Trump knows the election results are a reflection of his unpopularity with voters and their rejection of his policies. So why is he doubling-down with Miller, who is the architect of Trump's most objectionable policies?

Miller, of course, is ecstatic, because now he gets to spend even more time with his cabal of right wing lawyers drafting executive orders to enact policies the rest of us find abhorrent. Get ready for the deluge.[More...]

I think my favorite article on Miller is the one his uncle, retired neuropsychologist David Glosser, wrote in 2018 in Politico. I wrote up a summary at the time here.

Trump and Miller will have two more years to wreak mayhem at the executive level. Some of their damage can be undone by the next President who can repeal his Executive Orders. One thing that won't be undone: Their appointment of life-time federal judges and most likely, at least one more Supreme Court Justice. ]]> Jeralyn 2026-11-06T21:57:09-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/11/5/174537/109

California Governor Gavin Newsom has commuted the sentences of all 548 death row inmates to life without parole. His letter explaining the decision is here.

“State-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values, undermines the foundations of our legal system and diminishes each of us.”

California accounts for 1/4 of all death row inmates in the country. No one has been executed in California in 20 years. Gov. Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in 2019.

Also, under California law, inmates with convictions in multiple felony cases will have to have the commutations reviewed by the California Supreme Court. It is expected that this will apply to more than half of those granted clemency.

Kudos to Gov. Newsom for taking this action. Here are additional reactions from groups and individuals supporting his clemency grant. ]]> Jeralyn 2026-11-05T17:45:37-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/11/3/83948/8316 What I have learned over the decades I have been a voter is that we get the government we elect. If we snooze and don't show up to vote, we lose. All of us.

From this day forward, Donald Trump is an irrelevant lame duck. I've enjoyed ignoring him the past nine months. Thankfully, he is not on the ballot. If the Democrats win the House and Senate, sure he will be the veto king the next two years. But maybe, the win will pave the way for the Democrats to win the presidency in 2028. Imagine that on January 20, 2029, we have a Democratic president who immediately repeals every repulsive executive order Trump signed.

If you abstain or write in Bugs Bunny, it's one less vote the Republicans have to earn to win. So hold your nose or put a clothes pin on it when you go to drop off your ballot or vote in person, to show the world how you feel about the choices, but cast your vote. You have the chance to play a role in the beginning of the process to restore the soul of our country, not just its reflection pools and golf courses. Use it, don't lose it. ]]> Jeralyn 2026-11-03T08:39:48-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/10/15/155814/39 There has been so much coverage of the war in Iran and the midterm elections, other topics are getting short shrift.

Like the Trump family and Kushner's "dollar diplomacy". The mainstream media in the U.S. reports on it one day and then forgets about it or isn't interested. From Albania and Serbia to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and even Vietnam, the issues of potential conflicts of interest and whether unpaid advisors like Kushner should provide financial disclosures needs further reporting.

High level officials have been indicted in Serbia and are under investigation in Albania over these deals. Kushner has dropped out of Serbia but is still pushing on in Albania, and there are plenty of protests in the streets of those countries, but Trump and Kushner, et. al., and even Kushner's lawyer, say everything has been done by the book and the objections are just part of Trump Derangement Syndrome. Which is it? [More...]

In Vietnam, Eric was showered with confetti at the groundbreaking ceremony for a �1.5bn golf resort, the permits for which were granted with unusual speed. Then Trump halved Vietnam’s tariffs. The Saudis poured money into Kushner’s fund, and plans emerged for a Trump plaza in Jeddah. Then Trump agreed to sell the kingdom new US fighter jets. A cryptocurrency baron’s company and senior Emiratis cut a lucrative transaction with World Liberty Financial, the digital currency venture Don Jr and Eric founded. Trump gave the crypto baron a pardon and the Emiratis access to restricted US chips.

Asked about such deals last year, Kushner, now a presidential envoy to Russia, Israel and elsewhere, said: “What people call conflicts of interests … I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world.”

And then there is Trump's granting of pardons to major convicted fraudsters.

Also of interest (at least to me) is Mexico's stepped up arrests and extraditions of some high level cartel members. Violence also seems to be increasing and spreading out around the country. Mexico has been adamant that Trump cannot invade Mexico to carry out his war on cartels and gangs, but it sure seems like Mexico is trying to curry his favor. Does Mexico just want to stay in Trump's good graces economically, or is it trying to send the message that it can police itself?

Reports of grift and graft by elected officials and governments seem to be increasing around the globe. Removing a corrupt official does about as much good as arresting an alleged cartel leader -- another one just comes along to take their place.

Only two more years of Trump. The whole world seems to be tired of his shenanigans. Or maybe its just holding its breath, waiting for him (and his tariffs) to be gone, believing he (and his tenure) shall soon pass. Does anyone who doesn't have a defense contract with the military, law enforcement or ICE (other than his shrinking margainalized, under-educated base, and oligarchs and billionaires) support him?

I hope Trump's latest idea of turning the golf course that is five minutes from Mar a Lago into a presidential retreat for future presidents fails. What's behind it? Maybe he got estimates for renovations he planned to make to the golf course clubhouse and plans on recouping the cost through the money his estate will make when the retreat facility becomes operational. How charitable of him (/snark).

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.
]]> Jeralyn 2026-10-15T15:58:14-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/10/15/15334/987 Donald Trump has axed the live stream of the execution of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. Only the victims families will be allowed to observe the execution.

Hasan is scheduled to die by firing squad in December.

It was a hare-brained idea from the start. The United States, even under an authoritarian administration like Donald Trump's, should not stoop to the level of Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan -- and ISIS.

I missed writing about September 11, Rosh Hashanah, the Emmys and the New York Fashion Show. Pro Publica has a feature article on how Little Trump's wedding in Aruba was funded by a Russian businessman close to Putin.

I am keeping up with Senor de los Cielos.

I couldn't care less about almost has-been Trump, other than wishing him and his supporters a miserable new year, filled with legal fees and election losses and a diminution of his brand name for licensing purposes. (I'm not cruel enough to wish ill health on anyone).

But instead of bellowing at the moon, I think we should all look forward, not 50 years, but to 2028. What traits should the leader of this country possess? On the last day of 2016, I wrote:

What feelings should an incoming President invoke in us? My answer is pride in our country, a sense of security, so that when we go to sleep at night we know the world will be there when we wake up, and feelings of trust that our nation's leader will steer the country along the right path, embracing principles of freedom, tolerance and opportunity for all, and act in ways that confirm to the world that the United States is a beacon of liberty, not authoritarianism.

Your turn. What traits should our next leader possess? And for another day, how do we protect ourselves from the clutches of future felonistic fraudsters clawing their way to the pinnacle of power?

On another topic, I am still moving. I honestly don't understand how it could take five days to move from one floor to another but it did. The furniture was done in one day, and then came the rest. I haven't begun to unpack, and I still have to clear out the stuff I left behind in the old apartment. But I'm really happy with the new apartment. I hope I don't have to do this again for another two years, at least. [More]

One thing that went really smoothly: Not using boxes. I used over 100 plastic grocery sacks.

One thing that didn't go too smoothly: One foot and ankle swelled up so much I thought they were going to explode. When I stepped on the foot, the shooting pain was horrible. I had to go to the hospital and could not move anything for a day and a half. Luckily, my furniture movers (two very nice guys from the neighborhood, neither of whom are professional movers) came back and packed up the rest of my stuff and brought it down yesterday. My foot needed antibiotics and has stopped hurting and is back to normal size.

Every move is different, but I'm happy to say nothing was broken and I kept the cost down to $800.00.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'll probably be offline for the weekend with the transfer of internet service, but here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

I think I could use a birthday drink. If you can spare it, here's the button.

]]> Jeralyn 2026-06-13T14:15:25-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/5/25/172141/116

With gratitude to those who served and died, to our veterans still with us, and to those currently enlisted who are protecting our nation and allies and everyone in them.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Today, Joseph E. diGenova was sworn in as Counselor to the Attorney General, assuming a senior advisory role within the U.S. Department of Justice.

In this capacity, diGenova will advise the Attorney General on significant legal, policy, and enforcement matters, drawing on decades of experience in federal prosecution, complex investigations, and national legal practice.

Trump says it's unlikely Iran will get an extension on his ultimatum. More...] Michael Avenatti, the lawyer who loved to go on the TeeVee before he went to prison for stealing money from Stormy Daniels, his $25 million NIKE extortion scam, and another theft of funds, fraud and tax case involving a former client, among others, just got released to a halfway house, where he will supposedly finish serving his sentence until mid-2028.

That's an awfully long time for BOP to put someone in a halfway house. I assume Avenatti will transfer to home detention for the last year or so, so this may be a big break for him. ]]> Jeralyn 2026-04-20T12:30:00-05:00 http://www.talkleft.com/story/2026/4/2/13408/89421 The rumors are true. Donald Trump has fired Pam Bondi. Todd Blanche, one of his personal lawyers from his criminal trial in New York and a former federal prosecutor, currently serving as Deputy AG, will take her place.

Bondi will return to the private sector, according to Trump. (CBS had reported she would remain in the Administration in another capacity.)

Many are speculating that the reasons for the firing are her mishandling of the release of files in the Jeffrey Epstein case. There's also her failure to fulfill his personal vengeful agenda and file charges against Adam Schiff and Letitia James.

He starts with a lie and will just keep going.

We are working with Venezuela and getting along incredibly well. We are now totally independent of the Middle East.

He says he has been planning to decimate Iran since 2015 when he first decided to run for office. This has been going on for 47 years and someone should have taken care of this before then.

We're winning and winning big.

He trashes Obama. They laughed at him. His deal would have been disasterous.

He's now praises himself. No one has ever seen anything like it. We "totally obliterated" their ability to build nuclear weapons with the first attack. They were right at the doorstep of having nuclear weapons.

Our objectives are dismantling Iran's ability to launch a weapons outside their borders. We've destroyed, annihilated, obliterated their navy, their air force and almost all the other branches.

All the families of those who have died have asked him to finish the job. He thanks the other countries in the Middle East and we will not let them get hurt.

Every plague will fall on us if we don't finish off Iran. Iran is a dead and crippled country. He touts his economic record at home, no inflation, greatest amount of investments in the U.S., we are #1 producer of oil on the planet. We produced more thant Saudi Arabia and Russia combined.

We don't need the oil coming through the Hormuz Straight. The other countries that take oil through the Straight have to protect it. He has a suggestion -- buy oil from the U.S. The Straight will open up naturally. They will be able to buy oil. U.S. citizens are getting bigger than ever from his big beautiful bill.

We are on track to fultfill all our military objectives. We have not hit their oil but we could and they would be gone. We are going to hit their electrical generators real hard in the next few weeks. We have all the cards and they have none.

He compares the time it took for every other war since WW1. This took a shorter time. The whole world is watching and can't believe the brilliance of the U.S. military.

No more nuclear blackmail. We wil be greater than ever.

Good night.

***************

What did you think? Will his speech increase support from his base? <> Foreign news outlets have a different view of the global consequences of the U.S. actions in Iran. ]]> Jeralyn 2026-04-01T21:03:53-05:00 Search TalkLeft string http://www.talkleft.com/search/