Putin : Ukraine :: Trump : Venezuela

 that's it.

If The Trump Speech On The Capture Of Maduro Doesn't Prove He's In Full Dementia

What's it gonna take? Rambling, spitting, mispronouncing, illogical, and he can't even read his own text. Sniffle. WTAF? It was dark at night? Who would have guessed. How do Rubio and all stand there and not smirk and laugh behind their hand? And where the flock is Congress? and ah...not to mention topics totally off subject.

Has Anyone Told Trump That Mar a Lago is Spanish?

 that's it, just a simple question this evening.

Open Letter to JSONLINE: You Need To Review Your Pay Wall Policy

 First, for those of you who don't know, JSOnline is the website for the print newspaper, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. And yes they rely on a combination of subscription and advertising to pay the bills. So at JSOnline many of the front page articles are behind a pay wall and marked for subscribers only. 

I promised this post sometime ago but let it slip a bit, but today's version of JSOnline brought it to the fore. Now I don't totally agree with their stance but I understand it. I wrote about politics on a free site for 14 years and am here in a similar capacity. The first site did try advertising revenue for a while but the revenue was negligible. But I would suppose the MJS has sufficient advertising to support themselves if they wanted without the pay wall forcing additional subscribers. I am sure they would beg to differ.

 

But that's only the side story for now. My ISSUE is with what the put behind the pay wall. Exclusive personal interest stuff. Fine. Big breaking sports stuff. Fine. Best new restaurants. Fine.

But today they published an article of particular importance to the community as a whole:

In a crowded field for governor, here are the candidates' one big idea by Molly Beck.

Every resident and every voter and every business in the State of Wisconsin has an interest in who is elected our next governor. This type of reporting belongs front page (well it is) and NOT behind a pay wall. Everyone should be able to access the candidates responses (and those who did not respond) so they can make informed decisions in 2026.

Come on MJS and JSOnline.  Be the community representative that public media is supposed to be and report on current political events and make that reporting available to everyone. EVERYONE!

Full disclosure: I am a subscriber of the print MJS with daily and Sunday delivery to my home. 

 

Why is the COAST GUARD the group harassing Venezuelan oil tankers?

Whether or not the Trump cabal is legally intercepting and seizing Venezuelan oil tankers, I gotta wonder why is the Coast Guard doing the work? Their job is precisely in their title! I can't imagine that if the tankers are as nefarious as Trump alleges, that they would be coming anywhere near our coasts.

So given the nature of the work and the location and the fact that Trump has built up our naval presence in the Caribbean. why isn't the US Navy doing this?

The Changing Of The Name Of The The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts Presents An Interesting Question.

 A typical overreach by the current denizen of the White House has added the name of Donald J Trump to the Kennedy center. And the sign on the building was updated with 24 hours of the vote. Now, the legality of the change is up for question since Congress originally passed actual laws naming it shortly after Kennedy's assassination. So a simple board vote technically isn't an actual name change. 

But there is a whole background issue here that is being overlooked. The previous name was in fact The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Notice the M word in there? M as in Memorial. Don't you have to be dead to have a Memorial named after you? 

 

RFK Jr Continues To Claim That Aluminum In Vaccines Causes Health Issues

And maybe he's right given how many of his troop have varying stages of dementia apparently caused by their tin foil hats...which of course aren't actually made out of tin foil...but ALUMINUM!

Ebben Gets An Endorsement That's Out Of This World

 

Jessi Ebben, a MAGA moron who is running for Tom Tiffany's congressional seat, is very proud to tell everyone and anyone who will listen to her that she's been endorsed by Rep Anna Paula Lunatic 

In a statement, Rep. Luna said “Jessi Ebben is a devoted wife, mother, and a true America First fighter, and I am proud to endorse her for Congress in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District. Jessi is a Trump Conservative with deep Badger State roots, and she will help me advance President Trump’s agenda in Congress by securing our southern border, lowering costs for Wisconsin families, and standing firmly with law enforcement. Jessi Ebben has my full endorsement.”

Very impressive indeed. How many people can say that they've been endorsed by a so far into the MAGA cult that she nominated President Pedo for the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as be added to Mount Rushmore? And let's not forget that Lunatic is also a Russian asset! Maybe, if elected, Ebben could fly to Moscow with Ron Johnson and get a discount on airfare!

But the real seller that shows that Lunatic knows that Ebben is the real deal is that Lunatic knows all about UFOs and believes in interdimensional beings. Because one would have to be spaced out to think Ebben would be a good choice for dog catcher, much less US Representative.

Trump Plans Massive Layoff At VA, DVO Is Silent

 A leaked memo shows that Trump is planning to cut up to another 35,000 staff members of the VA, on top of the 30,000 he has already cut.  And that's not including the severe staffing shortage before Trump's first round of layoffs.

But he and the Republicans care so much about the veterans, don't you know? Just ask them, and they will tell you about it. Just don't expect them to actually show it.

And don't ask Drunken Van Orden. He's suspiciously quiet about the whole thing.

Tough Talk From Craven Coward

 The propagandist hacks at Wisconsin White Right Now went on Xitter and posted a picture of Rep Drunken Van Orden speaking to Youth for Hitler Young Republicans in Oconomowoc.  

They quote the lush as saying "I'd take a punch in the face for you. I will fight tirelessly for your freedoms."

Ironically, DVO has also blocked countless people on Xitter because they hurt his fee fees by speaking truth to power. Some hero.

Tom Tiffany Whitesplains Slavery To Mandela Barnes

 

Because Tom Tiffany is already tanking against Democratic frontrunner Mandela Barnes, he went to get some free airtime from squawk radio host Dan O'Donnell. 

Heartland Signal caught the interaction between the two, and it was not a meeting of the minds by any stretch of the imagination.

On conservative radio, Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany insists a African-American Democratic opponent represents “the party of slavery." pic.twitter.com/MmBFd1V6hj

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) December 4, 2025

Yes, Dan, isn't it amazing that Mandela Barnes should sound like himself? And they actually pay him for this? But then Tiffany took the cake by whiteslpaining slavery to Barnes, who is Black:

TIFFANY: But I would remind Mr. Barnes, he belongs to the party that was the party of slavery. I happen to belong to the party, the Republican party, that was started in 1854 right here in Wisconsin that ended slavery. And we were the ones that said all men should be created equal. Why he belongs to the Democrat Party if he believes those things that he was just saying, I don't understand it for the life of me. 

That Tiffany would say something that boneheaded isn't surprising.  Judging by his social media posts, Tiffany's sole plank in his platform is a racist dog whistle.

 When asked for a comment, Barnes referred to a post he put on Xitter to the Heartland Signal post. Barnes' comment was that he "did not expect to have slavery tiffany-splained to me."

Mandela Barnes Enters Gubernatorial Race, Both Parties Panic

 Four months and six candidates after Governor Tony Evers announced that he would not run for reelection, former Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes entered the race to be Wisconsin's next governor and became the instant frontrunner.  He kicked off his campaign with this introductory video:

Barnes is charismatic, is a good friend of Labor, and has decent name recognition, which is probably the reason for his frontrunner status.  But that is not to say he is going to have clear sailing to the governor's mansion.

His entrance into the race has set the Republicans into a foaming-at-the-mouth panic.  Tom Tiffany, who is the frontrunner for the Republican Party, has been blowing his racist dog whistle until he's blue in the face.  But then again, that seems to be Tiffany's only plank in his campaign.

But Republican opposition is to be expected.

What is really disappointing and disconcerting is the whisper campaign among Democrats that started long before Barnes even announced.  They cite Barnes' loss to Ron Johnson in 2022.  They acknowledge that Barnes came within one percentage point, about 26,000 votes.

But what they don't dare mention is that while RoJo had billionaires like Diane Hendricks and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.  What they also don't mention is that neither the DNC nor the DPW came through for Barnes.

Given that information, it's obvious that Barnes did pretty damn good to get as close as he did with no help and against nearly insurmountable odds. 

The fact that someone would start this kind of crap only tells me that they don't have a lot of faith in their candidate. And if they don't have faith in their candidate to win in the primary, odds are he wouldn't do well in the general election either.

Popcorn Turkey

J.Divan Vance said that no one likes turkey.  But considering the fact that he thinks roadkill possum is a delicacy, his opinion on this matter, as in many things, is completely irrelevant.

Perhaps he should try this recipe next time.  It's guaranteed to blow the doors off the place.

Here is a Thanksgiving Turkey recipe that also includes the use of popcorn as a stuffing - imagine that.

When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect for people like me, who just are not sure how to tell when poultry is thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. Give this a try.

BAKED STUFFED TURKEY

10-12 lb. Turkey

1 cup melted butter

1 cup stuffing (Pepperidge Farm is good.)

5 cups uncooked popcorn (ORVILLE REDENBACHER 'S LOW FAT)

Salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush Turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey's ass blows the oven door open and flies across the room, it's done.

Imagine the look on your loved ones' faces as you show off your culinary skills.

And J Divan, if you decide to try this recipe, make sure you keep your face real close to the oven door, so you can see the magic happen. 

This Isn't Directly About Politics, But It Is: WTF Are The Banks Doing And Why Are They Allowed To Do It?

 Twice this week I have gotten solicitations in the mail from local banks promising lower interest rates if I apply for a new credit card at their bank. Well of course that is pretty common practice except:

I already have credit cards with each of these banks. So why don't you just lower the damn interest rates on my current accounts and be done with it? I certainly don't need another credit card. 

The rules around banking and credit cards have just gotten too wild west for anyone's good. And for that matter it's time to put reasonable caps on credit card interest fees.

Plain Talk About The GOP Grift Scheme

 Unless you are a MAGA moron, you've heard about the Republicans' scheme to give some of themselves a $500,000 reward because they had been investigated for breaking the law. Who says that crime doesn't pay?

Amazingly, most people, and definitely no one in the mainstream media, are willing to call it out as the corruption it is.  But a professor at the University of Wisconsin - Madison is not afraid to say it out loud:

Ken Mayer, a professor of American politics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an email to WPR that the provision would probably lead to the federal government settling and paying Johnson and the other senators.

"It’s banana republic crony capitalist bulls—,” Mayer said.

“It ought to be a career-ending scandal for everyone involved,” Mayer continued. “But it won’t because too many have become numbed to flagrant and obvious corruption and self-dealing that is occurring on a daily basis.”

He's absolutely correct. If we had a government that wasn't so damn dysfunctional, a lot of the things that are happening wouldn't be happening.  To make matters even worse, we can't even count on half of the Democrats to do the right thing, either.