An embarrassing Trump at the UN.

His teleprompter didn't work, and the escalator at the UN building didn't work, but unfortunately, he spoke anyhow. 

What he had to say.

The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America. I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. 

US President Donald Trump (00:27):

Note, this is an error.  Trump is not the President as he is not qualified to be so, the office is empty. 

Yes, this is a radical, but legally correct, opinion.

Thank you very much, very much appreciated. And I don't mind making the speech without a teleprompter, because the teleprompter is not working. I feel very happy to be up here with you nevertheless, and that way you speak more from the heart. I can only say that whoever's operating this teleprompter is in big trouble. Hello, Madam First Lady. Thank you very much for being here. Madam President, Mr. Secretary General, First Lady of the United States, distinguished delegates, ambassadors, and world leaders. Six years have passed since I last stood in this grand hall and addressed a world that was prosperous and at peace in my first term. Since that day, the guns of war have shattered the peace I forged on two continents. An era of calm and stability gave way to one of the great crises of our time. And here the United States, four years of weakness, lawlessness, and radicalism under the last administration delivered our nation into a repeated set of disasters. One year ago, our country was in deep trouble, but today, just eight months into my administration, we are the hottest country anywhere in the world and there is no other country even close. America is blessed with the strongest economy, the strongest borders, the strongest military, the strongest friendships, and the strongest spirit of any nation on the face of the earth.

This is indeed, the golden age of America. We are rapidly reversing the economic calamity we inherited from the previous administration, including ruinous price increases and record-setting inflation, inflation like we've never had before. Under my leadership, energy costs are down, gasoline prices are down, grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated. The only thing that's up is the stock market, which just hit a record high. In fact, it hit a record high 48 times in the last short period of time. Growth is surging. Manufacturing is booming. The stock market, as I said, is doing better than it's ever done. And all of you in this room benefit by that, almost everybody. And importantly, workers wages are rising at the fastest pace in more than 60 years, and that's what it's all about, isn't it? In four years of President Biden, we had less than $1 trillion of new investment into the United States.

This "golden age" thing is pure Trump crap, much like Trump's gilded White House trash.   Costs are not down, etc.  Trump probably frankly doesn't know this as he doesn't have the mental capacity left to realize it.

In just eight months since I took office, we have secured commitments and money already paid for $17 trillion. Think of it, four years, less than a trillion. Eight months, much more than $17 trillion is being invested in the United States, and it's now pouring in from all parts of the world. We've implemented the largest tax cuts in American history and the largest regulation cuts in American history, making this once and again, the best country on earth to do business. And many of the people in this room are investing in America, and it's turned out to be an awfully good investment during this eight month period. In my first term, I built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We had the best economy ever, history of the world, and I'm doing the same thing again, but this time it's actually much bigger and even better. The numbers far surpass my record-setting first term.

On our southern border, we have successfully repelled a colossal invasion. And for the last four months, and that's four months in a row, the number of illegal aliens admitted and entering our country has been zero. Hard to believe, because if you look back just a year ago, it was millions and millions of people pouring in from all over the world, from prisons, from mental institutions, drug dealers, all over the world they came, they just poured into our country with the ridiculous open-border policy of the Biden administration. Our message is very simple. If you come illegally into the United States, you're going to jail or you're going back to where you came from, or perhaps even further than that, you know what that means. 

I want thank the country of El Salvador for the successful and professional job they've done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country, and it was under the previous administration that the number became record-setting, and they're all being taken out. We have no choice, and other countries have no choice because other countries are in the exact same situation with immigration. It's destroying your country and you have to do something about it. On the world stage, America is respected again like it has never been respected before. You think about two years ago, three years ago, four years ago, or one year ago, we were a laughingstock all over the world. At the NATO summit in June, virtually all NATO members formally committed to increased defense spending at my request from 2% to 5% of GDP, making our alliance far stronger and more powerful than it was ever before. 

In May, I traveled to the Middle East to visit my friends and rebuild our partnerships in the Gulf, and those valued relationships with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE and other countries are now, I believe, closer than ever before. My administration has negotiated one historic trade deal after another, including with the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and many, many others. Likewise, in a period of just seven months, I have ended seven unendable wars. They said they were unendable. You're never going to get them solved. Some were going for 31 years, two of them, 31, you think of it, 31 years. One was 36 years, one was 28 years. I ended seven wars. And in all cases, they were raging with countless thousands of people being killed. This includes Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, a vicious, violent war that was. Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

It included all of them. No president or prime minister. And for that matter, no other country has ever done anything close to that, and I did it in just seven months. It's never happened before. There's never been anything like that. Very honored to have done it. It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them. And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them. I ended seven wars, dealt with the leaders of each and every one of these countries, and never even received a phone call from the United Nations offering to help in finalizing the deal. All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. If the First Lady wasn't in great shape, she would've fallen. But she's in great shape. 

We're both in good shape, we both stood. And then a teleprompter that didn't work. These are the two things I got from the United Nations, a bad escalator and a bad teleprompter. Thank you very much. And by the way, it's working now. It just went on. Thank you. I think I should just do it the other way. It's easier. Thank you very much. I didn't think of it at the time because I was too busy working to save millions of lives, that is the saving and stopping of these wars, but later I realized that the United Nations wasn't there for us. They weren't there. I thought of it really after the fact, not during. Not during these negotiations, which were not easy. That being the case, what is the purpose of the United Nations? The UN is such tremendous potential. I've always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential, but it's not even coming close to living up to that potential. For the most part, at least for now, all they seem to do is write a really strongly worded letter and then never follow that letter up. 

It's empty words and empty words don't solve war. The only thing that solves war and wars is action. Now, after ending all of these wars and also earlier negotiating the Abraham Accords, which is a very big thing for which our country received no credit, never receives credit. Everyone says that I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for each one of these achievements, but for me, the real prize will be the sons and daughters who live to grow up with the mothers and fathers because millions of people are no longer being killed in endless and un-glorious wars. What I care about is not winning prizes. It's saving lives. We saved millions and millions of lives with the seven wars, and we have others that we're working on and you know that. Many years ago, a very successful real estate developer in New York, known as Donald J. Trump, I bid on the renovation and rebuilding of this very United Nations complex.

Nobody seriously maintains that Trump should get the Nobel Prize for anything, but in his demented state, he can't help but claiming it. 

I remember it so well. I said at the time that I would do it for $500 million, rebuilding everything. It would be beautiful. I used to talk about, "I'm going to give you marble floors, they're going to give you terrazzo." The best of everything. "You're going to have mahogany walls, they're going to give you plastic." But they decided to go in another direction, which was much more expensive at the time, which actually produced a far inferior product. And I realized that they did not know what they were doing when it came to construction and that their building concepts were so wrong, and the product that they were proposing to build was so bad and so costly, it was going to cost them a fortune. And I said, "And wait until you see the overruns." Well, I turned out to be right. They had massive cost overruns and spent between two and $4 billion on the building and did not even get the marble floors that I promised them.

You walk on terrazzo. Do you notice that? As far as I'm concerned, frankly, looking at the building and getting stuck on the escalator, they still haven't finished the job. They still haven't finished. That was years ago. The project was so corrupt that Congress actually asked me to testify before them on the tremendous waste of money because it turned out that they had no idea what it was, but they knew it was anywhere between two and $4 billion as opposed to 500 million with a guarantee, but they had no idea. And I said, "It costs much more than $5 billion." Unfortunately, many things in the United Nations are happening just like that, but on an even much bigger scale, much, much bigger.

Very sad to see whether the UN can manage to play a productive role. I've come here today to offer the hand of American leadership and friendship to any nation in this assembly that is willing to join us in forging a safer, more prosperous world. And it's a world that we'll be much happier with. A dramatically better future is within our reach, but to get there, we must reject the failed approaches of the past and work together to confront some of the greatest threats in history. There is no more serious danger to our planet today than the most powerful and destructive weapons ever devised by man of which the United States, as you know, has many. Just as I did in my first term. I've made containing  threats a top priority, starting with a nation of Iran. My position is very simple, the world's number one sponsor of terror can never be allowed to possess the most dangerous weapon. That's why shortly after taking office, I sent the so-called Supreme Leader a letter making a generous offer. I extended a pledge of full cooperation in exchange for a suspension of Iran's nuclear program. The regime's answer was to continue their constant threats to their neighbors and US interests throughout the region and some great countries that are right nearby. Today, many of Iran's former military commanders, in fact, I can say almost all of them are no longer with us, they're dead. And three months ago in Operation Midnight Hammer seven American B-2 bombers dropped the 14 30,000 pound H-bombs on Iran's key nuclear facility totally obliterating everything. No other country on earth could have done what we did. No other country has the equipment to do what we did. We have the greatest weapons on earth. We hate to use them, but we did something that for 22 years people wanted to do.

With Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity demolished, I immediately brokered an end to the 12-day war, as it's called, between Israel and Iran, with both sides agreeing to fight no longer.

As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, we have to get that done, have to get it done. Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace, and we can't forget October 7th, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities. This would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7th, even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept a ceasefire instead of giving to Hamas and giving so much because they've taken so much, they have taken so much, this could have been solved so long ago, but instead of giving in to Hamas ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message, release the hostages now. Just release the hostages now. Thank you.

As we have got to come together, and we will come together, got to get it done, we have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to stop it. We have to get it done. We have to negotiate, immediately, have to negotiate peace. We got to get the hostages back. We want all 20 back. We don't want two and four. As you know, I got, along with Steve Witkoff and others that helped us, Marco Rubio, we got most of them back. We were involved in all of them, but I always said, the last 20 are going to be the hardest, and that's exactly what happened. We have to get them back now. We don't want to get back two and then another two and then one, and then three and have this process. No, we want them all back.

And we want the actually 38 dead bodies back too. Those parents came to me and they want them back, and they want them back very quickly and very badly, as though they were alive. They want them. They want them every bit as much as if their son or daughter were alive.

I've also been working relentlessly stopping the killing in Ukraine. I thought that would be, of the seven wars that I stopped, I thought that would be the easiest because of my relationship with President Putin, which had always been a good one. I thought that was going to be the easiest one. But in war, you never know what's going to happen. There are always lots of surprises, both good and bad. Everyone thought Russia would win this war in three days, but it didn't work out that way. It was supposed to be just a quick little skirmish. It's not making Russia look good, it's making them look bad.

The seven wars is complete crap.  Trump has not stopped seven wars.   

No matter what happens from here on out, this was something that should have taken a matter of days, certainly less than a week, and they've been fighting for three and a half years and killing anywhere from 5 to 7,000, young soldiers, mostly, mostly soldiers on both sides, every single week from 5 to 7,000 dead young people. And some in cities, much smaller numbers where rockets are shot, where drones are dropped. This war would never have started if I were president. This was a war that should have never happened. It shows you what leadership is, what bad leadership can do to a country. Look what happened to the United States and look where we are right now in just a short period of time. The only question now is how many more lives will be needlessly lost on both sides.

China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even NATO countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products, which as you know, I found out about two weeks ago and I wasn't happy. Think of it, they're funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe very quickly. But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations, all of you are gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures. I mean, you're much closer to the city. We have an ocean in between, you're right there, and Europe has to step it up. They can't be doing what they're doing. They're buying oil and gas from Russia while they're fighting Russia.

It's embarrassing to them, and it was very embarrassing to them when I found out about it. I can tell you that. But they have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we're all wasting a lot of time. So I'm ready to discuss this. We're going to discuss it today with the European nations all gathered here. I'm sure they're thrilled to hear me speak about it, but that's the way it is. I like to speak my mind and speak the truth.

As we seek to reduce the threat of dangerous weapons today. I'm also calling on every nation to join us in ending the development of biological weapons once and for all, and biological is terrible and nuclear is even beyond, and we include nuclear in that. We want to have a cessation of the development of nuclear weapons. We know and I know and I get to view it all the time, "Sir, would you like to see?" And I look at weapons that are so powerful that we just can't ever use them. If we ever use them, the world literally might come to an end. There would be no United Nations to be talking about. There would be no nothing.

Just a few years ago, reckless experiments overseas gave us a devastating global pandemic, yet despite that worldwide catastrophe, many countries are continuing extremely risky research into bio-weapons and man-made pathogens. This is unbelievably dangerous. To prevent potential disasters I'm announcing today that my administration will lead a international effort to enforce biological weapons convention, which is going to be meeting with the top leaders of the world by pioneering an AI verification system that everyone can trust. Hopefully the UN can play a constructive role and it will also go, be one of the early projects under AI. Let's see how good it is because a lot of people saying it could be one of the great things ever, but it also can be dangerous, but it could be put to tremendous use and tremendous good, and this would be an example of that.

There remains very little evidence that COVID 19 was caused by a biological experimient. 

Not only is the UN not solving the problems it should, too often, it's actually creating new problems for us to solve. The best example is the number one political issue of our time, the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It's uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined. The United Nations is funding an assault on Western countries and their borders. In 2024, the UN budgeted $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants journeying into the United States. Think of that, the UN is supporting people that are illegally coming into the United States, and then we have to get them out. The UN also provided food, shelter, transportation, and debit cards to illegal aliens, can you believe that, on the way to infiltrate our southern border.

Millions of people came through that southern border. Just a year ago, millions and millions of people were pouring in, 25 million altogether over the four years of the incompetent Biden administration, and now we have it stopped. Totally stopped. In fact, they're not even coming anymore because they know they can't get through. But what took place is totally unacceptable. The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them. In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net.

We have reasserted that America belongs to the American people, and I encourage all countries to take their own stand in defense of their citizens as well. You have to do that because I see it. I'm not mentioning names. I see it and I can call every single one of them out. You're destroying your countries. They're being destroyed. Europe is in serious trouble. They've been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody's ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe, and nobody's doing anything to change it, to get them out. It's not sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they're doing just absolutely nothing about it.

And I have to say, I look at London where you have a terrible mayor, a terrible, terrible mayor and it's been so changed, so changed. Now they want to go to Sharia law, but you're in a different country, you can't do that. Both the immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe if something is not done immediately. This cannot be sustained. What makes the world so beautiful is that each country is unique, but to stay this way, every sovereign nation must have the right to control their own borders. You have the right to control your borders, as we do now, and to limit the sheer numbers of migrants entering their countries and paid for by the people of that nation that were there and that built that particular nation at the time. They put their blood, sweat, tears, money into that country, and now they're being ruined.

Why is the person claiming the Oval Office dissing the Mayor of London? 

Proud nations must be allowed to protect their communities and prevent their societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before with different customs, religions, with different everything. Where migrants have violated laws, lodged false asylum claims or claimed refugee status for illegitimate reasons, they should, in many cases, be immediately sent home. And while we will always have a big heart for places and people that are struggling and truly compassionate, answers will be given. We have to solve the problem and we have to solve it in their countries, not create new problems in our countries. And we are very helpful to a lot of countries that are just not able to send their people anymore. They used to send them to us in caravans of 25, 30,000 people each, these massive caravans of people pouring into our country, totally unchecked and unvetted, but not anymore.

According to the Council of Europe, in 2024, almost 50% of inmates in German prisons were foreign nationals or migrants. In Austria, the number was 53% of the people in prisons were from places that weren't from where they are now. In Greece, the number was 54%. And in Switzerland, beautiful Switzerland, 72% of the people in prisons are from outside of Switzerland. When your prisons are filled with so-called asylum seekers who repaid kindness, and that's what they did, they repaid kindness with crime, it's time to end the failed experiment of open borders. You have to end it now. I see it, I can tell you.

I'm really good at this stuff. Your countries are going to hell. In America, we've taken bold action to swiftly shut down uncontrolled migration. Once we started detaining and deporting everyone who crossed the border and removing illegal aliens from the United States, they simply stopped coming. They're not coming anymore. We're getting a lot of credit, but they're not coming anymore. This was a humanitarian act for all involved because on the trips up,

Thousands of people a week were dying. Women were being raped. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. Raped, horribly beaten, raped. On the trip up, the journey up, it was a long, it was a long walk. It was a long, arduous journey indeed, and it was also a historic victory against human trafficking throughout the region. What we did was a victory and we saved so many lives of people that wouldn't make the journey. That journey was loaded up with death. Loaded up with death. Dead bodies all along. All along the roads of jungles to get up. They go through jungles, they go through areas so hot, you couldn't breathe. They were dying of suffocation, areas so hot, that you couldn't breathe. Dead bodies all over. By them not coming, we're saving tremendous numbers of lives. My people have done a fantastic job in doing what they did, and the American public agrees with it.

I mean, I was very proud to see this morning. I have the highest poll numbers I've ever had. Part of it is because of what we've done on the border. I guess the other part is what we've done in the economy. Joe Biden's policies empowered murderous gangs, human smugglers, child traffickers, drug cartels, and prisoners. Prisoners from all over the world. The previous administration also lost nearly 300,000 children. Think of that. They lost more than 300,000 children, little children who were trafficked into the United States on the Biden watch, many of whom have been raped, exploited and abused and sold. Sold. Nobody talks about that. The fake news doesn't write about it with many others, young children who are missing or dead. And we found a lot of these children and we're sending it back and we've been sending it back to their parents. They said nobody knows who they are.

They said, "Where do you come from?" And they'll give us a country and we'll find out and we'll figure it out, or we'll bring them back to their homes. And the mother and father rushed to the door and their tears in their eyes. They can't believe that they're seeing their son or daughter, their little son or daughter again. We've done almost 30,000 of them so far. Any system that results in the mass trafficking of children is inherently evil, yet that is exactly what the globalist migration agenda has done, and it's what it's all about. In America, those days, as you know, are over. The Trump administration is working and we are continuing to work to track down the villains that are causing this problem. And also, as I said, to get back the 30,000 we've already returned.

Now, I think we're going to have another…. We're going to find a lot. You're not going to find all of them. More than 300,000. They're lost or they're dead. They're lost, or they're dead because of the animals that did this. To protect our citizens, I've also designated multiple savage drug cartels as forest. And you see this and you see it happening right before your eyes. Let's put it this way. People don't like taking big loads of drugs in boats anymore. There aren't too many boats that are traveling on the seas by Venezuela. They tend not to want to travel very quickly anymore. And we virtually stopped drugs coming into our country by sea. We call them the water drugs. They kill hundreds of thousands of people. I've also designated multiple savage drug cartels as forest… foreign terrorist organizations along with two bloodthirsty transnational gangs, probably the worst gangs anywhere in the world.

MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. Tren de Aragua is from Venezuela, by the way. Such organizations torture, maim, mutilate and murder with impunity. They're the enemies of all humanity. For this reason, we've recently begun using the supreme power of the United States military to destroy Venezuelan terrorists and trafficking networks led by Nicolas Maduro to every terrorist thug smuggling poisonous drugs into the United States of America. Please be warned that we will blow you out of existence. That's what we're doing. We have no choice. Can't let it happen. I believe we lost 300,000 people last year to drugs. 300,000. Fentanyl and other drugs. Each boat that we sink carries drugs that would kill more than 25,000 Americans. We will not let that happen. Energy is another area where the United States is now thriving like never before. We're getting rid of the falsely named renewables.

Also complete crap. The energy picture of the US has grown worse under Trump. 

By the way, they're a joke. They don't work. They're too expensive. They're not strong enough to fire up the plants that you need to make your country great. The wind doesn't blow. Those big windmills are so pathetic and so bad, so expensive to operate, and they have to be rebuilt all the time and they start to rust and rot. Most expensive energy ever conceived. And it's actually energy. You're supposed to make money with energy, not lose money. You lose money, the governments have to subsidize. You can't put them out without massive subsidies. And most of them are built in China, and I give China a lot of credit. They build them, but they're very few wind farms. So why is it that they build them and they send them all over the world, but they barely use them? You know what? They use coal, they use gas, they use almost anything, but they don't like wind, but they sure as hell like selling the windmills.

Actually, wind turbines are now very efficient. 

Europe on the other hand, is a long way to go with many countries being on the brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda. And I give a lot of credit to Germany. Germany was being led down a very sick path both on immigration by the way and on energy. They were going green and they were going bankrupt. And the new leadership, new leadership came in and they went back to where they were with fossil fuel and with nuclear, which is good, it's now safe and you can do it properly. But they went back to where they were and they opened up a lot of different plants, energy plants, energy-producing plants, and they're doing well. I give Germany a lot of credit for that. They've said, this is a disaster. What's happening? They were going all green. All green is all bankrupt. That's what it represents.

And it's not politically correct. I'll be very badly criticized for saying it, but I'm here to tell the truth. I don't care. It doesn't matter to me. I'm in New York City, I'm feeling a lot safer. Crime, we're getting crime down. And by the way, speaking of crime, Washington D.C., Washington D.C. was the crime capital of America. Now, it's a totally… After 12 days, it's a totally safe city. Everyone's going out to dinner, they're going out to restaurants. Your wife can walk down the middle of the street with or without you. Nothing's going to happen. My people have done a fantastic job. And yes, I called in the National Guard and the National Guard took care of business. And they weren't politically correct, but they took care of business. We got 1,700 career criminals out, brought them back to where they came from, the countries where they came from or put them in jails. Washington D.C. is now a totally safe city again and I welcome you to come. In fact, we'll have dinner together at a local restaurant and we'll be able to walk. We don't have to go by an armor-plated vehicle. We'll walk right over there from the White House. They've given up their powerful edge. A lot of the countries that we're talking about and oil and gas, such as essentially closing the Great North Sea oil. Oh, the North Sea. I know it so well. Aberdeen was the oil capital of Europe and this tremendous oil that hasn't been found in the North Sea. Tremendous oil. And I was with the Prime Minister I respected, like a lot. And I said, "You're sitting with the greatest asset." They essentially closed it by making it so highly taxed that no developer, no oil company can go there. They have tremendous oil left and more importantly, they have tremendous oil that hasn't even been found yet.

And what a tremendous asset for the United Kingdom. And I hope the prime minister's listening because I told it to him three days in a row. That's all he heard. North Sea oil, North Sea, because I want to see them do well. I want to stop seeing them ruining that beautiful Scottish and English countryside with windmills and massive solar panels that go seven miles by seven miles taken away farmland, but we're not letting this happen in America. In 1982, the executive director of the United Nations Environmental Program predicted that by the year 2000, climate change would cause a global catastrophe. He said that it will be irreversible as any nuclear holocaust would be. This is what they said at the United Nations. What happened? Here we are. Another UN official stated in 1989 that within a decade, entire nations could be wiped off the map by global warming. Not happening.

It used to be global cooling. If you look back years ago in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said, global cooling will kill the world. We have to do something. Then they said global warming will kill the world. But then it started getting cooler. So now they could just call it climate change because that way they can't miss climate change because if it goes higher or lower, whatever the hell happens, it's climate change. It's the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion. Climate change, no matter what happens, you're involved in that. No more global warming, no more global cooling. All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons were wrong. They were made by stupid people that of course their country's fortunes and given those same countries, no chance for success. If you don't get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail.

Climate change is not a hoax, it's manmade, and unabated, it's going to wipe us out. 

And I'm really good at predicting things. They actually said during the campaign, they had a hat, the best-selling hat. Trump was right about everything. And I don't say that in a braggadocious way, but it's true. I've been right about everything. And I'm telling you that if you don't get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail. And if you don't stop people that you've never seen before, that you have nothing in common with, your country is going to fail. I'm the President of the United States, but I worry about Europe. I love Europe. I love the people of Europe, and I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake, and they cannot let that happen any longer. You're doing it because you want to be nice, you want to be politically correct and you're destroying your heritage.

They must take control strongly and immediately of the unmitigated immigration disaster and the fake energy catastrophe before it's too late. The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions and they're heading down a path of total destruction. The carbon footprint, it was a big, big thing. A few years ago, I remember hearing about the carbon footprint and then President Obama would get into Air Force One, a massive Boeing 747 and not a new one, an old one with old engines that spew everything into the atmosphere. He talked about the carbon footprint, we must do… Then he'd get in and he'd fly from Washington to Hawaii to play a round of golf, and then he'd get back onto that big beautiful plane and he'd fly back and he'd talk about, again, global warming and the carbon footprint. It's a con job at extreme cost and expense.

Europe reduced its own carbon footprint by 37%. Think of that. Congratulations Europe. Great job. You cost yourself a lot of jobs, a lot of factories closed, but you reduced the carbon footprint by 37%. However, for all of that sacrifice and much more, it's been totally wiped out and then some by a global increase of 54%, much of it coming from China and other countries that are thriving around China, which now produces more CO2 than all the other developed nations in the world. So all of these countries are working so hard on the carbon footprint, which is nonsense by the way. It's nonsense. It's interesting. In the United States, we have still radicalized environmentalists and they want the factories to stop. Everything should stop. No more cows. We don't want cows anymore. I guess they want to kill all the cows. They want to do things that are just unbelievable and you have it too.

Again. Trump is advocating, essentially, wiping the species out. 

But we have a border, strong, and we have a shape, and that shape doesn't just go straight up. That shape is amorphous when it comes to the atmosphere. And if we had the most clean air, and I think we do, we have very clean air, we have the cleanest air we've had in many, many years. But the problem is that other countries like China, which has air that's a little bit rough, it blows. And no matter what you're doing down here, the air up here tends to get very dirty because it comes in from other countries where their air isn't so clean and the environmentalists refuse to acknowledge that. Same thing with garbage. In

In Asia, they dump much of their garbage right into the ocean. And over about a one-week and two-week journey, it flows right past Los Angeles. You've seen it, massive amounts of garbage. Almost too much to do anything about, flowing past Los Angeles, past San Francisco, and then somebody would get in trouble because he dropped a cigarette on the beach. The whole thing is crazy. The primary effect of these brutal green energy policies has not been to help the environment, but to redistribute manufacturing and industrial activity from developed countries that follow the insane rules that are put down, to polluting countries that break the rules and are making a fortune. They're making a fortune.

European electricity bills are now four to five times more expensive than those in China, and two to three times higher than the United States, and our bills are coming way down. You probably see that. Our gasoline prices are way down. We have an expression drill [foreign language 00:46:18]. Common to see one.

Entire societies must be rejected immediately, and it must be immediate. That's why in America, I withdrew from the fake Paris Climate Accord, where, by the way, America was paying so much more than every country. Others weren't paying. China didn't have to pay until 2030. Russia was given an old standard that was easy to meet, a 1990 standard. But for the United States, we're supposed to pay like a trillion dollars. And I said, "This is another scam." The fact is United States has been taken advantage of by the world for many, many years, but not any longer, as you probably noticed.

I unleashed massive energy production and signed historic executive orders to hunt for oil. But we don't have to do much hunting because we have the most oil of any nation, anywhere, oil and gas in the world. And if you add coal, we have the most of any nation in the world. Clean. I call it clean, beautiful coal. You can do things today with coal that you couldn't have done 10 years ago, 15 years. So I have a little standing order in the White House. Never use the word coal, only use the words clean, beautiful coal. Sounds much better, doesn't it? But we stand ready to provide any country with abundant, affordable energy supplies if you need them, when most of you do.

We're proudly exporting energy all over the world. We're now the largest exporter. In the United States, we want trade and robust commerce with all nations. Everybody. We want to help nations. We're going to help nations, but it must also be fair and reciprocal. The challenge with trade is much the same with climate. The countries that followed the rules, all their factories have been plundered. It's really sad to watch. They've been broken. They've been broken by countries that broke the rules.

That's why the United States is now applying tariffs to other countries. And much as these tariffs were, for many years, applied to us, uncontrollably applied to us, we've used tariffs as a defense mechanism under the Trump administration, including my first term, where hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs were taken in. And by the way, we had the lowest inflation and now we have very low inflation. The only thing different is that we have hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into our country. But this is how we will ensure that the system works for everyone and is sustainable into the future. We're also using tariffs to defend our sovereignty and security throughout the world, including against nations that have taken advantage of former U.S. administrations for decades, including the most corrupt, incompetent administration in history. The sleepy Joe Biden administration.

Brazil now faces major tariffs in response to its unprecedented efforts to interfere in the rights and freedoms of our American citizens and others with censorship, repression, weaponization, judicial corruption, and targeting of political critics in the United States. I have a little problem saying this because I must tell you, I was walking in and the leader of Brazil was walking out. We saw him and I saw him, he saw me and we embraced, and then I'm saying, can you believe I'm going to be saying this in just two minutes? But we actually agreed that we would meet next week. We didn't have much time to talk, like about 20 seconds. They were, in retrospect, I'm glad I waited because this thing didn't work out too well. But we did talk. We had a good talk and we agreed to meet next week, if that's of interest. But he seemed like a very nice man, actually. He liked me, I liked him. And I only do business with people I like.

I don't, when I don't like them, I don't like them. But we had, at least for about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry. It's a good sign. But also in the past, Brazil, can you believe this? Unfairly tariffed our nation. But now because of our tariffs, we are hitting them back and we're hitting them back very hard. As President, I will always defend our national sovereignty and the rights of American citizens. So I'm very sorry to say this, that Brazil is doing poorly and will continue to do poorly. They can only do well when they're working with us. Without us, they will fail just as others have failed. It's true.

Next year the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our glorious independence, a testament to enduring power and American freedom and spirit. We will also be proudly hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and shortly thereafter, the 2028 Olympics, which is going to be very exciting. I hope you all come. I hope that countless people from all over the globe will take part of these great, these will be great celebrations of liberty and human achievement, and that together, we all can rejoice in the miracles of history that began in July 4th, 1776 when we founded the Light to All Nations. And it's something really that an amazing thing came out of that date. It's called the United States of America. In honor of this momentous anniversary, I hope that all countries who find inspiration in our example will join us in renewing our commitment values, and those values, really, that we hold so dear together.

Let us defend free speech and free expression. Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today. It's called Christianity. And let us safeguard our sovereignty and cherish qualities that have made each of our nations so special, incredible, and extraordinary.

In closing, just want to repeat that immigration and the high cost of so-called green renewable energy is destroying a large part of the free world and a large part of our planet. Countries that cherish freedom are fading fast because of their policies on these two subjects. You need strong borders and traditional energy sources if you are going to be great again. Whether you have come from north or south, east or west, near or far, every leader in this beautiful hall today represents a rich culture, a noble history, and a proud heritage that makes each nation majestic and unique, unlike anything else in human history or any other place on the face of the earth.

From London to Lima, from Rome to Athens, from Paris to Seoul, from Cairo to Tokyo, and Amsterdam to right here in New York City, we stand on the shoulders of the leaders and legends, generals and giants, heroes and titans who won and built our beloved nations, all of our nations, with their own courage, strength, spirit, and skill. Our ancestors climbed to mountains, conquered oceans, crossed deserts, and trekked over wide open plains. They charged into thunderous battles, plunged into grave dangers, and they were soldiers, and farmers, and workers, and warriors, and explorers, and patriots. They built towns into cities, tribes into kingdoms, ideas into industries, and small islands into mighty empires. You're a part of all of that. They were champions for their people who never gave up and who never ever gave in. Their values, defined our national identities. Their visions forged our magnificent destiny. Everybody in this room is a part of it in your own way.

Each of us inherits the deeds and the myths, the triumphs, the legacies of our own heroes and founders who so bravely showed us the way. Our ancestors gave everything for homelands, that they defended with pride, with sweat, with blood, with life, and with death. Now, the righteous task of protecting the nations that they built belongs to each and every one of us. So together, let us uphold our sacred duty to our people and to our citizens. Let us protect their borders, ensure their safety, preserve their cultures, treasures, and traditions, and fight, fight, fight for their precious dreams and their cherished freedoms, and in friendship and really, a beautiful vision.

Let us all work together to build a bright, beautiful planet, a planet that we all share, a planet of peace and a world that is richer, better, and more beautiful than ever before. That can happen. It will happen. It will happen, and I hope it can happen and start right now, right at this moment. We'll turn it around. We're going to make our countries better, safer, more beautiful. We're going to take care of our people. Thank you very much. It's been an honor. God bless the nations of the world. Thank you very much. Bye.

Thank you.

On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the United States.

Frankly, by this point, probably very few people on the international stage take Trump seriously, and why would  they?  Here we have a primary example of Trump rambling babble, much of it addressed at the disproven "climate change is a fib" theory that some cling to.

Sunday, September 23, 1945. A call to arms.

The Viet Minh's Resistance Committee of the Saigon-Cholon Region was set up and issued an order calling for non-collaboration with the French.  It was effectively a call to arms.

The Egyptian government demanded that British forces withdraw from the Sudan, prior to its incorporation with Egypt.

Last edition:

Saturday, September 22, 1945. Patton spouts off . . . again.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, 1945–1946 War in Southern Vietnam, Chinese Civil War, Dwight Eisenhower, French Empire, French Indochina, George S. Patton, Post WWII Occupation of Germany, Việt Minh

Saturday, September 22, 1945. Patton spouts off . . . again.

 In what would prove to be a last straw for Gen. Eisenhower, Gen. Patton expressed skepticism over denazification, comparing the Nazis to Republicans and Democrats.

Patton was growing increasingly frustrated now that peace had arrived.  If Eisenhower could have read the comments in his journal, he would have been relieved by this time.

The Huaiyin–Huai'an Campaign ended in communist victory in China.

Former French pows went on a rampage in Saigon and killed members of the Viet Minh and innocent civilians, including children.  French civilians joined in.

Last edition:

Wednesday, September 19, 1945. Kim Il Sung returns to Korea.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, 1945–1946 War in Southern Vietnam, British Army, Chinese Civil War, French Army, India, It was because of World War Two, Kim Il Sung, Korea, New Zealand, Saigon Vietnam, United Nations, Vietnam, World War Two

Courthouses of the West: A Broken Profession

Courthouses of the West: A Broken Profession: 

A Broken Profession

This is a follow-up to something I posted here just the other day, taking the blog away from its comfortable place of depicting courthouses, into the nature of the contemporary practice.

Courthouses of the West: Things in the air. Some observations with varying ...: This blog is supposed to be dedicated to architecture, basically, although matters pertaining to the law do show up here.  Very rarely is th...

Here, I'm doing it again.

The CLEs above were on my mind to such an extent, and indeed they still are, that I've discussed them with several other lawyers I know.  Turns out some of them are on meds for anxiety.  I would never have guessed it.

There's something about this that really disturbs me,. although I don't fault them any one of them a darned bit.  Some of them seem to love their careers and are really good at what they do.  What bothers me, however, is that we seem to have developed a profession that has to heavily rely upon chemicals just to get by.

Just going back to the earliest of human mind altering chemicals, it's reported that between 21-36% of lawyers engage in problem drinking at hazardous, harmful, or potentially alcohol-dependent levels.  That's pretty disturbing, as that's between 1/5th up to a little over 1/3d of all practicing lawyers.  Some studies suggest that 36% of Minnesota's lawyers and judges drink at a dangerous level, and if that's not disturbing enough, some studies suggest that 41% of Canadian lawyers do.  Around 10% of lawyers have a drug abuse problem, but that probably includes a lot of them who have an alcohol problem.

Not good.

There's really no way to know how many lawyers are on anti anxiety medications.  Probably a bunch.  It's obviously much, much, better that people dealing with anxiety inducing situations seek medical help than crack open a bottle of Henry McKenna and poor yourself several shots.*  It's also better than smoking a joint or whatever else people are doing in the illegal drug categories, although obviously these days marijuana is sort of in a weird still illegal but not enforced much category.**

The laws approach to all of this has been to reach out to lawyers and offer "help".  But perhaps what should be obvious, but doesn't seem to be, is the profession itself needs the help.  If this percentage of its professionals, including its best and brightest, need chemical help just to get by each day, there's something existentially wrong in the profession.  All the CLE's on mindfulness in the world aren't going to fix that.

Footnotes:

*Henry McKenna is an Irish Whiskey named after lawyer and distiller, Henry McKenna.

**Marijuana is still a scheduled illegal drug in Federal law and students imbibing in it can risk admission to their State bars.  Likewise this can be true for people seeking a career in law enforcement.

Blog Mirror: Stephen Miller's Charlie Kirk speech draws Joseph Goebbels comparisons

 

Stephen Miller's Charlie Kirk speech draws Joseph Goebbels comparisons

The Madness of King Donald. The 25th Amendment Watch List, Fourth Edition.

August 11, 2025

One of the really nutty things about the Second Trump Administration are the nuts who work for it, of which Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is probably the nuttiest.

My vision that is every American is wearing a wearable within four years.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

If a Democrat had said that, the Republicans would come unglued.

cont:

We’re going to make DC beautiful..You see what we've done at the White House. I do that in my part time because it's a natural instinct as a real estate person. I like fixing things up.

Trump on calling the Guard up in D.C. and taking over the police force. 

August 13, 2025

The man who fired more than 180 shots at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was trying to send a message against COVID-19 vaccines according to authorities.

How does this relate to this topic.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, as are the overwhelming majority of vaccines, but the populist right is anti scientific and the Trump administration has bought into far right fantasies and fueled them, as evidenced by the fact that RFK, Jr. actually has a job in the administration.

More violence by deluded wackos is a certainty.

And then, there's this.

King Donald, twice in the past few days, said he was meeting Putin in Russia, which of course he isn't.  And now this:

St. Petersburg, which was founded in 1703 by Peter the Great.  Peter the Great wasn't a big fan of Russians, just as Frederick the Great didn't really like Germans, and so the city wasn't given a Russian name.  It was later renamed Petrograd, however. Then with the Communist came in and Lenin died, they renamed it Leningrad.  In 1991 it's name was restored to St. Petersburg.

Not that Trump could be expected to know something from 34 years ago. . . .

Anyhow, this does give us a good reason to bring out the Leningrad Cowboys.

August 16, 2025

This:

Russo Ukrainian War

Trump files all the way from Washington D.C.

Putin all the way from Moscow.

Conference already over, and we still have a war.

Is there somebody who actually still takes this clown's promises seriously?

Some history (not that Trump would appreciate it).

New Yorker Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the end of the Russo Japanese War, from the US, from August 9, 1905, through August 30, 1905.

But then, Roosevelt was a genuine article.

So, Trump flies all day to Alaska to a U.S. Air Force Base which has to prepare for his, and Putin's arrival.

Putin flies all day to Anchorage as well.

They meet for four hours, and Trump then talks to the press about "Vladimir" saying this or that.

A person would have to be intensely stupid to believe that a four hour meeting was going to accomplish anything.  Of course, nothing was going to happen without a Ukrainian delegate being there.

Trump is now well.  25th Amendment now.

August 17, 2025

A Trump tweet would appear to place Trump pathetically fully in the Putin camp today:

Basically this means Ukraine can end the war by surrendering, to the extent its capable of being deciphered.  

If Trump was a drinking man, which he's not, this would look like a drunk tweet.

August 18, 2025

One thing we've learned from the Trump meeting with Putin is how massively weak as a character he really is, and how extremely insecure he is.

It was obvious going into it that welcoming Putin to U.S. soil was a mistake, but Trump disregarded any counsel other than his own and looked like a gleeful little boy when Putin showed up. Putin shoved him around like a weakling and the meeting ended a couple of hours later, and ever since then Trump's been trying to figure out what to do, having landed, finally, on just agreeing to demand what Putin insisted he did.

When negotiations with the North Vietnamese broke down in Paris, which took months, not hours, Nixon ordered the resumption of B-52 strikes.  Nixon, who wasn't generally admirable, but who looks better all the time in comparison to Trump, wasn't a weakling.

Donny, it turns out, really is.  He's pathetic, in the true sense of the world.  Demanding attention, demanding love, and have petulant fits when he doesn't get it.  He is truly childish.

A situation a declining mental state doesn't help at all.

August 19, 2025

Now King Donny wants to do away with voting machines and mail in ballots.

This may be a "don't ask about the Epstein Files" distaction, as a segment of his MAGA base already held those views.  Harriet Hageman was asked about it last night in Casper and demurred.

Trump, yesterday, called the Democratic Republic of Congo, the "Republic of the Condo.

August 21, 2025

He’s in there fighting, they’re trying to put him in jail on top of everything else, how about that? He’s a war hero because we worked together. He’s a war hero. I guess I am too.

Donald Trump about Netanyahu and himself. 

Trump, a war hero?

Things must not be going well for Trump in general right now, as J.D. Vance has reemerged.  Vance usually appears when Trump's backers figure that he can't be trusted not to say really stupid things in the face of tough questions.  Otherwise Vance wisely hides in the background, probably hoping the stench doesn't attach to him too strongly.

August 25, 2025

Donald Trump is now threatening Chris Christie, formerly an ally and now a critic (like John Bolton) with prosecution.

Those who warned that Trump would be a vindictive autocrat have been proven correct.

By the way, Trump criticizing somebody's hair is rather extreme. His own hair is extremely weird, and the other day he wore a trucker's cap in the Oval Office.

August 26, 2025

China intelligently went in and they sort of took a monopoly of the world's magnets. Nobody needed magnets until they convinced everybody 20 years ago, 'let's all do magnets.' There were many other ways that the world could have gone ... we're heavily into the world of magnets now.

Donald Trump. 

cont:

We send hundreds of millions of gallons of water a day to the Pacific Ocean. They turn a valve and the valve heads out. And we turned the valve back. I actually had to do it using force. We turned the valve back and now they have water.

Donald Trump. 

August 27, 2025

His supporters will excuse them, and the rest of the country is numb, but Trump's latest press session demonstrated ramblings that were flat out bat shit crazy.

This is frightening for a variety of reasons.  He's clearly nuts.  But beyond that, he's drawing bizarre sycophantic praise from his cabinet members.  They're sharing in his sickness.  And this isn't limited to just his cabinet.  One comment I saw on John Barrasso, the Senate Whip and Wyoming's senior senator fairly accurately characterized him at this point as an "ass kissing sycophant."

The really scary part is that Trump may have so surrounded himself with a loyal Reichsregierung that there may actually no will to invoke the 25th Amendment, as frankly the time has come.  And if that's the case, were rocketing into unrecoverable Trump dictatorship with nobody to apply the brakes.

August 28, 2025

I’m looking at kids as I walk through the airports today...and I see these kids that are just overburdened with mitochondrial challenges, inflammation—you can tell from their faces, movements, and lack of social connection

RFK, Jr.   

September 2, 2025

Lots of people are doing a 25th Amendment watch today.  Trump has announced a "major" address today at 2:00 p.m. ET, and roads around Walter Reed are apparently restricted today.

Chances are that it will amount to absolutely nothing.

cont:

It's now rumored that the announcement will be that the headquarters for the Space Farce will be moved.

cont:

And, indeed, that was the news. The Space Farce, formed during Trump's first administration, is being moved to Alabama.

It should be moved to the dustbin of history and its mission restored to the Air Force.

cont:

Additionally, Trump attributed his decision to move his pet military branch to Alabama on Colorado having bad voting laws.

It doesn't have bad voting laws, this is just more of Trump's demented vengeful nature coming out.

September 5, 2025

SENATORS GRILL RFK JR. IN RAUCOUS HEARING

Headline in the Trib.

Kennedy is a nut.

And this from the man who never served a day in the military:

Trump to change DOD to ‘Department of War’

September 11, 2025

It's probably in really poor taste to post this today, but Trump doesn't look well at all in this video taken on September 11, 2025.

Some have been claiming he's been having ministrokes.  His appearance here would support that.  Others are dismissing that saying that the stress of losing a friend last night is making him weary.

I really don't believe that Trump has friends, quite frankly.  He seems to have allies, and Kirk was clearly that.  Maybe I'm underestimating him, but I don't take the concept of loss and grief very far with Trump, but perhaps that explains it.  Anyhow, he looks terrible.

If he really is suffering in this fashion, that may explain why nobody has stepped in with the 25th Amendment.  He's likely to be severely impaired in a way nobody can question soon, or worse.

Anyway you look at it, this is not the appearance of somebody who is well.

September 12, 2025

Reporter: My condolences on the loss of your friend Charlie Kirk. How are you holding up?

Trump: Very good. And BTW, right there you see all the trucks. They just started construction of the new ballroom for the WH…it's gonna be a beauty

Well on to the next story, apparently.  What a man of profound empathy.

And, apparently, the vandalization of the White House is a go.

September 21, 2025

Trump is the one who negotiated a U.S. exit from Afghanistan.  Now this:

And then there's this degusting bullshit:

THE GOLD CARD

Executive Orders

September 19, 2025

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  My Administration has worked relentlessly to undo the disastrous immigration policies of the prior administration.  Those policies produced a deluge of immigrants, without serious consideration of how those immigrants would affect America’s interests.

Most significantly, the prior administration permitted millions of aliens to enter the United States illegally, to the detriment of public safety, national security, and the rule of law.  International cartels, transnational criminal organizations, terrorists, and foreign malign actors took advantage of those open borders policies.  The prior administration also permitted abuse of the refugee process, swamping towns and cities with aliens and, in some cases, forcing them to declare emergencies to combat the crisis.

It is a priority of my Administration to realign Federal immigration policy with the Nation’s interests by ending illegal immigration and prioritizing the admission of aliens who will affirmatively benefit the Nation, including successful entrepreneurs, investors, and businessmen and women.

To advance that policy, I hereby announce the Gold Card, a visa program overseen by the Secretary of Commerce that will facilitate the entry of aliens who have demonstrated their ability and desire to advance the interests of the United States by voluntarily providing a significant financial gift to the Nation.

Sec. 2.  The Gold Card.  (a)  The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish a “Gold Card” program authorizing an alien who makes an unrestricted gift to the Department of Commerce under 15 U.S.C. 1522 (or for whom a corporation or similar entity makes such a gift) to establish eligibility for an immigrant visa using an expedited process, to the extent consistent with law and public safety and national security concerns.  The requisite gift amount shall be $1 million for an individual donating on his or her own behalf and $2 million for a corporation or similar entity donating on behalf of an individual.  

(b)  In adjudicating visa applications, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, consistent with applicable law, treat the gift specified in subsection (a) of this section as evidence of eligibility under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(1)(A), of exceptional business ability and national benefit under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(A), and of eligibility for a national-interest waiver under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(B).

(c)  The Secretary of Commerce shall deposit the gifts contributed under subsection (a) of this section in a separate fund in the Department of the Treasury and use them to promote commerce and American industry, consistent with the statutory authorities of the Department of Commerce, see, e.g., 15 U.S.C. 1512.

Sec. 3.  Implementation.  The Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall, within 90 days of the date of this order, take all necessary and appropriate steps to implement the Gold Card program.  Among other things, they shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and their respective statutory authorities, including the limits on the numbers of visas specified in 8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.:

(a)  Establish a process for application and expedited adjudication of Gold Card petitions, visa issuance, and adjustment of status.

(b)  Specify the date on which applicants (or sponsors if applicable) may begin to submit gifts for consideration under the Gold Card program.

(c)  Establish a process for a Gold Card holder sponsored by a corporation or similar entity to abandon his or her status and for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider the original gift as evidence of eligibility under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(1)(A), of exceptional business ability and national benefit under 8 U.S.C. 1153 (b)(2)(A), and of eligibility for a national-interest waiver under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2)(B), for a different individual specified by the corporation or similar entity.  The transferee shall otherwise be subject to the same procedures as an original visa applicant, including appropriate screening for public safety and national security.

(d)  Establish administrative fees to cover the cost of expedited processing under subsection (a) of this section.

(e)  Establish maintenance and transfer fees for corporations or similar entities sponsoring individuals under the Gold Card program.

(f)  Consider expanding the Gold Card program to visa applicants under 8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5).

Sec. 4.  Severability.  If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person, is held to be invalid, the remaining provisions and applications shall not be affected thereby.

Sec. 5.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d)  The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Commerce.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    September 19, 2025.

And now this:

This is outright nuts and enough to invoke the 25th Amendment all on its own.  If Bondi has any credibility or integrity, she'll resign her office now and come out swinging against Trump.

This stuff is outright scary.  The time in which rational thinking people would have invoked the 25th Amendment is long past.  What's happening now is like giving demented grandpa the keys to his car.

This last one is so weird, we're in a new spot in this story, and will close out this edition.

Last edition:

The Madness of King Donald. The 25th Amendment Watch List, Third Edition and Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist, 98th edition. The Perverts and Fellow Travelers Issue.

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

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 103d edition. Missing the obvious demographic aspect of the story . . ."Wyoming Churches See Revival, Shakeup After Charlie Kirk's Death"

 The Cowboy State Daily claims:

Wyoming Churches See Revival, Shakeup After Charlie Kirk's Death

What's the real story?

Do it yourself and Evangelical Churches saw a boost in attendance, and it will be temporary, as in probably over by today.

Protestant "mainline" churches, of which Kirk had been a member, saw nothing going on. The same is true of the Catholic churches, which have been increasingly packed in a way that can't be ignored, and which Kirk was clearly evolving towards.

Does this tell us that the far right Evangelical Churches are particularly tapped into the American mindset?  Not really.  But it does tell us that far right Evangelical Protestantism is particularly, and indeed oddly, aligned with MAGA.

Long term, this will mean for it, what being aligned with the Confederacy in the South meant for the Episcopal Church in the South, but even more dramatically.  

Evangelical Protestantism, in its far right wing form, is dragging Evangelicalism into what theologically and politically untenable position.  Trump isn't Charles Martel, holding back the Saracen hoards.  This will pass and people's head will begin to clear up.  When they do, the close association of right wing Evangelicalism with Trump, including the downright goofy occasional statements by some of its leaders about Trump being Divinely appointed, will have the effect of damaging Evangelicalism as a whole.  

The far right Evangelical Churches, which make up only a portion of Evangelical Churches, are telling people what they want to hear.  That works only as long as people aren't being hurt by what they hear.  The truth of tends to hurt.

One thing most Evangelicals won't be hearing are today's readings in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, which are:

Reading 1

Amos 8:4-7

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy

 and destroy the poor of the land!

 "When will the new moon be over," you ask,

 "that we may sell our grain,

 and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?

 We will diminish the ephah,

 add to the shekel,

 and fix our scales for cheating!

 We will buy the lowly for silver,

 and the poor for a pair of sandals;

 even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"

 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:

 Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Reading 2

1 Timothy 2:1-8

Beloved:

First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,

petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,

for kings and for all in authority,

that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life

in all devotion and dignity.

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,

who wills everyone to be saved

and to come to knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God.

There is also one mediator between God and men,

     the man Christ Jesus,

who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony at the proper time.

For this I was appointed preacher and apostle

— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,

teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,

lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

Gospel

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples,

"A rich man had a steward

who was reported to him for squandering his property.

He summoned him and said,

'What is this I hear about you?

Prepare a full account of your stewardship,

because you can no longer be my steward.'

The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,

now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?

I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.

I know what I shall do so that,

when I am removed from the stewardship,

they may welcome me into their homes.'

He called in his master's debtors one by one.

To the first he said,

'How much do you owe my master?'

He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'

He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.

Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'

Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'

He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'

The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;

write one for eighty.'

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.

"For the children of this world

are more prudent in dealing with their own generation

than are the children of light.

I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,

so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

The person who is trustworthy in very small matters

is also trustworthy in great ones;

and the person who is dishonest in very small matters

is also dishonest in great ones.

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,

who will trust you with true wealth?

If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,

who will give you what is yours?

No servant can serve two masters.

He will either hate one and love the other,

or be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve both God and mammon."

No health and wealth gospel there.

Last edition:

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 102nd edition. Short attention span and a Ballroom Blitz*. And self sabotage.

Labels: Apostolic Christianity, Catholic, Charlie Kirk, Christianity, homosexuality, News, religion, Republican Party, Spencer Cox, The Kennedy/Guevara Effect, The Press, transgenderism, Utah, Weltanschauung, White House, Zeitgeist

Blog Mirror: Outside Just Fired Me Because Of My Politics I'm hardly Jimmy Kimmel, but that's also a reason this should worry you

 

Outside Just Fired Me Because Of My Politics

I'm hardly Jimmy Kimmel, but that's also a reason this should worry you

The Best Posts of the Week of September 14, 2025.

The best posts of the week of September 14, 2025.

What's the meaning of Charlie Kirk? Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me. Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me. What a long, strange trip it's been

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 102nd edition. Short attention span and a Ballroom Blitz*. And self sabotage.

CliffsNotes of the Zeitgeist, 103d edition. The tragic co-opting of death and politics.

Friday, September 17, 1915. The Swastika Store.

Things in the air. Some observations with varying degrees of introspection.

With 700 daily visitors, Taggart Lake trailhead in Grand Teton National Park is in line for expansion

With 700 daily visitors, Taggart Lake trailhead in Grand Teton National Park is in line for expansion: Officials seek comment by Sept. 23 on a project that would redesign the park’s most popular year-round trailhead.

More Than 13,000 Pieces Of Garbage Removed From Yellowstone Thermal Areas

 

More Than 13,000 Pieces Of Garbage Removed From Yellowstone Thermal Areas

Even the defense secretary is required to follow the law

Even the defense secretary is required to follow the law: Pete Hegseth’s indifference toward the legal requirements governing the use of military power contrasts greatly with the Founding Fathers, constitutional scholar David Adler writes.

Charlie Kirk killing fuels free speech disputes in Wyoming as newspapers come under attack

Charlie Kirk killing fuels free speech disputes in Wyoming as newspapers come under attack: Local businesses, UW’s student paper, a Teton County daily among those in the fray.

The Trump war on science continues.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Friday a rule to end a mandatory program requiring 8,000 facilities to report their greenhouse gas emissions - an effort the agency said was burdensome to business, but which leaves the public without transparency around the environmental impact of those sources.

Lummis on limiting free speech.

Kimmel’s suspension prompts free-speech Republicans to reconsider their boundaries

Something to note:

In fact, some Republicans who consider themselves defenders of unfettered speech are getting more comfortable with limiting it. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Semafor that “an FCC license, it’s not a right. It really is a privilege.”

“Under normal times, in normal circumstances, I tend to think that the First Amendment should always be sort of the ultimate right. And that there should be almost no checks and balances on it. I don’t feel that way anymore,” Lummis added.

“I feel like something’s changed culturally. And I think that there needs to be some cognizance that things have changed,” she added. “We just can’t let people call each other those kinds of insane things and then be surprised when politicians get shot and the death threats they are receiving and then trying to get extra money for security.”

Pretty much what those supporting totalitarian states have said about freedoms throughout history.

Absolutely shameful.

Friday, September 19, 1975. No cash.

Cambodia banned money and state education.

Last edition:

Sunday, September 14, 1975. Elizabeth Seton canonized.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Catholic, Christianity, religion, Sunday Morning Scene

Wednesday, September 19, 1945. Kim Il Sung returns to Korea.

Kim Il Sung arrived at Port Wonsan and began to organize the Communist Party of Korea.

Kim was born into a Presbyterian family.  He fled to Manchuria in 1920 after being involved in anti Japanese activities.  He was in  his mid teens at the time and then attended military schools.  It was while he was in China that he became interested in Communism.  He was a figure in the Chinese Communist Army during the pre World War Two Chinese Civil War and then again during World War Two, crossing into the Soviet Union in 1940.  He then joined the Red Army. The Soviets chose Kim in order to have a Communist figure to introduce into Korea even though he was poorly educated and by 1940 his Korean was very poor.  His early life is not very well known.

Navy aircraft over Inchon, September 1945.

The US banned reporting on the atomic bombs in Japan.

British and French troops complete the suppression of the Việt Minh in Saigon.

New Zealand ratified the UN Charter.

William Joyce was sentenced to death.

The British announced that Indian would shortly be granted home rule.

Shirley temple married Sgt. John Agar, a fellow actor.  She was 17 years old. Agar was 25.

The marriage wouldn't last.

Agar had a real drinking problem, although he amazingly lived to age 81.  Apparently he's associated with B science fiction movies, but I always associate him with John Ford westerns.  He also appeared in The Sands of Iwo Jima.  He met Shirley Temple in 1943 when he escorted her to a Hollywood party.  She would only have been 15 years old at the time.

His second marriage lasted 49 years.

He had a remarkably long film career, although many of his roles were very minor.  In World War Two he served first in the Navy, joining in 1941 and then in the Army Air Force as a physical instructor.  He was discharged from the Navy due to an ear infection.

Shirley Temple in 1943.

Temple is a film legend, of course, but had trouble transitioning from being a child actress to adult film roles, even though the ones she appeared in showed her to be a very talented adult actress.  This would lead to an early retirement from film, something that was hastened by a negative reaction to being propositioned by MGM figure Arthur Freed and Louis B. Mayer on the same day, when she was only 12, leading to her returning to Fox from MGM without much success.  She later became the US Ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the Reagan Administration.

Last edition:

Tuesday, September 18, 1945. The first desegregation student protest.

Labels: 1910s, 1940s, 1945, 1945 at the movies, actors and actresses, Chinese Civil War, Education, Henry L. Stimson, Indiana, Movies, Nationalist Chinese Army, People's Liberation Army, Racism, Roosevelt, Rust Belt, Taft

Peanut Butter Sandwich (1920s?) on Sandwiches of History⁣