Welcome to WeeklyWilson.com, where author/film critic Connie (Corcoran) Wilson avoids totally losing her marbles in semi-retirement by writing about film (see the Chicago Film Festival reviews and SXSW), politics and books----her own books and those of other people. You'll also find her diverging frequently to share humorous (or not-so-humorous) anecdotes and concerns. Try it! You'll like it!
Category: Of Local (Quad Cities’) InterestPage 4 of 61
The category is self-explanatory, but it would include new or old businesses, political elections, trends, restaurants in town, entertainment in town, etc.
There’s a new book out entitled “2024,” It is written by 3 co-authors who appeared on CNN to shill for this new book. The book is subtitled: “How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America.” The authors are Josh Dawsey of the Wall Street Journal, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, and Isaac Arnsdorf, Senior Washington Post Reporter.
On CNN the trio played an exclusive audio recording of Trump reciting the details of a conversation he had with Vladimir Putin. Knowing DJT, you can not believe what he says. It is also true that I can only type so fast, so my transcription of the audio piece, while substantially correct, is slightly truncated. I’m sure you’ll hear this amazing piece of audio soon elsewhere, but let me synopsize it for you.
Trump: “I had a very strong conversation with President Putin and he understood. And I won’t go into the great details of the conversation because nobody has to hear it, but did they fear me? I suspect they did. I told him, ‘If you go into Ukraine I’m gonna’ bomb the shit out of Moscow. I’m telling you: I have no choice.’ So he goes like, ‘I don’t believe you. He said ‘No way.’ I said ‘Way.’ And then he goes like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ I said the same thing to Xi Jinping. If you go into Taiwan I’m gonna’ bomb the shit out of Beijing.’ And he didn’t believe me either. I think they believed me 10% and that’s all you need. They thought I was just crazy enough that I might do it.”
Another part of the tape dealt with Trump’s solicitation of huge political contributions to his campaign. Trump mentioned a donor who gave him $25 million. The audio tape went this way: “He was worth 4 or 5 billion. Most of its—half of it in cash. And he wants to have lunch and hand over a million. I said, ‘You’re much richer than that. You’re worth 5 or 6 billion. I’m not having lunch. You’ve got to make it 25 million.’ And he said ‘Oh, that sounds like a lot.” The tape continued, “He gave me 25 million. It’s crazy.”
True or false? Bragging or embarrassing himself (and our country?)
A snippet of the televised Cabinet meeting of July 8, Tuesday was played. A female reporter asked Trump who had okayed the pausing of the delivery of munitions to Ukraine, (which occurred recently.)The President did not like the question. He said, very sarcastically, “Why don’t you tell me.”
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.
Trump did not hand off the military question to his Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who was seated to his immediate left.
The discussion of the experts onscreen went on to say that Hegseth may have “okayed” the stopping of aid to Ukraine without properly notifying Trump that he was doing so. Pretty easy to believe of a guy who included the Editor of the “Atlantic” on a highly classified military discussion of bombing Yemen and faced no further repercussions. But, then, being a talking head on Fox News is not the best preparation for heading up the military of the United States. Incompetent people may do incompetent or poorly thought out things.
This audio tape was played on CNN on Tuesday, January 8th, about 6 p.m. I would anticipate that Trump’s people will deny it was authentic audio and then attack the reporters (as is their custom). Some further discussion of Putin and Trump occurred involving Rahm Emanuel, former Mayor of Chicago, former Ambassador to Japan, and current CNN Global and Foreign Affairs Commentator.
Rahm Emanuel, former Obama advisor, Chicago Mayor, and Ambassador to Japan.
Emanuel offered the opinion that Putin has “bet the farm” on his invasion of Ukraine. The experts agreed that Trump has misjudged Putin, who does not, as Trump previously thought, desire closer relations with the West. Putin’s true aim is to return Russia to its previous Glory Days, not to ally it with the wicked West. The talking heads felt that DJT might be changing his opinion on a future chummy relationship with Russia, saying, “We got a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin.” (So much for bringing the Ukrainian War to a halt in 24 hours.)
Emanuel’s take on our current relationship with China is that the most dangerous threat is not an invasion of Taiwan, but a take-over of the Philippines, saying, “The real challenge is the South China Seas and the Philippines.”
The three authors of the book said that Trump spoke to them for the book. In March, they approached Joe Biden, who agreed to speak with them, but did not follow through. The story, as related by Tyler Pager, was that he had asked Biden’s aides for months to speak to him. Finally, Pager got Biden’s direct cell phone number and phoned him directly. Biden answered and, said Pager, “He seemed open to talking to us.”
However, when the trio called back to set up a time to speak, the number had been disconnected. Pager also related some fairly critical phone conversations with Biden aides, who admonished him about contacting their boss.
It will be interesting to see if there is any coverage of the clip that reveals our current leader as a loose cannon, threatening WWIII, strong-arming rich donors for bigger contributions, and generally behaving in the boorish manner we have seen on the national and international stage. (Makes you proud to be an American—right?)
The very last bit of business that the CNN report addressed was Jimmy Carter’s funeral, where the film clip showed Obama speaking with Trump as they sat with the other living presidents and with Vice President Harris (who seemed annoyed that Obama was being civil to DJT in the row behind her.) The trio says the conversation was of Trump inviting Obama to play golf at one of his clubs.
Perhaps the title shouldn’t mention the multiplex, since one of the three movies I’m going to address is already streaming on HBO Max. (“Sinners” directed by Ryan Coogler).
To put this in perspective, three films that I’ve taken in since fleeing the heat (and floods) of Austin are “Sinners” (now streaming), “28 Years Later,” and “F-1.” The release dates were, respectively, April 18th, June 20th and June 27th. I’m still planning on taking in the “Jurassic Park” reboot, although initial word from the front is not totally encouraging.
So, which of these three was my favorite and why?
RANKING
#1) I’d have to give the nod to Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later.” For one thing, it got by on a budget of $60 million (versus”F-1’s” alleged $200 or $300 million). For another, as critic Brett Arnold wrote and with which I agree, the movie has “tender reflections on mortality and misguided exceptionalism, and even the hint of those ideas make ’28 Years Later’ a more thoughtful movie than you’re likely to find at the multiplex this time of year.” This third in a planned five-movie series highlighting the journey of Spike (Alfie Williams) from adolescence to adulthood in a world blighted by a mysterious plague has a lot of meat on its cinematic bones. I fear for Spike by film’s series end, as he is going to fall under the influence of Jack O’Connell’s minions from here on out. The story arc for his emotional development with that lot as his companions on the mainland: not bright. The film was very well-done, with great settings, excellent acting from Jodie Comer as Mom Isla and Ralph Fiennes as the eccentric Dr. Kelsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as father Jamie.
#2) For me, “Sinners,” the Michael B. Jordan-starring (“Black Panther”) Ryan Coogler film came in second for interesting intellectual content, as I watched the story about Smoke and Stack, the extremely well-dressed pair that return to their Southern roots and end up holed up in a fight to the death against vampire hordes, led by Jack O’Connell as Remmick. It was interesting that Jack O’Connell, who got his big break-through in the Angelina-Jolie directed film “Unbreakable” in 2014, appears in both “28 Years Later” and “Sinners.” It is O’Connell as Jimmy, at the end of “28 Years Later” who is shaping up to be a big influence on Spike’s development as a human being in future Boyle films. I found the concept of “Sinners” more original than most of Hollywood’s offerings. I couldn’t help but think, at film’s end, that the trapped Blacks about to become prey for the white vampires might have bettered their lot in life if they had agreed to convert to the dark side and become immortal as vampires, feeding on their white adversaries. Given the history of this country in terms of race relations, what have they got to lose? With every Trump 2.0 edict it seems that the color of one’s skin is, more and more, the criteria as to whether U.S. citizens have a right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and whether or not we believe that “all men are created equal.” (Tell that to the innocent Latinos being rounded up and sent to hell-holes in El Salvador or to Alcatraz Alley without much thought for due process or habeas corpus.) Why not give in to the idea of living forever, with the catch being that, during the “forever” part, the besieged group of Black citizens is going to have to feed on their oppressors. That gets a bit bloody It also might become relatively monotonous and boring after, say, a couple of lifetimes.
#3) So why is “F-1” only ranking as third on this abbreviated list of recent releases of 2025, when it has already snagged $293,388,533 worldwide since its June 27th release, far out-pacing the $144 million that “Sinners” has racked up and the $126 million that “28 Years Later” has earned since June 20th? Perhaps simply citing Karl Moore-Forbes (“Forbes), who called it “one-dimensional and lacking in depth” or using Coleman Spilde’s (“Salon”) adjectives of “safe, defanged, neutered, fearful tame moviemaking,” calling it “completely sexless” might give a rough idea of some of the objections from the critical horde. Most critics have liked it.
“F-1”
I am not in complete agreement with Coleman Spilde or Karl Moore-Forbes, but I agree that “F-1” missed opportunities that might have made it a better film. It seemed so intent on pushing what one critic referred to as “a promotional synergy machine” that deeper thoughts or more nuanced concepts or discussions of important societal issues are shoved aside. Some have said that the female characters are one-dimensional and not fleshed out (true). The most damning sentence that stood out to me as having some truth in it, but not being totally representative of the movie in totality was this: “If a movie can’t be made without sacrificing its heart—or, for that matter, ever having one in the first place—it’s not worth making at all.” I did not feel that negatively about the shallowness of the plot. The race scenes were too engaging and, after all, it’s Brad Pitt.
While agreeing that “Ford vs. Ferrari” was a “better” movie about racing, for me, because it built up the human element motr and allowed for some humor to develop, I liked “F-1,” too, and most audiences will, too. This one shows us, thanks to great cinematography from Claudio Mirando, what it must be like to be behind the wheel of a Formula-1 racing car going 200 miles an hour. (The actors did at least 180 during their stints behind the wheel. Cruise and Pitt were to have been the original leads for the Christian Slater/Matt Damon “Ford vs. Ferrari” racing movie, until Cruise passed because his character (Shelby,played by Matt Damon) didn’t get enough time behind the wheel. No CGI—or not as much as nowadays—and race after race after race. Not only do we see Silverstone (the 77th British Grand Prix), the Spanish Grand Prix, Japan’s Suzuka Japanese Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi, Hungary, the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, the Autodromo Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City, but we also see the Belgian Grand Prix, the Zandvort Dutch Grand Prix, the Las Vegas Grand Prix and probably a few others that I’m unintentionally omitting. The 17+ settings are colorful and exciting and I understood about as much about F-1 racing after as I did before, which was next to nothing. We learn that Plan C means Combat and there is a lot of emphasis on F-1 racing being a team sport, not an individual one. One critic pointed out the need to kill somebody off in such a dangerous sport. I can’t argue with that. I think the objection was that this was a film without a climax.
MUSIC
I was impressed with the Hans Zimmer score and the placement of wonderful songs in the film, like the opening of “Whole Lotta’ Love” or Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” “F-1” marks the 13th collaboration between Hans Zimmer and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Other songs include“I’m just as bad as I used to be” by Chris Stapleton and a song at film’s end, “Driver,” written by Ed Sheeran. No musical note has been left unsung. The effect worked. Securing the rights to the songs, alone, must have cost a fortune. This is the 15th Brad Pitt film to make over $100 million domestically.
THE “COOL” FACTOR
Brad Pitt
Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of articles in papers like the “New York Times” and the “Washington Post” about what makes someone “cool.” There has been a severe shortage of cool ever since Steve McQueen’s classic films like “The Cincinnati Kid” (1965), “Bullitt” (1968) and “The Getaway” (1972.)There have been some attempts at reviving cool in the intervening 60 years, but McQueen crafted an entire career around the cool image. He pretty much owned it, despite such cool contenders as Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Sean Connery back in the day.
Pitt has resurrected McQueen’s mastery of cool. He managed to do so in this film without a single sex scene of any significance. That, in itself, is noteworthy.
Pitt’s wardrobe and carefully layered neckwear , his monosyllabic answers to the questions from the press all play into this image. Even the questions play to the real-life regrets that might haunt Sonny, the character, and Brad Pitt the man.
Sonny’s devotion to driving as the be-all and end-all in life is impractical, but hopelessly romantic. Sonny lives in a van. [ I couldn’t help but wonder if the van was “down by the river.” [If so, thank God it wasn’t the Guadalupe River in Texas.]
Sonny chooses to drive when his previous accident at the Spanish Grand Prix should disqualify him from Formula-1 competition for fear of blindness and paralysis. Sonny says, romantically if not practically, “If the last thing I do is drive that car, I will take that life 1,000 times.” He also shares, “Sometimes, there’s this moment in the car where everything goes peaceful. No one can touch me. In that moment, I’m flying.”
So, the scripted cool guy who is loyal to his friends to a fault and doesn’t care about the money (“dumb, sentimental broke losers” is one description) has been carefully crafted by Director/Writer Joseph Kosinsky (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and his team. Kosinsky and co-writer Ehren Kruger reflect in Pitt all the things that the typical American male would like to be. It’s projection, plain and simple. The same projection that caused naive voters projecting their own desires for money and pretty women onto a candidate who, in real life, was a malignant narcissist, an unsuccessful businessman, a convicted felon and very possibly unhinged. “Perception is reality.”
DEEPER THEMES?
Besides wondering how Damson Idris ended up with the plum role of Joshua Pearce, playing opposite Brad Pitt’s old white guy, I share the regret of many that the rivalry between the young Black protégé and the seasoned old professional isn’t a platform for exploring issues more significant and substantial than such superficial issues as old age versus youth. At a time in America when Black Lives Matter is on the ropes as an organization and DEI is being relentlessly pursued and eliminated, wouldn’t this have been the perfect opportunity to explore the U.S.’s long simmering racial past? Apparently not, because it’s totally brushed aside in favor of semi-humorous jibes at how race team owner Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem) is giving “second chances to the elderly.” Jazzy lines like “Hope is not a strategy” and descriptions of Pitt as handsome and as “punk rock for the brand” have to suffice, replacing any real Black/White subplot. It’s the safe way out of discussing any of the real problems in American society, especially in these days of ICE and anti-immigrant white supremacist ideologues.
CONCLUSION
“F-1 poster
The acting in “F-1” is good. Javier Bardem simulates excitement at Sonny’s wins convincingly, which, given Bardem’s Oscar for “No Country For Old Men,” probably isn’t much of a stretch. Shea Whigham (“Boardwalk Empire”), who seems to be in everything, has the opening speaking part opposite Pitt. Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) is well cast as the love interest, although one chaste kiss is about all we get on that front. Kim Bodnia (“The Bridge”) as crew chief Kaspar is fine. Only Damson Idris and Samson Kayo as Cash, his cousin, fell short, for me. We are told how great a driver Idris is repeatedly; it would have been best to show rather than tell. It was also interesting to learn that the actress portraying Damson Idris’ Mom (Sarah Niles) is only 4 years older than Idris.
Pitt won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor (for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”). He was nominated for his acting in “Twelve Monkeys” in 1995 and was nominated again, in 2008, 2011 and 2015 [2008 (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” as an actor), 2011 (“Moneyball”) and 2015 (“The Big Short”).]His Plan B movies are even more impressive, including an Oscar as the producer of 2013’s “Twelve Years A Slave.” He earned $30 million for his role in “F-1,” a career high and sponsorship and brand deals garnered $40 million towards a budget variously described as $200 million or (some say) $300 million.
Just returned from dining at the Red Lobster. I want the Red Lobster to come back as a business—I really do. (For one thing, I have stock.) I’ve recently seen the ads featuring a tall, good-looking young Black gentleman, Damola Adamolekun, their new CEO. He is the youngest CEO in Red Lobster history at age 36 and came from P.F. Chang’s and Goldman Sachs. Perhaps you’ve seen him doing a nationally televised ad for Red Lobster? One article I consulted said that Damola has “a proven record of transformation.”
Damola reminded me of Brad Pitt’s co-star (Damson Idris) in the movie “F-1” that we had just seen (more about the movie later.)
Good luck with that transformation, Damola. I have some suggestions.
I now have intense sympathy for any animal that has to forage for its food—squirrels come to mind. I ordered the crab special, which advertised a pound of crab legs for $31, plus crispy potatoes (I asked if they were French fries; they were not) and one side dish. I selected broccoli as my side dish. The 3 or 4 small pieces of potato that were swimming in the butter on the plate were not any kind of potato I’ve had anywhere else. I actually never got to eat one, so I cannot comment on how they tasted.
I’ve been taking weight loss drugs that give you no appetite. I can’t eat a dozen shrimp. 2 lobsters, and a bunch of other stuff at one sitting. I can eat 4 shrimp—maybe—and possibly 1 lobster tail. My advice would be to package some meals with smaller amounts for those of us now unable to eat like we used to eat. (*Consult the NYT for articles on how this weight loss craze has changed the “business lunch.”)
Damson Idris, of “F-1”
I thought crab legs, with all the attendant hassle to dig them out of their shells, might be a good choice for me. In other words, I expected this to be a smaller-than-their-average amount of food.
Damson Idris, co-star of “F-1,” another handsome young man on the way up. (Review of film to follow later).
SUGGESTIONS:
1) Advertise that there are small half-sized plates. The local Biaggi’s Italian restaurant has a smaller/cheaper half-plate option.
2) Make it possible for the customer to NOT have to wear plastic gloves and go to work for an hour digging tiny amounts of shredded crab meat from unforgiving shells. You could pierce the shells, but the crab would not come out. (“Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!”)I empathized with squirrels who bury their nuts against the harshness of winter and then spend hours digging fruitlessly, trying to find the hidden food.
3) Get a better tool to crack open the shells, or do it for the customer before serving the entree. With the handy-dandy tool I was given to extract the crab from the crab leg, I now could produce a shell with a needle-sized hole in it. No crab meat emerged. The contents of the shell were still very secure within the hard tube.
4) Make sure that the customer knows, going in, that all of the butter and LOTS of garlic will be dumped atop the plate, unless you specify otherwise.
OBSERVATIONS
I just want to warn anyone who selected this entrée for perfectly, good reasons, as I had: GOOD LUCK. Not only will you end up completely covered with garlic bits and butter, you won’t be rewarded with enough crab meat to adequately feed that squirrel.
My spouse warned me that the crab legs would be messy. I offered up my rationale for selecting the crab legs (my lower appetite), instead of his choice (the Admiral’s Feast). I hate to admit it, but he was right. The crab—no matter what the “deal” currently is—was a bad choice on SOOOO many levels!
In “the old days,” (which means before Red Lobster went bankrupt and DJT 2.0 set about bankrupting us in every other area of life), I would have ordered the meal that consists of fried shrimp, a lobster, and crab. That meal is pushing $50 now and I’m just not that hungry any more. So, I selected the crab legs, knowing it would be less bountiful. That was just fine by sixty-pounds lighter me.
I ordered the crab with garlic butter. I did not know that the “new way” to serve a Red Lobster customer garlic butter was to dump it atop the already-messy crab legs. You don’t get it on the side in a little container (like the old days) unless you specifically ask for it on the side. It would be best to warn Old Time Red Lobster patrons of this fact before they are presented with a large heap of oily crab legs, literallydrowning in bits of garlic. (I don’t really like garlic that much; I generally ask my daughter-in-law to not put the garlic in my green beans, because I like a hint of the flavor, but I don’t eat it by the spoonful. But spoonfuls of this aromatic stuff had definitely been used on top of the crab legs.)
Red Lobster flyer.
Even though they gave me plastic gloves (I’m not kidding; actual plastic gloves), this greasy thankless crab-removal task is a job nobody needs nor wants. What happened to the idea of slicing the crab shell open in the kitchen before the customer has to start wearing surgical gloves to retrieve their meal?
When the plate first appeared with massive amounts of garlic garnishing it, our waitress stopped to check on us. I was really sorry to be “that customer” but I told her that, actually, I had not anticipated the giant greasy load of garlic pieces.
“I don’t even like garlic much,” I mumbled.
I feel very bad to EVER send anything back. It’s not in my nature. I cringe just writing this, but I could not just sit there staring at the plate, so I answered honestly. I give high marks to the waitress’s efforts to please an ignorant customer who ordered without complete knowledge of the “new” Red Lobster.
She was great about it. She took the plate with the untouched pound of crab legs and the pound and a half of garlic and butter and the very few pieces of potato that were buried beneath this mess in a greasy liquid butter to the kitchen. The crab legs were returned without the butter and the garlic (also without the potatoes).
If I ever dine there again, (1) I will not order the crab legs and (2) I will definitely ask that the garlic butter of olden days be put on the side, like it used to be. I can’t even finish 1/2 of the 6-pack of chicken nuggets from Chik’ Fil A these days. Damola, maybe consider the smaller plate option with a smaller price if you order less?
I wonder how many times and how many other unsuspecting customers have been burned by this New Way of Doing Things at Red Lobster? Maybe Red Lobster needs to write the advice about the dipping sauce on the actual menu next to the entrée description. The need to re-do my plate was certainly wasteful. For that I apologize.
So now starts the fun part: trying to get the crab out of the shell.
Forget it.
The broccoli was good. I ate most of it while waiting for the return of the garlic-less crab legs. No idea what happened to the “crispy potatoes.” I can guarantee you that they weren’t very “crispy” after marinating in a pound of butter and garlic; then they disappeared. I honestly did not care by that point. I needed to go wash my hands, one of three trips to the women’s rest room necessitated by the overly greasy presentation.
RED LOBSTER REST ROOM
Let’s leave the booth in the bar for a moment and travel to the nearby women’s bathroom in Davenport, Iowa. After the ordeal of foraging for 2 to 3 ounces of crab meat like a famished squirrel, I needed to wash my hands. Repeatedly.
So let me warn prospective patrons about the two (2) stalls in the women’s rest room in the Red Lobster location in Davenport, Iowa. (I was recently locked in the rest room of the Main Street Pizza in Buda, Texas for almost half an hour, calling on my phone for someone to come pry the stuck door open, so bear with me if I sound skittish about being locked in the rest room stall in the women’s rest room of the Red Lobster in Davenport, Iowa.)
Stall #1, the handicapped stall, has a lock that no longer functions. The bar that slides back-and-forth only slides back-and-forth on the wrong side (outside) of the metal thing that you are supposed to slide the bar into. Good luck in trying to hold the door closed with your hand while seated during your time in the stall! (Ahem).
On my second hand-washing trip, a portly woman with a cane tried to lock the door to Stall #1–the one that needs a handyman to come and fix it. She tried to “fix” it by slamming the door repeatedly. That didn’t work, but, as a result, I got stuck in the Stall #2 where the door had (previously) operated just fine.
Stall #2, the stall closest to the entry door, DID have a lock that worked. This was good news. [Since the gizmo given me to free the 3 oz. of crab meat from the shell didn’t work I lost faith in all of the implements provided by the establishment for specific purposes.]
The door to Stall #2 DID work, but wait: Just try to exit Stall #2 after unlocking it. The door only opened 8 inches. It reminded me of my red Prius (the FireBird) after a teenaged driver slammed into us in Okmulgee, Oklahoma on our November 3rd drive to Texas. The side impact crash totaled the car. The door on my car’s passenger’s side only opened about eight inches. My husband had to come around from the driver’s side and pull with all of his force to open the door to allow me to exit. (And then we twist tied the car together and drove 6 hours to Austin, Texas, with no headlights).
The Firebird, post crash.
This Red Lobster door to Stall #2 in the women’s rest room opened almost the same amount, but I had no male companion in the ladies’ rest room to help pry it open. I wonder if the large woman with the cane, in attempting to lock her side of Stall #1, did damage to MY door?
Fortunately, following my Ozempic/Mounjuaro months, I am much smaller (60 lbs.). I was able—just barely—to slip through the very narrow opening and return to the booth to struggle with securing food. [Hungry squirrel returns to the field to forage.]
Finally, I decided to discontinue wrestling with the crab legs. That battle was lost. The bill was close to $100 (2 people, no alcoholic beverages). I figure my 3 oz. of shredded crab probably cost about $20 an ounce. I was still hungry when I left.
Warning to prospective crab leg customers: be sure to ask for whatever kind of butter you select on the side.
In the wake of the Texas flash flood catastrophe that has, so far, claimed 68 lives, with over 41 still missing, 27 of them (originally) young girls at a campsite (Camp Mystic) along the Guadalupe River, this seems like a good time to mention how the current GOP administration is taking care of Americans facing weather disasters. Helicopters in Texas are searching for survivors even now, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Liaison to the city of Kerrville, a Texas location which was hard hit. The Cajun Navy (unofficial) is helping try to locate and hopefully rescue survivors. The U.S. Coast Guard is assisting in the search. Army Corps of Engineers and Border Patrol are involved, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Director of Homeland Security Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem, former Governor of South Dakota, is now the United States Secretary of Homeland Security—(also known as the womanwho shot her own dog dead.) She was seen on CNN, stylishly attired, saying,”When President Trump took office, he said he wanted to update this ancient system. We can do all we can to fix these kinds of things.” In other words, she offered nothing substantial to reassure residents of any state that things will improve over time, and the facts suggest that they will get worse—much, much worse.
These empty words came from the administration that just dramatically cut major aid to weather forecasting agencies and to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which Trump wants to put entirely under his own presidential control, so that he can “play favorites” in sending aid to states hit by weather disasters. Trump has said he wants to completely eliminate FEMA by the beginning of next year’s hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Chantal is the third major storm of the hurricane season. It is strengthening off the coast of South Carolina right now. It may well be another weather crisis that will hit within 24 hours of the Texas Guadalupe River tragedy. Will Kristi Noem’s agency be prepared? Will she have the right outfit for the inevitable destruction that Chantal might cause? Her previous pose, outside the prison in El Salvador, featured a backdrop of shackled prisoners. Reminded me of Robert Palmer’s videos for “Addicted to Love” and “Simply Irresistible,” (only with a less well-attired backdrop). Will someone steal Noem’s purse while she is on camera, her favorite place to be?
Robert Palmer girls in “Addicted to Love.”
Official Warnings
It might be a flood, a tornado, a hurricane, an earthquake, a derecho or a fire. (Or, today, in Illinois, warnings about dust storms that remind of the Dust Bowl Days.) In Texas, at hours that survivors describe as two to four in the morning, river levels rose from a foot to heights that reached thirty-four feet… a virtual wall of water that swept away everything in its path. Survivors described individuals being swept 6 to 12 miles downstream and—if they were lucky—holding on to trees, bushes and telephone poles to survive.
At 6:16 a.m., the City of Kerrville’s Police Department posted on its Facebook page its first warning about the weather, noting that it’s a “life threatening event” and “anyone near the Guadalupe River needs to move to higher ground now.” Kerr County Sheriff posted on its Facebook page for the first time about the flooding at 6:32 a.m.
At 7:22 a.m., the City Hall of Kerrville posted on Facebook: “Much needed rain swept through Kerrville overnight, but the downside is the severe weather may impact many of today’s scheduled July 4th events. Citizens are encouraged to exercise caution when driving and avoid low water crossings. Kerrville Police and Fire Department personnel are currently assessing emergency needs.” At 7:33 a.m. it posted about road closures due to flooding. At 8:32 a.m. it posted: “If you live along the Guadalupe River, please move to higher ground immediately.”
Speaking on Friday, Lt. Gov. Patrick (the very Lt. Governor whose own staff sued him in a famed whistleblower suit) said there were 14 helicopters, 12 drones, nine rescue teams as well as “swimmers in the water rescuing adults and children out of trees.” He said there were 400 to 500 people on the ground helping with the rescue effort. The numbers of the dead—many of them unidentified—rise hourly.
First-Person Accounts
Interior of Camp Mystic, the 100-year-old Christian camp hit by the flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in Texas.
Caroline and Juliana, daughters of Representative August Pfluger of Texas, were safely evacuated from Camp Mystic. Unfortunately, twenty-seven other female campers are still missing. Carl Jeter of Spring Branch, Texas, rescued a woman from a tree near his house. He talked with the woman, who had been camping above Ingram, Texas. Ingram to Hunt is currently, on 7/6 at 3:30 p.m., being evacuated, as it is near a bend of the Guadalupe River and a wall of water may be coming. Residents of Hunt, Texas, are being urged to get to higher ground and there are non-stop traffic jams.
The four individuals woke up, got in the car, and tried to drive out, but it was too late. The woman and her three companions climbed through the sun roof of their car and into the flood waters. She went through 4 dams and through Sydney Baker Road in town. She saw cars going by and screamed for help as she was swept possibly 20 miles in the raging flood waters. She summoned the strength to grab a tree and climb up, spending 4 hours treading water in the Guadalupe River. She had lost contact with her 3 companions. She is now hospitalized.
Trump’s Budget’s Effect on Future Disasters
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which could more accurately be described as the Big Bad Bill, has caused FEMA to lose 25% of its full-time staff, reducing its trained staffers ready to deploy to disasters from 6,588 to 1,952. Twenty-five % of its full time staff, about 2,000 people have been let go or resigned since January. The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June through November, could produce up to 19 storms and 5 major hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is above the annual average of 14 named storms, which NOAA official say is a result of higher ocean temperatures and lower trade winds. FEMA last year passed $64 billion to states and local governments for disaster relief, cleanup and recovery. Is that likely to continue? Officials are worried that it will not.
Officials now also worry that they won’t receive notification of impending climate catastrophes because Trump’s Big Bad Budget cut 20% of NOAA’s staff. More than a dozen NWS forecast offices along the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico are understaffed. The release of weather balloons has been suspended or reduced at sites across the U.S. The Hurricane Hunter unit, which flies planes into storms to collect critical data for hurricane monitoring, lost 2 flight directors and one electronic engineer due to cuts. Its ability to fly 24/7 missions is jeopardized. Retired NWS meteorologist James Franklin said (of theweather service), “They can move the desk chairs on the Titanic but they just don’t have enough bodies to do the job they are supposed to do.”
Acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton testified before Congress in May, saying that he did not believe that it was “in the best interests of the American people to eliminate FEMA.” He was fired by Trump the next day. He has been replaced by another typical Trump appointee—someone with no emergency management experience who is a painter, novelist and ex-Marine. The #2 in command of FEMA, MaryAnn Tierney, quit as the agency’s #2 expert last month. She said, in her resignation letter, “The agency is failing its moral and statutory obligations to the American public.” She added, “Everyone has a line and I have reached mine.”
The current inexperienced novelist-turned-FEMA director, David Richardson, warned that the federal government is no longer going to cover 75% of disaster relief and recovery costs, but only 50%. Hurricane Helene (North Carolina) last year cost $53 billion. FEMA has provided $656 million in emergency aid for North Carolina, but future payouts are in doubt, causing Governor Josh Stein to raise the alarm in the legislature. To scrap FEMA with no careful thought and no good planning—a hallmark of Trump administration moves like DOGE—is described as “frightening” by residents of Florida who suffer buffeting from hurricanes with great frequency.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced the FEMA Independence Act to make FEMA a cabinet-level agency which would remove it from Kristi Noem’s purview. The way Trump prefers, the federal government will distribute less disaster aid and funding will come directly from the President’s office. This means that DJT will play favorites and politicize aid to devastated states—something that sounds exactly like a dictator in an authoritarian state. Tillis announced recently that he would not vote for Trump’s Big Bad Bill and would not seek re-election, saying he could not vote for the Medicaid cuts, among other horrors in the bill. Trump immediately exulted.
Thom Tillis (R, S.C.)
Is this GOP administration looking out for your welfare in the best way possible? Do you feel reassured that the government will be there to help your state, if your state has a climate catastrophe?
(By Patricia Hoffman, with updates from the blog.)
For the people that didn’t have the time to read the entire bill that Trump just signed..here’s the worst of the worst…
UNTIL IT HITS HOME, TRUMP VOTERS WILL KEEP LOOKING AWAY—
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” isn’t a budget—it’s Project 2025 turned into law. A blueprint for authoritarian rule disguised as fiscal policy.
And the damage? It’s about to hit YOU.
Here’s how it’s coming for YOU:
WHEN THE STORM HITS & NO ONE COMES
Sec. 80307–80309: Slashes climate resilience + FEMA funds
Hurricanes, floods, and wildfires will leave your town in ruins—and there’ll be no help coming. Just ask North Carolina. Recently Trump’s old Press Secretary, now Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee, called to ask for help for her storm-damaged state. Guess how responsive this administration would be to a blue state?
WHEN YOUR MEDICARE IS GONE
Sec. 44141 + 44122 + 44131: Medicaid work requirements + limits + blue state penalties
Can’t prove you worked enough hours? Say goodbye to coverage. Missed the paperwork? No backpay. Live in a blue state? Tough luck. The goal, according to a NY Times analysis, is to make the paperwork so difficult that it is nearly impossible to claim aid, even when it the applicant needs it and deserves it. “Death by a thousand paper cuts.”
WHEN YOUR MEDICARE, MEDICAID, & VETERANS CARE DISAPPEAR
Sections 44141, 44122, 44131, 44125
Work requirements kick seniors off Medicaid.
Blue states lose funding for expanded coverage.
Gender-affirming care banned—even for veterans who served this country.
Retroactive coverage is eliminated—so if you got sick before paperwork cleared, too bad.
And veterans? They’ll face longer wait times, fewer providers, and reduced support for mental health, PTSD, and service-related conditions—while Trump brags about giving billions to his golf resorts.
WHEN YOU CAN’T AFFORD A DOCTOR
Sec. 44110 + 44125: Cuts all care for undocumented people + bans gender-affirming care
Your local hospital shuts down because funding dries up. You get in line—and find out your service doesn’t exist anymore.
WHEN YOUR GROCERY BILL DOUBLES
Trump tariffs + SNAP (Food Stamp) cuts in Sec. 10008, 10012
Your produce costs more, your gas costs more, and your neighbor just got kicked off food assistance at age 64. RiverBend Food Bank in the Quad Cities is already on record issuing warnings about their concern(s). You’ll have the GOP to thank for not being able to provide food to the needy in the richest country on Earth.
Demonstrators in Davenport protested both the autocratic behavior of DJT and his ICE raids.
The institutions holding your small town together disappear—and with them, your access to medicine, checks, and mail. During DJT 1.0 there was already an assault on the USPO because of Trump’s appointee to top administrative positions, who had stakes in the private delivery of mail. Good luck on keeping Benjamin Franklin’s legacy to us alive and well. And this doesn’t even factor in the many small businesses that can’t make plans from week to week because of Trump’s on-again/off-again tariff obsession or because they are Latino and can no longer operate their food truck or small business amongst all the chaos that the King of Chaos hath wrought.
WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR JOB
Sec. 90004–90006: Civil service purge + pension gutting
You’re fired to make room for a Trump loyalist—and your pension just got slashed while you weren’t looking.
WHEN YOUR DAUGHTER’S SCHOOL TEACHES OBEDIENCE, NOT MATH
Sec. 30061 + DEI bans. This is a technique right out of the most recent “rules” handed down to Russian schools by Vladimir Putin. (See “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” documentary).
A still from Mr. Nobody Against Putin by David Borestein and Pavel Talankin, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Pavel Talankin
Education turns into indoctrination. The path to college narrows. DEI is gone. If she’s not a legacy or male, she’s left behind. Women’s rights, fought for since the 70s, are already disappearing, as access to abortion has been rescinded and now the GOP evangelical supporters will be focusing on eliminating access to the morning after pill. Your job as a female (J.D. Vance and Elon Musk would approve) is to return to the fifties, when a woman’s place was in the kitchen and popping out babies to raise the country’s birth rate. Back to when the “good” jobs were reserved for males only. I remember that era well. No females need apply to join the ranks of professional occupations. It was fine to be a secretary, a hairdresser, a teacher, a nurse, but don’t apply to medical school, law school or engineering school.
WHEN BOOKS DISAPPEAR FROM YOUR LIBRARY (if they haven’t already)
Federal anti-“woke” regulation in play
The books your kid loves? Gone. History? Whitewashed. And no, it’s not up for debate. If DJT says that it’s the Gulf of America, get with the program. If DJT says he really won the election of 2020, be prepared to say “Yes, Sir” or STFU. Rewrite the insurrection at the Capitol as “warriors”for Trump instead of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.
January 6th: Trump-inspired invasion of the Capitol. All pardoned, with no cogent plan to separate those who had attacked police officers and headed militia organizations.
WHEN BLACKOUTS HIT & THE GRID FAILS
Sec. 42108–42301: Repeals environmental safeguards + Clean Air Act
Wildfires, rolling blackouts, and air so dirty your kid needs an inhaler. All so fossil fuel execs can cash out faster. Trump is even attempting to bring back coal, which he remembers from his youth. While China is making progress on their emissions, the U.S. is moving backwards, intentionally. Climate change is just a hoax for the GOP. Don’t worry about the steadily increasing incredible heat or the much-higher-than-normal hurricanes and tornadoes. Just agree with your Dear Leader.
WHEN YOUR 401(K) VANISHES
Market panic from deregulation + chaos economics
Trump’s chaos spooks Wall Street. Your retirement evaporates. No more dream home—just dreams deferred.
Adam Kinzinger.
WHEN YOUR SON IS SENT TO WAR
Sec. 20001: Indo-Pacific military escalation
Trump fans the flames abroad, then demands your kid carry the torch. No plan, no diplomacy—just body bags. If the planning and leadership for armed conflict is as slipshod as the recent Yemen SNAFU (that put the Editor of the ‘Atlantic” in the loop) or DOGE, good luck to us all.
WHEN LGBTQ+ KIDS HAVE NOWHERE LEFT TO GO
Sec. 44125: Strips healthcare + protections. Phone banks for suicidal LGBTQ kids are already gone.
Your gay nephew? Your trans friend? Denied care, expelled from school, forced into the shadows. Gays and women should “learn their place.” This bill makes “Don’t ask; don’t tell” look absolutely progressive.
WHEN BILLIONAIRES GET TAX CUTS, YOU GET THE BILL
Trump’s bill eliminates the tanning bed tax, free IRS filing, and expands MAGA-branded savings accounts while cutting food, healthcare, and energy support for working families.
They’re redistributing wealth upward—and branding it as patriotism.
Meanwhile, you can’t file your taxes without paying TurboTax.
WHEN PARENTS CAN’T AFFORD CHILDCARE OR PRE-K
Missing Now: The bill slashed child tax credits and cut funding for childcare—directly impacting working parents.
You’re expected to work more while getting less—and pay more for someone else to watch your kids.
Universal Pre-K? Gone. Raising smart, independent thinkers isn’t part of their plan. The less critical thinking the GOP is capable of doing, the better. Trump chose the Republican party to be his standard bearer (despite years of contributing to Dems) because he knew they’d be easier to con. And he was right.
WHEN YOUR COMMUNITY CENTER CLOSES & PARKS FALL APART OR ARE SOLD OFF
Elon Musk
Sections 41009, 80301–80309: Guts historic preservation, climate justice, national park maintenance, and local community block grants.
No summer rec program. No park repairs. No local arts grants. Small towns and underserved communities will be hollowed out.
WHEN THE GOVERNMENT ISN’T WORKING—BECAUSE TRUMP & MUSK FIRED EVERYONE
Sections 90004–90006 (Schedule F): Guts civil service protections and allows mass firings.
RFK, Jr.
Experienced public health experts, FEMA coordinators, and environmental scientists—replaced by political loyalists who will say “yes” to anything. Non-medical Health & Human Services leader Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is already sowing distrust of the medical experts. During Congressional hearings it was necessary to explain some of the medical terms to the people in charge, because they have no background in medicine or science. Already debunked theories about ADD and ADHD being caused by vaccines that have saved millions of lives now cause things like the recent measles epidemic that began in Texas. Do you remember the polio vaccine? The Department’s advice and public pronouncements about vaccines (etc.) are so unreliable and off-the-mark that one of the nation’s leading experts in the field, Dr. Michael Osterholm, has formed a group to put out knowledgeable advice to the unsuspecting public. Sowing distrust in public institutions is perfect for a leader who may well be a Russian asset, as it cuts deep. We become the laughingstock of the educated science-based world as we stumble from crisis to crisis led by erroneous and/or prejudiced information distributed by the very agency that should be guiding our medical choices. The experts in those agencies are already resigning in protest and are being recruited by countries who recognize that vaccines have saved millions of lives over the years. So, in addition to dying because of misinformation, we face a brain drain in any scientific area you can name (and it’s already happening.)
It’s not about draining the swamp—it’s about drowning it in sycophancy. DJT’s vulnerability to flattery was recognized by Russia way back in the eighties, and they certainly are getting their money’s worth for their support. (And they don’t even have to stop bombing Ukrainian citizens, but are actually stepping up their attacks. (So much for ending the war in one day!)
WHEN TECH GIANTS RULE—AND YOUR STATE CAN’T STOP THEM
Section 44001: Blocks states from regulating AI, education tech, or privacy standards for 10 years.
Even if your state wants to protect your kids from unregulated AI or TikTok-style data mining—it can’t. Even Margery Taylor Greene, the laughingstock of the bunch for her antics and lack of knowledge admitted she didn’t know about this AI regulation and doesn’t like it. (Comes under the category of “Even a blind pig….”)
Trump’s bill hands the future of technology to unaccountable megacorporations. Read the Peter Thiel piece on this blog; consult Substack for more on the topic.
WHEN THERE’S NO ONE LEFT TO WATCH THE POWERFUL
Sections 50002, 50003, 80121(h): Guts the CFPB, PCAOB, and court oversight of fossil fuel permits.
Corporate fraud? Unsafe consumer products? Toxic pollution? Nobody’s checking. Nobody’s stopping it. After all, you can peddle Bibles and gold tennis shoes and Bitcoin (known to be preferred by the criminal element) and perfume and everything else under the sun. There is not one murmur of protest from the GOP in power about this indiscriminate feathering of the Trump nest and this blatant disregard for the emoluments clause of the Constitution, check your conscience at the door!To understand the Emoluments Clause and its implications for Trump, consider the following points:
The Emoluments Clause is found in Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution.
It prohibits federal officials from receiving gifts or payments from foreign states without congressional consent.
The clause aims to prevent corruption and foreign influence in U.S. governance.
Trump faced lawsuits alleging violations due to his business interests receiving payments from foreign entities.
Next, Trump will be attempting to change the emoluments clause via the courts he has stacked,because, after all, perhaps he can pick up the gift of another free luxury airplane if he just asks.
The powerful will act with impunity—because Trump removed the referees.
WHEN BLUE STATES PAY THE PRICE FOR CARING
Section 44131: Penalizes states that expanded Medicaid (i.e., most blue states)
If your state worked hard to give people healthcare, it now gets less federal funding. Why? Because this bill rewards cruelty and punishes compassion. (See Steven Miller and Tom Holman for examples of cruelty and lack of compassion in living form.)
Trump said it himself: “I have the right to do whatever I want.”
This bill gives him that power—with your tax dollars.
This is not a warning.
This is happening.
It’s theft wrapped in a flag.
It’s censorship, cruelty, control—and collapse.
.Joni Ernst
If you live in Iowa, remember that one of your Senators is over 90 and the other one, Joni Ernst’s response, at a town hall meeting that pointed out how many citizens could die because of Medicaid cuts, responded that “Everybody dies” and then traveled to a cemetery to film a sarcastic response that also involved mentioning the Tooth Fairy and looking to God for help. This same female Senator, who served in the Armed Forces, voted to confirm a totally unqualified individual to become Secretary of Defense.
If you’ve been silent, speak up and vote the GOP out in the mid-terms, before they destroy our democracy and the trust of the citizens in nearly every once-trustworthy institution (if that hasn’t already happened). Even Elon Musk, the Godfather of DOGE, recognized what a terrible bill Trump’s bill was and how much it will add to our national debt. The Republican party was afraid to go after Medicare to fund tax cuts for the richest Americans, so they went after Medicaid and the poor instead, all the while hiding behind the patiotic notion of expelling illegal aliens (primarily Latinos). While they promised to focus on the most dangerous criminal element, the records show that many of the “illegal aliens” are not criminal elements at all. Remember: those in this country illegally who have been working picking our crops, cleaning our houses, working at our slaughtering houses, have paid into Social Security but can never derive any benefits from the money they paid in. Just as there was no pre-planning or selectivity when all of the January 6th rioters were turned loose (some straight from prison), there has been no true careful planning of the campaign to deport illegal aliens. The entire game plan has been to “blame Biden” at every turn, even though much of the “blaming” is lying. There is never any accountability for a malignant narcissist who would stack every government organization with only Trump loyalists to the point that we have become a kakistrocracy (look it up).
Knowledge is power.
Please share this information and educate fellow Americans.
We can only hope and pray that, with help from Russia and computer hackers and access to networks like StarLink, with computer experts like those on the DOGE task force, the GOP hasn’t already fixed our previously fair election process beyond repair. There are some indications that this may have occurred; it appears that there is nothing DJT won’t authorize if it allows him retain power and make money. That’s the kind of leader Donald J. Trump (and his cronies) is. It’s been quite clear from the outset, since past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.
Trump is a convicted felon, a businessman who bankrupted his own companies multiple times (6?) and seems hell-bent, with this bill, on bankrupting the USA. Perhaps that is what the money from Russia that bailed Trump out numerous times is demanding as payback for their longstanding (nearly 40 years) support. Jeffrey Epstein described him as “my best friend” and then died, somewhat mysteriously. We were warned early on what might happen if DJT were to regain power. And now it has.
The mid-terms, like winter, are coming. Make them count. Make those responsible for this travesty pay. Vote them out.
“The story begins in March 1986, when Soviet ambassador Yuri Dubinin and his daughter Natalia walked into Trump Tower and requested a meeting with Donald Trump.
Natalia told Politico years later that their mission was to “hook” the assumed billionaire, and “Trump melted at once.”
This was the beginning of the KGB’s recruitment of Donald Trump.
The story as it’s told here and on our website is composed of interviews with Soviet / Russian nationals and former KGB agents, reports by reputable sources, and Donald Trump’s own book.
In the mid-1980s, as sympathy for the Soviet Union was waning, KGB head Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov began exploring new strategies for the intelligence agency to recruit assets abroad.
Primarily, agents were directed to use flattery on potential assets and rely more heavily on “material incentives,” i.e. money, to bring them on board.
Most importantly, they were told to focus on U.S. targets of value – like Donald Trump – who may be able to “actively influence” foreign policy in favor of the Soviet Union.
In The Art of the Deal, Trump writes that he sat next to Yuri Dubinin at a luncheon in 1986 (some time after the Trump Tower meeting).
There, Dubinin completed the first stage in KGB recruitment, offering Trump a “material incentive” he couldn’t refuse.
The incentive, according to Trump’s own book: “a large luxury hotel, across the street from the Kremlin, in partnership with the Soviet government.”
But first, Dubinin would need Trump to meet with some of his associates in Moscow, the second stage of recruitment.
On the Fourth of July, 1987, Donald and Ivana Trump checked into the Intourist hotel in Moscow, a facility allegedly operated and surveilled by the KGB, across the street from the Kremlin.
As far as Trump knew, the purpose of this trip – which was paid for by the Soviet government – was to meet with officials from the country’s tourist agency. But the agents he met with weren’t interested in tourism.
The conversation centered on deals with the Politburo, the highest committee within the Kremlin, and how Trump might be of assistance to the KGB.
The operatives fed Trump common KGB talking points and went to great lengths in their efforts to flatter him. They knew from their intel that he was psychologically vulnerable and that flattery was his weak spot.
The KGB used this to their advantage and pretended to be “immensely impressed” by him, according to one former agent. They told him “it’s people like him who could change the world.”
They even went as far as to suggest that he could become president someday.”
Did the United States just poke a stick into the wasps’ nest? Is Trump telling the truth (for a change) when he tells us from the White House that our strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities had “totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, or are we going to have to buckle up for an extremely bumpy future ride?
There are conflicting opinions on whether or not the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities from our bunker buster bombs has been substantial. Some reports (i.e., DJT) say we have totally obliterated the Iranian nuclear program. Some of the assessment of damage post-bombing has been described as being more cosmetic. And, too, there is the very relevant question of whether or not the Iranians moved the uranium before the bombs fell.
Although Iran’s foreign minister said the US had crossed a “very big red line,” other Iranian leaders downplayed the strikes’ impact. Manan Raeisi, a lawmaker representing the city of Qom, near Fordow, said the damage from the attack was “quite superficial. (Consider the source). A CNN analysis of imagery collected before the US strikes suggests that Iran had taken steps to reinforce the entrances to the tunnels believed to lead into the underground facility. This was, no doubt, done in anticipation of a coming strike. That imagery showed dirt piled up in front of at least two of the six entrances. The Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites sustained varying degrees of damage. Satellite imagery and reports indicate significant damage to the above-ground structures and potential damage to underground facilities at Natanz.
While Iran can likely rebuild its nuclear program, it will be a difficult and time-consuming process, potentially vulnerable to further sabotage or attacks. While some U.S. officials (i.e. the Prevaricator-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump) initially claimed the program was completely obliterated, independent experts and satellite imagery suggest a more nuanced picture. There are indications that there was only partial damage to critical infrastructure of nuclear facilities like Fordow.
So, just like a little kid poking a stick in the wasps’ nest, keep your eyes peeled for some very angry wasps coming for the United States. And do you think they’ll be as mad as hell about that stick? By the way, our fearless leader let loose with a “WTF” fully articulated on national television. He seemed very frustrated by the hostility between Israel and Iran. Go figure. Maybe Trump should take up reading (which sources say hedoes not do) and read up on this ancient rivalry that goes back to the very beginning of the formation of the country of Israel on May 14, 1948, when DJT was 2 years old.
Stealth bombers carried bunker buster bombs (six 30,000 bunker busters) and dropped then on Iran when President Trump authorized this military strike without consulting Congress.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, framed the risks this way: “While we all agree that Iran must not have a nuclear weapon, Trump abandoned diplomatic efforts to achieve that goal and instead chose to unnecessarily endanger American lives, further threaten our armed forces in the region and risk pulling America into another long conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly assessed that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. There was more time for diplomacy to work.”
There are 40,000 U.S. troops in or near Iran. Has Trump thought about what happens to them now, or is this another ham-handed poorly-thought-out DOGE-style move?
It’s too soon to know the answer to that question, but we must hope and pray that the scientists and military minds left in Iran are not (still) capable of taking enriched uranium and building a bomb. At 9:25 a.m., from Tehran on CNN, an Iranian official described a populace that was previously quite fed up with its reigning administration, but, like all countries under attack, this action may change the Iranian public’s mind.
The quote from Senator Chris Van Hollen and the illustration are courtesy of the New York Times.
Has it ever occurred to you that Elon Musk, with his Starlink expertise, may well have “fixed” the vote for DJT in 2024? I’m sure it has. Certain irregularities were noted in some of the swing states. Investigation of this has been ongoing and a Substack writer has assembled the article below. If I could find the writer’s name, it would appear here. I filled in the blank for being on the receiving end of further articles, but the name of the actual investigator/writer was MIA, as far as I can tell. Maybe that is for purposes of safety. You either get credit or blame. If you’ve watched “Good Night and Good Luck” that showed recently on CNN, you know that speaking truth to power is the rule to protect our democracy.
Is the article below well-researched enough to be labeled as “truth?” You can be the judge of that. I’m not vouching for it or its writer, but I am sharing it, because it confirms the suspicions that many of us harbor about the 2024 presidential race.
Again, do your own further research and—if you find the name of this Substack writer—I’ll happily give full credit (or blame?) to that individual, but I was not quite ready to sign up for $55. I was ready to consider this individual’s thoughts on what may have happened. I still am. I’m not swearing on a stack of Bibles that this is the truth, but it certainly has a lot of food for thought.
So, chew on this.
****************
A Power Cord Becomes a Backdoor
In March 2021, Leonard Leo—the judicial kingmaker behind the modern conservative legal machine—sold a quiet Chicago company by the name of Tripp Lite for $1.65 billion. The buyer: Eaton Corporation, a global power infrastructure conglomerate that just happened to have a partnership with Peter Thiel’s Palantir.
To most, Tripp Lite was just a hardware brand—battery backups, surge protectors, power strips. But in America’s elections, Tripp Lite devices were something else entirely.
They are physically connected to ES&S central tabulators and Electionware servers, and Dominion tabulators and central servers across the country. And they aren’t dumb devices. They are smart UPS units—programmable, updatable, and capable of communicating directly with the election system via USB, serial port, or Ethernet.
ES&S systems, including central tabulators and Electionware servers, rely on Tripp Lite UPS devices. ES&S’s Electionware suite runs on Windows OS, which automatically trusts connected UPS hardware.
If Eaton pushed an update to those UPS units, it could have gained root-level access to the host tabulation environment—without ever modifying certified election software.
In Dominion’s Democracy Suite 5.17, the drivers for these UPS units are listed as “optional”—meaning they can be updated remotely without triggering certification requirements or oversight. Optional means unregulated. Unregulated means invisible. And invisible means perfect for infiltration
2024 VOTE
On Monday, an investigator’s storyfinally hit the news cycle: Pro V&V, one of only two federally accredited testing labs, approved sweeping last-minute updates to ES&S voting machines in the months leading up to the 2024 election—without independent testing, public disclosure, or full certification review.
These changes were labeled “de minimis”—a term meant for trivial tweaks. But they touched ballot scanners, altered reporting software, and modified audit files—yet were all rubber-stamped with no oversight.
That revelation is a shock to the public.
But for those who’ve been digging into the bizarre election data since November, this isn’t the headline—it’s the final piece to the puzzle. While Pro V&V was quietly updating equipment in plain sight, a parallel operation was unfolding behind the curtain—between tech giants and Donald Trump.
And it started with a long forgotten sale.
ELECTION FRAUD?
BallotProof: The Front-End for Scrubbing Democracy
Enter the ballot scrubbing platform BallotProof. Co-created by Ethan Shaotran, a longtime employee of Elon Musk and current DOGE employee, BallotProof was pitched as a transparency solution—an app to “verify” scanned ballot images and support election integrity.
With Palantir’s AI controlling the backend, and BallotProof cleaning the front, only one thing was missing: the signal to go live.
September 2024: Eaton and Musk Make It Official
Then came the final public breadcrumb: In September 2024, Eaton formally partnered with Elon Musk. The stated purpose? A vague, forward-looking collaboration focused on “grid resilience” and “next-generation communications.”
But buried in the partnership documents was this line:
“Exploring integration with Starlink’s emerging low-orbit DTC infrastructure for secure operational continuity.”
The Activation: Starlink Goes Direct-to-Cell
That signal came on October 30, 2024—just days before the election, Musk activated 265 brand new low Earth orbit (LEO) V2 Mini satellites, each equipped with Direct-to-Cell (DTC) technology capable of processing, routing, and manipulating real-time data, including voting data, through his satellite network.
DTC doesn’t require routers, towers, or a traditional SIM. It connects directly from satellite to any compatible device—including embedded modems in “air-gapped” voting systems, smart UPS units, or unsecured auxiliary hardware.
From that moment on: – Commands could be sent from orbit – Patch delivery became invisible to domestic monitors – Compromised devices could be triggered remotely
This groundbreaking project that should have taken two-plus years to build, was completed in just under ten months.
Elon Musk boasts endlessly about everything he’s launching, building, buying—or even just thinking about—whether it’s real or not. But he pulls off one of the largest and fastest technological feats in modern day history… and says nothing? One might think that was kind of… “weird.”
Lasers From Space
Elon Musk.
According to New York Times reporting, on October 5—just before Starlink’s DTC activation—Musk texted a confidant:
“I’m feeling more optimistic after tonight. Tomorrow we unleash the anomaly in the matrix.”
Then, an hour later:
“This isn’t something on the chessboard, so they’ll be quite surprised. ‘Lasers’ from space.”
This wasn’t a theory. It was a full-scale operation. A systemic digital occupation—clean, credentialed, and remote-controlled.
The Outcome
Data that makes no statistical sense. A clean sweep in all seven swing states. The fall of the Blue Wall. Eighty-eight counties flipped red—not one flipped blue. Every victory landed just under the threshold that would trigger an automatic recount. Donald Trump outperformed expectations in down-ballot races with margins never before seen—while Kamala Harris simultaneously underperformed in those exact same areas.
If one were to accept these results at face value—Donald Trump, a 34-count convicted felon, supposedly outperformed Ronald Reagan. According to the co-founder of the Election Truth Alliance:
“These anomalies didn’t happen nationwide. They didn’t even happen across all voting methods—this just doesn’t reflect human voting behavior.”
They were concentrated. Targeted. Specific to swing states and Texas—and specific to Election Day voting.
And the supposed explanation? “Her policies were unpopular.”
Let’s think this through logically. We’re supposed to believe that in all the battleground states, Democratic voters were so disillusioned by Vice President Harris’s platform that they voted blue down ballot—but flipped to Trump at the top of the ticket?
Not in early voting. Not by mail. With exception to Nevada, only on Election Day. And only after a certain threshold of ballots had been cast—where VP Harris’s numbers begin to diverge from her own party, and Trump’s suddenly begin to surge. As President Biden would say, “C’mon, man.”
Billionaires and Tech Giants Pulled Off the Crime of the Century
Why? There wasn’t just one reason—there were many.
Elon Musk himself hinted at the stakes: he faced the real possibility of a prison sentence if Trump lost. He launched his bid for Twitter—at $20 billion over market value—just 49 days after Putin invaded Ukraine. That alone should have raised every red flag. But when the ROI is $15 trillion in mineral rights tied to Ukraine losing the war and geopolitical deals Trump could green light, it wasn’t a loss—it was leverage.
Then there’s Peter Thiel and the so-called “broligarchs”—tech billionaires who worship at the altar of shower-avoidant blogger Curtis Yarvin. They casually joke about “humane genocide for non-producers” and have long viewed democracy as a nuisance—an obstacle to their vision of hypercapitalism and themselves as the permanent ruling elite.
Well, what is the elimination of Medicaid if not “humane genocide”—and does anyone really wonder why his 40-year-old protégé and political rookie, JD Vance, is Vice President? With this technology in place, if the third-term legislation were to pass, it would hand Vance a minimum of twelve years at the helm of Thiel’s regime.
And of course, Donald Trump himself: He spent a year telling his followers he didn’t need their votes—at one point stating,
“…in four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.”
Trump was facing eighty-eight felony indictments—he was desperate to avoid conviction and locked in a decades-long alliance with Vladimir Putin. An alliance that’s now impossible to ignore—look no further than his policy trail.
He froze aid to Ukraine and has threatened to place sanctions onthem, while planning to lift sanctions off Russia. He openly campaigned for anti-EU candidates, and sided with Russia in multiple key United Nations votes related to the Ukraine conflict.
[Comments on the interview above]
(*Note that Elon testifies that DJT did not seem concerned about 2 so-called “assassination attempts,” one of which supposedly hit his ear, which, miraculously, healed almost overnight leaving no trace of such an injury.) Elon’s assertions about illegals being bussed to swing states are unverified and have no basis in fact. Conversely, Musk’s antagonistic attitude towards people of color, a product of his South African heritage, is well-documented as is that of his father before him. The purpose of “no ID to vote, says Musk, is “obviously” to influence elections when there are other viable explanations, but identification to vote has never been something that Democrats oppose. Elon lays out which 6 states need to be targeted late in the interview and note the many “obviously” affirmations, which are not “obvious” at all.
His admission that Pete Buttigieg did a good job is to his credit, but contentions that billionaires are “for sure” more in the Democratic camp are debatable. The attack on the media as biased is, again, a GOP and Russian staple. Court comments are also part of the Communist playbook. Elon worries that “everything is on the side of the Dems” and denigrates Kamala Harris’s candidacy, saying that nobody voted for her. (Kamala was part of the elected ticket in 2020.)
Late-in-the-interview comments about not becoming a one-party elite ruling class are ironic; that is exactly what Elon’s infusion of cash was intended to create. The fact that Elon Musk denigrates Harris, (who was a woman of great achievement prior to her election as VP), is also telling. He puts her down continuously while ignoring the “marionette” nature of DJT’s public remarks. Many of Trump’s public statements make no sense at all lately, so comparing the remarks of the two candidates word-for-word as to eloquence would be interesting.
Musk claims that billionaires are terrified that their support for Harris’s candidacy might come out, which seems to be simply his view, again unsupported by fact. Epstein’s name comes up late in the interview, which is interesting considering how he later announced that Trump’s name would appear on the Lolita Express rolls and that he was involved, which has been previously reported. “If Trump wins, we can do some housecleaning and shed light on things. Adhere to freedom of speech within the bounds of the law” are remarks made late in the interview, which is also ironic, as there has been little effort to stay within the bounds of the law but extreme efforts to do the opposite. Elon notes that he fears a Harris win would put “X”—which he had recently bought and which he had semi-ruined—out of business. He mentions a lawsuit against “X” regarding hiring permanent residents or citizens. He mentions a lawsuit against Space X for trying to hire asylum seekers. He also mentions Stalin’s chief enforcer, who is mentioned in the recent documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.” Elon admits that he fears a Democratic majority might shut his businesses down. Obviously, he decided to back the candidate who would shine on his pursuits.
Elon’s remarks about freedom and opportunity open the door to interpretation about the freedom and opportunity that he has bought for himself and his own pursuits. Talk about “improving the liberty of Americans” ignores his future role as the DOGEfather, firing people willy-nilly with chainsaw tactics.
Musk’s remarks about over-regulation have merit, but doing away with all regulatory agencies is folly. “There are so many different regulatory agencies and so many different regulations that we won’t be able to get anything done.” Some truth in those remarks, but let’s not forget that the developer of the Titan ignored regulations in pursuit of deep-see tourism to the wreck of the “Titanic” and we all know how that ended (good documentary about it streaming now.) He also touches on vaccination. “I don’t enjoy hurting other people. I have a hard time imagining, ‘Why would someone do that?'” (This from the man who literally ruined many careers with his DOGE antics.)
“There’s a small % of Americans who have anger management issues that cause them to hurt other people. If you don’t incarcerate them, they will hurt other people.” This leads Musk to talk about empathy for the victims, rather than the perpetrators. In examining anger management issues, Musk might have looked closer to home to the man he supported who has been on an 8-year-long crusade for retribution and is now exercising his power as president to “punish” all who defied him. (The law firm where Kamala Harris’s husband worked was one target, among many).
There is an interesting Tucker Carlson reference to Minneapolis as being a nice city “pre George Floyd.” This was before Vance Boelter (on left) began systematically trying to wipe out all elected Democrats in the city in pre-dawn raids. Musk further decries the deterioration of modern American cities, which Carlson terms “ubiquitous.” Musk says, “I’ve got to lead by being compassionate” and then goes on a Trump-designated stampede to literally ruin the careers and lives of many in the sights of DOGE. (Shakes head.) Musk’s axe-murderer example is pretty far out and leads Tucker to call this “anti-civilization.” Movement to de-criminalize crime is brought up and seems to point most notably to the MAGA crowd that attacked the Capitol on January 6th and were subsequently found guilty, sentenced and then pardoned wholesale with no real attempt to pardon in any kind of reasonable, sensible, logical manner (which also seems to be true of most DOGE initiatives.)
Near the end of the interview, Musk comments on Europe, saying that the birth rate is declining (Musk has14 kids by multiple women, one of whom is trans-gender and hates him) and that that needs to be addressed. He also rails against censorship in Europe. Those of us who reside in Austin are watching Musk’s assembling of a sort of harem of his offspring and their mothers, which isn’t going too well, so far. It is also designed to help with the housing shortage for new Tesla employees. He then begins talking about the decline of religion and the increasing secular nature of society. Work takes the place of religion, says Musk. (Someone please remind the GOP of the founding fathers wish that there be separation of church and state.) “For me, I’m culturally Christian but also went to a Hebrew pre-school. I didn’t fall for believing all of these religious stories. I try to understand as much as possible about reality. In physics you’re not supposed to believe everything absolutely. If your rocket is designed with physics in mind correctly it will get to orbit, or otherwise it will not.” (Lately, more “not” than “will”).
“We definitely went to the moon. How about Mars? It was a remarkable piece of technology for 1969 and it was an important ideological battle with Communism, because they couldn’t put a man on the moon and capitalism could.”
Kate, a No Kings protester in Davenport, Iowa on June 14, 2025.
Today, while dining in Iowa at an establishment known to be Trump-friendly, I witnessed parts of the Trump parade, despite my intention to ignore this $43 million DJT birthday celebration. The parade masqueraded as a celebration of the birthday of the U.S. Army, just as our rejection of centuries of Canadian friendship and alliance was attributed to the microscopically small amount of fentanyl that Donald Trump claimed was being smuggled across the Canadian border into the U.S.
Earlier in the day I attended the No Kings demonstration in Davenport, Iowa—one of hundreds of such demonstrations across the United States. There is no question that the many cities participating saw millions protesting the most destructive, divisive and disruptive presidency in history.
Kate, from California and Utah, served four years in the Marine Corps as a Corporal.
It was a surreal dining experience. We were bombarded with patriotic music (mostly country music) while dining, Lee Greenwood tunes cranked to the max. It was creepy, upon entering, to see a life-sized cut-out of Donald Trump.
Outside the restaurant stood a gigantic GOP elephant. A recruiting van and truck stood outside the door, urging patrons to help elect a convicted felon who doesn’t read briefings, plays more golf than any president in history, and has single-handedly visited more grief and disruption upon us, as a nation, than any of his 46 predecessors.
Davenport, Iowa, demonstrators on 6/14/2025.
And high on the list of those who have suffered the most are the farmers of this and every other Iowa county. When will minorities and those most affected wake up and see what this man is doing to them, while posing as some television version of a “manly man”? It’s absolutely bonkers to realize that those most negatively impacted by Trump have become his biggest champions. Based on what? His stint on TV as a successful businessman on “The Apprentice,” perhaps, despite his multiple bankruptcies and the truth.
Meanwhile—to add to the surreal nature of my day— while dining, a deluded Black commentator talked about how united we are as a country. W-H-A-A-T?
It was a stunning reminder of just how UNdivided we really are.
Police in L.A. were deploying flash bangs to dispel a protesting crowd.
Demonstrators in Davenport protested both the autocratic behavior of DJT and his ICE raids.
A madman in Minneapolis was shooting elected Democrats in cold blood.
Meanwhile, on Brady Street in Davenport, Iowa,—the 148th largest metropolitan area in the United States— protesters were waving signs against Trump, while motorists sped by and honked in support (some even waving signs of their own).
Across the Mississippi River in Schweibert Park (RockIsland, Illinois), an even larger turnout from the neighboring Democratic state, protested President Trump’s more outrageous actions.
Roughly 200 Davenport (Iowa) protestors gathered on June 14, 2025 on Brady Street.
Moline, just across the Mississippi River, is the headquarters of John Deere, one of the most home-grown American companies, and one that DJT recently targeted for criticism because, like other successful American companies, it engages in outsourcing production to neighboring countries, like Canada and Mexico. My husband worked for Deere & Company for 40 years. I know this company well; I can’t think of a more “American” company, yet Trump recently lambasted it for its business practices, which mirror those of every successful modern company in America.
At the No Kings demonstration on Brady Street I spoke with Kate, a Marine Corporal (for 4 years) who was among the youngest demonstraters present at age 35. As someone who protested at Berkeley in 1965 during the Mario Savio years, a child of the 60s, I have seen and participated in demonstrations against the Vietnam War. I stood up with my roommate as she married her Navy husband at China Lake, just prior to his being shipped off to war. As a young pregnant bride, I waited anxiously outside a draft office in Rock Island, Illinois, to see if my new husband, 1A on the draft list, was going to be sent to a war that even former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara grew to regret.
My observations following the demonstrations locally in the Heartland on June 14, 2025 are these:
GOP elephant statue, Treehouse Lounge
In order to rescue our country from the complete disregard for the Constitution that Donald J. Trump represents, my children and grandchildren are going to have to pick up the torch. Those of us who demonstrated in the sixties are with you, in spirit, but it’s up to you now.
Contrary to the African American talking head on television during Donald Trump’s birthday parade, this is not a united country. The barely hidden racism, the misogyny, the anti-Semitism, the dislike of gays and transgender citizens: it’s always been there beneath the surface. Now the surface has become the new reality of the United States. Only threats from outside seem to unite us, as with 9/11. We must work to make a reality of the words of the Constitution about equality and the pursuit of happiness.
We need to right the ship of state as quickly as possible. It will take decades to undo the damage inflicted by DOGE, as it is.
MAGA truck and van
MAGA van
I am ending this report on today’s No Kings demonstration in Davenport by repeating Robert F. Kennedy’s message to the country in Indianapolis after the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968.
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. … let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.“
And here are the words of Mario Savio, that are also food for thought:
