Posts Tagged ‘IMMIGRANTS’
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 19, 2026 at 12:13 am
Just as President John F. Kennedy was passionately loved and hated, so, too, is Donald J. Trump. And Trump, at 79, has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
Among the potential consequences of that hatred:
Donald Trump
- Barons of Columbian/Mexican drug cartels – Trump has often threatened to invade Mexico and/or Columbia to attack the cartels. No international drug kingpin has ever launched an attack on an American President or member of Congress. But this could change if the cartels believe a pre-emptive strike is necessary.
- Their assassins have wrought substantial carnage on Columbian and Mexican law enforcers and politicians. In 2025, cartels assassinated Miguel Uribe Turbay, a Columbian senator and presidential candidate. Since the 2016 peace accord, at least 1,372 social leaders have been murdered, with 173 killed in 2024 and 67 more in early 2025. These attacks frequently target local officials and advocates for land reform or environmental protection.
- In Mexico, ahead of the 2024 elections, around 30 local candidates were murdered, and hundreds more abandoned their campaigns due to threats. At least 29 candidates or potential candidates were killed in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. Police chiefs have been targeted, such as the 2020 assassination attempt on Mexico City’s police chief.
- Wealthy as Big Tech companies, these cartels command the finest assassins and intelligence networks available. Unlike Trump, they strike without warning.
- Big tech executives and Wall Street executives – Like Renaissance princes, they command empires of wealth and security. They live apart from the masses of people who do not enjoy their privileged status. And their major ambition is to grow ever more wealthy. They use their money to buy members of Congress who then pass legislation favorable to their interests.
- Trump’s tariffs have led to enormous sell-offs of tech stocks and the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have continued or intensified antitrust cases launched by the Biden administration against companies like Google and Meta, targeting monopolistic behavior.
- As a result, tech executives could use their purchased Congressional members to block Trump-sponsored legislation or their billions to defeat Congressional candidates sponsored by Trump.
The New York Stock Exchange
- Journalists – Reporters are uniquely armed to counterattack their would-be censors. They know how to unearth highly embarrassing information and turn it into spectacle. The unearthing of Watergate-related abuses brought down President Richard Nixon in 1974.
- And journalists’ willingness to expose the sex trafficking crimes of Jeffrey Epstein has proven a huge liability for Trump. And as he openly moves to abolish or manipulate the 2026 midterm elections, the press can keep the spotlight of public attention tightly focused on him.
- The military – In November 2025, six Democratic Senators and Representatives released a video reminding military service members that they can refuse “illegal orders.” Donald Trump called the lawmakers traitors and shared a social media post calling for them to be hanged.
- Soldiers, serving and retired, have a huge constituency—which extends to Congress. If soldiers start charging that they have received illegal orders, this will put an unwanted spotlight on the Pentagon—and Trump.
- So will taking their complaints to the media about Trump’s racist and sexist firings of professional military officers—such as Joint Chiefs Chair General CQ Brown, Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan.
* * * * *
More than 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli, the Florentine statesman, authored The Discourses on Livy, a work of political history and philosophy. In it, he outlined how citizens of a republic can maintain their freedoms.
One of the longest chapters—Book Three, Chapter Six—covers “Of Conspiracies.” In it, those who wish to conspire against a ruler will find highly useful advice. And so will those who wish to foil such a conspiracy.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Lorenzo Bartolini, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Above all, he notes how important it is for rulers to make themselves loved—or at least respected—by their fellow citizens:
“Note how much more praise those Emperors merited who, after Rome became an empire, conformed to her laws like good princes, than those who took the opposite course.
“Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus and Marcus Auelius did not require the Praetorians nor the multitudinous legions to defend them, because they were protected by their own good conduct, the good will of the people, and by the love of the Senate.
“On the other hand, neither the Eastern nor the Western armies saved Caligula, Nero, Vitellius and so many other wicked Emperors from the enemies which their bad conduct and evil lives had raised up against them.”
In his better-known work, The Prince, he warns rulers who—like Donald Trump–are inclined to rule by fear:
“A prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred: for fear and the absence of hatred may well go together.”
By Machiavelli’s standards, Trump has made himself the perfect target for a conspiracy:
“When a prince becomes universally hated, it is likely that he’s harmed some individuals—who thus seek revenge. This desire is increased by seeing that the prince is widely loathed.”
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 18, 2026 at 12:10 am
Just as President John F. Kennedy was passionately loved and hated, so, too, is Donald J. Trump. And, at 79, Trump has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
Among the reasons why Trump is so widely hated:
Donald Trump
- Lawyers – Trump has targeted law firms and attorneys that had previously represented clients opposed to him—by limiting the ability of attorneys to obtain access to government buildings, stopping any consideration for future employment with the government, canceling government contracts, and preventing any company that uses such a firm from obtaining federal contracts.
- Justice Department prosecutors – For tarnishing the once-incorruptible reputation of their agency.
- Trump has fired more than a dozen prosecutors and staff who investigated him for election interference and stealing classified documents.
- He has ordered the DOJ to indict his critics such as New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
- Prosecutors are being told to drop cases for political reasons, pursue weak investigations, and take positions in court they believe have no merit.
- Federal judges have criticized the DOJ for violating orders in cases related to deportation policies and for a lack of transparency.
Seal of the Justice Department
- FBI agents – For his purging about a half-dozen executive assistant directors at the FBI. These were some of the bureau’s top managers overseeing criminal, national security and cyber investigations. Their “crime”: Investigating Trump’s inciting the January 6, 2021 coup attempt and illegally holding highly sensitive national security documents after leaving office.
- Big tech executives – Initially they sought favor through donations and private meetings to secure a “deregulatory paradise.” (Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos infamously lavished $75 million on a “documentary” glorifying Melania Trump.)
- But now many are furious at facing a harsher business climate, intense regulatory pressure and employee backlash.
- Tech executives have complained that they are “giving him everything, and he promises nothing.”
- The killing of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Patrol (CPB) agents in Minneapolis has been condemned by several Big Tech CEOs, including Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Not all of these potential enemies present the same danger to Trump. Some of those dangers are political; others personal.
Among the potential consequences of that hatred:
- Blacks and Hispanics – Are most likely to express their anger at the polls—or demonstrations. Any public appearance by Trump is certain to be heavily policed by the Secret Service.
- Muslims could pose a significant political threat. In 2024, Muslims voted for Trump or refused to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. The reason: President Joe Biden refused to force Israel to end its military attacks on Gaza to retrieve hostages seized by Hamas. Muslim voters could throw their voting weight against Republican Congressional candidates sponsored by Trump.
- They could also pose a serious personal threat. Armed with the belief that dying for Islam will grant them Paradise in Heaven, Muslims have a history of doing exactly that. Suicide bombings are virtually unknown in the United States. But in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, they have taken a deadly toll on civilian and political life.
- Justice Department prosecutors could leak plans for illegal and/or embarrassing decisions by Attorney General Pam Bondi and her topmost deputies to the press. Some prosecutors could continue to resign their positions, thus embarrassing Trump and weakening the clout of the agency.
- Police officers, FBI agents and Secret Service agents are among the few people allowed to approach Trump armed. Many of them are likely to have friends or family members facing imprisonment and deportation under Trump’s all-out war on immigrants, legal and illegal. And Trump’s wholesale attacks on Medicare and the Affordable Care act could lead to similar casualties among family and friends, which could be cause for desired revenge.
- Canadians and Greenlanders – It’s highly unlikely that Canada or Greenland would send a hit team to the United States. But individual Canadians or Greenlanders living in the United States could pose a genuine threat to Trump. This could occur during political rallies or if they have access to him through positions in law enforcement or government.
- He has repeatedly threatened the sovereignty of their homelands—both longtime allies of the United States—and recently seemed on the verge of using military force against both. Had he attacked Greenland, a part of NATO, this would have pitted the United States against its longtime allies in Europe.
- Lawyers – Trump’s Justice Department has declared war on his critics. The resulting court losses have proven embarrassing for Trump—and highly profitable for attorneys. A judge dismissed indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. A grand jury refused to indict six Democratic lawmakers who had made a video urging troops to refuse illegal orders. Attorneys who successfully oppose Trump gain wealth and stature—and a steady stream of new clients.
- Gun rights enthusiasts – For decades, Republicans have conditioned them to expect a Democratic President to seize their guns. But Trump’s recent anti-gun comments (“You can’t have guns, you can’t walk in with guns”) have sent a chill through this community.
- These people are the epitome of “single issue” voters. Many law enforcement officers—at all levels of government—are fervent members of the NRA, and some almost certainly have access to Trump.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA), AFGHANISTAN, ALEX PRETTI, ALLEN DULLES, ALTERNET, AMAZON, AMERICABLOG, ANTI-CASTRO CUBANS, AP, APPLE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ASSASSINATION, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BARI WEISS, BAY OF PIGS, BBC, BIG TECH, BLACKS, BLOOMBERG, BLUESKY, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CANADIANS, CARLOS MARCELLO, CBS NEWS, CIA, CITIENSHIP TESTS, CIVIL RIGHTS, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (FILM), CNN, COLUMBIAN/MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS, CONSPIRACIES, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBA, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL (CBP), DAILY KOS, DONALD TRUMP, FBI, FBI AGENTS, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, FEDERAL RESERVE, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, FIDEL CASTRO, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GAIUS CALIGULA, GAZA, GOOGLE, GREENLAND, GREENLANDERS, GUN RIGHTS ENTHUSIASTS, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HARRISON FORD, HISPANICS, HUFFINGTON POST, IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE), INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, IRAN, IRANIANS, ISLAM, ISRAEL, ISREAL, J. EDGAR HOOVER, JAIME DIMON, JAMES COMEY, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JEFF BEZOS, JEFFREY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN, JEROME POWELL, JIMMY HOFFA, JOE BIDEN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN KELLY, JOURNALISTS, JP MORGAN CHASE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTORS, Kamala Harris, KGB, LAWYERS, LEBANON, LETITIA JAMES, MAFIA, MARCUS AURELIUS, MARINE BARRACKS BOMBING, MARK ESPER, MARK MILLEY, MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS, MEDIA MATTERS, MEDICARE, MELANIA TRUMP, META, MICHELLE OBAMA, Military, MINNESOTA, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, MUSLIMS, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION (NRA), NATO, NAVAJO CODE TALKERS, NBC NEWS, NERO, NEWSDAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, NUCLEAR REACTOR SITES, NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY, NUCLELAR TEST BAN TREATY, OIL MILLIONAIRES, PAKISTAN, PAM BONDI, PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLICE, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RARE EARTH MIINERALS, RAW STORY, REUTERS, ROBERT F. KENNEDY, Ronald Reagan, RUDY GIULIANI, SALON, SAM GIANCANA, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SOMALIS, SOUTHERN RACISTS, SOVIET UNION, SUICIDE BOMBINGS, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE INTERCEPT, THE KENNEDY HALF-CENTURY (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE MILITARY, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, THE PRESS, THE PRINCE (BOOK), THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIM COOK, TIME, TRAJAN, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE, UPI, USA TODAY, WATERGATE, X
In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 17, 2026 at 12:12 am
Just as President John F. Kennedy was passionately loved and hated, so, too, is Donald J. Trump. And Trump, at 79, has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
Donald Trump
Among the reasons why Trump is so widely hated:
- Gun rights enthusiasts – After Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents shot intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on January 24, Trump criticized Pretti for carrying a licensed, concealed pistol: “You can’t have guns, you can’t walk in with guns. I don’t like that he had a gun. I don’t like that he had two fully loaded magazines. That’s a lot of bad stuff.”
- The National Rifle Association (NRA) called Trump’s comments “dangerous and wrong.” And the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR) stated: “Carrying an extra magazine implies nothing. Claiming otherwise sets a dangerous precedent for Second Amendment rights and creates an easy backdoor argument for magazine bans and similar legislation.”
Alex Pretti
- The military – Following his anti-DEI executive order, the Department of Defense deleted content that included the achievements of nonwhite servicemen and women—such as Navajo code talkers, black Tuskegee Airmen, Medal of Honor winners and women veterans. High-ranking militar y leaders fear retribution and the politicization of the armed forces.
- Former high-profile military leaders, including former Chiefs of Staff John Kelly and Mark Milley and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, have criticized Trump, with some describing him as a ‘fascist to the core” and a threat to democracy.
- Trump has deployed the National Guard to Democratic cities against the wishes of their states’ governors.
- In September, 2025, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aired grievances to a silent, uncomfortable audience of top military leaders.
- Canadians – Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods, covering major sectors like steel, aluminum, and autos.
- And he has threatened to impose 100% tariffs due to trade disputes. These have caused significant anxiety regarding the Canadian economy, which relies heavily on trade with the United States.
- He has also repeatedly threatened to militarily invade Canada and make it the 51st state. Many Canadians feel betrayed by the treatment of a longstanding, peaceful ally, with 59% of Canadians now viewing the United States as their top threat.
- Greenlanders – Trump has grown increasingly bellicose about acquiring Greenland—by purchase or conquest. The official reason given: The dangers of Chinese or Russian conquest of the island, where the United States has an active military base for missile warning, defense and space surveillance.
- The real reason: To gain total access to Greenland’s rare earth minerals. This despite Greenland’s being a self-governing, autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The united States has recognized Denmark’s ties to Greenland since 1917 and signed a joint defense agreement in 1951.
Greenland
- Secret Service agents – There has never been a case of a Secret Service agent assassinating a President. But there are historical precedents for bodyguards turning on those they are supposed to protect. On January 22, 41 A.D. Cassius Chaerea and several other bodyguards hacked Roman Emperor Gaius Caligula to death with swords before other guards could save him.
- Caligula had often taunted Chaerea for having a weak voice. Similarly, Trump has forced Secret Service agents to work without pay through two major government shutdowns—for 35 days in 2018-19 and 43 days in 2025. Secret Service agents had to worry about meeting their bills and the needs of their families.
- Many agents could have friends or family members whose lives have been shattered by Trump’s massive layoffs of government employees and/or his assaults on the American medical establishment.
- Wall Street executives – For Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and public criticism of the Fed, which threaten the independence of the institution and the stability of the economy.
- And for suing JP Morgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion, alleging the bank “debanked” him after the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
- Major investors and CEOs fear that Trump’s tariff policies will ignite a global crash—as happened in April ,2025.
- Iranians – For his scrapping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
- And for re-imposing “highest-level” economic sanctions on Iran, targeting critical sectors such as oil, finance and shipping.
- Nor will Iranians forgive him for ordering the June 21, 2025, bombing of three key Iranian nuclear sites: Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.
- Barons of Columbian/Mexican drug cartels – For threatening to invade Columbia and Mexico and directly attack the drug lords who feed America’s demand for cocaine.
- This scenario forms the plot of the 1994 thriller, “Clear and Present Danger,” starring Harrison Ford. The movie ends with the American force almost wiped out by a drug lord’s army and being forced to evacuate Columbia.
Columbian drug lords
- Journalists – For his repeatedly attacking the nation’s free press as “the enemy of the people” for reporting his growing list of crimes and disasters.
- And barring the Associated Press from the White House for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico “the Gulf of the United States.”
- Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, bought the Washington Post—which played a pivotal role in uncovering Watergate—-in 2013 and has turned that once-respected newspaper into a Right-wing cheerleader.
- And CBS News is now being rigorously censored by Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss, a notorious Trump ally.
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA), AFGHANISTAN, ALEX PRETTI, ALLEN DULLES, ALTERNET, AMAZON, AMERICABLOG, ANTI-CASTRO CUBANS, AP, APPLE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ASSASSINATION, BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BARACK OBAMA, BARI WEISS, BAY OF PIGS, BBC, BIG TECH, BLACKS, BLOOMBERG, BLUESKY, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CANADIANS, CARLOS MARCELLO, CBS NEWS, CIA, CITIENSHIP TESTS, CIVIL RIGHTS, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (FILM), CNN, COLUMBIAN/MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS, CONSPIRACIES, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBA, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL (CBP), DAILY KOS, DONALD TRUMP, FBI, FBI AGENTS, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, FEDERAL RESERVE, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION, FIDEL CASTRO, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, GAIUS CALIGULA, GAZA, GOOGLE, GREENLAND, GREENLANDERS, GUN RIGHTS ENTHUSIASTS, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HARRISON FORD, HISPANICS, HUFFINGTON POST, IMMIGRANTS, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE), INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS, IRAN, IRANIANS, ISLAM, ISRAEL, ISREAL, J. EDGAR HOOVER, JAIME DIMON, JAMES COMEY, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JEFF BEZOS, JEFFREY, JEFFREY EPSTEIN, JEROME POWELL, JIMMY HOFFA, JOE BIDEN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN KELLY, JOURNALISTS, JP MORGAN CHASE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROSECUTORS, Kamala Harris, KGB, LAWYERS, LEBANON, LETITIA JAMES, MAFIA, MARCUS AURELIUS, MARINE BARRACKS BOMBING, MARK ESPER, MARK MILLEY, MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS, MEDIA MATTERS, MEDICARE, MELANIA TRUMP, META, MICHELLE OBAMA, Military, MINNESOTA, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, MUSLIMS, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION (NRA), NATO, NAVAJO CODE TALKERS, NBC NEWS, NERO, NEWSDAY, NEWSWEEK, NPR, NUCLEAR REACTOR SITES, NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY, NUCLELAR TEST BAN TREATY, OIL MILLIONAIRES, PAKISTAN, PAM BONDI, PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLICE, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, RARE EARTH MIINERALS, RAW STORY, REUTERS, ROBERT F. KENNEDY, Ronald Reagan, RUDY GIULIANI, SALON, SAM GIANCANA, SEATTLE TIMES, SLATE, SOMALIS, SOUTHERN RACISTS, SOVIET UNION, SUCIDE BOMBINGS, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE INTERCEPT, THE KENNEDY HALF-CENTURY (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE MILITARY, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE NEW YORKER, THE PRESS, THE PRINCE (BOOK), THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIM COOK, TIME, TRAJAN, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE, UPI, USA TODAY, WATERGATE, X
In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 16, 2026 at 12:55 am
The 2013 book, The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy, offers a truly astounding chapter.
Its early chapters provide an overview of the major events of the brief Kennedy administration: “The Torch Is Passed,” “Steel at Home and Abroad,” “Europe, Space and Southeast Asia.”
The next chapters concentrate on the assassination: “Echoes From Dealey Plaza,” “Questions, Answers, Mysteries,” “Rounding Up the Usual Suspects,” “Examining the Physical Evidence.”
For anyone who’s previously delved into the thousand days of the Kennedy administration, much of these subjects will be at least generally familiar. But Chapter 11 zooms into an area that might seem right out of The Twilight Zone: “Inevitability: The Assassination That Had to Happen.”
The chapter opens: “It has taken fifty years to see part of the truth clearly: John F. Kennedy’s assassination might have been almost inevitable. It didn’t have to happen on November 22, 1963, but given a host of factors, one could reasonably argue that JFK was unlikely to make it out of his Presidency alive.”
Among the “host of factors” who had reason to hate Kennedy:
- New Orleans Mafia boss Carlos Marcello – Furious over the crackdown on organized crime by JFK’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, he spoke of having the President assassinated to render RFK impotent.
- Anti-Castro Cubans – Enraged at Kennedy’s failure to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro after landing 1,700 armed Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs.
- James R. Hoffa – Pursued relentlessly by Robert Kennedy, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union talked privately of having the Attorney General assassinated.
- The KGB – For Kennedy’s humiliating the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Chicago Mafia boss Sam Giancana – Expecting to win immunity from federal prosecution, he fixed the 1960 Illinois election for John F. Kennedy. Instead, he found himself under intense investigation by RFK’s Justice Department—and raged that the Kennedys had “welshed” on their part of the deal.
- FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover – Fearing dismissal by the Kennedys, he withheld lethal threats his agents overheard when bugged Mafiosi railed against the President and Attorney General.
J. Edgar Hoover
- Southern racists – Who believed that JFK was a “nigger lover” for supporting civil rights for blacks. Especially after he sent deputy U.S. marshals and National Guardsmen to desegregate the University of Mississippi and, later, the University of Alabama.
- The CIA – Blamed by Kennedy for failing to overthrow Castro at the Bay of Pigs, its legendary director, Allen Dulles, was forced to resign. Many of its agents blamed JFK for refusing to commit American military forces during that attack—and laying the seeds for the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Military and defense establishment – Appalled by Kennedy’s “weak” response to the Cuban Missile Crisis and support of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union.
- Fidel Castro – Enraged by a series of CIA-Mafia attempts on his life, he publicly warned: “U.S. leaders should think if they are aiding terrorist plans to eliminate Cuban leaders they themselves will not be safe.”
Fidel Castro
Just as President Kennedy was passionately loved and hated, so, too, is Donald J. Trump. And Trump, at 79, has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
Donald Trump
Among the “host of factors” who have reason to hate Trump:
- Blacks – For his racist attacks on Barack and Michelle Obama and on black journalists, politicians and celebrities.
- His issuing executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs—and remove references to black historical figures from government websites.
- A major reason for his flooding Minnesota with 3,000 ICE agents: Its large Somali population, which he publicly labeled “garbage.”
- Hispanics – For turning them into the #1 target of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Throughout 2025, ICE arrested nearly 300,000 to 328,000 people, the vast majority of them Hispanics. These included not only illegal aliens but those with green cards awaiting their processing as citizens.
- More than 70,000 migrants are now held in detention centers. ICE vows to detain an additional 80,000 people in them. Some centers will reportedly hold up to 10,000 detainees apiece. This will allow Trump to imprison and then deport vastly more people much more quickly.
- Muslims – He’s said “I think Islam hates us” and called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
- And he’s imposed a travel ban on 11 Islamic countries in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.
- He’s proposed a registry for American Muslims and expressed support for surveillance of mosques.
- And he’s sided with Israel in its military attacks on Gaza and Iran.
- Police officers – Despite his claiming to be a “law and order” President, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of his supporters who had attacked Capitol Police on January 6, 2021. More than 140 police officers were injured.
- In November 2025, he issued preemptive pardons for 77 people involved in the plot to overturn the 2020 election results, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.
- Among the convicted drug kingpins serving life sentences he has pardoned: Andre Donnell Routt, Zechariah Benjamin, Joe Angelo Sotelo, Edward Ruben Sotelo and Larry Hoover.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 10, 2025 at 12:37 am
Republicans have a long and disgraceful history of excusing Donald Trump’s litany of crimes—as a 2016 Presidential candidate, as President (2017-2021), as a former President (2021-2025) and once again as President.
Forgiven Crime 44: Trump’s Justice Department ordered Danielle Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to dismiss pending criminal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams for bribery, solicitation, conspiracy and wire fraud,
This occurred after Adams—who had previously refused to cooperate with Trump’s roundup of illegal aliens—agreed to do so. Sassoon resigned from the Justice Department rather than comply with the order.
Forgiven Crime 45: When Danielle Sassoon resigned instead of carrying out what she believed was an illegal order, Emil Bove, the Acting Attorney General, sent her a letter stating that her conduct would be investigated and evaluated by the Attorney General, after which “the Attorney General will determine whether termination or some other action is appropriate.”
Danielle Sassoon
Forgiven Crime 46: Trump held what amounted to an ambush meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Siding with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump blamed Zelensky for Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Trump demanded that Zelensky sign over mineral rights to the United States without America’s providing a security guarantee for Ukraine. Zelensky left without signing such an agreement.
Forgiven Crime 47: Trump announced that he was considering violating the 22nd Amendment and seeking an illegal third Presidential term in 2028.
Forgiven Crime 48: The Trump-authorized and illegitimate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk, dismantled multiple agencies, invaded the privacy of untold millions by accessing sensitive data systems and fired tens of thousands of federal workers.
Forgiven Crime 49: Trump filed frivolous and extortionate lawsuits against major news networks CBS and ABC.
Against CBS: Trump claimed that its news magazine, “60 Minutes” deceptively edited an interview with Kamala Harris to damage his presidential campaign and influence the election. He initially sought $10 billion in damages, then increased it to $20 billion.
Against ABC: He claimed that its commentator, George Stephanopoulos, falsely stated he was found liable for “rape” in the case brought by columnist E. Jean Carroll. The jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but not rape. The judge later clarified that what the jury found Trump did was in fact rape, as commonly understood.
ABC settled the lawsuit by agreeing to donate $15 million to Trump’s Presidential library.
Forgiven Crime 50: Trump solicited and received a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One, in direct violation of the Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution, which prohibits federal officials from accepting gifts from foreign countries.
The jet will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to bring it up to presidential standards, including a security sweep of the entire aircraft and costly upgrades to ensure classified communications.
After Trump leaves office, it will be transferred to his Presidential library.
* * * * *
Why have Republicans almost unanimously stood by Donald Trump despite the wreckage he made of American foreign and domestic policy?
Fear—that they will lose their privileged positions in Congress if they don’t.
This could happen by:
- Their being voted out of Congress by Trump’s fanatical base; or
- Their being voted out of Congress by anti-Trump voters fed up with Trump’s appalling behavior.
House and Senate Republicans’ support for Trump hinges on one question: “Can I hold onto my power and all the privileges that accompany it by sticking—or breaking—with him?”
In his bestselling 1973 biography, The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler, British historian Robert Payne harshly condemned the German people for the rise of the Nazi dictator:
“[They] allowed themselves to be seduced by him and came to enjoy the experience….[They] followed him with joy and enthusiasm because he gave them license to pillage and murder to their hearts’ content. They were his servile accomplices, his willing victims.”
Like Hitler, Trump offered his Republican voters and Congressional allies intoxicating dreams: “I will enrich all of you. And I will humiliate and destroy those Americans you most hate.”
For his white, Fascistic, largely elderly audience, those enemies included blacks, atheists, Hispanics, non-Christians, Muslims, liberals, “uppity” women, Asians.
For most of the first three years of his first term, he faced little opposition. What cost Trump the White House wasn’t Democratic or Republican courage but a deadly disease—COVID-19—which Trump refused to take seriously.
Democrats cowered before Trump’s slanders—thereby ensuring more assaults.
Most of the press quailed before Trump. Only a few media outlets—notably the New York Times, CNN and the Washington Post-–dared investigate his crimes and blunders.
In 1960, the Russian poet, Yevgeney Yevtushenko, published “Conversation With an American Writer”—a stinging indictment of the cowardly opportunists who had supported the brutal tyranny of Joseph Stalin:
“You have courage,” they tell me.
It’s not true. I was never courageous.
I simply felt it unbecoming
to stoop to the cowardice of my colleagues.
Too many Republicans know all-too-well how it feels to stoop to the cowardice of their colleagues for a transitory hold on power and privilege.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 9, 2025 at 12:10 am
Throughout the first term of his Presidency, Republicans continued to support Donald Trump despite a series of actions that would have normally resulted in impeachment, if not imprisonment.
And they continued to support him after he left office—and after his re-election as President on November 5, 2024.
Forgiven Crime 29: Trump has echoed Adolf Hitler in attacking immigrants: “They’re poisoning the blood of our country. They’ve poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America, not just the three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world.”
Republicans have refused to condemn those remarks—or the original source—Mein Kampf-–of those remarks.
Forgiven Crime 30: On January 20, 2025—his first day as re-elected President—Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 people convicted of offenses related to the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. This sends a clear message that his supporters can commit virtually any crime against his opponents with impunity.
Forgiven Crime 31: Trump signed 26 executive orders. Among the results: Reversing climate change initiatives, eliminating DEI programs, changing the federal designation for the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and initiating a federal hiring freeze.
Executive Order signed by President Harry S. Truman
Forgiven Crime 32: Trump revoked the security clearances of 51 former Intelligence officials. Their “crime”: Signing a letter in 2020 stating that reports about a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden, son of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, had “classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”
Forgiven Crime 33: Trump revoked an executive order on Artificial Intelligence safety signed by former President Biden. Biden’s order, introduced in 2023, aimed to establish safeguards for the rapidly advancing AI technology.
Forgiven Crime 34: During a press conference in North Carolina, President Trump reaffirmed his stance that Canada should become the 51st state. Rejecting the longtime friendship between the two countries, Trump took an increasingly aggressive stance toward Canada, imposing steep tariffs and even threatening military intervention.
Forgiven Crime 35: Trump fired the inspectors general—who are charged with protecting the government from waste and corruption—from more than a dozen federal agencies.
Forgiven Crime 36: Several career lawyers who worked on the criminal investigations into Donald Trump were fired by Acting Attorney General James McHenry because he “do[es] not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully.”
Seal of the U.S. Department of Justice
Forgiven Crime 37: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth informed former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley “that he is revoking the authorization for his security detail and suspending his security clearance.”
In addition, Hegseth ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to open “an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding General Milley’s conduct so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination.”
Milley’s “crimes”: After the Trump-incited January 6 attempted coup, Milley assured his Chinese counterpart that the U.S. was not about to start a military conflict. And in his farewell speech upon his retirement, said that service members “don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. … We don’t take an oath to an individual.”
Forgiven Crime 38: Trump ordered a purge of about a half-dozen executive assistant directors at the FBI. These were some of the bureau’s top managers overseeing criminal, national security and cyber investigations.
Their “crime”: Trump blamed them for investigating his inciting the January 6, 2021 coup attempt and his illegal holding of highly sensitive national security documents after leaving office.
Seal of the FBI
Forgiven Crime 39: On February 1, Trump arbitrarily placed tariffs of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on imports from China with no stated exemptions.
Forgiven Crime 40: Without explanation, Trump fired Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects consumers from unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices.
Forgiven Crime 41: Following Trump’s executive orders, federal agencies deleted multiple federal web pages and data. Among the agencies: The Pentagon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Census Bureau. The changes affected content related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender identity, public health research, environmental policy and social programs.
Forgiven Crime 42: Following Trump’s anti-DEI executive order, the United States Department of Defense (DOD) deleted content that included the achievements of nonwhite groups, such as Navajo code code talkers, black Tuskegee Airmen, Medal of Honor winners and women veterans. As in Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, those that Trump hates are made to disappear from history.
Forgiven Crime 43: Trump fired the board members at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and appointed himself as chairman—just as Joseph Stalin made himself arbiter of what was permissible for artists in the Soviet Union.
Forgiven Crime 44: When the Associated Press refused to designate the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” as Trump has decreed it now is, Trump banned its reporters from the White House press pool and official White House events.
A federal judge ordered him to reinstate the Associated Press’s access to presidential events on grounds that his ban violated the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 6, 2025 at 12:10 am
Throughout the first term of his Presidency, Republicans continued to support Donald Trump despite a series of actions that would have normally resulted in impeachment.
Forgiven Crime #19: After being acquitted of impeachable offenses by the Senate, Trump fired the Inspectors General (IG) of five cabinet departments in six weeks. Among these:
- Michael K. Atkinson – The IG of the Intelligence Community. The reason: Atkinson had forwarded the whistleblower complaint which led to Trump’s impeachment.
- Glenn Fine – Appointed to oversee funds voted by Congress to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the United States. His dismissal ensured that Trump—who had admitted to defrauding students at his notorious “Trump University”—could spend the $2 trillion in relief monies any way he wished.
Glenn Fine
- Christi Grimm – As IG at the Department of Health and Human Services, she outraged Trump by contradicting him by agreeing—accurately—that the nation’s hospitals were suffering from severe shortages of personal protective equipment and testing supplies for COVID-19.
Forgiven Crime #20: After losing the Presidential election on November 3, 2020, Trump became the first American President in history to refuse to accept the verdict.
Forgiven Crime #21: From November 3 to December 14, 2020, Trump and his allies challenged the election results, filing—and losing—59 cases in court, either withdrawing cases or having them dismissed by Federal and state judges.
Forgiven Crime #22: On December 5, 2021, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and asked him to call a special legislative session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, thus overturning Biden’s win.
Kemp refused.
Brian Kemp
Forgiven Crime 23: On January 6, 2021, Trump ordered his assembled followers to attack the Capitol Building where House and Senate members were counting Electoral Votes—that were certain to certify Joseph R. Biden as the legitimate winner of the 2020 Presidential election.
Their goal: To stop the counting of those votes—and enable Trump to serve as “President-for-Life.”
Many of the lawmakers’ offices were occupied and vandalized. One Capitol police officer was killed and 114 others were injured.
This was, in effect, a treasonous coup attempt.
On February 13, 2021, the Republican-dominated Senate once again acquitted Trump—of “incitement of insurrection” against the United States government.
Forgiven Crime 24: In 2022, Trump became the first ex-President to be indicted for crimes committed during his four-year administration: 2017-2021. He faced 91 criminal charges across four jurisdictions: Georgia, Florida, New York and the District of Columbia.
Yet even as he viciously attacked his rivals for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination, all but one—former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie—refused to condemn him as an indicted criminal.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley promised to pardon Trump if he was convicted and either one of them was elected President.
Forgiven Crime 25: On August 8, 2022, for the first time in American history, Donald Trump became the first former President to be the subject of an FBI raid.
The raid came without warning on Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. FBI agents, armed with a search warrant, scoured the premises—for documents Trump illegally took before he left the White House on January 20, 2021.
Trump had repeatedly refused to return the documents.
Forgiven Crime 26: In March, 2023, Trump threatened “death and destruction” if he were criminally charged in New York for making “hush money” payments to porn “actress” Stormy Daniels. Trump shared an image of himself threatening Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with a baseball bat on his Truth Social platform.
Not even Mafia bosses like Charles “Lucky” Luciano and Albert “The Executioner” Anastasia dared issue such a threat.
Forgiven Crime 27: On November 18, 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith Special Counsel to prosecute Trump for his attempted January 6 coup.
Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to attack Smith as “a deranged lunatic” and “psycho” for indicting him for his theft of national security documents. He also attacked Smith’s wife, Katy Gale Chevigny, thus exposing her to possible violence from his fanatical supporters.
Trump’s attacks on Smith led to an increase in security for the Special Counsel.
Jack Smith
Forgiven Crime 28: As Iowa prepared to cast votes in the Republican caucuses on January 15, 2024,, meteorologists warned of “life-threatening” conditions. Trump, the Republican front-runner lusting for a second term as President, took that advice.
Scheduled for four in-person Iowa events on January 14, he canceled three of them the day before voting, due to the freezing cold and snow.
But that didn’t mean he shared the same concern for those he urged to vote for him.
“If you want to save America from crooked Joe Biden, you must go caucus tomorrow. First step, very first step. We’re gonna do it. We’re gonna do it big. You got to get out. “
“You can’t sit home. If you’re sick as a dog, you say, ‘Darling, I gotta make it,’” Trump said at an Indianola rally on January 14. “Even if you vote and then pass away, it’s worth it, remember.”
Republicans saw nothing immoral in Trump’s disregard for the lives of his voting supporters—just as they saw nothing immoral in his disregard for the lives of schoolchildren during the worst year of COVID-19.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GENN FINE, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 5, 2025 at 12:10 am
Throughout his Presidency, Republicans continued to support Donald Trump despite a series of actions that would have normally resulted in impeachment.
Forgiven Crime #12: On July 16, 2018, Trump attended a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There he blamed American Intelligence agencies—such as the FBI, CIA and National Security Agency—instead of Putin for Russia’s subversion of the 2016 Presidential election.
“I have President Putin,” said Trump. “He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be.”
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki
Forgiven Crime #13: Waging all-out war on the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press.
On February 17, 2017, Trump tweeted: “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”
Seven days later, appearing before the Conservative Political Action Conference on February 24, Trump said: “I want you all to know that we are fighting the fake news. It’s fake, phony, fake….I’m against the people that make up stories and make up sources. They shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name. Let their name be put out there.”
Forgiven Crime #14: Waging all-out war on the independent judiciary
Trump repeatedly attacked Seattle U.S. District Judge James Robart, who halted Trump’s first anti-Islamic travel ban: “Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!”
On October 20, 2018, Trump attacked U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar as an “Obama judge.” Tigar had ruled that the administration must consider asylum claims no matter where migrants cross the U.S. border.
The next day, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts told the Associated Press: “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”
On Thanksgiving Day, 2018, Trump attacked Roberts—appointed by Republican President George W. Bush—on Twitter: “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”
Forgiven Crime #15: Threatening members of Congress with treason charges for daring to challenge him.
Furious that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) mocked him during a session of the House Intelligence Committee, Trump tweeted: “I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason…..”
“Rep. Adam Schiff illegally made up a FAKE & terrible statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to Congress and the American people. It bore NO relationship to what I said on the call. Arrest for Treason?”
Adam Schiff
He judged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “every bit as guilty as Liddle’ Adam Schiff for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, and even Treason. I guess that means that they, along with all of those that evilly ‘Colluded’ with them, must all be immediately Impeached!”
Forgiven Crime #16: He lied so often—30,573 times by the end of his first term, according to the Washington Post—that he’s universally distrusted, at home and abroad.
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, French President Charles de Gaulle was offered photographs taken by American spy planes of Russian missile emplacements in Cuba. De Gaulle waved them away, saying that, for him, the word of the President of the United States was enough.
Charles de Gaulle and John F. Kennedy
Today, no free world leader would take Trump’s word for anything.
Forgiven Crime #17: On December 22, 2018, Trump shut down the Federal government—because Democrats refused to fund his “border wall” between the United States and Mexico.
An estimated 380,000 government employees were furloughed and another 420,000 were ordered to work without pay.
- For weeks, hundreds of thousands of government workers missed paychecks.
- Increasing numbers of employees of the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA)—which provides security against airline terrorism—began refusing to come to work, claiming to be sick.
- At the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) many air traffic controllers called in “sick.”
- Due to the shortage of air traffic controllers, many planes weren’t able to land safely at places like New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
- Many Federal employees—such as FBI agents—were forced to rely on soup kitchens to feed their families.
This lasted until January 25, 2019, when Trump caved to public pressure.
Forgiven Crime #18: Even while being investigated by Congress for trying to extort Ukraine to investigate his 2020 Presidential rival, Joseph Biden, Trump publicly urged China to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter.
Trump repeatedly denied he had strong-armed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to smear former Vice President Joseph Biden. But on October 3, 2019, on the White House lawn, with TV cameras whirring, Trump said: “China should start an investigation into the Bidens.”
And to drive home the message, Trump warned: “I have a lot of options on China, but if they don’t do what we want, we have tremendous power.”
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GENN FINE, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Military, Politics, Social commentary on June 4, 2025 at 12:11 am
Republicans have a long and shameful history of excusing Donald Trump’s vicious slanders and law-breaking.
Forgiven Crime #6: Republicans refused to condemn Trump’s blatant “bromance” with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Since the end of World War II, no Republican Presidential candidate had repeatedly exchanged fulsome praise with a foreign leader hostile to the United States. Yet that is precisely what happened between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Thus Putin on Trump: “He is a bright personality, a talented person, no doubt about it. It is not up to us to appraise his positive sides, it is up to the U.S. voters. but, as we can see, he is an absolute leader in the presidential race.”
Vladimir Putin
And Trump on Putin: “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond. He’s running his country, and at least he’s a leader. Unlike what we have in this country”—a clear attack on then-President Barack Obama.
Donald Trump
Forgiven Crime #7: Republicans supported the treasonous meeting between Trump’s campaign managers and Russian Intelligence agents.
On July 9, 2016, high-ranking members of Trump’s Presidential campaign met with lobbyists tied to Putin. The meeting took place at Trump Tower and the participants included:
- Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.;
- His son-in-law, Jared Kushner;
- His then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort;
- Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer with ties to Putin; and
- Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet counterintelligence officer suspected of having ongoing ties to Russian Intelligence.
The purpose of that meeting: To gain access to any “dirt” Russian Intelligence could supply on Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton.
Forgiven Crime #8: Republicans supported Trump’s open—and treasonous—solicitation of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election.
On July 22, 2016, at a press conference in Doral, Florida, Trump said: “Russia, if you are listening, I hope you are able to find the 33,000 emails that are missing [from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s computer]. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.”
“This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent,” Hillary for America policy adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “That’s not hyperbole, those are just the facts. This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.”
“I find those kinds of statements to be totally outrageous because you’ve got now a presidential candidate who is, in fact, asking the Russians to engage in American politics,” said former CIA Director Leon Panetta, a Clinton surrogate. “I just think that’s beyond the pale.”
Hours later, the Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow targeted Clinton’s personal office and hit more than 70 other Clinton campaign accounts.
Forgiven Crime #9: On May 9, 2017, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey for investigating Russia’s subversion of the 2016 Presidential race.
There were four reasons for this:
- Comey had refused to pledge his personal loyalty to Trump. Trump had made the “request” during a private dinner at the White House in January.
- Comey told Trump that he would always be honest with him. But that didn’t satisfy Trump’s demand that the head of the FBI act as his personal secret police chief—as was the case in the former Soviet Union.
- Trump had tried to coerce Comey into dropping the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, for his secret ties to Russia and Turkey. Comey had similarly resisted that demand.
- Comey had recently asked the Justice Department to fund an expanded FBI investigation into well-documented contacts between Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign and Russian Intelligence agents. The goal of that collaboration: To elect Trump over Hillary Clinton, a longtime foe of Russian President Putin.
James Comey
Forgiven Crime #10: On May 10, 2017. Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office—and gave them highly classified Israeli Intelligence about an Islamic State plot to turn laptops into concealable bombs.
Kislyak is reportedly a top recruiter for Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence agency. He has been closely linked with Jeff Sessions, then Attorney General, and fired National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.
“I just fired the head of the FBI,” Trump told the two dignitaries. “He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken off.”
Then, on May 11, Trump gave away his real reason for firing Comey:
Interviewed on NBC News by reporter Lester Holt, Trump said: “And in fact when I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said ‘you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it’s an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won.'”
Forgiven Crime #11: Blatantly lying about the CIA’s findings in the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
On Thanksgiving Day, 2018, Trump said that the CIA hadn’t concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered it.
This was a lie—the agency had reached such a conclusion, based on a recording provided by the Turkish government and American Intelligence.
2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 60 MINUTES NEWS MAGAINE, ABC NEWS, ADAM SCHIFF, ADOLF HITLER, ALBERT “THE EXECUTIONER” ANASTASIA, ALTERNET, ALVIN BRAGG, AMERICABLOG, AP, ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), BABY BOOMER RESISTANCE, BORDER WALL, BUZZFEED, CANADA, CBS NEWS, CENSORSHIP, CENSUS BUREAU, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, CHARLES “LUCKY” LUCIANO, CHARLES DE GAULLE, CHINA, CHRIS CHRISTIE, CHRISTI GRIMM, CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, CIA, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS, CNN, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION CONFERENCE, CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU, CONVERSATION WITH AN AMERICAN WRITER (POEM), CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONIES, COVID-19, CROOKS AND LIARS, CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, DAILY KOS, DAN BOWMAN, DAN SULLIVAN, DANIELLE SASSOON, DAVID BROOKS, DEMOCRATS, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE), DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, DIVERSITY EQUITY INCLUSION (DEI), DONALD TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP JUNIOR, DRUDGE RETORT, E. JEAN CARROLL, ELON MUSK, EMIL BOVE, EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ERIC ADAMS, EXTORTION, FBI, FIRST AMENDMENT, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS, GENN FINE, GEORGE FLOYD, GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, GEORGE W. BUSH, GLENN FINE, GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, GULF OF AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, HILLARY CLINTON, HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND REFORM COMMITTEE, HUNTER BIDEN, IMMIGRANTS, IMPEACHMENT, IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT, INSPECTORS GENERAL, INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY, INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS, JACK SMITH, JAKE SULLIVAN, JAKE TAPPER, JAMAL KHASHOGGI, JAMES COMEY, JAMES MCHENRY, JAMES ROBART, JANUARY 6 COUP ATTEMPT, JARED KUSHNER, JEFF SESSIONS, JOHN CORNYN, JOHN F. KENNEDY, JOHN F. KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, JOHN ROBERTS, JOING CHIEFS OF STAFF, JON S. TIGAR, JOSEPH BIDEN, JOSEPH STALIN, Kamala Harris, KELLY LOEFFER, KEVIN CRAMER, LAFAYETTE SQUARE, LAMAR ALEXANDER, LEON PANETTA, LINDSEY GRAHAM, LUXUY JET, MARCO RUBIO, MARK MILLEY, MARTIN GUGINO, MEDIA MATTERS, MEIN KAMPF, MERRICK GARLAND, MEXICO, MICHAEL FLYNN, MICHAEL HAYDEN, MICHAEL K. ATKINSON, MICK MULVANEY, MIKE PENCE, MITCH MCCONNELL, MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN, MOTHER JONES, MOVEON, MSNBC, NANCY PELOSI, NATALIA VESELNITSKAYA, NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, NBC NEWS, NEWSWEEK, NIKKI HALEY, NPR, PAUL MANAFORT, PBS NEWSHOUR, PETE HEGSETH, POLITICO, POLITICUSUSA, QATAR, RAW STORY, REPUBLICANS, REUTERS, RINAT AKHMETSHIN, ROBERT MUELLER, ROBERT PAYNE, ROD ROSENSTEIN, ROGER STONE, RON DESANTIS, RON JOHNSON, RUSSIA, SALON, SEATTLE TIMES, SERGEY KISLYAK, SERGEY LAVROV, SLATE, ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, STEVE DAINES, TALKING POINTS MEMO, TARIFFS, TED CRUZ, THE ATLANTIC, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE, THE DAILY BEAST, THE DAILY BLOG, THE GUARDIAN, THE HILL, THE HUFFINGTON POST, THE JUDICIARY, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOI), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER (BOOK), THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, THE NATION, THE NEW REPUBLIC, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE PENTAGON, THE PRESS, THE VILLAGE VOICE, THE WASHINGTON POST, THINKPROGRESS, TIME, TREASON, TRUMP TOWER MEETING, TRUTH SOCIAL, TRUTHDIG, TRUTHOUT, TWENTY-SECOND AMENDMENT, TWO POLITICAL JUNKIES, U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, UKRAINE, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, UNITED STATES SENATE, UPI, USA TODAY, VLADIMIR PUTIN, VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, WHISTLEBLOWER, WHITE HOUSE BUDGET OFFICE, WONKETTE, X, YEVGENEY YEVTUSHENKO
In Bureaucracy, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on June 3, 2025 at 12:14 am
On February 5, 2020, the Republican-dominated Senate—as expected—absolved President Donald Trump from trying to extort Ukraine into smearing a possible rival for the White House.
Only one Republican—Utah Senator Mitt Romney—had the moral courage to vote for conviction.
But this was not the first time Republicans sought to excuse Trump’s litany of crimes and outrages. Those efforts go back to the 2016 Presidential election.
Forgiven Crime #1: Not demanding that Trump quit the 2016 Presidential race—or demanding that he be indicted—for making a terrorist threat against his own party.
On March 16, 2016, Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Presidential nomination, issued a warning to his fellow Right-wingers: If he didn’t win the GOP nomination at the convention in July, his supporters would literally riot.
“I think we’ll win before getting to the convention. But I can tell you if we didn’t, if we’re 20 votes short or if we’re 100 short and we’re at 1,100 and somebody else is at 500 or 400…I don’t think you can say that we don’t get it automatically. I think you’d have riots.
“I think you would see problems like you’ve never seen before. I think bad things would happen. I really do. I wouldn’t lead it, but I think bad things would happen.”
Donald Trump
An NBC reporter summed it up as follows: “As Trump indicated, there is a very real possibility he might lose the nomination if he wins only a plurality of delegates thanks to party rules that allow delegates to support different candidates after the initial ballot.
“In that context, the message to Republicans was clear on [March 16]: ‘Nice convention you got there, shame if something happened to it.’”
Threatening his Republican and Democratic opponents with violence played a major role in Donald Trump’s campaign for President.
Forgiven Crime #2: Supporting his “dog-whistle” call for the assassination of Democratic Nominee Hillary Clinton.
On August 9, 2016, at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, Trump said: “Hillary [Clinton] wants to abolish, essentially abolish, the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her [Supreme Court] judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Democrats—and responsible news media—immediately saw this for the “dog-whistle” signal it was.
“Don’t treat this as a political misstep,” Senator Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut, who has called for stiffer gun laws, wrote on Twitter. “It’s an assassination threat, seriously upping the possibility of a national tragedy & crisis.”
“Well, let me say if someone else said that outside of the hall, he’d be in the back of a police wagon now, with the Secret Service questioning him,” said Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA and National Security Agency (NSA).
Hillary Clinton
Threats of violence continued to be made by Trump supporters right up to the day of the election.
- On July 29, Roger Stone, a notorious Right-wing political consultant acting as a Trump strategist, told Breitbart News: “The first thing Trump needs to do is begin talking about [voter fraud] constantly. If there’s voter fraud, this election will be illegitimate, the election of the winner will be illegitimate, we will have a constitutional crisis, widespread civil disobedience, and the government will no longer be the government.”
- At a town hall meeting where Trump’s Vice Presidential nominee Mike Pence appeared, a woman named Rhonda said: “For me personally, if Hillary Clinton gets in, I myself am ready for a revolution.”
- In Cincinnati, a Trump supporter threatened to forcibly remove Clinton from the White House if she won the race: “If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it,”
- Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. “We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take….I would do whatever I can for my country.”
Forgiven Crime #3: Republicans supported Trump’s call for his followers to intimidate Democratic voters at election time.
Trump encouraged his mostly white supporters to sign up online to be “election observers” to stop “Crooked Hillary from rigging this election.” He urged them to act as poll watchers in “other” [non-white] communities to ensure that things are “on the up and up.”
Many of his supporters promised to do so.
“Trump said to watch your precincts. I’m going to go, for sure,” said Steve Webb, a 61-year-old carpenter from Fairfield, Ohio.
“I’ll look for…well, it’s called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who can’t speak American,” he said. “I’m going to go right up behind them. I’ll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make them a little bit nervous.”
Forgiven Crime #4: Threatening to fire Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, who oversaw Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian subversion of the 2016 election.
Forgiven Crime #5: Threatening to fire Independent Counsel Robert Mueller during the summer of 2017, but was talked out of it by aides fearful that it would set off calls for his impeachment.
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JFK HAD POWERFUL ENEMIES. SO DOES DJT: PART FOUR (END)
In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Medical, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 19, 2026 at 12:13 amJust as President John F. Kennedy was passionately loved and hated, so, too, is Donald J. Trump. And Trump, at 79, has already been the target of two assassination attempts.
Among the potential consequences of that hatred:
Donald Trump
The New York Stock Exchange
* * * * *
More than 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli, the Florentine statesman, authored The Discourses on Livy, a work of political history and philosophy. In it, he outlined how citizens of a republic can maintain their freedoms.
One of the longest chapters—Book Three, Chapter Six—covers “Of Conspiracies.” In it, those who wish to conspire against a ruler will find highly useful advice. And so will those who wish to foil such a conspiracy.
Niccolo Machiavelli
Lorenzo Bartolini, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Above all, he notes how important it is for rulers to make themselves loved—or at least respected—by their fellow citizens:
“Note how much more praise those Emperors merited who, after Rome became an empire, conformed to her laws like good princes, than those who took the opposite course.
“Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus and Marcus Auelius did not require the Praetorians nor the multitudinous legions to defend them, because they were protected by their own good conduct, the good will of the people, and by the love of the Senate.
“On the other hand, neither the Eastern nor the Western armies saved Caligula, Nero, Vitellius and so many other wicked Emperors from the enemies which their bad conduct and evil lives had raised up against them.”
In his better-known work, The Prince, he warns rulers who—like Donald Trump–are inclined to rule by fear:
“A prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred: for fear and the absence of hatred may well go together.”
By Machiavelli’s standards, Trump has made himself the perfect target for a conspiracy:
“When a prince becomes universally hated, it is likely that he’s harmed some individuals—who thus seek revenge. This desire is increased by seeing that the prince is widely loathed.”
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