Belated happy new year

The new(ish) year is off to a roaring start, but I am not — not yet, anyway. But soon. I just wanted to keep my commitment to posting at least once evey month: a tradition I have been keeping since this blog was born nearly 20 (!) years ago. 

After numerous additional delays, I am just about ready to jump back in full force, and I will have plenty to say. 

Meanwhile, thanks for sticking by me, and I will be back soon.

Goodbye and good riddance to 2025

It has been a very rough year for me, and very possibly for you too. For many if not most of us, 2025 sucked even harder than 2024. But we survived it.

After a long and turbulent — hellish, in fact — few months, I am safely settled (well, mostly settled) in a lovely part of Texas, no longer at the Edge of Nowhere but now in the Middle of Somewhere. I am no longer a country mouse; as I noted in my previous post, I have come in from the wild after nearly 18 years, which has been a little strange, but not as unsettling as I had feared. 

One factor making the transition easier is that, to my delight, the manicured and hyper-regulated neighborhood in which I now live is also home to wandering wild deer, some of whom bed down in my yard at night. They wander through the well-tended yards and streets like they own the place.

I’ll miss the raccoons and opossums at the old location, but at least I’ve got the deer.

I will have more to write about all of this — not to mention about my normal blog topics — as soon as I finally get my computers and Internet set up, which for several reasons is taking much longer than it should ever have taken. 

For now, I wish all of you a safe and happy new year, even if it does seem like we’re living in hell at the moment. Things will get better — I am more certain of that now than ever — but it’s going to take a lot of effort from all of us. 

I’m going to see the new year in with a glass of cold crisp shampagne,  my NA libation of choice being Sutter Fre Sparkling Brut. And I will be surrounded by my fur babies, trying not to think too much about how profoundly I miss Ron. I’ll drink a toast to him, and to the lovely but fleeting time we had together. 

Thank you as always for visiting my Whirled. 

In from the wild: moving on

I am getting ready to make a big move -- from out in the sticks back to “civilization.” It’s actually a very scary step for me but it is something I really need to do.

I like where I am living now; I have the best landlords and good neighbors (except for the [alleged] meth cookers and owners of cat-murdering rogue dogs on the other side of the woods, but hey, this is East Texas). And it’s very pretty out here. I have enjoyed living “in the country” for the past nearly 18 years, but it’s time for me to come in from the wild. My current situation is not sustainable; for the sake of both my physical and emotional health, I really need to be in a place where I am not so isolated, especially since I don’t drive.

Fortunately I have been given a wonderful opportunity by very dear friends who are really my extended family and who have a suburban rental house available in the city where they live, which is about 200 miles from where I am now. There will be more amenities, better access to needed services, and numerous other advantages that I don’t currently have.

I’m now dealing with an almost overwhelming amount of logistical details that on previous moves I had Ron to help me with, and on which I have been egregiously behind schedule, mainly due to getting sick several times over the past several months. One challenge is covering the cost of moving, which is hovering around $6,000. After Ron died I was immediately faced with drastically reduced income, and while I am still trying to find ways to increase that income, my immediate concern is raising funds to help with the costs of using a professional moving company, as well as with a few miscellaneous expenses that are always a part of moving.

Since I don’t drive, a do-it-yourself moving service such as UHaul was not an option. Asking friends or my one remaining immediate family member (my brother) to help execute an entire move, including loading and unloading, was simply not an option either. My friends and my brother all have busy lives, and they live far away from here (I told you I was out in the sticks), plus we’re all getting too old to be lifting a lot of heavy stuff anyway.

And since I am going to be moving a considerably greater distance than all of the previous moves that Ron and I made together over the past three decades, I had to hire a company with big enough trucks that the move would not require multiple trips. That might sound painfully obvious, but due to my large library, it’s more of a challenge than it might be for many folks. (Don’t get me wrong; I have been purging books as well as other items to help keep costs down, but moving is still an expensive undertaking!)

So any any donation, no matter how small, will be deeply appreciated.

Moving is stressful for anyone. It’s one of the most stressful of life events, just behind divorce or the death of a loved one. For me it it’s no exaggeration to say that moving has always been at least a little bit traumatic, even when it was a very welcomed move, such as this one will be. And doing it all without Ron for the first time has added considerably to the stress and fear and uncertainty. I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and I have faith that it’s not an oncoming train. But for now, I need to get through this move so I can begin a new and more sustainable life.

Below is my information for Venmo and Paypal. I actually prefer Venmo, but Paypal will work fine too. Again, any amount will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

• Venmo: Username: @Connie-Schmidt-42email: cosmic.connie@gmail.com
  Here’s a direct link to my Venmo page:https://account.venmo.com/u/Connie-Schmidt-42
• Paypal: Username: CosmicConnieSchmidt
  Email: cosmic.connie@gmail.com
  Here’s a direct link to my PayPal page: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/CosmicConnieSchmidt
  If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's transaction fee.

The "Donate" button that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version is still good, though I prefer the Venmo or PayPal links cited above. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account that belonged to Ron, but which I've kept active -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

Thank you so much. And even if you can’t send a donation, please send me a heapin’ helpin’ of good vibes. I need all the help I can get. And I'll be back as soon as possible with a real post.

Meet me at the wrecking ball: Trump's gaudy gilded dance hall is more than just a metaphor, it's a warning

 

If you thought that #NeverWasMyPresident Donald John Trump's tarting-up of the Oval Office with garish gold gew-gaws was THE metaphor for his profoundly awful Biff Tannen presidency, or that his desecration of the Rose Garden, turning it into a Mar-a-Lago patio club for billionaires and toadies, was the ultimate symbol of his reckless, destructive impulses and elitist nature, the Trump regime says, "Hold my beer." For as you must surely know by now, a newer and far more extreme Trump-presidential metaphor that illustrates all of the above has hit the news over the past few days: the total destruction of the lovely and historic East Wing of the White House in order to build an obscene gilded grand ballroom (or should that be gallroom?) that is nearly twice the size of the existing White House.

The current price tag is $300 million $350 million, up from the $200 million Trump announced back in July. Don't be surprised if the price continues to go up and up and up, but no worries. He claims that the project will be totally funded by him and some of his bestest oligarch buddies, who almost certainly are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts and a heartwarmingly patriotic desire to improve the White House, and who don't expect a thing in return. Not a penny will come out of taxpayer pockets; you have his word on it.

But try telling that to the malcontents! Despite his reassurances that the project won't cost taxpayers a dime, a few (million) folks apparently aren't at all happy about the fact that Trump can't stop gloating about his tawdry Winter Palace ballroom while the government is still shut down, and thousands of employees as well as military members are going without pay, and inflation is creeping up, and employment is flat, and groceries and gasoline prices and utility bills are increasing, and armed masked thugs are snatching hundreds of people, including American citizens, from the streets of America and disappearing them, and Trump tariffs and other policies have screwed our farmers and countless small business owners, and people are losing healthcare coverage as well as food benefits and other social safety nets, and funding for scientific and medical research -- including the funding of childhood cancer research -- has been halted so billionaires can get a bigger tax break. Such ingrates, these complainers, who clearly can't appreciate the breadth and depth of King Donold's grand vision.

Along with countless others, my favorite foul-mouthed pundit Jeff Tiedrich pointed out that besides being a metaphor for Trump's wrecking of the country so he can rebuild it in his image, this atrocity is also yet another example of Trump's endless stream of lies.

“it won’t interfere with the current building. it’ll be near it but not touching it. and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. it’s my favorite.” [That's what Trump originally promised.]

oh gee, who even knew that Donny had a favorite wing of the White House — the east one. yeah, right. just like Cokey McSniffles is his favorite son. totally credible remark.

so, it turns out that the guy who lied to us about bone spurs and hush money and his Ukraine phone call and a hurricane and covid and the election and his height and his weight and his golf scores and his magically regenerated ear also lied to us about preserving the East Wing.

I’m fucking shocked, I tell you. how did we Nazi this coming?

Yet Trump took umbrage when a reporter suggested that he had been less than transparent about the ballroom plans. Tiedrich continued:

reporter: “I just want a quick follow-up to that question. your response to people who say you haven’t been transparent enough about this—”

Donny: “I haven’t been transparent enough? really? I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen. third-rate reporters didn’t see it because they didn’t look. you’re a third-rate reporter. always have been.”

what a whiny fucking crybaby. ‘everyone has to love my vulgar dance hall, and you’re a third-rate poopyhead if you don’t.’

oh, boo fucking hoo.

here’s what our Fuckstain-in-Chief calls ‘being transparent’: he held up a drawing of some gaudy gold monstrosity — and then raged because every reporter didn’t immediately burst into tears and go ‘sir! thank you for your transparency. how do you do it? how do you hold up a drawing like no one thought possible? sir! sir!’

In an eloquent piece on the Lincoln Square Substack on October 23, writer Rick Wilson lamented the utter obscenity of it all.

Donald Trump didn’t just misunderstand the East Wing; he loathes the category of things it represents.

He walked into a cathedral with a bullhorn, spray paint, and faux gold leaf. He saw a place designed for civic honor, official tenderness, and historical respect and wondered why it didn’t look more like a casino atrium, a glittery Liberace dreamscape.

The East Wing, under Melania Trump, became a mood board for grievance. The holiday corridors turned into a fever dream of performative menace, a pomo aesthetic that screamed more threat than holiday spirit. The Social Office, traditionally where protocol breathes, is now one more wing of the Department of Trolling, a conveyor belt of grotesque events staged not as acts of national hospitality but as moments for the Dear Leader to caper while his minions offer proofs of loyalty.

The White House grounds have become a gimcrack stage set, a regional dinner theater of the absurd.

It’s American malaise dressed up as blaring pageant: a stripper-pole segment added to a ballet, a spiritual emptiness that comes when a man confuses himself with a country and then tries to decorate the void in more and more gold leaf and Temu-grade gradeau.

The conservative Bulwark had a few words about the matter too, discussing on an October 23 piece the fact that Trump apparently sees the physical history of the People's House in much the same way that he views the nation's laws, as something to be swept aside at will. In a segment headlined "The Asbestos Wing," Bill Kristol wrote about why Trump broke his promise that the White House wouldn't be touched by construction of the new ballroom.

But that pledge by the President is no longer operative. Why not? Well, Trump explained yesterday, the East Wing “was never thought of as being much. It was a very small building.”

Very small is bad. Very big is good. And so Donald Trump decided that the small old East Wing would be summarily replaced by a big new ballroom.

What, you ask, will that grand structure be called? Did you have to ask? According to the pledge agreement sent to donors, they’ll be contributing to the construction of ”The Donald J. Trump Ballroom at the White House.”

Eeesh. And unless you're a devoted MAGA cultist, the implications are grim.

Trump... as he sat Tuesday at his desk in his newly gilded Oval Office, looking out on his paved-over Rose Garden, not far from where he plans to build his new imitation of the Arc de Triomphe, said this: “We can never let what happened in the 2020 election happen again. We just can’t let that happen. I know Kash is working on it, everybody is working on it. And certainly Tulsi is working on it. We can’t let that happen again to our country.”

Unlike Lincoln, Donald Trump doesn’t seem to imagine himself a mere temporary inhabitant of the building in which he resides. He apparently doesn’t intend to allow for the defeat of the incumbent administration, and a peaceful transfer of power, in November, 2028.

Kristol is just one of many who have warned that the grand ballroom is far more than an ugly metaphor for an ugly "presidency" -- it's also a stark warning that the current occupant of the White House does not intend to leave when his term is up. And there is almost certainly much more going on beneath the surface -- literally. From CBS News, October 22, 2025:

The bunker under the East Wing will also be upgraded, sources told CBS News. The White House Military Office is handling the renovation of the bunker, which is known as the President's Emergency Operations Center.

Commentator Glee Violette, on an October 23, 2025 Facebook post, wrote:

Trump will use ANY means - ANY MEANS - to hold on to the office this time around. He has proven that. He has three goals that motivate him - personal power, wealth, and revenge. Nothing he does is for the MAGA folks - they are just his pawns. And he is not here to make America "great", but to PLUNDER it and OWN it.

So, there must be NO midterm elections next year. [To stop them] he needs war-time conditions. And that war will be RIGHT HERE. So he needs himself a proper bunker. Not the 60 year old WWII bunker he hid in last time. A lavish, opulent, HUGE bunker, in the style to which he has become accustomed.

Oh, and the Ballroom he is building over it will be a nice place to serve as a proper Great Hall and Throne Room, afterwards, in order to receive tributes from future supplicants, as well.

If you think that sounds like mere leftist hysteria or conspiranoia, you haven't been paying attention. Read the rest of Glee's post for a list of some of the most egregious violations of U.S. and international law being committed by the bellicose, power-hungry Trump regime.

The White House desecration may seem like a non-issue or at least a minor matter in the larger scheme of things; in fact, MAGA by and large seems totally on-board with it. Note that these are the same folks who got all bent out of shape when Cracker Barrel changed its logo and some of its interior decor; they heralded those changes as the end of American culture and the takeover of evil wokeness. They screamed and shouted and wept and whined until Cracker Barrel ultimately changed the logo back.

But the vulgarization of the White House? Hey, say the regime as well as countless MAGA, other presidents have done stuff to the White House, and this is no different (ignoring the fact that it is, in many ways, very different and much more extreme). To MAGA it's just a matter of letting Donald be Donald. He builds stuff, that's his thing. Besides, he's Our President and he can do whatever he wants. So shut up, you complainers with your trivial gripes.

But what is being done to the People's House is hardly trivial: it is both an ugly metaphor and, very likely, an ominous sign of things to come.

P.S. Getty Images offers a pictorial demolition diary. If you have any love of American history and ideals, it will make you sad.

Before you leave...
While money cannot make some nightmares go away, be they political or personal, it can make them far easier to bear. With my husband Ron's passing in February 2025, I have experienced significant income loss and am scrambling to find more work, but in an industry increasingly being taken over by AI, it has been a challenge. And now that I am making a major move, which is never cheap, donations are urgently needed and profoundly appreciated. Here are some ways to do it:

• New: Venmo -- username @Connie-Schmidt-42. Here is a direct link to the Venmo page.
• New: PayPal -- Here is a direct link to my PayPal page.
• Old but still good: You can click on the "Donate" icon that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account RevRon -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

NOTE: If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's substantial transaction fee.

Whether you can donate or not, thank you for visiting this Whirled.

Hope for America and the world: the No Kings movement is just getting stronger

 

You gave the man your eyes
so you could sleep at night
but you still hear their cries
you can't outrun this shame.
this land was yours and mine
until they bled it dry
history won't be kind
to those who turned the other way
~ Earth to Eve, "Have you heard the news" (addressing MAGA cult members)

Millions of Americans -- and people the world over -- have not turned the other way. Indeed, as the Trump regime doubles and triples down on its horrendous overreach, fascist policies and actions, and shameless attempts to destroy civil rights and shred the Constitution, the resistance seems to be hitting its stride at last -- that is, if the massive turnout for the October 18, 2025 No Kings protests is any indication.

Here is a link on the Talking Points Memo site to a few photos and videos from just some of the demonstrations. You can find much, much more online with even a casual search.

And, just like the previous No Kings events on June 14, 2025, the October 18 demonstrations stretched far beyond the borders of the US. Our wonderful but worried neighbors (or neighbours) to the North showed up by the thousands, from Vancouver to Toronto to Montreal. The tone across Canada has been one of firm support and shared purpose. Canadians are clearly watching developments in the U.S. closely — and they’re not staying silent. They're really, really worried about us. (And I am too.)

Several major cities in Europe and the UK also participated in demonstrations.

Reportedly even Australia rallied to the cause as well, from Sidney to Melbourne to Brisbane. While turnout was reported to be modest in comparison to No Kings events elsewhere, it's good to know the Aussies have our backs. I'll add a good link as soon as I can find one; the link I'd intended to use has been 404'd. But I know from communicating with my friends in Oz, and from reading posts by Australian participants on social media, that they do indeed have our backs.

I have also seen unverified reports of a small demonstration in Seoul, South Korea, and there's a video circulating on BlueSky of what looks like a pretty significant march that the person sharing the video, with the hashtag NoKings, claimed took place in South Korea and was in support of US democracy. I watched the video but couldn't understand what was being shouted, and I couldn't read the marchers' signs, so I can't verify. There's a lot going on there, and South Koreans have held other political demonstrations recently. I'll update if I find out any more specifics about a protest or demonstration in South Korea in support of the No Kings events in America.

But clearly, South Korea is paying attention to what's going on within the borders of their increasingly unreliable (thanks to Trump) ally. Other parts of Asia, as well as Latin America, have apparently been paying attention as well, and I have seen scattered reports that they're showing early signs of engagement in the larger movement against authoritarianism. I think we can expect more as the movement grows. For now, the verified and well-sourced reports of participation by other countries is immensely gratifying.

The pearl clutchers were ludicrously wrong
Contrary to the alarmist rants and warnings and outrageous lies from the Trump regime, the protests showed that the millions of participants in the No Kings demonstrations have an abiding love for America. Here's just one dispatch from a northwest suburb of my beloved former hometown of Houston. I'm friends in real life with the person in the frog costume, who explained to the reporter that the demonstrators were out in the wilting Texas heat because they love their country.

Moreover the No Kings events on October 18 were overwhelmingly peaceful, with no major disturbances reported. There was significant law enforcement and in several areas National Guard presence at demonstrations across the US, but while visible, they were by and large non-confrontational. In fact police departments in some areas coordinated with the organizers of the No Kings events to help ensure peaceful demonstrations.

A few incidents and arrests occurred in some locations, mostly involving counter-protesters, presumably Trump supporters. Other reported incidents either involved ICE and were separate from the main No Kings events, or happened late at night with stragglers hours after the main events had concluded.

• In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 59-year-old woman who was wearing a Trump T-shirt was arrested for brandishing a firearm from her vehicle near the No Kings protest at Chapin Memorial Park. She expressed regret and claimed that the gun was unloaded, but she was charged with two counts of pointing and presenting a firearm. According to the article I linked to, public records indicate that she isn't even legally allowed to possess a firearm or deadly weapons. On Sunday a judge set her bond at $100,000, which she posted later that day, after which she was released.
• In Detroit, Michigan, a counter-protester supporting President Trump was arrested for scuffling with demonstrators who were peacefully marching on Michigan Avenue.
• In Portland, Oregon, three arrests were made following late-night clashes between protesters and federal agents outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. Law enforcement used tear gas and crowd control measures. But this was separate from the No Kings protests in the area. It was just ICE doing more of what ICE has been doing in Portland and other cities for months now.
• In Broadview, Illinois, several people were arrested near a local ICE facility, with some charges related to disorderly conduct and disobeying police orders. These incidents were reportedly separate from the main "No Kings" march in Chicago, which was peaceful.
• In LA, while the main protest was peaceful in Los Angeles that day, late-night dispersal orders led to arrests after some smaller groups refused to leave the downtown area.
• And in a few cities, such as Ocala, Florida, there were verbal confrontations between MAGA counter-protesters and No Kings participants, but no arrests or violence were confirmed.

Additional isolated incidents will no doubt surface in the days and weeks to come, so the above list is of course not comprehensive. But in most of the large blue cities that Trump and his goons and supporters love to hate there were no major incidents. And across the country, there wasn't a single riot or terrorist attack or attempt to overthrow the government. Sorry, pearl clutchers.

Mango Mussolini is in deep denial (and deep doo-doo)
And what did Trump, the man-baby who would be king, think about the overwhelming displays of resistance against His Mango Majesty? Well, there's the now-infamous Donald Dump video, which as far as I'm concerned should be declared the official video of the Turd Reich: an AI-generated vid of MAGA's big hero wearing a crown while flying a fighter jet over the Big Apple (the city that rejected him), and dumping poop over a huge crowd of protesters. It was posted to his Truth Social account -- here's a direct link -- and the Internet can't stop buzzing about it.

There have been contradictory reports about just when this video was originally posted. Some accounts say it was posted on Friday by his communications team, ahead of the demonstrations, and was amplified by his campaign team. (That's what I originally reported here.) But most sources are saying that Trump posted the vid on Saturday after the events had begun, in reaction to all of the buzz about the protests.

On the Truth Social site there's no date/time indicator on the post that I can see, but maybe that's just because I'm not a member of Truth Social. I'm not going to join just to see if I can find out when the video was originally posted. I suppose it doesn't really matter; what seems clear is that Trump hasn't disavowed it, and the MAGAs are absolutely giddy about what they see as clever trolling. Talk about owning the libs/Democrats/"radical left"/Trump critics! King Donald sure showed them, didn't he?

By and large the criticism of the poop vid focuses on how unprecedented and unpresidential and just generally unhinged it is. On the other hand, some critics have also pointed out that this video is actually far more accurate than most of what spews from the Trump propaganda machine. It's an apt metaphor not only for how he sees himself but also for what he's doing to the nation. Notwithstanding his repeated claims that "I am not a king!", he acts like a king wannabe, and he is in so many ways dumping on the American people.

And he's not just dumping on the libs. The problem for the MAGAs who are so busy cheering the ca-ca king is that most of them simply don't realize yet that they're getting shat on as well.

One of my favorite responses so far to the poop-shooting video is from political commentator, comedian, and social media influencer Maggie Reed, aka Mermaidmamamaggie, whom I adore. I just love that woman's smirk. She smirks better than just about anyone I have ever seen. In a short reel posted on October 18, Reed manages to communicate, with her facial expressions and a few pertinent visuals, that there's a yuuuuge difference between childish trolling for the base and acknowledging the harsh reality that most Americans despise Trump and what his regime is doing to our beloved country.

Meanwhile Trump continues to protest-too-much that he's "not a king," and he dismisses the October 18 protests as NBD. During a brief press interaction aboard his plane on Sunday, October 19, he had this to say when a reporter asked him for his response to the No Kings protests (thanks to Bryan Tyler Cohen for the reel):

I think it's a joke. I looked at the people, they're not representative of this country. And I looked at all the brand new signs paid for -- I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics. It looks like it was, we're checking it out. The demonstrations were very small, very ineffective, and the people were whacked-out. When you look at those people, those are not representative of the people of our country.

Then he added, "By the way I'm not a king. I'm not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great. That's all it is. I'm not a king at all."

I'm no expert on abnormal psychology, but offhand I'd say that Trump's dismissal of the mass protest is the declaration of a man who is in deep denial and who, despite his arrogance, is scared... well, sh-tless.

* * * * *

Due to a combination of personal circumstances, I was unable to attend a No Kings event in my area. But I was with all of them in spirit. And seeing some of the photos and videos of the massive crowds actually brought tears to my eyes as I realized that there still seems to be hope in the fight against tyranny.

I'll leave you with a couple of videos that do not involve poop-dumping, and a link to a post by one of my favorite foul-mouthed commentators.

First, if you haven't done so already, check out the song linked to at the head of this post, by an amazing young talent going by the name Earth to Eve. She actually composed a song specifically for No Kings 2, but I don't yet have a link to a full version. For now, "Have you heard the news" (here's a direct link) sums up the state of affairs under Trump very powerfully and eloquently.

And then there's Jasmyne A. Cannick, who, unlike our esteemed leaders, said what needed to be said in response to Trump press puppet Karolyin' Leavitt's declaration that the Democratic Party's main constituency is "Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals." Forget "when they go low, we go high." I am a big fan of Michelle Obama, but unfortunately that strategy, which she famously suggested in her speech in support of Hillary Clinton at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, never worked. Cannick shows that she is willing to meet Leavitt in the basement. "You wanna find America's terrorists? Check your own damn Christmas card list!"

And finally, one of my favorite potty-mouthed pundits, Jeff Tiedrich, weighed in on Sunday with a celebratory post and plenty of photos and links. Here he is.

Stay strong, stay peaceful, stay safe, my friends, and do stay in touch with the No Kings movement, which has more events planned for the future.

This post has been updated and amended since its original publication, most notably, to correct and update information about isolated incidents during the protests, as well as to correct and clarify information about the responses (from Trump and others) to the No Kings events on October 18.
~ CC

Before you leave...
While money cannot make some nightmares go away, be they political or personal, it can make them far easier to bear. With my husband Ron's passing in February 2025, I have experienced significant income loss and am scrambling to find more work, but in an industry increasingly being taken over by AI, it has been a challenge. And now that I am making a major move, which is never cheap, donations are urgently needed and profoundly appreciated. Here are some ways to do it:

• New: Venmo -- username @Connie-Schmidt-42. Here is a direct link to the Venmo page.
• New: PayPal -- Here is a direct link to my PayPal page.
• Old but still good: You can click on the "Donate" icon that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account RevRon -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

NOTE: If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's substantial transaction fee.

Whether you can donate or not, thank you for visiting this Whirled.

Time flies when you're living in chaos

 

The month of September 2025 has simultaneously flown by and dragged on endlessly. It has been almost too much for me, and maybe it has for you as well. Chaos swirls around us, and now more than ever the U.S. seems on the brink of disaster on multiple fronts, such that it's often difficult for many of us to maintain even a semblance of hope for the survival of American (and world) democracy.

Things look especially grim now in light of today's infamous forced gathering of top U.S. military brass in Quantico, where the worse than incompetent secretary of the department formerly known as defense, Pete Kegsbreath, railed on and on about a new "warrior ethos" while Cadet Bone Spurs, the illustrious Commander in Chief, officially directed the entire U.S. military to wage war on "the enemy from within" -- in other words, any American who doesn't bow down to the regime.

Top defense officials -- or should that now be "war officials?" -- were appalled. They weren't the only ones.

And that's just one event in the endless deluge of shock-and-awe-and-nausea to which we are continually subjected, almost certainly by design.

Even so, I haven't given up hope entirely, and one of my hopes is that you haven't either.

But there's also this: I am in the midst of a major upheaval in my life that involves one of the biggest moves I've ever made. And I'm doing it for the first time in decades without my partner and soul mate, Ron, who died earlier this year.

Accordingly, even though I am still keeping up with events both in Scamworld and the larger world, I haven't had the focus and energy needed to churn out much content on this Whirled. And I refuse to let AI do it for me. So I hope you will bear with me for another few weeks; I promise to be back as soon as possible with actual substance. (And for those of you who are wondering when I am going to turn my attention back to something more closely related to this blog's original beat, such as tracking the latest grifts of serial scammer Kevin Trudeau, I hear you. Don't give up on me.)

I'll see you again soon.

Before you leave...
While money cannot make some nightmares go away, be they political or personal, it can make them far easier to bear. With my husband Ron's passing in February 2025, I have experienced significant income loss and am scrambling to find more work, but in an industry increasingly being taken over by AI, it has been a challenge. And now that I am making a major move, which is never cheap, donations are urgently needed and profoundly appreciated. Here are some ways to do it:

• New: Venmo -- username @Connie-Schmidt-42. Here is a direct link to the Venmo page.
• New: PayPal -- Here is a direct link to my PayPal page.
• Old but still good: You can click on the "Donate" icon that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account RevRon -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

NOTE: If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's substantial transaction fee.

Whether you can donate or not, thank you for visiting this Whirled. Stay strong, and stay hopeful.

2547: a number steeped in mystical meaning is suddenly appearing everywhere

Number 2547 combines the vibrations and qualities of numbers 2 and 5, as well as the energies and influences of numbers 4 and 7. Do you keep seeing 2547? Does the number 2547 come up in conversation? Do you ever see 2547 on television?

Do you hear the number 2547 on the radio? What does it imply to see and hear the number 2547 everywhere?

~ Bridget Cole, "2547 Angel Number Spiritual Meaning and Significance," on the ZodiacSigns101 site

In answer to the questions posed by Bridget Cole, whoever she is: why, yes, I am seeing the number "2547" quite a lot lately, mostly on the Interwebs. I even saw a picture of it spelled out in pebbles on a beach, most likely West Palm Beach, Florida, I'm thinking.

On the Zodiac 101 site, I skimmed Ms. Cole's detailed analysis of what these four digits, individually and collectively, signify from the perspective of angel numbers, twin flame numbers, numerology, spirituality, and so forth. I don't mind confessing that it's a lot to absorb. It's quite technical and it can be more than a little bit confusing.

Numerous other sites besides Zodiac Signs 101 also explore the meaning of the number 2547. Some, such as this one, offer Biblical interpretations:

In biblical numerology, number 2547 is associated with love, compassion, and the expression of one’s inner emotions. It signifies the importance of showing kindness towards others and nurturing harmonious relationships. The number 2547 reminds us of the divine love that guides us on our spiritual journey.

When we delve into the biblical interpretation of number 2547, we find that it represents the unconditional love and compassion of the divine. It is a reminder of the love that God has for us and the love that we should share with others. This number encourages us to be kind and compassionate towards our fellow human beings, to extend a helping hand to those in need, and to embrace the power of forgiveness and understanding.

Furthermore, number 2547 symbolizes the expression of one’s inner emotions and the importance of emotional intelligence. It reminds us to be in touch with our feelings and to express them in a healthy and constructive manner. This number encourages us to listen to our hearts and to trust our intuition, as it is through our emotions that we connect with our true selves and with others on a deeper level.

There are also sites, some of them Biblically-based, that explore the meanings of the two-digit numbers 25 and 47.

After several grueling minutes of intense research on sites such as these, however, I didn't feel that my questions had been answered. Somehow, all of the above didn't quite resonate with the context in which I have been seeing the number 2547. No doubt that's a reflection of my own spiritual limitations and closed-mindedness, about which I used to get frequently lectured by various members of the conspicuously enlightened crowd.

Or it could just be that the search engines are cowering before the regime...

In any case I felt that I had to go by my gut feelings, my divine intuition if you will, to which the conspicuously enlightened are always telling us to pay heed. And I had to pay heed to the fact that the vibes around the 2547s I'd been seeing did not evoke lofty visions of angels and God and whatnot, but, rather, disturbing thoughts about the Devil and some of his employees.

Yikes.

Oddly enough, though, there was an unmistakable vibe of cheese and crackers as well. At first I attributed this to the fact that I hadn't eaten much today, and dinner time was fast approaching. But being the intrepid researcher I am, I delved into further exploration of the cheese-and-cracker theme, and that was the big breakthrough for me: the picture was finally becoming clearer.

And now at last I see: it's as clear as clear can be.

Lord help us all.

The Whirled turns 19 today

 

Today, July 27, 2025, this Whirled turns nineteen. That's right: I've been hobby-blogging on this platform for nineteen years, spewing many hundreds of thousands of words, as well as tons of tawdry graphics to accompany those words. And I have to say, it's been fun for the most part. At the very least, I'm keeping myself entertained with it.

I've observed the Whirled birthday/anniversary/blogaversary every year, sometimes with a brief mention and other times offering a more extended rumination about the history and purpose of this endeavor. Regarding said history and purpose, the latter of which has evolved over the years, I have said pretty much everything that I think needs to be said, and don't feel compelled to say it all again. But for anyone who's curious, this page tells it all.

Some say blogs are passé, but they've been saying that for years and that hasn't discouraged me. And so I'm going to keep this old Whirled spinning as long as I can.

I'm not going all out to celebrate my nearly two decades of blogging; I plan to spend a quiet evening at home with my fur babies (just like every other night). However, if you want to help me celebrate, I have a helpful suggestion.

If this were a 19th wedding anniversary, the traditional gift would be something in bronze, such as jewelry or cookware, "symbolizing strength and durability in a marriage." The traditional gemstone for the 19th wedding anny is aquamarine, and the flower is the chrysanthemum. But I don't need jewelry or cookware or flowers, and besides, this is a blogaversary we're celebrating.

The one gift that is appropriate any time for any occasion or non-occasion is money, and frankly, it is needed now more than ever. Here are some ways to give it:

• New(er): Venmo -- username @Connie-Schmidt-42. Here is a direct link to the Venmo page.
• New(er): PayPal -- Here is a direct link to my PayPal page.
• Old but still good: You can click on the "Donate" icon that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account RevRon -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

NOTE: If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's substantial transaction fee.

Whether you can donate or not, thank you for visiting this Whirled. And I will be back soon with more substantial content.

Christmas in July? Bah, humbug!

 

It has been yet another busy, crazy, scary month on what one of my favorite online wits, Jeff Tiedrich, likes to describe as the stupidest possible timeline in the dumbest country, but Real Life has occupied much of my time this month once again, taking me away from my blogging duties. And now the month is almost gone.

But I did want to make a passing mention of a few items. First up is the sad occasion that I've covered on this blog every year since 2010: the anniversary of the death of Colleen Conaway, a faithful follower of a sociopathic huckster named James Arthur Ray, at one of Ray's live events in San Diego. This is the 16th anniversary of Colleen's death on July 25, 2009. (Here is more information, from my 10-year anniversary post.)

Ray was never charged or convicted for his part in Colleen's passing, although he was charged, convicted, and served (far too little) time for the deaths of three more followers -- Kirby Brown, Liz Neuman, and James Shore -- who died as a result of participating in his marathon "sweat lodge" torture session in Sedona, Arizona in October of 2009.

All of this might seem mostly moot now that Ray himself has passed away; as reported here, he died in January of this year. He can do no more damage. And after I write my annual post in October, I may very well retire my own yearly observations of the deaths of people at Ray's live events.

But I don't want anyone to ever forget about these people, nor do I want them to forget that while Ray is gone, others will almost certainly rise up in his place, to deceive and possibly harm new generations of followers. This is true of the New-Wage/selfish-help/McSpirituality industries, as well as fringe religious organizations, as well as political groups; due to the very human desire for leaders and heroes and saviors, cults -- and charismatic, cult-like "leaders" -- remain a danger and probably always will.

(Many would contend that MAGA is a cult, though some would argue that it's not quite a cult... but in any case, the devotion heaped upon Cheeto Jeezus has had an enormous impact on the US and arguably on other countries as well, and there seems to be a growing sentiment that this impact has been overwhelmingly terrible.)

* * * * *

July 25 is also a sad day for me personally because it would have been the birthday of my only sister, who died in March 2024, as a result of health problems that were poorly managed because of our broken f-----g health care system. It was on his own birthday last year that my brother -- and the police -- found her in her home. She had been gone for some time. I'll leave it at that.

And yesterday, July 24, was the five-month anniversary of the death of my husband, Ron Kaye. I'm still reeling from that, and still trying to process the years-long nightmare of his illness, while tending to dozens of practical details, most notably finances.

There is a long tradition of informally celebrating "Christmas in July." For me, this month has been, for the most part, the opposite of a reason to celebrate, both on a personal and political basis. Still, I look forward to better times ahead. I haven't entirely given up hope, especially now that it seems MAGA is finally splintering over the Epstein scandal and other matters. And besides, this blog's 19th (!) birthday is coming up on July 27. So I'm just going to keep on keeping on, and I hope you will too.

Before you leave...
While money cannot make some nightmares go away, be they political or personal, it can make them far easier to bear. With my husband Ron's passing in February 2025, I have experienced significant income loss and am scrambling to find more work, but in an industry increasingly being taken over by AI, it has been a challenge. Now more than ever, donations are urgently needed and profoundly appreciated. Here are some ways to do it:

• New: Venmo -- username @Connie-Schmidt-42. Here is a direct link to the Venmo page.
• New: PayPal -- Here is a direct link to my PayPal page.
• Old but still good: You can click on the "Donate" icon that currently appears on the right-hand side of every page of this blog on the Web version. There's also a donation link at the end of many of my older blog posts. In the case of both the icon and the links on the older posts, as well as the link in this sentence, this is also a PayPal link, but it references the email account RevRon -- which is cool, because it all ultimately goes to the same place.

NOTE: If you are donating by PayPal, please specify that your contribution is for "friends and family," which will waive PayPal's substantial transaction fee.

Whether you can donate or not, thank you for visiting this Whirled.

 

Minnesota shootings fuel more Reich-wing spin

 

As I'm writing this, the suspect in the apparently targeted shootings of two Democratic legislators and their spouses in Minnesota, Vance Luther Boelter, has recently been captured and arrested, after a two-day multi-state manhunt that was reported to be the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history. Actually, given the details that had emerged about his volatile and troubled life, I was surprised he was found alive; I thought it very possible that he would take his own life, but he was captured near his farm in Green Isle, Minnesota.

People on both sides of the great American political divide seem to agree that the shootings, which killed Representative and Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband and gravely injured Senator John Hoffman and his wife, were shocking and tragic and horrifying. (Boelter even shot the Hortmans' dog, Gilbert, who later had to be euthanized due to the severity of his injuries.)

There also seems to be a consensus that the shootings were politically motivated.

It should come as no surprise, however, that while there's general agreement that the shootings were politically motivated, the two sides have sharply differing views of the suspect's actual political affiliation and therefore his motives.

The American Reich -- again, no surprise here -- is spinning it as being totally the fault of the Democrats/left, and they are claiming that suspect Boelter is a Democrat/left winger because:

1. He served as a governor appointee on the Governor's Workforce Development program under two Democratic governors, Governor Tim Walz and his predecessor, Governor Mark Dayton.
2. The lawmaker who died, Melissa Hortman, voted with House republican lawmakers on a budget bill that removed MinnesotaCare health coverage for undocumented immigrant adults. (However, the senator who was injured, John Hoffman, had actually voted against removing that access; more about that in a little while.)
3. A stack of small handwritten signs that simply said, "No Kings" was found in a vehicle that Boelter left at one of the crime scenes when he fled law enforcement officers. (That's according to a widely shared photo; some reports say that there were [also] flyers about a local No Kings event or events.)

One person on a Facebook thread I saw wrote, "This is yet another example of violent hateful Democrats using VIOLENCE against anyone who disagrees with them politically."

Another right-wing commentator blamed the shootings on "left-wing hysteria."

And a devout Trumpster who happens to be a Facebook friend of mine wrote on his timeline:

When I said pretty soon we would start to see Democrats start turning on each other, I didn’t actually mean they would resort to assassinating each other just for voting with Republicans on a single bill.

But if you don’t understand that the Democrat party is full blown EVIL by now, then God help you.

No one should act surprised by the details coming out of Minnesota, where a Gov Tim Walz political appointee gunned down two fellow Democrats and their spouses, while impersonating a police officer.

You don’t have to be Nostradamus to have seen this coming. The only thing surprising is that they didn’t try to frame a Republican…

"JEEZUS Christ on a bicycle!" as my late husband Ron used to say when astounded by some absurdity or sheer stupidity.

Most of the comments to my friend's Dems-are-evil Facebook thread were supportive of the original post, with one person suggesting that the Democrats should officially be declared domestic terrorists. My friend Facebook-liked that comment.

One lone person dissented by presenting some facts that are actually known about Boelter, but my friend just doubled down on insistence that Boelter, while probably having been a republican many years ago, as well as an evangelical Christian, is no longer either of those things and has become a Democrat. Then for good measure my friend attacked the dissenter about the latter's own political leanings.

This story is still developing, and even though he's now in custody, we still don't have a completely clear picture of Boelter's motives. Investigators probably have had a better idea than the rest of us do, but they had mostly been keeping tight-lipped about it during the manhunt, and even now have refrained from sharing certain details. "Don't jump to conclusions," we've been told over and over by various spokespeople in the know.

But I think it is safe to say that there is a growing mountain of evidence that Boelter was not in fact a Democrat bent on murdering fellow Democrats for siding with republicans on a single bill -- and that he was, instead, fueled by "Christian" right-wing zeal and forced-birth fascism.

Some facts that muddy the Reich-wing narrative
Reich-wing talking point number 1. Boelter was an appointee of two different Democratic governors, the most recent being Tim Walz, so that "proves" he's a Democrat.
As soon as the suspect was named, the Reich-wing media and even many of the supposedly mainstream/moderate media began bleating headlines describing Boelter as a "Tim Walz appointee" or some similar description. While this is technically true, it is grossly misleading in the contexts in which it has been presented by those who are trying to prove that Boelter is a Democrat and/or a political ally of Walz. (Some conspiranoids have even claimed that it was Walz who sent Boelter on his deadly mission.)

It's true that Boelter served for a couple of years on the Minnesota governor's Workforce Development Council under Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, who appointed him in 2016. Later the program was renamed the Workforce Development Board, and Governor Tim Walz, another Democrat, appointed Boelter to that board in 2019.

Here is a link to a document listing Boelter's 2019 appointment to the board. The relevant section on the Governor's Workforce Development Board begins on page 199 of this 475-page document. The section begins with a detailed description of the purpose of the board and a precise breakdown of powers and duties, member restrictions, and other pertinent information. Boelter, whose name appears on page 202, is identified as a "Business Member." And his political affiliation? "No party preference." His term ended in January 2023.

The important point is that the Workforce program is bipartisan, or more accurately, nonpartisan. I will let my Bing CoPilot AI buddy 'splain it:

[That board] is designed to be bipartisan and includes members from across the political and professional spectrum. Appointments often reflect a person’s industry experience or community involvement, not necessarily their political affiliation. In fact, Boelter’s background includes private security work, international business ventures, and affiliations that don’t clearly align with any one party.

And the emerging details of the case—like the manifesto found in his vehicle listing dozens of targets, including abortion providers and Democratic lawmakers—suggest a far more complex and disturbing motive.

Couple of points here regarding that AI-generated info, which is from a "conversation" I had with CoPilot on June 14, shortly after Boelter had been named as the suspect. The AI response was drawing on widespread online reports that were available at that time regarding Boelter's career history, but later reports indicated that Boelter had exaggerated or outright lied about some of his C.V., particularly the parts about security work (see section below, regarding "Fantasy careers..." etc.). Still, the point remains valid that Boelter's work background doesn't strongly indicate political party alignment one way or the other.

Secondly, the target lists found in Boelter's vehicle were, according to several later reports, not part of a "manifesto" per se; the AI response drew from existing early reports that referred to the presence of a manifesto. But again, the basic point is valid: those lists do not indicate that Boelter is a Democrat. They're much more indicative that he loathes Democrats.

Boelter's appointments to Minnesota's Workforce Development program under two Democratic governors appears to have been based not on his political leanings but primarily on his role as a member of the business community, which would make sense, given that the program is, after all, focused on making improvements to Minnesota's workforce. There's no indication that he had much if any interaction with the governors themselves, and certainly no evidence that he was a staunch political ally of either.

Reich-wing talking point number 2. Shortly before her death, Representative Melissa Hortman had voted with republican lawmakers to take healthcare access away from "illegals," and Boelter was angry because he felt that she had betrayed the Democratic party line.
MAGA has been all over this, praising Representative Hortman's courage for standing up against her evil party and then paying the ultimate price for doing so. The provision in the budget bill for which Hortman voted in accord with her republican colleagues took MinnesotaCare health coverage away from undocumented people over the age of 18.

The very sensible arguments made in favor of keeping this coverage was that it would ultimately be less expensive for Minnesotans, since the uninsured tend to go to eye-poppingly expensive hospital emergency rooms for their care, and they can't pay for those trips, but somebody has to pay, and that will cost the state more in the long term. But the republicans were having none of these arguments.

Hortman clearly agonized over this vote, which was an aberration from her usual voting pattern. It was a compromise she felt that she was forced to make, however, in order to pass the larger budget bill and prevent a partial state government shutdown. The vote left her and several of her Democratic colleagues in tears.

She acknowledged that this bill was going to hurt many people. It was obvious that she felt horrible about it (though of course MAGA has spun her tearful statements as an expression not of sadness for the people being hurt, but as fear for her life as a result of going against her party). But she explained that it was clear to her that her republican colleagues' top priority was to strip healthcare rights from undocumented adult immigrants, and they refused to budge at all on that matter.

Should she have held out anyway? That's open to debate, but the point is that she's not some kind of evil DINO (Democrat in Name Only). And even if that had been the case... with all due respect (emphasis on the word "due") to my Facebook friend quoted above, Democrats are not in the habit of offing each other over disagreements, even passionate disagreements. Dems tend to deal with their offending colleagues by canceling them or threatening to primary them or shaming them into resigning.

Also -- and this bears repeating -- despite some early Reich-wing narratives to the contrary, Senator John Hoffman, another one of Boelter's shooting victims, did not vote with Senate republicans on this matter. He remained a steadfast supporter of retaining healthcare access for the immigrants in question. So if Boelter supposedly shot Hortman for "betrayal" of Democratic party principles, due to her vote that would hurt some immigrants, why would he also want to kill Hoffman, who stood firm for the rights of those same immigrants?

The story gets both more complicated and possibly more simple as additional details are released about Boelter's spree on the morning of June 14, 2025. It has now come out that in addition to visiting the Hoffman and Hortman homes, he also visited the homes of two other legislators. The first would-be target, Representative Kristin Bahner, one of Representative Hortman's colleagues, was not at her Maple Grove home because her family was on vacation. Unlike Hortman, Representative Bahner did not vote with House republicans on the controversial budget bill.

The other, Senator Ann Rest of New Hope, was spared due to the fact that cops had already been alerted regarding Boelter's previous activity, and they were in the area. Senator Rest did vote with her republican Senate colleagues on the budget bill.

It's also important to note that like Hortman and Hoffman, both Ann Rest and Kristin Bahner are strong supporters of abortion rights and reproductive freedom.

Reich-wing talking point number 3. Stacks of "No Kings" signs and/or flyers (depending upon the report you read) were found in Boelter's vehicle.
Whatever you choose to call them, these could have been there for a number of reasons that had nothing to do with the anti-Trump sentiment driving the "No Kings" movement. It could have been that Boelter was planning on attending one of the local No Kings events to harass or harm protesters (that possibility apparently led to official cancellations of No Kings events across the state and warnings not to attend such events, but these warnings did not keep Minnesotans from turning out in force in St. Paul).

There was also some speculation that Boelter has "sovereign citizen" leanings and is driven by a general anti-government fanaticism, and therefore was just co-opting the current "No Kings" movement to further his own radical agenda. That seems to me to be the least credible theory, but investigations into motives are ongoing.

Or he could have just put the pieces of paper there to confound investigators; killers sometimes like to do things like that just to muddy the waters, as I noted in the August 2019 post linked to in this sentence (see under the subhead, "Forensic manifestering").

In short, it's highly unlikely that this stack of papers was evidence that Boelter was sympathetic to the the current "No Kings" anti-Trump movement. Brett Molnar, who runs the Voice of Reason Facebook page, posted this on June 16, 2025:

They’re at it again—WorldStar thumbnails, rage-bait tweets, “antifa inside job” TikToks spinning like a slot machine—anything to flip Vance Boelter’s massacre from MAGA blood‐sport to progressive false flag. Let’s burn the fog off the facts, paragraph by paragraph, before the algorithm cements another lie.

The flyer photo is real. Yes, Sheriff’s deputies found a shrink-wrapped stack of “NO KINGS” handouts in Boelter’s Chevy. They were zip-tied together, never unfolded, never handed out. Evidence tag reads: “Unmarked leaflets, approx. 150 count, recovered from trunk.” Full stop.

Where did they come from? Detectives traced the design to a carton printed for Minneapolis’ June 13 No Kings Day march. Volunteers noticed one bundle missing after teardown. Same printer, same cheap 20-lb copy paper, same smudge on the K in KINGS. Boelter didn’t design them—he shoplifted them.

Why steal protest flyers? Classic disinfo prop: stash your enemy’s logo in your kit so online partisans will screech “SEE? ANTIFA!” the moment the evidence table hits local news. Lone-wolf terrorists have been planting decoys since the Unabomber mailed false leads about woodworkers.

No Kings organizers aren’t hiding. They posted the original Adobe file plus the printer’s timestamp on Instagram within hours of the rumor. They condemned the murders, offered to testify, and published their entire expense spreadsheet—$87.41 at FedEx Office, line item and all.

Boelter’s digital footprint shreds the hoax. Phone forensics show Telegram channels called “Patriot Purge,” “Infowars Live,” and a meme folder titled “BuildTheWall.” Voter file: registered Republican. Roommate’s CBS interview: “He wore a Trump beanie to bed.” That’s not antifa cosplay.

Law enforcement statements tell the same story. Ramsey County Sheriff: “No evidence links organized activist groups to the suspect’s planning or motive.” FBI spokesperson: “Currently classified as a politically motivated violent extremist with anti-immigrant ideology.” Translation: right-wing lone actor.

But the right-wing spin machine is faster than the press release...

I did see an article on one site that described "No Kings" as a radical anti-government movement. Umm.... no, it's not. The "No Kings" movement behind the current wave of protests is very much PRO-government, at least the government that was envisioned by America's founders, not the totalitarian nightmare that Trump et al. are trying so hard to create.

Also -- and this cannot be over-emphasized -- consider the fact that the apparent hit lists that were reportedly found in Boelter's abandoned vehicle contained a list of Democratic politicians (including Governor Tim Walz) and abortion-rights activists, as well as information about clinics. Add to this the clear indications on Boelter's social media that he was sympathetic to Christian nationalist organizations and causes, and fiercely opposed to abortion and LGBTQ rights.

Here's a closer look at Boelter and his apparent love for a theology of violence. It's very much worth reading.

All of the above would suggest that if these were indeed politically motivated shootings, and not just random craziness, then Vance Luther Boelter is most likely not a Democrat who was miffed by fellow Democrats voting with republicans on a bill.

In other words, all indications are that he is the exact opposite of the man in the Reich fever-swamp narrative.

Fantasy careers, evangelicalism, and forced-birth fascism
Investigators as well as reporters are still trying to piece together a more comprehensive portrait of Vance Boelter, but sussing out his career path is proving to be no small challenge, since he has apparently embellished his resume. From NPR, June 15, 2025:

Authorities said Boelter disguised himself as a law enforcement officer during the attack and news reports have focused on his apparent work as a security professional. But NPR's review of Boelter's online records and employment history found many of those claims about his professional life appear untrue.

In social media posts and websites, Boelter said he had extensive experience as a security professional with "training by both private security firms and by people in the U.S. Military."

NPR found little evidence to support Boelter's account. He appears to have worked most of his career in the food service industry and one long-time friend described parts of Boelter's narrative about his life as "fantasy."...

...On the website for a company called Praetorian Guard Security Services, LLC, Boelter described himself as part of the "leadership team."

NPR found no record of the firm having clients or providing any services. A call to the company's phone number connected to what appears to be a private phone line, not a business. The address listed in incorporation papers appeared to be that of a law firm specializing in divorce litigation.

Boelter himself appears to have no history working in law enforcement, the military or private security...

...In an interview with Fox News 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, one of Boelter's long-time friends, David Carlson, downplayed the idea that he had any real-world military or security experience. "He was always kind of into the military stuff, but it was just, we were always like that. Me and him, we would play army men," Carlson said.

CNN has been keeping a running update on this case. On June 14 segment titled "10 things to know about the shooting suspect," among the items noted were:

• He is an outspoken evangelical Christian who traveled to Africa to tell his faith story and, in at least one sermon, pointedly questioned American morals on sexual orientation, according to videos and social media posts reviewed by CNN.

• Names on a list found in his car, which CNN obtained, are largely Democrats or figures with ties to Planned Parenthood or the abortion rights movement. The list included prominent lawmakers like Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Tina Smith as well as Planned Parenthood leaders.

There's much more on that page about Boelter that seem to offer significant clues as to his probable motives. Here's that link again.

And on a June 15, 2025 piece, SFGate (among numerous other outlets) published an AP article that lays out as good a summary as I've seen bolstering the case that Boelter is not a disgruntled Dem but is actually pro-Trump -- and, not irrelevant to possible motives, very much anti-abortion.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by The Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump. Records show Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota where voters don’t list party affiliation.

Near the scene at Hortman’s home, authorities say they found an SUV made to look like those used by law enforcement. Inside they found fliers for a local anti-Trump “No Kings” rally scheduled for Saturday and a notebook with names of other lawmakers. The list also included the names of abortion rights advocates and health care officials, according to two law enforcement officials who could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

Both Hortman and Hoffman were defenders of abortion rights at the state legislature.

It's important to note that these friends told the AP that even though they knew Boelter was religious and conservative, he didn't talk about politics often and didn't seem extreme. But apparently he was hiding his more strident beliefs from his friends at home, letting his true self out on the stage when he preached in the Democratic Republic of Congo a couple of years ago. In one sermon he told the congregation that the U.S. was a "bad place" where most churches didn't oppose abortion.

Here is a link to a video of a 2023 sermon; Boelter's part begins at about 36:35. And here's a link where you can watch part of a 2021 sermon in which Boelter performs an unhinged Jeezus dance.

All in all, and I hope you'll forgive me for belaboring a point, he really doesn't sound much like your typical Democrat to me.

The probable real reasons Boelter targeted Hortman and Hoffman (and Rest and Bahner et al.)
Melissa Hortman was a strong advocate for abortion rights and numerous other progressive causes, including transgender rights, according to The19th news site. She was also a tireless champion for Minnesota families, according to colleagues. Regarding her stance and actions on abortion, The19thNews reported:

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion in June 2022, Minnesota emerged as a key access point for abortion as other Midwestern states moved to ban the procedure. 

“There was a simmering rage that did not stop,” Hortman said after the 2022 election, according to Minnesota Public Radio. “I was hopeful that voters would take that energy and put it on the ballot and vote for Democrats. And thankfully they did.”

In 2023, Hortman led the Minnesota House in passing the PRO Act, legislation that codified the legality of abortion and other forms of reproductive health care in the state. In subsequent bills, the Minnesota legislature eliminated other restrictions on abortion, passed protections for abortion providers, boosted state funding for clinics providing abortion and eliminated funding for anti-abortion counseling centers.     

Hoffman, too, is pro-choice, if his voting records on the abortion issue are any indication. He is also deeply concerned with helping some of the most vulnerable people. Health care and education have been among his pet causes. He has been a staunch advocate for people with disabilities; his own daughter is an amputee.

Clearly, neither Hortman nor Hoffman was a single-issue legislator. But as the materials reported to be in Boelter abandoned vehicle seemed to focus heavily on abortion rights advocates and providers, and both Hortman and Hoffman have voted in favor of reproductive rights, it's not unreasonable to speculate that Boelter was driven above all by anti-abortion fanaticism -- especially in light of the fact that, as mentioned above, he also targeted two other strong abortion rights lawmakers, Senator Ann Rest and Representative Kristin Bahner.

United we stand... mostly, and for the moment, anyway
There is at least some indication that Democratic and republican leadership, if not the finger-pointing electorate, have declared a temporary truce and are united in their mourning for the victims and their families. Even Trump has issued the obligatory "this is horrible" statement, though it's probably only a matter of time before he starts blaming the Dems. He has already managed to get a gratuitous and egregiously unpresidential dig in at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, within the context of making a statement about the shootings.
UPDATE, June 17, 2025: Trump is in full blame-the-Dems mode now, or at least blame-Walz mode, having declared that he is not going to call Governor Walz (previously he had told reporters that he might call him). Why the decision not to make the call? Because it would be a "waste of time," since the governor is so "whacked out" and "doesn't have a clue" and is "a mess." How very, very presidential.

There is also, as there always is when some horrible act of political violence occurs in our land, a general sentiment that violence should have absolutely no place in American politics. We should all agree on that. I have my political biases, which I freely acknowledge. But if the suspect really had turned out to be a Democrat/liberal/left-winger, I would be as appalled and outraged and sad as I presently am. I would still be calling for him to be captured, tried, and if found guilty punished within the fullest extent of the law.

Even so, unlike my Trumpist Facebook friend, I do not believe that all republicans are evil and prone to violence. And it is worse than stupid -- it's Christ-on-a-bike-level moronic -- to try to pin this horror on the Democrats.

PS ~ In case you still have any doubts... this is from a commentator I follow on BlueSky Social, Machine Pun Kelly. It's a very good and detailed vid that debunks the narrative that Vance Boelter is a lib.

This post has been updated since its original publication on June 15, 2025. I will continue to update as more details emerge.

Before you leave...
While money cannot make some nightmares go away, be they political or personal, it can make them far easier to bear. With my husband Ron's passing in February 2025, I have experienced significant income loss and am scrambling to find more work, but in an industry increasingly being taken over by AI, it has been a challenge. Now more than ever, donations are urgently needed and profoundly appreciated. Here are some ways to do it:

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