Donald Trump is incessantly irate at Democrats and liberal media for probing his ties and flattering deference to Vladimir Putin, calling it a “Russia, Russia, Russia” obsession and a hoax. In office a little over a month, let’s see what transpired:

  Vice President JD Vance went to the Munich Security Conference to tell European governments that their greatest threat was not Russia but “from within” – their migrant problem and curtailment of free speech that shuts out extremist rightwing parties such as AfD.

  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Brussels meeting of almost 50 of
Rob Dobi, Washington Post.

Ukraine’s Western backers that a return to Ukraine’s pre-war borders was “unrealistic,” that NATO membership for Kyiv was off the table, and that…

"We're also here today to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”

It was a thunderclap, a reversal of 80 years of American policy in a single stroke.

  Hegseth further announced the halt of offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, notwithstanding Russia’s continuing cyber activity against the U.S.

  Trump called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator” and said it was Ukraine that started the war.

  The U.S. delegation to the United Nations followed up by voting against a resolution condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine. America thus took Russia’s side and joined North Korea, Belarus, Israel (yes, Israel), fourteen other countries in Russia’s orbit, and of course Russia.

  In an Oval Office meeting that played like the ambush it surely was, Trump and Vance attacked Zelenskyy, accusing him of not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support.

  For Zelenskyy’s not being respectful enough, Trump “paused” any further shipments of weapons to Ukraine, creating an opening for Russia to gain more ground.

  In a deadly betrayal, Trump then denied the intel we've always provided to help Ukraine down incoming Russian missiles, resulting in Putin going all out to kill the civilian population.

So it’s finally out in the open. In actions he has directed, Trump has confirmed that it really was and continues to be Russia, Russia, Russia. On his own, without any referendum or “mandate”… Read More »

Wall Street breathed a "collective sigh of relief", said Politico when President-elect Trump chose a traditional financial sort, Scott Bessent, to be the next Secretary of the Treasury. He is a "legendary stock trader who understands financial markets", said the Wall Street Journal. And surprise! The investor and hedge fund manager was once the chief investor for George Soros's fund.

But nothing rubbed off the left-wing philanthropist billionaire onto Bessent, as we just learned
They largely won. States have steadily raised the minimum
wage, but far from all of them.

from his appearance at the Senate confirmation hearings. Senator Bernie Sanders asked Bessent if he would join legislators "who want to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage to take millions of Americans out of poverty". Back came the standard, reflexive conservative evasion in this exchange:

Bessent: Senator, I believe that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue.

Sanders: You don’t think we should change the federal minimum wage of seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour?

Bessent: No sir.

The last time the minimum wage was changed — to $7.25 an hour — was 2009. The sixteen years since are the longest stretch without increase since the minimum wage was made law in 1938. And, of course, inflation has eaten away at even that low wage. For what $7.25 got you in 2009 you would need $10.60 today. Put another way, 2009's $7.25 has the buying power of only $4.96 today. And this way: A person working an eight-hour shift with no time off over 52 weeks would make only $15,080 for the year — the poverty level Sanders and cohort… Read More »