If I didn't have this blog, I'd probably be back on the circuit as a rodeo clown.

German Media TAZ Calls for Violence to Prevent AfD From Winning Elections
August 23, 2026

□ [“Rep Brandon Gill (R-TX) 'Absolutely a Legitimate Case That We Ought to Test These Autopen Pardons'”]

He specifically talking about Fauci as the most obvious example.  That's totally fair and I hope something is done about it but (a) I don't think there's much chance of success and (b) I don't think anything can be done about it.  Fauci's old, he'll be dead long before this is a relevant issue to him.  If we're lucky, the state governments will make him miserable but I just don't see a big chance of winning on that.

To me the issue is more about determining the policies of using the autopen.  I'm pretty sure Trump has used it meaning there's a legitimate question on when or how it should be an option for the POTUS.  It was used during Trump's 4-year vacation but that's a separate issue.  It must be looked into and is what they're talking about here with Fauci but we are talking about the POTUS using it.  I don't recall any mention of it during Obama's term and I'm not sure this would have been an issue earlier.

Having said that, there are already rules on doing this sort of signature, I dealt with that just from being a supply sergeant and seeing rule changes for my commander's signature, or dealing with teams on deployment.  I don't know what the rules are but they have clearly existed for a long time and a lot of thought has been put into this already.  At least as much thought would have gone into the POTUS using the autopen as the military so it's just a valid question of how unnamed White House staff got these signatures for Fauci and everyone else.  Did anybody know about it?

So I think this is a valid question that needs to be looked into.  I don't think the answers will be meaningful to the rest of us in any real sense but at least there should be a definite policy.  There are times when the POTUS can't sign by pen for whatever reason and autopen should be used but those occasions should be minimized and defined.  No idea how long it'll take to do that.  And yes, go after Fauci and the rest but don't expect any wins on that.

Sorry Dems, Puerto Ricans Don't Want to Become the 51st State
August 23, 2026

□ [“Hillary Clinton Reportedly Planning Bill’s Funeral as 80-Year-Old’s Health Concerns Mount"]

It's odd that this is coming out now.  Bill has been in bad health for a while but it's the sort of thing you'd expect them to stay silent about until it finally happens.  I guess there was a bit noise about Jimmy Carter before he died and he'd been mostly forgotten by then.  Bill is not in that category.  I expect he'll want a big funeral and probably wants a bunch of celebrities to visit before he dies, like Ozzy Osbourne did.

There's speculating that he's having his will redone and the beneficiaries will be a surprise.  With that much money, I'd think the laws would change often enough that the will has to change regularly anyway.  With DOGE and the Big Beautiful Bill cutting off a lot of options, there are probably reason to change who gets the money.  Taxes and regulations still apply to the Clinton Foundation (maybe) so they need to account for that.

Bill has been the center of a lot of conspiracies for the last thirty years so these must be getting close to an ending.  It seems unlikely that he built anything that will really survive beyond him.  The Clinton Foundation will probably exist at least long enough to support Hillary but Chelsea might need to sell it for scrap to maintain her lifestyle.  Beyond that, what has the family really brought to the world?

And just a note because I'm still surprised by this.  Many years ago I was shocked to learn that Jimmy Carter and George Bush Sr. had been born at close to the same time, October 1 and June 12, 1924 respectively.  It just never made sense that two POTUS would be so close in age.  But then I learned that Bush Jr. and Bill Clinton were born even closer in date, July 6 and August 19, 1946, then I learned Trump was born June 14.  Three two-term POTUS born within 66 days?

Detroit Public Schools Now Offering Students Cash Prizes Just for Showing Up
August 23, 2026

□ [“Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) on the Takeover of the Democrat Party, 'This is Not Organic'”]

She is specifically aiming at China and cites Neville Roy Singham, a leftist billioniare who is clearly used as a tool to fund the left.  Just a brief look at his wikipedia page indicates that he's always pushed for globalism and has clearly always been used by China.  He became rich with a computer company in the late-80s-90s which seems to have made a lot of leftists rich.  He's fine as a target but if he weren't doing this, someone else would be.

He's been fine with a lot of leftist dictators and is rich enough that he was probably friends with them.  The way his wealth can be used probably helps demonstrate the use of NGOs and similar groups to funnel money around the world.  He's very opposed to the US support for Ukraine which does surprise me.  If he's a fan of China, he'd probably support Russia too but this does raise questions about how Ukraine launders money.  That was the only big thing that stuck out for me, otherwise he's totally leftists and has the wealth to back it up.

The Trump administration has been negotiating with China for a year+ now.  Not sure what they're talking about, probably a lot of things, but this might explain some of the decisions they've been making.  It does seem to be generally accepted now that China is the main enemy in this war, at least the 'big boss.'  It is strange how much of this is actually being handle at the bargaining table.

Gavin Newsom Signs “Stop Nick Shirley Act” – Journalists to be Finded and Jailed for Uncovering Democrat Fraud
August 23, 2026

□ [“Putin Says Kiev ‘Opened Pandora’s Box’ by Striking Russian ‌Economic Targets – Moscow To Hit Back At Ukraine’s ‘Most Sensitive Economic Sectors’"]

This war has really lost the script.  First of all, Ukraine has been hitting Russia with a lot of drones and presumably rockets or missiles.  Where did these all come from?  Who is supplying this?  It's not clear how much of this has been successful but even if it was, this is Russia.  You successfully hit a thousand places, they've still got fifty thousand more that are far out of range.

But this leads me to the second point, if these are such important targets in Kiev, why has Russia waited so long to strike?  You saying you could have hit them three years ago and the war would be over?  If not then they aren't that crucial to Ukraine.  Yes, there are stories about their grocery stores being empty.  That's bad and it would be nice if they surrender but Iran's in the same position and look how that's working out.

Ukraine is suffering other internsal struggles.  Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff is being busted for corruption.  The former Defense Minister is trying to get elections restarted so he can run against Zelensky who obviously has no incentive to allow that.  Obviously we don't know the facts on the ground but this does look like both sides are fine with the war being a regular thing, the new permanent.  If China really is behind all this, it makes me wonder if Trump negotiating with them has put both Ukraine and Russia without a clue what they're doing.  Even more than usual I mean.

U.S. Postal Service Tightens Mail-In Voting Rules, Moves to Verify Voter Eligibility
August 23, 2026