It would be great if, going forward, any of those DHS agents using those things in Minnesota was subject to being held in criminal contempt of court, and if their identities weren't forthcoming then those who shielded them were held in contempt, and also those who ordered them to use those weapons were held in contempt...U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and murderer of puppies, Kristi Noem, was caught blatantly and obviously lying on national television. She claimed ICE was not using pepper spray or similar tactics in Minnesota.
When shown video proof that they are in fact employing such methods, she fell back on an ever-so-slightly blatant but equally outrageous lie that the peaceful protesters or even just bystanders were violently assaulting ICE agents and therefore it was their fault.
During normal times, this would be a scandal for days or weeks with increasing calls for resignation.
Under this regime, it was Sunday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/us/politics/noem-chemical-agents-minnesota.html
There must be some Minnesota statute under which they can be charged.It would be great if, going forward, any of those DHS agents using those things in Minnesota was subject to being held in criminal contempt of court, and if their identities weren't forthcoming then those who shielded them were held in contempt, and also those who ordered them to use those weapons were held in contempt...
You know, consequences.
Probably them switching to a military invasion.There must be some Minnesota statute under which they can be charged.
What is the State of Minnesota afraid of? That they'll be invaded by ICE?
Or anything else that hasn't already started happening?
OK, well, I guess there is some value in some people's minds to delaying the inevitable.Probably them switching to a military invasion.
I mean, with regards to Trump's actions and the Administration's actions, this is true enough, though, realistically, the have no maximum threshold: they will escalate until they can no escalate longer.When you’re dealing with a malignant narcissist, the only value in temporarily delaying maximum escalation is to build leverage for future inevitable maximum escalation, not to possibly avoid it. You’ll figure out just how far the malignant narcissist is willing to go either on their terms or on yours. That’s the only decision you get to make. Their maximum escalation threshold cannot be avoided.
So, unless the Blue Cities & States are secretly mounting the necessary forces, institutions, and international partnerships to make massive escalation more likely to succeed soon, then all they’re doing by delaying their own escalation now is ensuring that they’re more likely to fail in the future when they have no choice left.
The longer this goes on the more the 1500 paratroopers that are coming in might think "nah, those silly Minnesotans throwing baloney at ICE are just regular folks that I can't bring myself to crush under my heel."
There is no such thing as not following orders in the military. It's just not a thing that soldiers will consider. Because the consequences of not following orders are life destroying. Sure they'll be the boot that is stomping the face and they'll have to live with that. But they'll follow orders.If they have not resigned to forestall being used that way, I am not sure I would bank on those that go not following orders.
There is no such thing as not following orders in the military. It's just not a thing that soldiers will consider. Because the consequences of not following orders are life destroying. Sure they'll be the boot that is stomping the face and they'll have to live with that. But they'll follow orders.
I'm going to sue the IRS for eleventy-quadrillion.Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion. That might take the cake for the most ridiculous thing he's done.
I think the major difference is you can't actually direct those in charge of it to settle the case and just pay you.I'm going to sue the IRS for eleventy-quadrillion.
I was thinking more along the lines of "Me and Jake and Suri went out to where you said there some unrest and all we found was some Americans exercising their First Amendment rights but there was some assholes with guns and masks and fake military getup making trouble so we told them to leave."Maybe there'd be enough dissidents in the military to start sabotaging it from the inside.
Blowing up ammo stores, breaking equipment, whatever.
The CIA has a manual for just that. Maybe some of the simple sabotage ideas would be useful even without the more destructive options. Bob in logistics ordering too many of the wrong part to one base, Jane forgetting to order the fuel for an airbase in a timely fashion and Joe gumming up the planning in another one.Maybe there'd be enough dissidents in the military to start sabotaging it from the inside.
Blowing up ammo stores, breaking equipment, whatever.
Trump is suing the IRS for $10 billion. That might take the cake for the most ridiculous thing he's done.
Maybe some journalist should ask her what it's like to live with a man who constantly erases your accomplishments while parading you around the country like a favorite golf trophy.To live in a city is to have neighbors. Melania has none. Her voice-over mentions that she has lived in D.C., New York, and Florida. But watching her traipse from limo to limo, private jet to private jet, just to get to identically fancy rooms full of identically sycophantic people, I wanted to scream: You don’t live there! You don’t live anywhere!
The film alternates between Aggressive Songs to Tell You What Emotion to Have and halting, bland narration from the first lady describing her feelings and initiatives. Some of the most bleakly funny moments are when Melania recollects her personal triumphs in the White House: She redid the Rose Garden (now paved over). She fixed up the bowling alley (now demolished by her husband to make room for a ballroom). An end-credits note mentions her efforts in support of a bill to prevent the creation of nonconsensual AI nudes—and we all grok how well efforts are going on that front.
He keeps his golf trophies.Maybe some journalist should ask her what it's like to live with a man who constantly erases your accomplishments while parading you around the country like a favorite golf trophy.
WASHINGTON—A U.S. intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a whistleblower complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter.
What he said next, translated directly, was that Vasyl Malyuk (then of the Security Service of Ukraine, SBU) and Kyrylo Budanov (then of HUR) “decided to stop sharing the efficient intelligence they possessed with their American partners on the part of American leaks to Moscow.”
I mean, I'd take that bet. There is a slim chance that she is not a Russian asset.Shot:
https://www.wsj.com/politics/nation...lsi-gabbard-stalls-within-her-agency-027f5331
There is an accusation against Tulsi Gabbard that is so sensitive and classified they're effectively hiding it from Congress. Which is obvious bullshit because the Intel Committee folks have full clearance and debating it doesn't take months,. The article smells like someone got tired of waiting for any action and leaked its existence to the press. There is a very real chance the Director of National Intelligence is an active spy.
Another massive scandal that would bring down another administration and its getting very little play.
Chaser:
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/68368
I wonder if he'll remember to pardon Bessent for bribery, and resign in exchange for Vance pardoning him since pardoning himself is sketchy legal territory.He's going to get Bessent to direct the IRS to settle the suit for some ridiculously huge sum.
If the Democrats win the House, they better impeach him every time, make the Senate vote 20 times over the next 2 years if necessary.
Though Democrats will probably worry that it would hurt them in 2028, not just the WH but Congress. Some cowardly Democratic Senators may not vote to convict.
Who are we kidding? Donald Trump will leave the White House either in a zipper bag or in handcuffs."Sketchy legal territory" is Trump's entire modus operandi. He'll happily pardon himself, then have Vance pardon him too before leaving office, and challenge other people to waste taxpayer money to fight it.
If I had to place my bets it would be on the zipper bag. Even money on before or after 8 years from now.Do you honestly believe he will ever face consequences for his actions? Hasn’t yet, and probably never will. That’s for others to bear.
I have a hard time believing Trump will last another 8 months, forget years.If I had to place my bets it would be on the zipper bag. Even money on before or after 8 years from now.
8 years is his life expectancy. No reason to think he'll not last as long as an average man his age.I have a hard time believing Trump will last another 8 months, forget years.
There's very good reason to think that he's not the average man. He has relatively poor dietary preferences, minimal exercise, and some evidence of drug use (either past or present). All of those things would put him below the average life expectancy.8 years is his life expectancy. No reason to think he'll not last as long as an average man his age.
Only if he actually listens to a doctor and takes the instructions to heart.I'll grant that top-notch medical care can counter a lot of that, and push the life expectancy back up.
A jury in Hernando County found Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, guilty by of five charges, including molesting a child under 12 and another under 16, as well as lewd and lascivious exhibition and transmitting harmful materials by electronic device to a minor, according to Walter Forgie of the Fifth Judicial Circuit’s state attorney’s office.
Johnson faces life in prison when he is sentenced in March, the state attorney's office said. His defense attorney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
NPR first reported the news.
Johnson pleaded guilty in 2024 to nonviolent charges after he entered the U.S. Capitol through a broken window during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Court documents say Johnson, who referred to himself as “American Terrorist” and “Proud j6er,” engaged in “disorderly and disruptive conduct” for more than four hours.
He was among more than 1,500 people who were pardoned or had their sentences commuted by Trump after he was re-elected in 2024. It was among his first acts as president.
And Johnson is one of several former Jan. 6 defendants facing criminal charges in separate cases after their pardons. One, Christopher P. Moynihan, 35, pleaded guilty this week to a harassment charge after he was accused of threatening to kill House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., according to The Associated Press.
Johnson was arrested in August. The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said in an affidavit that Discord messages showed Johnson sneaking to a child’s home to take him food and hang out with him.
He also told a child that “since he was pardoned for storming the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, and he was being awarded $10,000,000 as a result of being a ‘jan 6’er’ ... that he would be putting him in his ‘will’ to take any money he had left over,” according to the affidavit.
“This tactic was believed to be used to keep [the victim] from exposing what Andrew had done to him,” according to the affidavit.
He hasn’t played golf in 3 weeks. He’s barely been seen recently. It’s rare enough for him that it seems like it might indicate something’s up with his health.Could he live another 8 years? Maybe
But at his current rate of decline he won't be living very much in those years