Truth Details

I have friend whom I've mentioned here, the young woman who was a student of mine and later served as a combat medic in Afghanistan. She lives with the awareness of what humans do to each other, and I try and help. I just sent her this:

"Doc, thinking of you after the Brown U. shootings, the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre, the deaths of our troops in Syria. I suspect, from my own reactions, that you are profoundly disturbed by all this. The madness, the evil, whatever we want to call it.

"All I can do is look for the glimmer of decency, of humanity, of hope out there. In this case, it is Ahmed el Ahmed, the unarmed Australian who attacked and disarmed one of the murderers, getting shot himself in the process. Little or no time to think, just acted, and did the dangerous, righteous thing. There are people like that, focus on them for your own sanity. Thompson, not Calley."

It helps me to think like this, might help all of us. Here in the U.S. these days it seems appropriate to emphasize that Mr. Ahmed is a Syrian immigrant to Australia. One of the murderers was also an immigrant.

12/15/25 03:33 PM

#18719

One of the worst things about Donald Trump is his ability to bring out the worst in others. Usually, almost always, when I think of another human being as a sick fuck I'm ashamed of myself. When Trump says things like this, I lose my sense of shame.

Truth Details

17963 replies

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump

A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!

ReTruths

Likes

Dec 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM

12/15/25 03:46 PM

#18720

Once again, the felon's own words after the horrific family tragedy of the Reiner murders. I'm however, pleased to see at least some Republicans willing to condemn his hateful words which clearly shows a total lack of empathy or even human decency. He claims to report the cause of the murder when no evidence had yet been found.

And no matter what. It's always about HIM, isn't it?

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

"A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!"

12/15/25 10:41 PM

#18721

Everytime I think that there isn't any lower that Trump could go he comes through as he did with the utterly gross cruel rant about Rob Reiner. This is a man who calls Somalies garbage and wants to ban muslims from this country and loves the white folks in Norway, and the White Afrikaners. We are really in trouble with him at the helm but I have hope as more and more people are pushing back...even ICE sometimes is being pushed away from arresting immmigrants...the people are surrounding the immigrants protectively. Love, Joanie

12/16/25 12:04 PM

#18722

Jay Shackford

Going, Going, Gone/The Big Shake Up

We need to scrape off the paint covering the wording (I previously suggested “dusting off” but that’s far too tame for cowardly Republicans) of the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in the aftermath of the killings this past weekend at Brown University and the President’s narcissistic, cruel and insane reaction to the tragic killings of Rob Reiner and his wife at their home in Los Angeles.

President Trump has created a deeply divided country —with the MAGA crowd (perhaps 20% of the country) cheering on as the President abandons his oath of office and any sense of human decency. Along with his sycophants, Trump is demonstrating signs of a bitter old man suffering from dementia or the “Big A” — character traits that make him totally unfit to hold high office of President of the United States with his hands on the nuclear codes.

The cabinet along with leaders in the House and Senate need to move immediately to invoke the 25th Amendment or the House needs to impeach Trump for a third time and the Senate needs to convict him this time. (If you doubt that, read the Susie Wiles story in Vanity Fair. Just Google it.).

Otherwise, we are looking at more and more chaos going into Trump’s second year — including military efforts to carry out regime change in Venezuela in return for a 25% take on all future oil sales after the U.S. helps rebuild their oil drilling capabilities. Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves. Trump’s demented mind and his fear of death have melded together to create a monster, Hitler-like desire to become the emperor of the Western Hemisphere. Canada as the 51st state, Cuba, Greenland! What’s next?

Trust me, Donald Trump won’t take this most recent criticism lying down. He will cast blame elsewhere.

That means bye, bye Pete Hegseth, Kristi Noem, Kush Patel and RFK, Jr. He’s throwing out the guys described as “Junkyard Dogs” by Susie Wiles in her Vanity Fair piece.

All will be gone before the end of January as a “Take No Prisoners” Donald Trump shakes up his cabinet as a way to blame the Administration’s so—called media-contrived shortcomings on poor advice by his closest advisers.

As if Old Bone Spurs ever listened to those whispering in his ear on what he should or shouldn’t do. It’s time, Dozy Don will say, for new blood to take the MAGA movement to its next level after achieving unbelievable results in his first year of his second term. To do that, he’s bringing in new team and pardoning those leaving out the back door with a short note from the President — “thanks for serving.”

In some ways, it’s surprising that any of these guys and gals lasted this long.

12/16/25 12:33 PM

#18723

Jay Shackford

Thanks Joan and Jack for the double-tap on Trump's posts on Truth Social on the murders of Rob Reiner and his wife. Everyone should read his posts at least twice to get an idea on how mean-spirited and crazy our President really is.

12/16/25 03:16 PM

#18724

Clifford Elgin

I haven't posted in a long time in large part because it seems like I have been busier since I retired than when I was working. Briefly, I am on the board of two NFPs and heading up a committee for my Rotary Club. I have read back through the most recent comments and find myself in agreement with many o fyour thoughts about our current national situation. I did find, of course, Trump's comment on the Reiner murders to be completely disqusting. I inherited an old book, Mission Failure, written by Sir Neville Henderson, British Ambassador to Berlin from 1937 to September, 1939. He knew all of the Nazi top people including Hitler and was a frequent fishing and hunting guest of Goering. It is about his attempts to stop the war. The point is that things he describes happening in Germany in those years are very close to what is happening here now. I'm not going into more detail now because I orignially intendedt to return to this forum for some pleasent thoughts and have expressed concerns in my post,https://channelingthomaspaine.wordpress.com/blog/

It is a time of year when many of us remember snippets from our past. Listening to the oldies radio today, one of the songs was Take Good Care of My Baby which alwayrs reminds me of Nancy Jobe for some reason (I guess we must have danced to it). This time of year I also think of Kathy Humphrey singing O Holy Night at a school assembly. I ask that you share some of your happy memories of our times back then.

Kip

12/16/25 07:48 PM

#18725

Sounds like a fascinating book, Kip! And frightening. Except for those who, like the happy Germans of the 1930s, find joy in bigotry and violence.

Speaking of "new blood," I see our hands, all our hands, are stained today with the blood of three new people in boats; murdered with no evidence, no due process at all. All our hands, not just Trump's.

Kip's memory is far better than mine. If I have specific BCC memories, they often involve the Harting sisters, Jennifer and Kat, both of whom remain friends today.

*******

12/17/25 10:18 PM

#18726

Jay Shackford

First Impressions of the President's Speech to the Nation

Trump is delusional and panic stricken -- a deadly combination. Besides that, Trump and his cronies need some help with their math. At one point, Trump said he was going to cut drug prices by 600 percent. Now if you cut the price for a drug by 100 percent, the price at the counter would be zero. This speech will keep the fact-checkers up all night. Nightly, nighty -- Dead Center.

12/18/25 07:20 AM

#18727

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/us/jeffrey-epstein-donald-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Jay, the 600% price cut in pharmaceuticals is actually one of Trump's LOWER promises for drug price reduction, which have gone as high as 1000-1500% (https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/23/politics/fact-check-drug-prices-trump).

This is, of course, mathematically impossible. Unless this is part of the RFK Jr/Bone Head Make America Healthy Again plan. Perhaps they will be PAYING Americans many times more than medications cost to take them? Looking forward to this!

Or, sadly, just more evidence that the man at the wheel of our economy is so effing stupid he doesn't understand--what, 6th grade math? When your mathematical understand is less than Mallory's, you shouldn't even use numbers!

I'll give him credit for ONE truthful, accurate statement during his mendacious meandering: "Nobody can believe what's going on." Nor should they.

*********

Meanwhile . . .

12/20/25 01:31 PM

#18728

Hi friends, Now Trump who took over as Director of the Kennedy Center, stuck his name on the beloved Kennedy Center that honored and memorialized John F Kennedy. Kennedy loved and promoted the arts. How horrible that Trump who blasts free speech and artists who don't say everything he likes, put his name on the Kennedy Center. He fired all the board of directors of the Kennedy Center, and replaced them with Trump sycophants. Of course they voted to put Trumps name on the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy family are so upset that there wasn't even the decency to leave in place the Kennedy Center name for JFK. Trump is all about himself and furthering his own wealth. He is the most corrupt President of our lifetime. Love, Joanie

12/20/25 03:47 PM

#18729

Let's pretend it's a year ago - December 2024. If I told you I could predict the future and this is what you will see the felon do in the next year, what would you have said?????

My memory isn't good enough to have gathered all these predictions myself so I credit some of the fine folks at The Bulwark. In my case Steve Bannon's advice to "Flood the zone with shit" has worked very well on me, since I can't hold all this shit in my head at the same time.

As always, just the facts!

**************************

He will hang giant glowering portraits of himself from Federal buildings.

He is going to, without asking anyone, destroy a wing of the White House.

He is going to build a palace-like ballroom which will dwarf the rest of the White House in size and gilt, and will be funded by private businesses who are trying to curry favors from him.

He is going to deploy masked agents into the streets of America to snatch people into unmarked cars.

He’s going to deploy the military into American cities.

He’s going to put his name on the Institute of Peace, which was established by Congress.

He is going to have the Treasury and the Mint create a coin with his face on it in defiance of precedent to not have living people on coins.

He’s going to name himself Chairman of the Kennedy Center.

He’s going to rename the Kennedy Center after himself.

He is going to wrongly deport people who are allowed to be here, to torture prisons and gulags in other countries in defiance of court orders to turn the planes around.

He is going to sue several media companies in the billions of dollars for printing things he didn’t like (such as the Epstein letter which was released by the Epstein estate).

He is going to challenge the Constitution’s right to Birthright Citizenship.

He’s going to pardon the guilty January 6th rioters who beat and killed law enforcement officers, some of whom went on to commit other crimes.

He’s going to pardon a convicted drug lord who imported 8 tons of drugs into our country.

He’s going to try (via tweet) to get someone pardoned (Tina Peters) who was convicted of a state crime over which he has no authority to pardon.

He is going to ask the Attorney General, Pam Bondi via direct message to bring charges against his perceived enemies (Comey and James) which will be thrown out of court.

I will add a few of my own observances..

He will claim he hardly knew his known best friend, Jeffrey Epstein, the most reknowned sex trafficer of our time.

He will be lionized by his followers to be the solution to ending sex trafficing in spite of his closeness to Epstein.

He will promise lower prices on DAY ONE and will then institute tarrifs which cause prices to soar.

He will accumulate billions of dollars in his first year from unknown sources and will not have any oversite.

He will accept a $400 million dollar gift airplane from Qatar with no questions asked about this illegality of presidents accepting gifts from foreign nations, nor about the felon's business dealings with Qatar.

He will become the largest stakeholder in a nuclear fusion company (TAE Technologies) posing appaling conflict of intrest concerns.

Okay I give up. I'm running out of steam.

Another interesting quote by the folks at Lincoln Square.

“What we’re watching with Donald Trump isn’t one scandal, or one bad day, or one dumb executive order. It’s the grinding, daily normalisation of instability, mental illness, medical coverup, personal sadism, and the Republican Party’s deliberate decision to treat that instability like it’s a brief, Spring political sun shower they can ride out.”

12/20/25 06:46 PM

#18730

https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000010596053/la-raid-immigration-us-citizens-video-investigation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share,

Apropos of both Joanie and Joan's posts:

55 years ago, with Nixon as president, I came into political maturity in Vietnam. I was deeply ashamed of my country and its actions. Now, nearing 80, with Trump as president, I find myself deeply ashamed again. This article both explains my shame, and increases it. Explosives to enter the home of a US citizen and her young children? She could be one of my former students.

12/21/25 12:13 PM

#18731

Jack, thanks for posting this astonishing piece of video. I watched the whole thing. An amazing job by the NYT to put together this story from the hundreds of pieces of video provided by bystanders. No hearsay, just video of exactly what happened. As I try to post, just the facts.

I fear that our country has turned into a Police State, similar to some of the countries from which these immigrants fled. God help us!

12/22/25 08:33 AM

#18732

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/world/americas/canada-gun-violence-us.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Is the bomb the shit out of the fuckers crowd in Canada (I like to think it doesn't exist) calling for blowing up northbound cars, trucks, kayaks, hikers, in the U.S. that might be suspected of trafficking firearms? Would our own BSOOF, nationally and here on the Forum approve? Why or why not?

12/22/25 11:08 AM

#18733

Thanks for your posts Jack and Joan. Our country really is in danger with ICE waging war on folks, including citizens and the Authoritarian takeover of Trump guided by Project 2025 and his main goal of self enrichment and self promotion on buildings. Meanwhile, people are set to starve and lose health care. Now that his approval ratings are about 31% and there appear to be cracks in his coalition,I hope this is a good sign. Democracy is on thin ice right now. Love, Joanie

12/23/25 08:22 AM

#18734

Hi dear friends,

Its getting very close to the Holidays so I wanted to wish all of you a very Happy Holiday and New Year. I really appreciate all of you and that we reconnected. Stay healthy and lets keep the conversation going. Love, Joanie

12/24/25 07:36 AM

#18735

https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/december-23-2025?r=asnwm&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay

HCR on Santa in the Cold War. Happy Holidays, y'all!

"On December 24, 2025, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, will celebrate seventy years of tracking Santa’s sleigh.

"According to legend, the tradition of tracking Santa’s sleigh began in November 1955, when a child trying to reach Santa on a telephone hotline advertised by a Sears, Roebuck & Co. store in Colorado transposed two digits. It was not Santa who picked up the phone, but Colonel Harry Shoup of Continental Air Defense Command, known as CONAD, located in Colorado Springs.

"Shoup was brusque when a small voice asked if he was Santa, but he later recognized that interest in Santa could be an opportunity to call public attention to the air defense system that would shield the U.S. if Soviet bombers were able to reach the country from over the North Pole.

"After World War II, many Americans were hoping to turn away from world affairs, but U.S. and Canadian leaders worried that North America was vulnerable to an attack from the USSR over the polar region. That wasn’t on many Americans’ radar screens.

"A few weeks after the young child’s call, Shoup told his public-relations officer to inform the news wire services that CONAD was tracking Santa’s sleigh as it traveled from his home at the North Pole. Reporters loved the story, and the following year they called to see if the trackers would be operational again.

"In 1957,* Canada and the U.S. formed the North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD. By charting Santa’s ride, the agency illustrated the military’s mission to protect the citizens of the continent by tracking an object traveling from the North Pole, over the Arctic Ocean, to Canada, and beyond.

"By Christmas Eve 1960, NORAD was posting updates and tracking the flight of “S. Claus.” It reported that the sleigh had made an emergency landing on the ice of Hudson Bay. When Canadian fighter jets stopped by to check on the incident, they found Santa tending to a reindeer’s injured foot. Once the animal was bandaged, the jets escorted Santa’s sleigh as he completed his annual flight. Since then, fighter jets have frequently intercepted the sleigh to salute Santa, who reins in his team to let the slower jets catch up.

"Over time, NORAD became the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and its mission expanded to include collecting information about the Earth’s atmosphere, coastal waters, and intelligence. It is still key to U.S. and Canadian defense.

"And what began in 1955 as a way to familiarize war-weary Americans with Cold War–era defense systems has become an operation in which more than 1,000 Canadian and American military personnel, Defense Department civilian workers, and local participants near Colorado Springs, where NORAD is headquartered, volunteer to answer the more than 100,000 phone calls that come from children around the world on Christmas Eve. It is a testament to the longstanding U.S.-Canadian friendship.

"For one night a year, the hard-edged world of international alliances, intelligence, radar, satellites, and fighter jets turns into a night for adults to create a magical world for children."

12/24/25 06:15 PM

#18736

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah , Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Buon Natale, Feliz Natal, Wesołych Świąt, Vrolijk Kerstfeest, メリークリスマス, 聖誕快樂, З Різдвом Христовим, С Рождеством, Glædelig jul, শুভ বড়দিন, Nollaig Chridheil, ཡི་ཤུའི་འཁྲུངས་སྐར་དུས་ཆེན་དགའ་གཏོང་བྱེད, สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส

I sure hope I didn't miss anybody!

🎄🎄🎄

12/25/25 12:30 AM

#18737

Robert Hall

......und Frohe Weihnachten....

Merry Christmas everyone!

12/25/25 01:50 PM

#18738

Thanks Jack and Joan and Robert for the nice messages....I think Joan you included most of the possible holidays. Thank you. Hope everyone has a very Happy and Healthy New Year...I appreciate all of you so much.... joanie

12/25/25 08:23 PM

#18739

What many of us know from our own lives. I feel (a tiny bit) sorry for those who never learned this. And good to be reminded as we go into the new year.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/25/protests-effective-history-impact

12/25/25 09:12 PM

#18740

Thanks for that very good article about protests. I take heart in the fact that everyday Americans are protesting now in this horrible time of Trump. Love, Joanie

12/28/25 08:27 AM

#18741