John M. Crisp: 3 predictions for an unpredictable era
I've predicted #3 here. No. 1 I hadn't thought of myself, but it really scares me. No. 2 I think un likely.
Showing posts with label The Second Trump Administration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Second Trump Administration. Show all posts
Thursday, December 4, 2025
Court Watch, Part IV.
Weston County, Wyoming, courthouse.
The Justice Department has sued California to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week.
It's leaving the Texas crap districts alone, however.
In Utah, a Court blocked an effort to prevent their new commission designed districts, which features, gasp, a Democratic seat.
Cont:
Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate links Jeffrey Epstein had to prominent Democrats and institutions including former President Bill Clinton and former treasury secretary, Larry Summers. Read as he bounces off the wall in panic like a grade school dodge ball. Bondi, of course, a loyal sycophant, appointed a prosecutor.
November 15, 2025
Wyoming Supreme Court Pauses Judge's Order For More School Counselors, Computers
November 17, 2025
* * *
November 18, 2025
A Federal Court in Texas has blocked the state from using its recently redrawn Congressional District map.
Oops.
This will be appealed, but if the decision is upheld it would mean that the five GOP (probably) seats that the state added won't be, while California, in a recent election, added five.
Oops.
Additionally, early indicators are that Texas Hispanics are following the national tread and are becoming disenchanted with the GOP, so some Texas districts may swing Democratic on their own.
Oops.
All of this could mean that the 2026 election could see the House not only swing Democratic, but perhaps massively so, and that some of the Returning Republicans are no longer big fans of Trump, to which those survivors will be reassessing their loyalty to Trump.
November 21, 2015
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan, all veterans, released a video urging member of the armed forces not to follow illegal orders. Donald Trump is now threatening them with prosecution for sedition, and the death penalty, which is ironic, as Trump is a seditionist.
A Federal Court ordered the illegal Trump deployment of National Guardsmen to Washington D.C. to come to an end.
November 24, 2025
The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the state's abortion ban, causing abortion to again become illegal in the state.
cont:
Federal criminal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were dismissed after a finding the prosecutor was not lawfully appointed.
December 3, 2025
Two well known names from the state's Republican politics.
December 4, 2025
Family of Colombian man killed in U.S. strike files human rights challenge
Last edition:
Court Watch, Part III.
Labels: 2020s, 2025, 2025 White House Vandalization, California (Los Angeles), California National Guard, Court, Court Watch, The Second Trump Administration, transgenderism, University of Wyoming, Wyoming (Glenrock)
Friday, November 28, 2025
The murder of a National Guardsmen in Washington D.C. "If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied."
West Virginian National Guardsmen Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, age 20. According to a former boyfriend, she was "not excited" to be deployed to Washington D.C.
If any question why we died, Tell them, because our fathers lied.
Rudyard Kipling, The Common Form.
I haven't commented on this as of yet. For one thing, I wanted facts to be more fully developed before spouting off.
What we seem to know right now is that Spec 4 Sarah Beckstrom of the 863d Military Police Co., 111th Eng. Bde, West Virginia Army National Guard and SSG Andrew Wolfe of the Force Support Squadron, 167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard were shot by Afghan refugee Rahmanullah Lakanwal in what some complete and utter moron has termed the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission.
SSG Andrew Wolfe.
This was completely predictable in every fashion.
Indeed, right from the beginning, to those who know me, I predicated "they're going to get somebody killed". When you put troops out on the street, sooner later, one of them gets killed, or one of them kills somebody. It's the nature of that sort of thing.
Also predictable is the manic ranting of the demented King Donald, for whom they lost their lives. Likewise, the utterly predictable Night of the Long Knives response of the administration, indicating the deployment of 500 more men in what has already been declared illegal, is predictable. The administrations backlash against immigrants is predictable, with it being perhaps surprising that the Demented King Donald took his foggy rage out on Somalis first.
How did we get here?
Well, another part of why I"ve hestiated in the politicalization of this is bad enough as it is, and its impossible to comment on it without it getting political.
Nonetheless. . .
Let's take it step by step.
The first reason, of course, we are here is that the Demented King Donald wanted a bizarre show of force due to a criminal matter which came to the head with a DOGE flunky nicknamed "Big Balls" getting beat up on the DC streets. In the minds of the MAGA right, all American big cities are cesspools of violence, even though the data shows its been going down for decades. The more cynical minded might suggest that putting troops out on the streets served other interests.
At any rate, it was always illegal and stupid. Troops, even Military Policemen, make very poor city policemen. It soon became apparent they needed to be armed, which makes some sense, but ever since I've been waiting for the moment a Guardsman, and I was a Guardsman, shoots somebody. I'm amazed that it hasn't happened.
The second thing I've worried about is somebody shooting Guardsmen. That's now happened. For the angry and unhinged, they're a natural target.
By and large, thankfully, the Guardsmen have had nothing to do. As a result of that the Service has used the classic military reaction and set them to cleaning things, in this case D.C. parks.
Two unarmed National Guardsmen picking up trash in Washington D.C.
That's better than having the troops have nothing to do, but it's also demeaning. So much for Pete Hegseth and the warrior ethos he wants to bring into the service.
Now we have the trash collector ethos.
So, the first cause. Bringing troops into a situation, and keeping them there, where they are merely targets.
Trump gets the blame for that. So do his advisors. And so Patrick Morrisey, the Governor of West Virginia, whose Guardsmen these are.
So let's be honest here. They didn't die for a noble cause. They died for Donald Trump.
Let's go further.
Some would point out that the killer is to blame, and quite correctly, and then go further to note he was an Afghan refugee who was brought into the US under the Biden Administration and then granted asylum under the Trump regime.
The latter, I note, is important. Trump is denying it but it's true.
But here's the thing, bringing in Afghans who worked for us was a noble thing to do. They were going to be murdered, probably, otherwise.
What turned this guy into a murderer isn't clear at all. Something did. But frankly, bringing in CIA operatives is flat out dangerous anyway you look at it, normally. Most will be okay and go to new lives, but not all will.
The bigger question is why we lost in Afghanistan.
We lost as the country as a whole lost interest in what was frankly a very low intensity ongoing war.
The U.S. suffered 2,459 KIA in Afghanistan.
12,520 Americans died in the Battle of Okinawa.
No war is a good thing, but when you commit to a war you better know how you plan on it coming out, and what the exit strategy is. And if it's an American War, you better plan on it lasting no more than four years. Four years is about our limit of commitment.
When we went into Afghanistan we had the moronic Donald Rumsfeld concept of a limited war. Limited war is essentially shorthand for losing the war. Clausewitzian principals hold that you should go in with maximum moral force right from the onset and completely defeat your enemy. We didn't bother to do that. To make it worse, we engaged in a second war with Iraq for no reason at all at the same time.
Going into Afghanistan made sense. How we did it did not. Not sticking it out was a mistake.
And we should remember who decided not to stick it out. Donald Trump. He surrendered to the Taliban and left the Biden Administration to pick up the pieces.
So the second cause. Fighting the war in Afghanistan badly, and then surrendering.
George Bush II and Donald Trump get the blame for that.
Republicans Against Trumpism@rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social
Asked if he’ll attend the funeral of West Virginia National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, Trump said:
“It’s certainly something I can conceive of… I won West Virginia by one of the biggest margins of any president anywhere.”
So now what?
Well, determining blame only serves a purpose, really, as a corrective. There are some lessons to learn here.
The first is that deployment of National Guardsmen to cities should stop immediately. The West Virginian Governor should screw up his courage and order his men home over the weekend. Pull out. They didn't join the Guard for this. Congress, the Republican portion of which is now a bunch of weak lackies, ought to start finding courage as well.
Neither of those things is likely to happen.
And the lesson of getting into wars, getting out of wars, and not surrendering before things are done with is here as well. The US is about to attempt to force Ukraine to surrender to Russia. That's a horrible idea. Ukraine can actually win the war, but only with our help. If its lost, thousands of Ukrainians who are already refugees will not be going home and fighting in Eastern Europe may revert to its old guerilla patterns.
Finally, I suppose, some pointing out that some of our leaders are real chickenhawks is overdue. Trump never served, and back during the war in Afghanistan we had a VP who never had either. It's worth calling people out on these things.
Finally, for too long the Press has refused to treat the Trump administration for the proto fascist entity it is. They need to be called out. If nothing else that will serve to point out that Donald Trump is losing his mind.
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Wars and Rumors of War, 2025. Part 8. The Tin Pot Dictator 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.
There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
Smedley D. Butler.
October 25, 2025
United States v. Venezuela.
The US has more ships in the Caribbean since the Cuban Missile Crisis and with massive overreach is executing crewmen of Venezuelan boats, maybe criminals, maybe not, with expensive munitions meant for a peer to peer war on the sea.
A U.S. senior Admiral has resigned rather than participate in what may very well be murder.
Covert operations have been authorized in Venezuela.
October 26, 2025
Thailand v. Cambodia
The countries have signed a ceasefire deal.
October 29, 2025
United States v. ?
The United States extended its campaign of murder into the Pacific this week, sinking four boats and leaving picking up the survivors to Mexico, which protested over the killings.
Sooner or later, and probably sooner, the U.S. Navy is going to kill a charter fishing boat with Americans on it. It's inevitable.
Israel v. Hamas
Israel executed a large scale strike on Gaza . . . it appears the ceasefire may be in trouble.
October 30, 2025
The United States, with a demented child in the Oval Office, is going to resume the testing of nuclear weapons.
Trump is clearly, to use the legal standard, "a danger to himself or others".
Apply the 25th Amendment.
November 1, 2025
Russo Ukrainian War
Ukraine asserts that Russia has deployed 170,000 troops in eastern Donetsk in an effort to take the stronghold of Pokrovsk.
November 2, 2025
United States v. Nigerian Islamic Terrorists
President Trump threatened to intervene in Nigeria if the country doesn't get that nation's anti Christian terrorists under control.
United States v. Venezuela
A Russian Il-76 with cargo plane linked to the Wagner Mercenary group landed in Caracas, Venezuela on October 26.
November 18, 2025
Israel v. Hamas
The UN Security Council approved the following resolution yesterday:
Resolution 2803 (2025)
Adopted by the Security Council at its 10046th meeting, on 17 November 2025
The Security Council,
Welcoming the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict of 29 September 2025 (“Comprehensive Plan”), and applauding the states that have signed, accepted, or endorsed it, and further welcoming the historic Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity of 13 October 2025 and the constructive role played by the United States of America, the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Republic of Türkiye, in having facilitated the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,
Determining that the situation in the Gaza Strip threatens the regional peace and the security of neighboring states and noting prior relevant Security Council resolutions relating to the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,
1. Endorses the Comprehensive Plan, acknowledges the parties have accepted it, and calls on all parties to implement it in its entirety, including maintenance of the ceasefire, in good faith and without delay;
2. Welcomes the establishment of the Board of Peace (BoP) as a transitional administration with international legal personality that will set the framework, and coordinate funding, for the redevelopment of Gaza pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan, and in a manner consistent with relevant international legal principles, until such time as the Palestinian Authority (PA) has satisfactorily completed its reform program, as outlined in various proposals, including President Trump’s peace plan in 2020 and the Saudi-French Proposal, and can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza. After the PA reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood. The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence;
3. Underscores the importance of the full resumption of humanitarian aid in cooperation with the BoP into the Gaza Strip in a manner consistent with relevant international legal principles and through cooperating organizations, including the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent, and ensuring such aid is used solely for peaceful uses and not diverted by armed groups;
4. Authorizes Member States participating in the BoP and the BoP to: (A) enter into such arrangements as may be necessary to achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan, including those addressing privileges and immunities of personnel of the force established in paragraph 7 below; and (B) establish operational entities with, as necessary, international legal personality and transactional authorities for the performance of its functions, including: (1) the implementation of a transitional governance administration, including the supervising and supporting of a Palestinian technocratic, apolitical committee of competent Palestinians from the Strip, as championed by the Arab League, which shall be responsible for day-to-day operations of Gaza’s civil service and administration; (2) the reconstruction of Gaza and of economic recovery programs; (3) the coordination and supporting of and delivery of public services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza; (4) any measures to facilitate the movement of persons in and out of Gaza, in a manner consistent with the Comprehensive Plan; and (5) any such additional tasks as may be necessary to support and implement the Comprehensive Plan;
5. Understands that the operational entities referred to in paragraph 4 above will operate under the transitional authority and oversight of the BoP and are to be funded through voluntary contributions from donors and BoP funding vehicles and governments;
6. Calls upon the World Bank and other financial institutions to facilitate and provide financial resources to support the reconstruction and development of Gaza , including through the establishment of a dedicated trust fund for this purpose and governed by donors;
7. Authorizes Member States working with the BoP and the BoP to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza to deploy under unified command acceptable to the BoP, with forces contributed by participating States, in close consultation and cooperation with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel, and to use all necessary measures to carry out its mandate consistent with international law, including international humanitarian law. The ISF shall work with Israel and Egypt, without prejudice to their existing agreements, along with the newly trained and vetted Palestinian police force, to help secure border areas; stabilize the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups; protect civilians, including humanitarian operations; train and provide support to the vetted Palestinian police forces; coordinate with relevant States to secure humanitarian corridors; and undertake such additional tasks as may be necessary in support of the Comprehensive Plan. As the ISF establishes control and stability, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will withdraw from the Gaza Strip based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization that will be agreed between the IDF, ISF, the guarantors, and the United States, save for a security perimeter presence that will remain until Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat. The ISF shall, (A) assist the BoP in monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza, and enter into such arrangements as may be necessary to achieve the objectives of the Comprehensive Plan; and (B) operate under the strategic guidance of the BoP and will be funded through voluntary contributions from donors and BoP funding vehicles and governments;
8. Decides the BoP and international civil and security presences authorized by this resolution shall remain authorized until Dec. 31, 2027, subject to further action by the Council, and any further reauthorization of the ISF be in full cooperation and coordination with Egypt and Israel and other Member States continuing to work with the ISF;
9. Calls upon Member States and international organizations to work with the BoP to identify opportunities to contribute personnel, equipment, and financial resources to its operating entities and the ISF, to provide technical assistance to its operating entities and the ISF, and to give full recognition to its acts and documents;
10. Requests the BoP provide a written report on progress related to the above to the UN Security Council every six months;
11. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
United States v. Venezuela
USS Gerald R. Ford Enters Caribbean Sea
This is all part of the illegal use of US military force against suspected drug smuggling entities. Yesterday, Trump vaguely suggested the US might hit targets in Mexico.
November 21, 2025
Russo Ukrainian War
The Trump and Putin administrations combined to work out a peace plan for Ukraine . . .without Ukraine. The agreement would cede territory to Ukraine, limit the size of Ukraine's military, and prevent additional member states in NATO, the last of which the US cannot actually commit to as it does not unliterally represent NATO.
The text of the proposal is here:
1. Ukraine's sovereignty will be confirmed.
2. A comprehensive [sic] and comprehensive non-aggression agreement will be concluded between Russia, Ukraine and Europe. All ambiguities of the last 30 years will be considered settled.
3. It is expected that Russia will not invade neighboring countries and NATO will not expand further.
Expected?
4. A dialogue will be held between Russia and NATO, mediated by the United States, to resolve all security issues and create conditions for de-escalation in order to ensure global security and increase opportunities for cooperation and future economic development.
5. Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees.
Supposedly it received those when it gave up its nuclear weapons.
6. The size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be limited to 600,000 personnel.
This is bullshit. Ukraine's army is defense. Why not limit Russia's army?
7. Ukraine agrees to enshrine in its constitution that it will not join NATO, and NATO agrees to include in its statutes a provision that Ukraine will not be admitted in the future.
Further bullshit.
8. NATO agrees not to station troops in Ukraine.
More bullshit.
9. European fighter jets will be stationed in Poland.
Why is this even being discussed?
10. US guarantee:
▪️ The US will receive compensation for the guarantee.
We get paid? Why?
▪️ If Ukraine invades Russia, it will lose the guarantee.
Not going to happen.
▪️ If Russia invades Ukraine, in addition to a decisive coordinated military response, all global sanctions will be reinstated, recognition of the new territory and all other benefits of this deal will be revoked.
▪️ If Ukraine launches a missile at Moscow or St. Petersburg without cause, the security guarantee will be deemed invalid.
11. Ukraine is eligible for EU membership and will receive short-term preferential access to the European market while this issue is being considered.
12. A powerful global package of measures to rebuild Ukraine, including but not limited to:
a. The creation of a Ukraine Development Fund to invest in fast-growing industries, including technology, data centers, and artificial intelligence.
b. The United States will cooperate with Ukraine to jointly rebuild, develop, modernize, and operate Ukraine's gas infrastructure, including pipelines and storage facilities.
c. Joint efforts to rehabilitate war-affected areas for the restoration, reconstruction and modernization of cities and residential areas.
d. Infrastructure development.
e. Extraction of minerals and natural resources.
f. The World Bank will develop a special financing package to accelerate these efforts.
13. Russia will be reintegrated into the global economy:
a. The lifting of sanctions will be discussed and agreed upon in stages and on a case-by-case basis.
b. The United States will enter into a long-term economic cooperation agreement for mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, data centers, rare earth metal extraction projects in the Arctic, and other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities.
c. Russia will be invited to rejoin the G8.
14. Frozen funds will be used as follows:
$100 billion in frozen Russian assets will be invested in US-led efforts to rebuild and invest in Ukraine. The US will receive 50% of the profits from this venture. Europe will add $100 billion to increase the amount of investment available for Ukraine's reconstruction. Frozen European funds will be unfrozen. The remainder of the frozen Russian funds will be invested in a separate US-Russian investment vehicle that will implement joint projects in specific areas. This fund will be aimed at strengthening relations and increasing common interests to create a strong incentive not to return to conflict.
15. A joint American-Russian working group on security issues will be established to promote and ensure compliance with all provisions of this agreement.
16. Russia will enshrine in law its policy of non-aggression towards Europe and Ukraine.
17. The United States and Russia will agree to extend the validity of treaties on the non-proliferation and control of nuclear weapons, including the START I Treaty.
18. Ukraine agrees to be a non-nuclear state in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
19. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will be launched under the supervision of the IAEA, and the electricity produced will be distributed equally between Russia and Ukraine — 50:50.
20. Both countries undertake to implement educational programs in schools and society aimed at promoting understanding and tolerance of different cultures and eliminating racism and prejudice:
Gee. .. maybe the US ought to do that. . oh wait, that would be DEI.
a. Ukraine will adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.
b. Both countries will agree to abolish all discriminatory measures and guarantee the rights of Ukrainian and Russian media and education.
c. All Nazi ideology and activities must be rejected and prohibited.
This is baloney. There isn't a lot of this in Ukraine to start with and Russia behaves as if anything Ukraine does is due to Nazi ideology.
By the way, Donald. . . are you going to address this with Nick Fuentes?
21. Territories:
a. Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognized as de facto Russian, including by the United States.
b. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia will be frozen along the line of contact, which will mean de facto recognition along the line of contact.
c. Russia will relinquish other agreed territories it controls outside the five regions.
d. Ukrainian forces will withdraw from the part of Donetsk Oblast that they currently control, and this withdrawal zone will be considered a neutral demilitarized buffer zone, internationally recognized as territory belonging to the Russian Federation. Russian forces will not enter this demilitarized zone.22. After agreeing on future territorial arrangements, both the Russian Federation and Ukraine undertake not to change these arrangements by force. Any security guarantees will not apply in the event of a breach of this commitment.
23. Russia will not prevent Ukraine from using the Dnieper River for commercial activities, and agreements will be reached on the free transport of grain across the Black Sea.
24. A humanitarian committee will be established to resolve outstanding issues:
a. All remaining prisoners and bodies will be exchanged on an ‘all for all’ basis.
b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children.
c. A family reunification programme will be implemented.
d. Measures will be taken to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the conflict.
25. Ukraine will hold elections in 100 days.
How about Russia?
Russia's clearly going to interfere in any Ukrainian election.
Ukraine has already stated that it won't stand for a limitation on the size of its armed forces.
November 22, 2025
Russo Ukrainian War
Trump has demanded Ukraine's position on the peace proposal by Thursday.
Last edition:
Wars and Rumors of War, 2025. Part 7. The snatching victory edition.
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
A fracture in MAGA?
I only take people's actions seriously. No longer words. I wasn't a Johnny-come-lately to the MAGA train. I was day one. I'll you right now, this has been one of the most destructive things to MAGA is watching the man we supported ... watching this turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart ... the American people won't tolerate any other bullshit.
Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Blog Mirror: You Can’t “Protect Children” While Defending a Predator. And, also, What's in those files?
You Can’t “Protect Children” While Defending a Predator
How much longer can Republicans pretend not to see?
We of course also wrote on this just yesterday.
Lex Anteinternet: The dog that hasn't barked.: By the way, by odd coincidence, they've given Ghislaine Maxwell a therapy dog. None of this will matter. People will say this doesn...
What is going on here? Something sure is. Trump's called out all the stops, even bringing in Lauren Boebert to the Situation Room to pressure her. Beobert, who is somebody in the MAGA camp, is apparently refusing to go along with Trump.
That in and of itself is remarkable.
What we know is that up to 1,000 girls were raped in association with Epstein. We don't know all of the details of that by any means. Some of the rapes were pressured "statutory rapes", but others may have been physically violent rapes of female minors, based on what little we know. In either instance, the entire thing is horrific.
Was Trump a rapist? So far we have no reason to believe that, other than the "where there's smoke there's fire". Trump has, a long history of hanging out with those who have an interest in screwing teenagers and who have carried out their interest. Epstein wasn't the first in that category. The first that we know of, and probably the first significant person, was John Casablancas, who owned a modeling agency. Frankly, modeling agencies tend towards being morally dubious in some instances, but Casablancas was personally so. He divorced his first wife due to an affair with model Stephanie Seymour whom he began seeing when she was 14 years old. At age 50 he married 17 year old Aline Mendonça de Carvalho Wermelinger.
Casablancas represented Ivanka Trump when she became a fashion model at age 15.1
It's worth remembering here that Trump is nearly 80 years old. He was born in 1946, which means he turned 20, as a rich man, in 1966, and 30, in 1976. Trump, therefore, had wealth right in the era in which American sexual morals really began to plummet and he was in his 70s when the clubbing scenes in New York was in full swing.2 People complain about the US being a moral sewer now, but that's because their memories are bad. The 70s were really a decade of rank libertinism.3
They were also one which winked at Hebephilia and Ephebophilia, or rather, more accurately accepted the gross sexualization of early teenage girls and men preying on them, with that getting advanced at first by Playboy which really flirted with the lines of illegality with its centerfolds.4 Advertising in the era really dipped down into the younger years, for girls, in a way that you couldn't and wouldn't now, for instance:
How old do we think that girl is? Not old.
Brooke Shields as a young woman was shown only in her "Calvin Klein's" and portrayed a 12 or 13 year old prostitute in the 1976 film Pretty Baby (which she now detests) and a castaway in Blue Lagoon who grows into, I guess, a teenage common law marriage portrayed as the natural ideal. Shields regards herself as having been exploited, which she truly was. Only slightly older, 1968's Romeo and Juliet by Franco Zeffirelli featured Olivia Hussey' topless visage, albeit briefly, in a quite sexualized portrayal of the Juliet character. She was 14 years old and later sued.5
In spite of the horrors of such things as transgenderism, the re-creation of the lower class Victorian "common law" marriage arrangement in a new form in the American lower middle class, and the overall breakdown in sexual standards in the Western world, the outright aggressive exploitation of women sexually has really retreated. Retreating with it was a fairly open acceptance of what we'd now call "date rape". The concept that pressuring women into sex by way of position and power constituted rape flat out didn't exist. Even as a teenager myself in the 1970s, I can recall that jokes based on "get 'er drunk" were really common with the suggestion that happened relatively commonly, and that it wasn't regarded as rape. For that matter, as early as the early 1980s, I can recall instances of men in certain positions being caught in sexual relationships with underaged teens and simply losing their positions, quietly, over it.6
The point of all of this is that maybe a person could party down with John Casablancas while being a self admitted libertine and avoid picking the teenage fruit that others were picking, but most people who would find that morally reprehensible, which would be most people, would avoid hanging out with such people pretty quickly. For one thing, the behavior is gross and disgusting. For another, hanging out with kiddy diddlers would cause a person to run the risk of being regarded as a diddler.
Be that as it may, Trump went from Casablancas on to Jeffrey Epstein, whom he started hanging out with in the 1990s, some twenty, more or less, years after Casablancas. Epstein shows up in a Mar A Lago party's video footage in 1992. That party featured NFL cheerleaders. Trump flew on Epstein's private jet at least seven times in the 1990s. In 1997 Trump and Epstein were photographed together at a Victoria's Secret "Angels" party in New York. In 2002 Trump made his now infamous comment that Epstein was a "terrific guy" they shared interest in "beautiful women". Trump noted that Epstein's interests were in women on the "younger" side. In 2003 Trump drew a nude figure, with oddly small breasts, in a birthday card for Epstein, with a really enigmatic comment, and signed his name as, basically, pubic hairs.7
Now we know that Epstein had commented that Trump knew about the "girls" and that Epstein claimed, in a private email, that Trump knew this due to Virginia Giuffre, the teenager who would be supplied to Prince Andrew.. Giuffre's father worked as a maintenance manager at the Mar-a-Lago property and helped Giuffre obtain a job there. Maxwell recruited her to Epstein from Mar A Lago.
None of this proves in any fashion that Trump was diddling. Indeed, Giuffre states that Trump never touched her. Other women who were associated with Epstein have claimed that, but all of those claims have remained basically on the fringes of this story. So all that can really be said is that Trump has lead a life of moral dissolution with adult women, and he's hung around with men who had an extremely creepy attraction to girls in their teens, but there's no evidence that Trump personally crossed that line.
But there sure is a lot of evidence that he doesn't want the Epstein files released.
Indeed, he's downright desperate about it.
Why?
Earlier on Trump indicated he wanted the files released. Releasing the files became sort of a MAGA crusade, with MAGA's convinced that they'd provide damaging information on Bill (and maybe Hillary) Clinton. Indeed, as recently as a couple of months ago a MAGA I know maintained that the files were being kept secret due to what they'd show about Clinton, and maybe Obama (who is in no way implicated in any of this), thereby making the bizarre assertion that the Republicans are keeping material secret to protect a former Democratic President they detest.
Eh?
Given Trump's change in tune, what probably is in there is one of two things. One, the most likely, is that it's been pointed out that some rich and powerful person in the Trump circle is implicated, and badly. Trump may be protecting that person or persons, and if he is, there's some connection either with Trump or the GOP that must really be needed for protection.
The other possibility is that he knows, which he didn't before, that he's implicated as somebody who really knew something grotesque. Epstein himself, in his emails, noted that he apparently told Ghislaine to knock something off, and Trump has maintained that had to do with raiding staff from Mar A Lago. But what if what he knew is something worse, that women were being recruited to be sex slaves, which is basically what these poor girls were.
Whatever it is, we don't know.
The files are going to be released, which brings up these two things.
Trumps willingness to act illegally is now so pronounced that there has to be a strong suspicion that the files are being scrubbed. When they are released, and they will be, there's a good chance that some of the contents will be gone. This did occur to some extent with the files on the Kennedy Assassination, although I personally don't believe in the various conspiracy theories in that area, so it can definitely be accomplished.
For that reason, and for others, I also feel that the files should be released as is, complete with names of the victims. I know that's not the norm, and why, but the whole truth here is never going to come out if we don't know who was subject to this barbarity. And, ironically, in this instance releasing the names protects them. As noted earlier, Trump was sued by an anonymous woman who withdrew her suit after being subject to much pressure. There may perhaps be nothing to those claims, but the fact is, at this point, that we're dealing with men who are enormously wealthy and powerful, and have the means to threaten their victims as long as their identities remain unknown.
Footnotes:
1. On this, Trump has famously remarked about going back stage in, I believe, Miss World, competitions, or some such competitions, while the competitors were topless. These young women would, however, be of age. This is still pretty creepy.
2. The New York club scene was famously a cesspool, and heavily associated with drugs. There is, however, no reason to believe that Trump has ever taken illegal drugs. Indeed, due to the exposure to alcoholism provided by his brother, Trump does not drink.
3. As a minor note, the culture of the times reflected back in the form of music.
Rock music has been regarded, probably pretty inaccurately, as sort of countercultural. More accurately, when it was really popular, it reflected the cultural influence of people ranging from their teens into their thirties. Real rock music is pretty much dead now.
The 1970s and early 1980s saw a fair amount of rock music that outright endorsed ephebophilia and hebephilia. Ted Nugent's 1981 Jailbait outright did, with the female subject (victim) declared to be 13 years old. Kiss' 1977 subject was a bit older in Christine Sixteen. The Police hit the subject with Don’t Stand So Close to Me in 1980, which involves a teacher being attracted to a female student. That song is particularly creepy given its reference to Lolita and due to the fact that one of the members of The Police had been a teacher who admitted to having been attracted to female students, but not having acted upon it.
ABBA, which is regarded as sort of a bubblegum rock band, touched on the topic in 1979's Does Your Mother Know?, with the protagonist outright expressing torture over the advances of an underaged girl. The Knack's 1979 song Good Girls Don't at least kept the behavior down at mutual teenage level. Aerosmith broke into popularity with 1975's Walk This Way which is a tour de force of sexual double entendres all celebrating teenage sex. The story was flipped in Rod Stewart's 1971 Maggie May in which a teenage male regrets being seduced out of school by an older woman.
So that's a bunch of song, but were they that popular? Some really were, at least by my memory. I don't recall Nugent's song at all, but the only song of Nugent's I recall being popular wsa Cat Scratch Fever, which is about prostitutes. And Kiss was regarded, where I lived, as sort of juvenile joke more popular with junior high kids than us mature high schoolers, so I don't remember their song either.
The Police's Don't Stand So Close To Me, however, was hugely popular, although not with me, mostly because I can't stand that band. ABBA's Does Your Mother Know? was also big. Walk This Way was so big that even though it had been released in 1975, it was still really popular in the early 80s, which at the time was amazing as songs aged quickly. Maggie May shares that status as it was popular over a decade after its original release. Good Girls Don't didn't age well at all, in contrast, but it was huge in 1979.
Almost all of these songs, or maybe all of them, are outright reprehensible, which is the point. Amazingly, they were heard all the time in the 70s and 80s, and nobody really said anything about it. The only time I recall anyone condemning the lyrics of a song was in 1977 when a Parish Priest lambasted Only The Good Die Young by Billy Joel from the pulpit. I don't know where he'd learned of the song, but the Church was associated with the school, which went up to 9th Grade, and I now wonder if it was there. I was in junior high myself at the time and I had no idea what he was talking about. My father didn't either, and asked me about the song after Mass. It'd be years before I heard it, and like every Billy Joel song, I was underwhelmed.
4. We've touched on this before, but Playboy got in trouble in Europe as it was viewed as encouraging ephebophilia and hebephilia, and moreover being in that category while barely disguised as not being. It actually changed some of its content, notably its cartoons, as a result. Nonetheless, some Playboy models, such as Frances Camuglia were barely legal teens when photographed, and in fact a few were younger than 18 years old. One model's photographs went to press when she was still 17, with it apparently being the case that Playboy was unaware of her actual age, while it still played up that she was just out of high school. Another was outright known to be 17 when she was photographed with the magazine holding her photos until she turned 18.
5. All the then teenage actors in these films later maintained, probably correctly, that they suffered lifelong emotional trauma for having been in these films. Shields has been particularly critical of her mother for pushing her into them.
6. More specifically, I can recall three high school teachers in this category. Neither was arrested, they were simply let go. Another was a National Guard officer who was a local businessman. He was quickly discharged from the National Guard and there was as criminal proceeding, but the charge never hit the news and the resulting sentence was minor.
7. Trump has denied this, of course, but there seems to be no doubt. Assuming that it is Trump's, it's impossible not to conclude that he at least knew of Epstein's unrestrained lustful conduct. There was at least one other drawing, by somebody else, that alluded to the same thing. The thing here is that Epstein was strongly attracted to teenage girls, and if you know that the guy is strongly attracted to females sexually, and his targets are. . . well.
Postscript:
I thought about predicting this, but thought it too icky.
The last few days, as this has been breaking, I thought that, at some point, MAGA commentors would come out and basically start excusing ephebophilia. I should answer the question, first, on "what's that" although its been explained here before. According to Wikipedia:
Ephebophilia is the primary sexual interest in mid-to-late adolescents, generally ages 15 to 19 and showing Tanner stages 4 to 5 of physical development.
And now its happened.
Megyn Kelly "There's a difference between a 15-year-old and a 5-year-old…”
Well, yeah, there is, in more ways than one. A 5 year old is particularly gross as a victim and technically that's pedophilia. But ephebophilia is pretty darned disgusting as well, and rape in that context, which much or all of this would be by modern definitions is horrific. Moreover, according to some of the testimony, some of these girls were 14, or even 13, which is hebephilia and creeping right up n the edge of pedophelia.
And it's being excuse. That's what I thought would start to happen.
So, what we're starting to see, so that it's clear, is "yeah. . well, sure, they were jumping little teenage girls, but that's okay. . "
It's not okay.
And not only is it not okay, these people are starting to make the excuses now, without anything actually saying that Trump did that. We know of course that somebody was. . . but we don't know who.
What a moral sewer.
Related threads:
The dog that hasn't barked.
Labels: Donald Trump, Ephebophilia, Epstein Scandal, Hebephilia, Monarchy, Oligarchy, United Kingdom, United States
The Epstein Files. What's in them that Trump wants to keep them hidden?*
Labels: Donald Trump, Ephebophilia, Epstein Scandal, Hebephilia, Sex, Teenagers, The Second Trump Administration, Women, Zeitgeist
Labels: 25th Amendment Watch List, Donald Trump, Epstein Scandal, Ezra Klein, J. D. Vance, National Conservatism, Populism, Republican Party, Scandal, Stupidity, Teenagers, The Madness of King Donald, The written word, Women, Zeitgeist
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