#maladministration

[eaglesnick]

“A generous basic state pension is the least a civilized society should offer those who have worked hard and saved through their whole lives."  George Osborne

It was Tory Chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke in 1993 who first announced plans to raise the pension age of women from 60 to 65 years of age.  The Tories 1995 Pension Act enshrined this in law but the changes were to be phased in between 2010 and 2020. So far so good – lots of warning, giving women plenty of time to financially prepared for the fact the OAP would not be available until they were 65.

Enter David Cameron, George Osborne, Nick Clegg and the Coalition Government of Austerity. In 2011 they decided to accelerate the changes and bring forward the state pension age for women to 65  by November 2018 and then to 66 by 2020.

Displaying typical Tory disregard for the detrimental financial effects this might have on ordinary working women, and displaying a total lack of common decency, some women claimed “they only received 12 months notice of the six-year delay to their pensions." (Guardian: 21/03/24), giving them no time to prepare for their unexpected loss of pension.

What is more The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found the Department of Work and Pensions “guilty of misadministration in its handling of the changes.”

Meanwhile Jeremy Hunt, in his latest budget has given millions away to the wealthy in pension tax breaks.

“Financial firms have said the changes to pension allowances could let high earners who can afford it build up pension pots worth as much as £9m while enjoying the full tax benefits.”  (Guardian: 16/03/24)

We deserve better.

[tomorrowusa]

Are we more secure than we were three months ago? FUCK NO!

Despite having access to all sorts of state of the art encryption devices, Trump and his senior officials are using a chat app to plan military attacks.

The Trump administration has been accused of a stunning breach of security after the editor of The Atlantic was included in a group chat with top officials and cabinet secretaries outlining plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen. Two days before American warplanes struck targets associated with Iran-backed militants who’d been attacking cargo ships and bottlenecking international trade in key sea lanes, White House National Security adviser Mike Waltz appears to have started a group chat to talk about plans for the airstrikes with key officials. The former Green Beret turned Florida congressman, who resigned in January to serve as President Donald Trump’s top national security aide, used Signal, a common encrypted messaging app, for a group chat with colleagues on the National Security Council’s “Principals Committee.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe all appeared to be part of the group chat. Others seemingly included were Trump’s Middle East and Ukraine negotiator, Steve Witkoff, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller. And somehow, Waltz appears to have added one more person: Jeffrey Goldberg, the veteran journalist who currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic. In an explosive report, Goldberg reveals how he unwittingly got an inside look at how Trump’s team began outlining their plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen earlier this month on the encrypted app rather than any manner of official communications channels available to top government officials. According to Goldberg, he received a connection request on Signal from a user called Michael Waltz on March 11, presumably the very same Mike Waltz who serves as Trump’s national security adviser. The journalist wrote in a lengthy piece for The Atlantic that he didn’t assume it was the actual Waltz who sent him the connection request. Someone could have been “masquerading” as the senior Trump administration official to “entrap” Goldberg, the journalist writes. Accepting the connection request in case it was genuine, Goldberg received an invitation to a group chat on the app two days later, on Thursday, March 13, entitled “Houthi PC small group.”

It's a good thing it was just Jeffrey Goldberg and not somebody who could have jeopardized US service members.

Trump has always had a slipshod attitude towards national security. We remember how he stored nuclear secrets in insecure cardboard boxes in a guest bathroom at Mar-a-Lago.

The bizarre security breach is not the first time Trump administration officials have had trouble with national defense information. Trump himself was famously indicted for allegedly unlawfully retaining national defense information after federal investigators found hundreds of classified documents at his Florida home during the period in which he was out of government as a former president.

Remember how Hillary Clinton was lambasted by Trump for having a private email server? That was like a convicted felon fulminating against somebody for jaywalking.

Hillary responded to this Trump administration breech in military security.

Hillary Clinton Responds To Trump's Admin Using Signal To Discuss War Plans

Perhaps everybody in Greenland should get Signal accounts so they can learn of a Trump invasion well in advance.

[naija247new]

Bauchi Sets May 24 for Shira LGA By-Election Amidst Executive Impeachment

BAUCHI, May 8, 2025 (Naija247news) – The Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) has announced May 24, 2025, as the date for the by-election in Shira Local Government Council. The election is to fill the positions of the chairman and deputy chairman, following the impeachment of the former executives due to allegations of maladministration. Ahmad Makama, Chairman of the commission,…

[black-fist-order]

They aren't intended to... these fuckups are Putin's Puppet Krasnov's hooks for his way into the government. Making America Weak For Russia is their mantra, just look at Tulsi Gabbard getting her head handed to her for lying... not only to the Senate but to the House committees as well. Reposting Kremlin propaganda as DNI and being called out hard for it. She deserved to be in jail as does the rest of the Maladministration...

[lexablackbird]

NEVER FORGET Black Lives Matter Plaza and its message. Never forget all the information, culture, and history this maladministration is trying to destroy.

[reality-detective]

Maricopa County 👇

Going by the rule of law ��

🚨MARICOPA COUNTY ADMITTED TO ILLEGALLY RECOUNTING PRIMARY ELECTION DAY BALLOTS FROM 9 TO 20 VOTE CENTERS...THEY BROKE THE LAW!

Potentially every race was illegally recounted & it's all on video. Easy court case to win. 5 days from Canvass publishing is tomorrow 8/24 so we're asking All candidates & Voters to file Election Contests/lawsuits today.

Help Hold The Candidates Accountable.

They took our money & now it's time to really "Fight for Arizonans"

The Election Fraud & Maladministration by Maricopa MUST END now or they are in complete control of the results for Nov 5!

If the X link doesn't work 👇

https://rumble.com/v5c16vx-309.html

Slow Progress, but it's Still Progress 🤔

[worldofwardcraft]

The Qatari connection.

May 22, 2025

The State of Qatar, a tiny country consisting of a peninsula that sticks out of Arabia into the Persian Gulf, is smaller than Connecticut. But with its vast oil and gas reserves, Qatar is incredibly wealthy. So wealthy that the country boasts a per capita GDP estimated at about $122,000 (compared to the US per capita GDP of $83,000).

But small as it is — and despite being a major sponsor of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas — Qatar enjoys an outsized influence on the current maladministration. This is largely due to the number of Donald Trump's top officials who have ties to Qatar.

For example, Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured above at her Senate confirmation hearing reacting to the suggestion that she tell the truth) worked as a lobbyist for Qatar in 2020 and prior to the World Cup in 2022 while she was employed by Ballard Partners. For these services, Qatar paid Ballard $115,000 a month. And (surprise, surprise) last week, Bondi produced a memo declaring Qatar's gift to Trump of a $400 million 747-8 luxury jet "legally permissible." So much for the Constitution's pesky Emoluments Clause.

As did many of Trump's appointees, FBI director Kash Patel failed to disclose significant personal financial information until after the Senate hearing on his nomination. And among those items was his work as a security consultant for the embassy of Qatar. Nor did Patel register as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act. It's been four months since that hearing, and we still don't know what exactly he did for Qatar or how much he was paid.

Next up: Susan Wiles, White House chief of staff, who was co-chair of Mercury Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that represented the Qatari embassy. And Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, who also pocketed money from Qatar. In 2023, he sold the Qatari sovereign wealth fund his share in a New York hotel for $623 million. And Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, who worked for a venture capital firm founded by a Qatari royal.

The Qatari government currently has about three dozen lobbying and PR firms on its payroll. And in 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported the country had a list of 250 Trump "influencers." Not that it needs them to influence our greed-obsessed president. The Qataris merely had to sign a deal to build a Trump luxury golf resort in their capital city. Then, of course, there's that plane. Maybe someone should tell Trump the Trojan horse was also a gift.

[seymour-butz-stuff]

Trump’s hand-picked Acting Director of FEMA had the temerity of actually defending his agency and its workforce at yesterday’s congressional hearing, so naturally he’s now out of his job.  From CNN: The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been fired one day after he broke with fellow members of the administration when he told lawmakers he does not support dismantling the agency, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed to CNN. Cameron Hamilton, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, was escorted out of FEMA’s headquarters on Thursday, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. “It’s at the discretion of (Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem) to have the personnel she prefers,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN, confirming that DHS official David Richardson will take over for Hamilton effective immediately. McLaughlin declined to explain why Hamilton was removed from the post. … “As the senior advisor to the President on disasters and emergency management, and to the Secretary of Homeland Security, I do not believe it is in the best interest the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” Hamilton told the committee Wednesday. It would certainly seem that no good deed goes unpunished in this maladministration.

[carlsdarling]

How to save a cat Part IV

Carl and Y/N experiencing their first time together. Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: smut, nsfw

You hadn't seen Carl for several days; you missed him and worried about him, but you didn't dare go to his house - your father kept a close eye on you. Then came the day when your mom sent you to the supply store to do some shopping, and you happened to bump into Michonne there. "Y/N," she murmured, "I finally meet you alone. I'm supposed to give you this from Carl." She slipped you a folded sheet of paper. You opened it and read. Carl wrote that he had to stay in bed because of his injury, that he loved you and missed you and hoped you were well.

"Carl is sick?" you asked, horrified.

Michonne nodded, chagrined. "A splenic contusion, Siddiq says. Fortunately, he didn't suffer any serious internal injuries. Rick and I told him so many times not to go out alone, that walker thing almost turned out badly," she scolded.

"I would so love to visit Carl, but my dad..." you said sadly.

"Listen, I'll go see your dad and distract him. There are some.... well, maladministrations in Alexandria that he has to take care of as governor." Michonne winked conspiratorially at you. "I can probably keep him busy for an hour. You go ahead and see Carl. The back door's open." You beamed and took a bag of Carlitos from the shelf to bring to Carl. Michonne also handed you a bar of toffee chocolate. "This is his favorite chocolate. I'm sure Carl will be thrilled to see you."

Hurriedly, not wanting to waste any time, you made your way into the house through the back door. Quietly you went up the stairs and opened the door to Carl's room. Carl was lying in bed asleep, curled up on his right side with his hand tucked under the pillow. Carefully, you sat down on the edge of the bed after placing the gifts on the desk and looked at Carl lovingly. He looked so cute when he sleeps. His mouth was slightly open and his hair was all messed up. He wasn't wearing his bandage, and for the first time you could clearly see his scar, but it didn't shock you. You just thought about how painful it must have been for Carl and how bad he must have felt. Tenderly you brushed the dark hair from his face, then he blinked. When he recognized you, he cracked his eye wide open. "Y/N? Where...where did you come from?" he asked sleepily.

"Through the back door," you replied mischievously. "Michonne is keeping my father busy for a while." Carl became aware that you could see his scar, and he tried to hide it behind his hair. You reached for his hand. "Don't," you said softly. "You don't have to be ashamed in front of me. Or of anyone, for that matter."

"Do you... do you think it's hideous?" asked Carl anxiously. "Do you still like me, now that you know what it looks like?"

"Carl, I love you," you said in a firm voice, leaning over and kissing the scar tissue at the edge of the empty eye socket. "A stupid scar like that doesn't change that. And no, I don't think it's hideous. It's part of you."

Carl relaxed and embraced you. "Is that toffee chocolate there?" he murmured, nibbling on your earlobe.

"Yes. Do you want it?" He nodded happily. You rose to get the chocolate. When you approached the bed again, Carl had thrown back the covers invitingly. He was wearing only a shirt and blue boxers.

"Lie down with me," he asked. You snuggled close to him, you had missed his closeness so much. Together you ate the chocolate, kissing each other over and over.

"How are you feeling?" you asked, concerned.

"Better," Carl said. "I don't have that severe stomach ache anymore. I'll be allowed to get up again in a day or two." Relieved, you hugged him to you. "I got the condoms, by the way," Carl told you, blushing. "They're... regular ones. No nubs or anything. Is that okay for you?" He played sheepishly with the covers.

You had to laugh. "Yes, Carl," you replied, tickling him so that he squirmed to escape your fingers. "That's perfect." Not that you'd had any experience with any condoms. It was hard to get laid during an apocalypse. If your life had continued normally, you wouldn't have been a virgin at 18, you were pretty sure. But nothing like that had happened. You had only met a few guys your age since the fall, and none of them had triggered the feelings Carl now awakened in you. There had been one guy, Jeff, you'd made out with a couple of times, but then you and your family had broken up with the rest of the group, and you hadn't really been in love either. When you looked at Carl, on the other hand, your whole body seemed to be on fire.

That heat between your legs when you thought about him, that desire to have him inside you. The desire to see him naked. You constantly felt wet and aroused, and you longed more and more for sex with Carl.

There was a chocolate smudge on Carl's upper lip, and you kissed it away; this resulted in a very intense kiss that sent hot shivers through your body and heated your blood. The air in the room seemed to also heat up. Carl's hands slipped under your top and he caressed your breasts, pressing himself against you. He had a formidable erection, and he was breathing hard and moaning softly, making you wet completely again. "Want to keep going?" he whispered in your ear, covetously stroking your back as you palmed him through his boxers.

"Want to, but I'm afraid we don't have enough time," you said regretfully, pulling away from him, ignoring the prickling in your nether regions. "My dad won't be stopped forever, and I'm afraid he'll start searching for me soon." You didn't want your first time to be rushed and frantic.

Carl flinched, startled. "Okay, we'd better not take any risks," he decided, "but on Saturday? Should we meet outside after lunch and go to Joyland? We'll be undisturbed there. I'll bring everything we need in my car before then, little by little. Then it won't be so noticeable."

You agreed enthusiastically. The indoor playground was a good place, in your opinion - it was uninteresting for scavengers, and if walkers weren't hanging around there, you would be in privacy. And above all, no one would suspect or look for you there, especially not your father. On Saturday, he would be busy holding the community meeting anyway, and could not control you for once.

                                                 ***

On Saturday, you set out for a secluded spot to climb over the fence. You had heart palpitations thinking about what was about to happen. To your annoyance, you found that it wasn't that easy to climb in fancy clothes. You had made yourself extra pretty for the big event; after all, it was something special. Cursing, you surveyed the stains on your clothes as you stood on the other side of the wall in the woods a little later, then made your way to the road where Carl would pick you up. You didn't like the fact that you were starting to sweat, and soon mosquitoes and wasps were circling around you, probably attracted by your perfume. Between the trees you could see the road, and as a last measure you were arranging your hair when you heard the sound of an motor. You recognized Carl's car and came out from behind the tree.

"Hi, darling," Carl greeted you. He was beaming all over his face and kissed you as you got in. He had also made an effort with his outfit - he was freshly shaved, he smelled of Rick's aftershave, and he was wearing dark blue jeans and a freshly ironed white shirt under one of his usual flannels. You held hands as you drove to the indoor playground; you didn't speak, just kept smiling shyly at each other. You couldn't resist, you reached out your left hand to pet Carl's hip, thigh, and stomach. Carl took a deep breath, then turned his head to look at you, his eye all dark with arousal. "You better not do that," he said in a raspy voice. "I'll get in an accident if you do." He was building a visible tent in his jeans.

A short time later you had reached your destination and first secured the area around the building, but nothing suspicious was heard or seen. Carl opened the trunk to take out a bag, as well as some pillows and blankets. You entered the hall, which lay quietly in the twilight, and Carl headed for the large trampoline. He climbed up first, and you handed him the items. Once you were both up there, you set up a kind of cozy bed with the pillows and blankets, and you had to giggle because the surface was vibrating slightly. But up here you were in relative safety: a narrow ladder had to be climbed to get up there, the sides of the trampoline protected you from view, and it was located in the back of the hall, far from the entrance. Carl unpacked the bag. Besides a box of condoms, he had brought a few other things - wet wipes, drinks, some food, and a battery-powered CD player that looked like it was from the '90s. You were impressed by all the things he had thought of.

Music played quietly as you two got settled on the makeshift bed and began kissing and undressing. You guys were a little awkward. Carl's fair skin shimmered in the grayish daylight streaming in through the dome. One piece of clothing after another was laid aside, and it was kind of strange to see each other completely naked for the first time. You were sitting on the trampoline. Carl had not shaved his pubic hair, but had obviously trimmed it. He cleared his throat. "I see you've shaved," he noted. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I, well, just trimmed a little."

You had to chuckle nervously again. "I don't care about that at all, Carl. Really." You looked at each other indecisively. You were very nervous, and apparently Carl was feeling the same way, because he looked down at himself in embarrassment. His cock was resting softly on his thigh.

"Uum, Y/N," he stammered. "It's not you. I think I'm just a little nervous." He laughed. Your nipples straightened in the cool air of the hall, and you shivered. You didn't quite know what to do - now that it was time, you suddenly felt unsure and a little inhibited and not really horny.

Carl must have been able to read your mind somehow, because he said, "Well, we don't have to do it, we can just lie down and cuddle." He pointed his chin at the bed, and you nodded. You crawled under the covers together and just held each other for now, looking at each other and kissing. Feeling Carl's naked, warm skin against yours was a very intimate experience, and you couldn't stop looking at his handsome face. After a while, Carl began to breathe more rapidly, and you felt his erection grinding against your leg. Carefully, you reached out to rub and stroke his cock, whereupon Carl closed his eye and arched his back, moaning softly. His arousal was infectious; your pussy moistened and opened slightly, like a flower.

Carl slid his hand between your legs and let the tip of his index finger slide around your wet hole, making you whimper softly. "You're really wet," Carl noted in fascination.

You spread your legs and looked at him with half-closed eyes. "Please, Carl, finger me," you moaned. Hesitantly, he inserted two of his long fingers into your slick pussy. It tweaked a little, but mostly it was breathtakingly wonderful. "Oh, Carl," you squirmed on the blankets, sighing.

"Shall we... try it now?" whispered Carl uncertainly, peering over at the condoms.

"Yes," you agreed breathlessly. All you could think about was finally feeling Carl inside you.

He peeled one of the condoms out of the wrapper. "I've never done this before," he said apologetically, fumbling with the condom. His cheeks were flushed.

"Give me that," you demanded, placing the condom on his cock and slowly unrolling it. "I think that's it," you then said, and lay down on your back.

It took a moment for both of you to sort out your limbs, and for Carl to place the tip of his dick at your entrance. His breath brushed hotly over your neck. "Are you ready for me, darling?"

Impatiently, you stroked his shoulders and back. "Yes, Carl, please. Please, do it!" It hurt quite a bit as he slowly entered you, and you tensed and clenched your teeth. Carl noticed and paused. "Are you okay, Y/N?" He eyed you worriedly.

"Yes. It just hurts a little," you blurted out. "Is... is he in yet?" It seemed to be tearing you apart.

"Just the tip," Carl replied. "We can stop anytime." He kissed you.

"No, I want it so badly," you panted.

"We'll go real slow," Carl promised, waiting until you got used to him and your muscle tension eased, then he gradually pushed in deeper. "Fuck, that feels wonderful." He had to summon all his self-control not to cum immediately.

Gradually the pain gave way to a thrilling arousal, and you bucked your hips. Carl began to move gently inside you, and you gasped, so he stopped and looked at you inquiringly. "Does it hurt or is it good?" he asked, frowning.

"It's good, oh Carl, please keep going," you moaned, whereupon he resumed his thrusts and intensified them slightly. His skin was slick with sweat as you found a rhythm together. His cock slid in and out, it was going smoothly now and you felt no more pain, just endless pleasure. Having Carl inside you was wonderful.

He whimpered and moved faster. "You're getting wetter and wetter," he wondered.

"I need you so much, Carl," you whined, "keep going, oh please, don't stop!" You burrowed your hands into his hair.

"Are you going to cum?" he asked.

You couldn't answer because at that very moment the orgasm was taking hold of you. You screamed and reared up under Carl, your muscles contracting around him, and that made him cum too; his poundings became erratic, harder and faster, his moans louder. He rode out his orgasm and then lowered himself onto you, heart beating wildly and completely out of breath. Happily, you stroked him. "I love you, Carl," you whispered.

"I love you more," he teased. "I have to pull out of you," he then said regretfully, withdrawing before his dick went all limp. He removed the condom, wrapped it in a tissue, and put it aside before carefully cleaning his dick and hands with wet wipes, then lying back down with you and wrapping you in his arms. "This may not be romantic, but we need to be very careful," he murmured, and of course he was right about that. You absolutely must not get pregnant.

Your head rested against Carl's shoulder, and you were both completely overwhelmed by the shared experience, while music was still playing softly.

I am ready

I am ready

I am ready

I am fine

I am covered in skin

No one gets to come in

Pull me out from inside

I am folded and unfolded and unfolding

I am colorblind.

If it were up to you, time could have stood still - the moment was just perfect, it deserved to be preserved, and you were so glad to have waited for Carl with your first time. Exhausted, you kissed his shoulder. He had closed his eye and pursed his pretty lips into a smile. And then time really stopped.

                                                  ***

When you awoke, you were briefly disoriented; the concrete ceiling high above you irritated you until you remembered where you were. You turned your head. Carl was asleep next to you, breathing in long, even gasps, and you looked at him raptly. Then you noticed that the light in the hall had changed - it must have been several hours since you had fallen asleep following your activities. Alarmed, you sat up and turned off the music. Carl was still fast asleep, and you grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him gently. "Carl, wake up," you hissed.

He growled unwillingly, then slowly regained consciousness and squinted tiredly. "What is it?" He rubbed his eye. "I want to go back to sleep." He sleepily tried to curl himself up again.

"Carl, we have to go," you urged, "I think it's almost evening."

"Oh, no," Carl said, startled, looking toward the hall door. Daylight was already fading. Carl hastily grabbed his clothes. "Let's leave everything here," he chimed in. "We can come back. So, if you want." Blushing, he lowered his gaze.

"You bet," you said, kissing him on the lips.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dr. Seuss 1941 Political Cartoon

* * * *

DILBERT'S "ABSOLUTE, UTTER DISASTER." UPDATED

TCinLA

Feb 28, 2025

What can be said, other than there truly is no bottom with this traitor?

This whole moment was a set up by Dilbert to give him reason to stab Ukraine in the back.

It took about 5 minutes of that shitshow to see the whole meeting with Zelenskyy with Russian state media present in the Oval Office was done with the intention of humiliating Zelenskyy. However, given that Dilbert and Corporal Couchfucker don’t have a single digit positive number IQ between the two of them combined, the opposite outcome occurred when they made their pathetic attempt at bullying Zelenskyy, who walked out of the Oval Office with more support by Americans than the two clodhoppers will ever have. Even Trumpers were embarrassed by this shitshow.

Zelenskyy’s attempt to explain to the Dildo Brothers that diplomacy with Putin won’t work because the Russian leader doesn’t keep his word was heard by the country: “ In 2019, I signed with him the deal. I signed with him, Macron, and Merkel. We signed ceasefire. Ceasefire. All of them told me that he will never go. We signed him gas contract. Gas contract. Yes. But after that, he broken the ceasefire. He killed our people, and he didn't exchange prisoners. We signed the exchange of prisoners, but he didn't do it.What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about What? What you, what you, what do you mean?”

Corporal Couchfucker, who has done nothing since Enshittification Day but show his worthless vacuity, could respond with nothing but pathetic rhetoric and left him covered in his own shit. “But if you know Mr. President, Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. Right now you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict.” Every word that came out of his mouth was a pathetic lie. For a white trash shitbird like Vance to lecture anyone about “disrespectful behavior” demonstrates that Irony isn’t dead - she jumped in a rocket and left the planet.

In response, Zelenskyy asked Vance if he had been to Ukraine. Vance said no, but he has “seen reports.” When Zelenskyy said that someday in the future the United States will know what Ukraine is experiencing, Dilbert exploded in a tantrum of denial and delusion: “ Don't tell us what we're gonna feel! We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're gonna feel. Because you're in no position to dictate that. Remember this. You're in no position to dictate what we're gonna feel. We're gonna feel very good. We're gonna feel very good and very strong. You're right now not in a very good position. You've allowed yourself to be in a very bad position, and he happens to be right about it. You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cars. Right now, you don't have, you're playing cards. You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.”

With that, Dilbert demonstrated his complete loss of self-control as he descended into a parody of himself throughout that monologue.

All I could think of listening to the senile old traitor was what John Kelly said: “I never met a more determined ignoramus in my life.”

I wanted to throw up in his face, listening to the stooge Corporal Couchfuck telling Zelenskky to tell Dilbert thank you and be grateful to Dilbert, while the old shitbird demonstrated his complete loss of cognitive control when he started ranting about Joe Biden and repeating Putin’s talking points.

Today was Day 37 of Maladministration II, and Dilbert has managed in that time to make his top priorities clear: the destruction of the American government and our international influence, to preserve that of Russia. Any doubt that “Krasnov” is indeed a Russian long-term asset was destroyed this morning.

Dilbert’s unleashing of Elmo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Dimwits on the federal government, his menacing of Canada and our European allies, his public embrace of Putin’s wish list for Ukraine and Europe, are all strategic elements of a plan to destroy this country as the democracy it has been for 240 years. As my historian friend pointed out last week, “All the goodwill created since 1918, pissed away in less than a month.”

Dilbert demonstrated his ignorance and stupidity by holding this Oval Office meeting in front of the cameras. He and Corporal Couchfuck ripped off their masks in front of every American who watched, and all those who will see the highlights of the sad performatoive mendacity on the news shows for the rest of the day, followed up over the weekend in the interview shows where they’ll send their stooges to try and repair the unrepairable. This is the kind of fuckup that it is impossible to unfuck. The two scumballs revealed to Americans and to our allies their complete obeisance to the Russian dictator. The truth is ugly, but they’ve forced all of us, and the rest of the world, to face it.

This staged event gave the lie to any claim that Maladministration II’s policy is driven by any strategic effort to advance the interests of the United States. There was no effort here to make a case for American interests, because these two ignoramuses have no clue what those interests are. Dilbert’s Stooge complained Zelensky had traveled to Pennsylvania to thank U.S. ammunition workers where the appearance amounted to campaigning for the Democratic presidential ticket. Dilbert continued to lose whatever marbles he once had as he ranted, “Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me. He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia.”

America saw today what New York City saw long ago when the decision was made that the glass door Dilbert had his nose pressed against would never be opened to such a low scum as he is, that he would never be allowed into civilized society.

The two traitors showed our allies something they needed to know: The international security system of the West is led by two traitors who sympathize deeply with the most aggressive dictator on the planet.

We now know what it looks like to see the alleged Leader of the Free World blurt out on national television his hatred of our allies, his rejection of the treaties that have defined international life in the West for the past 75 years, his choice to make a dedicated foreign adversary a personal friend.

After this morning, it’s easy to imagine the president of Estonia or Moldova or Lithuania or the president of Taiwan being in Zelenskyy’s place, berated by a pair of treasonous morons. It’s not hard to see the leaders of Germany and Japan confronted by the faithless men who hold our highest offices, to say nothing of the leaders of our traditional Allies.

Americans were forced this morning to bear witness to the self-sabotage of the United States. It is now clear that “America First” was always about creating America Alone, the result being a predatory America that voted with the world’s enemies at the United Nations against Ukraine, siding with the Russian and Chinese dictatorships against all our previous democratic allies.

This is what America is being turned into by those who have no understanding whatsoever of the meaning of the word “patriot” they throw around to describe themselves. They are the America that prefers the murderous dictator Putin to the democrat Zelenskyy.

We are now forced to reckon with the mess the two traitors Trump and Vance have made of our once-good name, how they have turned us into one of the Bad Guys.

Dilbert likes and admires bad people because he is a bad person. As demonstrated by the 34 felonies he stands convicted of. Vance is nothing but a more obvious example of the vacuous emptiness of too many Americans of whom we should have been able to expect better. Today he executed his personal demonstration of having completely crossed over to the dark side of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, where he now exists beyond any hope he could revert and redeem himself. However shallow are Trump’s and Vance’s motives, the consequences of what they are doing are profound.

In Maladministration I, Dilbert was a rogue actor who expressed strange and disquieting opinions, but he was constrained in his actions by cabinet secretaries who were mostly normal, responsible people who contained the many abnormal appointees. This time, he has surrounded himself by mental and moral midgets who demonstrated yesterday they can do nothing but sit and gape at the performance of an opportunistic takeover artist as they debase whatever humanity they might have possessed with their performative acceptance of the monster who put them in those cabinet seats. Senator Graham may exclaim today that what he saw take place in the Oval Office was a “disaster,” but tomorrow he and the rest of the spineless scum in the Senate and the ignoramus loonies in the House of Representatives will continue to “drop ‘em and spread ‘em” for the monster they privately admit is indeed a monster.

The pro-treason party exposed itself to the world this morning in the Oval Office. No one who saw the face that was visible when the mask was ripped off is going to forget that grotesquerie.

Putin supported Dilbert’s return in order to get America to abandon Ukraine, to lift the sanctions on Russia that are strangling him, to create divisions within NATO leading to its self-destruction, and to remove Ukraine’s defenses before democratic Europe could organized a defense.

As was demonstrated in Dilbert’s talentless performance, that is exactly what his goals are.

Dilbert has no diplomatic skills or tools. He is nothing more than a playground bully and when he gets a bloody nose from someone who refuses to be afraid of him, when his bullying doesn't work, he erupts in frustration and demonstrates his complete inadequacy.

Instead of looking strong on the world stage, Dilbert revealed his weakness.

Couch Couchfucker revealed he has no political future outside of being stooge to Dilbert’s incompetent moron.

The two of them humiliated themselves and the rest of us. They made the United States of America - the country the three Cleaver brothers and so many others risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor through 250 years to build and protect - to look stupid and brutish and weak simultaneously.

The two traitors harmed America’s global image in a way it will take a very long time to repair.

President Zelenskky walked out of the Oval Office with even more sympathy from the world.

Dilbert showed clearly that he is a failure and an embarrassment. He will never ever measure up.

If anything is to be done to repair this damage, it is up to we Americans to save ourselves from these traitors and scum.

UPDATE:

Washington Post is reporting that after the meeting Trump is considering ending all ongoing shipments of military aid to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That is billions of dollars of radars, vehicles, ammunition and missiles awaiting shipment to Ukraine that was previously approved by Biden. This was the result they were planning to do and the reason why they ambushed President Zelenskyy. Trump has completely sold out to Putin. “Krasnov” is demonstrating he is a reliable traitor.

The EU Foreign Policy Chief issued a statement from Brussels that the bloc will increase aid to Ukraine to make up for any shortcomings from the US commitments, and said that the free world will no longer look to the US as their leader.

We can expect Trump to withdraw from NATO sooner rather than later now.

[beardedmrbean]

The European Commission was wrong to refuse to release text messages sent by Ursula von der Leyen to the head of Pfizer during negotiations to secure Covid-19 vaccines, the EU's top court has ruled.

The General Court said the commission had not given a plausible explanation as to why the exchanges between its president and Pfizer's Albert Bourla could not be made public when an investigative journalist requested them in 2021.

That year, Pfizer signed billions of euros in vaccine contracts with the EU, including a deal for 1.8bn extra doses.

The content of the messages between von der Leyen and Mr Bourla remains secret, in a simmering case that has become known in Brussels as Pfizergate.

Anti-corruption group Transparency International has hailed the European Court's ruling as a "landmark victory for transparency in the EU", adding that it should serve as a catalyst to put an end to a "restrictive attitude to freedom of information".

Von der Leyen became Commission president in 2019, and within a year faced the task of leading the EU's response to the Covid pandemic.

She won a second five-year term late last year. Wednesday's ruling threatens to damage her reputation, because of the apparent lack of transparency surrounding the Pfizer vaccine deal, in which she played such a significant role.

The Commission said it would closely study the ruling and consider its next steps, but it insisted that transparency had "always been of paramount importance".

The controversy erupted in April 2021, when New York Times journalist Matina Stevis revealed how Ursula von der Leyen had negotiated privately with the Pfizer boss after his German partner BioNTech won regulatory approval for its Covid drug.

The article spurred investigative journalist Alexander Fanta, who worked for a German publication, to use a Freedom of Information request to see the exchange of messages between January 2021 and May 2022. But the European Commission turned him down, saying it did not have the documents.

Under the Commission's transparency rules, all staff including the president, have to archive their documents.

However, mobile text messages are a grey area, and the case has largely hinged on whether or not they should be considered as important records.

One EU official argued this week that SMS messages were not "systematically considered public documents" and not recorded as such.

Fanta took the case to the European Ombudsman in 2021, where an inquiry found that the Commission's failure to look for the text messages beyond its usual record-keeping amounted to maladministration.

Stevis and the New York Times followed up, and when the messages were still not released, they took the European Commission to court.

Ruling on Stevis's challenge, the court said on Wednesday that the EU's executive had relied "either on assumptions or on changing or imprecise information", while the journalist and the New York Times had succeeded in rebutting their claims.

The court said that if a presumption was rebutted then it was up to the Commission to prove that documents either did not exist or it did not possess them.

The Commission had not clarified whether or not the text messages had been deleted, the court ruled, and if they had been deleted, whether that was done deliberately or whether von der Leyen had since changed her mobile phone.

[tomorrowusa]

« I know we shouldn’t enjoy the fact that we have a confederacy of dunces running this country. But I’ll be honest, I can’t help it – I’m enjoying it right now.

This week, in the race between dumb and evil, dumb’s in the lead. Dumb has a big lead! »

— Jimmy Kimmel on the use of a chat app by Trump administration national security officials to discuss war plans in Yemen.

Jimmy went on to remind us that one of the participants (Steve Witkoff) in the group chat was physically in Russia at the time.

Of course Russia would never consider eavesdropping on US officials discussing military actions. /sarcasm

This entire matter puts the stupidity and recklessness of the Trump Maladministration on full display. And the GOP Senate deserves a share of the blame; they confirmed the moronic Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense even though they knew he has a drinking problem and is a serial sex abuser.

Please watch the vid, it's Jimmy in top form. For fun, share it with your MAGA in-laws.

[todaysdocument]

"A Chicken in Every Pot" political ad and rebuttal article in New York Times

Collection HH-HOOVH: Herbert Hoover PapersSeries: Herbert Hoover Papers: Clippings File

This is the advertisement that caused Herbert Hoover's opponents to state that he had promised voters a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage during the campaign of 1928. During the campaign of 1932, Democrats sought to embarrass the President by recalling his alleged statement. According to an article in the New York Times (10/30/32), Hoover did not make such a statement. The report was based on this ad placed by a local committee -- which only mentions one car!

A Chicken for Every Pot [handwritten] World[?] 30 October 1928 [/handwritten] The Republican Party isn't a [italics] "Poor Man's Party:" [/italics] Republican prosperity has erased that degrading phrase from our political vocabulary. The Republican Party is [italics] equality's [/italics] party -- [italics] opportunity's [/italics] party -- [italics] democracy's [/italics] party, the party of [italics] national [/italics] development, not [italics] sectional [/italics] interests-- the [italics] impartial [/italics] servant of every State and condition in the Union. Under higher tariff and lower taxation, America has stabilized output, employment and dividend rates. Republican efficiency has filled the workingman's dinner pail -- and his gasoline tank [italics] besides [/italics] -- made telephone, radio and sanitary plumbing [italics] standard [/italics] household equipment. And placed the whole nation in the [italics] silk stocking class. [/italics] During eight years of Republican management, we have built more and better homes, erected more skyscrapers, passed more benefactory laws, and more laws to regulate and purify immigration, inaugurated more conservation measures, more measures to standardize and increase production, expand export markets, and reduce industrial and human junk piles, than in any previous quarter century. Republican prosperity is written on [italics] fuller [/italics] wage envelops, written in factory chimney smoke, written on the walls of new construction, written in savings bank books, written in mercantile balances, and written in the peak value of stocks and bonds. Republican prosperity has [italics] reduced [/italics] hours and [italics] increased [/italics] earning capacity, silenced [italics] discontent, [/italics] put the proverbial "chicken in every pot." And a car in every backyard, to boot. It has[italics] raised [/italics] living standards and [italics] lowered [/italics] living costs. It has restored financial confidence and enthusiasm, changed [italics] credit [/italics] from a [italics] rich [/italics] man's privilege to a [italics] common [/italics] utility, [italics] generalized[/italics] the use of time-saving devices and released women from the thrall of [italics] domestic drudgery. [/italics] It has provided every county in the country with its concrete road and knitted the highways of the nation into a [italics] unified [/italics] traffic system. Thanks to Republican administration, farmer, dairyman and merchant can make deliveries in [italics] less [/italics] time and at [italics] less [/italics] expense, can borrow [italics] cheap [/italics] money to refund exorbitant mortgages, and stock their pastures, ranges and shelves. Democratic management [italics] impoverished [/italics] and [italics] demoralized [/italics] the [italics] railroads,[/italics] led packing plants and tire factories into [italics] receivership, [/italics] squandered billions on [italics] impractical [/italics] programs. Democratic maladministration issued [italics] further [/italics] billions of mere "scraps of paper," then encouraged foreign debtors to believe that their loans would never be called, and bequeathed to the Republican Party the job of [italics] mopping up the mess. [/italics] Republican administration has [italics] restored [/italics] to the railroads solvency, efficiency and par securities. It has brought rubber trades through panic and chaos, brought down the prices of crude rubber by smashing [italics] monopolistic rings,[/italics] put the tanner's books in the [italics] black [/italics] and secured from the European powers formal acknowledgment of their obligations. The Republican Party rests its case on a record of stewardship and performance. [full transcription at link]

[black-fist-order]

Of course he is. He wants to rule, not govern. He has no real interest in politics, economics, world affairs or domestic affairs. In his previous maladministration he had experts that told him what was wrong and some guardrails... now those are gone. Toadies replaced experts. Now he's finding he has to govern if he wants results. He's incapable...

[l8in]

After 5 years of not presenting any social services complaints handling report to cyngor Gwynedd council's care scrutiny committee, the SS departments now drop two in a matter of months...

The children's annual report does not contain an update on the historic complaint mentioned in the 2022/23 report, presented earlier this year. Is this because of the action being taken against the council with regard to Neil Foden? Or does it concern Canolfan Brynffynnon?

A reminder that the council received a report into the pru case just as the former director of SS quit the council.

The 2023/24 complaints report is authored by Marian Parry Hughes – Head of Children and Supporting Families Department and Aled Davies – Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department. It is defensive and gives little detail to the nature of the complaints. An example -

Not one councillor asked about this...

Pre pandemic, there was maladministration in the council's dealings with disabled people and their families - on several occasions. The complaints handling officers came in for much criticism during some investigations...

Past complainants have spoken of being gaslit and smeared by officers when raising a complaint and that senior officers created a false narrative and colluded in cover up when challenged. 

Deny, attack, reverse victim/offender...

The heads of service also mention -

Fact check...? The heads of service know better than anyone that the Ombudsman granted Gwynedd council 'variances' to PSOW recommendations after investigations had ended.

After its dealings with cyngor Gwynedd, the PSOW now requires robust evidence of compliance before signing off and closing cases. So has the PSOW closed the case and which one are the officers referring to? There are several...

Investigations often uncover issues with law, policies and behaviours and the recommendations for improvement are meant to rectify failings. 

Why the PSOW allowed the CEO to water down these improvements is not known...

For what its worth, the report can be found in the agenda pack here - https://democracy.gwynedd.llyw.cymru//documents/g5188/Public%20reports%20pack%2026th-Sep-2024%2010.30%20Care%20Scrutiny%20Committee.pdf?T=10

The webcast of the care scrutiny committee held on Thursday, 26th September, 2024 -  https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/915151

Something is so very wrong within Gwynedd council...