The level of insanity emanating from the White House seems to have no limit. His deeply disgusting statement about the murder of talented actor and film director Rob Reiner is an indictment of the true darkness of Trump’s soulless character. He has become an archetype of monsters throughout history, who were intoxicated by the perception of their own inflated status, a condition not lost on Shakespeare, who, 250 years before the declaration of independence, wrote King Lear, in which the following line appears when Kent addresses the king (1.1.164-167):
“Think’st thou that duty shall have dread to speak when power to flattery bows? To plainness honor’s bound when majesty falls to folly.”
In Elizabethan times, flattery was an instrument of diplomacy that could see you embraced or banished by the monarch, depending on their mood in that moment. Sound familiar? Nothing has changed in Trump’s world since the great playwright articulated an age-old truth. Of course, Trump would describe him as a ‘nasty person’ who was ‘a sick Democrat’
My thanks to the Folger Sharespear Library for highlighting the quote. The Director Emerita of the library, Gail Kern Paster, perceptively notes:
“As with modern heads of state, the danger comes when their subjects fear to speak truth to power, when they are surrounded by flatterers. The Elizabethans were very much aware of this danger in their great men, and the dangers of flatterers are a common theme.”
What’s really ironic is that, in 1776, the Declaration of Independence declared the then 13 American colonies “free and independent States” from ‘Mad King George’. The king suffered from confusion, hallucinations, disorientation, intense speech, and physical complaints, often amidst political turmoil. Fast forward to 2025, and perhaps the documented treatment given to Mad King George might also be appropriate for Mad King Don? The wearing of a straitjacket, bloodletting, and blistering (vesication)? The latter was a standard medical treatment at the time, which used irritants like mustard or Spanish flies (cantharides) to create blisters on the skin, aiming to draw “bad humors” or toxins away from the body to relieve pain or internal illness.
Sir Henry Halford, Physician-in-Ordinary to the King, may also be helpful regarding the medical observations he recorded in the late 1700s. These included the king’s delusions, swearing, need for restraint, lack of personal hygiene, and removing his clothes. Of course, this was long before Epstein Island.
Joking aside, the level of cognitive disconnection grows larger by the day as the hallucinations grow. In a speech about Christmas yesterday, Trump spoke of the fact that in Peru, 28,000 people die each year from snake bites, qualifying his words with ‘that’s not an exaggeration’. The actual number of people who died from snake bites in Peru from 2000 to 2015 is TEN, not to worry though, the guy with his finger on the Diet Coke nuclear button is only 27.990 out.
We can chuckle all day, but the terrifying truth is, affordability IS an issue. 1.1 million job losses IS an issue. Health insurance premiums doubling IS an issue. The US is NOT the hottest country in the world, and Trump has already added a further $2 trillion to the national debt in a matter of months. He’s burying the truth beneath a tsunami of lies and misdirection. The fact of the matter is that the administration dare not reveal the stats needed by investors to make informed investment decisions. The Financial Times notes that Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG US, stated
“We’re still in the clouds, and the data we’re going to get is better than not having data. But it’s not going to be definitive because it is reflecting an economy in flux, and it’s also still incomplete.”
There will be no meaningful data to support critical investment decisions until the January numbers are available. There’s no doubt in my mind that if the numbers had all been good in October, Trump would have broken his neck to release them. What you have right now is a Fed Chair in the departure lounge of his tenure, looking like a man operating under duress. Trump has begun to prepare to take control of interest rates the moment Powell steps down.
It’s clear that by then, the economy will have deteriorated further, and Trump will blame Powell, insisting that interest rates be dramatically reduced to address Powell’s failure. Once that happens, get ready to see just how catastrophic inflation can be. The sole objective for Trump is to refinance US debt at the lowest possible rate, and he’s prepared to manufacture that situation to perpetuate the economic fantasy he’s attempting to sell to the American people.
It really is time for media of all stripes to stop focusing on ‘fluff’. If some of the nonsense that’s being reported on qualifies as ‘breaking news, ’ what on earth are we doing here? On slow news days, people need to start digging deeper into what really matters. I could not give a fig about establishing that Trump has insulted someone or manufactured some other shiny object for everyone to chase. People need to know about the stuff this regime has buried under the surface of all the nonsense they are distracting us with.
Brad Reed from the Asia Times reported on December 9th:
For the second time this year, a little-known company backed by Donald Trump Jr. has scored a major contract with the US Department of Defence.
The Financial Times reported that Vulcan Elements—a tiny startup of 30 employees that specialises in producing rare-earth magnets used in drones, radars and other pieces of military equipment – scored a $620 million loan from the Pentagon as part of “a $1.4 billion deal to increase the supply of magnets for industries alongside partner ReElement Technologies.”
This is just a small part of the funding pipeline that transfers YOUR taxpayer dollars into the Trump family business network of accounts. There appears to be an outflow of public money to what seems to be a carefully designed network aimed at draining funds from all corners of government. For those wondering what the Venezuela conflict is really all about, stop looking at what’s on the surface. It certainly has nothing to do with drugs; Trump is the guy who is happy to pardon drug kingpins. It’s also not really about the oil, either. The sour, heavy crude Venezuela produces is not the easiest to refine, and the oil extraction infrastructure has fallen into disrepair since the last US sanctions took effect.
This, my friends, is about rare earth minerals, which have become an obsession for Trump. Venezuela has long suffered from guerrilla factions' rudimentary mining of rare earths, then transporting them to buyers across the Orinoco River into Colombia. The Chinese are listed among those buyers. If you’d like to read more about why both Venezuela and Colombia are of interest to Trump, read this piece in the Guardian by Bram Ebus from 7th November 2025.
Those involved in the trafficking of rare earth minerals are just the types of shady characters Don Jr will be more than happy to do business with, although, if I were him, I’d up my security once the US attempts to dive in and seize them. I can’t see any way to do this without military pressure, which is what is being applied right now.
Trump is focused on Venezuela and Colombia because I believe he’s setting up mechanisms for self-enrichment through the deals he intends to make off the books through Don Jr. The Times report continues:
Vulcan has received funding from 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm founded by pro-Trump donors in 2023 that brought Trump Jr. in as a partner last year. According to the FT’s analysis, “at least four of 1789’s portfolio companies have won contracts from the Trump administration this year, amounting to more than $735 million.”
I highly recommend this Asia Times report because it offers a small glimpse into what’s going on behind the scenes. It reasserts my belief that Trump has no interest in the broader consequences of his actions during office; that’s why he secured absolute immunity from the Supreme Court. This is about stealing as much money as he can before he leaves or is forced to leave office. The reason he’s worried about the International Criminal Court is that he’s not secured immunity from war crimes, which he sees as a potential pinch point in his plans.
As for the Republican Party and any other mugs that have helped him drain the public purse, they’re on their own, and they'd better all retain lawyers in my view. He was never a Republican; he was and remains just a common criminal thief and conman who will inherit a 747 flying palace paid for once again by taxpayers. He will have accumulated so much money when he leaves office that he can use the judicial system to delay or deflect any prosecution.
In the meantime, ‘breaking news’ is focusing on him insulting women or those opposing his egregious acts. Sometimes I despair, I really do. This may not be the most-read Substack, but rest assured, it’s one of the few that focuses more on truth than on profit. I’d be happy to just break even each month, but there’s not much chance of that, telling people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear.
very informative and I am very glad to find out the truth about Venezuela.
I think of Trump as more of a plague that keeps on infecting than as a gift of any kind. Potaytoh, potahto I guess.