The Casinos at Mar-a-Gazo
The proposed blitzkrieg that would sweep up the Panama Canal, Greenland, Gaza, Canada, and a few island nations to be named later? These pronouncements and declarations are all Weapons of Mass Distraction.
"The Riviera of the Middle East," he said. Let's all book early! I mean, this guy gets more geniusy every day!
From the travel brochure: "Nestled along the shimmering shores of the Mediterranean, where the echoes of history (and occasional airstrikes) create an authentic ambiance, Trump Casinos at Mar-a-Gazo offers a five-star escape in the heart of the world’s most dynamic redevelopment opportunity! Your Uber driver will deliver you to the fabulous Trump Riviera paradise, or to your final paradise complete with a 72-virgin floor show if the detonator works. Dine on charred animal remains and drink our signature cocktail, The Blood of Infidels at Jarred's Bombshelter Basement Bar and Grill! Book now, this opportunity may not last!"
Yes, on Tuesday at a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trumpelstiltskin revealed his plans to spin gold from Gaza war rubble.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area, do a real job, do something different.”
Netanyahu couldn't suppress a smirk. “Donald, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Not a bad reference - like in Casablanca, residents of Gaza have never been able to leave. Until now, I suppose, if the Don and Ivanka and Eric and his merry band of hucksters have their way. Which, it should be said, is never going to happen. Sure, let's relocate a couple million Palestinians... where? Israel? LOL! Egypt? In your worst dreams.
This was on top of the president's recently unveiled plans to annex Canada as the 51st state, conquer Greenland, and "take back" the Panama Canal. These "plans," such as they are, were funny/not-funny to the respective country's leadership. All of them were ludicrous on the face, but all of them revealed bits about the Dear Leader's thinking, such as it is, and his grandest wishes. He would love to command the Panama Canal and stick a thumb in China's eye (like his pal Putin, he fantasized himself a great conqueror, ready to build America's empire.) Canada is resource-rich, including valuable minerals, lumber and other goodies that a colonial power would find handy. And what country wouldn't LOVE to give it all up to be the 51st star on our flag? Greenland is the same and has been discussed for years by the tech-bro demographic (and donor base.) It is also rich in minerals with current bans on most extraction techniques and there are limits on private property ownership. MAGA-techies have for years thought that it would make a great little Libertarian techno paradise. And, uh, you're not invited, btw.
But the proposed blitzkrieg that would sweep up The Panama Canal, Greenland, Gaza, Canada, and a few island nations to be named later? These pronouncements and declarations are all Weapons of Mass Distraction. That is not to say that our King of KFC doesn't wish to expand his real estate portfolio with a little help from the US Military - he would. And if he can spot an opening or weakness in the global order, he's going to ram through that door as hard as he can - world peace be damned. But it's just as useful for him to sit there and upchuck a rambling dissertation on clearing out those pesky Palestinians and building Mar-a-Gazo while a delighted Bibi can barely keep from laughing out loud and the international press corp tries to find a dignified way to phrase the question, "Are you fucking insane?" Chaos!!! - a feature, not a bug!
Meanwhile, the real coup is swiftly taking place across the federal government, led by African immigrant Elon Musk and his mob of minions. A dozen or so twenty-somethings are slinking around government offices, demanding access to computers, hard drives, and servers where they have availed themselves of millions of confidential files. Personal and personnel files, payment systems and accounts, records management systems, real estate portfolios, FBI and CIA operative's names and stations, and any number of classified documents. That's what Musk and children have access to via the DOGE (Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.) And apparently, their commitment to 'move fast and break things' (to use an old Mark Zuckerberg mantra) is going exceedingly well.
For the various agencies that Musk has set his arsonist's sights on, his fire-starting Sturmtruppen have been shockingly ruthless and effective. Musk, (and assumedly Trump) have effectively shut down the USAID. That, and other Trumpian tidbits:
• Under Musk/Trump's directive, new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (worth a half billion dollars) ordered the agency to immediately halt all USAID payments using the department’s processing system. This backdoor approach through Treasury was even more sinister considering that the USAID is actually part of the State Dept. Usually off-limits to political appointees, Musk seems determined to rule by fiat. This same payment system distributes Americans’ tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees’ salaries. And now the richest man in the world has access to your social security number, your tax return, and your bank account. By opening those secure systems, who else in the world has access now?
This is to say nothing about how the destruction of USAID will affect charitable food, medical, and social support budgets around the world. HIV meds for 20 million people have been cut off, so have food and supplements for starving children and refugees, as well as assistance for battered women.
• Formed after the 2008 banking crisis to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or predatory financial practices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau halted most of its investigative work into corporate wrongdoing on Monday. Musk wants to "delete" the entire agency. That's YOU. You're that consumer. And now you're once again the prey.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was also invaded this week by DOGE lackeys. The MAGAts hate all of the 7,000 scientists and engineers within the agency because they openly discuss and publish information affirming the existence of climate change. Project 2025 would like to break up the agency, and there is a huge push to privatize the National Weather Service.
• Just today, (Saturday,) Democratic lawmakers were denied physical entry into the Dept. of Education. “They are blocking members of Congress from entering the Department of Education! Elon is allowed in and not the people? ILLEGAL,” Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida wrote in a post. Trump has vowed to dismantle and destroy the Dept. He has characterized it as an agency injecting extreme ideology on race and gender into the nation’s public schools. “We will move everything back to the states, where it belongs,” he said during one campaign speech. “They can individualize education and do it with the love for their children.”
• Trump, or Musk, I keep getting them confused, had offered 2 million civil servants a buyout offer worth eight months of severance pay. Several politicians and pundits alike warned employees that the deal might not be legal or even honored if they were to resign. (Has Trump ever kept his word to pay someone?) Only a few thousand accepted the offer before lawsuits were filed questioning its validity.
The buyout offer was extended to FAA employees as well, ironically and sadly one day before an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter while on final approach to Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport, killing 67 people. The same week, a small medical jet smashed onto a busy street in Philadelphia, killing all seven on board and injuring 19 on the ground. Suddenly, the buyout offer was rescinded for FAA employees. There is (and has been) a shortage of air controllers, a position that takes about 3 years of training to qualify for.
Hero Musk announced, “My team will aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system." When it was Trump's turn to vomit words, he said, "We're all gonna sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new. Not pieced together, obsolete, like it is, land-based. You can't hook up land to satellites and you can't hook up satellites to land, it doesn't work. Let's spend less money and build a great system. When I land in my plane, privately, my Captain tells me he uses a system from another country." This country sleeps better tonight knowing that the Musk/Trump brain trust is on it. I sure hope this new "computerized system" works as well as his big, beautiful national health care plan.
Asked a seasoned State Dept employee how Marco Rubio has been received so far.
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) February 5, 2025
"He has a minder, like a Trump campaign minder."
A what?
"Someone in his office, not of his choosing. [Like with Tillerson], they sent somebody over because he wasn't totally within the fold." 👀
Loyalty. Or else.
• Marko Elez, one of the DOGE pissants granted access to Treasury’s “top-secret” payment system, was fired Thursday by the Trump White House after a set of racist statements he made online recently were revealed. The WSJ found a few of those gems:
“You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.”
“Normalize Indian hate.”
“Just for the record, I was a racist before it was cool.”
“I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”
African Immigrant Elon Musk started a social media campaign to have him reinstated. Vice President #2, J.D. Vance (of the same White House) insisted that he be rehired. “Here’s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life. We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever." A reminder: Usha Bala Chilukuri is Vance's wife. Her parents are Indian immigrants. (Way to throw the wife under the bus, JD! Though not an unusual act for Trump sycophants.)
Needless to say, the 25 year old "kid" has been reinstated. No apologies. No mea culpa. Just a fat thumb in "journalist's" eyes.
I don't have enough digital ink to list all of the outrageous actions that co-presidents Trump/Musk have taken in just the last week, nor their insane pronouncements about their future plans. Just open any reputable news publication. It's hard to keep up. Just while writing this, a half dozen more outrageous operations have begun. "NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately." "Trump dismisses archivist to the United States." "Trump administration cuts teams that fight foreign election interference." "A Tent City Is Rising at Guantánamo Bay."
When will MAGAts start to feel the pain that they are bringing down upon themselves?
This week, in Houston, there was a 'cave-in' accident. An 8-foot deep trench collapsed in on two workers while they were working at the bottom of the excavation. One worker escaped, and the other died before other workers and witnesses could pull him out of Houston's wet, muddy clay. It only took five minutes. OSHA responded to the accident, and an "OSHA expert" told a local media outlet that there were clear safety violations that the construction company could be held accountable for, fined, and even criminally prosecuted for. "OSHA has up to six months to do a thorough investigation and issue a citation."
Which I suppose is the time required to do a thorough investigation. However, OSHA is one of the latest federal agencies to be canceled by the administration. All investigations are being halted. All OSHA referrals to the DOJ are on hold, and who knows what will become of the DOJ itself (already, civil rights cases have been frozen.) But OSHA is one of those agencies that impede American Progress and Greatness through "regulation." How can America get back to winning with onerous regulations like, "shore up dirt and mud walls while excavating to prevent worker death." It's crazy, these regulations are overly burdensome, stifle innovation, increase costs for businesses, create unnecessary complexity, and kill economic growth. So what if a worker or two is killed as well? ... that's just good business.
It is time to stand up.
The GOP's hero Adoph Hitler (yes, I break Godwin's Law again,) was elected on March 5, 1933. Immediately, the SS and SA thugs swept through the state and local governments and ousted officeholders and key government officials using Hitler's "State of Emergency Decree." (sound familiar?) They were replaced by loyal Nazis. (I'm thinking this sounds familiar.) On March 21, on what's now known as "Potsdam Day," a craftily staged ceremony took place where Hitler bowed to the old President Hindenburg at the Garrison Church at Potsdam. Cameras rolled as the dictator-in-waiting wanted to assure a worried public that he had great respect for the elected Reichstag and the old Prussian order. Later that same day, he had Hindenberg sign a decree that pardoned and freed all imprisoned Nazis. They were on the street immediately, ready for Hitler's command. (I swear, some of this sounds so familiar. What could it be?) A second decree allowed for the arrest of anyone criticizing the government or the Nazi party.
On March 23rd, the Reichstag convened in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider passing Hitler's "Enabling Act" euphemistically called the "Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich." This would give Hitler total dictatorial powers (supposedly for a 4-year term) and would effectively render the Reichstag useless. Hitler most likely had the ⅔ vote. He promised an end to unemployment and pledged to promote peace with France, Great Britain and Soviet Russia. In what may sound familiar, he promised restraint: "The government will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures...The number of cases in which an internal necessity exists for having recourse to such a law is in itself a limited one." Seems reasonable to me! I mean, it's not like he was already building concentration camps for his political enemies, Jews, Gypsies, and other ne'er-do-wells.
His greatest political opposition had been the Communist Party, but most had been imprisoned, the rest were in exile. There were still a few dozen German Socialist Democrats around, led by a man named Otto Wels. Otto had been in the resistance to fascist movements for over a decade. He was key in putting down the Kapp Putsch in 1920, a right-wing coup attempt.
With the StormTroopers menacingly lining the Opera Hall and mobs of them outside chanting, "Full powers – or else! We want the bill – or fire and murder!!" Otto rose to speak.
Without the "Enabling Act," Wels pointed out that the coalition of Nazis and conservatives already had a parliamentary majority and could rule within the limits of the constitution
"We German Social Democrats pledge ourselves solemnly in this historic hour to the principles of humanity and justice, of freedom and socialism. No enabling act can give you power to destroy ideas which are eternal and indestructible."
Hitler, enraged, jumped up and yelled,
"You are no longer needed! The star of Germany will rise and yours will sink! Your death knell has sounded!"
The vote was taken. 441 for, and only 84, (all Social Democrats,) against. Nazis had detained several SPD deputies, and others had already fled the country. Even if all 120 SPD deputies had been present and voted against it, it still would have passed. The Nazis leapt to their feet clapping, stamping and cheering, then broke into the Nazi anthem, the Hörst Wessel song. In May, Wels would make his way to Prague and then to Paris, where he died before the start of WWII.
Yes, he and the SPD failed to contain Hitler. But he had been standing for years, throwing up roadblock after roadblock, and then again, stood one final time before Hitler and his thugs pushed through.
Are there parallels today? Until now, it seems like there were but a few. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger were two early and fearless exceptions. They've paid dearly, being cast out from their offices, and their political party. Not to mention the daily personal threats that they receive.
Two different (conservative) judges have broken from their expected complacency to halt or at least delay Musk's brazen capture of federal agencies, and/or his attempted erasure of established law. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour went full 'the hell you say' on Trump's attempt to kill birthright citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. Coughenour accused the president of trampling on the Constitution for “political or personal gain.”
“It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” said Coughenour, who was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain... There are other times in world history where we look back and people of goodwill can say, ‘Where were the judges? Where were the lawyers?’”
At least one more was on duty. "Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer issued the middle-of-the-night order after an emergency request by 19 Democratic attorneys general warning that the efforts by Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency allies to take control of Treasury’s sensitive payment systems — which have access to personal information of millions of Americans and the government’s financial transactions — were putting their residents at risk."
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll on Friday refused when the Justice Department ordered him to assist in the firing of agents involved in Jan. 6 riot cases. Hundreds if not thousands of agents would be implicated, on top of the more general threats of reduction of force layoffs. The administration has made no secret that it wishes to retaliate for the January 6 investigation - across the government. Observers and FBI officials worry that Driscoll pushed back so forcefully that he would be dismissed. In a time of threats from foreign and domestic terrorism, how smart is it to cut the FBI to shreds? About as smart as cutting the FAA up during the worst week in aviation safety in decades. About as smart as... <fill in any act of this administration here.>
Even House Democrats got something of a spine this week:
Those pesky Dems not allowed.
So yes, maybe the fire has finally been lit under progressives' (and patriotic Republicans') butts. Things are moving so fast, let's hope that this cavalry arrives on time.
And you. What can you do?
Do something more than register your displeasure on Facebook. Or worse, announce that you are LEAVING Facebook. Or Twitter. Or InstaThreads. Wow! What fierce resistance! You ARE a warrior, aren't you, you cute little social media rebel!
These are worldwide companies... if everyone in the U.S. bailed out, those companies could thrive. Ask Elon, who fired 80% of Twitter employees and hemorrhaged users since then... yet he's worth 200 billion more today than when Trump was elected. Use those free communication channels to your advantage. Or not, but don't think you're a local hero for running away. Stay and fight. (BTW, if you think "BlueSky" will save you, think again. It's already full of trolls and porn, you have to monitor it just like you do anything else. And who's to say that it won't be captured by one of these rich tech bros?)
The same goes with announcing that you are moving to Antarctica or Canada, or <name a country you assume would want another ugly American on their shores.> A.) You're 99.9% not going anywhere. Full Stop. and, B.) If you went, you would most likely be back in 6 mos. Did you know that a whole lot of f'reign countries don't even speak English? Even if you speak it at a loud volume? They have weird customs, terrible hygiene, and it's tough to find a good carne guisada taco at 10 PM after the Bob Dylan movie. So knock it off. (Do you really think Canada wants anything to do with ANY American at this point?)
Join. An activist group. A chapter within your political party. Volunteer at a political campaign. Yes, many work year-round or could use your help at their local constituents' office. Join.
There's a great trend now for citizens to continuously call and email their reps, voicing concerns about the Musk takeover, the destruction of government agencies, and the general defunding of America. Several apps and online tools make this easy and efficient. "5-calls" is a good one. Resistbot is another. Or try Democracy.io. It will look up your national representatives, give you their phone numbers, emails, and suggested scripts if you need help working out your message on a given "concern."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said the Senate’s phones were receiving 1,600 calls each minute, compared with the usual 40 calls per minute. Many of the calls she’s been receiving are from people concerned about U.S. DOGE Service employees having broad access to government systems and sensitive information. The callers are asking whether their information is compromised and about why there isn’t more transparency about what is happening, she said.
March. Protest. Make a trip to your state capital when action is scheduled. A few hundred 'pink pussy hats' may not cut it anymore. Here in Houston, there have been a couple of small protests. All have paled in comparison to a sudden march last Sunday when a couple thousand Hispanics (mostly Mexicans, carrying Mexican flags) marched from a park in the Montrose area to Hermann Park and back. They walked across bridges over a major freeway and bogged down traffic with rubbernecking drivers. Their numbers were such that other traffic jams resulted as they crossed streets and attracted attention. It was peaceful (except for some agitators attempting to stir it up.) Gringos didn't see it coming. Apparently, word was spread on TikTok and other low-key, targeted social media channels. This happened in other cities as well. Bueno.
Michael Horton, Joy Addison
A hot and viral pass-around on the inner-webs this week were links to "Fascist Resistance Guides." Here's one to get you started... note that it is presented here as a historic artifact, and the Texas Outlaw Writers do not specifically endorse any actions suggested in this publication to be taken against any organization, community, or political group. But, it sure is interesting, ain't it?
Juan Cole
Note that in the guide, it suggests that not every activity needs to be completely destructive or a major action. Disruption and obstruction can be enough. Taking up the time of an adversary or gumming up the works to slow down the blitzkrieg is as effective sometimes as something literally explosive. Imagine the effect of those thousands of federal employees slow-rolling responses to these little Musk-ovites. They think you're stupid, so act it, dammit! "Uh, you want me to print all 10,000 pages of that document? I think the printer's out of paper. Hey, I can disconnect the motherboard while we wait."
As the meme below suggests, mock them. Make fun of them. Make jokes about them. There has never been an administration as thin-skinned as this one.
Otto Wels stood up and risked it all. For years he slowed the Nazi bastards down. He didn't save the country from itself, but his courage alerted millions to what was really happening. And he gave the tens of thousands who understood time to get out. He escaped with his life, too, though of course, millions didn't.
Remember the old 60's trope, "We must fight for peace"? We hippies and contrarians and peaceniks answered back, "Fighting for Peace is Like Fucking for Virginity!" har-har-har.
But you know what? Sometimes you need to fight for peace.
And that means sacrifice if it's to be a fight. For most, it is a sacrifice of a little bit of time, maybe some meaningful digital ink, possibly some financial support for the ACLU, a PAC, or a real activist group. For others, it will mean the sacrifice of a job, a career, a salary, or pension benefits. There are a lot of people who are going to lose that anyway... they'll never see it coming. Make it count for something if you're going down anyway.
Democracy is as fragile as they say it is. Protect it. Be an Otto. Stand up.
Oh, and for fun... this is hilarious. Trying to leave you on an 'up' note. These are available all over Etsy and other sites (link at the bottom of that box.)
#FuckTrump
— Six (@six-texas.bsky.social) 2025-02-07T18:15:01.966Z
"I Did That" stickers now available on Etsy or other online sellers.
And one more thing: Because I'm as immature as you think I am... I post this for the simple reason that having repeated the name "Otto" so much in this piece, this is all I can think of. And again, dammit, we had better keep up some laughter through all of this! Here you go: