Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News

Drudge Retort

Menu

Subscriptions

Drudge Retort RSS feed RSS Feed

Links

Recent Comments

Recent comments from all news stories on this site. Users must follow the site's moderation policy. Personal attacks, profanity, abusive conduct and expressions of prejudice are not allowed. If you want to retrieve a comment of yours that was recently deleted, visit your user page and click the Moderation link.

The FCC announcement came a year after Congress passed a defense bill that raised national security concerns about Chinese-made drones, which have become a dominant player in the US, widely used in farming, mapping, law enforcement, and filmmaking.

"As President Dummkopf Trumpf stated in the Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty Executive Order, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones, offer the potential to greatly enhance public safety and innovation. At the same time, criminals, hostile foreign actors, and terrorists can use them to present new and serious threats to our homeland. As the US prepares to host several mass-gathering events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America250 celebrations, and the 2028 LA Summer Olympics, the Trumpf junta is taking additional actions to safeguard Americans and restore American airspace sovereignty. Additionally, as President Trumpf's Unleashing American Drone Dominance Executive Order and National Security Strategy outlined, ensuring a strong and resilient drone industrial base is an economic and national security priority. Relying on foreign-made UAS threatens national security."

Link:
Dummkopf Trumpf 6 Jun 2025 Drone E.O.

The FCC ban of Chinese drones into the US benefits Dummkopf Trumpf Jr.

Dummkopf Trumpf Jr. joined the advisory board of Unusual Machines, a Florida-based drone company in November 2024, acquiring a $4 million stake. The company has since secured major Pentagon contracts, including a deal to supply 3,500 drone motors and components to the US Army.

The Trumpf Crime Family (TCF) scion is also a partner in 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm which backs Vulcan Elements. While not a drone manufacturer itself, Vulcan Elements produces rare-earth magnets used in drones, radar systems, and other military applications. Vulcan Elements received a $620 million loan from the Pentagon in late 2025.


@#7 ... You tell me. Is there even such a thing? ...

From what I've heard, there do exist such American-made vehicles (GMC, Ford and such) but they were quoted to be so much more expensive than the BMW X5 sports cars that Dir Patel wanted.

That raises some questions ...

For starters, is Dir Patel blatantly saying that US car manufacturers are unable to provide a competitive vehicle to the one supplied by a German manufacturer?


And, perhaps as a follow-up question, I might ask ... WTF does Dir Patel need a vehicle like this for?

There's this ...

Kash Patel Purchases New Fleet of Luxury Armored BMWs to Be 'Less Conspicuous' During Outings
people.com

... FBI Director Kash Patel is flouting tradition by traveling in a luxury car instead of the department's standard-issue SUVs.

MS NOW reported on Monday, Dec. 22, that Patel, 45, pressured the FBI to purchase him a special, armored BMW X5, with sources saying he felt it made him "less conspicuous on his outings."

While the State Department contracts similar vehicles to transport foreign dignitaries in high-risk environments around the world, FBI personnel have traditionally been driven in a Chevrolet Suburban.

FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson confirmed the purchase of the X5s for Patel's use, saying, "Government agencies, including the FBI, routinely evaluate, replace and update vehicle fleets based on usage, security needs or budgetary decisions. The specific decisions referenced in this article were evaluated partly as a way to save taxpayers millions by picking cheaper selections or making cost structures more efficient."

The FBI did not, however, provide documents showing the cost of the new vehicle, prove that it was more cost-effective than using the pre-existing fleet of Suburbans, or explain why a new vehicle was needed. Public information about a fully-armored X5 isn't available online; however, Car and Driver noted that a similarly outfitted Cadillac Escalade went for $350,000 in 2019. ...




So I ask once again ...

Why?


Here are the nonprofit colleges that announced closures this year:


Northland College
St. Andrews University
Limestone University
Bacone College
Penn State - Dubois
Penn State - Fayette
Penn State - Mont Alto
Penn State - New Kensington
Penn State - Shenango
Penn State - Wilkes-Barre
Penn State - York
Siena Heights University
The King's College
Trinity Christian College
Sterling College

College or university closures outside the US are rare. Spurgeon's College, a Baptist seminary in London, shuttered its doors this year.

However in the US, nearly 300 colleges and universities offering an associate degree or higher closed between 2008 and 2023. More than 60% of those were run by for-profit operators. Sadly, in 2022 HBUC Lincoln College in Illinois was forced to close its doors after 157 years because of financial difficulties and COVID-19.

As of Dec 2025, the US has approximately 902 billionaire oligarchs, making America the country with the largest billionaire population in the world.

Recently, mega-oligarch Miriam Adelson obnoxiously offered Dummkopf Trumpf $250m towards him seeking a third term.

One AI snapshot revealed that $250 million could potentially save five to ten small colleges from closure. So, Miriam Adelson, or any one of these super-rich 902 oligarchs, could have easily saved dozens of colleges or universities from demise.

The priorities of America's billionaire mega-oligarchs are certainly not for the benefit of the American people but their own greedy self-interest to say the least.

A song that I can feel with (understatement ...)

Cascades - Rhythm of the Rain (1963)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
A one hit wonder (1963) that kept the band and the songwriter's (John Claude Gummoe) well known 50+ more years.

Per Gummoe "

the lyrics began while I was serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the U.S.S. Jason AR8. I was standing a mid watch on the bridge while we were underway to Japan. We were sailing up in the north pacific and it was raining heavily and the seas were tossing.

[Verse 1]
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again

[Verse 2]
The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand-new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her, she took my heart

[Chorus]
Rain, please tell me now does that seem fair
For her to steal my heart away when she don't care?
I can't love another when my heart's somewhere far away
she took my heart
...



Coffeezilla
@coffeebreak_YT
Asst US Attorney writes in 2020: "Dummkopf Trumpf traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported...including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case...didn't want any of this to be a surprise down the road"
x.com

Drip drip drip

#46 | Posted by reinheitsgebot at 2025-12-23 12:14 AM | Reply | Flag: "Good to the last drop."

From 21 January 2021 to 19 January 2025, United States Attorney-General Merrick Garland sat on the super-damaging FBI Jeffrey Epstein files whose public release could have forever crippled Dummkopf Trumpf's presidential candidacy in 2023 or 2024.

Special Counsel Jack Smith did noy have direct access to the Epstein/Maxwell FBI files or a "need-to-know."

From 2010 to 2015, AUSA Jack Smith served as the Chief of the Public Integrity Section (PIN) at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC; SDNY and SDFL AUSAs (and the local FBI offices) investigated sex maniacs Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

After returning from his tour as a war crimes prosecutor at the ICC in the Hague in 2021, SC Jack Smith began his mission of prosecuting Dummkopf Trumpf. He spent over three years futilely trying to convict the Dotard-in-Chief for hoarding classified documents and instigating the 6 Jan 2021 attack against the US Capitol, yet USAG Merrick Garland sat on top of a veritable gold mine of Credible Derogatory Information (CDI) on Trumpf which would have exposed him (and other US and global elites) as monstrous pedophiles.

One wonders what these four are thinking today as Dummkopf Trumpf's diabolical rampage destroys America while he and the Trumpf Crime Family (TCF) gorge themselves like deer ticks on US defense contracts and nebulous crypto-currency scams, all while despoiling our natural parks and resources, as well as surrendering Europe and Ukraine to Vladimir Putin.

@#50 ... Lewzer tried to ban a book and now everyone wants to read it. That's what usually happens. ...

Really?

I found this ...

Between 2021 and 2022, more than 1,600 titles were removed from U.S. schools and libraries at the behest of parents, advocacy groups, elected officials, etc. The paradox? Banning these titles often dramatically increased readership interest in the circulation of banned books.
business.gmu.edu

... What began as banning a book over specific themes -- race, gender, or sexuality -- has turned into a widespread and successful unintended promotional tool for lesser-known authors and politicians.

In a forthcoming paper for Marketing Science, Sabari Rajan Karmegam, assistant professor of information systems and operations management at the Costello College of Business, found a 12% rise in circulation for the top 25 most-banned books. ...




More from the article ...

...Before Todd Blanche could be confirmed as the second-highest official at the Justice Department, he had to satisfy the concerns of ethics officials.

Blanche, President Donald Trump's personal attorney during his New York criminal trial last year, was a cryptocurrency investor with holdings of between $159,000 and $485,000, records show.

To prevent possible violations of the federal conflicts of interest statute, Blanche promised to dump his digital assets no later than 90 days after his Senate confirmation in March, according to his government ethics agreement. He also pledged not to participate in any matter that could have a "direct and predictable effect on my financial interests in the virtual currency" until his Bitcoin and other crypto-related products were sold.

But about a month into the job -- before divesting -- Blanche issued a memo that ordered an end to investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges launched during President Joe Biden's term. He also eliminated an enforcement team dedicated to looking for crypto-related fraud and money-laundering schemes.

And his memo said the Justice Department would assist Trump's crypto working group of experts and Cabinet members that went on to issue a list of recommendations aimed at making the United States the global leader in digital coins.

Blanche's directives, while he still owned significant crypto investments, violated the conflicts of interest law and his ethics agreement, legal experts and former federal ethics officials told ProPublica. ...



Michael Stanley - Midwest Midnight (Live) (1977)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...
genius.com

...
With thirteen lovers I hid beneath the covers
Got staples in my hands for my time
With the radio low so the folks don't know
I proceed with my passion of crime...

And though somewhat obtuse, I've been told this abuse
Will more than likely make me go blind
But with a heart that's aching, it's a risk worth taking
'cause true love, they say, is so hard to find...

Why can't she see what she's doing to me
If that bandstand girl only was here
And I'm living the dream, getting lost on the screen
Doing Presley in front of the mirror...

Hanging around, getting high on the sounds
Of the ladies and electric guitars
Cross a double yellow line to who knows where
With six sets of glory a night in some bar
...


MSB is obscure. Rightfully so?

Even the area FM station that plays obscure songs has not yet played this tune.

Yet, back in the day, the area college FM stations were playing this tune.

Interesting.

Another view ...

Trump announces new Trump-class battleship' as part of Golden Fleet'
breakingdefense.com

... The new vessel, coming in around 30,000 tons, will be capable of carrying surface-launched nuclear missiles, creating what Navy Secretary John Phelan called a new nuclear deterrent.

President Donald Trump today announced the Navy would pursue a new class of "battleships" as part of the White House's "Golden Fleet" concept.

"They'll be the fastest, the biggest and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built," Trump said at his Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. "Battleships are the largest, sturdiest and most heavily armed vessel built specifically for naval combat. While America has built many new warships over the years, they've tended to be smaller, much smaller, and not conducive to where we are and where we're going " peace through strength."

Trump, flanked by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also said the Navy would aim to quickly start building two battleships, but that the class could ultimately have between 20 and 25 ships. Photos on display on each side of Trump suggested at least one of the "Trump class" ships would be named "USS Defiant."

The new "battleship" is planned to be around 30,000-40,000 tons -- considerably larger than the Navy's current fleet of destroyers -- and capable of using a variety of future weapons, such as electromagnetic railguns and hypersonic munitions. Trump said the new ships would also carry nuclear-armed sea-launched missiles, creating what Navy Secretary John Phelan amounted to a new nuclear deterrent. ...


Stan Ridgway - Camouflage (1986)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...

[Verse 1]
I was a PFC on a search patrol huntin' Charlie down
It was in the jungle wars of '65
My weapon jammed and I got stuck way out and all alone
And I could hear the enemy movin' in close outside
Just then I heard a twig snap and I grabbed my empty gun

And I dug in scared while I counted down my fate

And then a big marine, a giant with a pair of friendly eyes
Appeared there at my shoulder and said wait

When he came in close beside me he said
"Don't worry, son, I'm here
If Charlie wants to tangle now he'll have two to dodge."

I said, "Well thanks a lot."
I told him my name and asked him his
And he said, "The boys just call me Camouflage."

[Chorus]
Whoa Camouflage
Things are never quite the way they seem
Whoa Camoufalge
I was awfully glad to see this big marine

[Verse 2]
Well I was gonna ask him where he came from
When we heard the bullets fly
Coming through the brush
And all around our ears

It was then I saw this big Marine light a fire in his eye
And it was strange but suddenly I forgot my fears

[Verse 3]
Well, we fought all night side by side we took our battle stance
And I wondered how the bullets missed this man
Cause they seemed to go right through him
As if he wasn't there
And in the mornin' we both took a chance and ran

[Verse 4]
And it was near the river bank when the ambush came on top of us
And I'd thought it was the end and we were had
Then a bullet with my name on it came buzzin' through a bush
And that big marine he just swatted it with his hand
Just like it was a fly

[Chorus]
Whoa Camouflage
Things are never quite the way they seem
Whoa Camouflage
This was an awfully strange Marine

[Verse 5]
And I knew there was something weird about him
Cause when I turned around he was pullin' a big palm tree
Right up out of the ground
And swattin' those Charlies with it from here to Kingdom Come

When he led me out of danger
I saw my camp and waved goodbye
He just winked at me from the jungle and then was gone

And when I got back to my HQ, I told 'em about my night
And the battle I'd spent with a big marine named Camouflage

[Verse 6]
When I said his name a soldier gulped
And a medic took my arm
And led me to a green tent on the right

He said, "You may be tellin' the truth boy
But this here is Camouflage
And he's been right here since he passed away last night."
In fact, he's been here all week long

But before he went he said, "Semper Fi,"
And said his only wish
Was to save a young marine caught in a barrage

So here, take his dog tag, son
I know he'd want you to have it now."
And we both said a prayer for a big marine named Camouflage

[Chorus]
Whoa Camouflage
Things are never quite the way they seem
Whoa Camouflage
This was an awfully big marine

[Verse 7]
So next time you're in a jungle fight
And you feel the presence near
Or hear a voice that in your mind will lie
Just be thankful that you're not alone
And you got some company
From a big Marine the boys called Camouflage
...



They don't write song lyrics like that anymore ...


Strawbs - Benedictus (1972)
www.youtube.com

Lyrics excerpt ...

genius.com

...
The wanderer has far to go
Humble must he constant be
Where the paths of wisdom
Distant is the shadow of the setting sun

Bless the daytime, bless the night
Bless the sun which gives us light
Bless the thunder, bless the rain
Bless all those who cause us pain

Yellow stars may guide the way
All diversions lead astray
While his resolution holds
Fortune and good will will surely follow him

Bless the free man, bless the slave
Bless the hero in his grave
Bless the soldier, bless the saint
Bless all those whose hearts grow faint
...


@#6 ... TEOTIHUACAN PYRAMID COMPLEX ...

Related ...

Teotihuacan
en.wikipedia.org

... Teotihuacan (/teotiw'kn/;[1] Spanish: Teotihuacn, Spanish pronunciation: [teotiwakan] "; Classical Nahuatl: Tethuacn Classical Nahuatl pronunciation: [te.otiwakan] ") is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley[2] of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, 40 kilometers (25 mi) northeast of modern-day Mexico City.[3]

Teotihuacan is known today as the site of many of the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas, namely the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Although close to Mexico City, Teotihuacan was not a Mexica (i.e. Aztec) city, and it predates the Aztec Empire by many centuries. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the first millennium (1 CE to 500 CE), Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas, with a population of at least 25,000,[4] but has been estimated at 125,000 or more,[5][6] making it at least the sixth-largest city in the world during its epoch.[7] ...


@#5

Curious ...

Washington Free Beacon - Bias and Credibility
mediabiasfactcheck.com

... Overall, we rate the Washington Free Beacon Right Biased based on story selection that favors the right and Mixed for factual reporting due to misleading and false claims. ...

Another view ...

More than a dozen staffers leave Heritage to join Pence-led nonprofit
www.politico.com

... More than a dozen staffers at The Heritage Foundation are leaving the conservative think tank to join a nonprofit led by former Vice President Mike Pence as the embattled organization continues to reel from ongoing turmoil.

Advancing American Freedom -- founded by Pence in 2021 "to defend liberty and advance policies that build a stronger America" -- announced Monday that three senior officials who led the legal, economic and data teams at Heritage would be joining the group next year, along with several members of their teams.

The departures, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, mark the latest sign of upheaval at Heritage, which has seen dozens of staffers flee the organization since it became engulfed in a scandal involving Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes and the ongoing debate within the conservative movement over antisemitism.

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts, the architect behind the "Project 2025" blueprint for President Donald Trump's second administration, drew sharp rebukes from conservative voices, including commentator Ben Shapiro, after standing by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson's friendly interview with Fuentes in October.

In the wake of the initial backlash, Roberts told staffers he'd make a "mistake," but asked for the chance to "clean it up" during a November all-staff meeting, according to a leaked video first published by the Washington Free Beacon.

The hires by Advancing American Freedom signal that the organization is looking to position itself as a key player within the broader conservative movement. ...



Drudge Retort

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy