Excellent piece and yes, it did get lost in all the other news. Just one thing. It is not a miscalculation, it is exactly what he and his ideologues want to do. Not clear if we can recover.
This is so important. We MUST pay attention to the truth of her words and their warning. It is vital to our nation and our lives to fully comprehend what she is telling us. Thank you, Mary!
Yes, and yet...how do we affect change? How do we regain credibility and backtrack the isolationism caused by withdrawal of support, punitive tariffs, and adversarial stances to those who we need and need us? Trade, for instance, being dramatically thwarted, has created an environment of mutual benefit and leverage. Not domination, trade. We are the losers here.
Mary is so right, the NSS doc came out on another late Friday night, and it indeed made me feel sick to not only think of withdrawing support from our allies, but attacking their worth and value on the world stage, as well. Everything about this administration sickens the hell out of me.
Susan, this is why I think of Trump and his buddies as traitors. I would love to have someone formally charge them all with treason. I don't quite understand the procedure, but we are told enemies within and without need to be addressed. I would love to see them all gone and the ringleaders of the treason plots in jail, the kind of jails the innocent immigrants have been incarcerated in.
Yes, there are those who are into ultra-whiteness and distorted right-wing Christianity. It is my opinion that many of the ultra-rich would be happy without countries or citizens. They would like territories to own and exploit and for the occupants to be serfs.
Marielena, we already did that serfdom and we grew out of it, thankfully. It is time we work to make sure we do not re-enter it. Thise whiny white boys who want to rule have nothing to offer anyone, including Musk, Theil, the rest of the oligarchs, Trump and his toddler pool, etc. They have literally nothing positive to offer anyone, yet our media present them as though they are nearly deities, while in fact, they're just barely human!
Yes, that's what it has come to. I have family in Central Europe, and it is heartbreaking to see the damage American standing in Europe has sustained. Shock now being replaced by deep mistrust.
When will people wake up to all of this? Our apathy and ignorance as US citizens is staggering. I would estimate that most folks have no idea about what is taking place!
Thanks Mary❤️, for shedding light on things that often go unnoticed. We’re flooded with chaos every day, so important issues like this easily slip under the radar. How do we get a bigger platform so more people actually hear about this? That feels like a huge problem right now—people either don’t know, or don’t want to know. I see this firsthand with my parents, who are in their 80s and mostly rely on TV news.
After reading the November 2025 National Security Strategy I was utterly appalled. The Trump regime is
throwing away 80 years of extreme good will with Europe to align with
what George W. Bush called “The Axis
of Evil,” including Russia and China.
That’s foolish beyond belief, but I
suppose I shouldn’t have been caught off-guard by it. If there’s one thing we can count on with DT and his merry band of opportunists, it’s that they will inevitably do the wrong thing
politically. By “wrong thing” I mean things that will without a shadow of doubt make the United States less safe, less secure and less prosperous.
DT is the king of opportunism—always chasing money, a person who exploits circumstances & people to gain an immediate advantage rather than being guided by consistent principles or plans. An opportunistic person takes advantage of situations, circumstances, and other people for personal gain, often without regard for ethics, principles, or the negative impact on others, prioritizing self-interest (expediency) over morals, someone who is thoroughly self-serving. As Mary said,everyone within DT’s orbit is an opportunist. They’re
willing to literally give up their careers
for short term gain—assuming they will gain something—usually a boat-load of money. Because by working for or associating themselves with DT
they’ve announced to the rest of the business world they cannot be trusted.
They can’t be trusted because the problem with opportunists is they always serve themselves and only themselves. So, what have we got ? What we’ve got is a group of people loosely held together by evil intent to take advantage of everyone else on the planet. And as things stand now, even our planet is being taken advantage of by these people, who, if left to do what they want, will ensure our planet is uninhabitable.
Which brings up another point about
opportunists—they frequently operate
in defiance of reality. Just like a person addicted to gambling in Las Vegas, they think they will win, and they will go to extreme lengths—even
selling out the people & things they hold dear for the chance to win “big.”
The problem with both opportunists and gamblers is, they take everyone else they are responsible for with them if they lose. If they win, they
tend to not share their winnings because they’re addicted to the gamble and will undoubtedly try and
turn their winnings into another gamble for an even bigger jackpot.As
Susie Wiles herself said, DT has an alcoholic personality, which is in essence an addictive personality.He’s
addicted to the next big gamble.
So I have to ask, why would you throw away your career, risk alienating your family, ruin your future and the future of hundreds of millions of people depending on you, for short term “wins” that may or may not yield any personal gain, when you have the means—the infrastructure—to build on an 80 years-long winning strategy?
When one looks at all the of the destruction, we have to ask: WHO BENEFITS? They have to know that they may be polishing their crowns and insider-club badges now, but without the millions of workers and humans, their wealth system crumbles. Make enough of them unhealthy, unwelcome, uneducated, and again, it's bad for business. So who benefits and how? We have to disrupt that chain to make any difference. In the meantime, it does read like we are fcking toast.
I'm pretty sure they ultimately intend for the millions of humans and workers to become obsolete. Their wealth will become redundant once the overall vision is accomplished. Just writing this makes me fell like an unstable conspiracy theorist, but the times are increasingly dystopian. Have a listen to Bernie
PROPOSALS TO RESOLVE RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES AND/OR REDACTED INFORMATION
Congress has many options to either compel or come to an agreement with the DOJ to disclose the full content of the Epstein files and/or the redacted* portions of them, including issuing a subpoena duces tecum to Bondi an/or Blanche and or/subpoenaing them to personally appear before the appropriate committee. Refusal to do so could result in holding one or both in Contempt of Congress ( though a non-partisan Special Prosecutor would need to be appointed to prosecute them).
Congress could also propose that it designate one Republican and one Democrat to review the documents withheld and/or redacted. Should the DOJ be asserting “national security” as a reason not to disclose, then the designation can be limited to members who have the appropriate security clearance. The DOJ may wish to negotiate an agreement with such members stipulating terms and conditions for their disclosures, subject to judicial review. As a side note, should the DOJ withhold any information on the basis of “national security”, it would set off a firestorm of protests and eagerness to obtain that content to resolve why and how Epstein came into possession of such sensitive information and what he may have done with it and/or who he may have given it to or revealed it to.
The DOJ and Congress could also consider agreeing on the designation of a non-partisan third party in the nature of a mediator, or even arbitrator , who can review all of the withheld documents and redacted portions of documents who can agree to disclose either the documents or the redacted portions of documents pursuant to terms and conditions agreed upon by the DOJ and Congress. As an example of a disinterested party, I have in mind former Federal District Judge Barbara Jones of the S.D.N.Y who was formerly an AUSA and Bureau Chief in Rudy Giuliani’s office and who has since retired from the bench and gone into private practice. She has served as a neutral third party on a number of occasions since leaving the bench.
*Hypothetically, under Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's rationale that he wants to protect the identities of victims of child molestations, if Trump is seen in a photo with a naked girl, he would withhold the entire photo rather than just cover the face of the naked girl.
This is what happens when “America First” quietly becomes “America Alone.” Calling European liberal democracy the enemy while autocrats cheer from the sidelines is less strategy and more ideological self-own. You don’t withdraw from the rules-based order because it failed. You withdraw because democracy is inconvenient for people who prefer loyalty tests over shared values. When the Kremlin calls your national security plan “a positive step,” that’s not realism. That’s the smoke alarm doing its job.
For well, over a year now, elon musk has been throwing money at the elections in europe, supporting all the far right groups in every country. Most european countries are trying to or have somewhat successfully blocked x, which he uses to promote his racism. Musk is seen as a far right wing nut. When he turned off Starlink in Ukraine that further cemented their view of him.
Excellent piece and yes, it did get lost in all the other news. Just one thing. It is not a miscalculation, it is exactly what he and his ideologues want to do. Not clear if we can recover.
Agreed. This wasn’t a miscalculation it was intentional. That’s what makes it so dangerous.
bit.ly/3KZejpe
It’s imminently disastrous.
This is so important. We MUST pay attention to the truth of her words and their warning. It is vital to our nation and our lives to fully comprehend what she is telling us. Thank you, Mary!
Kathryn, it seems to me Mary is describing treason and that we need to act to stop the traitors, even if she didn't call them that.
Yes, and yet...how do we affect change? How do we regain credibility and backtrack the isolationism caused by withdrawal of support, punitive tariffs, and adversarial stances to those who we need and need us? Trade, for instance, being dramatically thwarted, has created an environment of mutual benefit and leverage. Not domination, trade. We are the losers here.
Wonderful writing, but after reading it, I literally feel sick. Does anyone know how I can access the NSS document?
Mary is so right, the NSS doc came out on another late Friday night, and it indeed made me feel sick to not only think of withdrawing support from our allies, but attacking their worth and value on the world stage, as well. Everything about this administration sickens the hell out of me.
Susan, this is why I think of Trump and his buddies as traitors. I would love to have someone formally charge them all with treason. I don't quite understand the procedure, but we are told enemies within and without need to be addressed. I would love to see them all gone and the ringleaders of the treason plots in jail, the kind of jails the innocent immigrants have been incarcerated in.
Me, too, Maryann. There's such an internal tension between wanting to be informed and the absolute fear and nausea that information causes.
Amen!!!!
whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf Hope this helps you...and major thanks to Mary for re-highlighting this serious document that is everything that America is not...
Thank you for the link!
Can I alert you to a very insightful analysis by @Alexis Ludwig ? He’s a retired diplomat, so he brings a different angle to the discussion.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-National-Security-Strategy.pdf
Yes, there are those who are into ultra-whiteness and distorted right-wing Christianity. It is my opinion that many of the ultra-rich would be happy without countries or citizens. They would like territories to own and exploit and for the occupants to be serfs.
Marielena, we already did that serfdom and we grew out of it, thankfully. It is time we work to make sure we do not re-enter it. Thise whiny white boys who want to rule have nothing to offer anyone, including Musk, Theil, the rest of the oligarchs, Trump and his toddler pool, etc. They have literally nothing positive to offer anyone, yet our media present them as though they are nearly deities, while in fact, they're just barely human!
Yes, some of the Silicon Valley IT crowd are major participants and developers of P2025. For a REASON! And THIEL trained JD Vance.
https://www.afge.org/article/new-trump-administration-packed-with-project-2025-architects/
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics/project-2025-what-is-it-and-whos-behind-it-heres-an-explainer/3487808/
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/key-project-2025-authors-now-staffing-trump-administration-rcna195107
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/17/g-s1-11654/five-things-to-know-about-jd-vances-connections-to-tech-billionaires
I'm afraid irreparable damage has been done to the US reputation and trustworthiness overseas.
Just keep telling people you are Canadian. It makes you smell better.
Yes, that's what it has come to. I have family in Central Europe, and it is heartbreaking to see the damage American standing in Europe has sustained. Shock now being replaced by deep mistrust.
I am very concerned about the state of your uncle's health both physical and mental.
How soon should we demand that he go for a complete exam overnight at Bethesda.
Uncle Trump is slurring his voice more and cannot recall the words he needs to complete a thought. Are you concerned as much as many of us?
"Uncle Trump"? Uncle Donald, surely, or "Unca Donald" as Huey, Louie and Dewey used to call _their_ irascible uncle.
When will people wake up to all of this? Our apathy and ignorance as US citizens is staggering. I would estimate that most folks have no idea about what is taking place!
So right. Some Stacker posted something like "all he's doing is deporting people who are here illegally." Sigh.
Trump's NSS proves he does not care about the American economy, Democracy or the people.
Thanks Mary❤️, for shedding light on things that often go unnoticed. We’re flooded with chaos every day, so important issues like this easily slip under the radar. How do we get a bigger platform so more people actually hear about this? That feels like a huge problem right now—people either don’t know, or don’t want to know. I see this firsthand with my parents, who are in their 80s and mostly rely on TV news.
After reading the November 2025 National Security Strategy I was utterly appalled. The Trump regime is
throwing away 80 years of extreme good will with Europe to align with
what George W. Bush called “The Axis
of Evil,” including Russia and China.
That’s foolish beyond belief, but I
suppose I shouldn’t have been caught off-guard by it. If there’s one thing we can count on with DT and his merry band of opportunists, it’s that they will inevitably do the wrong thing
politically. By “wrong thing” I mean things that will without a shadow of doubt make the United States less safe, less secure and less prosperous.
DT is the king of opportunism—always chasing money, a person who exploits circumstances & people to gain an immediate advantage rather than being guided by consistent principles or plans. An opportunistic person takes advantage of situations, circumstances, and other people for personal gain, often without regard for ethics, principles, or the negative impact on others, prioritizing self-interest (expediency) over morals, someone who is thoroughly self-serving. As Mary said,everyone within DT’s orbit is an opportunist. They’re
willing to literally give up their careers
for short term gain—assuming they will gain something—usually a boat-load of money. Because by working for or associating themselves with DT
they’ve announced to the rest of the business world they cannot be trusted.
They can’t be trusted because the problem with opportunists is they always serve themselves and only themselves. So, what have we got ? What we’ve got is a group of people loosely held together by evil intent to take advantage of everyone else on the planet. And as things stand now, even our planet is being taken advantage of by these people, who, if left to do what they want, will ensure our planet is uninhabitable.
Which brings up another point about
opportunists—they frequently operate
in defiance of reality. Just like a person addicted to gambling in Las Vegas, they think they will win, and they will go to extreme lengths—even
selling out the people & things they hold dear for the chance to win “big.”
The problem with both opportunists and gamblers is, they take everyone else they are responsible for with them if they lose. If they win, they
tend to not share their winnings because they’re addicted to the gamble and will undoubtedly try and
turn their winnings into another gamble for an even bigger jackpot.As
Susie Wiles herself said, DT has an alcoholic personality, which is in essence an addictive personality.He’s
addicted to the next big gamble.
So I have to ask, why would you throw away your career, risk alienating your family, ruin your future and the future of hundreds of millions of people depending on you, for short term “wins” that may or may not yield any personal gain, when you have the means—the infrastructure—to build on an 80 years-long winning strategy?
When one looks at all the of the destruction, we have to ask: WHO BENEFITS? They have to know that they may be polishing their crowns and insider-club badges now, but without the millions of workers and humans, their wealth system crumbles. Make enough of them unhealthy, unwelcome, uneducated, and again, it's bad for business. So who benefits and how? We have to disrupt that chain to make any difference. In the meantime, it does read like we are fcking toast.
I'm pretty sure they ultimately intend for the millions of humans and workers to become obsolete. Their wealth will become redundant once the overall vision is accomplished. Just writing this makes me fell like an unstable conspiracy theorist, but the times are increasingly dystopian. Have a listen to Bernie
https://substack.com/@mikaanderson/note/c-183862492?r=26v2mv
PROPOSALS TO RESOLVE RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES AND/OR REDACTED INFORMATION
Congress has many options to either compel or come to an agreement with the DOJ to disclose the full content of the Epstein files and/or the redacted* portions of them, including issuing a subpoena duces tecum to Bondi an/or Blanche and or/subpoenaing them to personally appear before the appropriate committee. Refusal to do so could result in holding one or both in Contempt of Congress ( though a non-partisan Special Prosecutor would need to be appointed to prosecute them).
Congress could also propose that it designate one Republican and one Democrat to review the documents withheld and/or redacted. Should the DOJ be asserting “national security” as a reason not to disclose, then the designation can be limited to members who have the appropriate security clearance. The DOJ may wish to negotiate an agreement with such members stipulating terms and conditions for their disclosures, subject to judicial review. As a side note, should the DOJ withhold any information on the basis of “national security”, it would set off a firestorm of protests and eagerness to obtain that content to resolve why and how Epstein came into possession of such sensitive information and what he may have done with it and/or who he may have given it to or revealed it to.
The DOJ and Congress could also consider agreeing on the designation of a non-partisan third party in the nature of a mediator, or even arbitrator , who can review all of the withheld documents and redacted portions of documents who can agree to disclose either the documents or the redacted portions of documents pursuant to terms and conditions agreed upon by the DOJ and Congress. As an example of a disinterested party, I have in mind former Federal District Judge Barbara Jones of the S.D.N.Y who was formerly an AUSA and Bureau Chief in Rudy Giuliani’s office and who has since retired from the bench and gone into private practice. She has served as a neutral third party on a number of occasions since leaving the bench.
*Hypothetically, under Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's rationale that he wants to protect the identities of victims of child molestations, if Trump is seen in a photo with a naked girl, he would withhold the entire photo rather than just cover the face of the naked girl.
Trump is still in control. His cronies enjoy the view from the top and they will do whatever tactic protects the regime and select friends.
Please Restack :)
Includes weekend DOJ materials.
Monday: Trump in Giuffre V Maxwell court documents
https://open.substack.com/pub/ojaiohana/p/trump-in-guiffre-v-maxwell-documents?r=5chxge&utm
Please Restack :)
Includes weekend DOJ materials.
Monday: Trump in Giuffre V Maxwell court documents
https://open.substack.com/pub/ojaiohana/p/trump-in-guiffre-v-maxwell-documents?r=5chxge&utm
Monday: Viewers V CBS
https://open.substack.com/pub/ojaiohana/p/videos-monday-updates-viewers-v-cbs?r=5chxge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
This is what happens when “America First” quietly becomes “America Alone.” Calling European liberal democracy the enemy while autocrats cheer from the sidelines is less strategy and more ideological self-own. You don’t withdraw from the rules-based order because it failed. You withdraw because democracy is inconvenient for people who prefer loyalty tests over shared values. When the Kremlin calls your national security plan “a positive step,” that’s not realism. That’s the smoke alarm doing its job.
For well, over a year now, elon musk has been throwing money at the elections in europe, supporting all the far right groups in every country. Most european countries are trying to or have somewhat successfully blocked x, which he uses to promote his racism. Musk is seen as a far right wing nut. When he turned off Starlink in Ukraine that further cemented their view of him.