Trump posts AI-generated video of himself wearing a crown and defecating upon #NoKings protesters, then insists, “I’m not a king”

image generated via ChatGPT

{NYT 19 October} ‘Trump Posts Fake Video of Himself Flying a ‘King Trump’ Jet Over Protesters’

A grotesque spectacle, and the act of a petulant man-child masquerading as a statesman—an overgrown bully and gaslighting autocrat who yet occupies the highest office in the land. If the President of the United States cannot conduct himself with a modicum of dignity and extend respect to all Americans, including those who dissent from him, as each of his predecessors managed to do, then he has no business holding that office.

The current GOP base is defined by a startling deficit of respect for those beyond its own tribal orbit—a moral decay that, if not arrested forthwith, will culminate in widespread atrocity. We already inhabit the danger zone of dehumanisation. Yet it was not always thus. Richard Nixon, for all his paranoia and moral blemish, never descended to such belligerent indecency; nor did any other Republican president or aspirant within living memory—from Eisenhower through to Mitt Romney—stoop to the dehumanisation of political adversaries or ordinary citizens.

Nor, indeed, have our Democratic presidents done so. Barack Obama, at his most incautious, made his now-infamous remark concerning rural Americans who “cling to guns and religion”—a comment that drew sharp rebuke, yet was expressed within a thoughtful, analytical frame and contained more than a measure of truth (and nothing offends such types more than hearing hard truths about themselves). Obama did not, however, produce puerile videos depicting his critics as yokels being drenched in filth, nor indulge in crude name-calling and mockery.

Manners matter. The current president and his acolytes would do well to rediscover that elementary precept of civil society. They have already learnt that millions of their countrymen are neither cowed nor compliant, and that we will not simply lie down and die to humour their authoritarian fantasies.

President Trump ought, at the very least, to issue a public apology to those he hath insulted—but of course he will not. Neither his party, nor the pliant media apparatus that shields him, nor the cultish fervour of his followers, will exert the slightest pressure upon him to do so. On the contrary, they are collectively manufacturing a civil war—and they shall have it, unless they remember, and swiftly, how to behave like human beings once more. But they won’t. —Arthur Newhook, 19 October 2025.

Copyright 2025, Arthur Newhook. 

If only the British had maintained control of the colonies. 4th of July #Murica 2022: Mass shooting at parade in Illinois, the Supreme Court continues its assault on sanity, Russia claims control of key Ukrainian province, and COVID rises again

Another night of idiots who can't hear us over the sound of them exercising their 'freedom.' Bombs going off everywhere, the dog was about to have a heart attack. Upon many years of experience, reflection, and logical examination, this is a really stupid country on so many levels. This is a country for Darwinian bullies and psychopaths. Sorry, just not feeling this whole #Murica thing anymore.

Lynn Sweet/Chicago Sun-Times/AP

Mass shooting at 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois - Turn out the lights and end this s**t show already. (AP 7/04)

Lowlife scum identified as the person of interest in the Highland Park shooting ‘left a long trail of tributes to mass shootings and public killings on social media platforms’ - A real winner here. Performed as a white-boy rapper under the alias ‘Awake,’ and is the son of a failed mayoral candidate. (NBC News 7/04)

AP/Salon

GOP gubernatorial candidate in Illinois, not even hours after the mass shooting that has devastated his state and the nation: Let’s move on and celebrate - How do we ever reconcile with people of this mindset, which represents a good percentage of the country? We’re f**ked. Sorry, folks, we’re f**ked. {And I am sorry, I know the Raw Story site loads like crap and slows down any device one is using, I'm just too pissed to even try to find a better source at the moment. F**king bulls**t to all Hades.} (Raw Story 7/04)

Going back to Nixon’s ‘Southern Strategy,’ and accelerating greatly during Barack Obama’s presidency and the rise of Donald Trump, Republicans have appealed to confirmation biases to hoodwink millions of (mostly white, ‘working-class’) Americans into supporting their nation-killing, undemocratic policies. The Republican Party must now die; not in the way innocent victims of mass gun violence have, because we know that isn’t happening and the rest of us are not barbarians. No, because their individual consciences finally catch up with them. But, who are we kidding? They are going to sweep the mid-terms and win the presidency in 2024. We all know it, we all know most of our fellow citizens are awful people who would laugh while watching their neighbors being dragged off to death camps. We know the Democratic Party must really suck to have allowed things to progress to this dire stage, where attending a 4th of July parade - or, literally, any event or any place at all, even being in one’s own home - means risks being shot to death, and nobody is allowed to complain about it because ‘freedom.’

Very funny that #Cult45 proclaims to be so anti-socialist, yet they worship Trump with the same fervor as if he were Joseph Stalin, demanding the same of the rest of us. And they worship the United States itself as if it were the very (perverted) ideal the Soviet Union spent 70 years trying to impose upon its citizens. So, screw ‘em, because they’ve ruined the idea of patriotism in America. The flag has become nothing more than a fashion statement, courtesy of those jackasses who never stop bellowing about their ostensible love of country while s**ting on everything it is supposed to stand for. The Founding Fathers would never have fought had they known it would come to this (and, yes, I asked them.) #Murica

‘What accounts for the blithe dismissal of potentially cataclysmic threats?’ Sen. Mitt Romney calls out the American people for being in denial about the pathetic state of the republic - Says a return to Trump ‘would feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable.’ Agreed, but he and the few remaining sane Republicans need to disavow themselves of any illusion that the GOP can be saved - or is worth saving - and declare themselves independents. (Mediate 7/04)

Fascist outlet Patriot Front demonstrates in Boston on Saturday, and there is violence - One {African-American} man is injured in an altercation with these white supremacist goons. (WCVB 7/03)

Supreme Court issues ruling limiting the EPA’s authority to regulate climate standards at power plants - For the longest time, I didn’t buy into climate change. Until, as with a lot of crap I used to believe, the reality couldn’t be denied any longer. Even now it’s not my area of expertise. Considering that this court is apparently trying to destroy the nation as it currently stands, what would be a few more carbon emissions into the environment? Once the right of women to drive is rescinded and two-thirds of the population have either been eliminated or have fled the country, there will be fewer cars on the road. Christofascists and their allies tend to hate cities, so destroying those should also help clean the air. Hmmm, perhaps the extreme right are onto something after all, and are not the anti-environmentalists they’re often mistaken for. Just as they defend freedom of speech by constantly belittling and threatening anyone with differing points of view. Just as how they support science by rejecting vaccines and facemasks in the middle of the largest global pandemic in over a century. Really, not too surprising that Fascists would love Mother Earth, in their own unique way. Hitler was quite the environmentalist by the standards of his time. (John Sutter, CNN 6/30)

Russia claims control over Luhansk province, Ukrainian forces withdraw from the pivotal city of Lysychansk - God willing, Ukraine will restore authority over its territory, and liberate the residents of these regions from Russian aggression. A setback, not a defeat. (AP 7/03)

Several people dead in mass shooting at Copenhagen shopping mall - America’s sickness is spreading. (AP 7/03)

‘Two Omicron subvariants are now causing more than half of new coronavirus infections in the United States—and both are very good at dodging antibodies in people who have been vaccinated and boosted, as well as in people who had a previous COVID-19 infection.’ (National Geographic 7/01)

Ohio: 14-year-old tiger dies at Columbus Zoo from pneumonia caused by COVID-19 - Rest in Peace, Jupiter. (WLWT 6/30)

USC and UCLA to the Big Ten? - What the f**k!? Geographically this is stupid, obviously, but at the highest levels of college sports geography is simply no longer a concern. No conspiracy theories needed: The SEC, Big Ten, and their broadcast partners (chiefly, ESPN) are boldly and deliberately consolidating their power and ensuring no other schools or conferences will ever again be competitive with them, on the field and off. The few remaining major powers outside those two conferences will be absorbed within the next few years, and we’ll never see even an ACC, Big 12, or Pac 12 school win another national championship.  Or if they do, it’ll be at a new level between FBS and FCS, as those three conferences and the five current mid-majors will be entirely frozen out of FBS (now only consisting of the SEC and Big Ten) and compelled to form their own, secondary division. We may even see FBS split into three, with ACC/Big 12/Pac 12 being the second division, and the current mid-majors being third division. FCS would now be Division IV, the current Division II becomes Division V, and the current Division III will become Division VI. All of this is so bloody ridiculous, and it’s part of what is slowly killing my interest in this sport. Even the pretense of these players being student-athletes is disappearing, (FanNation 6/30)

A little history on how musicians were routinely pressed into service by municipalities as first responders in medieval Europe. (Ted Gioia 7/02)

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Our darkest days grow colder: Shooting at elementary school in Texas leaves 18 small children dead, Trump wanted to hang his own VP for not cooperating with the J6 insurrection, and the dangerous despot in Hungary seizes more power for himself

Jacob Langston/NYT

Testimony before the House January 6 committee reveals that Trump allegedly stated that Mike Pence needed to hang - Nothing is shocking anymore with Donald Trump, and this revelation is no exception. In normal times this one anecdote alone would have been the scandal of the decade, and there would be widespread outrage. America has undergone a ‘shock treatment’ of sorts for the past twenty-one years, and desensitization has set in for many. And others are embracing the evil lurking inside them, as we will see in the next paragraph. Welcome to Hell. (New York Times 5/25)

Reuters

Another f**king school shooting, another bloody day in #Murica - Mass shootings are now an almost-daily occurrence in this sick country. No hyperbole, people everywhere are cracking. Eighteen kids, and one adult dead; the shooter, probably another one of these teenage incel types, killed by police. Americans are once again horrified, and once again no action will be taken. Guns are only part of the problem, and guns are an effective deterrent when used responsibly and lawfully by qualified individuals - no, many of these kids are being doped up on Ritalin, overstimulated on video games and electronics, most are not reading, they are largely not allowed to play outside. They are no longer taught manners, seeing as so many of the grown-ups around them are rude and stupid individuals, and genuine role models are few and far between. Even most of those in #Murica who present themselves as upright and full of wisdom turn out to be scam artists and charlatans; wolves in sheep’s clothing. I’ve long had a vague suspicion that the new Babylon spoken of in prophecy is the United States of America. At this moment, I am not suspecting anything; this may as well be Babylon, and it deserves to die. All of that good, patriotic stuff about America that people still cling to is simply gone, long past us in all but facade. May the Lord Jesus have mercy on us. (BBC News 5/24)

Olivier Hoslet/AP

Hungarian despot Viktor Orban seizes more power for himself with ‘state of danger’ declaration - Using the war in neighboring Ukraine as a pretense, the populist strongman and Putin ally erodes democracy further. Remember, this is the model the GOP is openly praising and emulating. (AP 5/24)

Sen. Mitt Romney warns that the United States must be prepared for Russia to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine (KSL 5/23)

The U.S. supplies Ukraine with lethal ‘Switchblade’ drones that can target Russian tanks and artillery from miles away (Ukraine 24 5/24)

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Macron wins French presidential election in an apparent landslide

Christophe Ena/AP

Emmanuel Macron easily reelected in France, turning back far-right populist Marine Le Pen - Approximately 58%. That is a decisive win, far larger than anyone seemed to expect. If forced to choose between these two, #Murica would probably have elected the Fascist bitch. Vive le France, at least somewhere in the world sanity still prevails. (AP 4/24)

Former Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch dies at 88 - The man was a fairly visible figure during his many years on Capitol Hill. The longest-serving Republican ever in the upper chamber. He had quirks, but was not a total nutjob like the sorry bunch up there now. Remember, it was Orrin Hatch’s retirement that led to Mitt Romney winning the seat. Thus becoming a major thorn in Trump’s side. (AP 4/24)

Getty Images

Rest in Peace, Guy Lafleur - Montreal Canadiens great dies at age 70. (TSN 4/22)

Miguel Cabrera makes history, becoming only the 33rd player in all of Major League Baseball history to reach 3,000 career hits, and only the seventh to reach that milestone with more than 500 home runs (ESPN 4/23)

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Vladimir Putin’s hubris and tragic miscalculations bring Russia to its knees, and cements Ukrainian resistance to Russian influence and aggression for decades to come

Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin

Putin has only succeeded in hardening anti-Russian sentiment in Ukraine. He saw there was a small number of anti-Russian extremist elements - ‘Nazis,’ whatever we call them; every country has their extremists, including Russia and the U.S., as we’re all too aware – and used that as an excuse to butcher the Ukrainian people. He is a snake who will take advantage of any situation to put his venomous fangs into his prey, in this case by grossly exaggerating the threat these extremist elements posed in order to achieve his actual goals of conquering and plundering. Vladimir Putin does not even bother hiding his ambitions of restoring the Russian Empire, and in his Machiavellian mind he may really have convinced himself that he is saving Ukraine by forcing it back into Russia’s orbit. 

Pray tell, why should Russia’s various neuroticisms and its never-ending inferiority/superiority complex – all of this embodied in Putin – be the rest of the world’s problem? Ukraine suffered long enough under Russian domination and decided, upon the fall of the Soviet Union, to move into the future. While still honoring their traditions and national character, they chose to go their own way in the world and strive for a better life. Putin makes no bones about wanting to stop the future, and restore a glorious past that never was quite so glorious for the hundreds of millions who suffered for it for so long, continuing today. 

In the future, elected lawmakers in Ukraine are only going to be more stridently pro-Western and anti-Moscow, all across the political spectrum. Those small militias and such that Putin has scapegoated all of Ukraine for are now going to grow much larger, and more dangerous to Russia. Government-sanctioned or working in rogue capacity, vengeance-minded Ukrainian militias will conduct attacks on Russian cities for several years to come. And that’s all on top of the crippling sanctions placed upon Russia by most of the world. Russia is now isolated, its military is decimated and has been exposed as a paper tiger, its people will grow increasingly restless, and the prospect of revolution and civil war grows in likelihood with each day Putin continues this ‘special operation.’ Even most ethnic Russian speakers in Ukraine are enraged, and will increasingly identify as purely Ukrainian in the years to come. Vladimir Putin, in his quest to restore Russian greatness, has destroyed Russia. And glory is now Ukraine’s to be had. The Russian people will be divided as Ukraine's people, beaten and bloodied as they are, stand united. But, just as with a wounded snake, Putin is going to cause more terror and grow more desperate in the days ahead, so stay on guard. Слава Україні

Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

(VIDEO) Putin’s ‘yes men’ misled him on Ukraine invasion prospects - Anytime a leader creates such an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and conformity, critical thinking is going to go out the window and only what the leader wants to hear will be permissible. And what always results are tragic incompetence and worse, never success. (France 24 3/31)

'Residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, described how Russian forces use hunger as a weapon of war in a monthlong siege of the southern port. “No roof, no food and no water,” survivors texted relatives who escaped.' (New York Times 3/29)

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Sen. Mitt Romney: NATO would be likely to reconsider U.S. membership if Trump is returned to the presidency in 2024 - The stakes have never been higher. If America goes all-out Fascist, which is the goal of Trump and nationalist populists, none of you want to know what is going to happen to us. The Russian people have no one to protect them from their tyrant, and if America does not have friends in the world, nobody will be coming to our aid when the ongoing coup attempt is complete. America foolishly disregarded Sen. Romney’s warning about Putin in 2012, including being mocked by the sitting president at that moment (‘the 80s called and we didn’t answer.’) The past three administrations did not take Vladimir Putin seriously, and other world leaders were complicit in that regard (looking at you, Gerhard Schröder.)  We’re paying the price now - and Ukraine most of all. So, heed what Sen. Romney has to say. (Yahoo! News 3/29)

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Skies ‘turn red’ at Ukrainian military base near Polish border, and Putin grows ever more defiant

BBC

Like many, I’ve been torn on the prospect of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, knowing that will provoke Russia further. After the attack on Yavoriv in the far west of Ukraine, it must be done. Putin wants war with NATO, and I have a sinking feeling we’re not going to be able to avoid it. Via the BBC -  

Witnesses to a deadly Russian attack on a Ukrainian military base have told how "the sky turned red" as missiles struck the site near the Polish border. 

At least 35 people died in the strike on the Yavoriv training base, near a major crossing point into Poland used by refugees from the conflict. 

Russia fired around 30 cruise missiles at the base, outside the city of Lviv, early Sunday, the local governor said. 

Hours after the attack, ambulances were still rushing to the scene. 

Roads leading to the facility were blocked with checkpoints and authorities were conducting search-and-rescue operations. 

Russian jets fired around 30 cruise missiles at the site, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, authorities in Lviv said. Most, though, were intercepted by the air defence system. (Read more)

Russia seeks military aid from China

‘A captured Russian pilot admitted to targeting Ukrainian civilians and urged Russia to call off the assault on Ukraine’

Transmitting their intentions? Head of Russia‘s space agency – an eager Putin stooge - warns sanctions could cause the International Space Station to crash

Thousands of Russians scramble to leave Thailand as sanctions hit

Senator Mitt Romney calls out former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard for spreading pro-Putin propaganda, including the lie that the U.S. is operating bio-labs in Ukraine

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Adam Kinzinger to leave Congress, as realization sets it for the scant few true Republicans that the real GOP is not coming back to life

AP

NPR - GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who voted to impeach Trump, won't run for reelection

The scant-few *true* Republican elected officials who remain – Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, a few governors like Charlie Baker and Larry Hogan, the extremely small handful of House members who voted to impeach Trump in January 2021 - are gradually being forced to jump off this sinking ship. They all want to save the GOP, but the realization sinking in on their part is that there is no saving this rotten party. No matter how much nostalgic they are for the days of Ronald Reagan, or even Eisenhower and Lincoln, the Republican Party is dead in all-but-name. This new Republican Party is a political cult now, and a menace to the soul of our nation. Thank you, Rep. Kinzinger, for your service and your conviction. Perhaps we haven’t heard the last of this man, and he will be a voice going forward in the creation of a new alliance that will fight to return to our traditional values and constitutional governance.

Copyright 2021, Sunking278. Stay up-to-date: Twitter – @Sunking278 and Facebook – click here.