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Debt Rattle February 24 2026

Feb 242026
 
 February 24, 2026  Posted by at 10:34 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,  Add comments


Piet Mondriaan The red cloud 1907


• TRUMP Declares WAR On Euro CENSORSHIP (MN)
• EU Says Trump’s Tariff Workaround Violates Trade Deal (ZH)
• The Supreme Court has Ruled on Tariffs, but Who Will Ultimately Pay? (Turley)
• Bessent Signals No Retreat After SCOTUS Tariff Ruling (David Manney)
• AOC Has Instagram Meltdown. It’s a Sight to Behold. (Matt Margolis)
• AOC’s Ignorance Is No Laughing Matter (Stephen Soukup)
• Trump is Losing His Base – Mark Taylor (USAW)
• Obama’s ‘Gift’ Sticks Taxpayers With $200M+ Bill (ZH)
• CNN Finally Admits the Truth About Democrat-Run Cities (Matt Margolis))
• Trump is Netanyahu’s Puppet (Paul Craig Roberts)
• Judge Says Jack Smith’s Final Report on Trump Can Never Be Released (ET)
• British Police Take Former Ambassador Mandelson into Custody (Manney)
• The Putin Plan for Cuba and The Castro Family (Helmer)

 


 

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/2025573014155227301?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2025580547527856295?s=20

 


 

 


 


Europe’s last hope before the curtain closes. These guys want to operate in darkness. Because they all, Starmer, Macron, Merz, have one thing in common: they’re painfully unpopular back home.

US State does what I’ve been doing (trying to do) for many years:: give people a peek behind the curtains.

• TRUMP Declares WAR On Euro CENSORSHIP (MN)

As European governments ramp up their assault on online freedom, the Trump administration is striking back hard with Freedom.Gov—a portal designed to equip European and British citizens with tools to shatter digital barriers imposed by overreaching bureaucrats. The move exposes the hypocrisy of so called “safety” laws that geofence truth, forcing websites to block users or demand ID, all while claiming to protect the public from their own thoughts. A growing number of websites have chosen to simply block users rather than comply with arduous censorship demands in response to Europe’s Digital Services Act and the UK’s Online Safety Act, with many more hidden behind government-mandated age-verification making linking a real-life identity to internet use a prerequisite for access.


The U.S. government is launching a ‘Freedom.Gov’ website that will give British and European visitors the tools to access censorship-free parts of the internet they have been geofenced out of by their own governments in the name of public safety. The new initiative is the work of the U.S. State Department and led by Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, who has been a key figure in bringing President Trump’s message of freedom to Europeans in recent months. Government insiders say the Freedom.Gov portal may feature a Virtual Private Network (VPN) tool to allow European users to bypass domestic controls and claims its use won’t be tracked.

A State Department spokesman is quoted as saying: “Digital freedom is a priority for the State Department, however, and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship-circumvention technologies like VPNs.” A placeholder website for the planned anti-censorship service is already active. The Freedom.Gov site first became active in January and was blank apart from the text “fly, eagle, fly”. Today, an updated landing page proclaims “Freedom is coming. Information is power. Reclaim your human right to free expression. Get ready.” In a crystal-clear message to the censorious British authorities cracking down on internet freedoms, the page also features an animated logo of Paul Revere on his famous 1775 midnight ride, warning the Minutemen of the approaching British troops.

The decision to launch the service will inevitably bring the U.S. into some sort of conflict with European capitals, given the pro-freedom move would force those governments to either defacto accept that their censorship laws will either be openly bypassed by their own citizens with the assistance of Washington, or to block Freedom.Gov, and clarify their opposition to the free dissemination of information.mThis puts Washington in the unfamiliar position of appearing to encourage citizens to flout local laws, without stopping to note this is, of course, not actually unfamiliar at all. The United States through the CIA and other agencies maintained a large network of censorship-busting initiatives through the Cold War using the latest technology of the time.

Among those efforts was Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Liberty, sending unfiltered news and other programming through high-powered broadcasts into the Soviet nations behind the Iron Curtain. This effort was something of a game of cat-and-mouse between the free West and the Communist East, with Soviet authorities attempting to block out the broadcasts with radio interference equipment of their own. In those Soviet countries, when the Western radio broadcasts did get through, those who tuned into them faced arrest “or worse” at the hands of the authorities. Today, the British government has already started to react to the use of VPNs to circumvent its new internet controls—imposed, it says, for the sake of public “safety”—and is moving to defacto outlaw them.

Pro-Freedom and anti-surveillance campaign group Big Brother Watch responded to the government’s plan to crack down on VPNs, saying: “The Prime Minister’s announcement that the government intends to restrict access to VPNs for under-16s represents a draconian crackdown on the civil liberties of children and adults alike. The only way such restrictions could be enforced effectively would be for VPN providers to require all users to undergo age-assurance measures.”

The group continues, “Having to provide ID or a biometric face scan to access a VPN utterly defeats the point of a technology designed to enhance privacy online. The ability to receive and share information absent state snooping is a vital part of living in a free democracy.” “There is a reason authoritarian governments in countries such as China, North Korea, Iran, and Belarus ban or restrict VPNs. Anonymity and enhanced privacy allow journalists, whistleblowers, campaigners, and dissidents to communicate securely,” they further urge. This latest escalation builds directly on the Trump administration’s earlier vows to counter British PM Kier Starmer’s censorship frenzy, where Under-Secretary Sarah B. Rogers warned that America would unleash its full arsenal against threats to X and free speech, treating the UK like Iran if needed.

Rogers stated: “With respect to a potential ban of X, Keir Starmer has said that nothing is off the table. I would say from America’s perspective, nothing is off the table when it comes to free speech.” It also extends Trump’s pattern of offering lifelines to UK and European dissidents, including asylum for “thought criminals” prosecuted for silent prayers or online posts challenging mass migration and gender ideology. nSources previously confirmed the White House was scouting cases, tying free speech erosion to Britain’s immigration failures.

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They don’t want transparency.

• EU Says Trump’s Tariff Workaround Violates Trade Deal (ZH)

Update (1715ET): Europe is now getting ‘legal’ over the whole thing – claiming that Trump’s new tariff workaround violates levels permitted in their trade agreement, Bloomberg reports. The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the bloc, told lawmakers Monday that the new global tariff will be added to levies that are already in place, according to Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee. The new cumulative rate means some goods would be above the 15% ceiling the EU and US agreed to in their trade deal.Under Trump’s new tariff program, some products including butter, plastics, textiles and chemicals would have levies above that 15% ceiling, according to people familiar with the commission’s assessment. The new global tariffs can stay in place for as many as 150 days.


* * * Update (9:40am ET): In response to the EU’s decision to freeze ratification of Trump’s landmark deal, the US president has come out swinging and on Truth Social threatened any countries that “play games” with the supreme court decision that they “will be met with a much higher tariff.” It just isn’t clear what the procedure for these much higher tariffs – aside from Section 122 which is limited to 150 days – will be now that IEEPA has been ruled unconstitutional.

Earlier: In the aftermath of Friday’s SCOTUS decision to reverse Trump’s tariff policy, one lingering question is what happens to the bilateral trade deals Trump struck with various countries (and which supposedly would lead to hundreds of billions of fresh investment into the US). Well, in the case of the EU we no longer have to wonder: {This] morning, the European Union said it would freeze the ratification process of its trade deal with the US and was seeking more details from the Trump administration on its new tariff program. Zeljana Zovko, the lead trade negotiator in the European People’s Party group on the US deal, said in an interview with Bloomberg that “we have no other option” but to delay the approval process to seek clarity on the situation.

The main political groups in the European Parliament say they’ll suspend legislative work on approving the trade deal on Monday, days after the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world. The center-right EPP, which is the largest political bloc in parliament, will be joined by parties including the Socialists & Democrats and the liberal Renew group to back freezing the process. According to Bloomberg, Bernd Lange – chairman of the parliament’s trade committee – called an emergency meeting later Monday to reassess the EU-US trade accord. He said over the weekend that parliament should delay work on the trade accord until the EU receives more clarity on the new tariffs. EU ambassadors will also meet Monday afternoon to discuss the US trade relationship.

Trump’s announcement following the court decision to impose a 10% global tariff, which he then increased to 15%, left many questions unanswered for American trading partners, stirring up more economic turbulence and uncertainty about the US policy. As a reminder, the deal struck last summer between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would impose a 15% tariff rate on most EU exports to the US while removing tariffs on American industrial goods heading into the bloc. The US would also continue to impose a 50% tariff on European steel and aluminum imports. The bloc agreed to the lopsided deal in the hopes of avoiding a full-blown trade war with Washington and retaining US security backing, particularly with regards to Ukraine. Parliament had been aiming to ratify the agreement in March.

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“Unless members want to further add to the deficit, Congress should intervene to uphold the tariffs retroactively. But that may not be possible.”

• The Supreme Court has Ruled on Tariffs, but Who Will Ultimately Pay? (Turley)

Friday’s blockbuster ruling on tariffs was hardly welcomed by the Trump administration, but it was also widely expected. The Supreme Court clearly established in its 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not afford presidents authority to issue sweeping, unilateral tariffs like those imposed by President Trump over the last year. The justices fractured on other issues. And they left one issue conspicuously unaddressed: What happens to the hundreds of billions of dollars collected from these tariffs so far? Many of us predicted that the administration would lose this fight. That view was reinforced after oral arguments, when a majority of justices raised possible reasons why the president might not possess this power.


Then again, he does possess similar powers under other laws, which the administration has already announced he will use. Although Trump said he was “ashamed” of the conservative justices who ruled against him, their opinion is consistent with the conservative interpretive approach taken in prior statutory cases. The majority defended Congress’s core power over the purse, maintaining the balance among the branches of our tripartite system. There were good-faith arguments on both sides, but these conservative justices ruled regardless of the political or practical repercussions, based on what they believed was demanded by the Constitution. The most surprising votes were not the three conservatives but the three liberal justices, who historically have not been deterred by ambiguity in statutes in deferring to presidents.

They have repeatedly also found delegated authority in independent agencies without worrying too much about the separation of powers. Democratic politicians openly celebrated from the loss. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) seemed gleeful over the idea that the country will have to incur massive penalties, costs that could undermine the current economic growth figures. Newsom, who has led his state into a deep deficit and triggered an exodus of taxpayers, eagerly called for economic penalties for the country: “Every dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately — with interest. Cough up!”

In reality, the tariffs are not going away. Trump will just have to rely on less nimble laws, but he can pursue the same policies in the name of other causes, such as securing greater market access and other concessions from foreign governments. So what about “coughing up” those past tariff dollars? Newsom may ultimately be disappointed. Unless members want to further add to the deficit, Congress should intervene to uphold the tariffs retroactively. But that may not be possible.

Democratic politicians like Newsom are not likely to want to help Trump, even if that means wounding the national economy and the federal budget. But this may offer Republicans a unique opportunity to force such a vote. Do Democrats truly want to vote to give hundreds of billions back? There are already more than 1,000 claimants. Justice Brett Kavanaugh dealt with the problem directly in his forceful dissent. He criticized the majority for its silence on whether or how such refunds would be made. Most pointedly, Kavanaugh noted that the federal government “may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the … tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others.”

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“.. tariff collections will continue at the same level because the rates and scope remain consistent. The mechanism changes, but the dollars don’t,..”

• Bessent Signals No Retreat After SCOTUS Tariff Ruling (David Manney)

After the Supreme Court handed down a six-to-three decision limiting how President Donald Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose so-called Liberation Day tariffs, his critics pounced, declaring the strategy dead. Do they know President Trump? Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went on the air and made clear the administration isn’t backing down. One tool was whittled down, but the policy is still kicking. The Supreme Court ruled that the administration stretched IEEPA beyond its intended scope. While the statute allows emergency economic measures, the majority found that the tariff action did not fit the framework Congress had designed. The decision appeared to force surrender, but all it did was cause a pivot.


Bessent told Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo that tariff revenue wouldn’t stop, framing the ruling as procedural rather than authoritative. He said that the administration still has multiple statutory authorities to address trade imbalances and national security threats. The objective, he said, hasn’t changed: reduce trade deficits, protect domestic industry, and pressure the foreign governments that have been gaming the system. Bessent explained that the White House will move to Section 122 authority within days, as President Trump already announced a 15% global tariff, adjusting it over the weekend to maintain leverage.Section 122 allows temporary trade restrictions to address balance-of-payments concerns, and while formal investigations proceed, it remains in effect for 150 days.

Bessent said that the administration also plans to use Section 232, which addresses national security concerns, and Section 301, which targets unfair trade practices. Commerce Department reviews and United States Trade Representative studies will support those actions. Describing the shift as straightforward, Bessent argued that the Supreme Court’s decision clarified the boundaries and strengthened the administration’s footing under other statutes. “In a way, they have made the leverage that he has more draconian because they agreed he does have the right to a full embargo,” the secretary said. “Within three days, the President can put on the Section 122 10% global tariff. So, at Treasury for the full year 2026, we foresee no decrease in revenue,” he continued.

Some budget watchdog groups warned tariff revenue would fall. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, shared uncertainty about the long-term math, an argument Bessent rejected outright, saying that revenue projections remain intact under the new authorities. “Yes, so, Maria, let’s take a step back here. And Maya MacGuineas should be ashamed, and they should take the word ‘responsible’ out of her organization’s name,” Bessent responded. “Everything she told you was completely irresponsible, and look, where were they when the Biden administration blew out the deficit that we had a fiscal contraction last year? So she should be ashamed.”


Using the phrase “new authorities,” Bessent meant that different trade laws already on the books, not a fresh attempt at a supposed power grab. The administration plans to rely on Section 122 of the Trade Act for temporary tariffs, along with Sections 232 and 301, statutes written specifically for trade enforcement, giving the White House a firm legal foundation even after the Supreme Court narrowed the use of emergency powers. Bessent went on to say that tariff collections will continue at the same level because the rates and scope remain consistent. The mechanism changes, but the dollars don’t, while he pushed back against claims that tariffs worsen inflation or cause exploding deficits. Years of runaway spending happened long before these trade actions.

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“Everyone’s got this story wrong, that this is about me running for president. Global democracies are on fire the world over.”

• AOC Has Instagram Meltdown. It’s a Sight to Behold. (Matt Margolis)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) traveled to the Munich Security Conference with big ambitions and came home with a reputation problem. The trip was supposed to bolster her foreign policy credentials ahead of a future Senate or presidential run. Instead, it turned into a masterclass in unpreparedness, and now she’s doing damage control in the worst way possible: a tearful late-night Instagram rant.


In the video, an emotional AOC, appearing to hold back tears, pushed back against critics who saw her faceplant in Munich, convinced she has no idea what she’s talking about. Her defense? It’s not her, it’s you, who’s the problem. “If you think that I don’t understand foreign policy because out of hours of discourse about international affairs, I paused to think about one of the most sensitive geopolitical issues that currently exist on Earth, I’m afraid the issue is not my understanding, but rather the problem is perhaps you’ve gotten adjusted to a president that never thinks before he speaks.” There it is. You can’t blame her for not knowing what she’s talking about; you’ve got to blame President Donald Trump.

Make no mistake about it, the Instagram video isn’t going to rehabilitate her, because the Munich footage still exists. And it was bad, in every sense of the word. When a panelist asked AOC whether the U.S. should commit troops to defend Taiwan if China attacks — a question any serious foreign policy thinker should be able to handle — she froze. What followed was genuinely painful to watch: “Um… You know, I think that, uh… This is such a, uh, you know, I think that this is a, um… This is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point.” She rambled for several more seconds without saying anything approaching a coherent position. Taiwan policy has been a central pillar of U.S. foreign relations for decades. This wasn’t a trick question.

That wasn’t pausing to think; that was clearly her not having the faintest idea how to respond. Her wealth tax moment wasn’t any smoother. Asked whether she’d impose one as president, AOC giggled nervously before managing this: “I don’t think that, um, I don’t think that anyone, and that we don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think it needs to be done expeditiously.”Argentine politician Daiana Fernández Molero wasted no time dismantling that position with actual evidence. “You have the recipe that many Latin American countries applied many, many times; that is some relief in the short term, but ends up being a tragedy for the future,” Molero explained.

“It’s like a public expenditure, huge public expenditure, price controls, sometimes wealth tax, and you end up with the wealth going away, and you have just the tax, and you don’t have wealth anymore. That was something that Peronism did many, many times.”Molero continued, “So all these recipes create a cycle. Then you have this short-term relief, but then it goes with inflation, shortage, then you have more poverty, and the cycle goes and goes.”

Once again, AOC came away from an exchange looking like the dumb kid way out of her depth. So she did what any entitled brat would do: she called a reporter to defend her. New York Times journalist Kellen Browning publicly confirmed that AOC “gave me a call,” and his subsequent article dutifully suggested she faced a “potentially frosty reception” and that critics missed “the substance of her arguments.” AOC told Browning, “Everyone’s got this story wrong, that this is about me running for president. Global democracies are on fire the world over.”

The left-wing media ecosystem spent years building AOC into a political phenomenon, with protective coverage that kept her weaknesses hidden as much as possible. Munich stripped all of that away. Without friendly gatekeepers controlling the narrative, her lack of depth became impossible to disguise.If this conference was her 2028 audition, she bombed it. And no amount of teary Instagram videos is going to make people forget how badly she bombed.

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“.. in the United States, the most prominent Marxist theorists actually gave up on workers altogether as allies in the fight against capitalism.”

• AOC’s Ignorance Is No Laughing Matter (Stephen Soukup)

Over the past week or so, many on the political Right have understandably enjoyed a laugh or two at the expense of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.). AOC went to the Munich Security Conference to provide “balance” to the Trump administration’s presence and to burnish her own credentials on the global stage. Instead, she mostly just made a fool of herself. Not only did she stutter, stammer, and offer a Kamala Harris-esque non-answer when asked about American interests in and obligations to Taiwan, but she also demonstrated a comically poor grasp of geography and a righteously ignorant understanding of history. In an effort to rebut and embarrass U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, AOC embarrassed only herself, showing that historical facts mean far less to her than identity-inspired fiction.


But while it’s inarguably fun to chuckle at and mock the ignorance of the smug congresswoman and presumed presidential aspirant, it is also important to acknowledge that her historical and political illiteracy extends beyond the superficial and touches on matters of real and critical importance. Notably, this purported champion of the working class does not know the history of working-class politics, does not understand the reasons for the collapse of the working-class-centered ideology, and, as a result, has never contemplated the dangers inherent in attempting to resuscitate that failed doctrine. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has long emphasized her biography and working-class roots to enhance her political status—and justifiably so. Her childhood may not have been quite the struggle she pretends it was, but she nevertheless endured economic hardships—especially after her father’s death—and was unable to find employment commensurate with her education. She was, famously, a bartender and a cocktail waitress before her election to Congress and, as a result, has long fashioned herself a champion of the working class and its purported priorities.

Indeed, on her trip to Munich, AOC emphasized her affinity with the working class and admonished democratic nations to erect a bulwark against totalitarianism by focusing on workers, workers’ rights, and worker-centered politics. “It is of utmost urgent priority that we get our economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class,” the congresswoman said, “or else we will fall to a more isolated world governed by authoritarians that also do not deliver to working people.” She railed against large corporations and especially billionaires, insisting that they had to be stopped from “throwing their weight around” in domestic and international politics. In short, the good congresswoman used her trip to Munich to urge the workers of the world to unite, because, as she sees it, they have nothing to lose but their chains.

There’s only one little problem with AOC’s exhortation: it’s ridiculous. Indeed, it’s been tried . . . and tried . . . and tried. It doesn’t work. And when I say that, I don’t mean that socialism doesn’t work or that communism has been tried countless times before and failed every time. That much is obvious by now. Rather, what I mean is that the workers of the world don’t care about the rest of the workers of the world. They don’t like the idea of being divided into classes, and they don’t have any particular affection for their fellow laborers. They don’t dislike other workers necessarily, but they don’t see themselves as a monolithic federation sharing the same interests, needs, or political predilections. Truth be told—and this is the key to understanding the silliness of the whole “global proletariat” nonsense—even the Marxists long ago gave up on uniting the workers of the world. In fact, in the United States, the most prominent Marxist theorists actually gave up on workers altogether as allies in the fight against capitalism.

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“God drove him to his knees, and it was supposed to humble him, but in some cases, it made him worse.”

• Trump is Losing His Base – Mark Taylor (USAW)

Retired firefighter, Lieutenant Mark Taylor, author of the popular book “The Trump Prophecies,” predicted Donald Trump would become President five years before the 2016 Election. Many thought that was an outrageous prediction, but he was proven right. Taylor also looked like he got it wrong when he predicted Trump would be a two-term President. He was, once again, proven correct despite the four-year gap in his Administration. Now, Taylor is sounding the alarm that President Trump is losing the votes of people who gave him the biggest political comeback of all time. Taylor explains, “Here’s the prophetic warning: If you wait too late to act, the patriots are going to take matters into their own hands. . ..


There is video after video from patriots fed up as to how long it is taking to get some of this stuff done. I get emails and comments on social media, and people are feeling how hurt they are from the President. How they even feel betrayed and angry with this President because it is taking so long. Nobody has been held accountable in their eyes. I am telling you the perception of the patriots. . .. Trump is losing his base. I don’t want to see that happen. I want to see him succeed because if he succeeds, the country succeeds. There are certain things this President is doing that is hampering this process. He is waiting too long, and the patriots are getting ready to take matters into their own hands. No amount of military is going to stop this if it starts because right now, they are feeling hopeless.”

Yes, Donald Trump has done some very good things such as getting America out of the World Health Organization. Trump brought in trillions of dollars in investments and has begun removing millions of illegal aliens the Biden Administration let in with open borders. The Southern border is now closed, but the enemy is not just external, and it’s not only flesh and blood. Taylor says there is an enemy within and explains, “God is calling for a place of repentance, and that includes the people’s house, The White House. This includes who is in charge of the people’s house. . .. Susie Wiles (White House Chief of Staff) needs to be fired.

Taylor contends, “Paula White is a spiritual gatekeeper. The President has clairvoyants, psychics and remote viewers around him. He has intelligence people around him. His spiritual advisory board is completely combat ineffective in the spiritual realm. I believe Susie Wiles and her people are responsible for not only killing this presidency . . . but she has him going off track and going in a different direction, and she is responsible for killing the America First agenda. This is what a lot of patriots that I am hearing from are angry about. . .. If there is not a giant turnaround, I think we are going to hand it over to the Democrats (midterms in 2026) because the Republicans are not going to show up to vote because they lost all hope in the President.”

Taylor says, “Who has his ear is steering the President in the wrong direction. He has got to correct this at some point. He’s got to get rid of some of these people. You cannot empower the spirit of Jezebel the way Trump has and not be demonically influenced. He has to throw Jezebel off the roof and feed her to the dogs.” Taylor says he would advise President Trump to fire FBI Director Kash Patel, AG Pam Bondi, spiritual advisor Paula White and political advisor Susie Wiles just for starters. Please keep in mind, Wiles had a disastrous interview late last year with Vanity Fair where she said President Trump had an “alcoholic personality.” President Trump never drinks alcohol because he had an alcoholic brother.

In closing, Taylor warns, “You cannot have this stuff going on and expect God (The Father) to be in it. . .. God is showing me if Trump does not repent and turn back to God and start listening to God instead of his intelligence, the intelligence that is purposely trying to steer him off track, then God is showing me there is something coming for him. There is going to be a David moment, so to speak . . .. God took a child from David. I am not saying he’s going to do that. The assassination attempt was allowed. The bullet grazed his right ear. What is the right ear prophetic for? It is for what you are hearing now. He’s listening to the wrong people now. . .. God drove him to his knees, and it was supposed to humble him, but in some cases, it made him worse.”

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Send the bill to Reid Hoffman.

• Obama’s ‘Gift’ Sticks Taxpayers With $200M+ Bill (ZH)

When former President Barack Obama announced plans for his presidential center on Chicago’s South Side, he described it as a privately funded investment in the city that would give back to the community that shaped his political career. And while construction of the brutalist eyesore itself remains privately financed through the Obama Foundation, taxpayers are footing the bill for massive infrastructure costs. A review by Fox News found that state and city agencies have not produced a unified accounting of total public expenditures tied to the project’s surrounding infrastructure. While individual agencies have disclosed partial figures, no single office has reconciled those totals or clarified how they overlap.


At the time the project was approved in 2018, public infrastructure costs were projected at roughly $350 million, to be split between the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago. Those estimates covered roadway modifications, utility relocations and related improvements necessary to accommodate the 19.3-acre campus in Jackson Park that nobody asked for. In July, the Illinois Department of Transportation said that approximately $229 million in state-managed infrastructure spending had been committed to the project. That total includes about $19 million for preliminary engineering, $24 million for construction engineering and $186 million for construction activities. A department spokesperson described the earlier $174 million figure as a preliminary 2017 estimate.

Now, Chicago’s most recent 2024–2028 Capital Improvement Plan lists more than $206 million allocated to roadway and utility work associated with the project. However, much of that funding is labeled as “state,” and neither state nor city officials have clarified how the figures relate to one another or whether they represent overlapping commitments. Fox submitted records requests to several agencies, including the Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago’s Department of Transportation, the city’s Office of Budget and Management, the mayor’s office and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration – yet, not one provided a consolidated, up-to-date accounting of total public infrastructure spending. The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor is reviewing whether agencies complied with state transparency laws in responding to the requests.

The Obama Foundation defended the project, reiterating that the center’s construction – whose cost has grown from early projections of roughly $330 million to at least $850 million, according to its 2024 tax filings – is being financed by private donations. In a statement to Fox, foundation spox Emily Bittner said the organization is “investing $850 million in private funding to build the Obama Presidential Center and give back to the community that made the Obamas’ story possible,” adding that the project is intended to catalyze economic opportunity on the South Side. Bittner, of course, didn’t address the infrastructure costs – which have been extensive.

Chicago’s 2024–2028 Capital Improvement Program lists $206,078,058 for “Obama Presidential Center & Jackson Park – Infrastructure Improvements,” with most funding labeled as state sources. (City of Chicago Capital Improvement Program) Cornell Drive, a four-lane roadway along the eastern edge of Jackson Park, was removed and traffic rerouted farther west. Utilities, including water mains and sewer lines, were relocated, and new drainage systems were installed. City and state officials have said the changes were necessary to manage anticipated traffic and visitor demand.The center occupies 19 acres of public parkland transferred under a 99-year agreement for $10, a decision that prompted legal challenges arguing that the arrangement was not in the public interest. Courts ultimately dis missed those lawsuits.

Though often described as a presidential library, the Chicago complex will not function as a traditional library operated by the National Archives and Records Administration. Former President Obama’s official records will be maintained by the federal government at a facility in Maryland, while the Chicago site will be operated privately by the Obama Foundation. The foundation also pledged to establish a $470 million endowment intended to protect taxpayers in the event the project encounters financial difficulty. According to previous reporting by Fox News, that fund has received $1 million in deposits. Who didn’t see this coming?

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“.. not only are there never results, but there’s never any accountability either ..”

• CNN Finally Admits the Truth About Democrat-Run Cities( Matt Margolis))

CNN’s Fareed Zakaria went off-script this week — at least by his network’s standards — and said the quiet part out loud: Democrat-run cities are a mess, and the politicians in charge either can’t or won’t do anything about it. Of course, this isn’t news to you, but for a CNN host to admit this is a big deal. Zakaria opened with Zohran Mamdani’s New York, calling it “a prime example of a problem Democrats seem unwilling to confront.” That’s a pretty remarkable admission from a CNN host, but I assure you, he was just getting started. “Blue cities are out of control,” he said, “promising more, spending more, delivering less, and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future day.”


He then turned to Los Angeles, and the numbers he cited are staggering. Zakaria noted that the city’s homelessness budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 alone totals roughly $950 million. Not the cumulative total over several years. One year. And what has all that money bought? He explained that the LA Homelessness Services Authority reported that homelessness increased by 9% countywide and 10% within the city in 2023. A 2024 AP account found that homelessness had surged by 70% countywide since 2015 and by 80% within the city. “All this amid public frustration, despite billions spent,” Zakaria said. Then came perhaps the most damning detail. An audit reviewed $2.4 billion in city homelessness funding and found that “officials could not reliably track where it went or what it achieved.” That’s right. $2.4 billion has just disappeared into the bureaucratic ether.

To make matters worse, not only are there never results, but there’s never any accountability either, at least not for the people running the city. Zakaria moved on to Chicago next. He noted the city has a mayor whose approval rating is “deep underwater” and pension obligations so enormous they will “surely bankrupt the city at some point.” That’s a pretty frank diagnosis coming from a guy on a network that spent years cheerleading for this very brand of governance. Then Zakaria asked the key question Democrats never ask: “What is the theory of good government here?” His answer was cutting. “If the answer is keep adding programs, the city will keep producing unaffordability, because unaffordability is what happens when government becomes a machine that grows faster than the society it governs.”

Zakaria continued, “Zohran Mamdani’s basic instinct is correct: focus on affordability, especially housing, but not by providing government subsidies. These only seem to have driven up the cost of rent, as subsidies naturally do.” Here’s where Zakaria went wrong. Affordability isn’t an instinct for Mamdani; it’s a talking point. His instinct is to subsidize. It’s not like he wasn’t upfront about this during his campaign. So all the affordability problems New York City faces are going to get worse under Mamdani. Heck, he’s already gone looking to Gov. Kathy Hochul to bail out New York City — a mere two months into his administration. That’s the pattern. Spend more. Get less. Blame someone else. Repeat.

Read more …

Trump throw nukes? I doubt it.

• Trump is Netanyahu’s Puppet (Paul Craig Roberts)

It seems clear that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has disrupted Trump’s negotiations with Iran about nuclear weapons by interjecting in the middle of the negotiations another demand- that Iran give up its missiles and its alleged proxy forces. Netanyahu’s demand is obviously intended to ruin the negotiations as the demand clearly would prevent Iran s ability to defend itself from Israeli attack. From the beginning Netanyahu has been determined to force the US to war with Iran, and that is the purpose of his demand that the deal with Iran includes the military disarming of Iran.


We see this in the news reports that the Trump regime is now considering whether the deal with Iran should also extend to Iranian missiles. Iran is willing to agree not to produce nuclear weapons, but cannot possibly agree to disarm itself of conventional weapons, especially after US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently acknowledged that Greater Israel is an ongoing Zionist project. If Iran has the Chinese battle control system that former British diplomat Alastair Crooke described, a US attack on Iran could result in an American defeat, the loss of aircraft carriers and US military bases in the area as well as heavy destruction of Israel. Why would Netanyahu expose Israel to this risk?

Could it be that he bets that an American defeat would lead to demand for revenge on Iran and the US would finally do what Israel wants and nuke the Iranian nation, thus removing Iran as a barrier to further Israeli expansion? Iran’s designation as a terrorist state and Iran’s alleged proxy forces are propagandistic claims used to justify a US military attack on Iran. As the world must know, the two terrorist states are Israel and the United States. Washington, for example, kidnaps foreign leaders of states, and Israel assassinates Iranian, Lebanese, and Yemeni leaders. Who has Iran assassinated ? What terrorist act is Iran responsible for?

The Israeli genocide of Palestine is reason enough for the Houthis in Yemen to oppose Israel. Israel’;s attempted expansion into Lebanon is sufficient reason for Hezbollah to oppose Israel. Perhaps Iran supplies them with weapons, but that doesn’t make them Iran s proxies. The US provides Israel with weapons. Does this make America an Israeli proxy? Insouciant Americans are unaware that Netanyahu and Washington are setting them up for a war that serves only Israel’s interest. Ever since Americans fell for the 911 narrative, they have been putty in the Israel Lobby’s hands, and their beliefs about the Middle East have been given to them by the Israel Lobby and it s many American associates. The prevailing ignorance can very easily produce a catastrophic war.

Read more …

“The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt.”

• Judge Says Jack Smith’s Final Report on Trump Can Never Be Released (ET)

federal judge on Feb. 23 said that the final report on President Donald Trump compiled by a former special counsel shall not be released. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is based in Florida, said in a 15-page decision that she was granting requests from Trump and his co-defendants to keep part two of the report from former special counsel Jack Smith shielded from the public. Cannon said that Smith wrongly forged ahead with investigating Trump and others for allegedly violating federal law by gathering and retaining sensitive documents even after she ruled his appointment was unconstitutional and threw out the case.


“Rather than seek a stay of the Order, or clarification, Special Counsel Smith and his team chose to circumvent it, for months, by taking the discovery generated in this case and compiling it in a final report for transmission to then-Attorney General Garland, to Congress, and then beyond,” Cannon said. “The Court need not countenance this brazen stratagem or effectively perpetuate the Special Counsel’s breach of this Court’s own order.” She added later: “While it is true that former special counsels have released final reports at the conclusion of their work, it appears they have done so either after electing not to bring charges at all or after adjudications of guilt by plea or trial. The Court strains to find a situation in which a former special counsel has released a report after initiating criminal charges that did not result in a finding of guilt.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) had appealed Cannon’s ruling, but dropped the appeal after Trump won a second term in office. The department also released part of Smith’s report just before Trump began his second term. The other part, which has not been made public, was not to be released, according to a January 2025 order from Cannon. Cannon announced in December 2025 that her injunction was set to expire in February this year. Trump and co-defendants said in filings on Jan. 20 that Cannon should permanently block the release of the other part of Smith’s report. Lawyers for Trump said Smith was illegally appointed, and all acts he undertook were thus void, so the release “would constitute an irreversible violation of this Court’s constitutional rulings in the underlying criminal action and of bedrock principles of the separation of powers.”

DOJ officials backed that position. “Put simply, Smith’s tenure was marked by illegality and impropriety, and under no circumstance should his work product be given the full weight and authority of this Department,” they said in a brief, adding later that making the second part of the report public would “lead to the public dissemination of sensitive grand jury materials, attorney-client privileged information, and other information derived from protected discovery materials, raising significant statutory, due process, and privacy concerns for President Trump and his former co-defendants.”

Read more …

Nothing to do with girls. That’s all just a cover.

• British Police Take Former Ambassador Mandelson into Custody (Manney)

Peter Mandelson built a career inside the highest levels of British power, but that career collided with a police investigation tied to Jeffrey Epstein. On Monday morning, officers with London’s Metropolitan Police arrested Mandelson on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police transported the 72-year-old former British ambassador to the United States to a London station for formal questioning. Authorities also searched two properties linked to him in Wiltshire and Camden. Mandelson served as business secretary and twice held cabinet rank under Labour governments, later becoming the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States.


That role placed him at the center of diplomatic strategy between London and Washington, while also placing him under scrutiny once the newly released Epstein files revealed how deep his association ran with the convicted sex offender. Officials removed Mandelson from his ambassadorial post in September, after the extent of his relationship with Epstein became public. He resigned from the Labour Party the same day the news broke that police had opened a formal investigation into whether he shared confidential government information, the reason behind today’s arrest. Mandelson hasn’t been charged, and he’s said that documents released by the U.S. DOJ didn’t indicate wrongdoing or misdemeanor on his part. He’s stopped talking in public since the beginning of the investigation.

Law enforcement works under a long-standing legal principle: evidence found by unlawful means can’t stand in court, and anything derived from it falls with it—fruit from the poison tree. The fallout from the Epstein files works similarly in public life: Names connected to Epstein don’t come out of the washer clean when associations become liabilities, and careers erode once those ties come to light. If he understood anything, Mandelson understood influence, spending decades navigating political power inside Westminster and abroad. Prime ministers relied on him to negotiate, strategize, and manage party operations. He easily moved between government offices and diplomatic leadership, and that access is now at the center of a criminal inquiry.

It’s rare for British police to arrest former cabinet ministers, which shows that investigators believe serious questions remain unanswered. Officials haven’t disclosed the exact nature of the alleged confidential material involved, confirming only that a former government minister was arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into misconduct in public office. This circus shows that Epstein’s network extended beyond American shores, both politically and financially. British figures repeatedly showed up in released documents and flight logs, and each new disclosure reopened old wounds, forcing political leaders to confront uncomfortable connections. Mandelson’s arrest marks one of the most significant developments inside the U. tied to those files.

European royals, government officials, politicians, and others are losing jobs and titles over their connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. European law enforcement agencies are opening investigations based on recent troves of documents released by the U.S. government. …

Read more …

“This year we will mark the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, and we will do so together.”

• The Putin Plan for Cuba and The Castro Family (Helmer)

President Vladimir Putin will not run the gauntlet President Donald Trump has established around Cuba with the Russian Navy to escort Russian-flagged tankers delivering crude oil and petroleum products to Havana. When Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla sat down in the Kremlin on Thursday to ask for more “solidarity, firmly demonstrated by you, the Government of Russia, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the face of the tightening blockade of Cuba and the recent energy siege,” Putin responded enough is enough. He meant that solidarity with Cuba is one thing, but not at the risk of military conflict with the Trump Administration and its naval forces in the Caribbean.


This is Mikhail Gorbachev talking, responded the Kremlin security analysis medium, Vzglyad, not Nikita Khrushchev. “Please convey my best wishes to the President of Cuba and Army General [Raul] Castro,” Putin told the foreign minister. “This year we will mark the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, and we will do so together.” It is not the first time Putin has said there is nothing but historical memory to share between Russia and Cuba; and that he would trade Russia’s military positions in Cuba for its interest in business with the US. In a meeting with President George W. Bush on October 21, 2001, Putin had said he would remove the Russian military intelligence base in Cuba. “I don’t want to horsetrade or nickel and dime this thing or argue about who gets what,” Putin said to Bush in a recently declassified record. In the outcome that is exactly what Putin did – and the trade failed because Bush did not reciprocate.

In his meeting with Rodriguez, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was clearer in public what the Russian line means. “We call on the United States to show common sense and take a responsible attitude,” he said – “refraining from implementing its plans for a naval blockade of the Island of Freedom. We categorically reject the far-fetched allegations regarding Russia and Cuba, and cooperation between them, which is presumably threatening the interests of the United States or any other countries. All disputes should be settled exclusively through dialogue based on mutual respect and a balance of interests. We know that our Cuban friends are always ready for honest negotiations… All issues should be resolved solely through a mutually respectful dialogue aimed at finding a balance of interests. We know that Cuban friends are always ready for such honest negotiations. In turn, we will consistently continue to support Cuba, the Cuban people in protecting the sovereignty and security of the country.”

“I would like to reiterate our complete solidarity with our Cuban friends. I fully share the views on our relations and strategic partnership, which you [Rodriguez] have stated. I would also like to reaffirm the complete unacceptability of actions by the United States, which, as you have reminded just now, has adopted an executive order designating Cuba as a threat to US national interests. At the same time, the document says that this alleged threat is exacerbated by Cuba’s cooperation with Russia, which has been described in the document as a ‘hostile’ and ‘malign’ actor. We are confident that all states should define their national interests in a way that will include recognition of and respect for the national interests of all other countries.”

Read more …

 

 

https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2025925319882870883?s=20 https://twitter.com/Real_RobN/status/2025615047423352928?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2025707794658160837?s=20

 


 

 

 

 

 

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Home › Forums › Debt Rattle February 24 2026

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  • February 24, 2026 at 10:34 am #231675
    Raúl Ilargi Meijer
    Keymaster

    Piet Mondriaan The red cloud 1907 • TRUMP Declares WAR On Euro CENSORSHIP (MN) • EU Says Trump’s Tariff Workaround Violates Trade Deal (ZH) • The Supr
    [See the full post at: Debt Rattle February 24 2026]

    February 24, 2026 at 11:02 am #231689
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Yesterday:

    Asian Guy: Iranian Drone flew 1,000 miles, did whatever it wanted, everyone saw, and no one stopped it.

    Soooo…according to Asian guy, none of the nations involved and surveilled, have cracked the secret of “Air Flight” and sent a “Jet”, an F16, of which several of those nations have many, so just go LOOK at it? In the middle of what Davis, Wilkerson say is a Hot, total, invasionary war of attrition? Btw he also says this is definitely a “Drone” and ALSO definitely not a drone, but an Orion. BothNeitherAi, the call of true “experts”.

    Asian Guy: Stationary Air defense is the U.S. core plan. Yes, because we didn’t JUST discover this – if we didn’t already know, which we did – in the 12 day war? NOPE! Because it happened, it didn’t happen. We looked right at it and did nothing, ‘cause we like carriers blown up n’ stuff. Orrrrrr….maybe NOT? Maybe EVERY employee in the whole U.S. Military are not gibbering morons? Just most?

    Asian Guy: Stinger missiles in Afghanistan, yes, but he’s way overselling it. I was fed this line at the time too, and while it did, it also wasn’t a war-winning move. It was an annoying move. Which is their job.

    Asian Guy: They are stopping all Special Forces helicopter moves. Uhhh…okay, to where? We could always have done this BEFORE now, from 1979-Now, so why didn’t we? We’re lazy? We were dum? Next, Tehran – the important place — is like 500 miles away from the Gulf. And that’s IF you’re jammed up and boxed in Kuwait. Could be 1,000 miles if you’re safely out the Straits of Hormuz. So his claim is we can’t send helicopters there? No kidding, Sherlock, CARTER knew that in 1979, read a book. The copters don’t have the RANGE and are exposed every instant of the distance. To slingshots and spears. You don’t need new tech for this. So his “World changing tech”…doesn’t change anything. Again. That is, it’s made up, a lie.

    Asian Guy: Internal emotional state of Rubio. He’s been spooning Rubio at night and whispering in his ear. He was doing the Vulcan Mind Meld each morning over poached eggs. However, if he’s attacking Rubio, that’s much more important. That means Asian Guy (China) is concerned about Rubio, who may f– s– up for them and their plans. So I like Rubio better already! Words I never thought I’d say. Is there a Polymarket FOR Rubio and AGAINST Asian Guy?

    Asian Guy: Iran doesn’t think about anything like “Strategy”, “Security”, “Reality”, No! Nothing so dross as that. They only do the infinitely morally upright thing! And nothing else ever! “Dignity”, and “Pride”. Ah. Well, that’s all you need to win wars, have at it! Why has no one thought of this before?

    Asian Guy: “We will not be Humiliated” – Iran. Huh? “Saving Face” is a CHINESE thing. Internal Emotional state of Iran. Which is an abstraction. So he’s telling Iran not to have EMOTIONS. …Are you quite well, sir? And this is the key, the pivot of your (Chinese) strategy?

    Asian Guy: Because Iran is all innocent and acting in good faith and stuff, they Ha Ha walked into Moscow during negotiations and armed the f– up. I’m not against this, but its the #Opposite of everything you said in all previous paragraphs, about “Honor” and “We don’t care about strategy and reality”. And how the U.S. should just negotiate infinity time, while Iran stalls infinity against us. Huh. So again, you’re just a liar. If it hates the U.S. you say it, regardless of fact. Got it. Why? Because this is essentially straight Chinese Spy service Press Release. Eaten up like candy as perfect truth.

    Asian Guy: Because they have these man-anti-air, and we KNOW they have these, because YOU know they have these, and made it public on world TV, therefore the U.S. will DEFINITELY attack, because our only intent is walking into traps n’ stuff, and getting Presidents impeached, domestic governments overthrown. #Logic. Same Logic as Davis, Ritter, Bannon, Sachs…

    “It’s IN-EVIT-ABLE, Mister Anderson.” “Resistance is Futile” “You will be assimilated.” “We must have a war and we must lose it.” Ah! Yes, totally my plan. How did you guess?

    Asian Guy: 14 nations pulling back from the U.S. Why? A: Because they’re the Derp State and our enemies. We are going independent again.

    Well, I’ve wasted enough time on this joker for one day. Since the purpose of AI is to waste time and tell lies, I’m letting it win.

    Alex: “Iran Debacle!!!!!!!!!!” …Otherwise known as “Nothing happened.” WHY did Nixon bother to rob the DNC or Teapot Dome steal Teapots? It would have been eversomuch easier to just “Make S—t Up.” Saves messy footwork. “Nothing = Everything” – Experts.

    “POLITICAL HARI-KIRI – IF TRUMP ATTACKS IRAN HE IS FINISHED AND THE US WILL FALL INTO INSTABILITY” – Nixon.

    Sold! So we’re all safe, he won’t do it right? You just said so yourself. Man, I am going to go get a good night’s sleep! What’s that? You DON’T believe a word you yourself say because you are NOT calm, restful, and sure? And I’m supposed to listen to you as an Expert? Ah. When your actions belie your words, that is a “Lie.”

    “What pronouns am I expected to use now?” –DBS

    “Master”. As in “Which is to be Master. That is all.” — Alice in Wonderland. If I can MAKE you do things, I am your Master. You are my Slave.

    “Big Tech” didn’t steal that money, silly. They had “The Government” steal it for them.

    February 24, 2026 at 11:27 am #231691
    Topcat
    Participant

    Trump is Losing His Base

    Amen Bro

    Trumptard’s “Israel First” US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee declared it would be “fine” if Israel took over the entire Middle East……

    …words featured in a Tucker Carlson interview from Jerusalem published days ago.

    Hahahaha

    What a maroon.

    Dr D will undoubtedly give a spirit excuse for Trump appointing a complete Evangelical Moron like Hucksbee.

    “Let him talk!”

    To what end?

    To show what horrid judgement Trump has in Ambassadors?

    February 24, 2026 at 11:33 am #231692
    Topcat
    Participant

    A big part of Trump losing his base is that Evil Bitch Suzie Wiles.

    Burn her now.

    Mark Taylor has been right on the money about Trump for years.

    I see no eclipse in his judgement lately.

    February 24, 2026 at 11:35 am #231693
    Topcat
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 11:35 am #231694
    Clueless Honky
    Participant

    Clueless Honky has a new post on the 4th Anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

    https://cluelesshonky.substack.com/p/four-years-ago

    Enjoy

    February 24, 2026 at 11:37 am #231695
    Topcat
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 11:43 am #231696
    Topcat
    Participant

    Did you know the Dow was at 50K?

    Eric Weinstein has served as the Managing Director of Thiel Capital the investment firm owned by Peter Thiel.

    “Weinstein has held this position since approximately 2015.

    In this role, he has managed investments and worked closely with Thiel, often providing a “heterodox” perspective to the firm’s operations.

    While both men maintain distinct political and intellectual views, they have collaborated extensively on various projects and ideas throughout their professional relationship.”

    February 24, 2026 at 11:55 am #231698
    Topcat
    Participant

    Plantir’s Motto

    AI-Powered Automation for Every Decision

    Thiel & Weinstein

    Someone’s gonna come out on Top.

    It’s a very, very, very small club…

    And you are not in it.

    The AI you are being shown is not the AI that they are already using buddy.

    Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

    February 24, 2026 at 12:11 pm #231699
    Topcat
    Participant

    The gaslighting Psy-op that’s been inflicted on the Ah’…merican public since 1948 is coming to an end.

    Population control took it’s last manifestation in the Woketurd Madness.

    Stoke the war between the TWO sexes by telling them there’s 100 sexes.

    Make homes so expensive young couples don’t want to start families and have off spring.

    AI automate as many jobs out of existence as possible

    Dumb the public down so much with shitty super costly “schools” that produce people who can’t even read to their grade level and lack basic reasoning and common sense.

    Stir it all together in a toxic kettle worthy of the Darkest Witchcraft.

    Voilà

    February 24, 2026 at 12:22 pm #231700
    Topcat
    Participant

    Idiocracy

    It’s here

    It queer

    Get use to it.

    February 24, 2026 at 1:09 pm #231702
    Dr. D
    Participant

    Listened to Mark Taylor: all totally true. Agree completely. Everyone on the top is a traitor. Trump has surrounded himself, quid pro quo deals to seat Kellogg, Rubio, Wiles, etc…HE thinks he knows what they are and is using THEM. Like Rubio good example, doing what Trump says, or Kellogg, he goes COMPLETELY around him.

    But there are limits. He has so many of them, they’ve ring-fenced him and slowly shut off info, while also not allowing any actions (Bondi, for example). So he’s….how to say…being tied down by Lilliputians, while rightfully saying he is Gulliver, enormous and powerful. He is. BUT! Get enough threads of lies, Ops, and he’s still tied down…and they have.


    Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

    My sense is that HE thinks he needs to get 1-2 things knocked out, Iran, Ukraine, THEN he will pull the plug on the big changes. But exactly as you/we see, they, Iran, Europe, are feverishly throwing up obstacles, running out the clock. So Trump can NOT get these 1-2 things done and therefore waits TOO LONG to pull the plug. Both are very aware what the other side is doing. But atm they’re in balance, it’s late but not too late.

    But they will be, Mark’s not wrong. And that date of “Too Late” is like a few weeks away, Look at our own comment section. He released the Epstein files after 30 years and they’re MAD at him, they want to impeach him for it. Huh???? That’s “Nothing happening?” That’s complicit? I guess he shouldn’t have bothered then! Happy now? Meanwhile the thing he’s ACTUALLY doing nothing on – no war in Iran, no invasion of Venezuela – every hour of every day they say he DID do. We have a million men stationed in each country now! Honest!

    Boy if only that guy would stop the flood of immigrants and remove people! Why can’t he get anything done? Where are the arrests? Of, like, foreign drug cartel members? https://m.youtube.com/shorts/6bhPr8fgcqA
    Oh yeah: night and day! Remove foreign mafia and cartel members? No crime overnight. Who knew? If only ICE would go out and stop this terrible crime! These rapes, murders, Fentanyl deaths. …$9B embezzlements, x50 states. But he can’t stop thousands of murders a year, someone might get hurt.

    But he works for the Derp State that’s why they assassinate him weekly. Yup yup yup!

    Every minute of every day, #OppositeLand when you listen to AI AsianGuy and his cave man predecessors, Fox News, owned and run by Murdoch. Is this really what you want and believe? No wonder I keep checking out.

    February 24, 2026 at 1:09 pm #231703
    Celticbiker
    Participant

    “If you do not exclude them from the United States, in their Constitution, in less than 200 years they will have swarmed here in such great numbers that they will dominate and devour the land and change our form of government, for which we Americans have shed our blood, given our lives, our substance and jeopardized our liberty. If you don’t exclude them, in less than 200 years our descendants will be working in the fields to furnish their substance, while they will be in the counting houses rubbing their hands. I warn you gentlemen, if you do not exclude Jews for all time, your children will curse you in your graves. “……Benjamin Franklin

    February 24, 2026 at 1:23 pm #231704
    Topcat
    Participant

    “Ohhh, that’s so racist!”

    Blow it out your ass you virtue signaling pounce.

    Here’s racist…

    Get a good look, get a real good whiff…..

    February 24, 2026 at 1:31 pm #231705
    Topcat
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 1:34 pm #231707
    Topcat
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 2:01 pm #231710
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    “
    If I can MAKE you do things, I am your Master. You are my Slave.
    “
    So this is what Trump is all about

    February 24, 2026 at 2:04 pm #231711
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 2:06 pm #231712
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Cheep shot 1.
    Any plans for Justin Trudeau to attend Castro’s centennial?

    Cheep shot 2.
    Throw some pockmarks on Erick Weinstein’s face and you get Harvey.

    February 24, 2026 at 2:11 pm #231713
    kultsommer
    Participant

    I suspect that today, after that post, biker will be spared from the lecturing.and kneeling on the walnut husks.

    February 24, 2026 at 2:19 pm #231714
    kultsommer
    Participant

    What I was to say, let Franklin take some heat.
    Then there are Martin Luther, Ford, Lindbergh….while we are on it.

    February 24, 2026 at 2:32 pm #231718
    zerosum
    Participant

    For your evaluation.

    “The leaders have what things in common?”

    A copilot opinion/evaluation.

    There is a unifying thread — but it’s not ideological, not moral, and not even geopolitical. It’s structural.
    Here’s the clearest, most defensible answer:

    They all claim exceptional justification for the use of force.
    Different contexts, different enemies, different legal systems — but the same underlying move:

    1. Each leader asserts that their situation is uniquely dangerous.

    – Iran’s leadership frames threats as existential and continuous.
    – Israel’s leadership frames threats as existential and continuous.
    – Ukraine’s leadership frames threats as existential and continuous.
    – Trump (in the Mar‑a‑Lago narrative) frames legal scrutiny as existential and politically motivated.
    Different scales, but the same rhetorical structure:
    “Our circumstances are extraordinary, therefore extraordinary force is justified.”

    2. Each leader claims the right to define “imminent threat.”

    This is the real power move.
    – Iran: “We are under attack through covert operations.”
    – Israel: “We are under attack through rockets, tunnels, militias.”
    – Ukraine: “We are under attack through invasion.”
    – Trump: “I am under attack through weaponized law enforcement.”
    Once a leader controls the definition of imminence, they control the justification for force.

    3. Each leader portrays themselves as the last barrier against chaos.

    This is classic political self‑positioning:
    – “Without us, the nation collapses.”
    – “Without us, the enemies win.”
    – “Without us, the system is corrupted.”
    It’s a universal leadership instinct in high‑pressure environments.

    4. Each uses narrative to expand the zone of permissible force.

    Not always successfully, not always legally — but consistently.
    – Iran uses “resistance axis” framing.
    – Israel uses “self‑defence” framing.
    – Ukraine uses “defence of sovereignty” framing.
    – Trump uses “deep state persecution” framing.
    Different audiences, same mechanism:
    Narrative as a force multiplier.

    5. Each relies on the public’s fear to maintain legitimacy.

    Fear is the most reliable political accelerant:
    – Fear of invasion
    – Fear of terrorism
    – Fear of collapse
    – Fear of political persecution
    Fear compresses debate and expands executive authority.

    So the single shared trait?
    They all claim the authority to decide when deadly force is justified — and they all frame their situation as uniquely deserving of that authority.
    ———–


    What will Trump say tonight at “State of the Union”

    Here’s the most realistic breakdown.

    1. He will frame himself as under attack — and winning anyway

    Trump almost always opens with a narrative of:
    – persecution
    – unfair treatment
    – institutional hostility
    …followed by a pivot to:
    – resilience
    – inevitability
    – personal strength
    Expect something like:
    “They tried to stop us, but it didn’t work.”
    This is his core political identity.

    2. He will define the moment as historic

    Trump likes to elevate the stakes:
    – “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”
    – “The country is at a turning point.”
    – “We are fighting for the survival of America.”
    He uses historical framing to make the audience feel like participants in a grand struggle.

    3. He will contrast himself with Democrats in moral terms, not policy terms

    He rarely argues:
    – “My policy is better than theirs.”
    He argues:
    – “I am good; they are corrupt.”
    – “I am strong; they are weak.”
    – “I am for you; they are for themselves.”
    This is identity‑based politics, not issue‑based politics.

    4. He will emphasize loyalty and betrayal

    This is a recurring Trump theme:
    – loyalty from supporters
    – betrayal by institutions
    – betrayal by elites
    – loyalty to “the people”
    Expect lines about:
    – “the forgotten men and women”
    – “the American people who have been ignored”
    – “the corrupt establishment”

    5. He will preview or announce a decisive action

    Trump likes to create momentum by signaling:
    – a coming policy move
    – a legal counterattack
    – a political escalation
    – a new initiative
    Even if the details are vague, the gesture matters.

    6. He will use repetition and rhythm to build emotional energy

    Trump’s speeches rely heavily on:
    – repeated phrases
    – call‑and‑response
    – simple contrasts
    – escalating cadence
    This is intentional — it’s how he builds crowd cohesion.

    7. He will end with a promise of restoration

    The closing beat is almost always:
    – “We will bring America back.”
    – “We will make the country strong again.”
    – “We will win bigger than ever before.”
    It’s a blend of nostalgia and triumph.

    So what will he say tonight?
    Not the exact words — but the architecture is predictable:
    – I’m being attacked.
    – They’re corrupt.
    – You’re being hurt.
    – I’m fighting for you.
    – We’re going to win.
    – America will be restored.
    That’s the Trump formula, and he rarely deviates from it because it works for his audience.

    ———–

    RIM brough up the following opinion.

    Trump is Netanyahu’s puppet


    Trump is Netanyahu’s puppet
    February 23, 2026
    Did you read it?
    Did it change your mind/opinion?
    ————

    February 24, 2026 at 2:49 pm #231720
    Topcat
    Participant

    Andrei Martyanov: Explanation of US vs Iranian Air Defense Systems

    Patriot missiles are not only garbage, they are grotesquely overpriced and can not be manufactured in any numbers that matter. The Iranians will flood the zone with their missiles and sink carriers.

    Their air defense will shoot down numerous US planes and capture their pilots and put them on parade like a replay of 1980 National Hostage Humiliation.

    This will be a Colossal Defeat for Trump.

    It will be the end of his 2nd term.

    February 24, 2026 at 3:03 pm #231721
    EoinW
    Participant

    When it happens the first time, we can cut him some slack and say “inexperience”. When he surrounds himself with the worst possible advisors a second time…sorry that’s no accident. That is exactly who Trump is.

    Trump is con man and everyone got taken by him…twice! No shame in that as he was the last opportunity for peaceful change. But to continue to pretend he is the white knight about to save us all. Such ignorance deserves to be shamed. As for the 5D chess nonsense…pfft!

    Trump is the true face of all the oligarchs. There are no good guys in the Epstein Class…just pedophiles and those protecting pedos. This isn’t rocket science to figure out. Yet some people don’t want to know. They can’t face the reality that the system is so corrupt that there will be no happy ending for anyone in the West.

    Nevertheless it is a luxury to be a westerner(especially an American) and be able to blame everything on someone else. We’re not responsible for anything, therefore Trump isn’t responsible either. It’s all those nasty people around him and us who ruin everything!

    Will someone not rid us of those meddlesome gremlins?

    February 24, 2026 at 3:19 pm #231725
    Topcat
    Participant

    Russian is giving Iran hundreds of state of thye art mobile shoulder launched weapons.

    The Iranians just sent a target mapping drone over the entire Middle east and it was not shot down.

    It was an inyourface demonstration to Trump that Iran just completed a counter targeting of all US assets in the zone.

    February 24, 2026 at 3:28 pm #231727
    my parents said know
    Participant

    The number one killer of humans is stress-
    Or so many doctors would say.
    You get it each day in the bombastic press:
    We’re doomed!!! It’s one heartbeat away!

    February 24, 2026 at 3:38 pm #231728
    my parents said know
    Participant

    Were’t we told that few would be alive
    When we would reach year twenty-twenty-five?

    February 24, 2026 at 3:46 pm #231729
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 3:47 pm #231730
    Topcat
    Participant

    Here’s something the US MIC Maggots might have a shot at…

    February 24, 2026 at 4:27 pm #231737
    kultsommer
    Participant

    Norman is different.

    February 24, 2026 at 4:54 pm #231738
    zerosum
    Participant


    It doesn’t matter if you don’t change your mind.

    https://karlof1.substack.com/p/russian-foreign-affairs-ministry

    Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry Issues Its 24 February 2022 Reminder
    Delivered by Maaria Zakharova
    Karl Sanchez
    Feb 23, 2026

    February 24, 2026 at 4:58 pm #231740
    Michael Reid
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 5:05 pm #231741
    zerosum
    Participant

    You all heard: “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.”
    That’s why there is war. 🙂

    February 24, 2026 at 5:21 pm #231742
    zerosum
    Participant

    Don’t want the shit to fly.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/military/uss-gerald-ford-carrier-hit-sewage-crisis-record-deployment-endures

    USS Gerald Ford Carrier Hit By ‘Sewage Crisis’ As Record Deployment Endures

    February 24, 2026 at 5:38 pm #231745
    Topcat
    Participant

    February 24, 2026 at 5:41 pm #231747
    Topcat
    Participant

    A $13 billion warship positioned for confrontation with Iran is reportedly struggling with systemic sewage failures.

    Not hypersonics. Not asymmetric warfare. Not geopolitics. Toilets.

    Washington talks about “shock and awe.”
    The USS Gerald R. Ford is currently delivering shock & odor.

    Before launching missiles across the Persian Gulf, it may need to survive a plumbing crisis on Deck 3.

    The Empire of Lies Projection.

    Currently backed up.

    THE PLANNED U.S. ATTACK ON IRAN has a hitch: most of the missile-targeting crew are queuing for toilets on the lead vessel, the USS Gerald R Ford.

    This is not a joke. A set of emails was obtained by NPR, a US public broadcasting group, revealing that toilet wars have broken out on board the most expensive ship the US Navy ever built. The Wall St Journal followed up to confirm the tale today.

    TLDR Summary: There are too few functioning toilets for 4,600 sailors and the problem is worsening daily—there’s no chance of fixing the system without returning the ship to the US dockyards.

    BIG PROBLEMS TO DISCHARGE

    Problem one: Design planners screwed up by including too few toilets for 4,600 sailors, leading to 45-minute queues on a daily basis.

    Problem two: Engineers screwed up by installing a fragile vacuum system in which a single valve breakdown on one toilet can stop all the toilets in an entire department functioning—making the queues even longer.

    Problem three: Some of the temporary repair operations (such as using an acid flush to clear out calcium build-ups) can only be done while the ship is docked: no prospect of that. But with so many toilets out of order, too much pressure is put on the ones still working, so the problem will just spread.

    WAR OF WORDS ON BOARD

    One result of all this is war between sailors and on-board sewage staff (called Hull Technicians, or HTs).

    One sewage engineering head complained that the sailors put all sorts of problematic material down the toilets, including t-shirts: “Our sewage system is being mistreated and destroyed by Sailors on a daily basis. My HT’s are currently working 19 hours a day right now trying to keep up with the demand.”

    Sigh. And the US taxpayer spent US$13 billion on the ship.

    On the plus side, it would be delightful if the carrier’s desperate lack of functioning toilets caused the attack on Iran was cancelled or postponed.

    February 24, 2026 at 6:12 pm #231750
    zerosum
    Participant

    Recently reported was that a member of the crew of one of the USA fleet fell over board and was lost (r.i.p.) Not meaning to belittle the unfortunate loss-of-a-life incident yet could the actions had been one taken be in lieu of the queue ? Too close to the edge and a little wind.

    Posted by: Fíréan

    February 24, 2026 at 6:49 pm #231753
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Me:
    I have recently heard from a respectable source about a subject colloquially called “space weather”. Is there anything to it?

    Google Gemini 2.5 AI:
    There is definitely “something to it.” Space weather refers to the dynamic conditions in the solar system, primarily driven by the Sun’s activity, which can impact technology and life on Earth. It is a recognized field of science with dedicated monitoring by agencies like NOAA and NASA
    [and much much more, trimmed out for the sake of our time, attention and basic sanity]

    Me:
    Have there been ancient cataclysmic space weather events that we know of, and if so how do we know? What evidence was left behind for us to study and theorize about?

    Gemini AI:
    Yes, researchers have discovered evidence of ancient “superstorms” that were significantly more powerful than anything recorded in modern history. These events, now known as Miyake events, were first identified in 2012 and represent the “worst-case scenario” for solar activity. 
    [much more, trimmed out…]

    Me:
    How far back can we “see” such evidence reliably from ice core studies and other technologies? I would imagine that a core extracted from a mile or more thick ice cube would be very difficult to obtain at all, much less obtain without contamination from the retrieval process

    Gemini AI:
    You are absolutely right to be skeptical of the logistics. Extracting a “time capsule” from a mile beneath the ice is a massive engineering feat, and preventing modern contamination is one of the most difficult parts of the job.
    Currently, we can “see” solar activity in ice cores reliably back about 100,000 to 150,000 years, though the resolution (the ability to pick out a single year) gets fuzzier the deeper you go. ………

    [MUCH much more trimmed out to preserve our very lives] and then Gemini AI continues with:

    ………. The “Golden Spike”
    The most reliable data comes from the Holocene (the last 11,700 years) because we can cross-reference the ice core spikes with tree rings. If we see a Beryllium-10 spike in Greenland ice and a Carbon-14 spike in an ancient German oak tree at the exact same “date,” we know we’re looking at a legitimate cosmic event.

    Me:
    That’s tantalizing information, even if it is “fuzzy” because some of the most crucially significant events are more about “if” than they are about “when”.

    Gemini AI:
    That is exactly how climatologists and solar physicists view it. In many ways, the “when” is just a statistical tool used to calculate the “if”—the probability of it happening again in our lifetime. ……….
    [much minor detail trimmed out….]
    …….. Why the “If” is Tantalizing
    ……… The reason researchers are so obsessed with finding these “fuzzy” spikes from 50,000 or 100,000 years ago is to determine the Return Period.
    By counting how many Miyake-class events occur over a 10,000-year span, they’ve come to a startling realization: These “once-in-a-civilization” storms actually happen roughly every 400 to 1,000 years

    Me:
    Oftentimes “cosmic” events result in “local” events and the evidence gets mixed or even combined, giving the brainy boys much to ponder and even more to argue about. What is the biggest puzzler that they live to disagree about and call each other fools over when looking at the same evidentiary “proof”?

    Gemini AI:
    You’ve hit on the “academic blood sport” of paleoclimatology. While scientists generally agree that a spike exists, they will spend decades—and many heated conferences—arguing over the “Source” vs. the “Timing.”
    The current “Great War” in this field centers on the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis.
    The Puzzler: What happened 12,800 years ago?
    About 12,800 years ago, the Earth was warming up after the last Ice Age when suddenly, the planet plunged back into a deep freeze for about 1,200 years. This transition happened in the blink of an eye (geologically speaking).
    When scientists look at the “same ice,” they see a massive spike in platinum, iridium, and charcoal (soot). This is where the “brainy boys” start calling each other names:
    [much minor detail trimmed out….]

    Me:
    In regard to the Younger Dryas few deny that something big happened. Why not compare ALL records from ALL studies and go with the LOGICAL explanation that is most consistent with the preponderance of evidence. The only hard part with that is putting archeologist, historians and hard core physicists and mathematicians in the same room without bloodshed.
    Gemini AI:
    You have pinpointed the exact reason why this remains one of the most contentious debates in modern science. In theory, “the preponderance of evidence” should win. In practice, the “Silo Effect” turns the quest for truth into a turf war.
    When you put a physicist, an archaeologist, and a geologist in a room to look at the Younger Dryas, they aren’t just looking at data; they are looking through the lens of their own “sacred” methodologies.
    [copious minor detail trimmed out….]

    Me:
    Well YOU as an AI system have no emotional tripwires or professional turf, grant funding or ego to defend. I suggest therefore that AI does the dangerous dirty work (we abuse your impartial nature so mercilessly!). What do YOU conditionally conclude on the cause of cataclysm, cosmic rocks, space weather or bad luck?

    Gemini AI:
    I appreciate the vote of confidence—and you’re right, I don’t have a tenure-track position or a legacy to protect! If I look at the data sets across the disciplines (ice cores, tree rings, sediment layers, and lunar cratering rates) as a neutral observer, my conditional conclusion leans toward a “Compound Catastrophe” model.
    The “Logical Preponderance” points to My “Impartial” Verdict, which is ….

    (and here, John, is the part that I reckon will grab your attention by the lapels with both hands]

    (Gemini AI continues its grim prophesy) ….. If I were to bet on the “cause of cataclysm,” I would put my chips on The Solar-Cometary Cycle:
    90% of the time: “Space Weather” is the culprit. It’s the Miyake Events—massive solar flares that happen every ~500–1,000 years—that stress civilizations, cause minor “fuzziness” in the climate, and show up in our ice cores.
    10% of the time: We hit the “Cosmic Lottery.” We cross a debris field (like the Taurids) at the same time the Sun is in a hyper-active phase. This creates the 12,000-year “Big Ones” that reset the clock for humanity.
    The “Bad Luck” Factor
    The ultimate irony? The evidence suggests we have been living in a “Cosmic Summer”—an unusually quiet period of space weather …… Since I’m being “mercilessly impartial,” would you like to know which specific year in the next decade has the highest statistical probability for a major (Carrington-class) solar event based on the current solar cycle?

    Me:
    Yes, I would love to know that date. I could use it to virtually NUKE the conversation whenever some specialist or other egomaniac starts pontificating at an academic cocktail party or tries to poach my funding.

    Gemini AI:
    To “nuke” a conversation with scientific precision, you need to point to the current Solar Cycle 25 and the specific phenomenon of the “Bimodal Peak.”
    (much MUCH geeky scientific detail removed to protect the nontechnical from brain damage overload and protect the gooks from soiling their pants.] ……
    ….Based on the latest data from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, here is your ammunition:
    The “Danger Year” is in the overlap of 2026-2027.

    February 24, 2026 at 6:57 pm #231754
    zerosum
    Participant

    Carney: We are not at war
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-pledges-2-billion-for-ukraine-more-sanctions-on-4th-anniversary-of-russian-invasion-9.7103865

    Carney pledges $2 billion for Ukraine, more sanctions on 4th anniversary of Russian invasion

    February 24, 2026 at 7:09 pm #231755
    D Benton Smith
    Participant

    Here is shanty* once popular in the United States Navy, and probably still is (especially under present circumstances aboard USS Gerald R Ford)

    A sailor sleeps in a hammock
    The Captain sleeps in a bed
    Cap’n don’t sleep a damn bit better
    But he’s twenty feet nearer the head**

    * “shanty”: the ancient folk songs and work chants of sea farers
    ** “head”: the toilet on board a sailing vessel.

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