I know it’s difficult to accept at this point, but apparently there is such a thing within the Washington hierarchy as being too far around the bend to be ignored any longer. And it appears that a rubber room may be the next stop for the No. 3 man at FEMA, Gregg Phillips, who currently serves as head of the Office of Response and Recovery.

I first mentioned Phillips last month (“3/21/26: Just When You Think It Cant Possibly Get Any Worse . . .”), as the ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorist who claimed to have been teleported 50 miles to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia, and another time some 40 miles in his car, landing in a ditch near a church. As he described it in a podcast:

“Teleporting is no fun. It’s no fun because you don’t really know what you’re doing. You don’t really understand it, it’s scary, but yet um — but so real. And you know it’s happening but you can’t do anything about it, and so you just go, you just go with the ride. And wow, what just an incredible adventure it all was.” [Andrew Kaczynski, Em Steck and Gabe Cohen, CNN, March 20 2026.]

At the time, a FEMA spokesperson said that it was “barely worth acknowledging,” “taken out of context,” “or represent[ing] personal, informal, jovial, and somewhat spiritual discussions.” [Id.] It seems that Phillips had been doing a good job at FEMA — at least, when he had both feet on the ground — and his idiosyncrasies could be overlooked in the interest of mitigating the Agency’s shortage of effective personnel.

But apparently Phillips’ podcasts have continued, and word is spreading of his claims, including:

• That a dead girlfriend once lifted his car off the road to avoid a crash.
• That Satan once spoke to him while he was walking across Spain.
• That he once collapsed inside a Lowe’s store in Indianapolis, regaining consciousness across the street in a McDonald’s parking lot with “15,000 steps logged on his health app, a Big Mac in his lap, and little understanding of what had just happened.”
• That he was once awakened in the middle of the night by God, who sat on his bed and told him his cancer had returned. As Phillips described it, “He sat me up in the bed and he sat cross-legged with me, I’ll never forget it. And he said, ‘Hey, your cancer’s back, but don’t worry, I’ve got this.’”
• That he said in April 2025: “I’m actually dead. But I’m here doing God’s stuff. And so we laugh about that a little bit.” [Andrew Kaczynski and Gabe Cohen, CNN, April 14, 2026.]
  

As mind-boggling as all of that is, what really concerned me was yesterday’s report of a telephone interview between CNN and Donald Trump, in which Trump said:

“What does teleport mean? Was he kidding? . . . I don’t know anything about teleporting. . . . It just sounds a little strange, but I know nothing about teleporting or him, but I’ll find out about it right now.” [Id.]

To begin with, the very idea of Donald Trump admitting there is some subject on which he is not the world’s leading authority is big news in itself. You don’t suppose he’s losing his grip, do you?

But then he apparently did follow up on it, because a White House official later told CNN that they had contacted FEMA’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security.

If that sounds too good to be true, it sort of is . . . because there was more to the White House’s comment. According to the same official, they urged DHS “either to remove Phillips or keep him out of public view.” [Id.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

(That might be what they ultimately have to do to Trump, who thinks he actually is God. And it’s not an original concept. Does anyone remember the 1993 Kevin Kline movie, “Dave”?)

Apparently, the contact at DHS who spoke with CNN was somewhat more familiar with teleporting than Trump, because — again according to the White House official:

“Everyone’s thoughts were, ‘What the hell is this? This guy has got to go.’” [Id.]

Well . . . duh!

As far as I know, Phillips is still employed at FEMA. But at last report, he had been significantly sidelined from parts of the Agency’s operations, left out of proceedings, and directed to stop posting about teleportation on Truth Social (Trump’s social media platform).

Sources have reported that Phillips is furious, and is convinced that officials at FEMA and DHS are out to get him. His co-workers say that he has grown increasingly agitated and suspicious.

As an appointee, and not an elected official, it should be easy to remove Phillips from FEMA. After all, who is better at firing people than Donald Trump? And if I were his boss, I would also be contacting his next of kin to urge that he be admitted to the nearest psychiatric facility, for his own and everyone else’s safety. Otherwise, who knows where his next “teleportation” might take him? He could wake up in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, lobbing spitballs at the West Wing.

But that is just what I would do if I were in charge, which (mercifully) I am not. In real life, we must keep in mind that Phillips’ ultimate boss is the acting Secretary of DHS (and the inimitable Kristi Noem’s interim replacement), Markwayne Mullin — not the most stable of geniuses himself. So we can only wait to see what transpires.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/15/26

Donald J. Trump. If he were Hispanic, I suppose the “J” could stand for “Jesus.”

But he isn’t; and it doesn’t. It stands for “John” . . . and not the biblical disciple. Yet we have all seen THE PICTURE: the AI-created image of Trump in flowing robes and a full head of blond hair, looking for all the world like a supernatural being, laying hands on a man to heal him.

I won’t comment on the blasphemous nature of the picture, or on his disgustingly disrespectful separate message to the Pope; we’ve seen and heard enough of that. But I absolutely must share the incredulity I felt when I read that, in finally yielding to the public backlash and deleting the original post, Trump tried to offer this lame explanation:

“I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross. It’s supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better.”

Right. With haloes of light, and images of soldiers ascending into Heaven, we were supposed to think he was a medic. But where was his white coat, his stethoscope, or any glimpse of a Red Cross symbol?

And as for Trump ever having made people better . . . well, draw your own conclusions.

I am grateful, though, that at least he didn’t close with his usual “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” Because he lost my attention decades ago.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/14/26

No, I am not suggesting that the world’s wealthiest person should be punished for his earthly sins by relegating him to driving a trash truck. I prefer to think his ultimate fate will be spending eternity in Dante’s Fourth Circle of Hell (“Greed”).

But my mind works in circuitous ways that are often a mystery even to me, so please stay with me here as I explain.

It all started with trash bags — those small, four-gallon ones that are produced in rolls, which I, like many people, use to line the waste baskets in my bathroom and den. For years, I have been buying the Glad brand because they are less expensive than Hefty. I mean, they’re just for trash, so why pay extra . . . right?

Well, last week the store was out of the Glad variety, so I went ahead and grabbed the Hefty ones — the per-box price was about the same, but there were fewer bags in the box. Still, it wasn’t enough of a difference to break the budget, so no big deal.

But it turned out that there was a good reason for the additional cost: the Hefty bags are simply better. (Sorry, Glad.) They’re way more substantial, better designed and constructed . . . and you don’t have to tear each bag off of a continuous roll like the Glad bags, which sometimes rip in the process. Also, Hefty’s . . . you know . . . heft would make them less likely to leak or to be punctured by a corner of a discarded container as the cheaper ones often do.

Well, I was delighted with my find of a better product. But yesterday morning, as I was emptying the trash and putting new Hefty bags into the waste baskets, it occurred to me that my marvelous discovery — precisely because of their more substantial quality — might be gunking up our planet even more than it already is gunked up.

And that led me to thoughts of plastic in general, and how much of it we discard on a daily basis.

There is no question that the invention of the first fully synthetic plastic in 1907 was one of the most significant events of the modern industrial age. In one form or another, it is used in everything from toothpaste tubes to spaceship components. I’m sure the crew of Artemis II would agree that their trip around the moon would not have been possible without plastic.

But for daily use, so much of the plastic we use is disposable. Think about those toothpaste tubes — not to mention food containers, shower caps, soda bottles, bags from the grocery store, and the plastic utensils you’ll be buying for your 4th of July picnic. And it all has to end up somewhere. Most of it is not biodegradable, and while a good portion of it may be recyclable, how many of us — be honest now — how many of us are as diligent about that as we should be?

And this is where Elon Musk comes in. It was at that point in my musings that Artemis II popped back into my mind, which took me directly to the whole human obsession with space and . . . drumroll, please . . .

Elon Musk’s ambition to colonize Mars.

Now, I have made fun of this idea in the past, painting it as some sort of little kid’s Flash-Gordon/Star-Wars fantasy. And I still think it will be many generations — if ever — before humans actually residing on another planet might become a realistic concept.

But what if Musk really wanted to do something good for our own planet? And what if he could get us close enough to our nearest planetary neighbor to make a drop? Once we had the technology to reach and orbit Mars, we could just load up a fleet of his ships with trash, hover over the Red Planet, open the hatches, and bombs away! And Elon Musk — or by then, one of his many descendants — could take all the credit for cleaning up Earth instead of destroying it and having to start over elsewhere.

And he could earn another few billion dollars in the process.

Yes, it would be expensive; but so is declaring war on Iran. Where would you rather see our tax dollars go? We wouldn’t be hurting anyone, as there are no “anyones” there to hurt. And we would be saving our own atmosphere for our future generations.

It may sound crazy now. But the North Koreans are already pelting South Korea with trash-filled balloons. Why not take it to the next level?

By the way, if you think my waking ideas are outlandish, you should hear some of my nighttime dreams.

Or maybe not.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/14/26

Yesterday, a long-time autocratic leader was defeated by a landslide in Hungary’s election. And while Viktor Orban is not quite in the same league as Josef Stalin, Adolph Hitler, Vladimir Putin . . . or even Donald Trump . . . his long-overdue political downfall reminded me of others of his ilk throughout history, and gave me a glimmer of hope for the ultimate departure from power of others still living.

But how, I wondered (for about the millionth time), do such aberrations of humankind manage to come to power in the first place? We look at the historical facts, of course, such as being in the right place at the right time under the right circumstances — as Hitler was when Germany was suffering from the aftermath of World War I and the crippling effects of the Versailles Treaty, and the German people desperately needed a “savior” to resurrect their nation.

But there is also a psychological factor — a sort of mass hysteria or hypnosis, if you will — that comes into play at that specific moment in time. And the late U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright understood it completely when she wrote the following:

“My students remarked that the Fascist chiefs we remember best were charismatic. Through one method or another, each established an emotional link to the crowd and, like the central figure in a cult, brought deep and often ugly feelings to the surface. This is how the tentacles of Fascism spread inside a democracy. Unlike a monarchy or a military dictatorship imposed on society from above, Fascism draws energy from men and women who are upset because of a lost war, a lost job, a memory of humiliation, or a sense that their country is in steep decline. The more painful the grounds for resentment, the easier it is for a Fascist leader to gain followers by dangling the prospect of renewal or by vowing to take back what has been stolen.”

– Madeleine K. Albright, “Fascism: A Warning”

Understanding it is, of course, only half the battle. The other half requires us to do something about it.

That “something” is what just happened in Hungary.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/13/26

It’s almost as though Vlad is whispering into Donnie’s ear: “This is how it’s done.”

The major similarities are obvious: the obsession with war-mongering and expansionism, the greed and corruption, the paranoia and narcissism, the flagrant disregard for international laws and human rights.

But there are the smaller, creeping signs as well.

Yesterday I posted about the arrest in Russia of a freelance journalist, Aleksandr Andreyev, who has been charged with treason because of his anti-war views, making him — in Putin’s world — a “foreign agent” under onerous new laws passed since the start of the “special military operation” against Ukraine.

Bemoaning Russia’s return under Putin to a dictatorial state, I wrote:

“Since . . . independent news media have been designated as ‘foreign agents’ under newly-augmented Russian law, it has become a convenient excuse for the prosecution of journalists and broadcasters who speak out against the Putin regime, and especially against the war in Ukraine.

“If convicted of treason, Andreyev would face a maximum sentence of life in prison.”

And later that evening I read that Donald Trump — the man who claims to be making America great again — had ranted against “Fox News Sunday” TV host Shannon Bream for failing to push back on Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss who had, in Trump’s words, spread “Democrat propaganda and lies” on her show. [Kimberley Richards, Huffpost, April 12, 2026.]

Next he took on a second female, Fox’s token Democrat Jessica Tarlov, a visiting host on Fox’s “The Five.” Writing on his ironically-named Truth Social site, he said:

“For Fox executives only, take Jessica Tarlov off the air. She is, from her voice, to her lies, and everything else about her, one of the worst ‘personalities’ on television, a real loser!” [Id.]

(Ed. Note: One might be forgiven for wondering whether Trump is more frightened of Tarlov’s self-confidence and refusal to give in to his attempts at intimidation, or her store of knowledge and her credentials, which include degrees from Bryn Mawr College and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Just a thought.)

Yes, he was telling an independent network to remove a panelist who had committed, in his mind, the unspeakable offense of reporting and commenting on accurate polling results showing that his numbers are in the dumpster.

Now, for those who may be thinking that this is small potatoes compared to the wars in Iran and Ukraine, the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, or the price of gas, you may have a point. But it is one more building block on a growing tower of crimes and Constitutional violations being committed daily by this administration. And eventually, a block will be added to the tower that will cause its inevitable fall.

What will that final block be? Who’s to say it won’t be the enactment of a U.S. law duplicative of Putin’s “foreign agent” act, mandating lengthy prison sentences for individuals convicted of speaking or writing against “national security interests”?

We already have an administration that unilaterally dictates the standards for everything from the definition of citizenship, to what constitutes good taste in art and architecture, to what God thinks about war.

Interfering with the First Amendment rights of citizens — and specifically of the press — is no small matter. Don’t let it get buried with the Epstein Files in the trash heap of America’s history.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/13/26

With just a fraction of the vote counted, Viktor Orban has conceded defeat to Peter Magyar. [BBC News, April 12, 2026.]

The record turnout, following weeks of pro-European demonstrations, was obviously headed to a landslide victory for Magyar and his Tesza party. And in a stunning move, Orban — rather than wait for every last vote to be counted over the next several days — acknowledged that his 16-year reign as the autocratic Prime Minister of Hungary has come to an end. Speaking to supporters in Budapest, Orban said:

“The election results [sic] is not final yet, but it is understandable and clear. The election result is painful for us, but clear. The responsibility and possibility of governing was not given to us. I have congratulated the winner.” [Anita Komuves, Reuters, April 12, 2026.]

Following the announcement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X:

“Europe’s heart is beating stronger in Hungary tonight. Hungary has chosen Europe. Europe has always chosen Hungary. Together, we are stronger. A country reclaims its European path. The Union grows stronger.” [Reuters, April 12, 2026.]

Score one for democracy in Europe; strike one for Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

O HAPPY DAY!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/12/26

Let’s say you break into someone’s house in the middle of the night. The homeowner wakes up, hears you, comes downstairs, tackles you, ties you up with a bungee cord that just happens to be lying around, and calls the police to come and arrest you.

But you have a gun hidden in your pants pocket, which you manage to wriggle free. You then shoot and kill the homeowner, and when the police arrive shortly thereafter, you claim self-defense on the theory that you had a right to defend yourself against physical assault.

Do you seriously believe a jury is going to buy that?

Hardly. You were, after all, caught burglalrizing that dead man’s home. Or had you forgotten that?

It’s nonsense, of course. But it is — on a much larger scale — what the Kremlin is alleging in connection with two of its sanctioned oil tankers and a Russian navy frigate that were tracked by British authorities passing through the English Channel.

Between Wednesday and Thursday, April 8th and 9th, the Russian-flagged UNIVERSAL and the Cameroon-flagged ENIGMA — each carrying some 40,000 tons of Russian diesel fuel — illegally crossed through UK waters, according to ship tracking data. Although British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he has authorized the military to board and detain Russian ships in British waters to prevent their exporting oil in violation of Western sanctions, no such action has been taken so far.

Nevertheless, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claims that Russia has the right to take action in order to ensure the safety of its own property, saying:

“Over the past few months, we have witnessed repeated incidents of piracy in international waters. These incidents of piracy have, among other things, harmed the economic interests of the Russian Federation.

“The Russian Federation considers itself entitled to, and will certainly take, measures to protect its interests.” [Dmitry Antonov, et al., Reuters, April 9, 2026.]

Really, Dima? Are you forgetting where this so-called “piracy” took place? Yes? Then let me remind you: You were in someone else’s house, sweetheart . . . uninvited.

The naval vessel, ADMIRAL GRIGOROVICH, had been tracked by British, Belgian, French and Dutch aircraft and ships as it accompanied the two tankers — part of Russia’s shadow fleet that illegally transports oil for export in violation of existing sanctions — through British waters.

And British Defense Minister John Healey reported in a press conference that a separate British operation involving the UK and Western allies was already underway to make Russia’s illegal actions more difficult. Confirming that his government was prepared to take further steps if necessary, Healey said:

“We have the military options, and we’re ready to take action. Not just in support of, but action with, allies to interdict shadow fleet vessels.” [Id.]

Lest any point be overlooked, let me also remind you, Dima, that those sanctions would not have been necessary in the first place if it weren’t for your government’s war — not a “special military operation,” as you euphemistically refer to it, but an all-out WAR now in its fifth year — against Ukraine.

*. *. *

Vladimir Putin and his mouthpiece Peskov very conveniently ignore those little details, as well as the pesky legal issues, as they self-righteously protest that they are the victims of Western aggression. But isn’t that what they always do when caught with their proverbial pants down?

It is. And frankly, it’s getting really old.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/12/26

On Thursday, April 9th, Russia’s FSB, successor to the KGB, announced that it had arrested a freelance reporter in the Zabaikalsky Region of Siberia on suspicion of treason. Identified by authorities only as a 65-year-old resident of the regional capital of Chita, he is accused of providing intelligence on critical Russian infrastructure to Ukrainian special services. [The Moscow Times, April 9, 2026.]

Through news outlet Chita.ru, and Telegram channel Siberian Express, the man has since been identified as Aleksandr Andreyev, who had worked as a freelancer for RFE/RL’s Russian Service between 2010 and 2014. He had also worked for a news outlet founded by exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky. [RFE/RL’s Russian Service, April 9, 2026.]

The report from Chita.ru also stated that two other people were detained around the same time, but offered no details.

The FSB specifically accused Andreyev of “transmitting information to the enemy regarding the information resources of a local print publication specializing in covering the progress of the special military operation” [id.] . . . Russia’s name for its war against Ukraine.

Since RFE/RL and numerous other independent news media have been designated as “foreign agents” under newly-augmented Russian law, it has become a convenient excuse for the prosecution of journalists and broadcasters who speak out against the Putin regime, and especially against the war in Ukraine.

If convicted of treason, Andreyev would face a maximum sentence of life in prison. [The Moscow Times, op.cit.]

Today, tragically, he is added to our list of hostages being held by Putin on political grounds.

*. *. *

And of course we continue our watch over the many other political prisoners still incarcerated in Russia and elsewhere. Here again is the list of those known, which sadly is only a fraction of the total:

Prisoners of War:

The 20,000+ Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Endangered Exiles:

Pavel “Pasha” Talankin
Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Afghanistan:

Dennis Coyle (American)

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Andrei Chapiuk
Uladzimir Labkovich
Andrzej Poczobut
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In Georgia:

Mzia Amaglobeli

In Russia:

The “Crimea 8”:
— Oleg Antipov
— Artyom Azatyan
— Georgy Azatyan
— Aleksandr Bylin
— Roman Solomko
— Artur Terchanyan
— Dmitry Tyazhelykh
— Vladimir Zloba

James Scott Rhys Anderson (British)
Aleksandr Andreyev
David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Hayden Davies (British)
Anastasia Dyudyaeva
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Leonid Pshenychnov (in Russian-occupied Crimea)
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Joseph Tater (American, disappeared)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

You have not been, and will not be, forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/12/26

With most of the world focused on the political climate in the United States, it would be easy to overlook a vital election taking place tomorrow in Hungary.

This is my 50th post since September 1, 2023, warning about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his far-right Fidesz Party’s increasing servility to Vladimir Putin. And now, after 16 consecutive years in office, there is hope that he will at last be defeated by the moderate Tisza Party led by pro-European Peter Magyar.

Thus far, the polls show Magyar leading by an ever-widening margin. Assuming the election will be a fair and honest one, he should win easily; but in light of the ongoing blatant interference by the Russian government, and even U.S. Vice President JD Vance showing up to lend Donald Trump’s support to Orban, we can’t assume anything.

Still, here’s hoping tomorrow’s events will bring Europe one country closer to democratic unanimity . . . and Viktor Orban a one-way ticket to obsolescence.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/11/26

Typing this is really painful — not emotionally, but literally, physically agonizing.

For the past 24 hours or so, I have been experiencing a flare-up of arthritis, or possibly gout (which is a form of arthritis, actually) in my right thumb and forefinger. And of course I’m right-handed, so it’s been an awkward day as well, trying to make my left hand do things it’s not accustomed to doing.

Since I don’t take anything stronger than Tylenol for pain — which, at least in my experience, is only marginally more helpful than a sugar pill — there’s not much to be done for the hand. I can rest it, apply some lidocaine cream from time to time, wear a hand brace, and wait for it to ease up by itself . . . which it will do, but in its own good time.

Did I mention “resting it”? Unfortunately, that includes not typing away on my iPad keyboard. Therefore, no political diatribe tonight, even though I had a selection of topics ready to attack. Hopefully later today.

In the meantime, I’ve started reading a new book — a non-fiction that happens to have been written by an old friend, which makes it doubly interesting. And I think I can still turn pages with my right hand.

So TTFN, dear readers. Try not to miss me; I don’t expect to be gone for long.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/11/26