here's a thing I bookmarked days ago and set aside to use when I finally wrote about the deportations — and then couldn't find it this morning until AFTER I posted, NATURALLY.
"Insanity: The deportation flights Trump used military jets for—that Mexico refused to accept—cost the U.S. up to $852,000 per flight to attempt to deport just 80 migrants at a time. To compare, flights directly chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement cost just $8,577."
Scott Abramson wrote that Biden and Obama deported more migrants than Trump, but they did it on commercial flights, which is cheaper for U.S. taxpayers. It is also not an international issue that flying military planes into foreign nations is. Trump prefers the military planes because of how that reflects on him. He looks like the big, strong man that he isn't.
no, they aren't. And DoTard's voters who elected him won't ever see the truth and will rally with him and buy his junk and would totally vote for him again if and when he hijacks the 2028 elections... this is a problem. Most Trumpers, like 80% of them can't read any text / words more than a paragraph unless it is something they agree with. They can barely spell or write.
True. I'm wondering how trump came up with the word repatriation - that's way more syllables than he's used to. I'm certain he had help with that post.
I've just started calling the major news media (with few exceptions) MAGA-adjacent media, though granted it takes longer to type than mainstream does! But most of the ownership, particularly corporate, is now MAGA-influenced because they're financially vulnerable to a brand-new thing in American government - blatant extortion by the ruling party. They don't even try to hide it. Disgusting exhibitions of pure selfish greed.
The are the corporate propaganda press, as the far right figured how to game the system, by buying "our" (read actual/)factual press. Then they whined about how "both sides do it" further twisting the truth, but a statement the idiots slurp down, even some supposedly on our side
Rachel Maddow certainly DID, report on this & stronly emphasized that if they use that largest military plane, that DOES cost $800K as opposed to a charter flight at $100K, is like setting $700K on fire with every flight.
There is a smaller military plane that they have been using that “only” cost $100K per trip as opposed to $8K for a chartered flight….which is what Biden has been using. The smaller military plane is still wasting $92K per flight over using chartered planes.
Way to go Doge on saving money & trimming waste.
Absolutely the use of military planes is strictly for optics.
Yep. Trump's immigration lies were quite acceptable to many Democrats. All he had to do was push their racist, ignorant buttons and they voted for him.
A fault of political conservatives is that they are not truly financially conservative. Therefore, Obama and Biden helped out the private companies and did not add as much to the national debt as Trump did because they compared prices and consequences of their choices.
So gross. That must be tough when you start every day with penis envy that's so bad it makes you blow a million dollars over 80 people you wouldn't want to be seen having dinner with. Uugh.
Gee, what was DOGE doing while they were planning to use military planes to deport immigrants? Isn’t he supposed to be in charge of stopping government waste? Oh, yeah; he IS government waste.
A most excellent observation. If he had any clue about our government and how it actually operates (other than to be the biggest welfare queen of all) but he doesn't. Hell he doesn't even understand our "free speech" amendment, and that's a basic fifth grade level understanding.
I said that last night, if there are 99 ways to do something right, he will always pick that one, awful, terribly wrong way, every single time. He simply cannot do anything correctly due to his evil and incompetence.
Share the vid of the Maddow Show from last night, Monday; or at least the actual facts/numbers from her show. She covered the cost of using the military planes vs civilian chartered planes very well.
Jeff, you're still not writing about how dangerous Trump is. He's going to be killing mass numbers of people and wildlife. This matters more than not letting people use the restrooms on the planes. He is the Death President. He's not an elderly rage baby - he's a mass murderer in waiting. How long do you think it will be before he orders ICE to simply gun down the immigrants and bury them in mass graves?
I think of mass graves too. Just like all over Europe, the Middle East, Cambodia, Central and South America, Russia, etc. I see it as a real possibility.
Whenever a state turns rogue and complicit in the murdering of its own citizenry you can also be sure that any mass graves will be hidden from sight and all those collaborating with the atrocities committed protected from prosecution and sworn to secrecy. Northern Irelanders say ‘welcome to our reality’ 🐈⬛
The ladies on "The View", specifically Ana Navarro, brought this very subject up this morning. Once again, I'm sure we can all easily imagine the major melt-down from the MAGATS if Biden had spent money like this, let alone hand cuffing the deportees and not allowing them to use a bathroom!
Maddow did great coverage on this enormous waste of money on her Monday show. Watch it & share it please. $92K to $700K per flight, depending on which size of plane they use.
Thank you for the additional background on the wasteful spending of the current admin vs Biden WH. Will be using that the next time someone complains about anything to do with government waste or the price of literally anything. Buch of entitled fuckwit grifters.
Jeff - I keep freaking out but I know a couple of people who have my back and reassure me that we are going to get through this. One is a fabulous gay man who lives in my neighborhood and the other is my friend who is a stockbroker. We need to hang together and keep laughing at these assholes and thank you so much for leading the way in that regard. The way these idiots misspell everything is beyond the pale and the jokes just write themselves. The TitKok thing completely HYSTERICAL! Thank you 🙏 May you Live Forever as they say in Afghanistan!!
It’s OPM - we are the other people, though. Orchestra Conductor Thomas Beecham once said “no operatic tenor has yet died soon enough for me.” I think most of us feel the same way about orange mobsters…
Perhaps Trump's cabinet can sell him on a grudge cage match with Petro. Although props to Petro for requiring some BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. That's more than our administration is requiring.
He can barely walk. Actually, walking soccer is a thing. My husband, 86 at the time, competed in a walking soccer tournament in Majorca. It would be fun to watch Trumpy v. Petro.
Walking soccer sounds fun. I will look it up. While I get the sentiment, it is not fun for me to watch Trump in anything except a meme. I appreciate Jeff putting texts after the videos so I don't have to actually listen to Trump.
I very much agree! & u know what I personally find it very amusing to hear other leaders spitting back into trumps & the entire maga no longer American reputation cult faces!!..How overly blown they have become with thinking they have soo much power/superiority over others is the most embarrassing-humiliating experience in my 77yrs - those of u who felt so compelled to strip me & others Constitutional freedoms from us is so sickening & degrading of all who have sacrificed to keep u free & this includes those who thought the power of choice included not voting either because they didn't like either one-too lazy & dumped it on someone else or as a rebellion of how they felt this country wasn't doing enough for their country - which is funny cause it brings me to ask how good was ur rebellion & why didnt u stay at home & fight ur own battles instead of demanding from ur new country that u have over & over continued to allow terrorists to goveron ur coutry!?..where is ur fight where is ur back bone of strength to fight for it & keep it so u can live in ur own land free as u have been here! so free u were able to do what u did! U ditched the President who again was trying with other leaders yo resolve a serious continual problem & because u didn't think it was happening fast enough or the way u think it should have gone - lol - u chose to not vote in a stance of rebellion - well how helpful were u to population with ur rebellion of choosing not to vote!? Its in the works of splitting them up! & scattering them to other lands & those who think they r going to finally live freely in what will now be theirs well only time will give them that reward - or maybe not!? 🤷♀️
This country has never lived up the what the founding fathers layed down for us ALL - but they did lay down how to correct & adjust wrong doing - while still keeping us ALL on freedoms track...U took ur responsibility in keeping America free & safe by ignoring the Constitutional rights of many just so u could have a country only for u & how u believe & gosh the most important reason is u wanted cheaper gas-food & only ur religion - again out of ur mean self made superiority came the birth of the best example of The 7 deadly Sins - oh yeah this human waste is what all of u created & as far as him convincing u of his humble Christian faith - he didn't even place his hand on the Bible including his mother's- what does that tell u - it tells u he knows enough about being good-bad-lying-cheating-adultery & all of it that he was not going to promise anything based on the American OATH with his dirty sweaty hand on the HOLY BOOK - like he's pulling one over on his creator GOD! He feels more impowered if he keeps his hands off the HOLY BOOK..
Oh alittle note on Franklin Graham- u look sick & a lack of personal hygiene as can be! Or is that the sin of self imposed power & greed that is finally taking its toll? - u do not even come close to ur father & his faith - u r part of the falsifying of GOD'S true words he gave his son Jesus to teach as he walked among us..ur a complete disgraceful failure & if u think this is going to allow u to the seat at right hand of GOD ur father - I would think again..
I really hope the transcript of Petro’s remarks s accurate and authentic. I had received the impression that Petro was the one who caved after Trump threatening tariffs.
that's exactly what Trump wants you to think :) It's not like he hasn't had a lifetime of practice at taking credit for things he didn't do and blaming others for the bad stuff.
The magats trumpeted it, so you know it isn't true. Petro shamed him, and cooler heads got it, and realized all they have to do is unsnap the cuffs before letting them disembark. So they agreed, and manbaby and his intellectually challenged lot brag they won, but they didn't.
I hope like hell that President Petro totally shuts down all exports of coffee to the US. Sell their coffee anywhere else, just do not sell it to the US. The American coffee addiction withdrawal wouldn’t take long to kick in.
Of course he does, but he's far more eloquent than the orange shitstain. And he's right; Colombia is very much the heart of this part of the world. Its people are a vibrant cultural mix: Spanish Europeans, multiple indigenous cultures that go back thousands of years, Black immigrants who were freed or escaped enslavement. They have an amazing country that has freed itself from the stain of Pablo Escobar and his cartel, and have a country with a thriving economy - and a health care system that ranks far above the US and even Canada. If I were younger and planning ahead for retirement, I'd consider moving there.
I made my decision to move right before retiring. Actually moving enabled me to retire because our daughter is going to university tuition free here in Germany.
For someone retired moving abroad is really common because the money goes farther.
Cost of Living in Germany is 23, US is 13, Colombia is 117.
There are other variables of course. Colombia beats on cost of living, but not the other two factors. Of course you might have some other variables you consider with the health care.
My mother was German before she fled the Nazis in the 30’s. My sister and I could apply for citizenship but neither of us speak German. My mom didn’t want to be reminded what the Germans did to Jews and gypsies.
When Europeans started showing up in the Americas, they assumed -- probably because the inhabitants didn't speak European languages -- that the natives were ignorant. But their tech was not much different, except that the indigenous were more sophisticated in some ways. Their ancestors had already been building pyramids when the Great Pyramid in Egypt was being constructed.
They even had some tech that was superior to Europe's -- like a stone reservoir discovered recently in central America that stored a very large amount of water and kept it pure enough to drink, partly by using zeolite, a class of minerals that can purify water (among other things) -- took centuries for Europeans to discover zeolite's usefulness for ourselves. Europeans thought their guns were what brought the natives under control, but the diseases they brought killed most of the population across both continents before Europeans even had a clue how many there had been.
This administration -- Trump, Musk, all of them -- think they're far smarter than the people they're jerking around, probably because their targets aren't as wealthy (and also just because Trump et al are arrogant shitheads.) I really hope they get the opportunity to understand just how wrong they are.
But having seen the WAPO headline first, and then reading your narrative..the difference between corporate media propaganda and free independent press. Seth Abramson also called it as a sleight of hand trick, engineered to appear as if Colombia capitulated first.
The narrative I first read said that Colombia went to the US after turning down the planes with handcuffed people, and picked them up. In any case, the US legacy media, and I saw this on the AP, which claims to be independent, made it look like a Trump victory. They are not able to truly analyze what he is doing, and this performance distracted people from looking at his policies, and illegal actions.
Petro’s Colombia sounds pretty appealing about now. And I imagine trump-musk’s fossil fuel buddies put the screws to them about tariffs on oil imports.
I'll cut him a little slack. He does know a little more about his country. Colombia is a country of immigrants too. Spanish is the language, but a lot of Italians and Germans (as a grade schooler I had a Colombian penpal.)
My daughter's Waldorf school in Chicago had exchanges for their Spanish students with students at a Waldorf School in Colombia, where one of my friend's daughter's went. She had a great time.
His words reflect his Latin heritage, poetic, emotional, and of course, prone to verbal overflow. This is somewhat refreshing in comparison to the ignorant bully ramblings of 47, and who knows, perhaps it actually comes from the heart?
I thought Petro's posts as translated were hilarious. Most country's leaders are a tad grandiose, eh? Fpotus's posts are not hilarious, because he is a snarling, rabid creature.
What an embarrassment is right. That AI Pic of him as a mob boss is further proof that Dump is insane. He thinks this is all a game. Where are the Democrats in all this? Who is speaking out, trying to find ANY solution to this mess? ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!! 🤦♀️
Good question Susan. Where the hell is the outrage from anyone in Congress? His mob boss mentality is enough to show us how fucking off his rocker he really is and its been only one week. While the ranks of his faithful are rejoicing, his actions confirm the GOP is now the party of cruelty and death. How much more of this crazy ass shit do we have to endure until someone in a high place has the balls to even suggest invoking the 25th?
It’s been a long, frustrating trip is search of someone: Mueller, Smith, Letitia, Fanni, Schiff, even Kamala (definitely not Schumer!) Looks like we’ll need to do it ourselves!
So so hoping you are right and thinking you are.Our heroes so far have been the judge that halted birthright deportations,Bishop Maryann Edgar Budde and Michael Bloomberg.I welcome the next ones to stand up for our democracy and We The People.
Good question and obviously needs to be asked - but they are all too frickin scared of losing their plum jobs to even let out a squeak. Start writing and calling.....
He’s come full circle on many issues. While he’s going to be investigated for defending our democracy he’s starting to reach out to us and that’s worth the $50/year for me.
Trumps was born into a mob family, he’s always acted as if he was a mob boss, why anyone would be surprised is beyond me Susan… his fealty to Russia appears to have waned, hes also threatening his master puppeteer!
I think that Putin would not only approve of but may have masterminded Trump’s threats to Canada, Panama and Greenland. A three pronged attack destabilising America’s North/South borders and a destabilisation of the postwar military NATO balance of power in the EU. Add to this Trump’s support of Netanyahu’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza which will further destabilise the Middle East and the only winners will be Russia but mostly their senior political partner, China.
All the MAGA criminal global oligarchs are interested in is making as much money for themselves as possible. In this profiteer motivation they are easily bought so are innately treacherous.
Don't expect anything by theater from the Dems in Congress. Oh, and that pig Fetterman has refused to sign on to the resolution by all other Senate Dems to condemn Trump's pardons. I predict he's going to switch parties, probably soon. That piece of shit, that traitor, that creep.
Fetterman approves of Trump's attempt to annex Greenland, calling it a "responsible conversation", but insists he won't switch parties because he's pro-choice. Yeah, he's pro-choice at the moment - wonder what "incentive" will be offered by the Republicans to get him to become a forced birther overnight? This guy is a snake and a creep and totally untrustworthy. Primary him when it's time.
Excellent point Jill and Terri! The respect they show towards their Republican colleagues borders on fealty! Remember the people who’ve elected your sorry asses into office… if you can manage to set aside the corrupt payoffs you received from lobbyists!!
And of course the NYT and other corporate outlets are all in on preserving the veneer of sanity in the administration.
Where is the outrage at how they’ve treated the Episcopal bishop of DC? I want those fucking holy rollers to eat shit for their performative outrage. I want the smirks surgically removed from their faces. I want them frog-marched to the Potomac and pushed into the water.
I adore your ideas, Mr. Stiffelman. Especially having smirks surgically removed. That is an operation that needs to be done for the entire Republican Party. And yes to the holier-than- everybody-else Rollers who trashed the Right Reverend Budde. They can eat shit AND wear it. They are horrible hypocrites.
I disagree. The label isn’t quite right. All those stories were tribal myths, spun in an age way before science and aimed at preserving insularity. And insularity is the wrong response to the challenges of the modern world. The so-called conservative Christians repelled by the modern world wear their faith on their sleeve as if it was a shield. But that doesn’t excuse their efforts to exert control over their fellow citizens. Believe whatever nonsense you want to believe, but as the founders embraced the political attitudes of The Enlightenment, I will adopt its principles as a North Star. Foremost among those principles is doubt. And doubt demands a strong measure of tolerance. It also demands that we change and evolve.
This is foundational. Those who promote intolerance and champion ignorance should have no place in public life. At least that’s my opinion. Whether they lie shamelessly or actually believe the bullshit they spew, it doesn’t matter. They should have no place in public life.
Trump and his MAGA movement represent an attempt to destroy the Enlightenment and return us to a dark and dangerous age of superstition, ignorance, and unchecked brutality. And they may succeed in this benighted country where stupidity is a badge of honor.
I'm sorry, my point was that Christianity isn't in the Old Testament. Now, my father was a firm believer in the 10 Commandments, a result of his Puritan and Pennsylvania Dutch background, raised in the Dutch Reformed Church. However he was at least an agnostic, and possibly atheist. As a Unitarian, he preferred sermons based on the Bible, and even the Old Testament Bible. For me, I prefer the Sumerian basis for Genesis.
Actually, I'm the one who has read Gilgamesh several times. Every time I find new connections to Genesis. I'm fascinated by the beginnings of literate culture in the Mid East, and the beginnings of towns and things like Gobekli Tepe and Catal Hoyuk in southeastern Turkey, which is where I place the Garden of Eden or maybe just after "Adam and Eve" left it... No snickering allowed...
Agree 100%! Trump is a dickless fuk bully. Laughing at him is the one thing that undoes him completely. Laughing is also healing for us, and boy do we need healing!
Be careful what you wish for, TL. I so wanted Kissinger to kick the bucket after Nixon and the Vietnam War. Nope! That fucking SOB didn’t die until last year at 100 years old! 🤬
Somewhere along the way Donnie learned the word tariff. He doesn't know what it means but he's super proud that he can spell it. So far his reboot is going as expected. He's the movie monster who returns for the encore kill. I'll go out on a limb and say he won't last for four years.
Here's a story about legitimate asylum seekers from Afghanistan who are in more danger now due to Trump's orders. Listening to this courageous woman crying while she told her story broke my heart this morning. These are people who worked for the US in Afghanistan. They are abandoned and in hiding and have been patiently going through the asylum process. Next time the US asks for such people to help them in war-torn countries, they'll know our promises of protection aren't worth the deposits Trump makes in his gold crapper. Who lives in a shitty country now, I ask?
President Chaos's wrecking ball has no limits. Democrats need to get their act together SOON or there will be no salvation for any of us. Oh, and Happy Monday.
Trump will replace it with a statue of himself...at least it will be an easy target and an iconic thing to destroy after he sails off into the sunset one day.
Meanwhile he sent 2,000 more bombs to Israel this week and is trying to strong-arm Jordan to take in a million or so displaced Palestinian refugees. What a problem-solver. Through Jared he's planning a new resort with Netanyahu in Gaza. So much for "a right to survive."
I saw a story in the first admin about kush shopping for land in Gaza and the one obstacle was how to get the people and olive groves off the land so they could develop it. Jesus help us.
Realtors have been trolling for buyers here for quite awhile. Luxury waterfront property. Only problem is that homes will be built on the bodies of Palestinians. Actually what I read was for property in the West Bank.
Wow. As a former realtor this is dark stuff. I guess now that agent orange is pressuring other countries to take Palestinians as 'asylum seekers' to displace them, Israel will control the whole of Palestine? I can't believe how close we were to a two state solution and now...
here's a thing I bookmarked days ago and set aside to use when I finally wrote about the deportations — and then couldn't find it this morning until AFTER I posted, NATURALLY.
"Insanity: The deportation flights Trump used military jets for—that Mexico refused to accept—cost the U.S. up to $852,000 per flight to attempt to deport just 80 migrants at a time. To compare, flights directly chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement cost just $8,577."
https://www.threads.net/@meidastouch/post/DFQ3T9Hz8xV?xmt=AQGzFH4tEB3hq0vneDfwuep0tPf8b5B-ReVVj2y8gPKhXA
Scott Abramson wrote that Biden and Obama deported more migrants than Trump, but they did it on commercial flights, which is cheaper for U.S. taxpayers. It is also not an international issue that flying military planes into foreign nations is. Trump prefers the military planes because of how that reflects on him. He looks like the big, strong man that he isn't.
excellent points
Of course the mainstream, complicit press never report that.
no, they aren't. And DoTard's voters who elected him won't ever see the truth and will rally with him and buy his junk and would totally vote for him again if and when he hijacks the 2028 elections... this is a problem. Most Trumpers, like 80% of them can't read any text / words more than a paragraph unless it is something they agree with. They can barely spell or write.
True. I'm wondering how trump came up with the word repatriation - that's way more syllables than he's used to. I'm certain he had help with that post.
Miller does ALL the "thinking" for him, and some flunky writes the texts.
Rachel Maddow did report on this & emphasized the huge waste of money!!
unfortunately Rachel shouts good truth inside an echo chamber and the peons who need to hear her have never tuned in and never will.
I've just started calling the major news media (with few exceptions) MAGA-adjacent media, though granted it takes longer to type than mainstream does! But most of the ownership, particularly corporate, is now MAGA-influenced because they're financially vulnerable to a brand-new thing in American government - blatant extortion by the ruling party. They don't even try to hide it. Disgusting exhibitions of pure selfish greed.
The are the corporate propaganda press, as the far right figured how to game the system, by buying "our" (read actual/)factual press. Then they whined about how "both sides do it" further twisting the truth, but a statement the idiots slurp down, even some supposedly on our side
Nice!
That's why we're here, and not there. The Big Media sycophancy is devouring itself and is too stupid to see why.
Rachel Maddow certainly DID, report on this & stronly emphasized that if they use that largest military plane, that DOES cost $800K as opposed to a charter flight at $100K, is like setting $700K on fire with every flight.
There is a smaller military plane that they have been using that “only” cost $100K per trip as opposed to $8K for a chartered flight….which is what Biden has been using. The smaller military plane is still wasting $92K per flight over using chartered planes.
Way to go Doge on saving money & trimming waste.
Absolutely the use of military planes is strictly for optics.
Why would they, they love the chaos and cruelty.
Not giving a flying fuck how much it costs as long as it makes him look like a Big Man.
He looks more like a Big Mac - fat buns and covered in orange gooey sauce and meat for brains.
Damn girl, I love your style and wit!
Yeah a big fat Orange Cheeseball with jazz hands and an infinitesimal little d*ck
I believe that DEMs downplayed their deportations so as not to piss off a part of their base as well.. :/
Yep. Trump's immigration lies were quite acceptable to many Democrats. All he had to do was push their racist, ignorant buttons and they voted for him.
And they used chartered flights to return the migrants, just like we always have, because it’s much CHEAPER.
Little Donny is wasting enormous amounts of money, for no other reason than to look tough…that’s it.
Please share the vid of Maddow’s show from Monday or at the least the figures she quoted as to the costs of using these military aircraft.
Like I always say, conservatives couldn't save money if you paid them to.
"Seth" Abramson maybe?? He has said that, yes.
Exactly Theresa, Lucian did as well… the word is going to get out! Fuck Trump and his coterie of miscreants!!
Ugh! You're right. Always important to read before sending!
I do, and at this point in my life, I find that I miss stuff all the time when I look at it later. Thank goodness for the edit button! Take care!
No. Scott is professor of political science at the University of Rochester in NY.
Here's Seth Abramson's article that I think you're referring to. https://open.substack.com/pub/sethabramson/p/the-trump-colombia-crisis-that-trump?r=rgdr7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
A fault of political conservatives is that they are not truly financially conservative. Therefore, Obama and Biden helped out the private companies and did not add as much to the national debt as Trump did because they compared prices and consequences of their choices.
He's nothing but a flaccid penis.
Truth, useless except to pee.
So gross. That must be tough when you start every day with penis envy that's so bad it makes you blow a million dollars over 80 people you wouldn't want to be seen having dinner with. Uugh.
Gee, what was DOGE doing while they were planning to use military planes to deport immigrants? Isn’t he supposed to be in charge of stopping government waste? Oh, yeah; he IS government waste.
Elmo is human waste.💩💩💩
A most excellent observation. If he had any clue about our government and how it actually operates (other than to be the biggest welfare queen of all) but he doesn't. Hell he doesn't even understand our "free speech" amendment, and that's a basic fifth grade level understanding.
Allegedly he was irritating Boeing about the new Air Force One.
Good maybe they'll send him on one of their defective planes with the whole trumptanic team.
One where the door falls off when they’re at 30,000 ft & sucks every out of the plane, like that poor woman from Albuquerque who died a few yrs ago.
yep...if there's a wrong way to do something, that's the way Donny will pick.
I said that last night, if there are 99 ways to do something right, he will always pick that one, awful, terribly wrong way, every single time. He simply cannot do anything correctly due to his evil and incompetence.
This needs to be shared all over! JFC!!!
Marching orders for all of us here, get the word out!!
Share the vid of the Maddow Show from last night, Monday; or at least the actual facts/numbers from her show. She covered the cost of using the military planes vs civilian chartered planes very well.
The STUPID! It burns! (Also, it burns holes in our pockets!)
The worst. president. ever. has turned our nation into a Shithole Country. Welcome to the Amerikkkan Dark Age.
Jeff, you're still not writing about how dangerous Trump is. He's going to be killing mass numbers of people and wildlife. This matters more than not letting people use the restrooms on the planes. He is the Death President. He's not an elderly rage baby - he's a mass murderer in waiting. How long do you think it will be before he orders ICE to simply gun down the immigrants and bury them in mass graves?
I think of mass graves too. Just like all over Europe, the Middle East, Cambodia, Central and South America, Russia, etc. I see it as a real possibility.
When that gets going, you won't hear about it in the mainstream media.
And we'll be lucky if pages like this are still allowed to publish. We'll be reduced to whispering on street corners. . .
Whenever a state turns rogue and complicit in the murdering of its own citizenry you can also be sure that any mass graves will be hidden from sight and all those collaborating with the atrocities committed protected from prosecution and sworn to secrecy. Northern Irelanders say ‘welcome to our reality’ 🐈⬛
The ladies on "The View", specifically Ana Navarro, brought this very subject up this morning. Once again, I'm sure we can all easily imagine the major melt-down from the MAGATS if Biden had spent money like this, let alone hand cuffing the deportees and not allowing them to use a bathroom!
Maddow did great coverage on this enormous waste of money on her Monday show. Watch it & share it please. $92K to $700K per flight, depending on which size of plane they use.
Thank you for the additional background on the wasteful spending of the current admin vs Biden WH. Will be using that the next time someone complains about anything to do with government waste or the price of literally anything. Buch of entitled fuckwit grifters.
Jeff - I keep freaking out but I know a couple of people who have my back and reassure me that we are going to get through this. One is a fabulous gay man who lives in my neighborhood and the other is my friend who is a stockbroker. We need to hang together and keep laughing at these assholes and thank you so much for leading the way in that regard. The way these idiots misspell everything is beyond the pale and the jokes just write themselves. The TitKok thing completely HYSTERICAL! Thank you 🙏 May you Live Forever as they say in Afghanistan!!
It’s OPM - we are the other people, though. Orchestra Conductor Thomas Beecham once said “no operatic tenor has yet died soon enough for me.” I think most of us feel the same way about orange mobsters…
DOGE is really doing bang up job, NOT!
Seth Abramson's piece on this is worth a read. https://open.substack.com/pub/sethabramson/p/the-trump-colombia-crisis-that-trump?r=rgdr7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
http://www.scottfabramson.com/
Associate Orofessor of Political Science, U of Rochester
That markup is 100% kickbacks to whoever.🤮🤮🤮
And, once again, THE CRUELTY IS THE POINT!
Thanks for the cite. I'd read it but couldn't find it either.
of course, we only have computer-generated translations to go by, but Colombia's Petro seems to have his own issues with grandiosity
Perhaps Trump's cabinet can sell him on a grudge cage match with Petro. Although props to Petro for requiring some BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. That's more than our administration is requiring.
Perhaps they can be challenged to a soccer match and Trump can pretend he won, or some reason why his all powerful self cannot play.
Bone spurs Linda!!
Of course! Did he get them after he was the best high school baseball player in NYC?
😂
He can barely walk. Actually, walking soccer is a thing. My husband, 86 at the time, competed in a walking soccer tournament in Majorca. It would be fun to watch Trumpy v. Petro.
Walking soccer sounds fun. I will look it up. While I get the sentiment, it is not fun for me to watch Trump in anything except a meme. I appreciate Jeff putting texts after the videos so I don't have to actually listen to Trump.
I cannot listen to the wheedling, nasal, whining, sing-song low intellect, never makes a coherent point, voice.
Yes…AMEN TO THAT!
Linda Weide, that would be totally on brand!
Preaching to the choir 🎶😵💫👏🏻
I very much agree! & u know what I personally find it very amusing to hear other leaders spitting back into trumps & the entire maga no longer American reputation cult faces!!..How overly blown they have become with thinking they have soo much power/superiority over others is the most embarrassing-humiliating experience in my 77yrs - those of u who felt so compelled to strip me & others Constitutional freedoms from us is so sickening & degrading of all who have sacrificed to keep u free & this includes those who thought the power of choice included not voting either because they didn't like either one-too lazy & dumped it on someone else or as a rebellion of how they felt this country wasn't doing enough for their country - which is funny cause it brings me to ask how good was ur rebellion & why didnt u stay at home & fight ur own battles instead of demanding from ur new country that u have over & over continued to allow terrorists to goveron ur coutry!?..where is ur fight where is ur back bone of strength to fight for it & keep it so u can live in ur own land free as u have been here! so free u were able to do what u did! U ditched the President who again was trying with other leaders yo resolve a serious continual problem & because u didn't think it was happening fast enough or the way u think it should have gone - lol - u chose to not vote in a stance of rebellion - well how helpful were u to population with ur rebellion of choosing not to vote!? Its in the works of splitting them up! & scattering them to other lands & those who think they r going to finally live freely in what will now be theirs well only time will give them that reward - or maybe not!? 🤷♀️
This country has never lived up the what the founding fathers layed down for us ALL - but they did lay down how to correct & adjust wrong doing - while still keeping us ALL on freedoms track...U took ur responsibility in keeping America free & safe by ignoring the Constitutional rights of many just so u could have a country only for u & how u believe & gosh the most important reason is u wanted cheaper gas-food & only ur religion - again out of ur mean self made superiority came the birth of the best example of The 7 deadly Sins - oh yeah this human waste is what all of u created & as far as him convincing u of his humble Christian faith - he didn't even place his hand on the Bible including his mother's- what does that tell u - it tells u he knows enough about being good-bad-lying-cheating-adultery & all of it that he was not going to promise anything based on the American OATH with his dirty sweaty hand on the HOLY BOOK - like he's pulling one over on his creator GOD! He feels more impowered if he keeps his hands off the HOLY BOOK..
Oh alittle note on Franklin Graham- u look sick & a lack of personal hygiene as can be! Or is that the sin of self imposed power & greed that is finally taking its toll? - u do not even come close to ur father & his faith - u r part of the falsifying of GOD'S true words he gave his son Jesus to teach as he walked among us..ur a complete disgraceful failure & if u think this is going to allow u to the seat at right hand of GOD ur father - I would think again..
*All my opinions only🙋♀️♡🙏🇺🇲
I really hope the transcript of Petro’s remarks s accurate and authentic. I had received the impression that Petro was the one who caved after Trump threatening tariffs.
that's exactly what Trump wants you to think :) It's not like he hasn't had a lifetime of practice at taking credit for things he didn't do and blaming others for the bad stuff.
That is certainly true!
The magats trumpeted it, so you know it isn't true. Petro shamed him, and cooler heads got it, and realized all they have to do is unsnap the cuffs before letting them disembark. So they agreed, and manbaby and his intellectually challenged lot brag they won, but they didn't.
I think that's what the spin doctoring wants you to think.
Yes. Fucking worthless corporate hagiographers.
I hope like hell that President Petro totally shuts down all exports of coffee to the US. Sell their coffee anywhere else, just do not sell it to the US. The American coffee addiction withdrawal wouldn’t take long to kick in.
Of course he does, but he's far more eloquent than the orange shitstain. And he's right; Colombia is very much the heart of this part of the world. Its people are a vibrant cultural mix: Spanish Europeans, multiple indigenous cultures that go back thousands of years, Black immigrants who were freed or escaped enslavement. They have an amazing country that has freed itself from the stain of Pablo Escobar and his cartel, and have a country with a thriving economy - and a health care system that ranks far above the US and even Canada. If I were younger and planning ahead for retirement, I'd consider moving there.
I made my decision to move right before retiring. Actually moving enabled me to retire because our daughter is going to university tuition free here in Germany.
For someone retired moving abroad is really common because the money goes farther.
Cost of Living in Germany is 23, US is 13, Colombia is 117.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp
Health Care Index Germany is 7, US is 38, Colombia is 74
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world.
Safety ranking in Germany is 20, US is 132, Colombia is 146.
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/
There are other variables of course. Colombia beats on cost of living, but not the other two factors. Of course you might have some other variables you consider with the health care.
Thanks Linda, I’m a huge fan of The jungle in Mexico… one of many favorite places there!!
My mother was German before she fled the Nazis in the 30’s. My sister and I could apply for citizenship but neither of us speak German. My mom didn’t want to be reminded what the Germans did to Jews and gypsies.
Start learning it
When Europeans started showing up in the Americas, they assumed -- probably because the inhabitants didn't speak European languages -- that the natives were ignorant. But their tech was not much different, except that the indigenous were more sophisticated in some ways. Their ancestors had already been building pyramids when the Great Pyramid in Egypt was being constructed.
They even had some tech that was superior to Europe's -- like a stone reservoir discovered recently in central America that stored a very large amount of water and kept it pure enough to drink, partly by using zeolite, a class of minerals that can purify water (among other things) -- took centuries for Europeans to discover zeolite's usefulness for ourselves. Europeans thought their guns were what brought the natives under control, but the diseases they brought killed most of the population across both continents before Europeans even had a clue how many there had been.
This administration -- Trump, Musk, all of them -- think they're far smarter than the people they're jerking around, probably because their targets aren't as wealthy (and also just because Trump et al are arrogant shitheads.) I really hope they get the opportunity to understand just how wrong they are.
But having seen the WAPO headline first, and then reading your narrative..the difference between corporate media propaganda and free independent press. Seth Abramson also called it as a sleight of hand trick, engineered to appear as if Colombia capitulated first.
The narrative I first read said that Colombia went to the US after turning down the planes with handcuffed people, and picked them up. In any case, the US legacy media, and I saw this on the AP, which claims to be independent, made it look like a Trump victory. They are not able to truly analyze what he is doing, and this performance distracted people from looking at his policies, and illegal actions.
Americans announced victory( nonsense),Trumps coterie apparently is as ignorant as he appears to the rest of the world Linda!!
Right again Theresa!!
Petro’s Colombia sounds pretty appealing about now. And I imagine trump-musk’s fossil fuel buddies put the screws to them about tariffs on oil imports.
I'll cut him a little slack. He does know a little more about his country. Colombia is a country of immigrants too. Spanish is the language, but a lot of Italians and Germans (as a grade schooler I had a Colombian penpal.)
My daughter's Waldorf school in Chicago had exchanges for their Spanish students with students at a Waldorf School in Colombia, where one of my friend's daughter's went. She had a great time.
His words reflect his Latin heritage, poetic, emotional, and of course, prone to verbal overflow. This is somewhat refreshing in comparison to the ignorant bully ramblings of 47, and who knows, perhaps it actually comes from the heart?
Well, yeah, but he raises an interesting historical point: Colombia was the first South American country to liberate itself from colonial rule.
Anyway, nice place, I’m glad I had the opportunity to visit before the stupid started.
Lil bit.😂
he's effusive about his country, not himself.
I thought Petro's posts as translated were hilarious. Most country's leaders are a tad grandiose, eh? Fpotus's posts are not hilarious, because he is a snarling, rabid creature.
What an embarrassment is right. That AI Pic of him as a mob boss is further proof that Dump is insane. He thinks this is all a game. Where are the Democrats in all this? Who is speaking out, trying to find ANY solution to this mess? ARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!! 🤦♀️
Good question Susan. Where the hell is the outrage from anyone in Congress? His mob boss mentality is enough to show us how fucking off his rocker he really is and its been only one week. While the ranks of his faithful are rejoicing, his actions confirm the GOP is now the party of cruelty and death. How much more of this crazy ass shit do we have to endure until someone in a high place has the balls to even suggest invoking the 25th?
We need a hero, Rick. I just dont know. The uncertainty is really upsetting.
More so than ever Susan.
It’s been a long, frustrating trip is search of someone: Mueller, Smith, Letitia, Fanni, Schiff, even Kamala (definitely not Schumer!) Looks like we’ll need to do it ourselves!
“…IN search…” Ack!, typo.
They're out there. And when they show themselves, who they are will surprise us.
So so hoping you are right and thinking you are.Our heroes so far have been the judge that halted birthright deportations,Bishop Maryann Edgar Budde and Michael Bloomberg.I welcome the next ones to stand up for our democracy and We The People.
🤞🤞🤞
Good question and obviously needs to be asked - but they are all too frickin scared of losing their plum jobs to even let out a squeak. Start writing and calling.....
If he gets cross-ways with the Teamsters, they will do the job. Otherwise, everyone is afraid of him. Because he heads up a Mob.
Laugh if you must, but I’m kinda liking Adam Kinzinger. Check him out on Substack.
No laughing here…Adam makes sense. I read him (when there is no paywall, anyway)
He’s come full circle on many issues. While he’s going to be investigated for defending our democracy he’s starting to reach out to us and that’s worth the $50/year for me.
Before I like Adam, I need to find out his position on abortions. I would never vote for ANYONE who bans a woman's right to choose.
I believe he's a right-to-lifer, a forced-birther.
Forced birther? Deal Breaker.
Yes, he is. His legislative stances are clear.
Then he can go to hell.
Ew
He’s great!
Dems are too busy singing kumbaya.
It is about saving tax dollars. Did you read the info.?
I musta missed the part about saving tax dollars!
Military flights cost in excess of $500,000, while commercial flights are 1/10 of that.
There's a reason. Kickbacks to pet military contractors.
No! Money is the heart of everything conservatives do!
Trumps was born into a mob family, he’s always acted as if he was a mob boss, why anyone would be surprised is beyond me Susan… his fealty to Russia appears to have waned, hes also threatening his master puppeteer!
That usually doesn't work out so well. All of those folks who got too close to upstairs windows are no longer around to ask.
What a splat Trump would make. Just imagine.
It would take several big strong men to push him out a window.
Indeed Rick, we can only hope that Trump just crossed the red line and a window, or polonium awaits him!!
I think that Putin would not only approve of but may have masterminded Trump’s threats to Canada, Panama and Greenland. A three pronged attack destabilising America’s North/South borders and a destabilisation of the postwar military NATO balance of power in the EU. Add to this Trump’s support of Netanyahu’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza which will further destabilise the Middle East and the only winners will be Russia but mostly their senior political partner, China.
All the MAGA criminal global oligarchs are interested in is making as much money for themselves as possible. In this profiteer motivation they are easily bought so are innately treacherous.
Interesting… might be a sign that he’s just handed over the reins… surprise for Ruzzia??? Hm
We know that Russian mob boss Simeon Mogilivech bought Trump’s debt, while not knowing the “juice” of said transaction P113!!
You've got to love it!
Possibly that is “kayfabe” when he try to be tough with Putin.
Don't expect anything by theater from the Dems in Congress. Oh, and that pig Fetterman has refused to sign on to the resolution by all other Senate Dems to condemn Trump's pardons. I predict he's going to switch parties, probably soon. That piece of shit, that traitor, that creep.
OMG! Fetterman is such a disappointment-a true disgrace.
He’s been as advertised the way I see things Susan, never cared for him!!
It was him or Dr. Oz. I voted for Fetterman, obviously. Fetterman has changed as I see it. Heartbreaking.
American Quisling.
Fetterman approves of Trump's attempt to annex Greenland, calling it a "responsible conversation", but insists he won't switch parties because he's pro-choice. Yeah, he's pro-choice at the moment - wonder what "incentive" will be offered by the Republicans to get him to become a forced birther overnight? This guy is a snake and a creep and totally untrustworthy. Primary him when it's time.
Send your representatives this
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFRJWxfhhwD/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
Sorry, Jeff, I believe anyone taking the people's tax dollars to represent them should read YOU every day
THIS IS GREAT! I love Politics Girl. I sent this to the accounts of reps I could find…
She is SPOT ON!!!
The Democratic Party needs an enema. Flush out the old, make room for some alley fighters.
Our “Dems” in large part are cowards.
Excellent point Jill and Terri! The respect they show towards their Republican colleagues borders on fealty! Remember the people who’ve elected your sorry asses into office… if you can manage to set aside the corrupt payoffs you received from lobbyists!!
Where are the major newspapers and other MSM? They need to be screaming this from the hilltops! 🤬
Don't hold your breath. They are all in the tank for Trump.
Sadly Michal, the corporate media has a different agenda, pump up the new King, regardless of the fact he has no clothes, only a soiled diaper!!
Watching their bottom line
Good question!
And of course the NYT and other corporate outlets are all in on preserving the veneer of sanity in the administration.
Where is the outrage at how they’ve treated the Episcopal bishop of DC? I want those fucking holy rollers to eat shit for their performative outrage. I want the smirks surgically removed from their faces. I want them frog-marched to the Potomac and pushed into the water.
For starters.
But that’s so last week.
I adore your ideas, Mr. Stiffelman. Especially having smirks surgically removed. That is an operation that needs to be done for the entire Republican Party. And yes to the holier-than- everybody-else Rollers who trashed the Right Reverend Budde. They can eat shit AND wear it. They are horrible hypocrites.
Thanks. Jeff T is so inspiring, isn’t he? And what a great community we have here.
Old Testament "Christians" only. Forget anything Jesus actually "said".
They're all CHRINO's = CHRistians In Name Only
I disagree. The label isn’t quite right. All those stories were tribal myths, spun in an age way before science and aimed at preserving insularity. And insularity is the wrong response to the challenges of the modern world. The so-called conservative Christians repelled by the modern world wear their faith on their sleeve as if it was a shield. But that doesn’t excuse their efforts to exert control over their fellow citizens. Believe whatever nonsense you want to believe, but as the founders embraced the political attitudes of The Enlightenment, I will adopt its principles as a North Star. Foremost among those principles is doubt. And doubt demands a strong measure of tolerance. It also demands that we change and evolve.
This is foundational. Those who promote intolerance and champion ignorance should have no place in public life. At least that’s my opinion. Whether they lie shamelessly or actually believe the bullshit they spew, it doesn’t matter. They should have no place in public life.
Trump and his MAGA movement represent an attempt to destroy the Enlightenment and return us to a dark and dangerous age of superstition, ignorance, and unchecked brutality. And they may succeed in this benighted country where stupidity is a badge of honor.
I'm sorry, my point was that Christianity isn't in the Old Testament. Now, my father was a firm believer in the 10 Commandments, a result of his Puritan and Pennsylvania Dutch background, raised in the Dutch Reformed Church. However he was at least an agnostic, and possibly atheist. As a Unitarian, he preferred sermons based on the Bible, and even the Old Testament Bible. For me, I prefer the Sumerian basis for Genesis.
The Unitarians pretty much got things right. At least where I grew up, they were just the best people.
Sumerian. That’s “Old School” Old Testament. Gilgamesh flood stuff. I bet your dad had amazing stories.
Actually, I'm the one who has read Gilgamesh several times. Every time I find new connections to Genesis. I'm fascinated by the beginnings of literate culture in the Mid East, and the beginnings of towns and things like Gobekli Tepe and Catal Hoyuk in southeastern Turkey, which is where I place the Garden of Eden or maybe just after "Adam and Eve" left it... No snickering allowed...
...oh gawd how can we keep up...my rage well is running dry and I'm abandoning the (AAARRGGHH) news for seed catalogs...
Aaahhhh, new seed catalogs!
Oh, that sounds so good! But right now I’m only abandoning mainstream news. Saving the big bucks on that, too. It was getting too expensive.
Yes! I prefer giving my money to Substack authors.
That's my secret, cap. I'm always angry.
Ah Neal! Surgical isn't much fun. So unfulfilling!😈😂
We can but dream.
Yes, so last week! Sigh.
Nothing drives that sociopathic, malignant narcissist crazier than being mocked. I wish more world leaders would do it publicly.
Agree 100%! Trump is a dickless fuk bully. Laughing at him is the one thing that undoes him completely. Laughing is also healing for us, and boy do we need healing!
I’ve never seen Dumbass Donny laugh. Have you?
Only at someone else’s expense.
Never. Seriously never!
We can mock him. I’m sure some of it will get to him. And right now that’s what IG and FB are for.
Same!! Seems like other world leaders are the only ones with courage these days.
Donnie and his cult have the perverted idea that being cruel is being tough. It's the exact opposite; it is weak and cowardly.
That stupid fucker is going to drive all of our natural allies into the waiting arms of China.
Exactly.
President Donald J. Trump's Turth? Let's see him spell hamburger. I would pick Petro's grandiosity over the Toddler King's any day.
When will Americans and rest of the World have enough?
Sane Americans already have had enough.
As have Canadians. Every night I pray that Satan will come whispering in his ear: “time to go, your job here is done”.
YES! I don't care where he goes as long as it's SOON--although, like you, I very much doubt he will be on the "up" side of the REAL golden escalator!
This is a winning response. 🥇
Why, thank you!
Be careful what you wish for, TL. I so wanted Kissinger to kick the bucket after Nixon and the Vietnam War. Nope! That fucking SOB didn’t die until last year at 100 years old! 🤬
Except he IS Satan!
He’s satan’s son. He’ll grow the horn after he dies.
Toddler king is operating with a 73 IQ. He's an actual, literal MORON. Pass it around if you want to get him riled.
Somewhere along the way Donnie learned the word tariff. He doesn't know what it means but he's super proud that he can spell it. So far his reboot is going as expected. He's the movie monster who returns for the encore kill. I'll go out on a limb and say he won't last for four years.
The issue is understanding how numbers work.
I hope you’re right!
I bet he spells it "tarrif"
Here's a story about legitimate asylum seekers from Afghanistan who are in more danger now due to Trump's orders. Listening to this courageous woman crying while she told her story broke my heart this morning. These are people who worked for the US in Afghanistan. They are abandoned and in hiding and have been patiently going through the asylum process. Next time the US asks for such people to help them in war-torn countries, they'll know our promises of protection aren't worth the deposits Trump makes in his gold crapper. Who lives in a shitty country now, I ask?
The story is on NPR'S Morning Edition.
Listen to: Afghans seeking asylum in U.S. left in limbo after Trump suspends refugee program - https://one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5274532:nx-s1-5339655-1
They're dead. And that's a fucking crime.😢
So. Embarrassing!!!!!!!! Plus he's going to get us all killed. Dear everyone not in the US - I am sorry!!!!
Ditto!
President Chaos's wrecking ball has no limits. Democrats need to get their act together SOON or there will be no salvation for any of us. Oh, and Happy Monday.
I totally agree with that…the Dems are sitting on their hands. I’ve emailed my feelings to a bunch of them. It wont do any good but I had to try.
Did the same. Got a lot of mealy-mouthed bullshit responses. Dems are hopeless.
Dems are feckless. Even AOC says that in her most interview with Jon Stewart.
Orange Fuckwit is a mob legend in his own mind. The fedora is only to hide the bald spot.
🎯🎯🎯
And Melania’s excuse? I think it is to hide her beady eyes as daggers. That or she is auditioning to play Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
😆
Sorry for the people of the US, as all countries will have to stop trading with it. This could get really bad very quickly.
How soon will the Statue of Liberty be demolished? Can't have that eyesore in NY Harbor - might give people ideas.
Somebody will hang a "Closed for business" sign on it very soon.
Trump will replace it with a statue of himself...at least it will be an easy target and an iconic thing to destroy after he sails off into the sunset one day.
Jeff, on the subject of foreign policy, you left off the part where Donny Douchebag put a 90-day freeze on foreign aid.
Hey, people in poor countries, Donny says y’all can go f**k yourselves.
Meanwhile he sent 2,000 more bombs to Israel this week and is trying to strong-arm Jordan to take in a million or so displaced Palestinian refugees. What a problem-solver. Through Jared he's planning a new resort with Netanyahu in Gaza. So much for "a right to survive."
I hope all the Muslim Americans in Michigan who voted for Trump because they hate "genocide Joe" are really proud of themselves.
We've known about the resort plans for a long time. Fuckers!
I saw a story in the first admin about kush shopping for land in Gaza and the one obstacle was how to get the people and olive groves off the land so they could develop it. Jesus help us.
Realtors have been trolling for buyers here for quite awhile. Luxury waterfront property. Only problem is that homes will be built on the bodies of Palestinians. Actually what I read was for property in the West Bank.
Wow. As a former realtor this is dark stuff. I guess now that agent orange is pressuring other countries to take Palestinians as 'asylum seekers' to displace them, Israel will control the whole of Palestine? I can't believe how close we were to a two state solution and now...