{"id":7834,"date":"2026-07-10T09:03:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T14:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/?p=7834"},"modified":"2026-07-10T09:03:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T14:03:19","slug":"its-been-a-long-year-and-were-just-halfway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/its-been-a-long-year-and-were-just-halfway\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s Been a Long Year, and We&#8217;re Just Halfway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper --><p>I did little to mark the 250<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, except to avoid the heat and occasionally reflect on where we are as a nation. President Orange Skin\u2019s ham-handed takeover of our nation\u2019s celebration only depressed and disgusted me. Seriously, a UFC cage fight on the South Lawn of the White House, dubbed Freedom 250? That grotesque spectacle <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/5919806-trump-administration-ufc-60-million-white-house-cage-fight\/\">reportedly<\/a> cost $60 million, with taxpayers footing much of the tab.<\/p>\n<p>The cage fight prompted me to try to catalog the crimes, corruption, grift, and stupid decisions made by this administration in the first half of this year. This would have been overwhelming without the help of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcsweeneys.net\/articles\/the-complete-listing-atrocities-1-1-056\">McSweeney\u2019s Internet Tendency<\/a>, an influential humor and satire website that has been around since 1998. Early in the first term of POS, McSweeney\u2019s editors began cataloging \u201cthe head-spinning numbers of misdeeds coming from his administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McSweeney\u2019s relies on donations and subscribers to survive while also publishing a print edition and various books. I plan to become a Patreon member forthwith. As corporate media inexorably taints some of our most vaunted outlets (re: CBS-Paramount), I look for independent media companies to support, such as Crooked Media, publisher of <em>Pod Save America<\/em> and<em> Runaway Country<\/em>, two podcasts I listen to while mowing or bushhogging. (They also have YouTube channels, but that takes up more of my time than I am willing to give.) McSweeney\u2019s is now on my radar.<\/p>\n<p>So, with the invaluable assistance of McSweeney\u2019s <em>Catalog of Trump\u2019s Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes<\/em>, what follows is a partial catalog of the horrors committed in the first six months of 2026. To quote McSweeney\u2019s: <em>Lest we forget<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>U.S. military forces kidnap Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. This follows deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that amount to cold-blooded murder. Maduro was a horrible leader, no dispute. The administration left the rest of his regime in place, elevating Maduro\u2019s vice president to the top spot. POS in a Truth Social post portrayed himself as \u201cActing President of Venezuela.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began legal proceedings against U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly in a failed attempt to demote Kelly&#8217;s military retirement rank and cut his pension. This was in response to Kelly and other members of Congress who served in the military posting a video reminding service members that they can \u2014 and should \u2014 refuse illegal military orders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hegseth is spectacularly unfit to be defense secretary. Pistol Pete recited a \u201cprayer\u201d during a Pentagon worship service that was actually dialogue from Quentin Tarantino\u2019s 1994 film <em>Pulp Fiction<\/em>. Along with much of America, I cringe every time he opens his mouth.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ICE invaded Minneapolis in early January, with an agent killing Ren\u00e9e Nicole Good. Video proved she was attempting to drive away from the agent when shot through the windshield. A few weeks later, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a VA nurse, was shot 10 times in less than five seconds. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others lied, claiming he had \u201cviolently resisted officers.\u201d Pretti had a license to carry a gun and had one. However, he never drew or brandished his gun before being killed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>ICE raids continue apace. In Texas, during a one-year period, a plurality of those arrested had no criminal convictions or pending charges. So much for arresting only the \u201cworst of the worst.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>POS renewed his claim that the United States should own Greenland or take it by force if necessary, prompting Denmark, which \u201ccontrols\u201d Greenland, to send more soldiers there, along with seven other European members of NATO. Still steamed about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, POS sent a note to the Norwegian Prime Minister, writing in part, \u201cI no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace\u2026 The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Things to note. Norway is not Denmark. Different countries, geographically close to each other. And the Norwegian government has no say over who wins the Nobel Peace Prize. It is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. (All other Nobel prizes are awarded in Sweden under a similar structure. Denmark awards no Nobel Prizes.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7835 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-179x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"179\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-612x1024.jpg 612w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-768x1286.jpg 768w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-680x1138.jpg 680w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree-600x1004.jpg 600w, https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Flag-and-tree.jpg 896w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 179px) 100vw, 179px\" \/>POS\u2019s name appears thousands of times in the files of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. About half of the files remain unreleased, despite Congress ordering their release. I figure that distracting from this potential time bomb accounts for most of the goofy stuff POS is doing, like bombing Iran and announcing plans to build an <em>Arch de Trump<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>A member of the Emirati family invested $500 million in the POS\u2019s family\u2019s crypto company, World Liberty Financial. Just last week, his annual financial disclosure revealed he earned at least $2.2 billion in 2025, more than half of which came from crypto. Nothing to see here from our Grifter in Chief!<\/li>\n<li>POS posts a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes dancing to <em>The Lion Sleeps Tonight<\/em>. He later posts an AI image depicting him as a Jesus-like figure healing a bearded man who resembles comedy show host Jon Stewart. POS later claims he thought he was being portrayed as a doctor, though he removes the post. Someone needs to take ChatGPT, or whatever he is using \u2014 or having an aide use \u2014 away from that man.<\/li>\n<li>At the end of February, POS announced <em>on social media <\/em>that the U.S. and Israel had attacked Iran. He didn\u2019t bother to inform Congress or the public beyond that, opting instead to attend a high-dollar fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. To date, the attack has left Iran now controlling the previously free Strait of Hormuz, recovering billions of dollars that had been frozen, and ruled by an even more extreme hard-liner. Thirteen American soldiers have died, and more than 3,000 Iranians \u2014 including 175 children when a missile hit a school \u2014 have been killed as well. The war has cost anywhere from $29 billion to $40 billion, gas prices have skyrocketed, and Iran still has its uranium \u201cdust.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I am confident this will go down as the Stupidest F\u2014Ing War in American History.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is fired after the debacle in Minneapolis and spending $220 million for an ad campaign that featured, among other things, her on horseback in front of Mount Rushmore.<\/li>\n<li>Trump has the East Wing of the White House demolished, essentially without consulting anyone, and plans to build a ballroom. After originally claiming it would be paid for entirely by private donors, the price tag as of March was $600 million, with more than half coming from taxpayers. A truly \u201cLet them eat cake moment.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>POS adds his name to the Kennedy Center; performers drop out by the wheelbarrow load; he announces it is closing for renovation; a judge orders his name removed, which is duly done, while a giant tarp and scaffolding continue to cover the fa\u00e7ade.<\/li>\n<li>The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool receives a $15 million restoration under a no-bid contract. POS selects \u201cAmerican flag blue.\u201d After the \u201crestoration,\u201d algae blooms cover the pool, and the \u201cwaterproof\u201d lining begins peeling from the bottom. POS blames vandals, and workers pour hydrogen peroxide by the gallon into the pool. A duck dies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">|\u2014\u2014\u2014|<\/p>\n<p>In our spacious front yard, a huge dead water oak stands, its skeletal branches reaching skyward. An American flag hangs limply from a tall pole about 30 feet away. The tree poses no danger to our house or the flagpole. I am waiting for my tree guy to take down the dead water oak. For now, that dead tree beside the American flag is an apt metaphor for how I feel about the present state of affairs.<\/p>\n<p>But then there\u2019s the World Cup. Seeing tens of thousands of people in our country and in those of our neighbors to the north and south, celebrating by going to Bu-cee\u2019s, Scottish fans drinking Boston pubs dry, people draped in the flags of their native countries, and the sheer joy of it. The World Cup lifts my spirits in this semiquincentennial summer. (POS even tried to mess with my jam by persuading the corrupt leader of FIFA to lift a red card on USA\u2019s Folarin Balogun just before their match against Belgium, which they lost 4-1. He didn\u2019t deserve the red card, but I resent the overt interference.)<\/p>\n<p>I consider Benjamin Franklin one of our greatest Americans, and lately I have been thinking about the quote attributed to him when asked whether this new country was a republic or a monarchy. \u201cA republic if you can keep it,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n<p>We have managed to do so for 250 years. Most days, I think we will continue to do so. But this republic has been badly damaged by a narcissistic tyrant who cares only about enriching himself, his family, and his cronies.<\/p>\n<p>And we are only halfway through the second year of his term. God help us.<\/p>\n<p>(<em>Note: If you want to read an exhaustive list of the cruelties, collusions, corruptions, and crimes committed by this administration, check out McSweeney\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcsweeneys.net\/articles\/may-2026-atrocities-931-1013\"><em>here<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wpf_wrapper\"><a class=\"print_link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Print this entry<\/a><\/p><!-- .wpf_wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Print this entryI did little to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, except to avoid the heat and occasionally reflect on where we are as a nation. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[85,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-85","category-columns"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7836,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7834\/revisions\/7836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/garyborders.com\/pages\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}