250 FOR 250, THE GOAT, BLOWN HONOR, TIP OFF TO TIP OVER

Katherine Stewart, author of ‘The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism’, and ‘Money, Lies and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy’, has written an interesting take on Trump’s plans for the country’s 250th birthday celebration. “In another world with a better government in power, Americans might well have looked forward to an authentic celebration of the remarkable achievements of the American Revolution. In this world, under the Trump administration and the Republican rubber-stamp chorus in Congress, we are being asked to settle for a festival of corruption, lies, bigotry and divisiveness,” she begins.

The Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving, billed as “part of the broader Freedom 250 initiative,” was held on May 17 on the National Mall, with a relatively sparse gathering to see and hear Christian nationalist “faith leaders, public servants, music, prayer, and testimony to honor God’s hand in America’s story.” Hosted by a private foundation in partnership with the White House, it brought together those dedicated to replacing American democracy with a supposedly Christian autocracy. Speaker Paula White-Cain, senior faith adviser to Trump, said the event was “about the history and the foundations of our nation, which was built on Christian values, on the Bible. This is really truly rededicating the country to God,” she remarked. Stewart’s observation is that Freedom 250 was fundamentally about rededicating the country to outright corruption, flying in the face of America’s Founders who attempted to avoid the kind of extractive and imperial system of government seen in the British Empire, as the program “diverted tens of millions in taxpayer funds to a nakedly sectarian and partisan festival,” going further by inviting corporate and foreign donors to contribute.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the president also proposes offering 250 pardons to celebrate the 250th — a real triumph for the rule of law! Any predictions on who might be a recipient in Trump’s pay-for-play freedom pardon scam? “But there’s a higher order of corruption at work here, not unlike that practiced by the remaining ‘clean’ ‘conservative’ justices on the Supreme Court — not the ones who won’t accept free camper buses, school tuition, and luxury holidays from their conservative patrons. This is where officers of the United States, even while paying lip service to the Constitution, flout their responsibilities and instead pervert our democratic system for power and aggrandizement. When a political leader directs government to reward a particular band of extremist supporters and disenfranchise the rest of the population, that is corruption, not democracy,” insists Stewart.

Stewart remarks, “On this semiquincentennial, one might have hoped for some expressions of unity. America’s Founders, after all, prized unity almost too much. That is why they made so many compromises in their quest to create a United States of America. But Freedom 250, like everything Trumpian, is about dividing America, not uniting it. It’s there to tell us that there are ‘good’ Americans and ‘bad’ Americans. The good ones are Bible-believing Christians. The bad ones include media that reported accurately on the fiasco of the Iran war, for example; anyone who criticizes Dear Leader; and, of course, those who fail to adhere to the nation’s supported founding faith.” The Founders understood that the surest way to divide the new nation would be to introduce a national religion into a country that was even then incredibly diverse in its mingling of faith traditions — some things they may have erred on, but on this point they were absolutely correct. Thomas Jefferson famously and correctly celebrated the First Amendment as a means of erecting ‘a wall of separation between church and state’. Now Trump’s plan is to ‘celebrate’ the Founders’ achievement by demolishing that wall.

By rejecting the aristocratic pretensions of the Old World, the Founders felt it to be vital to give the new democracy a certain kind of dignity, making a determined effort to prove that a government of the people could also rise to worthy levels of cultural achievement. So what is Trump giving us? The Ultimate Fighting Championship to entertain us with the spectacle of bare-knuckled men punching one another in the face within the unsightly arena that we now see rising on the White House lawn! Stewart concludes, “We can be sure that the Trump administration and its MAGA supporters will deride critics of Freedom 250 as somehow anti-American. We should not let them get away with it. We should oppose this kind of squalid, divisive festival of grift, not because we despise America but because we continue to support the ideals upon which the nation was founded. Maybe the most American thing we can do in this sad and degenerate moment in history is to find a way to celebrate American principles of equality, pluralism, and justice — independent of this partisan rally, which the present malefactors in government are using to destroy democracy itself.”

Discovered is President Trump’s purchase of $15,000 to $50,000 worth of TKO Group Holdings as he began his promotion of the UFC birthday event on the lawn outside the People’s House. The Daily Dose of Democracy group says they are willing to give him a pass on this one if he will put his money where his mouth is and hop into the ring with the fighters. The company will see its star rise with all the free publicity spouted by the president. Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says, “Grifting has always been an issue in Donald Trump’s presidency, but now the mask is off. Using the White House to promote a company whose stock you bought while promoting it is one of the worst conflicts of interest you could imagine. The agenda of this administration seems to start and stop with how to make Donald Trump richer.”

Since Trump’s announcement last summer about hosting the UFC Championship at the White House, he hasn’t shut his mouth about it, even inviting UFC fighters to the Oval Office to show off the AI-generated images of the octagon arena. “We’re going to have 4,000 seats in front of the door of the White House. The hardest ticket I’ve ever had, too. This will be the greatest show on earth,” bragged the president. The spectacle is touted as part of the nation’s 250th birthday, but the arena will be completed for scheduled use on June 14 — coincidentally, the President’s 80th birthday. Attorney Norm Eisen calls the brutal event an “extravagant waste of money and government time, serving not only to distract from the real work of the government but now may result in a pecuniary benefit to the president. That is a far uglier White House spectacle than anything that the UFC will exhibit.”

UFC chief executive Dana White, a Trump supporter, claims the UFC 250 event will not be an inherently political event. “You can make anything political if you want to,” he says, confident that the fight will “positively deliver” for the president and his group. But some in the mixed martial arts and pro fighting world are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of the event — onetime ally of the president, podcaster Joe Rogan not holding back. In his estimation the idea of outside fighting is problematic, and there is no weather contingency plan, especially since Washington, DC can reach temps of 100 degrees by June. Rogan would prefer an inside, air-conditioned venue, calling Trump’s extravaganza a “gimmick” and a “security nightmare“.

John Byrne of Raw America posts that as the country turns 250, Trump wanted to have “a concert worthy of an emperor. What he is getting instead is a punchline.” Or a punch in the face. His plan was to have a star-studded musical extravaganza on the National Mall running from late June into July, but a steady stream of artists who were previously announced are now giving notice that they no longer showing up, claiming they were misled regarding the partisan nature of the Freedom 250 concerts — entitled Great American State Fair. It looks as thought the hangers-on are Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla Ice, who said, “I don’t even vote, so I don’t even care.” Byrne says, “There’s something almost perfect about all of it. A president who governs through spectacle planned a spectacle, and the actual artists of the country looked at the invitation and said ‘no’. The founders built a republic, not a monarchy, specifically so that no one man’s birthday became a national obligation.”

In his attempt to recover from the musical snubs, Trump announced that he plans to hold a political rally to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, posting, “I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance, so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists,’ and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!”

Robert Reich posted on Substack, “Beware of Trump’s 250th Rally on the Mall — he’s given up on the ‘talent’ except for You Know Who.” Reich says that Trump often confuses himself with America, and America with himself; so not surprisingly, his plan for celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary is looking more and more like a celebration of Trump. In addition, Trump’s face will be engraved on a new $250 bill; it will be etched onto both sides of a celebratory gold coin; it’s already on passports issued this year. His signature is on dollar bills. If you still fail to get the point, his visage will soon be draped over all federal buildings. Reich finds it difficult to read the president’s THE GOAT! post without laughing, but it’s no joke as his malignant narcissism ramps up even higher than its usual galactic level.

In a follow up post on Truth Social, Trump writes, “I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally on Wednesday, Washington, DC, same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited — It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America!” Reich reminds us that the ‘Great Patriots’ and ‘will be wild’ phrasing harkens back to Trump’s encouraging his rioters preceding the January 6, 2021 insurrection. We shouldn’t expect another attack on the Capitol — just attacks toward immigrants, Muslims, Democrats, trans people, RINOs, judges and anyone ‘woke,’ as Trump stars in his own hate rally.

Reich explains that our 250th anniversary events, commemorating America’s founders’ refusal to be bound by a tyrant, were supposed to be planned by a nonpartisan, nonprofit group created by Congress in 2016, called ‘America250.’ The bipartisan congressional caucus made up of over 350 members, with honorary co-chairs George W Bush, Laura Bush, Barack Obama, and Michelle Obama, plus ex-officio members to include present and former government officials, have had no hand in planning the anniversary events with the circumvention by Trump/MAGA and their ‘Freedom250‘ committee. This renegade group is bankrolling events to promote Trump and his political agenda which lists its ‘core theme‘ of boosting Trump’s supposed ‘achievements.’ And as might be expected the group is designed to make money for Trump, with his personal business trademarking the term ‘Trump 250,’ along with a logo similar to that of the ‘America250’ logo.

In fact, several trademark applications in connection with the upcoming celebration feature Trump’s name as the centerpiece for use on bumper stickers, tote bags, drink ware, clothing, and golf balls, with Trump’s online store already selling sweatshirts, golf balls, and a blanket. Mimicking the ballroom project’s pay-to-play scam, people and companies with financial interests affected by the administration are encouraged to make tax-deductible donations to gain access to, and seek favors from, the president. Those corporations paying between $500,000 and $10 million become “sponsors” and those giving $1 million or more will be invited to a “private Freedom 250 thank-you reception” hosted by you-know-who. Major donors contributing $2.5 million or more will qualify for a speaking role at the Fourth of July celebration in Washington, so we can expect to hear leaders of Lockheed Martin, ExxonMobil, Oracle, Palantir, Mastercard, and United Airlines — so far. Stay tuned.

Count yourself in as a contributor to Trump and his ‘Freedom 250‘ extravaganza, because in last year’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill‘ was a Congressional allocation of $150 million for observances of the nation’s birthday. The Interior Department chose to dole out $100 million to the Trump organization, with only $25 million going to the official nonpartisan ‘America250‘ group. Stay tuned on disclosure of expenses in this siphoning of taxpayer funding — only if you stay attuned until 2027! Reich says, “This is exactly what Trump did to the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Capital Planning Commission, and every other semi-public body Congress established for the common good. This is the way authoritarianism substitutes for democracy — slowly and incrementally, until the whole system suddenly tips over.”

Elliot Kirschner writing on Substack’s Through the Fog, asks if anyone really feels like celebrating America’s 250th, even though it’s only a month away? He imagines what could be taking place if only we had a unifying president, with participation by American musical giants, to inspire a soaring sense of pride, and a belief that despite all our differences and the dark chapters in our history, that we are part of an ambitious experiment in multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy. He says that America loves a good party, but that notion is now a “casualty of our troubled times — another opportunity for good feeling and unity lost to the boorish squatter in our nation’s capital as he tracks mud of corruption, vindictiveness, and divisive autocracy across our national fabric.” Instead of proceeding with this fiasco, he suggests we give ourselves a raincheck until this nightmare is over, waiting a few years to find a way to celebrate our democracy. “Then, we can have the biggest party ever, bringing together artists and teachers, immigrants and veterans, scientists and musicians, people from every corner of this sprawling and complicated country. A party about the best of America. A party that is joyful instead of angry. Inclusive instead of exclusionary. A party to which everyone is invited,” concludes Kirschner. “Well, almost everyone.”

Satirist Andy Borowitz writes, “In a last ditch attempt to salvage his ‘US Freedom 250’ concert, Donald J. Trump announced Monday that the only remaining musical act  will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio playing a kazoo…According to sources, Rubio is taking his new assignment extremely seriously, spending hours practicing the kazoo in the Situation Room. In an official statement, Rubio declared, ‘I am honored to blow anything President Trump asks me to.'”

[Last week’s piece below… ~Webmistress]

MARCO, PAYDAY FOR POOPERS, MARCO, FRAUD BUFFET, MARCO

The ensnared federal government ‘agreed’ to drop the tax claims against President Donald Trump last week according to a settlement document that also resolves Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, along with a public apology from the agency. The agreement reads that the US is “forever barred and precluded” from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons and the Trump organization’s current tax issues, simply a one-page document posted to the Department of Justice website. An adjunct to this agreement allowed the administration to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the president who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted, which brought howls from the Democrats and government watchdog groups as “corrupt” and unconstitutional. Formally called the “Anti-Weaponization Fund“, it provides an avenue for those “wrongly targeted” for political purposes — particularly by the Biden administration’s Justice Department — to apply for payouts, which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche terms a “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” The 1600 rioters who were charged, then fined or imprisoned, could see a payday of about a million bucks each!

The Late Show host, Stephen Colbert, during his last week on his canceled CBS show, had some thoughts on the newly-created “slush fund,” and how “one group of lucky slushies could be the people prosecuted in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot.” “We may be canceled, but apparently The Late Show has outlived the Constitution of the United States, because yesterday, without any congressional or court approval, completely unilaterally, Donald Trump gave himself a $1.8 billion taxpayer-fueled slush fund,” said the comedian to begin his show. Colbert noted that in January, Trump and Sons filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, alleging that the bureau willfully failed to safeguard his tax information from unauthorized disclosure by a former IRS contractor during the president’s first term. The judge involved in the case was “highly skeptical” of its validity, prompting Trump and Sons to drop the suit in exchange for establishment of the “slush fund” by Todd Blanche.

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[Last week’s piece below… ~Webmistress]