Stop the Idiocracy: The threat heard round the living room: business as usual in Madrid

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

The threat heard round the living room: business as usual in Madrid

A richly detailed illustration depicts a warmly lit Spanish-inspired sitting room filled with colourful ceramics, wrought-iron décor, patterned textiles, and candlelight. At the centre, a dark-haired woman stands laughing and gesturing playfully while wearing an oversized red Spanish national football team jersey. Behind her, a television broadcasts a political meeting featuring a prominent American political figure seated at a conference table. A Spanish flag hangs above the television, while framed portraits and decorative tiles reinforce the Iberian setting. On a sofa nearby, a blonde woman in a white satin chemise lies asleep among embroidered cushions, seemingly oblivious to the scene. Through an arched doorway, illuminated domes and towers rise against the night sky. The composition juxtaposes domestic comfort, humour, politics, and national identity within an opulent Mediterranean atmosphere.

generated via ChatGPT

Trump lashes out at Spain during NATO summit and threatens trade relations (never mind that US–Spanish trade is conducted through the EU, as is the case for all EU member states); PM Sánchez's office responds with a shrug: ‘Business as usual’. {The Hill, 8 July}

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5958540-donald-trump-us-spain-trade/

What is with Donald Trump's obsession with how much individual NATO member states contribute? The (now-former) United States hath always been the alliance's largest and most powerful member, and from those who have much, much is expected, as the old proverb goes. America contributes the most because it possesses the most to give militarily, and by a considerable margin — though how long that remains true once this regime finishes decimating the Pentagon and Armed Services remains to be seen.

Prior to Trump, it was scarcely controversial that the US served as NATO's lynchpin, precisely because small European states lack the resources to defend themselves alone against the alliance's principal adversary: Mother Russia. And there lies the answer to why Trump works so relentlessly to undermine NATO. This is not rocket science, yet many refuse to say it aloud, dismiss those who do as conspiracy theorists, or simply cannot bring themselves to believe it. After all this time, the possibility remains unthinkable to them: that he is Putin's puppet (or the puppet of any number of foreign and domestic adversaries) and is actively working to weaken the United States from within.

The signs have been there for a decade — from the 2016 election, Cambridge Analytica, and the propaganda mills of St Petersburg, to the investigation conducted by Robert Mueller (RIP). Have we forgotten already? Apparently so, for here we are in bloody 2026, still cursed with this unholy bastard dominating our national life, the entire country revolving around his fragile ego while the self-proclaimed tough guys around us deride anyone who objects as a ‘snowflake’ or worse, and ninety per cent of the Christians tell us Jesus will send us to pits of Hades if we reject him.

As stated, however, once the Trump regime finishes dismantling America's armed forces, this endless argument over who is paying enough in global defence and who is not will become entirely moot.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

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