Angst, Anxiety and Apprehension

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Attribution: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TODAY? by Marco De Angelis, PoliticalCartoons.com

[Marco De Angelis (Rome, Italy) cartoonist, illustrator, professional journalist, graphic designer. He published from ’75 on over 200 newspapers worldwide: La Repubblica, Il Popolo (he was editor of these dailies), Il Messaggero, Il Mattino, Panorama, The New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Herald, Le Monde, Courrier International, etc. Illustrator of many children’s books for the main publishers. Golden Palm in Bordighera 1997, 160 other prizes and finalist in Reuben Awards.]

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82 thoughts on “Angst, Anxiety and Apprehension”

  2. and so is he
    https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/stephen-miller-trump-terror-ice-immigration-military-1235426023/

    Inside Stephen Miller’s Reign of Terror
    Everything you loathe or love about Donald Trump’s America, you hate or cherish about Miller’s republic of fear

    It was after 3 a.m. on Nov. 6 last year, and nobody on the planet was happier than a balding, slender man standing near the reception desk of the Hilton West Palm Beach.
    Donald Trump had just finished hosting his 2024 election watch party at the adjacent Florida convention center, declaring victory in a speech eloquently touting “the most incredible political thing.” Jubilant Republican donors, campaign staff, future government officials, and attendees (of course, Jon Voight) flooded over to the luxury hotel to celebrate.
    At the front of the lobby stood Stephen Miller, the man Trump would soon tap as his White House’s undisputed orchestrator of policies and executive authority.
    Miller had been one of the first Trump administration’s key policy drivers, particularly when it came to the president’s throttling of legal immigration. Senior officials in President Joe Biden’s administration will tell you the country is still living with the damage Miller did to immigration during Trump’s first term, and that the Biden team was unable, or unwilling, to undo much of it with their four years in power.
    But that night in Florida, something was different for the then-39-year-old Miller. A universe of possibilities was unfurling before him.
    Amid the revelry, Miller huddled with other high-ranking Trump personnel and said his thank you’s to the ad hoc procession of euphoric conservative voters and GOP bigwigs who congratulated him over and over. They all could see it wasn’t just Trump’s victory that night — it was Miller’s, and many felt obliged to kiss his Trump-endowed ring.
    To see the expression of unbridled joy written across Miller’s face at that moment of Trump’s restoration was to stare into the eyes of someone who could see the future: Trump’s top adviser, his most faithful believer, the one close aide who had somehow survived the countless purges of MAGA officials in the first term, knew the country was now his.
    Speaking to one overjoyed woman, Miller said, “It’s gonna be great.”
    More than seven months into Trump’s second term, Stephen Miller has become America’s — if not the world’s — most powerful unelected bureaucrat. With Trump’s blessing, Miller has been allowed to run and remake the country in a manner virtually unheard of for a U.S. government official of his rank. Think of any egregious policy from the Trump administration: Chances are, it was driven by Stephen Miller.
    All of it bears Trump’s signature, but the president is not the one spending his nights writing executive orders and bending legal theory to his will; nearly all of this bears the authorship (or, at least, co-authorship) of Miller. Everything you loathe or love about Donald Trump’s America, you hate or cherish about Stephen Miller’s republic of fear.
    Under Miller’s guiding hand, the government can deport (or kidnap and rendition) you or your spouse, without due process, to a foreign gulag, if the president feels like it. The White House can repeatedly threaten to take away the most basic of constitutional protections, such as habeas corpus. The president can launch Justice Department criminal investigations against his enemies who, by all known accounts, did nothing wrong except annoy the commander-in-chief, or refuse to help him steal an election. The president and his lieutenants can arrest you at a routine courthouse check-in, at your church, outside your kid’s school, even if you have no criminal record. They’ve instituted a heavily draconian system of immigration arrest “quotas,” ensuring a regime not mainly of mass deportation, but of mass disappearances and indefinite detention in jails and newly erected camps.
    They’ve quickly turned much of federal law enforcement into the masked, nameless, unaccountable secret police, working at the whims of the president and his staff. The president can deploy armed National Guard troops, and even U.S. Marines, to the streets of an American city any time he wants — and deem it enemy territory. The administration has made censoring media organizations, comedians, and aging rock stars a policy priority, in an anti-free-speech crusade waged from the West Wing to the Federal Communications Commission.
    “Shadow Sec Def.”
    “Prime Minister Miller.”
    “The REAL Attorney General.”
    “The DHS boss.”
    “President Miller.”
    Trump administration officials and other Republicans close to the president and this White House are paranoid that Miller will one day hear them gossiping about him behind his back — but they still whisper the unofficial titles and nicknames that they bestow onto the White House deputy chief of staff.
    When Rolling Stone asks one senior administration official about former Fox News star and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, this source says, unprompted, that “he does what Stephen wants him to do.”
    [continues]

  4. pogeaux, dems wanting to win come 2026 need to take to heart the wise observation you concluded with last thread:

    I suggest you direct your sarcasm and ire towards your political adversaries rather than your political friends. But until you recognize who your adversaries are, enjoy your potshots at folks with whom you seem to share a common goal and I’d suggest you keep your arrogance and condescension to yourself.

    thank you, counselor, good advice for the hard days ahead for all of us including those who voted differently (or not at all) in the past.. as once said: “Amicus meus, inimicus inimici mei”

  6. KASH PATEL HEARING 9am ET tomorrow
    He might actually be in trouble…
    “A White House source, granted anonymity to discuss internal discussions, called Patel’s announcement unprofessional and said “his performance is really not acceptable to the White House or the American public” and will be addressed.” — Reuters
    Starts Tuesday, Sep 16 at 9:00 AM ET — Senate Judiciary’s “Oversight of the FBI” hearing in Hart 216. C-SPAN has it slotted live at 9:00 AM ET

  7. Thx, Pat.

    Continuing his lazy, tiresome screed against all things not trumpist, ladies and gentlemen, Donnie. WaPo.

    Since Kirk’s shooting, President Donald Trump has blamed “the radical left” and vowed to go after “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity.”

    During an address from the White House on Wednesday, Trump decried several cases of political violence against Republicans, but did not highlight attacks against Democrats, such as the slaying in June of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, as well as the wounding of another state legislator and his wife. The suspect in that case is facing murder charges in state and federal court.

    Dishonest as always.

  9. And DODO stays laser focused on the Russia/Ukraine/(now)Poland mess. WaPo

    Trump was with architects and designers reviewing plans for the ballroom on Wednesday afternoon when he learned that conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been fatally shot, he said Friday during an interview with Fox & Friends. He was in disbelief upon hearing news of “the worst thing,” he said, adding that he ordered everyone to leave.
    On Thursday, while heading to Marine One en route to New York, where he attended a Yankees game, Trump thanked a reporter for offering condolences for Kirk’s death. When asked how he was holding up, Trump said, “I think, very good” before quickly pivoting to the ballroom.
    “It’s going to be a beauty. It’ll be an absolutely magnificent structure,” he yelled over the roar of the helicopter. “And you can see all the trucks. We just started. So it’ll get done, very nicely, and it’ll be one of the best anywhere in the world.”

    I’ve seen him dance. Last thing he needs is a ballroom.

  10. Poobah, I certainly hope you’re right about Kash being in trouble tomorrow, but I remain very skeptical that the Repub senators and critters will defy Dumbass.

  12. MAGA’s Cancel Culture Tantrum

    So, Charlie Kirk is dead. A bullet found him, and suddenly MAGA has discovered its new favorite chew toy: cancel culture.

    Apparently, the tragic death of one of their loudest carnival barkers is proof that the “radical left” has destroyed civility, free speech, and possibly the entire universe. Because if there’s one thing MAGA does better than losing elections, it’s playing the victim harder than a toddler in time-out.

    🐀 Cancel Culture, MAGA Edition
    Let’s be clear: this isn’t about grief. This isn’t about safety. This is about weaponizing Kirk’s death to silence everyone who doesn’t worship at their golden litterbox.

    Didn’t post a crying selfie with #RIPCharlie? You’re canceled.

    Didn’t flood your feed with performative outrage? You’re canceled.

    Had the audacity to point out Kirk’s career was built on bigotry, lies, and grift? You’re not just canceled — MAGA wants you fired, deplatformed, and possibly deported.

    “We’re being silenced! Cancel culture is out of control!”
    — Every MAGA influencer yelling into a camera while cashing six-figure checks from their merch store

    Meanwhile, these are the same people who laughed when Paul Pelosi got bludgeoned, shrugged when Melissa Hortman was assassinated, and sent “thoughts and prayers” to schoolchildren before heading to an NRA cocktail hour. But Kirk dies, and suddenly free speech must be buried alongside him.

    More at link

  14. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/sep/15/russia-ukraine-romania-poland-drone-trump-tariffs-europe-live-news-updates

    Russian-Belarusian Zapad military drills come at time of heightened regional tensions – first hand
    Pjotr Sauer
    Pjotr Sauer
    at the Borisov military ground, Belarus
    I’m at the Borisov military ground in Belarus, on a rare Guardian trip to the authoritarian state, where Zapad – the joint Russian-Belarusian drills – are under way.
    The two allies are rehearsing scenarios of an attack on Belarus in what are the first of such exercises since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
    I watched as Russian and Belarusian forces staged what they called a defensive scenario against an imagined western invasion – in effect, Nato.
    Fighter jets roared overhead, tanks shelled mock wooden houses and drones struck targets, before troops stormed in to raise Russian and Belarusian flags over a “liberated” village.
    The exercises come amid heightened regional tensions after more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace, some of them flying over Belarus. On Sunday, a Russian drone entered Romania’s airspace and was tracked by its air force for nearly an hour before leaving,
    This year’s drills are a fraction of the size of Zapad-2021, which involved some 200,000 personnel, with only a few thousand Russian troops taking part alongside Belarusian forces.
    The reason is straightforward: Moscow is tied down in its war in Ukraine and short of spare manpower. Even so, western capitals will be watching closely, mindful that Zapad-2021 gave Vladimir Putin cover to shift large parts of his army and equipment westwards, months before launching the assault on Ukraine – including from Belarusian territory.
    For Alexander Lukashenko, the exercises come at a delicate moment. Long practised at hedging between Moscow and the west, the Belarusian leader has recently made fresh overtures to Donald Trump’s administration. Last week, he secured limited US sanctions relief after releasing more than 50 prisoners, among them a British-Belarusian woman.
    Lukashenko has been at pains to play down Zapad-2025, insisting the drills are defensive in nature and staged deep inside the country – away from Nato’s borders, where Poland has massed troops and western jets are patrolling the skies after a recent Russian drone incursion.
    But tensions with Warsaw have nonetheless spiked after Poland shut a key border crossing with Belarus last week after the drone incident, delivering a painful economic blow to Alexander Lukashenko, who depends on the route for the transit of primarily Chinese goods.

    also at same cite

    UK summons Russian ambassador over ‘unprecedented’ violation of Nato airspace in Poland, Romania
    The UK government has summoned the Russian ambassador over what it said was an “unprecedented” violation of Nato airspace in Poland and Romania in recent days.
    A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said:
    “Significant and unprecedented violation of Polish and NATO airspace by Russian drones last week – followed by a further incursion into Romanian airspace on Saturday – was utterly unacceptable.
    The UK stands united with Poland, Romania, Ukraine and our Nato Allies in unreservedly condemning these reckless actions.
    As our continent once again faces the egregious expansion of Russia’s reckless behaviour, defence of Ukraine against Putin’s aggression is crucial to the security of the whole of Europe, including the UK.
    The response of Nato forces demonstrates the seriousness with which Nato is treating Russia’s actions. And as the Secretary General announced on Friday, alongside Nato Allies we are bolstering our defences along the eastern flank, using new technologies such as counter-drone sensors and weapons.
    Russia should understand that its continued aggression only strengthens the unity between Nato allies and our determination to stand with Ukraine, and any further incursions will again be met with force.
    “Russia must end its illegal war on Ukraine.”

  16. https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/house-bill-would-give-secretary-of-state-power-to-revoke-us-passport-for-aiding-terrorism/

    Congressman Brian Mast has introduced new legislation that will give Secretary of State Marco Rubio authority to revoke passports of US citizens for “aiding” terrorism. Civil liberty organizations are alarmed that the new bill could lead to government “thought policing.”

    A provision tucked away in HR 5300, is a provision that will allow the Secretary of State to revoke the passports of Americans who are determined by the Secretary to be aiding terrorism. “The Secretary of State shall refuse to issue a passport to any individual who,” section 226 of the bill says, “the Secretary determines has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

    Seth Stern, the director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, told The Intercept, “Marco Rubio has claimed the power to designate people terrorist supporters based solely on what they think and say, even if what they say doesn’t include a word about a terrorist organization or terrorism.”

    He went on to say the bill could allow for “thought policing at the hands of one individual.”

    *Call your Rep, please: 202-224-3121

    *Vote NO on HR 5300

    *Ever say anything against the genocide of Palestinians online? The language is broad. Will we need a passport to vote someday? Can’t flee and can’t vote your way out of fascism? PLEASE, CALL YOUR REP!

  17. https://www.newsweek.com/charlie-kirk-death-penalty-public-executions-1873073

    From Feb, 2024:

    On his weekly panel discussion, “ThoughtCrime,” Kirk was discussing death penalties of those convicted of crimes, adding that not only does he believe there should be public executions, but that children should watch them.

    “Death penalties should be public, should be quick, it should be televised. I think at a certain age, its an initiation…What age should you start to see public executions?” Kirk asked.

    *Kirk loved guns, hated empathy, and thought public viewings of executions should be a thing. It sounds like he got everything he wanted in life, right up until the end.

  18. Fresh out of twitter jail, I return to the good fight on twit.

    Other than waiting for a cheeseburger or a trip and fall, are there any humans willing and able to step in and put stupid in a padded cell? He has caused the failure and destruction of many American farms, manufacturing, wineries, distillers, jobs, and much more. But, that apparently is not enough to trigger his removal. What is the line to be crossed?

  20. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/2025-emmys-best-talk-series-late-show-stephen-colbert-1236370619/

    Concluding his speech, Colbert said 10 years ago, he said he set out to make a late-night show about love, but he later realized “we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss. That’s related to love, because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it. Ten years later, in September 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.”

  21. Pogo… thanks for saying all of that…

    Ivy… I know many people who upon waking up and checking their phones (or computers), are doing so to see if SFB is dead yet.

  24. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-misses-out-billions-dollars-china-soybean-sales-midway-through-peak-season-2025-09-10/

    U.S. farmers are missing out on billions of dollars of soybean sales to China halfway through their prime marketing season, as stalled trade talks halt exports and rival South American suppliers step in to fill the gap, traders and analysts said.

    Chinese importers have booked around 7.4 million metric tons of mainly South American soybeans for October shipment, covering 95% of China’s projected demand for the month and 1 million tons for November, or about 15% of expected imports, according to two Asia-based traders.

    By this time last year, Chinese buyers had booked around 12 million to 13 million tons of U.S. soybeans for September-November shipment, said one of the traders, who is based in Singapore at an international trading company.

    The U.S. normally ships most of its soybeans to China between September and January, before Brazil’s harvest hits the market, but Chinese buyers have yet to book any U.S. cargoes for the new crop year, according to traders tracking shipments.

    U.S. soybeans are about 80 to 90 cents a bushel cheaper than Brazilian soybeans for September-October shipment, but China’s 23% tariff on U.S. shipments adds $2 a bushel to the cost for importers, traders said.

    While other countries have been booking U.S. soybeans, Dan Basse, president of AgResource Co in Chicago, estimates that if China keeps out of the U.S. market until mid-November, total lost sales to the country could be as high as 14 million to 16 million tons.

    *Bankrupting farmers so JD’s AcreTrade can buy up farmland…that might be used for crypto-sever or AI-server farms?

  26. https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-administrations-destruction-contraceptives-was-both-wasteful-cru-rcna230834

    Federal officials had already spent nearly $10 million on birth control pills, intrauterine devices and hormonal implants to be sent to low-income nations. As The New York Times reported, however, the products will never reach their intended destination — not because the beneficiaries no longer want the assistance, but because the Trump administration destroyed what U.S. taxpayers had already paid for.

    The destruction of the millions of dollars’ worth of products itself cost roughly $167,000.

    The Times’ report noted that several international organizations, including the Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, had offered to buy or accept a donation of the contraceptives. “The government would have incurred no costs or might have even been able to recoup taxpayer funds under those scenarios,” the article added.

    But the Trump administration refused. It simply didn’t want the contraception to reach struggling communities that would benefit from it, even if that meant wasting American tax dollars.

    Why is that? According a statement from USAID (being run by Russell Vought, the far-right head of the White House Office of Management and Budget), “The administration will no longer supply abortifacient birth control under the guise of foreign aid.”

    The problem, of course, is that the explanation is at odds with reality: Contraceptives don’t induce abortion. The administration’s suggestion otherwise adds an unsettling wrinkle to already awful circumstances. (It also calls to mind an incident in which Donald Trump last year said that he was “looking at” possible restrictions on access to contraception.)

    *Wasted money to hurt women of color in other countries..AND, as I said when they overturned ROE, they are coming for birth control in the US…especially when there are only yt women living outside of concentration camps…and they will need to replenish slave labor living inside of for-profit prisons.

    The Republican Party are truly just batcrap-crazy Nazis.

  27. And I believe America has plenty of open space and we are not running out of stuff.

    Only in Dodo’s America is it a scarcity mentality: greed, hoarding, charity for none.

  28. Haha…..Americans…….if there ain’t nobody to go to war with, we go to war with ourselves.

    When there’s nothing to eat, the stomach will try to eat itself, as Bongo once said.

  29. First they will infiltrate and seek to be able to at a moment’s notice sabotage any and all means of defense and offense, maybe a power grid or two and then they will strike, inflicting all sorts of evil on the world at large.

  30. Farmers grow soybeans in Garrett County MD and it’s harvest time. I wonder where they will be selling them, Japan? This is what Farm Progress reported last week re: soybeans, based on USDA data.

    Soybean exports gathered a total of 48.1 million bushels in combined old and new crop sales last week. Unknown destinations, Mexico, China,Taiwan and Indonesia were the top five destinations. The 2024-25 marketing year closed with 1.84 billion bushels in total sales, which was 13% higher year-over-year.

    See any problem with those Trumpco USDA figures? The inclusion of China, for instance? Well there’s this from the American Soybean Ass’n. from last week:

    Pre-harvest rumblings

    Over the past three decades, global protein demand has surged — and the U.S. is well positioned to help meet it through competitive soybean production. Retaliatory tariffs have blunted U.S. soybean growers’ advantage, restricting their access to the very market where demand is growing fastest.

    The combination of 20% retaliatory tariffs as well as VAT and MFN taxes have pushed China’s overall duty rate on U.S. soybeans to 34% in 2025. While the new retaliatory rate is 5% lower than during the 2018 trade war, the added retaliatory duties will keep U.S. soybean prices prohibitively more expensive than South American soybean supplies ahead of U.S. harvest this fall.

    I get so tired of the Bullshit coming out of Trumpco. Surely the farmers get that they’re being sold bullshit.

  31. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/epstein-banner-unfurled-steps-windsor-35906238

    The serving US President and convicted paedophile famously crossed paths several times while the latter was alive, and were captured on a photo together at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 1997.

    As questions about the two’s relationship continue to circulate during Mr Trump’s controversial second term, the photo has been blown up and placed on the front lawn of Windsor Castle.

    UK collective Everyone Hates Elon made a 400 square-metre version of the snap and set it down outside the royal residence after a massive crowdfunder raised £30,000 to “ruin Trump’s UK visit” this week.

    *That’s about 478 square yards.

  32. https://fortune.com/2025/09/09/soybean-harvest-china-agricultural-crisis-trump-tariffs-caleb-ragland/

    Caleb Ragland, a Kentucky farmer and president of the American Soybean Association, is warning of an agricultural crisis as China has placed zero soybean orders for the upcoming harvest. It’s a departure from typical patterns, where 25% of the U.S. crop goes to China. With prices 40% below three-year highs and production costs rising, hundreds of thousands of farmers face losses unless there’s a trade resolution between the two countries.

    American soybean farmers are heading into harvest season without a single order from China, historically their largest customer, raising alarm bells about the agricultural sector’s stability and broader implications for the U.S. economy.

    Current soybean futures prices reflect the uncertainty, trading around $10.10 per bushel for September contracts—well below estimated production costs of approximately $11.03 per bushel. Ragland’s own farm is currently generating $750,000 in losses, forcing him to rely on loans to bridge the financial gap.

  33. BiD I was poking around on this soybean stuff and read that neither corn nor soybeans are at break even price to cost based on historical data and based on that same data, neither crop would make a profit per acre based on average costs but soybeans would lose a lot less than the triple digits of red ink projected from corn. So if I understand this correctly, government subsidies are the “profit” in corn and soybean production in the US, and the likelihood that Trumpco will compensate farmers for the loss of their orders from China, gonna be a whole lotta farmers who just may not view MAGA all that favorably going forward after the 2025-26 crop year.

  34. Pogo,
    From farm facts on the Farm Bureau website.

    Farm and ranch families comprise less than 2% of the U.S. population.

    Even if every farmer got pissed and switched parties it wouldn’t make a real difference. The farmers may know but the store clerk dependent on the farm economy may have never connected the dots.
    That is a failure of the Democratic party to educate the American people. I suspect the failure rests on the fact that the Democratic party is as anti trade as the Maga movement. The Union factions in the Democratic party are fully supportive of Trumps trade policy, just read some statements from the UAW

    Jack

  37. Exactly, although I read something about extra, emergency farm subsidies (probably “in two weeks”) to mitigate Taco Don’s tariff chaos.

    If the subsidies don’t show up, or aren’t enough to make them forgive & forgetting, they won’t vote Republican.

    They won’t vote Dem, either. They just won’t vote & that will be their vote to let SFB know they aren’t with him.

    This may be one of the articles you saw, Pogo, but thought I’d share for others, bought planting to fail instead of failing to plant & going belly up.

    The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive

    “They do the math,” said Silvia Secchi, a farm policy expert at the University of Iowa, about why farmers might keep investing in troubled land. “You and I would do the same math. If you want to stay in business, you do what makes you stay in business.”

    For the father-daughter team of Williams and Renshaw, it was barely enough. “All the insurance did was keep people from going broke,” Williams said.

    “You aren’t winning,” Renshaw added, “by any means.”

  39. “Conservative” (a misnomer) minds are poisoned against the Democratic Party. The poison is only getting stronger as Dodo ups the doses. They will never see voting for Democrats as a solution to any of their problems no matter who/what they perceive as the root cause.

    This from my cumulative 3 decades of living below the Mason Dixon Line.

  40. BiD
    If you don’t have a crop you don’t pay your bills. Some years breaking even is the best you can do. If you can break even, pay your bills and pray for a better year next year. Is a win. Better than going down the road to bankruptcy and losing everything.
    But you are right, when neither party offers a workable solution then it is hard to be enthusiastic about voting.

    Jack

  41. Craig
    Thanks for your hard work. I noticed a problem on and off, I assumed you were working on it. I did reboot my computer incase it was the problem. It has been working slow today too.

    Jack

  44. Jack, true enough. I see it as a subtractive process- a few farmers refuse to vote for critters in their districts, same with manufacturing workers who’ve lost their jobs since Dumbass returned, then there are the long-term unemployed, WaPo.

    More than 1 in 4 workers without jobs have been unemployed for at least half a year, new data shows. That number is a post-pandemic high and a level typically only seen during periods of economic turmoil.

    In all, more than 1.9 million Americans had been unemployed “long term” in August, meaning they have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, a critical cliff when it comes to finding a job. That’s nearly double the 1 million people who were in a similar position in early 2023.

    …
    Separate data this week showed that Americans’ confidence in their ability to find a new job is at a record low. A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that people say there is less than a 45 percent chance they could find a job in the next three months if they were to suddenly become unemployed, which is the lowest reading since the survey began in 2013.

    Eventually I think there will be enough folks who would ordinarily vote Repug, and did so in 2024 with the expectation that Fat Donnie would ride in and rescue the economy, that we’ll see House seats flipping, and if this shit keeps up for another couple years, a White House seat or two flip. At least I hope that’s what we see.

  45. Jack: Yet Georgia elected a black Democrat for the Senate

    And Doug Jones in Alabama thanks to enough folks like me.

  46. https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/south-koreans-detained-us-immigration-raid-arrive-back-home-shackles-rcna230760

    The Korean Air plane was also carrying 14 employees of South Korean companies from China, Japan and Indonesia, while one of the 317 South Koreans decided to remain in the United States rather than agree to “voluntary departure.”

    A man protesting in the terminal held up a sign that read in part, “Do we keep investing in the U.S. despite backstabbing?”

    Another unfurled a banner showing a likeness of President Donald Trump in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement uniform carrying a bag of cash. It read: “We’re friends. Aren’t we?”

    The workers were in the U.S. under various short-term visa programs that are commonly used for business trips but whose exact guidelines aren’t always clear. Many in South Korea have questioned the fairness of the Trump administration suddenly cracking down on a practice the U.S. has tolerated for years.

    The incident has raised concerns about the potential impact on business ties with South Korea, which has pledged $500 billion in U.S. investment, including $26 billion from Hyundai, as part of tariff negotiations.

    “It’s not a good look when the South Korean government has to charter a plane to bring its citizens home over alleged visa inconsistencies,” Wheaton said. “It sends a message to other potential foreign investors that building plants here carries risk of arrest or detainment.”

    About 145 workers from other countries, including Guatemala, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador and Venezuela, remain in detention after the raid. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union and the United Auto Workers called for their release, saying their employers had forced them to shoulder the visa risk.

    “Capital must stop shifting the burden of identified crises onto the backs of workers and instead take full responsibility for ensuring a safe work environment,” they said in a statement Thursday.

  47. Detained Korean workers report ‘human rights violations’ by ICE after being treated like dogs

    Their waists and hands were tied together, forcing them to bend down and lick water to drink. The unscreened bathrooms contained only a single sheet to cover their lower bodies. Sunlight barely penetrated through a fist-sized hole, and they were only allowed access to the small yard for two hours. Detained by US immigration authorities for eight days, the workers and their families expressed shock, describing human rights violations and absurdities they could not have imagined as ordinary Koreans living in 2025.

  48. I pulled down my summer sun flag with a garden flag beneath it. Then put up my Klingon battle flag with a Mexican flag beneath it for tomorrow. Not that anybody in the neighborhood understands any of it.
    I haven’t flown an American flag since Trump became president. In previous year it would have been at the top.
    Hey, it is my flagpole, I can fly what I want.
    It is a telescoping pole so I only fly at half-mast when the wind blows hard. Not on purpose, the vibrations cause the pole to collapse.
    Jack

  50. Pogo, plenty of Epstein news hooks coming. House discharge petition vote, Maxwell testimony and on Friday the prosecutor who let him go and got on Trump’s cabinet, Alex Acosta, goes before House Oversight committee. He’s gonna get hammered by both sides.

  52. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/09/15/Maurene-Comey-lawsuit/3221757959884/

    Maurene Comey, a prosecutor who brought cases against disgraced financier Jeffery Epstein and other prominent defendants, sued the Trump administration Monday alleging her abrupt termination was politically motivated.

    The executive branch cannot use Article II to overrule Congress and remove career civil servants for perceived disloyalty,” the lawsuit argues. “Such an act violates the Constitution’s fundamental Separation of Powers.”

    The lawsuit cited the dust-up as well with Laura Loomer, a right-wing social media influencer, calling for Comey’s “liberal daughter” and her “Democrat husband” to be “FIRED from the DOJ immediately.” Loomer, who has held sway over the Trump administration, further described Maurene Comey as a “national security threat.”

    *Maureen Comey will keep it in the news in the US, and let my post this morning, the UK is giving Jeff’s best f(r)iend a reminder when he visits.

    ps – Maybe she should sue Loomer for calling her a “national security threat,” as well.

  56. Efforts To Erase Banksy’s New Mural May Have Actually Amplified His Message

    Attempts to scrub away the mural are already underway, but photos and videos online show the efforts, so far, haven’t really worked. What remains is a blurred, ghostly outline that many argue creates an even more powerful image, as if Banksy’s message has only been strengthened by the effort to censor it.

    The original graffiti depicts a protester lying on the ground, clutching a blood-spattered placard, while a judge in full wig and gown looms above, gavel in hand. Many interpret the work as a reference to pro-Palestine demonstrations and the recent arrests of nearly 900 activists in London.

  57. https://www.commondreams.org/news/rubio-thought-policing-bill

    Free speech advocates are sounding the alarm about a bill in the US House of Representatives that they fear could allow Secretary of State Marco Rubio to strip US citizens of their passports based purely on political speech.

    The bill, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), will come up for a hearing on Wednesday. According to The Intercept:

    Mast’s new bill claims to target a narrow set of people. One section grants the secretary of state the power to revoke or refuse to issue passports for people who have been convicted—or merely charged—of material support for terrorism…

    The other section sidesteps the legal process entirely. Rather, the secretary of state would be able to deny passports to people whom they determine “has knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support to an organization the Secretary has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.”

    Rubio has previously boasted of stripping the visas and green cards from several immigrants based purely on their peaceful expression of pro-Palestine views, describing them as “Hamas supporters.”

    *Lil Marco is evil AF
    *Mast is his evil minion, in this case

  58. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mast

    A member of the Republican Party, Mast is in his fifth House term.

    Mast was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is the son of James Mast and Tixomena Trujillo. His maternal grandparents were immigrants from Mexico.

    Mast stepped on an IED along the road. The explosion resulted in the amputation of both his legs and losing his left index finger. Mast received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his actions.
    Mast and his family were awarded a custom ADA-compliant home by the nonprofit organization Helping a Hero.

    Mast volunteered alongside the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in January 2015. He participated through the Sar-El program, which places civilians from abroad in support positions with the Israeli army. During his time with the IDF, Mast was stationed at a base outside Tel Aviv where he packed medical kits and moved supplies.

    *If his dad had been named Trujillo instead of his mother… (The “not one drop” folks aren’t going to want him around for long.)

    *Votes against the disabled…

  60. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/15/trump-ballroom-tree-removal/

    Work crews have started cutting down trees, removing shrubs and digging up parts of the South Lawn of the White House as they begin work on President Donald Trump’s project to construct a $200 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom on a site just south of the building’s East Wing.

    *He’s cutting down the WH trees!

    Details of the project remain shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty. The White House has not released architectural plans for the building or its exact location and has, so far, not submitted the project to the National Capital Planning Commission, the government body that typically reviews plans for changes to federal property in the capital region.

    A spokeswoman for the Park Service said she could not give the number of White House trees affected by the project or the status of those that had already been trimmed or felled.

    “The National Park Service takes great care to honor the historic landscape of the White House and President’s Park,” spokeswoman Jasmine Shanti said in an email.

    “When feasible, trees are preserved and nurtured so they can thrive and eventually be replanted,” she added.

    Videos and photos obtained by The Washington Post show crews sawing off the limbs of one tree before cutting it down, then preparing to work on a larger one next to it.

    Trump has promised to use no public money to pay for the project, saying that private donations will cover it and that he will write a check if necessary. He promised to release the names of donors. To date, the White House has not said if any funds have already been solicited for the project.

    *Bet taxpayers are paying to cut down trees against their collective will.

    FDT
    FMR
    FJDV

  61. Sturnatra – my mother loved Sinatra. I took all the media she had collected, Vinyl, VHS, DVD, tape, CD, and some thing I am not sure of. A good quarter of all the media is Sinatra. He was prolific with his output. All of it fills three plus bankers boxes. I did contribute a handful of CD’s of music stripped from vinyl records, amazing it was of albums she did not have.
    Edit: She, and probably my father although he was technology illiterate, pirated a lot of stuff. A very large amount of media is pirated.

  62. My sentiments exactly…

    Robert Reich:

    There’s no excuse for the Vice President of the United States to use a heinous killing as an occasion to baselessly frame political opponents as accomplices to murder while threatening to use the power of the government to attack them.

    This dangerous rhetoric will only fan the flames.

    We have had enough violence, enough carnage, enough blame. We must do whatever we can to reduce the anger and hate that are consuming and destroying so much of this nation.

  63. I’m the person who bought the same recording in multiple formats. I did pitch the fee 8-tracks from a church rummage sale. (Steely Dan’s AHA was one of them.)
    Almost all cassettes were given away; there were several show boxes full of them.
    I gave away a lot of vinyl when I moved from a townhouse to an apartment without stairs after an injury. Minor regret about some of them, but it went to charity.

  64. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jd-vance-disneyland-trip-b2806460.html

    Aug 12, 2025 – JD Vance says it was ‘very cool’ to have Disneyland shut down for his family vacation – but apologizes for ‘longer lines’

    Vice President JD Vance is sorry — but not that sorry — for any disruptions his July family trip to Disneyland in California may have caused.

    “We had the island to ourselves which was very cool. I had never been to Disneyland. I thought it was awesome,” Vance said during an episode of the Katie Miller Podcast that aired on Monday.

    Speaking with Miller, a former Trump White House official who is married to current deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Vance apologized to those impacted by the security preparations for his visit.

    “Sorry to all the people who were at Disneyland for the longer lines, but we had a very good time,” the vice president said with a smile, holding up his hands in mock defense.

    *Interesting how the narrative has changed. James Donald Bowman/James David Hamel/JD Vance can’t be trusted.

  65. AI Overview of the Investigation into Wikipedia

    House Republicans have initiated an investigation into allegations that Wikipedia is being manipulated to influence public opinion on sensitive topics, particularly regarding Israel and Ukraine. This inquiry is led by Representatives James Comer and Nancy Mace.

    Key Allegations
    Manipulation of Information: There are claims that U.S. academics and foreign actors are making biased edits to Wikipedia articles. This is seen as an effort to sway public perception on critical issues.

    Pro-Kremlin and Anti-Israel Bias: Reports suggest that there are systematic efforts to promote antisemitic narratives and pro-Kremlin propaganda through Wikipedia edits.

    Purpose of the Investigation
    The investigation aims to understand how Wikipedia manages these manipulative efforts and to identify individuals or groups violating its editing policies. The House Oversight Committee is seeking documents and communications related to these activities.

    Implications
    Public Trust: The integrity of Wikipedia as a source of information is at stake, given its role as a primary research tool for many users.

    Legal Considerations: The inquiry raises questions about the legality of foreign influence in U.S. public relations and the responsibilities of platforms like Wikipedia to maintain neutrality.

    This investigation reflects broader concerns about misinformation and the influence of external actors on public discourse in the digital age.

    *Such N&zi BS from the party formerly known as Republican.

  66. Sorry, bullshit. Comer and Mace have no legal basis to even CONSIDER whether private citizens or Wiki are manipulating Wiki content for whatever purposes they wish. Listen to me…the first amendment does not allow the GOVERNMENT to edit or interfere with speech, period, full stop. The first amendment does not require that speech be accurate or true, period, full stop. “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,..” How fucking more clear could the founders have been? I get that Comer may actually not understand that, but I know goddamn well that Nancy Mace does.

  67. Think I will fire up the Trail Mix Chat Room for a watch party:

    TUE, Sept 16 (tomorrow), 9:00 a.m. ET — Senate Judiciary oversight hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel, Hart 216. Official committee listing confirms it.

    WED, Sept 17, 10:00 a.m. ET — House Judiciary oversight hearing, Rayburn 2141.

  68. https://blackoutthesystem.com/

    MASS BLACKOUT

    September 16th – 20th

    Prepare for the IMPACT!

    There is time to make sure you have everything you need for this BLACKOUT, and ensure you plan for the greatest impact possible.

    To prevent “spike spending” before and after the BLACKOUT, we ask that all participants purchase goods needed from community-owned stores and markets leading up to the dates. This helps with sustained impact and keeps our money out of the mega businesses’ pockets.

    – No Work
    – No Spending
    – No Travel
    – No Projects
    – No Events
    – No Restaurants
    – NO BACKING OUT!!!

    *Constitution Day 9/17, if you can stay home from work only one day. Some can’t do that all, but not spending money is easier.

  71. Today’s episode of The Walton’s featured a teenage actress who, per wiki, was the inspiration for Woody Allen’s movie, “Manhattan.” He met her on the set of “Annie Hall” when she was 16, and the relationship started when she was 17 (age of consent in NY at that time) and he was in his 40s. And then, of course, he married the adopted daughter of his partner, and SA her other daughter, per Ronan Farrow. Woody knew Epstein.

  72. Eschewing Kashew (to the point of canning him) will distract from Epstein for a bit.

    Next, fire Charlie Kirk’s self-proclaimed “soul mate,” RFKJ.

    https://people.com/rfk-jr-calls-charlie-kirk-his-soulmate-at-massive-kennedy-center-vigil-11809926

    The 71-year-old health secretary commemorated the 31-year-old conservative media pundit…

    RFK Jr. opened his speech with an anecdote about his 17-year-old niece getting ready to attend college in Europe. He said that she packed a Bible and told her mom that she wanted “to live like Charlie Kirk.”

    He continued by recalling when he met Kirk and saying that they rapidly became “soulmates.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/charlie-kirk-2673995314/

    Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy reminisced about his relationship with right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk Sunday in the wake of his killing last week, recounting a 2001 meeting in which he said they became close friends.

    Online critics, however, were quick to point out that RFK Jr.’s timeline had at least one major issue.

    “Charlie Kirk was born in 1993,” wrote Dianne Callahan in a social media post Monday on X, who owns a Georgia-based college prep organization and has amassed nearly 8,000 followers. “He would have been eight years old.”

    Kirk was 31 years old at the time of his fatal shooting last week while speaking at a Utah Valley University event in Utah.

    *RFKJ probably just got the year wrong…but he was on the Epstein flight log.

  74. Bid, afraid I can’t participate in the blackout. 1st day is Mrs P & my anniversary (29) and the last day is Mrs P’s trip to the Pittsburgh Symphony opening night with me as her escort. And there’d be hell to pay ….

  75. If Maddow doesn’t scare you to death tonight, you aren’t paying attention. It’s very much Look at what he does not what he says and then she is listing what he has already done.

  76. https://www.wapt.com/article/delta-state-classes-cancelled-after-someone-found-dead-on-campus/66105035

    Delta State University has identified the person found dead on campus as Demartravion “Trey” Reed, 21, a student of the university from Grenada.

    Delta State University police Chief Michael Peeler said Reed was found just after 7 a.m. Monday hanging from a tree on the central campus of DSU near the school’s pickleball courts.

    Delta State police said the campus is safe.

  77. National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars
    The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/09/15/national-parks-slavery-information-removal/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzU3OTA4ODAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzU5MjkxMTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NTc5MDg4MDAsImp0aSI6Ijc1ODljN2E5LTJmMTEtNGFiYS05MGVmLTA1ODdlZGI4MDVjZSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9jbGltYXRlLWVudmlyb25tZW50LzIwMjUvMDkvMTUvbmF0aW9uYWwtcGFya3Mtc2xhdmVyeS1pbmZvcm1hdGlvbi1yZW1vdmFsLyJ9.UNovvTaOt2vu4Wp9CgC1fbF_N4cvFjKYS5w8MXfeU8U

  78. Yeah, we’re nearing the halfway mark of Project 2025.

    Orange Adolf is clear cutting the WH garden and grounds to build a golden ballroom, while jobless numbers grow. It’s feeling French Revolution-y these days. It was the worst of times…at least I hope this is the worst.

  79. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/colorado-evergreen-high-school-shooter-extremist-police-rcna230875

    The gunman behind this week’s school shooting in Colorado was “radicalized by an extremist network,” authorities in Jefferson County said Thursday.

    The statement from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office didn’t get into details about how a white 16-year-old named Desmond Holly was radicalized before he shot and wounded two students at Evergreen High School and then later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    But local media outlets have looked over social media accounts that appear to be Holly’s that suggest he showed interest in Nazism, holocaust denial, white supremacy and previous school shootings, including the 1999 massacre in nearby Columbine.

    *And, the national news media isn’t covering it at all.

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