CLOSING IN ON THE END OF K-K-KRAYZEE WEEK TWO
Everything is going to be about this.
This is short this morning because I have another medical appointment to go to. More later, there’s going to be a lot of news today.
The Day of Reckoning Now Cometh for Donald John Trump. All his head fakes, his screams and yells, his attempts to distract with this and that outrage, have been for nought. There are now 218 signatures on the House petition to release all of the Epstein Files. There is nothing Trump or his patsies can do now to prevent the world knowing what he did during his “several visits” with Virginia Giuffre at his good buddy Jeffrey Epstein’s house.
After a 50-day delay while Squeaker MAGA Mike tried to put the events of today off as long as possible, he was finally forced when the House came back into session to swear in Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who immediately provided the final signature on the discharge petition to force a vote in the House to release the files. This means there will be a full vote held in the House by early December. Multiple Republicans have already indicated they would vote to release the files even if they didn’t sign the petition to force that vote. Retiring Rep. Don Bacon, along with Reps. Warren Davidson and Eli Crane are among those who have hinted they will buck party leadership and vote to release the files. Speaking to reporters, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna predicted “40 to 50″ House Republicans could vote with Democrats despite pushback from the White House. Every single House Democrat along with four House Republicans, including Massie, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Lauren Boebert all signed on back in September. Ahead of Grijalva’s swearing in, Trump attempted to put the screws on Republicans who signed the discharge petition as the administration has pushed back on the full files being released. The New York Times reported Trump personally called Boebert on Tuesday and attempted to reach Mace by phone in an attempt to get them to remove their names from the petition. Boebert even attended a meeting at the White House about the Epstein files on Wednesday. However, neither had removed their names from the petition by the time Grijalva signed; once the petition signing reaches 218, members cannot remove their names. Reaching the necessary signatures will trigger a countdown of seven legislative days before the bill can hit the House floor. After that, Johnson will have two days to schedule the vote, putting the likely timeline for the vote after the Thanksgiving recess in early December.
Trump slammed the Epstein developments on Wednesday afternoon as a “Democrat hoax” in a post on Lies Anti-Social: “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!” As was said of Nixon 50+ years ago, “Whether he’s guilty or not is unknown, but if he is guilty, this is how he would act.” Once again, the question is: “What did the president know, and when did he know it?”
Trump has given many disastrous interviews to many media outlets. But to date, he has always been able to later deflect any terrible answers by blaming the questioners. After all, they are the “fake news media” that he so often decries. But he didn’t have that option with Laura Ingraham of Fox, who interviewed the 47th president yesterday. Ith Ingraham, the expectations was complimentary and softball moments with no real substance or fireworks. Instead, the interview quickly became a train wreck; MAGA has gone ballistic. Across several subjects—the state of the economy, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students, the question of H1-B visas and even the gold decor in the Oval Office—a skeptical Ingraham gave voice to what many in MAGA have been feeling. On the economy, Trump insisted that the “economy is the strongest it’s ever been,” despite interest rates being up. He claimed, falsely, that prices are down and that the overall outlook is great. Ingraham gave him a chance to explain the contrary vibe. “Then why are people saying they are anxious about the economy?” She asked. “Why are they saying that?”
Trump answered, “I don’t know that they are saying that. I think polls are fake.” He went on to wildly claim “We will have over $20 trillion come into our economy,” largely due to “tariffs.” At one point, Trump even said that “costs are way down” but that voter perception was the result of a “con job” by the Democrats, who are feeding the media narrative that costs are actually up. rump told Ingraham that he is allowing 600,000 students from China into the U.S. (or otherwise permitting those already here to stay). Some view this as a positive development because it will strengthen ties between the two superpowers while providing the U.S. with some of the best and brightest China has to offer—many of whom will be key economic drivers after they graduate.
MAGA doesn’t see it that way. Right-wing influencer Steven Crowder tweeted in response that allowing the Chinese students means “600K potential spies, inflated tuition, decreased opportunities for American students, training our primary geopolitical threat in fields most crucial to our national security.” He added sarcastically, “Brilliant.” The biggest blowback, however, wasn’t over the economy or Chinese students. It came when Trump blessed the use of H1-B visas because we “have to bring in talent.” “We have plenty of talented people here,” Ingraham countered. “No, you don’t,” Trump replied. Summing up the interview, right-wing influencer Andrew Torba declared that Trump told Americans they are too dumb, too poor and not struggling financially—all while showing off his new gold-plated office.
Speaking of the gold plated whorehouse waiting room, Trump brought Ingraham into the Oval Office, now festooned with gold bric-à-brac. Trump was insisting that it was all pure gold, and not painted on. “You can’t imitate gold. There’s no paint that imitates gold.” “So these aren’t like from Home Depot?” she asked. Trump denied they were from Home Depot, but the internet has questions. Per BuzzFeed’s reporting: “BuzzFeed actually reached out to Ekena Millwork, the company that makes the appliques sold to Home Depot (and other retailers) back in August. In response, they replied, “We work with several design firms in DC that have worked on the White House and believe these could be our onlays.” As BuzzFeed noted, “The motifs bear an uncanny resemblance to a polyurethane appliqué made by Ekena Millwork that retails for $58.07 at Home Depot.” Not only does he have no taste at all, he’s a cheap bastard.
GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks held a town hall this week - her first one this year - and it did not go well. It took place in Keosauqua, Iowa, where attendees were fired up about a litany of issues. Loud boos from the crowd explain why Miller-Meeks had been refusing to hold town halls, saying she’d do one “when hell freezes over.” Many folks left early or were escorted away by police for speaking out. Luckily, Miller-Meeks is in one of the most competitive districts in the country, and is likely to lose her seat next November.
A judge in Utah delivered a huge blow to Trump’s efforts to steal the 2026 election. Saying a Republican-gerrymandered Congressional map does “not comply with Utah law,” the judge ruled in favor of a map that will create a heavily Democratic district in Salt Lake City, after the Republicans attempted to parcel out parts of the city into each heavily-R district on their maps. It’s a huge pickup for Democrats and shows that Trump’s arttempt to gerrymander a permanent Republican House majority is more likely to result in more Democratic seats, since the MAGAts based their new maps on 2024 election results, which are unlikely to be the same in 2026.
This is a big deal. It directly challenges the “trad Catholics” like Vance, Thiel, and the rest of the scumbags: Yesterday, America’s Roman Catholic bishops rebuked Maladministration II’s aggressive deportation campaign in a rare and near-unanimous statement that framed the immigration crisis in starkly moral terms. The statement, passed at the bishops’ annual conference in Baltimore, did not call out Trump by name, but the context was clear. The bishops said they “oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and “pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.” They went on to say: “We as Catholic bishops love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity. For this very reason, we feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.” This comes after Pope leo XVI has spoken out against Maladministration II for their hardline deportation policy and against the MAGA worldview of what is “pro-life.” There is a good possibility Pope Leo XVI will do to American authoritarianism what John Paul II did to the Soviet version.
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I am quite amazed at how he lies. Blatant lies such as the Democrats caused the shutdown. Ugh, I'm too involved.
Please stay well. We need you out here.
Boy, I really want to get excited, but I got burned with Mueller and the 34 convictions. I'm very hopeful that this is FINALLY going to have justice for the Epstein victims, and relief for the 99% of us that aren't the uber-rich.
I have wondered what the heck is in those files! Heather Cox Richardson suggested whatever is in them in is nuclear, and that is why the former Prince Andrew was stripped of his title, and Charles was trying to get ahead of the news. It does seem that there is international implications all over the place. I cannot fathom the depths of depravity would be this bad and this big.
And I am concerned that Preznit "War-Ender" is going to get us into a war. Maybe this time when he does, people will remember the middle-east 20 year fiasco and say NO.
I keep telling my adult kids, THIS IS NOT NORMAL. But then, for many young adults, they don't remember "normal" which to me is the new meaning of "B.C." which is "before Covid" and certainly before Trump.
I recall how my coworkers all high-fived each other after Obama was elected. I remember how I felt that we finally might see a golden age of equality. Wow. I sure called that one wrong!
I'm one of those people who when asked the question are "most people good or most people bad" I always say good. Perhaps it is my mental makeup to be optimistic. These times have been so disheartening to me. Every injustice was appalling or disgusting, but the intentional starving of the less fortunate disheartened me to depths I didn't know I could feel and yet still function. Maybe the tides are finally turning. Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.