Monday, October 19, 2026

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

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

October 4, 2026

Running out of time.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We're not.

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


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

Cotton's reasons:


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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyhow, what are the reasons for this absurdity?

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

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

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

M'eh.

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

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

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

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

Okay, this is at the really weird level.

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

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

What's going on with the 25th?

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

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

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

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

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

A lot of people will.

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

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

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

And hence the gamble.

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

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

October 10, 2026



This man is a titanic narcissist and deeply mentally ill.

Trump called Letitia James a "dog".

James has been a controversial Attorney General for the State of New York.  She went after Trump some time ago unsuccessfully.  I don't know what brought her back to mind for Trump, but she's been in the news recently over the Cornell rape story.  I'll have an item on that shortly, but in a comment he noted he feels "badly" for the seven men accused.

Eh?

It's hard to ignore that Trump is rapy wealthy men's best friend.

October 12, 2026
And you know what they're doing? They go straight down, you know, you can make those drill bits talk. You can make 'em sing, you can make them go, they go down. New York's over here, Pennsylvania-- they go down and they take a sharp left. And they suck our oil out. Can you believe it? Lines of different states, and you'll see one has Cadillacs, because they like Cadillacs better than they like Mercedes, but one has an Escalade, and one has a 50 year old Chevy. And you're talking about 3 ft. It's a line that goes right up. One has some beautiful drilling plants, and one has no drilling plants, it's got no money, it's got poverty.
Donald Trump.

This is a statement, I believe, on horizontal drilling.  It's posted as an example of his rambling speech.  This was just delivered over the weekend.

Cont:

Regarding the supposed agreement to cease hitting energy targets:
Reporter: You said Russia and Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire but both sides say they have not. 

Trump: They agree. You know why? Because I said you agree. That’s why. They agreed because I said they agreed.

Well, they didn't agree.  Apparently King Donald's word doesn't mean that much.

October 19, 2026

That stone is so beautiful ... see the cushions? Those beautiful yellow cushions? Don't they feel nice? I have them specially made ... you have the new heliport and ballroom.

Donald Trump addressing a women's health event.

cont:


Oh, sure, that's normal . . . 

Related threads:

Daylight Savings Time, Dangers, and Crabbiness.

Last edition:

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



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

I really hate golf.

 

I have for years.

And, yes, I know how to golf.

Trump is making it worse.  Sure, somebody will accuse me of having Trump Derangement Syndrome, but golf has always sort of suffered from having an effete, upper middle class, wealthy class, atmosphere to it. The sort of game that people who are afraid of the real outdoors might take up.

My view is, I fully know, completely unfair.

And Trump's making my attitude worse.

Tuesday, October 19, 1976. Aishiyeh Massacre.

The Catholic village of Aishiyeh in Lebanon was attacked with Palestinian elements committing a massacre upon the population.

Cincinnati beat New York in Game 3 of the World Series.

Last edition:

Saturday, October 16, 1976. Disco Duck.

Saturday, October 19, 1946. Spy agency musical chairs.

The Strategic Services Unit was Dissolved and all its personnel and functions were moved to the Office of Special Operations (OSO), which itself was part of the Central Intelligence Group.

Last edition:

Friday, October 18, 1946. Disaster in Laramie.


Thursday, October 19, 1911. Zapatistas advance.

Zapatistas were advancing in Morelos.  

Long Beach, California.

Last edition:

Monday, October 16, 1911. Plot against Taft and Progressive Party meets for the first time.

Wars and Rumors of War, 2026. Part 9. Operation Quiet Piggy.


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 is nothing they [Russian leaders] admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which they have less respect than for weakness, especially military weakness.

Winston S. Churchill, The Sinews of Peace

October 13, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

The term is so good, it's time for a new edition.  Some wag has termed the Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data farms "Operation Quiet Piggy".

And, in fact, some well known anti Trump pundits noted a big drop off on spam bots on Twitter right away.

Hmm. . . 

October 17, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Shameful:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (22 U.S.C. 10802 et seq.) (Graham Act), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I hereby determine and order:

Section 1.  Background.  On September 18, 2026, I signed the Graham Act into law.  The Graham Act provides for the imposition of certain sanctions with respect to foreign persons, restrictions with respect to persons, and duties with respect to goods imported into the United States from the Russian Federation and certain other countries.

Section 115 of the Graham Act authorizes the President to waive the application of any sanctions provision with respect to a foreign person, any restriction with respect to a person, and any duty under the Graham Act, subject to the submission to the Congress of a written certification that such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification. 

As described further in section 4 of this order, I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act.  I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States.

Sec. 2.  Increases in Rate of Duty.  (a)  The rate of duty on goods from the Russian Federation shall be increased by 500 percent ad valorem, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order.

(b)  The rate of duty on goods from the largest 5 importers of crude oil and natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation shall be increased by 100 percent ad valorem if the country knowingly makes new purchases of crude oil or natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation on or after October 18, 2026, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order.  The United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative), in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the circumstances related to the importation and purchases by countries of crude oil and natural gas of Russian Federation origin, regularly inform the President of any such activity, and provide recommendations for further action, as provided for in section 3 of this order.   

(c)  The rate of duty on goods from the top 5 facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion shall be increased by 100 percent ad valorem, subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order.  The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the activities of countries that facilitate Russian oil sanctions evasion, as defined in section 113(i) of the Graham Act, and report to the President on which countries are among the top 5 such facilitators.

(d)  The increases in the rates of duty provided by this order shall apply in addition to any other duty, fee, tax, exaction, or charge applicable with respect to the good, including any duty imposed under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.), sections 122, 201, or 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2132, 2251, and 2411), or section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1862).

Sec. 3.  Monitoring.  The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall monitor the circumstances related to the importation and purchases by countries of crude oil and natural gas of Russian Federation origin, as well as the facilitation of Russian sanctions evasion by countries, and regularly report to the President on those circumstances.  The Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and any other senior executive branch official that the Trade Representative determines appropriate, shall promptly inform the President of any circumstance that, in his opinion, might indicate the need for further action by the President, including with respect to the waivers.

Sec. 4.  Waiver.  (a)  Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act or this order.  I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.

     (b)  Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of the sanctions provision provided for in section 102(d) of the Graham Act with respect to foreign persons and the restrictions provided for in section 102(d) of the Graham Act with respect to persons.  For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this order affects any sanctions or other measures provided for under any Executive Order issued to address the national emergency that I continued on March 24, 2026, with respect to specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation (91 Fed. Reg. 15515), as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Graham Act, including with respect to all persons sanctioned under any such Executive Order.  I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.

(c)  Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of the following sanctions provisions with respect to foreign persons and restrictions with respect to persons:  sections 102(a), 102(e), 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, and 117 of the Graham Act.  I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act.

(d)  The waivers described in subsections (a) through (c) of this section shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate. 

Sec. 5.  Delegation of Authorities.  (a)  I hereby delegate the functions and authorities vested in the President by the Graham Act as follows:

(i)     sections 102(a), 102(b), 102(c), 104(a), 108(b), 111(b), and 114(a)(2), to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, and to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

(ii)    section 115 to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate;

(iii)   sections 102(e)(1), 103(a), 103(b), 103(d), 104(b), 110(a), 110(c), and 116(a) to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State;

(iv)    section 111(a) to the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Treasury;

(v)     section 112 to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury;

(vi)    section 113(a) to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Energy;

(vii)   section 117(a), with respect to the termination of the application of any sanction with respect to a foreign person or any restriction with respect to a person, to the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury; and to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State; and

(viii)  section 117(a), with respect to the termination of any duty, to the Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Energy, and the Secretary of the Treasury.

(b)  The delegations in this section shall apply to any provisions of any future public laws that are the same or substantially the same as the provisions referenced in this section. 

(c)  The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Energy may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate within their respective departments any of the functions or authorities delegated to them by this order.  All executive departments and agencies shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.

(d)  Any reference in this section to the Graham Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the Graham Act as amended from time to time.

Sec. 6.  Severability.  If any provision of this order or the application of any provision of this order to any individual or circumstance is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected.

Sec. 7.  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 State.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Absolutely shameful.  There's no excuse for it.

The GOP needs to answer for  this.  You can't stay silent.  Republicans are either in favor of Donald Trump's actions, or against them.  Silence is consent.

It's not sitting well with some in Congress.

Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️

@RepDonBacon

Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus.

Ukraine launched one of the largest drone strikes of the war on St. Petersburg earlier today.  

October 19, 2026

Russo Ukrainian War

Russia has proposed a summit with China and the US to end the Russo Ukrainian War.

He doesn't propose to invite Ukraine and China has no business in this matter at all.

Last edition:

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

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Friday, October 18, 1946. Disaster in Laramie.

The Rocky Mountain News reported on a terrible aviation accident in Laramie which occurred the day prior.




Pilot error was ultimately determined to be the cause of the accident.  The plane had diverted to Laramie from Cheyenne because of the weather, and the weather rapidly deteriorated as he was attempting to land.  He maneuvered the aircraft low to the ground, causing the wing to strike the ground and the plane to crash.

Last edition:

Wednesday, October 18, 1876. Law and Order in the State of South Carolina

October 18, 1876

Proclamation 232—Law and Order in the State of South Carolina

October 17, 1876

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Whereas it has been satisfactorily shown to me that insurrection and domestic violence exist in several counties of the State of South Carolina, and that certain combinations of men against law exist in many counties of said State known as "rifle clubs," who ride up and down by day and night in arms, murdering some peaceable citizens and intimidating others, which combinations, though forbidden by the laws of the State, can not be controlled or suppressed by the ordinary course of justice; and

Whereas it is provided in the Constitution of the United States that the United States shall protect every State in this Union, on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence; and

Whereas by laws in pursuance of the above it is provided (in the laws of the United States) that in all cases of insurrection in any State or of obstruction to the laws thereof it shall be lawful for the President of the United States, on application of the legislature of such State, or of the executive (when the legislature can not be convened), to call forth the militia of any other State or States, or to employ such part of the land and naval forces as shall be judged necessary, for the purpose of suppressing such insurrection or causing the laws to be duly executed; and

Whereas the legislature of said State is not now in session and can not be convened in time to meet the present emergency, and the executive of said State, under section 4 of Article IV of the Constitution of the United States and the laws passed in pursuance thereof, has therefore made due application to me in the premises for such part of the military force of the United States as may be necessary and adequate to protect said State and the citizens thereof against domestic violence and to enforce the due execution of the laws; and

Whereas it is required that whenever it may be necessary, in the judgment of the President, to use the military force for the purpose aforesaid, he shall forthwith, by proclamation, command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective homes within a limited time:

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do hereby make proclamation and command all persons engaged in said unlawful and insurrectionary proceedings to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within three days from this date, and hereafter abandon said combinations and submit themselves to the laws and constituted authorities of said State.

And I invoke the aid and cooperation of all good citizens thereof to uphold the laws and preserve the public peace.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 17th day of October, A.D. 1876, and of the Independence of the United States one hundred and one.

U.S. GRANT.

By the President:

JOHN L. CADWALADER,

Acting Secretary of State.

Last edition:

Monday, October 16, 1876. The Conhoy Riot.

The Best posts of the week of October 11, 2026, and the feral and agrarian weeks.

The best posts of the week of October 11, 2026.

Sunday Morning Scene. Back to the Coliseum.











Tuesday, October 15, 1946. Death of Hermann Göring







The feral week:


Lex Anteinternet: Tuesday, October 15, 1946. The Golden Age of War Surplus


The Agrarian week;

Last edition:

The Best Posts of the week of October 4, 2026 and the Feral Week.