A Real Disaster

 

Meanwhile, Back at the Office . . .

Taxpayers Pay for Keystone Kash Boondoggle in Milan

FBI Spokesman Ben Williamson spent days trying to discredit reports by MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian and others who reported Patel would be attending the Winter Olympics in Milan.  “Your rag outlet wrote that [Patel] went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false. When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath,” Williamson posted on social media in response to a reporter.

But social media junkie Keystone Kash himself made a liar out of the FBI spokesman, when he posted pictures of himself in Milan, pathetically celebrating with the USA men's hockey team.  Even Steve Baker, reporter for the pro-Trump outlet The Blaze called out Patel’s spokesman, writing, “Ummm…what was that you said, @_WilliamsonBen?”

Reporters and social media users immediately began calling out Patel's "meetings with law enforcement" as the lamest of cover stories, and immediately began asking how much taxpayer money was spent on the boondoggle. Patel is not related to anyone on the team, and is not a donor or supporter of USA Hockey organization.  It is believed that he used his political position to force his way into the locker room.

Plenty of critics piled on to accuse the FBI director of wasting taxpayer money when they felt Patel should have been solving crimes in the U.S. The FBI’s highest profile case currently is weeks-old disappearance of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie's mother Nancy.  During Patel's shenanigans, a would-be assailant was shot dead on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.  At the same time, global tensions are increasing because Trump has been threatening military action against Iran. Such an attack could lead to violence against U.S. citizens via retaliation in the form of terrorism or other means.  On top of all that, Americans living in Mexico were being warned by the federal government to shelter in place in response to increased drug gang violence after the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was killed by the Mexican army. 

But Keystone Kash has to get in his party time!  Patel has previously come under fire for using the FBI’s private jet to attend a wrestling event, and to see his country singer girlfriend perform at State College, PA. Patel also provided her with government security.  To make things worse for "KK" Patel, critics dug up a 2023 quote from the pint-sized showboat, who (at the time) criticized the FBI Director's use of jets: “I’m just saying [FBI Director] Chris Wray doesn’t need a government funded G5 jet to go to vacations. Maybe we ground that plane. $15,000 every time it takes off. Just a thought.”

Observers point out that the office of the FBI Director carries symbolic weight and that perception shapes how power is received. The FBI director does not operate as a personality. And yet Patel seems more committed to acting like a wannabe Instagram influencer than the nation’s top cop. 

 

Trump Shows Off His Grade-School United Nations

President Donald Trump held his first meeting of his “Board of Peace” this week, and the event was most notable for the absence of major world powers and highlighted Trump’s inability to lead on the global stage.

The group of world leaders included figures who have been close to Trump, including Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán and Argentina’s Javier Milei—who Trump has spent billions bailing out.  More importantly, major world powers like the United Kingdom, France, and Norway were absent. Additionally, the Vatican did not attend Trump’s event. Cardinal Pietro Parolin of the Vatican said in remarks on Tuesday that the main issue the “Board of Peace” had ostensibly assembled to discuss, the future of Gaza, was an issue for the United Nations.  “One concern is that at the international level it should above all be the UN that manages these crisis situations. This is one of the points on which we have insisted,” Parolin said.  The world leaders that did choose to attend were forced to stand around with Trump for a photo op accompanied by music from Guns N’ Roses.

Contrary to the event's objective for world peace, Trump threatened military action against Iran in his remarks, noting, “You’re going to be finding out probably over the next 10 days.”  Trump also forgot the names of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in his remarks, flogged his wife’s poorly reviewed movie, and once again complained about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump named himself chairman for life of the “Board of Peace” but failed to outline who would lead the organization after his term as president is over. Also member states are given a three-year membership (for free), but are encouraged to contribute $1 billion within the first year for permanent membership. Details are of course unclear on where that money would go and Trump has a long history of corruption and financial impropriety.

Currently the “Board of Peace” is housed in the former location of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a building which Trump illegally had renamed after himself (as he did with the Kennedy Center.) And despite the fate of Gaza purportedly being central to the board, it has no Palestinian representation. 

In reality, the “Board of Peace” is widely regarded as a vehicle for Trump to avoid the United Nations, where he has consistently given poorly received speeches that failed to rally international support to his positions. Trump’s most notable U.N.-related moments have had more to do with ranting about malfunctioning escalators than achieving international cooperation.  Trump cannot even work productively alongside regional partners like Canada and Mexico—but he thinks his pathetic “Board of Peace” can supplant the U.N. Fat chance!

 

Shock! GOP Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

The Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.  The decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.  It’s the first major piece of Trump’s broad agenda to come squarely before the nation’s highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.

The negative economic impact of Trump’s tariffs has been estimated at some $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Treasury has collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in court to demand refunds. 

 

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