Monday, April 28, 2025

Weekend box office

A semi-strong weekend bolstered by a re-release.  Via THENUMBERS.COM, here's the weekend box office:

1 (1) Sinners Warner Bros. $45,708,664 -5% 3,347 +39 $13,657 $123,235,091 2
2 (-) Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century… $25,495,049   2,800   $9,105 $405,765,626 1,041
3 N The Accountant 2 Amazon MGM S… $24,533,959   3,610   $6,796 $24,533,959 1
4 (2) A Minecraft Movie Warner Bros. $22,707,253 -44% 3,841 -191 $5,912 $379,953,914 4
5 N Until Dawn Sony Pictures $8,003,402   3,055   $2,620 $8,003,402 1
6 (3) The King of Kings Angel Studios $4,219,311 -76% 3,175 -360 $1,329 $54,715,011 3
7 (4) The Amateur 20th Century… $3,683,350 -47% 3,060 -340 $1,204 $33,738,370 3
8 (5) Warfare A24 $2,652,229 -45% 1,905 -765 $1,392 $21,800,596 3
9 (-) The Legend of Ochi A24 $1,443,157 +2,648% 1,153 +1,149 $1,252 $1,509,628 2
10 N Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii Trafalgar Re… $1,322,827   654   $2,023 $2,620,076 1


SINNERS is number one and crosses the $100 million mark.  Ben Stiller can rightly holler, "Told you so!"  And I appreciate him speaking out last week.  Week after week, the industry trades have trafficked in racism when it comes to films with a Black led cast.  They start predicting they are failures and insisting they are failures.  The put that word out and it hurts box office.  And fine if they did that with all films but they don't.  They just do it with the ones starring a Black person or persons.  Ben has no investment in SINNERS.  He didn't have to stand up.  But he did and good for him.  More people should follow his example.

Second place went to the re-release of STAR WARS III.  Third place was THE ACCOUNTANT II.  It probably won't surpass the total of the first one but it's not dead in the water.  That was a strong opening and, if it hadn't been for STAR WARS, it would have been number two for the week.  MINECRAFT fell to number four but, again, without STAR WARS, it would have been number three.  And $22 million is very good for a third weekend.  It's done very well and will easily be on the year's top ten moneymakers.  The next two weeks will determine how high on that list it will be.  It's only the second film released in 2025 to cross the $100 million mark domestically (the other is CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD).  


Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


 Monday, April 28, 2025.  Donald Chump's polls crater, the first 100 days have been a nightmare, if it weren't for lies then he'd have no 'good' news about the economy, all that Pete Hegseth, and much more.


At THE NEW REPUBLIC, Claire Potter and Neil J. Young serve up "JD Vance Likes 'Normal Gays.' Should We Count That as a Win?"  Should we count it as a win?  I don't know but it is good to know what his type is.  So when JD turns into Miss Sassy with that blonde wig, he's looking for a straight acting gay man?  Good to know his Grindr profile.  


Poor JD.  The first 100 days ends tomorrow and every day he has piled on that eyeline but accomplished nothing else.  In the s**t show that is the Donald Chump presidency, he's gotten lost like everything else.  


Michael Tomasky (TNR) observes:


Remember how April 2 was “Liberation Day”? That was the day Donald Trump announced his tariff regime; it was, I think, the third grand announcement out of about six total. I know you remember it—the shock to the markets created headlines that are hard to forget.

What you may not remember is that it was also Trump’s second Liberation Day. The first, I was reminded recently as I reread his inaugural address while reflecting on the administration’s 100-day mark that arrives this week, was Inauguration Day itself: “That is why each day under our administration of American patriots, we will be working to meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength. We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety, and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. For American citizens, January 20th, 2025, is Liberation Day.”

How’s that working out?

There is much to say about these 100 days. The odor of fascism is unmistakable—and entirely intentional. The bullying of universities and law firms; the probably illegal firings of those 18 inspectors general (you’d forgotten that one, I bet!); the ghastly executive order instructing the Justice Department to investigate two U.S. citizens for expressing their political views; the purposeful lawlessness of so many actions, designed to force showdown after showdown at what Trump assumes will be a pliant Supreme Court; the daily inversion of reality peddled by Karoline Leavitt, Cabinet officials, and not least Trump himself. 

And more: the brazenly indefensible treatment of Mahmoud Khalil, a legal resident and green card holder, arrested without a warrant and held in a Louisiana detention facility where he missed the recent birth of his son, apparently just for engaging in political activism that Trump didn’t like. The clearly illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The list goes on and on, and now, as of last week, includes a two-year-old U.S. citizen who was deported and another child-citizen with metastatic cancer who was deported without access to medication

[. . .]

First and more obviously, we have the prospect of the impact of Trump’s tariffs policy on real people. Will they cause inflation and a recession, as most experts now believe? As fate would have it, Trump will go to bed the night of his 100th day in office—Tuesday—and wake up the very next morning to the release of the first quarter GDP number. Economists expect anemic results. The Atlanta Fed even predicts negative growth, around -2.5 percent. During Trump’s first week in office, its forecast nudged a gaudy 4 percent, but the president’s actions have liberated that figure ever downward.

Second and more insidiously: Even the gross incompetencies take us into treacherous territory because they contribute to making this all about one man, the man who must be in front of the cameras every day. He doesn’t have policies so much as he has urges, which he must announce to the world on a constant basis in a desperate plea that we keep him front of mind at all times. Some of those urges are cruel; some of them are a joke. What unites them is that they make the story entirely about him.

That is not how it’s supposed to work in democracies. Which we still are, for now, as we reach this 100-day mark. Only 1,361 to go.


RAW STORY's Travis Gettys notes that Chump granted an interview to THE ATLANTIC and quotes Chump insisting, " I run the country -- and the world."

I believe that's a typo.


I think what Donald Chump actually said was, "I ruin the country -- and the world."


That would certainly be in keeping with reactions others are having.  


Dan Balz, Scott Clement, and Emily Guskin (WASHINGTON POST) note, "As he nears the end of his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump is facing growing opposition to his ambitious and controversial agenda, with his approval rating in decline, majority opposition to major initiatives, and perceptions that his administration is seeking to avoid complying with federal court orders, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll."   



President Donald Trump's approval rating has dipped below 40 percent, according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey also found that about four in 10 Americans say Trump has been a "terrible" president during his second term, with about one in 10 describing his performance as "poor," and two in 10 saying he has been "average." Only three in 10 Americans rated Trump's performance as "great" or "good."


See, it's not just one poll.  Adam Gabbatt (GUARDIAN) explains:


Americans, including some Republicans, are losing faith in Donald Trump across a range of key issues, according to polling released this week. One survey found a majority describing the president’s second stint in the White House so far as “scary”.

Along with poor ratings on the economy and Trump’s immigration policy, a survey released on Saturday found that only 24% of Americans believe Trump has focussed on the right priorities as president.

That poll comes as Trump’s popularity is historically low for a leader this early in a term. More than half of voters disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, and majorities oppose his tariff policies and slashing of the federal workforce.


Not just one poll, all the polls.  Julianne McShane (MOTHER JONES) notes:


New polls show that President Donald Trump’s approval rating has hit record lows as he nears the 100-day mark of his second term on Tuesday.

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating of any president in the past 80 years, with only 39 percent of respondents saying they approve of Trump’s term thus far. The 80-year comparison appears to refer to when Gallup first started measuring public approval of presidents, back during President Harry Truman’s term; according to data compiled by ABC, Trump had the lowest approval ratings of all presidents at 100 days in both of his terms, and he’s the only president to have the disapproval of the majority of Americans only three months into his term.

Seventy-two percent of respondents to the ABC poll also said they believe Trump’s economic policies—such as his tariff-induced global trade war—will likely cause a recession in the short term, and 53 percent believe the economy has gotten worse since Trump took office. More than 60 percent said that his administration does not respect the rule of law and that he is going too far in trying to expand his power. Majorities also disapproved of nearly every other action. The poll asked about Trump’s moves—reducing funding for medical research, shutting down the Department of Education, freezing foreign humanitarian aid, seeking to deport international students, and sending a group of Venezuelans to a notorious prison in El Salvador without due process—and they were all disliked.


Some BLUESKY reactions.







The Convicted Felon feels certain things aren't being factored in.  Like his talks with China.  Or, rather, 'talks' with China.    Pablo R. Suanzes (EL MUNDO) reports:


The president claims Xi called him, and Beijing demands that he "stop creating confusion" with "baseless rumors".

Donald Trump likes to boast and exaggerate. Every day he claims to have broken all kinds of historical records, surpassed unprecedented marks, achieved feats more than successes. This not only involves inflating macroeconomic figures or saying things that are obviously false, such as having already reached 200 trade agreements in recent days, but also putting leaders of other countries in a more than uncomfortable position, torn between correcting inaccuracies or blatant lies, unleashing the wrath of the White House, or avoiding problems by ignoring or dodging questions. 


If people would just accept lies, Chump would be doing so much better, right?


Secretary of the Treasure Scott Bessent went on ABC's THIS WEEK and, sadly, Martha Raddatz wanted facts, not lies.


Excerpt.

RADDATZ: OK. And now I am joined by President Trump's Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent.

Thanks for joining us this morning, Mr. Secretary. We appreciate it.

Let's start with the polls. For the very first time the president's polling numbers on the economy are under water with 53 percent saying it has gotten worse under President Trump, with 72 percent of those in our poll saying it is very or somewhat likely that his economic policies will cause a recession.

Your reaction?

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: Well, Martha, I haven't seen the polls. And for the past 35 years, my business was analyzing data. So, I think we’ve probably got to dig down into those.

But what I do know is that Americans are behaving very different than what the surveys say. So, the surveys may say that, but consumers are still spending. So, I prefer to look at what Americans are doing rather than how they're answering pollsters.

RADDATZ: And it doesn't worry you the poll numbers that you have seen?

BESSENT: When I start seeing data to the contrary, then the – we can look at that. But, you know, again, these poll numbers, and also, you know, when I look at the sum of the things that are being published, there was a story ten days ago that said, this is the worst April for the stock market since the Great Depression. Ten days later, the Nasdaq is now up in the month of April. And I haven't seen a story that says, oh, the stock market has biggest bounce back ever. So, I think – I think –

RADDATZ: Well, it certainly – it certainly has gone back and forth.

Let – let’s jump –

BESSENT: I think a lot of this is media driven.

RADDATZ: Let's talk about the "Time" interview with President Trump. He said he has made 200 deals on tariffs. Two hundred deals? Who has he made deals with? Is there actually any deal at this point?

BESSENT: I believe that he is referring to sub deals within the negotiations we're doing. And, you know, Martha, if there are 180 countries –

RADDATZ: But those aren't actual deals?

BESSENT: Martha, if there are 180 countries, there are 18 important trading partners, let's put China to the side, because that's a special negotiation, there's 17 important trading partners, and we have a process in place, over the next 90 days, to negotiate with them. Some of those are moving along very well, especially the – with the Asian countries.

RADDATZ: And President Trump's strategy really has been to announce these tariffs, and dial some back, pause them, make exceptions. Explain why you see this as a good negotiating strategy.

BESSENT: Well, in game theory, it's called strategic uncertainty. So, you're not going to tell the person on the other side of the negotiation where you're going to end up. And nobody’s better at creating this leverage than President Trump. You know, he's shown these – the high tariffs, and here's the stick. This is where the tariffs can go. And the carrot is, come to us, take off your tariffs, take off your non-tariff trade barriers, stop manipulating your currency, stop subsidizing labor and capital and then we can talk.

But I tell you, Martha, that we've had several of these Asian countries have come in and said, oh, well, we'll stop doing this, this, and this. And I look at these lists and I think, how did we get here? How did we get here? Because this trading system has been so unfair. And as President Trump says, I don't blame the countries, I blame the previous administrations that let them get away with it.

RADDATZ: But, Mr. Secretary, look at what you just heard from Barton O’Brien there. The administration says it's worried about main street not Wall Street. But you heard that smallbusinessman saying his inventory in China might as well be lit on fire because already what has happened and the concern about what's happening next.

How do they plan for things if they don't know what's going to happen?


[. . .]

RADDATZ: Let's talk about China. President Trump, again, said he's spoken to President Xi of China, and negotiations are ongoing. But China has firmly denied this saying that China and the U.S. have not consulted or negotiated on the tariff issue.

So are negotiations actually happening? Who is talking?

BESSENT: Look, this was IMF-World Bank Week. They are in D.C., as you know. I had interaction with my Chinese counterparts, but it was more on the traditional things like financial stability, global economic early warnings. I don't know if President Trump has spoken with President Xi. I know they have a very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other.

But, again, I think the Chinese will see this high tariff level is unsustainable for their business.

RADDATZ: Why would they deny that negotiations are going on?


Mean Martha!  Wanting facts when Scott just wanted to sell lies.


By the way, I want to emphasize this already noted above:


Because this trading system has been so unfair. And as President Trump says, I don't blame the countries, I blame the previous administrations that let them get away with it.


The previous administrations?  Because, from the start of 2017 to the start of 2021, that would include Chump himself.  Is Chump now saying that he failed the country in his first administration?


His current administration is a huge failure.  

If I were Tulsi Gabbard or Robert Kennedy Junior or, honestly, any of the inept members of his Cabinet, I would wake up each day thrilled that Chump hadn't yet fired Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth because he takes the heat off the rest of them with his never ending screw ups.  Simon Druker (UPI) reminds, "Last month, Hegseth made headlines after accidentally leaking confidential military plans related to a then-pending military strike by accidentally including The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat." And then we all learned of another nonsecure group chat -- this one also on Signal but on his personal phone -- not his government issued phone -- where he shared details of impending strikes with his wife, his brother, his attorney and, who knows,  possibly his butcher.  Tom Bowman and Quil Lawrence (NPR) reported Friday:


Normally the names of senior staff at the Pentagon don't make the news, but the precarious position of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth means that every move is drawing scrutiny. NPR reported this week that the White House is looking for possible replacements with Hegseth under fire for putting sensitive military attack plans into at least two insecure group chats.

In-fighting over alleged leaks from the secretary's office have now resulted in five senior advisers resigning or being fired. On Friday the Pentagon announced four new senior advisers had been promoted; they include Col. Ricky Buria, a former junior military assistant; Justin Fulcher, a member of the DOGE team embedded at the Pentagon, and Patrick Weaver, formerly a Department of Defense "special assistant."


He has betrayed the country and he risked national security.  Not once.  And Chump deserves to be impeached for not removing Hegseth from office.  John Stoehr notes:


Last weekend, in an opinion piece for Politico, a former Pentagon spokesman warned that “there are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week.”

And lo, a voice came:

Wall Street Journal: “Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: The Chaos Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon”;

・Associated Press: “Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal”;

Times: “Hegseth’s Personal Phone Use Created Vulnerabilities”;

・National Public Radio: “Former Pentagon official on Hegseth turmoil: ‘It looks like they actually broke the law’”;

・CBS: “Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon.”

Unfortunately, we are where we were at the beginning of the week. Hegseth isn’t going anywhere. Yes, he is “embattled,” as we say in the news, but every story about him says that Donald Trump has his back.


Tom Vanden Brook and Michael Loria (USA TODAY) remind, "Hegseth has denied releasing sensitive information. But several current and former military officials have told USA TODAY that the information Hegseth disclosed, the timing of attacks, is among the most closely guarded national security information."  And former National Secuirty Advisor (2013 to 2017) Susan Rice explained to Brian Tyler Cohen, "Military operation details are by definition classified.  Deliberations about whether to conduct a military strike on an adversary are inherently classified.  So here they are engaging recklessly in classified discussions over unsecure commercial applications."  


Instead of owning his mistake, Hegseth blames others which is par for the course in the Chump administration.  Héctor Ríos Morales' report for THE LATIN TIMES captures this attitude in its headline, "DHS Says It's Not To Be Legally Accountable For Court-Barred Deportations Because They Were Carried Out By DoD."  When he was president, Harry S. Truman said, "The buck stops here."  Chump not only chooses bitcoin over dollars, he also chooses dishonesty over accountability which is why his report card for his first 100 days is a solid F.


Meanwhile, Chump's shock troops attacked Colorado Springs yesterday.  Edward Helmore (GUARDIAN) reports:


More than 300 law enforcement officers from at least 10 federal agencies raided an illegal after-hours nightclub in Colorado Springs early on Sunday, arresting more than 100 people authorities said were undocumented immigrants and seizing guns, cocaine, meth and pink cocaine.

More than a dozen active-duty military members were detained as well, authorities said.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) posted a video on X of the post-raid scene, with dozens of partygoers holding their hands up. Another video showed dozens of people fleeing the building through its entrance after federal agents smashed a window.

The DEA Rocky Mountain division said agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), homeland security, the US army’s criminal investigation division and the Colorado Springs police had joined the raid.


No paperwork on them!  In the early Sunday morning hours!  At a night club!  And they didn't have paperwork!


How many of the 100 do you think are citizens?  30?  50?  Even more?  What's your guess?  Chump is a menace and that's why the American people have turned on him.  


Kat's "Kat's Korner: Marilyn Monroe's gifts weren't just visual" went up Sunday.  The following sites updated:


Thursday, April 24, 2025

They're writing Musk's obituaries right now

CBS cancelled POPPA'S HOUSE.  I can't believe it.  It was a funny show and it got good ratings.  


That's all I had for tonight.  But Ann called and asked if I could cover Alien Musk?  Sure can.  No problem.  But how come?  They were doing a last minute group post and that's already up:



  • Elon Musk had tried to go over the head of a Cabinet secretary — again.

    The billionaire leader of the U.S. DOGE Service helped install Gary Shapley, a mid-level IRS official, as the agency’s acting commissioner last week. But the Internal Revenue Service falls under the purview of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who had repeatedly bristled at DOGE’s attempts to intervene at his agency.
    This time, the resulting tensions spilled out in a yelling match in the West Wing, where Musk and the nation’s top financial official battled within earshot of President Donald Trump, said two people familiar with the heated confrontation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the sensitive situation. Bessent won, and Shapley was replaced after just three days as the IRS’s acting head. Musk unfollowed Bessent on X, his social media platform.

    Asked about the clash, which was first reported by Axios, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to a statement she issued last week.

    “Disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process,” the statement read. “And ultimately everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”

    But the showdown was just Musk’s latest confrontation with a top Trump appointee in a three-month government stint that has been peppered with controversy. He has rebuked officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and economic adviser Peter Navarro in meetings or on social media, calling them incompetent or suggesting that they have lied. He also alienated Trump aides with unscripted remarks and abrupt edicts, forcing political appointees to scramble to explain his decisions.

    This time last year, Alien thought he was everything.  But today?  He's lost billions.  He's lost prestige.  His companies are in trouble.  And the world hates him. 

    The world hates him.

    Actions, Musk, do have consequences.   

    And now you are living with the consequences of your actions.  For the rest of your life.  The world hates you.  


    Even if Elon Musk cuts back his work reshaping the US government, he'll still be a busy guy.
    And perhaps he's too busy — and controversial — to run the many companies under his domain as well as he could, leadership observers told Business Insider.

    Musk, who said Tuesday he plans to soon reduce his time working on the Department of Government Efficiency, still has half a dozen companies to oversee, including Tesla, X, xAI, and SpaceX.

    It adds up to a lot, especially when, like at Tesla, there are challenges like slumping sales.

    "It's hard to imagine there's enough time in a week to really give each of those the attention that it needs," Christopher Myers, the faculty director of the Center for Innovative Leadership at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, told BI, referring to Musk's companies.

    Myers said that while Musk has long been exceptional in his ability to run multiple entites at once, keeping a hand in DOGE one to two days a week, as Musk suggested he might, means there still won't be all that much time for him to go deep on reviving sales at Tesla, where auto revenues dropped 20% in the first quarter.



    He was flying high and now the world hates him.  Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


    Thursday, April 24, 2025.  Donald Chump continues to wreck the economy and continues to make the case for his own impeachment, security risk Pete Hegseth remains in his position, David Hogg has failed at his mission to communicate, and much more. 




    Let's start with Pete Hegseth.  The unqualified Secretary of Defense is in the news for so many things.  Yesterday afternoon, a friend at CBS NEWS called me about this report by Jennifer Jacobs:

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News. 

    The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures. 


    My CBS friend joked that Hegseth was "wounded" by comments in yesterday's snapshot about his looks.  I doubt it.  But, sadly for him, I actually held back on that.  As soon as he returns to wearing his make up on camera I may have to review his looks again.  This time not just because that nose requires much more comment (as does the chin) and not also because I'm interested to see how much work is required to make him Maybelline Cover Girl camera ready -- no, mainly because that vanity is something that the US taxpayer is now paying to preserve.  



    Hegseth continues to lie and he's the spawn of a liar (Chump) so it may get confusing.  But let's note one thing clearly.  This was his second leak problem, his second breach of national security.  Shouldn't he be explaining right now why, when the first one was revealed weeks ago, he gave no heads up about this latest example?

    He knew during the last scandal, as he lied repeatedly, that he had done another chat on a non-secure device, using the risky Signal app, and he never said, "Let me explain, there's something else."


    Maybe he didn't know?

    I guess that's possible.  Maybe he got blotto drunk, passed out and can't remember anything on the morning after?

    If he wants to offer that excuse, I'm willing to consider it.  But right now, he's just lying.  Gustaf Kilander (INDEPENDENT) calls it like it is, "Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did use his personal phone to send sensitive information to two group chats on the messaging app Signal, three officials have told NBC News."  Colby Hall (MEDIAITE) notes, "Hegseth is reportedly troubled by the alleged 'total chaos' reported by his former spokesperson and is “in full paranoia, back-against-the-wall mode,” according to a source familiar with Hegseth’s state of mind over the last month, per CNN’s report."  Morgan Music (LATIN TIMES) notes the Hegseth hypocrisy of it all:


    In a 2016 Fox News segment, Hegseth harshly criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her handling of classified emails, declaring that "any security professional military government or otherwise would be fired on the spot for this type of conduct and criminally prosecuted for being so reckless."
    "The fact that she wouldn't be held accountable for this blows the mind of anyone who's held our nation's secrets dear, who's had a top secret clearance—like I have," Hegseth continued. "Who know that even one hiccup causes a problem."

    Now, Hegseth himself is accused of reckless conduct with the nation's secrets, reportedly sending sensitive information about US airstrikes in Yemen to Signal group chats.


    So what say you now, Hegseth?  You've mishandled sensitive information -- that's putting it nicely -- so why shouldn't you be fired?  And don't give us a garbage reply like, "Hillary wasn't!"  Hillary had already stepped down as Secretary of State in February of 2013 -- three years prior to the e-mail scandal emerging.  When Hegseth was screaming she should be fired, she had, again, been out of that job for three years.  

    Meanwhile, Hegseth still holds his job.  So what does Hegseth think should be done with him?   Hand him another bottle of beer?  Nod while he exclaims, "I'll drink to that!" 



    Jack Hobbs (THE MIRROR) reports,  "White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took to the podium in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room on Tuesday for her regular briefing, where she reaffirmed the White House's backing of the Secretary of Defense."

    Yes, thus far the White House is standing by Hegseth.

    That is correct.

    Donald Chump is shirking his duty.  

    Hegseth should have been fired immediately.  Now we have a second breach of security and Chump's waiting to see if it'll blow over.

    The mid-terms aren't going to blow over.  If Dems end up with control of just one house of Congress -- and they may get two -- look for impeachment charges.  

    And they'll be right to impeach and to remove from office.  Nobody wants JD Vance as president but Donald's committing a high crime right now.

    The leaking of classified information is a high crime. 

    Instead of addressing it, Chump is ignoring it.  That's dereliction of duty.  

    Susan Rice was on Lawrence O'Donnell's MSNBC show last night.  (Note, I'm beyond sick this morning.  I don't see the video at MSNBC, I was sick last night.  If it wasn't Lawrence, I'll note it tomorrow but as I'm remembering it, it was Lawrence's show.  ADDED: It wasn't Lawrence, it was Brian Tyler Cohen's YOUTUBE program, we'll note it in tomorrow's snapshot.])  Details of an impending military strike are top secret.  There's no debating this.  And Hegseth's sharing this on two unsecure chats. This outrageous.  She was the National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017.  She knows what she's talking about.  She laid it out very cleary.  He broke the rules.

    That's it when you're President of the United States.  You make the call, you fire the idiot.

    Chump refusing to do so.  He's dilly dallied for weeks now demonstrating that he lacks the strength of character to do the most basic tasks to ensure the safety of this country.

    This is impeachable.  This is not minor.

     Yet, day after day, he refuses to address this situation.

    Other countries are aware of this, it's on their news casts as well.

    And other countries are far less likely to share important information with us if they have to worry that Gossip Girl Hegseth might let it slip in  a group chat.  That's harming us right now.  When Hegseth's loose lips flutter, that also threatens the people tasked with carrying out a mission -- such as the bombing of Yemen.  

    There is no excuse for Hegseth's actions and he should be fired immediately; however, as Chump continues to delay that, we need to expand the spotlight so it includes Donald because he's refusing to do what a president needs to do which is fire Hegseth.

    Chump's refusal to address this is a high crime.  It puts the entire country at risk, it endangers the military personnel he is tasking with missions and it harms our relationships with other countries who share classified information -- or used to share -- with us.


    Like most people, Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand (CNN) wonder why Hegseth needs to share sensitive information with his wife:

    Jennifer Hegseth has been a constant presence in her husband’s inner circle from even before he was confirmed to the Cabinet job. Her involvement thrust her back into the spotlight over the weekend, when it was reported that she was in a Signal group chat with her husband, his brother, and his lawyer, in which the secretary disclosed sensitive information about military operations against the Houthis.

    While Hegseth’s brother Phil and his lawyer Tim Parlatore have official positions within the Defense Department, Jennifer Hegseth does not.

    A source familiar with the situation told CNN Jennifer Hegseth submitted paperwork for a security clearance, but it was unclear if she received one. When asked by CNN if Jennifer Hegseth has a clearance, a spokesperson said the department does not discuss security clearances for any individual. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson, however, added that Jennifer Hegseth has “never attended a meeting where sensitive information or classified information was discussed.”

     
    Jen Psaki noted Monday night on MSNBC that she wasn't allowed to share sensitive information with her husband when she worked for the government. 

    You get what you pay for?  Leslie Josephs (CNBC) explains:

    America's richest and most powerful companies shelled out millions to fund President Donald Trump's inauguration festivities.

    Three months later, some may be asking whether the famously transactional president has their backs. Many of those corporations have had their businesses roiled by Trump's tariff policy and resulting consumer caution, dampening the optimism much of the business and finance community felt when he was reelected.
    Some of the nation's largest companies, including General Motors, BlackRock and Meta, donated to Trump's inaugural committee, leading it to raise a record $239 million – more than the previous three inaugural committees took in combined, according to filings released Sunday.


    In other words, they didn't get what they wanted . . . nor did they get what they needed.  They tried real hard but they bought from a con man so they got screwed.   And screwed over is what is now happening to American business -- big and small -- thanks to Chump.  AFP reports, "Boeing's CEO confirmed Wednesday that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the US-China trade war, as the company's shares surged following a smaller than expected loss" and they quote Kelly Ortberg (Boeing Chief Executive) stating the country  "stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the tariff environment."  Mary Papenfuss (INDEPENDENT) notes


    Donald Trump’s tariffs are already triggering thousands of layoffs in American manufacturing plants, mostly in the Midwest and the East.

    Companies are ejecting workers in the wake of Trump’s purported plan to use the levies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the country.

    The Volvo Group has announced it’s cutting 800 workers at its Volvo and Mack Truck plants in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland.

    “Heavy-duty truck orders continue to be negatively affected by market uncertainty about freight rates and demand, possible regulatory changes, and the impact of tariffs,” a Volvo Group spokesperson told Reuters.

    Pennsylvania Democratic state lawmaker Josh Siegel told ABC27 that Trump’s tariffs have been a “devastating blow to Lehigh Valley workers” in a region where Mack remains one of the region’s largest employers.

    “Workers are not just numbers—they are parents, neighbors, veterans, and skilled tradespeople who built America’s backbone,” Siegel said.



    On the economy, Catherine Lucey, Hadriana Lowenkron and Jaewon Kang (BLOOMBERG NEWS) explain, "Confronted with fresh warnings from financial markets, business leaders and top advisers, President Donald Trump this week eased off on two of his frequent punching bags: Jerome Powell and China."  Yes, Chump has gone from saying he wanted to fire the Fed Chair to his usual lying and pretending that never happened.  Brian Schwartz, Josh Dawsey and Nick Timiraos (WALL STREET JOURNAL) report:


    President Trump said this week that he never had any plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, accusing the media of pushing a false narrative that he was out to get the central bank chief.

    But inside the White House, some senior officials took Trump’s recent public musings about terminating Powell seriously. As Trump’s criticism of the Fed chair ramped up over the last week, White House lawyers privately reviewed legal options for attempting to remove Powell, including whether they could do so for “cause,” according to people familiar with the matter. The laws that created the Federal Reserve say Fed governors can only be removed before their term ends for cause, which courts have generally interpreted to mean malfeasance or impropriety. Finding a pretext for dismissing Powell would have edged the White House closer to a dramatic escalation with the central bank.
    Those discussions came to a halt early this week when Trump told his senior aides that he wouldn’t try to oust Powell. His decision came after interventions from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who warned Trump that such a move could trigger far-reaching market chaos and a messy legal fight, the people said. Lutnick also told the president that efforts to fire the Fed chair likely wouldn’t lead to any practical change on interest rates because other members of the Fed’s board would likely approach monetary policy similarly to Powell, one of the people said.



    In an appearance on CNN, the U.S. National Editor for the Financial Times, Ed Luce, claimed President Donald Trump is being schooled — but he ‘isn't learning a lesson’.

    ‘The Situation Room’ hosts Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown both pressed the editor on the economy under Trump.

    [. . ]
    "I mean, 1.8% U.S. growth this year is still relatively on the high side. I would have thought if you see a resumption of the trade war. But the significance is that it just sort of feeds into this dawning and quite dramatic realization on the part of markets that U.S. economic policy is going to be capricious, unpredictable and a very hard climate in which to invest whilst Donald Trump remains president. That's really the sort of the salient fact in all of this. They don't trust President Trump."


    Let's move over to immigration.  John Clark (WGN) reports:


    Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced that the state will take punitive actions against the country of El Salvador for holding Kilmar Abrego Garcia in custody.

    “The United States Constitution guarantees due process. We are witnessing Donald Trump erode our fundamental Constitutional rights in real time, and we must fight to restore the balance of power,” said Pritzker. “The State of Illinois will stand up for the Rule of Law and do everything in our power stop the Trump Administration from ripping apart our most basic rights.”
    Garcia, an accused MS-13 gang member, was deported from Maryland to his home country in March, despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to El Salvador due to fear of persecution.

    A federal judge said Tuesday that the Trump administration is ignoring court orders, obstructing the legal process, and acting in “bad faith” by refusing to provide information about the steps they have taken, if any, to free Garcia from an El Salvador prison.

    The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration nearly two weeks ago to facilitate Garcia’s return to the U.S. from a Salvadoran prison, rejecting the White House’s claim that it couldn’t retrieve him after mistakenly deporting him.


    Kilmer remains out of the US after being kidnapped by Chump and thrown into a concentration camp in El Salvador.  He is not the only one this has happened to.  Alex Bollinger (LGBTQ NATION) notes:

    Out gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) sent letters demanding answers to his “grave concerns” about why gay makeup artist Andry José Hernandez Romero was sent to the CECOT torture camp in El Salvador. Authorities claim that he has tattoos associated with the Tren de Aragua gang, but that assessment appears to have been made by a disgraced former police officer who was working for a private contractor after losing his job with the police force.

    While much of America is focused on Maryland dad Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to CECOT due to an admitted “administrative error,” Garcia is asking about Hernandez, a makeup artist who made national headlines.

    Hernandez Romero is a Venezuelan immigrant who trekked to the U.S. and entered legally last year at San Diego. There, he asked for asylum, saying that he was being targeted in Venezuela for being gay and due to his political beliefs. He was held in a CoreCivic detention center, where he was screened by Charles Cross Jr.




    A federal judge rebuked the Trump administration for thwarting the collection of evidence in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador. 

    US District Judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing the case, on Tuesday largely rejected the government’s objections to information demands from Abrego Garcia’s lawyers as she keeps open the option of initiating contempt of court proceedings.
    The judge said Justice Department lawyers must stop mischaracterizing a Supreme Court order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody and arguing that information can’t be disclosed because it’s confidential for one reason or another.

    “For weeks, defendants have sought refuge behind vague and unsubstantiated assertions of privilege, using them as a shield to obstruct discovery and evade compliance with this court’s orders,” Xinis wrote. “That ends now.”



    Chump and the crooks who work for him won't reveal anything on the deportees . . . unless they can use it to harm.  Case in point?  Alex Woodward (INDEPENDENT) notes:

    The wife of a wrongly deported Salvadoran father living in Maryland was moved to a safe house after Donald Trump’s administration posted a court document that included her address on social media.

    In an interview with The Washington Post, Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer Vasquez Sura said she began fearing for her safety and the safety of her three children after the Department of Homeland Security shared a protective order from 2021 that prominently featured her address to the department’s 2.4 million followers on X.

    “I don’t feel safe when the government posts my address, the house where my family lives, for everyone to see, especially when this case has gone viral and people have all sorts of opinions,” she told The Washington Post. “So, this is definitely a bit terrifying. I’m scared for my kids.”

    What they have done is 'doxed' her.  This was not a mistake or an accident.  It's retaliation.  And it's outrageous.  Chump's endless cycle of retribution where he tries to strike out for every real and imaginary slight he feels he's endured?  It  is leaving the US at risk.  His mental decline has been noted -- and should continue to be -- but we also need to grasp that there's also a break with reality taking place as he tries to erase various people in our country.  And there are a lot of ways to erase someone.   For example, Meryl Kornfield, Lisa Rein, Hannah Natanson (WASHINGTON POST) report:


    When Richard VanMetter tried to buy a sandwich, he didn’t realize he was dead.

    The 76-year-old retired physicist, on vacation in Boca Raton, Florida, in February, assumed there might have been a fraudulent charge that caused his credit card to be declined for a $6 Italian sub purchase. Then he called his bank and learned the government had told every financial institution he had ever interacted with that he had died. The government clawed back his last Social Security check and shut off his retirement checks and Medicare. Months later, he’s still working on getting his pension payments back.

    “It has been the bane of my existence,” VanMetter said.

    VanMetter had been mistakenly added to Social Security’s Death Master File — a database the government maintains to keep track of deceased people who should no longer receive benefits that is also provided to financial institutions, employers, election offices and other organizations. The agency has acknowledged that about 600 people a month are placed in the database mistakenly, for reasons ranging from clerical errors to bad information.

    Now, false claims by Elon Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service about dead people getting benefits have led to a new effort to move millions of names to the Death Master File — increasing the odds that more people who are alive will inadvertently be declared dead, according to current and former officials at the agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.


    A functioning president would be appalled by what happened to Richard VanMetter.  Grasp that we do not have a functioning president in the Oval Office.  We have a convicted felon experiencing cognitive decline as he abuses the power of the office to seek retribution. 






    People of color are not stupid.  And that was especially driven home in this YOUTUBE video to David Hogg.

     

     

     


    Who is David Hogg talking about replacing?  People of color especially are concerned when a White man starts talking about replacing members of Congress -- and for good reason.  

    David needs to be having a conversation but it's been days since his announcement and he's still not eager for a conversation that reaches beyond the White world.  DSAers want AOC to be the next president but they've yet to make any efforts to atone for what they did to the country and the Black community in 2024.  The sitcom's just fine and not going anywhere.  But maybe the media should hit hard on their other beloved trope: The Death Of The Democratic Party?  If certain self-proclaimed players are unable to listen to minority populations, the party's going to do even worse in 2028.


    Elements of DSA want to take over the Democratic Party.  The reality is that, if they want AOC as the presidential nominee in 2028, they need to be talking to the Black community which is not as stupid as the White community.

    DSA and MAGA share The Politics of Destruction -- which is why so many people can flip from one group to the other -- Tulsi Gabbard, Jimmy Dore, Jackson Hinkle, etc etc.  

    They want to destroy the system.

    It's easy for White people to feel that way -- and White-identifying pocs.  

    They've been spoiled all their life.  

    Spoiled for centuries basically.

    Not true for Black Americans.  

    We've had to fight to end slavery, we've had to fight for basic rights after slavery, as late as the 1960s the Civil Rights Movement was still ongoing and though that movement did so much, it did not bring about equality.

    While spoiled White DSAers sat on their asses and plotted to take down the system, Black Americans had to fight daily for the system to open even a little for us.

    So when you start your nonsense about tearing everything down -- again, no difference between DSA and MAGA -- we are going to stop and say, "Woah."  Because the system you are spoiled on is one we're still fighting for our rights in.  And when you talk about your idea of the future, you don't talk about anything concrete or anything that assures us that we will be part of such a system.

    David Hogg is just another vain White person.  Vain?  White men with that awful hairdo -- think Gavin Newsom -- are narcissistic  and that's why they continue to believe it's a cool and sexy hairdo when it's ugly and repulsive and should remain with Carrot Top.

    David Hogg has taken to slamming James Carville.  Slam away.  I do.  It's the only way you'll ever get his attention.  He's a bean counter who has been overpraised for years (Betsy Wright, as we've noted her for decades, never got her due and she's much more responsible for Bill Clinton getting elected President than James).  But if you're going to slam James be prepared for the return slam.

    He hasn't given it yet to David, so I will.  David keeps going around repeating a line about how James' last successful election came before he was born.

    Yes, it did.

    And that's still one more success than David's had.

    Davis is 25.  I supported his run and celebrated it.  I thought he would work with the DNC, take a moment to learn some things and improve the party.  Instead, months after being elected, he's now alarmed many with his plan to primary Democrats in Congress.  


    That's really not a DNC job.  And it is alarming many.  The video Ava and I highlighted resulted in more words from David.

    More words.

    But no response. 


    In "The David Divide" above, they play David's reply -- again, not an actual response.

    It's appalling.  A White man -- of 25, no less -- thinks he's going to educate the Black community?  He thinks we need him to tell us how we could be participating at the local level?  As though we don't know this, as though we aren't already?  White Messiah, thank you, for your tone deaf reply that is racist and insulting.

    This is why David should have kept his mouth shut and listened.  He thinks he has all the answers but he can even respond to basic questions.

    He tries to bury us with words that never address anything. 

    He preaches slogan and we're not idiots.

    After they play David's words, the first onscreen response is from Hooks who types, "all I hear are Justice Democrats, DSA talking points."

    Hooks is exactly right.

    And this week, Ava and I again noted that the DSA did not have the Black community and does not speak for the Black community.  Their inability to communicate with the Black community is one of the biggest reasons that they are a failure.  For those late to the party, Justice Democrats is a Socialist front created by Kyle and Cenk, it's better termed Justice Socialists because that's what they are.  But they knew Justice Socialists wouldn't get enough support so they tried to trick the people instead by dubbing it "Democrats."  

    We're not idiots.  We hear what you're saying and we're not taken in by the sloganeering.  We're fully aware that you're trying to put one over on us and we're not buying it.

    David started this and has some time now to clear up what his aim is.  He's insisting it's not about replacing older members with younger members.  Then why, in all the time since he went public on this in April (this month), have they not updated their website:

    Leaders We Deserve invests in candidates who reflect our generation and its values matching them with the resources they need to run strong campaigns, win, and change the face of power. Think EMILYs List for young, progressive courageous candidates. 



    You're failing on every level, David.  And we're not giving our hard earned gains to back you as a leader when you can't even be honest and you can't even reply to actual questions with real examples.

    Clearly, I was wrong to have backed you for your current positions and as you continue to create more of a mess and especially as you continue to alienate Black Democrats, I really think you need to step down from your DNC position because nothing you are doing at present is actually helping the party.  We need control of both houses.  You've offered nothing to demonstrate how your goals are going to help us with that.  

    As one member of the House Black Caucus said to me over the phone last night, "It really would be a White man, wouldn't it, who at the age of 25 would think he knew better than the whole damn party?"

    Yes, it would.

    Yes, it would.

    David, maybe you'll be of value in other ways or later in life.  But at present, you're a recent college graduate and that's basically it.  Maybe gets some life under your belt and work on communicating?  At present, we can't afford you and you're not offering much of value.  I don't say that with glee.  I was rooting for you.  But this was your mission that you announced and you've yet to find a way to communicate your goals in a way that isn't racist or insulting.


    Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

    ICYMI: Senator Murray Demands Answers from Secretary Collins Over VA’s Unprecedented Refusal to Allow VA Puget Sound to Participate in Women Veterans Roundtable

    ICYMI: REPORT: Trump’s Mass Firings at VA Hurt WA Veterans

    ICYMI: Murray Statement on Trump & Elon Plans to Decimate the VA, Firing 80,000 Employees and Putting Veterans’ Care in Grave Danger

    ***AUDIO HERE; PHOTOS and B-ROLL HERE***

    Seattle, WA — Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, hosted a roundtable discussion at the Ballard-Eagleston VFW Post 3063 with women veterans and veteran advocates to discuss the challenges women veterans face in receiving quality care at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and how the Trump administration’s steep cuts across the federal workforce—including at VA—are affecting veterans. Senator Murray’s roundtable at the VFW took place only after the Trump administration refused to allow VA Puget Sound to host or participate in a discussion about the current state of women veterans’ health care. Audio of the full roundtable discussion is available HERE.

    Senator Murray has been outspoken in calling attention to how Trump and Elon’s indiscriminate mass layoffs are hurting people—especially veterans—across the country and will undermine services Americans everywhere rely on. She has hosted multiple press conferences with veterans and VA employees in Washington state who are being laid off by Trump and Elon for no reason and through no fault of their own.

    Participating in the discussion with Senator Murray today were: Minnette Mason, Veterans Training Support Center Program Manager at the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA); Alyson Teeter, Commander of VFW Post 3063; Barbara Heston-Moore, President of VFW Post 2289 Auxiliary; Sarah Rubin with VFW Post 3063; Dr. Samantha Powers, Director of UW Veteran Student Life; and Shellie Willis, Chair of the WDVA Women’s Veterans Advisory Committee.

    “I’m furious that under Trump, VA leadership is barring VA Puget Sound from participating in or hosting this important discussion on women veterans’ issues. Throughout my time in Congress, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, I have been able to have open and honest conversations with VA and engage with my veteran constituents in Washington state—but this administration has proven to be vastly different,” Senator Murray said. Yesterday, Senator Murray sent a letter to VA Secretary Doug Collins expressing concern and dismay over the unprecedented refusal—with no justification—by VA to allow VA Puget Sound to participate in today’s roundtable. In the hearing on his nomination to lead VA, his meeting with Senator Murray ahead of the Senate vote on his nomination, and in his own public statements, Doug Collins promised to be maximally transparent with Congress if confirmed.

    “Even though women are more likely to seek care through VA, and are more likely to be dealing with depression, anxiety, or sexual trauma—women are also more likely to face barriers to getting the care they need,” Senator Murray said. “And it’s been deeply frustrating to see the Trump administration undermine VA care, fire researchers, and push out other crucial workers who help veterans get care over the past few months, to say nothing of the disrespect they have shown female veterans—literally erasing the history of some women in uniform and denigrating the service of women in combat. I’m going to push every day to make sure you get the respect you deserve, and the care you were promised—whether that’s making sure VA is implementing women’s health care laws I worked to pass, fighting to expand access to IVF services and menopause research, and providing the federal resources we need for VA to improve care for women veterans.”

    Senator Murray was the first woman to join the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the first woman to chair the Committee—as the daughter of a WWII veteran, supporting veterans and their families has always been an important priority for Murray. Advocating for women veterans in particular has been a longtime focus for Senator Murray. As Chair of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in 2010, Senator Murray passed her landmark Women Veterans Health Improvement Act into law. Murray has worked to permanently authorize the VA child care pilot program to increase access to free, quality child care for veterans during their appointments, make much-needed improvements to the women veterans call center, and fix a loophole that left veterans footing the bill for medically-necessary emergency newborn transportation that VA should be covering. Murray introduced and helped pass the Deborah Sampson Act, legislation to address gender disparities at VA that established a dedicated Office of Women’s Health at VA and required every VA health facility to have a dedicated women’s health primary care provider, among other things. Murray also helped to pass the MAMMO Act to expand access to high-quality breast cancer screening and treatment services for veterans.

    Last year as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Murray delivered a record $900 million investment in women veterans’ health care. Earlier this month, Senator Murray introduced bipartisan legislation to require VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to research and study the effects of menopause on women servicemembers and women veterans.

    Senator Murray has also been a leading voice in the Senate in speaking out forcefully against President Trump and Elon Musk’s mass firing of VA employees and VA researchers across the country and Elon Musk and DOGE’s infiltration of the VA, including accessing veterans’ sensitive personal information. In recent weeks, Senator Murray and her colleagues sent letters to VA Secretary Doug Collins demanding that the VA swiftly reverse moves to cut VA researchers, as well as multiple letters pressing Secretary Collins to sever Elon Musk and DOGE’s access to any VA or other government system with information about veterans, and protect veterans, their families, and VA staff from unprecedented access to sensitive information. Senator Murray grilled Trump’s nominee for VA Deputy Secretary, Dr. Paul Lawrence, on the mass firings of VA employees and VA researchers, and voted against Doug Collins’s nomination to be VA Secretary in early February, sounding the alarm over reports of DOGE at the VA and making clear that the Trump administration’s lawlessness was putting our national security and our veterans at risk.

    ###


    Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Businessman Chump Will Tempt You." went up last night.  The following sites updated: