Update no.1245

 Update from the Heartland

No.1245

17.11.25 – 23.11.25

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

Well, well , well, after more than two months of Speaker Johnson stonewalling at the behest of no name, Johnson and the president could not avoid the inevitable. Congress passed and the president signed into law the Epstein Files Transparency Act [PL 119-038; Senate: unanimous consent; House: 427-1-0-5(2); 139 Stat. xxx]. Only one MAGA/Republican in either chamber voted against the bill—Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana. The new law directs the Department of Justice to release all files in the Epstein case within 30 days with a few exceptions. I am fairly certain there will be attempts at obfuscation and skirting the law. Yet, I remain guardedly optimistic that we will eventually know the contents. I must remind everyone that in most if not all instances the statute of limitations had been passed a long time ago. No prosecutions are possible. What should happen is a public shaming to those who participated in the Epstein under-age sex ring. So, let us get on with it.

 

As if we do not have enough examples of no name’s disgusting, immoral, and ‘conduct unbecoming’ behavior, he has always been the gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.  One of his particularly disgusting recent examples occurred on Friday, 14.November.2025, aboard Air Force One, when no name chose to submit to a press scrum, as he so often does. Bloomberg News White House reporter Catherine Reinis Lucey asked no name, "Mister President, what did Jeffrey Epstein mean in his emails when he said, '’you knew about the girls?” To which, the orange one ignored the question and attempted to deflect the focus from himself to Bill Clinton and others and claiming he knew nothing about the Epstein eMails. Lucey asked a follow-up question, "If there is nothing incriminating in the files, sir, why not act?” To which, no name replied, “Quiet.” He pointed his crooked accusatory finger at Lucey, and added, “Quiet, Piggy!’ I ask everyone, what sort of human being says such things?

My answer, only people with no sense of morality. As our parents taught most of us, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all. The orange one’s parents failed to teach him any shred of morality. The White House claimed the president was simply confronting fake news. So, I would ask, what was fake, wrong, inaccurate, or ill-advised in any of Lucey’s words?

What is worse, the professional press gaggle chose to remain stone-cold silent after the insult. So much for herd immunity. In this sordid episode, we bear witness to what happens when we elect representatives who are devoid of morality.

 

Two senators and four representatives produced a Public Service Announcement (PSA) titled: “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” The members of Congress sought to advise members of the military that they can and must disobey illegal orders. The six members in the video were:

-- Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan – CIA officer

-- Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona – Captain, U.S. Navy

-- Representative Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania – Lieutenant, U.S. Navy

-- Representative Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire – Lieutenant, U.S. Navy, intelligence officer

-- Representative Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania – Captain, U.S. Air Force

-- Representative Jason Crow of Colorado – Captain, U.S. Army, paratrooper & Ranger

The one prominent common thread all the senators and representatives share is their military service to the republic. Of course, [the person who shall no longer be named] saw the video of an infringement on his dictatorial powers. The orange one called the video sedition and advocated for those politicians and former military personnel to be tried for treason and hung for their alleged crime.

I watched the entire video several times, specifically to look for a word or a phrase that might be an infringement on Executive authority. In fact, there was none. They were reminding military officers and enlisted of the law that has been the law for 70 years, in the aftermath of the Nazis claims of “I was just following orders.” That claim does not work when the orders are contrary to the Constitution or against the law. It was an excellent PSA and spot on message. Unfortunately, the military needed to be reminded of their responsibility under the Constitution, given the egregious shenanigans of our wannabe dictator, no name. I will argue that no name’s public statements regarding this video are contrary to the Constitution and thus an impeachable offense.

 

Republicans have railed against government regulation for a very long time. As the orange one and his MAGAt minions strive mightily to dismantle the very agencies charged by Congress to protect our rivers, our land, our health, our air, and the common good, we face a myriad of long-term injury that will take many years, if not generations, to correct and return to normal. What they are doing is NOT for the common good; it is all for the greed of the wealthy. The truth is, if men were directed by morality, we would not need regulation. Likewise, if all men obeyed the law and were driven by morality, we would not need police to enforce the law. Contrary to Gordon Gekko’s famous declaration, greed is NOTgood. In the hands of an immoral person, greed can and often will be very destructive. The reality of life is there are bad men, who have no moral code and are not restricted by the law. They believe the law does not apply to them. The Gordon Gekko’s of the world do not care a twit about tomorrow; they only care about making a buck today—tomorrow be damned.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1244:

Comment to the Blog:

“I didn’t want to give up Obamacare (PPACA), because it’s better than nothing. I see it as a near-perfect example of the GOP “too little, too late” approach. The fact that it was enacted under an upscale Black President engendered their fierce racist opposition all the same.

“Let’s not lose sight of the Epstein Files. Also, the AI business is showing signs of crashing the economy.”

My response to the Blog:

I agree with your observations. I have nothing more to add.

Exactly! We do not want to lose sight of exposing the perpetrators in the Epstein affair. The House took a step forward yesterday. Now, the bill is with the Senate. The House passed the bill with a near unanimous vote, well beyond the veto-override threshold.

Just an FYI: The AI business won’t crash the economy. The gambling-on-credit investors will be the cause, as with so many previous recessions and depressions. The speculators are the usual culprits. And worse, Congress has deregulated their risky behavior. The rest of us will pay the price, as we have done in every dip.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Debt financing is indeed too high, and odd investing in AI companies is the purpose of much of it. Then there's the crypto sector and real estate to worry about. I'm reading in Dealbook and other sources about strange financial instruments being used in these speculations, very like the mortgage crash. Combined with political developments, it ought to make for interesting times.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

That is exactly my point. Congress is largely to blame with their deregulation of the banking and finance sectors back during the Bush 43 administration. This is predominantly a Republican effort for their billionaire buddies.

On the philosophical side of this issue, if morality checked such debt-funded speculation (i.e., gambling), we would not need regulation and laws. Unfortunately, the greed of some men is not checked by morality, and thus laws are required to prevent those immoral individuals from harming the rest of us, e.g., 1929, 1986, 2008, et al.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)