Friday, October 16, 2026

Dumb And Dumber

A criminal RICO action requires a predicate act cataloged in the RICO statute. One of those is 18 USC 1028, which reads (as the lawyers say) in pertinent part:
(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (c) of this section— (1) knowingly and without lawful authority produces an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document;

(2) knowingly transfers an identification document, authentication feature, or a false identification document knowing that such document or feature was stolen or produced without lawful authority;

(3) knowingly possesses with intent to use unlawfully or transfer unlawfully five or more identification documents (other than those issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication features, or false identification documents;

(4) knowingly possesses an identification document (other than one issued lawfully for the use of the possessor), authentication feature, or a false identification document, with the intent such document or feature be used to defraud the United States;

Subsection C of 1028 reads:
The circumstance referred to in subsection (a) of this section is that— (1) the identification document, authentication feature, or false identification document is or appears to be issued by or under the authority of the United States or a sponsoring entity of an event designated as a special event of national significance or the document-making implement is designed or suited for making such an identification document, authentication feature, or false identification document;

(2) the offense is an offense under subsection (a)(4) of this section; or

(3) either—

(A) the production, transfer, possession, or use prohibited by this section is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce, including the transfer of a document by electronic means; or

(B) the means of identification, identification document, false identification document, or document-making implement is transported in the mail in the course of the production, transfer, possession, or use prohibited by this section.
I’m guessing they mean to make a case on (a)(4) based on the incorrect birthdate. Which is going to require proof she knew the birthdate she used to apply for citizenship was in error, and that error defrauded the American government.

Yeah, sure.

I don’t know enough of the argument to opine, but search warrants are fishing expeditions, to some degree. I can give you an example from civil litigation. Before law school, I was a legal assistant working with two lawyers on a case involving civil engineering design for a then new building at UT Austin. It was a very large building that had generated a lot of documents. UT was the plaintiff, so we (representing the engineers who designed the drainage system that failed to contain a heavy rainfall) asked UT for all documents related to the project. They complied, and I was ushered into a very large room filled with documents.  Letters, memos, blueprints, change orders (this was long before electronic communications lie email). I was given 8 hours to find what I wanted, and UT would copy it.

Fishing expedition. I was looking not only for a history of the project, but anything that would provide us a defense. I’ve never worked a criminal case involving a search warrant, but that’s what HSI was looking for in Omar’s home. Basically, anything that would be incriminating.

But it still sounds like a very thin reed. It’s my understanding Omar was a minor when she came to this country, and later she applied for citizenship. She may have relied on what she was told by her family as to her birthdate . If she did, it’s hard to say she committed fraud by using that date in her citizenship application. There’s also the question of fraud, which does not simply mean you got your birthdate wrong. If she knew, say, the year was off (apparently HSI thinks she’s younger than she says she is), is that fraud? Or just an error?

When does an error in paperwork rise to a RICO violation? It’s just a little hard to see how this plays out in court, except as a vindictive prosecution.

BTW, this is why the plumber says the statute of limitations doesn’t apply:
5) “pattern of racketeering activity” requires at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity;
That is, actually, a kind of statute of limitations. Under RICO, HSI has to show Omar committed two acts of fraud, the last being within the last 10 years. That would be a fraud per (a)(4), above. This is not getting any easier to prosecute, because the fraud (it seems) was committed on her citizenship application. When else did she fraudulently misidentify herself for the purpose of defrauding the government? When she filed to run for office? If they can’t prove at least two acts, one within the last 10 years, they can’t bring a RICO prosecution. So the application error/“fraud” would be over 10 years old, and that is barred by the statute. Pretty sure that’s what they’re looking for.

Fishing expedition.

Getting her birthdate wrong there ain’t the same thing as getting it wrong on her application. And it’s not clear yet that either could be fraudulent.

But it doesn’t have to be clear yet. HSI still has to make its case to a grand jury. And it may, or may not, have documents that further that case.


Granted, this may all be eyewash. This Reuters article indicates Omar became a citizen at 17 as a minor, via her father’s naturalization. That was in 2000. So what has happened since 2016 that is a predicate act which could connect to what her father did in 2000, and connect to her acts in 2000? When she was 17?

All the hallmarks of another Trump hard fail.
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The Briar Patch

 I mentioned the BBC lawsuit, and this popped up:

“The Court has admonished Plaintiff for his lack of participation to no avail. Going forward, the Court expects strict compliance with its … Order, the failure of which will lead to sanctions,” Lett wrote.

Lett had warned Trump in June, after he failed to give the BBC his side of a joint motion, writing that lawyers “are not permitted to disregard the Court’s orders and procedures” and that failing to respond “may result in sanctions including granting the relief by default,” meaning she could rule for the BBC without hearing from Trump.
The short version is, Trump sued the BBC, and has since refused any and all discovery requests. He even dropped his claim that his businesses had been damaged, to avoid discovery of his business records (to prove any damages). Now he’s refusing to give a deposition until sometime next year; and the court is threatening sanctions that could include dismissal of the case.

A consummation Trump now devoutly wishes, so he can blame someone else for this stupid venture and its squalid failure. If he tried to drop it, the court might demand a hearing. If the court dismisses, Trump can whine and walk away, whining.

It’s what he does best.
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Do They Think This Will Win The Midterms?

I guess clapping isn’t working? Maybe that’s what’s going on. There were two reports that Patel was in Moscow, when he hadn’t left the country. And this is an opinion piece, not WSJ front page reporting.

OTOH, if it buys Ukraine intelligence access, they could take out some more troll farms. I mean, it’s useless, except it appeases Trump until a new Congress can take over.
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CLAP HARDER, GODDAMMIT!

YOU’RE KILLING TINKERBELLE! When pigs fly, AND Hell freezes over. You don’t sound like you know what day it is. Who can bother with details? Do you know what day it is, Grandpa?
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New Time Measure: A Zacharia!

A Zacharia is half a Scaramucci.* Yeah, that’s what did it. πŸ™„ 

“YOU’RE FIRED!” No, this was not reality TV.πŸ“Ί 
When you’ve lost Hannity AND Kilmeade….. WOW. He’s really pissed with Brian and Sean.


*Just doing what I can.
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People Just Aren’t Believing Hard Enough!

And they don’t understand it’s all Biden’s fault.
CBS: Vance had to face a lot of questions from voters on the administration's handling of the economy. We had a small business owner who was wondering — and they were Trump voters — when the economic wave that Trump is talking about, this "A+ plus economy," is going to show up in her pocketbook.
"REMAIN CALM! ALL IS WELL!!” Because AI is going to make everybody rich! πŸ€‘  I guess they didn’t get the memo. πŸ“ 
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Pardon Me?

 Library of Congress:

Whether Presidents may pardon themselves is an unresolved legal question for which there is no judicial precedent. Some federal officials discussed the prospect of a self-pardon during the Nixon, Clinton, and first Trump Administrations;nhowever, no President has issued a self-pardon, and no federal court has directly addressed the matter. Legal scholars and commentators have debated the question and reached differing conclusions. Proponents of the view that the President may pardon himself often emphasize the lack of limitation in the constitutional language, as well as certain historical views and pronouncements of the Supreme Court as to the breadth of the President’s pardon power in general.

By contrast, those asserting that the President lacks the power to pardon himself raise competing textual arguments and suggest that self-pardons could be inconsistent with other constitutional provisions, such as the Article I provision stating that officials convicted in an impeachment trial shall . . . be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment, and Punishment, according to law. A Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel opinion issued shortly before President Nixon’s resignation concluded that the President cannot pardon himself [u]nder the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case, and some scholars subsequently have supported this opinion. Even if a President were to pardon himself, there is some debate as to whether a court would issue a definitive ruling on the pardon’s lawfulness given practical considerations and separation-of-powers concerns. Some Members of Congress have introduced constitutional amendments that would preclude self-pardons, but no proposals have been adopted.
I really expect the end of Trump’s term, if not the next two years alone, is going to trigger a series of constitutional amendments to rival the post-Civil War era. A self-pardon would make amending the presidential pardon power a no brainer, but the evidence of “pay to play” pardons would do just as well. Definitively revoking presidential immunity should be another. The 14th amendment revoked Dred Scott and Plessy. The 16th amendment revoked Pollock v Farmer’s Loan and Trust. There’s clear precedent for the authority.

Changing the Court itself? Congress has all the Art. III authority it needs to do that. Maybe we need to bury the “unitary executive” theory, too. Even clarify the authority of the 15th… as long as we’re writing a wish list. (Don’t get too starry eyed. Only 17 amendments have been added after the first 10, though over 11,000 have been formally, and informally, proposed. Such as:
What if we elected the President of the United States by lot—by pulling a ball representing a candidate out of a bowl? A constitutional amendment introduced in Congress in 1846 proposed precisely that.

In 1838, one member of Congress shot another, prompting the introduction of an amendment to the Constitution to deny public office to duelers.

A citizen wrote to Congress in 1963 to advocate for a constitutional amendment to require that Americans “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Anyone who failed in that duty would be sentenced to 20 years of hard labor.
Serious and unserious, IOW. But still, only 17 since 1791. And one repealed another (21 repealed 18), so that’s only 15 still active. Clearly time for a few more, though.)
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“Pivoting” v. “Saying It Out Loud”

The decision to limit the Starshield satellite service used by Ukraine’s military came from inside the White House, according to two U.S. officials and a Western official briefed on the matter, speaking to Reuters. They said Defense Department leaders received a message that the service needed to be slowed. They did not say who in the White House sent it or who carried it out.

A senior U.S. official told Reuters, “No such request was ever made by the president.” The White House did not answer whether other administration officials might have made it. A senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv made calls to the White House, State Department and Pentagon and was told it was a White House decision.

Starshield is the military version of Starlink, built for government customers. Elon Musk wrote on X that because the government owns and controls Starshield systems, any limits are decided by the U.S. military or the president, Reuters reports. SpaceX did not respond to Reuters.

Ukrainian officials say the restriction hindered strike missions against Russian forces and logistics in occupied territory and slowed interceptor drones used against Russian Shahed drones. A Ukrainian defense ministry source said Thursday that terminals now work in motion, but only up to 100 mph (160 kph).

Source: https://reuters.com/world/europe/order-limit-starshield-ukraine-came-inside-white-house-sources-say-2026-10-15/ Image
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I Wonder If The Polling Models…

...are taking this into account? Or this.
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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Tired, demented old man mumbles about household projects while the world melts down around him.

This is a disintegrated salience network. The part of his brain that determines what matters is gone.

“And you're seeing this for the first time. This used to be grass. So if we did this, you couldn't do it. It was unusable. You know, this is built on a wetland. So the grass was always wet.

Even if you were in a drought, the grass was soaking wet. And especially women with the high heels, they'd be holding their shoes. They go out and buy beautiful new high heels that go into the White House and they come back and their shoes are destroyed.

But we did a job with the same stone that matches the White House stone and hasn't been totally finished. We're going with the black over here, too, because the limestone doesn't hold up well. Never, never did. Never will.

But what we've done here is really amazing. We put a brand new coat over the White House, brand new coat. We fixed up the walls. They were all broken, chopped, terrible shape. A lot of the ornamentation, like around the windows, was broken. And many years ago, 30, 40, 50 years ago, probably a lot during Biden three years ago because he had no idea what the hell he was doing.

But you'd look at a window and you'd see ornament on the right side. And on the left side, you'd see it was it had fallen off. Some people think that's OK, but I don't think it's OK.

So we had molds made of the right side. We put it on the left side. It's all perfect now. So we re-skinned. Basically, it's a re-skinning. And that building is good to go for another 100 years or at least actually.

But even this, the you see the the top sections where it was so bad, I didn't even like standing under it. The thing was all cracked and broken all over the place. We put the sign up, solid brass, half inch thick, as opposed to laminate. You ever see these laminate? They they don't want to spend the money on the brass. So they have a piece of brass laminated. It's about a hundredth of an inch thick. And they put it on a piece of wood to save a lot of money. And then in about two years, it decomposes and it's laying all over the floor. We don't do that.

But up there is the Rose Garden. And then we, as you know, that wall has sat for 150 years empty. And I said, something has to be on that wall. And I just had the the notion I've often thought of it because I've never seen it before. A presidential walk of fame. So we went from George Washington to Trump.

And that will be extended on this wall right up here because somebody said, oh, but you have no room for anybody else. I said, no, it extends this way. And but I'm going to have to leave that because whoever it is, maybe they won't be able to figure that out. And if they don't figure it out, I don't know what they're going to do. You know, but we have we have at least one hundred and twenty five years of extension going this way.

So it's fun. But everybody loves the presidential walk of fame. Nobody knows if there is any. And we have a very generic, very good description of every president from Washington all the way down.

And we get a little bit more personal as we get closer to my my year. Talk a little bit about in more detail about what we've had to put up with. So who knows? I'll probably change that as soon as they get in. But all I do is write the truth.”
I have no causal analysis here, nor would I put much credence in one. I would only point out that you aren’t likely to see that transcript in the NYT or WaPo. Or the New Yorker, for that matter. Yet Trump is clearly pivoting away from reality in a way far more concerning than Joe Biden displaying the consequences of jet lag at a televised debate.

And yet: πŸ¦—πŸ¦—πŸ¦—
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UK To Trump: πŸ–•πŸ»

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Thursday, October 15, 2026

“Pivoting”?

What is it about MSM punditry that it can never state the obvious until it’s no longer obvious, it’s just the wallpaper? Trump hasn’t been a supporter of Ukraine for at least 10 years. This is hardly the first time he’s promoted Putin over Zelenskyy.
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Democrats Don’t Have A Message

 Everybody says so.

El- Sayed: "Here‘s the thing about it – no matter who you are, how you love, how you pray, how you identify, where you are from, it just should not be this hard.

Should not be this hard to afford a second bag of groceries. Should not be this hard to fill up your tank. Should not be this hard to afford a home. Not be this hard to see a doctor. Should not be this hard to pay your taxes and know that that money will be spent on you and your kids rather than dropping a bomb on somebody else and their kids. Should not be this hard.

Shouldn‘t be this hard to keep our money here. Spend it on roads and bridges here, build our schools here, provide healthcare here. Shouldn‘t be this hard. Shouldn‘t be this hard."
. @JamesTalarico : I was up in Abilene meeting with residents — Democrats and Republicans alike — because they are building three giant data centers in Abilene.

A data center popped up right across the street from a mother’s dream home. Now her young son wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks it’s day because the light’s shining through his window.

I’ve rolled out a plan to crack down on these giant data center companies. We’ve got to force them to pay for their own energy instead of jacking up our utility bills. We got to force them to recycle their water so they are not exacerbating the water crisis here in Texas.

We must force them to get the consent of the people who live in these communities before they start building.
@JamesTalarico : We need immigration and customs enforcement in this country — but that’s not what we’re seeing.

What we’ve seen over the last year is a secret police force. We don’t want masked men in unmarked vehicles terrorizing our communities. We don’t want federal agents murdering our neighbors before our very eyes.

Lorenzo Salgado lived in Houston for 35 years as a construction worker. He sent his three boys to college. Lorenzo Salgado embodies the American dream. He is exactly the kind of person we want in this country. Lorenzo Salgado was a child of God, endowed with infinite worth.

Lorenzo, our fellow Texan, deserves justice, and that’s exactly what I’ll fight for in the U.S. Senate.
El-Sayed: J.D. Vance was just in Michigan. He had a cute little rally in Monroe. He invited the five people who like him. But imagine being the candidate for Michigan and having to invite somebody from Ohio to campaign for you.

Now, at his little rally, he wanted to raise questions about my commitment to America. And let me tell you, nobody understands how deep and profound the gift of this country is like a kid who was born here but for the accident of history that allowed that to happen. I got a front-row seat to what my life might have been had I not been born in America.

So don’t lecture me about America. I know America. And I know that in America…

In America, we’re big enough to guarantee health care to our people rather than taking it away.

In America, we’re big enough to invest in unions rather than busting them.

In America, we don’t tell people what to believe. We value their beliefs.

In America, we don’t question the outcomes of democratic elections.
You may have noticed that I haven’t talked about my opponent at all tonight — because I don’t want people to vote just against Ken Paxton, I want them to vote for me.

I want them to know my values and my vision.

This election is not about left versus right. It’s about whether we will have a senator who puts money in your pocket or a senator who puts money in their own. That is the choice before us in November.
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🀫

The sound of silence.
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The Sunk Cost Fallacy

El-Sayed: Trump’s neat trick is to become the subject of every conversation and to force people to take sides. And here’s the thing about it: once you take sides, he’s forcing you to double down on crazier and crazier stuff. And soon enough, you’re out here signing on to a bunch of things that, like three years ago, you’re like, “That’s insane.”

But here’s the problem: you don’t want to have to face down that one friend who’s going to tell you, “I told you so.”

And so what happens is that you keep doubling down on the craziest stuff. And you find yourself so far gone up that tree that there’s no way you can climb down. We’ve got to help those folks. Because guess what? They’re paying for $5 gas too. They’re paying insane diesel prices too. They can’t see a doctor either
And one way to overcome it.

Or, you can be like Trump: Or more like John McCain, who actually had lucid moments.
MacCallum: If you want to be on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you have to be able to understand who is our enemy and who is our ally.

Trent: Our president is currently making deals with Russia and praises North Korean dictators.

MacCallum: You’re saying it’s ok if El-Sayed is friends with the Muslim Brotherhood?

Trent: I think it’s ok to be in favor of the Arab spring. Do you know who was in favor of the Arab spring and cheered on the Muslim Brotherhood? John McCain.
And valiantly upholding the standard that every accusation is a confession: Utterly incapable of self-awareness or understanding the concept of irony.
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Good Luck With That

So this just hit my inbox:

Steven Crowder says he's suing CNN, Jubilee and James Talarico for using the phrase "Change My Mind" during last night's town hall.

“I don’t want our trademarked brand, logo and format to be used for James Talarico to associate and ingratiate himself with right-wing voters,” he said. “Once you rip it off and use it for propaganda, I now have a problem, and I have to come for everything!”
So every time someone says “Change my mind,” they owe you a licensing fee? And you trademarked two people sitting at a table having a discussion? Do you expect royalties from every restaurant in America, and from every depiction of characters in a restaurant in movies and TV shows?

Good luck with that.

According to Google AI, the “Jubilee” in the broadcast referred to Jubilee Media. According to Google:
Modelled after Jubilee's popular conversational video format, the segment put Talarico sitting directly across from skeptical Republicans, independents, and voters to debate hard-hitting topics like abortion, faith, housing costs, and immigration.
Oh, and:
The special broadcast used a merged or co-branded look featuring CNN's signature aesthetic alongside Jubilee's discussion-style stage setup.
I know there’s a logo in Crowder’s tweet, but I think he created that one. I haven’t seen it anywhere else.

So, Crowder, tell the Ellison’s “Hi!” I’m sure they’ll want to see you get fair compensation for your injury.

πŸ™„
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The Funny Part…

... is Miller thinks anybody in Texas hears this middle school shit.πŸ’© Or cares.
Undecided Texas voter: I was really impressed with Talarico this evening.

I found a more balanced politician. I was surprised at how centrist he was on many of the issues, and I think that has brought me to a deeper understanding.

I liked that he responded to me. I like that he invited us to sit down and challenge him.
Q: Talarico said he would stand up to his own party. Do you believe him?

Texas Voter: I do. I think Talarico is kind of the bright light... He seems to me to be someone with integrity, and integrity in politics has been on the decline.

I see him almost as that light on a hill to bring us back to politicians who are voting in alignment with their conscience, their morals, and doing what’s best for their constituents.
I listened to the entire 90 minutes of that town hall in Fort Worth, Texas. Nobody questioned Talarico’s gender. Not once.

Funny, that.
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So….

...it’s finally getting through my thick skull that the Fed’s superpower is to slow economic activity in order to (eventually) stall rising prices.

I mean, I knew that, intellectually, because I lived through the Volcker era, when states had to repeal their usury laws so credit cards could raise interest rates to 25%. (Yes, Virginia, there was a time when such interest rates were illegal. O, what a paradise it seems.) But the source of inflation now is painfully obvious: the Iran war, and Trump tariffs.

And it seems the only thing we can do is expect the Fed to make economic activity more expensive.

No wonder people are so pissed off.
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πŸ‘ΆπŸ‘ΆπŸ‘Ά

Roman women getting jobs? Or having a lot more babies? I’m confused.

And here I thought the empire fell for the same reason empires fall: a central power exploiting resources from the fringes of the empire, which inevitably can’t sustain those increasing demands for exploitable resources. Turns out it was Roman women with careers? Or having babies?

I’m still not sure about this. (I am quite sure about her implicit racism that white women aren’t bearing enough white babies, now, or in the days of the Roman Empire.)
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This Is Why I’m Not Too Concerned…

...about polls.

The models are all based on history, but use that, and “science,” to predict the future. As Hume pointed out, that’s not prediction, it’s just expectation. And when the future that was predicted turns into the past without ever meeting expectations, like soothsayers of old, pollsters always a reason the prediction wasn’t wrong, the understanding of it was.

The model cannot fail, it can only be failed. Most of the time the model is right; it’s the people who misunderstood it who are wrong. And oh, how often they misunderstand.

The Delphic Oracle was successful for so long because it understood this. Its schtick was to be gnomic. Or it came out that because the Oracle was stoned out of its mind and didn’t know what it was saying. Opinions differ.

The future remains the place nobody’s ever seen, nor really knows anything about.
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πŸ‘¨‍🦽

Trump doesn’t want to live stream the execution of a man in a wheelchair who’s going to have his chest and back blown open?

I can’t imagine why….
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On The Front

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine struck a Russian airfield in the Voronezh region overnight, destroying four Su-34 fighter bombers and damaging two more, releasing an aerial photo showing burn scars on an airport ramp. He said the aircraft were loaded with bombs and ready for new attacks on Ukraine. The strike used an R-360 "Long Neptune" missile, and Zelensky thanked the Ukrainian Navy. The Navy named the target as Borisoglebsk airfield and said six Su-34Ms were destroyed, along with aviation support equipment.

Zelensky also said Ukraine hit a drone storage and launch site in the Oryol region and a target in the Black Sea. He said long range operations will continue because Russia is prolonging the war.

The Su-34 is one of the key aircraft Russia uses to launch guided glide bombs at Ukrainian positions and frontline towns.
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If Trump Was A Russian Agent…

How would you tell the difference? He’s certainly not telling Putin what to do.
This, as Russia has tried to characterize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chagrin towards recent actions by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, as it relates to intelligence sharing/Starlink access and Russian sanctions waivers, as being oppositional to a wider peace process.
Who felt the pressure? Meanwhile, back in the White House:
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Wednesday, October 14, 2026

(No) More, (No) More!

He’s as violent as a stuffed teddy bear housing a box of Don Rickles’ insults attached to a string. We don’t know, either. Plenty of work for Montana cowboys, right? Or you can serve the engineers and technicians in the restaurants while they drive up the cost of housing. The string of hecklers at rallies remains unbroken. Well, for the people he knows. Time for bed, Grandpa. He’s retreated fully into his megalomania. I don’t know. The reviews have included a lot of in-audience critics.
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Why I Am NOT A Politician

 Listening to Talarico’s “Jubilee Town Hall” (Jubilee? Are we forgiving all debts and return all land to the Native Americans?), I was impressed, and realized why I’m not a public official.

Long before I went to seminary, I knew a semi-retired pastor who’d done what many did in those days (do they still? Probably.), taken up the Ronin task of temporarily serving congregations that were between pastors. “Intentional interims” have distinct duties and distinct freedoms. This guy reveled in his ability to be politely (and diplomatically) honest. He told the story of a Severe Churchgoing Woman who upbraided his theology as Not The Right Kind and questioned whether he truly worshipped God. He happily told her, “Madam, I am quite sure I don’t worship the God you do.”

Interims can get away with that shit. Old men tend to speak their minds, too. Like yours truly. It’s not the best thing, but sometimes I don’t care.

Talarico was asked if he believed Jesus was the only savior. His answer was appropriately non-controversial. Even the Lovely Wife spoke up in disagreement with the questioner: “She’s just talking about Paul.”  True, filtered through John, who was fighting to distinguish his Jewish group from the other Jews around, all of whom were having a bad enough time after the second fall of Jerusalem. And Paul was really much more ecumenical than John comes across (although there is the woman at the well….).

Me, I’d have flatly said: “No.” Because I had to answer that question more diplomatically and carefully 25 (!) years ago. And now I don’t have to.

There was another person who I would have flatly argued with, but I can’t even remember the question now (I will tonight, just as I fall asleep. 😴 And then I’ll be awake for an hour….). The point being, whatever diplomacy I ever had, it was never enough to make it in politics.

Let me go at it this way;

The entirety of the Hebrew Scriptures say that. Here is just one example:
11And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
1 Kings 19:11-14

What’s described there is a theophany: the creation reacting to presence of the Creator. God is present in the creation, but God is not in the creation. There is the creation, and there is the Creator; but they are not coterminous, nor homoousias (or homoiousias). But where does that get us? On Sinai Moses stands in the glory of God, and the thunder on the mountaintop scares the shit out of the Israelites. They hide in their tents. Isaiah sees God  in the heavenly throne room, but only sees God’s glory. Ezekiel sees God leave Jerusalem in a chariot throne (mobility and royalty), but again, sees only God’s glory. So what does God even look like? One of the scandals of Xianity was (still is), that God was present in identifiably human form (Abraham saw God at the oaks of Mambre, but God came as three travelers, all of which were God and not God, at the same time. Holy mysteries are very old.). Xianity still struggles to explain the Incarnation.

God is not a human category. EOD. To say otherwise is blasphemy. Well, to believers. That’s not a universal statement applicable to all. Besides, how do we understand except in human categories? And yet, to believers, God is not reducible to a human category.

Now you see why I’m not a politician? And yet we make politicians give us simple answers, and then berate them for “pandering” when they do.*

*CNN had a discussion after the town hall. One member (I was listening, on the radio, not watching) agreed Paxton was crooked as a dog’s hind leg, but he was the Republican candidate Trump endorsed and, besides, Talarico had changed his position on something, and that was more unacceptable. If Paxton was the Democratic candidate, I’d vote for the Republican, or not vote. And Talarico modified his position to be more palatable to more people. I don’t have a problem with that. I’m just too much of an asshole and an old crank to do that. But it’s mostly the former; the latter is pretty recent.
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Rogue AI πŸ€– Did It

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😡‍πŸ’«

Trump: My wife says, you shouldn't be dancing on the stage, by the way. You should walk off with a gentle wave. Goodbye. When the gay national anthem plays, you know, it's called the gay national anthem, actually. I got the highest gay vote of any Republican in history. She said, 'You should not dance off the stage, my darling.'

And don't talk about the swimming. Where you look left and you look right, and then you look a little further right and you see the largest human being you've ever seen. Larger than Shaquille O'Neal, with a bigger reach.

And the swimmer got hurt badly because she suffered massive wind burn. Because the giant to her right swam by her so fast that the wind was unbelievable. For the rest of her life, she'll be suffering from windburn.
🀷‍♂️ πŸ™„
😡‍πŸ’«
🀫
πŸ€•
Trump: It's called a cog-a-nit-ta-tive test. Very tough. There are few people in this audience — once you get past the first question, they show you a lion, a bear, a giraffe and a snake. And they say, which one is the lion?

By the time to get to the middle, they are hard. By the end, you have to be very smart. Like take a number, any number. Triple it. Divide by four. Add 37. Add 293. Subtract 12. Multiply by two. Divide by three. What is your number? I got it right. Nobody gets it right. They don't tell you about that.

Or they give you five words — no one up there can do any of those things. They give you five words, and you don't know what they are doing. At the end of the test, a half-hour later, they do it again. You don't know that. Five words. Hat, hair logo, white, black. Please repeat them. Hat, hair, logo, white, black. You got it right.

They go, holy shit. Nobody can do that. Very few people could do that.
Quit while you’re ahead. πŸ₯±
πŸ«ͺ

I wasn’t aware our country owned an oil company.
He’d better hurry. Voting in Texas starts Monday. Not many minds going to change by now. Maybe he can remind us he’s going to stop all payments to insurance companies, and let us do it; or something.
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America Controls The Strait Of Hormuz

And the cost in personnel and munitions is totally worth it!

Or something….
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There Is No 25th Amendment Remedy

There is no impeachment and removal remedy.

Congress holds the whip hand in most things; over the President, over the Supreme Court. They threw away the impeachment/removal threat over a century ago. But they can lame duck the shit out of Trump, starting in January.

Professor Vladeck has a book coming in the spring that details what Congress can do to the Supremes. His first book was about how much rope Congress gave the Court in the early 20th century. What Congress giveth, Congress can taketh away. I’m looking forward to his analysis of that.

There is a LOT Congress can do. After the last two years, the next two are likely to look like FDR’s first term, or Johnson’s entire tenure.


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Patterns

😈 I’m sensing a pattern here…. More than one, actually. And speaking of new voters: I’m kind of surprised Trump isn’t upset about this. Those 500,000 registrants could have been GOP voters. Statistically, they probably were.

And then there’s the really big picture pattern everyone is aware of:
Well, everyone except the White House. They’re always the last to know.
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Ego Is Hungry!

And stunningly incompetent.
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This Seems To Be Happening A Lot

Meanwhile:
Ukraine says SpaceX has put new speed limits on military grade Starlink terminals without warning, disrupting some missions, according to multiple outlets. SpaceX hasn’t commented.

The affected service is StarShield, a Starlink subscription for government and military use. The Journal reports Ukraine’s access runs under a Defense Department contract. A Pentagon spokesman referred questions to President Trump’s remarks on intelligence sharing.

Zelensky adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said the limit began overnight and forces got no warning. Accounts of the threshold vary. Beskrestnov and a Ukrainian defense ministry official point to about 160 km/h (100 mph), while Ukraine’s 7th Corps told Reuters connections dropped for 10 to 20 seconds at just 110 to 120 km/h. Units cancelled some missions.

Per the Journal, drones can still fly but video feeds are less reliable, especially against moving targets, and they must fly slower to stay connected, making them easier to hit. Midrange drones are harder to launch, and Ukrainian officials say Starlink had recently helped Ukraine intercept Russia’s jet powered drones. Slower ground drones are largely unaffected.

Drones flying over Russia were already barred from StarShield and use other guidance, so strikes on Russian oil and diesel production are unlikely to be affected, officials and defense executives told the Journal.

The limit comes as Washington presses Kyiv to stop striking Russian refineries. Trump said Tuesday the U.S. is still sharing intelligence, after Zelensky said Kyiv received no warning ahead of a Russian missile attack.
Trump to Ukraine: “Fuck you.”

Maybe it’s one more reason people are yelling in public?
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