"The church that stays silent, when children die, to protect its image has no image worth protecting."

Pope Leo XIV

Headline in today's NY Times: "Trump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime’" Yay! Trump asserts moral superiority over the Pope. Hey Donald, that Jesus guy was pretty skanky, too. Now tell all the Catholics they can go to hell. Hahahahaha.

AUTHENTICITY Why Are Great Things Authentic?

What's authentic anymore? Here's an idea:

Trump's family and friends have made billions of dollars from corrupt practices. Why haven't they been stopped? Because all three branches of the Federal Goverment have failed us. Trump's branch has neutered the Dept. of Justice and FBI. Congress refuses to act. And Court orders are ignored.

VEE-JAY~306 - Sheriff & The Ravels - Shombalor YouTube video by rockaboprecords

I was born in 1940 and heard rock n roll come in. Some people think today's songs are nutty, but they have no idea of just how nutty rock was when it was invented. How about this little ditty from the mid-1950s:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIoD...

In the midst of all this crazy shit, let's not forget that there was once among us an exceptional talent named Amy Winehouse. One like her comes along very very rarely.

I see that the Trump Fed is paying like $120 million for warehouses worth $15 million to use as ICE prisons. So who are the sellers? And are they kicking back huge overpayments to Trump? I wouldn't bet against it.

In my latest substack post I consider gratitude and what it does for us and to us. Check it out:

jeffcox120.substack.com/p/gratitude

What pisses me off about the Trump administration and its boxcar full of half-wits is its utter contempt for the intelligence of the American people. They brazenly lie, cover up and commit crimes, and befoul the Constitution and expect us to eat this shit sandwich and think it's chocolate pudding..

‪It's a shame Sinners didn't win best picture because it was without a doubt the best picture. In fact, one of the best pictures I've ever seen. It has the verisimilitudes of real life: pain, history, context, humor, art, meaning, authenticity, humanity, and unpredictable creativity.

Trump treats our srongest allies (Canada, Denmark, France, etc.) like he's their overlord and now can't figure out why they aren't joining his call to arms in Iran. It's because they are returning your "fuck you," Donald. Plus a big helping of "up yours."

No matter whether you think the March 28th protest against Trump is too soft or not strong enough or whatever, GO! Go anyway. The bigger the crowds, the more community is formed. GO! The more non-violent, the more distance we put between Trump's cruelty and us. We the People are disgusted. GO!

"Personal meanings usually die with us unless they have enough universal importance to cross the line into the culture. And for that to happen, our personal meanings and their importance need a vehicle to make the crossing. That’s the role of art."

From my substack post at jeffcox120.substack.com

Opinion | What Trump Didn’t Know About Iran

Here's the Big Picture on Iran-US history and the sources and future of the conflict.

From today's NY Times: "Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, threatened Saturday to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war with Iran, his latest move in a campaign to stomp out what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts."

So toe the Trump line or lose your license? Egad!

War is death and destruction and deserving of the utmost seriousness of purpose because of it. Trump's "Watch-'Em-Die-Ha-Ha-Ha" approach is only surpassed in lack of humanity by Pete Hegseth's portrayal of a prepubescent boy's imitation of an abusive father. They are a disgrace to this country.

Wars are won by those with the most stone in their baloney. Like most bullies, Trump sounds less like a Commander-in-Chief than a timid weakling who starts crying when his opponent gives him a bloody nose. Work smart with our allies, Donald--oh, that's right, you told them all to get fucked.

There's an unanswered question at the heart of quantum physics: Why do particles only become definitely entangled when they're observed? Maybe because consciousness creates reality, connecting everything to everything else. Particles very far apart are known simultaneously by this consciousness.

Why does Trump act on his own whim instead of following the law? He's told us many times: He's convinced himself he has the most brilliant mind on earth. Only he can fix it, whatever it is. His decisions are not to be gainsaid. He's the best, the most, the deepest thinker, he can do "the weave."

America is being taken apart by the most vicious and evil criminal gang in history. His sons are profiteering from his "war" in Iran, Epstein files quote a woman who was 13 when Trump sexually assaulted her, Trump spent an hour on the phone with Putin who advised Iran on targeting American troops.

This miserable political moment will end when our Christian politicians forsake cruelty for compassion and recognize Christians in politics not by their strident ideology, but by their integrity and love for all our neighbors. --Paraphrasing David French in today's NY Times.

Hegseth said last Monday that “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.” In 2022, Putin said: “We didn’t start the so-called war in Ukraine. Rather, we are trying to finish it.” Pure boilerplate military machismo. Same thing said during WWII (when it wasn't a lie).

What was Trump truly after in Fulton County? YouTube video by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Once again, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is standing up for real justice by questioning the legality of the raid on Fulton County Georgia's voting results--a raid conducted by the Trump "Weaponization Working Group." Did you know there is such an office in our government? Neither did I.

Trump gives many reasons for warring in Iran: regime change, dismantle nuclear capacity, stop Iranian allies like Hezbollah, etc. But he doesn't mention the real reason: Putin told him to. Since the war started, Russian oil is flowing again, Russian influence is growing, Trump is bailing him out.

Aha! That Trump-Putin meeting where no one was allowed in except a translator. Trump's sucking up to Putin. Trump's humiliation of Ukraine. His current attempts to back Russia's return to most favored nation. Epstein's billion dollar laundering of Russia's illegal money. I bet Trump took a slice.

Sen. Whitehouse to uncover connections between Trump, Russia, and Epstein. YouTube video by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Lest you have any doubt about the Putin-Epstein-Trump (PET) connection and evidence that Donald Trump is a traitor to the United States, I offer you Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's recent speech to the few Senators who cared to be present.

"Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a measure that would limit President Trump’s power to continue waging war against Iran without congressional authorization. A similar measure is expected to fail in the House." NY Times 3/5/26

In other words, we won't allow you to follow the Constitution.

Six anonymous cryptocurrency people bet huge sums of money that Trump would pull the trigger on Iran one day before Trump pulled the trigger on Iran, and they made millions. My guess is that Trump, through an accomplice, was one of them.

A cryptocurrency analytics company has identified “six Trump insiders [who] made $1.2 million betting that the US would strike Iran ” Most bets were made for Feb 28, just hours before the strike.

Columnist David French wrote truth today: "Trump didn’t go to Congress. Instead, he did perhaps the most monarchical thing he’s done. He simply ordered America into war." The Constitution says he does not have that power. Congress does. While morally OK, his war is illegal.