Socialism!

[Editorial]

The Republicans can’t say it enough times and the Democrats wave it like a banner. SOCIALISM!

So what is socialism? The classic definition is:

socialism

noun

: a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people and companies.

Okay, many Democrats are labeling themselves as socialist, and many more people do not have the foggiest idea what socialism is.

Trump is throwing out the communism and socialism insults because most people don’t know what they mean. However, what the right labels as socialist are programs like the laws used to bust up the monopolies of the 1890s.

We saw “socialism” under the New Deal with programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), and many other programs. We saw the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and many other programs.

Then we had the rash of agencies created under the Johnson administration like HUD, Head Start, and the EEOC, the momentum that even bled over into the Nixon administration with programs and agencies like OSHA, the EPA, WIC, and SNAP (Food Stamps back then).

These are the programs the Republicans are calling “socialist,” but they look the other way when Trump orders the government to buy private businesses, as the Council on Foreign Relations reported…

Washington’s latest and boldest experiment in industrial policy is a renewed willingness to take equity stakes. Since January 2025, the U.S. government has announced investments worth $27.6 billion across thirty-seven deals involving direct ownership, broadening a toolkit that has traditionally focused on grants, loans, and tax incentives. The Department of Commerce leads the way with twenty four announced deals, including taking a 10 percent stake in Intel. The Development Finance Corporation, the United States’ development bank, has pledged six equity transactions in critical minerals, energy, and infrastructure. The Department of Defense has disclosed seven deals, and the Department of Energy has participated in two.

That is the definition of “socialism” see above!

Meanwhile, Trump is cutting the programs created back in the Johnson administration to pay for his tax cuts for the billionaires and his endless war!

So who’s the real “socialist”?

[/Editorial]

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I have company at the cottage this week so I might miss a few posts.

"Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!"

I just saw something... NASA wants to land on the moon in 2028!

That year rang a bell... Hmm...

Naw... it couldn't be for that reason. Now could it? No not possibly... no.

NASA Administrator ‘extremely confident’ in Artemis 3 mission in 2027

Space Flight

August 14, 2026

NASA is potentially less than a year away from the trio of rocket launches that will encompass the Artemis 3 mission and the agency’s leader said he is “extremely confident” that the mission will happen in 2027.

Isaacman made the statement alongside Brian Hughes, the Kennedy Space Center director, as well as members of the Florida congressional delegation on Friday. He was there to announce a new NASA-supported, privately run air and space show, called “Max Power” taking place in early November.

“I’m extremely confident that we are we are going to be able to launch Artemis 3 next year. That’s why we stepped into stacking operations,” Isaacman said, referring to the assembly of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket happening in the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC.

[...]

“I had a chance to visit with the Blue Origin team earlier, walked the assembly line floor today, looking at components that will make their way into the Blue Origin test lander that we will be rendezvousing and docking with,” Isaacman said. “And I’ll tell you, if you spoke to Blue Origin, they would say the same thing. What we are going to learn from that mission, the amount of risk we’re going to be able to bring down in advance of Artemis 4 will be significant.

“I think in fact, if you coupled that with the uncrewed landing demonstration, you’d be very confident in what they’re going to be able to achieve potentially in 2028.”

Back on the moon! In 2028... there's that year ago.. why in two years... that seems pushing it.

Naw it couldn't be because Trump wants to stand next to the astronauts and bask in their glory as his own... naw. it couldn't be that! 

Reuters reported...

Trump urges 2028 astronaut moon landing in sweeping space policy order

By Joey Roulette

December 19, 2025

President Donald Trump enshrined the U.S. goal to put humans back on the moon by 2028 and defend space from weapon threats in a sweeping executive order issued on Thursday, the first major space policy move of his administration's second term.

[...]

The goal to land humans on the moon by the end of Trump's second term in 2028 bears resemblance to the president's 2019 directive in his first term to make a lunar return by 2024, putting the moon at the center of U.S. space exploration policy with a timeline many in the industry regarded as unrealistic.

Development and testing delays with NASA’s Space Launch System and SpaceX’s Starship gradually pushed that landing target date back.

NASA's goal had been 2028 under former president Barack Obama.

No, it must just be a coincidence,

Setting Us Up As Patsy

I retired in 2007, after taking advantage of my company's favorable IRAs and 401(k)s and building up a sizeable nest egg. The company had done away with its traditional retirement plan and moved entirely to IRAs and 401(k)s. At the time, the conventional wisdom was to put your retirement savings into interest-bearing investments. So I did, and I went for what I thought was the very best: AAA-rated, AIG-guaranteed Lehman Brothers bonds. The gold standard.

Then came 2008. In one week, I lost two-thirds of my life's savings. Now guess what? Trump wants to make it even riskier!

Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk.

Financial firms want a bigger piece of the $10 trillion in America’s 401(k) plans, and the Trump administration is planning a regulatory rollback to encourage  less-regulated — and often riskier — investments.

ProPublica

by Paul Kiel

July 8, 2026

Most Americans don’t look to their 401(k) plans for excitement or experimentation, instead relying on the promise that steady saving and sober planning will guarantee security in their golden years. But the Trump administration wants to transform the well-worn patterns of retirement investing. 

To do so, it is moving to weaken the main protection workers have over their retirement money. The man in charge of the regulatory rollback is an industry insider whose former clients are among the large companies likely to benefit from his plan.

Since taking office last year, President Donald Trump has loudly called for plans to include less-regulated — and often risky — investments like private equity and cryptocurrency. To achieve that goal, the administration is softening one of the strongest legal protections American workers have: the right to hold an employer accountable when retirement savings are mishandled. The change is designed to give employers cover if their workers’ 401(k)s are deflated by expensive, opaque or unproven investments.

“What they have done is lower the standard for everything,” said Ali Khawar, a former senior official at the Department of Labor, which is charged with enforcing the federal law that governs retirement savings.

Of course he wants to do it! The billionaires make money whether the markets go up or down! You pay a commission on the trades.

But that's not all. Trump is rigging it so you are buying “a pig in a poke!” You see, at the same time they want to make this change, the SEC is changing its reporting requirements. The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance writes,

>    What could change? Meaningful relief is on the table. The Proposed Amendments would increase two important thresholds: first, the overall threshold for the requirement to file Form PF would increase from $150 million to $1 billion in private fund assets under management, and, second, the threshold for filing as a “large hedge fund adviser” would increase from $1.5 billion to $10 billion in hedge fund assets under management. The Proposed Amendments would also, among other things, eliminate quarterly event reporting obligations for private equity fund advisers and streamline a number of other reporting requirements applicable to other filers.

[...]

>   Adviser-led Secondary Transactions, Continuation Vehicles, and Other Liquidity Solutions: With respect to adviser-led secondary transactions, the Release indicates that the SEC in particular recognizes the increasing use and growing importance of continuation vehicles and other liquidity vehicles in the market, noting specifically that these vehicles “maximiz[e] the value of a high performing asset or provid[e] existing investors liquidity while attracting new investors.” This development is critical for private equity sponsors, not just under Form PF but also because it signals a broader acceptance by the SEC that these structures are ordinary-course portfolio management tools and not necessarily indicators of market stress. The proposed changes suggest a more practical regulatory view of these structures, contrary to the approach taken by the prior SEC, which subjected them to enhanced regulatory attention under both Form PF and the now-vacated Private Fund Adviser Rules.

What this boils down to is less reporting. Instead of quarterly reporting, it will no longer be required in some circumstances. And if the funds own any other funds, they used to have to report them, but not anymore. ProPublica goes on to write;

Tim Hauser, a 34-year-veteran of EBSA who was the highest-ranking career staffer there before retiring last year, said such ideas undermine the heart of ERISA. Under both Republican and Democratic administrations, EBSA was “dedicated to protecting plan participants,” he said, but that has changed under Aronowitz. The ability of courts and regulators to hold employers accountable for using bad judgment when choosing 401(k) investments is “fundamental to this whole system,” Hauser said. “They are proposing to deprioritize it at the same time that they are encouraging plans to invest in more complicated, opaque investments. It’s infuriating.”

The shift at EBSA has also been evident in court. Over the last year, the Labor Department has filed amicus briefs — friend-of-the-court filings that lay out legal arguments for judges — in several class-action lawsuits on the side of the defendant company. In the past, the Labor Department’s briefs had generally sided with the employees. These amicus briefs can be influential. Recently, the agency interceded on Home Depot’s behalf in a case pending before the Supreme Court. The plaintiffs then dropped it.

The New Times wrote;

Pressed by his Wall Street supporters, President Trump is moving to liberalize the types of investments Americans can make with their individual retirement accounts. Instead of betting their retirement savings on plain vanilla stocks and bonds, account holders would be allowed to move their funds into sexy sectors like private equity, private credit and cryptocurrency — no matter their complexity, risk and illiquidity.

Supporters of the switch make the case that individuals should have the same access to private assets with potentially higher returns as institutions and the wealthy. But this argument rests on the false premise that most Americans are equipped to evaluate these complex, opaque investments. They are not. And expanding access to them risks doing more harm than good.

What does it mean to us? It means that the billionaires are going to make even more money from us peons. They are playing us for shill, patsy, and rubes and stacking the deck against us.

Soft On Crime!

That is the conservative mantra… the left is too soft on crime! How many times have you heard that? That states like Connecticut are pansies, that we are too soft on crime.

First, I looked at the recidivism rates for the states. Which states have prisoners returning to the justice system? It turns out you can’t figure out that simple question. Some states record something as minor as getting a speeding ticket as a return to the justice system, while other states look at additional felonies. So, it wasn’t comparing apples to apples. That doesn't mean recidivism numbers are useless. It means we need to understand exactly what each state is measuring before declaring a winner.

Next, I looked at the crime rate, and there the differences stood out!

State	Regional/Political Grouping	Violent Crime Rate (per 100k)	Homicide Rate Profile
Connecticut	Northern / Liberal	~181.6	One of the lowest in the nation.
Massachusetts	Northern / Liberal	~322.0	Regularly ranks in the top 10 safest states.
Vermont	Northern / Progressive	~222.0	Frequently named the #1 safest overall state.
Florida	Southern / Conservative	~380.0	Sits right around the national average.
Texas	Southern / Conservative	~430.0	Higher than the national average.
Mississippi	Southern / Conservative	~245.0	Features one of the country's highest murder rates.
Louisiana	Southern / Conservative	~620.0	Consistently holds the highest state murder rate.

Whoa. That is an amazing difference.

This morning’s CBS Sunday Morning had a segment that showed the harm that “lock ’em up and throw away the key” can do to people.

One woman accidentally ate an edible at a party where pot is legal. She went home to Idaho, where they test every baby for illegal drug use. BINGO!

How THC tests have landed more than a thousand new mothers onto child abuse registries

CBS News

By Erin Moriarty

August 9, 2026

Giving birth to her fourth child in January of 2021 was life-changing, says Nicole Hamann, but not in the way she ever imagined. While still at the hospital, Hamann was informed that both she and her newborn tested positive for a trace amount of THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. [A urine test is given to mothers, which is followed up by testing the umbilical cord.] "I felt like, all of the sudden, I was a criminal," Hamann said.

Hamann lives in Idaho, where marijuana is illegal. But a month before giving birth, Hamann, who has no criminal record, says she accidentally ate a pot-laced brownie at a relative's home in Oregon, where marijuana is legal. She says no one was interested in hearing her explanation of why she had THC in her system.

Child and Family Services began an investigation immediately, because in Idaho (and a number of other states), a single positive test result of THC in a newborn is considered presumptive evidence of child abuse.

[…]

Although social workers found no evidence of drug use, Hamann's name was still placed on the agency's child protection central registry – a list of child abusers. That means she can't work in hospitals or daycare centers. Even volunteering at her children's school is not allowed.

And Hamann's name remains on that list for a period of ten years. "It hurts … it hurts," she said. "It's heavy. It feels like somebody placed a big boulder on my shoulder and I have to carry it around for 10 years."

Hamann is not alone. At least a thousand new mothers in Idaho have been placed on that same registry, many for using marijuana products to relieve pain and severe nausea.

The harm that their get-tough policy is causing people is excessive! Yeah, pregnant women shouldn’t… But should they be sentenced to 10 years? Period. No courts, no hearings to explain. Just pot in your baby’s blood… guilty.

We are tough on drugs! But what does it do to the people?

Like Nicole Hamann, McGrath and her fiancé were investigated, and then cleared, by social workers. But McGrath says having her name on the child abuse registry has had devastating consequences. "My career as a healthcare worker is not just at risk; it's completely thrown away," she said.

What would happen here in Connecticut for a situation like this? Well, for one thing, you wouldn’t be reading about it here. Why? Because this type of drug use would never have automatically elevated the situation to the level of law enforcement. Yes, they do refer cases to the police, but not at this level! So, no criminal records!

Yeah, you can look at the numbers from above… but the numbers do not reflect the human costs!

---

I have one word for you... strawberries!

You know what is back in the news... the Reflecting Pool! Yes, Donny had a hissy fit over the case being dropped. So little Donny dragged the Washington, D.C. U.S. Attorney to the carpet... how dare she let that evil criminal get off!

Jeanine Pirro calls secretive grand jury in unusual move after Reflecting Pool debacle put her in Trump’s crosshairs: report

After repeatedly losing Trump-priority cases in DC, the DOJ may have discovered a workaround through Pirro’s office

The Independent

Alex Woodward

13 August 2026

Under-fire acting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has taken a highly unusual next step after being sternly and publicly rebuked by President Donald Trump for dropping the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool case against a former Olympic rower, citing a lack of evidence.

The former district attorney, judge and Fox News personality — who now answers to Trump’s ex-criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche after his confirmation as U.S. Attorney General this week — is leading a special grand jury that could be used to investigate the president’s political enemies, according to The Washington Post.

Such a secretive special grand jury could be used to draft damaging reports about Trump’s critics, including current and former Democratic officials. The subject and scope of the special grand jury’s inquiry is unclear. The Independent has requested comment from Pirro’s office and the Justice Department.

Do you remember Captain Queeg in the movie "The Caine Mutiny" and Captain Queeg's obsession over strawberries... do you remember?

Do it remind you of anyone now?

Pirro brought box of evidence to show Trump what caused Reflecting Pool damage

By Sarah N. Lynch, Jennifer Jacobs

August 4, 2026 /

CBS News

The top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital carted a box full of evidence to the White House on Monday, in a bid to prove to President Trump that the damage to the Reflecting Pool was caused by shoddy construction and not by vandals, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News on Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro, a staunch ally of the president, made the case in a sometimes heated private meeting in the Oval Office Monday, hours after Mr. Trump had publicly rebuked her for dropping criminal charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn. 

She was later photographed leaving the White House carting a large white box and other bags, which sources said contained all of the evidence collected from the Interior Department that exculpated Hearn and several others from criminal vandalism.

Think of a can of strawberries!

Mr. Trump earlier in the day had accused Pirro of folding "like an umbrella," after her office on Friday filed a motion dismissing the felony case against Hearn. 

Even with all this drama... remember in court the U.S. Attorney said it was poor workmanship, not vandals, that caused the damage, and that cannot be unsaid.

Loser! Loser

Everything Trump touches turn to… well dust!

And now said us, the U.S.

Live updates: Trump pivots back to sanctions for Iran as other strategies to end his war fizzle

Follow the latest news on President Donald Trump and his administration

AP News

By  BRIDGET BROWN, MICHAEL WARREN and CURTIS YEE

August 11, 2026

President Donald Trump on Monday said that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It’s part of a larger pivot this weekend by Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict

[…]

Trump administration says more oil is flowing through Strait of Hormuz

By JOSHUA BOAK

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on social media that nearly 9 million barrels of oil a day are getting shipped through the Strait of Hormuz — as the administration is suggesting that the supply pressures tied to the Iran war are easing.

Wright said that along with additional oil flowing through pipelines total oil flows from the region are averaging roughly 15 million barrels a day.

U.S. oil futures prices remain above the pre-war levels, with a barrel trading on Tuesday afternoon at $83. The Trump administration has tapped the strategic petroleum reserve to steady the market and that reserve last week fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026.

Wright is setting expectations that oil will keep going through the strait.

Hey what is he smoking...I’ll have some of that. Iran fired on a ship a couple of days ago!

---

Unringing the bell!

Trump is having a bad day and is making another loser move... first a study by the Center for American Progress (CAP) that the National Guard has not made an impact on violent crime in D.C. and that it has cost the taxpayers over $1.6 billion!

And now this...

Jeanine Pirro just made a ‘rare move’ amid Trump fury: ‘This could be very interesting’

Mass Live

Aug. 12, 2026

By Rachel Cohen | NJ.com

In a “rare move,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro convened a special grand jury in Washington amid frustrations from President Donald Trump, according to a new report.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Pirro summoned a legal body that could allow federal prosecutors to investigate major and controversial cases, per government officials.

Trump claimed Sunday that a defendant was caught by a National Park Service employee, who he dubbed a “highly credible witness,” vandalizing the pool’s coating by “‘violently’ ripping and tugging” at it.

“There was substantial other damage to the Reflecting Pool, also but, unfortunately, there is no video or proof, other than the damage, itself,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

U.S. Atty. Pirro is now caught between a rock and a hard place; she cannot go and unspeak her words! She is walking a tightrope between perjuring herself...

Trump’s anger with Pirro first surfaced earlier this month, as the president bluntly wrote online: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking?”

He has continued to put pressure on the top federal prosecutor to revisit the case.

“Now that people are able to see it up close, they are reporting pure VANDALISM at The Reflecting Pool,” Trump said online on Friday, adding that it was a “hastily made decision” by Pirro.

He has had security cameras installed around the Reflecting Pool... this is reminding me of Captain Queeg and the strawberries. 

Bigotry?

The U.S. Department of Education held a contest for the Presidential 1776 Award for civics, and the three winners would meet Trump. But there was one small problem... some of them... God forbid... were... immigrants!

A tense wait for answers after Milford teen's mystery exit from national contest: Dan Haar

CT Insider

By Dan Haar, Columnist

Aug 11, 2026

It almost didn't happen at all for 15-year-old Aangad Singh, a rising junior honors student at Foran High School in Milford. 

Aangad made it to the regional semifinals of the Presidential 1776 Award for civics in Boston, then became one of 20 top finishers from across the United States invited to the nation's capital, then won a spot in the Elite Eight on stage June 9. 

Then, the dispute: Did Aangad answer enough questions correctly to land in the top three finishers, with a trip to the Oval Office to meet President Donald Trump and tens of thousands of dollars, as much as $150,000 in prize money? He and his family say yes. Many people on hand at the Kennedy Center the night of the show say yes. 

But something happened. The question is... what? Everyone watching thought he was one of the three winners.

But when the emcee – actor and TV personality Mario Lopez – read the names of the finalists, Aangad was not among them. Shocked, disoriented and perplexed, he took a seat in the audience with his family to watch the finals.  

As you can imagine, he was devastated. Other contestants came up and said they thought that he won and were perplexed. The website American Bazaar wrote:

What was designed as a program to showcase youth civics knowledge for the nation’s 250th anniversary has left several families questioning the transparency of federal organizers.

The Presidential 1776 Award competition, organized as part of America’s semi quincentennial celebrations, brought top high school scholars to the Kennedy Center in Washington.

[...]

During the taped broadcast, 15-year-old Connecticut contestant Aangad Singh answered a question regarding federal court jurisdiction under Article III of the U.S. Constitution and the on-screen graphics marked two of his points in red as incorrect, despite the phrases matching the Constitutional text.

The Indian Express said of the answers:

The family also disputed the marking of a lightning-round question asking which constitutional amendment abolished slavery. They said Aangad answered “the 13th Amendment”, but the response was marked incorrect, possibly because of pronunciation. They also pointed to auto-generated subtitles from the broadcast, which they said reflected the correct answer.

However, when questioned, the contest officials said the final scores were “proprietary.”

Did Trump Officials Rig High School Contest Against Sikh Finalist?

Everyone competing against Aangad Singh thought he’d won the Presidential 1776 Award competition. He wants to know why his answers were marked incorrect.

The New Republic

Hafiz Rashid

July 22, 2026

The Presidential 1776 Award competition was set up by the Trump administration to honor America’s 250th birthday with a civics contest for high school students.

But the family of 15-year-old Aangad Singh believes he may have been kept out of the competition’s final because of his Sikh background and visible turban, NOTUS reports.

[...]

Singh, a rising high school junior who lives in Connecticut, entered the competition in February just like other high school students around the country. He scored well enough to reach the finals in Washington, D.C., at the end of June and make the final eight. But his elimination after that left his family—and many of his competitors—puzzled.

Could it be xenophobia and/or Islamophobia? Was it his turban? He is a Sikh, and people often confuse them with Muslims, even though Sikhism is the world's fifth-largest organized religion and is not related to Islam.

The Wyoming winner was a homeschooled girl who would later be touted by the Department of Education for culture-war propaganda, and the Washington state winner told Trump at the White House that she wanted to attend Hillsdale College, a politically conservative school, to which Trump said he could give a recommendation.

And is it as simple as that... Trump couldn't be seen with a person wearing a turban.

---

Update: 8/13 @ noon.

KEYT News reported...

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy released a video last week where he alleged that Singh, who is the son of Indian immigrants, was sidelined to uplift contestants who better aligned with Trump’s agenda. All three of the finalists were White, and one identified as a Trump supporter in an interview with CNN.

“How do you justify running a merit-based competition based upon how much you know about American history, and then denying a kid a place in the winner’s circle, perhaps simply because his parents are immigrants,” Murphy asked.

In a statement to CNN, the Education Department said that all contestants had agreed that judges — fellows from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation — “would judge the competition in good faith with full discretion over scoring.”

“They also understood that in the live competition, the judges would have to exercise their best judgment and deliberate in real time. It was a fierce and close competition, and Mr. Singh was an outstanding competitor,” the agency said.

But the question remains why haven't they released the scoring?

This Is Your Government!

I am not even to write anything, you have to read this! The whole article article... this is what Trump is doing to the country with his xenophobic adminstration in your name.

Society / August 11, 2026

One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention

My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.

The Nation

Maryam Tahmasebi

You got to read it! They are doing it your name, in the name of your country, you can't sit back say you never knew... because the truth is out there. It is on the internet. The Nation is a well respected magazine.

Ice Is Not Nice!

[Editorial]

The New Bandwagon… “Ice ICE!” Liberal candidates (while conservatives cry for more funding) are talking about getting rid of ICE, an agency created in response to 9/11.

It was a knee-jerk reaction to the attacks on us; maybe it is time to revisit it, either to abolish it or reshape it away from the Gestapo-like agency that Trump molded it into. But let’s not have another knee-jerk reaction in the opposite direction.

ICE was created to track down potential security threats inside the country, but it has morphed into an agency known for bashing heads and civil liberties violations.

Under Trump’s presidencies, it has been transformed into a heavy-handed force that ignored the Constitution and due process. However, no matter what replaces it, the system remains ripe for abuse. Who defines what a “terrorist” is? Under Trump, the transgender community has been targeted and demonized as terrorists.

All I am saying is: don’t be hasty and create another monster!

[/Editorial]

Two Stories!

Which one do you believe?

There are now two version of an attack on a Jordan air base in July.

US says two military personnel killed by Iranian attack in Jordan

Reuters

By David Ljunggren, Enas Alashray and Hatem Maher

July 17, 2026

Summary

• US says two service members killed, another missing in action
• Iran's leader says US will pay for breaches of deal
• Iran appears to target Saudi Arabia as well as other US allies
• US airstrikes on Iran reported to continue on Saturday afternoon

The U.S. military said on Saturday two of its personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing ​after an Iranian attack, while Iran's supreme leader said Washington would pay for "seeking to escalate the conflict" after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes.

The U.S. and Iran have intensified ‌attacks since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.

U.S. Central Command said the two deaths occurred on Friday and that a third U.S. service member was missing in action. The announcement brought the number of U.S. service members killed since the war began to 16, while more than 420 have been wounded.

But from middle east sources tell a different story...

$300 million up in smoke? Iran claims it destroyed three US F-35 fighter jets in Jordan

Edited by: Vivek Dube

TIMESOFINDIA.COM

Jul 30, 2026

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed it destroyed three US F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets and severely damaged three more in a ballistic missile strike on Jordan's al-Azraq Air Base, in what, if verified, would mark one of the most significant losses of America's most advanced combat aircraft.

According to a statement carried by Iran International, the attack targeted an aircraft parking area and a maintenance hangar at the base in response to a US strike on Iran's Qeshm Island. The IRGC also claimed that several US military officers and maintenance personnel were killed in the strike.

The United States has not confirmed the claim, and there has been no independent verification of the reported destruction or damage to the aircraft.

So which was it? Did the planes get destroyed and the Trump administration doesn't want admit it or Iran is lying?

online polls

The War Is Almost Over

How many times have you heard Trump say that. I wondered also so I asked my favor AI, ChatGPT

My working count

I would currently put the number of distinct occasions in which Trump or a senior administration official publicly suggested the Iran war would end imminently at roughly 20+, depending on exactly what we count as a separate prediction.

For Trump alone, I can already document well over a dozen:

Date	Who	What he said / predicted
Mar. 1	Trump	4–5 weeks
Mar. 2	Trump	4 weeks, said they were ahead of schedule
Mar. 9	Trump	War “very complete” / “very soon”
Mar. 11	Trump	War will end “soon”; could end it whenever he wants
Mar. 12	Trump	Iran “pretty much at the end of the line”
Mar. 13	Trump	“I don't think it's gonna be long”
Mar. 16	Trump	Could wrap it up in a week; “it'll be soon”
Mar. 17	Trump	“very near future” for leaving
Mar. 23	Trump	Gave five days for negotiations to produce a deal
Mar. 26	Trump	Said they were “a lot ahead of schedule”
Mar. 31	Trump	Leaving “very soon”, within 2–3 weeks
Apr. 1	Trump	Mission would finish “very shortly”; 2–3 weeks of strikes
Apr. 15	Trump	Said war was “very close to over”
May 19	Trump	Called off planned strikes because “serious negotiations” were underway
May 22	Trump	Said he'd wait “a couple of days” for Iran's response
May 23–25	Trump	Said peace deal was “largely negotiated”
June 11	Trump	Said they had reached a “great settlement”, documents in a few days
June 11	Trump	Said signing would be “shortly”
Aug. 6	Trump	Said the war would end “pretty soon”

The March sequence alone is remarkably repetitive. PolitiFact's timeline, for example, documents the March 9, 11, 12, 13, 16 and 17 statements, including Trump saying the war would be over soon, that Iran was essentially finished, and that the U.S. would leave in the “very near future.”

And the August 6 statement is particularly important for your original question, because it is after the June agreement and after the earlier predictions had already failed to produce a lasting end. Reuters reports that Trump said he expected the war to end “pretty soon” and that Iran couldn't sustain it much longer.

And yes, we should include the other officials

For example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was saying on March 8 that the operation was “only just the beginning,” directly contradicting Trump's imminent-end messaging.

That's actually useful because it lets us distinguish:

• 🟢 Trump says it's almost over
• 🔵 Administration official says it's almost over
• 🔴 Administration official says it's going to continue
• ⚫ Actual outcome

And that last column is the one that makes this really interesting.

I think the best next step is to make the full timeline—date, person, exact prediction, promised timeframe, and whether that timeframe actually came true. That will let us answer not merely “how many times?” but “how many times did they give a specific imminent deadline that passed without the war ending?”

That is a much harder number to dispute.

They Never Liked It From Day One

The Republicans have been trying to derail it from when President Johnson signed the bill. They have been throwing a monkey wrench ever since then.

The latest is deleting much of Part D coverage for prescriptions!

Trump administration to end Medicare Part D subsidy program in 2027

The prescription drug benefit is used by millions of seniors.

ABC News

ByMichelle Stoddart andArthur Jones II

July 29, 2026

The Trump administration is ending a key health insurance subsidy program that aimed to keep premiums for seniors' prescription drug plans in check, claiming that it benefits corporate insurance companies, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.

Medicare Part D -- the government health insurance program's prescription drug benefit -- is used by tens of millions of older or disabled beneficiaries

The program's subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, the administration announced Tuesday.

That move will likely result in higher prescription costs and increase premiums for about half of recipients, according to an administration official.

[…]

The move comes as Affordable Care Act subsidies have expired and health care costs remain a top issue for voters ahead of the midterm elections. The ACA subsidies helped lower the out-of-pocket costs for monthly premiums for people who purchased health care through the health insurance marketplace.

 The ABC News goes on to report,

President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed he wouldn't allow Medicaid to be cut, but House Republicans' bill to fund his agenda aims to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the program that provides health care for poor, elderly and disabled Americans.

For several months, Trump has promised not to touch the program, though on Monday he urged Republicans to "UNIFY" around the "one, big beautiful bill," which plans to slash Medicaid spending by imposing work requirements for recipients, make more frequent eligibility checks, and penalize states like New York and California that offer Medicaid to illegal immigrants.

In another ABC News article,

The program's subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, the administration announced Tuesday.

That move will likely result in higher prescription costs and increase premiums for about half of recipients, according to an administration official.

The question is why the cuts, well for one thing, NPR might have a clue,

"Project 2025 was pretty blunt about wanting to push more people into Medicare Advantage," she says, referring to the Heritage Foundation's blueprint for a second Trump presidency. "One way to really accelerate that is to make it very expensive to stay in traditional Medicare."

To avoid the higher premiums for drug coverage, patients may move away from traditional Medicare plans and toward Medicare Advantage plans. While Medicare Advantage may have lower premiums, she says there are tradeoffs, including a more limited network of providers and hospitals that accept Medicare Advantage.

Ah… that sounds more like it! Project 2025 has the fingers in it! Go Health reports that,

Key Takeaways

• Project 2025 is a policy proposal from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation that some believe will influence the second Trump administration.
• The document suggests many policy changes that could affect people on Medicare.
• Some of the most significant ideas for Medicare in Project 2025 include shifting Original Medicare to a value-based care model, making Medicare Advantage plans the default option, and eliminating price controls for prescription drugs.

With President Donald Trump back in office, many Medicare beneficiaries wonder what changes could happen to the public health insurance program for people who are over 65 or living with disabilities.

Trump has not made any official announcements regarding his goals for Medicare, but examining Project 2025 could provide some hints. Project 2025 is an approximately 900-page policy proposal published by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation that lays out plans for transforming the U.S. government.

Conservatives have always hated it!

We have the highest medical costs in the world, and now we will have even higher costs as they disassemble Medicare and Medicaid and let their billionaire friends rake in more of our money.

Is This Our Future?

Is this what Trump’s leading us to?

How China Keeps Tabs on Foreigners

An unsecured police dashboard was a rare window into how the authorities track foreigners by collecting and aggregating vast amounts of private data.

New York Times

By Lily Kuo and Pei-Lin Wu

Aug. 2, 2026

Most days, Marc Hofer, a cybersecurity researcher and journalist based in Amsterdam, trawls the internet for clues about how China surveils its citizens, a subject that has fascinated him since he worked there as a foreign correspondent.

Mr. Hofer, 46, was doing his usual scan earlier this year when he came across something called “Dynamic Control Platform for Overseas Personnel.” It was a futuristic dashboard — like something from the movie “Minority Report” — that appeared to track foreigners in the northern Chinese city of Zhangjiakou, a popular skiing spot that co-hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The system’s dashboard said it tracked more than 700 foreign residents living in the city. In total, it had entries for nearly 12,000 people, which included fugitives, people from Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as more than 300 foreign journalists. Some of them had not been to Zhangjiakou.

Is this what we are starting to do here? Making us into a police state? Where I live, the crime reports show a safety grade of A, which is 74% better than the U.S. average.

But still, there were comments like this:

• Would someone please tell me what freedoms you’re losing in the name of safety? Because it sounds to me like you’re mad that you can’t speed and run stoplights
• I don't understand why people hate FLOCK cameras so much. If you’re not doing anything wrong, why does it bother you? These cameras solve crimes, find stolen cars, and help catch people who think they can get away with anything.
• There’s cameras everywhere anyway, so who cares at this point?

People are divided into two camps: those who don't think there's anything wrong with tracking citizens, as in China, as long as it reduces crime. (Of course, even now, they have no real idea what the actual crime rate is.) They don't seem to care that this approach leads society down the path toward totalitarianism. Truthout wrote back in 2015, before this discussion even began:

From 1933 through 1945, before being destroyed and dismantled, buildings here housed the Secret State Police (Gestapo), the leadership of the SS (Protection Squad of the Nazi Party) and the Reich Security Main Office. These institutions used cold and brutal methods to serve cold and brutal purposes. Following World War II, Communist Party secret police in East Germany surveilled people’s mail, telephone calls and foreigners. With 500,000 professional and civilian informants — and estimates as high as 2 million (if occasional informants are included) — to monitor a population of 17 million, the Stasi have been described the most intrusive surveillance organizations in world history.

Totalitarian regimes in Germany made widespread use of mass surveillance in order to dominate freedom and carry out horrific crimes. It is no surprise then that Germany is today a top-ranking country globally for data privacy and protection laws, that Berlin has evolved to become one of the world capitals for hackers and data privacy advocates, and that one of the first peer-to-peer computational platforms to guarantee user privacy against unwanted electronic surveillance, Enigma, is named after the tool that the Nazis used to broadcast coded messages from. Yet, ironically, the power of today’s mass surveillance systems — like those of the NSA, brought to light by Edward Snowden’s revelations — far exceed what previous totalitarian regimes could have imagined. Surveillance has spread like a pandemic.

And are we heading down that path?

As more of our personal information moves from our own computers to cloud services, an increasing share of our digital lives is stored by third parties. That makes it potentially more accessible to ICE, CBP, and other federal agencies than when it existed only on a personal device. Combined with advances in AI and data analytics, many civil liberties advocates worry this could enable increasingly comprehensive surveillance of ordinary citizens. Previously, they had to come to your house, but when it is in the vapors of the cloud... who knows who can get access to it without your knowledge!

Do you have stuff up in the clouds? I do. I have all the slide presentations I have given, from the cultural diversity ones to the ones on trans history, on Google Drive.

Dream On, Dream On

When Trump doesn't like something, he lies. Polling numbers... they're fake!

Fuming Trump, 80, Melts Down Over Embarrassing Poll Numbers

The president is clearly unhappy with his standing among Americans.

Daily Beast

Leigh Kimmins 

Aug. 3 2026

President Donald Trump flew into a morning tantrum over his disastrous polling numbers.

As Trump’s approval ratings plunge to record lows, he pulled out one of his favorite defenses against humiliating poll figures: insisting they are simply made up.

“My REAL Polling Numbers, not those made up by the Fake News Media, are the best they have ever been,” the president, 80, contested in a Monday morning meltdown, pointing to “the biggest tax cuts and employment numbers EVER, the biggest outside Investment in America in World history, a totally secure Border, a giant Victory in Venezuela, the Denuclearization of Iran, unparalleled respect and success throughout the World, and much more.”

Psst, Donald, those are your real numbers... you're just dreaming.

He continued in a similar, ranty vein, “Don’t believe the Radical Left’s Fake Poll numbers. They are Crooked and Corrupt, just like the Country Destroying Dumocrats are Crooked and Corrupt. VOTE REPUBLICAN FOR GREATNESS IN AMERICA!”

[...]

Denying the obvious is part of Trump’s playbook. “He’s always going to project strength regardless what the numbers are, and he’ll say they’re fake anyway,” Douglas Heye, a veteran Republican strategist, told The New York Times over the weekend.

It is like they all live in their own little world of Peter Pan's Never-Never Land, where there are continuous reruns of "Father Knows Best." in their detachment from reality.

Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire

It's all about headlines, not the truth. It was blasted across the front pages and led the news broadcasts. But it was all fake... designed to grab headlines. What does that say about the bill he is trying to push? 

But the claim was fake... just another attempt to grab headlines.

President	Survey Year	Trustworthy
Barack Obama	2010	58%
George W. Bush	2006	41%
Bill Clinton	1994	46%
Donald Trump	2018	34%

He has the lowest trust rating of any president!

DHS claimed 250K noncitizens are registered to vote across 4 states. Here's the truth

Officials in California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all disputed the allegation.

Snopes

Jack Izzo

July 28, 2026

Claim:

More than 250,000 non-U.S. citizens are registered to vote across California, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Rating:

False

Context

The Department of Homeland Security did not provide any evidence supporting its claim, as with many other allegations of widespread voter fraud by President Donald Trump and his administration.

With a trust rating of 34%, nobody but his loyal MAGA followers, who kiss his feet, believes him anymore.

It's worth noting that the claim was about the alleged number of registrations, not number of ballots cast, and that the department used the phrase "there may be as many as" to describe its numbers. DHS provided no evidence supporting its conclusion, and Snopes could not reproduce the findings.

The percentage of those believers is about the same as the percentage of voters who support Trump in election polls.

It Is Having A Chilling Effect.

Trump's pogrom against LGBTQ+ people is having a chilling effect on our community.

Middletown PrideFest may have to scale back after funding losses

CT Insider

By Cassandra Day,

Aug 1, 2026

Middletown’s PrideFest, which has lost some $32,000 in sponsorships and grants over the last couple years, stands to potentially lose an additional $25,000 in funding from their partner Wesleyan University for a total projected deficit of $56,700, according to one city official.

"Prior to this year, we had approximately $20,000 from three companies," Skowera said, though she declined to name them. "We are also ineligible for $10,000 in grants as the grantor prevents recipients who have received the grant for three years in a row to apply."

                                          

The LGBTQIA+ Commission facilitates the city's Pride events, which began in June 2019. It holds the distinction of being the largest such celebration in Connecticut, and third largest in New England, behind Boston and Providence, Skowera said. It includes a large parade with over 80 marching groups down Main Street.

This is the doing of one person and his attack on the LGBTQ+ community—his transphobic and homophobic use of government to exert financial pressure designed to destroy the community.

This is not only hurting Pride events, but also pride centers, through direct attacks on their federal funding... The Los Angeles LGBT Center reported that;

“This is a critical win—not only for the nine organizations we represent, but for LGBTQ communities and people living with HIV across the country,” said Jose Abrigo, Lambda Legal’s HIV Project Director and Senior Attorney on the case. “The Court blocked anti-equity and anti-LGBTQ executive orders that seek to erase transgender people from public life, dismantle DEI efforts, and silence nonprofits delivering life-saving services. Today’s ruling acknowledges the immense harm these policies inflict on these organizations and the people they serve and stops Trump’s orders in their tracks.”

The legal win will protect the nine nonprofit organizations across the country from having to shutter programs or silence their advocacy for fear of losing critical federal support while the case proceeds. The ruling ensures organizations such as San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles and New York LGBTQ Centers can continue to operate, advocate, serve people, and save lives without further censorship or threats to their funding.

Beyond this, private businesses are also cutting back on their donations.

LGBTQ+ groups face alarming funding crisis as Republican anti-trans attacks mount, new report finds

A sharp drop in grants leaves queer and trans groups struggling to fight unprecedented legislative attacks.

The Advocate

Christopher Wiggins

Jul 08, 2025

Philanthropic support for LGBTQ+ causes is collapsing just as queer and trans communities face an escalating national crisis. New data from Funders for LGBTQ Issues shows foundation funding for LGBTQ+ organizations in the U.S. dropped sharply to $209.4 million in 2023. That’s a staggering decline of nearly $49 million, or 19 percent, from 2022. When adjusted for inflation, that cut deepens to 22 percent.

Even as the funding picture grows increasingly dire, many philanthropic institutions are opting to remain anonymous. The report omits the names of top funders and grantees for the first time in decades, reflecting a growing trend among donors who fear political retaliation and the increased hostility toward progressive causes under the current administration..

Gemini - Question: Who are they fearing when they request anonymity? And what does it say about our government under Trump?

Who are they fearing when they request anonymity?

Philanthropic foundations, corporate donors, and individual grant-makers are requesting anonymity primarily out of fear of political retaliation, targeted harassment, and financial or legal targeting from the federal government under the Trump administration.

Specifically, donors fear:

• Government investigations and audits: Utilizing federal agencies, regulatory bodies, or tax-exempt status reviews to penalize organizations that support progressive or LGBTQ+ causes.

• Public blacklisting or smear campaigns: Being singled out by administration officials, political allies, or state-level lawmakers, which can damage a business's brand, alienate customer bases, or incite hostile public backlash.

• Loss of partnerships or institutional security: Universities, corporate sponsors, and non-profits face immense pressure to distance themselves from anything labeled "DEI" or "gender ideology" to protect their own institutional funding and survival.

What does it say about our government under Trump?

The fact that philanthropic organizations—traditionally bold and vocal champions of social causes—are forced into hiding reflects an alarming democratic backslide. It suggests several key things about the current administration:

1. The Weaponization of State Power: It indicates a political environment where government authority is perceived—and actively used—as a punitive instrument to suppress dissent, marginalize specific minority populations, and force ideological compliance.

2. A "Chilling Effect" on Free Speech and Association: When civil society organizations and private citizens feel they cannot safely exercise their right to donate to marginalized communities without fear of state reprisal, it creates an atmosphere of authoritarian intimidation.

3. Erosion of Pluralism: By signaling that supporting LGBTQ+ people, reproductive rights, or diversity initiatives makes an entity a target, the administration's policies effectively seek to drive these communities back into the shadows, undermining the foundational American principles of equal protection and pluralism.

This Is What Happens When You Hire For Loyality

And not knowledge!

We are the laughing stock of the world!

Thank you, Donald!

Trump's Credit Card

Trump is maxing out our national debt... During his second term, Donald Trump has added $3.16 trillion to the gross national debt in his first 18 months, outpacing the raw dollar accumulation rate of any previous president during an equivalent opening timeframe (Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years)

The Best Government Money Can Buy!

Yeah, I know that title is getting used a lot but... 

Turns To Dust

Have you noticed that everything Trump touches turns to S**t! One business after another he drove into the ground. Just like he is doing to our country.

President Trump 'Damaged' Important Soccer Fields With His Helicopter

The Spun

Tzvi Machlin

July 29, 2026

President Donald Trump might have made enemies out of an entire soccer team’s fanbase after he and some other world leaders damaged their field with helicopters.

According to the Mirror, President Trump and other leaders landed their helicopters on a French soccer field for the G7 Summit, damaging the fields in the process. That field was going to be used by the Premier League’s Brighton & Hove Albion FC for preseason training.

Per the report, the damage was so extensive that Brighton have been forced to cancel their trip to France for preseason training and move it to Austria instead.

Need I say more?

Remember The Reflecting Pool Fiasco?

Well, wait for round two... with a new, improved paint for the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB). Trump is going to paint over the granite because he doesn't like the color. It looks ugly.

Preservationists Move to Stop Trump from Testing New Paint on Iconic 1800s Landmark He Called ‘Ugly’ (Exclusive)

A law firm plans to seek an emergency injunction to block paint testing on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

People

By Angelique Brenes

July 30, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

• Preservationists are seeking an emergency injunction to stop the Trump administration from testing paint on the historic Eisenhower Executive Office Building
• The proposed testing is part of Donald Trump’s plan to paint the National Historic Landmark white as part of a broader renovation effort
• “This is a terrible idea,” preservation attorney Greg Werkheiser said as opponents argue the project could permanently damage the iconic building

Preservationists are taking their fight against Donald Trump’s proposed makeover of one of Washington, D.C.’s most recognizable buildings back to court.

Groups challenging Trump’s plan to paint the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) plan to file a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction on Thursday, July 30. They are asking a federal court to halt paint testing that could begin as early as Aug. 3 while the legality of the project is resolved, Cultural Heritage Partners said in a statement shared exclusively with PEOPLE ahead of the filing.

Cultural Heritage Partners said the planned motion comes after the White House announced its intention to begin a paint feasibility study on portions of the landmark. The group also said the administration had previously assured the court that no such work would move forward before complying with federal historic preservation and environmental laws.

Trump is like a bull in a china shop; he doesn't care what he breaks or who he breaks.

Trump has long defended the proposal, arguing a fresh coat of paint would improve the appearance of the historic building.

During an appearance on The Ingraham Angle in November 2025, Trump displayed a rendering of the proposed renovation.

“You know it was always considered an ugly building, and it’s actually one of the most beautiful buildings ever built,” Trump said.

The Washington Post writes;

Kelley is one of more than two dozen experts in preservation, materials and heritage arguing in district court against the Trump administration’s plan to paint the massive EEOB white, to match the nearby White House. It is unnecessary, costly and it could damage the stone, they say, leading to a “taxpayers’ nightmare,” as the building would have to be regularly repainted, keeping it potentially under scaffolding in perpetuity.

You see, the problem is no one knows what a coat of paint would do to the granite—will it stick or will it damage the granite? No one knows, so the National Park Service is testing the paint, but it is not fast enough for little Donny; he is sooo... impatient!

Trump plan to use ‘magic’ paint will ruin Eisenhower building, restoration experts say

Silicate paint won’t strengthen the exterior granite or keep water out, as President Trump has claimed, 25 specialists say in a Q&A prepared by preservationists suing to stop the renovation project.

Construction Drive

Robert Freedman

April 16, 2026

 A plan by President Donald Trump to paint the granite facade of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House with a white mineral silicate-based masonry paint that he has called a “magic paint” won’t work in the way he has said, according to 25 restoration specialists.

“Mineral silicate paints are not suited for use on granite,” the specialists said in a Q&A prepared by preservationists seeking to stop the plan. “These paints do not chemically bond to granite in the manner necessary to activate their powers to strengthen and protect underlying stone.” 

Um... ah... um... Just like the paint that peeled off the Reflecting Pool!

Cultural Heritage Partners, the D.C. Preservation League and others sued President Trump, the General Services Administration and the National Park Service in November for violating federal laws that require work on a historically significant building to be undertaken only after public notice and in consultation with stakeholders.  

In the Q&A they prepared, the plaintiffs say President Trump has asserted there exists a “‘magic paint with silicate’” that, if applied to the exterior granite of the building, would strengthen the stone, keep water out, prevent staining, be easy to apply and rarely require repainting. None of those claims is true, according to the specialists.

That means nothing to Trump literally and figuratively... he just doesn't care if it comes out as crap.

Stay tuned for Round II of little Dutch Boy Donny with his can of paint!