the Rose Garden You can tell everything about a dictator by his décor. Mussolini had his balcony. Hitler had his eagles. And trump? trump has gold-plated toilet, and including, presumably, his soul—if he hadn't already pawned it to Putin for a hotel deal. The man'
and what it costs Jul 01, 2025 No one’s talking about the real issue behind U.S. military spending. People rage about wasted trillions, endless wars, and defense contractors stuffing their pockets. Or they howl for bigger budgets, more ships, more missiles, more toughness. And in the middle of
The Party of Lincoln Is Now the Party of PrumpTutin We’ve passed the “just a phase” phase and the monster is among us. There was a time—not ancient history, just a few cracked headlines back—when Republicans wore Lincoln’s legacy like a badge. Abolisher of slavery. Defender
Jul 07, 2025 We have met the enemy, and it is us. Pogo said that in 1970. A cartoon possum nailed the dark heart of American life better than most politicians ever manage. But the idea wasn’t new. In 1838, Abraham Lincoln stood up in Springfield, Illinois, and tried
The Membership Card The signs are subtle at first. They're discovering what the rest of us knew ten years ago: they backed a con man. The small tells are everywhere now—not exhaustion, but a shift in the story. The awkward pauses at the bar, the way they
Trump’s return to office isn’t politics as usual—it’s something colder, faster, and far more dangerous. What we’re watching isn’t just policy change. It’s a controlled demolition of the American state, carried out with a grin and a bulldozer. The civil service is the
Note from Joe: I wrote this. I didn't enjoy it. It's certainly a love/hate endeavor. Writing about trump, PrumpTutin, and Epstein gives me a gut ache. It took me a long time to write this, and it made me sad. I'm 80 years
Tesla's Death Spiral The empire is crumbling, and those who refuse to see it will pay the price. Tesla's financial outlook isn't just poor—it's catastrophic. The company that once defined electric vehicles is now being systematically dismantled by its own incompetence,
Wars Are What We Do They always say the next war is unthinkable. But they prepare for it anyway, as if their amnesia were strategic. War is what we do. History is carved by its timelines. Dates, generals, treaties, invasions. A century without one is an outlier. A decade without
The move to Ghost from substack is progressing as substack has not deactivated my account in some days. My plan is to move one essay a day over from substack and to publish a new essay. I appreciate your comments and pay attention to them. If there is a problem,
Fear! It’s the Core of the Republican Party Fear isn’t just lurking around the Republican Party like background static—it’s the beating heart that keeps the whole machine humming. It pulses through speeches, fuels slogans, and vibrates across talk radio at 3 a.m. Scratch the surface
Money From Nothing Listen0:00/249.8931521× The government creates money by typing numbers into computers. This isn't complicated. The Federal Reserve adds zeros, so money exists. No gold. No vault. Just keystrokes and the full faith of people who pay their taxes in dollars. This drives fiscal