Clown on Parade:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to face questions about his competence.
He refuses to follow basic protocols which puts lives at risk. During the congressional review process,
it was said that "He lacks the credibility and experience required to lead a body as massive and as critical as the Department of Defense" So far, he's done nothing to prove his critics wrong.
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
A Clown and his Chicken:Robert F Kennedy Jr has fired over 10,000 HHS employees and shut down many departments.
He has also dismissed all 17 members of the CDC advisory board. He's replacing them with vaccine skeptics.
This is lunacy but par for the course in this Trump administration.
With new strains of avian flu looming, what could go wrong?
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
A Future Trump Monument:
This will be Trump's legacy. The world economy is suffering. Our allies feel betrayed. Wall Street stocks are in decline. Republican lawmakers are starting to waver. How long before Trump's base starts turning on him. As the prospect of a full blown depression looms,
Trump continues to lead the country over a cliff. This is my proposal for a statue greeting visitors to a future Trump library.
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
Breaking Eggs
The world has changed and tariffs don't work like they used to. Trump's economic problems are all of his own making and may take decades to rectify. Whether he's fully aware of this is uncertain. It's worth noting that Trump and his buddies appear to be benefiting financially from the chaos. Regardless, our longtime trading partners and allies may never trust us again.
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
Still the same old Crud:
I did this during Trump's first term and it still holds true today. Trump's in this for the money - ours.
While the nation's economy is in chaos, Trump and his buddies are doing pretty well.
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
In the midst of all the chaos and darkness we currently live in, I was reminded of the phrase "I am the light of the world". No biblical scholar, I looked it up. It is a declaration made by Jesus in John 8:12. Jesus is telling his congregation to walk with him in the light of life, away from the darkness of ignorance and sin. This served as the inspiration for the above illustration.
I have great expectations for Pope Leo XIV. He’s been described as very Eisenhoweresque - quiet, compassionate, a superb administrator. He’s offered Vatican resources to mediate world disputes. I suspect we’ll need them and soon.
Beyond his obvious qualifications, Pope Leo’s friendship with former Pope Francis provides all the proof I need. My man Frankie thought very highly of Leo and considered him a worthy successor.
Nuff said.
Art by Kevin Kreneck. For more Graphics and Greeting Cards, go to https://kkreneck.wixsite.com/mysite
Donald Trump appears to be preparing to go to war in California as a show of force to scare off liberals who dare to protest his right to rule.
On June 14, Flag Day, King Donald has ordered an expensive, over-the-top military parade in Washington, D.C., to celebrate his 79th birthday as if he were a Soviet premier, and despite warnings that tank and rocket launcher treads likely will tear up Washington streets.
On the same day, citizens will take to the streets in cities large and small across this nation to celebrate “No Kings Day,” to remind the Trump administration that no one is above the rule of law and declare: no thrones, no crowns, no kings.
But first the Department of Homeland Security, on orders from the White House to step up the pace of deportations, sent agents from ICE, DHS, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration on raids across Los Angeles June 6, including at two Home Depots, a doughnut shop, and a clothing wholesaler, in search of workers they suspected of being undocumented immigrants.
The feds arrested 121 people but were met by protesters (unrelated to “No Kings”) who chanted and threw eggs before being dispersed by police wearing riot gear, holding shields, and using batons, guns that shot pepper balls, rubber bullets, tear gas, and flash bang grenades against the protesters, Robert Reich noted.
Trump on Saturday, June 7, ordered deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to quell the protests, which had already subsided. Trump said any demonstration that got in the way of immigration officials would be considered a “form of rebellion.” Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, called the protests an “Insurrection.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said deployment of National Guard troops was illegal and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit against the Trump administration over its move to take control of the National Guard and deploy troops in Los Angeles. Trump later sent 700 U.S. marines to Los Angeles, further exaggerating the threat.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added to the hyperbole: “The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil. A dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence and destruction against federal agents and federal facilities will NOT be tolerated.”
Bonta said local law enforcement had been capable of handling the situation and could have requested support from state partners. He also said the situation had been calming before Trump incited new unrest.
The coalition organizing the “No Kings” national day of action accused the administration of “escalating tensions” in a statement Sunday that “people are peacefully and lawfully protesting the administration’s abuses of power and the abduction of their neighbors by ICE.”
“Instead of listening, the Trump administration is escalating tensions,” the coalition wrote. “Against the guidance of local leaders, they are deploying military force to suppress free speech. They do not care about our safety—it’s about silencing opposition. It’s a blatant abuse of power designed to intimidate families, stoke fear, and crush dissent.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday denounced the lawbreaking, but also laid blame on the Trump administration for provoking more protesters to turn out.
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Bass said. “When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets you cause fear and you cause panic.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut on MSNBC June 9 discussed Trump’s outsized military response to protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.
“Donald Trump only cares about protests when they’re opposing him, Murphy said. Every single day we should be reminding the American public that there were protesters at the Capitol fighting for Donald Trump to install him in power permanently on January 6 of 2021, who beat the hell out of police officers with metal poles and tasers and are out on the street today.”
Murphy added that Trump’s unbalanced approach to power, sending in the National Guard despite state and local law enforcement’s objections, is “fundamentally undemocratic,” and a dangerous endorsement of violence.
“The message is simply, if you’re violent in service of a Republican cause, you’ll get a ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ card. But if you’re engaged in protest against the administration, well then we’re sending in the National Guard,” he continued.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Trump refused to deploy the National Guard, even as violence from his “Stop the Steal” rally turned into an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol. The House select committee later uncovered evidence that his administration intended for the National Guard to be used solely to “protect pro Trump people,” Walter Einenkel noted at Daily Kos.
Since returning to power, Trump has pardoned more than 1,500 Jan. 6 insurrectionists who were convicted in federal courts of participating in acts of violence and conspiracy against the United States. Trump has even floated the idea of financially rewarding them for their role in attempting to overturn the democratic process.
Trump’s selective use of force and his pattern of threatening and punishing dissent while protecting the criminal behavior of his allies highlights just how dangerous he is to democracy.
In concluding their statement about Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and marines, the “No Kings” coalition struck a defiant tone. “From major cities to small towns, we’ll rise together and say: We reject political violence. We reject fear as governance. We reject the myth that only some deserve freedom,” they wrote.
Reich said Trump wants a replay of the violence that occurred in the wake of the George Floyd murder in 2020—riots, mayhem, and destruction that allow him to escalate his police state further—imposing curfews, closing down parts of Los Angeles, perhaps seeking to subdue the entire state. And beyond.
“Please do not give him this. Don’t fall into his trap.” — JMC
