Whats missing from this picture: What if Russia or China any enemy wanted to decapitate our military leaders....this meeting was the perfect setting for that. I pray that the Generals never put themselves in a position like this ever AGAIN. -Semper-Fi
Rick, you say he is not functioning mentally the way he was a year ago, or five years ago or in 2016….and even then he was not a clever man. Rat-brain instinctive, certainly good at rabble rousing and reading the zeitgeist, at manipulating people, at bullying. He’s always been good at that. But he’s a serial bankrupt with a business acumen invented by the producer of “The Apprentice”. This was never a great brain. The diminution of it was from a low bar in the first place. How, though, can we take heart from any such decline when this person is still the president? His enablers are even more insane than he is if they can’t find a way to remove him.
Mr Wilson, you have persuaded and charmed me for years. Can I try to charm people on this one:
"What can an ordinary American of any stripe, do to make a difference right now? In any domain. We don't just need scathing critiques, we need to understand what we can do individually. My advice is to pick something that excites you and start writing about it as often as you can. Like you. Don't worry about getting known, let alone going viral. Just take a step that lifts things up and gives aid to those who need it the most right now. You need to discover what is needed. Do that by talking to more people. We need less opinions, and more actions toward making a difference, however small.
Yes, Leigh, Like attend the 10/18 No Kings demonstration in your area - https://www.nokings.org/
Talk to people...don't yell...just talk, work the polls, canvass
And freaking VOTE, too...
Those of you who sat on your ass the last election, you see what you got... BTW - Thanks for that...not. FOTUS only garnered 1.5% votes more than Kamala but that was enough in certain states to win in the Electoral College...
What I think they accomplished was to scare the shit out of everyone. Not one general walked out which means to me that they aren’t going to respect our institutions, they are going to do is whatever the administration tells them to do.
During the 2016 election someone from Trump's campaign said there was a list of "outrageous" things on a big wall chart, and if Trump wasn't in the headlines for 24 hours, he'd say or do something "outrageous" and grab back the headline, ie, control the media narrative. And nothing's changed. Epstein? Invade Iran. Epstein? Tariffs. Epstein? Blast the United Nations. Epstein? Send the army into war-ravaged Portland. Epstein? Shut down the government. Epstein? What's next on the "outrageous" list ...
yesterday morning he told the assembled generals that his tariffs had bought in "17 trillion dollars" and America was the "richest country in the world."
Two hours later he told the Dems that there was no money for health insurance and they couldn't find $350 million for PBS (Ken Burns, Antique Roadshow, Brit dramas, Sesame Street, etc)
$17 Trillion at 11:00 a.m.; we can't afford it anything at 1 p.m.
Mr. Wilson, you had me at the end—Trump is scared and squirming about the Epstein files, and he'll do anything to drop bombs as a distraction. The truth is lingering and will come out. I appreciate your reporting, Mr. Wilson. Thank you for your transparency. We all need it.
I posted this somewhere else, but it fits perfectly right here:
During the 2016 election someone from Trump's campaign said there was a list of "outrageous" things on a big wall chart, and if Trump wasn't in the headlines for 24 hours, he'd say or do something "outrageous" and grab back the headline, ie, control the media narrative. And nothing's changed. Epstein? Invade Iran. Epstein? Tariffs. Epstein? Blast the United Nations. Epstein? Send the army into war-ravaged Portland. Epstein? Shut down the government. Epstein? What's next on the "outrageous" list ...
Anyone remember that scene from the WW II movie In Harm's Way where Kirk Douglas bitch slaps the smarmy naval attache to the Chief of Naval Ops in the men's room? I hope one of these generals does that to Hegseth.
Well okay boys 'n' gila monsters, it's Shutdown O'Clock.
I had been avoiding the specifics. I just read a legacy media deep dive and apparently SS, Medicare and Medicaid are a separate receipt stream and won't be affected. That was my existential panic -- that I wouldn't be able to pay my rent this month. This will be like the '19 shutdown; Trump and the GOP will own it. Trump keeping up the protection racket patter -- think of what horrible and permanent things Trump could do if the Dems don't fold -- only makes it worse for him because it identifies all those horrible and permanent things with Trump.
I mean, he's so tied to meeting his immediate narcissistic supply needs he can't even perceive the potential blowback from threatening the country while ineffectually attempting to blame the Dems for his own goddamn threats.
That this surprises anyone? The Republicans do something horrible and then brazenly lie that the Democrats did it? As if they might care about lying? How quaint ;)
You would actually spend a femtosecond expecting they'd do anything different? Dude, they've been doing this since I was a preteen and Nixon was gonna bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam. You have a right to be wary of this but no objective reason to suspect that it does good things for Trump's numbers, which are falling.
Yeah, there's a hard contingent out there who takes everything Trump says at face value. There's a hard contingent, mostly of wealthy seniors, who are actually going to pay four figures (Hurry Now!) to get on the waiting list for a so-called med bed card.
A med bed card, Abe. You've seen the video for it, I trust, that Trump re-Truthed as if it was an actual FOX segment and not AI-generated? Med beds look like transparent iron lungs, or the relaxation pod from the video game Portal 1. These amazing devices will not only bestow immortality, they will _regrow limbs._ So if the Rapture didn't work for you guys last week, you can try the high tech approach instead ;) Bill Gates had 'em invented for him and his scumbag elite buddies, but now President Trump has selflessly made them available to all Americans (for a special low, low introductory fee).
I'm supposed to live my life in deference to what _these people think about anything?_
They're unregenerate, unreasoning enemies who have to be defeated at the ballot box.
Thanks for another great analysis. While the cost of bringing these 800 military leaders to this dismal meeting was “absurd,” its value may prove to be priceless. The 800 got to see— and hear—first-hand, in person, the state of its leadership. As you concluded, that may pay great dividends later.
When must the military disobey orders. A discussion of the law and the morality that faces us now.
Please restack.
https://thefiringline.substack.com/p/when-command-meets-conscience-why?
Whats missing from this picture: What if Russia or China any enemy wanted to decapitate our military leaders....this meeting was the perfect setting for that. I pray that the Generals never put themselves in a position like this ever AGAIN. -Semper-Fi
Rick, you say he is not functioning mentally the way he was a year ago, or five years ago or in 2016….and even then he was not a clever man. Rat-brain instinctive, certainly good at rabble rousing and reading the zeitgeist, at manipulating people, at bullying. He’s always been good at that. But he’s a serial bankrupt with a business acumen invented by the producer of “The Apprentice”. This was never a great brain. The diminution of it was from a low bar in the first place. How, though, can we take heart from any such decline when this person is still the president? His enablers are even more insane than he is if they can’t find a way to remove him.
FYI - Folks time to update your passport or apply for one. Don't forget to get a Passport Card, too.
What I read today: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/politics/times-siena-poll-political-polarization.html?unlocked_article_code=1.qU8.A6qe.tfitU44xAwjz&smid=url-share
Mr Wilson, you have persuaded and charmed me for years. Can I try to charm people on this one:
"What can an ordinary American of any stripe, do to make a difference right now? In any domain. We don't just need scathing critiques, we need to understand what we can do individually. My advice is to pick something that excites you and start writing about it as often as you can. Like you. Don't worry about getting known, let alone going viral. Just take a step that lifts things up and gives aid to those who need it the most right now. You need to discover what is needed. Do that by talking to more people. We need less opinions, and more actions toward making a difference, however small.
GREAT SUGGESTION!!! Positivity and CREATIVITY!!! Thinking out ways to help and finding the answers..there are many...
Yes, Leigh, Like attend the 10/18 No Kings demonstration in your area - https://www.nokings.org/
Talk to people...don't yell...just talk, work the polls, canvass
And freaking VOTE, too...
Those of you who sat on your ass the last election, you see what you got... BTW - Thanks for that...not. FOTUS only garnered 1.5% votes more than Kamala but that was enough in certain states to win in the Electoral College...
Absolutely!!! calling here...marching...writing...making noise...peacefully!! THANK YOU!!!
Very cool...👍
Oh...and PS: Reading "107Days" right now...written by Kamala....YES we voted...and yes we campaigned .
Turn up your microphone, Rick. All of your other podcasts have good audio but this one is too low.
But will the orders be illegal? With our current Supreme Court?
Supreme Court ruled by the Supreme Leader!
So much for checks and balances.
What I think they accomplished was to scare the shit out of everyone. Not one general walked out which means to me that they aren’t going to respect our institutions, they are going to do is whatever the administration tells them to do.
We HOPE you are wrong...very frightening!!! IF you are correct..I think of Germany 1933 and how the Hitlerian regime over ran their people..
Those speeches made me feel like it was 9/11/2001 all over again. Not a single general walked out. They may not have cheered but they sat there.
makes me feel like it's the 1930s in Germany all over again.
My substack newsletter used to be called "Neo-Fascism: A Warning."
Then "Kamala4Prez"
Now what? "American Fascism"?
Or maybe I'll just move to Canada.
Be safe and happy...no matter what...
Battleships were almost obsolete in WWII with the advent of aircraft carriers. Just ask the Germans and the sinking of the Bismarck.
Now days they'd be huge sitting ducks just waiting to be blown up with a couple of cruise missiles.
OR DRONES
Write or call your congress people and insist the military follow the constitution and that they work for we the people
But I'm afraid they (like to many politicians) just work for themselves.
Any of those military brass stand up to Trump - they'd be out the door. Bam. Welcome to Fascist America.
WHO is "running the country" as a blithering Trump certainly isn't.
SS Miller. Russell Vought. Who else?
And WHEN --if ever--will the corporate media allow as how Trump has dementia.
Last but not least: WHAT will Trump--or Miller or Vought or X-- do tomorrow or soon to distract from today's broadcast humiliation?
During the 2016 election someone from Trump's campaign said there was a list of "outrageous" things on a big wall chart, and if Trump wasn't in the headlines for 24 hours, he'd say or do something "outrageous" and grab back the headline, ie, control the media narrative. And nothing's changed. Epstein? Invade Iran. Epstein? Tariffs. Epstein? Blast the United Nations. Epstein? Send the army into war-ravaged Portland. Epstein? Shut down the government. Epstein? What's next on the "outrageous" list ...
My favorite (in a very dark way) was when he announced HE had sent 2 nuclear subs ... and then boarded the helicopter to go golfing for the weekend.
yesterday morning he told the assembled generals that his tariffs had bought in "17 trillion dollars" and America was the "richest country in the world."
Two hours later he told the Dems that there was no money for health insurance and they couldn't find $350 million for PBS (Ken Burns, Antique Roadshow, Brit dramas, Sesame Street, etc)
$17 Trillion at 11:00 a.m.; we can't afford it anything at 1 p.m.
Pure endless bullshit, lies, lies, lies.
Good catch! Several times a day he shows the world his brain is mush.
Mr. Wilson, you had me at the end—Trump is scared and squirming about the Epstein files, and he'll do anything to drop bombs as a distraction. The truth is lingering and will come out. I appreciate your reporting, Mr. Wilson. Thank you for your transparency. We all need it.
I posted this somewhere else, but it fits perfectly right here:
During the 2016 election someone from Trump's campaign said there was a list of "outrageous" things on a big wall chart, and if Trump wasn't in the headlines for 24 hours, he'd say or do something "outrageous" and grab back the headline, ie, control the media narrative. And nothing's changed. Epstein? Invade Iran. Epstein? Tariffs. Epstein? Blast the United Nations. Epstein? Send the army into war-ravaged Portland. Epstein? Shut down the government. Epstein? What's next on the "outrageous" list ...
Anyone remember that scene from the WW II movie In Harm's Way where Kirk Douglas bitch slaps the smarmy naval attache to the Chief of Naval Ops in the men's room? I hope one of these generals does that to Hegseth.
Here's the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-PKdE2-igA
Dream on, MSH.
I recall Trump criticized SCOTUS Amy Barrett for not smiling enough during his State of the Union speech.
Slap a Trumpie? Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
The whole thing is sounding like North Korea, a place that Supreme Leader Trump seems to be emulating.
Well okay boys 'n' gila monsters, it's Shutdown O'Clock.
I had been avoiding the specifics. I just read a legacy media deep dive and apparently SS, Medicare and Medicaid are a separate receipt stream and won't be affected. That was my existential panic -- that I wouldn't be able to pay my rent this month. This will be like the '19 shutdown; Trump and the GOP will own it. Trump keeping up the protection racket patter -- think of what horrible and permanent things Trump could do if the Dems don't fold -- only makes it worse for him because it identifies all those horrible and permanent things with Trump.
I mean, he's so tied to meeting his immediate narcissistic supply needs he can't even perceive the potential blowback from threatening the country while ineffectually attempting to blame the Dems for his own goddamn threats.
Bob, you say "ineffectually attempting to blame the Dems"
Today the Repubs have been ruthlessly on-message with "blame the Dems":
- The Dems want to give health care to illegal aliens (false)
- Long hospital wait time are due to the Dems giving preferential treatment to illegal aliens (false)
- Blame Chuck Schumer because he caved to the radical left (false)
- Blame the Dems. Blame the Dems. Blame the Dems.
I don't watch FOX but I'm betting it's a non-stop Blame the Dems marathon.
So I don't know how "ineffectual" it is.
Brings to mind Goebbels's "repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it."
That this surprises anyone? The Republicans do something horrible and then brazenly lie that the Democrats did it? As if they might care about lying? How quaint ;)
You would actually spend a femtosecond expecting they'd do anything different? Dude, they've been doing this since I was a preteen and Nixon was gonna bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam. You have a right to be wary of this but no objective reason to suspect that it does good things for Trump's numbers, which are falling.
Yeah, there's a hard contingent out there who takes everything Trump says at face value. There's a hard contingent, mostly of wealthy seniors, who are actually going to pay four figures (Hurry Now!) to get on the waiting list for a so-called med bed card.
A med bed card, Abe. You've seen the video for it, I trust, that Trump re-Truthed as if it was an actual FOX segment and not AI-generated? Med beds look like transparent iron lungs, or the relaxation pod from the video game Portal 1. These amazing devices will not only bestow immortality, they will _regrow limbs._ So if the Rapture didn't work for you guys last week, you can try the high tech approach instead ;) Bill Gates had 'em invented for him and his scumbag elite buddies, but now President Trump has selflessly made them available to all Americans (for a special low, low introductory fee).
I'm supposed to live my life in deference to what _these people think about anything?_
They're unregenerate, unreasoning enemies who have to be defeated at the ballot box.
Thanks for another great analysis. While the cost of bringing these 800 military leaders to this dismal meeting was “absurd,” its value may prove to be priceless. The 800 got to see— and hear—first-hand, in person, the state of its leadership. As you concluded, that may pay great dividends later.
Jeff, they looked 800 brain-washed zombies right outta 1984 .