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@#14 ... David Frum was the one who put Iran into the "axis of evil" speech ...

Looks that way ...

Axis of evil
en.wikipedia.org

... The phrase "axis of evil" was first used by U.S. president George W. Bush and originally referred to Iran, Ba'athist Iraq, and North Korea. It was used in Bush's State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, four months after the September 11 attacks and more than a year before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and often repeated throughout his presidency. He used it to describe foreign governments that, during his administration, allegedly sponsored terrorism and sought weapons of mass destruction.[2] ...

Origins

David Frum

The phrase was attributed to former Bush pro-Israel White House speechwriter David Frum, originally as the axis of hatred and then evil.

Information about his authorship first came out when emails of Frum's wife to friends were picked up by the media.[5] Frum explained his rationale for creating the phrase axis of evil in his 2003 book The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush.[6] ...


@#11

From the first link cited ...

... David Frum, a senior editor at The Atlantic, helped ghostwrite a speech for the Israeli U.N. ambassador in 2014"at the same time as he profiled the ambassador for the magazine.

Frum's galling, undisclosed conflict of interest was exposed via the ambassador's hacked emails, first reported by Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain for Drop Site.

In 2014, Israel was in the midst of waging war in Gaza, ultimately killing over 2,200 Palestinians and wounding over 11,000. It was Israel's most devastating campaign against the Palestinians since the 1967 war, according to UNRWA. As the country faced criticism for its conduct, allies like Frum reached out to Israeli government officials to offer their support in spinning the narrative, according to Drop Site.

In Frum's case, he could offer more to the Israeli cause than just money or positive news coverage: Before coming to The Atlantic, he had been a speechwriter for George W. Bush.

Frum contacted Ambassador Ron Prosor on July 31, 2014, during the height of the war, in an email titled, "an earlier draft of that speech I sent you." The speech, seemingly meant to be delivered to the U.N. Security Council, described the war as "the most tenacious challenge to the free world in decades," and asked Americans to continue to support Israel. "This version was drafted by Seth Mandel of Commentary, with whom I've been working," Frum wrote in his email.

Only one day before, Frum had contacted Prosor from a different email address, with a different request: to interview him for The Atlantic. The ensuing profile praised Prosor for his "toughness," and painted a sympathetic portrait of Israel as unfairly maligned on the global stage. "In many ways, and on many days, it feels as if the whole UN system is concerned with the monitoring and critiquing of one small member nation," Frum wrote. ...


...

"FUNNY"

A look at what might have caused to 2026 Blue Tsunami ...

Billy Bragg - Ideology (1986)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
When one voice rules the nation
Just because they're on top of the pile
Doesn't mean their vision is the clearest
The voices of the people
Are falling on deaf ears

Our politicians all become careerists
They must declare their interests
But not their company cars
Is there more to a seat in parliament
Then sitting on your arse

And the best of all this bad bunch
Are shouting to be heard
Above the sound of ideologies clashing

Outside the patient millions
Who put them into power
Expect a little more back for their taxes
Like school books, beds in hospitals
And peace in our bloody time

All they get is old men grinding axes
Who've built their private fortunes
On the things they can rely

The courts, the secret handshake
The Stock Exchange and the old school tie
For God and Queen and Country
All things they justify
Above the sound of ideologies clashing

God bless the civil service
The nations saving grace
While we expect democracy
They're laughing in our face

And although our cries get louder
Their laughter gets louder still
Above the sound of ideologies clashing
...




I am sure grateful that these 100% fools, "TrackAIPAC," had absolutely ZERO effect in Georgia ...

.
click images above for larger view (opens in a new window)
'Twas a GREAT night November 3rd ...

... in spite of the "TrackAIPAC" fools.

@#1 ... his companies have direct government involvement ...

Yeah, there's that aspect.

Inside Elon Musk's Government Contracts
builtin.com

... In many ways, Elon Musk's tech empire is built on government money.

An analysis by The Washington Post estimates Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in state and federal contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits since 2003 " not including classified deals. And The Post estimates another $11.8 billion is coming in the next few years thanks to 52 active contracts.

SpaceX alone holds $22 billion in government contracts as of 2024, according to CEO Gwynne Shotwell. Federal agencies like NASA, the Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office rely on the aerospace giant to launch satellites, travel to the International Space Station and deliver broadband connectivity, among other critical services.

At the same time, Musk -- who donated $288 million to President Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election -- recently stepped down from a short-lived role leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with cutting government spending. After Musk's departure, his seemingly chummy relationship with the president devolved into an all-out beef after Musk criticized Trump's Big Beautiful Bill for increasing the national deficit. In the days that followed, Trump threatened to terminate Musk's subsidies and contracts.

The exchange highlighted just how reliant SpaceX, Tesla and other Musk companies are on government funding. ...


I am sure grateful that these 100% fools, "TrackAIPAC," had absolutely ZERO effect in Texas ...

.
click images above for larger view (opens in a new window)
'Twas a GREAT night November 3rd ...

... in spite of the "TrackAIPAC" fools.

Here's a list of Trump-endorsed Republicans who lost on Tuesday:

Greg Abbott (R-TX)
Ken Paxton (R-TX)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Vivek Ramaswamy (R-OH)
Jon Husted (R-OH)
Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Mike Rogers (R-MI)
Michael Whatley (R-NC)
Darline Graham (R-SC)
Ashley Hinson (R-IA)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Mike Collins (R-GA)
Michele Tafoya (R-MN)
Joe Lombardo (R-NV)
Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
Steve Hilton (R-CA)
Bruce Blakeman (R-NY)
Darren Bailey (R-IL)
Stacy Garrity (R-PA)
Rick Jackson (R-GA)
Zach Lahn (R-IA)
Scott Perry (R-PA)
Mike Lawler (R-NY)
Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ)
Jen Kiggans (R-VA)
Derrick Van Orden (R-WI)
Ann Wagner (R-MO)
Victoria Spartz (R-IN)
Max Miller (R-OH)
Zach Nunn (R-IA)
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA)
Gabe Evans (R-CO)
Monica De La Cruz (R-TX)
Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA)
Rob Bresnahan (R-PA)
Tom Barrett (R-MI)
Mike Carey (R-OH)
Derek Merrin (R-OH)
Joe Mitchell (R-IA)
Brandon Herrera (R-TX)
Ralph Alvarado (R-KY)
Brinker Harding (R-NE)
Peter Oberacker (R-NY)
Rhett Marques (R-AL)
James Gallagher (R-CA)
Anthony DiLorenzo (R-NH)
Jennifer Balkcom (R-NC)
Eric Flores (R-TX)
Carlos De La Cruz (R-TX)
Mike Beltran (R-FL)
Casey Askar (R-FL)
Scott Singer (R-FL)
Kevin Lincoln (R-CA)
Barb Regnitz (R-IN)
Rick Brattin (R-MO)
Carrie Buck (R-NV)
Marty O'Donnell (R-NV)
Greg Cunningham (R-NM)
Mike LiPetri (R-NY)
Jeanine Driscoll (R-NY)
Eric Conroy (R-OH)
Tano Tijerina (R-TX)
Alex Mealer (R-TX)
For two years, Republicans lined up at Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring. On Tuesday, they found out what that ring was worth.

This list isn't even finished. They're still counting votes in Alaska and Mississippi.

Watch how quickly the remaining Republicans stop returning Trump's phone calls.

Then there is this reporting ...

AIPAC's dwindling allies in Congress
www.politico.com

... Pro-Israel lobby AIPAC is set to enter the 120th Congress with fewer allies in Washington after a bruising election night for Republicans.

More than 30 of the bipartisan group's preferred candidates fell this week -- marking defeat for AIPAC in over three-fourths of the competitive races that have been called so far where it backed an incumbent. That includes ousted GOP Reps. Mike Lawler in New York, Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania and Max Miller in Ohio.

The pro-Israel group also lost one of its most influential allies in the Senate when Maine Democrat Troy Jackson trounced incumbent Republican Susan Collins, the powerful appropriations chair. AIPAC bundled over $3.3 million in contributions for Collins this cycle, more than it gathered for any other candidate. And it suffered a major setback in Michigan when progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers after a contentious primary battle earlier this year.

"To the super PACs and special interests who tried to beat us, we are coming for your system of politics," El-Sayed told a jubilant crowd at his election night party in Detroit on Tuesday night. "To AIPAC who spent $42 million against us, thank you for giving me the opportunity to beat you twice." ...


@#12 ... Congress has sole control over tariffs, correct? ...

Not necessarily so, in my understanding.

There's that 301 provision that seems to grant the President the ability to impose temporary tariffs for a period of time due to [I don't remember the reasons].

Found this ...

Section 301 Tariffs Explained: Impact on Import Costs and U.S. Businesses
uslawexplained.com

... Summary

Imagine you're the coach of a basketball team, and your opponent keeps breaking the rules"subtly pushing your players, using illegal screens, and distracting the referees. You can complain to the league, but that takes months. Instead, you have a special rulebook that lets you, as the coach, impose an immediate penalty on the other team to make them play fair.

That's essentially what Section 301 tariffs are. They are a powerful tool the United States government, specifically the United States Trade Representative (USTR), uses to penalize foreign countries for "unfair" trade practices that harm American businesses. Instead of a 15-yard penalty, the U.S. imposes a tax"a tariff"on goods imported from that country.

For a small business owner, this means the components you import to build your product could suddenly become 25% more expensive overnight.

For a consumer, it means the price of electronics, furniture, or clothing on the store shelf might go up. It's the U.S. government's way of leveling the playing field of international trade, but its effects ripple all the way down to the price you pay at the checkout counter. ...



YMMV, and all that...


Sympathy for the Devil
en.wikipedia.org

... Of the change in public perception the band experienced after the song's release, Richards said in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, "Before, we were just innocent kids out for a good time, they're saying, 'They're evil, they're evil.' Oh, I'm evil, really? So that makes you start thinking about evil ... What is evil? Half of it, I don't know how many people think of Mick as the devil or as just a good rock performer or what? There are black magicians who think we are acting as unknown agents of Lucifer and others who think we are Lucifer. Everybody's Lucifer."[16]

Hunter S. Thompson and his attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta kept replaying the song hundreds of times during their drug-induced road trip to Las Vegas in 1971 to maintain focus whilst high. In Thompson's novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the film of the same name, the song is referenced several times.[17]

Contrary to a widespread misconception, it was "Under My Thumb" and not "Sympathy for the Devil" that the Stones were performing when Meredith Hunter was killed at the Altamont Free Concert.[10] Rolling Stone magazine's early articles on the incident typically misreported that the killing took place during "Sympathy for the Devil",[18] but the Stones in fact played "Sympathy for the Devil" earlier in the concert; it was interrupted by a fight and restarted, Jagger commenting, "We're always having -- something very funny happens when we start that number." Several other songs were performed before Hunter was killed.[13] ...


The Republican Party of late? ...

Missing Persons - Destination Unknown (1982)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/missingpersons/destinationunknown.html

...
Life is so strange when you don't know
How can you tell where you're going to
You can't be sure of any situation
Something could change and then you won't know

You ask yourself
Where do we go from here
It seems so all too near
Just as far beyond as I can see
I still don't know what this all means to me

So you tell yourself
I have nowhere to go
I don't know what to do
And I don't even know the time of day
I guess it doesn't matter any way

Life is so strange
Destination unknown
When you don't know
Your destination
Something could change

It's unknown
And then you won't know
Destination unknown

You ask yourself
When will my time come
Has it all been said and done
I know I'll leave when it's my time to go
Till then I'll carry on with what I know
...



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