Trump and Rubio are decimating the ranks of career, non-partisan professional diplomats to bring in loads of newly-hired MAGA partisans. It is hard to describe how seriously this is damaging US security and our ability to anticipate and react to world events.

Kash Patel, who is suing the Atlantic for $250 million for publishing an incredibly well-researched piece into his drinking habits, has his own personalized bourbon bottles that he hands out rather than 'challenge coins' or other more traditional, less alcoholic, swag.

While the candidates backed by Trump dominated in the Indiana primary for US House seats, the open question is whether this will ultimately become a victory or a defeat. If the nominees are too far right even for Indiana voters, Trump's interference could wind up costing the GOP seats in November.

Using the national police to raid and harass political opponents has been a classic trait of dictators for ages, from the communist autocrats of the USSR to fascist dictators. It is now the go-to move of the Trump Administration.

A parable about what Trumpism has done to America: In the past, movie, video, and music artists could rely on a special unit of the FBI to track down and prosecute pirates. Under Trump and Kash Patel, now the FBI is the pirate.

I'm genuinely surprised. Alito, who is in charge of cases originating in the 5th Circuit, comprises (along with Thomas) the most partisan, anti-democracy, segment of the Supreme Court. Perhaps he decided the ruling against a safe, effective drug would hurt the GOP in fall elections.

As a US Diplomat (serving back in the days when the USA supported democracy and human rights), one of my duties was to attend the 'show trials' of individuals being prosecuted for not agreeing with the regime in power said. At the time, I would have never guessed that the US would have such trials.

The "price" is being paid by Americans. The bill is measured in service members' lives and health, billions of tax dollars wasted, reduced security as allies are alienated, and billions more dollars in higher prices paid by American consumers. All thanks to Trump's ego, stupidity and hubris.

Trump wants to shut down US bases in Germany, but Trump also wants his war on Iran. Ramstein Air Base in Germany is serving as a central node for moving troops, personnel, air defenses (including Patriot systems), and supplies to the Persian Gulf. US drones in the ME are controlled from Ramstein.

Nearly half of all US troops in Germany are stationed at Ramstein Air Base. That base provides key support for US operations in the Middle East, including Trump's ridiculous war on Iran. It also hosts a key hospital for treating injured American soldiers. Ramstein does not protect Germany.

In multiple recent cases, the Supreme Court has ruled that federal district and appeals courts lack the authority to issue nation-wide injunctions and must limit their decisions to the parties involved in a case. A trio of right-wing judges just issued a nation-wide ban on mailing mifepristone.

US Troops are stationed in Germany for one reason: to protect the United States. They are NOT there to protect Germany. In the event of a genuine attack from overseas, troops stationed in Germany (and elsewhere) greatly reduce the US response time. Trump is punishing America, not Germany.

When Trump declared that the US Navy is now "like pirates," he was (for once) not lying. Under Trump, the US is engaged in high seas piracy, a war crime both under international law (the Law of the Sea Treaty) and US law (18 U.S.C. § 1651). Under US law, the penalty for piracy is life in prison.

Under Trump (who promised to eliminate the deficit), the US National Debit is now LARGER than the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). That is an amazing, and scary, statistic. Other nations that crossed that threshold uniformly faced a serious, painful economic reckoning. Are we next?

More accurate headline/analysis would be: "Trump shoots US National Security in the foot during an unhinged rant" Factually, Iran has completely humiliated Trump. Trump actually knows that, which explains why he is lashing out. Trump never admits his mistakes.

Trump's ego-driven war in Iran shows no sign of ending and the cost to Americans, in terms lives, billions of tax dollars wasted and billions more dollars spent on energy and other necessities, continues to grow. The problem we face is that Trump won't admit his mistake so he won't end the war.

Under Roberts, the Supreme Court stands firmly against the foundations of our democracy and Constitution. In a democracy (or representative republic), the people choose their representatives. Under Roberts perversion of our system, politicians choose voters to keep them in power. RIP Constitution

Trump rarely delivers on campaign promises, but this time he came through in spades. During his campaign, he promised oil execs that if they donated a collective total of $1 billion to his campaign, they would make it back many times over. With oil at $126, Trump is delivering.

Even if you believe Hegseth's absurdly low $25 billion estimate of the direct cost of Trump's insane war against Iran, you still need to add in the more than $25 billion extra that Americans have paid out of pocket for gasoline, oil, and fertilizer, yielding a total of AT LEAST $50 billion.

On the very first day of Trump's war-of-choice in Iran, I warned that (1) it would take months to unwind just days of oil supply disruption, and (2) gasoline prices shoot up like a rocket but fall like a feather. With oil now above $125 a barrel, that feather will have a LONG way to fall.

Cadet Bone Spurs now claims to have always been so physically fit that he would have had no problem becoming an astronaut. The looks on the real astronauts face is priceless. I can almost hear them thinking 'I willingly risk my life for my country and to advance science, but this is too much...'

Two facts to remember: (1) There was no reason or even plausible excuse for Trump's war other than his own ego, hubris, and stupidity. (2) Trump and his oligarch backers do not care how much average Americans suffer. Trump is willing to sacrifice you for his ego trip.

This proves that the “…indictment has NOTHING to do with a photo Comey took and everything to to with Blanche trying desperately to prove his absolute fealty to Trump in hopes of staying on as AG permanently.”

In Trump's America, one of these images is an expression of free speech by a "patriot" while the other is a dangerous threat that divides the nation and thus deserves a 10-month investigation. Further proof that Trump's America is an authoritarian state bereft of justice and the rule of law.

At least one political hack on the VA Supreme Court is trying to come up with a reason, no matter how obviously absurd, for voting against the VA Constitutional Amendment on redistricitng. "What if voters change their mind after voting," whines Justice Wesley Russell. That can ALWAYS happen.

This indictment has NOTHING to do with a photo Comey took and everything to to with Blanche trying desperately to prove his absolute fealty to Trump in hopes of staying on as AG permanently.

Acting on behalf of Trump, FCC Chair Brendon Carr is launching an unprecedented attempt to take all ABC/Disney stations off the air for failure to be obsequious towards Trump. If Trump has his way, free speech, along with the rest of the US Constitution, will be a thing of the past.

Understanding corporate justifications requires a good BS detector and translation skills. For example, when PR execs state that "Deloitte US is modernizing its talent architecture," what they mean is that by adopting anti-female policies they plan to revert to a nearly all-male workplace.

I cannot imagine (and really don't want to imagine) the collection of crack-pots, sycophants, conspiracy theorists, and anti-science crusaders that Trump will appoint in the place of the highly respected scientists that he just fired from the NSF board.

As the Trump Admin tries to claim that the attempted attack at the WHCA dinner "proves" that the ballroom is needed, here are a few facts: 1) The ballroom will seat 1,000 while the Hilton seats 2,500. 2) Trump chose to attend the WHCA dinner; it was not his event. (cont)

Sean Hannity is making (yet another) comeback in MAGA circles, so it is a good idea to remember who he is and what he stands for: he's a grifter who stands with grifters.

The real story is that exercising constitutionally-guaranteed free speech is now grounds for denial of a 'green card.'

People used to use the expression "pinnacle of power" to describe the US presidency. These days, it would be more appropriate to refer to the "depths of power" due to the greed, lying, fraud, and treachery. A quick summary of Dante's circles of hell attached for reference.

Question: Does the fact that ICE is building a concentration camp for children and family on a site with toxic PFAS contamination at least 575,000 times the federal safety limit show that (1) ICE is negligent about inmates (including kids') health, or (2) they knew chose to poison them?

While it would be obvious to almost anyone that Judge Guidry should have recused himself, we have to remember that Supreme Court Justices like Alito, Thomas, and other MAGA judges have repeatedly failed to recuse themselves when it was obvious they should have.

Why would any nation agreed to negotiate with these two deeply corrupt clowns? The last time Iran tried it, Trump started bombing in mid-talks. thehill.com/policy/inter...

The Trump family's approach to the United States is based on the classic corporate raider's approach: 1) Take over a troubled yet very valuable target. 2) Strip out everything of value out of it. 3) Load it with debt. 4) Walk away with the loot before it collapses.

How to say "we've given up and just want to bomb stuff" without saying that out loud.

Who would have guessed that "Back to the Future" was actually a prophesy? Here we are in 2026. Biff is President and gambling is out of control. Even Trump's planned "Presidential Library" is designed to look like Biff's casino.

While the news that DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will inspect the department's response to the Epstein Transparency Act sounds hopeful, the acting IG, William M Blier, is a hold-over from Trump's first term. Multiple whistle blowers report that he has refused to act on dozens of cases.

So far, the second Trump Administration has boosted the federal deficit by $3 trillion, to $39 trillion, in just a little over a year. Now the Republicans in Congress just voted to increase the already bloated DHS budget by $140 billion. That's on top the $500 billion DoD bump in Trump's budget.

Just another reminder that the once-great Washington Post is now just a MAGA propaganda outlet.

In a move that directly contradicted a prior ruling from the Virginia Supreme Court, a Republican-appointed judge in a deep-red backwater of Virginia declared Virginia's constitution to be unconstitutional. If that doesn't make sense to you, that means you haven't been drinking the MAGA Kool-Aid.

It's not just the older men in the Trump Administration, even Trump's Dep. Assistant Secretary of DHS in charge of Counter-Terrorism is into the 'sex for money' scam, only in her case she advertises for men to sponsor her lavish lifestyle in exchange for being her 'boyfriend.' Only for big spenders.

NO! Not "raising doubts." Instead, these reports further confirm reports of sex trafficking by Epstein that have been known for decades. Girls as young as 13 submitted sworn statements that Epstein trafficked them to Trump. The voices of women and young girls were simply ignored.

In a very 'on-brand' development for the self-described "Christians" who support Trump, MAGA/Christian singer Phillip Vaught has been arrested for child sex abuse. This is what Trump and his GOP, Christian Nationalist backers stand for. Anyone want to bet on his chances for a pardon?

In a true representative republic (AKA a democratic nation in modern English), voters choose politicians who will represent them. In nation with unlimited gerrymandering, politicians choose constituents who will vote for them. 1/2