National politics

It took a lot of strength and determination. I wanted to give up numerous times. But I persevered -- watching every damn minute of what turned out to be the longest State of the Union speech in our nation's history, 1 hour and 47 minutes. That broke the previous record, also set by Trump, which I think was 1 hour and 39 minutes. So I deserve a medal, especially since I was forced to sit through countless (almost) lies by Trump, along with his usual insults directed at Democrats like me. Commentators had been wondering which Trump would show up…

Lies, lies, and more lies. We're all accustomed to being subjected to this by Trump and his cronies. They hate truth. They love lies. But when they lie about the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal agents, this is especially despicable, because those lies attack the honor of a wonderful man who did absolutely nothing to deserve being shot ten times. Pretti's parents are appropriately outraged. In "The Trump Administration is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act," the New York Times editorial board describes some of the lies being spread by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and…

This would be unbelievable in any other presidential administration, Republican or Democrat: threatening to conduct a criminal investigation into the grieving widow of a person killed by a federal agent under highly questionable circumstances, rather than investigating whether that killing was justified. But Trump has destroyed so many norms and precedents that have previously guided the federal government to do the right thing for the citizens of the United States, it isn't surprising that when it comes to the tragic killing of Renee Good, which plenty of evidence shows was unnecessary, the Trump administration would be doing the absolute wrong…

Today the political world is abuzz about a lengthy two-part Vanity Fair story by Chris Whipple. Susie Wiles, J.D. Vance and the "Junkyard Dogs":The White House Chief of Staff on Trump's Second Term is Part 1. It's available to everyone to read. Part 2, Susie Wiles Talks Epstein Files, Pete Hegseth's War Tactics, Retribution, and More, requires a Vanity Fair subscription. I forked out $12 for a year-long digital subscription because I appreciated this groundbreaking story that cast new light on the Trump administration. Since Trump and his cronies love to bitch and moan about "fake news" spread by the…

We have to suffer through Trump until January 2029, unless he leaves office early for a health or some other reason. That's depressing. Good news is, there are increasing signs that Trump's inherent lame-duckness -- presidents are limited by the Constitution to two terms in office -- and obvious sleepy incompetence is manifesting in greater resistance to the Authoritarian in Chief. Here's five recent signs of this. Indiana rejects redistricting. Kudos to the state where some of my wife's relatives live. Resisting intense pressure from Trump and his lackeys to create new Congressional maps that would have changed Indiana's House…

It's a tragedy that two National Guard soldiers were critically injured (one has died) by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan refugee who served with the CIA prior to the withdrawal of United States forces in 2021 following an agreement Trump made with the Taliban to have the withdrawal happen. UPDATE: An AP story, "Subject in National Guard attack struggled with 'dark isolation' as community raised concerns," makes clear that Lakanwal suffered from mental health problems. There's no evidence so far that he was radicalized to become a terrorist as the Trump administration is claiming. Excerpt: The Afghan man accused of shooting…

Today two members of the West Virginia National Guard were shot and critically injured by a gunman in Washington, D.C. A Politico story says: A gunman opened fire Wednesday on two National Guard soldiers just blocks from the White House, critically wounding members of a force brought to Washington as part of President Donald Trump’s deployment of troops to American cities to fight crime. The two members of the West Virginia National Guard were on an afternoon patrol when they were shot in what Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called a “targeted” attack. ...The gunman, whose name was not released, came…

We're in desperate times when the American president -- sadly, it's Donald Trump -- says that reminding members of the military that they aren't required to follow illegal orders is seditious behavior, punishable by death. Well, more accurately, this is how Trump put it in his all caps fashion: "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" Here's the video that set Trump off into an authoritarian rage. I find it totally acceptable, since the lawmakers are simply restating a provision in the code of military justice. But Trump clearly wants to make the United States military into his own private army. That's…

If someone is innocent, they have every reason to want as much information as possible made public about a suspected offense. As the saying goes, the truth will set you free. Epstein and Trump But Donald Trump is doing the exact opposite when it comes to the Epstein files. That doesn't prove Trump was guilty of sexually abusing underage girls, as Epstein and his female accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, did. It sure raises questions that demand answers, though. Since a discharge petition that would force a vote on a House bill compelling the Justice Department to release files relating to the…

I'm not a fan of government shutdowns. Hardly anyone is. But along with lots of other Democrats, I want my party to stand strong on not reopening the federal government until Trump and his fellow Republicans commit to an ironclad guarantee that expiring subsidies to the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, will be put into law for the next ten years at an estimated cost of $350 billion, or $35 billion a year. That's $5 billion less a year than the Trump administration just paid to prop up the Argentinian currency. In the big scheme of things, it isn't much…