From France to Germany to Canada, governments are recalibrating their security, technology, and defense policies around one unspoken reality: America can’t be counted on…
Don't these moves by our (erstwhile?) allies seem a lot like keeping sharp objects away from an increasingly unstable, mentally ill family member? Meanwhile, this criminally dangerous president has plenty of enablers. But fear is a prerequisite for tyranny; courage is a prerequisite for democracy.
Donald Trump is a gift to America's enemies. Donald Trump is destroying the United States from within. Donald Trump is America's suicide. Is it possible for Messrs. Schumer and Jeffries to sound a similar alarm as this post? If we're going to go down, can we at least go down fighting?
In chess, got to move the pawns first. We are a minority. Need a few. REPUBLICANS.
In my mailbox:
Daniel, Congress is on the verge of approving billions more taxpayer dollars for ICE, but it’s not a done deal. Your voice matters now more than ever.
Last week, Democrats in Congress released their 10 demands for ICE reform – and many are strong reforms that Common Cause has already called for: banning racial profiling, protecting schools and polling places, and expanding oversight. [1]
But let’s remember – one of the biggest problems you and I have with this Administration is that they blatantly ignore the rule of law.
So, when we’re up against an out-of-control agency that is terrorizing our communities, we shouldn’t ask for the bare minimum in return – we must demand the democracy we all deserve.
That means: firing Kristi Noem and top DHS leadership, pulling ICE out of our communities now, and creating truly independent oversight to finally hold federal agents accountable for abuses.
We can’t let Congress give this administration a green light to continue business as usual. You can help demand better, right here and right now.
FLASH: Trump surrenders in Minnesota. NYT: "The Trump administration said on Thursday that it was ending its deployment of immigration agents to Minnesota, unwinding an aggressive operation that has stretched for more than two months despite loud opposition from residents and local officials.
Funding Standoff: Senate Democrats blocked a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security as lawmakers remained locked in a standoff that could shut down the agency this weekend. The bill contained none of the restrictions on immigration enforcement that Democrats have demanded to fund the department. The vote came after a heated, four-hour Senate hearing with top immigration officials in which Todd Lyons, the acting chief of ICE, acknowledged that two citizens killed by agents in Minnesota, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, did not appear to be domestic terrorists.
Now all of us know the real threat has been coming from inside the house. It is the logical conclusion of what the Technocracy, The Technate of America, would be as they take over the Western Hemisphere.
A new sign for their "war room" in Europe should be: IT'S THE BILLIONAIRES, STUPID!
This is exactly what I have been writing about in my comments. Their solutions will give us/US an alternative as well. The Europeans are still being great allies to those Americans that have not lost their damn minds. We have to fight these psychos and sickos as well as TRump. See you in the streets.
The problem with that is who is the “WE” who takes their companies? I’m sure this administration would salivate at the thought of taking over their enemy’s conglomerates. Yes, revenge in the name of self protection is sweet, but sickeningly so, especially for the perpetrator.
"Nationalization of corporations occurs when a government seizes private assets or takes a controlling interest, often motivated by economic crises, public interest, or war. Precedents include U.S. government takeovers of railroads (1862, 1917), Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and GM (2008), and international actions in Mexico, Iran, and France to secure key industries or resources"-AI Overview
If they have used their corporation to take over our government and to prevent us from being able to run businesses, utilities, and transportation that is criminal and reason enough to take them. Happens to property all the time, especially with drug dealers. In fact, social media is the "crack" of today.
I see no hope of a regime change, I use the word regime. not administration, on purpose. As I write Trump is having his Arc de TRiUMPhe being designed, and I would not be suprised that a contractor has not been anged.
Roman Emperors had arc's de triumph built to commemorate their victories, and so it is with Trump.
Let's hypothesize that despite his best efforts, and those of the GOP and MAGA, that there was an honest election and he lost. do you really think he is going to leave Mar a Lago D.C., the house that he so painstakingly rebult in his own image?
in 2020 he did not control the Pentagon, the DOJ, the entire federal government. Now he does.
So who is going to evict him? Buf Force? The states national guards. He as president can federalize the National Guard and call it to his service. If governors pre empt him, then we are in a civil war.
We are already in a civil war, shots have been fired, Good, Pretti. heck list of shootings by ICE
The Federal Governments agents rampage through our streets with impunity and mayor and Governors do nothing but utter verbal defiance, when they should have their own police arresting these masked criminals.
If these criminals are not confronted and stopped now, it will be too late, as it will only get worse as time passes, we might have already passed the point of no return.
Yes, don't expect krasnov to go lightly into the night, he has too much to lose. If by some freak event of being ousted by even a rigged election he will fight tooth and nail to keep his grip on his personal source of wealth- the American taxpayer. That's all that he cares about. Whatever happens this November, it will be ugly, either instigated by krasnov and his cronies or a fierce reaction by the public. Buckle up.
Not just Krasnov but his entire regime, from advisors, his cabinet, his schedule F employees, ICE, CBP, even FBI are answerable for their involvement and support of Trump and his illegal directives, like Raiding the Fulton County election commission office. Every FBI agent that followed orders is answerable.
I was obeying orders is not a defense: Nuremberg.
And because they are all answerable, especially Bondi, Patel, Hegseth, the three control the military, justice and Federal Police, you can bet that they will be employed to keep him in power.
Then you will see how many of our fellow citizens are loyal Americans faithful to the constitution and their fellow citizens, or Quislings, self serving, ideologues, cowards or all three.
It's time to formally initiate charges of treason against him through the impeachment process. There may be a way to stand on an anonymous vote and we may be surprised at how many republicans support it. Win or lose, it needs to be done, and the word TREASON should do all the heavy lifting so that Fox and Sinclair can't change the subject. His corruption is obvious but it's far worse than that. He's either a complete moron or a Putin asset and either way, we're in danger. It's Congress' constitutional duty to remove him.
The impeachment process is an exercise in futility. It does nothing, has no consequences except to make those who were in favor of impeachment have a mini orgasms and go around collecting donations.
After impeachment there is a trial in the Senate presided over by John Roberts, (how do you think that will go) and then it takes 67 Senators to vote to remove he impeached.
Present make up of the Senate is 53 Republicans, 2 independents and 45 Democrats. The independents Sanders and King, caucus with the Democrats.
13 Democrats and 20 Republicans are up for re election or election. It will take almost clean 100% sweep of the 2026 election for the Democrats to get the .67 votes, they will need to win 20 seats, meaning hold their own 13 and pick up 7 Republican seats.
So suppose Congress removes him, through Impeachment, #25, or some other means, who or what is going to enforce that dictum, the military, law enforcement, the people (don't make me laugh)? With ICE, the MAGAs, some law enforcement and some military, his Gestapo is all ready for such an event. Better we stick needles in his effigy.
"Put simply, our allies are doing what any rational nation would do when a key partner goes rogue: they’re hedging."
Mentally ill people are typically given sympathy and have rights. They should not be unfairly discriminated against. But in dealing with such people, I have always had the belief that they must be controlled and firmly resisted for their own good and they MUST be prevented from victimizing others, even if we recognize that they have been victimized or damaged at some earlier point in their lives. Trump and many of his Republican enablers are severely mentally ill. That is the position that must be taken in dealing with them. They must be brought under control for their own good. This must be conveyed in our communications and in media. They compromise their rights by their actions and conspicuous irrationality and their cries for intervention. One only hopes that more and more people will calculate the costs of permitting these sick individuals to run roughshod over the rights of everyone else and finally treat them as the dangerous and destructive threats they are to all of society and all of humanity. They must be stopped at all cost, and without tolerating their insanity and abuses for another three years. The time has come to call a spade and crazy freaking spade.
Any rational person hedges, as you point out, Robert. When Trump introduced his tariffic economic program, I liquidated my investments and moved my IRA to T-bills, hoping to wait it out. After a year, I finally gave up and started investing in Europe. Lacking a Trump, EU economies' bubbles are much smaller due to a lack of sycophants like Bondi to keep puffing them up with lies. It seems to be working as I had gains yesterday while the NYSE went Red. There will be an investment crash in the USA. It is just that artificial intelligence is clouding investor intelligence.
AI: Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCN.TO) (VCN) delivered a exceptionally strong 1-year total return of approximately 30.9% to 31.7% in 2025, driven by broad Canadian equity market gains. The ETF, which tracks Canadian large, mid, and small-cap stocks, benefited from high performance in major holdings like Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Shopify (SHOP).
When you talk to a person who is deluded or deranged due to being "under the influence of a substance" or mentally ill, it's necessary to recognize that they are incapable of ordinary logic and rational conversation. They must be humored and not made to feel threatened until they can be subdued and sedated or restrained. We are at that point now. The professionals with the overwhelming power must take over and act swiftly to restrain and subdue all of them at once. There is no time to waffle or negotiate. The crowd can overpower them if we are coordinated and not intimidated and if our leaders are ready to take the reins and exercise control. The public must understand that we are dealing with seriously ill individuals.
Donald Trump is the first president in 100 years to publicly strut his corruption, bribe-taking, kickbacks, and extortion while actively enabling our long-standing enemy, Russia, by brazenly supporting wars, policies, and practices that have shocked the world while delighting America's enemies.
America no longer knows what is going on in the world, because no ally trusts our blabby POTUS and his sycophants - Defense Secretary especially, but also POTUS himself, and his FBI director. It really matters little anymore that we get no useful Intel from allies all over the world, because Trump has no interest in hearing or reading it. Our Führer always knows best.
To add to the rocketing decline of America, Trump has assembled the most sycophantastic tariffic government in history. As AG Bondi made crystal clear yesterday, she is more interested in celebrating outright lies about the Trump economy than she is in enforcing the laws of the land. These clowns ensure that nothing stands in Trump's way to continue tearing down our nation.
It is now clear that the Democratic Party does not win elections; the Republican Party loses them. So when a Republican actually does win, Democrats have no clue what to do besides nothing - shut down the government. At least that helps, but.....
Yes, Europe and Canada can begin to plot their own course, perhaps in cooperation. And, perhaps Australia/NZ will join them or these two Pacific democracies will bond with like-minded Asian nations.
However, I would suggest a more frightening possibility -- especially for Europe -- is that they succumb to the "White March to the Right" infection. It has already poisoned places like Hungary, and it is certainly growing in Western European democracies.
We must face the reality that we are now approaching the border between this is possible vs. this is probable. And it is occurring among the nominally most literate and educated societies on earth.
Something is seriously wrong, and it's going to take more than regaining control of Congress to fix it.
Donald, you hit on something which the world is trying it's best to ignore. We are in the throes of a world wide culture war
The hungriest, the most numerous, the most determined. the truest believers win the culture war.
The European situation is less about race, than about culture. Western culture vs Islamic Culture.
In the U.S. it is more about race and politics, than culture, for the Latin culture is as misoynistic and homophobic and so called Christian, as the Norte Americano culture.
Donald Trump may have broken a Latino voting record for a Republican candidate in his 2024 presidential victory. With 42 percent of this bloc’s vote according to AP projections, Trump bested George W. Bush’s 2004 performance among this demographic, which today accounts for about 15 percent of the total U.S. voting population
Trump played to the machoismo of Latino's, including misogyny and transphobia.
There are problem no more than 1 in 1,000 if that ,of transfolk in the poulation, but Trump elevated it, with the help of the likes of Bill Maher,. Dave Chapelle, Ricky Gervais, they have taken what is in essence not even a pimple on the body politic and turned it into melanoma., because of their own sexual insecurity, and hang up, because it is safer to punch down than it is to punch up
I agree about "the creature". Thom has talked about the bankers who thought they could control Hitler, though Trump is really the older story you mentioned and which McConnell and his buddies ignored. And right about intelligence too, though the man has some really mean animal cunning. I just finished the Dean Koontz novel "In the Corner of His Eye" where he talked about how evil people are usually on some levels also stupid people. But because they think they are really smart they are arrogant. And then when their plans don't work their reaction is to get angry.
I hope you're right. I'm hoping that there will be an epiphany with enough Republicans....
"Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming [to the right of MAGA] said Monday that she suddenly understands “what the big deal is,” saying she had “not been one of the members who has glommed on to this as an issue.”
“I’ve sort of intentionally deferred to others to find out about it. But 9-year-old victims …” Lummis told journalist Pablo Manríquez. “Well, initially, my reaction to all this was, ‘I don’t care. I don’t know what the big deal is.’ But now I see what the big deal is, and it was worth investigating."
tRUMP has "already collected an estimated $4 billion for himself and his family since he was sworn to office." Think of it this way: If you had a mere ONE billion dollars, and spent $1,000 per day, it would take you 2,749 YEARS to run out of money. Or in tRUMP's case, 10,996 YEARS.
The Global South you never speak of as if they are invisible haven't trusted the US for 50 years or more. They know the only thing America can be counted on for is projection, destruction, resource extraction and regime change. We have been telling these nations in a bipartisan fashion to obey or else for decades in a manner identical to Trump. Perhaps we should have listened to them instead of ignoring them because they weren't white European nations as they comprise the majority of the world's population. Perhaps as the country's leading "progressive" talker you should have stood up for the people of Gaza instead of ignoring them. Maybe then we would not be subject to the insanity of Trump, but then what would you write about? https://barryjkaufmando.substack.com/p/the-democrats-ushered-in-the-second
There you go again, you are as clueless as a load of bricks Boris.
You were doing good, until you try and dump on Thom the solutioon of the worlds problems, and then, as usual, to win over the feckless left that falls to plaints of sympathy, the Gaza situtation.
Well if you really cared about the sufferening Gazans,you would have been beating the drum for the heavily armed, consciousless, political faction that has and is oppressing them, using their women and children as cannon fodder and I mean HAMAS.
Idon't advocate for Israel, it too, under MAIA (Make Israel Great Again) influence is a horror show, an inhuman shit show, but only outdone by HAMAS,
So lovely and peace loving is Islam, that where it reigns supreme, atheists, unbelivers, those who profane their prophet and question their holy books and laws, easily lose their heads, women are subjugated and force to wear bee keeper suits, can't travel unless accompanied by a male relative. Queers are disposed of with violence,or as in Iran with forced sex changes, and Jews well they can only exist if they accept second class citizenship, and where fully in control, pay a poll tax. which endedin the mid 19th Century
he jizya was phased out or abolished in various regions at different times—for example, it was removed in Algeria and Tunisia in the 19th century—the 1856 Ottoman Reform Edict (Hatt-i Humayan) marked its final, formal abolition across the empire, replacing it with a new tax (baddal-askari) that allowed for exemption from military service.
But we know that it isn't the Gazans you weep or care about, but simply a sympathetic tool you can use to suck in liberals.
Perhaps the NYSE, most holy of our cathedrals, will deliver us our salvation, if enough of our noble, patriotic, integrity-driven titans of industry feel their wallets draining. Meanwhile, our friendly neighborhood right wing has delivered us the “new world order” about which they bellyached for decades. Speaking of decades, it’ll be generations before this colossal damage is undone, if ever.
Let’s not forget, He cannot function without his enablers. So he is this individual who hates black and brown people and who has a long personal history of felonies. But, his enablers installed him in our White House. Without them, he would have been impeached for the crime of January 6, 2020.
If it would not involve harm to decent, real Americans, I would wish all of the MAGAtariat and its morbidly rich enablers could be deported to Russia to see how they liked it. Or maybe North Korea. Hungary would be too nice for them. They are that evil, and that opposed to the country that has made their existence, not to mention the lives they lead, possible. All because they saw in the worst creature ever to tarnish the office of POTUS some sort of retribution against the "elites" and the "libs" and for the white ones (the non-white MAGA people are simply beyond ignorant or self-haters) those non-white Untermenschen. Even when tens of millions of the latter have been here longer than the MAGAtarians who pretend superiority to them.
It is not in me to hate, and my religion. lately arrived at, forbids it in any event. It is in me to feel immense sadness at the weakness of human beings, and their ignorance, even if carefully cultivated by the morbidly rich. All someone like me, old and disabled beyond belief can do, is write checks, write comments, email friends and family, and fight in those ways while others take to the streets. In the end, it may all be futile. Our species is toxic and seems possessed of a self-destructive compulsion that may see our time on the planet dwarfed by the intellectually far inferior dinosaurs. Brains mean nothing if real intelligence is lacking; they may only mean we are able to destroy ourselves and the planet more quickly and more efficiently than any huge meteor ever could. That is why what I feel is not hate, but shame, disappointment, embarrassment. We could have been contenders. We seem hell bent on proving we neither want nor deserve to be.
Don't these moves by our (erstwhile?) allies seem a lot like keeping sharp objects away from an increasingly unstable, mentally ill family member? Meanwhile, this criminally dangerous president has plenty of enablers. But fear is a prerequisite for tyranny; courage is a prerequisite for democracy.
You read my mind.
Yes, and in that same vein, you might add greed to tyranny, and magnamimity (or caring) to democracy.
Donald Trump is a gift to America's enemies. Donald Trump is destroying the United States from within. Donald Trump is America's suicide. Is it possible for Messrs. Schumer and Jeffries to sound a similar alarm as this post? If we're going to go down, can we at least go down fighting?
In chess, got to move the pawns first. We are a minority. Need a few. REPUBLICANS.
In my mailbox:
Daniel, Congress is on the verge of approving billions more taxpayer dollars for ICE, but it’s not a done deal. Your voice matters now more than ever.
Last week, Democrats in Congress released their 10 demands for ICE reform – and many are strong reforms that Common Cause has already called for: banning racial profiling, protecting schools and polling places, and expanding oversight. [1]
But let’s remember – one of the biggest problems you and I have with this Administration is that they blatantly ignore the rule of law.
So, when we’re up against an out-of-control agency that is terrorizing our communities, we shouldn’t ask for the bare minimum in return – we must demand the democracy we all deserve.
That means: firing Kristi Noem and top DHS leadership, pulling ICE out of our communities now, and creating truly independent oversight to finally hold federal agents accountable for abuses.
We can’t let Congress give this administration a green light to continue business as usual. You can help demand better, right here and right now.
Tell the Senate.
FLASH: Trump surrenders in Minnesota. NYT: "The Trump administration said on Thursday that it was ending its deployment of immigration agents to Minnesota, unwinding an aggressive operation that has stretched for more than two months despite loud opposition from residents and local officials.
Funding Standoff: Senate Democrats blocked a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security as lawmakers remained locked in a standoff that could shut down the agency this weekend. The bill contained none of the restrictions on immigration enforcement that Democrats have demanded to fund the department. The vote came after a heated, four-hour Senate hearing with top immigration officials in which Todd Lyons, the acting chief of ICE, acknowledged that two citizens killed by agents in Minnesota, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, did not appear to be domestic terrorists.
Either you OBEY or we shut you down.....
Now all of us know the real threat has been coming from inside the house. It is the logical conclusion of what the Technocracy, The Technate of America, would be as they take over the Western Hemisphere.
A new sign for their "war room" in Europe should be: IT'S THE BILLIONAIRES, STUPID!
This is exactly what I have been writing about in my comments. Their solutions will give us/US an alternative as well. The Europeans are still being great allies to those Americans that have not lost their damn minds. We have to fight these psychos and sickos as well as TRump. See you in the streets.
The next thing I am going to say out LOUD is that, when We The People regain control of our government, WE SHOULD TAKE THEIR COMPANIES!
To hell with taxing them. End their power. Every frigin' one of them belong in a prison.
Release all of the TRump-Epstein Files!
The problem with that is who is the “WE” who takes their companies? I’m sure this administration would salivate at the thought of taking over their enemy’s conglomerates. Yes, revenge in the name of self protection is sweet, but sickeningly so, especially for the perpetrator.
"Nationalization of corporations occurs when a government seizes private assets or takes a controlling interest, often motivated by economic crises, public interest, or war. Precedents include U.S. government takeovers of railroads (1862, 1917), Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and GM (2008), and international actions in Mexico, Iran, and France to secure key industries or resources"-AI Overview
If they have used their corporation to take over our government and to prevent us from being able to run businesses, utilities, and transportation that is criminal and reason enough to take them. Happens to property all the time, especially with drug dealers. In fact, social media is the "crack" of today.
I see no hope of a regime change, I use the word regime. not administration, on purpose. As I write Trump is having his Arc de TRiUMPhe being designed, and I would not be suprised that a contractor has not been anged.
Roman Emperors had arc's de triumph built to commemorate their victories, and so it is with Trump.
Let's hypothesize that despite his best efforts, and those of the GOP and MAGA, that there was an honest election and he lost. do you really think he is going to leave Mar a Lago D.C., the house that he so painstakingly rebult in his own image?
in 2020 he did not control the Pentagon, the DOJ, the entire federal government. Now he does.
So who is going to evict him? Buf Force? The states national guards. He as president can federalize the National Guard and call it to his service. If governors pre empt him, then we are in a civil war.
We are already in a civil war, shots have been fired, Good, Pretti. heck list of shootings by ICE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_shootings_by_U.S._immigration_agents_in_the_second_Trump_administration
The Federal Governments agents rampage through our streets with impunity and mayor and Governors do nothing but utter verbal defiance, when they should have their own police arresting these masked criminals.
If these criminals are not confronted and stopped now, it will be too late, as it will only get worse as time passes, we might have already passed the point of no return.
Yes, don't expect krasnov to go lightly into the night, he has too much to lose. If by some freak event of being ousted by even a rigged election he will fight tooth and nail to keep his grip on his personal source of wealth- the American taxpayer. That's all that he cares about. Whatever happens this November, it will be ugly, either instigated by krasnov and his cronies or a fierce reaction by the public. Buckle up.
Not just Krasnov but his entire regime, from advisors, his cabinet, his schedule F employees, ICE, CBP, even FBI are answerable for their involvement and support of Trump and his illegal directives, like Raiding the Fulton County election commission office. Every FBI agent that followed orders is answerable.
I was obeying orders is not a defense: Nuremberg.
And because they are all answerable, especially Bondi, Patel, Hegseth, the three control the military, justice and Federal Police, you can bet that they will be employed to keep him in power.
Then you will see how many of our fellow citizens are loyal Americans faithful to the constitution and their fellow citizens, or Quislings, self serving, ideologues, cowards or all three.
It's time to formally initiate charges of treason against him through the impeachment process. There may be a way to stand on an anonymous vote and we may be surprised at how many republicans support it. Win or lose, it needs to be done, and the word TREASON should do all the heavy lifting so that Fox and Sinclair can't change the subject. His corruption is obvious but it's far worse than that. He's either a complete moron or a Putin asset and either way, we're in danger. It's Congress' constitutional duty to remove him.
The impeachment process is an exercise in futility. It does nothing, has no consequences except to make those who were in favor of impeachment have a mini orgasms and go around collecting donations.
After impeachment there is a trial in the Senate presided over by John Roberts, (how do you think that will go) and then it takes 67 Senators to vote to remove he impeached.
Present make up of the Senate is 53 Republicans, 2 independents and 45 Democrats. The independents Sanders and King, caucus with the Democrats.
13 Democrats and 20 Republicans are up for re election or election. It will take almost clean 100% sweep of the 2026 election for the Democrats to get the .67 votes, they will need to win 20 seats, meaning hold their own 13 and pick up 7 Republican seats.
So suppose Congress removes him, through Impeachment, #25, or some other means, who or what is going to enforce that dictum, the military, law enforcement, the people (don't make me laugh)? With ICE, the MAGAs, some law enforcement and some military, his Gestapo is all ready for such an event. Better we stick needles in his effigy.
"First, the sentence, then the trial!" the Queen of Hearts brays. (Alice in Wonderland).
We are in international troubled waters, folks.
"Put simply, our allies are doing what any rational nation would do when a key partner goes rogue: they’re hedging."
Mentally ill people are typically given sympathy and have rights. They should not be unfairly discriminated against. But in dealing with such people, I have always had the belief that they must be controlled and firmly resisted for their own good and they MUST be prevented from victimizing others, even if we recognize that they have been victimized or damaged at some earlier point in their lives. Trump and many of his Republican enablers are severely mentally ill. That is the position that must be taken in dealing with them. They must be brought under control for their own good. This must be conveyed in our communications and in media. They compromise their rights by their actions and conspicuous irrationality and their cries for intervention. One only hopes that more and more people will calculate the costs of permitting these sick individuals to run roughshod over the rights of everyone else and finally treat them as the dangerous and destructive threats they are to all of society and all of humanity. They must be stopped at all cost, and without tolerating their insanity and abuses for another three years. The time has come to call a spade and crazy freaking spade.
Any rational person hedges, as you point out, Robert. When Trump introduced his tariffic economic program, I liquidated my investments and moved my IRA to T-bills, hoping to wait it out. After a year, I finally gave up and started investing in Europe. Lacking a Trump, EU economies' bubbles are much smaller due to a lack of sycophants like Bondi to keep puffing them up with lies. It seems to be working as I had gains yesterday while the NYSE went Red. There will be an investment crash in the USA. It is just that artificial intelligence is clouding investor intelligence.
Trump is making Canada, Europe, Mexico great. The S&P was up 16% in 2005.
The Toronto stock market (S&P/TSX Composite Index) approximately 21.9% to 24.1%. Denmark delivered the highest returns for small-cap indices at 45.43%
Key Stock Markets Up in 2005:
Japan: The Nikkei 225 was a top performer, rising roughly 40%–40.2% in 2005 as the economy improved and investors anticipated the end of deflation.
Pakistan: The Pakistani market saw dramatic gains, up approximately 54%.
South Korea: The market was up roughly 54% as it transitioned toward developed status.
Vanguard has a Canadian fund, holds lots of gold and bank stocks, but they won't sell it to Americans. https://www.vanguard.ca/en/product/etf/equity/9561/vanguard-ftse-canada-all-cap-index-etf.
AI: Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCN.TO) (VCN) delivered a exceptionally strong 1-year total return of approximately 30.9% to 31.7% in 2025, driven by broad Canadian equity market gains. The ETF, which tracks Canadian large, mid, and small-cap stocks, benefited from high performance in major holdings like Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Shopify (SHOP).
Exactly! They are the definition of criminally insane and a danger to society. Good comment, Robert.
AND, take their toys away. We start by telling them we are coming for them and their "stuff".
When you talk to a person who is deluded or deranged due to being "under the influence of a substance" or mentally ill, it's necessary to recognize that they are incapable of ordinary logic and rational conversation. They must be humored and not made to feel threatened until they can be subdued and sedated or restrained. We are at that point now. The professionals with the overwhelming power must take over and act swiftly to restrain and subdue all of them at once. There is no time to waffle or negotiate. The crowd can overpower them if we are coordinated and not intimidated and if our leaders are ready to take the reins and exercise control. The public must understand that we are dealing with seriously ill individuals.
Donald Trump is the first president in 100 years to publicly strut his corruption, bribe-taking, kickbacks, and extortion while actively enabling our long-standing enemy, Russia, by brazenly supporting wars, policies, and practices that have shocked the world while delighting America's enemies.
America no longer knows what is going on in the world, because no ally trusts our blabby POTUS and his sycophants - Defense Secretary especially, but also POTUS himself, and his FBI director. It really matters little anymore that we get no useful Intel from allies all over the world, because Trump has no interest in hearing or reading it. Our Führer always knows best.
To add to the rocketing decline of America, Trump has assembled the most sycophantastic tariffic government in history. As AG Bondi made crystal clear yesterday, she is more interested in celebrating outright lies about the Trump economy than she is in enforcing the laws of the land. These clowns ensure that nothing stands in Trump's way to continue tearing down our nation.
It is now clear that the Democratic Party does not win elections; the Republican Party loses them. So when a Republican actually does win, Democrats have no clue what to do besides nothing - shut down the government. At least that helps, but.....
Yep, one would think or come to the conclusion, that Trump was doing all of this on purpose, other than fucking around and finding out.
Despite their shortcomings, I'd be thrilled to have good old boring Democrats back in charge.
Yes, Europe and Canada can begin to plot their own course, perhaps in cooperation. And, perhaps Australia/NZ will join them or these two Pacific democracies will bond with like-minded Asian nations.
However, I would suggest a more frightening possibility -- especially for Europe -- is that they succumb to the "White March to the Right" infection. It has already poisoned places like Hungary, and it is certainly growing in Western European democracies.
We must face the reality that we are now approaching the border between this is possible vs. this is probable. And it is occurring among the nominally most literate and educated societies on earth.
Something is seriously wrong, and it's going to take more than regaining control of Congress to fix it.
DL
Donald, you hit on something which the world is trying it's best to ignore. We are in the throes of a world wide culture war
The hungriest, the most numerous, the most determined. the truest believers win the culture war.
The European situation is less about race, than about culture. Western culture vs Islamic Culture.
In the U.S. it is more about race and politics, than culture, for the Latin culture is as misoynistic and homophobic and so called Christian, as the Norte Americano culture.
Donald Trump may have broken a Latino voting record for a Republican candidate in his 2024 presidential victory. With 42 percent of this bloc’s vote according to AP projections, Trump bested George W. Bush’s 2004 performance among this demographic, which today accounts for about 15 percent of the total U.S. voting population
Trump played to the machoismo of Latino's, including misogyny and transphobia.
There are problem no more than 1 in 1,000 if that ,of transfolk in the poulation, but Trump elevated it, with the help of the likes of Bill Maher,. Dave Chapelle, Ricky Gervais, they have taken what is in essence not even a pimple on the body politic and turned it into melanoma., because of their own sexual insecurity, and hang up, because it is safer to punch down than it is to punch up
You've said it ALL, Mr. Hartmann.
Donald John is "The Creature" of Victor Frankenstein [i.e., Putin.]
Except Donald John is neither Intelligent nor articulate, unlike Mary Shelley's creature.
But, he IS tirelessly devoted to high-octane, dumbassed, obviously vindictive revenge.
Maybe, like a good creature, he'll find an ice floe to sail away on and vanish.
But then he'd need a heart to put himself out of our misery.
Do the Right Thing . . . Just VOTE !!!
I agree about "the creature". Thom has talked about the bankers who thought they could control Hitler, though Trump is really the older story you mentioned and which McConnell and his buddies ignored. And right about intelligence too, though the man has some really mean animal cunning. I just finished the Dean Koontz novel "In the Corner of His Eye" where he talked about how evil people are usually on some levels also stupid people. But because they think they are really smart they are arrogant. And then when their plans don't work their reaction is to get angry.
School is out on whether the tariffs will remain.....
If not, he'll have to use another means of extortion.
The only thing left in his arsenal for that extortion is OUR arsenal.
The jig is up for this bully. Ditto for that damn cuck Vance and the dysfunctional Tech Bros and Crypto Creeps that MADE him.
We are watching the biggest "conspiracy" in modern history unfold, and these psychos and sickos are NOT going to win.
I hope you're right. I'm hoping that there will be an epiphany with enough Republicans....
"Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming [to the right of MAGA] said Monday that she suddenly understands “what the big deal is,” saying she had “not been one of the members who has glommed on to this as an issue.”
“I’ve sort of intentionally deferred to others to find out about it. But 9-year-old victims …” Lummis told journalist Pablo Manríquez. “Well, initially, my reaction to all this was, ‘I don’t care. I don’t know what the big deal is.’ But now I see what the big deal is, and it was worth investigating."
SHAZZAM?
6 House Republicans buck party, vote against Trump's Canadian tariffs
February 12, 2026
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/12/nx-s1-5711475/6-house-republicans-buck-party-vote-against-trumps-canadian-tariffs
Better late than never.
Lummis needs to be shown the door on the next election. "It wasn't a big deal" to her?! That's just vile.
Daniel, you have been telling all of us that it would only take a few Republicans to wake the hell up. You've worked hard to know politics and people.
I've been telling everyone about the plan for their stupid Technocracy and them using it to make us OBEY. I'm pretty good at seeing the BIG picture.
No question about the Shazzam---throw in a little Nanny Nanny Boo Boo.
I heard whistleblower cases for about 20 years.
Most of those techboys are in competition with each other. In the past 2 weeks, companies in the SaaS field have realized that AI could be their downfall. https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2026/02/06/saaspocalypse-now-ai-is-disrupting-saas---but-not-all-software-is-doomed/
Approximatley 90% of companies lose bigly under Trump tariff policy.
I bet there are lots of tech boys eager to blow the whistle.
Saturday 28 March demonstrations should be a real blow to the fascist party I mean the republican party, meh well, them. "See you in the streets".
tRUMP has "already collected an estimated $4 billion for himself and his family since he was sworn to office." Think of it this way: If you had a mere ONE billion dollars, and spent $1,000 per day, it would take you 2,749 YEARS to run out of money. Or in tRUMP's case, 10,996 YEARS.
The Global South you never speak of as if they are invisible haven't trusted the US for 50 years or more. They know the only thing America can be counted on for is projection, destruction, resource extraction and regime change. We have been telling these nations in a bipartisan fashion to obey or else for decades in a manner identical to Trump. Perhaps we should have listened to them instead of ignoring them because they weren't white European nations as they comprise the majority of the world's population. Perhaps as the country's leading "progressive" talker you should have stood up for the people of Gaza instead of ignoring them. Maybe then we would not be subject to the insanity of Trump, but then what would you write about? https://barryjkaufmando.substack.com/p/the-democrats-ushered-in-the-second
There you go again, you are as clueless as a load of bricks Boris.
You were doing good, until you try and dump on Thom the solutioon of the worlds problems, and then, as usual, to win over the feckless left that falls to plaints of sympathy, the Gaza situtation.
Well if you really cared about the sufferening Gazans,you would have been beating the drum for the heavily armed, consciousless, political faction that has and is oppressing them, using their women and children as cannon fodder and I mean HAMAS.
Idon't advocate for Israel, it too, under MAIA (Make Israel Great Again) influence is a horror show, an inhuman shit show, but only outdone by HAMAS,
So lovely and peace loving is Islam, that where it reigns supreme, atheists, unbelivers, those who profane their prophet and question their holy books and laws, easily lose their heads, women are subjugated and force to wear bee keeper suits, can't travel unless accompanied by a male relative. Queers are disposed of with violence,or as in Iran with forced sex changes, and Jews well they can only exist if they accept second class citizenship, and where fully in control, pay a poll tax. which endedin the mid 19th Century
he jizya was phased out or abolished in various regions at different times—for example, it was removed in Algeria and Tunisia in the 19th century—the 1856 Ottoman Reform Edict (Hatt-i Humayan) marked its final, formal abolition across the empire, replacing it with a new tax (baddal-askari) that allowed for exemption from military service.
But we know that it isn't the Gazans you weep or care about, but simply a sympathetic tool you can use to suck in liberals.
Upi are exposed.
Longer that that. More like a century.
Perhaps the NYSE, most holy of our cathedrals, will deliver us our salvation, if enough of our noble, patriotic, integrity-driven titans of industry feel their wallets draining. Meanwhile, our friendly neighborhood right wing has delivered us the “new world order” about which they bellyached for decades. Speaking of decades, it’ll be generations before this colossal damage is undone, if ever.
Let’s not forget, He cannot function without his enablers. So he is this individual who hates black and brown people and who has a long personal history of felonies. But, his enablers installed him in our White House. Without them, he would have been impeached for the crime of January 6, 2020.
If it would not involve harm to decent, real Americans, I would wish all of the MAGAtariat and its morbidly rich enablers could be deported to Russia to see how they liked it. Or maybe North Korea. Hungary would be too nice for them. They are that evil, and that opposed to the country that has made their existence, not to mention the lives they lead, possible. All because they saw in the worst creature ever to tarnish the office of POTUS some sort of retribution against the "elites" and the "libs" and for the white ones (the non-white MAGA people are simply beyond ignorant or self-haters) those non-white Untermenschen. Even when tens of millions of the latter have been here longer than the MAGAtarians who pretend superiority to them.
It is not in me to hate, and my religion. lately arrived at, forbids it in any event. It is in me to feel immense sadness at the weakness of human beings, and their ignorance, even if carefully cultivated by the morbidly rich. All someone like me, old and disabled beyond belief can do, is write checks, write comments, email friends and family, and fight in those ways while others take to the streets. In the end, it may all be futile. Our species is toxic and seems possessed of a self-destructive compulsion that may see our time on the planet dwarfed by the intellectually far inferior dinosaurs. Brains mean nothing if real intelligence is lacking; they may only mean we are able to destroy ourselves and the planet more quickly and more efficiently than any huge meteor ever could. That is why what I feel is not hate, but shame, disappointment, embarrassment. We could have been contenders. We seem hell bent on proving we neither want nor deserve to be.