The Mad King posted this today:

 

Trump is big mad that he didn't get his unlawful way on the birthright citizenship ruling by the SCOTUS: 

 “No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!” 

 Trump will attempt to break the law.

MORE CORRUPTION FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATIION

 

While he did not receive a full pardon, President Donald Trump commuted the seven-year prison sentence of convicted fraudster David Gentile. Gentile served only 12 days behind bars before his release. 

The commutation followed reports that Gentile—the former CEO of GPB Capital Holdings—paid a Catholic priest connected to the Trump administration millions of dollars to help secure clemency. 

• The Conviction: In 2024, Gentile was convicted of securities and wire fraud for running a $1.6 billion Ponzi-style scheme that defrauded over 10,000 investors. 
• The Alleged Bribery: Reports from The New York Times indicate Gentile told individuals while in prison that he had already facilitated payment to a priest for his clemency efforts. Federal prosecutors had been investigating the circumstances surrounding the commutation, but the Trump Justice Department subsequently killed the probe. 
• The Aftermath: In addition to commuting his prison time, the grant of clemency relieved Gentile of his $15.5 million restitution obligation. His business partner, convicted of the same scheme, did not receive clemency.

Read the full report on the shuttered investigation into the payment scheme via The New York Times. For the details of the original commutation and its impact on victims, see the coverage by NBC News. 

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY PLATFORM OF 1956

 

Interesting:

Declaration of Faith: 

On its Centennial, the Republican Party again calls to the minds of all Americans the great truth first spoken by Abraham Lincoln:

"The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities. But in all that people can individually do as well for themselves, Government ought not to interfere." 

Our great President Dwight D. Eisenhower has counseled us further: "In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative."

[skip]

We shall ever build anew, that our children and their children, without distinction because of race, creed or color, may know the blessings of our free land. 

We believe that basic to governmental integrity are unimpeachable ethical standards and irreproachable personal conduct by all people in government. We shall continue our insistence on honesty as an indispensable requirement of public service. We shall continue to root out corruption whenever and wherever it appears.

We are proud of and shall continue our far-reaching and sound advances in matters of basic human needs—expansion of social security—broadened coverage in unemployment insurance —improved housing—and better health protection for all our people. We are determined that our government remain warmly responsive to the urgent social and economic problems of our people. 

To these beliefs we commit ourselves as we present this record and declare our goals for the future.

[skip]

We are proud of our part in bringing into a position of unique authority in the world one who symbolizes, as can no other man, the hopes of all peoples for peace, liberty and justice. One leader in the world today towers above all others and inspires the trust, admiration, confidence and good will of all the peoples of every nation—Dwight D. Eisenhower.

 Immigration 

The Republican Party supports an immigration policy which is in keeping with the traditions of America in providing a haven for oppressed peoples, and which is based on equality of treatment, freedom from implications of discrimination between racial, nationality and religious groups, and flexible enough to conform to changing needs and conditions. 

 We believe that such a policy serves our self-interest, reflects our responsibility for world leadership and develops maximum cooperation with other nations in resolving problems in this area. 

 We support the President's program submitted to the 84th Congress to carry out needed modifications in existing law and to take such further steps as may be necessary to carry out our traditional policy. 

 In that concept, this Republican Administration sponsored the Refugee Relief Act to provide asylum for thousands of refugees, expellees and displaced persons, and undertook in the face of Democrat opposition to correct the inequities in existing law and to bring our immigration policies in line with the dynamic needs of the country and principles of equity and justice. 

We believe also that the Congress should consider the extension of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 in resolving this difficult refugee problem which resulted from world conflict. To all this we give our wholehearted support.

[skip]

LABOR:

All workers have gained and unions have grown in strength and responsibility, and have increased their membership by 2 millions. Furthermore, the process of free collective bargaining has been strengthened by the insistence of this Administration that labor and management settle their differences at the bargaining table without the intervention of the Government. 

This policy has brought to our country an unprecedented period of labor-management peace and understanding.  The Eisenhower Administration will continue to fight for dynamic and progressive programs. 

The Middle East and Southeast Asia. 

The Middle East has been strengthened by the defensive unity of the four "northern tier" countries—Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan—which hold gateways to the vast oil resources upon which depend the industry and military strength of the free world. This was made possible by the liberation of Iran from the grip of the Communist Tudeh Party. Iran has again made its oil reserves available to the world under an equitable settlement negotiated by the United States. 

We have maintained, and will maintain, friendly relations with all nations in this vital area, seeking to mediate differences among them, and encouraging their legitimate national aspirations.

*******************************

This Republican Party platform was written 70 years ago.

The 1956 platform explicitly boasted about expanding Social Security and unemployment insurance. 

Today, under Trumpism, the GOP often advocates for entitlement reform, privatization, or limiting the scope of these social safety nets. The 1956 platform favored strengthening labor laws to help workers join unions and increasing the minimum wage. 

Under Trumpism, the current GOP generally embraces deregulation, right-to-work laws, and opposes unionization efforts, particularly at the federal level.  Also, the 1956 platform included expanding federal aid for hospital construction, low-cost care for older persons, and community assistance. 

But today, the Trumpist Party heavily focuses on shrinking the federal government, deregulation, and limiting federal healthcare mandates.

The 1956 platform promised protections and asylum for refugees. But under Trump, politicians lean heavily toward stricter border security, vetting, and limiting immigration. The shift away from the 1956 platform was not overnight. It shows a multi-decade transition from an era of moderate, establishment-led politics to the modern conservative movement heavily driven by libertarian and populist ideologies.

And on their 1956 declaration of moral integrity in our leaders, the GOP of 1956 would not recognize what has become of the GOP under the corrupt and immoral leadership of Trump and his cronies.

YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” ― Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni

SATURDAY NIGHT MUSIC

 

June -- Florence + The Machine

(One of my daughter's favorite performers.)

This is awful, but not surprising:

Trump, at the Faith and Freedom 2026 Coalition and Policy Conference:

 "From the very beginning of our country, American greatness has been forged by people of faith, and the very first settlers who set foot upon this new world at Jamestown got off their ship, raised up a cross, and bowed down to the Lord in prayer. It was faith that strengthened the Minutemen who stood up at Lexington Green and Concord Bridge in Philadelphia 250 years ago. Next week — our founders invoked the Creator four times in the Declaration of Independence — four times. I wasn’t mentioned once. I’m very upset. Not once."

Would it be asking too much to have a POTUS who knows basic, grammar school American history, especially Trump, who brags about how much he loves this country? When will his MAGA cultists finally realize how he's conned them into believing he cares about this country, when the fact is the absolute opposite? 

In May of 2025, former ABC newsman, Terry Moran, asked Trump what the Declaration of Independence meant to him, the president replied, "Well, it means exactly what it says, it's a declaration. A declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot. And it's something very special to our country."

Because Trump’s never bothered to read the DoI, he showed his withering stupidity about one of America’s founding documents, which most certainly was not about “ unity, love, and respect!”

Trump’s MAGA cultists have embraced this functioning illiterate for their own desperate reasons, but one of them can’t be because they believe he loves America.  Trump shows us all the time that he’s nothing more than a shallow, performative patriot.  He relies on "flag-waving" and emotional grandstanding for political gain rather than having a genuine, informed dedication to our nation's history

Trump secures power by manipulating the emotions, prejudices, and ignorance of MAGA with sweeping, exaggerated claims, rather than engaging in thoughtful, history-based deliberation.

IMO, real patriots are informed by their nation's history and political philosophy, not crass displays of fake patriotism, like hugging and kissing the flag.

As we enter the week when we celebrate our 250th birthday, we are faced with the depressing fact that the president heading the celebration neither knows nor cares about the history that birthed this great nation. 

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” —Benjamin Franklin

LIGHT POSTING FOR THIS WEEKEND

 

Family visiting from Virginia.

This caught my attention:

TRUMP'S PRESIDENCY CONDENSED INTO A SINGLE DEBACLE: THE REFLECTING POOL

"This will last for at least 50 years and you'll never have a leak," Trump said at the time. "I don't want to give anybody ideas, [but] if you had a knife, you can't even cut it. So strong, so powerful. It's like powerful rubber." 

 Donald J. Trump, May 2026 

CBS: We were in here in April when you first showed us plans…

Trump: I did what? 

 CBS: When you showed us pictures of what you were going to do on the Mall. You said you had a guy who was going to do it in a week for about a million dollars. It’s been two months and $14.5 million… 

 Trump: Okay. Okay. Are you ready? Barack Hussein Obama. Have you ever heard of him? 

CBS: Yes. 

Trump: He spent two years and over $100 million on trying to fix it. [Obama spent $37 million.] And you know what happened to it? It never even opened. [Yes, it opened.] He took the water from the river. You know about that, right? It turned out to be putrid. And it destroyed the whole thing. [No, it didn’t.] He spent over $100 million. [No, he didn’t.] Him and Biden together spent $147 million. [No they didn’t.] You know what happened. It never opened. [Yes, it did. And it was open under Trump in the intervening years.] You don’t mention that, right? We spent about ten. [They spent $16 million.] They were going to spend $300 to $400 million, you know that, right? [No, they weren’t.] And it was going to take four years. I spent, I spent six or seven weeks. Probably $10 million. [$16 million.] They say $16 million, but a lot of that is workers that work around there. [No. Only the lobbyists on K. Street are pulling down that much, not the ground crew on the Mall.] So they were going to spend $400 million. [No.] I spent $10. [No.] They were going to spend four years. [No.] I spent two months, maybe, less. And I have a better product. Now I can’t help it if somebody goes in with a knife and starts hacking it up.”

 

Michael Jochum:

"The Reflecting Pool was supposed to be a monument to Donald Trump’s greatness. Instead, it has become a monument to his presidency. I honestly cannot think of a more perfect metaphor if I tried. There it sits in the heart of the nation’s capital, a fourteen-million-dollar vanity project that was supposed to showcase competence, efficiency, strength, and the legendary deal-making prowess we have been hearing about for a decade. Instead, Americans are looking at algae-green water, peeling paint, dead ducks, accusations of sabotage without evidence, no-bid contracts, missed deadlines, ballooning costs, and a president insisting everything is beautiful while everyone can plainly see otherwise. If that is not the Trump presidency condensed into a single image, I do not know what is."

IF EVER THERE WAS A METAPHOR FOR THE 2ND TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, THIS IS IT:

 

#ETTD

And here the stable genius is blaming a former president who's been out of office almost 10 years:

GUEST POST BY DAVE MILLER

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

• Iran had uranium enriched to 4%.
• IAEA inspectors were busy combing through Iran’s nuclear facilities.
• US and UN sanctions were wreaking havoc across IRAN.
• Iran was unable to sell oil internationally.
• Their economy was in tatters.
• Iran had agreed to forgo pursuing a nuclear weapon.
• A coalition of nations including Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK and the EU were allied to monitor enforcement.
• The Strait of Hormuz was open.
• President Obama was mocked mercilessly for releasing $1.8 billion dollars that was due Iran by the US because the US reneged on a weapons deal years ago.
• The Mullahs were in charge.

That was then, this is now.

• Iran has uranium enriched to over 60%.
• IAEA inspectors are not allowed in Iran.
• The crushing sanctions have been reduced or removed.
• Iran can sell their oil on the world market.
• Their economy and infrastructure is in tatters.
• Iran refuses to forgo pursuing a nuclear weapon.
• There is no world wide coalition allied to confront Iran.
• The Strait of Hormuz is open, then closed, then open, all at the whim of Iran, creating global shipping chaos.
• The US is brokering an international reconstruction plan of at least $300 billion in private and regional investments to repair damage from the war and help Iran's economy recover. 
• $100 billion in frozen assets is set to be released to Iran also.
• The Mullahs are still in charge.

Someone, anyone, please tell me again, why did we go to war with Iran?

THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS

 

The Mother Ship posted:

"Obama JUST doesn’t get it

Posted on June 19, 2026 by geeez2014

OBAMA SLAMS AMERICA’S FOUNDERS..……."

This is wrong, of course.

Former President Obama actually "gets it." The blogger and her MAGAs are the people who don't "get it." 

The Founding Fathers wrote (Jefferson) and signed the DoI that said all men are created equal in the eyes of God and are granted inalienable rights. But those inalienable rights were not granted to women, non-property owners, and the slaves that the Founding Fathers themselves owned. They fell short of their own words! TRUTH!

This is the preamble to the Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 

The Founding Fathers KNEW we had to work toward "...a more perfect Union."

The woman who runs that blog has no understanding of this, so she happily attacks former President Obama, who actually taught Constitutional Law, for being Constitutionally accurate in his speech.

This is more evidence of how appallingly ignorant many MAGA cultists are.

But NOT OBAMA!   He picks that day, in our 250th year to slam our forefathers…to bring up SLAVERY!   NO context, NO understanding of White people also having been enslaved, NO knowledge of slave owners who actually were good to their slaves (I saw a Black man maybe 35 years ago explaining that…though nobody thinks having human beings as slaves, of course!), NO love of country which would prohibit his slamming our founding fathers at a big event……………….NOT OBAMA! 

She actually believes slave owners  "...were good to their slaves." Did she ever question the idea of being "good" to people you OWN? Does she even think about the evil inherent in the ownership of a human being? The question answers itself. She doesn't "think" at all. She reacts with MAGA emotions and ignorance. 

BTW, she also has no sense that the opening of the Obama presidential library was a PRIVATE affair, it had nothing to do with the 250 anniversary of the founding of this country. But, again, she is MAGA; she doesn't think; she reacts with her hatred of a president who outshines Trump in every desirable human trait: dignity, intelligence, grace, and decency.

This blogger and many other MAGAs continue to slander Mr. Obama by lying about his love of America.  IMO, it shows how indecent they are -- and mendacious.

Geeez:

“ I HOPE that some of the contractors saying how they’re owed millions of dollars for having worked on the Obama Library.”

(This is rumor. I fact-checked it, and there are disputes, but no factual evidence of being stiffed, she must be thinking of her hero, Trump, who actually took contractors to court to get out of paying them what he owed. That is fact.)  

AI:

"Donald Trump has a documented history of stiffing contractors, subcontractors, and employees. Investigations and court records have revealed that over the last several decades, his companies have been involved in thousands of lawsuits and mechanic's liens from workers alleging they were short-changed or never fully paid for their services."

Geeez smears Mr. Obama's daughter, Malia:

Not content with attacking a beloved and admired former president, she had to attack his older daughter, saying she looked like "a streetwalker."

If anyone needed more evidence of their roiling racism, GEEEZ never disappoints with her wallowing in it. A streetwalker is another word for "whore," and "hooker." She used that word to describe Malia Obama. This is a perfect example of the disgusting misogyny and bigotry of MAGA:

 GEEEZ wrote: "One poor Obama daughter was wearing a very low cut tailored suit which made her look like a streetwalker….I guess her mother doesn’t have any clout or doesn’t think young women in the public eye might not want to show half their breasts at noon?   Do it in the evening…do it in private, but …really?

Can you tell I’m not an Obama fan BY A LONG SHOT?!

(Trump was not invited)

Z

********************************

GEEEZ, always one to demonstrate her Christian charity and kindness, left out the fact that while Trump was at the G7 in Europe last week, he second-handedly insulted by proxy, Mr. Obama, and called him a "stupid son of a bitch." And last weekend a half-witted UFC fighter uttered a disgusting slur about former First Lady, Michelle Obama, in front of Trump and the world, and Trump let it pass without comment or condemnation. This disrespectful incident happened on the tax-payer grounds of the White House.

GEEEZ can't understand why the low-class, trash-talking, Obama slandering Trump, wasn't invited by the Obama's to their private and dignified opening of his presidential library?

Tell us you're drowning in MAGA misogyny, racism, and resentment while not telling us.

This is why Trump is so vicious in his attacks against the Obamas, and why, it appears, Geeez is too. They can't handle the truth!:

From AI:

Barack Obama is consistently more admired than Donald Trump, with recent national surveys reflecting a clear double-digit advantage in both overall favorability and public admiration. 

A nationwide poll conducted by CNN reveals exactly where the two figures stand: 

• Favorability Ratings: Obama holds a 57% favorability rating among U.S. adults, compared to 34% for Trump. 
• "Most Admired" Figure: When asked which president throughout U.S. history they admire most, 30% of Americans named Obama, placing him ahead of Trump at 19%. 
• Independent Voters: Obama's favorability among political independents is more than double that of Trump’s. 
• Bipartisan Appeal: While views on both men are largely shaped by party lines, Obama still garners a notably higher share of cross-party support than Trump does.

WE BOSTONIANS TEARFULLY BID FAREWELL TO THE SCOTS!

 

Some of the many songs they sang to us:

PALATE CLEANSER

 

The Tartan Army took over Boston, and we love it! (Bostonian speak: "The Tahtin Ahmy.)

Boston City Hall Plaza

Why Are Scottish Soccer Fans Putting Traffic Cones Atop All The Statues In Boston?

The late former Mayor of Boston, Kevin White statue, @Quincy Mahket

General George Washington statue at Boston Public Gahdens

The Charlestown Navy Yard

John Harvard (Hahvid in Boston speak)

And my neighborhood, the Paul Revere statue in The Prado, North End, Boston

Dave Miller posted a comment that...

 

perfectly describes what the Iran War and the negotiations to end it look like:

Dave Miller:

Iran can now start selling oil and looks to get about 8 billion. 

Now, the US did release 1.7 billion under Obama to settle a legal dispute from 1979. That was flown to Iraq in cargo planes and is the frequently cited money that people like skud and Geezers always complain about. 

Iran now looks to receive a windfall because they can sell oil on the open market since the Trump Administration has agreed to end economic sanctions on them. 

The annual projected amount of oil money is about $60 billion. 

Then there are frozen assets, which estimates put in the $24-$100 billion range. 

Then there are the reconstruction funds. That amount is $300 billion. While not directly providing the money, effectively, the US is guaranteeing that amount to Iran, pledging to get our partners in the region to pony up. 

Also, there is only a 60 day moratorium on Iran charging fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz. After that, all bets are off. 

 

So let's recap: Six months ago Iran was under sanctions by the US and the UN. It could not sell oil. It did not control the Strait. It did not have access to its frozen assets. It was not part of the world community. It did not have either, at least according to the Trump Admin, a nuclear capability or a nuclear weapon. 

Now within 30 days, it will have billions. It can start rebuilding the military facilities the US bombed, because we've stated numerous times, "We are not bombing civilian sites". Because it has demonstrated it can close the Strait, it now has total control and any challenge to that can be met with ballistic missile attacks on the oil facilities of our allies. 

In a matter of weeks, the billion dollar spigot into Iran will be turned on and for the first time in decades, they will be flush with cash. All courtesy of the Trump Admin. Somehow, the US after "winning" a war, got the short end of the stick in this "negotiation". 

 The Art of the Deal.

******************************

(Or as some are describing it, "The Art of the Kneel." --S.K.)

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy calls it "...the worst foreign policy blunder in decades."

OMG!!!!!!

 

Donald Trump embarrassing himself and our country in front of the world!

What the hell is wrong with his people. This is pathetic.   

ARE WE WINNING YET?

 

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL TODAY:

The preliminary deal ending President Trump’s four-month war with Iran is welcome but brings with it hard truths. Mr. Trump made a terrible mistake starting this war. He prosecuted it recklessly and in open defiance of the law. The United States is emerging weaker — militarily, diplomatically and economically — and will pay strategic costs for years to come.

The details of the deal are unclear, but the announced framework suggests that Mr. Trump has won few of the terms he insisted that he would. It is a humiliating comedown for him and the nation he leads.

Since the war began, he has said the United States would achieve “total and complete victory” and that Iran must agree to “unconditional surrender.” He suggested that regime change would occur. He said that Iran would be permitted “no enrichment” of uranium and that “the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried” near-bomb-grade nuclear material that it already holds.

None of this appears to be true. Iran’s hard-line government remains in place. The specifics of the nuclear agreement will apparently be negotiated over the next two months, but the terms seem likely to resemble those of a 2015 deal that President Barack Obama negotiated and that Mr. Trump canceled in 2018. He described the Obama agreement as the “worst deal ever” and said it put Iran on “a route to a nuclear weapon.” He criticized it for failing to force Iran to stop supporting terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and for loosening economic sanctions. Yet his destructive war seems likely to leave him with a similar deal. 

***********************

I did not check my mail this morning before I posted about Trump's Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. This is from Dave Miller, and it relates to this post, so I'm inserting here: 

"President Trump lost. 

The war he waged against Iran promises to conclude in a humbling whimper with the signing of a cease-fire agreement later this week. 

The United States is left weaker—diminished militarily, strategically, economically, and perhaps morally. 

The war, which the United States fought alongside Israel, accomplished none of the goals that Trump named at the outset. Instead, it only empowered the hard-liners in Tehran and arguably emboldened them to someday seek a nuclear weapon. Despite that, the president was so desperate for the war to end that he repeatedly backed off his threats—allowing Iran to call his bluff—and upbraided his close ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for responding to attacks in the region in a manner that jeopardized the negotiations." 

The above is from Jonathan Lemire in The Atlantic. 

Before you all go crazy on your keyboards, here's the salient question for us today. Is anything Lemire wrote untrue? If your answer is yes, tell us exactly what that is and why. 

To help you consider the above question, here's a list of the earliest goals POTUS Trump enumerated for the Iran War. 

Unconditional Surrender & Regime Change... Unfulfilled. 

Abolishing Nuclear Ambitions... Unfulfilled. 

Obliterating the Missile & Drone Industry... Partially fulfilled. 

Annihilating Naval and Air Power... Mostly achieved. 

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz... This is harder to ascertain. Before the war, the Strait was wide open. Once it was closed, it became an additional goal. Before the war, up to 3,000 ships a day were transiting there. No one knows when we will, if ever, reach that number again. 

 "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" --D. Miller

 Thanks, Dave!

*********************************

Trump trashes everything that came before him so that he can step in, make changes that are not necessary and not wise, and then try to con Americans into thinking he saved the day. It's part and parcel of his insecure, narcissistic, dishonest need to be praised. 

In reality, of course, Trump and his extremist, right-wing allies almost always makes things worse. There was absolutely no need to kill the accord that the U.S. and four other nations negotiated with Iran 10 years ago, which was successfully constraining that country's nuclear ambitious. But Trump killed it because, IMO, he's a racist who has sought to nullify any and all former President Obama's achievements, and because Netanyahu, a documented war criminal, has never wanted an accord with Iran.  

Trump unleashed DOGE to eliminate federal "waste and fraud," but very little of either was uncovered, and his cronies fired thousands of federal workers who had to be rehired when administration clowns realized that their expertise was needed. His tariff program was a chaotic mess. He lied about the Kennedy Center being in bad shape so that he could mess with it and then shamefully angled to steal its identity---which led to nobody wanting to perform there anymore.

Basically, many many things Trump has touched in his life have ended up badly. His casinos went belly-up, his merchandising of wine and other goods failed, and he ran a sham university to teach people his business skills. To top it off he is ruining our government and our standing in the world.  

Like the Hollies song, “He’s King Midas in Reverse,” everything he touches turns to dust. #ETTD!