4/17/26
GOVERNOR WHITMER DECLARES ANOTHER STATE OF EMERGENCY
Just one month after placing 7 Northern Michigan counties under a State of Emergency for a devastating ice storm, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has placed the rest of Northern Michigan under a State of Emergency due to widespread flooding.
The Cheboygan Dam and the Bellaire Dam are at record levels, just inches from the top. Downstream residents have been warned to evacuate at a moments notice. Buck’s Pond in Alcona County is no more, after the privately owned Buck’s Pond Dam burst on Monday.
At least 14 bridges across Northern Michigan have failed or are closed.
4/15/26
DOJ FILES TO VACATE TERRORIST CONVICTIONS
The US Department of Justice has filed with the DC Court of Appeals to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, infamous far right terrorist groups that helped to foment the insurrection of January 6 in coordination with President Donal Trump.
These criminals received sentences ranging from 8 to 22 years for their attempt to violently overturn the 2020 election of President Joe Biden. Trump did not pardon these people, he commuted their sentences, which put their cases into legal limbo. It’s now obvious why - since they never had to admit guilt (a requirement for a pardon), the DOJ is now simply moving to dismiss them.
The exception is Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy. For some reason, Trump pardoned him, which means he DID have to admit guilt. Pretty hard to put THAT toothpaste back in the tube.
These criminals were all convicted in jury trials, and are now being defended by a DOJ that has trouble even getting grand jury indictments.
4/13/26
TRUMP COMMENTS ON POPE LEO
Ordinarily, we link to a reputable news source for our stories. This one is from Truth Social, but we’re going to link to it anyway, right here. But this time, we’re going to post the entire text, because we have a feeling this may not be around long.
This is what our president posted about Pope Leo, the first American Pope and leader of over a billion Catholics.
“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody else, for holding Church Services, even when going outside, and being ten and even twenty feet apart. I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn’t! I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do, setting Record Low Numbers in Crime, and creating the Greatest Stock Market in History. Leo should be thankful because, as everyone knows, he was a shocking surprise. He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican. Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me, nor does the fact that he meets with Obama Sympathizers like David Axelrod, a LOSER from the Left, who is one of those who wanted churchgoers and clerics to be arrested. Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
4/12/26
US ECONOMY WEAKENS
There are troubling signs that the Iran War is doing major damage to the US economy already, only 6 weeks into the war.
The price of gasoline rose 21.2 % in March, a record increase for a single month.
The oil shock caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent inflation up by .9% in March, the highest one month jump in 4 years. Inflation now stands at 3.3%, the highest it has ever been in the Trump presidency.
The closely watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index reached it’s all time low in March, from data reaching all the way back to 1952.
This could be just the beginning. Inflation is likely to keep rising for several months, even if the war is brought to a conclusion soon. If the war is not ended soon, the outlook is bleak.
4/9/26
“SOUNDS GOOD TO ME”
According to reporting by the New York Times, that is what President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after a presentation the Israeli government made in the White House Situation Room on February 11. The presentation was designed to convince the American president to join Israel in a sneak attack on Iran, and it, apparently, worked.
A subsequent meeting, between only Trump and his cabinet on February 12, struck a different tone. Cabinet officials broke the Israeli presentation into 4 parts:
Killing Iran’s top government officials (illegal under international law)
Destroying Iran’s ability to project power
Fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, and
Regime change
Administration officials deemed points 1 & 2 achievable, but were not so keen on 3 & 4.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said regime change as on objective was “farcical”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was even more direct, calling it “bull****”.
Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine did his job, giving the President his unbiased assessment of the consequences of what was being contemplated, without advocating for or against it. Among the things he told Trump, on that and subsequent days, was that the Israelis were overselling their position, and that war with Iran would drastically deplete American stockpiles of weapons. He also told the President the enormous difficulty in securing the Strait of Hormuz, and the risks of Iran blocking it.
The strongest voice against US involvement was none other than Vice President JD Vance, who agreed with other cabinet members about the dangers, and also told Trump that war with Iran could unleash regional chaos and mass casualties. Vance was the only one to tell Trump directly that it was a “terrible idea”.
The only cabinet member to advocate strongly for the Israeli proposal was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
But President Trump didn’t listen to the naysayers, and here we are.
Where we are is this: At least 13 Americans have been killed, with hundreds more wounded. All American bases in the region have sustained damage, and some have been rendered inoperable. The war, so far, has cost at least 40 billion dollars, with some estimates doubling or tripling that number. America is running low on Tomahawk cruise missiles and air defense interceptors. Thousands of people have been killed in Iran and Lebanon, with hundreds more among US allies in the Middle East. Iran’s military has been degraded, but is certainly not destroyed, particularly their offensive missile and drone capabilities. Iran’s government remains in place and all indications are that it is more extreme than ever. The Strait of Hormuz, open prior to the conflict, is now under effective Iranian control, along with 20% of the world’s petroleum. A tenuous “ceasefire” is in place, already violated numerous times by Israel and Iran.
So much winning.
4/5/26
THE PRICE OF WAR
According to economic experts, if the Iran war continues for just 6 months, the forecast is world wide recession.
The International Energy Agency in Paris calls the war the largest energy shock in history. Bloomberg Economics says the price of oil could rise to $170 per barrel in just 3 months.
Asia is already being hit hard by shortages, as a great deal of their trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. Because the travel time to the US is much greater, America will be among the last to feel the effects, but they will be felt. It’s not only petroleum that passes through the Strait, but a also large part of the word’s fertilizer and helium.
In happier news from the war, both crew members of an F-15 jet that was shot down over Iran have been rescued by the US military. During the rescue operation, an A-10 Warthog was also shot down, and it’s pilot rescued. Several Black Hawk helicopters were damaged by small arms fire.
4/3/26
BONDI OUT AS AG, HEGSETH CANS THREE GENERALS
President Donald Trump has fired Attorney General Pam Bondi 14 months into her term, despite her slavish devotion to his every whim. During her tenure, Bondi oversaw the near total destruction of the US Department of Justice, transforming it from impartial defender of American law to instrument of personal revenge for the President. As a consequence, literally hundreds of experienced attorneys have either quit or been fired.
Speculation is that Bondi was fired for her lack of success securing legal punishment for the many names on Trump’s enemies list. Some indictments she tried to bring were refused by grand juries, others overturned by judges. Only John Bolton’s indictment for espionage has held up, and that as a result of an investigation begun under the Biden Administration.
Todd Blanche will now become Acting Attorney General, but whoever the AG is, they’re going to have the same problem - American law just doesn’t allow what Trump wants.
Meanwhile, over at the Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has fired three senior generals in the middle of a war. The three are US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., and commander of Army Transformation and Training Command, Gen. David Hodne. No reason was given for these firings.
4/2/26
TRUMP SIGNS EO TO NATIONALIZE ELECTIONS
Having failed utterly to intimidate his own party into enacting his voter suppression legislation (the SAVE Act), President Donald Trump on Tuesday took matters into his own corrupt hands and issued an Executive Order that does many of the same things. If followed, the order would:
Severely restrict absentee and mail in voting.
Require the Department of Homeland Security to create a list of citizens who are eligible to vote.
Charge the US Postal Service with checking the “eligible voter list”, and delivering mail in ballots only to those who are both on the list and “approved” for mail in voting.
Withhold federal funds from states and localities that do not comply.
Several things should be noted, before we move on to reactions. The primary one is that the President has absolutely no constitutional role in elections, and that’s exactly as the founders intended. The Federalist Papers are replete with warnings of the dire consequences should a president like Trump ever gain control of US elections. Then there is the matter of DHS involvement, when the agency has no experience in the administration of elections, as well as holding a public image that is currently tarnished, at best. Combine that with only 7 months to go to the mid terms, and the recipe is one of chaos and disaster.
And it’s that “chaos and disaster” thing that is the real point. Like no other President before him, Donald Trump has sought to undermine American faith in our elections. Except the ones he wins.
Reaction to this blatantly unconstitutional order has been swift. Democratic Party leadership filed suit to stop it on Wednesday. Michigan Secretary of State (and gubernatorial candidate) Jocelyn Benson said "This executive order is illegal on its face. States run elections, not the president. As Secretary of State, I will protect the votes and voices of Michiganders. The law is on our side, and I will take swift action to fight this illegal order in court."
3/31/26
TRUMP TO NATO: JOIN MY PIRATE CREW
Amid sometimes conflicting stories, it’s been hard to tell just how the war in Iran is going. We’ve heard (from Trump) “we’ve won”, “we’re winning”, “Iran has nothing left”, “we’ve obliterated them” (at least 5 times), “we want to talk”, “we’ve killed everyone we could talk to”, “if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, we’ll annihilate their electric grid in 2 5 14 days”, ‘we demand help from NATO”, “we don’t need NATO at all”. All the things you usually hear about a well planned operation.
Dear Leader’s pronouncement today make be the clearest indication yet of the state of the war and where he wants to lead this country. Trump said that allies who have had their oil supplies disrupted by his “special military operation” should “go to the Strait and just TAKE IT”. Because, that’s how powerful countries should treat weaker ones - just take their stuff.
From the article: The president added that the U.S. would not assist allies in reopening the strait, stating "You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us."
This is incredibly wrong in 3 particulars - 1. NATO is a defensive treaty, members respond when a NATO country is attacked; 2. the only time Article 5 was ever invoked was on behalf of the US after 9/11; and 3. the Strait of Hormuz was a fully functional vital waterway, until the US attacked Iran without warning.
ARRGH, mates! Let’s sail the 7 seas and plunder where we will!
3/30/26
NO KINGS III SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD
According to the organizers, Saturday’s No Kings III protests drew over 8 million participants at 3300 different locations across America. That would make Saturday the largest single day of protest in US history.
Bruce Springsteen performed for an estimated 100,000 in St. Paul, the flagship rally for the event.
Across the nation, rallies were peaceful, with just a couple exceptions. In Dallas, pardoned January 6ers provoked a confrontation with protesters. In Los Angeles, 9 demonstrators were arrested for throwing rocks and bottles at federal officers at a detention center.
3/28/26
NO KINGS III
In big cities and small towns across America, the 3rd No Kings protest will be held today. Organizers claim over 3200 rallies will be held all over the country. Given the nature of the protests, it’s difficult to get a head count, but organizers hope to make this the largest day of peaceful protest in US history. Northern Michigan locations include Cadillac, Traverse City, Gaylord, Tawas, West Branch, and right here in Houghton Lake.
If you decide to attend one, please be peaceful and respect those around you.
3/27/26
TRUMP SIGNATURE TO APPEAR ON US PAPER CURRENCY
You read that right, and yes, it’s a first. The Treasury Department says that Trump’s signature will be on paper US currency. No other US president in history has done this; various dictators, poohbahs, kings, and potentates have done it in other countries.
A number of questions remain. Which bills will bear his scrawl? We don’t know yet. Since Trump collects a fee for using his name, will the US have to pay, too? It seems entirely likely, given the corruption we see from this regime on a daily basis.
US currency currently contains 2 signatures, those of the Secretary of the Treasury and the US Treasurer. It’s not clear yet which of those Trump is going to replace, or if he’s just going to add his signature someplace else. Those signatures, by the way, are a promise that the bill you are holding is actually worth the denomination printed on it. Who, other than a Trump cultist, believes a promise from Donald Trump?
3/24/26
NO DEALS WITH DEMOCRATS
For over a month, Democrats have held firm on their promise to reign in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and to use DHS funding (the only tool available) to do it. Unfortunately, the same sectional funding is responsible for the TSA, the part of DHS that deals with airport security. And it’s causing havoc in the nation’s air transportation system.
Understand, what Democrats are demanding is that ICE act like any other American law enforcement agency - that is, no masks, wear body cams, and obtain judicial warrants before breaking down people’s doors.
TSA agents are about to miss their SECOND paycheck. 400 of them have quit. 12% of those that remain called in sick last weekend.
So, Republican and Democratic Senators got together and came up with a plan. They would pass funding for other parts of DHS (including TSA), leave ICE unfunded so Democrats wouldn’t have to support it, and then later pass ICE funding through reconciliation without Democratic support.
It was a done deal, as admitted by GOP Senators Thune, Kennedy, and Cruz. TSA agents could have been back on the payroll by this weekend.
But President Trump killed it, as also admitted by the GOP Senators. “No deals with Democrats” he said. Oh, and by the way, he’s also not going to sign it unless his draconian voter suppression bill, the “SAVE” Act, is passed along with it. And that has NO chance, unless Republicans agree to kill the Senate filibuster for good.
3/23/26
GET YOUR WALLET OUT
In what is surely one of the most bizarre twists on the practice of farm subsidies, CNN is reporting that the Trump regime is going to pay 1 billion dollars to a French energy firm - to NOT build wind farms.
Our president’s hatred of wind energy is well known, but this is extreme. The government is going to pay TotalEnergies 1 billion of our tax dollars to abandon plans to build offshore wind farms, and instead develop fossil fuel plants in Texas.
This comes at a time when the regime has gutted the regulatory framework of the nation, and every energy obese data farm is given a fast track to approval. Consumers are already feeling the pinch in rapidly escalating energy costs.
They’ve got us coming and going: we pay the ever increasing cost of energy while we also pay to increase the cost.
3/22/26
TRUMP GIVES IRAN ULTIMATUM OVER STRAIT
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he was giving Iran 48 hours to completely open the Strait of Hormuz, or face attacks on their energy grid.
Iran said that they would respond in kind with attacks on the energy infrastructure of US allies in the region. Iran also said that such an attack by the US would result in Iran closing the Strait completely. At this time, Iran is allowing some ships to pass, if they are from “friendly” nations.
It should be pointed out that attacks on civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international law. In other words, it’s a war crime.
UPDATE 3/23/26 - Trump has now pushed his deadline back 5 days, saying progress has been made in talks with Iran. Iran, for it’s part, says there are no talks.
3/20/26
TRUMP MAKES PEARL HARBOR COMPARISON WITH JAPANESE PM
In what surely will go down as one of the most insensitive diplomatic moments in US history, President Donald Trump, in a press event with the Prime Minister of Japan, brought up Pearl Harbor as justification for his sneak attack on Iran.
Quoting the article: “We didn’t tell anyone about it because we wanted a surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan?” Trump said to laughter. “Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?”
Takaichi's eyes widened and her smile disappeared as she leaned back and drew her hands in at the mention of Pearl Harbor.”
Pearl Harbor, of course, brought the US into World War II.
3/18/26
WHITMER DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY
Following the catastrophic winter storm that struck Michigan on March 15-16, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared a State of Emergency for 7 counties.
The governor issued the declaration for Alcona, Alpena, Missaukee, Ogemaw, Roscommon and Wexford counties in northern Lower Michigan, as well as the Upper Peninsula’s Delta County.
The 6 Lower Peninsula counties were hit hard by a devastating ice storm. As of this writing, thousands remain without power in Roscommon County. At points north, the storm was an intense blizzard that dropped as much as 52 inches of snow on unlucky communities across northern Michigan.
3/18/26
DNR INTERVENES IN CONSUMER’S DAM SALE
In an unusual move, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is opposing the proposed sale of 13 dams owned by Consumer’s Energy to a private equity firm.
Consumer’s would sell each of the 13 dams, which impound some of Michigan’s largest rivers, to private equity firm Confluence Hydro, for 1 dollar each. Consumer’s would then buy electricity generated by the dams at twice the market rate for hydroelectric power.
The State fears that this is a scheme by Consumer’s to relieve themselves of maintenance responsibilities for the dams, by shifting them to a private equity firm outside the control of the Michigan Public Service Commission. We’ve seen how this works out before, a few years ago, when the privately owned Edenville and Sanford dams broke due to poor maintenance and flooded Sanford and Midland.
3/14/26
JUDGE THROWS OUT FEDERAL RESERVE SUBPOENAS
Federal judge James Boasberg has thrown out 2 subpoenas obtained by the DOJ against members of the Federal Reserve. His ruling has the effect of invalidating the case, unless it is overturned on appeal.
Judge Boasberg had some choice words for the Trump regime, too.
"A mountain of evidence suggests that the Government served these subpoenas on the Board to pressure its Chair into voting for lower rates or resigning," he wrote. "On the other side of the scale, the Government has produced essentially zero evidence to suspect Chair Powell of a crime."
"In light of all the evidence, the only reasonable inference is that the Government targeted Powell 'out of malice or an intent to harass' and has launched a 'fishing expedition' to either find something to pin on him or to pressure him to fold," he continued.
3/13/26
DEATH TOLL RISES TO THIRTEEN
All 6 crew members of a KC-135 refueling aircraft are confirmed dead, after the plane crashed in western Iraq. The crash is under investigation, however CENTCOM insists that the crash was not due to friendly or hostile fire. Their deaths bring the total for the war, so far, to 13.
In other war news, the US is sending an amphibious assault ship, the USS Tripoli to the Middle East, along with it’s Marine expeditionary unit of over 2000 soldiers.
3/10/26
THE STATE OF THE WAR
Where exactly are we on this, the 11th day of the Iran War? It’s hard to say.
Just yesterday, the Commander in Chief said the “war is very complete”. But this morning, the Secretary of Defense said that we were going to dial up the intensity to it’s highest level today. Those two things would seem to be at odds with each other.
We now know that we burned through 5.6 BILLION dollars worth of munitions in the first 2 days of the war. Despite this, the Secretary of Defense says we have plenty of ammo. If that is true, why are we moving air defense batteries from South Korea to the Middle East?
We lost another soldier, making 7 so far.
3/8/26
IT SURE LOOKS LIKE WE DID IT
In the opening day of the Iran War, now 1 week old, a truly horrific event took place - the destruction of an Iranian girl’s elementary school. Estimates vary, but it appears likely that well over a hundred girls between the ages of 7 and 12 were killed.
Not surprisingly, nobody wants to take credit for this. The US has blamed Israel. Israel has blamed the US. And both of them have blamed Iran itself, claiming that the Iranian regime is so bloodthirsty that they will massacre their own children for propaganda purposes.
Now, US military investigators are saying that evidence shows the US is responsible for the attack.
What does Dear Leader have to say about it? “No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.”
His opinion. Just like he had a “feeling” that Iran was going to attack us (despite all evidence to the contrary), and that’s why he started this war.
3/7/26
NOEM OUT AT DHS
Embattled Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, was fired Thursday by President Trump.
To be clear, she was not fired over the cold blooded murder of 2 US citizens by her agents, or the kidnapping and imprisonment of elementary school students, or her painfully slow release of relief payments to states hit with natural disasters.
No, what took her down was this. On Tuesday, she testified before a Senate committee, and when asked about a 220 million dollar ad campaign featuring herself, she testified that the campaign was awarded by competitive bid. Then, on Wednesday, she testified before a House committee, and Democrats were ready to pounce. It’s turns out that she perjured herself in her Senate testimony. The ad contract had been awarded, without bids, to a company hastily formed by her political allies from South Dakota.
Even that probably wouldn’t have gotten her fired, but she went further. She said President Trump had approved the whole thing. That’s what did it.
President Trump lost no time in nominating Senator Markwayne Mullin (R., Oklahoma) to replace her. Mullin is an ex MMA fighter who does not have a college degree.
3/5/26
AG TO STATE BARS: YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED
Citing “unprecedented weaponization” of complaints, Attorney General Pam Bondi is claiming the right (through DOJ rule making) to subsume or supersede state bar disciplinary investigations and actions against DOJ attorneys.
The proposed rule is now subject to a 30 day public comment period. Should you wish to comment, here is the site.
To clarify, if the rule is adopted as proposed, any time a state bar opens an investigation into a DOJ attorney, Bondi could tell them to stop and turn it over to her. Some of you may be asking, what’s wrong with that? Well, the “unprecedented weaponization” of complaints she cites stems from an unprecedented amount of times judges have rebuked DOJ attorneys for unethical behavior or actual criminal activity. Given this, state bars are one of the last remedies available to enforce an ethical legal system.
Who DOESN’T want an ethical legal system? Well, there is a guy in the White House…