Amid all of this derision and division, a few people have asked for perspective.  So here it is – my review in brutally drilled down simplicity.

Back in ’23/’24, the plan of Billionaire Larry Ellison and Elon Musk (w/collaboration, ie. K Griffin, R Bigelow etc.), was to divide the MAGA base through the promotion of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.  The Alligator Emoji base (evangelical conservatives) was the wedge.

They failed.

MAGA remained cohesive behind Donald J Trump.  Ron DeSantis eventually quit the race, Ellison and Musk changed camps, Silicon Valley came along, and the rest is 2024 electoral history.

The point to remember is the key strategy was to divide the MAGA base.

Fast forward to 2025.  Larry Ellison, David Ellison, Bill Ackman, Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch, et al, are looking toward the political future and reverting back to their original objective – divide the MAGA base.

The wedge is the same, only the subject matter of emotional emphasis is Israel.

Look at the names. The wedge divide is identical.

In essence, MAGA is being played by billionaire games with the intent to politically divide in advance of the 2026 midterms.   It also appears to be working swimmingly.

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President Donald J Trump has a remarkable schedule for the next 36 hours.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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Elevate, take the big picture, then understand exactly why the political operatives on the left are doing everything possible to stop the Trump tariff policies.

As President Trump secures a growing Main Street economy through the use of tariffs, the revenue generated becomes part of the financial mechanism to remove the leftist leverage mechanisms with income taxes.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “Chuck Schumer recently said, “Every day gets better” during their Radical Left Shutdown. I DISAGREE! If nothing is done, because of “Leader” Chuck Schumer and the Democrats, our Brave Troops will miss the paychecks they are rightfully due on October 15th.

That is why I am using my authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th. We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS.

I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown. The Radical Left Democrats should OPEN THE GOVERNMENT, and then we can work together to address Healthcare, and many other things that they want to destroy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” (source)

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President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to a massive crowd from “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Speaking beside Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Steve Witkoff delivered a message of thanks and appreciation to the people of Israel on the cusp of the release of the Israeli hostages and a historic Mideast peace agreement.

The Israeli crowd erupts in boos when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s name is mentioned, but erupts in applause and chants of “Thank you Trump”, when President Trump’s name is mentioned. Blessed are the peacemakers.  WATCH:

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It’s all inside baseball, but for those who are watching the effort to rein in the Fourth Branch of government it is also quite interesting.

CIA Deputy Director Michael Ellis (pictured left) has removed the acting CIA general counsel and put himself into the role until President Trump’s nominee Joshua Simmons can be confirmed by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Deputy Director Ellis, like DNI Tulsi Gabbard is a solid MAGA ally.  Without knowing the reason for his decision to remove the CIA general counsel, the New York Times is not happy.

WASHINGTON DC – Michael Ellis, the deputy director of the C.I.A., has abruptly demoted a career lawyer who had been serving as the agency’s acting general counsel since January and installed himself in that role, according to people familiar with the matter.

[…] It was not clear what was behind Mr. Ellis’s taking personal control of making legal judgments for the agency while continuing to help lead it, but the move raised alarms among some current and former intelligence officials.

[…] The C.I.A. did not specifically address questions about what was behind the move and whether it raised conflict-of-interest issues. But in a statement, a C.I.A. spokeswoman, Liz Lyons, noted that Mr. Trump had nominated a State Department lawyer, Joshua Simmons, for the role. The Senate Intelligence Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for him on Wednesday.

“The deputy director is a highly respected national security lawyer and intelligence professional,” Ms. Lyons said. “This temporary arrangement was approved by career agency attorneys while the Senate considers President Trump’s nominee, Josh Simmons, for C.I.A. general counsel.

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The moment we realize the technological systems have begun to decide who speaks and who is silenced, we can look around and see the cage bars; hopefully, before the door closes.  It is from that moment when we value ‘free speech.’

Pavel Durov is a man of strong strategic focus and self-discipline. The company he created, Telegram, is at the forefront of an information control war, and arguably Durov is one of a small group who grasp the dynamic.

PAVEL DUROV – “I’m turning 41, but I don’t feel like celebrating. Our generation is running out of time to save the free Internet built for us by our fathers.

What was once the promise of the free exchange of information is being turned into the ultimate tool of control.

Once-free countries are introducing dystopian measures such as digital IDs (UK), online age checks (Australia), and mass scanning of private messages (EU).

Germany is persecuting anyone who dares to criticize officials on the Internet. The UK is imprisoning thousands for their tweets. France is criminally investigating tech leaders who defend freedom and privacy.

A dark, dystopian world is approaching fast — while we’re asleep. Our generation risks going down in history as the last one that had freedoms — and allowed them to be taken away.

We’ve been fed a lie.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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