IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES...

 

It was the best of times it was the worst of times

the Ol'Buzzard

ICE HIRES ONLY THE BRIGHTEST AND THE BEST

 

I can't help but wonder:

How many ICE agents were actively involved in the January 6 insurrection?

How many ICE agents identify as white supremacists?

How many ICE agents were previously members of a militia group?

How many ICE agents are hardcore MAGA?

Were prospective ICE agents given a psych test and a lie detector test, which is standard in police recruitment?

ICE is operating as a private police force answerable only to the President.   Do you see any parallels in history?

It was the worst of times...

the Ol'Buzzard

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRISON EXPERIMENT

 

 

 

 

In 1971, the Psychology Department of Stanford University conducted a prison experiment.

 

Twenty-four students volunteered to participate in the experiment.  The students were divided randomly as prisoners or guards.  The experiment was supposed to last for two weeks, but had to be curtailed after six days, because the student guards became too aggressive.

 

Without the proper training and oversight, this aggressive behavior would occur in both the police and the military.

 

This is exactly what we are seeing in ICE. 

The hiring standards for ICE agents were set at a low bar. 

The training was incomplete and inefficient.

The organization's oversight is lax and in the hands of unqualified individuals.

The goal of the organization is to intimidate into conformity and submission the population of politically blue states.

ICE is not about immigration; it is about suppressing the vote in the 2026 midterm election.

 the Ol'Buzzard

COLD WEATHER IN MAINE - GO PATRIOTS FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

 

1-25-26

Today, the temperature in the western Maine mountains and foothills is -5 (f) with a 20 mph wind.   

No big deal; we have been here before.

But it's damn cold. 

the Ol'Buzzard

WE DON'T NEED NO FUCKING LAW

 

The Gestapo was a private police force, operating above the law, and answerable only to the Dear Leader

the Ol'Buzzard

THE BOARD OF PEACE

 

 

In order to stay relevant after his term in office, Donald Trump has organized what he calls the Board of Peace.   This is not an organization ratified by the U.S. Congress, but strictly a group of third-world sycophants looking to acquire worldwide power by consolidating.

 

Supposedly, the organization is formed to oversee the rebuilding and peace in Gaza, but its charter is vague and includes conducting oversight of the entire world.

 

The members include:

• 
  

• Nasser Bourita, minister of foreign affairs, Morocco
• Javier Milei, president, Argentina
• Nikol Pashinyan, prime minister, Armenia
• Ilham Aliyev, President, Azerbaijan
• Rosen Zhelyazkov, prime minister, Bulgaria
• Viktor Orban, prime minister, Hungary 
• Prabowo Subianto, president, Indonesia
• Ayman Al Safadi, minister of foreign affairs, Jordan
• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, president, Kazakhstan
• Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu, president, Kosovo
• Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, prime minister, Pakistan
• Santiago Peña, president, Paraguay
• Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, prime minister, Qatar
• Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, minister of foreign affairs, Saudi Arabia
• Hakan Fidan, minister of foreign affairs, Turkey
• Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, special envoy to the U.S. for the UAE
• Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president, Uzbekistan
• Gombojavyn Zandanshatar, prime minister, Mongolia

 

 China and Russia have also been invited.

 

Trump has appointed himself the permanent chairman for life.  The term of membership is three years, but for one billion dollars, you can buy yourself a permanent membership.

 

The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war.

George Orwell

1984

Is Trump forming his own version of NATO?

Will there be an Army of Peace under Donald Trump’s control?

Are we looking at a World Oligarchy – a consolidation of the rich to run the world? 

the Ol’Buzzard

 

 

 

 

 

 

A QUESTION ABOUT BLOGGER: A LITTLE HELP PLEASE

 

 

I got spammed by a commenter named Nancy.  Dozens of the same comment.  It seemed that as I deleted the spam, more reappeared.  Can you designate a commenter as spam so it doesn’t show again?  

The Ol’Buzzard

WHAT POLITICAL POLES DON’T TELL YOU

 

 

At best, polling is only an educated guess.   The next thing to remember is that any fool can post a poll.

The only polls you should give any credence to are reputable news outlets and polling organizations, and these polls should concur within a small percentage.  Even then, the results can present a false impression. 

 

As far as elections are concerned, this country is pretty much evenly split between Republicans and Democrats: at least as far as the Electoral College is concerned.

CNN, Gallup, and The Economist all have Trump at 41%.   You would think an approval rating of 41% would be a reason for Republicans to abandon Trump.   But polling is an average of the population as a whole, counting Democrats and Republicans equally.  41% of the general population equates to 82% of Republicans.    Donald Trump is still a powerful influencer in the Republican Party, and as a politician, if you want to keep your job and not be primaried, you must kowtow to Donald Trump. 

If you consider 82% of Republicans' absolute loyalty to Donald Trump, and Trump’s obvious intention to interfere with the mid-term election, you should not count on Democrats taking either the House or the Senate.

So read the polls

the Ol’Buzzard

 

THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE

 

At some point, we have to address the gorilla in the room.

 

Mental illness is not new to kings or presidents.   During Ronald Regan’s last year in office, the White House and Nancy Regan covered up the President’s onset of Alzheimer's dementia.

 

Joe Biden was showing mental deterioration that comes with advancing age.

 

But there are more and varying mental illnesses than just Alzheimer’s and the cognitive decline of aging.

 

Just because President Trump can recognize a giraffe and a rhinoceros, and pass a dementia test (A+++++), does not explain his total obsession with winning a Nobel Prize, his constant need for admiration and adoration, his erratic dealings with American allies, and his unreasonable demand to acquire Greenland.   

 

We have three more years of a Donald Trump presidency, and we can only hope that what we are seeing are character flaws, and not the delusional actions of a mad king.

o

If you have an hour to burn you can listen to the 

RAMBLILNGS OF A MAD KING

the Ol’Buzzard

I'M BACK, MAYBE

 

Because I am too fast approaching the end (I am well past my cell-by date), up to this point, I have chosen to refrain from obsessing over Donald Trump and what I feel is the end of American democracy.

 

I used to enjoy blogging, but it seems that Trump and the Republicans have taken the joy out of the world, leaving very little to blog about other than the insanity of the inmates running the asylum.

 

What we are living through now is the wet dream of the Republican Party.  They have always been the wizard behind the curtain, punking their followers, not just to gain power, but to achieve absolute power.

 

It began with the Regan administration trying to advance the Unitary Executive Theory: an all-powerful president in total control of every facet of the executive branch; but it was held in check by a Supreme Court pushback

 

With the Republican Party, it has never been about what’s good for the people, but about seizing power: absolute power.

 

This was displayed when Obama was first elected, and Harry Reed said the goal of the Republican Senate was to make Obama a one-term President.

 

We are here because an Alpha Republican Party rolled over a compliant Democratic party.

Republicans: I’m going to fuck you in the ass.

Democrats: We need to work with our friends on the other side of the aisle.

I’m too old to sugarcoat it.

the Ol’Buzzard

 

WAG THE DOG - AGAIN

 

ATTACKING VENZUELA!   ATTACK CUBA! ATTACK GREENLAND!

EPSTEIN WHO?

the Ol'Buzzard

LIVES FOR OIL?

 

 

I fought in Vietnam where fifty-eight thousand young men lost their lives, and hundreds of thousands were wounded - for absolutely nothing. 

 

Today, military personnel must be asking themselves; Do I want to die for oil?  Am I putting my life on the line so billionaire oil executives can become richer?

 

I thought it was about defending the Constitution of the United States and protecting this country from adversaries!

 

I was so naive.

the Ol’Buzzard

WAG THE DOG. EPSTEIN WHO? JANUARY 6 WHAT?

 

 

Isn’t it convenient that just as the Jack Smith report was released on New Year's night, showing that Donald Trump was responsible for the insurrection of January 6, and as more and more of the Epstein files are released, showing a close relationship between Trump and Epstein, we suddenly find ourselves attacking Venezuela, turning the attention of the American public to war news?

 

the Ol’Buzzard

REPUBLICANS DON'T WIN, DEMOCRATS LOSE

 

 

 

I’ll make this short and simple: If the Democrats shut down the government again to protest healthcare cuts, then we will have fumbled the ball on the one-yard line. 

People are hurt during a government shutdown.  A portion of people will not be able to pay rent, put food on their table, or pay the fuel cost to heat their homes during the height of winter; and they, their friends, and their families will not forget come election time in November. 

 

the Ol’Buzzard 

I

THE GOVERNMENT'S CREATIVE BOOK KEEPING

 

There is something I don’t understand about government finance.  Republicans go on and on about paying down the national debt while at the same time exploding it with their tax cuts.

 

Who the fuck, what country, is lending the United States trillions of dollars that we are obligated to pay back? 

 

To my understanding, we are the richest country in the world, so what country has such a financial excess to the extent they can lend us trillions of dollars, or is this some kind of creative accounting where we spend more than we earn from taxes and then just write it off as an IOU to ourselves?

 

We keep hearing about paying the interest on the debt; but to whom?

There was a time when I was young that I paid only the interest on a loan for several months because I couldn't afford the monthly payment.  That certainly wasn’t a sustainable solution to debt.

 

The answer to me is clear: everyone making over one hundred thousand dollars a year pays five percent income tax – no deductions – no tax shelters.  Businesses valued over a million dollars pay ten percent of gross.  In return, a cap is placed on government spending, and we receive universal healthcare at 100%.

 

We know who is making the money under the present system: and it ain't us.

 

the Ol’Buzzard