A conversation about what's going on in the world at any given point in time…and what I think about it. Occasionally, guest bloggers may appear. Viewer comments are welcome. Peace! Alpha Heel
As I sat and considered what to write about for today’s post, several options came to mind, including multiple variations of the Epstein saga…
President Trump’s last gasp reversal (because it was going to pass in the House anyway)
The House passing the measure 427-1
The Senate passing the measure by unanimous consent
Trump and Mike Johnson having fought tooth and nail to keep the bill from being voted on
The rift between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (MTG) and President Trump, due to her dauntless insistence on her support for bringing the question of releasing the so-called Epstein Files to a vote in the House of Representatives, which culminated with Trump calling her Marjorie “Trader” Green
The survivors of Epstein’s crimes, and their victory.
The latest episode of the on again-off again spat between Marjorie Taylor Green and Rep. Jasmine Crockett
Trump calling a reporter from Bloomberg Piggy, and telling her to be quiet
The President hosting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) at the White House. This was his first visit since before 2018, when the CIA under the first Trump administration concluded the Prince was responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who worked for the Washington Post.
Trump suggesting ABC News should lose its broadcast license because one of its reporters asked MBS a question about Khashoggi’s murder
Each of those 10 matters was an option worthy of consideration. However, at the end of the day, I decided to address an issue much closer to home (for me). Since last Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been conducting what it has dubbed Operation Charlotte’s Web in my town, Charlotte, North Carolina. According to DHS, the operational focus is, targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal charges or convictions.
And yet, at least one analysis found that two-thirds of the individuals targeted by DHS or stopped and harassed (my characterization, not theirs) by United States Border Patrol (USBP) were not undocumented, and/or had no charges or convictions. Moreover, as in many of the other cities where DHS, USBP, and the National Guard have been sent by the Trump administration, local officials, with the notable exception of Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Police Union, believe these agencies are actually implementing hostile and unnecessary incursions. The Mayor, Police Chief, and Sheriff were not commiserated with, in the lead up to “sending in the troops.”
This is not a comparative analysis, but I have an idea about why Charlotte was an inevitable target. More about that later.
Trump likes to boast that these forays are about fighting crime.
Really?
In Charlotte, profiling and intimidation seem to be leading bases for what, by most appearances, look more like assaults than interdiction.
Consider a few data points about the erstwhile rampant crime in Charlotte:
Key statistics for 2025 (first nine months)
Overall crime: Down 8%
Violent crime: Down 20%
Homicides: Down 24% (from 82 to 62)
Aggravated assaults: Down 19%
Robberies: Down over 20%
Property crime: Down 5%
The above data certainty does not suggest crime is nonexistent. It does, however, make it clear that basic crime measurables are trending in a way that even conservatives would laud in a blind study.
“North Carolina is home to two of the safest cities in the country, a new report finds. Charlotte ranks No. 9 and Raleigh, No.10 on a list of places boasting lower rates of violent crime, traffic deaths and other dangers in comparison to other major cities, according to results updated on Sep 15, 2025”
So why, you may ask, was Charlotte inevitably deemed a prime target for a Trump-style DHS operation? As Shakespeare might have said, let me count the ways.
Consider the following about Charlotte:
Black
Mayor
County Commission Chair
Sheriff
Police Chief
District Attorney
School Board Chairman
Democrats
City Council Members – All but 1
County Commissioners – All
Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board – All
Given the demographic and political profile of our fair city, and this administration’s avowed war on woke, DEI, CRT, affirmative action, voting rights, and civil rights, it was preordained that Charlotte would appear on the hit list, sooner, rather than later. The only real question, if ever there was one, is, what took so long?
The local and national news have been hooked on and reporting about the theater of Operation Charlotte’s Web for the better part of a week now. Businesses, schools, and life in general have been significantly altered. School absences appreciably up, business traffic, especially retail and restaurants, markedly down. Needless to say, many immigrants, some with the encouragement of their employers, are staying home.
Charlotte is resilient. We will survive this unwanted, most would say, uncalled for, intrusion. Team Trump will get extensive video featuring human cruelly that it will label success. They will move on to whatever locale they believe next most warrants the pleasure (and from the local’s perspective, pain) of their company.
Reports are they’ve already gravitated to Raleigh and Durham, two other North Carolina communities, both with Democratic Mayors, one female, the other Black, respectively. I have friends and family in both cities. I pray they will be minimally inconvenienced, or otherwise impacted, by the operations in their towns. Meanwhile, we’re going through something over here…”Operation Charlotte’s Web: The 704 Is On The Clock!”
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Sir Winston Churchill was the first to use the phrase above, when in 1939, he described the complex and unpredictable nature of Russia’s actions at the start of World War II. Churchill conceded he couldn’t predict the future but asserted there was a key to discerning Russia’s motivation, and that was, in his view, Russia’s national interest.
I’m here to submit that Republicans have found the question of what to do with and about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, to be their personal riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Having watched a rather indelicate dance unfold over the last 15 and a half years, the metaphor that comes to mind is the dog who chased and caught the car and had no earthly idea what to do with it. Is there a key? If there is, the GOP has yet to find it.
President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law March 23, 2010. Republicans far and near boast of their rock-solid opposition to the bill. Their resolve and resistance were so undiluted, even to this day they gloat in retelling that not a single Republican voted for the measure. Not only that, but once passed, they immediately commenced trying to overturn the law. In fact, the House of Representatives and Senate when controlled by the GOP have considered resolutions to repeal the ACA at least 70 times.
Suffice it to say, those efforts, all of them, failed. And frankly, no small part of the reason for the inability of the GOP to repeal and replace Obamacare is, they have never devised their own plan for what to replace it with. Not Mitch McConnell, not John Bohner, not Kevin McCarthy, not Mike Johnson, and definitely not Donald J. Trump. The next plan will be the first plan.
Clearly, the ACA has not been a panacea. However, Let’s be clear, the GOP opposition to the ACA did not just begin after the law passed. Republicans in Congress tried at every turn to kill the bill before it became law, and if they couldn’t kill it, to make it as ineffective as possible. Moreover, the rollout was shaky. However, despite an uneven start, as it became clearer, that shortcomings notwithstanding, the ACA was the best healthcare solution available, consumers satisfaction for the law increased…significantly. Two of the most popular provisions of the law are the elimination of pre-existing conditions and retaining children on their parents’ policies until age 26. To wit, the ACA currently enjoys an over 70% approval rating among Americans.
The inability of Trump and the Republican Party to replace the Affordable Care Act underscores the complexities of American healthcare policy and the difficulties of unifying a party around a single legislative solution. Deep ideological divisions, public attachment to key ACA provisions, and the practical challenges of crafting a viable alternative all contributed to the failure to deliver on Mr. Trump’s and other GOP members’ signature campaign promise. The ACA remains a central feature of the American healthcare landscape, and the Republican struggle to replace it serves as a cautionary tale about the realities of governance and the importance of policy details. For now, the GOP challenge to repeal and replace the ACA remains “A Riddle Wrapped In A Mystery Inside An Enigma ACA-Style!”
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Yesterday was Election Day, and I decided I would amuse myself by viewing the Fox News Election Night coverage. Fortunately for me, the key races, the ones at the top of the coverage, New Jersey and Virginia Governors, and New York City Mayor, were over relatively quickly. A fourth race, Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia received a fair amount of coverage, as well. And finally, a ballot initiative in California was, due to geography and time zones, the evening’s finale.
The Virginia race was called before 8 p.m., the New Jersey race ended before 9 p.m., and in New York, where polls don’t close until 9 0’clock, the race was over before 10 p.m. Three races, three wins for Democrats. Normally, that notation would be followed by…and three losses for Republicans. However, over at Fox News, where they appear to take these things personally, it seems fair to say three L’s for Fox. If Virginia’s AG race is included, the sweep expands to four.
As I watched, much of the commentary was decidedly infused with negative energy and characterizations. While most of the harshest verbiage was reserved for Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist Mayor-Elect of New York City. Several Fox commentators were hellbent on channeling their favorite overlord…I mean President, and they couldn’t resist labeling Mr. Mamdani a Communist. They had other less flattering things to say, of course, but suffice it to say, this is the same crew who led the charge to take mega umbrage when Hillary Clinton referred to a large swath of Trump supporters as deplorables. I wonder what that makes the supporters of the guy they call a Communist? Communists?
That is one of the ways in which Trump supporters distinguish themselves. They apparently do not believe the standard to which they hold others, applies to them. They have taken their cues from a President who has changed the rules, and where he hasn’t been able to change the rules, he’s bent them, and where bending them was insufficient, he often defied them. Numerous court decisions have been required to sort it all out. In too many instances, it comes down to the Red Team (Republicans) and the Blue Team (Democrats).
That brings us to a fifth item on the ballot; California Proposition 50. Make it 5-0, or 0-5, if you prefer. The Golden State ballot initiative was called instantly when polls closed. Across the country, Democrats won numerous other races of note, including in Georgia, and in Pennsylvania. The most ardent Democrats may consider this a flat-out repudiation of Donald Trump. After a decade of the Trump political era, I do not believe it’s nearly that cut and dried. Rather, I am of the opinion that TrumpWorld got caught up in the hype they created.
Trump placed a spotlight on every conceivable problem, and then he boasted he would solve each and every one of them…on day one. Nine months in, deportations are up, but so is unemployment, so is the price of food, so is the price of housing, and I could go on. In other words, many of the same issues that ushered in Trump 2.0 in 2024, ushered in Democratic Governors in New Jersey and Virginia, a Democratic Socialist Mayor of NYC, a Democratic AG in Virginia, and in California, an initiative to allow citizens to vote on a new redistricting plan, all opposed by Trump, and more than a few talking heads at Fox News. Today, it is a near certainty that the Trump-Fox coalition is “Seeing Red: Feeling Blue!”
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In the event you’re not a sports fan in general, or a baseball fan in particular, and you don’t stay up late at night, or watch Sports Center, the Toronto Blue Jays evened the World Series last night, besting the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2, and earning a 2-2 Series split.
The matter now comes down to a best of three event, with two games in Toronto, if the Series goes 7 games. Game 5, the third and final game in Los Angeles will be played today. Game 6 will be played Friday in Toronto. If necessary, Game 7 will be played Saturday, also in Toronto.
But this post is not a World Series game-by-game, blow-by-blow analysis. It’s about Monday night’s two-games-rolled-into-one marathon. An 18-inning affair that lasted over a quarter of a day. In some circles, it was immediately deemed an Instant Classic. As a Dodger partisan, I embrace that reckoning.
Even if Toronto wins the Series, and they might; Monday’s 18-inning spectacle, capped by a Freddy Freeman walk-off home run, will soon be forgotten. Still, the Blue Jays did have the better Regular Season record, which is what earned them home field advantage,
In what could best be described as an epic battle, the teams fought valiantly, only to trade leads throughout the contest, until Freeman’s shot to straight-away center field clinched the proceedings in the bottom of the 18th. It tied for the longest game in World Series history. Interestingly, the other 18-inning game also featured the Dodgers, in another game in which one of their stars (Max Munzy), hit a game-ending walk-off home run. That was also in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium…in 2018 against the Boston Red Sox. That game still holds the record as the longest game, measured by duration of time, lasting 7 hours, 20 minutes. Monday’s game lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes.
It is no surprise, Monday night’s game produced a number of gaudy statistics, including:
18-innings (Tied for the longest WS Game)
19 Pitchers
31 Hits
11 Runs
609 Pitches
6 Hours, 39 Minutes (Second longest WS Game)
37 Runners Stranded (6 more than any other postseason game)
Shohei Ohtani reached base 9 times (Postseason record)
Shohei Ohtani Had 4 extra-base hits in his first four at bats
Shohei Ohtani Had two home runs – his third multi-homer game in a single postseason (First player to have three multi-homer games in a single postseason
While I’d like to skip this uncomfortable (for a Dodger fan) fact, it would be providing less than full disclosure to do so. Besides, someone would certainly recall that for all the notoriety of the Dodgers’ 2018 feat, it was the Red Sox who won the World Series. As one who bleeds Dodger Blue, I can only hope that means we’re overdue. In summary, as baseball games go, this one was “A Stat Geek’s Dream!”
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Paul Ingrassia is a name you’ve probably never heard. Yet, despite his relative anonymity, Mr. Ingrassia was comfortably on his way to being confirmed by the Senate to lead the Office of Special Counsel. In a world in which Donald gets who and what Donald wants, it was a virtual foregone conclusion that the wunderkind would soar through the hearing leading to confirmation by the Senate Homeland Security Committee. At least it seemed that way until it didn’t.
Notwithstanding Ingrassia’s seeming fast track appointment as the next hard core Trump supporter, with little in the way of qualifications for his prospective new role, in the background, questions were being asked; an air of scrutiny was emerging. According to a report in Politico, Ingrassia allegedly sent racist and antisemitic texts in a group chat of other Republicans.
After last week’s Young Republican fiasco, the less than stout response, and lack of genuine concern conveyed by top Republicans, up to and including the Vice President, Party leaders apparently recognized that on this issue anyway, while Trump may be impervious to all manner of behavior, they may not be so scandal resistant. A couple of Paul’s spicier ruminations were:
Conceding that he has “a Nazi streak” and asserting that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,”
Edward Andrew Paltzik, Ingrassia’s attorney, questioned the authenticity of the messages. However, he qualified that argument by adding, that, in the event they were authentic, Ingrassia made them satirically. What? You can’t prove he said it. Oh yeah, but if he said it, he didn’t mean it. Get the …. outta here!
Mr. Palzik added:
“Looks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted. However, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters “Nazis.”
I guess “satire” is the new GOP Go-To/Get Out of Jail Free Card. Vice President Vance used the term to excuse the actions of the Young Republicans chat group. If the last two weeks are any indication, “satire” is gonna carry a lot of GOP weight going forward, for Republican bad behavior.
Palzik didn’t directly address Ingrassia’s racist commentary, but he did make an effort to mollify the Jewish community. He went on to say:
“In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi. There are those who cloak themselves in anonymity while executing their underhanded personal agendas to harm Mr. Ingrassia at all costs. We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages.” He may have had Jewish support. But, the more Jews learned about Ingrassia’s alleged comments, especially the antisemitic ones, the more that support waned.
Ingrassia was admitted to the bar last summer. He served a White House internship during Trump’s first term. This year, he worked as a White House liaison to the Justice Department before reportedly being pushed out and reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security.
Paul’s appointment would have marked a sharp departure from previous heads of the Office of Special Counsel, a role that has historically been politically independent and designed to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Instead of a long record of managerial or prosecutorial experience, like those who previously held the job, Ingrassia brought a fervent loyalty to Trump and a lengthy record of inflammatory statements.
CNN has reported that Ingrassia has a history of racist invective, conspiratorial rants, and an affinity for a well-known White nationalist and Holocaust denier. He has promoted conspiracy theories and made tweets from his podcast that included calls for martial law following Trump’s 2020 election loss. His comments have included harsh anti-Israel rhetoric aimed at the GOP. Mr. Ingrassia argued publicly that “straight White men” are the most intelligent demographic group and should be prioritized in education. Gasp! It’s almost as though he called for affirmative action/DEI for White men. Oh my!
Last night, Ingrassia posted that he was withdrawing himself from Thursday’s scheduled confirmation hearing. In his words, it was:
“Because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.” He also said he appreciated the “overwhelming support” he received and that he “will continue to serve President Trump and his administration to Make America Great Again.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and FL Senator Rick Scott both said earlier they would not be supporting the nomination. Given Thune and Scott withholding their votes, and presuming all Democrats would vote against the nomination, his chances for winning confirmation were eliminated. And that’s how we get to, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t!”
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A year ago, I wrote about IPD, or Indigenous Peoples’ Day. However, in TrumpWorld 2.0, the entire panoply of inequality remediation initiatives has been eliminated, reversed, or otherwise obliterated. To wit, IPD is Columbus Day again. Lest you forgot why Columbus was disinvited from the Cookout, once again, here’s the definitive primer, redux.
Monday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day. My bad, Columbus Day (Again). In most of the United States, it never changed. It is a day celebrated on the second Monday of October (October 13 this year), to honor the cultures and histories of the Native American people. The day is centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened their communities.
Indigenous Peoples’ Day got its start at a U.N. international conference on discrimination in 1977. South Dakota, in 1989, was the first state to recognize the day. Two California cities, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz followed suit. Although the day is still considered Columbus Day in most places, many people have begun calling it Indigenous Peoples’ Day to celebrate the rich culture and the lives of the Native American people.
For Native Americans, Columbus Day was an often-painful reminder of a violent past, constituting 500 years of colonial torture and oppression by European explorers like Columbus and those who settled in America. Indigenous Peoples’ Day draws attention to the agony, trauma, and broken promises that were erased by the celebration of Columbus Day. Before his arrival, the indigenous folk were successful self-sufficient communities that sustained life for millennia.
Year after year, the movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day is spreading to more and more states, towns, and cities across the United States. Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates, recognizes, and honors the beautiful traditions and cultures of the Indigenous People, not just in America, but globally. Their way of life and culture carries wisdom and valuable insights into how we can live life more sustainably.
Last year, 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day and not Columbus Day. Over 130 cities including Arlington, Amherst, Cambridge, Brookline, Marblehead, Great Barrington, Northampton, Provincetown, Somerville, and Salem also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Numerous organizations are seeking to address the lack of access indigenous people have to higher education. They have also created scholarships to help address this challenge.
HOW TO CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY
Read indigenous literature
Some must-read books include “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de las Casas, “1491: New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus” by Charles C. Mann, “An Indigenous People’s History Of The United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown.
Attend an event
Attend an event hosted by a group of Native Americans or a Native American organization. Learn more about how you can be of assistance with any issues that the group is facing.
Host a movie screening
Watch a movie with your friends and have a discussion afterward. There is a plethora of films to choose from like “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015), “Gather” (2020), and “Indian Horse” (2017).
5 FACTS ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY
Female warriors
Native American women fought alongside men in battles, the most popular among them being the Buffalo Calf Road Woman of the Northern Cheyenne tribe.
Popcorn
The Indigenous Americans were the first to domesticate the strains of maize that produced popcorn thousands of years ago.
Maria Tallchief
The first Native American (and American) to dance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and with the Paris Opera Ballet was Maria Tallchief. Hockey
Hockey
The Native American tribes of Foxes, Saux, and Assiniboine played a game called shinny, which is where hockey came from.
5. The sequoia tree
The sequoia tree is named after the revered Cherokee leader Sequoyah, who created an alphabet for his people.
WHY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY IS IMPORTANT
It celebrates the original inhabitants
Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of North America.
It recognizes the indigenous cultures
Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors the beautiful indigenous traditions, cultures, and lives all around the world.
It stands in solidarity with the indigenous people
We take a stand for and support the indigenous people on this day. We should also offer our support to those who invest and uplift the indigenous communities.
I have observed there are folks who go out of their way to say Columbus Day, rather than Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Undoubtedly, they consider themselves making a point. In this hyper-partisan era, any concession to individuals of non-European heritage rubs some folks the wrong way. That, apparently, is especially true of DJT. He can unilaterally reinstate a day in honor of America’s favorite directionally challenged Italian, but he can’t compel anyone to abandon one’s commitment to truth. In that light, it’s important to remember that the truth is, at the end of the day, what Columbus really discovered when he arrived in the Americas was that…he was lost. “Indigenous Peoples’ Day Redux ‘25: Why?”
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In the world of news cycles, the Government Shutdown rules the roost at the moment. This week, however, offers at least a couple of options for 1A, and 1B. Yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, featuring a melodramatic Academy Award-worthy performance by Attorney General Pam Bondi captures the 1A slot. For the moment. But don’t cast your vote yet. Today, 1B is coming. Former FBI Director James Comey is set to be arraigned in Alexandria, VA. And that’s just 3 days into the 5-day workweek.
Last month, in celebration of Comey’s indictment, Donald Trump characterized the move by the Justice Department as “Justice in America, and called Comey “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to.” Prior to the indictment, Trump had called upon AG Bondi to more aggressively investigate his political adversaries.
In a social media post addressed directly to Bondi, Trump said, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.” He further expressed frustration that “nothing is being done,” before calling on Bondi to investigate former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who oversaw his first impeachment trial.
Shortly afterward, he posted again: ”Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They are all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”
Following Trump’s screed, and the arrival of a new federal prosecutor, Mr. Comey was indicted. “And the band plays on” (Pro tip: We really are in a Ball of Confusion…IYKYK).
It was tempting to make one of those current top tier news items the topic for today’s post. I considered it; I really did. But in a sort of Robert Frost moment, I took a position curated from his famous metrical composition, “The Road Not Taken, which ends with the following verse:
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
That’s overly dramatic, for sure, but I like the poem, and I wanted to use the final stanza in this blog. Voila.
Whether seeking the cure for a disease, or the solution to a problem, the most effective strategy is not to investigate the symptoms; rather, it is to determine the root cause. In other words, sometimes, you really do have to reject the optics of your lying eyes. The art of political legerdemain, the practice of getting you to look at the activity over here, while the real dastardly mischief is being executed over there, is well-practiced, and skillfully done.
This is where I take you for a ride in the way-back machine and redirect your attention to a matter that Trump, Inc. is trying desperately to induce you to forget. Three words: “The Epstein Files.” Every Trump rant, and all the performances of his dutiful acolytes are designed to deflect, distract, and propel you to disassociate cognitively from the notion of Trump and any potential nexus between him and “The Epstein Files.” AG Bondi in particular, does appear to protest too much. In February, she claimed during a Fox News interview that the Jeffrey Epstein client list (aka, The Epstein Files”) is “sitting on my desk right now to review.” So where is it today? Non-existent, if you believe her subsequent cover story.
That’s where Adelita Grijalva come into focus. At this juncture, 218 votes are required in the House of Representatives to constitute a majority vote, when all current members are present and voting. That’s 50% plus 1 of the 435 members. There are 217 members on record as being willing to vote to release “The (so-called) Epstein Files.”
Ms. Grijalva won a landslide Special Election in Arizona. She became the first Latina to represent AZ in Congress, and has pledged that when sworn into office, she will provide the decisive 218th vote. Thus, prompting a serious round of political gymnastics. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has basically sent House members home. Well, to be precise, he didn’t tell them they had to go home; just that they had to get the hades up outta the House of Representatives. The institution is Closed for Business, and, just so we’re clear, it was shuttered before the commencement of the shutdown. As a result of that artful move, he then declared that Grijalva couldn’t be sworn in, because the House wasn’t in session. Notwithstanding, he’d previously said he’d swear in the Democrat whenever she liked. More legerdemain. He now says he’ll swear her in, when Democrats open up the government. Fact: He swore in Florida GOP Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine during a pro forma session earlier this year. In standard English, that means, technically, when the House was not in session. Just as is the case now.
In short, there is no rule. Johnson, just as Trump, or perhaps more aptly, in the service of Trump, is flexing raw power, for the sole purpose of preventing Ms. Grijalva from assuming her rightful place in Congress, thereby denying her constituents the representation they elected…and perhaps more important to the Trump axis, so as to keep her from voting to release “The Epstein Files.” The additional time may also be used to give Trump. Inc the opportunity to flip one or more of the votes of Republicans, who’ve committed to support releasing said files. It remains to be seen how it all plays out. If form holds, some GOP member, previously committed to releasing the files will either wilt under Trump’s relentless bullying pressure, or perhaps, secure some acceptable medium of exchange for their vote. I’m prepared to be surprised, but I certainly urge you not to bet the rent on it. “Adelita Grijalva: Remember The Name!”
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Yesterday, on orders from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, over 800 generals and admirals assembled at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia. In the age of the frequent use of “secured communications,” pulling flag officers from across the globe for a meeting in a single location is a rare and unorthodox move. But unorthodox is not a new space for Mr. Hegseth, nor for the man at whose pleasure he serves, Donald Trump.
Hegseth gave an interesting speech, as he served as the warm-up act for Trump, who as always was the star of the show. To be sure, Petey took his fair share of shots at some of his favorite targets: women in the military, men with facial hair, women in combat, rules of engagement for war, and the ability of the inspector general’s office to conduct investigations (not coincidentally, like the one currently being executed on Mr. Hegseth). But, let there be no doubt, the star of the show, ad that’s really what it was after all, a big show, was Donald Trump.
It has long been said that Trump veers from the truth so often, trying to hold him accountable for his false and misleading statements is pointless. His supporters have their own variation of that theme. They routinely excuse, rationalize, or deny his errant statements. They say he was joking, he didn’t mean it, they assert he was misunderstood, and my personal favorite, “I haven’t seen the video.” Well, I have time today. Here are a few instances Mr. Trump and his comments opted for what one of his previous advisors, Kellyanne Conway, once referred to as alternative facts. As usual, there were too many to easily count, but here are ten I curated for your entertainment:
Trump bragged we have the strongest military in the world, and claimed, “You never heard Biden say that. You’ve never heard him say anything about that. The truth is, Biden repeatedly said the U.S. has the world’s strongest military. For example, in a 2023 speech about democracy, Biden said: “Our U.S. military – and this is not hyperbole; I’ve said it for the last two years – is the strongest military in the history of the world. Not just the strongest in the world – in the history of the world.”
Biden also made that point in the last week of his presidency, when he told a Defense Department audience, “You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world – in the history of the world. That’s a fact. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact.”
Trump made the false claim that Biden said he thought he could get rid of Space Force, the military branch created during Trump’s first term, before backing down. “When Biden came into office, he wanted to terminate it – he said, ‘And this thing called Space Force, so we can get rid of that.’ And he got hammered by the people in this room for even suggesting it.” Biden never said anything like that.
In the first month of the Biden Administration, there was a controversy of a snarky remark by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to a question about whether Biden had made any decision on keeping Space Force. But even Psaki didn’t come close to saying, “we can get rid of that.” And she said the next day that Space Force has “the full support of the Biden administration and “we are not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force.”
Trump touted the fact he got members of the NATO military alliance to pledge to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense (by 2035), then falsely said, “It used to be 1%, then we got it up to 2% in my last term, and they did not like it.” Trump was not responsible for getting NATO to set its previous 2% target; the 2% target was agreed upon by NATO defense ministers in 2006 (I might add, when Trump was a registered Democrat), and then reaffirmed in NATO documents in 2014, the year before Trump launched his presidential campaign. Moreover, if Trump meant he was the one who got the members to meet their commitment, that’s not true either. In 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term, only nine members were meeting the 2% target. There are 32 members of NATO.
Trump reiterated his oft repeated false claim that Biden gave $350 billion in aid to Ukraine. That figure isn’t close to accurate. A German think tank that has closely tracked wartime aid to Ukraine says the U.S. allocated about $135 billion to Ukraine and has committed about $5 billion more through June. The U.S. Government inspector general overseeing the federal Ukraine response says the U.S. had disbursed about $94 billion as of the end of June 2025, and had appropriated about $93 billion more, including money that was spent in the U.S. and in broader Europe rather than Ukraine itself. That’s about 53% of Trump’s claim, and it includes money spent under Trump.
Trump restated his false claim that he has “settled seven” wars. He cited a war between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda as one example, saying “I got that one done,” and mentioned “Kosovo and Serbia” as another.
Those two examples show precisely why Trump has not settled seven wars. For starters, Trump hasn’t ended the conflict involving the Democratic of Congo and Rwanda. The peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration and signed by the DRC and Rwanda in June did not involve the rebel coalition, allegedly backed by Rwanda, that has seized territory in the eastern DRC. The scores of militia groups that have fought for three decades in one of the most protracted and complex conflicts in the world are still engaged in deadly fighting.
Moreover, while Trump claims to have prevented the eruption of a new war between Serbia and Kosovo – providing few details about what he was talking about – these countries weren’t in an actual war either during Trump’s current term, or during his first term.
Another dispute on Trump’s list of seven wars he supposedly settled, between Egypt and Ethiopia was also not a war, in either of Trump’s terms. They have a long-running (note: still unresolved) dispute about a major Ethiopian dam project on a tributary of the Nile River, but this is also not a war.
Trump repeated his frequently stated false claim that, under Biden, “the Congo and Venezuela opened their prisons to somehow get prisoners to travel to the U.S. as migrants.
“They opened up prisons in the Congo. They came into our country, totally unmatched, unvetted, unchecked, and from all over. Venezuela emptied its prison population into our country.” Referencing unspecified countries, he said, “They would take their worse people (like the escalator claim in 2015), and they’re people from prisons, in jail, and they put them in a caravan, and they’d walk up.”
Mr. Trump has never provided any proof for these claims, which his own presidential campaign and White House have been unable to corroborate. Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and neighboring Republic of Congo say there is no evidence of these claims. There is also no evidence Venezuela has done such a thing.
Trump repeated the false claim that “25 million” migrants entered the country under Biden. The “25 million” figure is fiction, as was his previous “21 million” claim. Both numbers are wild exaggerations. As of December 2024, the last full month under Biden, the federal government recorded under 11 million nationwide encounters with migrants during the Biden administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country. Even adding the so-called gotaways who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2.2 million, there’s no way the total was anywhere near Trump’s claim.
Trump repeated the lie that the 2020 election was “rigged,” claiming that Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine “if the election weren’t rigged.” The Russia hypothetical aside, Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
Trump repeated his usual spurious figure about U.S. drug deaths, saying, “We lost 300,000 people (deaths) to drugs last year.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that there were 80,856 reported overdose deaths in the U.S. in the 12 months ending December 2024. Experts have noted that even if there is an undercount, there is no reasonable way to get to Trump’s 300K number.
Speaking about the City of Portland, Trump said, “Your place is burning down. Unless they’re playing false tapes, this looked like World War II.” It is not certain what tapes Trump is referring to, but the city is not burning down. While there have been some unruly protests near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the city this year – and protesters were arrested in June for allegedly starting a fire there – the broader city has been functioning as usual, and even the situation around the ICE building is generally calmer than it was in June.
As an aside, welcome to the latest Governmental Shutdown. It’s sure to dominate the news cycle at least for the remainder of this week, since the GOP House members have left Washington until Monday. Meanwhile the GOP spin machine is working overtime to lay the shutdown at the feet of Democrats, even though the GOP controls the Oval, the House, and the Senate. The last shutdown, also under Donald Trump, lasted 35 days. It was the longest on record. You’ll hear much more about it sooner rather than later.
I simply cannot move on without sharing my favorite quote about government shutdowns:
“A shutdown falls on the president’s lack of leadership. I mean problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top. A shutdown means the president is weak.” —Donald J. Trump, Circa 2013
I co-sign that statement. The internet is undefeated!
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The Trump administration has been accused of many things, ranging from incompetent to corrupt. It’s array of former Fox News alumni underscore the questionable competence. The most recent example of alleged corruption stems from an episode involving Tom Homan, Trump’s so-called Border Czar.
Today, the White House finds itself standing behind Homan following reports he accepted $50,000 US from undercover agents posing as businesspeople during an FBI sting operation last year.
Consistent with the Trump playbook, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized Homan’s encounter with the undercover agents as an effort by the Biden’s administration to “entrap one of the president’s top allies and supporters; someone who they knew very well would be taking a government position.” It’s interesting how insightful the administration Team Trump consistently calls inept, can be sharp and insightful…when it serves their purpose. Biden, nor anyone else “knew very well” Homan would be in Trump’s administration. Apparently, what they did know, was that Homan was likely a bad actor.
Leavitt went on to say, “The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100 per cent because he did absolutely nothing wrong, and he is a brave public servant who has done a phenomenal job in helping the president shut down the border.” It’s worth noting what Homan appears not to have said. There are no reports of him saying he did not take the cash.
MSNBC first reported Saturday that Homan had accepted the cash in a Sept. 20, 2024, encounter with undercover agents who were posing as businesspeople seeking government contracts that Homan suggested he could help them get in a second Trump term.
What you the citizen need to know: The Trump administration Justice Department shut down the probe, and said the matter was “subjected to a full review,” but authorities found “no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
The administration clearly has other priorities, as the statement by FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “The Department’s resources must remain focused on real threats to the American people, not baseless investigations. “As a result, the investigation has been closed.”
Leavitt insisted to reporters during a briefing on Monday that Homan “never took the $50,000 you’re referring to,” though she did not elaborate on what she meant. An MSNBC spokesperson said the network stood by its reporting.
On Sunday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Homan accepted the cash.
Homan’s response: “I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal.”
“You’re talking about a guy who spent 34 years enforcing the law. I mean, I left a very successful business that I ran to come back and work for government again.” He added that he and his family have been subjected to death threats.
While providing no evidence, the White House criticized the Biden administration investigation as politically motivated. However, the FBI director during Biden’s term was Christopher Wray, a registered Republican, and the Justice Department investigated Democrats for corruption, including veteran Sen. Bob Menendez, who is now in prison.
Democrats from the House’s judiciary committee in a letter on Tuesday called upon Patel to release “explosive recordings” and other documents from the aborted investigation. The letter stated:
“Confirmed by six sources and reportedly captured on recordings now in [Department of Justice] and FBI’s possession, this startling episode is powerful evidence that Mr. Homan may have committed multiple federal felonies, including conspiracy to commit bribery.”
Between his stints in both Trump administrations, Homan was a consultant for GEO Group, which invests in private prisons and has been awarded several new contracts this year from the federal government.
The Democrats asserted, “The corruption investigation the Trump Administration blocked would have examined whether Mr. Homan was selling these contracts for personal profit before he even had the power to award them.”
The MSNBC report has elevated a fresh array of concerns about political interference in Justice Department matters at a time when Trump’s calls for prosecutions of his adversaries is testing the law enforcement agency’s long tradition of independence when it comes to prosecutorial decision-making.
Trump supercharged his pressure campaign on the Justice Department over the weekend, publicly calling for Attorney General Pam Bondi to move forward with cases against New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI director James Comey and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff. In a separate incident, Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton had his residence and office searched this summer, though the specifics of that probe have not been officially announced.
Raising concern about the matter, Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy said on ABC News, “See what happened to Tom Homan, his border czar, who literally accepted a bag of cash — $50,000 — and the investigation was dropped once Trump became president. There are just two standards of justice now in this country. If you are a friend of the president, a loyalist of the president, you can get away with nearly anything … but if you are an opponent of the president, you may find yourself in jail.”
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Warning: This is a long post. Skip it, break it up into manageable pieces, or zero in on parts that interest you. The topic is deep, and this doesn’t begin to cover all that could be said. Thank you.
By next week this time, we will have changed seasons and entered fall. Make no mistake about it, the anticipated seasonal cooling is not matched by any such reduction in our country’s political climate. On that front, Nelly could be the meteorologist of record, as politically speaking, it’s “Hot In Herre!”
A week ago, Charles James Kirk, known familiarly as Charlie Kirk, was cut down in the prime of his life. He was 31. An American right-wing political activist, author, and media personality, He was the co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a conservative organization started in 2012. Kirk was murdered. The suspect in his killing allegedly did so, because he disagreed with Kirk’s views. Before writing another sentence, let me say early, pointedly, and unequivocally, no one, including Charlie Kirk, should be killed for expressing their views.
Kirk was an ally of Donald Trump, and a close friend of J.D. Vance. He is credited with having been particularly influential in Trump and Vance winning the 2024 Election. In the week since Kirk’s murder, both have made clear both their affection and their appreciation.
Mr. Kirk avidly espoused a variety of conservative positions, including opposition to abortion, gun control, DEI programs, and LGBT rights. The list of his most controversial views included his criticism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Martin Luther King, Jr., his promotion of COVID-19 misinformation, false claims of electoral fraud in 2020, and his opposition to immigration. Speaking of false claims, he made quite a few.
False and Misleading Claims
A Summary of Documented Examples
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, is a prominent conservative commentator in the United States. His statements frequently generate discussion and scrutiny, and several have been publicly identified by fact-checkers and media organizations as false or misleading. Below is a list of well-documented examples, with each claim referenced by reputable public sources.
1. COVID-19 and Vaccines
Claim: In July 2021, Charlie Kirk claimed that COVID-19 vaccines have killed “thousands” of people, citing the VAERS database as evidence.
Fact: This interpretation of VAERS data is incorrect. VAERS collects unverified reports, and the CDC, FDA, and independent fact-checkers have repeatedly stated that these reports do not establish causation. There is no credible evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed thousands of Americans.
Sources: CDC, Associated Press, PolitiFact
2. 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Claims
Claim: Kirk has repeatedly stated that there was widespread voter fraud sufficient to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Fact: Multiple courts, state and federal election officials, and the Department of Justice found no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the result of the election.
Sources: Reuters, NPR, The New York Times
3. Texas Power Grid and Green Energy
Claim: During the February 2021 Texas power outages, Kirk claimed that frozen wind turbines were “the main factor” in the electrical grid failure.
Fact: Fact-checkers and energy experts confirmed that while some wind turbines did freeze, the majority of the outages were caused by failures in natural gas, coal, and nuclear facilities.
Sources: PolitiFact, The Texas Tribune
4. Misinformation on COVID-19 Death Statistics
Claim: Kirk has claimed that COVID-19 death counts are dramatically inflated, suggesting that the majority of deaths reported were “with” COVID rather than “from” COVID.
Fact: The CDC and health experts maintain that the official death counts reflect those who died as a result of COVID-19 infection, not incidental deaths.
Sources: CDC, AFP Fact Check
5. Claims About the Green New Deal
Claim: Kirk has stated that the Green New Deal would “ban hamburgers,” referencing the idea that it would outlaw eating beef.
Fact: The Green New Deal contains no language banning hamburgers or beef consumption. This is a misrepresentation of the policy proposal.
Sources: Congressional Research Service, The Washington Post Fact Checker
6. Misinformation on Critical Race Theory
Claim: Kirk has described critical race theory as being taught in K-12 schools nationwide and asserts that it is a dominant curriculum.
Fact: Education experts and school districts have clarified that while discussions of systemic racism occur, critical race theory as an academic framework is not part of standard K-12 curricula.
Sources: Education Week, NPR
These examples represent a selection of false or misleading claims attributed to Charlie Kirk that have been publicly addressed and corrected by major news outlets and fact-checking organizations. As with all public figures, scrutiny and independent verification of claims are essential for maintaining informed public discourse.
Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Erika Kirk have called Kirk a martyr. And, in a manner of speaking, he appears to be. His death can be tied directly to his beliefs. I’ve already stated, Kirk, nor anyone else should be murdered due to their beliefs.
MAGAWorld has gone all out, not only to memorialize a trusted source, and in some cases, hero, but to cast Democrats, the far left, and liberals as the collective bogeymen, solely responsible for Kirk’s assassination. They attribute ginning up the rhetoric to one side, and one side only. It is worth noting that a suspect has been arrested and is in custody. Initial reports are he acted alone. To that end, he is responsible for Kirk’s death. No one else. However, it’s impossible to resist inserting into the conversation, to offset some of that leftist talk, Kirk was shot, not in one of those Left-led Blue states, or in a Democratic led, so-called crime infested urban cities, but rather in bucolic Utah, where most of the people are conservative, Mormon, Republican…and of course white. And yes, the suspect was home grown. So even if he were radicalized, his roots were WAR, (Widely Accepted Republican). Deal with it.
Trump, who in a rare moment admitted there are right-wing radicals, claimed “The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. Worried about the border. They’re saying, we don’t want these people coming in. We don’t want you burning our shopping centers. We don’t want you shooting our people in the middle of the street.” Meanwhile, “The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious, and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy, although they want men in women sports, they want transgender for everyone, they want open borders.”
But most importantly, every MAGA man, woman, and child are singing from the “Blame It On The Left” hymnal. Republicans have been immersed in a vivid fever dream about the rhetoric of the left causing the political temperature to rise. They lament being called Nazis, fascists, and enemy of the state. They argue that heated language is the crux of the problem, and is the unique signature verbiage of Democrats, used against Republicans.
It makes a great talking point, but a lousy argument. With Donald Trump is the face of the Party, you may want to do an AI deep dive, before you suggest some insult has only been used by “the other side.” Trump has used all those derogatory remarks when referring to Democrats in general, or to Kamala Harris in particular.
“Marxist,” “communist,” and “socialist”: Trump used these labels interchangeably
to paint Harris as an extremist, often dubbing her “Comrade Kamala”.
“Dumb as a Rock”: Trump repeatedly used this phrase to question Harris’ intelligence, including on his social media platform, Truth Social.
“Mentally impaired”: At a September 2024 rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Trump claimed Harris was “mentally impaired” and compared her to those with mental disabilities. He claimed, “I believe she was born that way… there is definitely something missing”.
“Very low IQ individual”: In late October 2024, at a rally at Madison Square Garden, Trump called Harris a “very low IQ individual”.
Trump also referred to Harris as “the worst,” “lazy as hell,” and “a radical left lunatic” throughout the campaign.
He made an unsubstantiated suggestion that Harris might abuse alcohol or substances before interviews.
Retaliation against Kamala Harris: The specific labeling of Democrats as fascist occurred after then-Vice President Kamala Harris agreed with former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s assessment that Trump met the definition of a fascist. In response, Trump specifically called Harris a fascist, among other insults.
Finally, back to Charlie Kirk. Let’s permit his own words to make the case.
On race
If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified.
– The Charlie Kirk Show, 23 January 2024
If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine?
If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action?
If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.
We record all of it so that we put [it] on the internet so people can see these ideas collide. When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil, and they lose their humanity.
– Kirk discussing his work in an undated clip that circulated on X after his killing.
Prove me wrong.
– Kirk’s challenge to students to publicly debate him during the tour of colleges he was on when he was assassinated.
On gender, feminism and reproductive rights
Reject feminism. Submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.
– Discussing news of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement on The Charlie Kirk Show, 26 August 2025
The answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.
– Responding to a question about whether he would support his 10-year-old daughter aborting a pregnancy conceived because of rape on the debate show Surrounded, published on 8 September 2024
We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.
I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.
– Event organized by TPUSA Faith, the religious arm of Kirk’s conservative group Turning Point USA, on 5 April 2023
On immigration
America was at its peak when we halted immigration for 40 years and we dropped our foreign-born percentage to its lowest level ever. We should be unafraid to do that.
The great replacement strategy, which is well under way every single day in our southern border, is a strategy to replace white rural America with something different.
We’ve been warning about the rise of Islam on the show, to great amount of backlash. We don’t care, that’s what we do here. And we said that Islam is not compatible with western civilization.
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