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Debt Rattle May 30 2026

May 302026
 
 May 30, 2026  Posted by at 9:55 am Finance Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,  7 Responses »


Andy Warhol Grace Kelly 1984


• President Trump Updates on “Final Determination” of Iran Negotiations (CTH)
• Iran Clarifies Deal ‘Not Finalized’ Amid Lack Of Trust (ZH)
• Trump in Situation Room for ‘final Determination’ on Iran deal (JTN)
• Trump and Rubio Finally Go After Brazil’s Narco-Terrorists (Sarah Anderson)
• Go Marco! It’s Your Birthday! (Anderson)
• The Left Is Trying to Make Trump Radioactive — and It’s Failing (Tim O’Brien)
• SpaceX Reportedly Lowers IPO Valuation Target (ZH)
• How Much Longer Will Russians Tolerate Putin-the-Pusillanimous? (PCR)
• Has President Trump Committed High Treason? (Paul Craig Roberts)
• Like a Naked Emperor (James Howard Kunstler)
• British Ofcom Probes Trump Interview Calling Climate Change a “Hoax” (Turley)
• Judge Orders Trump’s Name to Be Removed From Kennedy Center (Sarah Anderson)
• US Government Prepares To Print $250 Note Featuring Trump’s Face (BBC)

 


 

 


 


“The Arab states, not Israel, are 100% behind the Trump administration effort on this issue.”

• President Trump Updates on “Final Determination” of Iran Negotiations (CTH)

President Trump updates through his Truth Social account on the current status of negotiations for an agreement with Iran.


PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions. All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers. Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!).

Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of “heading home!” Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President! The enriched material, sometimes referred to as “Nuclear Dust,” which is buried deep underground with virtually collapsed mountains, caused by our powerful B2 Bomber attack 11 months ago, sitting on top of it, will be unearthed by the United States (which, it is agreed, is the only Country, along with China, with the mechanical capability of doing so!), in close coordination and conjunction with the Islamic Republic of Iran, plus the International Atomic Energy Agency, and DESTROYED.

No money will be exchanged, until further notice. Other items, of far less importance, have been agreed to. I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ~ President Donald J Trump

Newt Gingrich also notes one of the most important facets that continues to be missed by most of the American punditry who discuss the situation. The Arab states, not Israel, are 100% behind the Trump administration effort on this issue.

Newt Gingrich: “After spending this week reviewing the Iranian war I am now convinced President Trump is on the edge of an historic victory. The real breakthrough for me came as I reviewed President Trump’s decisions and maneuvers not from the standpoint of American unilateralism but from the standpoint of the leader of a remarkable historic coalition, the largest coalition ever put together in the modern Middle East.

Everyone understands that Israel is an important ally. What is little discussed is the depth of support from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region. It has to be sobering for the Iranian dictatorship to realize that it does not have a single ally willing to challenge the American naval blockade. Slowly, gradually, timidly, our European allies are lining up to help with the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. A great deal of President Trump’s maneuvers against Iran make sense once he is seen as a coalition leader and not just as a unilateral American President.

I spent a lot of the last couple weeks reviewing kinetic options including wining the battle of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and if necessary using the shocking and shattering level of force President Nixon and Secretary Kissinger used against Hanoi and Haiphong in Christmas 1972 (which both leaders believed convinced the North Vietnamese to agree to a truce and the freeing of American POWs). If this were a unilateral American campaign I could enthusiastically support a more aggressive kinetic campaign. However it is also clear it would shatter the coalition because our Arab allies are convinced Iran could still do enormous damage to their oil fields and infrastructure.

Coalitions are inherently slower than unilateral campaigns. However coalitions ultimately bring vastly more power to the fight. I am as frustrated as everyone else by the pace of talking with the dictatorship but having reviewed the correlation of forces and the options available to the coalition on one side and the Iranian religiously motivated dictatorship on the other I am prepared to assert that President Trump’s coalition leadership (something almost none of his critics want to acknowledge) is within reach of an enormous historic victory. And if the Iranian dictatorship ultimately proves it is hopelessly committed to a suicidal position there will be plenty of time for a kinetic campaign of enormous power and effectiveness. Either way we are on the edge of an astonishing victory for our values and for a safer Middle East.” (source)

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The more Iran threatens, the weaker it is.

• Iran Clarifies Deal ‘Not Finalized’ Amid Lack Of Trust (ZH)

Iran’s Tasnim reports Friday that the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is not yet finalized, and that Thursday’s flurry of Western media headlines about an agreement finally being reached were inaccurate. “The text is not finalized yet and the account in Western media is not precise,” a fresh statement indicates. Official confirmation will be announced if it does get to the point of being finalized, Tasnim notes. The report cited an Iranian official to say that “the text of the possible memorandum of understanding has had changes over the past few days.”


The warring sides are attempting to lock in a 60-day extended ceasefire, during which time they will get back to the table – and that’s when finer details like how to address Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium will be dealt with. It is now day 91, and according to the latest Friday: Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Ghalibaf says: “We have no trust in guarantees or words.” Late Thursday, US Vice President J.D. Vance indicated that President Trump has not approved, at a moment Washington is insisting the nuclear issue be more front and center as part of the MOU.

However, the Iranians have consistently said their nuclear program is not up for negotiation toward ending the war – but that it is something that can be talked about once the conflict closes. According to a summary of the latest on the stalled MOU from an Al Jazeera correspondent: Diplomatic efforts to preserve the ceasefire between the United States and Iran have continued behind the scenes, with officials signaling progress towards a framework that could open the door to formal negotiations after weeks of conflict and disruption across the Gulf and beyond. Despite the optimism, questions remain over the timing and scope of any agreement.

Iranian media reports suggested discussions are continuing and that key details have yet to be finalized, while both sides continue to navigate sensitive issues, including Iran’s nuclear program and security in the Gulf.

What has become clear is that US and international media reports have consistently proven premature, too out front, thinly sourced, and ultimately inaccurate in their generally optimistic claims of a deal being ‘finalized’ or else ‘imminent’. In the meantime, Iran’s ongoing threats of an escalated, protracted war happen to be very clear: The Revolutionary Guards said any renewed conflict would spread “far beyond the region,” threatening “crushing blows” and “utter ruin” in places opponents “cannot even imagine.” The warnings come after a war that saw Iran target US bases, Israeli cities and critical infrastructure in Gulf Arab states, while effectively shutting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and triggering a global energy shock.

The Islamic Republic has also been touting new “tools” to use against its enemies, per CNN: Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any future retaliation would “feature many more surprises,” while Iran’s military threatened to open “new fronts” using “new tools.” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, said the armed forces had used the ceasefire period to rebuild their capabilities “at the highest level.”

Some pundits fear that such references to “new fronts” could mean either the closure of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, or even the possibility of missiles reaching Europe. Umud Shokri, an energy strategist at George Mason University, has explained in a statement, “A simultaneous crisis in Bab al-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz would be far more serious, potentially affecting both Red Sea trade and Persian Gulf energy flows, which would raise oil prices, freight rates, and inflationary pressure worldwide.”

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Trump’s conditions are well known.

• Trump in Situation Room for ‘final Determination’ on Iran deal (JTN)

President Donald Trump is in the Situation Room to make a final decision on the Iran deal amid a reported 60-day ceasefire extension. Trump reiterated his core demands that Iran abandon its nuclear ambitions and open the Strait of Hormuz in a Truth Social post. “Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions,” he posted. “All water mines (bombs), if any, will be terminated (we have removed, through detonation, numerous such mines with our great underwater mine sweepers.”


“Iran will complete the immediate removal and/or detonation of any mines that are left, which will not be many!). Ships caught in the Strait due to our amazing and unprecedented Naval Blockade, which will now be lifted, may start the process of ‘heading home!'” he added. Trump also insisted that Iran would have to hand over its remaining nuclear material for destruction under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The war began in late February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The conflict has been in a nominal ceasefire for weeks, despite the occasional flare up of live-fire exchanges.

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Lula.

• Trump and Rubio Finally Go After Brazil’s Narco-Terrorists (Sarah Anderson)

The State Department announced on Thursday that the United States is designating Brazil’s two most powerful criminal organizations — Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) — as both Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). All I can say is that it’s about time. There have been rumors that Marco Rubio would do this for a while now, but he’s finally following through.


“CV and PCC are two of the most violent criminal organizations in Brazil,” Rubio said today in a statement (I’d add in the whole world, not just Brazil). “Together, they command thousands of members and have orchestrated brutal attacks against Brazilian police officers, public officials, and civilians. Their influence and illicit networks extend far beyond Brazil’s borders, across our region and into our country.” So, just who are these narco-terrorists? Here’s what I wrote about them earlier this month:

Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) are the two largest and most influential criminal organizations in Brazil, though they operate internationally. Both were born in prisons as self-protection groups in the 1990s, and today, they are some of the biggest drug and arms trafficking organizations in the world. There are tens of thousands of members, and they terrorize Brazilian civilians and have taken over entire towns. From beheadings to bombings and other mass attacks, they use terrorist-style tactics to control territory and instill fear.

Not only have they taken over entire parts of Brazil, but they’ve bled over the borders into countries like Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Chile. They also operate in the United States and parts of Europe and the Middle East, according to the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Today, they recruit new members in prisons, and these aren’t your average street criminals. They run parallel states inside prisons and in parts of Brazil, often corrupting officials. They massacre their rivals, and they make billions through crimes like trafficking, money laundering, and extortion. They also help fuel the drug crisis in our country, contributing to the cocaine and fentanyl that show up on our streets each year. In Brazil specifically, these groups have even infiltrated legitimate businesses in fields like agriculture, real estate, and construction.

The Donald Trump administration has been using the SDGT and FTO designations quite successfully, almost from day one, to target narco-terrorism and working to dismantle and capture the leaders of Mexican cartels and other regional organized crime groups, like Tren de Aragua and MS-13. The designations prevent anyone in the U.S. from providing resources or support for that group, among other things, which curbs financing, isolates these criminal organizations internationally, and heightens public awareness. As we’ve seen over the past year, once we take the lead on these things, other aligned countries in the Western Hemisphere often follow suit.

It also puts pressure on Brazilian institutions and businesses to stop playing nice with these groups, including the country’s little anti-Trump dictator, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. But don’t hold your breath on that one. What makes the timing of these designations even more interesting is that Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, met with Trump at the White House earlier this week. Trump and the elder Bolsonaro are, of course, good friends, and with presidential elections in Brazil looming in October, the younger Bolsonaro is currently the right-wing candidate leading the polls and the candidate who is most likely able to stop the old socialist Lula from serving a fourth term. Having a like-minded partner in Brazil would be huge for both of our countries.

After their meeting in the Oval Office, Flávio held a press conference stating that he asked Trump personally to designate PCC and CV as terrorist groups. It looks like the president and Rubio listened. The senator and presidential candidate was welcomed warmly upon returning home from the U.S. by the people who are ready to pull their country away from the socialism and organized crime that have plagued it for years, following the lead of other countries in Central and South America in recent months.

By making the designation, Trump and Rubio essentially handed Flávio and Brazil’s opposition some support ahead of the elections. Meanwhile, old Lula refuses to condemn these groups because, well, sovereignty or something. Lula’s party has long refused to take a hardline stance on national security, preferring to shout about imperialism than actually help its own citizens who are living under the threats of these narco-terrorists. There is also the idea that high-profile members of Lula’s “Workers’ Party” are some of the officials who have been corrupted by the PCC and CV, but that’s a story for another day. .

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“Marco Rubio is really, really, really popular with Republicans.”

• Go Marco! It’s Your Birthday! (Anderson)

Today, Thursday, May 28, is Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 55th birthday. I hadn’t planned on marking the occasion, but everyone else in the media and politics seems to be, and our managing editor Chris Queen jokingly suggested I join them. And if you’ve been reading my articles for the last year and a half, you know I never pass up a chance to say good things about the most popular man in the Republican Party. Oh yeah, it’s true. Even CNN admits it.


According to the network’s poll analyst, Harry Enten, earlier this week, “Marco Rubio is really, really, really popular with Republicans.” The only Republican currently polling more popular is Donald Trump himself. He added, “His chances to be the Republican nominee in 2028 are up like a rocket taking off from Cape Canaveral.” Enten was referring to favorability odds from Kalshi, which showed Rubio with an 11% chance of becoming the GOP nominee in January — that number has jumped to 30% in May. According to Quinnipiac, Rubio also has the highest approval rating of any cabinet member at 40%, but Vice President JD Vance is not far behind at 39%. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth follows at 34%, and FBI Director Kash Patel is at 30%.

Other polls show Rubio and Vance neck and neck for a 2028 primary. Emerson College, for example, has Vance with 36% support of Republican voters, while Rubio is close behind with about 35%. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley each have 5%. Around 15% are undecided. What’s notable about that, however, is the shift. In February, the same poll showed Vance with a whopping 52% of support and Rubio with just 20%. I suppose being favored to become the most powerful man in the world, a position you’ve been working toward most of your life, is one of the best birthday presents a guy can receive, but we’re still a good ways out from that, so I’m going to shut up about 2028 now. Let’s get through the midterms first.

On a personal note, I’d like to say that if it wasn’t for Rubio, I wouldn’t know nearly as much about Latin American politics as I do, nor would I have the career that I have. So, I’m forever grateful for that and do hope he has the best of days. Anyway, this wasn’t meant to be a serious post. Let’s just wish a “Happy Birthday” to our dear Secretary of State. Now, enjoy these X posts: A couple of weeks ago, I wrote: The Secretary of State Is Cool, and the MSM Is Having a Meltdown Over It. The State Department showcased that “cool” factor in a birthday video today:

Looks like some White House staff threw him a little party:

Lots of members of Congress have wished Rubio a happy birthday, but this post from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) was my favorite. I told Chris that they look like an overly enthusiastic couple who is ready to sell you a timeshare.

Of course, we couldn’t let the day pass without the meme:

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I don’t understand how Milli Vanilli is part of this.

• The Left Is Trying to Make Trump Radioactive — and It’s Failing (Tim O’Brien)

What do NFL quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Great American State Fair event in Washington, D.C., have in common? Two things right off the top: first, President Donald Trump’s support; and second, that both are current targets of the left’s strategy to make everything Trump touches radioactive. We all know the drill by now. Trump does something. The left acts like he committed a capital offense. The media and all of the various institutions of the left, including the judiciary, all do their part to try to create the perception that Trump is ruining things.


We’ve all seen how activist judges, the news media, and mobilized “anti-ICE” groups have waged a campaign to frame Trump’s enforcement of immigration law as though it were a crime in and of itself. But wait, there’s more. The left had a conniption over the White House ballroom project. It got a judge to halt construction, and now it’s trying to blame Trump for the mess it is intentionally creating. The left even tried to do the same thing on Trump’s repairs to the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool. There is nothing the left would like more than to create a mess throughout Washington that would last at least through 2026 and America’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Instead of coming together as Americans to celebrate our history, the left wants to ruin this once-in-a-lifetime event and blame Trump for what it is doing.

Last week, New York Giants QB Dart was asked to introduce the president of the United States at a New York event, and the left immediately seized on it as yet another opportunity to make something Trump touched radioactive. Its methodology is simple. After Trump does the thing – in this case, speak – the left attacks anyone who shared the stage with the president. It’s an old-fashioned pressure campaign. Squeeze the people who, optically, appear not to hate Trump. If the left can “convict” you of not hating the president, it will smear you as someone who presumably supports everything the man has ever done, everything he’s ever said, and everything the left has made up about him. All of it.

Then they go to anyone associated with someone like Dart to see if they still support Dart. In his case, it could be teammates, coaches, sponsors, or even agents. In terms of character assassination, it’s all-out war for the left. Take no prisoners. The goal is to get anyone who may have been even temporarily associated with Trump to come out and publicly apologize or distance themselves from the president. The sports media immediately took the lead on creating controversy around Dart’s introduction of Trump at that event, pestering people throughout the Giants organization about it — so much so that Dart had to explain his side of the story during a team meeting. Keep in mind, an NFL player introducing the president is neither controversial nor something that should be controversial. If it is, it’s because the controversy was manufactured

Giants linebacker Abdul Carter took the bait and commented on social media, “Thought this s##t was AI, what we doing man.” Carter had no idea that he himself was a victim of leftist manipulation when he posted this. That said, not long after his post, he followed up by saying he talked to Dart, man-to-man, and it’s all good. So, is this sort of thing having the left’s desired effect?

Apparently not. Carter may have taken the bait, but the public is not. Politically, Trump-endorsed candidates have been killing it in the primaries by huge margins, indicating that the country is still way into Trump — more than the media would ever have you believe. nAnd so, we’re now about to go full steam into a summer of America 250 celebrations. What could go wrong, right? You have to know going in that the left has plans to destroy anything and everything related to it. Which brings me to that Great American State Fair planned for Washington in June. A bunch of musical artists had been lined up to perform at the event. People like C+C Music Factory, Flo Rida, Vanilla Ice, Bret Michaels, the Commodores, Martina McBride, and Milli Vanilli.

Right on cue, after already committing to perform at the event, some of the acts are pulling out. We can only guess that it’s the result of someone getting to them — reaching out to pressure them into cancelling. I mean, they already knew Trump is the president, and as president, he’s the host of the anniversary festivities. This was not a surprise. They already knew the event will be in the heart of the most political town in the country. And yet, McBride decides to drop out at this stage of the game, citing “partisanship” as her concern. Really? Is celebrating America with the president now a partisan thing?

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$3 triilion or $4 trillion, who cares?

• SpaceX Reportedly Lowers IPO Valuation Target (ZH)

SpaceX is targeting a valuation of at least $1.8 trillion in its upcoming initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. This is below an earlier goal of more than $2 trillion. In practice, the initial IPO valuation target is a marketing range, not a final number. Therefore, any valuation shifts ahead of the trading day would not be unusual. This suggests advisers are calibrating the deal to what investors are willing to absorb, especially given the massive proposed raise of up to $75 billion.


The target is settling lower after consultations with advisers and investors, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Details of an IPO, such as size and valuation, are typically adjusted ahead of pricing based on feedback from stakeholders, the people said. SpaceX is seeking to raise as much as $75 billion, people familiar with the matter have said, which would make it the biggest IPO of all time. -BBG

The May 21 SpaceX S-1 filing revealed that Elon Musk’s space company is much more than a reusable-rocket and satellite-internet company. It now encompasses AI services, infrastructure, orbital data centers, and a claimed $28.5 trillion total addressable market. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the IPO is set to price on June 11, with a June 12 debut. The stock is expected to list on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas under the t icker “SPCX.” Polymarket bets show a 90% chance that SpaceX’s market capitalization will be $1.8 trillion on the IPO date.

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PCR doesn’t like Trump OR Putin. But Americans and Russians do, respectively.

• How Much Longer Will Russians Tolerate Putin-the-Pusillanimous? (PCR)

The Russians have paid with lives of soldiers and civilians and with sanctions and internet disruptions and airport closings and with humiliations for a conflict that has gone nowhere in 5 years. What is Putin’s purpose in creating a never-ending and ever-widening conflict that now takes place all over Russia with school children killed, oil facilities destroyed, airports disrupted. Air strikes on Russia now take place through NATO countries, and the war is widening with Europe preparing for war with Russia in three years.


Whatever Putin’s purpose it does not generate a picture of a great power. Indeed, Putin and Peskov and Kirill Dmitriev have made the Kremlin look like a wimp. In his latest denial that a decision has been made to finally use sufficient force to conclude the conflict in victory, Peskov at Putin’s direction declared: “We generally prefer to achieve our goals peacefully, by diplomatic means.” This is the Kremlin’s admission that Russians are dying for “diplomatic means.” Peskov added that Putin is looking forward to a new round of talks with Trump’s Jewish messengers, Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner. “As soon as they are ready, we will be glad to see them and we, indeed, wait for their arrival.”

The purpose of Peskov demonstrating the Kremlin’s subservience to Trump was to shutdown Foreign Minister Lavrov who had told US Secretary of State Rubio that the Kremlin had finally decided to get the conflict over with. Not so Peskov declared. Apparently, winning a war is not Russia’s way. It seems that yet again Putin-the-Pusillanimous will do nothing that upsets Trump and, therefore, that the pointless conflict that achieves only casualties while it widens into a general European war will continue.

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PCR is not a fan.

• Has President Trump Committed High Treason? (Paul Craig Roberts)

Let’s examine the case.In the oath of office taken in the swearing in of a president, the about-to-be-president swears allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and promises to defend it against enemies at home and abroad. In other words, enemies of the Constitution are enemies of the United States. (Today the Constitution’s enemies includes university law schools in the United States.) If you asked what is the United States, some would say it is an idea; others would say it is a geographical territory. But these definitions apply to all countries and thus define none. The correct answer is that the United States is the Constitution.


The Constitution defines the form of government, the powers of the various branches, the distribution of powers between state governments and the federal government, the rights of citizens and the protection of those rights, and it defines the process of changing the Constitution, that is, of changing the United States. Without the Constitution the United States would be a different country. It is not an election that makes a person the president. It is the person’s vow to defend the United States by defending the Constitution. If an elected president refused the vow at the swearing in ceremony, he could not be confirmed in office as president. When a president-to-be swears an oath to the Constitution he swears an oath to the United States.

The most important parts of the Constitution are the Amendments, the Bill of Rights that had to be incorporated into the Constitution in order to gain its acceptance by all of the founding states. The Bill of Rights protects the citizens from government limiting their rights and committing violence or retribution against them for actions protected by the Constitution. The principle right is free speech. It is the First Amendment, because without free speech it is impossible for citizens to hold government accountable for violation of the other protections from, and limits on, government power. Trump’s affinity for Zionist Israel has led him into an act that violates his oath of office and possibly caused him to commit high treason against the United States.

Trump has created by executive order what in effect is a Sedition Act for Israel that prohibits United States citizens from using their First Amendment right to criticize Israel for the genocide of Palestine, the rape and torture of Palestinian prisoners, the destruction of Palestinian homes, villages, and olive groves by Israeli settlers who blatantly steal Palestinian land, assassinations of foreign leaders, undue influence over the U.S. legislative and executive branches, state governments, media, finance, and education, and wars of aggression against Middle Eastern countries. U.S. critics of Israel are not even permitted to complain about the Jewish Anti-defamation League’s slander, libel and defamation of them. For an American to complain of being defamed by Zionists is to risk punishment for anti-semitism.

To state it plainly, Trump and his acting attorney general have given priority to protecting Israel, a foreign government, over the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens. Clearly, this means that Trump and his accommodating acting attorney general are serving a foreign interest by suspending without any right or authority to do so, the First Amendment rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens by the U.S. Constitution. This puts Trump at odds with his vow to protect the U.S. Constitution and invalidates his swearing-in as president of the United States. Trump has issued an edict that his obliging attorney general has accepted that subordinates the U.S. Constitution to Israel.

On May 19, the acting Attorney General of the United States issued this statement: “President Trump has made clear that this administration will not tolerate antisemitism [defined as any criticism of Israel and Jews], and the Department of Justice is committed to implement that directive. This national tour is an important step in ensuring communities across the country know the federal government stands ready to work with them to confront antisemitic threats, protect public safety, and uphold civil rights.”

Notice that according to Trump’s attorney general “upholding civil rights” means deep-sixing the First Amendment that protects U. S. Citizens’ free speach rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. As Trump and his attorney general have come out against the First Amendment, they have come out against the US Constiution and, thereby, against the United States. In other words, both seem to be guilty of high treason. For Trump and his attorney general to rule for Israel against American citizen’s First Amendment rights and the US Constitution that protects these rights calls into question who Trump and his attorney general represent.

It seems certain the President Trump’s willingness to sacrifice the U.S. Constitution to protecting Israel from words of criticism indicates that he has committed high treason in order to serve foreign interests, which would seem to make Trump an enemy of the U.S. Constitution and thereby an enemy of the United States. f my reasoning is correct, why shouldn’t President Trump be arrested and put on trial for high treason against the United States?Why did not Trump’s acting attorney general, who happens to be Trump’s personal defense attorney, warn Trump that he was stepping onto treasonous ground? Is a person who aids and abets the president in the possible commission of high treason fit to be attorney general of the United States?

 


 

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, associate editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week’s first outside columnist, columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service, contributor to the editorial page of the Los Angeles Times, and columnist for the main French and Italian newspapers, and for Creators Syndicate in Los Angeles. He served in numerous academic appointments in US universities and was appointed to the William E. Simon Chair for Political Economy at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies where his colleagues were Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, James R. Schlesinger (one of his former professors), and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Thomas Moorer. His article, “How the Law Was Lost,” was published in the January 1999 Cardozo Law Review.
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The CIA sent $40 million in gold bars (303 bars) to his home. Let that sink in well. WTF?

“This story is not going away. The scale of the grift is spectacular and vivid — 303 gold bars! — like a Hollywood movie. Rush’s explanation of “work-related expenses” sounds preposterous.”

“The case has stunned national security observers and raised serious questions about the federal government’s security clearance and vetting systems. —Newsmax

• Like a Naked Emperor (James Howard Kunstler)

In the annals of Deep State WTF-ery, is there a stranger case than CIA officer David Rush turning up with $40-million in 303 one-kilogram gold bars, plus $2-million in cash, plus a stash of 30 mostly Rolex watches? Well, yeah, the stranger story is how the guy got hired by the CIA in the first place. Rush was arrested on Monday, May 18, by an FBI SWAT team at his home in Loudoun County, VA. Agents searched the house all day long and found the stash. Rush is currently charged with theft of public money and allegedly falsifying his military and academic credentials to obtain federal employment benefits, including roughly $77,000 in improper military leave pay. He’s scheduled to make a federal court appearance in Alexandria today.


Rush first applied for a job at the CIA in March 2006. He claimed to have a bachelor’s degree in math from Clemson University and a master’s from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). He was rejected. He reapplied later that same year. Bumped again. He reapplied again in 2009, adding a new credential: that he’d been a US Navy test pilot and flight trainer. This time, he was hired.

Rush’s college credentials were found to be false, but it is unclear when that was discovered. Since he included them in his two earlier 2006 failed applications, why were they not flagged in his successful 2009 application? His claim of being a US Navy pilot was also found to be false (he was an information systems tech in his Navy service). The FBI affidavit unsealed recently details the pattern of lies across all applications.

Understand that CIA vetting procedures are supposed to be exceedingly rigorous. The process is stressful and invasive — many candidates drop out or are weeded out. The background check involves interviews with practically everybody who knows the applicant going back decades, his criminal history, work, financial history, education, military service. The applicant gets a polygraph exam. Even after getting hired, monitoring continues.

Rush was hired at the very start of the Obama admin; Leon Panetta was the newly appointed CIA Director. Wouldn’t you like to hear him ‘splain how David Rush managed to get hired? Was somebody smoothing his way in? Rush rose to become a senior executive service (SES) officer with a top-secret (TS/SCI) security clearance. His exact duties, the division he worked for, his day-to-day responsibilities have not been disclosed.

Rush allegedly requested the gold and foreign currency from the CIA for “work-related expenses” between November 2025 and March 2026. The agency later could not account for the assets or locate records explaining their official purpose. A search of a storage locker at CIA connected to Rush turned up only a small amount of the requisitioned cash.

“There is a whole process that we go through to get that money. I don’t just walk into the logistics office and say ‘Excuse me, I need $100,000 tomorrow.’ There is a form I have to fill out. It’s not a bank vault you walk into. It doesn’t work like that.” — Tracy Walder, 46, a former FBI special agent and CIA officer, quoted in The New York Post.

Wouldn’t you assume that some higher-up CIA officer would have to sign off on such a colossal requisition of gold and money? (And where does the CIA get so much gold on-demand?) Perhaps the very Director of the CIA approved it — which would be John Ratcliffe through 2025 up to right now. Doesn’t he have some ‘splainin’ to do? (Was Rush set-up? Was this a sting?)

Assuming Rush spent some period of time as an entry-level CIA employee, when did his rise to SES level happen? John Brennan became CIA Director in early 2013 (the start of Barack Obama’s second term). What were David Rush’s relations with John Brennan? Was Brennan his mentor? Does the gold stash have any connection with the current legal problems of John Brennan and other former high officials involved in the long-running “grand conspiracy” case about the attempted overthrow of a president?

You might imagine that Rush’s phone and computers were seized in the May 18th raid on his house — though it’s unlikely he used such conventional channels for black ops chatter. It’s conceivable, though, that any alt-communications of his were captured by the vast national security surveillance apparatus, and that DNI Tulsi Gabbard might have come across them this past year. How else might Director Ratcliffe have been tipped off?

This story is not going away. The scale of the grift is spectacular and vivid — 303 gold bars! — like a Hollywood movie. Rush’s explanation of “work-related expenses” sounds preposterous. If the requisitions were made serially, over several months, as appears, then the agency had more than one opportunity to review and question them.

Rush faked his entire back-story. How incompetent (or corrupt) are the agency’s past managers that he got away with it for so long? How many other gross fakers, rogues, grifters, and tools are embedded in the agency, and who are they really working for? The institutional embarrassment is monumental. Trust in the so-called Intel Community is at an all-time low. Indictments and trials are coming. This is the Deep State on parade like a naked emperor.

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“I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.”

• British Ofcom Probes Trump Interview Calling Climate Change a “Hoax” (Turley)

I have been writing about the decline of free speech in the United Kingdom for years, including in my book The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage. One of the most critical components of the British censorship system is Ofcom, the Office of Communications, which regulates the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications, and postal industries. The most recent controversy is detailed in the Telegraph, with Ofcom investigating GB News over the simple replaying of a Trump interview in which he called climate change a “hoax.” Ofcom is investigating GB News for failing to challenge Trump’s characterization, even though many people share his views on climate change.


It is a breathtaking demonstration of the censorship culture in the United Kingdom. World leaders make controversial statements in every interview. A free press allows the public to hear such viewpoints and reach their own conclusions on the merits of such arguments or policies. The debate over the climate change data continues to rage. The dates for dire predictions for massive environmental disasters, including those of Al Gore, have passed. Professor Guy McPherson received widespread press attention for his 2016 prediction that the entire human race would be wiped out by 2026. It appears that he is wrong.

Al Gore received the 2007 Peace Prize for his film The Inconvenient Truth as media, academic, and government censors attacked anyone questioning his data. His apocalyptic predictions have not borne out, and recent scientific papers have rejected the predictions found in the underlying studies. Gore predicted more frequent and stronger hurricanes, but some insist that global data reveal a slight decline in both frequency and intensity. Others argue that the number may be decreasing but the intensity is increasing. We have not seen the type of global hurricane disaster that Gore described in the movie. Critics point to NASA data to argue that the areas burned by wildfires have fallen by more than 25 percent over the past quarter of a century.

While the global population quadrupled in the last century, deaths from climate-related disasters have plummeted from the 1920s, when an average of nearly half a million people died annually from such events. Even the film’s famous use of polar bears has not panned out. Polar bear populations have more than doubled from around 12,000 in the 1960s to over 26,000 today. While some have contested those figures, it has certainly not resulted in the wipeout predicted by Gore. I believe that climate change is real, and there are other signs of more severe climate events, including flooding, that present real dangers for various countries. The point is not to say that it is all a hoax, but that reasonable people can disagree on this question.

That brings us back to the British censors. In the last two decades, free speech protections in the U.K. have been eviscerated and the government is doubling down on the criminalization of speech. The criminalization of speech has expanded exponentially as individuals and groups call the police to silence those who criticize them or advocate opposing views. bEven silent prayer or “toxic ideologies” can lead to arrest. Expressing concerns over Western cultural values is now treated as an admission of “right-wing ideology,” warranting investigation. A few years ago, a neo-Nazi living with his mother was found to have a room filled with hateful symbols and material.

Judge Peter Lodder dismissed free speech concerns over the defendant’s possessions with a truly Orwellian flourish: “I do not sentence you for your political views, but the extremity of those views informs the assessment of dangerousness.” Calling the defendant “a right-wing extremist,” Mr. Lodder said the contents of his room were evidence of “enthusiasm for this repulsive and toxic ideology.” The British people have become conditioned to censorship as different groups seek to silence those who express opposing viewpoints. The result is one of the most speech-phobic nations on Earth as offices like Ofcom fuel the fear of free speech.

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It’s falling apart so he saves it.

• Judge Orders Trump’s Name to Be Removed From Kennedy Center (Sarah Anderson)

In today’s chapter of the never-ending lawfare against Donald Trump and the activist judiciary that loves to entertain it, we have some rulings from a federal judge on the changes made to the Kennedy Center. Just to recap, when Trump took office in 2025, he cleaned up the Kennedy Center board of trustees, appointing a more MAGA-friendly group of people who ultimately voted to rebrand it as the Trump-Kennedy Center. The goal was to honor the president and clean up a D.C. institution that had long been neglected and mismanaged by Democrats and allowed to go extremely woke, whether it was the progressive programming that appealed to only a small segment of the population or the overuse of pronouns in staff emails.


So Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and a bunch of left-wing activists got all upset over it and sued, asking a judge to keep the original name: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Here’s more on that from Beatty’s attorney: “Can the Board of the Kennedy Center — in direct contradiction of the governing statutes — rename this sacred memorial to John F. Kennedy after President Donald J. Trump? The answer is, unequivocally, ‘no.’ By renaming the Center — in violation of the law — Defendants have breached the terms of the trust and their most basic fiduciary obligations as trustees. Shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Congress designated the Kennedy Center as the ‘sole national memorial to the late’ President in the nation’s capital.

The White House responded: “While the Democrats neglected the Trump-Kennedy Center for years, President Trump immediately stepped up to rescue and revitalize the institution. The newly named Trump-Kennedy Center proudly recognizes President Trump’s incredible contributions including strengthening its finances, leading major building upgrades, removing divisive woke programming and transforming it into a welcoming destination that everyone can enjoy under his leadership. Only deranged Democrats could oppose these efforts.

And today, Barack Obama-appointed judge Christopher R. Cooper responded, claiming the board’s decision to add Trump’s name was unlawful and ordered that it must be removed from the website and the building. He also blocked the Trump administration’s plans to close the center for two years for repairs beginning this summer.

On the name change, Cooper essentially said that Congress named it after JFK in 1964, and only Congress can change the name now. “The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” he wrote in his 94-page decision. The Trump administration has 14 days to make the changes. Funny, I thought the left was all about tearing down old statues… His declarations on the repairs are a little murkier. He called the board’s vote an “ill-informed and seemingly preordained decision.” Here’s more from Cooper:

“The trustees might have assessed the propriety of closure in a number of prudent ways. This was not one. However, the preliminary injunction will not prevent the Center from moving forward with the capital repair work it has planned, which the record demonstrates is sorely needed. Nor will it categorically prohibit the Board from closing the Center should it come to this decision anew after independently balancing its multiple obligations to the Center in a prudent fashion. ”

So essentially, he’s admitting that the place is falling apart and needs repairs, but you can’t close it to make them if that’s what Trump and his board want? How transparent can you be? Look, I couldn’t care less about the Kennedy Center or Trump-Kennedy Center or whatever you want to call it. Going to some show at an overly politicized elite playground in Washington, D.C., is not my idea of a good time. But this is getting tedious. I’m sick of these people wasting our tax dollars because they don’t like the president. And I’m especially sick of activist judges who refuse to do their actual jobs.

 

 

PRESIDENT TRUMP via Truth Social:– “Shockingly, a Judge appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, Christopher Cooper, ruled that The Kennedy Center, which was going to close in early July for largescale renovations and construction due to years of neglect, decay, and poor maintenance, and which was to be transformed by the Trump Administration into the Finest Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World, is not allowed to close for these renovations, which would not be possible to properly do without such a closure. Additionally, Judge Cooper ruled that the 36 Member Board of Trustees, which unanimously voted to add the name “TRUMP” onto the former Kennedy Center, making it The Trump Kennedy Center, did not have the right to do such an addition, and the name, “TRUMP,” must be removed.”

“The Kennedy Center has lost, over the years, prior to our getting involved a short while ago, Hundreds of Millions of Dollars — In some cases, including ridiculous construction jobs that were done, over 100 Million Dollars a year. I took great pride in taking over a losing Institution, and looked forward to making it into a Great and Prestigious WINNER for Washington, D.C., and indeed, the United States of America. Unfortunately, Judge Cooper and the Radical Left would rather see it DIE than have President Trump transform it into something that everyone could be proud of, much as I have done, in many cases, throughout my life, and recently, with all of the construction, renovations, and “fix ups” that we have completed with the Department of Interior on Waterfalls, Fountains, Monuments, and other things of Beauty that we have brought back to life in a now SAFE AND SECURE, after Record Setting Crime, Washington, D.C., which is thriving like, perhaps, never before!

Therefore, based on the fact that the Radical Left Democrats care more about opposing your favorite President, ME, than saving a dying Performing Arts Center, almost all of which lose large amounts of money throughout the Country, we are going to be working with Congress to transfer this failing Institution back to them so they can make a determination as to what to do with it. Judge Cooper was given a presentation by leading Building and Construction Experts as to how structurally dangerous the Building is, with rotting beams, parking areas that are subject to collapse, and various other Life and Safety problems, in addition to the fact that it also needs a MAJOR renovation, from an aesthetic standpoint, but he was not “swayed,” and said he wants the Building to, incredibly, remain open and, therefore, dangerous.

Judge Cooper should be ashamed of himself! I cannot be involved with a situation where danger to the Public is allowed to flourish in plain and open sight. Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this Institution back, physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into “NEVER NEVER LAND.” There has never been a President of the United States who has been treated so unfairly by the Courts as I but, that’s OK, I will continue to do, what is considered to be, a great job for the wonderful people of our Country. I have instructed the Department of Commerce to make all necessary arrangements with Congress to allow a full and complete transfer of this Institution, giving them the responsibility for its Operation, Maintenance, and Management. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

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I doubt this is true.

• US Government Prepares To Print $250 Note Featuring Trump’s Face (BBC)

US President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to print a new $250 bill that could feature a portrait of him, if lawmakers allow the move. Federal law bars printing US money with the image of a living person, but Trump allies in Congress have introduced legislation that would make an exception. A Treasury Department spokesperson told the BBC the agency “is conducting appropriate planning and due diligence” in response to the legislation. The lawmakers behind it said the bill amount would symbolise the country’s 250th anniversary this year. If approved, it will be the latest example by Trump and his allies to put his face, name, and likeness on national institutions and symbols.


Artistic concepts of the $250 bill have not been publicly released but designs have been requested by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), a sub-agency of the Treasury that develops and produces US currency. The Washington Post first reported the Treasury Department’s plans. “Should this legislative mandate be signed into law, the BEP is moving proactively to produce a $250 commemorative note which will appropriately recognize the 250th Anniversary of our great nation,” the Treasury spokesperson said in a statement.

Trump’s signature is already set to appear on US paper notes as part of the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations. The new legislation was introduced last year by US House Representative Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina. It would need approval from both the US House and Senate. When asked about a possible new bill during a White House briefing on Thursday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “it’s all in the hands” of Congress and that, while his department was preparing in case the legislation passes, the Treasury would follow the law. He also said he did not “think there’s anything untoward” about having an image of the person in office during the country’s 250th anniversary on a bill marking the anniversary.

The move to create the $250 note could also break with a different federal law that specifies the denominations that can be produced. That law doesn’t include $250. US Senator Mark Warner, who sits on the Senate’s Committee on Banking, criticised the plans. “As Americans struggle with the rising cost of gas, groceries, housing, and health care, President Trump’s priorities for taxpayer dollars are completely detached from the challenges families face every day,” Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a statement. “If this White House put even half as much energy into working to lower costs as it does into stoking the president’s ego, American families wouldn’t need that new $250 bill just to fill up their gas tanks.”

The $100 bill, featuring Benjamin Franklin, one of the US founding fathers, is the largest bill printed today. The US has previously issued larger notes including $500, $1000 and $10,000 notes but these were discontinued in 1969. They remain legal tender but not in circulation, as they are largely kept by private currency collectors. New currency notes typically take years to develop and involve a range of agencies including the Federal Reserve Board and the US Secret Service. The designs are also held in secret.

“Note designs are typically made public six to eight months ahead of time for global public education and cash handler education purposes,” according to the BEP. “To do so earlier would aid counterfeiters and cause confusion in the marketplace, lowering confidence in U.S. currency.” It is unclear if the notes could be printed in time for the 250th anniversary on 4 July. Since taking office last year, Trump and his allies have worked to put his face, name, and likeness on public buildings and US symbols. The Kennedy Center was renamed to include Trump’s name, and his portrait will feature on US passports. The presidential jet Air Force One is also being repainted in Trump’s preferred colours.

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Hear her out: Quantum entanglement

 

 

 

 

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