Face it, Trump is gaslighting. He doesn't shop for groceries and that makes him out of touch with the public that does have to. Lying about it doesn't change the reality Joe Public sees when he has to open his wallet to pay for things like food, rent, and utilities.

We can't get rid of this lying, ignoramus, con man, quick enough. At the rate he's going now, it will take decades to return the US to what it once was. Every accusation to the Dems is a self confession.

...and Epstein just keeps surfacing, the more they try to hide, lie, and gas light his importance. From following the money trail to victim testimony, none of it is good news for trump and the politicians in his thrall.

It can't be buried forever. There is too much public interest, too much ducking and dodging by the congress critters that don't want to see it come to the front. Big money donors are threatened, politicians futures are at stake, and the stench that comes from all the attempts to make it go away aren't sitting well with the public. It is obvious by trump's first promises to release the files until he was told he's in them and far more than just a buddy to Epstein.

The public wants the rich and powerful exposed and dealt with and despite trump, they will surface. There are too many investigating various aspects of Epstein's life for it to remain hidden. That Prince Andrew has had his royal privilege and rank removed tells you that some already know what the public here seeks to know. The royals have thrown Andrew under the bus to save the rest.

Misdirection only works for so long. I've known about this business with the photos of trump with two young girls bare to the waist ever since Pam Bondi had to appear before congress and testify under oath. She knew the question about the photos would come up while she was under oath. What did she do? She wrote down attack questions/claims to dodge having to answer the question. She was asked a second time about it, after she'd run out of attack material. She refused to answer so she wouldn't have to deal with perjury charges later. She refused to say if the FBI had found those photos after they had to go back to get them and if she'd personally seen them. That's as near an admission as you get while under oath.

All these other things happening are attempts to remove the importance of the Epstein files by supplanting them with misdirection to grab the attention of the public and it's not working. As soon as things start to calm down, Epstein comes back to the surface. Mike Johnson has held the house from working solely to prevent having to swear in the Arizona representative. He has claimed all sorts of reasons why he can't do it, despite he'd already done so in similar conditions for Repub representatives. Normally the speaker determines what comes up for vote and what does not. However the house membership can over ride him to have something of importance be voted on, by having enough votes to force it to come to the floor. Adelita Grijalva represents that last vote needed to do that force. Mike knows on the day he opens the house, that surfaces.

It opens trump, their source of direction and power, to be exposed as what he is and that in turn brings up the question should he continue in the office of POTUS. For the Repubs, trump isn't replaceable. They have no one else that can inspire the voters as he can and this is why Mike is not wanting Grijalva seated. It's about holding on to power. Some of the Repubs will vote with the Dems to release the files, giving them the necessary votes.

Up till now, it's been party politics. What ever trump wants, they are all for. The Dems have had no say in the matter as all has been decided without consulting them or inviting their input. It's been a one way street, with Dems being told our way or the highway.

You can lie and gaslight all you want, hide the data, and misrepresent what it says or means. What you can not hide, is when average Joe citizen goes to buy food, or pay the bills. When it hits the wallet there's no hiding the real impact by trying to change the data or misrepresenting it. So Joe citizen is not fooled.

Want to see politicians get political religion? Threaten their continued political aspirations for continuing to be a politician from voter anger. Suddenly attitudes and what they are for inspire miraculous change. The Repubs should have been able to see this coming from a long ways away. But they were so meekly accepting whatever trump wanted. Now they see the price they are to pay in the upcoming election year. The voters are more than just upset at what they've done, they are angry and voting in a way that shows it. No matter how it is papered over in statements from the Repubs claiming otherwise, the votes speak as to what the public wants.

I have little interest in Disney ever since the Kimmel affair. Since I don't watch sports, I won't miss that either. I've basically went on protest against it and most MSM as they can't be trusted to give unvarnished reports in fear of a Trump suit. Basically I've stopped watching MSM as well. Disney can fall in a hole and remain buried as far as I am concerned.

This is the start of forcing congress to do something. That's a lot of voters effected and dissatisfied. Flights being halted is next up if they dilly dally, which will bring yet more voters highly dissatisfied.

Trump will pretty much have to steal the election to keep it in the Repub majority at the rate it is going. Without it, it's pretty much a slam dunk against them and they continue to irate more and more voters they need to stay in power.

Did someone plant a seed of a spine in congress?

"All of this is entirely preventable if the Senate chooses..."

This is political theater with people's lives. The Senate has always had an out, one they have used before. This time they hope to drag it out trying to make the Dems pay for the audacity of refusing to go along with status quo and get the public's ire against them. They have always had the nuclear option available to them at anytime they so chose to use it. So far they've chosen to leave things right where they are.

It tells you right away where the problem is all over again. That is to say, the Repubs are right where they want to be and won't be changing things until it's so bad they have to do something. It is highly unlikely they'll go along with extending ACA credits unless forced to by public opinion against them.

With control of all three sections of the government there is only one party at fault here, the Repubs.

"Trump is barely in the files ... "

Actually this was a sticking point in Pam Bondi appearing before a congress investigation. She was asked if the FBI (which had to return to get the contents of the safe they missed) had found the photos of Trump with two young women bare to the waist was found and if she'd personally viewed them. The first time she was asked, she attacked the questioner, the second time she was asked she refused to answer so she wouldn't perjure herself.

So Trump is definitely in more than just barely.

According to one article I read, it was artillery fired over I-5. As long as you can hear them going over, you're great. It's the ones you don't hear and short rounds do occur. Got a bunch once, that were undersized and did not meet military standards. We found out they didn't meet those standards when they were fired. In a fire for effect, maybe 20 rounds from the battery were lost between 200 feet out and the impact area.

Those airports airing this nonsense, are subject to the Hatch Act. Penalties can include, removable from job for employees involved, if federal employee reduction in pay grade, barred from federal service for 5 years, suspension, reprimand, and up to $1000. All because the Republicans want to try and hang their albatross around the Democrats necks.

The government shutdown is wholly owned by the Republicans having majority in all three branches of government. The Republicans can end the shutdown anytime they so desire, the nuclear option is there to be used. This shut down they want.

If this was anything other than political gamemanship, the senate has long had the ability to end the government shutdown at any time they desired. All that needs happen is for the Republicans to use the nuclear option to end it. It would remove the 60 vote requirement down to 50 votes.

This tells you it is nothing more than another way to extend the cruelty that has marked this administration while it seeks to establish a reason to give Trump his excuse to use the insurrection act at best or martial law at worst.

When viewed with this in mind, it reveals all the lying the Republicans are doing to keep things right where they are.

Johnson will not call the house back until they can manage some way to get around having to face the Epstein vote.

I can't believe we'll have another election until Trump is sure the fix is in. He'll do whatever to create the need for the Insurrection Act, including lying to justify it. Once it is activated, you can kiss elections goodbye. He'll move heaven and earth to keep the Epstein files buried. According to some reports, he's in photos with two naked to the waist young girls, which were in Epstein's safe. The FBI had to go back and retrieve them.

Pam Bondi refused to answer if the FBI had found those photos or if she had seen them. In otherwords, she didn't perjure herself. She just refused to answer the question and tried attacking the questioners to avoid the question the first time she was asked, the second time she just looked at them without response. While not admission, it's a strong hint as to why Trump doesn't want the Epstein files to surface.

You mean he didn't chose an enema of bleach or a UV light up the butt?

You mean the media is just now figuring this out?

All you need do is look for where Trump has had his fingers in deals to see, it is to line his family and his own pockets. It's consistent.

why is Pres Trump so focused upon invoking the Insurrection Act without any real reason to do so?

That's an easy one to answer. If he can claim Insurrection, he can delay or eliminate the upcoming vote. Because if he doesn't delay it the writing is on the wall, that he will lose the majority in the two branches he needs to back him up on his insane actions.

Democrats can end the shut-down at any time they want.

So can the Republicans. As it is the Republicans can't be trusted. They've had two years to straighten it out but instead have ignored Democrats input totally. Now they can't ignore it.

The Republicans have lied, stolen funds that were already allocated for projects by denying the spending, and put tons of misdirections out, like the idea that the Democrats want to include immigrants in the social security and medicare. That's a bald faced lie as they can not get that without being a citizen across the nation with the exception of California who does not use national funds but rather state funds.

By the polls the Republicans are on the losing end of this by voter opinions. The only way Trump will be able to keep a majority in all three branches is by activating the troops to guard the polls, allowing only his people to count the votes.

Of course the Republicans are all for shutting off funding. That's the point of this administration. Cruelty is their game. However they can create more problems for the middle and lower class, the better they like it.

Trump is trying to create the need to use the Insurrection Act. He needs this done before November 4 when the elections happen. He knows he'll lose the majority of Congress if he doesn't. Most likely his idea will be for his people to count the ballots, with a thumb on the scale, of course.

Both the history of voting which usually goes against the party in power as well as the majority of the polls indicate he won't have the majority after the election, meaning that he'll have far more trouble doing whatever he wants to do unchecked.

Hence the reason he is preparing the public with the announcement he's considering the Insurrection Act. Facts haven't mattered so much with Trump. He has no troubles with lying and it seems the party supporting him has no troubles with it either.

Likely this will be the reason that puts enough pressure on politicians to discover something called compromise. It used to be on display a lot in the halls of congress but in today's world, it's a rare critter to find.

Corporations will dislike the ability to move their people across the nation to do the business they need done. Through the back doors of communications the congress critters will receive notices that their campaign contributions will be in danger if they don't get their act together and restore the government's budget. It was the spur that provided the necessity to cure this problem last time the government was shut down.

Trump has been well known for lying and misdirection. His first term raised employment by all mass media needing fact checkers that had to be hired. Between lies and misleading claims, his first term was peppered by 30,573 by some accounts. He's not changed and he isn't tracking any better this term.

Project 2025 tracker website has been keeping track of what he's accomplished during this term. You can go see for yourself, it's not been a one day effort to set up this website. The goals are pretty much right down the line as to what has been done and what's left to be done, and how much towards fulfillment each has progressed.

If you are just waking up to this then you owe it to yourself to go look. Trump has been following it all along.

As usual, those that buy his talk and not his actions, continue to be fooled.

Trump has them pretty much all the main stream media cowed. Even if they win a $15 billon dollar law suit, it puts their finances in jeopardy just to fight off the government prosecutors/lawyers.

Have you not noticed how MSM dances around the Trump issues? Their wording is very careful. Then there is the Colbert and Kendal affairs. Both owners trying to obtain merger approval, knowing they have to kiss the butt of Trump for the ok.

These are reasons I no longer trust MSM. They've rolled over just like big law firms did. If they won't stand up for themselves, how can I believe them?

The answer is, I don't.

Not there any more, it was removed this morning.

Trump is back to putting targets on the back of our military personnel, this won't end well. I'd be willing to bet, were it his butt there, he'd likely be wanting to leave it behind. As long as it is what he considers losers, he doesn't mind. This again speaks tons of his mentality and mental illness.

It's never really planned, it's pretty much always on the spur of the moment with no consideration of how it effects the future.

Let me make this plain. I hate a commercial. When one makes it through my blockers, when I go to the store, I will not buy that product. Anything but that product. The exact opposite of what a commercial is supposed to do.

You can't go anywhere in the modern world it seems you aren't exposed to this mess. To me, it says something is wrong with the product that they have to pay someone to trumpet their qualities. Your neighbor will for free tell you what works for him or is a good product without pay.

As soon as I saw this product on the sales floor, if I were looking for one to buy, I'd walk away and not consider it.