. But at other agencies, DOGE staffers have demanded deep access to data and disabled logging that tracked what they did with it. DOGE employees have also been reported using artificial intelligence programs to plow through massive amounts of government data.

  4. Had such a great dinner last night at Jose Andres’ DC restaurant Oyamel, just had to post again.

    I think the biggest revelation was salsa featuring SMOKED CHIPOTLE in ADOBO sauce. And i did not know Coca-Cola makes a Mexican version with real sugar (39 grams) instead of corn syrup in slip glass bottles.

    But the big moment was a throwback to Colorado Bob — Blue Corn tortillas stuffed with lamb and beef, fine cheese and side of spicy consomme for dipping or sipping.

  5. so, of course, scotus makes sure none of your records held by gov’t are secure anymore. stuff like whatever you disclosed to IRS, your medical/employment records held by SSA, and all other identifying info required under law.
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/supreme-court-restores-doge-s-access-to-sensitive-social-security-data-and-says-it-doesn-t-have-to-turn-over-documents/ar-AA1GeZct?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=7f9ad9ef1c0043eab513daad381d6032&ei=21

    The Supreme Court handed the Department of Government Efficiency a pair of significant wins on Friday, allowing the entity to access sensitive Social Security data for millions of Americans while simultaneously pausing an effort to look into whether it is subject to a key transparency law.
    In the first and perhaps more important decision, a majority of the court allowed DOGE to review data at the Social Security Administration in an ostensible effort to rout out fraud and “modernize outdated systems.” Critics and lower courts suggested DOGE was engaged in a fishing expedition through highly sensitive data.
    “We conclude that, under the present circumstances, SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work,” the court wrote in an unsigned order.
    The conservative Supreme Court minutes later separately paused a lower court’s order that required DOGE to turn over documents as part of a lawsuit claiming the entity, like other government agencies, should be subject to federal records requests. While the Supreme Court left open the possibility that some of that information could ultimately be provided, it asked lower courts to “narrow” its scope.
    [continues]

  6. BB
    The Tacoma Pride Festival is in July. I look forward to it as there is so much music and happy people.

    Today is family at the races with Harbor Woman and her son.

  7. Love your video, Craig! Reminded me of our wonderful trip to Mexico. Thank you for sharing. 🌶️

  8. I just now figured out our Trailmix Anniversary video is in alphabetical order.

    Jamie, can Harbor Woman be enticed to rejoin?

    I miss Flatus.

  9. BlueBronc,
    I went to several pride parades in DC back in the early 90’s.
    Unfortunately, the 2 guys who took me (one was the brother of my best friend) have since both died from AIDS.

  10. How Star Wars Reveals Conservatives’ Authoritarian Fantasies

    In a recent CNN appearance, former Mitch McConnell adviser and GOP operative Scott Jennings went on the defense, justifying Emperor Palpatine’s violent vision for a galactic empire. When podcaster and contributor Van Lathan pointed out just one of the many war crimes the Empire engaged in—blowing up Princess Leia’s adopted home planet and massacring everyone on it—Jennings replied: “I think some could argue that it was warranted, given their rebellious activities. I mean, he defended the Empire against unelected hippies and violent protesters.”

    *Nobody elected MuskRat nor the DOGE detritus that lingers with digital fingers in our data. Just saying.

  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_of_Reformed_Evangelical_Churches

    The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), formerly the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches,[2] was founded in 1998 as a body of churches that hold to Reformed theology.

    the CREC has over a hundred member churches in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, Brazil, Jersey, and the Czech Republic.

    The CREC rejects both modernism and fundamentalism.[11] It has published a number of “memorials”, which among other things affirm Young Earth creationism, deprecate government schooling, and reject women in combat.[12] While non-partisan, CREC churches are “uniformly hostile to the leftist agenda”.

    Notable members:
    Pete Hegseth[15]
    Peter Leithart[16]
    Rich Lusk[17]
    Steve Wilkins[18]
    Douglas Wilson
    N. D. Wilson[19]

  12. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-gold-card-visa-red-carpet-2081449

    Despite the lack of official launch details, immigration advisers and legal experts say inquiries are pouring in from high-net-worth people, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, eager to capitalize on Trump’s latest overhaul of the immigration system.

    *Does this fit into Taco Don and Peewee German’s desire to bleach the US?

  13. Still think the sudden return of Garcia was to distract from Elon’s Epstein tweet.

  14. ha, Ivy I remember trying to put that anniversary video in alphabetical order was a nightmare — the trial and error added many hours to the edit job

  15. That sound is your tax dollars being flushed down the toilet to appease Taco Don’s ego.

  16. It’s just that with the whole “distraction” thing you gotta remember most people aren’t paying attention anyway

    …and they brought him back to tar and feather him

  17. Like, who are they distracting? Us? We log every little thing they do. The sports people? Nope, they’re watching sports.
    The Maga “people”? They don’t need to distract them, they’ve got them by the teeth already.

    Trumpco made a hurricane and now they’re trying to keep it in a box

  18. these Trumpco people might be a little bit smarter and have a little more legal savvy than we like to give them credit for, but I promise you they are not as smart as they think they are

    Incompetence doesn’t magically become competence

  19. and then Trump elevated all these irrational unstable influencers like Laura Loomer and Elon Musk, because it was the right short term play because Trump only thinks in the short term and guess what happened Those people behaved predictably

    Democrats try to herd cats and Republicans try to train wolves

  20. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-says-department-of-justice-made-decision-to-bring-back-abrego-garcia/ar-AA1GhkAo

    Trump said on Saturday it was the Department of Justice, not him, that made the decision to bring back to the U.S. a man mistakenly deported from Maryland to El Salvador.

    His arraignment was set for June 13, when he will enter a plea, according to local media reports. Until then, he will remain in federal custody.

    If convicted, he would be deported to El Salvador after serving his sentence, Bondi said.

    Kilmar Abrego Garcia was flown back to face criminal charges of transporting illegal immigrants within the U.S., Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Friday.

    Trump said he thought it would be “a very easy case” against Abrego Garcia, who he accused of having a “horrible record of abuse” of women.

    ****

    Former Nashville Federal Prosecutor Ben Schrader Resigned Over ‘Political’ Nature of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s Indictment: Report

    Former Chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nashville Ben Schrader reportedly resigned from his post due to the “political” nature of the grand jury indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

    Abrego Garcia’s grand jury indictment, which was quietly filed on May 21 and unsealed on Friday, claims that human smuggling was his full-time occupation as he allegedly completed over 100 smuggling trips across the U.S., primarily transporting illegal aliens, including minors and members of the violent MS-13 gang.

    The ten-page indictment further accuses Abrego Garcia of abusing women and children during transport, soliciting explicit material from a minor, and being linked to the murder of a rival gang member’s mother. He was also suspected of trafficking firearms and narcotics.

    ****

    *Interesting how Taco Don only mentioned abuse of women. He confesses to something every time he opens his taco hole.

  21. those are my Saturday afternoon, political thoughts, pardon me I am just watching the wheels go round and round

    It’s all academic if the Supreme Court is just going to rubber stamp all his bullshit

  22. a case of “reigning” on DODO’s parade
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pope-leo-sells-out-us-event-clashes-with-event-parade-on-trump-s-birthday/ar-AA1GhfxM?ocid=BingNewsSerp

    Pope Leo XIV has helped sell out a stadium show in Chicago with a promised virtual appearance—scheduled for the same day as a major military parade in Washington, D.C.
    Within the first 15 minutes of ticket availability, more than 9,000 people requested seats for the Chicago gathering. By the end of the first day, that number had climbed to 20,000. As of Friday, the $5 tickets were completely sold out. The event will be streamed live online, although CatholicTV has not confirmed whether it will air the broadcast.
    Why It Matters
    Pope Leo’s expected involvement in the Chicago event, which will be streamed online, will draw huge interest and will divide some attention away from the Trump-backed military parade the same day, the president’s birthday.
    The pope, in his first address to world diplomats, said the dignity of migrants had to be respected, potentially putting himself on a collision course with the Trump administration, which has stepped up enforcement of immigration law, arguing voters’ concerns on the topic have long been ignored.
    What To Know
    The pontiff is set to appear on big screens at Rate Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago White Sox, on June 14.
    “Although Pope Leo XIV will not be present in Chicago for the event, he has announced that he will be participating remotely from Rome, with a video message to be played at the gathering,” the Vatican’s news service said in a June 2 release promoting the event.
    That same date, President Donald Trump’s birthday, Washington D.C. will play host to a major military parade celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday.
    Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will be forced to shut down for several hours on June 14 to accommodate the parade, affecting more than 100 flights and thousands of passengers, according to The Washington Post.
    The New York Times reports the parade will feature 28 M1A1 Abrams tanks (each weighing 70 tons), 28 Stryker armored personnel carriers, more than 100 other military vehicles, 6,700 soldiers, 50 helicopters, 34 horses, two mules, and one dog.
    Notably, the Army did not hold a parade for its bicentennial in 1975.
    While the pontiff’s message will be delivered from Rome, commentators noted the symbolism in the timing. “A bit of counterprogramming there,” said MSNBC’s Jonathan Lemire. “But I will say, when the Pope does come for real in the flesh—Chicago. Millions of people.”
    John Heilemann, speaking alongside Lemire, added: “The counterprogramming point remains, Lemire, because the truth is—for America and Trump’s military parade in Washington, if you don’t live in Washington, that’s a television spectacle. If you don’t live in Chicago, the Pope’s doing a video mass there at Rate Field. It’s the same thing for those of us who live in New York. They’re both just TV shows. And, you know, that’s the definition of counterprogramming.”
    The parade in Washington, meanwhile, is being promoted as a patriotic tribute to the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday. A May 21 statement from the event organizers said it aims to “showcase the Army’s modern capabilities” and “inspire a new generation to embrace the spirit of service, resilience, and leadership that defines the United States.”
    Critics say the event is excessive and politically charged. “You know, there are so many reasons that you might want to push back on this military parade. All of them have been discussed before. There’s a very kind of Kim Jong Un vibe to it,” Heilemann told Lemire.
    “It’s obviously going to be a kind of a nightmare, logistics-wise, for Washington, D.C. The streets are going to get all torn up. They’re going to be filling in potholes from the damage that gets done for months to come.”
    Trump and Pope Leo’s Clash Over Immigration
    Since becoming the pontiff, Pope Leo has clashed with Trump—most notably over immigration policy.
    In one of his first major addresses as pope, U.S.-born Pope Leo XIV signaled a clear break from Trump’s immigration stance, urging respect for migrants’ dignity and compassion for those seeking a better life abroad.
    Speaking to diplomats at The Vatican, Leo reflected on his own roots as a descendant of immigrants and a former missionary in Peru. “My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate,” he said, adding that all people—”citizens and immigrants alike”—are equally worthy of dignity and protection.
    Leo’s message contrasts sharply with Trump’s vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. The late Pope Francis also clashed with Trump over immigration, once saying the president was “not Christian” for wanting to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
    Leo’s comments suggest that the Church under his leadership will continue to advocate for migrant rights. Before his election, Leo—then-Cardinal Robert Prevost—had pushed back on U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s claim that Catholic theology prioritized caring for one’s own over others, a statement Pope Leo reportedly disagreed with.
    In May, Pope Leo’s brother John Prevost told The New York Times that his brother was “not happy” with Trump’s immigration policy, adding that he “won’t just sit back.”
    “I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one,” John Prevost said.
    What Happens Next
    Gates for the Chicago event will open at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, with the program set to begin at 2:30 p.m. The day will conclude with a Holy Mass at 4 p.m., led by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago.
    Tickets are still available for President Trump’s parade.

  23. https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-cracks-down-protests-squatters-cannabis-2025-06-04/

    Italy’s upper house of parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to a wide-ranging security decree that targets public protests, pickpockets and squatters, and outlaws so-called “legal” cannabis.

    The Senate passed the decree with a 109-69 vote, with one abstention, after a stormy session that was temporarily suspended when opposition lawmakers staged a protest on the floor of the chamber, shouting “shame, shame”.

    It introduces new crimes against revolts in prison and migrant detention centres, punishing even acts of passive resistance, and against people who occupy private property, such as social housing.
    It bans the trade of “cannabis light”, or hemp, which unlike marijuana has no mind-altering qualities, infuriating local entrepreneurs who say the move will cost thousands of jobs and imperil millions of euros of investments.

    The decree also introduces tougher sanctions for protesters who clash with police, causing them injuries, and offers legal cover of up to 10,000 euros ($11,385) for army or police officers who are put under investigation or sent to trial.

    The bill scraps an exemption from prison detention for convicted pregnant women or those with babies, as backers say the rule was exploited by female members of the Roma ethnic minority to escape punishment for serial pickpocketing.
    “It’s useless to say that this decree is inhumane, because women who have children in order to steal are not worthy of having them,” said Gianni Berrino, a senator from Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party.

    *Yeah, women have children ~ just so they can steal. ~

  24. Craig – I wonder how big the get-tickets-for-the-thing-in-DC-but-don’t-go will be? I’m sure they probably overbooked, so as to have some sort of crowd there.

  25. I have not checked yet but due to the event type the Metro may be shut down too. The subway tubes go all over the D.C. area. Many are not buried very deep so having a tank drop through and on too the tracks is not out of the possible. The metal sheeting spreads the weight, as do the tracks, but it does not make the total weight go away.

    I wonder if the Navy will send a vessel up the Potomac to anchor somewhere on the Potomac or Anacostia? Hope it does not ground. It could fire blanks and knock out windows all the way to the WH.

    Even if it does not damage or destroy Washington, D.C., I am sure it will be dictator thumbs up.

    I will not be attending. I guess a lot of other vets won’t either.

  26. Journalism, Blue Bronc, is that your horse?

    The only horse to run all three races this year.

  27. https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/los-angeles-immigration-protests-surprise-ice-operation/

    The Trump administration announced Saturday it was deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles in response to large-scale protests that erupted Saturday following dozens of arrests Friday in citywide Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

    “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” the president posted to his Truth Social platform Saturday evening.

    *What about Posse Comitatus? Shouldn’t the National Guard be protecting people from ICE?

Comments are closed.