Our Armed Forces have become Black Water. Or Doom Dash.
On Smedley Butler*, from Wikipedia . . .
In 1935, he wrote the exposé War Is a Racket, a trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views on the subject are summarized in the following passage from the November 1935 issue of the socialist magazine Common Sense:
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
* **Butler is universally regarded as one of the most decorated and influential U.S. Marines in history, especially noted for his two Medals of Honor and his later anti‑war activism. Below is a clean, evidence‑based ranking of his significance across several dimensions.
---
🏅 Overall Ranking of Smedley D. Butler’s Historical Significance
Based on military achievement, cultural impact, and political influence.
### 1. **Military Decorations & Combat Record — #1 Among Early 20th‑Century Marines**
- One of only **four Americans** to receive the **Medal of Honor twice**.
- At his death, he was **the most decorated Marine in U.S. history**.
- Served in **Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Boxer Rebellion, Veracruz, Haiti, Nicaragua, WWI**, and more.
- Known for leading from the front and being beloved by rank‑and‑file Marines.
Before I read Butler's book, my older bro and I, both VN war combat vets, were talking about why we thought this country goes to war, and based on all the VN war history I've read, I told him,"...only1 reason: PROFIT." Then he told me about the book, which I've read since then. And Butler was/is absolutely correct: PROFIT.
That's my new sign, and I'm going to put it to use today. I've noticed the MAGA people driving by giving us a one digit salute have a different attitude. They used to be gleeful and happy, now they are just mean and oh so very angry.
It's almost like they are catching on that what the sign says is true. No one likes to get an "I told you so!". See you in the streets.
They naively believed him and now we are all going to suffer the consequences. I suspect that the people in the Middle East along with many others in the world will suffer also. It's going to be catastrophic and it's stupidly unnecessary.
This is proof that Things Are Not As They Appear, and that this war with Iran has motives as yet unseen. I said motives,because forf one thing it pulls Bibi's irons out of the fire. Considering it is he who launched the first missile to take out the Mullahs, but this operation has been in the planning stages for months, that's why the carrier groups were stationed to the region.
There appears to be a Triumvirate , Trump, Netanyahu, Putin and a greater game at play
With the world distracted by the Iran war, Putin has greater play in Ukraine. Trump has always been Putins butt boy, he and Bibi are BFF's, and Trump has back stopped support for Ukraine anyway
Are we seeing the world carved up, Orwellian style. Oceania (the Technate), Eurasia, East Asia, a Caliphate centered in Riyadh or a Sultante in Istanbul?
Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel Friday, with American crude settling at $90.90, up 36% from a week ago, and Brent, the international standard, climbing 27% over the course of the week to land at $92.69. Google: Oil prices are critically important to the Russian economy, acting as the primary driver of government revenue, economic growth, and ruble stability. While fossil fuels historically funded nearly 40% of the federal budget, this decreased to 25% in 2025 due to sanctions, price caps, and global market shifts. High prices boost the ruble and state spending, whereas low prices trigger inflation, deficits, and economic contraction.
Krasnov is on the job. On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil currently "stranded at sea" to stabilize global prices following conflict in the Middle East.
Nuclear Energy Exemptions: In December 2025, the administration suspended sanctions on several major Russian banks (including Sberbank and VTB) specifically for transactions related to civil nuclear energy projects.
Targeted Delistings: In late 2025, the Treasury quietly removed sanctions from several foreign firms in Cyprus, Dubai, and Turkey that were previously accused of supplying Russia's military.
Meanwhile in Baghdad By the Sea, Trump will host leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean in Doral today for what the White House describes as a landmark summit aimed at reshaping regional alliances and reinforcing U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
The gathering, which the Trump administration is calling the “Shield of the Americas Summit,” will bring together the heads of state or government from 12 countries aligned with Washington on issues including migration, drug trafficking and regional security.
A White House official said that the participating governments are expected to sign the Doral Charter, a declaration affirming what officials describe as the “right of the peoples of our Hemisphere to chart their own destiny free from interference,” while emphasizing democratic governance and free-market principles.
Yep Shield of America aka the Technate of America aka Oceania.
Different names for the same thing.
As regards Russia, suzerainty over Eureasia, and Israel over the Levant and Mid East.
I am of the opinion, that this war with Iran had a purpose, not the only one, of serving the needs of Trumps BFF Bibi., with no longer a Gaza war excuse, Bibi is in real trouble, he needs a war to stave off justice, and Trump has been hectoring the President of Israel, pardon Netanyahu or else.
The war provides Trump with a national emergency crisis that he can use to grab total power, it detracts attention and resources from the defense of Ukraine,gives Putin an economic boost.
Fulfills a promise to the oil execs that he addressed prior to the campaign, five a billion dollars in support and I will give you what you want.
And then there is the Saudi Arabia (Sunni)_ Shia (Iran) millenia old conflict for leadership of the Islamic world.
Don;'t accept anything at face value, things are not as they appear, and there is always more than one motive
But Trumpepstein is a distraction, it will not take down Trump or the regime, for the simple reason that the only way to take him down is via the Department of Justice,and he has has total control of the DOJ, which is he is personal law firm.
We would think that elections might do it, but voter suprression and voter theft laws and actions are in effect and in motion, and frankly I don't think the Epstein files are sufficient, abortion wasn't.
And that assumes that there will be an election, or an election like in 2012, a Hungarian style election, yes, A Russian slyle election yes, a Turkeish style election , Yes, a Russian style election yes, A free open , honest election, no.
Steve Bannon spilled the beans, Trump has said it aloud, there will be no election, they've been working on it since Jan 2025, and will have had four years, who knows maybe ta purpose of this war, is to obviate an election.
This is from AP today. Putin is helping Iran and the U.S. is giving Putin more money.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to allow India to buy Russian oil for 30 days underscores a boost for Moscow’s fortunes against the backdrop of the Iran war as Russia’s oil exports help Kremlin pay for its own war on Ukraine.
The Treasury Department this week said India can keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.
That measure is aimed at helping ease upward pressure on oil prices that affect gasoline costs for U.S. consumers. But it also underlines how the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran is tightening the markets for oil and gas — including Russia’s crude.
Thanks, I've seen much the same from different sources.
I am still convinced that there is a relationship between Krasnov and Putin
And that dust ups are manufactured to keep us off balance.
don't see how the Treasury Departments decision to allow India to buy Russia oil for 30 days, can relive upward pressure on oil prices that affect gasoline costs for US Consume.
Also . doesn't the whole thing raise the question, "How can the US Treasury exert influence over India, enough to give them orders"
Statements like that seem to float over the heads of journalists and pundits like balloons.
Are we sure Kristi was fired? Are we really? Things are never as they appear to be.
Let's exam the situation.
Kristi is a Trump loyalist, she wants nothing more to please her boss, she is his dog. He commands she barks.She is ruthless, a psychopath like him, she is totally dependable to follow orders.
In other words she is useful, very useful and dependable.
He has placed her in charge of something that came out of the blue, The Shield of the America's, and not one pundit, media source has asked questions like What the eff is this Shield of the Americas.
The leftist, liberal,progressive media should be all over this, but silence, not even a wisp of curiosity, just wetting their undies over the "firing of Noem'. I am losing any respect for liberal media and pundits.
I will take a stab, factor in Trumps plans for Cuba, to take it down economically and install Marco Rubio as satrap, his plans for Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia I see the Shield of the Americas as the Technate of America, aka Oceania. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:34227574
Who better than to head the project, than a ruthless, dependable,worshiping psychopathic, sycophant like Kristi Noem.
Does anyone think the Republicans will finally impeach the bastard? We may have to wait for something clear-cut that Caroline Leavitt can't lie about, such as an Iranian cell killing or kidnapping rich white Americans on American soil. I would love to be a fly on the wall in Putin's war room. Great post, Thom.
Here in Baghdad By the Sea, where the leading candidate for governor is a Black Republican, we have a major scandal.
The Group Chat: Originally created last fall by Abel Alexander Carvajal, Secretary of the Miami-Dade Republican Party and an FIU law student, the chat was intended for conservative students but quickly devolved into hate speech.
Offensive Content:
Racist Slurs: Participants used variations of the N-word over 400 times.
Violent Rhetoric: Messages reportedly detailed "dozens of ways" to kill Black people, including mentions of crucifixion and beheading.
Antisemitism & Misogyny: Members praised Adolf Hitler's politics, joked about gas chambers, used slurs against Jewish and gay people, and used degrading terms for women.
"Nazi Heaven": One member described the chat environment as a "Nazi heaven".
The New York Times
Involved Individuals
Abel Alexander Carvajal: Secretary of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. While he claims he did not send the offensive messages himself, he is facing intense calls to resign for creating the space.
Ian Valdes: FIU's Turning Point USA chapter president.
Dariel Gonzalez: Former College Republicans recruitment chair.
Instagram
Caravajal is a second year law student.
+++++
Byron Donalds, a U.S. Representative and front-runner in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial race, centers his position on "election integrity" rather than "voting rights" as defined by Democrats. He argues that secure elections are the foundation of democracy and that current GOP-led reforms are necessary to restore trust in the system.
The New York Times
So far, I haven't found any public comment by Donalds about the emails.
Key Positions on Voting & Elections
Proof of Citizenship: Donalds strongly supports the SAVE Act, which would mandate that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections. He calls this a "common sense" measure to prevent non-citizens from voting.
Voter ID: He is a vocal proponent of strict voter ID laws, dismissing claims that they disenfranchise minority communities as "widely debunked".
++++++
The irony is that in the rest of the country, MAGA sees Cubans like Carvajal as DEI. And many of would not judge Donalds by the color of his character.
Donalds is a Quisling. He is the house slave Stephen in Django Unchained, sitting by the fireplace sipping brandy with the massah, instructing him on how to discipline the field slaves. He, Candace Owens, Herschel Walker, Clarence Thomas, Tim scott, so many others That and the fact that they have white spouses or lovers makes them think that they are white.
They are only tolerated in MAGA, like Kash Patel . Halley and Ramaswamy, because they advance the ideology and agenda.
Same with the Jews in Trumps orbit, LGB as well.(not the T's, there is antipathy towards Trans women by gays and TERF's
Trump aims to bankrupt the world like one of his casinos, just because he operates on greed and vengeance, and not a lick of common sense. All of his followers would never have the nerve to do what he's doing, but they have always yearned to see it get done.
I spent three weeks in Cuba in 2014. In addition to Havana, I visited Matanzas, Cienfuegos, the Vinales Valley, Mananzillo and Hemingway's estate where he wrote "Old Man and the Sea." Without exception, the Cuban people were welcoming and kind. The food, accommodations, museums and crafts were outstanding. Due to tRUMP's kidnapping of Maduro, Cuba's current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has his hands full due to critical shortages of fuel, food and medicines which Cuba purchased from Venezuela. Our sympathy should be for Cuba, NOT the tRUMP regime.
Iran is playing rope a dope. They have been building, stockpiling and storing in caves (Most of Iran is mountainous, not flat like Iraq, drones, rockets andmissiles.
You can't decapitate a reptile that grows another head. Iran has been preparing for this, they knew that Israel was dedicated to decapitating the regime and the IRGC, and have succession plans. For the mullahcracyand the IRGC.
Iran has an army and had a navy, until it was sunk on day two,. 25 old obsolete submarines, about 13 frigates and corvette, one sunk by our sub in the Indian ocean, a corvette, found safe harbor in Sri Lanka and is now detained by rules of war, the rest were moored and sunk.
But what wasn'ttouched nor can be, are the 33,000 fast boats that the IRGC Navy have, scattered along the coast, each carrying about 15 men, if launched en masse they could destroy all shipping, and Iran missiles can easily take out our aircraft carriers.
The Kurds are 10% of the population, and occupy the NW corner of Mountainous Iran, they are also Sunni Muslims in a Shia country.
Our missiles have been attacking radar stations, communication sites, police and miliary sites in what is Kurdistan Iran. And the CIA has been arming the Kurds. And the plan is to send Special operators into Iranian Kurdistan, this will alarm the Iraqis, which might remember that they are Shia, if not the government, then the Iraqi militia, the Popular Mobilization Force or Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī, and also Turkey who has had a decades old fight with the Kurds
Shia Iran has been competing with Sunni Saudi Arabia and Jordan for leadership of the Islamic world, in 1989, Khomeini send a suicide squad on a mission to capture Makka and the Qaaba, during the Haj.
Iran is now attacking the Sunni gulf states, but each state, especially Yemen have a Shia population.
The question is will the Shia see themselves as Shia or Arabs, we kind of know the answer when it comes to the Houti's of Yemen., they have closed the The Bab-el-Mandeb ("Gate of Tears") a critical 20-mile-wide, 70-mile-long maritime choke point separating Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa.
Already France and Greece and Turkey are involved, and the war between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus is about to erupt again.
The sinking of the Frigate in the Indian ocean has brought in India on the side of Iran, not only a loss of Iranian oil, forcing them to buy Russian oil, despite Trumps threats, but because the Frigate was unarmed and a guest at the invitation of India during a planned exercise, a covette has sought shelter in Sri Lanka and is being detained under the rules of war.
Wars aren't started this century by proclamations, We are already in WWIII
Bill & Dan - Guys, why not exchange email addresses? I suspect that I am not alone in finding these long debates to not always be that informative with regard to Thom's post.
Dan isn't see your comment, unless he sees mine, and he follows me on substack.
I have a question, this is about the fourth time a reader has addressed a similar comment to me, but why not Daniel..
Am I believed responsible for the exchanges.
Email correspondence won't solve the problem. We have too different world views, and nothing is going to change that.
Daniel believes that the Trump problem can be solved by the law and politics if only we can turn a couple of Republicans..
I don't. A fine idea but not viable in the present situation, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try, we have to try every avenue, but don't put all your chips on red or black.
Nothing is worse than being led astray by false hope. In case folk have a short memory, we have been punked before by Mueller, the impeachments, the Documents case and now the Trumpepstein files.
In fact we were seriously punked by the Republicans. They gamed the scenario, all Republicans were told to vote for HR 4504, release of the Epstein files, Trump even signed it and Pam Bondi's job is to stall,delay,redact, and lose any files incriminating Trump and Republicans, and nothing not even subpoenas and charges of inherent contempt can stop or punish her, as she is the ultimate punisher and she isn't going to punish herself, and neither is Todd Blanche.
Insisting that the Epstein files is the solution is leading us down a false trail to a dead end.
We should be spending our time and money, on countering all of the vote suppression and theft laws and procedures that the Republicans have constructed, and have three more years to finesse, and not waste time and money and energy chasing will o the wisps.
Agree. I'm attaching a really interesting discussion, the whole talk it's a bit long but worth a listen if you have the time. He makes a great point at 49.00 min basically stating to take everything you think you know and throw it out the window. This is at the heart a spiritual war.
I really think the 🤡 or should I say 👺 in the white house, has an inferior complex. He takes no advice from anyone of intellectual capabilities ,,so he tries and succeeds, to think he's proved to everyone that he's the smartest person in the room, when in reality he's in his own little world of DOMINANCE.
NO, HE IS NOT THE KING, BUT I TRULY BELIEVE HE THINKS THAT, BECAUSE OF THE NO KINGS PROTESTS, HE ACTLIKES THEM. JMHOP
I take a long view with Iran. Would they be as hostile or need to rely on “terrorism” if Israel had had, from the beginning Nakba, treated the Palestinians with the dignity they deserve as human beings?
The plight of the Palestinians including Naqba, can be laid in the laps of the Arabs, themselves.
May 1948 UN Recognizes Israel as a state.
Nov 1948 Seven Arab countries attempted a genocide of the Jews.
The Jews, with lesser equipment and outnumbered beat them.
To secure the safety of the state, Israel expanded it's border, the permitted the Arabs to stay, but most fled to Jordan and Lebanon and some to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia evicted them. Jordan set up refugee camps.
That is the naqba. Self inflicted wound
Not having learned a lesson, the Arabs came back again and again, 1956, 1967, 1973, 2003, 2023. And Ghazi Hamad, now deceased, said "We are a nation of martyrs and will come back again and again, till Israel is now more". Martyrs are celebrated in Islam, and no death is greater than being a martyr, a fast trip to paradise, like the Vikings seekng death in battle as anexpress ticket to Valhalla.
Einstein said: The sign of insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results each time.
Nagba, blame the Arabs for their own misery.
However I thoroughly and whole heartedly condemn and accuse of murder and theft, the settlers who are killing Arabs and driving them off the land.
But your description of the Nakba is incomplete. it began in 1947 with Zionists. "It is no longer a matter of serious dispute that in the 1947–48 period – beginning well before the Arab invasion in May 1948 – some 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their villages and homes in Israel in fear of their lives – an entirely justifiable fear, in light of massacres carried out by Zionist forces." I can agree with you view if it all started after the Arabs attacked Tel Aviv the evening of may14, but that was in response to what had already happened.
The Haganah ("Defense") was founded on June 15, 1920, as a clandestine Jewish paramilitary organization in Mandatory Palestine to protect Jewish settlements following the 1920 Arab riots. Emerging from the earlier Hashomer group, it became the main underground defense force, later developing into the core of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1948.
In case you want to change the subject to the Irgun and the father of Terrorism, Menachim Begin and blowing up the King David Hotel, I know all about that.
The subject however is the NAQba and the confiscation of Bedouin and Arab lands.
Completely wrong. There were pogorms in Israel even while it was under Turkish control. The Jews, who lived there for thousands of years, and those who migrated after WWI, bought land. There was no naqba
In response to the pogroms the Jews formed their own self defense force called the Haganah, but they weren't confiscating land, there was no state of Israel.
You are just spouting Arab propaganda, and less you accuse me of being a Zionist, Zionists consider me an anti semite, as do others.
Not true, I am anti semitic, Islamophobic, and anti Christian, but I am a truth seeker and call all propaganda, Jewish,Christian and Muslim, Capitalist, communist, libertarian bullshit.
I hear who you are and agree, although I allow all faiths a hearing and a place as long as no one is hurt. The reference for the quote is Jerome Slater. Mythologies without End: The U. S., Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917-2020. Cambridge 2020. It’s not propaganda.
The post war Jewish population in Palestine was boosted during the war by many escapees determined to fight if necessary. It was a reasonable paradigm.
Like our white Christian Nationalists show, as well as Iran and Israel, anytime state power and religious faith are combined wars follow.
I do not disagree, again the naba or catastrophe as the word translates to, is a result off the Seven Arab nations invading the brand new state of Israel on Nov 1948, before that there was no state to evict anyone.
There were Jew vs Arab tensions, and as I point out the Arabs had been running pogroms against the Jew before the state of Israel was form, and the Jews, before the state of Israel was form, had formed their own self defense force the Haganah.
Which leads to the conclusion had the Arabs and Bedouins not tried to run off the Jews and chose to live in peace, the history of the region would be a lot different.
Or maybe not, a culture clash was inevitable.
As regards the present and the future. I have this to say, the Jewish state and the Arab world are incompatible. There will always be conflict.
I ask that you accept the fact that I am such a student of Islam, that Muslims consider me an apostate (murtadd) not just a kufr (infidel, non believer).
There are three holy sites in Islam, so holy that no kufr is allowed to tread, Makka, Medina and the Haram al shariff or dome of the rock.
That Jews antagonize Muslims by even visiting the haram a; sharif was the cause of the 1st Intifada (uprising, that is what intifada means_
Ariel Sharon, then-leader of the Israeli opposition and the Likud Party, visited the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem on September 28, 2000, accompanied by a large security contingent. While Sharon claimed the visit was a peaceful, symbolic act asserting Israeli sovereignty, it was viewed as a major provocation and is widely cited as the spark for the Second Intifada.
That was his goal.
Here is why a 2nd state solution is impossiible.
The ultimate goal of the Zionists, I mean the hard core Theodore Herzl brand, is symbolized on their flag.
The blue band at te top represents the Nile, the one at the bottom, the Eurphrates the Star of David (Solomon) in the mddle is Eratz Ysrael in between.
On the part of the Arab Muslims, there is a holy war against the Jews
and according to Sahih 2525/2925, Book 56, hadith 139 al Bukhari
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
Now Muslims take their Qu'ran and hadiths literally, unlike Christians.
The day of reckoning is the day of judgement, the Muslim end times, their version of revelations and armeggedon till then peoples of the book, Christians, Jews and in Iran Zoroastrians, can live peacefully in Muslim lands as second class citizens (dhimmis) practice their faith, unmolested, so long as they pay the poll tax (jizzyah) that requirement was suspended in te 20th Century.
Atheist and polytheists (Hindus) must either convert or lose their heads.
There is no middle ground with Islam, one is Muslim or a peoples of the book or not, and Islam does not submit to kufr.
The Jews on the other hand are, or were with the exception of the haredi and chabad, not so doctrinaire. Israel provides for anyone to worhip as they please or not worship at all.
Israel had gay marriage before the United States, Islam executes gays.
Islam treats women as property to be controlled by men, and hidden away, Judaism gives them equal rights
Israel grants Arab Muslims the right to vote, and they have even had a representative in the knesset.
Find one Arab or Muslim country that does the same for non believers.
As far as Jerome Slater, once one steps outside of reporting facts, bias enters in. Ihaven't read the book,butif he reports an ything other than conflicts between Jew and Arab,and delves into motive, then he is not objective.
The only reason I have any interest in Israel is because it is land locked aircraft carrier, less than an hour away from the Arab oil fields, which could strangle the world.
All the Arabs have to do is what they did in 1973, and turn the oil spigot clockwise.
Now Trump has done the job for them, by invading Iran, and thus choking off the flow of oil
The Iranians generally don't think much of the Arabs, so I doubt if that was a major consideration. The US-UK overthrow of the elected government in 1953 is really the original sin here.
The Iranians were ALLIES of Israel until 1979! Were allies in 1953.
And as for Dr. J, the Arabs forcibly kicked out as many if not more Jews from countries like Egypt et al than supposedly were displaced by Israel in 1948. The idea was to to put them in one place to exterminate them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_the_Muslim_world
Slater would be killed under Hamas policy -- all Jews must die. That was Arab League policy in 1948, when they took the old city of Jerusalem, which had been mostly Jewish.
The temptation to blame POSOTUS misses the point. He, President Miller, Secretary of Ethanol Hegseth, the Cabinet, the DOJ, the FBI, DHS, etc., etc. are unrestrained by Congress, the courts, the voters. Legacy media has abandoned professionalism for profit. “Critical mass” seems elusive - it just keeps getting worse and worse, keeps getting normalized by repetition, keeps metastasizing, all for want of effective, organized, compelling opposition. Follow the money.
Trump is the symptom, MAGA the disease.Trump is simply the avatar, the physical manifestation of MAGA.
And MAGA is not new, MAGA has been with us since the Puritans landed, in the 17th Century they spread their virus to Virginia in the Great Awakenings.
The virus fit well with and justified slavery because the Bible, old and new, justified slavery, and the slavers paid preachers to brainwash their slaves about Jesus, and it really,really took,
After the civil war, the virus erupted in the form of the Knights of the Golden Circle and KKK, it saw a resurgence after the civil war, with D.W, Griffins silent movie, The Birth of a Nation, and grew again, KKK and religious fascism was on the rise. during Prohibition, the KKK in the 20's became more of a social organization, but melded withthe rise of fascism, until it was barely distinguishable, and if the Japs hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor, fascism might have come earlier to America.
WWII put it on the back burner, as did the economic boom after WWII, which produced the boomer generation.
It was the Civil Rights movement,LBJ, the Vietnam war, and the reaction to it that actually birthed MAGA. In the 1950's I was a beatnik in Uniform.
With the cold war in full force, and Americans hyper vigilant and afraid of communism, the protest movement resulted in a reaction that is the foundation of MAGA,combined with economic conservatism (Milton Friedman Frederick Hyak and William F Buckley, you have the grandfathers or fathers of the Tea Party, the Tea Party is the father of MAGA
Which is the melding of economic libertarian ism with patriarchalism and racism.
I repeat, Trump is the boil that erupts from exposure to versinia eruptis (black death).
The virus itself landed on these shores in 1620 and has mutated and spread.
BTW, for those who argue that the Puritans brought democracy to this shores, that is bullshit, Self governance was recognized by the Crown in the third charter of the Virginia Company in 1619, and the assemblage was the House of Burgess was formed.
POSOTUS isn’t a Svengali, he is the epitome of the Repugnican Party, created by the Repugnican Party which embraced him with passionate, unquestioning fervor.
Thom has nicely demonstrated Trump's demented brain and his sociopathic soul.
His carefully-selected cabinet of incompetent sycophants nullifies Article 25. His spineless Congressional majority nullifies impeachment.
By default, we have a ruler. By his history of invasions, we have an emperor. A historical first perhaps is that Emperor Bonespurs has zero combat experience, and is so addlepated that his lack of strategic planning will soon run America out of munitions to protect our borders from invaders of Taiwan or Alaska, or, even Europe. Having already declared World Tradewar III, his recklessness will soon enable WWIII. Feeling a bit helpless? You should be.
Trump is a wannabe world emperor, with his Board of Peace,and hisdemands that heads of state bend their knee (sadly some do, disgustingly in Europe)
This Shield of the Americas is his attempt to be emperor of the Technate of America, and tragically it looks like he is going to succeed.. He threatens everyone with our economic and military might.
I think all emperors are wannabes. Effective leaders surround themselves with people likely to point out potential unintended consequences. That was my role for my last 15 years in uniform. Emperors do not listen; they rule. They smugly assume they know best until the empire implodes. Problem is, it is our empire too, and implosion hurts.
Our Armed Forces have become Black Water. Or Doom Dash.
On Smedley Butler*, from Wikipedia . . .
In 1935, he wrote the exposé War Is a Racket, a trenchant condemnation of the profit motive behind warfare. His views on the subject are summarized in the following passage from the November 1935 issue of the socialist magazine Common Sense:
"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
* **Butler is universally regarded as one of the most decorated and influential U.S. Marines in history, especially noted for his two Medals of Honor and his later anti‑war activism. Below is a clean, evidence‑based ranking of his significance across several dimensions.
---
🏅 Overall Ranking of Smedley D. Butler’s Historical Significance
Based on military achievement, cultural impact, and political influence.
### 1. **Military Decorations & Combat Record — #1 Among Early 20th‑Century Marines**
- One of only **four Americans** to receive the **Medal of Honor twice**.
- At his death, he was **the most decorated Marine in U.S. history**.
- Served in **Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Boxer Rebellion, Veracruz, Haiti, Nicaragua, WWI**, and more.
- Known for leading from the front and being beloved by rank‑and‑file Marines.
### 2. **Leadership Reputation — Top‑Tier “Organizational Genius”**
- Recognized for exceptional leadership traits: **judgment, dependability, initiative, integrity, courage**, and more.
- Promoted to **brigadier general** during WWI and later to **major general**, the highest rank authorized at the time.
### 3. **Cultural & Political Impact — Among the Most Influential Military Whistleblowers**
- Author of *War Is a Racket* (1935), a landmark critique of U.S. corporate‑military entanglement.
- Famously described himself as a **“racketeer for capitalism”**, a quote that still circulates widely in discussions of U.S. foreign policy.
- His post‑service activism made him a central figure in debates about imperialism and military ethics.
### 4. **Public Reputation — One of the Most Beloved Marines**
- Teddy Roosevelt called him **“the finest fighting man in America.”**
- Known for honesty, humility, and solidarity with enlisted troops.
---
Smedley Butler was a hero for telling the truth to as many people as he could with his book. He shed light on an unfolding insurrection from within.
Before I read Butler's book, my older bro and I, both VN war combat vets, were talking about why we thought this country goes to war, and based on all the VN war history I've read, I told him,"...only1 reason: PROFIT." Then he told me about the book, which I've read since then. And Butler was/is absolutely correct: PROFIT.
War Murder Lies---Your tax dollars at work!
That's my new sign, and I'm going to put it to use today. I've noticed the MAGA people driving by giving us a one digit salute have a different attitude. They used to be gleeful and happy, now they are just mean and oh so very angry.
It's almost like they are catching on that what the sign says is true. No one likes to get an "I told you so!". See you in the streets.
War Murder lies I like it. Sex Lies and Videotape though not original for my poster.
They naively believed him and now we are all going to suffer the consequences. I suspect that the people in the Middle East along with many others in the world will suffer also. It's going to be catastrophic and it's stupidly unnecessary.
You are correct Alis. They naively supported him and
Russia sharing intelligence with Iran, works in their favor as it distracts attention and resources from his invasion of Ukraine
Trump's response when asked about Russia helping Iran was dismissive: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-russia-iran-intelligence-report-response-leavitt-11636666
This is proof that Things Are Not As They Appear, and that this war with Iran has motives as yet unseen. I said motives,because forf one thing it pulls Bibi's irons out of the fire. Considering it is he who launched the first missile to take out the Mullahs, but this operation has been in the planning stages for months, that's why the carrier groups were stationed to the region.
There appears to be a Triumvirate , Trump, Netanyahu, Putin and a greater game at play
With the world distracted by the Iran war, Putin has greater play in Ukraine. Trump has always been Putins butt boy, he and Bibi are BFF's, and Trump has back stopped support for Ukraine anyway
And then there is this Krasnov the KGB agent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-u4d6Zwdns&t=5s
Are we seeing the world carved up, Orwellian style. Oceania (the Technate), Eurasia, East Asia, a Caliphate centered in Riyadh or a Sultante in Istanbul?
Maximum pressure on Cuba is helping Putin recruit starving fighting age men to fight Ukraine.
Plus they're FUNDING the war:
Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel Friday, with American crude settling at $90.90, up 36% from a week ago, and Brent, the international standard, climbing 27% over the course of the week to land at $92.69. Google: Oil prices are critically important to the Russian economy, acting as the primary driver of government revenue, economic growth, and ruble stability. While fossil fuels historically funded nearly 40% of the federal budget, this decreased to 25% in 2025 due to sanctions, price caps, and global market shifts. High prices boost the ruble and state spending, whereas low prices trigger inflation, deficits, and economic contraction.
Krasnov is on the job. On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil currently "stranded at sea" to stabilize global prices following conflict in the Middle East.
Nuclear Energy Exemptions: In December 2025, the administration suspended sanctions on several major Russian banks (including Sberbank and VTB) specifically for transactions related to civil nuclear energy projects.
Targeted Delistings: In late 2025, the Treasury quietly removed sanctions from several foreign firms in Cyprus, Dubai, and Turkey that were previously accused of supplying Russia's military.
Meanwhile in Baghdad By the Sea, Trump will host leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean in Doral today for what the White House describes as a landmark summit aimed at reshaping regional alliances and reinforcing U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere.
The gathering, which the Trump administration is calling the “Shield of the Americas Summit,” will bring together the heads of state or government from 12 countries aligned with Washington on issues including migration, drug trafficking and regional security.
A White House official said that the participating governments are expected to sign the Doral Charter, a declaration affirming what officials describe as the “right of the peoples of our Hemisphere to chart their own destiny free from interference,” while emphasizing democratic governance and free-market principles.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article314950354.html#storylink=cpy
Yep Shield of America aka the Technate of America aka Oceania.
Different names for the same thing.
As regards Russia, suzerainty over Eureasia, and Israel over the Levant and Mid East.
I am of the opinion, that this war with Iran had a purpose, not the only one, of serving the needs of Trumps BFF Bibi., with no longer a Gaza war excuse, Bibi is in real trouble, he needs a war to stave off justice, and Trump has been hectoring the President of Israel, pardon Netanyahu or else.
The war provides Trump with a national emergency crisis that he can use to grab total power, it detracts attention and resources from the defense of Ukraine,gives Putin an economic boost.
Fulfills a promise to the oil execs that he addressed prior to the campaign, five a billion dollars in support and I will give you what you want.
And then there is the Saudi Arabia (Sunni)_ Shia (Iran) millenia old conflict for leadership of the Islamic world.
Don;'t accept anything at face value, things are not as they appear, and there is always more than one motive
Coincides with the Trumpepstein issue.
But Trumpepstein is a distraction, it will not take down Trump or the regime, for the simple reason that the only way to take him down is via the Department of Justice,and he has has total control of the DOJ, which is he is personal law firm.
We would think that elections might do it, but voter suprression and voter theft laws and actions are in effect and in motion, and frankly I don't think the Epstein files are sufficient, abortion wasn't.
And that assumes that there will be an election, or an election like in 2012, a Hungarian style election, yes, A Russian slyle election yes, a Turkeish style election , Yes, a Russian style election yes, A free open , honest election, no.
Steve Bannon spilled the beans, Trump has said it aloud, there will be no election, they've been working on it since Jan 2025, and will have had four years, who knows maybe ta purpose of this war, is to obviate an election.
This is from AP today. Putin is helping Iran and the U.S. is giving Putin more money.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to allow India to buy Russian oil for 30 days underscores a boost for Moscow’s fortunes against the backdrop of the Iran war as Russia’s oil exports help Kremlin pay for its own war on Ukraine.
The Treasury Department this week said India can keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.
That measure is aimed at helping ease upward pressure on oil prices that affect gasoline costs for U.S. consumers. But it also underlines how the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran is tightening the markets for oil and gas — including Russia’s crude.
Thanks, I've seen much the same from different sources.
I am still convinced that there is a relationship between Krasnov and Putin
And that dust ups are manufactured to keep us off balance.
don't see how the Treasury Departments decision to allow India to buy Russia oil for 30 days, can relive upward pressure on oil prices that affect gasoline costs for US Consume.
Also . doesn't the whole thing raise the question, "How can the US Treasury exert influence over India, enough to give them orders"
Statements like that seem to float over the heads of journalists and pundits like balloons.
No mention of Cuba in the article. Thanks for sharing.
Another comment:
Are we sure Kristi was fired? Are we really? Things are never as they appear to be.
Let's exam the situation.
Kristi is a Trump loyalist, she wants nothing more to please her boss, she is his dog. He commands she barks.She is ruthless, a psychopath like him, she is totally dependable to follow orders.
In other words she is useful, very useful and dependable.
He has placed her in charge of something that came out of the blue, The Shield of the America's, and not one pundit, media source has asked questions like What the eff is this Shield of the Americas.
The leftist, liberal,progressive media should be all over this, but silence, not even a wisp of curiosity, just wetting their undies over the "firing of Noem'. I am losing any respect for liberal media and pundits.
I will take a stab, factor in Trumps plans for Cuba, to take it down economically and install Marco Rubio as satrap, his plans for Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia I see the Shield of the Americas as the Technate of America, aka Oceania. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:34227574
Who better than to head the project, than a ruthless, dependable,worshiping psychopathic, sycophant like Kristi Noem.
She wasn't fired, she was promoted.
I reckon Shield of the Americas is Trump's play for a piece of the drug money pie.
I agree.
Reminds me of the French Revolution and she's Robespierre of the Americas.
And especially in light of your recent comment vis a vis the meeting in Baghad by the sea of the upcoming meeting of Trump's Shield of America's.
Again I am very dismayed that no one in even the so called liberal media, or substack has even expressed a curiosity
The world is being changed in front of our eyes, and everyone is fixated on the spaghetti sticking to the walls.
Myopia, the myipic mind is the enemy, and as Pogo said: I've seen the enemy and he is us.
Does anyone think the Republicans will finally impeach the bastard? We may have to wait for something clear-cut that Caroline Leavitt can't lie about, such as an Iranian cell killing or kidnapping rich white Americans on American soil. I would love to be a fly on the wall in Putin's war room. Great post, Thom.
Not if they are counting on the midterms being cancelled.
I can't even think about that
Too awful to make a comment..
Thanks Thom for bringing us some more truths.
I spoke to our cleaning lady this morning - she is an American citizen, born in the USA...
She did not know we are at war with Iran!
How many other citizens are there like her?
Here in Baghdad By the Sea, where the leading candidate for governor is a Black Republican, we have a major scandal.
The Group Chat: Originally created last fall by Abel Alexander Carvajal, Secretary of the Miami-Dade Republican Party and an FIU law student, the chat was intended for conservative students but quickly devolved into hate speech.
Offensive Content:
Racist Slurs: Participants used variations of the N-word over 400 times.
Violent Rhetoric: Messages reportedly detailed "dozens of ways" to kill Black people, including mentions of crucifixion and beheading.
Antisemitism & Misogyny: Members praised Adolf Hitler's politics, joked about gas chambers, used slurs against Jewish and gay people, and used degrading terms for women.
"Nazi Heaven": One member described the chat environment as a "Nazi heaven".
The New York Times
Involved Individuals
Abel Alexander Carvajal: Secretary of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. While he claims he did not send the offensive messages himself, he is facing intense calls to resign for creating the space.
Ian Valdes: FIU's Turning Point USA chapter president.
Dariel Gonzalez: Former College Republicans recruitment chair.
Instagram
Caravajal is a second year law student.
+++++
Byron Donalds, a U.S. Representative and front-runner in the 2026 Florida gubernatorial race, centers his position on "election integrity" rather than "voting rights" as defined by Democrats. He argues that secure elections are the foundation of democracy and that current GOP-led reforms are necessary to restore trust in the system.
The New York Times
So far, I haven't found any public comment by Donalds about the emails.
Key Positions on Voting & Elections
Proof of Citizenship: Donalds strongly supports the SAVE Act, which would mandate that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections. He calls this a "common sense" measure to prevent non-citizens from voting.
Voter ID: He is a vocal proponent of strict voter ID laws, dismissing claims that they disenfranchise minority communities as "widely debunked".
++++++
The irony is that in the rest of the country, MAGA sees Cubans like Carvajal as DEI. And many of would not judge Donalds by the color of his character.
Donalds is a Quisling. He is the house slave Stephen in Django Unchained, sitting by the fireplace sipping brandy with the massah, instructing him on how to discipline the field slaves. He, Candace Owens, Herschel Walker, Clarence Thomas, Tim scott, so many others That and the fact that they have white spouses or lovers makes them think that they are white.
They are only tolerated in MAGA, like Kash Patel . Halley and Ramaswamy, because they advance the ideology and agenda.
Same with the Jews in Trumps orbit, LGB as well.(not the T's, there is antipathy towards Trans women by gays and TERF's
Trump aims to bankrupt the world like one of his casinos, just because he operates on greed and vengeance, and not a lick of common sense. All of his followers would never have the nerve to do what he's doing, but they have always yearned to see it get done.
I spent three weeks in Cuba in 2014. In addition to Havana, I visited Matanzas, Cienfuegos, the Vinales Valley, Mananzillo and Hemingway's estate where he wrote "Old Man and the Sea." Without exception, the Cuban people were welcoming and kind. The food, accommodations, museums and crafts were outstanding. Due to tRUMP's kidnapping of Maduro, Cuba's current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has his hands full due to critical shortages of fuel, food and medicines which Cuba purchased from Venezuela. Our sympathy should be for Cuba, NOT the tRUMP regime.
Iran is playing rope a dope. They have been building, stockpiling and storing in caves (Most of Iran is mountainous, not flat like Iraq, drones, rockets andmissiles.
You can't decapitate a reptile that grows another head. Iran has been preparing for this, they knew that Israel was dedicated to decapitating the regime and the IRGC, and have succession plans. For the mullahcracyand the IRGC.
Iran has an army and had a navy, until it was sunk on day two,. 25 old obsolete submarines, about 13 frigates and corvette, one sunk by our sub in the Indian ocean, a corvette, found safe harbor in Sri Lanka and is now detained by rules of war, the rest were moored and sunk.
But what wasn'ttouched nor can be, are the 33,000 fast boats that the IRGC Navy have, scattered along the coast, each carrying about 15 men, if launched en masse they could destroy all shipping, and Iran missiles can easily take out our aircraft carriers.
The Kurds are 10% of the population, and occupy the NW corner of Mountainous Iran, they are also Sunni Muslims in a Shia country.
Our missiles have been attacking radar stations, communication sites, police and miliary sites in what is Kurdistan Iran. And the CIA has been arming the Kurds. And the plan is to send Special operators into Iranian Kurdistan, this will alarm the Iraqis, which might remember that they are Shia, if not the government, then the Iraqi militia, the Popular Mobilization Force or Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī, and also Turkey who has had a decades old fight with the Kurds
Shia Iran has been competing with Sunni Saudi Arabia and Jordan for leadership of the Islamic world, in 1989, Khomeini send a suicide squad on a mission to capture Makka and the Qaaba, during the Haj.
Iran is now attacking the Sunni gulf states, but each state, especially Yemen have a Shia population.
The question is will the Shia see themselves as Shia or Arabs, we kind of know the answer when it comes to the Houti's of Yemen., they have closed the The Bab-el-Mandeb ("Gate of Tears") a critical 20-mile-wide, 70-mile-long maritime choke point separating Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula from Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa.
Already France and Greece and Turkey are involved, and the war between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus is about to erupt again.
The sinking of the Frigate in the Indian ocean has brought in India on the side of Iran, not only a loss of Iranian oil, forcing them to buy Russian oil, despite Trumps threats, but because the Frigate was unarmed and a guest at the invitation of India during a planned exercise, a covette has sought shelter in Sri Lanka and is being detained under the rules of war.
Wars aren't started this century by proclamations, We are already in WWIII
T
Bill & Dan - Guys, why not exchange email addresses? I suspect that I am not alone in finding these long debates to not always be that informative with regard to Thom's post.
Dan isn't see your comment, unless he sees mine, and he follows me on substack.
I have a question, this is about the fourth time a reader has addressed a similar comment to me, but why not Daniel..
Am I believed responsible for the exchanges.
Email correspondence won't solve the problem. We have too different world views, and nothing is going to change that.
Daniel believes that the Trump problem can be solved by the law and politics if only we can turn a couple of Republicans..
I don't. A fine idea but not viable in the present situation, doesn't mean that we shouldn't try, we have to try every avenue, but don't put all your chips on red or black.
Nothing is worse than being led astray by false hope. In case folk have a short memory, we have been punked before by Mueller, the impeachments, the Documents case and now the Trumpepstein files.
In fact we were seriously punked by the Republicans. They gamed the scenario, all Republicans were told to vote for HR 4504, release of the Epstein files, Trump even signed it and Pam Bondi's job is to stall,delay,redact, and lose any files incriminating Trump and Republicans, and nothing not even subpoenas and charges of inherent contempt can stop or punish her, as she is the ultimate punisher and she isn't going to punish herself, and neither is Todd Blanche.
Insisting that the Epstein files is the solution is leading us down a false trail to a dead end.
We should be spending our time and money, on countering all of the vote suppression and theft laws and procedures that the Republicans have constructed, and have three more years to finesse, and not waste time and money and energy chasing will o the wisps.
Agree. I'm attaching a really interesting discussion, the whole talk it's a bit long but worth a listen if you have the time. He makes a great point at 49.00 min basically stating to take everything you think you know and throw it out the window. This is at the heart a spiritual war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rIgZD-tk3s
I really think the 🤡 or should I say 👺 in the white house, has an inferior complex. He takes no advice from anyone of intellectual capabilities ,,so he tries and succeeds, to think he's proved to everyone that he's the smartest person in the room, when in reality he's in his own little world of DOMINANCE.
NO, HE IS NOT THE KING, BUT I TRULY BELIEVE HE THINKS THAT, BECAUSE OF THE NO KINGS PROTESTS, HE ACTLIKES THEM. JMHOP
I take a long view with Iran. Would they be as hostile or need to rely on “terrorism” if Israel had had, from the beginning Nakba, treated the Palestinians with the dignity they deserve as human beings?
The plight of the Palestinians including Naqba, can be laid in the laps of the Arabs, themselves.
May 1948 UN Recognizes Israel as a state.
Nov 1948 Seven Arab countries attempted a genocide of the Jews.
The Jews, with lesser equipment and outnumbered beat them.
To secure the safety of the state, Israel expanded it's border, the permitted the Arabs to stay, but most fled to Jordan and Lebanon and some to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia evicted them. Jordan set up refugee camps.
That is the naqba. Self inflicted wound
Not having learned a lesson, the Arabs came back again and again, 1956, 1967, 1973, 2003, 2023. And Ghazi Hamad, now deceased, said "We are a nation of martyrs and will come back again and again, till Israel is now more". Martyrs are celebrated in Islam, and no death is greater than being a martyr, a fast trip to paradise, like the Vikings seekng death in battle as anexpress ticket to Valhalla.
Einstein said: The sign of insanity is doing the same thing again and again expecting different results each time.
Nagba, blame the Arabs for their own misery.
However I thoroughly and whole heartedly condemn and accuse of murder and theft, the settlers who are killing Arabs and driving them off the land.
But your description of the Nakba is incomplete. it began in 1947 with Zionists. "It is no longer a matter of serious dispute that in the 1947–48 period – beginning well before the Arab invasion in May 1948 – some 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their villages and homes in Israel in fear of their lives – an entirely justifiable fear, in light of massacres carried out by Zionist forces." I can agree with you view if it all started after the Arabs attacked Tel Aviv the evening of may14, but that was in response to what had already happened.
I repeat until May of 1948, there was no state of Israel, and the Israelis could not have evicted the Bedouins or Arabs from their homes
Pogroms in Palestine befrore the state of Israel:
https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/pogroms-in-palestine-before-the-creation-of-the-state-of-israel-1830-1948/
The Haganah ("Defense") was founded on June 15, 1920, as a clandestine Jewish paramilitary organization in Mandatory Palestine to protect Jewish settlements following the 1920 Arab riots. Emerging from the earlier Hashomer group, it became the main underground defense force, later developing into the core of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in 1948.
In case you want to change the subject to the Irgun and the father of Terrorism, Menachim Begin and blowing up the King David Hotel, I know all about that.
The subject however is the NAQba and the confiscation of Bedouin and Arab lands.
Completely wrong. There were pogorms in Israel even while it was under Turkish control. The Jews, who lived there for thousands of years, and those who migrated after WWI, bought land. There was no naqba
In response to the pogroms the Jews formed their own self defense force called the Haganah, but they weren't confiscating land, there was no state of Israel.
You are just spouting Arab propaganda, and less you accuse me of being a Zionist, Zionists consider me an anti semite, as do others.
Not true, I am anti semitic, Islamophobic, and anti Christian, but I am a truth seeker and call all propaganda, Jewish,Christian and Muslim, Capitalist, communist, libertarian bullshit.
I hear who you are and agree, although I allow all faiths a hearing and a place as long as no one is hurt. The reference for the quote is Jerome Slater. Mythologies without End: The U. S., Israel, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1917-2020. Cambridge 2020. It’s not propaganda.
The post war Jewish population in Palestine was boosted during the war by many escapees determined to fight if necessary. It was a reasonable paradigm.
Like our white Christian Nationalists show, as well as Iran and Israel, anytime state power and religious faith are combined wars follow.
I do not disagree, again the naba or catastrophe as the word translates to, is a result off the Seven Arab nations invading the brand new state of Israel on Nov 1948, before that there was no state to evict anyone.
There were Jew vs Arab tensions, and as I point out the Arabs had been running pogroms against the Jew before the state of Israel was form, and the Jews, before the state of Israel was form, had formed their own self defense force the Haganah.
Which leads to the conclusion had the Arabs and Bedouins not tried to run off the Jews and chose to live in peace, the history of the region would be a lot different.
Or maybe not, a culture clash was inevitable.
As regards the present and the future. I have this to say, the Jewish state and the Arab world are incompatible. There will always be conflict.
I ask that you accept the fact that I am such a student of Islam, that Muslims consider me an apostate (murtadd) not just a kufr (infidel, non believer).
There are three holy sites in Islam, so holy that no kufr is allowed to tread, Makka, Medina and the Haram al shariff or dome of the rock.
That Jews antagonize Muslims by even visiting the haram a; sharif was the cause of the 1st Intifada (uprising, that is what intifada means_
Ariel Sharon, then-leader of the Israeli opposition and the Likud Party, visited the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem on September 28, 2000, accompanied by a large security contingent. While Sharon claimed the visit was a peaceful, symbolic act asserting Israeli sovereignty, it was viewed as a major provocation and is widely cited as the spark for the Second Intifada.
That was his goal.
Here is why a 2nd state solution is impossiible.
The ultimate goal of the Zionists, I mean the hard core Theodore Herzl brand, is symbolized on their flag.
The blue band at te top represents the Nile, the one at the bottom, the Eurphrates the Star of David (Solomon) in the mddle is Eratz Ysrael in between.
On the part of the Arab Muslims, there is a holy war against the Jews
and according to Sahih 2525/2925, Book 56, hadith 139 al Bukhari
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
Now Muslims take their Qu'ran and hadiths literally, unlike Christians.
The day of reckoning is the day of judgement, the Muslim end times, their version of revelations and armeggedon till then peoples of the book, Christians, Jews and in Iran Zoroastrians, can live peacefully in Muslim lands as second class citizens (dhimmis) practice their faith, unmolested, so long as they pay the poll tax (jizzyah) that requirement was suspended in te 20th Century.
Atheist and polytheists (Hindus) must either convert or lose their heads.
There is no middle ground with Islam, one is Muslim or a peoples of the book or not, and Islam does not submit to kufr.
The Jews on the other hand are, or were with the exception of the haredi and chabad, not so doctrinaire. Israel provides for anyone to worhip as they please or not worship at all.
Israel had gay marriage before the United States, Islam executes gays.
Islam treats women as property to be controlled by men, and hidden away, Judaism gives them equal rights
Israel grants Arab Muslims the right to vote, and they have even had a representative in the knesset.
Find one Arab or Muslim country that does the same for non believers.
As far as Jerome Slater, once one steps outside of reporting facts, bias enters in. Ihaven't read the book,butif he reports an ything other than conflicts between Jew and Arab,and delves into motive, then he is not objective.
The only reason I have any interest in Israel is because it is land locked aircraft carrier, less than an hour away from the Arab oil fields, which could strangle the world.
All the Arabs have to do is what they did in 1973, and turn the oil spigot clockwise.
Now Trump has done the job for them, by invading Iran, and thus choking off the flow of oil
The Iranians generally don't think much of the Arabs, so I doubt if that was a major consideration. The US-UK overthrow of the elected government in 1953 is really the original sin here.
The Iranians were ALLIES of Israel until 1979! Were allies in 1953.
And as for Dr. J, the Arabs forcibly kicked out as many if not more Jews from countries like Egypt et al than supposedly were displaced by Israel in 1948. The idea was to to put them in one place to exterminate them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_the_Muslim_world
Slater would be killed under Hamas policy -- all Jews must die. That was Arab League policy in 1948, when they took the old city of Jerusalem, which had been mostly Jewish.
The temptation to blame POSOTUS misses the point. He, President Miller, Secretary of Ethanol Hegseth, the Cabinet, the DOJ, the FBI, DHS, etc., etc. are unrestrained by Congress, the courts, the voters. Legacy media has abandoned professionalism for profit. “Critical mass” seems elusive - it just keeps getting worse and worse, keeps getting normalized by repetition, keeps metastasizing, all for want of effective, organized, compelling opposition. Follow the money.
You are correct Tom in this sense:
Trump is the symptom, MAGA the disease.Trump is simply the avatar, the physical manifestation of MAGA.
And MAGA is not new, MAGA has been with us since the Puritans landed, in the 17th Century they spread their virus to Virginia in the Great Awakenings.
The virus fit well with and justified slavery because the Bible, old and new, justified slavery, and the slavers paid preachers to brainwash their slaves about Jesus, and it really,really took,
After the civil war, the virus erupted in the form of the Knights of the Golden Circle and KKK, it saw a resurgence after the civil war, with D.W, Griffins silent movie, The Birth of a Nation, and grew again, KKK and religious fascism was on the rise. during Prohibition, the KKK in the 20's became more of a social organization, but melded withthe rise of fascism, until it was barely distinguishable, and if the Japs hadn't bombed Pearl Harbor, fascism might have come earlier to America.
WWII put it on the back burner, as did the economic boom after WWII, which produced the boomer generation.
It was the Civil Rights movement,LBJ, the Vietnam war, and the reaction to it that actually birthed MAGA. In the 1950's I was a beatnik in Uniform.
With the cold war in full force, and Americans hyper vigilant and afraid of communism, the protest movement resulted in a reaction that is the foundation of MAGA,combined with economic conservatism (Milton Friedman Frederick Hyak and William F Buckley, you have the grandfathers or fathers of the Tea Party, the Tea Party is the father of MAGA
Which is the melding of economic libertarian ism with patriarchalism and racism.
I repeat, Trump is the boil that erupts from exposure to versinia eruptis (black death).
The virus itself landed on these shores in 1620 and has mutated and spread.
BTW, for those who argue that the Puritans brought democracy to this shores, that is bullshit, Self governance was recognized by the Crown in the third charter of the Virginia Company in 1619, and the assemblage was the House of Burgess was formed.
But for Trump, none of the rest would follow.
POSOTUS isn’t a Svengali, he is the epitome of the Repugnican Party, created by the Repugnican Party which embraced him with passionate, unquestioning fervor.
Tip of the spear? No tip no spear.
No absolution for his True Believers.
Thom has nicely demonstrated Trump's demented brain and his sociopathic soul.
His carefully-selected cabinet of incompetent sycophants nullifies Article 25. His spineless Congressional majority nullifies impeachment.
By default, we have a ruler. By his history of invasions, we have an emperor. A historical first perhaps is that Emperor Bonespurs has zero combat experience, and is so addlepated that his lack of strategic planning will soon run America out of munitions to protect our borders from invaders of Taiwan or Alaska, or, even Europe. Having already declared World Tradewar III, his recklessness will soon enable WWIII. Feeling a bit helpless? You should be.
Trump is a wannabe world emperor, with his Board of Peace,and hisdemands that heads of state bend their knee (sadly some do, disgustingly in Europe)
This Shield of the Americas is his attempt to be emperor of the Technate of America, and tragically it looks like he is going to succeed.. He threatens everyone with our economic and military might.
I think all emperors are wannabes. Effective leaders surround themselves with people likely to point out potential unintended consequences. That was my role for my last 15 years in uniform. Emperors do not listen; they rule. They smugly assume they know best until the empire implodes. Problem is, it is our empire too, and implosion hurts.
Thank you! Nothing like, the Truth!
My thoughts are with Cricket. Out there in the vast universe Cricket may well have been waiting for this to happen to Christie.
What did Trump expect when he handed Christie that sensitive position - that she would not go on to emulate him?
How is it that humanity has allowed so many madmen to become heads of state? My species disgusts me at times.