Is THIS Really A Guy Capable Of Making Nuke-Decisions? At All?!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Welp.

Yes his “kankles” are deeply disconcerting. He’s nearly 80 — in a fundamentally decrepit body.

But for my money, it is the “Nearly-Biden“-like gaffes — in just the last few days.

His mind is… clearly disappearing. Late last week, he repeatedly told reporters he was “going to Russia“. And that he was soon going to “return to the USA“.

In fact, he was… in Anchorage. That’s an ALASKAN city. IN THE USA.

Yikes — here’s a more complete download — and a bit of it:

…He’s already forgotten his conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, who earlier this week were promised a ceasefire. And in the last fortnight, he’s started mixing up names, referring to his head of homeland security Kristi Noem, as Cristie Kerr, the name of an LPGA golfer. During a White House event with Tim “Apple” Cook, Trump thanked his commerce secretary Howard Lutnick “wherever you may be”.

“I’m right behind you,” said a startled Lutnick. Last month at a ceremonial signing of a veteran’s bill, Trump paused to acknowledge the bill’s sponsor, Congressman Derrick Van Orden, asking “Where’s Derrick? Where’s Derrick?”

“I’m here, sir,” said Van Orden, standing right next to him. Embarassing. The decline is as obvious as the white eye circles protected from his spray tan….

Damn. Where are those GOP/MAGA folks? The ones who were howling about Joe Biden, in the Spring of 2024?

No surprise.

Crickets.

Out.

Nancy Grace Roman: Interstellar Space Science Hero — And Space ‘Scope Launch Subject, In 2026-27!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

We are visibly excited — as about 18 months from now — we, collectively should have a new tool, to get a handle on whether the vast power of dark energy will force the known Universe into an expanding forever mode — or whether, eventually, billions of years from now, it will all collapse back in, on itself. [We’ve posted on this, dozens of times, stretching back nine years.]

There are few questions more fundamental than “How did we begin, and how will we… end?” The Roman scope will help us approach those answers, or at least refine our questioning. Here’s the latest, from NASA:

…NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be a discovery machine, thanks to its wide field of view and resulting torrent of data. Scheduled to launch no later than May 2027, with the team working toward launch as early as fall 2026, its near-infrared Wide Field Instrument will capture an area 200 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s infrared camera, and with the same image sharpness and sensitivity.

Roman will devote about 75% of its science observing time over its five-year primary mission to conducting three core community surveys that were defined collaboratively by the scientific community. One of those surveys will scour the skies for things that pop, flash, and otherwise change, like exploding stars and colliding neutron stars….

Type Ia supernovae are useful as cosmological probes because astronomers know their intrinsic luminosity, or how bright they inherently are, at their peak. By comparing this with their observed brightness, scientists can determine how far away they are. Roman will also be able to measure how quickly they appear to be moving away from us. By tracking how fast they’re receding at different distances, scientists will trace cosmic expansion over time….

Now you know. Be excellent to one another. Off grid most of day, tomorrow — at hospital. Carry on. Grin.

नमस्ते

Hmm. Why, Paul?! Because… It Came From Trump’s OWN MOUTH! Idiots.

~ condor ~ 8 Comments

This morning, apparently behind his ‘paywall’ (whatever that might be) — Mr. Mirengoff sets out his view of the “whys” behind what he calls “journalists” pushing a Trump-Russia collusion story.

Y A W N.

The why is simple, Paul: Trump DID IT.

He’s guilty. No need to belabor any false counter-narrative from Ringside, or Powerline (that’s Hinderaker’s hilariously insipid take, BTW).

And Tangerine 2.0’s doing it AGAIN here this morning in DC, by pressuring Ukraine / Pres. Zelenskyy to accept all of Putin’s terms, for peace. In other words: surrender.

This morning, Trump said Ukraine must end any claims to Crimea, to boot — something he himself has claimed to oppose since 2015. Damn, Paul. Wake up.

As Trump his-self said:

“…Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you will probably be rewarded mightily….”

Despite all the subsequent cover ups / misinformation (from both MAGA world and Russia)… he’s guilty — then and now.

Please do sod off, you idiots.

Out.

It IS Trivial — But I Do Want To Show The “Noble” / Nobel Sentiment: It Bears Reading… Even As A Parody Account.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be sure — Scott Johnson’s 70 plus year old eyes are not what they once were, in the time of Rather-gate, now almost a quarter century ago. He’s failed to compare the real Melania’s [perfume bottles] signature, with the one that adorns the supposed Putin letter.

It is clear these same parody accounts used this “faked Melania / nearly-Donald” signature / scribble — in spoofs during Tangerine 1.0. This is all fine agitprop — just the same.

Sorry Scott — you do need to retire. Permanently. Anyhoo….

Earlier this weekend, some clever people wrote a parody letter, purportedly from Melania to Vladimir Putin, and supposedly delivered in Anchorage, Friday by Tangerine 2.0, hisself.

The grace of it… is plainly beyond the real Melania’s command (and grasp — of the English language).

But the “Nobel-” seeking sentiment… is wise.

I note it here — primarily to ask the readership to read it in full.

Would that this was the view of 1600 Penn.

But that world… is not this one.

And… here the parody is — in full text:

…Dear President Putin

Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.

As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope.

As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few.

Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all – so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.

A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity – an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.

Yet in today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them — a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future. Mr. Putin, you can single-handedly restore their melodic laughter.

In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself. Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today.

It is time.

Sincerely,

/s/ [Faux-]Melania….

Onward, resolutely, just the same.

नमस्ते

[U: Hinderaker’s Insipid Comments] Come Monday, European Leaders Stand As One: Will Join WH Meeting — To Back Zelenskyy & People Of Ukraine…

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Updated Sunday Afternoon | 08.17.2025: Hinderaker would tell us that Trump is doing a marvelous job. Poppycock.

Trump is now effectively once again Putin’s b!tch: he’s aligned himself with the giveaway Putin has waited for for four years.

He’s aligned himself against an independent Ukraine. And along the way, Hinderaker brings up the now irrelevant fact… that no one has ever dealt with Putin’s Crimea aggressions. One wrong does not nullify… another.

We may be certain that Trump will never oppose Putin and right that wrong. Regardless of whatever Democratic presidents ever did or did not do. [And John completely forgets that Trump had over four years (first time around), from 2017 to 2021, to right that wrong — and did the… opposite. Damn.]

But such is his stilted “logic.” End, update.

It has come to this: Trump is siding with Putin, in pushing for a “surrender more land, to get peace” deal. And so, Europe will stand with Ukraine’s people — against Putin, who clearly has Trump in his thrall. Again.

Ukraine was a free nation, for 600 years before Russia / the old legacy USSR annexed it nearly 103 years ago. And, it was independent again after 1991 — and the collapse of the old USSR under glasnost.

But once again, as in his first administration, Putin plays Trump like a fiddle. In any event, here’s CBS, with the awful latest:

…European leaders announced that they would join Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Monday as they seek to navigate America’s new approach to ending the war.

Trump signaled Saturday that he was reversing his insistence on a ceasefire and instead pursuing a permanent peace deal — aligning the United States with the Kremlin rather than Kyiv and its European backers.

As Ukraine and Europe work out how best to move forward, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that they would be joining Zelenskyy, perhaps hoping to ensure there is no repeat of his last Oval Office meeting….

The US is again embarrassed — before the moral, free wotld — by a feckless Tangerine 2.0. Shameful — and utterly… avoidable. Damn.

नमस्ते

USDC Judge Dolly Gee — As We Predicted — Told Kristi Noem To “Stuff It!” Overnight.

~ condor ~ 2 Comments

It is hard to imagine… what levels of depravity prevail… in Stephen Miller’s little cubby-hole at 1600 Penn. He plainly believes brown children are… not humans.

And Kristi Noem is only too happy to dutifully bow and curtsy before him. Trump is. . . effectively out to lunch. So these tiny, evil people are running a sh!t show. The courts are day by day, thwarting them — see this 20 pager, overnight out of LA:

…Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement and to Dissolve the Court’s 2019 Injunction. [Doc. ## 1567 (“MTT”).] The motion is fully briefed. [Doc. ## 1584 (“Opp.”), 1612 (“Reply”).] The Court held a hearing on the motion on August 8, 2025. Defendants fail to identify any new facts or law that warrant the termination of the Flores Settlement Agreement at this time.

Therefore, for the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES [the Trump / Noem / Rubio / Miller motion]….

As part of the 2022 CBP Settlement, Defendants agreed to ensure that CBP facilities in the El Paso and RGV sectors provide class members with access to “toilets, sinks, showers, hygiene kits, drinking water, age-appropriate meals and snacks, medical evaluations and appropriate medical treatment, clothing and blankets, caregivers in certain facilities, adequate supervision to protect minors from others, and adequate temperature control and ventilation.” 2022 CBP Settlement § 2. The 2022 CBP Settlement also required prioritization of family unity so long as it was operationally feasible and created the “Juvenile Care Monitor” (“JCM”) role to allow for the independent monitoring of CBP’s compliance with the 2022 CBP Settlement and the FSA more broadly….

Wh are these monsters?! They would deny toothbrushes and blankets… to children under 12?! Damn them.

नमस्ते

Now In SF, There Are 14 NEW Cases Of Mpox — Just Since June 2025… This Is What De-Funding/Cutting CDC “Costs…”

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

To be clear, these cases are all Clade 2, the less-lethal variant of the virus. But that variant is generally thought to be… more easily spread. To wit: the SF metro area had been seeing about one case per month (late 2022 to 2024) — but that has now risen to around five, per month.

So bay area health officials are renewing the public information and awareness campaigns, especially in the affected communities. We well-know, even without seeing hard data, that these efforts are less effective without the full backing of the federal CDC and health systems. And Tangerine has made clear that gay people are NOT his priority. Damn. Here’s the latest, out of SF Public Television:

…Since late June, 14 San Francisco residents have been diagnosed with mpox, the disease formerly known as “monkeypox.” So far in 2025, the city’s average was around one case per month.

As the name suggests, mpox is related to the smallpox virus but is generally less severe and far less contagious than smallpox, according to the California Department of Public Health. In addition to fever, chills, headache and muscle pain, mpox can cause a painful rash — also known as lesions — that appear on many parts of the body.

Anyone can get mpox, which spreads mainly through close physical contact, including sex, but past outbreaks have particularly affected gay and bisexual men, along with trans and nonbinary people who have sex with men….

On Thursday, SFDPH issued a health update to local providers, noting that these cases have “typically been mild, with no signs of severe infection or need for hospitalization” — but also that most 2025 cases in San Francisco had been in people who had received both doses of the mpox vaccine, Jynneos….

Now you know. And do go be excellent to one another. We are all… we’ve got.

नमस्ते

What A Complete Nuthin’ Burger! Two Losers — One Con.

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Screenshot
So much for any Russia / Trump deal-making.

And actually, this complete waste of time is better for Pres. Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine… than having a moron like Trump or a sociopath like Putin decide their collective futures, without their input.

It does once again highlight… how very little Donald Trump understands about how the world works.

And therefore — how dangerous he is.

Out.

Updated, X2!: Trump’s Ham-Handed Attempts At Fascism Will Lead Eventually To… DC’s Statehood, And Two NEW US Senate Seats — In A Blue District!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

6:10 pm EDT — the moron Hinderaker probably should have bothered to read Mayor Bowser’s complaint at law (and Section 740, for context) before popping off so stupidly.

Hinderaker “cannot imagine” how the suit will prevail. Hah — he is a bear of very lil’ imagination, indeed – as the below and the USDC Court hearing indicated this afternoon. 30 days; and Trump cannot “order” Metro Police to do anything, per the able judge. Out.

4:30 pm EDT — I used shorthand this morning, as I was rushing out. The point below is that Tangerine 2.0’s endless penchant for trying to become a military dictator of some sort — but only over blue areas of the electoral map… will ultimately lead to a vote for statehood, likely in DC — and perhaps even in possessions, like Puerto Rico. Thus Trump will (eventually) see the opposite result — of what his lil’ pea brain was hoping for: less control, as opposed to more of it — in MAGA hands. Perfectly flawless… karma. End update. Do stay tuned.

Mayor Bowser has filed the suit we predicted.

I am running to meet a client, so more later — but here’s the sharp end of the stick, and a bit:

…Section One, captioned “Crime is out of control in the District of Columbia,” asserts that there is a problem of “rising violence” and “increasing violent crime” in the Capital. The sole data the order cites for those assertions are statistics from 2024. As noted above, in 2024, violent crime fell 35% from the prior year.

And it has since fallen by an additional 26%. The claim of increasing violence based on 2024 statistics is also contradicted by the President’s and DOJ’s own statements in 2025 that violent crime in the District has decreased….

On August 13, 2025, the President expressed his intention to retain control over MPD indefinitely. When asked in a press briefing whether he would be seeking congressional support for a resolution extending the Section 740 invocation beyond its 30-day limit, he stated, “well, if it’s a national emergency, we can do it without Congress. But we expect to be before Congress, very quickly…. We’re going to be asking for extensions on that — long term extensions — because you can’t have 30-days… We’re going to want extensions. I don’t want to have to call a national emergency, but if I have to, I will….”

…Section 740 expressly limits the President’s use of MPD services until the
conclusion of the emergency circumstances or the expiration of 30 days — whichever occurs first — unless Congress intervenes. There is no exception for “a national emergency”….

Trump has just given us — the smart independents and Democrats, by 2026 or 2028 — (at least two, and maybe even FOUR!) new US Senators.

“Irony! That’s for… me!”

Woot!

नमस्ते

The “Precursor” Measure, To Consumer Prices — Just Shot Up — Largest Jump Since… 2022. Damn, Tangerine’s Tariffs — In Effect!

~ condor ~ Leave a comment

Welp. Not even remotely surprising. If you’ve been paying attention, at all — to the US’s leading economic indicators, that is.

And yet, very disappointing just the same. Utterly… avoidable. Even if Trump doesn’t understand the world, Bessent does. And Navarro does. They are intentionally crushing the US consumer, on Tangerine’s orders. Damn their lawlessness. Here’s the latest from CBS; do buckle up for a very tough Fall of 2025 (on middle class US consumers):

…The producer price index, or PPI, surged last month, far outpacing economists’ forecasts and suggesting that President Trump’s tariffs are starting to significantly drive up the cost of imported goods.

Wholesale inflation rose 0.9% in July from the prior month, the Labor Department said Thursday, outstripping economists’ expectations for a 0.2% increase. The jump marks the largest in more than three years, since June 2022.

The PPI, which measures price changes before they reach consumers, suggests cost hikes are on the way for shoppers, economists said….

Most of the larger, more sophisticated outlets are reporting that threatened “targeted” pharma tariffs — from Trump — will likely never happen. He doesn’t have the juice to fight the 78% of Congress that takes deep pharma money. I think that assessment is correct. Even so, pharma will have to pass on the tariff related inflation in its contracted-for raw inputs, like oils, and APIs that come from overseas. So even pharma / biotech… is not immune. He’s killin’ us all, with his lunacy.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Vote the GOP/MAGA Congress OUT — in 2026!

नमस्ते