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#6 | Posted by Derek_Wildstar at 2026-10-22 12:34 PM
Conservatives want *Russia* to win a war against a western-leaning country. Russia!

Not "conservatives" - MAGA cult, which are different species. "Conservatives" today, like George Will, who write op-eds for WaPo, WSJ and individual or syndicated blogs, are "never-Trump" Republicans who keep GOP affiliation to vote in primaries, and many who became "independent" for now.

MAGA is getting ever thinner as cultists are starting to feel and see the effects of his idiotic policies, character, corruption and treachery, on display every single day that is becoming difficult to ignore, even what they originally thought was for "the greater good." MAGA cultists are the ones who are still willing to call themselves "Republicans" when reached by the pollsters - that's how he can get support of 90+% of 'Republicans' by some pollsters - typical polls (adjusted for 'party balance') measure the segment's intensity of opinion, not the overall quantity of support.


How the heck did this happen? They now prefer authoritarian dictatorships over democracy.

Look who they worship - Trump is MAGA, as he himself said. So whatever/whomever they think Trump "likes" or kowtows to - that day - they like. And if he doesn't "like" that/them another day - they don't like and they "never" liked that/them. It's the nature of the cult.

So they think that Trump "likes" Putin and wants to "re-integrate" Russia back into the G8/G20 world of political and economic markets as a member in good standing (that was Putin's idea) and he couldn't care less if Ukraine disappeared from the map (that's also Putin's idea).


#10 | Posted by Hughmass at 2026-10-23 07:07 AM
I strongly suspect one of the darkest secrets of this idiotic Trump administration is that he makes very few decisions...

Exactly the opposite, he actually does make most of the decisions, and the people he hired in his second go-round are not nearly as competent, accomplished in their fields and independent as his first admin - these are losers and bootlickers, mostly from the media world or nepo babies, who wouldn't be anywhere near their positions in any other administration, and they are there to do whatever he wants (which is "fight, fight, fight" or suggesting "deals" he can make).

Unfortunately (for all of us), Trump has proven to have an inimitable talent of not just coming up with idiotic ideas/decisions, but also unique ability of executing them in the most idiotic way possible.


...he is as Reagan was during Reagan's second term, being paid to give speeches and let the "grownups" run things from the darkness.

Not even close, Reagan didn't make any paid speeches during his presidency (his $1M speech in Japan was almost a year after he was out of the office), and he was in charge and making his own decisions until Bush's 1988 campaign was in full speed, e.g., he several times dismissed concerns of his writers and changed a good portion of the 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate, including adding famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

helpdementia.com - Reagan's Alzheimer's Timeline
|------- ... Reagan showed no signs of dementia while serving as president (he left office in 1989 and wasn't diagnosed until five years later. -------|

The problem with Trump is not that he is losing memory, it's his low character and diminished mental capacity ("personality disorder") throughout his entire personal, business and political lives.
__________

Weekend Music Thread??

Make it so, Scotty!

(non-paywall link per Rolling Stone)

musicrow.com

The Devil Went Down to Deep Gap (Doc Watson tribute)

Bryan Sutton Billy Strings

www.youtube.com

@#60

Related?

The Carville Industry (1996)
www.newsweek.com

... Some operatives with White House connections grow rich selling access. Carville has become a millionaire not by running campaigns--he doesn't do that anymore -- but by peddling Carville. He's already at work on an update of his new (ghostwritten) book, "We're Right, They're Wrong," a best-selling defense of activist government liberally laced with recipes and GOP-bashing.

Carville, who made his name sneering at the rich, is now one of them.

(NEWSWEEK made its own contribution when it excerpted his memoir of the '92 campaign.) With his Cajun-flavored populism, he's become the Democratic equivalent of Rush Limbaugh. ...


That was 30 years ago ...

More from the article ...

... At the U.S. Army's annual convention here this week, an exhibitor banner greeted attendees: "Welcome to the Unfair Fight."

At booths touting everything from laser weapons to attack drones, the idea that defense companies are selling is that, in any contest with the U.S. military, opponents will not only lose but also be sapped of their will to fight on.

In the current war against Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spoken of "crushing" the regime "in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force. We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated." He was echoing nearly verbatim President Donald Trump's promises of a quick victory from early March.

On Thursday, news came that the administration is considering using the "Mother of all bombs," or "MOAB" in Pentagon parlance. It's the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, and such a strike would allow the Republican administration to declare a "definitive victory," if not actually achieve it, in an unpopular conflict that has driven up gas prices ahead of next month's midterm elections.

But the kind of military rout that leaves the vanquished prostrate in salted fields doesn't happen anymore, and it is thinking along these lines, analysts add, that leads politicians to start wars which, like with Iran, drag on far longer than the immense resources of the U.S. armed forces might suggest.

If military superiority alone could end wars, then Afghanistan and Iraq would have been relatively easy American wins. Instead, many modern acts of aggression have devolved into long-running conflicts, notes Stephen Biddle, professor of international affairs at Columbia University and former strategic adviser to retired Gen. David Petraeus. General Petraeus commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and later served as CIA director.

The best use of military power in modern times is to convince adversaries that it is time to come to the negotiating table, argues Dr. Biddle, who recently co-authored a Foreign Affairs article about the "myth" of military victory.

"No war can end without an offer the enemy can accept, no matter how powerful one's armed forces, or how one-sided the fighting," he argued. ...


Jared Kushner's Lawyer Demands Vanity Fair Pull Book Excerpt Over False and Defamatory Allegations'
uk.news.yahoo.com

... Chad Mizelle, an attorney representing Jared Kushner, demanded that Vanity Fair take down a recently published book excerpt alleging that President Donald Trump's son-in-law had access to secret foreign bank accounts during his first term.

"We formally put Vanity Fair and Cond Nast on notice regarding the false and defamatory allegations published about our client, Jared Kushner," Mizelle wrote in a statement on X Saturday morning. "Serious questions are now being raised about the credibility of this reporting, including by independent journalists."

He continued: "Despite repeated requests, the author has failed to produce a single bank statement, wire transfer record, account number or other verifiable evidence supporting these extraordinary accusations."

As Mizelle went on, he claimed that they "have seen no indication that Vanity Fair conducted any independent verification of these claims before publishing them."

"We call on Vanity Fair to clarify publicly whether it independently verified these allegations and, if so, what evidence supports them. Or did it simply republish the author's claims without conducting its own fact-checking?" he concluded. "We have demanded that Vanity Fair remove the article and preserve all records relating to its reporting, fact-checking, editorial review and publication." ...


@#33 ... What blacks are being prevented from voting? And why. ...

U.S. Appeals Court Strikes Down North Carolina's Voter ID Law (2016)
www.npr.org

...The appeals court noted that the North Carolina Legislature "requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices" -- then, data in hand, "enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans."

The changes to the voting process "target African Americans with almost surgical precision," the circuit court wrote, and "impose cures for problems that did not exist."

The appeals court suggested that the motivation was fundamentally political -- a Republican legislature attempting to secure its power by blocking votes from a population likely to vote for Democrats....

[emphasis mine]

More from the article ...

... The Justice Department has already filed lawsuits in nearly every state to try and gain access to voter files. Trump revisited his longstanding bid to restrict mail voting, sparking a legal battle that reached the Supreme Court.

He sought to make anti-terrorism funds for state and local governments contingent on how they administer elections.

He has threatened to withhold federal election funding from states that refuse to change voter registration forms and sparred with Republican lawmakers over a bill to overhaul elections.

But with most of those efforts stalling, on Thursday, just 12 days before Election Day, the DOJ took things even further: In an extraordinary move, it asked a court to preemptively block Alaska's Senate results if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses, stunning current and former election officials in both parties.

"Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law," said Ben Ginsberg, a veteran Republican election law expert who was counsel to George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns.

At virtually every corner, courts have rebuffed Trump's efforts, and legal experts expect the latest DOJ maneuver to have the same outcome.

The requests for voter rolls were blocked repeatedly by members of Trump's own party and struck down in court.

The attempt to restrict mail voting was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court. Federal judges blocked both the anti-terrorism and election funding efforts.

The SAVE Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship at the polls, has stalled in the Senate.

But Trump keeps pushing, telling reporters Friday that he had personally green-lit the Alaska lawsuit: "I'm the one that said Do it.'" ...


New World screwworm detected in calf in New Mexico
www.newsnationnow.com

... A new case of New World screwworm has been confirmed in the border county of Hidalgo, New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Agriculture said the screwworm was found in a calf and is the fifth active case in the state.

On Wednesday, officials confirmed a case of screwworm in a beef cow in Otero County, as well as two cases -- a horse and a cow -- last week in Grant County. The fifth active case was detected in September, also in Grant County.

State and federal officials say they continue to expand surveillance and fly-trapping around affected locations.

"Every confirmed case helps us better understand where New World screwworm may be present and where additional surveillance is needed," said State Veterinarian Dr. Samantha Holeck with the New Mexico Livestock Board. "Producers are an essential part of that effort. Checking animals regularly and reporting suspicious wounds quickly can make a meaningful difference in identifying infestations before they spread." ...


@#18 ... If Trump can rig the votes in Alaska, he can rig the votes, using a different excuse in Georgia, in South Carolina. ...

About half concerned Republicans could try to overturn midterm results: Survey
www.newsnationnow.com

... A new poll released Friday suggests half of Americans are concerned Republicans may try to overturn the results of November's midterm election.

Fifty percent of respondents to the New York Times/Siena University survey said they were either "very" or "somewhat worried" the GOP may use "illegal means" to overturn the election, compared to 49 percent who are either "not too worried" or "not at all worried."

A strong majority of Democrats -- 86 percent -- were among the share of likely voters who reported feeling worry about potential GOP election interference, and 52 percent independents felt the same. Even 10 percent of Republicans say they are worried their own party would overturn the results.

NYT/Siena also asked respondents if they feared Democrats may overturn the results, and 31 percent said they were -- a group mainly consisting of Republicans.

Still, similar shares of Democratic, Republican and independents respondents to the NYT/Siena poll said they trusted midterm results would be accurate. And, across all parties, likely voters' trust reached 74 percent. ...


Ukraine says it regained full use of Starlink, after more than a week of disruption
www.cbsnews.com

... Ukraine's military has regained full use of Starlink satellite links for its drones and other fast-moving equipment, the defense minister said Saturday, ending speed restrictions that Ukrainian officials said had disrupted front-line operations for more than a week.

The Defense Ministry's monitoring systems in Ukraine reported stable connections on objects traveling faster than 250 mph, Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara told reporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that checks were conducted and it was determined Starlink and Starshield were running at the correct speed.

"Now the speed is what we need," Zelenskyy said. "The restoration began last night, and in the morning there were already speeds sufficient to use this connection. This is very important."

"This is significant for our front-line logistics, for protecting Ukraine from reactive 'Shaheds,'" he continued, referring to the Iranian-made drones regularly launched by Russia. ...



Why did you keep ---- diving when AIDS & HIV killed over 80 million people?
#43 | Posted by lfthndthrds

Why do you support DOGE cutting HIV programs?
search.brave.com

The dismantling of USAID by DOGE in early 2025 caused immediate and severe disruptions to HIV/AIDS care in Africa, halting antiretroviral treatment, prevention programs, and testing. Modeling estimates suggest 159,000 adult deaths in sub-Saharan Africa resulted from the initial 90-day aid suspension, while a Lancet study projects over 4.5 million child deaths by 2030 if cuts continue.

Key impacts include:

Treatment Collapse: Clinics in countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa ran out of medication, forcing patients to ration drugs or abandon treatment. In Mozambique, antiretroviral treatment access dropped by a quarter.
Prevention Failure: Programs for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and condom distribution were largely halted, with PrEP users in Botswana dropping by 50% and in Mozambique falling from 30,000 to 19,000.
Displacement Crisis: In northeastern Nigeria, aid cuts left displaced populations without screening or care, contributing to new HIV infections and deaths among vulnerable groups, including children.
While Elon Musk and the administration have claimed "zero" deaths resulted from the cuts, public health officials, researchers, and on-the-ground reports from organizations like MSF and PEPFAR partners document widespread mortality, service interruptions, and the collapse of health infrastructure that previously relied on U.S. funding for up to 80% of HIV and malaria responses

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