Trail Mix Host. Lapsed journalist, author & retired pundit happily promoting nothing but the truth for Social Security checks.
View all posts by craigcrawford
60 thoughts on “No Kings In The USA”
Attribution: No Kings The Emperor Has no Clothes by Bill Day, FloridaPolitics.com
Attribution: No Kings by Pat Bagley, PoliticalCartoons.com
Attribution: NO KINGS DAY PROTEST by Randall Enos, Easton, CT
For years the media has been lying by omission when they leave out the parts that don’t feed their narrative. But this time it’s gone too far.
how the algorithms handle today’s “no kings” day? probably same visuals on both sides if violence erupts but different narratives.
Need a reason to get involved today? Piss off this guy.
even our Trail friend Sam is out marching today (see :37 seconds in on vid)
This isn’t just a music video. It’s a movement.
A reminder that art can still punch through the noise, that laughter, courage, and unity can rise from the most unexpected places.
nflatables, freedom, and a whole lot of heart. This video uses AI-generated imagery, created with care and direction, not automation. Every scene was crafted to symbolize unity, freedom, and creativity through the eyes of inflatable characters representing everyday people standing up for hope, humor, and humanity.
The landmarks and locations shown are figurative, not literal, symbolic backdrops for a bigger idea: that these messages could belong to any city, any person.
For those curious about “AI slop”, that phrase refers to low-effort, mass-produced content with no intention or artistry behind it. This project is the opposite of that. Every lyric, every shot, and every detail was planned, refined, and built with storytelling in mind. It’s human emotion expressed through new tools.
A special thank-you to the real-life inflatables out there, the people who actually suit up, show up, and remind us that art and courage come in every shape imaginable. You’re the ones truly daring greatly. You are the heroes to so many, including myself.
As Theodore Roosevelt said:
“It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who strives valiantly… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”
Here’s to daring greatly, and to everyone still creating fearlessly in this strange new world. 💙
lyrics to NOKINGS! Anthem:
[Verse 1]
We remember who we are
Built this fire from a spark
Wrote our names across the stars
We the people, that’s our march
Not a throne, not a chain
Not a crown to stake the claim
We’ve been quiet, we’ve been tame
Now the fire’s back in our veins
[Pre-Chorus]
Fill the streets, let the sound ignite
Every heartbeat drumming light
Raise your hands, raise your sight
This is what freedom looks like
[Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No master of our will
We bend, we build, we fill
With courage that can’t be killed
[Verse 2]
Inflatables rise, shoulder to shoulder
Heroes of air, hearts getting bolder
Cartoon bright, but the message is older
Power to the people, getting louder, not colder
We don’t bow, we don’t break
We don’t yield to fear or fake
We the ones who elevate
Every voice, every state
[Pre-Chorus]
March the miles, lift the signs
Write the truth between the lines
This ain’t rage, it’s redesigned
Love’s the root of the spine
[Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No thrones, no puppet strings
We the people, living things
And we’ll never bow to kings
[Bridge – Chant]
We rise (We rise!)
We the line (We the line!)
We the hands that built this time
Not yours to claim, not yours to sign
We the air, and we’re divine
(Pump it up!) — (Fill it out!) — (RELEASE — THE files! )
[Final Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No masters, no divide
Just a million side by side
And a flag that still believes
[Outro Chant]
No kings! (Hey!)
No kings! (We rise!)
No kings! (We shine!)
We the people — every time.
Happy No Kings!
Folks are protesting in solidarity worldwide, but they won’t show you that on the evening news.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put his relationship with President Donald Trump back on track with a phone call just ahead of Trump’s crucial Friday meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, that was meant to include discussions of providing Ukraine with powerful new long range weapons.
Up until the Thursday phone call, Trump had seemed ready to boost Ukraine’s arsenal and negotiating position with Tomahawk cruise missiles. But in its wake and after the subsequent meeting with Zelensky, Trump played down all talk of the missiles and instead focused on yet another summit with Putin.
“Zelensky’s tour summed up in one sentence: Putin outmaneuvered everyone again,” posted Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, who has been one of the main points of contact with the Trump administration.
It was the latest swing in Trump’s back and forth positions on the Russia-Ukraine war that often change following contact with Putin, who has shown a great deal of skill in persuading the U.S. president to his view of the conflict.
So far, Russia has succeeded in deterring Trump from imposing further sanctions — or sending more powerful weapons to Ukraine — by continually dangling hopes of a peace deal, while it ramps up attacks.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we’re fairly close to that,” Trump said to journalists as he began his meeting with Zelensky. “We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”
Instead of new support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia, Trump announced a new summit with Putin — a bonus for the Russian leader — “to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” There was no talk of Russia curtailing its ongoing bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
In a similar fashion, after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August, Trump abandoned pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and Moscow intensified its attacks even as Putin ignored U.S. urgings to meet Zelensky.
Trump shrugged off concerns Friday that Putin was again trying to buy more time. He was concerned about it, “but you know, I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well,” he said, adding it was “all right” if it took a little time. “But I think that I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
More at link
The revolution was also well branded — “No Kings” is today’s anthem.
2 minutes of defiance, then straight to the streets.
A federal prosecutor who resisted President Trump’s demands to bring charges against Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, was fired along with her deputy on Friday evening, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The dismissal of the prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, was the latest fallout from attempts by career Justice Department officials to pump the brakes on Mr. Trump’s wide-ranging efforts to seek retribution against his perceived political opponents.
Ms. Yusi, who oversaw major criminal cases in the Norfolk office of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, had pushed back against Mr. Trump’s public calls for Ms. James to be indicted, telling colleagues that she had not found probable cause to file charges, the people familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear why her deputy, Kristin G. Bird, had also been fired.
I know Zelensky is just playing the game, but didn’t like that he had to congratulate Adolf on the ceasefire that wasn’t a ceasefire.
‘Americans are democracy’s equivalent of second-generation wealth’: a Chinese journalist on the US under Trump
“When Trump holds a cabinet meeting, he sits there and the people next to him start to flatter him. And I think, isn’t this the same as Mao Zedong? Trump sells the same thing: a little bit of populism, plus a little bit of small-town shrewdness, plus a little bit of ‘I have money.’”
He places the US on an arc of history we have long pretended to transcend. “Americans are democracy’s equivalent of second-generation wealth,” he told me. They were born into democracy and have no appreciation of what life is like without it. Chinese people, on the other hand, “have been bullied by rulers for thousands of years. We’re very familiar with these situations.”
There are many American reporters, Wang said, who report competently on China. But when I asked how the US media was doing covering the US, he burst into laughter. “If I were the New York Times, I would be putting curse words on the front page every day,” he told me. “F-word, F-word, F-word.”
“Your strengths aren’t your people,” he told me later, expanding on his theme. “I could find a bank teller in Hong Kong, bring them here, and they could do the job of 10 Americans.” What the US has got, according to Wang, is allies and a reliable currency. (“And now you’re threatening to annex Canada?”)
“You think Trump has thought it through?” he asks. “I don’t think so. Trump is really simple. He doesn’t think very deeply.” Trump’s brain, Wang told me, is a “qian dao hu” – a lake with 1,000 islands, none of them connected.
Virginia Giuffre on her abuse at the hands of Epstein, Maxwell and the king’s brother
*Trigger warning. I couldn’t finish reading it, but this is book is being released on Tuesday & tRUMP’s Guardians of Pedophiles will feel more pressure from MAGAtLand and beyond to release the EPSTEIN files.
Remember, Elon, Bannon, Thiel and tRUMP are implicated.
Trump Scores Points With MTG by Pardoning Bestie George Santos
The move comes hours after the Georgia congresswoman, a vocal Santos ally who previously asked for his sentence to be commuted, went scorched earth on her own party, telling Axios in an interview that the GOP was not putting America first.
*If mTg goes quiet on EPSTEIN & ACA, we know why.
The language used by the president mirrors wording in a letter Greene sent in August asking for Santos’ sentence to be commuted.
Greene, formerly a reliable Trump ally in Congress, has grown increasingly critical of her own party in recent weeks, finding herself embroiled in a MAGA civil war over the handling of the Epstein files, lashing out at Speaker Mike Johnson’s “hypocrisy” and criticizing the Trump administration’s $40 billion bailout for Argentina.
In her Friday interview with Axios, MTG stressed that she still supported the president—noting that he’s done “a great job in a lot of places”—but that his administration’s focus on global conflicts has irritated her.
Despite this tension, Greene celebrated the news on Friday, writing on X, “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”
I thought Marjorie might have something to do with Santos. She has been preaching his cause in all of these recent media appearances, But making the solid point that he gets solitary while Maxwell gets a cozy sauna.
My Dodgers are going to the World Series. Waiting on the Mariners
If we get a West Coast series, I’ll be wearing Dodger blue and getting berated by the neighbors.
Was Santos Greene’s payoff to shut up? How did he get a ride-or-die friend like her? Santos would have let her rot without another thought.
Pick-a-nick
today’s meme…
meme #2…
meme #3…
First round of our coverage done, my neighborhood gathering now headed downtown for the main event about Noon. I’ll open up a chat for that coverage later.
The Andrew Formerly known as Prince.
Show the Files
The Epstein Files
The ones they been tryin’
To hide away.
Ha!
Charles sent his reprobate brother packing. I’d trade a dictator like Dodo for a king like Charles.
Since the first Charles lost his head on the block, most English kings have bowed to the will of the people. Even ours let us go.
Bernie is wowing the crowd. He’s still got it. He gave us the bill of particulars showing Trump’s assault on Democracy. That was lacking with other speakers.
If Dems were smart, they would’ve adopted Bernie’s ultra-rich v regular Americans long ago. Dems are so afraid of being called Democratic Socialists; they need to educate folks, not shy away from labels. Mamdani is the way forward.
A little pet-like theory regardiing the Andrew formerly known as Prince. (AFKAP)
While in England Stump gave Charles a “knowing” wink of some sort as in “I know all about your brother—you need to support me in this “Epstein Hoax.”
This crude wink was probably so typically clumsy that The King knew he had to take evasive action.
Also a really strong shot across stump’s bow.
Whadda chump.
It will be ~interesting~ to see how much coverage the big, three broadcasters give to the protests & their slant on it tonight.
Astute observation, Sturg. I figured it was just the book coming out next week, but it makes perfect sense that the royals are in damage control after a visit from the mob boss.
According to the No Kings website, these are the countries with rallies planned:
Austria
Canada
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Panama
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
However, in countries that still have a monarchy, the motto ‘No Tyrants’ or ‘No dictators’ has been adopted.
The news in other countries may document today’s events, at home and abroad, better than our media.
When Bernie, or anyone, uses the word oligarch it really doesn’t resonate in a dangerous way with most Americans.
Someone referred to Bezos’ new wife as a “greedbot” and that’s what all of the billionaires should be called: Greedbots
Small fact. The King couldn’t take away the “Prince” title since he was born with it as a “prince of the blood” in direct line of succession. What he did was actually worse. Every other title was awarded by the reigning monarch, in his case his mother and he has been stripped of all honor. Losing the “Duke of York” means his wife is no longer the Duchess of York, but his daughters keep their titles of “princess”.
Give CNN credit for ample coverage. They just did the first 15 minutes of their 3pm hour on it, interviewing many articulate participants at multiple sites.
Local governments are warning citizens that because the federal government has been shut down for weeks with no end in sight, November SNAP benefits may not be issued.
The Adams County Government shared on its social media pages that new and ongoing cases will not receive November benefits.
*Happy Thanksgiving?
Here is Bernie’s speech. He put a lot of meat on the bones about why we fear the monster.
A Vermont state lawmaker has resigned over racist and antisemitic chat messages that circulated within the Young Republican political group, another substantial consequence in a scandal that on Friday saw the New York state Young Republicans’ charter revoked.
State senator Samuel Douglass, the only elected official known to have taken part in the leaked group chat exposed by Politico, resigned Friday over his participation.
In a statement posted online, the 26-year-old Douglass said he was “deeply sorry for the offense” caused by his comments. He added that his decision to step down, effective Monday, “will upset many, and delight others, but in this political climate I must keep my family safe”.
His statement also said that he and his wife, who have recently welcomed their first child, had received “some of the most horrific hate one could imagine”, including threats of violence.
*Prove it.
*And “some of the most horrific hate one could imagine” didn’t have to be imagined; it was in the group chat.
In one exchange, Douglass replied to a message about a “very obese Indian woman” by saying: “She just didn’t bathe often.” In another, Douglass was said to have described how a Jewish person may have made a procedural error. His wife, Brianna Douglass, also on the chat, responded with an antisemitic remark, Politico reported.
Other messages in the chat reflected factional infighting in the Young Republicans that included calling Minnesotan members a slur for gay men and other LGBTQ+ people, Nebraskans “inbred cow fuckers” and members from Rhode Island “traitorous cunts”. There was a reference to a “fat stinky Jew” along with comments and jokes about gas chambers, torture and rape, according to Politico.
Major highway in California to shut down as US marines fire live artillery over it
Earlier in the week, California governor Gavin Newsom had decried the plans to fire live rounds over Interstate 5, calling it an “absurd show of force” and “totally uncalled for ”.
On Saturday morning, Newsom was concerned that the stunt could put Californians in harm’s way. “Flying live rounds over a busy highway without coordination between state, federal, and local partners isn’t just wrong – it’s dangerous,” Newsom posted on social media.
This show of force coincides with No Kings rallies and marches being held across the US, including several locations in California, aligning behind a message that the nation’s slide into authoritarian rule under Trump needs to stop.
Newsom cautioned those participating in the rallies: “I urge our nation to use this weekend’s No Kings marches as a declaration of independence against the tyranny and lawlessness currently running this country. Use your voice. ACT PEACEFULLY. Protect yourself and your community. THERE ARE NO KINGS IN THE UNITED STATES.”
In a statement to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Vance, William Martin, said Newsom was misleading the public about the safety risk for the event on Saturday. He said it was routine training.
*Routine training with live missiles over US civilians? FDT & FJD
I rate this second best speech at National Mall today, after Bernie. I watched them all..
This crude wink was probably so typically clumsy
He prolly couldn’t stop hisself from making a wisecrack about a tampon. Charles is ready to off his head.
The York title was revered by the late Queen because it was once her father’s. She was born Princess Elizabeth of York, just like Andrew’s daughters. The girls have escaped their father’s taint.
Charles is not the first King to attaint his brother. The Wars of the Roses was a family feud.
“No Kings.” Just your neighbors.
Not radicals. Not Antifa. Just people who still think no one in America wears a crown.
“The Wars of the Roses was a family feud.”
As was WW1.
The Trump crowd seems genuinely confused by our peaceful No Kings Day. Last time they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, 140 cops got injured.
It is the loss of titles that will certainly hurt him most. Andrew has not formally lost them – removal of his dukedom requires an act of parliament, which neither government nor Buckingham Palace will want, taking up as it would embarrassingly public lengths of time – and he can’t shed his princely tag since he indubitably is the son of a monarch.
But he won’t be able to use them publicly or privately and that will be a terrible blow to his sense of entitlement and status. As one of his former dates told Andrew Lownie for his recent book Entitled, he always introduced himself to her friends as the Duke of York, saying: “It struck me how impressed he was with who he is, or how impressed he wanted others to be. Every joke always ended with: ‘because I’m the Duke of York’.
Friday night’s statement represented the last shred of dignity in that he was allowed to pretend that he was relinquishing the use of his titles and the knighthood of the garter voluntarily, out of a belated sense of duty. He wasn’t. After at least 10 years of private wrangling among the family and personal anguish on the part of the king about what to do about the Andrew problem, and with his mother no longer around to protect him and pay his debts, there was no alternative but to cut him loose. Evidently Prince William was prepared to be more ruthless than his father.
He still has the Royal Lodge, where he lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, (what does he need a place that big for? It’s not as if he has that many friends) and apparently spends his days watching golf on the television and taking solitary rides in Windsor Great Park.
What will he do for money? No longer a working royal, he hasn’t qualified for public funds for the last six years. There are residual savings from the sale of various properties, he still has a navy pension and presumably there will have to be private subventions from the king. Famously profligate, he and his ex-wife lacked the means to keep up with the Arab and American billionaires with whom they liked to mingle. This must have been one of the reasons he was attracted to Epstein, though the sex – which he still denies – was probably another. What he offered them pathetically in return was status and access to flummery and palaces.
He was an idiot, and worse: a powerful man who brought pain to others: a dark stain tarnishing the family escutcheon and rocking the institution itself.
We carried flags today for patriotism, not for attacking police officers.
The J6ers carried tRUMP flags. Now, they wear masks and kidnap folks, but they are getting paychecks so their identities an be traced.
Christmas is cancelled thanks to the Guardians Of Pedophiles, Taco’s illegal tariffs, and corporate greed.
No food stamps in November means no Thanksgiving for many, either.
The US bread lines will be long and tRUMP and his enablers will answer for it.
Craig – You get another chance to protest on November 5th, but we need a rolling strike. I feel like the House is on strike, so maybe the people should just stay home, too. Not everyone can, but start using those sick days & that PTO all at once, they’d notice.
Attribution: No Kings The Emperor Has no Clothes by Bill Day, FloridaPolitics.com
Attribution: No Kings by Pat Bagley, PoliticalCartoons.com
Attribution: NO KINGS DAY PROTEST by Randall Enos, Easton, CT
For years the media has been lying by omission when they leave out the parts that don’t feed their narrative. But this time it’s gone too far.
how the algorithms handle today’s “no kings” day? probably same visuals on both sides if violence erupts but different narratives.
Need a reason to get involved today? Piss off this guy.
even our Trail friend Sam is out marching today (see :37 seconds in on vid)
This isn’t just a music video. It’s a movement.
A reminder that art can still punch through the noise, that laughter, courage, and unity can rise from the most unexpected places.
nflatables, freedom, and a whole lot of heart. This video uses AI-generated imagery, created with care and direction, not automation. Every scene was crafted to symbolize unity, freedom, and creativity through the eyes of inflatable characters representing everyday people standing up for hope, humor, and humanity.
The landmarks and locations shown are figurative, not literal, symbolic backdrops for a bigger idea: that these messages could belong to any city, any person.
For those curious about “AI slop”, that phrase refers to low-effort, mass-produced content with no intention or artistry behind it. This project is the opposite of that. Every lyric, every shot, and every detail was planned, refined, and built with storytelling in mind. It’s human emotion expressed through new tools.
A special thank-you to the real-life inflatables out there, the people who actually suit up, show up, and remind us that art and courage come in every shape imaginable. You’re the ones truly daring greatly. You are the heroes to so many, including myself.
As Theodore Roosevelt said:
“It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena… who strives valiantly… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”
Here’s to daring greatly, and to everyone still creating fearlessly in this strange new world. 💙
lyrics to NOKINGS! Anthem:
[Verse 1]
We remember who we are
Built this fire from a spark
Wrote our names across the stars
We the people, that’s our march
Not a throne, not a chain
Not a crown to stake the claim
We’ve been quiet, we’ve been tame
Now the fire’s back in our veins
[Pre-Chorus]
Fill the streets, let the sound ignite
Every heartbeat drumming light
Raise your hands, raise your sight
This is what freedom looks like
[Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No master of our will
We bend, we build, we fill
With courage that can’t be killed
[Verse 2]
Inflatables rise, shoulder to shoulder
Heroes of air, hearts getting bolder
Cartoon bright, but the message is older
Power to the people, getting louder, not colder
We don’t bow, we don’t break
We don’t yield to fear or fake
We the ones who elevate
Every voice, every state
[Pre-Chorus]
March the miles, lift the signs
Write the truth between the lines
This ain’t rage, it’s redesigned
Love’s the root of the spine
[Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No thrones, no puppet strings
We the people, living things
And we’ll never bow to kings
[Bridge – Chant]
We rise (We rise!)
We the line (We the line!)
We the hands that built this time
Not yours to claim, not yours to sign
We the air, and we’re divine
(Pump it up!) — (Fill it out!) — (RELEASE — THE files! )
[Final Chorus]
NO KINGS!
No crowns crushing people’s dream
Stand tall, stay loud, stay free
We remember what that means
NO KINGS!
No masters, no divide
Just a million side by side
And a flag that still believes
[Outro Chant]
No kings! (Hey!)
No kings! (We rise!)
No kings! (We shine!)
We the people — every time.
Happy No Kings!
Folks are protesting in solidarity worldwide, but they won’t show you that on the evening news.
With a phone call, Putin appears to change Trump’s mind on Ukraine. Again.
It was the latest swing in Trump’s position on the war that often shifts following contact with Putin, who has shown skill in persuading the U.S. president.
Russian President Vladimir Putin put his relationship with President Donald Trump back on track with a phone call just ahead of Trump’s crucial Friday meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, that was meant to include discussions of providing Ukraine with powerful new long range weapons.
Up until the Thursday phone call, Trump had seemed ready to boost Ukraine’s arsenal and negotiating position with Tomahawk cruise missiles. But in its wake and after the subsequent meeting with Zelensky, Trump played down all talk of the missiles and instead focused on yet another summit with Putin.
“Zelensky’s tour summed up in one sentence: Putin outmaneuvered everyone again,” posted Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, who has been one of the main points of contact with the Trump administration.
It was the latest swing in Trump’s back and forth positions on the Russia-Ukraine war that often change following contact with Putin, who has shown a great deal of skill in persuading the U.S. president to his view of the conflict.
So far, Russia has succeeded in deterring Trump from imposing further sanctions — or sending more powerful weapons to Ukraine — by continually dangling hopes of a peace deal, while it ramps up attacks.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to get the war over with without thinking about Tomahawks. I think we’re fairly close to that,” Trump said to journalists as he began his meeting with Zelensky. “We don’t want to be giving away things that we need to protect our country.”
Instead of new support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia, Trump announced a new summit with Putin — a bonus for the Russian leader — “to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” There was no talk of Russia curtailing its ongoing bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ahead of winter.
In a similar fashion, after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska in August, Trump abandoned pressure on Russia to agree to a ceasefire and Moscow intensified its attacks even as Putin ignored U.S. urgings to meet Zelensky.
Trump shrugged off concerns Friday that Putin was again trying to buy more time. He was concerned about it, “but you know, I’ve been played all my life by the best of them, and I came out really well,” he said, adding it was “all right” if it took a little time. “But I think that I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
More at link
The revolution was also well branded — “No Kings” is today’s anthem.
2 minutes of defiance, then straight to the streets.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/us/politics/trump-prosecutor-fired-letitia-james.html
A federal prosecutor who resisted President Trump’s demands to bring charges against Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, was fired along with her deputy on Friday evening, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The dismissal of the prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, was the latest fallout from attempts by career Justice Department officials to pump the brakes on Mr. Trump’s wide-ranging efforts to seek retribution against his perceived political opponents.
Ms. Yusi, who oversaw major criminal cases in the Norfolk office of the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, had pushed back against Mr. Trump’s public calls for Ms. James to be indicted, telling colleagues that she had not found probable cause to file charges, the people familiar with the matter said. It was not immediately clear why her deputy, Kristin G. Bird, had also been fired.
I know Zelensky is just playing the game, but didn’t like that he had to congratulate Adolf on the ceasefire that wasn’t a ceasefire.
Chat Room open in an hour. Join The Chat.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/14/wang-jian-china-journalist-reports-united-states-donald-trump-xi-jinping
‘Americans are democracy’s equivalent of second-generation wealth’: a Chinese journalist on the US under Trump
“When Trump holds a cabinet meeting, he sits there and the people next to him start to flatter him. And I think, isn’t this the same as Mao Zedong? Trump sells the same thing: a little bit of populism, plus a little bit of small-town shrewdness, plus a little bit of ‘I have money.’”
He places the US on an arc of history we have long pretended to transcend. “Americans are democracy’s equivalent of second-generation wealth,” he told me. They were born into democracy and have no appreciation of what life is like without it. Chinese people, on the other hand, “have been bullied by rulers for thousands of years. We’re very familiar with these situations.”
There are many American reporters, Wang said, who report competently on China. But when I asked how the US media was doing covering the US, he burst into laughter. “If I were the New York Times, I would be putting curse words on the front page every day,” he told me. “F-word, F-word, F-word.”
“Your strengths aren’t your people,” he told me later, expanding on his theme. “I could find a bank teller in Hong Kong, bring them here, and they could do the job of 10 Americans.” What the US has got, according to Wang, is allies and a reliable currency. (“And now you’re threatening to annex Canada?”)
“You think Trump has thought it through?” he asks. “I don’t think so. Trump is really simple. He doesn’t think very deeply.” Trump’s brain, Wang told me, is a “qian dao hu” – a lake with 1,000 islands, none of them connected.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/15/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-abuse-epstein-maxwell
Virginia Giuffre on her abuse at the hands of Epstein, Maxwell and the king’s brother
*Trigger warning. I couldn’t finish reading it, but this is book is being released on Tuesday & tRUMP’s Guardians of Pedophiles will feel more pressure from MAGAtLand and beyond to release the EPSTEIN files.
Remember, Elon, Bannon, Thiel and tRUMP are implicated.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-scores-major-points-with-marjorie-taylor-greene-by-pardoning-george-santos/
Trump Scores Points With MTG by Pardoning Bestie George Santos
The move comes hours after the Georgia congresswoman, a vocal Santos ally who previously asked for his sentence to be commuted, went scorched earth on her own party, telling Axios in an interview that the GOP was not putting America first.
*If mTg goes quiet on EPSTEIN & ACA, we know why.
The language used by the president mirrors wording in a letter Greene sent in August asking for Santos’ sentence to be commuted.
Greene, formerly a reliable Trump ally in Congress, has grown increasingly critical of her own party in recent weeks, finding herself embroiled in a MAGA civil war over the handling of the Epstein files, lashing out at Speaker Mike Johnson’s “hypocrisy” and criticizing the Trump administration’s $40 billion bailout for Argentina.
In her Friday interview with Axios, MTG stressed that she still supported the president—noting that he’s done “a great job in a lot of places”—but that his administration’s focus on global conflicts has irritated her.
Despite this tension, Greene celebrated the news on Friday, writing on X, “THANK YOU President Trump for releasing George Santos!! He was unfairly treated and put in solitary confinement, which is torture!!”
I thought Marjorie might have something to do with Santos. She has been preaching his cause in all of these recent media appearances, But making the solid point that he gets solitary while Maxwell gets a cozy sauna.
Smerconish poll today is interesting:
https://www.smerconish.com/daily-poll/?utm_source=aweber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=voteherebuttonfullsize
My Dodgers are going to the World Series. Waiting on the Mariners
If we get a West Coast series, I’ll be wearing Dodger blue and getting berated by the neighbors.
Was Santos Greene’s payoff to shut up? How did he get a ride-or-die friend like her? Santos would have let her rot without another thought.
Pick-a-nick
today’s meme…
meme #2…
meme #3…
First round of our coverage done, my neighborhood gathering now headed downtown for the main event about Noon. I’ll open up a chat for that coverage later.
The Andrew Formerly known as Prince.
Show the Files
The Epstein Files
The ones they been tryin’
To hide away.
Ha!
Charles sent his reprobate brother packing. I’d trade a dictator like Dodo for a king like Charles.
Since the first Charles lost his head on the block, most English kings have bowed to the will of the people. Even ours let us go.
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/pete-hegseth-tie-zelensky-meeting-36089498
Pete Hegseth’s Russian flag tie at Trump-Zelensky summit causes stir
The necktie Hegseth selected displayed white, blue, and red hues, with stripes positioned in identical sequence to those on Russia’s national banner.
Live from the NO KINGS Rally — the people are literally carrying the Constitution down 14th Street. 🇺🇸
There ain’t no kings in the USA.
What’s Next? Nov 5 in DC:
The Trump Fascist Regime Must Go!
JOIN ORGANIZING WEBINAR, SUNDAY OCT 19, 6PM ET
Chatroom open again, watching the National Mall speakers, No Kings
https://streamyard.com/jp2mwysyxk
Bernie is wowing the crowd. He’s still got it. He gave us the bill of particulars showing Trump’s assault on Democracy. That was lacking with other speakers.
If Dems were smart, they would’ve adopted Bernie’s ultra-rich v regular Americans long ago. Dems are so afraid of being called Democratic Socialists; they need to educate folks, not shy away from labels. Mamdani is the way forward.
A little pet-like theory regardiing the Andrew formerly known as Prince. (AFKAP)
While in England Stump gave Charles a “knowing” wink of some sort as in “I know all about your brother—you need to support me in this “Epstein Hoax.”
This crude wink was probably so typically clumsy that The King knew he had to take evasive action.
Also a really strong shot across stump’s bow.
Whadda chump.
It will be ~interesting~ to see how much coverage the big, three broadcasters give to the protests & their slant on it tonight.
Astute observation, Sturg. I figured it was just the book coming out next week, but it makes perfect sense that the royals are in damage control after a visit from the mob boss.
https://en.as.com/latest_news/no-kings-protests-all-over-the-world-list-of-countries-standing-in-solidarity-with-the-us-on-oct-18-f202510-n/
According to the No Kings website, these are the countries with rallies planned:
Austria
Canada
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Panama
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
However, in countries that still have a monarchy, the motto ‘No Tyrants’ or ‘No dictators’ has been adopted.
The news in other countries may document today’s events, at home and abroad, better than our media.
When Bernie, or anyone, uses the word oligarch it really doesn’t resonate in a dangerous way with most Americans.
Someone referred to Bezos’ new wife as a “greedbot” and that’s what all of the billionaires should be called: Greedbots
Small fact. The King couldn’t take away the “Prince” title since he was born with it as a “prince of the blood” in direct line of succession. What he did was actually worse. Every other title was awarded by the reigning monarch, in his case his mother and he has been stripped of all honor. Losing the “Duke of York” means his wife is no longer the Duchess of York, but his daughters keep their titles of “princess”.
Give CNN credit for ample coverage. They just did the first 15 minutes of their 3pm hour on it, interviewing many articulate participants at multiple sites.
https://kdvr.com/news/local/no-snap-benefits-to-be-issued-in-november-as-government-shutdown-stretches-on/
Local governments are warning citizens that because the federal government has been shut down for weeks with no end in sight, November SNAP benefits may not be issued.
The Adams County Government shared on its social media pages that new and ongoing cases will not receive November benefits.
*Happy Thanksgiving?
Here is Bernie’s speech. He put a lot of meat on the bones about why we fear the monster.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/vermont-republican-resigns-racist-antisemitic-chat
A Vermont state lawmaker has resigned over racist and antisemitic chat messages that circulated within the Young Republican political group, another substantial consequence in a scandal that on Friday saw the New York state Young Republicans’ charter revoked.
State senator Samuel Douglass, the only elected official known to have taken part in the leaked group chat exposed by Politico, resigned Friday over his participation.
In a statement posted online, the 26-year-old Douglass said he was “deeply sorry for the offense” caused by his comments. He added that his decision to step down, effective Monday, “will upset many, and delight others, but in this political climate I must keep my family safe”.
His statement also said that he and his wife, who have recently welcomed their first child, had received “some of the most horrific hate one could imagine”, including threats of violence.
*Prove it.
*And “some of the most horrific hate one could imagine” didn’t have to be imagined; it was in the group chat.
In one exchange, Douglass replied to a message about a “very obese Indian woman” by saying: “She just didn’t bathe often.” In another, Douglass was said to have described how a Jewish person may have made a procedural error. His wife, Brianna Douglass, also on the chat, responded with an antisemitic remark, Politico reported.
Other messages in the chat reflected factional infighting in the Young Republicans that included calling Minnesotan members a slur for gay men and other LGBTQ+ people, Nebraskans “inbred cow fuckers” and members from Rhode Island “traitorous cunts”. There was a reference to a “fat stinky Jew” along with comments and jokes about gas chambers, torture and rape, according to Politico.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/18/california-highway-closure-military-celebration
Major highway in California to shut down as US marines fire live artillery over it
Earlier in the week, California governor Gavin Newsom had decried the plans to fire live rounds over Interstate 5, calling it an “absurd show of force” and “totally uncalled for ”.
On Saturday morning, Newsom was concerned that the stunt could put Californians in harm’s way. “Flying live rounds over a busy highway without coordination between state, federal, and local partners isn’t just wrong – it’s dangerous,” Newsom posted on social media.
This show of force coincides with No Kings rallies and marches being held across the US, including several locations in California, aligning behind a message that the nation’s slide into authoritarian rule under Trump needs to stop.
Newsom cautioned those participating in the rallies: “I urge our nation to use this weekend’s No Kings marches as a declaration of independence against the tyranny and lawlessness currently running this country. Use your voice. ACT PEACEFULLY. Protect yourself and your community. THERE ARE NO KINGS IN THE UNITED STATES.”
In a statement to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Vance, William Martin, said Newsom was misleading the public about the safety risk for the event on Saturday. He said it was routine training.
*Routine training with live missiles over US civilians? FDT & FJD
I rate this second best speech at National Mall today, after Bernie. I watched them all..
He prolly couldn’t stop hisself from making a wisecrack about a tampon. Charles is ready to off his head.
The York title was revered by the late Queen because it was once her father’s. She was born Princess Elizabeth of York, just like Andrew’s daughters. The girls have escaped their father’s taint.
Charles is not the first King to attaint his brother. The Wars of the Roses was a family feud.
“No Kings.” Just your neighbors.
Not radicals. Not Antifa. Just people who still think no one in America wears a crown.
“The Wars of the Roses was a family feud.”
As was WW1.
The Trump crowd seems genuinely confused by our peaceful No Kings Day. Last time they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, 140 cops got injured.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/18/shorn-of-title-status-and-dignity-its-the-new-prince-andrew-a-life-he-was-born-to-replaced-by-a-life-he-will-hate
It is the loss of titles that will certainly hurt him most. Andrew has not formally lost them – removal of his dukedom requires an act of parliament, which neither government nor Buckingham Palace will want, taking up as it would embarrassingly public lengths of time – and he can’t shed his princely tag since he indubitably is the son of a monarch.
But he won’t be able to use them publicly or privately and that will be a terrible blow to his sense of entitlement and status. As one of his former dates told Andrew Lownie for his recent book Entitled, he always introduced himself to her friends as the Duke of York, saying: “It struck me how impressed he was with who he is, or how impressed he wanted others to be. Every joke always ended with: ‘because I’m the Duke of York’.
Friday night’s statement represented the last shred of dignity in that he was allowed to pretend that he was relinquishing the use of his titles and the knighthood of the garter voluntarily, out of a belated sense of duty. He wasn’t. After at least 10 years of private wrangling among the family and personal anguish on the part of the king about what to do about the Andrew problem, and with his mother no longer around to protect him and pay his debts, there was no alternative but to cut him loose. Evidently Prince William was prepared to be more ruthless than his father.
He still has the Royal Lodge, where he lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, (what does he need a place that big for? It’s not as if he has that many friends) and apparently spends his days watching golf on the television and taking solitary rides in Windsor Great Park.
What will he do for money? No longer a working royal, he hasn’t qualified for public funds for the last six years. There are residual savings from the sale of various properties, he still has a navy pension and presumably there will have to be private subventions from the king. Famously profligate, he and his ex-wife lacked the means to keep up with the Arab and American billionaires with whom they liked to mingle. This must have been one of the reasons he was attracted to Epstein, though the sex – which he still denies – was probably another. What he offered them pathetically in return was status and access to flummery and palaces.
He was an idiot, and worse: a powerful man who brought pain to others: a dark stain tarnishing the family escutcheon and rocking the institution itself.
We carried flags today for patriotism, not for attacking police officers.
The J6ers carried tRUMP flags. Now, they wear masks and kidnap folks, but they are getting paychecks so their identities an be traced.
Christmas is cancelled thanks to the Guardians Of Pedophiles, Taco’s illegal tariffs, and corporate greed.
No food stamps in November means no Thanksgiving for many, either.
The US bread lines will be long and tRUMP and his enablers will answer for it.
Craig – You get another chance to protest on November 5th, but we need a rolling strike. I feel like the House is on strike, so maybe the people should just stay home, too. Not everyone can, but start using those sick days & that PTO all at once, they’d notice.
this might be the winning sign of the day
NEW THREAD by our Trail friend Jack