Snipers for Trump

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I wonder how many people are following the developments that suggest Donald Trump is truly capable of doing anything to preserve his power. 

First, there was his mixing of the White House ballroom project with bizarre “national security” arrangements — bulletproof glass windows, steel-reinforced walls, missile-resistant columns, a rooftop military drone port, sniper nests, a bomb shelter and a medical facility in the basement, etc. Then, over the past year, came the seemingly coordinated moves of top administration officials into military housing, which I’ve been writing about. 

And then there’s the crazy capital arch project, in which Trump wants to include… snipers and more drones. 

Now, there are mixed signals on whether or not snipers will be a feature. Some say no, but, really, the very idea of it, and that it is being seriously considered, is enough to generate a whole new level of alarm. 

Whatever one believes, the commission that oversees the arch, chock-a-block with Trump appointees, is supposed to review final plans at a November 5 hearing. Note that is two days after the midterm elections. 

It’s thriller-worthy stuff, so I kind of get why legacy media is slow to try and connect the dots. And perhaps they believe it’s just a scarier version of Trump’s garden-variety lunacy, with no overarching (pardon the pun) implications or consequences.

But with Trump — you never know.

And not paying serious attention to this, given what we see Trump and his closest aides are capable of, would seem to be an error of historic proportions. 

Because when you combine snipers on an arch, a military bunker, and pulling Trump’s inner circle to live on military bases — it begins to look like preparations for something. 

We do know that Trump likes violence, as revealed by so many incidents in the past. And here’s a recent example that is especially odious: At a rally in Ohio, Trump seemed enormously pleased when men repeatedly punched, in the face, a woman in a Release the Epstein Files T-shirt, knocking her down while the crowd chanted “USA! USA!” Trump egged the men on, claimed without evidence that she was a paid protester, ridiculed her body, and called her “scum.” Eventually the police broke up the attack, ignored the attackers, and removed only the woman.

With the growing desperation and increasingly extreme measures, like the extrajudicial killings and kidnappings of US citizens by ICE and DHS, Trump, his family, and everyone who enabled him will continue to scurry around, paying high-priced consultants to quickly remake their image. And we shouldn’t expect accountability of any kind.

The Reckoning — and How the Oligarchs Will Reposition

And speaking of the kinds of things powerful people do and worry about, I’ve been waiting to see how the newly enlightened oligarchs were going to get out of the unpleasant position of having been Trump enablers and cooperators. 

Well, the elections aren’t even here, and they’re already doing their chameleon acts, hoping no one will remember what they did. They’re hoping their perfidy won’t power a movement to fight back against their increasing monopoly on money and power. 

In just one of what will be many examples, Mark Zuckerberg’s Trump whisperer is heading for the door. As first reported by Axios, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer and Zuckerberg’s top DC adviser, is leaving after 15 years. A conservative, Kaplan greatly influenced the behavior of Zuckerberg and his companies — arguably in a direction hostile to the public interest. 

Though Kaplan’s departure is potentially great news for accountability, it’s too early to get excited. Meta’s president, Dina Powell, who worked in Trump’s first administration, is going to be taking on an enlarged role encompassing some of Kaplan’s duties. 

So it’s safe to say: The battle with the billionaires is just getting started. 

Vance: ‘A Little Bit’ of His Own Man

As JD Vance moves to put some daylight between himself and Trump — and a possible big loss at the polls, his own emerging “style” is becoming evident. 

One thing I’ve noticed is how differently he handles nastiness. Trump would just be nasty. Vance, instead, consistently qualifies his remarks by adding modifiers that make it all seem a little less harsh. 

How? By saying “a little” a lot. Or some variation on that. 

He said he was “a little bit disgusted” with Republicans who object to — (“whine about”) — Vivek Ramaswamy running ads featuring the long-estranged, abuse-convicted mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton. The ads seek to exploit Acton’s traumatic childhood experiences, including raising doubts about her claim that her stepfather sexually assaulted her — a claim that has solid documentary evidence supporting it. Not that Ramaswamy or Vance have given any indication of caring.

“Disgusted” is pretty hard-hitting, especially when he’s disgusted by objections to something itself disgusting. Being “disgusted” with fellow Republicans for showing a moral side or at least squeamishness is even harder-hitting. Calling them whiners and defending vicious ad tactics — that’s hard-hitting. Or at least “a little bit hard-hitting.”

Of course, if anyone were to bring up the unpleasantness that is core to Vance’s personality, that might be “a little bit treasonous.” 

It’s the Corruption, Stupid: Trump and Friends Rob You Blind

WhoWhatWhy and I were talking about the Trump corruption issue from the beginning — and we’re gratified that it has finally caught on as a headline topic with the legacy media and a priority issue for voters, as evidenced by polls. 

And the revelations continue to roll in. Let’s see if I can get this one straight. A Venezuelan owner of an international bank, Julio Herrera Velutini, did not like being investigated by a regulatory agency, so he bribed the governor of Puerto Rico, where his bank was located, to replace that agency’s commissioner with one of his choosing. He was caught, charged with felony bribery, then somehow granted a plea deal for a “misdemeanor campaign finance violation.” But he didn’t like even that watered-down charge on his record.

Velutini’s family then offered a contract to Trump’s lawyer, Alina Habba, to be a general counsel for a Herrera family firm. At that time, Habba was a special government employee advising the Department of Justice. Habba would receive a $10 million base salary for four years, plus bonuses, making the total value over $50 million. Trump granted Velutini a full pardon. 

Habba explained, “Any insinuation that my employment — all of which has been vetted and disclosed to the DOJ — had anything to do with securing a pardon is false.”

Interesting Bedfellows

George W. Bush’s brother Neil announced that he voted early in Texas — for Democratic senatorial candidate James Talarico — because he admires Talarico’s principles and doesn’t think much of Ken Paxton’s record. Barbara Bush (twin sister to Jenna Bush Hager) also supports Talarico, as do at least 20 other prominent Republicans.

Paxton has the support of former Fox News anchor Ed Henry — the accused rapist-torturer whose prolonged harassment of Jennifer Eckhart (former Fox News producer) led to his firing and, allegedly, to her eventual suicide. (Several other women have accused Henry of sexual assault.)  

Doppelgänger Candidacies

On Thursday, at Trump’s urging, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit saying that if Republican Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (AK) loses on November 3, and if all the votes cast for another man, independent Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., had gone to the senator and would be enough to put him over the top, then the election would not be certified. 

I was curious how many people with at least the same last names have run against each other. Answer: According to Ballotpedia, in 2024, 414 candidates in 206 elections across 22 states, and in 2025, 438 candidates in 215 elections across 15 states.

I wanted to get the opinion of Geoffrey Epstein, who ran for mayor of Framingham, Massachusetts, last year, but I ran out of time. In any case, maybe in 2028, we will see the candidacy of JV Dance. 

How You Can Help Turn Out — and Protect — the Vote

Every reasonable person would agree that democracy is served when as many people as possible turn out to vote — are encouraged to vote, with no unreasonable impediments placed on their ability to cast a ballot, easily, and with safety and confidence. 

With that in mind, some of you may be wondering how you can participate with like-minded people in turning out — and protecting — the vote. 

I had hoped to recommend an easy way to find out where you’re needed, and welcome, and could travel with relative ease to help. But, perhaps unsurprisingly, what I found was a mess. The websites of the myriad groups involved with election protection and Get Out the Vote in general do not have good interfaces nor make it as simple as possible to sign up and travel.

So here’s my suggestion: Just choose a state or congressional district that interests you. So many to choose from. And if you like excitement, many are going to be close races determined by small numbers of people who may still be on the fence about voting. You can assess the status and competitiveness of up-for-grabs contests here. (And beware of false flag operations posing as get out the vote entities.)

Find a candidate you believe in. Contact their campaign and tell them you want to come help. But don’t wait to hear back. I myself got minimal or unhelpful responses when I did a couple of test reach-outs, and I understand and sympathize; they’re crazy busy. 

So, don’t wait, just go! Book a hotel and transportation, and get out there ASAP between now and Election Day. March into the relevant campaign office and tell them you’re there to assist in any way. 

It’s a near certainty that they can put you to work, especially with door-knocking and “reminder” calling. It turns out that, in this age of social media saturation, these long-standing staples of personal politics are still vital.

Based on my own experience with political campaigns, I am almost certain they will be thrilled with each live, enthusiastic person who wants to help. In the rousing words often attributed to Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”