Wingnutties out of control!

[GoCubsGo]

Great minds, Chicago Trib:

... Illinoisans owe the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago an enormous debt of gratitude for the time and resources devoted to ridding state government of this corrupt, corrosive power broker. The evidence the feds compiled depicted the incessant grifting at the highest levels of government in ways we’d have loved to have seen depicted by the great Mike Royko, the ablest chronicler of our culture of corruption.

We’re reasonably sure the curmudgeonly columnist would have laughed derisively at our view that Madigan’s downfall marks a real turning point for our state and city....

Wow!

Also: Lock Him Up!

[Vrede too]

Also: Lock Him Up!

23 Tweets About The Dismal State Of Politics This Week

2.


3.


4.


5. (Joni Ernst - Iowa)


6.


7.


8.


If I had known that they would almost all be lefty posts (just one righty), I wouldn't have started copying them. I'd have just told y'all to read for yourselves.

23. And finally:

This was fake, didn’t happen. Probably AI generated. But still, funny

for all.

[Vrede too]

Also: Lock Him Up!

From your finger tips . . .

Longest-serving legislative leader in US history given 7 1/2 years in federal corruption case

Should be a pretty good deterrent when the feds will throw you in jail until you're 90.

The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s political career ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year prison sentence and a $2.5 million fine for the former Illinois House speaker and the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history after he was convicted of trading legislation for the enrichment of his friends and allies.

U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Coulda been "worse":

... But Blakey noted that federal sentencing guidelines allowed for a term of 105 years based on findings in evidence — notably that Madigan committed perjury when he took the stand in his own defense. Blakey was particularly piqued over what he called “a nauseating display of perjury and evasion.”

“You lied. You did not have to. You had a right to sit there and exercise your right to silence,” Blakey said. “But you took the stand and you took the law into your own hands.”'

... Meanwhile, prosecutors said, the Chicago Democrat built a private legal career that allowed him to amass a net worth of $40 million....

I'm glad for the big fine given his wealth. Coulda been bigger. Buh-bye.

[GoCubsGo]

[Whack9]

Whattup with the white blue red striped flags beside the stars.
Surely means something else, right?

[Vrede too]

Whattup with the white blue red striped flags beside the stars.
Surely means something else, right?

https://x.com/DeptofDefense/status/1933947548965781863

Got a pic? Trans American flag:

[Whack9]

Whattup with the white blue red striped flags beside the stars.
Surely means something else, right?

https://x.com/DeptofDefense/status/1933947548965781863

Got a pic? Trans American flag:

https://imgur.com/a/Mtoshx9#r56I246

[Vrede too]

Whattup with the white blue red striped flags beside the stars.
Surely means something else, right?

https://x.com/DeptofDefense/status/1933947548965781863

https://imgur.com/a/Mtoshx9#r56I246

OIC, just decorative?

Let's go with trans.

[Vrede too]

Is there a MAGA civil war? Here’s what Trump said about latest feud
Jun. 19, 2025

... U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and a handful of conservatives have urged Trump to not get involved in another Middle East conflict....

Now, Trump’s decision of whether to join Israel’s efforts against Iran has divided his MAGA base. Carlson’s interview with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) highlighted those divisions on Tuesday, where the former Fox News host blasted the Republican senator over a lack of knowledge about Iran....

Trump denied any disagreement within his base, despite a number of his followers railing against possible U.S. involvement in Iran....



... Infowars’ Alex Jones, Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk, and some conservative lawmakers have all urged Trump to not get involved in a war overseas. Greene said in an interview with former Rep. Matt Gaetz earlier this week that she is “completely opposed” to a war....

Trump 'berated' intel chief and said she 'should not be in the administration': NY Times

One of President Donald Trump's Cabinet appointees may be on her way out, according to a Friday report in the New York Times.

The Times' Julian E. Barnes, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan are reporting that Trump recently "berated" Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and telling her that he's been "disappointed" in her "judgment," following a video she posted condemning the United States' bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Two unnamed sources who were reportedly briefed on the conversation told the Times that Trump believed Gabbard was using her office to pursue her own political ambitions.

Figures that one thing we liked about Tulsi would drive the Crybaby in Chief nuts.

... And during a Friday evening press gaggle on the tarmac in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump said directly that Gabbard was "wrong" in her intelligence assessment that concluded Iran was not developing nuclear weapons.

This was not Tulsi going rogue. It's long been our Intel's assessment.

However, the administration is now downplaying reports of any tension between Trump and his director of national intelligence. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Times that Trump continues to have "full confidence" in Gabbard's capabilities.

TACO!

... Trump's latest comments about his intelligence chief come on the heels of reports that he is apparently icing out both Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he contemplates whether to commit U.S. military resources to helping Israel in its escalating conflict with Iran. The Washington Post reported this week that Trump has instead been communicating with a small circle of advisors consisting of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Reminds me of the TRE45QN admin*.

Trump Banishes GOP Rep From MAGA as Civil War Gets Ugly

President Donald Trump excommunicated Congressman Thomas Massie from MAGA after he dared criticize the president’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican, told CBS’ Face the Nation Sunday that Trump’s decision to bomb the Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan facilities made it “a good week for the neocons and the military industrial complex who want war all the time.”

“We are exhausted,” he said. “We are tired from all of these wars, and we’re non-interventionists. I mean, this was one of the promises. I mean, are you going to call President Trump’s campaign an isolationist campaign? What he promised us was, we would put America first.”

Massie further claimed there was “no imminent threat” to the United States and that Congress should not have ceded its authority.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is. Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him. He is a negative force who almost always Votes “NO,” no matter how good something may be. He’s a simple minded “grandstander” who thinks it’s good politics for Iran to have the highest level Nuclear weapon, while at the same time yelling “DEATH TO AMERICA” at every chance they get. Iran has killed and maimed thousands of Americans, and even took over the American Embassy in Tehran under the Carter Administration. We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the “bomb” right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!) but, as usual, and despite all of the praise and accolades received, this “lightweight” Congressman is against what was so brilliantly achieved last night in Iran. Massie is weak, ineffective, and votes “NO” on virtually everything put before him (Rand Paul, Jr.), no matter how good something may be. He is disrespectful to our great military, and all that they stand for, not even acknowledging their brilliance and bravery in yesterday’s attack, which was a total and complete WIN. Massie should drop his fake act and start putting America First, but he doesn’t know how to get there — he doesn’t have a clue! He’ll undoubtedly vote against the Great, Big, Beautiful Bill, even though non-passage means a 68% Tax Increase for everybody, and many things far worse than that. MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard. MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one. Thank you to our incredible military for the AMAZING job they did last night. It was really SPECIAL!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.

Whoa, it's like Massie gave him a wedgie or something.
WhineDonOLDWhine

... In his remarks to CBS, Massie questioned the president’s authority to conduct a war without Congress’ approval.

“Congress was on vacation last week when all this was happening,” Massie said. “We haven’t been briefed. They should have called us all back and, frankly, we should have debated this war powers resolution that [Representative] Ro Khanna and I offered instead of staying on vacation and doing fundraisers and saying, ‘Oh, well, the president’s got this under control. We’re going to cede our constitutional authority.’”

Massie and Khanna, a Democrat, proposed a War Powers Resolution last week that was meant to reassert Congress’ sole authority under the Constitution to declare war. “The ongoing war between Israel and Iran is not our war,” Massie said in a statement. “Even if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution.” ...

How strange is our world that Khanna and I agree with Massie?






I know that Jasmine is on Team TACO, even to the point of advocating mass murder of scientists around the world. What about our other MAGAts? Are they staying true to the cult or expressing doubts about the new war?

Update:
The DonOLD admin has been unanimously saying this is not about regime change. TACO just "truthed" that it IS about regime change. Opps.

[1 CAT FAN]

A scorned "Rainbow" still fascinated with Elon's X.

Damn, that's a lot of X.

[Vrede too]

Polls show Trump's big bill is unpopular as Republicans stare down their deadline for passage

... A Fox News poll found that 38% of registered voters support the “One Big Beautiful Bill” based on what they know about it, while 59% oppose it.

The survey found that the legislation is unpopular across demographic, age and income groups. It is opposed 22%-73% by independents, and 43%-53% among white men without a college degree, the heart of Trump’s base.

A Quinnipiac University poll found that 27% of registered voters support the bill, while 53% oppose it. Another 20% had no opinion. Among independents, 20% said they support it and 57% said they oppose it.

A KFF poll found that 35% of adults have a favorable view when asked about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” while 64% have an unfavorable view. Just 27% of independents said they hold a favorable view of it.

A survey from Pew Research Center found that 29% of adults favor the bill, while 49% oppose it. (Another 21% said they weren’t sure.) Asked what impact it would have on the country, 54% said “a mostly negative effect,” 30% said “a mostly positive effect” and 12% said “not much of an effect.”

A poll by The Washington Post and Ipsos found that 23% of adults support “the budget bill changing tax, spending and Medicaid policies,” while 42% oppose it. Another 34% had no opinion.

x a bunch

The bill reduces Medicaid spending through new work requirements and eligibility rules. Overall, the House-passed version is projected by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to increase the national debt by $2.4 trillion over the next 10 years.

... The Senate is eyeing some changes to the House’s bill, but nothing that alters its basic structure. For instance, the Senate is weighing less aggressive cuts to clean energy funding and more aggressive Medicaid spending reductions.

Senate GOP leaders are hoping to hold a vote on the package this week. They can only afford three defections, assuming all Democrats oppose the bill, and several Republican senators have raised an array of concerns with it.

... “It needs work. And they don’t have 51 votes,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told NBC News, taking issue with a provision that changes how providers are taxed. “They’ve got to fix the provider, the rural hospital issue. ... They cannot defund rural hospitals.”

... The Post-Ipsos poll found that 52% of Americans supported work requirements for able-bodied adults to receive Medicaid, while 33% opposed them. But that policy became unpopular when voters were told that the CBO estimates 8 million people would lose health coverage as a result of the bill: 63% said that is unacceptable, while 18% said that’s acceptable. (The latest version of the bill is projected to result in more than 10 million losing their coverage, according to the CBO.)

... In recent days, the Senate bill has been scrubbed by the parliamentarian, the chamber’s in-house referee tasked with ensuring all the provisions comply with the rules for the so-called “budget reconciliation” process Republicans are using to pass it. The process allows the majority party to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, effectively cutting Democrats out of the process.

Some pieces of the bill have been knocked out in that process, according to a Democratic budget aide, including a provision to cut federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending and require states to shoulder a larger burden. That will be subject to the 60-vote threshold and removed from the bill, along with a controversial policy sought by Republicans to restrict the power of courts to issue injunctions against the federal government.

Other provisions that were dropped include cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and repealing authorizations under the Inflation Reduction Act.

... “It’s no wonder the so-called moderate House Republicans continue to lie about their Tax Scam: the Big, Ugly Bill is wildly unpopular with the American public and they know their vote for it will lose them the majority next year,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Justin Chermol said in a statement.

I like BUB more than BBB.