The Common Ills: The Snapshot

Friday, November 28, 2025

The Snapshot

Friday, November 28, 2025. Convicted Felon Donald Chump continues to waste his time on our dollar, he and Pete Hegseth continue in their indigotic attempts to try to punish Senator Mark Kelly for stating the law, two National Guard members are shot in DC proving yet again that he and his unqualified security officials do not have their eyes on the ball when it comes to protecting the country, Kristi Noem continues to be both a failure and an embarrassment, and so much more to cover.

On THE FLIP WILSON SHOW, Flip and George Carlin once did a sketch where they were news anchors and noted that then-President Richard Nixon "has not reduced crime but, thanks to his policies, we all have less money."

With that in mind, we should be thinking about fat boy Chump who is sweating like a pig as he tries to make it around the track in year one of what's supposed to be a four year presidency. Every day, we cover how destructive he is. He's ruined the economy, for example, he's trying to ruin American healthcare, he's destroying lives, just go down the list.

But's let pull back for a moment.

The awful job he's doing there? You can at least argue that they are presidential duties. He's performing them very poorly but they are presidential duties.

Miss Donald Chump is not content with his role as president.

Apparently, he's finally now able to achieve the fantasy he's nursed for 34 years: To be the new Suzanne Sugarbaker following Delta Burke's 1991 firing from DESIGNING WOMEN.

This is no doubt why he's overseeing (poorly) the remodel of the East Wing of the White House and why he's making threats about altering The Lincoln Monument. These aren't presidential duties. This is something you might announce you've formed an exploratory committee on and they'll prepare a report for Congress. But Chump wouldn't get to sashay around playing Suzanne Sugarbaker, right?

Instead, Donald's wasting time he should be using for presidential duties to focus on remodeling. Ben notes more on the topic in this morning's video.

And now Donald and Pete Looselips Hegseth are attempting to gin up a court-martial . . . of someone who retired from the military 14 years ago.

When does Chump focus on his real duties?

And, as SOUTHPARK rightly noted this week, Pete has confused Secretary of Defense -- his legal title which he can't even get correct -- with social media content creator while repeatedly stating, "Hit 'like' and 'subscribe'" and "Be sure to 'like' and 'subscribe'." See Stan's "SOUTHPARK, STRANGER THINGS, whiny Elizabeth Olsen."

It was social media, Twitter, in fact, that Hegseth took to to announce he was going after Senator Mark Kelly and five other Democrats in Congress -- Senator Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) -- following a video they did in which they stressed the Uniform Code of Military Justice which notes that no US service member should follow an illegal order. Phil Stewart (REUTERS) explains:

"The video made by the 'Seditious Six' was despicable, reckless, and false," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X.

"Encouraging our warriors to ignore the orders of their Commanders undermines every aspect of 'good order and discipline.'"

Hegseth is an idiot -- one who installed his own personal beauty salon at the Pentagon. At DAILY KOS, rflctammt rightly notes that Mark Kelly and the other five did nothing wrong and that the issue of not following illegal orders is the basis to the Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise and Demi Moore 90s hit A FEW GOOD MEN. rflctammt explains:

Yeah, I remember this hit movie. America loved it. Truth, justice and the American way meeting the bully and facing him in court, until the truth stood naked for the country to see.

Yep. We loved that justice. Until we elected the bully president. IN REAL LIFE! And now?

The lawmakers who are standing up to him and his and informing other soldiers of the LAW that states they do not (must not?) follow illegal orders...are receiving death threats?

Military personnel have a legal and ethical duty to refuse unlawful orders, as outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

Understanding Unlawful Orders

Definition of Unlawful Orders: An unlawful order is one that requires a service member to commit an act that is illegal, violates the Constitution, or contravenes federal law or international obligations. Examples include orders to target civilians, commit acts of torture, or falsify documents.

UCMJ Guidelines: Under Article 92 of the UCMJ, service members are required to obey lawful orders. However, they also have the duty to refuse orders that are manifestly illegal. This means that if an order is clearly unlawful, service members must not comply with it.

Legal Consequences: Following an unlawful order can expose a service member to criminal liability. The law emphasizes that service members are not only permitted but required to refuse illegal orders, as obeying such orders can lead to serious legal repercussions.

I know we can connect the dots, but can they?

Probably not. Because they're idiots who wallow in stupidity.

For me, this was a dead issue on Tuesday. Mark Kelly did nothing wrong, the law backs him up -- both UCMJ and the Constitution-- and that should have been the end of it -- the embarrassing end of it for the White House.

But this is a nation of many idiots -- and Chump's destruction of the Dept of Education will only create more idiots -- so we continue to have to cover this issue.

Idiots like Senator Dave McCormick can't help but try to twist it:

The Democrats’ video is wrong and extremely inappropriate. I didn’t hear any of these calls to defy orders when Democrats were using lawfare against President Trump, giving outlandish pardons, or intimidating tech companies to stop free speech. President Trump can speak for himself, but as I’ve said repeatedly, there is no place in either party for violent rhetoric and everyone needs to dial it down a notch.

The six were commenting as former military and intelligence members. Exactly what does the UMCJ have to do with Chump being prosecuted for his actions, "pardon, or intimidating tech companiesto stop free speech"? Not one damn thing.

Here's the statement Senator Mark Kelly issued earlier this week:

“When I was 22 years old, I commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy and swore an oath to the Constitution. I upheld that oath through flight school, multiple deployments on the USS Midway, 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm, test pilot school, four space shuttle flights at NASA, and every day since I retired – which I did after my wife Gabby was shot in the head while serving her constituents.

“In combat, I had a missile blow up next to my jet and flew through anti-aircraft fire to drop bombs on enemy targets. At NASA, I launched on a rocket, commanded the space shuttle, and was part of the recovery mission that brought home the bodies of my astronaut classmates who died on Columbia. I did all of this in service to this country that I love and has given me so much.

“Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death.

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”

Demian Bio (LATIN TIMES) notes:

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon urged the Trump administration to speed up the investigation against Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for telling military and intelligence officers to reject unlawful orders.

Speaking during his "War Room" Podcast, Bannon claimed that President Donald Trump "says no games" and outlined a scenario where that premise would materialize.

"President trump says no games. Here's no games: recall Kelly today. Tell the flag officers there will be no long Thanksgiving weekend. Friday you're going to convene a court martial. Let's get a verdict by Sunday. Let's go to Leavenworth and throw him in prison by Monday. The other five will wet themselves, then we'll start rolling them up," he added, in reference to the Democratic lawmakers who also appeared in the video aimed at military and intelligence members.

The issue continues to dominate the conversation, particularly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a top military official a hard deadline to provide updates on the investigation started after the video was published.

What's the end game here?

Where does Pete hope this ends?

With him receiving a bare-assed spanking from Senator Lindsey Graham?

His desire for public humiliation is on clear display.

The law backs Mark Kelly.

There should be no Article 32 hearing.

Were one to take place, Kelly has the law on his side via the Constitution and UCMJ.

In addition, Hegseth has provided Kelly with another reason for an Article 32 to refuse to allow the process to continue. Frank Yemi (INQUISITR) explains:

But in trying to turn Kelly into a cautionary tale, Hegseth may have handed the senator a powerful legal shield.

By repeatedly accusing Kelly in public of violating the UCMJ, legal experts say, Hegseth has almost certainly tainted any future military case with what is known as unlawful command influence. In military justice circles, unlawful command influence is sometimes called the “mortal enemy” of a fair court-martial, the idea that a senior leader has improperly shaped or appeared to shape the outcome of a trial.

Everyone in the Defense Department ultimately works for Hegseth. When the secretary of war announces on social media that a specific retired officer’s conduct “brings discredit upon the armed forces and will be addressed appropriately,” and labels him part of the “Seditious Six,” it sends a clear message about what result he expects. A superior commander making comments that lean on subordinates to reach a certain outcome is a textbook example of unlawful command influence under the military’s own training materials.

If Kelly were ever recalled and charged, his lawyers would almost certainly argue that Hegseth’s statements poisoned the pool of potential convening authorities and panel members. Any officer asked to assemble or sit on a court-martial would know the boss has already publicly pronounced the underlying conduct disgraceful and hinted that punishment is coming. That is exactly the kind of scenario military judges have thrown out in past cases.

A coalition of former and retired military judge advocates has already gone on record warning that recalling Kelly for a court-martial would be partisan, legally baseless, and compromised from the start by unlawful command influence, per CNN. They have pointed out that Kelly and the other lawmakers were actually citing the UCMJ in their video, not encouraging troops to ignore legal commands.

This is a waste of time and resources.

And while Chump focuses on this and other things that are not needed, our country suffers. Our next 9/11?

West Virginia National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has passed away. She and National Guard member Andrew Wolfe were shot in DC on Wednesday. She was 20. Wolfe is 24 and remains in critical condition. Nadine Yousif (BBC NEWS) notes, "Both were shot at close range near Farragut Square in downtown just after 14:00 EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Police have arrested one suspect in the shooting, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old from Afghanistan." Yousif also notes:

Ms Beckstrom and Mr Wolfe were among those who were deployed in August, the West Virginia National Guard confirmed to BBC News.

National Guard troops are a reservist force that can be activated to serve as military troops, but have limited power as they cannot enforce the law or make arrests.

The location of the shooting, just blocks from the White House, meant a number of law enforcement officials were quickly on the scene to treat the two victims and apprehend the gunman.

The suspect was shot four times while he was apprehended, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

The suspect is Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He is from Afghanistan. In April of this year, the Chump administration granted him asylum. Ewan Palmer (DAILY BEAST) notes, "FBI Director Kash Patel refused to answer a question about whether the Afghan suspect accused of shooting two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., was granted asylum by the Trump administration." Again, in April of this year, he was given legal asylum. As someone who worked with the CIA in Afghanistan, he was allowed into the country in 2021. His remaining here was based on the outcome of his vetting. In April of this year, the Chump administration completed the vetting and offered him asylum. Ka$h doesn't want to say that. Mainly because it puts the blame on Chump and also because yesterday found Chump immediately trying to blame this on Joe Biden.

In fact, Chump only stopped his latest round of blame others when MEIDASTOUCH NEWS and other outlets began noting it was Chump, not Joe Biden, who granted the suspect asylum.

Julian E. Barnes (NEW YORK TIMES) notes, "Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he had requested additional information about the suspect from the C.I.A. after its director, John Ratcliffe, said he had been allowed into the United States due to his prior work with the agency."

Today, Chump got push back to his face when he lied again this time insisting that, under Joe Biden, there was no vetting.

PBS NEWSHOUR:

Reporter: Your Justice Department inspector general reported this year that these Afghans who were brought into the U.S. were thoroughly vetted by DHS and the FBI. So why do you blame the Biden administration?

President Donald Trump: "Because they let him in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane, along with thousands of other people that shouldn't be here, and you're just asking questions 'cause you're a stupid person."

No, the stupid person is the 79 year old man in make up, with the fat ass, stuffing his fat mouth with fast food despite the fact that he weighs well over 300 pounds and has swelling issues. The stupid person is the one raging at THE NEW YORK TIMES for their article noting that he's got energy level problems and is falling asleep in public -- not just one time. He's not up to the job.

And that's why he's lying yet again. His administration granted asylum in April. He was sworn in on January 21st. He picked his administration, he even fired career officials. This is on him and no one else.

I don't think you can be posting to social media in the early morning hours and still provide the needed supervision to those you've delegated responsiblities too. And when the people appointed to secure our nation -- Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, John Radcliffe (8 months as DNI is not really experience, don't kid), Ka$h Patel, etc -- are not experienced or qualified for the job, you appointing them means you have to supervise them even more.

He is derelict in his duty. He has put the nation at risk with his security picks all by itself. But he does not focus on what he's supposed to. He's delcared some form of war this week on The Lincoln Monument which again begs the question is Miss Donald the presidnet of the United States or the fat and flabby interior designer from Doral, Florida which is infamous for its poor taste?

We're stuck in situations like this because Fat Ass Chump does everything but his job. It is not his job to persecute or question Senator Mark Kelly when Mark Kelly repeats the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Yet he and Hegseth -- instead of doing their jobs -- are attacking Kelly. I've said since he made these crazy nominations that we could have another 9/11 and if we do, America needs to call him out because he has not done his job and he has put our security at risk. We see that now with the DC shooting.

Let's focus now on Notorious H*A*R*L*O*T Kristi Noem. Kay Banks' report for NIKISWIFT.COM is headlined "Kristi Noem & Corey Lewandowski's Rumored Affair Is On The Verge Of Blowing Up His Career" and notes:

Kristi Noem is still married to her husband, Byron Noem, even though their living situation is beyond weird. But that hasn't stopped speculation about her alleged affair with a former Trump campaign manager from taking over the internet. The affair rumors surrounding Noem and Corey Lewandowski are affecting his job too. According to CNN, key members of President Donald Trump's administration aren't happy with his role as a special government employee within the Department of Homeland Security, which was naturally bestowed upon him by Noem, and are hoping to get rid of him in the new year. A source described the political strategist as someone quick to fire or reprimand employees, despite not having an official status himself. Trump, apparently, knows this and isn't happy about it, despite his fondness for Noem. As an insider disclosed, "It has been brought to his attention that [Lewandowski] is a problem, and the agency is being mismanaged because of it."

Poor Kristi. No doubt, she's working on her on-brand book MAGA WOMEN: BOTCHED AND BETTER where she will share how, fifty years ago, some women grappled with a career or marriage but in these complex times, a MAGA woman has to grapple with a career and/or a husband and/or a lover and/or an active fantasy life where an ugly 53-year-old woman pretends she's a top model by doing cos-play photo shoots. To really drive book sales, she promises collector editions will be leather bound with parts of the hide of Cricket (the 14 month old puppy she gleefully shot dead).

When not setting fire to conservative family values, Noem can be found breaking the law. Gary Grumbach (NBC NEWS) reports:

The Justice Department said Tuesday that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was the Trump administration official behind the decision not to comply with a federal judge’s order to halt the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.

In a court filing, the Justice Department said administration officials conveyed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s March 15 oral order to return alleged Venezuelan members of the Tren de Aragua gang to the United States, as well as the subsequent written order the same day that blocked the federal government from removing members subject to the Alien Enemies Act under President Donald Trump’s invocation of the 18th century law.

The filing said Justice Department officials relayed the order and provided legal advice to the acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, who conveyed that advice, as well as his own, to Noem. Noem then decided that detainees under the Alien Enemies Act who were removed from the United States before the court’s order could be transferred to El Salvador.

She ignored the judge's order. She refused to comply. Why is she still holding office?

Apparently just for the corruption as she steers tax payer monies to her friends. Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski (PRO PUBLICA) explain:

In recent days, five U.S. senators and two representatives requested documents from the Department of Homeland Security and a formal investigation into how a firm closely tied to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended up receiving money from a $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign.

The demands came in response to a ProPublica story this month that revealed that the Republican consulting firm had been secretly working on the ads, which star Noem. The company, called the Strategy Group, has long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. Its CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS.

Under Noem, DHS bypassed the normal competitive bidding process when awarding the contracts — allocating the majority of the money to a mysterious Delaware LLC that was created days before the deal was finalized. The Strategy Group does not appear on public documents about the deal.

“The public deserves to know that government officials are not using taxpayer dollars to enrich themselves and their friends on the backs of hardworking Americans,” four Senate Democrats on the homeland security committee wrote in a letter to the DHS inspector general. They called for the inspector general to investigate whether DHS officials had violated federal laws and contracting regulations “designed to prevent self-dealing.”

Meanwhile, A.C. Thompson (PRO-PUBLICA) reveals:

As the Trump administration’s immigration dragnet intensified in June, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, left work one midafternoon and drove to a nearby detention facility to voice his opposition. Federal agents had set off smoke grenades, driving away many protesters at the front of the facility, but Vincent Hawkins lifted his megaphone anyway.

“You should stop and think about what you’re doing!”

The shot came seconds later, a silver projectile launched through the small facility’s closed gate, hitting him in the face. The tear gas canister shattered his glasses, ripped apart his brow, crushed against his eye and concussed him. In video footage, the projectile can be seen bouncing off his face and arcing back toward the unknown Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fired it.

Hawkins, a 25-year veteran of the emergency room, was rushed to one, bleeding and wondering if he’d ever see through his left eye again. A frequent demonstrator, he knew the risks. He’d seen friends struggling to breathe through toxic chemical clouds, others pelted with pepper balls. But Hawkins was undeterred.

“I have things to say,” he said. “And if it means being wounded to do it, then here I am.”

The 55-year-old said he’d be blind in one eye if not for the shielding effect of his glasses. He’s regained most of his vision but suffers from dizziness and vertigo, sometimes causing him to miss work.

How many Americans is the H*A*R*L*O*T of Homeland Security going to be allowed to attack?

Two things to wind down with. First, this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:

Trump administration has sought to evade accountability by repeatedly thwarting congressional Democrats’ constitutional authority to conduct routine oversight

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Friday submitted a batch of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the Department of Justice seeking records of various episodes of potential executive branch misconduct or corruption.

FOIA provides a statutory right for the public to request and receive government records. Members of Congress typically need not resort to seeking records through FOIA because the Constitution grants Congress broad oversight authority that includes the power to obtain information relevant to their legislative responsibilities. The Senators filed these FOIA requests after parallel inquiries and requests have been summarily ignored or met by incomplete answers from recalcitrant Trump administration officials despite Congress’s constitutional oversight power.

“It is Congress’s constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch, but under Donald Trump, the administration has either stonewalled or outright refused to answer many of the questions the American people are asking,” said Senator Schiff. “Under Senator Whitehouse’s leadership, my colleagues and I are filing these FOIA requests to finally get answers on some of the administration’s most egregious actions.”

“The ‘no transparency’ Trump administration has repeatedly thumbed its nose to my many legitimate oversight requests. For Democrats, there’s plenty of dripping contempt, insults, and stonewalling of Congress’s constitutional oversight authority. But for Republican priorities, there’s a fast-track for document dumps,” said Senator Whitehouse. “FOIA requests are our last resort to get answers to questions that are important to the American public.”

“We’re filing these FOIA requests because we’ve been stonewalled and slow-walked by the Trump Administration for too long. By resisting and preventing our efforts for oversight, this Administration is allowing corruption, deception, and misconduct to take hold and fester within our government. Congressional oversight is needed to root out fraud and abuse— trademarks of this Administration. These FOIA requests are an attempt to bring about desperately-needed accountability and transparency,” said Senator Blumenthal.

A summary of the twelve topics about which the Senators filed FOIAs requests is below:

Emil Bove OPR Complaint: The Senators requested records related to Senators Whitehouse and Blumenthal’s ethics complaint to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concerning then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s conduct in dismissing pending federal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Judicial Communications: The Senators requested records related to the delay of contempt of court proceedings implicating Emil Bove, which prevented the Senate Judiciary Committee from obtaining information about Bove’s conduct in court proceedings prior to his judicial nomination hearing and confirmation vote.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Jeffrey Epstein SARs: The Senators requested records related to federal anti-money laundering suspicious activity reports (SARs) that showed more than 4,725 wire transfers totaling $1.08 billion involving Jeffrey Epstein and his associates between 2003 and 2019.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Ghislaine Maxwell: The Senators requested records related to the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, from Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee to Federal Prison Camp Bryan.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: The Senators requested records related to the Department of Justice and FBI’s investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Tom Homan: The Senators requested records related to White House Border Czar Tom Homan reportedly accepting $50,000 in cash from undercover FBI agents in exchange for future government contracts.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Kleptocracy: The Senators requested records related to Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanding the Justice Department’s anti-kleptocracy initiatives, including Task Force KleptoCapture, the Kleptocracy Team, and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

U.S. Marshals Judicial Threats Investigations: The Senators requested records related to the online orchestration of threats against federal judges who have ruled against the Trump administration.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Kash Patel Grand Jury Testimony: The Senators requested records related to FBI Director Kash Patel’s grand jury testimony in an investigation into possible misconduct by President Trump and Patel’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In two hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patel made conflicting statements about whether a court order prevented him from describing the testimony he gave, which grand jury witnesses are normally free to do.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

Qatari Plane: The Senators requested records related to President Trump accepting an airplane as a gift from Qatar in likely violation of the Emoluments Clause and AG Bondi’s role in advising on the legality of the gift.  The FOIA requests can be viewed here.

White House Contacts Policy: The Senators requested records related to DOJ’s White House contacts policy.  The FOIA request can be viewed here.

Jared Wise: The Senators requested records related to DOJ hiring Jared Wise, a Jan. 6 rioter who encouraged rioters to kill Capitol Police officers. The FOIA requests can be viewed here.