- Author and educator Amanda Nelson reviews Trump’s great successes and painful failures for the week and, sure enough, there turn out to be a whole lot of one and zero of the other.
Any guesses which is which?
Come on, let’s not always see the same hands…As a demonstration that age does not always carry maturity, I confess to finding her gloat especially entertaining this week.
- In Canadian satire, The Beaverton reports Trump insistence that falling asleep onstage at the 9/11 ceremony technically counts as a moment of silence.
- Trump threatens the Fed. If they don’t let him control interest rates, he will start closing down trade, country by country, until they do.
The respective roles of the supposedly independent Federal Reserve and the President may seem obscure to many of us:
Julian Sanchez thoughtfully reposts an accurate translation:
Very much like his approach to the Kennedy Center. Trump is incapable of fixing anything, so is resorting to threats to break things unless he gets his way. It’s a minor miracle he hasn’t nuked California yet.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Speaking of which:
“Let us break the law or we’ll shoot this dog” essentially
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 6:07 PM
- Juliet Jeske at Decoding Fox News devoted 37 hours to what was largely non‑coverage of the Republican midterm convention that became an almost unwatchable Trump-fest.
What Fox did cover included at least a few comments on the awfulness of the event. They frequently reverted to their own warnings of how Democrats, should they win, would almost certainly go after Trump.
The convention itself was not so much a campaign for Republicans as a long, long testimonial to the awesomeness of Trump.
Fox wisely chose not to cover a commercial Republicans displayed on the huge convention screens. It was about how God had created Trump to lead mankind to a version of salvation. It included this:
God said, I need somebody who will be strong and courageous, who will not be afraid or terrified of the wolves when they attack a man who cares for the flock.
A shepherd to mankind who won’t ever leave nor forsake them.OH! MY! Lanta!!!
It is good to have definitive proof that those in Republican leadership have a sense of humor. I do suspect the hilarity may be accidental.
It is remarkably entertaining, if only for the unintended satire.
Juliet helpfully includes it.I also found it online and am inspired to follow her good example:
A shame Fox turned it down.
More detailed information on the 37‑hour labor of love is presented by Juliet in a 53‑minute entertaining podcast.
- News Corpse looks to the November election with a dire warning from Ted Cruz:
OH NOES! Ted Cruz Warns If Democrats Control Congress They Will Use it to Stop Trump’s Agenda - SilverAppleQueen watches the campaign of Republican Bruce Blakeman, who very much wants to become Governor of New York.
Blakeman uses AI to post lies about current Governor Kathy Hochul. When the lies are exposed, Blakeman giggles that the lies were just satire.
Critics just have no sense of humor.
…Blakeman said “they should get a life”.SilverAppleQueen has a suggestion for Blakeman involving an anatomical improbability.
- Here in Missouri, Jess Piper has spent decades traveling through rural areas meeting with voters.
Now she’s finding signs of hope.
Not so well-informed, but well-intended, advice shows something deeper:
…a man told me that I should try to be “the change I want to see.”
He then pointed me toward a social media influencer, who honestly seems more like a grifter, and suggested that I reach out to her and try to do better for my own rural community. He suggested I run for office, or try to help others running for office…maybe I could even help them raise money or awareness?Urging an activist to become an activist still carries a rare and encouraging sense of urgency.
A national trend becomes more obvious in rural Missouri:
Trump is underwater in Missouri. It is the first negative approval rating in the six-year history of the St. Louis University/YouGov poll. According to the poll, Trump has lost 19 percentage points in net approval since he took office at the start of 2025 — including 14 points since February.And, of course, there is more.
In a town of 60 people, 70 showed up. Rural Democrats. Guilford, Missouri:
- Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger gathers polls on the coming election, and it does look as if Republicans are in very real trouble.
Polling is becoming more difficult and less accurate each year.
So how about we get mad, get out, and get voting on election day? - North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz is asked about the coming election, with so much at stake:
At a recent tour stop, a visibly exasperated woman asked me, through a breaking voice, “What if everything goes wrong on Election Day? What do we do then? If we lose, where will the hope be?”
You may be asking yourself that, too.
While stressing the importance of that day, he suggests a deeper source of hope:
Hope will be in the sunrise on Wednesday and how you decide to meet it.
In that way, the day after that Tuesday in November is actually pretty important, too.
On that day, there will still be hungry people needing to be fed, strangers seeking refuge, outsiders needing welcome, hurting people looking for the healers.
No matter what happens, win or lose, you and I will need to place our energies and fix our gaze on the ways that we can choose gentleness, peace, and generosity, far away from the ballot box. - As he joins the rest of us in commemorating the horrible sight 25 years ago as thousands were murdered by bin Laden, driftglass notices what may well be the most tasteless of offensive spectacles:
Courtesy Jackson County Michigan Republicans:
- Max’s Dad goes to theater and reviews a play based on a real set of incidents involving 9/11 and Canadians.
He recommends it:
When asked why they were so accommodating, the Canadians say well you’d have done the same for us, to which many Americans on the stage say, would we? - Jason Linkins doesn’t much care for today’s journalism, reporting that so frequently oscillates between timidity and pure laziness.
The oh so very complicated tumble with Canada:
this is a really weird way to frame this
— Jason Linkins (@dceiver.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 5:11 PM
I just don't think the analysis is that complicated
— Jason Linkins (@dceiver.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reminds me of “in Iraqi culture, foreign troops entering their homes is seen as disrespectful.”
— Mike Innocenzi (@pantagrapher.bsky.social) September 17, 2026 at 5:16 PM
- Wife Laura High seems skeptical, but Dave Columbo is inspired by Trump when it comes to home appliances:
- From The Borowitz Report, Trump is furious after learning Iran has renamed the Strait of Hormuz after John F. Kennedy.
Planet Volumes on Unsplash
- In Hackwhackers, servicemembers in the Middle East smuggle out photos of the destruction Iran has inflicted on US military bases, destruction Hegseth has been trying to hide from the American public.
- Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit links to Jared Kushner’s negotiations, and his fervent hope that, with some hard work and sensitivity to both Ukraine and Russia, we’ll answer the real question:
…how can we come up with a creative solution that doesn’t violate their desires and that helps them achieve their objective…
Comrade Misfit suggests an alternate path.
- Oh my.
tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors has the announcement as Trump boasts about a diplomatic breakthrough with Denmark and Greenland.
It seems that, due to our leader’s intense deal making skills, the US now has security rights within US military facilities located in Greenland.
Wow!
tengrain notes that we already have those rights, and have had them for around 70 years.
Presumably, those around Trump will wisely refrain from ever speaking of that.
He must never know. - This new information is gaining mainstream traction.
The Moderate Voice has details. Earlier this year, an AI generated report very nearly started a war between the US and China.
At the very last moment, somebody thought to check the accuracy of information, just as US forces were about to attack and board a Chinese ship.
- Brian Beutler looks to recent incidents, with actual accounts by actual developers on the inside, suggesting that dangers posed by Artificial Intelligence are greater and more immediate than is generally recognized/.
(Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Brian goes to analogous crises through modern history, looks at their solutions, and points to one big current obstacle.
- Nan’s Notebook considers Trump’s approval of AI and notes he has found an even more effective means of human destruction.
- Dave Dubya reflects widespread reaction to the expulsion of rapper Macklemore from the Ed Sheeran tour.
Quoting Macklemore during the concert:
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to say this all day. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine.
I said, Free Palestine.Dave begins with his take:
Ed Sheeran’s American tour has run into MAGA/Zionist censorship.
Dave emphasizes the part of the Macklemore rant neglected by much of mainstream coverage:
To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.
So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”Although I haven’t followed the controversy closely enough to pretend a truly informed opinion. I do have problems with what I have seen thus far.
While the Macklemore’s careful clarification is useful, the phrase Free Palestine remains careless on two counts.
It has largely been expropriated by those who are not as careful as is Macklemore or our friend Dave. It is often used in advocacy of a Palestine (and occasionally an Israel) free from any and all Jews.
And it involves some practical difficulties (phrasing delicately). If applied with immediacy, it would almost certainly ensure more October 7 replica attacks. Free Palestine from Hamas pretty much has to be a prerequisite, except to those sloganeers who genuinely want such violence against Jews – and such folks do exist.
My understanding of the sequence of events surrounding the outburst presents an issue of fair play. Macklemore implies, and some accounts report, that Ed Sheeran did not ask him to participate. Macklemore pursued Ed Sheeran. And he did so with a hidden agenda.
A dirty trick to advance a good cause is still a dirty trick. I doubt that his outburst appealed to anyone not already committed to the cause.
Dave states his conclusion:
The MAGA Mafia and American Zionist elites will shut down free speech at a concert, on late night television, in newspapers and newsrooms, or anywhere else they can, if they don’t like what is being said.The reaction of organizers is understandable. Censorship is usually made of sterner stuff.
- Journalist Marcy Wheeler at EmptyWheel looks into reports on the administration’s aggressive search for charges to make against Trump enemies, and Joe diGenova’s resignation, reportedly at demands for prosecutions without evidence.
diGenova himself says comments about lack of evidence are taken out of context:
Joe diGenova interviewed on Fox
But it’s hard to find an alternate context for this, quoting the NY Post quoting diGenova:
Asked whether he had lost focus, diGenova dismissed the accusation and shot back: “If you want indictments where there’s no evidence, you have an ethical problem.”Add this about the new guy supposedly promoted to head up the prosecute-for-something-anything operation:
Singh, in his prior role as associate DAG, became known for a brash style during signature weekly meetings in which he once directed leaders of all 93 US attorneys offices that President Donald Trump is their “chief client.” - M. Bouffant at Web of Evil has a few links and a song that fits, as an overwhelming majority of Americans are overwhelmingly overwhelmed by exhaustion.
As in 71%!! - A movement has grown to throw trans women out of the WNBA and to protect women’s basketball from attempts for them to come back.
Legal expert Imani Gandy does a bit of homework into the league and the protective movement.
There are no trans women in the WNBA, and no known history of them ever having played in the league.Huh?
She helpfully provides an easy-to-read transcript (PDF).
- The Onion brings good news
- CalicoJack in The Psy of Life carefully considers the strange case of John Fetterman, the nuanced judgement that seems required concerning the man, and what, if any, new rules should apply in cases of disability while in elected office.
It has been easy for Democrats and progressives to criticize Fetterman for changing his policy positions and wanting to work across the aisle with the anti-democratic forces of Trump and the party of oligarchy, but I don’t know if it is fair or even right in this case.He argues that critics should take into account the horrific experience of recovery from brain damage caused by stroke.
Jack raises a more global issue that goes beyond Senator Fetterman’s seeming change of personality.
What do we do when we have an elected official who is no longer able to fulfill the duties of their office.While not claiming definitive answers, Jack does have suggestions.
- In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson remembers the role of Benjamin Franklin in forming a new kind of government in what had been the colonies.
The colonies became states and the states formed a new and hopeful alliance that became the United States.
And soon there were problems.
The new pact gave the federal government few duties and even fewer ways to meet them. Indicating their inclinations, in the first substantive paragraph the authors of the agreement said: “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, and every Power, Jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.”The Articles of Confederation lasted a few years, then fell apart.
This week marks the 239th anniversary of the replacement, the US Constitution.
Her historical account is now also available in audio format, as Richardson narrates in podcast.
- I knew that the on and off hostility between Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims go back centuries. I still get vague in the specifics. Has something to do with who inherited legitimate leadership a long, long time ago.
There were long periods of peace and cooperation. But at times, hostility got more dangerous than The Troubles between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Sometimes Shiites faced dangers from Sunni extremists that came closer to that of Christian martyrs in ancient Rome.
Within Shia, congregants were often encouraged to survive, even if they had to worship in secret. Martyrdom was not a religious goal. A name was applied to the common practice of disguising one’s Shia identity when confronted by Sunni extremists: Taqiyya.
Which brings us to Right Wing Watch and pastor Keith Self.
Pastor Self instructs us that we must never trust Muslim office holders. Not any of them. Wanna know why? Self knows the secret:
All Muslims, all of them, are taught that they should lie about their intentions of overthrowing the US Constitution.
It is simple lying under the concept of TaqiyyaAll Muslim elected officials. All. That’s what he says.
Taqiyya
- Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson notes the amazing survival of Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor Tom Tiffany after the terrible crash of a plane piloted by political schemer Leonard Boltz.
Did God intervene to save Tiffany?
James joins in the speculation.Tom Tiffany is grateful:
Tiffany thanked God for sparing them, which is probably appropriate given the harrowing nature of a small plane crash on a lake in northern Wisconsin in the dark and then swimming fully clothed, again in the dark, to safety.From Tiffany’s campaign Facebook page
Former Governor Scott Walker:
“Like President Donald Trump in Butler, PA two years ago, God spared Tom Tiffany’s life in Wausau, WI last night,” Walker posted on social media. “Praise be to God!”James joins in:
Perhaps God spared Tom Tiffany and Leonard Boltz from more dire consequences in the crash of the airplane because Wisconsin needed a reminder of the congressman’s connection to unscrupulous election conspiracy theorists.And, no, the pilot is not spared from Wigderson’s gaze:
In addition to being a pilot, Boltz was part of alleged scheme to funnel possibly illegal campaign contributions to Adam Steen, a Republican candidate for Assembly who challenged Speaker Robin Vos in a primary. Steen was backed by former state Rep. Janel Brandtjen and others who felt Vos was not sufficiently supportive of Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.Of course, James is armed with more.
- Every once in a while, Infidel753 does this, and always well. Rather than a single post on each of several topics, he offers a single post on all of them:
Pithy observations, most entertaining, some profound, a few provoking thoughtful disagreement – on the nature of humanity, ideology, politics, grammar, cynicism, Mitch McConnell, and more.
- Marc Abrahams at The Journal of Improbable Research finds a Cornell University study on why some novels include maps and some don’t.
If your evenings have been haunted by this question, you can now sleep at night.
Quoting the study authors:
Maps are not common in novels. It is not obvious that they are necessary at all. Yet maps do appear in some novels. Why and to what ends? To answer these questions…To answer these questions is pretty much where they lose me.
- Hollywood producer Jonathon Walton becomes the victim of a scam costing him almost $100,000. He gets to work on the case and gets the career scammer convicted and sent to prison.
Then he writes a book about the whole adventure, what he learned about scams, and specific red flags each of us can detect.
The Propaganda Professor reviews some of those flags and how to avoid losing to similar thieves
- In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, Bruce uses his current ongoing experience to teach us a little about pain, including, at times, how little medical people are able to help.
We can only hope this horrible experience is alleviated soon for our friend.
- Vincent at A Wayfarer’s Notes remembers the often forgotten, should always be remembered, beat poet of my own long forgotten youth: Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
Vincent posts one wonderful piece, and discovers a photo that fits.
- Those of my years will remember the professional psychedelic artistry that we used to decorate all sorts of items at school, home, and anywhere else we could paste it.
PZ Myers notes the passing of iconic artist Peter Max.
I think this means the Sixties are finally over. - Josh Johnson knows his internet history, and explains MapQuest to younger folks:
- In Georgia baseball, The Savanna Bananas start with the well known sound of a computer crash to distract into the strike zone. (Maybe)
- Dave Barry finds a headline:
And seems disappointed that the worst fears don’t include something more adventurous:
I was expecting something more dramatic, like maybe that Global Climate Change has caused the soil microörganisms to mutate, so that instead of causing the underpants to decompose, they turn them into an army of hostile carnivorous unlaundered zombie briefs that rise up out of the soil and attack humanity, forcing us to battle desperately for our survival armed only with a dwindling supply of detergent.
And that’s just the beginning of what Dave’s imagination has contrived.
And, of course, the Kennedy Center:
my expectation is that it will be torn down and the media will treat it as a two-sided debate instead of our diaper dullard crook president cosplaying as Anthony Fremont
— Jason Linkins (@dceiver.bsky.social) September 13, 2026 at 6:04 PM
3 responses to “Week of Trump Fumbles
More Trump Woes, Trump Bumped in Polls, Canada, JFK Memorial, Iran, Ukraine, Greenland, AI Almost War, Gaahhh”
Burr,
Thank you for your thoughts on my recent post on the new concert cancel culture.
Yes, “Free Palestine” has been uttered by those who want to kill Jews, but they don’t own the phrase.
“Black Lives Matter” was probably said by someone who wants to kill racist white cops. Others declare the phrase means “White lives don’t matter”.
Would saying “Black Lives Matter” justify cancelling musical performances? In many MAGA minds, yes.
If Kraft’s standards apply, then to avoid being cancelled, one must say, “Black Lives Matter, but so do white lives”.
I’m pretty sure anyone on stage who said, “Trump is a criminal and sex offender”, would have been cancelled as well. Facts are politically incorrect these days.
This is the problem with slogans, and why context matters.
“Free Palestine” does not inherently mean “kill Jews.” For many people, it means Palestinian freedom, equal rights, an end to occupation or blockade, self-determination, or a ceasefire. The phrase is broad and can be used by people who support either a two-state solution or a single state with equal rights.
mideastjournal.org
Macklemore’s use of the phrase was framed by the context of tens of thousands of slaughtered innocent human beings including 64 thousand children at the hands of the IDF according to UNICEF.
Some of those children were specifically targeted with head shots.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/gaza/shooting-gaza-un-report-israel-targeting-children-rcna351890
3-year-old shot dead in Gaza as U.N. report accuses Israel of targeting children
It’s not surprising this isn’t a big story in the US. If anything, it would be called antisemitic to report these atrocities.
Macklemore framed his context with, “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you”.
Unacceptable!
He was politically incorrect at worst, but he was treated as if he said, “Kill the Jews”. Silencing anyone who doesn’t agree with, “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide is antisemitism” is censorship, whether by government or corporate elites.
Zionist extremist and true MAGA authoritarian Robert Kraft didn’t care. He’s insulated from any criticism by his wealth and power. Nobody can restrict his actions or speech. This is what MAGA is all about.
And thank you for quoting my conclusion. You got to it before I edited it with an important point.
The MAGA Mafia and American Zionist elites will shut down free speech and press freedom at a concert, on late night television, in newspapers and newsrooms, even the highly reputable “60 Minutes”, (Looking at you, Bari Weiss) or anywhere else they can, if they don’t like what is being said.
I’m certain Robert Kraft is totally on board with Trump denying White House access to news organizations he hates for telling the facts he doesn’t like.
Macklemore isn’t what’s wrong with this country. He’s not a terrorist, and is no threat to any person, or to anyone’s First Amendment rights.
That would be MAGA and all its oligarchs, corporate elites, and racist white nationalist supporters.
I have to wonder how many Americans have heard of the “Greater Israel Project” endorsed by Netanyahu and his regime thugs. Trump’s talk of annexing Canada, Greenland, and all of North America is the MAGA version. “Lebensraum” was Germany’s version. (Oops. This is also politically incorrect and “antisemitic” in the MAGA/Zionist/Netanyahu world order.)
Thank you for tolerating my remarks. I understand I’m still a fanatically anti-authoritarian problem child.
Thank you, Dave, for your thoughtful comment.
I wouldn’t grab Black Lives Matters as the best analogy.
Defund the Police more quickly comes to my mind.
A volunteer working on behalf of Cori Bush was unselfish with her time, explaining to me that it didn’t really mean abolish police departments.
She was right, of course. The main problem, the reason so many distance themselves from that slogan, is that it is ambiguous, even though explainable.
My loved one and I voted for Wesley Bell largely because of Cori’s uncritical embrace of the phrase.
A slogan that has to be explained at length is usually a dumb slogan.
As you point out, Macklemore isn’t what’s wrong with this country.
He is only what is wrong with that incident.
I’m glad he didn’t go with From the river to the sea.
That Hamas appropriated slogan, as you may want to point out, does not inherently mean free from Jews.
Pursuing participation in that tour with a hidden agenda was a dirty trick, Dave.
A dirty trick for a worthy cause is still a dirty trick.
That is true even if the slogan can be explained, given enough time.
Burr,
I wish there were easy answers to the wars in the Middle East. Even a complicated answer is better than none, but here we are.
Once ethno-religious nationalism takes hold the madness solidifies. Nobody ever asks WHY this mess is happening.
I risk hellfire for suggesting it is largely the founding of Israel and displacement of Palestinians. But we can’t change, or learn from, the past. We can only be haunted by it and condemned to endlessly repeat it.
It’s too late for my ideal solution, to welcome every displaced or persecuted Jew to America. How’s that for being “antisemitic”?
We have lots of former Native American land to give them. Oops. That’s likely anti-something too. Perhaps we need a new world order or alien power to let them have their native land back. Otherwise, they have their reservations. It’s probably not politically correct to say America committed genocide either. Not in Trumpistan.
I do share your wish that Macklemore made clear his intentions with Sheeran. It would seem Sheeran probably didn’t discourage it after the fact.
I’m old enough to remember the slogan, “Free South Africa”.
Nobody ever thought that meant, “Kill all the white people”.
Now we have Trump parroting the lie about “white genocide” there. This would be politically correct. Only when the mass slaughter, displacement, hunger, and cruelty in Gaza is called genocide would it be politically incorrect.
I maintain that equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism contributes to antisemitism. Forcing Americans to pay for Netanyahu’s war and under-reporting IDF atrocities inflame antisemitism. This is also politically incorrect of me to say of course.
Whitewashing brutality and history is a favorite tool for the Trump and Netanyahu regimes. Just mix in ancient tribal conflict and religions just to assure unending violence and bloodshed.
Nothing makes a better case for atheism. By their fruits, and all.
No wonder so many Americans buy into the “Democrats are communists” hysteria. Extreme nationalism and abuse of power is the root of most political violence.
It happens here and in Israel. Again, Americans generally have no idea of the “Greater Israel” project. I wonder why… More children will inevitably be killed. And Americans will inevitably pay for it.
We should remember Netanyahu condoned Hamas to divide Palestinian self rule, until he didn’t.
Yes, Netanyahu was pro-Hamas. This is also politically incorrect to mention.
The man is a tyrant, like Trump. Neither wants peace. Both are bloodthirsty criminals. But they will be spared from justice while thousands more of their victims are slaughtered.
How about we give the benefit of the doubt to those who say “Free Palestine”, especially when they offer context?
No, conservative Christian Americans and Zionists want to condemn anyone who dares utter the words. It’s a “thoughtcrime” now.
This is the country where those who quoted Charlie Kirk’s own racist words after his death were fired from their jobs.
Perhaps it’s best Americans just shut up about paying for Netanyahu’s war every time we buy food or gas. We just might be accused of treason. 😉
Oh, well. Onward to Armageddon and the self-inflicted extinction of humanity. We will NEVER learn. But I do wish I am wrong.