Once again, Trump commits a travesty against those who served and serve.

There are boundaries of respect that should never be crossed, yet Donald Trump has managed to obliterate them once again. By sharing a surreal, AI-generated image of himself decked out in fictional military medals—standing shoulder-to-shoulder with genuine historical commanders like Generals Patton and MacArthur—he has displayed a staggering level of disrespect. 

For someone who avoided military service through multiple deferments, wrapping oneself in the unearned cloth of a highly decorated general is not just pathetic; it is a profound insult to every person who ever wore the uniform. 

While others were drafted, fought, and died, he used five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, making the visual of him in a dress uniform deeply hypocritical. 

This is stolen valor at its worst by Trump who, according to General John Kelly who served as his Chief of Staff in the first Trump administration, called those who were wounded and gave the last full measure for our country, "suckers and losers."  

Trump is too stupid to understand that medals and military insignia are earned through blood, sweat, and profound personal sacrifice—not manufactured by a computer to feed an ego. Trump has cheapened the ultimate sacrifice for a fleeting political stunt -- an act of pure ego that turns the stomach of anyone who respects the military."

Those who still support Trump should look within themselves to finally understand what is missing in their humanity that allows them to continue their allegiance to this unworthy, failed human being. IMO, they're as broken and damaged as Trump is.

 

Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image on Truth Social depicting himself as a heavily decorated military general standing alongside historical Generals George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur. [1]

Details of the Post

The Image: A surreal, AI-created graphic showing Trump in a military uniform with numerous medals and insignia alongside Gens. Patton and MacArthur. [1, 2, 3]
The Reaction: Online critics and service members quickly pointed out that Trump never served in the military, leading to accusations of "stolen valor" for portraying himself with higher ranks and more decorations than the historical commanders. [1, 2, 3]

Can we ever again trust what comes out of the DoJ under Trump?

Does it bother Americans that Trump has damaged our trust in the DoJ and its ability to pursue JUSTICE, not Trump's vendettas?

AI Overview:

Donald Trump has significantly damaged trust in the Department of Justice by eroding internal accountability systems, targeting political opponents, and prompting rare rebukes from federal judges. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Judicial Rebukes and Loss of Credibility

Federal judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents have increasingly criticized Justice Department lawyers for misleading courts, misrepresenting facts, and engaging in unseemly or unethical conduct. [1, 2, 3]
Courts have openly questioned the traditional "presumption of regularity"—the baseline assumption that government attorneys act truthfully and follow standard procedures in good faith. [1, 2, 3]
Judges have accused department officials of using the grand jury and subpoena processes improperly to target political rivals or advance administration ag

Heather Cox Richardson:

"Friday’s dismissal of the Department of Justice case against David Hearn for vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came days after Hearn’s lawyers asked for transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment. The lawyers noted that the government’s only witness testified that the pool was already damaged before Hearn went near it, and that the witness could not quantify the cost of any damage Hearn might have done over and above the cost of repairing the existing damage. The lawyers told the court there were “irregularities in the government’s presentation of the evidence to the grand jury” that “call into question whether the grand jury was misled.” 

The Department of Justice has been caught repeatedly misleading grand juries or committing misconduct in getting indictments. Hearn’s lawyers were suggesting that the Department of Justice engaged in the same misconduct in the indictment of David Hearn for damaging the bottom of the reflecting pool. 

In their filing, they noted that a judge and former federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia had recently stated that “[g]enerations of presidential administrations and public officials” have reinforced the idea, called the “presumption of regularity,” that public officials do their jobs properly, operate in good faith, and follow correct procedures. But, the judge noted, “In just six months, the President of the United States may have forfeited the right to such a presumption.” 

On July 28, J. David McSwane, Pratheek Rebala, and Carla Astudillo of ProPublica reported that judges across the country are calling out lawyers for the Department of Justice, questioning whether they can be trusted to tell the truth and whether they are operating according to centuries-old norms. Judges have called behavior by Department of Justice lawyers “unlawful,” “unethical,” “unseemly,” and otherwise dishonest. 

The degradation of the Department of Justice, which is charged with defending the rule of law for the American people, into an instrument of Trump’s political wrath has been illustrated in the fight over the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to attorney general. 

Before going to the Department of Justice, Blanche was Trump’s personal attorney. He led Trump’s criminal defense team in the case of falsifying records to cover up hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, as well as his defense against the two cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith: the one indicting him for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the one indicting him for retaining classified documents after leaving office.

Since he took over for former attorney general Pam Bondi, Blanche has openly flouted the law in order to do Trump’s bidding. He secured indictments against people Trump perceives to be enemies, including former FBI director James Comey for posting on Instagram a picture of seashells arranged to form the number “8647.”

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

 

Charges Dropped in Reflecting Pool Case as Prosecutors Say Work Was ‘Botched’

 

“The Justice Department moved to dismiss the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn. Prosecutors said new evidence showed the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by a faulty installation, not Hearn.”

So, the Reflecting Pool accusations against the Olympian brought by Trump’s DoJ were all Trumpian lies. Trump and his lackeys were willing to put an innocent American in prison to cover up Trump’s gross incompetence and lies. The no- bid, $14 million contract for painting the  surface of the Reflecting  Pool was done by a Trump pal who is a member of his Mar-a-Largo Club.  This stinks of corruption. 

That’s where we are in Trump’s disastrous 2nd term.  Where is the righteous outrage on this newest insult to our justice system by the convicted felon president  

We’ve seen innocent Americans and others gunned down and killed on our streets by Trump’s ICE goons, and now we know Trump was willing to put an innocent American in prison for up to 10 years to cover up his gross incompetence and lies.

The stench of Trump will follow MAGA forever.  

DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office wrote in a new court filing Friday:

“It was not until after the return of the indictment [of Hearn], that the [Department of Interior] provided additional documents to the [US Attorney’s Office in DC] indicating that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June 2026 was the result of flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.” —McGill News

 

   

I saw Christopher Nolan's, The Odyssey this week, and I remembered this poem I read years ago by a major figure of modern Greek literature, Constantine P. Cavafy.

It speaks to me as I grow older that it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive:

Ithaka

By C. P. Cavafy

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:

you’ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind—

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you’re destined for.

But don’t hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you’re old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.