Ace Frehley, the
original lead guitarist of the hard-rock band Kiss, who often performed
in white-and-silver face makeup and sold millions of records during his
two tenures with the band — from 1973 to 1982, and then from 1996 to
2002 — died on Thursday in Morristown, N.J. He was 74.
A statement from his family said the cause was a recent fall at his home but did not specify where in Morristown he died.
A
consummate showman, like all the members of Kiss, Mr. Frehley was known
for playing guitars rigged with pyrotechnic effects and for his
distinctive stage persona: He was known as “the Spaceman” or “Space Ace”
because of the silver stars on his face. He also designed the band’s
logo, with its lightning-bolt letters.
The
other founding members of Kiss were the guitarist Paul Stanley, the
drummer Peter Criss and the bassist Gene Simmons, who was hospitalized
this month after a car crash in Malibu, Calif. All four are slated to
receive Kennedy Center Honors in December.
KISS
had been one of rock’s biggest acts for years. But after guitarist Ace
Frehley and Criss both talked about quitting in 1978, the group paused.
They each released solo albums and regrouped for the Dynasty LP in May
1979. It didn’t fix anything. This follows Gene Simmons's recent car accident.
Criss only played on one song due to injuries from a car crash. The
album’s lead single, the disco-influenced I Was Made for Lovin’ You,
performed well. But longtime fans didn’t like the direction. Attendance
dipped. Shows were canceled. Internal divisions grew.
On December 8, 1979, during a concert near the end of the Dynasty tour,
Criss lashed out. Frontman Paul Stanley signaled him to slow down
mid-song. Criss exploded.
It's safe to say that the Kiss universe is never short of drama between the behemoth outfit's various members.
The latest? Many fans have been left wondering why Ace Frehley wasn't invited – or seemingly declined the opportunity – to join his former bandmates at the Kiss Kruise: Land-locked in Vegas event at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas this November, which will also include Bruce Kulick, Kiss’ guitarist between 1984 and 1996.
“They asked me and I declined,” he tells Guitar World matter-of-factly.
“There’s no way I’m gonna be involved with that, you know? Their
biggest mistake is that they should have done that at Madison Square
Garden, not in Las Vegas in a 5000-seater, or whatever it is.”
When GW points out that Frehley has participated in Kiss
Kruises – the long-running Kiss-themed cruise excursions – before, he
replies, “There are multiple reasons. You know, Paul [Stanley], towards
the end [of the End of the Road World Tour], about nine months
before Kiss was going to play Madison Square Garden [for its final
shows], both Paul and Gene [Simmons] were saying, ‘We’re going to bring
everybody out on stage.’
“And
then, a few months before the concert, they both changed their tune and
said, ‘Ace and Peter [Criss] aren’t going to do it.’ In fact, Paul went
on to say, ‘If Ace and Peter got on stage with us, the band could be
called Piss.’ So, I kind of got into an argument with him.”
The group has 8 top forty hits in their career. That included "Rocket Ride" which only made it to number 39 but "Beth" was an actual top ten hit and their second biggest hit, their disco song "I Was Made For Lovin; You," climbed to number 11.
Thursday, October 16, 2025. As Chump's shutdown continues his 'peace
plan' implodes as though it was the American economy, the Young
Republican hate chat,
As we noted yesterday, Donald Chump was trying to take a
victory lap -- one. He's still trying today. He's made it about half
way round the track. You've seen his body, you know how much weight
he's hauling. He may never complete that lap. Even with people
cheering him on -- even with people who know better (Dan Abrams, I'm
looking at you) cheering him on.
But
it doesn't matter at this point.
Now you go your way, baby, and I'll go mine Now and forever, 'til the end of time I'll find somebody new, and baby, we'll say we're through And you won't matter anymore
-- "It Doesn't Matter Anymore," written by Paul Anka, first covered by Linda on her HEART LIKE A WHEEL album
As Linda Ronstadt sang, "And you
won't matter anymore." That's where we are now with Donald Chump. That's because the crowd has drifted, the
stadium is empty and it's just a fat and wobbly man trying to complete
that lap as he huffs and puffs, sweating causing his orange foundation
to drip onto the track.
No one even cares enough to holler, "Come on, fat boy, you can do it!"
And
less than 24 hours after Donald announced this “everlasting peace”,
Palestinians were still being killed in Gaza, aid trucks stopped from
going into Gaza and a row broke out about the failure of Hamas to return
the bodies of dead Israeli hostages.
All of these grim, and sadly all too predictable factors, threaten to topple the whole ceasefire process.
Again,
cease-fire. Not a peace plan. A lot of lying and fooling, shaking and
baking took place. There was never a peace plan -- thanks to the
British press which pushed back on that lie repeatedly. Pablo O'Hana (UK's METRO) observes,
"It’s a shallow 20-point ceasefire and hostage agreement, devoid, in my
view, of any meaningful content. This isn’t a peace deal. It isn’t
even a peace process."
Some Americans are slowly learning what Fred Trump sussed out in a matter of days: Donald is an all around failure. Anna Commander (NEWSWEEK) reports:
A
new poll released on Tuesday shows that 57 percent of Americans believe
the U.S. economy is getting worse—the highest percentage in over a
year.
Public sentiment about
the U.S. economy has grown increasingly negative in the closing months
of 2025. According to recent polls, a majority of Americans now believe
that economic conditions are deteriorating, a trend that coincides with a
government shutdown, inflation concerns, and widening partisan divides.
Analysts
note that such pessimism can impact consumer confidence, policy
decisions, and political outcomes in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm
elections.
Why
do they think that? Because their own eyes are stronger and far more
reliable than anything they could ever see on FOX "NEWS." Chump has
tanked the economy. Christopher Kuo (WALL STREET JOURNAL) reports:
During
a recent trip to the supermarket, Kelvin Lin was surprised to see that
the price of a rib-eye steak had jumped to $32.99 a pound.
It had been several dollars cheaper two weeks earlier, he said.
Lin,
a 33-year-old software engineer who lives in New York City, complained
to the butcher but ended up buying the steak anyway. “It feels
terrible,” he said.
Inflation
in the grocery aisle is picking up, and stinging consumers. Consumers
said they are cutting back on purchases, stockpiling certain foods or
exploring more-affordable stores.
“It’s
perturbing and upsetting,” said Mark Bookbinder, a 68-year-old engineer
who lives in Cincinnati. He has been struck by steady increases in the
prices of sliced turkey, cereal and yogurt.
Albertsons
Chief Executive Officer Susan Morris said on a Tuesday earnings call
that shoppers are choosing smaller package sizes and using more coupons
to reduce their grocery bills. She said the supermarket company is
looking to cut costs to help counter inflation.
“We
see them sticking closer to their shopping list, maybe not buying that
extra item, that extra bottle of whatever,” Morris said.
He's
a failure. He's destroyed everything. Remember his promise that his
tariffs (taxes on American consumers) would result in 90 deals in 90
days. If you're generous, he got seven deals in 90 days -- if you're generous. His failures have harmed the country. Chris Brennan (USA TODAY) explains:
China,
which until 2024 was the biggest importer of American soybeans, has
retaliated against Trump's chaotic trade war tariffs by refusing to buy
the crop from our country now, shifting its purchases to other
countries.
Farmers like Bartman watched with
dismay as China, on Sept. 23, bought 7 million metric tons of soybeans
from Argentina, a quarter of that country's crop this year, after
Argentina suspended export taxes to make the deal.
This
happened on the same day that Trump met with a political ally,
Argentine President Javier Milei, at the United Nations, just before
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion buyout, an
infusion of U.S. dollars into Argentina's central bank to try to
stabilize that country's tumultuous economy.
And
where was Milei on Oct. 14, on the same day Bartman spoke from his
tractor? The Argentine president was being welcomed at the White House
by Trump. The two men stood for pictures, flashing big smiles and
thumbs-up gestures.
A journalist asked Trump
what his message was for the people of Argentina. His answer: "We love
them. We'll be there for them. They have a great leader, a very great
leader."
He'll be there for them. He just won't be here for you or for me or for any of the American people.
While Americans suffer for his actions, he's bailing out Argentina.
Senator Elizabeth Warren is rightly calling it out.
Chump is not serving the American people.
He lies and lies and hopes that the American people forget the lies. Robert Davis (RAW STORY) quotes US House Rep Ro Khanna stating:
He
sold the American people on lowering prices on day one. He sold the
American people that he's a business guy, that he's going to get the
economy moving, and he's done nothing for America's farmers. Grocery
prices are up. You know what I would do with that $20 billion? I
would give that money to the American people who have had a 26% increase
in coffee tariffs and coffee prices because of the irrational tariffs
on coffee. He's made food prices go up. He's hurting America's farmers,
and then he's giving the money away to Argentina. We're adding insult to
injury by then taking the business away from American farmers and
selling it to China.
Trump-tapped
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran broke ranks with the MAGA
administration and admitted that the economy is sinking under President
Trump.
Miran on Wednesday undercut the
president’s rosy view of the economy, pointing out that the labor market
has become weaker since Trump took office.
“The
economy was weaker in the first half of the year versus where it was
last year,” Miran told CNBC anchor Sara Eisen at the network’s Invest in
America Forum.
Though Miran, 42, didn’t directly
criticize Trump for the issues with the economy, he did blame the
weakened economy on factors directly caused by his administration.
“Yes,
the labor market continued to weaken in the first half of the year,” he
said. “I think part of that was due to uncertainty over policy. We
might have had the biggest tax hike in history, so maybe there were
firms that were holding off on investing until the tax hike was done.”
Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke Tuesday in Philadelphia to the National Association for Business Economics. Eleanor Pringle (FORTUNE) notes:
Powell
suggested the employment side had weakened further, saying: “While the
unemployment rate remained low through August, payroll gains have slowed
sharply, likely in part due to a decline in labor force growth due to
lower immigration and labor force participation. In this less dynamic
and somewhat softer labor market, the downside risks to employment
appear to have risen.”
He added that
while official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is delayed given
the government shutdown, “available evidence suggests that both layoffs
and hiring remain low, and that both households’ perceptions of job
availability and firms’ perceptions of hiring difficulty continue their
downward trajectories.”
President
Donald Trump’s approval rating has fallen below water in every major
swing state for the first time since taking office, according to a new
set of state-level polls.
The latest Morning
Consult survey shows the president’s net approval is now negative across
all seven battlegrounds expected to decide the 2026
election—Pennsylvania (-2), Michigan (-5), Wisconsin (-8), Arizona (-2),
Georgia (-1), Nevada (-3), and North Carolina (-3).
Trump’s
slipping approval in every swing state highlights growing voter unease
in the regions most likely to decide control of Congress and the balance
of power in Washington. His declining support could weaken Republican
prospects ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way, I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues drawn
It's always darkest before the dawn
-- "Shake It Out," written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, first appears on Florence & The Machines' CEREMONIALS.
Vanity Fair magazine has published an exclusive excerpt
of the forthcoming memoir of the late Virginia Giuffre, a victim of
late Jeffrey Epstein, whom she met while working at President Donald
Trump's Palm Beach country club.
Giuffre,
Vanity Fair writes, completed work on the manuscript for “Nobody’s Girl:
A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice” in October 2024.
Just
weeks before her death by suicide in April 2025, Giuffre wrote to her
collaborator on the book, Amy Wallace, “the content of this book is
crucial… It is imperative that the truth is understood and that the
issues surrounding this topic are addressed, both for the sake of
justice and awareness. In the event of my passing, I would like to
ensure that “Nobody’s Girl” is still released.”
The excerpt Vanity Fair has published takes place in 2000, when a 16-year-old Giuffre worked in the spa at Trump's Mar a Lago.
Giuffre's
father, she wrote, "was responsible for maintaining the resort’s
in-room air-conditioning units, not to mention its five-championship
red-clay tennis courts, so he knew his way around, both indoors and
out."
Giuffre got her job at the spa after passing a drug and polygraph test, she wrote. She also detailedTrump's employee handbook.
The
ones assaulted often forgotten and/or ignored by the press. Virginia
refuses to be silenced. Does Chump think she was a 'hoax'? And what
happens when Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson is unable to stall any
further to protect Chump? What happens when he has to seat Adelita Grijalva? Annie Karni (NEW YORK TIMES) reports:
The
Arizona secretary of state on Tuesday certified the election of
Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat who won a special
election 22 days ago in her state.
But Speaker Mike Johnson is still refusing to seat her while he keeps the House out of session during the government shutdown.
So
on Wednesday morning, a group of Arizona lawmakers gathered in front of
the Capitol and accused Mr. Johnson of protecting pedophiles,
obstructing the will of voters and taking an unprecedented political
action in refusing to perform the simple ministerial duty of swearing in
an elected member of Congress.
“This delay is not procedural, it is intentional,” said Ms. Grijalva, who is poised to provide the final signature
needed to force a floor vote on whether to demand that the Trump
administration release the Epstein files. “He is doing everything in his
power to shield this administration from accountability. That is not
leadership, that is obstruction.”
Makes
you wonder what Chump has on Mike -- photos of Mike as a wedding guest
with a man kissing him on the cheek? Who knows? Senator Ruben Gallego
is quoted in the report stating, "Speaker Johnson is covering up for
pedophiles, did you guys get that? Speaker Johnson is covering up for
pedophiles."
As
we've noted for weeks now -- yes, it has been weeks, she was elected
September 23rd -- refusing to seat her is denying her district a voice
in the House of Representatives. She was duly elected. But Our Lady of
Conversion Mike Johnson refuses to swear her in. The American people
have had enough of princess' nonsense and the calls for the princess to
seat Grijalva are growing louder. Jacob Wendler (POLITICO) reports:
Arizona
Attorney General Kris Mayes threatened legal action against House
Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday for failing to seat Rep.-elect Adelita
Grijalva.
In a letter to Johnson,
Mayes accused the House GOP leader of violating the Constitution by
unnecessarily delaying the Democrat’s swearing-in ceremony.
“Arizona’s
right to a full delegation, and the right of the residents of CD 7 to
representation from the person they recently voted for, are not up for
debate and may not be delayed or used as leverage in negotiations about
unrelated legislation,” Mayes, who is also a Democrat, wrote in the
letter.
It is time for Johnson to stop lying and to stop hiding. Ailia Zehra notes:
House
Democrats marched through the halls to Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R‑La.)
office Tuesday evening, chanting in unison: “What is he afraid of?
Epstein!” Their protest targets Johnson’s refusal to swear in Rep.-elect
Adelita Grijalva (D‑Ariz.), despite her election being certified by
Arizona officials.
[. . .]
Opponents
point to earlier instances this year when he promptly administered the
oath to Republican members during pro forma sessions — something he has
declined to do for Grijalva.
"Is
Speaker Johnson saying Members can no longer walk in the halls of the
people's House to express our viewpoints?" Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
(D-N.M.), the chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, said in a
statement to Axios.
"The real question everyone
should be asking is why Rep.-Elect Adelita Grijalva has not been sworn
in. Speaker Johnson keeps changing the story of why he can't swear her
in, and this is his latest attempt to distract us," she said.
"We
will keep calling attention to his failure to swear her in. We will
keep showing up in the halls of Congress demanding that we return to
work so we can address the Republican health care crisis."
A
Women's Caucus spokesperson stressed that the protest was "peaceful" and
denied the characterization that lawmakers "tore down" a poster. Video
shows Barrágan removing the poster and placing it on the ground.
Adelita Grijalva spoke with Jen Psaki last night on MSNBC.
We noted the scandal of The Young Republicans chat yesterday
that glorified Hitler, the Holocaust, racism, sexism, homophobic and
violence. Miss Sassy JD Vance always has a lie -- remember, he knew he
was lying about Haitians when confronted during the campaign. He has no
respect for the truth. He's jut a fat man in a girdle -- which Ruth
pointed out, please remember, his spanx were on display in a photo
during the campaign.
Let's
stop for a minute. The press failures. I'm just so damn sick of
them. Fir four years, Chump was president and we had to read crap
nonsense from serious outlets suggesint ght Chump's organe skin was most
likely due to some illness. No, it was make up. Only no can
mainstream press admit that. JD Vance wears eye liner. The mainstream
press didn't want to admit that during the campaign. Why can't they
just be honest?
JD Vance is
ons tage with his hands in the air and his shirt rides up revealing he
is wearing Spanx. That is news. Only Ruth covered it ("Does JD Vance wear SPANX?").
That is news. And it's news for any number of reasons including vanity
but especially considering that Chump and Vance were attacking drag
queens, cross dressers and transgender people while both 'men' were
wearing make up and JD was in a girdle.
Leaders
of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would
happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing
anyway.
They
referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and
mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They
talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded
Republicans who they believed support slavery.
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair,
used the words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” variations of a racial slur, more
than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New
York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.”
Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote
in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the
gas chamber.”
Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of
the Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s 15,000-member
political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old.
“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he continued.
This
isn't a one day story. JD Vance's lies alone means it's not a one day
story. Pam Bondi screeches when the entire country doesn't want to
pretend Charlie Kirk wasn't a racist. She hisses and threatens and
forgets what free speech is as did panty waist JD Vance. (I know 'panty
waist' is an insult but not sure what it means but if you're a man
wearing girdles in secret, it seems like "panty waist" is a word that
would apply to you.)
Chump and Vance cannot be allowed to succeed in their efforts to normalize hate. As Mike noted, "Those chat files are disgusting and represent the worst of America. People defending it or minimizing it are disgusting. "
Our vice president wears eye liner constantly. Our
president wears orange foundation on his face and colors his hair. They
attack drag queens and transgender and non-binary people. But, again,
one wears eye liner and the other foundation while also coloring his
hair. Ereine Marie Aspera (OK magazine) writes:
Is Donald Trump finally going gray?
On Tuesday, October 14, the president took the stage at the White House
[. . .]
Trump’s hair. His usual orange-blonde hue appeared noticeably gray, sparking a wave of comments online.
“What
color does Trump’s hair look like?” one user tweeted, while another
joked, “Is Trump’s hair super gray right now? Did he forget to color
it?”
Others chimed in with mixed reactions.
“Trump’s hair is white now, can’t call him orange man,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Look at Trump’s hair. It looks like old straw.”
These
are the girls of the administration. Don't forget Pete Hegseth. He
had to install his own make up and hair salon at the Pentagon.
But
don't you come at him with any DEI, that's where he draws the line --
especially Friday afternoon's when he's getting his blow out for the
weekend.
On music, be sure to check out Marcia's "D'Angelo."
Wednesday, October 15, 2025. Chump's followers shine back at him with
all the shared hate in their hearts, Chump's reopened Gitmo again,
Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin wants serious answers regarding
ACA, and much more.
Let's start with Lawrence O'Donnell last night on MSNBC.
Michael Bartels remains on the government dime via his job in the administration. He's still being paid by the US taxpayers.
Leaders
of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would
happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing
anyway.
They
referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and
mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They
talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded
Republicans who they believed support slavery.
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair,
used the words “n--ga” and “n--guh,” variations of a racial slur, more
than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New
York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.”
Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote
in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the
gas chamber.”
Giunta was referring to an upcoming vote on whether he should become chair of
the Young Republican National Federation, the GOP’s 15,000-member
political organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old.
“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers,” he continued.
Read
the article, these are disgusting people. And they are ugly people.
Bobby Walker, for instance, i a surprisingly overly confident male who
must have never encountered a mirror or any other reflective surface in
his entire life. Or do most Young Republican males today aspire to look
like an obese female stand up comic from 1984?
The reporters note:
The private rhetoric isn’t happening in a vacuum. It comes amid a
widespread coarsening of the broader political discourse and as
incendiary and racially offensive tropes from the right become
increasingly common in public debate. Last month, Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated video
that showed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero beside
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whose fabricated remarks were
about trading free health care for immigrant votes — a false,
long-running GOP trope. The sombrero meme has been widely used to mock
Democrats as the government shutdown wears on.
In his 2024 campaign, Trump spread false reports of Haitian migrants eating pets and, at one of his rallies, welcomed comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and joked about Black people “carving watermelons” on Halloween.
Two
more members of a Young Republican group chat strewn with racist
epithets and hateful jokes stepped down from their jobs Tuesday after
POLITICO published an exclusive report on the Telegram exchanges.
Peter
Giunta’s time working with New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly “has
ended,” the Republican lawmaker said. Giunta served as chair of the New
York State Young Republicans when the chat took place. Joseph Maligno,
who previously identified himself as the general counsel for that group, is no longer an employee of the New York State Unified Court System, a courts spokesperson confirmed.
Another
chat member, Vermont state Senator Sam Douglass, faced mounting calls
for his resignation as well, including from the state’s Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, and Douglass’ fellow Republican lawmakers, who called his statements “deeply disturbing.”
POLITICO’s
in-depth look into how one group of Young Republicans spoke privately
was met Tuesday with widespread condemnation in New York, Washington and
beyond. The members of the chat — 2,900 pages of which were leaked and
reviewed by POLITICO — called Black people monkeys, repeatedly used
slurs for gay, Black, Latino and Asian people, and jokingly celebrated
Adolf Hitler.
In
a bipartisan outcry, members of Congress and other political leaders
from around the country said they were appalled by the contents of the
group chat. The board of directors of the National Young Republicans
said every member of the chat “must immediately resign” their state
organization.
THE BULWORK has already covered this appalling story.
And Ben's covered it at MEIDASTOUCH NEWS.
Ben: Notable that Donald Trump, happy to give 20 billion dollars to Argentina
while ripping away healthcare from 20 million Americans. I guess that's Putting America Last now, isn't it Donald?
We're
focusing on the Young Republicans and 'peace deal' but I thought Ben's
point there needed to be highlighted. Here? We've never credited Chump
for a peace deal because there has been none. What he did was a
"pause" or "cease-fire." That's what we've called it while the American
press has too often embarrassed themselves. And as Ava and I noted
Sunday in "Media: Can Dems stop caving, can the media stop whoring?" the British press has had no problem being accurate while too many in the US press have lied and whored.
A
BBC Middle East expert has delivered a brutal reality check to Donald
Trump’s claims that the war between Israel and Hamas “is over”.
The
US president made the bold prediction as world leaders gathered in
Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to sign a peace deal ending the two-year-long
conflict.
Under the agreement, Hamas agreed to hand
over the remaining Israeli hostages it had been holding captive in
Gaza, while Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from its
jails.
However, lengthy negotiations are still
due to take place to agree the finer details on how the agreement will
deliver a permanent peace.
On Radio 4′s Today
programme on Tuesday, BBC international affairs editor Jeremy Bowen
said: “There’s actually almost no detail about how it’s going to be
implemented.
“Donald Trump essentially stated the destination, but he didn’t say state how you got there, and that seems to be his style.
“It’s
important to get some clarity from looking at what it is and what it
isn’t. It is not a peace deal, it is not a peace process, it’s a
ceasefire and hostage agreement.
“Now that’s a
considerable achievement in itself, and it tries to go on to state where
it wants to go, but it doesn’t say how you get there and that’s a real
problem.
Donald Chump
has brokered no peace deal. We've called it a pause or a cease-fire.
That's all that's happened. Ava and I pointed out that British outlets
grasped this even when US outlets did not. Ehud Olmert of England's THE INDEPENDENT notes:
It
is not a peace agreement. The title Trump suggested for the conference
now taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh – “Peace 2025” – has nothing to do
with what has happened so far.
The crucial
question now is whether the temporary cessation of the war, Israel’s
partial withdrawal from Gaza, and the continued minor activity of Hamas
will be a starting point for a bold political move that will change the
entire Middle East and bring about an Israeli-Palestinian peace based on
two states.
Again,
the British find it so easy to state the basic facts. But then in the
US, we have so many idiot fools. Doubt it? Look at this statement:
I
pretty much can assure you that once those doors are opened, it will be
a scene of absolute, abject horror... It’s been a terrible, terrible
two years for them, because not only are they there, you know, they’re
probably being treated better than the average Gazan, because they are
the pawns and the chips that Hamas had. Now, Hamas has given up all of
its leverage, by the way, by giving them all up. So that is a victory
for the Israeli side
Those are Christiane
Amanpour's words and she uttered them on CNN and has now apologized for
them. Why? Because big baby idiots have comprehension issues. She
did not imply that the hostages had it easy. She stated they were
likely treated better by Hamas than Hamas treated the average Gazan.
Because they loved the hostages? No, because the hostages became chips
used in a negotiation. There's nothing contorversial about her
statements unless you're an idiot who can't comprehend. Maybe it's time
for all of us to start asking if English is MAGA's second language
since it's so difficult for them to follow?
Amanpour’s
comments had MAGA in a rage. “You can feel how mad she is with the
release of hostages by Trump,” Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell
posting on X, adding, “she’s a sick woman.”
Oh
look, a woman-hating gay man from Glenneth Greenwald's generation and
political grouping. They were the worst. Ask any lesbian from that
generation about the conservative gay men with the chips on their
shoulder (I don't want to be known as a bottom! Even if I am bottom!)
and how they hated and loathed women in their pathetic attempts to
reassure themselves that they were manly -- gay or no gay, you can't
tell them that they're not.
No, Dick, Christiane is not "a sick woman" but you are certainly a sick man.
So
is Isaac Schorr. MEDIAITE needs to pull him off any story that has to
do with Israel because he can't show any objectivity and he bends the
truth to the point that it breaks. There is no peace deal, you stupid
fool. Nolink to his garbage but the garbage I'm commenting on right now
is his article attacking Cornel West.
But back to Richard Grenell. Where's his condemnation of the Young Republicans' comments in their now exposed thread?
He
makes time to willfully misconstrue Chrisiane's comments and to weigh
in. But he's got nothing to say regarding these racists, homophobic and
sexist comments by the Young Republicans?
You'd think he'd want to call it out.
That everyone in the administration would want to.
Donald
Chump is still wrongly taking a victory lap for his cease-fire. And
he'll be doing that for at least two more days because it takes a fat
boy a lot of time to haul all that around a track.
And
how does it look, as he claims to care about the Jews in Israel, that
his most intense followers are praising Hitler and wanting another
Holocaust. How does that look?
It looks like
he and his followers are full of s**t. Is that why his gut's so big?
He can't take a dump anymore and it just stays in his body getting
toxic?
Donald's delivered nothing to this world
but hate. The Young Republicans in that chat are disgusting but let's
never forget that it was Chump's womanly hips that birthed them.
MOTHER
JONES tries to tell the truth about the cease-fire but maybe next time
speak to someone rationale? That might allow for the trashing of Joe
Biden not to be in there or for the idiot being interviewed to stop
changing the goal posts from comment to comment. MOTHER JONES published
a s**t poor article. We can't afford that right now. There are too
many important things going on in this country. (And don't forget this Saturday's NO KINGS protests across the country.)
While garbage Brit Daniel Levy fondles and sniffs Chump to MOTHER JONES, Carol Rosenberg (NEW YORK TIMES) reports that the despot has reopened GITMO to imprison those kidnapped off American streets:
Federal agents
have moved about 20 migrants to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay,
Cuba, a Defense Department official said on Tuesday, repopulating the
holding site for detainees designated for deportation for the first time
in nearly two weeks.
The identities or nationalities of the detainees were not immediately known. All were believed to be men.
Trackers
spotted the flight after it left a Homeland Security Department hub in
Alexandria, La., on Monday afternoon. But the first confirmation came on
Tuesday, after the federal holiday, from a defense official who was not
authorized to be identified by name.
The
operation raised to about 710 the number of migrants who had been
temporarily held at the base since the Trump administration’s
deportation operations began in early February.
Chump's
immigration war is destroying the country. It's destroying our
rights. It's destroying our safety. It's destroying our economy. He's
destroying businesses that depend upon foreign travelers to this
country. He's destroying farming. On farming, Dave Smith (FORBES) reports:
At
the Fortune Most Powerful Women (MPW) Summit Tuesday morning, Land
O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford warned that American farmers face a critical labor
shortage that could lead to a “black swan event” if the U.S. doesn’t
institute more pathways for legal immigration. “While there might be
some discussion on undocumented, et cetera, this is critical for the
health of the economy,” she said.
Ford,
who chairs the Business Roundtable’s immigration committee, told the
MPW audience that farmers “absolutely need labor,” adding that “we need
more legal immigration” as an economic driver for businesses and the
broader U.S. economy. For some context, America’s agricultural sector is
currently grappling with mounting pressures from trade disputes, farm
bankruptcies, and an increasingly restrictive immigration environment.
“These
are folks who oftentimes try to get American labor [but] are struggling
to do so,” Ford said. “They absolutely need labor, and if they don’t
have it, that’s yet another element—and it could be a black swan event
for a farmer if they don’t have somebody who can help and be on [the]
farm.”
The term “black swan event,” for those
unfamiliar, refers to an unpredictable occurrence with severe
consequences that appears obvious only in hindsight. In agriculture,
such events can include natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or severe
labor disruptions that threaten food production systems.
In other disturbing news from THE TIMES, Ruth Igielnik and Jazmine Ulloa cover a new poll, "Nine months into President Trump’s mass deportation campaign, registered
voters largely support the idea of removing immigrants who have arrived
in the country illegally, even as majorities say they feel his methods
have gone too far, according to the latest survey from The New York Times and Siena University."
How can it be both?
The easiest answer would be muddled questions.
But that's not the case if you break down the poll.
So what's going on?
Reality leaks out to some and not to others. FOX "NEWS" and other firght-wing outlets do not cover reality.
So
you can get people thinking that we do need to deport non-criminal
immigrants who have been here forever and also people who say that Chump
i going too far.
We're not consuming the same news.
We're not witnessing the same reality.
If we were, it'd be over right now. ICE physically attacking a rabbi? ICE shooting at priest?
There's no support for that.
But not all Americans are getting truth when they sit down to watch partisan infotainment that they think is news.
Federal immigration enforcement agents allegedly interfered
with—and even threatened to “shoot and arrest”—emergency personnel
rescuing an injured protester last week in south Portland, as first
reported Monday inWillamette Week.
Citing public dispatch records and two confidential internal reports filed by the ambulance workers, Willamette Week
reported that agents blocked an ambulance on the evening of October 5
as it tried to exit an ICE facility with a protester who had suffered a
collar bone injury.
Federal
agents allegedly delayed the emergency workers manning the vehicle for
several minutes, repeatedly requesting to ride in the ambulance to the
hospital—even after having agreed, due to their lack of arrest
paperwork, to simply follow along in their own vehicle instead.
After
some delay, the driver began moving the vehicle toward the garage’s
exit, when a plainclothes man with a partial face covering reportedly
stepped in its path, urging the driver to stop so as not to hit a group
of officers in riot gear standing about 15 feet away.
Eventually,
seeing the group of officers line up in apparent “preparation for the
gate to open so they could escort the ambulance” off, the driver
reported having inched forward a bit further. But the delay stretched
on, as federal agents stood “incredibly close” to the vehicle and
behaved aggressively, the driver recounted. One of the crew members
decided to get out to “calm and deescalate the situation,” they later
wrote.
Deciding
to join them, the driver, according to their report, put the emergency
vehicle in park, which caused it to lurch forward slightly. An agent
evidently interpreted the vehicle’s forward movement as deliberate, and
is said to have begun threatening the driver.
The
agent “pointed his finger at me in a threatening manner,” the driver
recalled, “and began viciously yelling in my face, stating, ‘DON’T YOU
EVER DO THAT AGAIN, I WILL SHOOT YOU, I WILL ARREST YOU RIGHT NOW.’”
“I
was still in such shock,” the driver said, “that they were not only
accusing me of such a thing, but crowding and cornering me in the seat,
pointing and screaming at me, threatening to shoot and arrest me, and
not allowing the ambulance to leave the scene. This was no longer a safe
scene, and in that moment, I realized that the scene had not actually
been safe the entire time that they were blocking us from exiting, and
that we were essentially trapped.”
Chump's gestapo is nothing but goons who can't get jobs anywhere else because they're uneducated sociopaths.
Federal agents
deployed tear gas on Chicago residents and more than a dozen police
officers on Tuesday, the latest clash in the nation’s third-largest city
as the Trump administration has carried out its immigration crackdown.
The
clash began on Tuesday morning when federal agents were seen chasing a
car through a working-class, heavily Latino neighborhood on the city’s
far South Side, witnesses said. An S.U.V. driven by the federal agents
collided with the car they were pursuing, the Chicago Police Department
said, sending that car into another vehicle that was parked nearby.
After
the crash, dozens of additional immigration agents in masks arrived and
residents emerged from their houses, gathering on streets and
sidewalks, throwing objects at agents and shouting, “ICE go home!”
As the agents left, they released tear gas, apparently without warning,
sending people coughing and running for cover. Among those affected by
the gas were 13 Chicago Police Department officers, the police
department said, and at least one officer was seen rinsing his eyes out
with water from a neighbor’s garden hose.
They
need to go home and get the hell out of Chicago. They need to go home
and kneel before their shrines to Donald Chump. Salute their Fuhrer.
Why
Trump might admire Egypt’s regime is no secret. Trump has made enemies
out of his stateside opposition, publicly calling for the political
persecution of Democratic lawmakers that have dared to object to his
agenda, including Pritzker, Senator Adam Schiff, California Governor
Gavin Newsom, and more.
Just last week, the
president threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a 19th-century law
that would let him utilize the military for domestic purposes, to quell
fictitious bedlam that he has claimed has taken over Democratic cities.
One
such area that Trump has honed in on is Portland, Oregon, a city better
known for Voodoo Doughnuts and cold brew than hellish riots. Late last
month, the president ordered the National Guard to the hipster paradise,
but his rationale for sending them was not informed by statistics or
data—instead, it was because of something he saw on TV.
Other
crime stats that have informed his decision to federalize the law
enforcement of American cities were completely imagined. When Trump
deployed hundreds of National Guard members to Washington in August, he
blamed the city’s rising crime data—from 2023. The cherry-picked
statistics misrepresented the state of crime in the nation’s capital,
which, according to data from the Metropolitan Police Department that
was touted by the FBI, had actually fallen last year by 35 percent.
Let's wind down with this from Senator Tammy Duckworth's office:
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and
U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) led all Democratic
members of the Illinois congressional delegation in sending a letter to
health insurance companies to request answers about how the potential
expiration of the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax
credits would impact Illinoisans using the marketplace to purchase
insurance. Today’s letter comes as the Republican-led government
shutdown continues and Republican congressional leaders and President
Trump refuse to extend the ACA tax credits that expire at the end of
2025. If these tax credits are not extended by the end of the year, more
than four million Americans could lose their health coverage, and more
than 20 million Americans are expected to see a significant rise in
their premiums.
“We are writing to request
information about how the potential expiration of the Affordable Care
Act’s (ACA; P.L. 111-148) enhanced premium tax credits would impact
patients, health care providers, and hospitals in Illinois,” the lawmakers began.
“The ACA established premium tax credits, helping lower- and
middle-income families lower their health insurance premiums for plans
offered through the marketplace. These premium tax credits made health
care affordable for millions of families, small business owners, and
farmers across the country.”
In 2021, Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan,
establishing these enhanced premium tax credits to support Americans in
affording their health insurance. In 2022, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, extending these critical enhanced premium tax credits.
“To make health care even more affordable, the American Rescue Plan Act
(P.L. 117-2) enhanced the premium tax credits. This measure ensured
that eligible households would not contribute more than 8.5 percent of
their income to their health insurance premiums and allowed more
middle-income Americans to access the premium tax credits,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Due to the beneficial impact these enhanced tax credits had for American families, Congress extended them as part of the Inflation Reduction Act
(P.L. 117-19) through the end of 2025. The enhanced premium tax credits
helped double enrollment in ACA health plans from 11.4 million
Americans in 2020 to 24.3 million Americans in 2025. In Illinois, ACA
enrollment grew 59 percent, from 292,945 Illinoisans in 2020 to 465,985
in 2025. The enhanced premium tax credits have allowed more Americans to
access primary care visits, prescription drugs, mental health and
substance use disorder services, maternity care, and other essential
health benefits,” the lawmakers wrote.
Continuing their letter, the lawmakers
emphasized that if Republicans in Congress allow these enhanced premium
tax credits to expire, premiums for more than 22 million Americans,
including 395,850 Illinoisans will more than double—from an average of
$888 to $1,904 each month. But some Americans could see even steeper
premium increases.
“In Illinois, a 60-year-old
couple with an income of $82,800 could see their annual premium increase
$17,018—254 percent—while a family of four with an income of $64,000
could see their annual premium increase $2,571—226 percent. Such a large
premium increase is unsustainable for most families. In fact, more than
four million Americans will become uninsured due if Congress does not
act, including 106,000 Illinoisans,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers underscored that health
care providers and hospitals will lose critical revenue if Republicans
allow the tax credits to lapse. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
projects that hospitals and health care providers across the U.S. could
lose more than $32 billion in revenue, while uncompensated care costs
could increase by $7.7 billion, in 2026.
“For hospitals and providers in
Illinois, lost revenue could amount to $372 million, while uncompensated
care costs could increase by $129 million. This is in addition to the
congressional Republicans’ $1 trillion Medicaid cut included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,
which will reduce federal Medicaid funding to Illinois by 19 percent
over the next decade. We worry that health care providers and hospitals
will face even more severe financial hardship if the enhanced premium
tax credits expire, and patients will suffer,” the lawmakers wrote.
Concluding their letter, the lawmakers
requested details about the potential impacts of Republicans refusing to
address this health care crisis.
The following insurance companies
received a copy of the lawmakers’ letter: Blue Cross Blue Shield
Association, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna Group, Molina Healthcare, Celtic
Insurance Company, Mercyhealth, and Oscar Health Inc.
We are writing to request information about how the potential expiration of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA; P.L. 111-148) enhanced premium tax credits would impact patients, health care providers, and hospitals in Illinois.
TheACA established premium tax credits, helping lower- and
middle-income families lower their health insurance premiums for plans
offered through the marketplace. These premium tax credits made health
care affordable for millions of families, small business owners, and
farmers across the country. To make health care even more affordable,
the American Rescue Plan Act (P.L. 117-2) enhanced the premium
tax credits. This measure ensured that eligible households would not
contribute more than 8.5 percent of their income to their health
insurance premiums and allowed more middle-income Americans to access
the premium tax credits.
Due to the beneficial impact these enhanced tax credits had for American families, Congress extended them as part of the Inflation Reduction Act
(P.L. 117-19) through the end of 2025. The enhanced premium tax credits
helped double enrollment in ACA health plans from 11.4 million
Americans in 2020 to 24.3 million Americans in 2025. In Illinois, ACA
enrollment grew 59 percent, from 292,945 Illinoisans in 2020 to 465,985
in 2025. The enhanced premium tax credits have allowed more Americans to
access primary care visits, prescription drugs, mental health and
substance use disorder services, maternity care, and other essential
health benefits.
If the enhanced premium tax credits are not extended, premiums for
more than 22 million Americans, including 395,850 Illinoisans, will more
than double—from an average of $888 to $1,904 each month. Some could
see even steeper increases. In Illinois, a 60-year-old couple with an
income of $82,800 could see their annual premium increase $17,018—254
percent—while a family of four with an income of $64,000 could see their
annual premium increase $2,571—226 percent. Such a large premium
increase is unsustainable for most families. In fact, more than four
million Americans will become uninsured due if Congress does not act,
including 106,000 Illinoisans.
Health care providers and hospitals across Illinois also will be
impacted if the enhanced premium tax credits are not extended by the end
of the year. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, hospitals
and health care providers across the United States could lose more than
$32 billion in revenue, while uncompensated care costs could increase
by $7.7 billion in 2026. For hospitals and providers in Illinois, lost
revenue could amount to $372 million, while uncompensated care costs
could increase by $129 million. This is in addition to the congressional
Republicans’ $1 trillion Medicaid cut included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,
which will reduce federal Medicaid funding to Illinois by 19 percent
over the next decade. We worry that health care providers and hospitals
will face even more severe financial hardship if the enhanced premium
tax credits expire, and patients will suffer.
To help inform our legislative efforts to improve health care for
Illinoisans and better understand the implications of letting the ACA
tax credits expire, we request that [health insurer] respond to the
following questions by October 22, 2025:
How many Illinoisans does [health insurer] cover? Please provide statewide figures and a breakdown by congressional district.
How many Illinoisans does [health insurer] cover who receive the
enhanced premium tax credit? Please provide statewide figures and a
breakdown by congressional district.
For Illinoisans who are covered by [health insurer] and receive the
enhanced premium tax credit, what is their average premium reduction?
Please provide statewide figures and a breakdown by congressional
district.
If the enhanced premium tax credits are allowed to expire because of
congressional Republican inaction, does [health insurer] plan to
increase premiums for Illinoisans next year?
If so, please provide the justification for such premium increases.
If so, please provide the average statewide increase and a breakdown by congressional district.
If the enhanced premium tax credits are allowed to expire because of
congressional Republican inaction, does [health insurer] expect the
Illinoisans it covers to lose coverage?
If so, please provide estimated statewide coverage losses and a breakdown by congressional district.
If so, what continuity of care plans does [health insurer] have in place for Illinoisans?
When would notices of premium changes be sent to Illinoisans?
How many Illinoisans will [health insurer] have to notify?
How will [health insurer] inform Illinoisans (e.g., mail, e-mail)?
What processes does [health insurer] have in place to ensure that Illinoisans will be informed before their coverage is renewed?
If the enhanced premium tax credits expire, are there specific
counties that will cease to be a part of [health insurer’s] service
area?
If so, approximately when will such a decision to exit be made?
Thank you for your timely attention to this important issue.
