Sunday, July 12, 2026

The Corpse At Every Funeral

"He was scheduled”? Q: why was Trump the “go to” for producers to talk about Lindsey Graham on the day Graham died?

And remembering Harry Truman’s line, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”
When I heard about Senator Graham’s death last night, the first thing I thought about was not all the things he said and did in service of Donald Trump. I thought of the time before Donald Trump when he was a brother to Senator John McCain.

A time when senators from different parties could fight about politics and still be friends. A time when a conservative Republican from South Carolina could say of my father: “If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you’ve got a problem. He’s the nicest person I’ve ever met in politics. As good a man as God ever created.”

That is the Senator Graham I will remember today. Not because I have forgotten what came after. Because in that memory there is hope. Hope for a country where brothers can fight like hell over policy and still share a meal, and a laugh, and the loss of the people they love.

I will choose to remember the time before Trump. Because I believe in an America after Trump.
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“But Then Came Trump”

As I said just now on CNN, Lindsey Graham will have a robust complex legacy, and there will be plenty of time to talk about politics and his record, and how he was on the right side of immigration and almost helped the country pass historic bipartisan immigration reform, how he voted for Justices Sotomayor and Kagan, how he was a staunch advocate for unflinching support of Ukraine, and how he served in uniform for 33 years. He was also a congenial Senator that worked across the aisle. But then came Trump. That discussion is for another day, for now, condolences to his family and friends, and to the people of South Carolina, may Senator Graham rest in peace.

True. But that distinguishes Graham from the rest of the GOP how, exactly?

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The Accolades Pour In

Trump wants Graham’s vote to still count.
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RIP 🪦

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Saturday, July 11, 2026

ETTD

The Parks Department explained this was temporary, as two s pipes were discharging “debris” left behind when the water was turned off for repairs. 

So why hasn’t it cleared yet? And why didn’t the algae clear out of the pipes in the reflecting pool?
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(No) Need To Know

MSNOW interviews a man who lives five houses down from where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed. He says agents were combing his property for bullet casings.

MSNOW: Here’s what doesn’t make sense to me. The chase ended right here behind me, where this memorial is. That man’s property is about five homes down. So my question is: What were these agents looking for in front of his house? Why were they combing through the grass right in front of his property?
How many shots are they trying to account for? Which is not a promise to let the people know what the government is doing in their name, or to explain who did what to whom. In other words, to hold people accountable in public, or in a court of law.

Rather than tell us: “Trust us. Those people who died were very bad people. If they weren’t, they’d still be alive.” Which is all we’re getting now.
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Grandpa’s Goin’ Around The Bend Again

Haberman and Swann's book is really getting under his skin. And would it have killed them to say “GOOD JOB! 👍”

Our President is a petulant 5 year old.
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Five Visits To Walter Reed In 18 Months

The one he references here is the most recent, sometime in the past 11 days. His last visit before that was in May. He’s going, on average, every 14 weeks.

Not every 24.
"His health is like a black box inside that administration," Haberman said. "They have released less and less information."
And lied about what they do release. Or, the President is confused about the passage of time and how to use the phrase “just finished.”
"I just finished a ​perfect physical at Walter ​Reed, ‌I ​do it every six months, and I requested another ⁠Cognitive Test..." Trump wrote today in a Truth Social post.

A White House official tells me "the President was referring to his recent physical at Walter Reed that took place on May 26th."
It still means he’s going to Walter Reed an average of every 18 weeks.
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Innumeracy

 Iran is about 636,000 square miles, give or take. I think they can absorb 1000 missiles. And one year of bombardment? Trump used half the nation’s stockpile in a month, diminishing our missile defense against China. A full year of such use would leave us vulnerable around the world, and empty our stores about a month in. Unless we wait a year to replenish; then it might last two months.

And the Strait of Hormuz will still be closed.

Maybe Congress has something to say about this?

Or this:

Look, I get it. I used to work on Apaches. They're cool as hell, and I promise the pilots were just as amped as the crowd.

However, safety regulations are written in blood. There's a reason they weren't supposed to fly over crowds at such a low altitude. At that altitude at that speed, if anything had gone wrong, we wouldn't be seeing people crying about how unfair it is to the pilots. We wouldn't be seeing Kegsbreath saying "we'll fix this." We'd be seeing people demanding answers about why they were flying like that. We'd be seeing crying and angry families on the news demanding justice. And we'd be seeing the Secretary of "War" throwing these pilots under the boss so fucking fast there wouldn't even be skid marks.
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Fifth Amendment And First Amendment Say: “Nope.”

These people really aren’t very bright. Not very bright at all.
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Friday, July 10, 2026

Born Every Minute….

 So, according to Reuters, Trump & Co. considered using the EAC to rig the national voter application form, or to declare a national emergency and force states to fix “vulnerabilities” in their voting systems.

Nothing ever came of either plan, so Trump just fired everyone on the commission.

Which is supposed to cause all those problems?

P.T. Barnum was right.

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“This Is Murder”

It would actually help to have a full, independent investigation. But the “people in charge” only want to be in control.

And that means never being responsible.

Same as it ever was, actually. It’s just rarely this blatant.
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Historical Xian Values Like…

...adultery?  And telling lies? And corruption? How is it, General Paxton, that you are so wealthy on a government employee’s salary?

Your wife was divorcing you on “Biblical grounds”? Are those not “historical Christian views”?  Is care for the widow, the orphan, the poor and the destitute, the marginalized and forgotten, not “historical Christian views”? 

What do you think “historical Christian views” are? And since you were seen cavorting with your mistress in Europe while the ink is still wet on your divorce papers (is it even over? Has the divorce decree even been entered?), are those “historical Christian views”?  Whose?

You don’t find Talarico’s views in scripture? Are you reading the same Bible as the White House Press Secretary? Did both of you skip entirely over Luke-Acts? The prophets? The Pentateuch? Matthew 25? All of the epistles?

Show your work.
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And All The Pundits Who….

...who treat everything the GOP says as political gospel brought down on tablets from the mountaintop.
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And Wal-Mart Lowered Their Prices….

...because Trump asked them to.

When you’ve got no credibility left, what are you?
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Off The Top Of My Head….

If McConnell is still alive, but incapable of performing his duties as a Senator, I’m pretty sure it’s up to the Senate to remove him before Beshear can hold an election to replace him. 

Call it the Feinstein precedent.

Elected senators sworn into office remain so until death, end of term, or removal under Senate rules. There really isn’t a fourth “failure to provide proof of life” option.

I know the Republicans would be screaming about this, and making Gingrichian demands (with no hope of seeing them enacted, but enjoying the press echoing them), and the political press duly providing the megaphones (call that the Biden precedent; or compare how pundits are treating the Platner candidacy, over the silence about the Paxton one), but dese are de conditions dat prevail.

One side has to at least keep the rules in sight, or pretty soon there are no rules at all. And if you think the present situation is bad….
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His Cold, Dead Hand Reaches Up From The Grave 🪦

Does he think he’s Hamlet’s father, coming back from the grave to charge his son to avenge his death? Maybe it’s in a new codicil to his will? I’ve been telling you, he thinks he’s the new owner of a sole proprietorship. That’s his only frame of reference.
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“We’re Done For! We’re Done For!”

 “Shut up, Maudlin.”

Taylor called the development “a little more than just an ominous sign,” and said what he feared most was what “Trump’s team might try to do with the organization’s powers now that it’s leaderless.”

“The EAC holds one power that matters enormously right now. It controls the federal voter registration form,” Taylor wrote. “That should set off alarm bells.”

Taylor theorized that Trump's gutting of the EAC could serve as a "Trojan horse" to force through his push to seize control of states' voter rolls. Trump has already enacted rules compelling states to share voter roll data with the federal government by threatening to withhold federal funding, and the SAVE Act includes a provision that could force under-resourced states to hand over that data as well.

“A captured EAC could conceivably start to do the dirty work right away, under the direction of loyalists the White House plans to parachute into the commission,” Taylor wrote.

“What’s more, they could rewrite state-specific instructions on the voter forms to create registration traps and onerous requirements, confusing instructions, translation issues, and on and on. Surely, the sycophants in Trump’s orbit are thinking of other evil ways to manipulate the EAC’s powers to steer the elections in Trump’s favor.”
First, the Senate has to approve members of the EAC. That’s not going to happen before November.

Second, have you ever heard of the “federal voter registration form?” I’ve registered to vote three times in my life: once when I turned 18; when I moved to Illinois; and when I moved back to Texas. The federal registration form allows you to access state when, I guess, you don’t know how. (Of course, I also remember voter registration forms at the counter of every state, county, or city agency in Texas. Voter registration was encouraged. Democrats ran things, then. Seriously.).

If you don’t know how to register to vote in your state, how likely are you to think the federal government is the place to try? Considering America’s low voter registration rate, and even lower voter turnout (especially in midterms), what kind of threat, exactly, is an eviscerated ECA? It doesn’t have a quorum, and I don’t think Trump can just toss three people on there and say: “Now you do. Get to obstructing.”

If you’re already registered to vote, this won’t affect you. If you aren’t, you probably aren’t voting in November, anyway. Or you’ll be contacted in a voter registration drive and use the applicable state form.

And as for “taking over state voter rolls”? Still gotta go through the courts. Half a loaf in that effort is worse than useless. It’s all just a tool to scream “RIGGED!” anyway, but nobody’s listening to that false wolf story anymore. The SAVE act is not law, and isn’t going to be (and would likely be unenforceable under Purcell, which the Supremes are not going to reconvene to eviscerate before November, if it did clear the Senate.). Withholding funds is going to trigger court challenges, too. We’re not trying to outshine the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, here.

Either way, it’s good to know the sky is still falling….
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Put(t) Up Or Shut Up

The simple fact is, when a government issues a license, the license holder has a property interest in that license, which cannot be removed without due process of law.

No license can be revoked simply because the issuing agency changes hands and decides it doesn’t like the license holder anymore. If Carr wants to revoke the broadcasting license for any Tv station in America, he’ll have to go the court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue, and prove his case. Disney doesn’t have to prove they are complying with FCC regulations and applicable law; the FCC has to prove they aren’t.

That’s not a long putt. That’s 18 holes of PGA tournament golf. I’ve seen the government lawyers left in this administration. My money’s on Disney’s lawyers. Even though I don’t have a dog in this fight.

Carr is like Trump. He’s so full of shit it has to regularly spew out of his mouth.
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Ummmm…. 🤨

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Our Man On Their Side

So, the bill becomes law, but with no publicity about it, which is all that matters between now and November. The law won’t have any effect until much later. This is the Biden trap: laws need publicity, not just enactment.

Trump is allowing the law to take effect, but ruining the publicity for it.

Poor Republicans…😿
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Trump Is Going To Have To Cancel ALL The Elections!

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Just For The Schadenfreude

I really want to see Nigel Farage beaten by a comedian with a recycling bin on his head.

And then see that person seated in Parliament.

I’ve lived long enough. I think I’ve earned this.
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Donald Trump Has Absolutely No Legal Authority Over Federal Elections

 Not in the Constitution. Not at law.

The “boyhood pal” in question is Peter Ticktin, an 80-year-old Florida lawyer who first met Trump in the 1950s at the New York Military Academy. Ticktin was in the Oval Office as recently as last week according to Taylor, and has vigorously pushed Trump to declare a national emergency over unsubstantiated claims of foreign election interference in the 2020 election.

“Ticktin insists the proof of the grand conspiracy is coming any day now, once [Venezuelan President] Nicolás Maduro starts talking from federal custody. And some have speculated that the Trump administration is trying to induce the Venezuelan leader to go along with such an admission in exchange for leniency,” Taylor wrote in an analysis published on his Substack Thursday.

“Trump’s pal also claims Democrats are plotting to steal enough seats in November to impeach both Trump and Vance and install Hakeem Jeffries in the Oval Office. I know what you’re thinking, because I thought it too. This man sounds like a quack. Well, yes. He sure seems to be a quack. And that’s actually why I’m taking him seriously.”

Ticktin has already helped draft an executive order “to declare a national emergency based on alleged 2020 foreign election interference,” CNN reported earlier this week. And, with Trump having already attempted to impose limits on mail-in voting, Taylor feared that the president could very well follow through on Ticktin’s calls to place the midterm elections “under federal control” by declaring a national emergency.

“It's our expectation that the president will undertake more illegal and unconstitutional actions to steal the midterms. He will dispute the outcome if his side loses, even if the loss is decisive and beyond dispute,” Taylor wrote.

“And he will – in all likelihood – try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power to the political opposition. After all, he’s done it before. But this time we’re better prepared to fight it. And we need to stand together.”
So trying to challenge, or even stop, the 2026 midterms on the basis of a baseless conspiracy theory about the 2020 election, is a non-starter. Trump went to court over 60 times in 2020 to overturn his election. Even the Sinister Six wouldn’t hear it.  This would be 468 elections in 50 states (unless he only wants to challenge the ones where Republicans lose. That’s a good look, too.). None of that will “cancel” the elections.  (And how does he block the “peaceful transfer of power” in Congress? Send in the National Guard?)

This, however, is real: It’s the danger in front of us right now I’m worried about. 
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Definitions

And then you walk around that way.
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Thursday, July 09, 2026

Yes, I Think The Two Are Related

Because Paxton was almost prescient.
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At Least Harris County Is Doing Its Job

The Harris County Medical Examiner has ruled the manner of death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo a homicide.

Records from the medical examiner’s office shows Araujo died from a “penetrating gunshot wound of the torso.”
DHS, following the example of the President, blames the Democrats for the fact they have to hide evidence:
On Thursday, DHS officials said the officers involved had not yet received their body-worn cameras and blamed government shutdowns they say delayed funding for that equipment.

“The officers involved in the incident in Houston had not been issued body-worn cameras due to back-to-back Democrat shutdowns,” DHS said. “The process of purchasing and issuing body-worn cameras to all of our ICE field offices was interrupted by the Democrats multiple government shutdowns. Body cameras have been deployed to more than half the field offices with the remaining half to receive them in the next 60 days.”
"Democrat shutdowns.” Why be subtle about it?
The department said equipping ICE officers with body cameras has been a priority and cited what it described as a sharp increase in assaults on agents.

“Providing our ICE law enforcement officers with body cameras has been a priority for DHS -- especially as our officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them,” the agency said. “Now thanks to the Secure America Act, ICE has historic funding to provide law enforcement with the resources they need, including body cameras.”
The best evidence now is from witnesses. The best witnesses are in ICE custody. Conveniently.
The absence of body camera footage means investigators will instead rely on witness statements, physical evidence and other available video, if any exists, to reconstruct what happened.
"If any exists," it is in the custody of ICE, too.
Meanwhile, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has launched a parallel review and is urging anyone who witnessed the shooting to contact investigators.
The county can, but the city won’t. How does that work?
Houston city officials have said they do not have jurisdiction to investigate because the shooting involved federal law enforcement officers rather than local police.

Mayor John Whitmire and several Houston City Council members have called for a transparent federal investigation and the public release of the findings.
Maybe if they say: “Pretty please, with sugar on top”?

Weasels.
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“Religious people with socialist values.”

The day of Pentecost:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 4:32-36

They really need to read their Bible more carefully.
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ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

Federal immigration agents who killed a man during a traffic stop in Houston on Tuesday had been searching for a different person, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman.

The targets of the ICE investigation were two people from Guatemala, one of whom the agents believed was in a white van being driven by the man, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who were not my permitted to speak about the case.

But the Guatemalan immigrants were not in the van. Mr. Araujo, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in the United States without authorization for 35 years, was on his way to work with three other men.

When agents tried to stop the vehicle, the encounter quickly escalated, and an agent shot Mr. Araujo in the abdomen. He died at a hospital hours later.
“So sorry! Killed the wrong brown guy! But, you know, they all look alike!”
Federal agents had surveilled an address connected to one of the two Guatemalans weeks before and had seen two white vans at the property, the spokeswoman said in a statement. When they returned to the address on Tuesday, she said, “they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target,” and initiated the traffic stop.

The agents were not wearing body cameras, according to the spokeswoman. Before trying to stop the van, the agents had looked into its owner and learned it was Mr. Araujo, who did not have legal status in the United States, according to the two people familiar with the case.
"We’re already dressed like thugs. Might as well act like it.”
The shooting is part of a growing number of similar violent interactions involving civilians and immigration agents. More than 20 people have been shot at since September, nearly all of them in their cars. Some cases have been fatal. The shooting also comes as the Trump administration has ramped up its deportation campaign.
More than 20 people shot, nearly all of them in cars; some of them fatalities. This is the root of Trump’s antipathy to the 14th amendment: he thinks “persons” is supposed to be a racially and legally limited term. Non-persons deserve what they get at the hands of an unaccountable government.

And I’m still wondering about this:
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“We Are The Melting Pot. It’s Houston.”

What the absolute FUCK! is going on here?
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo called Houston home for 35 years. On Tuesday, an ICE agent shot and killed him. His family learned of his death from a video before anyone bothered to knock on their door.

New York City stands with the Salgado family in demanding a full, independent investigation and real accountability. To the Salgado family and any immigrant family in this city living in fear: we grieve with you and we will continue to stand beside you in the pursuit of justice.

Abolish ICE.
The mayor of NYC has more balls than the mayor of Houston.
Two days after a federal immigration officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Mayor John Whitmire told reporters the city's police department cannot independently investigate the incident.

"This is a time for the federal government to oversee their employees," Whitmire said. "I’m not going to promise something that I can’t carry out. ... This is a federal matter, and we have no access to the evidence. We were not involved. And we do have high expectations for ICE, the FBI and the federal government."
At least the District Attorney has our backs:
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told Houston Public Media on Thursday that his office is conducting its own investigation into a federal immigration agent’s fatal shooting of a man in Houston earlier this week.

Speaking on the Hello Houston show, Teare said his office is “running an investigation” into the shooting despite not being invited to participate in an investigation by federal authorities. He acknowledged that his office does “not have the same level of access that we do in almost any other officer-involved shooting,” adding, “I can tell you unequivocally, we don't have everything."

“If a state crime was committed, be it a murder, be it a manslaughter, be it tampering with evidence, we are going to investigate it,” Teare said. “And if someone committed that crime, you don't get to hide behind a badge.”
I have no use for the Mayor. Never have.

At least this outrage is getting the attention it deserves:
Family members and local officials are calling for a full investigation into the shooting death of a man killed by ICE agents in Houston.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot Tuesday as agents tried to arrest him. Federal officials say he tried to flee and “weaponized his vehicle” toward an officer who opened fire.

@GeoffRBennett discussed more with Colleen DeGuzman of The Texas Tribune.
Hundreds gathered at a Houston vigil on Wednesday evening, calling for justice and for ICE to leave the city.

“I never thought something like this would happen this close to my home,” said Geneva Rajpute, who lives on the street where the shooting occurred. “We are the melting pot. It’s Houston.”
Lock and load.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's last words were "me están matando"—they are killing me.

Under Donald Trump, ICE has become a rogue and abusive agency. ICE is killing people in the streets. Targeting Latinos because of the color of their skin, the language they speak, and the jobs they hold. Locking away innocent children. Colluding with the likes of Governor Abbott to target communities. All to fuel the President's mass deportation for profit machine.

I stand with my colleagues in Congress and with the entire nation in demanding justice, including a transparent investigation and the release of all footage and evidence. I am also demanding ICE provide a full accounting of the men who were locked away after the shooting.

Lorenzo's death is a tragedy. His wife has lost her husband. His sons have lost their father. We cannot allow this to happen again.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was simply on his way to work. Now his family is grieving a loss no family should endure.

We cannot accept a system where going to work can end in tragedy at the hands of ICE. Abolish ICE and give his family the true answers they deserve.
And what the absolute fuck is this all about?
Juan Proaño on the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo:
The family is demanding the release of Lorenzo’s body. It has been complicated because they removed all of his personal identifying information before they put him in the ambulance. That required the hospital to admit him as a John Doe. They want him home, and they want to plan his funeral.
Mayor John Whitmire shames Houston. QED.
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Tl;dr: Will Rogers

"I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat."

Just saved you the trouble of reading JMM’s not-really-all-that-interesting essay. The crucial issue about the Democratic Party is that it’s the oldest political party in America. It’s been around since Jefferson. The Republican Party dates back to Lincoln, and I’m pretty comfortable saying Trump has smashed it to bits. It’s all MAGA all the time, but nobody thinks MAGA is going to hold together when Trump is gone. Which is only 40 months away (but me no “buts” about a third term. That’s as likely as the courts declaring the 2020 election was “rigged.”)

Post-Trump, whither the GOP? The GOP is a cult now. It won’t survive the death (real or political) of its leader. (Jr. is no Joel Osteen. He’s not even a Richard Roberts.)

And if you look back on the 20th century, the greatest presidents of that century were Democrats. Eisenhower is the exception that proves the rule, in that he warned us of “the military-industrial complex.” And he was right.

Nixon visited China, but he also “weaponized” the government against his enemies (the real scandal of Watergate). Reagan was President when Gorbachev realized the USSR was headed to history’s dustbin. His policy towards Central America was scandalous enough (the “School of the Americas “), but he managed a scandal in DC on top of it, one GHWBush found a way to pardon himself out of. (We REALLY need to amend that pardon power clause.) FDR gave us the New Deal and guided the country through the Great Depression and WWII. Truman gave us the Fair Deal and desegregated the military. JFK set us up for the Civil Rights Act which LBJ passed in memoriam, and then he got the VRA, and Medicare, and the Great Society, establishing the government programs we take for granted (and rely on) today. Which have been damaged by Trump, but not destroyed; and they won’t be.

All this talk of Dems in disarray is just punditry bafflegab. The last organization the Democratic Party had died in LBJ’s administration because of Vietnam. The party literally split over it, and handed the White House back to Nixon by nominating McGovern. It was the true beginning of the primary process, and it’s been a mess ever since. (Although there was the year Pat Buchanan gave a speech at the GOP convention that Molly Ivins memorialized as sounding better in the original German. Buchanan would be denounced by Stephen Miller as a pro-immigration communist. Such is Republican “unity.”) But the post-McGovern mess was inevitable, too. And then the only thing Nixon accomplished was an agreement to end the war, which, like his presidency, ended in ignominy. McGovern wasn’t wrong, but the nation wasn’t ready to face it. Nixon’s “secret plan” turned out to be as much of an embarrassment as the Trump negotiated withdrawal from Afghanistan. One might conclude that GOP Presidents talk tough, but have no idea how to end a war we shouldn’t have started.

LBJ had control over the party, even the Southern Democrats who opposed his civil rights measures. He knew how to get around them. He knew how to keep people inside the big tent. Vietnam did LBJ in with the primary voters, and probably ruined HHH’s chances in the general, too. Nixon pulled the rare trick of winning re-election by the greatest landslide in history (sorry, Trump; you were never even close), and then turning the GOP in Congress against him less than 2 years later.

But the Presidents with scandals IN office (Clinton’s, despite the blue dress, were all prior to his inauguration. The Lewinsky mess was escalated into an impeachable offense by a prosecutor with nothing better to do than find something to prosecute. There’s a reason we shouldn’t let that happen, to anyone.), are Nixon, Reagan, GHW shutting down Iran-Contra before it could bite him; Cheney’s abuses of power under Shrub. Now Trump using the office to finally earn more money than Daddy left him, and selling pardons, to boot. (As I said, that pardon power has to be changed.)

There’s a common thread here, and it’s GOP presidents. Republicans tolerate scandal in their politicians. Democrats don’t, in any politician. Not to the point of being the party of Javert; but the GOP is the party of “Do as I say, not as I do.”

It’s another reason the GOP dies with Trump. That, and Trump is already checked out. He got elected to stay out of jail. His attempts to leave his mark on history (arch, ballroom, Greenland) are all failing. He’s going to withdraw further into his own reality, and ignore the one the rest of us live in. The GOP will crash in ruins around him, and he won’t even notice; or care. Oh, the party name may go on; but I doubt it. It will be too tainted, too connected to MAGA, to last much longer. The hypocrisy is, finally, just too much. Besides, Trump is their tent pole, and he’s already leaning 45 degrees.

The Democrats, in all their glorious disarray, will carry on. It’s the American Way.
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Here. In Houston.

Three unmarked cars surrounded Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s car. He tried to escape the trap. ICE claims he rammed the car, and tried to run down an ICE agent, who shot him. He died later, in the hospital. 

It gets more familiar from there. Witnesses say the van Araujo was driving didn’t have any collision damage. But ICE removed it. No one knows where it is now. Two men were in the van. ICE removed them, too. No one knows where they are either.

The FBI says they are investigating. The FBI also says it’s investigating Araujo’s alleged crime. 

"You [could] find him every evening after work, resting on his porch, listening to music, petting his dog," Salgado said. "I am deeply heartbroken to see that the man who taught me the value of hard work, family values, and education will no longer spend an evening on that porch. … He did not deserve to die. He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of ‘Mexican man shot and killed by ICE.'"

Araujo had lived in the United States for over 30 years and was working his way through the process of obtaining legal immigration status, according to his family.

"He dedicated his life in the United States to giving his family the American dream," Salgado said. "After nearly 35 years of working to give us the American dream, he made the choice to begin the process of obtaining his American dream through a work permit. We dotted every I, crossed every T, filled every document, attended every appointment." Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's middle son holds a photo of his father who was shot and killed by ICE. July 8, 2026.
Which is probably why ICE went looking for him.
U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, along with half a dozen other elected state and local leaders, joined Araujo's family on Wednesday.

"I want to be clear, somebody being killed by law enforcement is a big g—— deal," Menefee said. "What other profession has the power to take somebody's life in the middle of a street? ... We are a city of undocumented immigrants. They are our neighbors. They are our family. They are business owners, and they deserve to be treated with humanity and with dignity."

On Tuesday, the FBI said the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security is leading an investigation into the shooting, while the FBI’s Houston office is leading an investigation into the "potential assault on a federal law enforcement officer."
🙄
Salgado said his father helped him and his two brothers afford college, adding that Araujo's hard work inspired them.

"My father was a simple man, a family man," Salgado said. "That's how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work."
As long as you’re not too brown; in Trump’s America.

Only the worst of the worst, right? In charge, that is.
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JACKPOT!

Finally figured that one out. A very long blink. Trump has been asleep a very long time.
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Wednesday, July 08, 2026

“And In Your Dreams/You May See Yourself/As A Prophet…”

“the words from your lips…” "I just can’t believe you are such…a fool!”—“Son of Orange County,” by Frank Zappa* Somebody explained to Trump he couldn’t afford to stop trading with Spain. They didn’t tell him he had no authority to do that, they just explained that businesses in America would object. The businesses Trump listens to. Because that’s all he would ever listen to. The war is over but we must continue it. 😵‍💫 🫠 Absolutely zero self awareness. But his sympathies are with the accused molester. Inadvertently confirming a story Haberman and Swan tell about interviewing Trump, and all he wanted to do was talk about the maple trees he wanted to plant. But they still elicit the same bullshit answers.

*Trump doesn’t have the authority to do either of these things.


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I Missed This Nugget

This morning our crazy man at the NATO Summit: * Trump apparently has suspended trade with Spain
* Trump has restarted his war with Iran (not that it had really ended)
* Trump has again threatened to takeover Greenland, causing Denmark to say they will activate Article 5
* there is talk of canceling the summit in 2027
* Trump has again threatened to takeover Greenland, causing Denmark to say they will activate Article 5
Denmark will defend Greenland, Mette Frederiksen says after Trump’s threat

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said ahead of the NATO summit that the alliance’s most important message is that NATO remains strong and united in an uncertain time.

Her message on Greenland was equally clear.

“Greenland is not for sale. Denmark is a sovereign state, and we are prepared to defend every part of NATO and the Kingdom of Denmark,” she said firmly.

—TV2
Granted, it would require military action to invoke Article V of the NATO treaty.  Of course, Article V was invoked after 9/11, for the first time, and only, time.

And in that threat to stop trade with Spain:
IOW, it would be like Spain declaring they are going to stop trading with Texas. If Trump decided to stop trade with the EU, I think even this Congress might sit up and take notice. (And no, Trump can’t do that. But just trying to should make Congress sit up and…act like the Article I institution it is. Democrats could demand Congress do something, if only to give voters another reason to vote against the Republicans. It would be a damned good idea to reassure the world market that Trump is full of shit, especially with the price of oil going up again. Won’t be long before voters turn on anyone in Congress who doesn’t show a backbone.)
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So Qatar Force One Wasn’t Ready To Be A Presidential Plane…

I called it couple days ago. On here, plus during a @MSNOWNews hit….so reason finally took hold, Qatar Force One not equipped with appropriate comms/force pro/security package for intl duty…Secret Service and USAF pleas must have won out, over Trump’s vanity project…Turkey a high CI threat environment plus we back to war with Iran. The post below is of course ridiculous fluff… the bridge aircraft just not ready for prime time overseas… though I’m sure it’s very comfy…
… but Trump couldn’t stand to wait any longer, so he got it for July 4th so he could fly to South Dakota and have it buzz D.C.

And then he flew two planes to Turkey. One to England, and then on to Turkey in the other, because he didn’t dare take it into the Middle East. And he’ll have to have both flown back to Andrews.

If you were wondering how he could get it prepared to be a Presidential plane so quickly, well…he couldn’t. But his ego had to be stroked, and the taxpayers had to stroke it.

Another reason to vote Republicans out, so Congress can take this man by the short and curlies, and tell him how the cow ate the cabbage. And, among other things, disabuse him of the idea that this plane is his possession when he leaves the White House again. Because the President is a petulant five year old. And if we can’t remove him from office, we can certainly put him in timeout.
Trump posts he has been reunited with the Qatari-gifted Air Force One: We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Base's request. They were very excited, picture enclosed. It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.
A) You know Trump didn’t write it (“deviation” and “flightpath” are not in his 3rd grade vocabulary)

B) proves security was a concern, which is why Qatar Force One stayed safely in England.
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Trump Also Made Prices On Swimsuits Go Down In The Summer!

However, Walmart’s own announcement did not mention Trump, the White House, or any government request. Instead, the retailer described the discounts as part of its summer Rollback program, highlighting thousands of temporary savings on items tied to the season, including grilling supplies, produce, beverages, and other summer favorites.

The timing and framing also challenge Trump’s claim of direct credit. Walmart told CBS News that the discounts were already in effect before Trump’s July 6 Truth Social post. The company has announced similar seasonal promotions in previous years, including during the Biden administration.

In 2024, Walmart promoted summer and July Fourth savings events featuring discounted cookout essentials and other seasonal deals. These promotions are sales events designed to provide savings during a specific period, not an announcement that prices have been permanently lowered year-round. While shoppers may benefit from the current Rollbacks, Walmart has not said these prices will remain once the summer promotion ends.
The Lowes near me has lowered prices on “grilling supplies,” because the summer sales season is coming to an end. That stuff on the shelves will be taking up space in September, and the September stuff needs to be out in August. People don’t buy much stuff for grills in September, but they do buy Hallowe’en and Xmas decorations. Gotta make way for those.

Costco is already promoting giant skeletons for your yard for Halloween. But Costco clears seasonal stuff like mad. The Xmas stuff will start showing up in August, alongside the skeletons.

Wal-Mart has been advertising “Rollbacks” on prices for at least 30 years now. And they’re promoting low prices on summer items to get customers in who will think they’re saving so much money, they’ll buy something else. It’s called “loss leaders.” It’s a promotion as common as retail.

It’s also their way of clearing out the summer stuff to make way for the fall stuff. In August.

I’m waiting for Trump to take credit for the tide coming in. Or the price of gas going back up.
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🎶 It’s Money That Matters….🎶

Do ya remember when E. Jean Carroll won her first civil cases sexual assault against Trump? The jury awarded her $5 million, and Trump wanted to appeal. To do that, he had to either pay Carroll and try to get the money back later; or give the court $5 million to put in escrow. He did the latter. 

On June 29 if this year, the court (finally) denied Trump’s application for a writ of certiorari, without comment. Carroll went back to the court and said: time to release my money. Trump said: Oh, no! I’m not done yet! I’m asking the Supremes to rehear my application to hear my appeal. The appeal they aren’t interested in! But it could still happen!

No, it can’t. And today the trial judge ordered the clerk to give Carroll a check for the judgement amount, and the accumulated interest. So Trump appealed.

And I’m telling you this because appeals don’t automatically freeze lower court orders.  As in the judgment at the end of the trial: Trump’s appeal didn’t freeze Carroll’s claim. Putting the money in escrow with the court did that. As Chris points out, unless Trump gets Kaplan (the trial judge) to stay his own order, the clerk has one job: obey the court’s order.

And the Second Circuit is not going to reverse the trial court because Trump thinks there are fairies at the bottom of his garden. Or stop the money from being released. Especially on the basis that there’s a risk that money goes to people Trump doesn’t like.
"Trump’s attorneys also argued that another reason Carroll should not get any money yet is that the agreement includes language requiring Trump to be repaid the money he deposited if the verdict is reversed," said the report.

Specifically, the attorneys noted that Carroll “has repeatedly stated that she intends to give away all funds that she collects from him, and once those funds are distributed to third parties, they likely cannot be recovered.”
I’m embarrassed for the lawyers who wrote that. Because they clearly weren’t, and should be. It’s the last line that makes it art(ificial). My understanding is, the Supremes refused the petition reconsider the application for certiorari, as of July 6.

Either way, unless the Second Circuit on its own motion stayed the order if the lower court, that money is no longer in the court’s escrow.
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$400 Million Later

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Does He Understand The Words Coming Out Of His Mouth?👄

Q: Oil markets are up today around about 7% for WTI and Brent as well. The world is taking you at your word, sir, that the MOU is over, that the ceasefire is over. What happens next, sir? Are we on the cusp of a full scale return to full conflict?

Trump: we're never going to see Iran have a nuclear weapon because that's much more important than the numbers you're talking about. The prices of oil are dropping like a rock. They’ll be up a little bit.
He’s been saying that since February. This, 👇however, is new. New-ish. Trump’s thinking of the racial slur “When you go black, you never go back.”
Reporter: The Iran war seems to be a strategic dead end for you. Why are you apparently unable to end the Iran war?

Trump: The Iran war has been tremendous military success. they want to make a deal, but they don't know how to make a deal. They're dealing with Steve Witkoff. They're dealing with Jared Kushner and JD Vance, and they're dealing with Marco and Scott. They're dealing with great people. I think they're little loco.
We’re gonna be doing this well into 2029.

But the important issues of the day are Mitch McConnell’s condition, and whether Graham Platner should ever have run for the Senate.
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