Dear Everybody:
The big news today is that Trump announced an imaginary ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia:
–Trump: “Effective immediately there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed to it. Do not break it!”
–Which is great, except that THERE IS NO CEASEFIRE. Ukraine says this is the first they heard of it, and Russia is continuing its attacks on civilian targets with no signs of letting up.
–Zelenskyy: “The ceasefire announcement was news for me. But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire Ukraine will agree. If President Trump negotiated it with Putin–please tell us when the ceasefire begins–we are ready and we will accept it.”
–Alina Pereverzieva: “Trump is hallucinating again. The ‘energy ceasefire’ is made up–it exists solely in his head. He announced the exact same nonsense on September 14.”
–By Tor: “1) Trump is a notorious liar, especially when he’s under pressure. He has a history of making announcements that turn out to be wishful thinking or outright fabrications. He views lying as a legitimate tactic in dealing with others. 2) Putin is a notorious liar, especially when he’s losing. He also views lying as a legitimate tactic in dealing with others. 3) Even Putin has not confirmed the truth of this announcement. 4) The amounts are a piddly drop in the bucket compared to demand and wouldn’t make a hill of beans of difference even if true. 5) Russia does not have excess diesel fuel to ‘sell’ in view of its war with Ukraine. In fact there are shortages in Russia. 6) The options for getting anything liquid and voluminous like oil out of Russia are extremely limited to impossible. Therefore this announcement is of no consequence. it is just another Trump lie to influence the midterm elections.”
–This comes on top of Trump’s lifting sanctions on Russia and buying oil from them, thus effectively entering the war on the side of Russia. Trump is now not only saying that Ukraine is totally responsible for the war, but that Ukraine needs to elect a new president.
–Trump: “President Zelenskyy could’ve solved the war.” And “Zelenskyy could have stopped this war many times and he chose not to…he better damn well stop.” And “It’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”
–(Note: Before we go any farther, here’s a reminder. Russia invaded Ukraine. Ukraine did not invade Russia. All Ukraine is doing is defending its home. Russia insists on Ukraine’s total surrender, which would mean his completely taking over the country, killing Zelenskyy, slaughtering the Ukrainian people and/or enslaving them and Ukraine not existing anymore.)
–This isn’t the only way Trump is trying to force Ukraine to surrender. Ukraine was told during recent meetings with Washington that the US would cut off the intelligence sharing that has helped them identify and target places inside Russia.
–The oil deal is illegal. The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, passed in 2022, allows the president to lift the oil ban only if Russia has agreed to withdraw from Ukraine and poses no immediate threat to NATO.
–New details are emerging about the oil deal, including the fact that this deal has to have been made some time ago because the Russian ship full of that diesel is only a day away from the US right now. Putin dispatched the ship on September 22, the day Trump invited Putin to the G-20 weeks ago. (Can you say quid pro quo?)
–Russian commentators are responding with glee and calling Trump “our Trumpushka.”
–Tricia Alderson: “In the war between Russia and Ukraine, the first to surrender was the US.”
There has been an immediate outcry both in this country and in others about Trump’s lifting the sanctions on Russia so he can buy oil from him:
–Daily Kos: “Trump Stabs Ukraine in the Back.”
–The former US special envoy to Ukraine and Russia General Keith Kellogg said Ukraine should continue to strike Russian refineries. “This is war. They are acting correctly.”
–Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “It is sickening that USA is now lifting sanctions on Russian fuel, and transparently ridiculous to blame Ukraine for the spike in prices that obviously began with closure of Strait of Hormuz. Putin is murdering innocent Ukrainian civilians. Ukrainians fighting for their lives.”
–Former Vice President Pence called on Trump to rescind the oil deal: “Americans should not be throwing a lifeline to Putin’s war machine. Now is the time to stand strong against Russian aggression as we did during the first Trump administration. Putin doesn’t want peace. Putin wants Ukraine. I have no doubt that if Putin overruns Ukraine, it will only be a matter of time until Russia’s military crosses a border that our troops will have to deal with him.”
–Aaron Rupar: ‘Wow! Listen to these new comments from Trump. Thanking Putin, trashing Zelenskyy, characterizing Russia as eager for peace and Ukraine as intransigent. The mask is totally off.”
–Leah Delaney: “I’m beyond fucking sick and tired of the President of the United states treating Zelenskyy as the aggressor and Putin as the victim.”
–Talmas: “Why would ANYONE be surprised that Trump allied himself with Putin? Trump IS the Russian Plant I always KNEW he was and still is to this very day.”
–Brownie Boy: “It’s always worth remembering that we made security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange for taking down their nuclear weapons. (Security guarantees that Trump has consistently broken.)
–GOP Rep Brian Fitzpatrick will force a bipartisan House vote to block the oil purchases from Russia, using a discharge petition. GOP Rep Don Bacon has said he will sign it.
–Estonia’s Prime Minister Kristen Michel: “It will be worth discussing in Estonia and at the European Council next week whether we can quickly get funds to Ukraine so we can blast Russia’s oil refineries to smithereens.”
–Olga Lautman: “Ukraine needs to blow up every single oil terminal and refinery.”
–Dean Obeidallah: “Russia has attacked the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with five glide bombs, killing at least 15 people including three children. Trump is now helping fund this by lifting sanctions on Russia to sell diesel fuel. Trump is a war criminal.”
–And Phillips O’Brien had an interesting take: “There is a cacophony of noises out there. Russians planning to assassinate European officials, the US president riding to Vladimir Putin’s aid, the Russians increasingly targeting Ukrainian civilians to break their will. The one constant tune? Russia is getting desperate.”
There’s also a ton of pushback to Trump’s and Hegseth’s plan to livestream the execution of a paralyzed man, so much so that Trump is now waffling:
–Trump says he’ll make a decision about whether to livestream the execution. Trump: “There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it. Because you know by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did…I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.” (Note: That means the pressure is having an effect. Keep it up. Call your representatives.)
–Trump also said, in typical Trump fashion, that he was not involved in making the decision, even though only yesterday he was all for it.
–Trump supporter and megachurch evangelical pastor Robert Jeffries favors the public execution.
–Pope Leo XIV: “The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person. The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment. Effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.”
–Retired General Mark Hertling: “This is depravity, and it’s not something we should be doing or leaders in the Army should be allowing.”
–Even God has come out against this, posting on his social media account: “A nation that live streams the execution of a human being is not a Christian nation, nor is it a civilized nation.”
–Ruth Ben-Ghiat: “Historian of fascism here. This is an escalation of an attempt to normalize extreme violence, ritualize violence, militarize the country, and make violence entertaining so when they ask you to commit violence in their name, you will be ready.”
In Iran War news:
–The Pentagon quietly upped the number of soldiers killed in the Iran War to 21 from 18. (At Trump’s rallies, he is still saying 18.) Last month the Washington Post reported the true number was higher than 18 and Hegseth called it “a complete lie.” There is word that only pressure from Democrats in Congress and the Senate made them change the number.
–The US struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman.
–Dem Rep Chris Murphy: “What is all this for? Why are taxpayers paying billions to hit commercial ships? Apparently the goal is to gain leverage in order to convince the Iranians to let us pay them billions to return everything to the way it all was before the war. What a disaster!”
–musician80: “The UN charter and international law say the unprovoked use of force against civilian or merchant vessels outside territorial waters is illegal.”
–The Houthis struck Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, injuring 300 people and killing at least 2.
–Trump is considering whether to join the Saudi strikes against the Houthis, which will escalate the war and slow the passage of oil ships even more.
–Trump asked Israel to attack Iran in a solo strike before the midterms because he wanted to attack them but was afraid it would hurt him in the midterms. Israel refused because they have elections coming up, too.
In Trump’s War with the Press news:
–In an extraordinary escalation, Trump’s DOJ is now investigating the press for their boycotting the press pool, saying they may have violated the Sherman Act and antitrust laws. (This is after he refused to allow CNN, MSNOW, and Politico entry to the Oval Office and to Air Force One. He is suing them for not covering after he made it impossible for them to cover them.)
–New York Times: “The inquiry by the Justice Department is a profound escalation of the Trump administration’s battles with the White House press corps. It also follows a pattern of the Trump administration using the levers of government against its perceived foes in the media.
In Trump’s dementia/madness news:
–As if declaring an imaginary ceasefire, approving the livestreaming of an execution, joining the Ukraine-Russia war on the side of Russia, and going to war with the press and charging them with not covering him after he was the one who refused to let them in to cover him isn’t enough to prove he’s gone completely around the bend, Trump also keeps saying totally insane things.
–Like this little gem at his rally yesterday: “So we need a river. We need an ocean. So I was thinking of either the Atlantic or the Pacific. We call it Trump Ocean, or Ocean of the Americas, something like that. We know we have to have, and should have, before I get out. I think we should have an ocean. And we need a great river.”
In Rigging the Elections news:
–Armed National Guard soldiers were photographed standing around–and directly in front of a voter drop box in Washington, DC, and the photo went viral.
–Trump’s administration are now saying that the drop box wasn’t open yet and anyway, drop boxes don’t qualify as polling places, and the soldiers were just taking a break and happened to be standing there, they didn’t even realize it was a drop box, but nobody’s buying it.
–Hedy Lamarr: “Someone please advise these clueless losers: Soldiers who carry out illegal orders face criminal liability, prosecution in military or international courts, and severe punishment 9such as a court-martial, confinement, or a punitive discharge) because following orders is not a valid legal defense.”
–Allison Gill (MuellerSheWrote): “Regardless of the legality of posting armed national guard members at drop boxes, whether the boxes were open yet, or whether drop boxes qualify as polling sites under the law, the optics are what matters. Lawful or not, it’s overt, intentional voter suppression.”
–Dear Leader: “Intimidation is the name of the game.”
–If you see armed troops or ICE guys around a drop box, call the Secretary of State and the Attorney General’s office immediately. Take a picture of the troops. They have no right to be there.”
In promising news:
–The Cook Report has now shifted 18 races to the left.
–In Virginia, twice as many people have voted early than in the last midterms in 2022.
–Trump is now acknowledging the possibility of a blowout. Trump: “If we don’t win the midterms, they’re gonna blame me, you know that. If we win then, I will get no credit whatsoever. It’s true. I won’t get it.”
In other news:
–Trump’s DOJ demanded major TV networks turn over communications and other materials in his “Fake News” suit, which is another attempt to silence free speech. Laura Loomer proposed the DOJ lawsuit. Kyle Cheney: “Loomer appears to be dictating DOJ policy.”
–One of the accused rapists in the Cornell fraternity gang rape case is taking legal action to get Letitia James disqualified from investigating the case.
–Pope Leo XIV will undergo surgery to remove a nodular lesion on his lung.
In good news:
–8 major allies, including Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, have issued a joint rebuke of the Trump regime’s sweeping sanctions on the ICC. They vow unwavering support for the ICC’s independence.
–The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma approved a 3-year data center ban on tribal lands.
–Interfaith leaders and immigration advocates are taking part in a “Clear the Road to Freedom” pilgrimage, marching from the desert site of the Adelanto detention center to the one in Los Angeles.
Finally, today is Coming Out Day and I’ve got some great quotes to mark the occasion:
–Harvey Milk: “Gay brothers and sisters, you must come out. Come out to your parents–Come out to your relatives. Come out to your friends, if indeed they are your friends. Come out to your neighbors, to your fellow workers, to the people who work where you eat and shop. Come out only to the people you know and who know you.l..but once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake. For their sake.”
–Peter Malloy in the movie IN AND OUT: “I’m gay I came out.” Howard Brackett: “To whom?” Peter Mallow: “Who? To everyone. My folks, my boss, my dog. One day I just snapped. I just got tired of switching pronouns and remembering to lower my voice, and I couldn’t take lying to the people I love…So I just said, Mom, Dad, Sparky, I’m gay.” Howard Brackett: “What happened?” Peter Malloy: “Well, my mom cried for exactly ten seconds, my boss said, ‘Who cares?’ and my dad said, ‘But you’re so tall! Howard, you know, everyone surprised me once I let them, once I trusted them.”
Best example of accidentally telling the truth, from Trump at a rally: “It’s amazing. I can say the stupidest things, and you clap.” (Crowd claps wildly.)
Best comment of the day, from Seth Meyers: “During a rally in Ohio, President Trump said the republicans are going to perform better in the upcoming midterms than people expect. Well, they can’t perform WORSE than people expect. Right now, Kalshi (Prediction Market) has Mar-a-Lago flipping blue.”
“November is coming. We’re coming. And hell’s coming with us.”
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis
