Besides the war with Iran, the Trump Administration blocked and harassed officials and players from other countries who were entering the US—all in the spirit of the Peace Award, of course. It will be interesting to see if the FIFA officials keep bowing to Trump.

Regardless, ignore Trump and FIFA. And let the players do what they do best—play. And let fans do what they do best—having fun and getting a chance to see great matches.

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Dozens of U.S. strikes were carried out by attack planes from bases and aircraft carriers around the Middle East, with officials saying the initial focus was military assets. The attack also targeted the Iranian leadership, according to three Israeli security officials briefed on the campaign. Satellite imagery showed a plume of smoke and extensive damage at the compound of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in Tehran, though his whereabouts were unclear.

The campaign has the potential to ignite an even broader regional crisis, as Iran vowed “crushing retaliation.”

Iran fired waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, prompting booms as Israeli air defenses sought to repel them. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait — all of which host U.S. military bases — said they had come under attack, as did Jordan. Falling debris from an Iranian ballistic missile attack killed at least one person in the Emirates, according to its government.1

For weeks there has been a military buildup of ships near Iran, the marine equivalent of modern saber rattling. This campaign happened in the dead of night with no approval from Congress.

The claims for such a strike are because of “ Iran’s enlarging nuclear plans and regime change ”As they made their public case for another American military campaign against Iran, President Trump and his aides asserted that Iran had restarted its nuclear program, had enough available nuclear material to build a bomb within days and was developing long-range missiles that will soon be capable of hitting the United States. All three of these claims are either false or unproven.2

Iran has no missiles that are capable of hitting the U. S., however it does have missiles that are capable of hitting Israel. Therein lies the rub and Netanyahu has encouraged the US to complete strikes against Iran and what Netanyahu wants from Trump , he gets. So overnight without any military provocation, dozens of missiles were fired both from the US and Israel.

Besides placating Netanyahu , what does this action mean for Trump? Let’s first look at the US situation on the Homefront. Despite what he said in the State of the Union, goods and services are not more affordable. The full Epstein files have not been released and despite Trump’s name having been mentioned many thousands of times, the DOJ is not going to subpoena Trump. There is growing dissent and disgust at the current ICE aggressive and thug like behavior depriving people of their constitutional rights, specifically the Fourth Amendment.

Trump wants to distract attention from troubles at home and he wants to bolster the economy. A strike against Iran and the ensuing reciprocal actions by Iran and its allies will likely turn into a war. Wars are like a booster shot for an ailing economy. Trump is not interested in a regime change in Iran because of the thousands of protestors killed fighting for regime change, he doesn’t care about protestors at all ie. Minneapolis vs. ICE. He is interested in regime change because Netanyahu wants regime change.

The major issue here is “What is the game plan?” Trump doesn’t plan, he has whims, he may have “concepts of a plan” but he is a poor strategist. In fact , I think that is the major reason why he didn’t ask for Congressional approval. For Congressional approval, an official request has to have a plan and budget.

Here we see Trump trying to distract from his failed presidency and his loss of popularity .He never wants to be held accountable. He is shameless, insisting on strikes against Iran where the US has no business in being. He is the perennial carnival barker guiding you to which acts to follow, “Look over here” to distract from” looking over there.”

This is a developing story

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Judge Vargas wrote that” Plaintiffs adequately demonstrated that they would imminently suffer irreparable harm” if the project was “ forced to shut down its operations”

Governors Hochul ( NY) and Sherrill (NJ) were pleased with the decision.

The Gateway Tunnel is to replace the aging tunnel below the Hudson which is often responsible for train delays and bottlenecks.

The Gateway Tunnel Commission sued the Federal government for breach of contract in Washington on Monday stating that it was owed more than 200 million dollars in expenses that had not been reimbursed.

It is no surprise to New Yorkers that the federal government is 200 million in arrears to the Gateway Project. In Feb 2024,Trump was found guilty of inflating his assets to secure advantages with insurance companies, banks etc. Trump was ordered to pay the state of NY 355 million dollars in penalties, he didn’t pay a penny. The fine was then increased to 515 million dollars which was tossed out by an Appeals court on August 21,2025 being designated as excessive according to the Eighth Amendment.2

While the fine was tossed out, the State of NY found Trump guilty in May 2024 of thirty four counts of falsifying business records. Therefore NY ‘s decision is why President Trump is a convicted felon.

Well in true criminal fashion, his vengeance is based on extortion or a “ shakedown”, funding for the Gateway Tunnel would be released if Senator Chuck Schumer pushed to rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after him. Senator Chuck Schumer refused.3

Senator Gillibrand stated “ These naming rights aren’t tradable as part of any negotiations and neither is the dignity of New Yorkers,” Ms .Gillibrand said on X.

So for now, the Gateway Tunnel funds are to be released. Score NY -1, Trump-0.

Homan is more well received than Noem who will have to testify on Feb .11 on her handling of DHS, especially in Minnesota. Vance being sidelined and was booed during the Opening of the Olympic Games today.

The SAVE act is not really being discussed at large and it should be. There are many voters that will be disenfranchised if a birth certificate has to be shown.

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The Parnas Perspective

Major Friday News Update: From Epstein to Obama, Trump Ends One of the Worst Weeks of his Presidency

Good evening, everyone. It’s been a very busy day, but before we get to the news, I want to pause for a moment. Tonight is the first time I’ve really realized it’s been one week since the Epstein files were released. It feels like a year. I’ve gone through thousands of documents, with many more still to come. I’ve received threats. Some demanded that I …

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5 months ago · 4978 likes · 499 comments · Aaron Parnas

Judge John H. Chun, of the U.S. District Court in Seattle, wrote in a 75-page opinion that threats aimed at states that declined to make several changes President Trump outlined violated the separation of powers and impeded states’ ability to administer their own elections. “The Constitution assigns no authority to the president over federal election administration,” he wrote.1

So basically , Judge Chun said it was illegal for Trump to demand proof of citizenship to vote and threw out the demand that mail in ballots had to be tallied on Election Day and not after.

This is the latest in a series of legal blows against the Trump administration.

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Presumptively, it is about rescuing Americans from a drug cartel allowed by Maduro.

Trump also states how the Venezuelan people have suffered due to failing infrastructure to extract oil. He states that big oil companies will come in and spend the money necessary to get the infrastructure to extract oil.

He mentions how he has liberated the Venezuelan people, however the US will run Venezuela in this time of transition.

This doesn’t sound like liberation to me. Trump never asked Congress to deploy military action in Venezuela, and has been bombing boats in the Caribbean without evidence of so called drug trafficking, he sent warships to intimidate Maduro into leaving the country.

This is a clear example of gunboat diplomacy in which you send warships to a foreign nation to intimidate it into giving concessions such as a trade agreement etc

This is a developing story and there will be updares.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/31/us/trump-news#trump-national-guard

According to tonight’s issue of the New York Times, “President Trump said on Wednesday that he would abandon, for now, efforts to deploy the National Guard in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court ruled last week that Mr. Trump could not deploy troops in the Chicago area over the objections of Illinois officials. The president’s announcement made no mention of the ruling, but he suggested his administration would not hesitate to deploy troops in the future.”

There have been 3 SCOTUS decisions against the Trump administration since Dec. 19th release of the Epstein files. Prior to this, over 90 SCOTUS decisions in Trump’s second term were ruled in Trump’s favor.

Perhaps we can 864726 ! Happy New Year!

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Thanks to Bill Maher, Real Time with Bill Maher and YouTube

We’ve written, as have many others, about the militarization of America’s cities. Based on the Trump Administration’s moves in L.A. and Washington, D.C., the possibility becomes more real with every new initiative.

On August 25, 2025, the Trump Administration released: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia, The White House. August 25, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-takes-additional-measures-to-address-the-crime-emergency-in-the-district-of-columbia/

The document includes a range of orders, but the salient one for our discussion is

The Order directs the Secretary of Defense to create a specialized D.C. National Guard unit trained to ensure public safety and order in the Nation’s capital, when its activation becomes necessary, and ensure state National Guards are similarly trained and ready to assist in quelling civil disturbances nationwide. Further, the Secretary of Defense will ensure the availability of a National Guard quick reaction force for rapid nationwide deployment when circumstances warrant.

The keywords are: ensure state National Guards are similarly trained and ready to assist in quelling civil disturbances nationwide…

But, what’s a civil disturbance?

—We know it’s not a group of white supremacists marching with tiki torches in Charlottesville, VA, since, according to Trump, there were good people on both sides. Does this include those who were shouting anti-Semitic tropes? (1)

—We also know it’s not a mob trying to overthrow the Constitution and who assaulted the Capitol and police officers. Trump pardoned those found guilty of such violence.

So, what are disorders—protest marches like those held under Trump’s 1st Administration? Peaceful marches that are constitutionally protected? Is a disorder a news organization that publishes, be it print or electronic-based, an article critical of the presidency? It’s a pretty wide border open to interpretation.

This order, on top of his other mandates in D.C. and L.A., has serious civil rights implications. And if you walk down history’s path, these decisions can be precursors to more stringent actions that may result in the dismantling of one’s freedom. The Administration has already deployed National Guard units in two major U.S. cities; an attempt was made to wholly take over the D.C. Police Department; Guard units in D.C. have been armed; and now units will be trained to quell disturbances.

And as many have asked, where the hell is the Democratic Party? A few individuals stand out, but what of the rest? Where is a general statement from party leaders with information about how we can help counter these anti-democratic moves?

I would also ask are there Republicans in the House or Senate with any sense of honor and who hold their allegiance to the Constitution rather than to a man? But, sadly, this boat has sailed long ago.

Notes:

* Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher has used the phrase a “slow moving coup” in association with the Trump Administration for years.

(1) “Trump Defends White-Nationalist Protesters: 'Some Very Fine People on Both Sides' The president backtracked from his remarks on Charlottesville just a day earlier.” by Rosie Gray. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/116973/documents/HHRG-118-ED00-20240417-SD006.pdf

Thanks to YouTube

In my last post, I briefly wrote about the Dreyfus affair in France and Émile Zola's role in supporting Alfred Dreyfus.

Since that time, the words “J’Accuse” have far exceeded Zola’s original intent. They have become a symbol of justice; they have become a tool to accuse an individual or entity, such as a company or political party, of wrongdoing. They’ve also become a sign post for holding the identified offender’s feet to the proverbial fire in a public manner. And in honor of Zola and Dreyfus, I’ll be posting additional J’Accuse pieces.

This is also my version of the Fickle Finger of Fate award given by the classic TV show, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. While not a politically-focused show, much like The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, political commentary was part of their bones. There were plenty of targets during their run, and that number seems to have grown geometrically since the Trump Administration’s second term.

And with a nod to their work, and to the force of will and soul that was and is Émile Zola, there’s going to be a whole bunch of ‘J’Accuses’ going around.

Thanks to YouTube and DRM News

If you’re a fan of H.G. Wells, you may have read his classic book, The Time Machine, or you might have seen the 1960 film version and possibly one of the later releases. But regardless of which route you’ve taken, you surely remember and know about the Morlocks.

In the far distant future, the human race splits off into two groups: one lives in the light; the other underground. While both groups have their own weaknesses, you may remember the Morlocks feed on the Eloi, the above ground dwellers.

And by now you may be asking, what does a new detention center have to do with the Morlocks?

Everything.

Alligator Alcatraz

Florida has a new migrant detention center, called Alligator Alcatraz, in light of the area’s abundance of, as implied by the name, alligators. It was visited by Trump, Noem and DeSantis today (July 1, 2025).

The facility’s location was chosen, in part, to scare undocumented migrants to self-deport rather than ending up here, prior to their eventual forced deportation. During their visit, Trump joked that “we’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison." (1) The message is clear: you don’t want to end up in the center, and if you do escape, there’s no place to hide.

On to the Morlocks

Herein lies the problem. No one I know thinks it’s OK for violent criminals to enter the United States. And even if you think all undocumented migrants should be forced to leave, despite the quiet and productive lives most of these individuals live, this isn’t the way to do it. And it particularly ain’t the way to do it by selling Alligator Alcatraz clothes and related products in Florida’s GOP store.

Screen grab from the Florida GOP store; https://secure.winred.com/republican-party-of-florida/storefront/

But the Republican Party evidently thinks this is all a joke. We’ll hold undocumented migrants in this facility, and if they’re stupid enough to escape, either the land or the hostile wildlife will literally swallow them up.

But it’s not funny. It’s degrading, especially in light of the Administration’s other policies where human life has little value. (2) And, more pointedly, there are other ways to handle this situation.

But maybe not. Maybe this is the only way to proceed.

If you’re one of the Morlocks.

(1) Trump tours "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in Florida,” by Kathryn Watson, CBS News. Jul 1, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-alligator-alcatraz-detention-center-florida/

(2) For example, the Administration’s budget bill has just been passed in the Senate, and it will now be sent back to the House. Medicaid will face cuts, as will the SNAP program, which supports hunger relief.

If you’re interested in reading about the decision, you can download the full text at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a884_new_5426.pdf

And/Or

You could read a summary via Justia Daily Opinion Summaries. Justia is an established and comprehensive service that provides readers with daily summaries of cases from different courts, including the Supreme Court. There are different levels of membership, including a free service, where you can gain access to a range of cases and their decisions. One option is to have summaries emailed to you, which can serve as a launching pad for further investigation. It’s an excellent tool given the number of cases the Trump Administration generates.

Justia also uses AI for creating daily opinion summaries. As stated on their site:

Please note that Justia Daily Opinion Summaries are created with the help of AI software, which may produce inaccuracies. Subscribers should read the full case and should not rely on any summary for legal research purposes.

Some Links:

https://www.justia.com/ Site location

https://supreme.justia.com/ The Supreme Court Center where you can locate case information and summaries by different means—e.g., by Topic and Justices.

And for a summary of the recent Supreme Court case, please see:

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/606/24a884/

You may be thinking what does a classic spaghetti western have to do with Senator Ernst and the Republicans? It’s all in the title and how it reflects Republican sensibilities.

Senator Ernst

In the beginning, Senator Ernst held a town hall meeting with her constituents. And as of late, for many Republican politicians, these meetings have been volatile thanks to the Triumvirate of Trump, Musk and DOGE. And when you throw the latest proposed Republican spending bill with its projected cuts and costs in the pot, such as the impact on Medicaid, people became/are becoming upset.

So, we come to Senator Ernst’s meeting. She also faced an unfriendly crowd of her own constituents, but the Senator didn’t exactly take it graciously, as you’ll see in the video clips. They capture a callous answer to one question, and what was tagged as a subsequent apology, turned out to be another callous and juvenile response.

Thanks to MSNBC & YouTube

I can imagine a Republican apologist might say Ernst was just making a joke. We all have a sense of humor, right?

But if you’re on Medicaid, can’t work and are deathly ill, it’s not exactly funny, particularly given the tenor of recent Republican actions. And this sensibility was exacerbated by the image of a chainsaw wielding Elon Musk whose DOGE agency sliced widely and deeply, with very little discrimination.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This brings us to the movie’s title. It seems to define the Republican trinity.

The Good—not a hell of a lot here. And to be honest, the same can be said for the Democratic Party. While the Democrats haven’t followed the Republicans down the Bizarro universe road, they haven’t pushed back as they should and could have.

The Bad—There’s an abundance of it, even at this early stage of the Trump Administration. They range from the Republican budget’s supported mandates to the takeaways of services for veterans and other domestic groups. And as we’ll cover in later posts, the international implications are horrific, given the assault on USAID and related programs. Potentially, thousands could die.

The Ugly—Unbridled arrogance and callousness. In the five months of the Trump Administration, its arrogance has been pretty remarkable. For example, President Trump declared that Gaza should become the Riviera of the Middle East. But what of the Palestinians who call this home? It seems that’s the answer: what of them? The Trump Administration wants a new beautiful site for hotels.

In another instance, the Trump Organization and family have made millions of dollars in cryptocurrency through the $Trump memecoin and other ventures. If he had launched this money making scheme as a private citizen and it was legal, it would have been his own business. But the office of the presidency is tied to one of these ventures. If you could physically touch an idea, this is a slap in the face to our Constitution and the emolument mandates. But who cares? He’s President Trump.

As for callousness, we don’t have to go further than Joni Ernst, this post’s star. The way she treated her own constituents—more—their concerns, underlies what appears to be the Republican Party’s mantra of not giving a damn about anyone unless you’re one of the chosen few. It’s a sad state of affairs for her people and, unfortunately, for the rest of us.

And so, the story rolls on….

Thanks for reading.

P.S. We all need a good laugh, particularly now. So, thanks to YouTube, here’s the closing from Get Smart.

If you’re familiar with the Twilight Zone, I don’t have to say anything beyond what I’ve written. If you’re new to it, The Twilight Zone, created by Rod Serling, is an iconic American television program. At times, the show may resemble a morality play, as an episode may explore ethical issues, ranging from unbridled inhumane acts and racism to the concept of mercy and its implications, this episode’s central theme.

Humanism

I think the word “brilliant” may be somewhat overused. Everything from a pizza to a haircut to any random idea have been called brilliant. But in Rod Serling’s case, it’s true. His work is amazing and humanistic to the core. And as we face a little over 3.5 more years of Trump Administration policies, some of which are pretty damn egregious, Serling helps remind us we can’t let apathy take root—and so we do nothing.

The link to the show is from: DAILYMOTION at:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x80eim0

Thanks for keeping the show alive and well!

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Trump administration, for now, to revoke a Biden-era humanitarian program intended to give temporary residency to more than 500,000 immigrants from countries facing war and political turmoil.

The court’s order was unsigned and provided no reasoning, which is typical when the justices rule on emergency applications….

Between the two rulings, the justices have agreed that, for now, the Trump administration can proceed with plans to deport hundreds of thousands of people who had fled war-torn and instable homelands and legally taken refuge in the United States.

The use of humanitarian parole has a decades-long history. It was used to admit nearly 200,000 Cubans during the 1960s and more than 350,000 Southeast Asians after the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Most recently (2022), these protections were extended to citizens of Ukraine and other countries.

So, these are children, women and men who are legally in the U.S. because of potentially life threatening home country situations. It’s a little thing called a humanitarian cause, two words without any linkage to Trump policies. This is not who we are…or maybe who we say or think we are…as a nation. But it’s what the Trump policy is—and the Court follows in lockstep. .

I understand the reasoning behind an unsigned order. But in cases like this, where the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals will be upended, to potentially be thrown in harm’s way, an unsigned order smacks of being cowardly. Gutless may be the more appropriate word.

President Trump’s policy and the Court’s order are also especially galling in light of the individuals who have either made or who are supporting Trump’s ending of the program. They’re not exactly Gandhi-like men and women who are bathed in a higher moral authority.

These are individuals who have allegedly fractured the Constitution’s emolument clause mandates to amass a fortune. These are individuals who have taken lavish vacations, paid by others, by allegedly overlooking what have been tagged as conflict of interest situations

And yet, it appears to be OK to take such a vacation; it’s OK to tie your office to the sale of a memecoin. But it’s not OK to provide a safe harbor to thousands of people who may otherwise suffer, or in more dire straits, perish.

All I can say is, I’m deeply ashamed.

Inside Higher Ed- “ Fulbright applicants rejected over “DEI "Research Proposals”.05/29/2025

I wasn’t going to write anything today given the holiday and its intent. But then I read what President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

During his Memorial Day greeting, a time when Presidents traditionally honor those who served/serve in the Armed Forces and those who have fallen, Trump took a different route. He used it as the time to attack those he perceives as enemies. These include the “SCUM” Democrats and the “USA HATING” federal judges, you know, the “MONSTERS” who blocked his most egregious anti-democracy actions and, in some cases, have tried to preserve some humanity in a sea of hate, racism and pure vitriol. In covering Trump’s message, a reporter for The Hindustan Times recognized that Memorial Day is as a “solemn event” and a day of remembrance. (1) It’s pretty sad when the President of the United Stated evidently does not.

I think what also bothers me, especially today, is Trump’s disdain for those in the Armed Forces, despite his loud proclamations to the contrary. Some examples include

-not going to the to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Europe as part of the 100 year Commemoration of the end of World War I. According to CNN, this is the same visit where he called the fallen “losers,” which was subsequently denied by the White House. (2) Fortunately, President Biden did visit during one of his European trips.

-denigrating Senator John McCain for his service record and, in particular, that he was captured during the Vietnam War. (3)

-treating General Milley, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with contempt despite his service.

-selecting a Secretary of Defense with little or no experience. This is the same Secretary who revealed secret mission details to unauthorized individuals, including his wife, potentially putting the lives of pilots in danger.

-while attending a photo-op at Arlington Cemetery, Trump gave the thumbs-up at a gravesite. He was also smiling, pretty broadly, at the time.

-demanding that a military parade be held in Washington, DC. It’s claimed the parade is in honor of the 250th Anniversary of the Army, which is also Trump’s birthday. Besides costing millions of dollars, at time when thousands have been fired and health aid has been teminated, it smacks of parades you would see in North Korea, Russia, China and pre-and post-World War II fascist states.

Not exactly a record to be proud of.

Notes:

(1) ‘Monsters, scums, incompetent’: Trump lashes out at political opponents in ‘Happy Memorial Day 2025’ message,” by Shweta Kukreti. The Hindustan Times. May 26, 2025. https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/trump-lashes-out-at-political-opponents-in-happy-memorial-day-2025-message-monsters-scums-incompetent-101748272105600.html.

(2) “Trump referred to Marines buried at cemetery in France in crude and derogatory terms, a former senior official says,” by Jim Acosta. CNNPolitics. September 6, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/05/politics/trump-marines-cemetery-france.

(3) “Donald Trump's comments on McCain,” July 18, 2015. C-Span. https://www.c-span.org/clip/campaign-2016/donald-trumps-comments-on-mccain/4545307.

For now, at least, the Supreme Court has paved the way for the Trump Administration to remove Venezuelan immigrants from the United States. They had protection under the Temporary Protected Status program prior to Trump’s return to office.

This is only one one of the actions, supported by the Trump Administration and Congressional MAGA politicians, with apparent racial overtones. It follows the philosophy that guided the defunct America First Caucus, and it’s one of the keystones of Project 2025, the political roadmap that President Trump denied any knowledge of prior to the election. Both topics will be covered in a later post.

Please see The New York Times Article and the Supreme Court Order:

(1) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/us/politics/supreme-court-protected-status-venezuelans.html?campaign_id=190&emc=edit_ufn_20250519&instance_id=154846&nl=from-the-times&regi_id=57657450&segment_id=198255&user_id=423e5e0514430d734c860e2b14f2b4d

(2) https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/051925zr1_5h26.pdf