Friday, December 5, 2025. The focus on Epstein and Maxwell -- Chump's best friends -- returns and most people are worrying about the masks, everyone's worrying about the economy which Chump has destroyed, Pete Hegseth is attempting to survive not one, but two scandals that both go to the fact that he's not fit to serve as Secretary of Defense, and much more.
Let's start with Chump's buddies -- the late Jeffrey
Epstein and the semi-incarcerated Ghislaine Maxwell. Both pedophiles,
both sex traffickers. Sociopaths like Convicted Felon Donald Chump
aren't able to form real and true bonds. So they drift in-and-out of
relationships that last along as one side can milk the other. Maxwell
got Chump to move her from a prison for sex offenders like herself into
Camp Fed in Texas where she's allowed to order others around -- even the
staff. When you're friends with a bottom feeder like Chump and you
actually have dirt on him, he'll dance surprisingly well considering his
massive, overweight body frame. Alison Durkee (FORBES) reports:
Releasing
grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case would cause “severe”
harm as she tries to get a new trial, the socialite’s lawyer argued in a
court filing Wednesday, as the Trump administration has asked for
materials in Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein’s cases to be unsealed in order
to comply with the new federal law forcing the Epstein files’ release.
Maxwell’s
attorneys filed a letter Wednesday responding to the Trump
administration’s request to unseal the grand jury materials, which
include evidence shown to the grand jury as they decided whether to
indict Maxwell, and a transcript of the proceedings.
The
Trump administration asked a federal judge to release the grand jury
materials and modify a protective order that has kept materials in the
case under wraps, citing the newly passed law, which requires the
federal government to make almost all of its Epstein-related materials
public this month.
Even the Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari.
It's over and if it's not, too damn bad. In fact, we all remember,
right, that Ghislaine refused to take the witness stand in her own
trial. She didn't want to be under oath before a body that might punish
her. We now know she lied repeatedly when she spoke to Todd Blanche,
deputy AG, for two days last summer. And while we know it, Todd has
refused to hold her accountable for lying -- even though he claimed he
would.
She's a liar and she exploited children.
Her nonsense was address on MS NOW yesterday.
She and Epstein are back in the news because of a release this week from Democrats on the House Oversight Committee. Iker Seisdedos (EL PAIS) explains:
First, there were 10 photographs and four videos, made public for the
first time. Hours later, there were another 200 files. The two batches
consisted of interior and exterior shots of a property in Little St.
James, one of two private islands in the Caribbean owned by the late
convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They were released Wednesday by
House Democrats on the Oversight Committee as Washington anxiously
awaits the Justice Department’s legally mandated release of the Epstein files.
There, in a sinister corner of the Virgin Islands that locals dubbed
“Pedophile Island,” he committed dozens, perhaps hundreds, of the crimes
for which he was going to be tried when he died in 2019 in a
maximum-security cell in what the coroner determined to be a suicide,
alleged to be the leader of a child sex trafficking ring.
The first of the released batches includes images of the mansion’s
garden and a “No Trespassing” sign, snapshots of two different bedrooms,
a bathroom, another bathroom inside what appears to be a storage room,
and a living room decorated in questionable taste, as well as two
close-ups: one of a telephone with the speed dial keys crossed out, and
another of a chalkboard with enigmatic words scrawled on it (“power,”
“deception,” “plants”). Perhaps the most unsettling photo is of what
appears to be a dental office with several masks of men’s faces hanging
on the walls. According to The New York Times, it might have been
used by Epstein’s last girlfriend, Karyna Shuliak, who “was a dentist
who shared an office on St. Thomas with Mr. Epstein’s shell company.”
One
of the most bizarre rooms pictured in the was the “dentist room”, a
room that contained a dental chair and creepy masks of men’s faces
lining the walls.
Now,
a former FBI agent has put forward a sickening theory about how the
masks might have been put to use by the paedophile billionaire and
visitors to his lair dubbed “Paedo Island”.
The New York Times has reported that Epstein’s final girlfriend was a dentist tied to one of his shell firms.
Jennifer Coffindaffer, who was the FBI’s Supervisory Senior Resident Agent for the Virgin Islands between 2011 and 2012, told The Daily Mail they may have been used to conceal offenders’ identities as they carried out sex crimes against victims.
The
dentist’s chair itself was not overly surprising given many wealthy
people had items like this, including hairdressing chairs for their
private use but the the masks were “very interesting to me”, Ms
Coffindaffer said.
“It is not unusual for those involved in these kinds of sex crimes, especially those involving minors, to wear masks,” she said.
While
they could be innocent and there was no evidence they had been used in
crimes, Ms Coffindaffer theorised about the far more horrifying use.
“In
the context of what went on at that island, I would be looking for a
meaning behind them, as well as any similarities to those who may have
been involved in criminal behaviour on that island,” she added.
One
of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell 's most vocal accusers urged
judges on Wednesday to grant the Justice Department's request to unseal
records from their federal sex trafficking cases, saying “only
transparency is likely to lead to justice.”
Annie
Farmer weighed in through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley, after the
judges asked for input from victims before ruling on whether the records
should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open
its files on the late financier and his longtime confidante, who
sexually abused young women and girls for decades.
Farmer
and other victims fought for the passage of the law, known as the
Epstein Files Transparency Act. Signed last month by President Donald
Trump, it compels the Justice Department, FBI and federal prosecutors to
release by Dec. 19 the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during
investigations into Epstein.
Chump
thought he'd finally escaped his Epstein connections. Nope. He only
wishes that were the case. But it's not going away. It has refused to
go away. Clare Walsh (THE I PAPER) notes:
The
pressure is back on Donald Trump, after a batch of photos of convicted
paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s private island home were released by
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
The
images released on Wednesday offered a rare and unnerving look behind
the scenes at Epstein‘s private Caribbean island, including bedrooms,
bathrooms, outdoor areas, and a room featuring a dentist’s chair and
bizarre masks around the walls.
One
photo shows a blackboard with the words “power”, “deception”, “time”,
“intellectual” and “music” being visible, with some words redacted.
By
releasing the 10 photos and four videos, Democrats clearly hoped to
bring public attention back to the Epstein scandal, and intensify
pressure for the release of the so-called Epstein files, which Trump
reluctantly agreed to release last month.
In
other news, former basketball player Tom McMillen walked out of an
interview this week when question about his buddy Epstein. Daniel Trainor (US) reports:
Former
NBA player and member of the United States House of Representatives Tom
McMillen reacted with alleged shock when confronted with his name
appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
McMillen,
73, was a guest on the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast on Tuesday,
December 2, when he was confronted with his name appearing in the files,
which were released by Congress in November.
He
stormed off the show. Instead of explain it, he stormed off the show.
A few people do have a valid explanation when asked. McMillen had no
explanation -- valid or otherwise.
Trainor notes:
In a separate email, McMillen criticized Torre for the nature of the podcast interview.
"I
agreed to do the interview and was disappointed that the primary focus
of the interview and the follow up questions was a combination of
Epstein and 30 year old incidents that were insubstantial but could be
made to look bad." McMillen wrote. "In addition, the interview went well
past the 20 minutes I had been asked to do - running at least twice
that long."
He added, "I ended the interview in
a manner that could be made to look abrupt, and when I did so I also
made it very clear to Mr. Torre that I felt misled about the substance
of the interview…The interview seemed to be looking for gotcha angles
and not substance."
So
McMillen partied with him and had nothing to get off his chest in the
years since. Were that true, it shouldn't be difficult to assemble a
believable response.
McMillen behaved like someone who had something to hide. Conclusions that follow his actions this week are the result of his own actions.
A
new report from payroll processor ADP found that private employees lost
nearly 32,000 jobs in November, far off analyst projections that they
would add 10,000 jobs. The data is a sharp decline from October, where
businesses overall added 47,000 jobs according to the ADP’s revised
estimate.
[. . .]
Domestic
manufacturing, as measured by the Institute for Supply Management
Manufacturing index, fell for the ninth month in a row, showing that the
tariffs are hurting an area that Trump boasts they will improve. And
private companies, including wholesale retailer Costco, are suing the
government to get a refund of the tariffs they’ve paid.
Announced
job cuts from U.S. employers moved further ahead of 1 million for the
year in November as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and
tariffs have helped pare job rolls, consulting firm Challenger, Gray
& Christmas reported Thursday.
The firm
said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the
massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025
total up to 1.17 million. That total is 54% higher than the same
11-month period a year ago and the highest level since 2020, when the
Covid pandemic rocked the global economy.
In
November, Verizon's announcement that it would slash more than 13,000
jobs helped drive the total. Tech companies, driven by innovations in
artificial intelligence, listed 12,377 reductions, pushing the sector's
2025 total up 17% from a year ago. AI itself has been cited for 54,694
layoffs this year.
Tariffs were cited as the
driver of more than 2,000 cuts in November and nearly 8,000 year to
date. The most-cited reason for the month was restructuring, followed by
closings and market or economic conditions.
"Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign. That said, job cuts in November have risen
above
70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008," said Andy
Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at Challenger,
Gray & Christmas.
The
American people have had it with Chump not only because his actions
have destroyed job numbers but also because he and his administration
keep trying to lie about reality. Rachel Khan (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes:
Director
of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett is fighting for his life
trying to put a positive spin on the latest economic data—and even Fox
News isn’t having it.
Fox host Martha McCallum
asked Hassett on Thursday about the brutal new layoff numbers from
consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Year-to-date job cuts
show an increase of 54 percent,” McCallum asked Hassett. “That seems
like a troubling number. What’s your take on it?”
Hassett
waffled, claiming that jobs were in flux. “Don’t forget that there’s
hires and there’s fires, there’s separations and new jobs, and so net
job creation for the year is very positive. But the flow of jobs in and
out is a little bit higher, there’s a little bit more turnover. A lot of
times that happens because people feel that they’re able to get another
job if they leave this job,” Hassett said.
Hassett
seems not to realize that the report does not measure the normal ebb
and flow of people choosing to leave a job, but job cuts—layoffs.
Layoffs this year have surpassed 1 million for the first time since
Covid-19.
McCallum hit Hassett with another
unpleasant truth: that despite Hassett and the Trump administration’s
attempt to spin the affordability crisis, voters still know who’s to
blame. Looking at a Fox News poll, McCallum noted that 76 percent of
respondents see the economy as “only fair” or “poor.”
He
keeps lying and spinning and only makes the administration look even
more deceitful. You can't lie to people about their money. They know
how much they're spending and they know how much they're suffering. Will Neal (DAILY BEAST) reports:
The
MAGA base is turning on Donald Trump over the cost of living crisis,
which nearly half of Americans say is the worst they’ve ever seen, a
stunning opinion poll reveals.
A staggering 46
percent of all Americans say soaring unaffordability across the United
States is firmly the responsibility of the Republican president, the
Politico survey found.
And even 37 percent of
people who voted for Trump in 2024 say they have no memory of things
ever being worse than they are right now.
It's
a lesson Pete Hegseth should take to heart. The Secretary of Defense
(for now, at least) was the subject of an inspector general's
investigation over the non-secure chat Hegseth held on Signal where he
shared classified details about a bombing the US was about to carry
out.
Eight
months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth typed up detailed military
plans to attack Houthi rebel sites in Yemen then shared them with his
wife and several work colleagues on separate Signal chats, his chief
spokesperson said Wednesday that he's totally exonerated.
According
to sources familiar with an internal Pentagon investigation, the
Defense Department's inspector general office concluded this week that
the information had initially been classified. It also concluded that
Hegseth's decision to relay the details of a pending strike in a
commercial messaging app risked putting troops in danger -- an
allegation he denies.
A major
concern, according to investigators, is that if the details of the
upcoming attack leaked or were hacked from the commercial app, which is
not designed to transmit classified information, the Houthis would have
known when to expect U.S. pilots overhead and fired back.
Rep.
Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee,
said in a statement, "The way he chose to communicate this information
put service members at risk."
But
sources say also included in the report was an acknowledgement that
even though sharing such sensitive information was potentially risky,
the defense secretary is granted certain declassification powers under
the law. Sources said the IG ultimately determined that while Hegseth
violated his own agency's protocols, he didn't break the law.
Political
analysts and observers bashed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on
Wednesday after he claimed an Inspector General report on his conduct
during Signalgate exonerated him.
Hegseth's
tenure as Defense Secretary has been embroiled in scandal since it
began. One of the most egregious scandals occurred in April when Jeffrey
Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to a group
chat on the encrypted messaging platform Signal, where multiple Trump
officials discussed a bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The instance became known as Signalgate.
The
Inspector General's report found Hegseth likely put American troops in
harm's way, and said that the Secretary violated department policies.
Yet
Hegseth thinks he can lie and get away with it. Just like the White
House which keeps changing their story on Hegseth's other big problem
this week -- striking a boat and two people surviving the strike and
hanging onto the boat so a second strike was called out.
In
early September, the day after the first strike of the Trump
Administration’s bombing campaign against alleged drug-trafficking boats
in the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared on Fox News
to give a detailed account of the deadly incident.
“I
watched it live,” he said during the interview. “We knew exactly who
was in that boat, we knew exactly what they were doing, and we knew
exactly who they represented.”
But
months later, after a Washington Post investigation revealed that
Hegseth and others had possibly committed a war crime by allegedly
ordering that no survivors be left on the vessel, he offered a different
version of that story.
“I
watched that first strike live,” Hegseth said. “As you can imagine, at
the Department of War, we got a lot of things to do, so I didn’t stick
around for the hour and two hours, whatever, where all the sensitive
site exploitation digitally occurs, so I moved on to my next meeting.”
Hegseth
insisted he had learned a “couple of hours later” that Admiral Frank M.
Bradley, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, had ordered a
second strike, adding: “which he had the complete authority to do.”
Although
many experts have questioned the legality of the entire bombing
campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, the September 2
strike has come under scrutiny because it targeted injured and
shipwrecked people—a clear breach of the laws of war and of U.S. law.
The
updated version of events offered by Hegseth takes the Defense
Secretary out of the room at a key moment in an operation that some
experts say constitutes a war crime, and that has sparked bipartisan
investigations in both houses of Congress.
The
Trump administration is coming under increased scrutiny over senior
officials’ shifting explanations for the actions surrounding two
September strikes by U.S. forces on a boat that was allegedly smuggling
drugs in the Caribbean Sea.
The Washington Post
reported Friday that after an initial strike, the boat appeared to have
been disabled, and some crew members were killed. But when two
survivors were identified, the Special Operations commander overseeing
the attack ordered a second strike to comply with Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth’s spoken directive before the first strike to kill everybody.
The Pentagon has said 11 crew members were killed.
And it's the whole administration with their changing stories:
The
Post reported Friday that a live drone feed of the Sept. 2 operation
showed two survivors from an original crew of 11 clinging to the
wreckage of their boat after the initial missile attack.
To
comply with the spoken order from Hegseth, which The Post reported was
given on a secure conference call before the first missile strike, Adm.
Frank M. “Mitch” Bradley, the Special Operations commander overseeing
the mission, ordered the second strike which killed the two survivors,
according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. Those
people, along with five others in the original Post report, spoke on the
condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.
Bradley
told people on the secure conference call that the survivors were still
legitimate targets because they could theoretically call other
traffickers to retrieve them and their cargo, according to two people.
Chief
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell declined to address questions about
Hegseth’s order and other details of the operation, including Special
Operations involvement. “This entire narrative is completely false,” he
said in a statement. “Ongoing operations to dismantle narcoterrorism and
to protect the Homeland from deadly drugs have been a resounding
success.”
After The Post’s report was
published, Hegseth wrote on X that “these highly effective strikes are
designed to be ‘lethal, kinetic strikes,’” adding: “Every trafficker we
kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.” He claimed
that the military operations in the Caribbean are “lawful” and
denounced “the fake news.”
People can only endure so many lies. Bob Cronin (NEWSER) states, "Republican
lawmakers are expressing exasperation with Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth and his management of the Pentagon—with some suggesting he may
not be able to keep the job even if their investigations clear him in
the fatal attack on apparent survivors of a US strike in the
Caribbean. " Neither Congress nor the American people are in the mood
for this repeated lying from Hegseth and others in the administration. Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes:
During
an appearance on MS NOW on Thursday morning, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH),
the former chair of the House Intelligence Committee, admitted to the
hosts of “Morning Joe” that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ignoring
demands to turn over critical information about his conduct in office.
Speaking
with “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough, the Ohio Republican refused
to say if Donald Trump’s appointee to head up the Pentagon was fit to
hold his office, offering up, “I think there are a number of things that
have raised concern that Congress is struggling with. And I think the
secretary is going to have to answer those questions and address them.
And I think that the president is going to be struggling with that over
the next month.”
Republican
Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth should
testify before Congress “under oath” about the orders to strike
suspected Venezuelan drug boats.
Paul, who has
criticized the Trump administration’s policy of using lethal force to
take out suspected drug smuggling boats, added that the Pentagon should
make the full video of a Sept. 2 follow-up strike on survivors in the
Caribbean Sea available to the public.
“I think he
should testify under oath about the orders that were given, and I think
that the video of the distressed, shipwrecked or incapacitated people on
those boats being bombed, that video should be shown to every
American,” Paul said Thursday after Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Frank Bradley, who oversaw the Sept. 2 strike
on initial survivors, briefed the chair and ranking members of Senate
and House committees.
Senate Democratic Leader
Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) called on Hegseth on Tuesday to release the tapes
of the Caribbean boat strikes and testify publicly about the incident.
“If
he refuses to release the tapes, if he stonewalls, if he keeps hiding
the facts, then the question becomes unavoidable: What is Pete Hegseth
hiding? What does Pete Hegseth not want the American people to see? Is
it that his story doesn’t add up?” Schumer said on the floor earlier
this week.
Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth asked a top U.S. Navy admiral to step down after
the military chief expressed concern about the “murky” legality of the
lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to a
report.
The shock departure of Admiral Alvin
Holsey one year into his tenure as head of U.S. Southern Command, which
oversees military operations in the Caribbean, was announced by Hegseth
on Oct.16.
It followed “months of discord” between
the pair that intensified in the summer when the Trump administration
began bombing the alleged drug boats, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing two Pentagon officials and former officials.
“You’re
either on the team or you’re not,” Hegseth reportedly told 60-year-old
Holsey during a meeting this year. “When you get an order, you move out
fast and don’t ask questions.”
Scott
Anderson, fellow in governance studies at Brookings Institution, said
the attack on survivors is a "textbook" definition of an illegal order.
The
Department of Defense's Law of War Manual offers examples of orders and
actions that are considered violations of the international laws of
armed conflict. This includes targeting civilians or combatants who are
"hors de combat," meaning they are injured or disabled and do not pose a
threat.
"Even if this were a war with an enemy
army and these were uniformed soldiers, U.S. soldiers should not be
targeting them," Anderson told UPI. "It is really concerning that this
is something that could be implemented."
Questions
were asked after Hegseth announced on social media in October that the
four-star officer would be retiring at the end of the year after 37
years in the Navy. Holsey, 60, only started the job, which usually has a
three-year term, in November last year—meaning he was leaving two years
early.
At the time, rumors flew that his departure was due to clashes with Hegseth over the Caribbean mission.
Let's note this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:
Your brazen attempt to
dismantle the Department by transferring to other federal agencies
complex and foundational responsibilities that Congress specifically
charged to the Department [w]ill undermine public education.”
“We urge you to immediately
reverse course and to focus your time and attention on actions that
actually help states, school districts and educational institutions
improve educational outcomes and support for students.”
Washington, D.C. - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator
Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee; Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies; Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking
Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions (HELP); Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); and their
colleagues in a letter slamming Secretary Linda McMahon following the
recent announcement
that the Department of Education has signed interagency agreements
(IAAs) to illegally outsource core functions that students and their
families rely on. The senators are demanding Secretary McMahon reverse
these latest steps to dismantle the Department of Education.
“Let’s be very clear: You are choosing to create even more
bureaucracy that states, school districts, and educational institutions
across America will have to expend time and resources navigating at the
expense of students and families,” wrote the senators.
In the letter, the Senators make clear that, as McMahon has
previously acknowledged, dismantling the Department would require an act
of Congress, which has not been proposed—or even seriously pursued—by
the administration. Appropriations law prohibits the transfer of funds
to another federal agency unless expressly authorized in appropriations
law.
The senators detail how the myriad departmental responsibilities
McMahon is now seeking to spin off to other agencies that lack the
expertise, capacity, and legal mandate to successfully administer key
programs will risk support, funding, and oversight that our laws provide
to students and families across America. They note, in particular, that
there have been negative consequences for states, schools, colleges,
and students as these IAAs roll out. The first IAA inked earlier this
year between the Department and DOL on career and technical education
and adult education has been plagued with serious challenges.
“We once again demand that you reverse these detrimental plans and
refocus your efforts on supporting state and local efforts by properly
implementing federal laws intended to improve educational opportunities
and outcomes for all students, especially those who count on the
Department doing its job most,” concluded the senators.
In addition to Senators Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Sanders, and
Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt
Rochester (D-Del.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard
Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian
Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King
(I-Me.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Michael
Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.),
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján
(D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin
(D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Fetterman
(D-Pa.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Warner
(D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and John
Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).
Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system
more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan
servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched the
Save Our Schools campaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education
NOTING OUR NON-ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE, BARI RUSHED TO ADD THAT WE'D LOVE THE CLOSER. ERIKA KIRK WAS GOING TO DO AN INTERPRETIVE DANCE WEARING TASTEFUL PASTIES AND A G-STRING WHILE BARI SANG "THAT GREAT OLD EVERGREEN FROM 1888 'THE BAND OF N------! FROM "OLE VIRGINNY STATE".' IT'S ONE OF THOSE SONGS THAT SO DEEP AND SO REAL IT JUST MOVES ME. BUT I'M SENTIMENTAL THAT WAY, I ALWAYS GET A LUMP IN MY THROAT WHEN I THINK OF A GOOD LYNCHING. IT'S A SHAME THAT, AS A SOCIETY, WE HAVE PHASED LYNCHINGS OUT. OH, WELL. MAYBE NEXT YEAR."
AS WE ATTEMPTED TO LEAVE, BARI STOPPED US TO INFORM, "SPEAKING OF NEXT YEAR, I'LL BE DOING A SPECIAL CBS TELETHON IN JANUARY. IT'S CALLED 'FREE TINA' AND IT'S FOCUSED ON RAISING MONEY FOR SOCIAL ACTIVIST, FREEDOM FIGHTER AND GLORIOUS CONVICT TINA PETERS. SHE BROKE THE LAW BUT THEY CAN'T BREAK HER SPIRIT. SHE'S A RACIST OF MANY DECADES AND, HONESTLY, I JUST LOVE HER. I CALLED HER TO TELL HER ABOUT IT AND SHE SAID, 'STOP CALLING ME YOU PERVERT D**E, I'M NOT BITING YOUR CARPET!' SHE'S SWEET LIKE THAT. SHE'S GOING TO LOVE THE QUALITY ACTS WE'RE BOOKING FOR THE TELETHON. SO FAR, WE'VE GOT THE JANUARY 6TH INSURRECTIONISTS, THE PROUD BOYS, THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH OF HATE CHOIR AND JASON ALDEAN. RUMOR HAS IT JASON MAY PERFORM IN A SPEEDO! I'M ASSUMING THAT WILL HAVE A LOT OF WOMEN SWEARING OFF MEN SO I'M ASKING MY WIFE NELLIE TO CONSIDER GIVING ME A DAY PASS -- YOU KNOW, A FREEBIE TO CHEAT JUST FOR ONE DAY?"
The DOJ's secret memo authorizing missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean isn't a legal analysis - it's legal laundering.
According to leaks reported by The Guardian, the Office of Legal Counsel memo claims the strikes constitute "collective self-defense" on behalf of allies like Mexico and Colombia, who supposedly need us to blow up cocaine shipments because cartels are waging "armed violence" against their governments.
Small problems with this theory: No ally has publicly asked us to bomb boats. There's no evidence that cartels are engaged in "armed conflict" with any sovereign state. There's no evidence that cocaine sales finance a war rather than just enrich criminals. And there's zero evidence these strikes were "self-defense" against any imminent threat.
Yesterday, we just focused on Pete Hegseth as he continued his public transition from FOX "NEWS" personality to War Criminal. I understand he's contemplating top surgery. But a number of you thought I'd share something on the Tennessee election that took place Tuesday. A lot of times when you expect me to comment and I don't, I'm trying to be kind.
Several of you asked, so here goes. Matt Van Epps (MAGA) won against Aftyn Behn (Democrat). Some people were convinced Behn was going to pull it off. We didn't waste time on her, she was a loser. She shouldn't run again. What does the race mean?
Republicans should worry. Even against one of the worst candidates in years, Van Epps had to spend millions -- they flooded that district with money. And he almost lost.
Republicans need to worry.
You won't face many as ditzy as Aftyn Behn.
When Chump insulted her as not a Christian, her response was weak. When he attacked her claiming she didn't like country music, her response was weak.
She was an idiot over and over.
Chump says you don't like country music? You step up to the mike a press conference and start singing Patsy Cline's "Crazy." Not the whole song if you don't want to. Then you say, "Heard somebody lying on me and saying I didn't like country music. Can you be born in Tennessee and not like country music? Well, what's a New Yorker like Donald know about country music anyway? This is the fool who dances publicly over and over to the disco song 'YMCA'." That's what she should have done (and what she was advised to do, by the way) but didn't.
Again, not very smart. Neither is the DSA chapter in Knoxville. This was always going to be a loss for Behn.
So to recap: A ditz, a very poor campaigner and a Democratic Socialist running in that district and yet she managed to get 45% of the vote? Republicans across the country should be in a panic. Most of them will face Democratic Party candidates with a functioning brain.