Today was a dark day for America. At 10:24 this morning, the Department of Justice delivered another blow to our country when it bent to corruption and chose to reward political violence. In a press release posted on the official DOJ website, the $1.776 billion slush fund for Trump's enablers, including the January 6 insurrectionists, was made official. Loud alarms were raised when this story first leaked, and now that it has been confirmed, we are watching the federal government openly transform into a loyalty machine for an authoritarian movement.
Thankyou for writing this Heather, I can only imagine what it took out of you .
From here in the U.K we ask each other daily 'What is going on over there ? Why can't they stop this man? Why are they letting this happen ?
I was born just after WW11. My childhood was the rubble of Liverpool's dockside and the whispers of the grown-ups when mentally and physically shocked men staggered home in stained uniforms. Or didn't. I heard, from under the kitchen table, of ' natzzziz 'and 'jewiss' and of great ships that had been sunk and teenage boys in crashed planes, on fire, that had downed by, or on, the house of someone known or related . I grew up in the shock of post war rations and traumatised people and I felt the icy, unexplained, scary hand of ' something out there ' a post war Country, staggering under the weight of recent horror.
But then there were ' the Yanks' only a funny sounding word to me but one that brought a smile to people's lips and a nudge and a giggle from the women and a wry smile and nod of respect from the men. And I knew that those funny sounding people were friends and the word meant a good thing .
And now , that affection is still here in my generation , woven with our confusion and sorrow for those people and our wondering why ? Why can such a people not deal with this present horror ? Why are they allowing this to go on ? Scaring the world now like the first icy breath from Germany did all those long years ago . Is there nobody who can stop this ?
And then I tell who will listen about people like you Heather, who have lives and families and who work non stop to halt this new horror, who are giving all their time and knowledge and effort into stopping people from despairing and giving up and saying 'Too much, enough, I just can't deal with this any more.' Which is what 'they' want you to do, to give in, give up and let them be the new horror that breathes ice on the world. I tell them to have hope for America and think of all the good, ordinary people there and believe that this too will pass.
Thank you British friend, for having understanding and helping your fellow UK citizens to know we Yanks are devastated that this horror is continuing. That most of us are trying to pay our bills, raise our families, and participate in any way we can (this grandma protests and wears things that announce my objections to *waves at all this*)
The ways that right wingers in this nation have used money, sneakiness, cheating and gaslighting to rig the game here for 50+ years are so numerous.
We will not save our democracy easily or without great cost, but I promise you MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of us read Heather with you and cry, then forge on.
Thank you for your kind words. We consider all the democratic people of the world to be our friend; but we consider the English-speaking people of the world to be our family.
NEVER has the notion of hitting the 'like' button felt so inappropriate. Never have I wished away a summer. Forever, Heather, we're in your debt for the clarity on the insanity that grips your country.
How poetic, then, that 250 years on from freedom from my country, you fight for freedom in your own.
Heather that money will go to criminals. They will be paid for committing crimes. How can this country ever be resuscitated. We have gone through the looking glass.
It’s horrific but please do NOT surrender to despair! That’s exactly what the evil MFers in power want. Nope!!! It won’t be easy or quick, but we must and will prevail.
As a friend said last night. "This is easily the saddest time in American history. The absolute worst people are systematically destroying the county, and our system is completely failing to stop them." Can we stop this madness? It seems that it's coming down to, "We The People".
tRump’s second presidency is that fraud and corruption have been completely normalized. There’s no call for accountability. And it’s a long list. Trump crypto. Trump pumping up Palantir stock after buying a sizable amount for himself. The Campaign Legal Center has a 38-page report, last updated in February, called “Trump’s Corrupt Transactions.” But it all pales in comparison to this.
MS Now’s Ari Melber called it “worse than Watergate”. He was right.
Watergate is like Nixon stole a candy bar from the store and the Republicans of that time were aware that “stealing” by any means was illegal and that a President no matter who was not immune to the laws of this nation. Anyone connected in the heist was dealt with in the coverup accordingly including the boss who ordered it. The actions of all involved in Watergate sullied the top office of the Executive branch of this nation. This was not going to go unpunished and those Republicans were not going to look away but demanding justice for the wrong doings of even the person at the head of the executive branch. Even though he expounded “I am not a crook” we all knew he was and we were better off by him being escorted out of office by either his decision to leave or to being impeached.
Nowadays this creature doesn’t just steal the candy bar he steals the whole store and moves it to Mar a Lago as his own private store. He has purchased with our tax paying money a “militia” of his choosing. This militia is now there to serve just him as he sees fit. He can unleash them to do whatever he chooses, bought for with our money. There is not one in this dead Republican Party that speaks out. That political party of years past has turned into “thugs”. Doing the bidding of a convicted Felon of fraudulent behaviors and actions. A liar, a conman, a common grifter who has been given immunity by our judicial branch of government. Who purchases stocks as insider information as he is making visits to companies or decisions like going to war, or changing policies that will benefit his own wallet. Then we now have the legislative branch headed by the likes of Mike Johnson all of these Rethuglicans which they say out loud they have no issue with inside stock trading to make their money to go into their wallets, at the expense of all the people they are to represent.
Am totally disgusted and nauseated by the actions of all these creatures in this Rethuglican cult. It’s no longer a political party it’s a conglomeration of thieves, liars, felons, grifters who have no desire to change any legislation to help the people who they lie to and seek an office in government. It’s all about WIIFM “What’s In It For Me” - All at the same time expounding and shoving White Christian Nationalism religion down our throats and making false “Golden Idols” throughout DC and this nation having that Felon’s picture everywhere.. What a shitshow.. They all need to go every last one of these Rethuglicans..
Are all the republican senator’s being drugged - what for heavens sake is stopping them doing their required jobs. Maybe the answer is to set up a crowd fund to support the other side because I may live elsewhere but I am watching USA sinking into the most appalling corrupt puddle overseen by a very very sick man.
Where are the naysayers who should be shouting from the rooftops ????
Yes, it is a day to be remembered in the dismantling of American democracy. But this madness can only be stopped if everyone stands up and holds their representatives accountable for not asking accountability from this oligarchy.
Because as long as BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS let their parties be bought by enormous sums of money, and accept this shameless behaviour as "normal political business"... Yes, as long as insurrectionists are pardonned and even financially encouraged for overturning democratic elections, a catastrofhic Civil War is unavoidable!
Stop making this a "both sides do it" thing. This grift is TOTALLY on the Republicans and Commander in Thief. Democrats DO need to push for absolute accountability and EVERY GOP member needs to be constantly bombarded with questions from the press and their constituents on how they can support this brazen attempt to STEAL the American taxpayer dollars for insurrectionists!
Unfortunately, in the big picture, this is a many sided thing. The resistance is one side and another side is Twump, another side is GOP and yet another is the Roberts SCOTUS. I don't trust anything out of that Robert's mouth. He was sent to destroy the progress of the past 75 years and boy is he doing an amazing job! The progress was all about leveling the playing field for Blacks, women, LGBTQ, new immigrants and all other who were left behind in that golden age of America where Black people were invisible, women were second class citizens, Gay people were basically Paul Lynde and Liberace, and the immigrants were corralled into ghettos.
I am not saying BOTH because I would support Trump's insane moves, but it is completely uphauling that there seems to be no significant resistance to this dismantling of Democracy!
There are very few words for this other than total disgust.
He’s pulling out all the stops now…he’s setting all the wheels in motion to first control the voting in November by the re-districting..the mail-in ballots..the ID requirements …the voting machines themselves..the threats of
the people who he’ll put at the polls…he’s tried to cover every base he can very methodically and totally thought out.
Now the final piece is being put into play…in case all of his machinations with the voting don’t work and the Republicans STILL lose..he has his most significant weapon…his own mercenaries ready ..willing.. and able to forcefully TAKE IT BACK and they know not only will they get away with whatever they do…they will be handsomely PAID to do it.
How do we stop this…how do we prevent a man who is so blatantly SHOWING us what he’s GOING to do ..not even attempting to hide it??
We have NEVER seen such corruption in our 250 year history..the Founding Fathers did everything in their powers to try and anticipate the most egregious actions by any potential evil- doer …they thought their Constitution was pretty iron-clad but they did not ..could not..foresee someone as evil as this man. ..I don’t think anyone could or did.
We have a huge challenge here…it is NOT insurmountable but it does depend entirely on a few things…FIRST…we cannot give up and admit or allow him to defeat us..we MUST fight him NOW and VOTE in November.
SECOND..we must do everything we can to enlighten anyone we can to how important it is for them to vote..to not be frightened or intimidated. Get them to the polls if need be.
THIRD we must let ALL representatives from every state know exactly how we feel about everything he’s doing and how they will pay for enabling him somewhere down the line. FOURTH …volunteer to be a poll worker or watcher or do something to try and oversee what is going on in your district.
This race in Kentucky today will be very telling….if Thomas Massie can hold on in the primary against the trump backed challengers that’s really important and it will show how firm his grip actually is.
Other than the above we can’t do much more than to PRAY to whatever higher power you believe in..PRAY that good will triumph over evil…that even with all of his weapons , the good will ..the desire for fairness and honesty of the PEOPLE will prevail. Have faith and courage.
It is excellent to illuminate this "insane corruption" in such detail, and at the end to allude to counterweights in the power of the states and mounting public disapproval. This is a huge country of over 300 million people, and it is truly insane for the small number of Trumpist miscreants to presume to think they can take us over. The balance sheet of Trump et al. vs. the people of the United States heavily favors us, not them. That is why Trumpism is weak, and while insanely corrupt, is not winning.
I have met several homeless, disabled veterans in the past few months who have felt totally abandoned by their country. And we taxpayers are giving our money; not to veterans but to a rabble of insurrectionist that forced its way through police lines, injuring police officers, vandalizing our civic sacred space and threatening the lives of our elected officials.
Who knows what would’ve happened if they had actually gotten their hands on Mike Pence; a man hand-picked by the president, who at the time was at the White House, watching this unfold for four hours, doing nothing, until it was obvious that his minions had lost the day.
And then the fucking Republican senators rallied around this despicable, evil man and exonerated him. Mitch McConnell’s and Mike Johnson’s smiling faces make me sick to my stomach. These are men who call themselves Christians. Fucking unbelievable.
It's not just BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS letting their parties be bought by enormous sums of money and accept this shameless behavior as just normal political business, it's also the use of BLACKMAIL! The tRump Regime uses every evil tool there is to accomplish their goals and that includes BLACKMAIL! How? Where? Not all of it is hidden in the Trumptsein Files. The main purpose of the Epstein Islands was to video high ranking officials raping little girls then use that evidence to control them. Typical Russian methods which they have a huge amount of experience with and added it to their manipulating and controlling "Krasnov" Trump way back since 1987. If you ask how far down does "the rabbit hole go?" don't be surprised to learn it's a lot farther than you can guess BUT just ask yourself, WHY do both parties want it kept buried so much? Especially Donald J. Trump, the Vilest, most Monstrous, Murdering, Child Raping Pedophile in the history of America, if not the World!
Heather, this latest news is truly appalling. Why is nobody at the White House stopping this maniac? I fully endorse Jay Tay's post above.
Incidentally a video showed up on Facebook of Barbara Walters interviewing the orange Mussolini in, I think. 1980. She was challenging his financial affairs and she had obviously done her homework. Surprisingly enough he was polite to her.
I love your photo of your cat. In a uncertain world cats are a great comfort.
Thankyou for writing this Heather, I can only imagine what it took out of you .
From here in the U.K we ask each other daily 'What is going on over there ? Why can't they stop this man? Why are they letting this happen ?
I was born just after WW11. My childhood was the rubble of Liverpool's dockside and the whispers of the grown-ups when mentally and physically shocked men staggered home in stained uniforms. Or didn't. I heard, from under the kitchen table, of ' natzzziz 'and 'jewiss' and of great ships that had been sunk and teenage boys in crashed planes, on fire, that had downed by, or on, the house of someone known or related . I grew up in the shock of post war rations and traumatised people and I felt the icy, unexplained, scary hand of ' something out there ' a post war Country, staggering under the weight of recent horror.
But then there were ' the Yanks' only a funny sounding word to me but one that brought a smile to people's lips and a nudge and a giggle from the women and a wry smile and nod of respect from the men. And I knew that those funny sounding people were friends and the word meant a good thing .
And now , that affection is still here in my generation , woven with our confusion and sorrow for those people and our wondering why ? Why can such a people not deal with this present horror ? Why are they allowing this to go on ? Scaring the world now like the first icy breath from Germany did all those long years ago . Is there nobody who can stop this ?
And then I tell who will listen about people like you Heather, who have lives and families and who work non stop to halt this new horror, who are giving all their time and knowledge and effort into stopping people from despairing and giving up and saying 'Too much, enough, I just can't deal with this any more.' Which is what 'they' want you to do, to give in, give up and let them be the new horror that breathes ice on the world. I tell them to have hope for America and think of all the good, ordinary people there and believe that this too will pass.
Thankyou for writing this Heather.
Thank you British friend, for having understanding and helping your fellow UK citizens to know we Yanks are devastated that this horror is continuing. That most of us are trying to pay our bills, raise our families, and participate in any way we can (this grandma protests and wears things that announce my objections to *waves at all this*)
The ways that right wingers in this nation have used money, sneakiness, cheating and gaslighting to rig the game here for 50+ years are so numerous.
We will not save our democracy easily or without great cost, but I promise you MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of us read Heather with you and cry, then forge on.
Thank you for your kind words. We consider all the democratic people of the world to be our friend; but we consider the English-speaking people of the world to be our family.
NEVER has the notion of hitting the 'like' button felt so inappropriate. Never have I wished away a summer. Forever, Heather, we're in your debt for the clarity on the insanity that grips your country.
How poetic, then, that 250 years on from freedom from my country, you fight for freedom in your own.
Heather that money will go to criminals. They will be paid for committing crimes. How can this country ever be resuscitated. We have gone through the looking glass.
It’s horrific but please do NOT surrender to despair! That’s exactly what the evil MFers in power want. Nope!!! It won’t be easy or quick, but we must and will prevail.
As a friend said last night. "This is easily the saddest time in American history. The absolute worst people are systematically destroying the county, and our system is completely failing to stop them." Can we stop this madness? It seems that it's coming down to, "We The People".
tRump’s second presidency is that fraud and corruption have been completely normalized. There’s no call for accountability. And it’s a long list. Trump crypto. Trump pumping up Palantir stock after buying a sizable amount for himself. The Campaign Legal Center has a 38-page report, last updated in February, called “Trump’s Corrupt Transactions.” But it all pales in comparison to this.
MS Now’s Ari Melber called it “worse than Watergate”. He was right.
Watergate is like Nixon stole a candy bar from the store and the Republicans of that time were aware that “stealing” by any means was illegal and that a President no matter who was not immune to the laws of this nation. Anyone connected in the heist was dealt with in the coverup accordingly including the boss who ordered it. The actions of all involved in Watergate sullied the top office of the Executive branch of this nation. This was not going to go unpunished and those Republicans were not going to look away but demanding justice for the wrong doings of even the person at the head of the executive branch. Even though he expounded “I am not a crook” we all knew he was and we were better off by him being escorted out of office by either his decision to leave or to being impeached.
Nowadays this creature doesn’t just steal the candy bar he steals the whole store and moves it to Mar a Lago as his own private store. He has purchased with our tax paying money a “militia” of his choosing. This militia is now there to serve just him as he sees fit. He can unleash them to do whatever he chooses, bought for with our money. There is not one in this dead Republican Party that speaks out. That political party of years past has turned into “thugs”. Doing the bidding of a convicted Felon of fraudulent behaviors and actions. A liar, a conman, a common grifter who has been given immunity by our judicial branch of government. Who purchases stocks as insider information as he is making visits to companies or decisions like going to war, or changing policies that will benefit his own wallet. Then we now have the legislative branch headed by the likes of Mike Johnson all of these Rethuglicans which they say out loud they have no issue with inside stock trading to make their money to go into their wallets, at the expense of all the people they are to represent.
Am totally disgusted and nauseated by the actions of all these creatures in this Rethuglican cult. It’s no longer a political party it’s a conglomeration of thieves, liars, felons, grifters who have no desire to change any legislation to help the people who they lie to and seek an office in government. It’s all about WIIFM “What’s In It For Me” - All at the same time expounding and shoving White Christian Nationalism religion down our throats and making false “Golden Idols” throughout DC and this nation having that Felon’s picture everywhere.. What a shitshow.. They all need to go every last one of these Rethuglicans..
Are all the republican senator’s being drugged - what for heavens sake is stopping them doing their required jobs. Maybe the answer is to set up a crowd fund to support the other side because I may live elsewhere but I am watching USA sinking into the most appalling corrupt puddle overseen by a very very sick man.
Where are the naysayers who should be shouting from the rooftops ????
Yes, it is a day to be remembered in the dismantling of American democracy. But this madness can only be stopped if everyone stands up and holds their representatives accountable for not asking accountability from this oligarchy.
Because as long as BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS let their parties be bought by enormous sums of money, and accept this shameless behaviour as "normal political business"... Yes, as long as insurrectionists are pardonned and even financially encouraged for overturning democratic elections, a catastrofhic Civil War is unavoidable!
Stop making this a "both sides do it" thing. This grift is TOTALLY on the Republicans and Commander in Thief. Democrats DO need to push for absolute accountability and EVERY GOP member needs to be constantly bombarded with questions from the press and their constituents on how they can support this brazen attempt to STEAL the American taxpayer dollars for insurrectionists!
Unfortunately, in the big picture, this is a many sided thing. The resistance is one side and another side is Twump, another side is GOP and yet another is the Roberts SCOTUS. I don't trust anything out of that Robert's mouth. He was sent to destroy the progress of the past 75 years and boy is he doing an amazing job! The progress was all about leveling the playing field for Blacks, women, LGBTQ, new immigrants and all other who were left behind in that golden age of America where Black people were invisible, women were second class citizens, Gay people were basically Paul Lynde and Liberace, and the immigrants were corralled into ghettos.
I am not saying BOTH because I would support Trump's insane moves, but it is completely uphauling that there seems to be no significant resistance to this dismantling of Democracy!
There are very few words for this other than total disgust.
He’s pulling out all the stops now…he’s setting all the wheels in motion to first control the voting in November by the re-districting..the mail-in ballots..the ID requirements …the voting machines themselves..the threats of
the people who he’ll put at the polls…he’s tried to cover every base he can very methodically and totally thought out.
Now the final piece is being put into play…in case all of his machinations with the voting don’t work and the Republicans STILL lose..he has his most significant weapon…his own mercenaries ready ..willing.. and able to forcefully TAKE IT BACK and they know not only will they get away with whatever they do…they will be handsomely PAID to do it.
How do we stop this…how do we prevent a man who is so blatantly SHOWING us what he’s GOING to do ..not even attempting to hide it??
We have NEVER seen such corruption in our 250 year history..the Founding Fathers did everything in their powers to try and anticipate the most egregious actions by any potential evil- doer …they thought their Constitution was pretty iron-clad but they did not ..could not..foresee someone as evil as this man. ..I don’t think anyone could or did.
We have a huge challenge here…it is NOT insurmountable but it does depend entirely on a few things…FIRST…we cannot give up and admit or allow him to defeat us..we MUST fight him NOW and VOTE in November.
SECOND..we must do everything we can to enlighten anyone we can to how important it is for them to vote..to not be frightened or intimidated. Get them to the polls if need be.
THIRD we must let ALL representatives from every state know exactly how we feel about everything he’s doing and how they will pay for enabling him somewhere down the line. FOURTH …volunteer to be a poll worker or watcher or do something to try and oversee what is going on in your district.
This race in Kentucky today will be very telling….if Thomas Massie can hold on in the primary against the trump backed challengers that’s really important and it will show how firm his grip actually is.
Other than the above we can’t do much more than to PRAY to whatever higher power you believe in..PRAY that good will triumph over evil…that even with all of his weapons , the good will ..the desire for fairness and honesty of the PEOPLE will prevail. Have faith and courage.
It is excellent to illuminate this "insane corruption" in such detail, and at the end to allude to counterweights in the power of the states and mounting public disapproval. This is a huge country of over 300 million people, and it is truly insane for the small number of Trumpist miscreants to presume to think they can take us over. The balance sheet of Trump et al. vs. the people of the United States heavily favors us, not them. That is why Trumpism is weak, and while insanely corrupt, is not winning.
Trump is a demented corrupt megalomaniac, and should be urgently institutionalised.
The fund should not be $1.776 Billion. It should be no more than $86.47
I have met several homeless, disabled veterans in the past few months who have felt totally abandoned by their country. And we taxpayers are giving our money; not to veterans but to a rabble of insurrectionist that forced its way through police lines, injuring police officers, vandalizing our civic sacred space and threatening the lives of our elected officials.
Who knows what would’ve happened if they had actually gotten their hands on Mike Pence; a man hand-picked by the president, who at the time was at the White House, watching this unfold for four hours, doing nothing, until it was obvious that his minions had lost the day.
And then the fucking Republican senators rallied around this despicable, evil man and exonerated him. Mitch McConnell’s and Mike Johnson’s smiling faces make me sick to my stomach. These are men who call themselves Christians. Fucking unbelievable.
It’s all in Project 2025; the Mein Kampf of Trump 2.0. 250 years and then … this. Thank you for being our chronicler, Heather.
Gee, I was always taught that crime doesn’t pay. Apparently it does. 😡
It's not just BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS letting their parties be bought by enormous sums of money and accept this shameless behavior as just normal political business, it's also the use of BLACKMAIL! The tRump Regime uses every evil tool there is to accomplish their goals and that includes BLACKMAIL! How? Where? Not all of it is hidden in the Trumptsein Files. The main purpose of the Epstein Islands was to video high ranking officials raping little girls then use that evidence to control them. Typical Russian methods which they have a huge amount of experience with and added it to their manipulating and controlling "Krasnov" Trump way back since 1987. If you ask how far down does "the rabbit hole go?" don't be surprised to learn it's a lot farther than you can guess BUT just ask yourself, WHY do both parties want it kept buried so much? Especially Donald J. Trump, the Vilest, most Monstrous, Murdering, Child Raping Pedophile in the history of America, if not the World!
Heather, this latest news is truly appalling. Why is nobody at the White House stopping this maniac? I fully endorse Jay Tay's post above.
Incidentally a video showed up on Facebook of Barbara Walters interviewing the orange Mussolini in, I think. 1980. She was challenging his financial affairs and she had obviously done her homework. Surprisingly enough he was polite to her.
I love your photo of your cat. In a uncertain world cats are a great comfort.
There is no shame left in this government.