Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Congress. Show all posts

Saturday, September 26, 2026

A cathedral of science in ruins

A lavishly detailed editorial illustration depicts a devastated public-health laboratory populated by distressed female scientists. At centre, a pale brunette in provocative ivory laboratory-inspired couture walks through a disordered research complex carrying battered files, her expression conveying exhaustion and grief. Colleagues slump over microscopes, search abandoned records or stand amid darkened computer stations. Papers litter the reflective floor, equipment appears neglected, and shadowy figures press against frosted glass. Overhead, a fractured globe entangled within molecular structures dominates the atrium, symbolising a once-global scientific institution whose infrastructure, expertise and capacity are visibly deteriorating.
image generated via ChatGPT

A ‘zombified’ CDC: sociopath RFK Jr  is thoroughly hollowing out the former ‘undisputed global leader in public health’. {NYT 26 September}

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/health/cdc-staff-cuts-rfk-jr.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFE.v9iu.h-O5UKgvJL_q&smid=url-share

This New York Times article constitutes essential reading. Even the lavatories within CDC headquarters, it is reported, stand neglected. 

Every Trump voter throughout the country beareth some measure of indirect responsibility — direct responsibility, indeed, should we speak of the most hardened anti-vaxxers — for the damage presently being wrought upon American public health. I remain in perpetual disbelief that this is what the American electorate desired: for all of us to be rendered sicker and poorer. Just continually astonished at the sheer wilful stupidity, the anti-intellectualism, and the quasi-medieval mindset that altogether too many #Muricans have adopted towards medical science. Rather than emerging from the pandemic as a society more attuned to matters of hygiene — one that would value handwashing and respect for personal space — we apparently learnt the wrong lessons entirely. I shudder to contemplate how many further lives might have been lost, had the CDC found itself in its present state of dereliction at that hour. Once again, this bloody rΓ©gime is deliberately making the nation sicker and poorer, whilst more than half the populace either cheereth it onward or averteth its gaze entirely. 

Seriously, doth this not alarm people — that American public-health capacity should be degraded unto depths once scarcely imaginable for the United States? It shall prove exceedingly difficult, perchance outright impossible, ever to rebuild that which hath been so needlessly destroyed. What, in the name of all that is sacred, aileth ‘y’all’? Is this genuinely the life ‘y’all’ wish to lead, and constantly demand that the rest of us endure alongside you? Well, I demand sanity! I demand basic humanity and dignity, and I demand that fundamental healthcare standards be upheld within a nation — in actuality, an empire — which we are perpetually assured is the freest and most powerful upon this earth, even as that very assertion hath grown patently untenable.

Donald Trump hath not rendered America ‘great again’; rather, he hath transformed it into a veritable cesspit, aided and abetted by too many individuals within our own lives — almost none of whom show any genuine repentance, nor shall they ever, however dire circumstances may ultimately become. COVID, January 6, the felony convictions, his putrid record since returning to office, the rupture with longstanding allies: none of it hath yet produced the national reckoning that ought, by rights, to have occurred by now. Whether the November midterm elections shall alter this picture remaineth an open question, though I am not holding my breath expecting anything favourable to come of it. Always assume the worst, folks.

The past decade hath been one of near-universal degradation; I scarce wish even to imagine what the coming ten years shall bring, governed and populated as we are by malevolent and self-destructive fools. Yet, in truth, I need not contemplate it at all. The America we once knew shall never return, and it is all downhill from here.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Friday, September 18, 2026

A role call in shadow

A darkly sumptuous editorial illustration depicts a solemn brunette woman as an allegorical military figure overlooking Washington in a violent nocturnal storm. Wearing provocative black-and-gold military-inspired couture, stockings, gloves and thigh-high boots, she carries an open dossier from which documents and identification tags spill. Behind her, an aircraft carrier battles mountainous seas as warplanes cross the sky. Memorial walls, helmets, boots, candles, folded flags and white roses evoke military deaths, while a balance weighs medals against concealed files. The Pentagon and Washington monuments below reinforce themes of war, secrecy, institutional accountability and disputed casualty reporting.
image generated via ChatGPT

‘More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly’. {Washington Post 18 September}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA2cwmIj

Pete Hegseth must be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanours and removed from office. His stewardship of the United States Armed Forces hath proved an utter disgrace, and even thus do I speak mildly. The plight of the USS Abraham Lincoln alone ought, in mine own judgement, to furnish sufficient grounds for impeachment. 

In truth, this punk finds himself fortunate indeed that the American people have not presently their wits fully about them; for, were it otherwise, they should be marching upon Washington and Arlington, bearing pitchforks and torches, and demanding that the ‘Secretary of War’ be called to account. —

FTA: According to a document reviewed by The Washington Post, U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, has estimated that the Iran war has cost about $43.6 billion through early September. The total includes $28 billion in munitions expended during the conflict but does not account for the damage to U.S. bases.

As The Post reported last month, several top U.S. military officials have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland.

According to a September Reuters-Ipsos poll, 28 percent of Americans support Trump’s approach to Iran, whereas 62 percent disapprove.

On Tuesday, a record seven GOP lawmakers joined Democrats and helped pass a largely symbolic measure intended to halt the war — the latest of several war powers resolutions to advance in Congress.

All war deaths and injuries are supposed to be publicly reported on the Pentagon’s public DCAS system, where the military accounts for personnel lost or injured in its conflicts.

Over the summer, when the four combat deaths were temporarily excluded from the casualty database, the Trump administration reclassified renewed hostilities with Iran as Overseas Operations instead of being tied to Operation Epic Fury.

The change, which occurred as U.S. negotiators struggled to broker a permanent peace deal with Tehran, coincided with efforts by the administration to portray the war as a success even as Iran continued to fire on American forces and continued to target shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Senate Democrats have pledged to investigate the Pentagon’s handling of casualty notifications if they retake the majority after the midterms.

Rep. Jason Crow (Colorado) and 11 other House Democrats, all of them military veterans, on Friday said they were introducing a bill that would prevent the Pentagon from manipulating government data on troop casualties.

One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), moved this week to force a House vote on impeaching Hegseth over the war, alleging the defense secretary violated provisions of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 by pursuing hostilities without congressional authorization.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Thursday, September 17, 2026

The two-dollar beef mirage

A richly rendered pin-up-style illustration depicts a glamorous blonde farm woman standing amid grazing cattle beneath turbulent storm clouds and golden evening light. Wearing a knotted red-and-white gingham blouse, abbreviated denim shorts, sheer stockings and brown cowboy boots, she gestures towards an old-fashioned balance scale upon a rough wooden counter. One pan bears a paper-wrapped parcel beside exposed ground beef, while the other overflows with coins and jewellery, symbolising its formidable cost. A weathered red barn and silo dominate the pastoral background, reinforcing the ironic contrast between agricultural abundance and expensive beef.
image generated via Gemini

GOP congressman, either grievously misinformed or gaslighting the public, asserts that ground beef is less than $2.00 a pound. {Huffington Post 16 September}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/ar-AA2cnrRE

Actually closer to $7.00, and it hath been well-nigh a quarter of a century since the national average hovered anywhere near $2.00; yet never suffer mere facts to intrude upon a pleasing narrative.

FTA: Rep. Tom Emmer needs to tell the rest of us where he gets his groceries.

The Minnesota Republican appeared Wednesday morning on Fox Business and declared that beef prices had dropped to a level that may have shocked some viewers.

“We still have work to do, there’s no question,” Emmer said, downplaying the recent spike in inflation. “But eggs are at pre-pandemic prices. Beef is at less than $2 a pound for ground beef.”

In reality, the price of ground beef has shot up to nearly $7 a pound and shows no signs of retreating. Prices have risen steadily since the pandemic, with recent increases driven in large part by a historically small domestic cattle herd. 

Despite Emmer’s rosy take on the situation, it’s been roughly 23 years since ground beef cost less than $2 per pound on average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

HuffPost reached out to Emmer’s office to see if he misspoke, and if not, whether he would share the name of his ground beef supplier. A spokesperson did not immediately respond Wednesday.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The Captain and the Kremlin: standing behind the sword

A colour photograph depicts two men conversing closely at a brightly illuminated indoor event. The taller, dark-haired man at left wears a fitted white T-shirt and has a full beard; he smiles while looking down towards the shorter, older man opposite him. The latter, dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt, rests one hand familiarly upon his companion’s shoulder as they exchange an intent glance. A third man stands out of focus behind them. Saturated red, blue and green lighting, shallow depth of field and the subjects’ proximity create an atmosphere of conspicuous personal familiarity amid a crowded social gathering.
TASS/Getty Images, c. 2017

Alex Ovechkin: a gifted hockey player, yet a fool; expresses shock at the backlash provoked by his cameo appearance in a propaganda spot for Putin’s political party; insists he harbours no pro-war sentiment, even as evidence proves otherwise. {ESPN 17 September}

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/49965058/ovechkin-says-supports-russia-not-pro-war

Not pro-war, are we? —

FTA: In the campaign video that aired in Russia earlier this month, Ovechkin stands with supporters of Putin's United Russia political party as Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov delivers a monologue warning anyone who comes at Russia "with a sword" to "expect no mercy: we will rise together, as we do today." Ovechkin, wearing a black polo shirt, stands stoically behind Lavrov.

Ovechkin's appearance earned international condemnation from critics of the regime, which has mounted an offensive against Ukraine that began in 2014 and expanded to a full-scale invasion in 2022 that has resulted in more than 1 million military and civilian casualties. In a letter to the NHL this week, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., called on the league to consider banning Ovechkin over his participation in the ad.

—--

The series of TV advertisements features more than 30 Putin supporters. One of them is Maria Lvova-Belova, a Russian official who has been involved in the kidnapping and "re-education" of Ukrainian children. Lvova-Belova, in a televised meeting with Putin, said she had personally taken a Ukrainian boy from war-ravaged Mariupol. The International Criminal Court issued a warrant for her arrest in 2023. Ovechkin stands alongside her and others in a large group shot featured in the ads.

Academic experts in Russian propaganda said Ovechkin's appearance signifies a critical victory for Putin in his bid to justify the country's costly military campaign in Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have accused the Russian military of murdering more than 17,000 Ukrainian civilians, including more than 700 children.

"You can't look away from the fact that Russia is perpetuating a genocide on Ukrainian people," said Sarah Oates, a senior scholar in the field of political communication and democratization at the University of Maryland. "Putin has said Ukraine and Ukrainians have no right to exist. And this is a key reason for the invasion. Ovechkin supports Putin, he supports the Russian regime, and that means he supports genocide."

Asked about assertions that Russia is responsible for a genocide, Ovechkin told ESPN, "I hope it's not gonna, it's not gonna be like that," before he and a team media relations representative ended the interview.

He hopes ‘it’s not gonna be like that’; well, either this fellow is a coward speaking out of both sides of his mouth, or else an impossibly aloof simpleton, utterly oblivious to what is happening immediately about him save when he happens to be upon a sheet of ice. 

I numbered myself among those who called upon the National Hockey League to expel all the Russian players — even the vaunted Ovechkin, presently the game’s all-time leading goal scorer and, arguably, the league’s most recognisable star — at the very onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Obviously, the NHL hearkened not, and shall decline once more to do the right thing now. All that concerns the league, the Washington Capitals, and their sponsors alike is the wringing of every last dollar out of the general public before society at large comes crashing down about us; whilst the American people have demonstrated, with abundant clarity, that they care nothing whatsoever for the plight of Ukraine and her people. 

I fully anticipate that Ovechkin shall be greeted with a standing ovation at the Capitals’ season opener in Washington — and be warmly received within every arena he visits, this expected to be his final season prior to retirement — whilst Ukrainian children continue to suffer abduction and death amid the war. 

Perchance, though, karma shall one day pay Alexander Ovechkin a visit. To anyone inclined to regard him as some manner of victim: he is nothing of the sort. —

FTA: Throughout Ovechkin's career, Capitals officials and people close to Ovechkin have suggested in media interviews that he was under pressure from the Kremlin to support the president and could not safely criticize Putin with his family living in Russia.

In 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the then-Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said Russian players were trying to navigate "what they can say, what they can't say," and "the repercussions that could happen back home." Of Ovechkin, he said: "He gets pressure from all sides -- from North America, from Russia, from family."

"It's a cop-out," said Slava Malamud, a Russian-born former Sport-Express hockey reporter who said the Capitals revoked his press credential in 2014 after he criticized Ovechkin's "Save Children from Fascism" post.

"All of these excuses presuppose the existence of an alternative Ovechkin no one has ever seen, one who is meekly doing what a brutal dictator tells him to do," Malamud told ESPN. "That is not an Ovechkin we have ever seen. We see a man who is proud of his president, who is standing next to war criminals.

"I don't think it's a coincidence after signing his last contract that he comes out with his unambiguous support for the war."

Unlike the great multitude of Russians, Alexander Ovechkin possesseth the means to depart Russia altogether, and might well become a leading dissident voice, were he truly devoted unto peace and unto the deliverance of children from the grip of fascism. Instead, he elects to return thither when his playing days are ended, thereby demonstrating his continued fealty unto a veritable demon. In so doing, he may thereby have secured a one-way passage unto Hades. At least I hope it be so.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The first cracks in the supply

image generated via ChatGPT

Harbingers of what is to come: isolated diesel shortages are now being reported in the former United States. {Newsweek 17 September}

https://www.newsweek.com/some-gas-stations-out-of-diesel-as-prices-surge-12454753

FTA: Photos appearing to show gas stations running out of diesel have spread across social media as U.S. fuel prices climb to record highs, but industry data does not currently show any widespread shortages.

One image posted on X showed a station in North Texas displaying an "out of diesel" notice. Another post on X said a station in Orlando, Florida, had also run out.

The images arrive as concerns grow over the availability and cost of diesel as global supplies tighten due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel war in Iran, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping routes through which about one-fifth of global petroleum consumption normally passes. Vessel traffic has fallen sharply owing to the fighting and attacks on regional energy infrastructure since the war was launched on February 28.

However, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, cautioned against interpreting individual stations as evidence of national shortages.

"GasBuddy is not seeing any high level outages in our data, nor through our Pay with GasBuddy card," De Haan wrote on X, adding that current shortages remained within normal levels.

In a second post, De Haan warned of "false alarmists" spreading claims that stations are widely running out of diesel.

Individual stations can temporarily run short for a number of reasons, including high local demand or delays in fuel deliveries. GasBuddy's nationwide data indicates that, at least for now, the incidents being shared online remain isolated. For now, there is an increasingly tight and expensive diesel market, but not a nationwide wave of gas stations running out of fuel.

De Haan told Newsweek that reports of outages posted on social media should be taken with a "grain of salt" and that there is "lots of misinformation that is being misinterpreted or elevated."

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Treasure into the furnace

An intricate Persian-inspired fantasy illustration depicts a pale, long-haired woman standing nearly nude within a magnificent vaulted palace, modestly adorned with jewelled ornaments and translucent drapery. She looks anxiously over her shoulder, hands drawn protectively towards her chest. Beside her, an ornate treasure chest disgorges molten gold into a cracked basin, from which a gleaming stream winds across richly patterned carpets towards her feet. Beyond the stained-glass arches, flames and smoke rise over a distant landscape. Turquoise waterways, burning braziers, flowers, discarded sandals and sumptuous decorative motifs intensify the scene’s uneasy juxtaposition of beauty, wealth and destruction.
image generated via Qwen

CBO: Iran war costs top $38 billion as of 1 Aug, excluding expenses related to US personnel killed or injured, repair costs, etc. {AP 15 September}

https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-cbo-estimate-b99089b11749f04bbc8ddb1b3c64a373

FTA: The U.S. war against Iran has cost the Department of Defense more than $38 billion through Aug. 1, and will continue costing up to $3 billion a month or more depending on the intensity of the conflict, according to an assessment released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

CBO said the war is expected to contribute to inflation into the first quarter of 2027, making inflation roughly 0.5 percentage points higher than they had previously estimated. That’s driven largely by the reduction of oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to shipping through the Red Sea.

The estimate, prepared in response to a request for information from the top Democrat on the House Budget committee, Rep. Brendan Boyle, largely aligns with a previous estimate from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who pinned the costs at $37.5 billion, according to his Senate testimony.

The estimates come largely from replacing munitions and equipment lost in battle, the CBO said, and do not include costs related to U.S. military personnel killed or injured in the conflict or longer term veterans’ healthcare and disability compensation.

Boyle said that beyond with the war’s human toll, “this nonpartisan CBO report makes clear that the war has also cost American taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and counting, while continuing to drive up costs.”

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Monday, September 14, 2026

“If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something. This should be unthinkable for the son of the president.”

An opulent fantasy illustration portrays an intimate wedding celebration at a tropical seaside estate during sunset. A brunette bride in an ornate ivory corseted gown, veil, suspenders and white stockings leans against a dark-haired woman dressed in lavish crimson-and-gold regalia, jewelled headdress and black stockings. Female guests watch amid flowers, candles, champagne and abundant fruit. Beyond the terrace, a yacht crosses the glowing sea. In the foreground, sumptuous red velvet unfurls around a miniature private-island resort, above which fireworks illuminate the night sky.
image generated via ChatGPT

Russian oligarch and boxing executive maintaining close ties to Putin reportedly financed portions of Don Junior's lavish wedding. {The Guardian 14 September}

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/14/russian-oligarch-trump-jr-wedding

What is a little corruption and influence peddling among friends, eh? —

FTA: A top Democrat has demanded answers after it was reported that a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward Donald Trump Jr’s wedding in the Bahamas earlier this year.

Trump Jr, the US president’s eldest child, married Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson in a lavish three-day celebration across two exclusive private islands in May, which according to ProPublica was partially bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a member of the Russian president’s circle.

Citing records and interviews with three anonymous sources familiar with the event, ProPublica reported that Kremlev footed the bill to rent one of the islands where a reception was held and where guests slept, along with other large expenses, including a huge firework show.

“Why did a Russian oligarch close to Putin fund Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas?” posted Robert Garcia, the ranking member and lead Democrat on the House oversight committee, on social media. “Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the President’s son. What did he get in return? We need answers.”

Kremlev has a longstanding relationship with Putin. He is the head of the International Boxing Association (IBA), a sporting body that has been backed by the state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom. According to ProPublica, the wedding payments came from an IBA-affiliated entity in Dubai that the boxing association uses for financial transactions.

In the days before the wedding party, he reportedly went to China as part of a delegation accompanying Putin, and the month prior the Russian president had bestowed him with a state honor, the Order of Friendship. The Ukrainian government has imposed sanctions on Kremlev, citing his closeness to Putin and Russian security services.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Wired for obedience

A lavishly detailed illustration depicts a vast government polygraph chamber crowded exclusively with women in stylised 1940s-inspired military and clerical attire. At centre, a dark-haired woman reclines in a testing chair wearing a pale slip, electrodes attached to her fingers and a blood-pressure cuff encircling her arm, while a red-haired examiner leans closely beside her. Banks of analogue machinery, tangled cables and continuously feeding graph paper dominate the room as other women undergo tests, scrutinise records or confer intimately at their desks. Filing cabinets and American flags line the walls, while a monumental eagle seal presides over the scene, transforming bureaucratic surveillance into an atmosphere of institutional secrecy, suspicion and coercive scrutiny.
image generated via ChatGPT

No trust whatsoever in Hegseth’s severely compromised Pentagon: in an unprecedented move, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are subjected to polygraph tests over press leaks. {NYT 4 September}

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/us/politics/pentagon-staff-polygraph-tests.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-1A.T2lb.yfe3zweF0P0V&smid=url-share

FTA: U.S. government investigators have taken the extraordinary step of subjecting roughly 50 members of the U.S. military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions, according to officials briefed on the move.

The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished U.S. munitions stocks.

The polygraph tests were conducted in August after a flurry of news reports detailed diminished stocks of crucial munitions, including of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors. The show of force appeared aimed at not just ferreting out anyone who may have shared information, but intimidating others who might do so in the future, according to people with knowledge of the effort.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work for the Joint Staff, which coordinates operations, policy and war plans with combatant commanders around the world.

In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly.”

“Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and of our troops deployed around the world,” he added.

The scope of the investigation is without parallel. Mass polygraph tests have never been administered to the top ranks of the U.S. military in modern history.

“I’ve never seen polygraphs employed this broadly or at this seniority level,” said Rear Adm. Donald J. Guter, a retired top judge advocate general for the Navy from 2000 to 2002. “In my experience, it’s unprecedented.”

The move comes as multiple news organizations have revealed details about how the war with Iran has drained munition stockpiles and reported on concerns inside the administration about the strategic direction of the conflict.

President Trump has pressured administration officials to aggressively hunt for those leaking information. But the president has gone further than merely trying to stop the flow of unauthorized information; he has labeled “treasonous” the media coverage that is critical of the U.S. handling of the war in Iran and the shortages of munitions.

The leaks have intensified an atmosphere of deep distrust and paranoia inside the Pentagon, one that current and former officials say has been fostered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Surrounded by a tight inner circle of loyalists, Mr. Hegseth has pushed out or blocked the promotions of at least 80 generals, admirals and other officials during his tenure. Since early last year, the Pentagon has been conducting a number of leak investigations in response to news coverage about his leadership, even as he faced criticism for sharing sensitive details about strikes in Yemen in a Signal group last year.

Mr. Hegseth has not given a briefing to the Pentagon press corps about the U.S. war in Iran since May 5 and has sought to limit the access of journalists at the Pentagon, a policy that The New York Times has challenged in court.

Last month, the Defense Department fired the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, a government-funded news outlet that reports on the U.S. military, a move the journalists said was retribution for their coverage of the worsening conditions on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Trump has stood by Mr. Hegseth, saying he is doing a “fantastic job,” despite growing concerns about the leadership turmoil inside the Pentagon.

Recently, some Republicans on Capitol Hill have begun publicly voicing criticism of the Pentagon secretary, saying he is mistreating top officials.

“I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country,” Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a social media post this week, calling on Mr. Trump to replace Mr. Hegseth.

“He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force,” Mr. Tillis said.

Mr. Tillis was among the senators who voted to confirm Mr. Hegseth for the role in early 2025, despite having voiced concerns about his nomination.’

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

Minting a monarchy

A lavish allegorical illustration depicts a blonde woman personifying Lady Liberty within an opulent, cathedral-like hall saturated in gold and midnight blue. Wearing a revealing ivory-and-blue gown and a radiant spiked crown, she stands barefoot upon an enormous golden coin, raising a flaming torch while holding a blank tablet. Behind her looms a monumental coin bearing the profile of a male political figure, while another displays a heraldic eagle. A gilded throne, imperial columns, star-filled draperies and cascading coins transform familiar American republican imagery into the visual language of monarchy and personal glorification, creating an atmosphere at once seductive, magnificent and deeply disquieting.
image generated via ChatGPT

Gold-plated Trump $1 coins enter circulation, contravening long-standing U.S. Code barring living figures appearing on currency. {WP 2 September}

https://wapo.st/4xKQCnq

As we have been discovering over the past decade, in a banana republic laws and traditions mean very little and do not apply to the political elite. —

FTA: The U.S. Mint said Wednesday that new golden $1 coins featuring President Donald Trump’s image are now in circulation, marking only the second time in U.S. history that a living president has appeared on U.S. coinage.

The Trump coins, intended to mark the United States’ 250th birthday, were first proposed last year and drew controversy and questions about their legality.

One side of the coin features an image of Trump’s face and is inscribed with “Liberty,” “In God We Trust” and “1776-2026.” The other side of the coin depicts an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons, along with a banner that reads “E Pluribus Unum.”

The U.S. Mint will begin selling the Trump coins on its website at noon Wednesday at a markup of more than 50 percent above their face value. Rolls of 25 coins will cost $61 and bags of 100 coins will cost $154.50, according to its website.

When the coins were first proposed last year, draft images showed Trump’s image on both sides of the coin. At the time, a bipartisan committee that reviews U.S. coin designs balked at taking up the proposal, with members saying that putting a sitting president on currency would break with democratic norms.

GOP and Democratic members of that committee — the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee — also warned the U.S. Mint not to move forward with any plan to put Trump’s face on coins.

“The CCAC has not been presented with a Trump gold coin for review. If they make it without our review, it will be illegal,” Donald Scarinci, a Democrat whom Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) named to the committee, told The Washington Post in June.

Mint officials argued that because the committee declined to consider the coin, the administration was not bound by its review, and pressed forward with the coin’s production.

Under a law passed in 2020, the Treasury Department can mint $1 coins during 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary “with designs emblematic of the United States semiquincentennial.”

However, according to U.S. Code, “[o]nly the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities” — a law that sprung from a Colonial-era tradition against putting current presidents on American coins, to distance them from the British monarchy.

Treasury officials have defended the Trump coin’s design, noting that the image of President Calvin Coolidge appeared on a coin for the United States’ 150th anniversary.

In 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Presidential $1 Coin Act, directing the U.S. Mint to issue a line of dollar coins honoring past U.S. presidents in the order they served — but only those who had been deceased for at least two years. The U.S. Mint suspended issuing those presidential coins in 2011.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The reckoning in the Pentagon

image generated via Grok

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis urges Trump to fire Pete Hegseth, says ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ at the Pentagon. {Mediate 2 September}

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/republican-senator-urges-trump-to-fire-hegseth-i-have-never-witnessed-more-inept-management/

FTA: Republican Senator Thom Tillis is pushing President Donald Trump to show Pete Hegseth the door.

In a long-winded X post on Wednesday, Tillis thanked outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll for his leadership, calling him “the right man at the right moment to lead our Soldiers and Army civilians.”

The Wall Street Journal reported late last week that Driscoll would step down before the end of the year amid “months of tension” with Hegseth.

Tillis then turned his attention — and some venom — to Hegseth.

“If we had a [Defense secretary] who maintained the same priorities and forward-thinking, he would be fighting to retain talented leaders like Dan and the many flag officers he has forced into retirement,” Tillis wrote. “Instead, he is creating a leadership void at the top of our military ranks.”

He added:

I served on Senate Armed Services for 8 years and as chair or ranking member of the Personnel and Readiness subcommittee. I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men and women who serve our country. He is intimidated by competence and retreats to ginning up culture wars instead of soberly attending to the vital work of our national defense and the health and well-being of our fighting force.

Concluding, Tillis delivered a final knockout blow, saying, “I urge the President to find a new leader at the Pentagon who will retain and empower our military talent rather than diminish it.”

With his demand, Tillis has joined numerous other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who have called for Hegseth’s firing.

Earlier Wednesday, The Atlantic reported that Trump “expressed concern” when Driscoll went to the commander in chief directly to tell him how many generals and other top officers had been fired, pushed out, or passed over for promotion under Hegseth.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Saturday, August 15, 2026

‘Not nearly long enough’

A sombre allegorical illustration depicts an aircraft carrier navigating dark, turbulent seas beneath a vast, clouded sky. A solitary naval officer stands on the otherwise deserted flight deck beside parked fighter jets and a coiled mooring rope, gazing towards the horizon where another carrier appears in the distance. Looming translucently above are an enormous clock face and the silhouettes of a woman and young child, suggesting memories of family and the passage of time. Muted blue-grey tones, sparse golden light and the immense scale of the vessel evoke isolation, duty, separation and longing.
image generated via ChatGPT

Sadistic Trump, on the record deployment endured by sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln: ‘not nearly long enough’. {AP 14 August}

https://apnews.com/article/trump-iran-aircraft-carrier-uss-lincoln-023413c38373d4a6ba033612a1f552c6

What can be said about this? If these comments do not rouse people to anger, after all else that hath failed to do so, nothing shall. 

FTA: WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed the toll on American sailors enduring nearly nine months at sea on the USS Abraham Lincoln as concerns escalated about mental health and supply issues aboard the aircraft carrier supporting U.S. operations against Iran.

In a brief exchange with reporters before flying to New York for an event to highlight falling violent crime rates across the U.S., Trump refuted that family members have raised concerns about the deployment’s length and even said that the deployment — which includes a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days — is “not nearly long enough.”

“That ship is moving right now, or very shortly, and it’s being replaced with another very similar ship,” Trump said when asked about the lengthy deployment. The acting navy secretary, Hung Cao, said the Lincoln “will return home soon” in a social media post on Friday.

Trump strode into office for a second term vowing to avoid lengthy and expensive military entanglements. And after launching the Iran war, alongside Israel, Trump and his advisers said the conflict would last a matter of weeks. The war is now more than five months old.

But on Friday, during his crime address in Garden City, New York, he acknowledged that he’s used the U.S. military “a little bit more than I wanted to,” while asserting anew that the U.S. operation against Iran is going well. He even said, seemingly in jest, that “pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”

“I’ll never apologize,” Trump added about the war and its impact on oil prices. “I did the right thing.”

That last sentence sums it all up: he shall never apologise for anything, because, in his deranged mind, he is always right. And an entire nation hath given him free rein to do whatever he wants. God help us all.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Friday, August 14, 2026

The cost of complacency

A richly detailed allegorical illustration depicts the vast international system behind American food safety. A blonde female inspector stands at a crossroads amid sprawling farms, greenhouses, livestock facilities and distant factories, carrying a metal case and clipboard as other inspectors disperse across the landscape. In the foreground, luggage, laboratory supplies, a biohazard-marked case, cargo ship, aircraft and globe evoke the immense scale of foreign imports and inspection duties. At right, another woman scrutinises packaged produce beside a magnified display of microorganisms, linking agricultural commerce with the persistent danger of food-borne contamination.
image generated via ChatGPT

The FDA, failing the nation, conducted fewer than one-twentieth of the foreign inspections required by law over the past decade. {CBS News 12 August}

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-farms-mexico-fda-inspection-cyclosporiasis-outbreak/

Predictably, the farm in Mexico linked to the ongoing cyclospora outbreak had not been inspected since 2019. Do not expect any improvement any time soon — only further deterioration.

FTA: The Food and Drug Administration conducted just under 1,000 foreign food safety inspections in 2025, and the farm in Mexico believed to be at the center of the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak in the U.S. was not one of them. 

A federal law enacted to prevent diseased and dirty food from reaching Americans' plates requires the FDA to carry out nearly 20 times that many foreign inspections each year. But the FDA hasn't come close to meeting the congressional mandate — or even 10% of it — in the 10 years it has been in place, spanning administrations led by both political parties. 

FDA officials have described the requirement as unrealistic, but have never asked Congress to revise it. A lower foreign inspection target the agency deemed necessary to safeguard foreign imports is still nearly five times higher than the number of inspections conducted last year. 

Congress, meanwhile, has not increased the agency's food safety budget to outpace or keep up with inflation, and widespread layoffs during the first year of President Trump's second term squeezed resources further.  

The rate of inspections has gotten markedly worse amid those reductions, with foreign food safety inspections falling by 29% from 2024. Outside of the COVID-19 pandemic, last year's inspection count was the lowest since 2011. Early numbers for 2026 show that the agency is on track to inspect a similar number this year.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Still one nation?

A delicate watercolour-and-ink fantasy illustration portrays nine women in flowing robes of muted crimson, blue, violet, and ivory gathered within the ruins of a once-great city. At the centre, two women cling to one another in a tearful embrace, eyes closed as they cradle each other's faces with tenderness and grief. Around them, other pairs console one another, kneel in prayer, or gesture anxiously as translucent ribbons drift through the scene. Behind them, a fractured skyline is divided between warm golden light and cool blue shadow, reinforcing themes of political division, shared sorrow, compassion, and hope amid societal collapse.
image generated via Grok

Hillary Clinton articulates the obvious: Trump and the GOP invoke the epithet ‘Communists’ against Democrats because it works with their targeted constituencies, and leftists winning primaries are unlikely to survive the general election. {The Independent 8 August}

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/hillary-clinton-trump-attack-communist-abdul-el-sayed-b3029631.html

A cursory glance at Reddit reveals self-styled 'progressives' incensed with Mrs Clinton for stating what ought to be a rather self-evident reality. They would be wise to remember that bloodthirsty tribalism and mindless populism are what delivered unto us Donald Trump, and that they are no better than the millions of rubes following the orange s**tbag if reasoned argument from one of the party’s senior stateswomen is met with violent indignation. This ‘Democratic Socialism’ — and we may debate all day the extent of its relationship or resemblance to the global Communism of the pre-1989 world — is a lot harder a sell than ‘MAGA’ in a country that more than just leans to the right. I have been saying for years that right-wing radicalism shall always prove to be an easier commodity to market to the general public than the left-wing variety in a centre-right nation. Ideological zeal possesses a remarkable ability to distort one’s judgement, as contemporary #Murica (Trumpistan) demonstrates without fail on a daily basis. 

The best thing for our republic at present would be the emergence of a moderate, electorally viable third party, presumably consisting of the remaining elected Democrats and Republicans disillusioned and betrayed by their parties’ retreat to the extremes of the political spectrum. Unfortunately, neither the ‘powers-that-be’ nor the majority of the general public are ever going to permit that; the public is too addicted to the team sport aspect (tribalism), the two-party duopoly does not want competition, and comparatively few Americans are in the centre anymore; of the latter, many have simply stopped paying attention altogether. America’s collective psyche hath been in a very dark place for some time now, and I see no light upon the horizon.

As concerns the mid-term elections: the Democrats are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, yet again. They are in an untenable position: they cannot simultaneously court their increasingly radicalised left flank and expect to win over moderates and independents; victory is attainable only with support from both factions, and they also need protest votes from the remnant of the centre-right who are disgusted with what the GOP hath become under Donald Trump. This is a fundamentally ‘conservative’ (right wing) country, a fact of which Hillary Clinton is plainly cognisant; the Democratic rank-and-file would be prudent to listen to her and think before emulating populist Republican voters by championing rhetorical firebrands for public office. It is simply not going to work as well for the left as it hath for the right. Even granting that relatively few Americans are centrists anymore, staying in the centre lane is still the sanest and most rational course available to the Democrats — or, indeed, to anyone opposed to the ruling Trumpist GOP. We need to get back to the centre; it shall not be accomplished through moderate public officials and voters simply capitulating and playing dead.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

No safe harbour in the pipes

A surreal digital illustration portraying a devastated municipal water-treatment facility beneath a magnificent cosmic firmament, dominated by a vast, ringed planet and swirling nebulae. At its centre, a tearful, flaxen-haired woman, garbed in a flowing and tattered ivory gown, kneels amidst shattered electronics, corroding pipework and industrial ruin, raising a fractured, empty drinking glass towards the heavens in an attitude of desperate supplication. A weathered "Water Authority" signboard hangs precariously from a crumbling edifice, whilst luminous droplets descend from the sky above, reinforcing the underlying themes of thirst, vulnerability, and the fragility of critical water infrastructure.
image generated via ChatGPT

Iran-linked hackers target US water systems across at least twelve states, exposing years of cybersecurity neglect {NYT 5 August}

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/05/us/politics/water-supply-warnings.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3FA.g6Dt.niWaXpE7xVzo&smid=url-share

The EPA under President Biden sought to institute more stringent cybersecurity provisions, and Republican officials in numerous states blocked it from happening. Now cyberattacks on America’s water infrastructure are on the rise, and Iranian-affiliated hackers are suspected to be the culprits. FTA: 

In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration proposed creating stronger cybersecurity guidelines to better safeguard the nation’s water supply from hackers.

The steps were modest, but necessary, officials said at the time: Many municipalities lacked even basic protections, and the computers that monitor and adjust water quality, including chemical-treatment levels, were easy-to-find targets for a would-be intruder.

The E.P.A. rescinded the order, however, after Republican-led states and industry groups sued to block its enforcement. They argued that the E.P.A. lacked authority for the move and that smaller, underfunded utilities would struggle to adopt the new standards.

The episode is just one of several in recent years in which efforts to bolster the cyberdefenses of America’s water systems were blocked despite repeated attacks that highlighted vulnerabilities. Just a little more than a month after the E.P.A. proposal was killed, a small town in western Pennsylvania disclosed that a hacking group tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps briefly took control of equipment used to adjust water pressure.

Now federal and state officials are racing to address an alarming, widespread assault on the nation’s water supply that they believe is also probably the work of Iranian hackers.

Last week, at least seven states, including Minnesota and Michigan, reported incidents to the F.B.I., and in some cases the hacks — or the response to them — degraded water operations. The tally of states reporting possible attacks to the F.B.I. is now at least a dozen, according to people familiar with the investigation. The F.B.I. has not disclosed the states publicly, but some have come forward to confirm activity.

At least 100 municipalities have detected recent malicious hacking efforts related to their water systems, though some of those may be unrelated incidents, the people said. Some security experts said the number of vulnerable systems nationwide could be far higher.

What y’all voted for, #Murica. This is the price the former United States now pays for the mass belligerence and willful ignorance exhibited by the dominant white working class and the political party to which they have pledged their allegiance. These jerks will never take a look in the mirror; whatever calamity should arise, and under whatever administration it should occur, culpability shall invariably be assigned elsewhere. I am thoroughly sick of both this horrid state of affairs and those Americans who have brought it into being. A ‘national divorce’ grows more appealing with each passing day, for I do not want these individuals — and their orange s**tbag president — lording over the rest of us a moment longer. They are literally dismantling this country on all fronts, all the while brandishing the flag and styling themselves ‘patriots’. One way or the other, this must end.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

The bookkeeping of bloodshed

A dramatic allegorical digital illustration of a dark-haired woman standing barefoot upon a cracked ledger whose pages spill into long curling ribbons that wind around her wrists and ankles before drifting across the landscape. She wears a dramatically distressed olive-drab garment with silver dog tags, her windswept hair and solemn expression conveying resilience amid turmoil. Torn operational maps and administrative papers whirl through the air around her beneath the immense ringed planet Saturn dominating the night sky. The barren ground and distant horizon reinforce the atmosphere of desolation, while the symbolic military attire, fractured records, and swirling documents create an evocative meditation on bureaucracy, sacrifice, memory, and the weight of institutional decisions.
image generated via ChatGPT

Veteran groups express outrage after the Trump regime makes controversial revision to Iran war casualty numbers. {The Guardian 27 July}

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/27/trump-administration-iran-war-casualties-veterans

FTA: The department’s reclassification of Iran war casualties has faced criticism in Washington, including from Thomas Massie, a Republican House member from Kentucky, ousted in a primary earlier this year after repeatedly breaking with the president.

“Let me explain this absurd ruse: The Pentagon is pretending there have been two Iran wars separated by a brief cease-fire,” Massie wrote on X on Friday. “The reality: By going more than 90 days without congressional authorization,” the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, “IS BREAKING THE LAW and must be held accountable”.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Monday, July 27, 2026

No recess until you obey

An elaborate allegorical digital illustration inside a grand United States Senate chamber thrown into disorder. Centre, a glamorous blonde woman reclineth confidently across a polished mahogany desk, draped in flowing ivory fabric that bares one shoulder. She gazeth directly at the viewer with calm self-assurance, contrasting with surrounding chaos. Papers swirl through the chamber; coins and documents lie scattered; an overturned barrier resteth foreground; a tower of legislative papers riseth to one side. Behind, banners shew declining economic graphs, a board marketh 4.8%, and distant figures gesture animatedly. Above, a domed opening revealeth Saturn glowing against the night sky; a faceless suited figure leaneth ominously over the balcony—political uncertainty, economic instability, looming judgement.
image generated via ChatGPT

Trump pressures Thune to pass 'SAVE America' election bill, demanding no August recess until done. {AP 27 July}

https://whdh.com/news/trump-demands-senate-cancel-august-break-until-it-passes-voting-bill/

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Friday, July 24, 2026

The capitalist backlash and the growing appeal of socialism in Trumpistan

A dramatic, Socialist Realist-inspired illustration depicts a tall, powerfully built red-haired woman dressed entirely in glossy black leather, seated rigidly upon a wooden chair with a stern, commanding expression. One gloved arm is thrust straight outward in a forceful gesture while her other arm firmly restrains a much smaller blonde woman across her lap. The blonde wears a rumpled white blouse, a tartan skirt, patterned black tights and black shoes. She twists away in visible distress, her face streaked with tears, mouth open in a cry, one arm flung outward and one leg kicking into the air. Behind them, heavy crimson drapery and a monumental stone statue reinforce the austere, authoritarian atmosphere. Strong directional lighting, rich earth tones and polished painterly realism create a theatrical composition emphasising the stark contrast between dominance and vulnerability.
generated via ChatGPT

Poll suggests that even some Republican voters may be losing faith in capitalism. {CNN 23 July}

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ar-AA28yb43

Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater. American capitalism, at least as it presently exists, is corrupt, bloated, and in dire need of reform and restraint. We could start with regulating the content of these inane television commercials. I digress, however, for the words ‘communism’ and ‘socialism’ still scare the majority of the American people, and not entirely without reason. Communism was and is — look to Cuba and North Korea — a brutal and inhumane system of governance. Leftists can, and will, try to sugarcoat matters all they want, but many of the most notorious dictators of the twentieth century — Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, CeauΘ™escu — were Marxist-Leninists. Nor is it a coincidence that such ideologies have repeatedly attracted ruthless authoritarians willing to subordinate individual liberty to the demands of the state. Fascism combined authoritarian nationalism with extensive state control and accommodation of powerful private interests, producing one of history's most destructive political systems, the worst of all worlds — and, perhaps, the closest historical relative to what exists in the former United States of America today.

Absurd, pie-in-the-sky ideology requires ruthlessness and suppression of human rights in order to implement and enforce; not entirely unlike forcing an entire empire (#Murica) to revolve around the ego and ambitions of one extremely flawed and pathetically insecure man. Perhaps some Americans believe it could not get any worse by now, but that is rather a moot point as everything is going to get worse still: so long as this buffoon remains president, and so long as everybody, left and right, is flirting with previously failed economic and political ideologies, instead of coming up with practical solutions — within the context of our democratic and free market traditions — on how to fix what is broken. Old-fashioned, reasonable, and measured centrism is the most unfashionable thing in the world right now, but it direly needs to make a comeback: boring and safe is far preferable to constantly teetering on the edge of the cliff, and will always produce greater prosperity and liberty than constant chaos.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Freedom does not come with a reimbursement form

A striking glamour-style illustration shows a confident red-haired woman seated atop a large American flag spread beneath her. She wears a fitted burgundy corset, a glossy black high-waisted mini skirt, sheer black thigh-high stockings and black leather ankle boots with stiletto heels. Looking directly towards the viewer with a cool, defiant expression, she raises her middle finger while resting her other hand on her hip. Her pose is poised and self-assured, conveying open contempt and unapologetic resolve. Warm, dramatic studio lighting highlights the lustre of the satin, leather and fabric, while a dark, unobtrusive background keeps the focus firmly on the figure and the folds of the stars and stripes beneath her, creating a bold editorial-style composition.
generated via ChatGPT

J6 insurrectionists have cost the former United States of America $2.7 billion, and now they want more. {Citizens for Ethics 22 July}

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/january-6ers-cost-taxpayers-2-7-billion-now-theyre-seeking-secret-payouts/

Now they are out to fleece American taxpayers once again. And guess whose side the President and his Department of Justice are on? Certainly not yours — assuming, of course, that one is not a J6 insurrectionist. If any J6 insurrectionists are reading this, kindly remove yourselves from the gene pool, motherf**king thugs. 

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

The war on others begins within

A formal portrait photograph shows Hunter Biden wearing a black tuxedo with satin lapels, a white dress shirt, black bow tie and a small United States flag lapel pin. His dark hair, streaked with grey at the temples, is neatly combed back, and he wears a thoughtful, slightly animated expression while looking towards someone outside the frame. Fine facial lines and light stubble are visible in the close-up composition. The softly blurred background features warmly coloured lights and indistinct figures attending what appears to be a formal evening event, creating a polished, elegant atmosphere that keeps attention focused upon the subject.
Getty Images

Closetocracy: Hunter Biden nails the GOP 'closeted gay mafia' America's enemy within. {Pink News 22 July}

https://www.thepinknews.com/2026/07/21/hunter-biden-closeted-gay-republicans/

FTA: “Everybody knows there is this closeted gay mafia, largely Republican, that exists in Washington, D.C., and everybody knows every single one of them who’s gay,” he said.

He did not name any individuals.

Biden argued that the claim’s relevance was in what he saw as the psychological toll of living in the closet. “I believe that internal conflict creates so much vitriol inside a person that they take it out on the rest of the world, and they do,” he said.

“Their whole lives they’ve been closeted and so you have this… blackened heart by the fact that you can’t be who you want to be, so you take it out on everybody else.”

The comments quickly went viral, with the coined term “closetocracy” trending online.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Liberty in the hands of her executioners

A richly detailed illustration in the style of a classic adventure comic depicts a pale, unconscious woman representing Lady Liberty reclining across an ornate Victorian chaise longue. She wears a flowing ivory gown and the iconic spiked crown, her extraordinarily long platinum-blonde hair cascading over the cushions. Small crimson puncture wounds on her neck, wrists and ankle suggest severe blood loss, leaving her complexion ghostly white. Five elegantly dressed women in lavish black and crimson gowns, each bearing subtle bloodstains at the throat, surround her with intent expressions, evoking aristocratic vampires. One gently lifts Lady Liberty’s chin while the others lean closer beneath candlelight in an opulent Gothic chamber filled with statues, heavy drapery and antique furnishings, creating an atmosphere of foreboding menace.
generated via ChatGPT

Making America great again by draining the coffers of the world’s most powerful military? The Pentagon is rapidly going broke. {WP 21 July}

https://wapo.st/4wYclry

Another fine example of what y’all voted for, #Muricans. 

Just watch how quickly the federal government begins looking for savings elsewhere whilst ever more resources are devoted to sustaining the military machine. What shall be left? Social Security is already under ever greater strain, with insolvency projected for 2032; now that reckoning may arrive sooner still; Medicare and Medicaid are already effectively on the chopping block, so say ‘goodbye’ to healthcare for millions; infrastructure is already neglected, and will deteriorate further; and our military no longer capable of sustaining the commitments expected of it; and with it, any semblance of national security lost. Just look to Russia to see where Trumpistan is heading.

I wish I had the means to flee this country, for the gradual decline we have been living through hath been painful enough to witness. The pace of that decline is about to accelerate considerably. Americans voted for their own destruction, and they are about to get it.

Empires rarely collapse because they lack enemies — more often, they exhaust themselves — and history is not kind to governments and peoples that confuse spectacle with statecraft. Nor to leaders, such as Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, who mistake recklessness for strength. I pray that those responsible for squandering the resources, institutions, and international standing that were painstakingly built over generations face their reckoning.

linktr.ee/arthurnewhook

πŸͺπŸ’” #QueSeraSera π“…¨ πŸ•ˆ

Copyright 2026, Arthur Newhook.