Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Wednesday, July 09, 2025

This weekend, the Trump administration officially closed the file on the notorious billionaire Epstein. MAGA aren't the only ones who should be outraged. There are, it should be said, a lot of ridiculous Epstein-related conspiracy theories circulating. Those obviously should not be indulged. But I'll tell you what is not a conspiracy: the fact that there are a lot of high-status people who are very interested in covering up their association with the disgraced financier. It is not a conspiracy to say the US has a two-tier justice system where rich and powerful people can do terrible things and face no consequences. Read more


Michael Meyer (AKA Lewis Arthur), the founder of anti-government extremist group Veterans on Patrol, posted a warning on his Telegram channel. "Due to the recent weather weapon deployed against Texas, which resulted in a high number of child murders, efforts to eliminate this military treason are being escalated." Hours later, a miscreant broke into an enclosure containing the NextGen Live Radar system operated by News 9 in Oklahoma City, damaging its power supply and briefly knocking it offline. The man also damaged CCTV cameras monitoring the site, but footage shared by News 9 shows the cameras captured a clear image of his face before they were destroyed. No arrests have been made but local authorities are aware of the Veterans on Patrol extremist group. The attack is part of what is called Operation Lone Wolf and reportedly dozens of useful white idiots online are willing to carry out similar attacks of wanton sabotage on weather surveillance facilities or equipment. Read more


Roger Waters has voiced his support for Palestine Action, risking prosecution and a potential 14-year prison term, since the organization is now proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000. As of 5 July, membership of Palestine Action, or expressing public support for the group, is a criminal offence in Britain. On 5 July, police in London arrested 29 people in Parliament Square for holding placards stating, "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." In a video post on 5 July, former Pink Floyd legend Waters says, "For the record, I support Palestine Action," calling them "a great organization" and stating the "non-violent" group are "absolutely not terrorists in any way." Waters then displays a piece of cardboard: ROGER WATERS SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION' and "Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power! STAND UP AND BE COUNTED. IT'S NOW!!!" The cardboard is dated "5th July 2025." Read more


WASHINGTON (AP) " President Donald Trump's decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause in some deliveries last week " a move that he felt wasn't properly coordinated with the White House, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Pentagon, which announced last week that it would hold back some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons pledged to Ukraine because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that American stockpiles were in short supply. Trump said Monday that the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, effectively reversing the move. Two of the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive internal discussions, said there was some internal opposition among Pentagon brass to the pause " coordinated by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby " before it was announced.


Ever since his legal troubles began in 2023, President Donald Trump has reaped great financial and political benefit from convincing his base of supporters that he's about to be victimized by vengeful governments. One scholar may have come up with a new term that could serve as a catch-all way of describing this phenomenon. Psychology-focused news outlet PsyPost reported Monday on a recently published study by Kathryn Claire Higgins of Goldsmiths, University of London entitled "From Victimhood to Victimcould: Hypothetical injury and the 'criminalization' of Donald Trump." The study delved into Trump's pattern of constantly messaging to his supporters that he was " as PsyPost founder Eric W. Dolan wrote " "perpetually on the brink of harm, casting himself as a target of state overreach and moral persecution."


The link to Reddit breaks the whole thing down with supporting links. Real insight into how awful small town politics is.

COMMISSIONER BALDWIN: You know we had a baby flood a couple weeks ago, a month or so, whatever it was. And I keep hearing these reports of the old, old system, and I know we're not going to deal with that though. Expect that to be gone where the Jones call the Smiths, and the Smiths call Camp Rio Vista, and Rio Vista blah, blah, blah, along down the line. But it's still there and it still works. The thought of our beautiful Kerr County having these damn sirens going off in the middle of night, I'm going to have to start drinking again to put up with y'all. Read more


An Iranian mother detained by ICE was released following advocacy from Republican Congressman Steve Scalise. Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian (64) was detained by ICE officers last month as she gardened in the yard of her New Orleans home. She had been living in the US for 47 years and her husband and daughter are both US citizens. Kashanian had been allowed to stay in the US as long as she checked in regularly with immigration authorities, as she had done without fail. After a surge of community support for Kashanian, Scalise, who represents Louisiana's 1st CD, including the New Orleans suburbs, told media outlet WDSU that he asked DHS to give Kashanian "a fair shake." Scalise said Kashanian should be judged on "her life's work" and role in her community. "When she was picked up, we looked at it and said, Are they really looking at it the right way, objectively?'" Scalise asked. "And so they [ICE] took a second look at it." Read more


Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, according to five sources familiar with the matter, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and the Ukrainian government. Read more


DNI Tulsi Gabbard established a new task force charged with restoring transparency and accountability to the USIC. The Director's Initiatives Group (DIG) is executing President Trump's EOs aimed at rebuilding trust in the USIC, starting with investigating weaponization, rooting out deep-seeded politicization, exposing unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence, and declassifying information that serves a public interest. Per POTUS's directive, DNI Gabbard has taken steps to restore trust in the USIC by revoking security clearances for individuals who no longer have an active role in national security, including former President Joe Biden, Liz Cheney, and Hillary Clinton. Further, the DNI has already held employees who participated in sexually-explicit NSA chatrooms accountable, and has begun pursuing unauthorized leaks of classified information within the USIC. Read more


Donald Trump's White House had grandly promised "90 deals in 90 days" after partially pausing the process of levying what the US president called "reciprocal" tariffs. In reality, there won't even be nine deals done by the time we reach Trump's first cut-off date on 9 July. The revealing thing here, the poker "tell" if you like, is the extension of the deadline from Wednesday until 1 August, with a possibility of further extensions - or delays - to come. The jaunty letters being sent from the US to its trading partners this week are simply a reincarnation of that infamous White House "Liberation Day" blue board. Read more


Tuesday, July 08, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump"Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources told Fox News Digital.


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem spent several minutes praising God's part in the recent deadly flooding in Texas. At a White House cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Noem recalled that one father found his dead daughter's shoe in the mud. "Just hugging and comforting people matters a lot," she insisted. "I'm extremely grateful for God's hand in that whole situation because hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people were saved."


Key Points:
The IRS in a new federal court filing says that churches can endorse political candidates without risking the loss of their tax-exempt status.
The move upends a 70-year interpretation of the U.S. tax code, whose Johnson Amendment has barred non-profit groups, including churches, from endorsing political candidates without putting their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.


Costco is recalling nearly a dozen products and urging shoppers to immediately stop using some items purchased either through Costco Next or directly in stores. The recall includes several electronics with potential safety hazards. Anker Power Bank and PowerCore models have been flagged due to issues with their lithium batteries. The Danby 8-K U-shaped window air conditioner should be immediately stopped use because of water collection problems that can lead to mold growth. These units were sold under various brands including Midea, Comfort Aire, Danby, and Frigidaire. Other recalled items include car tires, dumbbells, Topo Chico mineral water, and Fresh and Ready Foods prepared sandwiches and salads. The mineral water may be contaminated with pseudomonas and the prepared meals may be tainted with listeria. The SharkNinja pressure cooker lid comes off and can burn consumers. Read more


The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), under the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate, has evolved into a central instrument of Russian state influence, operating well beyond its religious mandate to advance Kremlin interests abroad. Across Europe and the US, the ROC is recognized for its role in disseminating pro-Kremlin narratives, conducting espionage, and recruiting intelligence assets. No longer limited to pastoral duties or cultural preservation, the Church now operates as a transnational ideological actor whose activities align closely with Russian foreign policy goals. Their global network has a headquarters in NYC and they have been expanding across parts of the US mainly as a result of people converting from other faiths. Young American males have been joining Russian churches promising 'absurd levels of manliness.' Links: BBC.com. US ROCOR Parishes List. Read more


Two DHS facilities in Texas have been targeted by patriotic Americans fighting fascism. 11 suspects are facing criminal indictment in connection with a July 4th holiday attack at an ICE detention center in Alvarado. Ten of the suspects each have been charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. All face a prison term of between ten years and up to life. A few days later, a lone gunman named Ryan Louis Mosqueda (27) stormed into a US Border Patrol building near McAllen International Airport and opened fire, but was quickly gunned down by federal agents. He was armed with an assault rifle and was wearing tactical gear. Source: MSN.com. Read more


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