Midterm Scorecard

 Vice President JD Vance went on the most popular podcast in the country this past week. In it he described what he called secretive forces within Israel's government who were trying to manipulate both American opinion and the administration. Vance's conclusion was that these mysterious forces were attempting to "keep the war going" for what he called unknown reasons. 

In 2026, could a Democrat go on a podcast, talk about scary, war mongering actors inside Israel and not be called a bunch of names ? Vance seems to cozy right up to some of the same opinions that Saudi Arabia, not to mention Iran, have held for some time. Well I'll be, won't you look over there, it's Trump promising the Saudis nuclear technology. So now that we are going to sell nukes to the Princes, it's ok to question Israel's motivations. 

Trump himself has criticized Netanyahu for going to war with Lebanon. So here we have the Vice President questioning the legitimacy of the war in Gaza, while his boss has issues with the war in Lebanon. So why is it a big deal for anyone else to think these things ? Why did this administration arrest and deport any student they could find who was saying these exact things ? Trump and Vance want to end dissent so they can work all this stuff out on their own. Just give them some time y'all.

What a joke. But things are not going well for the ever ragged and haggard looking Donald Trump these days. Even his loyal Laura Loomer has gone to Ukraine to absolutely shame him. She apologized to Zelensky for falling for Russian propaganda. She even admonished Trump and Vance for their treatment of Zelensky in the White House. How could foreign policy be going any worse for the White House ?

At home, the Republicans are going after Endangered Species, paying the price for DOGE each day and trying to convince voters to trust Bill Pulte to both build all the new homes, along with firing all the intelligence staff members. 

The Republican version of trusting corporations has entered the absurd. Republicans are tossing around ideas like having families vote, and not letting women cast a ballot. The founder of Shopify is promoting a voting system based on what you earn. This guy wants people at the top to have 5 votes, and most other people to have either one vote or no votes at all. This is Shopify we're talking about. You hear their commercials. And this CEO is saying that retirees should trade guaranteed income for the right to vote. And you thought the crypto guys were out of control. 

The problem seems to be that the currency and banking criminals that the Trumps, Witkoffs and Lutnicks associate with think they're not hurting anyone. They're not Johnson and Johnson, trying to say that the talc in the ground isn't laying next to asbestos, or SpaceX who's messing with Texas. But it gets to the fundamental laws we have regarding using the presidency to enrich oneself. Everything these guys do is legal when they're not all working in the White House. The fact they're commingling their corporate values with an aggressive domestic platform where vast amounts of energy are spent on lawfare and media attacks is simply gross. 

As Trump and Vance fumble around, there is a renewed effort in the right wing press, to blame Biden for everything. It's sad, but doing this gets more traction in republican areas than having to explain that both Trump and Vance are dangerous hypocrites. They continue to get abused by Netanyahu, who sent his military to assist illegal settler gangs, just as he left for America. A Democratic Congressman was just held captive by these gangs, but Netanyahu denied, at the time, that his military ever assisted these gangs.

The American military industrial complex was designed to be a force for Democracy. It wasn't meant for covert wars and backdoor agreements. We already went through this with the Iran Contra affair. It would seem the Republicans, like in the movie The Manchurian Candidate, still think it only takes three or four of them to run the entire world. Trump and Vance are the President and Vice President. But if anyone denies they both step over the law, they're a liar. They just have the support of other democratic backsliders like Jim Jordan and Andy Harris. Did the entire world miss Andy Harris calling to abolish the Senate, or what ?

The midterms are coming. And the republicans are sure to divide us on issues they're allowed to swing back and forth on themselves. They are sure to point fingers everywhere except at Trump's bank account or the over 500 Trump affiliated businesses that his sons help divorce people of their money with (Crypto, Bibles, Trump University, etc). They are also sure to call other people communist. This as they are very up front about their desire to ignore judges, control the media and remove women from the military. This is as they try to tell us that the International Criminal Court counts for everyone in the world, except Israel and the US. The Republicans have made a mess of the world, of the country and of basic common sense. 

The early polls say that Talarico is holding off Paxton in Texas. This is good, but it's just a poll. However, I hope people pay attention to what the Republicans are doing down in Texas. They are trying to tell people that Talarico, the Democrat, doesn't eat enough red meat, or isn't tough enough. This is for a Senate seat, that place where Mitch McConnel, Susan Collins, John Kennedy and Chuck Grassley make time in their doctor's appointment schedules to govern.

Greg Gunther

Consolidated Break

Worcester County, MD

Spring Hill College (BS)

USPTA / PTR / USTA