Wars and Rumors of War, 2026. Part 8. Donald Trump, China's (and Russia's) greatest ally edition.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom

Matthew, Chapter 24.

Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

July 26, 2026

China v. Taiwan

The Houthis hit oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia yesterday.

News reports hold that the administration has put on hold an escalation of the war due to a shortage of air defense munitions.  Savvy analysts, including yours truly, have been warning about that occurring for months, and not it's here.

So, in keeping with that, a prediction.

This is also likely a moment that Putin and Xi have been waiting for as well.  Our weapons stockpile has been built up over years, and now we've wasted it on a war fought for Israel and Trump's vanity.  Both Putin and Xi know that the next President, assuming at Trump 2028 coup to be unsuccessful, and assuming that we don't have another President before 2028, is much less likely to be a complete patsy and geopolitical dimwit.  

For Russia, that means Russia needs to fight on in hopes it can win before the next administration comes on.  For Xi, that means the time to invade Taiwan is. . . now.

July 29, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

The U.S. Senate advanced Russian energy sanctions legislation Tuesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the Capitol. The vote was seen as a tribute to the bill’s author, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the day of his funeral, which was widely attended by politicos. 

Trump fell asleep during it as J. D. Vance seemed oblivious to the dozing octogenarian and Bessent looked nervous about it, but then he always looks nervous.

July 31, 2026

Israeli Hamas War

The Bored of Peas has supposedly worked out a peace plan in Gaza.  Sober analysts a 4th Grade level have severe doubts about it.

August 1, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Now Trump is backtracking and saying the US won't license Patriot missile production to Ukraine.

August 2, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Ukraine has run out of ballistic missile interceptors.  This comes at the same time that the US supply is seriously depleted due to Donald Trump's illegal moronic war against Iran.

King Donny should free up what remains of the US supply and give them to Ukraine, and start emergency production for the US.  As for Iran, we can solve that problem simply by pulling out.  Better yet, pulling out, putting every senior commander who agreed to fight in a clearly illegal war on trial, and impeaching Donald Trump.

Crisis in Ceuta

Not a war but requiring Spanish military deployment, a mass flood of immigrants crashed into the Spanish North African city of Ceuta.

About 50,000 North African immigrants stormed the city, leading to dramatic news footage and MAGA "see, it could happen here" claims.  Missed in the story is that 48,000 of them returned to Morocco within 48 hours.

A bigger question may be why Spain retains a city that you would figure should be part of Morocco, but it does.

Italy defensively suspended the EU's border-free Schengen arrangements with Spain.

August 10, 2026

Israel v. Hamas.

Israel had rejected the "Board of Peace" peace plan, refusing to enter into a peace deal with Hamas until it is definitely disarmed.

Another blow to King Donny.

August 17, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Both sides exchanged heavy missile and drone attacks yesterday.  A NATO jet on patrol shot down a drone that had strayed into Romania.  

August 18, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Robert Shaheiev, 49, formerly of the Ukrainian Navy who defected to Russia early in the war died in an explosion in Sevastopol.

Whether he was targeted or not, Ukrainian operatives have proven effective at hunting down figures in the Russian military that they find particularly responsible for various matters.  Shaheiev defected with a submarine.

Korean War

Donald Trump has signaled that the US is going to scale back it's participation in joint exercises with the South Korean Army.

What's going on here is terribly unclear.  The US has maintained troops in the ROK since the 1945 and the threat of North Korean invasion is very real.  

I should note that this isn't entirely unprecedented.  Jimmy Carter actually campaigned on the idea in 1976 and tried to implement a phased withdrawal, which was abandoned over conservative and military objections.  Since the 1980s, military support of South Korea has been very strong.

Trumps move comes at a time when the US is losing an illegal war with Iran and is having to pull naval assets out of the Pacific.  It also comes at a point at which the longtime Red Chinese goal of forcibly reunited Taiwan with the mainland is at its highest point. Combined with that, Trump's administration is packed with National Conservatives who have a sort of Neo Nineteenth Century view of where the U.S.'s foreign policy should be focused.

Given that, Trump's decision could be the result of his listening to National Conservatives, or it could be because or logistical situation is much worse than admitted.

It could also be because South Korea refused to participate in the illegal war, like every other nation on earth did.  Trump has not taken that well.  Nobody seems to be pointing out that South Korea did participate in the Vietnam War, which Trump did not.  Trump himself, at any rate, referenced South Korea's lack of willingness to get into the losing war with Iran.

Because of Trump's other actions, however, there's widespread commentary about whether Trump is a Russian asset and this is influencing him on the world stage.  As radical as that sounds, there are reason to raise this question.  Certainly no other President has hurt US interest, and just the US in general, more than Trump, and he's a fanboy of Putin.

We've noted it elsewhere, but we've been worried about a Chinese strike on Taiwan in the near future.  The combination of the failed Iran War and Trump's other actions make that inevitable . The question is whether that will come this Fall, or next Spring.

September 4, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

In an attack Ukraine is an intentional Russian signal to the United States, Russia hit a Coca Cola plant in a drone strike.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has killed a House vote on Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill which passed the Senate in July, stating “We have to build consensus around that final product".

Oh, um, . . . not hat doesn't look a little weird. . . .  and doesn't raise any questions, um, like  Дональд Трамп — агент России?

What is it with this administration and Russia?  Why is Дональд Трамп a Russian asset?  Just stupidity and a like for flashy gold things?

September 20, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Ukraine launched a massive drone raid on targets in the Moscow region.

September 22, 2026

Pakistan v. Afghanistan

Pakistan conducted air raids into Afghanistan yesterday.

October 1, 2026

US in Iraq

The U.S. is now completely out of Iraq.

October 4, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Russia hit Ukrainian bridges over the past few days.  This appears to be an economic targeting.

Russia also indicated it would resort to the use of nuclear weapons to defend Kaliningrad if it needed to, which it would never need to, as nobody is threatening the Baltic city formerly known as Königsberg.

October 5, 2026

Russia

Darya Shipilova, patient 0 in what hopefully is contained quickly.  May the perpetual light shine upon her.

Darya Shipilova, a 28-year-old researcher at an anti-plague lab died following suspected exposure to a “particularly dangerous infection.” which people believe is likely pneumonic plague.  Some 200 people are under observation for exposure to the highly infectious disease which might have killed the young woman due to a lab accident.

Some fairly knowledgeable people assert that there's reason to believe that this may be a weaponized variant of the disease, which the Soviets were working on prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Adam Kinzinger is urging all flights out of Russia to be halted.

God grant that this be contained, whatever it is.  

We would note that no country has reacted by banning flights so far.  We might also note that with Trump in office the US is extraordinarily impaired in reacting to a threat like this.  MAGA still continues to believe that COVID 19 was no sort of a threat and it's unlikely that Donald is going to react until it really turns out to be a weaponized virus that starts killing a lot of people.

Related threads:

King Donald's War, Part 10. "If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied." Donald Trump, the killer edition.

Last edition:

King Donald's War, Part 10. "If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied." Donald Trump, the killer edition.Labels: 119th Congress, 2020s, 2026, Death, Donald Trump, Houthi, Jordan, King Donald's War, Lies, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, The roles of men and women, United States and Israel v. Iran, War Warnings, Women, You heard it here first

Additional Labels:

Wars and Rumors of War, 2026. Part 8. Donald Trump, China's (and Russia's) greatest ally edition, additional labels.

Wars and Rumors of War, 2026. Part 8. Donald Trump, China's (and Russia's) greatest ally edition, additional labels.

 

2028 Election, Part I. The Preview of Coming Attractions Editions.

December 19, 2025

 And the 2028 Presidential Season has begun.  Erika Kirk of Turning Point USA has endorsed J. D. Vance.

And yes, it's way, way, early.

But perhaps its not surprising.  Trump's mentally departing the stage and chance are good that he'll be out of office in the next few months, Vance is probably looking towards his future right now.  His best chances for that position, of course, would be if Trump is escorted out of the building babbling about being the greatest and sent to a gilded retirement home.

But if that doesn't occur, the knives will be coming out before 2028.  Marco Rubio will not have sat through four years of soul corrupting dementia not to take a run at the White House.  No doubt others are in the wings.

One who may be in the wings, if I'm wrong on his being too demented to carry on in any fashion, is Donald Trump. Everyone keeps noting that he's constitutionally barred but he has no regard for the law in the first place and his threads to run need to be taken seriously.

On Vance, he's a true NatCon, although a recent convert to the philosophy, and his being backed by Turning Point means something, assuming that Turning Point doesn't fly apart or become highly diminished (which I think it will).  It's hard to know exactly what's going on, but it might be suspected that it's probable that Kirk's coming out now has the backing of other significant NatCon figures, who know that they need to put their man in power now (Trump really isn't their man, but their tool).  A figure like Rubio would turn the clock back.

And so the race is on.

December 22, 2025

It wasn't until listening to the weekend shows that I learned that Marco Rubio has endorsed Vance as well.

That's really interesting, and frankly surprising.

Cont:

And now the rumors are circulating, probably correctly, that Ted Cruz will be running.

Moreover. . . .

The NatCon nerve center and author of Project 2025 starts to come unglued as the Trump Administration does:

Top Heritage Officials Flee to Mike Pence’s Nonprofit as Think Tank Fractures

The conservative movement continues to splinter about how to deal with its most controversial voices

I've always thought Roberts' organization would maneuver to put Vance in power in 2026 and shove aside the Pine Tree flag folks, who don't have the intellectual capacity to run a government.  The risk has always been that they'd hold the hand they were dealt too long.

They may have.

And Pence, who didn't look like a good candidate before, is starting to with some folks.

September 23, 2026

Christie with President Zelensky

Chris Christie has made what is effectively an announcement that he's running for the Presidency in 2028.

Christie is a solid and real conservative and is not only seeking to obtain the Oval Office, but to stage a counter insurgency against the populist MAGAs.  This is a good time to do so, as the MAGA's are abandoning ship pretty rapidly as the bloom is off the Trump Stenchweed for everyone except the most diehard loyalist, many of whom are in the ignorant category.  The MAGA's are floundering around like fish in the deck with the two presumed 2028 candidates for the Trump thrown, Marco Rubio and J. D. Vance having real trouble dealing with a legacy they both want to take and to avoid.

Christie was a Trump supporter after his first run for office in 2016 and was part of the Trump transition team.  He got COVID 19 at a White House event, which shows how late he remained on Trump's team, sort of. It would seem that his loyalty was always somewhat cynical, as he never played that much of a role and his views don't dovetail with Trump's. Christie definitively broke with Trump on election night 2020 when he adamantly maintained that the election was not stolen and he's pulled away from him ever since.  He's a frequent guest on the This Week panel where he's been a very vocal opponent of Trump's, while still being a conservative.

Christie's announcement brought out tons of criticism, some of it from people like me who have always opposed Trump.  I understand that, but I feel it's unwarranted as Christie never compromised his own views and stood for them when the time came.  His support for Trump was likely self serving, as is J. D. Vance's and Marco Rubio's.  He's a real Republican, a real conservative, and in my view is a very good candidate.  It's early, of course, but in this environment, positioning himself early, before the November 2026 election, would appear to be a good strategy. 

I will note that the immediate opposition to Christie in some quarters is interesting.  As noted, I get those who are disgruntled as he supported Trump in the first administration.  But a lot of people just keep saying "he's fat". 

Yeah, he is. So was Taft. So was Cleveland.  So is Trump.

It's weird to think being fat would be a reason not to vote for a person, while being a serial polygamist isn't.

We should mention the Democrats as well.

No Democrat has announced or even gone as far as Christie with an announcement of intent to announce.  That's likely a wise strategy as announcing in advance of the November election will give absolutely desperate Republicans something to focus on.  An interesting development has happened, however, in that Gavin Newsom has been clearly testing the waters but came out saying he would not run if Kamala Harris does.  Presenting a united front against the GOP is a good strategy, to be sure, but in 2028 the Democrats will not face Trump and the need to be united early may not really be there.  Moreover, Harris is a terrible candidate.  Harris would fit the mold, however, of Democrats re-running failed candidates.

September 25, 2026

Prior Pritzker logo.

JB Pritzker, who Trump likes to insult for being fat, even though Trump is fat, has effectively thrown his hat in the ring as well as of yesterday.

Pritzker is 80 lbs lighter than he was this time last  year.  

An interesting thing here is that we now have two ex Governor's from east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason Dixon line running for the GOP ticket.  It's over two years until the 2028 election, but it's still noteworthy as this could very much reflect a shift in the GOP.  Donald Trump is a New Yorker, of course, but he's basically from the State of Television.  The last Republican President who was a true East Coaster was George H. W. Bush of Maine.

September 29, 2028

Robert Reich reports that Rahm Emanuel is thinking of running on the Democratic ticket.

The Rahm Bomb

And Reich is worried.

He should be. 

I don't know that much about Emanuel, but I do know that the Democratic Party can blaze a way to defeat like no other.  Given a chance to simply walk into the White House, and right now it's looking like they have one, they'll mess it up by picking a candidate that's unelectable.

Let's be perfectly frank about 2024.  Donald Trump won in no small part as the Democrats picked two completely lousy candidates.

Joe Biden was obviously suffering from mental decline and allowed to run until it simply couldn't be ignored.  Then they went to the next worse option, Harris.

I warned at the time that Harris was a bad choice, at which time I urged that they pick Tammy Duckworth.

Why can't Democrats get a clue? 

Why isn't anyone suggesting that Tammy Duckworth replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket?

Nope, Kamala Harris with her high pitched whiny voice and completely unworkable personality.  

Uff.

There's plenty of rumors afoot that Harris is going to run again, which his repeating the mistake the Democrats made with Hillary Clinton.  People didn't like Clinton, at all.  The Democrats kept acting like her failures weren't her failures.

There's a serious risk that the Democrats do that again, and figure, sure she lost to Joe Biden in the primary, and sure she lost to a demented septuagenarian in the Presidential election, but, by golly, that means nothing.

Which of course has nothing to do with Emanuel. . . or maybe it does.

Emanuel is from the Clinton and Biden administrations.  It's really clear that a lot of people are really trying to put distance between the past and the present and are disgusted with politicians in general who symbolize the past.  About the only Democrat of old who could win now would be Barack Obama, and he can't run (although if the GOP finds some illegal way to run Trump. . . ).  The Democrats need to move forward.

They also need to ditch the Baby Boomers like the stenchy worn out gym shorts they've become.  There ought to be an age limit on anyone running in 2028.  I'd put the cap at being born in 1965, which is the upper year for Generation Jones.  If the Boomers haven't gotten things right by now, they're not going to.

On this, the Democrats also need to get Bernie Sanders to shut up.  Nothing says Gerontocracy like having a million year old man running around as the voice of "progressivism"  

Duckworth, fwiw, would be a good candidate.  Amy Klobuchar would as well.

Basically, if you were born before 1965, or had a position in a prior administration, stay out.

Pritzker, I'd note, makes that cutoff.

So does Republican Chris Christie.

October 5, 2026

Rahm Emmanuel was on Meet the Press this weekend. He's clearly running, and frankly he sounded perfectly reasonable.  I was impressed.

Additional labels:

2028 Election, Part I. The Preview of Coming Attractions Editions. Additional labels.

2028 Election, Part I. The Preview of Coming Attractions Editions. Additional labels.

 

Thursday, October 5, 1911. More anarchists.

Anarchist Nikolaus Njegus fired four shots at the ministerial benches of the Austrian Reichsrat in an attempt to assassinate Austrian Minister of Justice, Viktor von Hochenburge without hitting anyone.  He had an accomplice.  Their mission failed.

The The 1911 Sonora hurricane, which had resulted in around 300 deaths in Mexico, dissipated.

Today In Wyoming's History: October 5: 1911 President William H. Taft addressed an audience at Rock Springs.

He'd been in Salt Lake the day prior.

All in all, in terms of global events, the news was grime.

Fort Rock Oregon, October 5, 1911.

San Benito, Texas.  October 5, 1911.  Note the "land and water company" sign.

Last edition:

Tuesday, October 3, 1911. Shelling Tripoli.

Labels: 1910s, 1911, California, Italian Empire, Italo-Turkish War, Libya, Libya (Tripoli), Ottoman Empire, Personalities, suffrage, The roles of men and women, Women

Saturday, October 5, 1901. Concern for Presidential Safety.

It was a Saturday, and the recent assassination of President McKinley was much in mind.

President Cleveland gave his views on the safety of the President.  Given the recent murder of McKinley, it probably truly was inadequate, as opposed to today, when it's absurdly overdone.

At the time, there was an implicit concern that the President should not be separated from the people, and indeed, the people should have access to the President.  Nothing reflected that more than the New Year's Day custom of the President greeting the public at the steps of the White House to shake people's hands.  It's a far distance from today's imperial Presidency, and not in a good way.

Harpers picked up on the them of it being a radical immigrant. 

Radicalism was strongly present in some immigrant communities in the US at the time, particularly those that hailed from Eastern Europe where people strained to be freed of imperial dominance.  The same populations, however, also featured people of very deep conservative views.  Immigrant populations tend to be grossly stereotyped.

Hartford Connecticut became the first city in the United States to have a steam powered electrical supply.

Steam turbines generate a large volume of electricity today, whether by coal, natural gas, or nuclear powered power plants.

Last edition:

Thursday, October 3, 1901. Victorolas and the Episcopal Church.

Labels: 1900s, 1901, Blog Mirror, Christianity, Music, Oxford Movement, Protestant, religion, technology

King Donald's War, Part 14. The Houthi Edition.

 

Emblem of Yemen.

September 20, 2026

The Houthis hit the Saudi capital of Riyadh with drones.

September 25, 2026

The Senate voted against a resolution demanding an end to the war or Congressional authorization 50 to 49.  Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted in favor.  Spinless wimp John Barrasso of course voted against.

October 5, 2026

The US withdrew its strategic bombers from the United Kingdom in reaction to some sort of attempted attack on a US installation.

Frankly, at this point, it's impossible to know what's a legitimate US. action vs. Trump drama.

Last edition:

King Donald's War, Part 13. A Second Rate Military lead by a Third Rate Clown College with a Secretary of War who should be impeached.

Labels: 1940, 1940s, 1941, 1948, 2020s, 2026, Curragh Mutiny, Israel, John Barrasso, King Donald's War, Mike Johnson, Military, Pete Hegseth, Thomas Massie, U.S. Navy, United States and Israel v. Iran, War, Women, Zeitgeist

The 2026 Election, 23rd Edition. Stein's Law meets the GOP. The hints of a mutiny edition.

If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.

Herbert Stein.

September 23, 2026

Something is actually going on in the GOP for the first time since the Dixiecrat MAGA insurgency took control of the party and made it a populist party.

Bit and pieces of the signs are everywhere, all of a sudden.  Stein's Law has arrived.

GOP candidates are in trouble all over the country and now they're starting to dump Trump.  A good example of this is Congressman Ashley Hinson, who is trying to do the same thing that Harriet Hageman is trying to do, which is to move into a retiring Senator's spot.  She's in real trouble in that effort and recent polls indicate that she's behind. The Republican seat appears slated to go to a Democrat.  The GOP sent out John Barrasso to stump for her, an odd choice as Barrasso isn't inspiring on his alleged home turf, but the thought must have been that the Senate Whip could show how Hinson winning would help the Dear Leader.

Well, that message didn't seem to take. So Hinson started to bolt.  From her Facebook.

Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran. We need to use every option at our disposal to provide some relief from high prices. 

That includes suspending the gas tax, pausing diesel exports, unleashing E-15 everywhere we can, reinstating the $1/gallon biodiesel tax credit, and creating a diesel relief program to help our farmers and truckers being crushed by the high costs. 

While doing this, we should also ensure our highway trust fund is replenished, so that Iowans don’t suffer from crumbling roads and bridges while relief comes our way now. These actions to lower costs are needed ASAP, and the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.

I am working every day to deliver bipartisan results for Iowans and I will work with anyone who is ready to tackle this challenge immediately.

She otherwise demanded that the war against Iran be stopped.

Hinson had voted against the War Powers Resolution every time it's been voted on in the House, and did so just a week prior, so she's voted to keep the war rolling.  Now she wants it over.  Fuel prices are the reason why.

Closer to home, there are all of a sudden all sorts of die-hard right wingers who are criticizing Trump.  Whether that translates over to opposing Trump lover Chuck Gray and Trump supported Harriet Hageman is another thing, but there's definitely stirring in the ranks.

Indeed, Cowboy State Daily carpetbagging columnist Dave Simpson went into a "boo hoo' fit about the whole thing, wondering if the imaginary Sweet Home Alabama Wyoming he believes to have existed has gone "wobbly".

Dave Simpson: Do 70 Percent Of Us Still Like Trump?

Go home Dave.  You drank too much WFC Kool aide.

Elsewhere, Wyoming teachers are organizing against the attempt to bankrupt the state:

Teachers, hospital leaders launch $1M campaign to fight property tax ballot measure

And it's been noted that Wyomingites are voting their interests:

Wyoming chooses public lands at the ballot box

Beyond that, the revolt is getting large enough that as early as it is, we're now seeing the non Trump GOP start to reemerge from the bunkers for the 2028 races, with Chris Christie having basically indicated that he's running.

Elections are not over, until their over, but it is clear that the GOP, and for that matter Trump, have no idea on how to hold on to the Senate, let alone the House.  Doubling down on all the old tired lines (the Red Chinese are coming to have babies, date your daughters, steal your lunch) isn't working.  The MAGA base was always the demographic that was most vulnerable to an economic downturn and now it's suffering.  Agriculture, a Republican base, can't deal with the high fuel and fertilizer prices.  Trucking can't deal with the high prices either.  Regular people don't like the high prices at the grocery store and nobody likes the high fuel prices in the West.

This can't and won't be fixed by the election. The war against Iran won't be over and fuel prices will be high unless a ban on exports tanks the price of diesel, which it likely won't.

It took a lot, but people seem to be waking up to being lied to.  Moreover, as that happens, Trump gets weirder and weirder by the day.

One place that appears now almost inevitable to go to the Democrats is Texas, where Texas Democratic Senate James Talarico has seen a 28-point swing in vote share against Ken Paxton.  

Cont:

Fresh from getting its head handed to it in the primary, where its endorsements didn't pan out for the most part, the Dixiecrat controlled central committee of the Wyoming Republican Party has endorsed the property tax cut bill that would gut local governments like fish.

Wyoming Republicans just took a side on a property tax vote that could reshape local revenues

Basically, the Dixiecrat Wyoming Freedom Caucus hates the Gubbement and figures that stuff like education and the like can be handled by Ella Mae back at home.

September 24, 2026

Barrasso Endorses Cody Republican For State House, Libertarian Opponent OK With It

September 25, 2026

Dixiecrats are moving over to their rightful home:

Hot Springs County Chair Switches From Republican To Constitution Party

Rod Miller wrote an op ed on this and I've been meaning to post on it, so I'll just comment here.  Bextel moving over to the Constitution Party, delusional though she is, is a good thing if it causes other Dixiecrats of the WFC to follow her, and they should.  Here, a prominent Hot Springs politician has done just that.  

The Constitution Party, which believes in a double secret constitution written in crayon and visible only through secret decoder glasses may pull over 10% in the election, which would make it a good place for people from the WFC to pack up their gray kepis and go and be "real".  As is actually they, not traditional Wyoming Republicans, who are the aberration, they'd be doing themselves a favor, they'd have more voice in the CP, but the Republican Party and the State one as well.  It'd allow the GOP to shake off the chains of the Confederacy which the WFC is attempting to bind it with.

In this environment, it might be noted, it's amazing that the Democrats can't get more traction than they are, but they aren't.  Byrd still stands a good chance, but he's about the only one outside of the very few Democrats holding seats in the legislature.

September 29, 2026

From here on out in the election we're going to see Bat Shit Crazy on full display nearly every day.

Apparently not realizing that the election is a referendum on Donald Trump, a couple weeks ago Trump urged votes to imagine he's on the ballot.

The Republican problem is that voters are doing just that.

If people think back to the 2024 Presidential Election, most voters were never very keen on Trump. The most commonly expressed opinion going into the election was that voters disliked both candidates.  The Democrats screwed themselves by running Biden, which was simply insane.  Republican voters in the primary were in part MAGA true believes, but that misses the point that a lot of Republicans have left the party.  When Biden dropped out, way too late, the Democrats did the typical Democratic thing and killed themselves by nominating a Kamala Harris, about the most irritating candidate they could have found.

2024 is in the rear view mirror of course, but what's been missed in the Trumpian Reign of Terror is that most people went into 2025 disliking Donald Trump and it's gone downhill from there, something made worse by the fact that this administration is made up of the cynical advantageous and those with some agenda, often a deluded one.

With that mix, Trump has had a free hand in acting like a mad king, and he's made the most of it.  People with an agenda, moreover, are fully exercising their one and only chance to try to pull it off.  

Trump's pretty clearly aware of this, in spite of his addled state.  It explains the constant effort to build monuments to himself.  In spite of what some in the far right Evangelical camp believe, there's pretty good reason to doubt Trump's belief in an afterlife.  He certainly hasn't lived like he believes in one.  So he's trying to make sure we remember him as a great man in terms of architecture and conquest.

It's all going to fail.

Trump doesn't seem to be able to grasp that people do not love him.  He's a narcissist who is profoundly in love with himself.  The worst, therefore, nightmare of his life is unfolding.  A lot of motivated people who range from horrified to absolute contempt are going to boot the GOP out of the House, and now it looks like the Senate, and for the very reasons that Trump has urged us to do.  They're voting on him, as the GOP has become a sycophantic personality cult.  

People don't love him.

From now until the election Trump will pull out all the stops to try to keep the result he fears from happening. Anything he can legally get away with he will try.   It'll be a long month until the election.

On not loving Trump, it's a shame Wyomingites don't have a better option to contest Chuck Gray.

Gray has made a career out of loving Trump more than Trump loves Trump. That's about all he has going for him.  We're about to send somebody completely unqualified to do anything for the State to Congress.  Would that somebody other than Johnson and Kinney were running. Neither stand a chance, and they don't really deserve to. 

If none of the above were an option in that race, that'd be the one that would win.

Speaking of Gray, Gray has been showing up at UW football games recently and having pictures taken with students.

It's pathetic.

September 30, 2026

Wyoming Secretary of State and GOP candidate for Congress Chuck Gray emerged from hiding from debate requests, while he's not going to UW football games to be photographed with students, to congratulate the Supreme Court for temporarily upholding 

October 1, 2026

The backers of a data center in Natrona County invited Republican candidates for the County Commission to tour the site and omitted the Democratic candidates.

The GOP candidates are Lisa Jamieson (Democrat), Matt Keating (Republican), Ray Pacheco (Republican), Candace Machado (Democrat) and Dallas Laird (Republican).

We haven't addressed this race much yet, but Laird is a 1,000,000 years old and needs to go.  Keating was a somewhat controversial commissioner and then a somewhat controversial assessor.  He's been battling cancer.  Pacheco is a City of Casper councilman.  Machado was a controversial mayor of Evansville.

October 4, 2026

The Gillette News Record ran an article about a Campbell County event of the meet the candidate type in Gillette for Bextel.  It was held at The Railyard, which is a restaurant in Gillette.  It's a fair sized restaurant but not huge.  Apparently about 20 people went, which shows how little interest Bextel's campaign is drawing.

Her campaign does receive media attention as she's able to run it and it's so unusual.  I hesitate to post on her regularly as it makes her look like a bigger deal than she really is.  It is interesting however.

For one thing, Bextel keeps stating the "I didn't want to do this but had to" type of line. Nobody has to run for anything. What that really means is that the Dixiecrat is suddenly awake to the fact that Wyoming isn't 1960s Alabama and is terrified of what that means.

Also, Bextel continues to use some crude language.  I guess that's no shock in this day and age but at least to some it sort of edges her towards Southern White Trash, which isn't a good look for anyone. 

Those in attendance asked why Hageman and Gray (Gray stayed at her house, apparently, while campaigning) haven't come to her support.

As if.

Politics is a backstabbing game and there's no way that Hageman and Gray are going to buck the GOP for anyone.

Some local politicians showed up, which risks their being associated with her.  I don't blame them for showing up, but the press coverage might be a deterrent to that occurring in the future.

October 5, 2026

More on the Gillette News Record article.

Bextel claims that Harriet Hageman went after Barlow in a major way in a discussion with her personally, claiming that she said he was "pure evil".  Bextel is clearly a bit baffled why Gray and Hageman don't come to her aid in her race.

She also has a theme, or maybe a sort of obsession, with "weak men", which she claims include the current Governor, Barlow, and some other male Republicans.  It's odd.

Bextel has always been a curious figure, to the extent we know anything about her, but her naivete on why Hageman and Gray (she mused she wondered what they have on Hageman), is amusing. Gray and Hageman are on a glide path to higher office, in spite of not being very good choices, and they don't want to ruin it by supporting Bextel who is a crash and dive to political oblivion.

And once again we see the South sort of rearing up in the Dixiecrat Wyoming Freedom Caucus.  Bextel crudely claimed she had bigger "balls" than Barlow and interprets them not being in Nathan Bedford Forrest's Partisan Rangers as their being weak males.  There's a certain sort of peculiar early 20th Century literary quality to this.

Becky, the Southern Damsel, coming to rescue us all. . . 

Go home Becky.

Appendix

The 2026 Election, 22nd Edition. The Stupid on Stilts Edition. Appendix 1.

Last edition:

The 2026 Election, 22nd Edition. The Stupid on Stilts Edition.

Labels: 2020s, 2026, 2026 Election, Alabama, Bill Allemand, Carpetbaggers, Chuck Gray, Dixiecrats, Donald Trump, Harriet Hageman, inflation, James Byrd, Questions for politicians, Rebecca Bextel, Taxes, Tom Lubnau, Wyoming Freedom Caucus

Additional labels:

The 2026 Election, 23rd Edition. Stein's Law meets the GOP. The hints of a mutiny edition, more labels.

25th Amendment Watch, 25th Edition and CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist 161st Edition. The Time is Running Out Edition.

In looking for a photo to caption this, I found this fascinating World War Two (apparently) vintage Heuer advertisement featuring Swiss soldiers all synchronizing their watches.  Heuer is a Swiss company but was not part of the "Dirty Dozen" that sort of ignored Swiss neutrality laws in order to export watches to the British Army.  Fascinating advertisement.  Posted under the Fair Use exception.

October 4, 2026

Running out of time.

We're starting a new edition of this for several reasons.

To start off with, King Donald has been in rare form the last few days.  Whether these qualify as 25th Amendment events or not is another matter. They probably don't.  But they do show the titanic weirdness of the man.

The first was a long rambling post about trying to enact Permanent Daylight Savings Time.

Personally, I hate Daylight Savings Time and I always have.  It was a stupid idea when it came into being, and it still is.  I'd like to see it go.  But King Donald and some Republicans, and probably some Democrats as well, would like for it to be adopted year around.

This is dumb, and yes that's spelled with a "b".

The reason it's dumb is that the sun rises and sets when it does with no regard to the opinions and musings of man.  In real terms, there's a real high noon, and a real midnight. The clock should be based on that.

The stupidity of Daylight Savings Time somehow accepts the concept that by moving the arms of the clock, it somehow changes that.  What Daylight Savings Time is, in real terms, is Go To Work An Hour Earlier.  Apparently we're dim enough, however, to accept that if we pretend to move the arms of the clock, we're still going to work at 8:00 a.m. in the summer, rather than 7:00 a.m.

We're not.

Anyhow, Donalds wants the bill to pass.   If it does, at least it looks like the 119th Congress did something.  Here's his long screed:

As can be seen, Trump is personally blaming this on Tom Cotton, which isn't fair.  What this means is there aren't enough votes in the Senate to take it up and pass it, even if a majority in the Senate are in favor of it.

Cotton's reasons:

Cotton has been a pretty consistent back of Trump's all along, so this is really ironic.  He's getting stabbed in the back by the guy he supported, which isn't surprising.  Everything Trump touches gets destroyed. 

Cotton's reasons here are solid.  Everything he's stated here is correct.  I can personally recall the 1974 experiment with this.

Sunday, January 6, 1974. Messing with the time.

In a bizarre response to the ongoing oil crisis, the U.S. began a trial of year around daylight savings time.

I recall it well, as when I walked to grade school in the morning, it was pretty dark.  We still walked, however.

What I noted there has been noted by supporters of King Donald's proposal.  Kids don't walk to school as much as the culture's addiction to laziness and automotive transportation actually increased since 1974.

Anyhow, what are the reasons for this absurdity?

Golfing and tennis.  Oh, and "farmers want it".

On that last item, farmers don't care one whit about this.  They're going to work when they are going to work.  DST doesn't change that at all.

Indeed, I've always heard the justification for DST being the one that Trump is giving.  You can go out and play sports when you get home from work as you'll have more daylight.

M'eh.

The reason, anyhow, this appears here is that Trump posted, and therefore wrecked, Cotton's cell phone number. That's really mean.  Only a self centered asshole would do a thing like that.  Trump's been asked to justify it in a press interview and just repeats his reasons that he wants the vote.

Personally, and I have no way of really knowing this, I think he wants it as the Republican 119th Congress has done nothing and now we're headed into a general election with inflation ramping up, an  illegal war going on, and none of the list of usual suspects excuses working anymore.

Also for the same reason, Trump's been running around giving campaign rallies to the true believers.  I haven't tracked where he's been going, but I've read that it tends to be in places where there's a lot of MAGA.  Quietly some candidates in battleground states are trying to distance themselves from him.  Anyhow, at one such rally Trump, who didn't graduate from Wharton with honors and never appeared on the Dean's list, stated:

I am a person with very high intelligence—one of the highest IQs in the world.

Okay, this is at the really weird level.

Generally really intelligent people don't run around saying "I'm high IQ".  Trump says it all the time, which suggests that he's really insecure about his intelligence.

Frankly, at this point, if anyone believes he's super intelligent, they're probably either stupid or incredibly gullible.  MAGA by now is the bottom of the bell curve in intelligence and ignorance.

What's going on with the 25th?

It's rather clear at this point that my prediction that the 25th Amendment would be applied after the first 18 months of Trump's illegal occupation of the Oval Office were off the mark.  This probably should be regarded as a failed prediction.

Having said that, I saw somebody hinting at the possibility that their similar thought might not be.

I think it's a long shot right now, but there's still a chance, and a not insubstantial one, that a backroom plot, basically, remains in place.  The same basic parameters would be in operation, replacing Trump with J.D. Vance before the 2028 election.

My thought was that it would occur before the 2026 election in order that the GOP had a chance to save itself before that election. Clearly that was wrong.  But that in and of itself might be part of what's going on.  The various factions in the Trump backrooms that supported his campaign and which boost their pet theories on everything may very well have realized that the results would be unpopular.  Economic radicals behind the tariffs, for instance, likely were aware that they'd be hugely disruptive.  They may have given up the 2026 midterms from the onset.  They likely didn't appreciate that Trump would start a war with Iran, but most of the rest of the stuff Trump has done has backers within the administration.  All of those people also know that they're in the minority in terms of American culture so Trump is their best chance of making this stuff happen.

But, if I'm correct, at some point Trump has to go and take the stench out with him.  There will come a day, and it's probably in November, when Trump will be personally blamed for what's occurred.  The Republicans are going to lose both houses of Congress in a month.  A Fall Guy will be necessary, and Trump has made himself that person.  He's even asked for people to imagine him on the ballot.

A lot of people will.

After November 3 being a Trumpite in most places will have lost its value.  A lot of the Republican politicians who have supported him all along will grow silent, or more silent than they already are.  Harriet Hageman will likely not be heard to mention his name.  John Barrasso won't either.  Poor Chuck Gray, who has campaigned more than anyone else in Wyoming on being a deep lover of all things Trump, will be lost, but even he will rally to claim that "true conservative values"  need to be defended.

Anyhow, the point is Republicans are already dog trotting away from Trump. Trump is, at the same time, stabbing some of them in the back.  Chip Roy got it, and now Cotton is getting it.  After the vote in November, there will be very little reason to be a Trump backer in the GOP, save for being in a district of diehard MAGAs, which is a declining population.

The National Conservatives and Christian Nationalist still need Trump, however.  Nobody else is going to help them get in their worldview.  They can sort of home that Vance will, but Vance is too savvy to adopt anything fully that's going to wipe out his hopes of being President.

And hence the gamble.

Right now, it may well be the case that NatCons and Christian Nationalist are seeing how far they can have Trump carry on as a sort of dictator until it's too late, and Vance's chances in 2028 are destroyed.  That may have already occured.  Letting that occur might be one reason that Marco Rubio hasn't acted.  But my guess is that they're riding along and just don't quite know where that point is.

It might be coming very soon.  If Trump makes an effort to steal the 2026 midterms, and he will, that might present the opportunity.  If it isn't taken then, it has to be taken some time in 2027.  2028 will probably be too late.

Related threads:

Daylight Savings Time, Dangers, and Crabbiness.

Labels: 2020s, 2026, Agriculture, children, Daylight Savings Time, Economics, Growing up in the 1970s, Harriet Hageman, nature, Wyoming

Last edition:

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist 160th Edition. On being a worthless sycophant

Labels: 2020s, 2026, 2026 Election, Cynthia Lummis, Donald Trump, Republican Party, The Second Trump Administration, Wyoming, Zeitgeist

25th Amendment Watch, 24th Edition. He's crying for help, or completely insane.

Labels: 25th Amendment Watch List, Cowards, Donald Trump, J. D. Vance, John Barrasso, megalomania, Mental Health, Mike Johnson, New Mexico, The Madness of King Donald, Xi Jinping