Mad King Trump: sounds like one at times

 This guy's aspirations to be a dictator know no bounds. Both Orban and Putin have engineered their lifetime positions. It is in keeping for Trump to become an imperialist just like Putin to invade and take over a neighboring country like Canada or Greenland. To him, that must be what he needs to be respected like Putin did in Georgia and Crimea, and now trying to do it to all of Ukraine.. Both imperialism and lifetime dictatorship dreams are red flags of some serious psychological conditions.

Update: 5/4/2025 If not a mad king, he is closer by the day: Trump depicted as pope in AI-generated photo and he will take Greenland by force, if he needs to. Trump says he ‘doesn’t rule out’ using military force to control Greenland | Donald Trump | The Guardian

I must have been 7 at the end of World War II, but I recall asking my mother" why did Hitler happen?" She taught me a new, very big word to my vocabulary, which stuck with me to this day: "megalomaniac". That may not exactly fit Trump, and I later added" narcissist" to my vocabulary, which is inadequate to describe what I see in Trump.." Mad King" is over the top,..but nonetheless, it signals to me that someone has gone off the rails because his" head was too big for his britches " in seven year old terms. Even that is not exactly right because I am beginning to see that Trump has the britches to go off the rails. He is dangerous to democracy and those who still support the Constitution because he has been able to get so far along the path to dictatorship in three short months and there are no limits to his aspirations. MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: Are we already living with fascism? Updated through 3/31/2025

How Dictators Keep Control  is about an interesting 20111 study of what psychological traits then current tyrannical dictators shared. It is worth a read.

From my March 9 Facebook posting: I am beginning to see Trump critics calling him a mad king. It is way over the top..but he does seem obsessed with tariffs and Zelensky hatred and getting revenge on any challenger to his power..as he feels he is always being treated unfairly.

What is interesting to me is it isn't a King George the Third or the insane obsessed king of Neuschwanstein who are the current analogies of Trump to a mad king but it is the Game of Thrones and Harry Potter books that have set the standards of what is good and what is evil. Are they the political science textbooks of the younger generations of our tme? I am seeing references to them all the time now in media by younger generations.that it isn't King George the Third or the insane, obsessed king of Neuschwanstein who are the current analogies of Trump to a mad king, but the Game of Thrones and Harry Potter books that have set the standards of what is good and what is evil. Are they the political science textbooks of the younger generations of our time

msn.com

Trump says he is not joking about third presidential term

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not joking about seeking a third presidential term, which is barred by the U.S. Constitution, but that it was too early to think about doing so. Trump, who took office on January 20 for his second, non-consecutive White Ho...

Like

Comment

Send

Share

Chainsaw cuts in social security make mockery of budget and may be even unconstitutional

 The old mantra of the GOP, cut federal services and personnel because they are bankrupting our country, is on steroids with the indiscriminate mass Musk chainsaw cuts. That has been the GOP rationale for cutting taxes to the rich as far back as the 1930s.  The theory is that the very rich invest money to increase commerce, and the new taxes resulting will bring down the debt and deficits.  The theory continues that the prosperity it fosters will trickle down to the struggling masses.  It has never worked as the theory he promises anywhere in the industrialized world.  It is the same BS as it ever has, except the numbers in 2025 are staggeringly large and the old fiscal conservative GOP has shut its mouth in loyalty to Donald Trump..  Both Democrats and Republicans share guilt for raising debts and deficits, but what the Trump regime is trying to do is dramatically more.  Trump is seeking 1.6 trillion in government cuts to offset 4 trillion in tax cuts. The math itself is revealing. there is a big gap betweewhat at best could be cut and the hit to the treasury would exceed even if t all works as the Trump regime plans.. The 1.6 trillion is to be taken from the hide of social and human and  that benefit lower income brackets, like social security and  Medicaid, under the cover of only cutting waste, fraud and abuse. 

The attorney general of Arizona has launched an information-gathering activity to record consumer complaints about Social Security. The DOGE cuts of staff providing customer service is so severe, the state AG of a state full of retirees is taking action. In a form developed by the AG is the word "unconstitutional".  What could that be?  What could be the basis of a suit? I wonder if a clause in the Constitution could be the one to which the Constitution is involved.  https://www.azag.gov/socialsecurity

Likewise, the AG in Michigan is beginning to gather information and evidence that could lead to a lawsuit by AGs to save Social Security's consumer access and service. Attorney General: AG Nessel Launches Form for Reporting Social Security Disruptions

State budgets will be hard-pressed to make up for other chainsaw cuts to Medicaid. In Colorado, the proposed budget is already showing a deficit, much less make up for the harm the federal Medicaid cuts would do to its citizens. The medicaid cuts could cost 458,000 Coloradans health care coverage, per a recent study as cited in the publication Colorado Politics. State budgets are already stretched so that it would be very difficult to make up the loss due to chainsaw cuts.

 https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/medicaid-cuts-could-cost-458-000-coloradans-health-coverage-study-claims/article_2803985b-b1f5-5f94-830a-870ba55d0e82.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=COPO%20Afternoon%20USE%20414&utm_content=COPO%20Afternoon%20USE%20414+CID_175994c87ac75c991557de56f4eb8a87&utm_source=campaign_monitor_email&utm_term=Medicaid%20cuts%20could%20cost%20458000%20Coloradans%20health%20coverage%20study%20claims

Musk's attack on the "administrative state" is the opposite of trying to  faithfully execute laws Congress passed, especially given the failure of Musk to document any significant evidence of "waste, fraud, and abuse". Instead, wholesale indiscriminate cuts appear to kneecap social services ability to deliver services  in order to reduce any federal government spending to make the tax cuts to the rich to appear less onerous on the national debt.   

The U.S. Constitution, specifically in Article II, Section 3, requires the President to "take care that the Laws be faithfully executed." This means the President, and the executive branch as a whole, must ensure laws passed by Congress are implemented and enforced.  Per Google AI.

So much has already written about this so  here are a few pertinent sources.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61172

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/tax-cuts-are-primarily-responsible-for-the-increasing-debt-ratio/

https://ncrc.org/cbs-news-50-years-of-tax-cuts-for-the-rich-failed-to-trickle-down-economic-study-says/#:~:text=See%20More-,CBS%20News:%2050%20Years%20Of%20Tax%20Cuts%20For%20The%20Rich,Trickle%20Down%2C%20Economic%20Study%20Says&text=But%20the%20analysis%20discovered%20one,economic%20growth%20and%20low%20unemployment.%E2%80%9D

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/07/us/politics/trump-economic-plans-debt-costs.html

How energy independence is key to Europe's surviving Russian land grabs

A very important shift in German policy toward natural gas. Update: 5/25/2025

Germany Recalibrates Climate Policy, Backs Gas Power Shift 

We should be keeping sacred in the Ukraine cease-fire negotiations that Russia never gets a larger foothold in Europe.  Energy independence is key to Europe's surviving Russian land grabs. At the beginning of the Ukraine conflict in 2014, when Russia forcefully annexed Crimea and Russia's paramilitary green-clad troops invaded the Ukraine Donbass region, Europe dragged its feet in coming to the aid of Ukraine's sovereignty because it relied on Russian pipelines of oil and natural gas to fuel its economies. It was cheap and readily available through prior years of pipeline building.  Then came the Ukraine/Russian conflict in 2014, seven years before the actual Russian full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. In the meantime, Western Europe struggled to wean itself off Russian oil and gas, with significant results, but it still depends on 18% of natural gas from Russia.  Europe knows well that he who supplies the energy and fuels calls the tune to which they must dance. 

I wrote this opinion piece that was published in the Sky Hi News soon after Russia annexed Crimea, which is as true today as it was in 2014, though times have changed, and Russian aggression to annex Ukraine has become a hot war.  The theory and the fears remain the same.

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Ukraine crisis puts energy independence on the front burner

The Ukraine crisis points to the importance of energy independence.  Much of the world’s strife can be attributed to the distribution of natural resources.  The givers control; the receivers are at their mercy, chained to them by supply line tethers.

 Oil has always driven much if not all  of US military and foreign policy. US’s entanglement in the middle east; its devastating invasion of Iraq; the first Gulf War  are just a few examples.  We are already approaching energy independence in this country with our ability to tap onto our vast natural gas reserves and our increase in oil production.  The Ukraine crisis points to the need for Europe to get itself independent of imports from Russia.

Columnist Thomas Friedman, writing in  the New York Times March 4, opined  Russian  Pres. Vadimir Putin  “ prefers to turn Russia into a mafia-run petro-state…all the better to steal from” and contends we should hit him where he hurts, forcing down energy prices with our own exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ,  crashing the Russian economy which is pumped up  now on oil revenues..Undermining Putin’s petro revenues is better than going to war.

 The threat of Russia shutting off their energy supply is a powerful reason for allies like Germany  that gets 30% of its gas from Russia and other  European friends in a similar pickle  to resist joining us fully  in modifying Russia’s behavior. . Russia controls their shutoff valves .

Russian pipelines supply petro resources from one end of Western Europe to the Balkans (including as far south as Croatia). Their pipelines  crisscross the Ukraine, making control of it strategic to both Russia and Western Europe.

A couple of years ago I was traveling through Romania, a former Soviet satellite, and now a member of NATO and the EU.  Rusting  oil storage tanks and refineries dotted the landscape to remind us of its former importance as an oil producer.  However, we saw  a huge pipeline propped up above ground. I asked our guide where the oil was coming from now.  He said Russia. Why, I asked? Is the oil field dried up? No, he said, it is cheaper to get it from Russia than to drill it ourselves. Romania and the rest of Europe are addicted to Russian energy ..

Supplying western Europe with another source of natural gas from the US  is not a short term solution and it is controversial. Friedman contends just  to threaten and begin that process would have an  effect on Putin’s calculations immediately.

 To make good on the threat, we  need to change our laws that now  limit the amount of natural gas exports.  Terminals and certain processes  need to be built to handle LNG exports. Government approval needs to be streamlined .  Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO)) and Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO)support reforming the process; other senators oppose(.http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-07)

 Some fear our energy costs would rise.. . Exporting oil  and natural gas means more fracking and the Keystone pipeline completion. Both are  fought by environmentalists. Friedman suggests  imposing  carbon taxes and raising our own gas tax  would  force world petro prices down.  My thought:  This trade off could  encourage alternative energy development   in the longer run. If anything, the Ukraine crisis will serve to put this public policy debate on the front burner.

A version of this blog ran as a column in the Sky Hi Daily News...www.skyhidailynews.com...March 28, 2014

From Google AI 3/30/2025

• The EU's dependence on Russian gas has decreased substantially since the war in Ukraine, with imports dropping from 45% of EU gas imports in 2021 to 18% in 2024. 
• Remaining Reliance:

  Despite the decrease, Russia still supplies 18% of the EU's natural gas imports. 
• Key Markets:

  Key markets for Russian LNG remain France, Belgium, and Spain, accounting for 85% of Russian LNG imports, with smaller amounts flowing into the Netherlands and Greece. 
• Pipeline Gas:

  In February 2025, the EU received 56 mcm/day of Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline, a 11% monthly increase. 
• EU Imports:

  The EU's imports from Russia consisted of pipeline gas (EUR 9.6 bn), LNG (EUR 7 bn) and crude oil via pipeline (EUR 4 bn). 

• EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in third year of invasion surpass ...

  Feb 24, 2025 — CREA's analysis finds that tighter sanctions can slash Kremlin revenues by more than EUR 50 billion annually (20%). Si...

  

  Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air
• Europe Somehow Still Depends on Russia's Energy

  Jan 3, 2025 — Russian gas imports are Europe's most glaring failure, with Russia still making up 18 percent of all EU natural gas imp...

  

  Foreign Policy

e

Featured snippet from the webOil products: Turkey, the largest buyer, has purchased 25% of Russia's oil product exports, followed by China (11%), and Brazil (11%). LNG: The EU was the largest buyer, purchasing 49% of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China (22%), and Japan (18%).Feb 11, 202

How the Trump administration is clearing the way for corruption, updated to 5/27/2025

 Update: 5/27/25 https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-crypto-corruption-unpunished/    The gist of this story is that Democrats have their hands in the crypto pot, too. 

Updated 4/30/2025) and repeated in The  Trump administration is clearing the way for corruption. Buying influence in Trump's coin gets you a dinner: there is probably nothing more corrupt than this. Trump offers private dinner to the top investors in his meme coin | CNN Politics  Access to the president from foreign and domestic "investors" is sold to the highest bidder and the proceeds go into the president's pocket.  Meme coins are a form of crypto.On April 8, 2025, the Trump administration's controlled Department of Justice closed down its crypto section.  As Trump now raises money for himself, the use of crypto technology like meme coins and cryptocurrency is now freed by him from federal law enforcement scrutiny. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-dept-disbands-cryptocurrency-enforcement-unit-2025-04-08/  The Trump family is also heavily invested in cryptocurrency and their Stablecoin venture which also can convert cryptocurrency into US dollars.  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/29/us/politics/trump-crypto-world-liberty-financial.html

Continuing with the original plus updates through 4/28/2205:

Crypto itself it is a favorite of those who want to disguise their transaction since the buyers and the exchanges that facilitate trades and transactions only record the "address" of the participant and not the name. Transactions can be traced but they take time, effort, and skill for law enforcement to trace to actors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency_and_crime#   Per Google AI, cryptocurrency transactions are generally traceable due to the blockchain's public ledger and the reporting requirements of exchanges. While not directly tied to a person's name, transactions are recorded with public addresses and can be traced through blockchain analysis and by linking these addresses to individuals through exchanges or other data. 

For simplistic descriptions of crypto, Google AI has  the best.  Search google: what is crypto

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/04/trumps-corruption-grist-for-impeachment.html for more on the subject of meme coins and crypto technology and the role in plays in disguising users.

In addition,, the Trump family is heavily involved in their own crypto business. Trump Family Venture Plunges Deeper Into Crypto With New ‘Stablecoin’ - WSJ. Now, Trump has become the fox in the henhouse, in charge of the regulation of his own stablecoin enterprise.  

 Bribery and influence peddling are disguised as campaign contributions or buying Trump's enterprise offerings. Trump Store launched 168 products to profit off presidential transition period - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington   

Conflicts of interest are no longer taboo as Musk has also shown with his $38 billion worth of federal contracts. Trump's tariffs on imported autos will benefit Tesla per Bloomberg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP1a3svt5WERaising eyebrows:

Trump has a close relationship developed over a couple of years with the El Salvador government. They share a similar interest. The Trump family is heavily invested in cryptocurrency and so is El Salvador, though recently they had to abandon using it as their national currency. Both support using cryptocurrency as as a strategic reserve .https://www.americasquarterly.org/.../in-el-salvador...

(4/30/2025) More on the Trump crypto business: https://newrepublic.com/post/194552/donald-trump-shady-crypto-partners-damning-report

The Crypto Election: Crypto, Disinformation, and Presidential Politics | TRM Blog   

/https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-establishes-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-u-s-digital-asset-stockpile/

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/04/trumps-corruption-grist-for-impeachment.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2025/elon-musk-business-government-contracts-funding/

Update 4/12/2025 https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/04/11/congress/tariffs-insider-trading-allegations-democrats-00286880  Insider trading in DC by lawmakers and the President is a nagging form of corruption. It is a crime elsewhere. but not there. Insider trading occurs when someone has information of an upcoming event or executive order that a certain stock or the market in general will have a sudden increase in the future and buys the stock now, knowing that they can sell it at a large profit when the stock does soar. Lawmakers and the White House think they can get away with this crime. The issue rose when Trump publicly said it's a good time to buy shares now, and then four hours later he announced a pause in the tariff wars that caused the market to take off like a rocket. Trump is immune, remember, from being charged with a crime thanks to the Supreme Court. His staff or cabinet members are not immune.

4/1/2025  observation:  A warning to Democrats: If Musk becomes such a political liability or his Tesla losses are severe enough, either Trump or Musk himself will remove himself from the political stage. At that point, the "oligarch problem" becomes less of a negative for Trump.   The anti-oligarch attack could be a short term strategy.  However, the entire Trump regime and Trump himself are still fair game.  As complicated as it is, Trump family grift will still be a vulnerable political liability.  For that reason, the Democrats should not put all of their Musk eggs in one basket and still keep Trump himself an an object of disaffection due to widespread nature of his own grift.

Continuing with the original post. Stablecoin (a cryptocurrency) is supposed to be backed one-for-one with real dollar assets, which can be converted and exchanged for real money.  Crypto is virtually unregulated. Stablecoins provide very effective ways to launder money and to use it for influence peddling anonymously.   Stablecoins can be converted to hard cash mostly through unregulated exchanges.  It is suspected that money laundering has been handled by such exchanges.  These exchanges had been under scrutiny by US law enforcement. Under Trump, the investigations have been limited or suspended.  SEC ends investigations into crypto firms under Trump administration   Trump’s Crypto Venture Introduces a Stablecoin - The New York Times

 Eyebrows raised:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/trump-kleptocracy-autocracy-inc/682281/

 https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/business/crypto-mogul-trump-coins-civil-fraud-charges/index.html

It’s a Powerful Force in American Politics. Your 401(k) Depends On It. It’s Complete Nonsense.   

  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: When it comes to corruption, Trump is now the fox in the henhouse

Oligarchs like Musk are already enriching themselves by protecting their government contracts or influencing public policy in ways that empower themselves more.  Conflict of interest is no longer a dirty word, nor is bribery a dirty word, as Musk tried to do by offering money rewards to loyal voters in Wisconsin. .Wisconsin AG seeks to block Elon Musk's million-dollar giveaways ahead of state Supreme Court race .Whistleblowers have lost their protection from retaliatory firing. Inspectors general have all been fired.

  MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The only whistleblowers left is the free press...guard it well updated   

Trump and Musk have huge conflicts of interest. Who’s policing them? | Vox

Trump's attempt to eliminate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau blocked by court. Federal judge blocks Trump from dismantling Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | AP News

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: When it comes to corruption, Trump is now the fox in the henhouse