A former associate of Melania Trump has sensationally claimed the first lady was an “escort” for Jeffrey Epstein and met the president through the notorious sex offender.Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro dropped the bombshell allegation on a taped recording, accusing her ex-partner, modeling agent-turned-presidential envoy Paolo Zampolli, of lying about introducing Melania and Donald Trump at a party in 1998
Oh yeah this article reminds me...anyone remember how some unreconstructed chumps were decrying the *decrease* in teen pregnancy in the USA? I was just thinking of that when reading the horrific events in this article.
I was also thinking about the Nazis at the Heritage Foundation with their Project 2026 forcing women out of the workplace and making them have more babies...
And maybe I’m being delusional, but I kind of think that if these states keep up this bullshit — taking kids away from their parents, taking parents away from their kids, making murder legal, etc. — their shitty abortion laws are not going to be long for this world.
One would hope, but… *indicates wider world beyond*
I worry more about all these children moved into the foster care system and the results of that. These unreconstructed states will also have to pay for all these people ... how is that going to work? Teen runaways, suicides, etc., etc. are going to be the results of this, not a major change in the occurences of unwanted teen pregnancies.
OT: I'm sorry. To me, this is shameful. Utterly fucking shameful. It you are now literally no longer able to read a book, put down the fucking electronics b/c they have seriously rotted your goddamned brain.
This world is now fucking stupid and disgusting to me. Many of its denizens are just irredeemable.
Thank you for this article. One of the lasting symptoms of my TBI is an inability to hold the narrative of a book I might be reading... small articles, memos okay. But I need to re-learn this and I hope the article will halp.
I have recently been working on a super-secret rock concert rehearsal and screens are not allowed, for Reasons. So I have been re-reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. Once you get to the meat of the text (not the introduction and footnotes and such) it's AWESOME life lesson stuff.
Yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. I had a friend who had that, and she wasn't even allowed to read or do anything difficult with her brain for awhile. Then she started reading again like you say. Small bites/chunks and then got closer back to her previous abilities.
I only have two classic novels: Catch-22 and Frankenstein. The thing about these novels is that they are considerably shorter than most of my modern fantasy novels. My copy of Frankenstein is only 166 pages long, whereas a Stormlight Archive novel tends to weigh in at around 1000 pages.
But I'm terminally online. I have to be online for my job, so shutting off the screen feels like a vacation.
People act like those books are so hard. They're not. And that's another thing. People have been scared away from longer, more complex sentences b/c everything now is so short and choppy b/c people have little pea brain attention spans. :(
Donald Trump has tapped a close ally to serve as the country’s top intelligence official, days after Tulsi Gabbard announced her exit from the role.
The US president said that Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and heir to a home construction company fortune, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.
Pulte has used his role at the FHFA, which oversees regulations of the federal housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to publicly level of a string of extraordinary allegations at Trump’s political opponents and enemies.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America,” Trump said on his Truth Social Platform. Pulte will remain director of the FHFA, the president said.
But, but my pony! Corporate Dems didn’t give me my pony! Here in California, only two make the ballot for every office but President. Is it ok if I just directly vote MAGA instead of the indirect chickenshit way, ie vote Green or Socialist or whatever.
As a minor I was able to get an abortion in AZ in the late 80s w/o parental permission. I think about how different my life would be if I had been forced to have that kid at that age.
The Post Office isn't reliable. I hand carried my ballot to the county collection box. Received a text and e-mail that it was received and would be counted 2 days later.
OT: The Guardian has a piece up casting Becerra as the establishment, centrist candidate and the billionaire as the progressive outsider. Can someone more familiar with California please tell me is this is as absurd as it sounds?
Not really related, but Guardian seems to think now is the right time to cover " Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library".
The newish Seattle main liberry is almost all windows and looks gorgeous from the outside. Even inside when you are close to the windows looking out it is pretty good. Turn around tho and look at the actual book holding place and ... umm ... wtf?
Not really. Taking a few Steyer talking points at face value and the author appears to have some long standing problems with the California Democratic party. But that doesn't mean he's wrong, which is why I was curious if anyone knew better.
I just find it ironic that the fucking hedge fund BILLIONAIRE is the one who should be talking to us about class/economic issues. Reagan was a "populist" too. NO FUCKING THANK YOU.
Many progressive groups are trying to remind people that Steyer is just another billionaire trying to buy the office of the governor. Unfortunately, Jane Fonda is on team Steyer as well as some Bernie Sanders group (the same group who endorsed Fetterman). To answer your question, it IS absurd but Steyer is making a lot of stupid mouth noises, none of which I think he will implement.
So Trump is appointing someone with zero national security experience to be acting director of national intelligence and letting him keep his other job. One might suspect that they don't think government jobs are real jobs that require people to know shit.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” Trump wrote.
Which has exactly ZERO to do with National Intelligence. Sanewash, that shit, NYT.
About 1 out 10 seems to be the ratio. Mind you, my Dad was a contractor in the residential construction biz which means it was infested with Trump types, especially the second generation ones.
As the dad of a teen girl, I have skin in the game, and while I'm sure my state is better on this than where the people in the story are from, my heart goes out to those in worse circumstances.
Well, this is a LICENSE TO ILL!
Make some NOIS!!!!!
Every woman owns her own body.
Periotd.
Without exception.
If young women need that medication, give it to them.
Everything should be between a person and their own doctors.
OT from last night
First Prostitute
A former associate of Melania Trump has sensationally claimed the first lady was an “escort” for Jeffrey Epstein and met the president through the notorious sex offender.Former Brazilian model Amanda Ungaro dropped the bombshell allegation on a taped recording, accusing her ex-partner, modeling agent-turned-presidential envoy Paolo Zampolli, of lying about introducing Melania and Donald Trump at a party in 1998
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/melania-named-bombshell-epstein-claims-202245776.html
I’m shocked. Who would’ve thought? I guess we know why she protests much.
And I thought we had a Hallmark love story in the White House. So she wasn’t attracted to Donnie’s smile?
The only thing she wanted in Trump's pants...was his platinum AMEX card...
Not unless his smile was in his wallet.
It was the smile of Benjamin franklins.
Oh yeah this article reminds me...anyone remember how some unreconstructed chumps were decrying the *decrease* in teen pregnancy in the USA? I was just thinking of that when reading the horrific events in this article.
I was also thinking about the Nazis at the Heritage Foundation with their Project 2026 forcing women out of the workplace and making them have more babies...
Not qwhite their position
That’s missionary only. And for babies only.
Yes...their position of course is to make white women have more white babies to keep the white race on top...
Teen pregnancy. Letting 12-year olds marry. MAGA is weird.
And maybe I’m being delusional, but I kind of think that if these states keep up this bullshit — taking kids away from their parents, taking parents away from their kids, making murder legal, etc. — their shitty abortion laws are not going to be long for this world.
One would hope, but… *indicates wider world beyond*
I worry more about all these children moved into the foster care system and the results of that. These unreconstructed states will also have to pay for all these people ... how is that going to work? Teen runaways, suicides, etc., etc. are going to be the results of this, not a major change in the occurences of unwanted teen pregnancies.
They'll all be placed at the new Duggar Children's Center.
OT: I'm sorry. To me, this is shameful. Utterly fucking shameful. It you are now literally no longer able to read a book, put down the fucking electronics b/c they have seriously rotted your goddamned brain.
This world is now fucking stupid and disgusting to me. Many of its denizens are just irredeemable.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/02/classic-novels-relearn-how-to-read-distractions-screens
Thank you for this article. One of the lasting symptoms of my TBI is an inability to hold the narrative of a book I might be reading... small articles, memos okay. But I need to re-learn this and I hope the article will halp.
I have recently been working on a super-secret rock concert rehearsal and screens are not allowed, for Reasons. So I have been re-reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations. Once you get to the meat of the text (not the introduction and footnotes and such) it's AWESOME life lesson stuff.
Yeah, that's a whole different ballgame. I had a friend who had that, and she wasn't even allowed to read or do anything difficult with her brain for awhile. Then she started reading again like you say. Small bites/chunks and then got closer back to her previous abilities.
I'm so sorry that happened to you. :(
Sad to say my reading habits have gone down hill in recent years. I do blame screens, the internet, social media, and other forms of mind rot.
Mine dipped but then I saw what was happening and I started reading difficult texts again.
I will make the effort in the summer.
I only have two classic novels: Catch-22 and Frankenstein. The thing about these novels is that they are considerably shorter than most of my modern fantasy novels. My copy of Frankenstein is only 166 pages long, whereas a Stormlight Archive novel tends to weigh in at around 1000 pages.
But I'm terminally online. I have to be online for my job, so shutting off the screen feels like a vacation.
Both are among my favorites!
But modern fantasy is reading, too, especially something that is 1,000 pages!
I really liked Frankenstein. The old-timey language really gives it a mood. I still find it hard to believe that it was written by a teenager.
Right? She was brilliant.
While it may be that electronics have rotted the author's mind, it's not clear to me that the problem isn't the choice of books he tried to read.
People act like those books are so hard. They're not. And that's another thing. People have been scared away from longer, more complex sentences b/c everything now is so short and choppy b/c people have little pea brain attention spans. :(
And don't get me started on how fucking DRACULA made the greatest 100 books!
I liked it but I don't think I would put it among the top 100 greatest books.
Did the CPS worker, who forced Dana to have the baby, ever do anything about the baby-dad who provided the life-giving sperm?
I mean aside from sending him a congratulations card and a medal and a book of discount coupons.
Oh yeah...That CPS worker probably referred that baby dad to the local DA to start the child support process...
I think you answered your own question.
I’m just wondering if I missed anything. ;>)
OT
𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟
𝑈𝑆 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐴𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐺𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑒
Donald Trump has tapped a close ally to serve as the country’s top intelligence official, days after Tulsi Gabbard announced her exit from the role.
The US president said that Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), and heir to a home construction company fortune, will serve as acting director of national intelligence.
Pulte has used his role at the FHFA, which oversees regulations of the federal housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to publicly level of a string of extraordinary allegations at Trump’s political opponents and enemies.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America,” Trump said on his Truth Social Platform. Pulte will remain director of the FHFA, the president said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/02/trump-bill-pulte-director-national-intelligence
Oh great! That's like giving Chicolini the keys to Freedonia...
A smaller group covering more positions. Great.
I didn't think of it that way. That's pretty ominous. Well, more ominous than I was already thinking it was.
It really, really matters who is in office, for your rights.
The proof is in the pudding, when the unreconstructed party is in power you lose your freedoms.
But, but my pony! Corporate Dems didn’t give me my pony! Here in California, only two make the ballot for every office but President. Is it ok if I just directly vote MAGA instead of the indirect chickenshit way, ie vote Green or Socialist or whatever.
Good.
As a minor I was able to get an abortion in AZ in the late 80s w/o parental permission. I think about how different my life would be if I had been forced to have that kid at that age.
Yeah. Nope.
My friend, the other night: "Well, my [adult] daughter's a lesbian, so I don't have to worry about that shit, woo-hoo!"
Like the Nazis don’t have any problems with lesbians. *eyeroll*
This right here. I would wager many a lesbian has been raped by a man as a "corrective."
Many of us are without the lesbian-ing, for rejection. It's all of us.
Yep. This is damned true, too. :(
🫂
👆👆👆
So, the plight of other women doesn’t matter because it doesn’t affect immediate family. Got it.
That was the message I got.
Sounds almost,,,,,,,republican.
He's actually really right-wing.
I’m shocked
In a world where rape exists we ALL have to worry about it.
This right here. Right here.
She could still be the victim of rape...
👆👆👆
Today is election day for the primary in California. Go vote. If you haven't mailed your ballot in, drop off at your nearest voting center.
Mount up! And Don't Give Up The Ship!
I voted! As an aside do NOT mail your ballot, drop it off or vote in person. It took mine a week to get there and I mailed EARLY.
The Post Office isn't reliable. I hand carried my ballot to the county collection box. Received a text and e-mail that it was received and would be counted 2 days later.
Not reliable by design.
I receive those emails as well. It has never taken this long before. I will be dropping in a drop box come November.
Trump will make sure he stays alive
At least to eliminate Juneteenth . . .
He’s really working on it. More than that boring Iran stuff.
OT: The Guardian has a piece up casting Becerra as the establishment, centrist candidate and the billionaire as the progressive outsider. Can someone more familiar with California please tell me is this is as absurd as it sounds?
Not really related, but Guardian seems to think now is the right time to cover " Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library".
The newish Seattle main liberry is almost all windows and looks gorgeous from the outside. Even inside when you are close to the windows looking out it is pretty good. Turn around tho and look at the actual book holding place and ... umm ... wtf?
Do they seriously have a problem with a lack of windows? If the goal is document preservation, then keeping sunlight to a minimum is a good idea.
What wing did Qatar fund? They’re big into library funding in the U.S., so which part of the Obama library did they fund?
Trumpers still can't even figure out WHY Obama wasn't even in the Oval Office on 9/11.
That, and the Black people basketball court for Black people.
Funny. I wonder that too. Unfortunately it was dubba trying to read to kids.
The billionaire easily bought off “Leftist” influencers. “So yeah, I know I said billionaires shouldn’t exist, but…”
Steyer invested in privatized prison companies.
That alone disqualifies him from getting my vote.
When Becerra was my Congressman I had problems with him being tight with Scientology.
That alone disqualifies him from getting my vote.
The press did a hatchet job on Katie Porter. She still got my vote.
Didn't the article have details on the positions the candidates have staked out on the issues?
Not really. Taking a few Steyer talking points at face value and the author appears to have some long standing problems with the California Democratic party. But that doesn't mean he's wrong, which is why I was curious if anyone knew better.
I personally believe he's LYING but maybe that's just me.
I didn't dig too deeply, but the author strikes me as one of those "class/economic issues are all that matter" types.
I just find it ironic that the fucking hedge fund BILLIONAIRE is the one who should be talking to us about class/economic issues. Reagan was a "populist" too. NO FUCKING THANK YOU.
Media is always gonna try to sell billionaires to people.
Mavericks.
Many progressive groups are trying to remind people that Steyer is just another billionaire trying to buy the office of the governor. Unfortunately, Jane Fonda is on team Steyer as well as some Bernie Sanders group (the same group who endorsed Fetterman). To answer your question, it IS absurd but Steyer is making a lot of stupid mouth noises, none of which I think he will implement.
How many people in California have the faintest clue of what The Guardian is? I mean really.
Irrelevant to my question.
That's fair.
So Trump is appointing someone with zero national security experience to be acting director of national intelligence and letting him keep his other job. One might suspect that they don't think government jobs are real jobs that require people to know shit.
Well after all, he’s there.
He beat Eric at Risk two times out of three. What more does he need.
That's exactly what they think.
Plus, they're trying to break the government.
Guv'ment is being bent almost to the point of no return
That's their goal. We have to stop them.
“William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago,” Trump wrote.
Which has exactly ZERO to do with National Intelligence. Sanewash, that shit, NYT.
" the chief business of the American people is business."
- Calvin Coolidge, 1925
Why expect any different from this administration?
Businesspeople are fucking stupid, and I'm tired of pretending they're not.
Me, too. Most of the small business owners I have known have been money grubbing POSs and voted Republican b/c $$$$ is all they can think of.
I have known a couple for whom that is not true but they seemed the exceptions that prove the rule.
About 1 out 10 seems to be the ratio. Mind you, my Dad was a contractor in the residential construction biz which means it was infested with Trump types, especially the second generation ones.
Ugh, what a horrible story.
As the dad of a teen girl, I have skin in the game, and while I'm sure my state is better on this than where the people in the story are from, my heart goes out to those in worse circumstances.
Try being a woman. It generally sucks
No doubt.