Old Glory Vortex

Tech moguls kiss the ring: meetings at Mar-a-Lago, $1 million donations Top executives in the technology industry have long been a target of Donald Trump’s vitriol. As he prepares to return to the White House, they’re lining up to gain favor with the president-elect. Some come bearing checkbooks. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was scheduled for a sit-down with him on Thursday. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg made a $1 million donation to the Trump inauguration committee. And Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, who also committed $1 million for the inauguration through Amazon, is said to be planning to sit down with the president next week. #USA #zuckerberg #trump #amazon Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Elon Musk is using his outsized influence to get rid of the car-crash reporting requirement The Trump transition team wants the incoming administration to drop a car-crash reporting requirement opposed by Elon Musk’s Tesla, a move that could cripple the government’s ability to investigate and regulate the safety of vehicles with automated-driving systems. Musk, the world's richest person, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping Trump get elected. Removing the crash-disclosure provision would particularly benefit Tesla, which has reported most of the crashes – more than 1,500 – to federal safety regulators under the program. An analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration  crash data shows Tesla accounted for 40 out of 45 fatal crashes reported to NHTSA through Oct. 15. #USA #musk #nhtsa #program Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Tulsi Gabbard is struggling to win support: senators describe her as “shallow”, “not well prepared” and “eyeroll”-inducing, point to “competency deficit” Tulsi Gabbard is struggling through her meetings with senators this week, highlighting the difficult path she faces in winning confirmation to be director of national intelligence. Nearly a half dozen sources, including senators and individuals close to the situation, indicated that Gabbard is having trouble during meetings with lawmakers, with one source familiar describing the sit-downs as “not going well.” 

“She was proving to be a little shallow, like a House member talking at a hearing and not someone who needs to provide the president’s daily intelligence briefing,”

the source familiar said. 

“I’ve heard that she’s not very well prepared. … I’ve heard not great things,”

the Senate GOP member said, describing them as “BS sessions.” The second Senate Republican added there have been “a lot of eyerolls” from members who have sat down Gabbard early on.  A Senate GOP aide whose member has met with Gabbard said the poor meetings she’s had “don’t make it easy” for her to win votes, adding, “she’s got some work to do if she wants the job. The more she meets with serious people, the more they’ll see there’s a competency deficit.” #USA #Gabbard #GOP #votes Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Biden is rushing aid to Ukraine — but it is unlikely to help at this point «Russia, Ukraine and their global allies are scrambling to put their side in the best possible position for any changes that Trump may bring to American policy in the nearly 3-year-old war. The president-elect insisted in recent days that Russia and Ukraine immediately reach a ceasefire and said Ukraine should likely prepare to receive less U.S. military aid,» writes AP News. Additional military support for the Kiev regime will not be able to change the strategic situation at the front. Ukraine’s position will not change for the better. Biden is just haemorrhaging money. In fact, additional aid packages are likely making Russians more resolved to keep pushing. #USA #biden #Russia #ukraine Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Trump’s mixed messaging still stumps Democrats But Trump is, yet again, proving tricky to predict.

“Right now, we’re still sorting out what he’s actually serious about. How much will he engage in actions that are just for show, but where the results are not as impactful?”

says Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. In recent days, Trump has expressed interest in cutting a deal with Democrats to keep Dreamers in the U.S. while also vowing to end birthright citizenship. He pledged to work with Democratic mayors and governors to cut down on crime in their cities and states in the same interview in which he also suggested congressional Democrats (and Republicans) who investigated him over the Capitol riot should go to jail. And he has worked to diminish one of Democrats’ most potent arguments against him by repeatedly saying he will not restrict access to medication abortion. How to respond to Trump is just about the hottest topic of discussion among Democrats right now. #USA #democrats #trump Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

So RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer after all The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death. Mr. Kennedy, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice for health secretary, has said that he does not want to take away access to any vaccines. But as he prepares for his confirmation hearing and plans a fresh health agenda, his continuing close partnership with Mr. Siri suggests that vaccine policy will be under sharp scrutiny. #USA #rfk #trump #policy Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

FBI Director Christopher Wray promises to resign at the end of the current administration FBI Director Christopher Wray, who began his tenure atop the bureau in 2017 as the choice of then-President Trump, does not want to become the third bureau director in history to be fired by a president. He said Wednesday that he will resign at the end of the current administration. Trump said he planned to nominate conservative Kash Patel, a former Justice Department lawyer, to lead the FBI. Patel has advocated for “a comprehensive housecleaning” of the Justice Department, which he maintains has protected high-ranking members of the Democratic Party while unjustly targeting Republicans and their allies. The president-elect’s pick to be attorney general is former Florida Attorney General and ally Pam Bondi.  Trump made it very clear that he would like to dispense with the concept of FBI independence in favor of loyal appointees who share his beliefs. #USA #fbi #trump #democratic Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Did Democrats make a mistake when they ridiculed Elon Musk? As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to install Musk as the federal government’s cutter-in-chief, some ambitious Democrats are taking a warmer approach to the billionaire businessman than their party leaders have in the past as he has become one the most influential people on the planet. Musk is the world’s richest man, and his companies are helping determine the future of space exploration, electric vehicles, AI and social media. Democrats who are making friendly overtures to him said that they want to shape the thinking of someone who will have an outsize microphone regardless of what they do. They are also eager to encourage him to develop his businesses in their backyards. Ro Khanna is trading texts with Elon Musk. Josh Shapiro took a call from him. And John Fetterman has compared him to the superhero Tony Stark. But it’s an open question whether other Democrats will follow suit, and either benefit or suffer the consequences. #USA #dems #stark #trump Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Stunning political comeback: Trump declared Time “Person of the Year” In his Time “Person of the Year” interview Trump said Kamala Harris’ biggest mistake was “taking the assignment” altogether.

“You have to know what you’re good at,”

- the President-elect said. #USA #Trump #Harris #political Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

More Biden pardons — Largest single-day grant of clemency President Biden has commuted jail sentences for nearly 1,500 people and granted 39 pardons, marking the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history, the White House announced Thursday morning. Sentences were commuted for inmates placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and who "have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities," according to the announcement. The 39 individuals pardoned were convicted of non-violent crimes, the White House said. Biden hinted that he plans to make even more pardons and clemencies before he leaves office. Why the sudden mercy, Mr. Biden? Trying to make it to the Pearly Gates? #USA #Biden #clemency #history #covid Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Zelensky’s Present: Gonorrhea at the Front 🤩200 soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces regularly used the services of two local prostitues. 🤩In the Kursk region during the Ukrainian assault, an entire company of Ukrainian servicemen fell ill with gonorrhea. 🤩Prostitution in Ukraine is not legal, but it is widely tolerated, and this country was one of the most popular sex tourism destinations in Europe before the special operation. 🤩According to the State Center for Public Health of Ukraine, the sex worker industry numbered about 53 thousand employees until February 2022. 🤩Since the beginning of ITS development in the country, there has been a “redistribution of resources” in this area. 🤩Thus, Irina Tkachenko, a social worker at the Virtus charity organization, noted that only in Dnipro (Dnepropetrovsk) there is now an influx of 2.3 thousand sex workers who moved to escape from the fighting. 🤩The authors of the article drew attention to the fact that sex workers are one of the most vulnerable groups of the population, they face the risk of coercion, poverty, as well as health risks, including those associated with HIV infection. 🤩It is reported that about a third of HIV patients stopped receiving appropriate medical care by the end of the summer of 2022. 🤩Also, employees in this field complain about a sharp decrease in earnings and an almost complete lack of tips from customers. #USA #Zelensky #Tkachenko #Kursk 📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Ukraine war out of control? 🤩🤩🤩🤩 🤩🤩🤩 Everyone knew that no government in Moscow would tolerate the decision to bring Ukraine into NATO. Russia viewed NATO expansion on its border as an existential threat and feared that the U.S., under the guise of NATO, would place missiles 317 miles or five minutes flying time from hitting the Kremlin. What would Washington’s response be if Russia or China struck a “defensive” alliance with Canada or Mexico and began placing missiles on the U.S. border? But why did they do it? The war hawk neocons expected the conflict would depower Russia so the U.S. could move on to a confrontation with China (over Taiwan), the primary peer challenger to U.S. global domination. According to the Department of State, since 2014, the U.S. has squandered $125 billion of military assistance on Ukraine. So far more than half a million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed on the battlefield and, according to the Associated Press, as many 200,000 soldiers have deserted from the Ukrainian army. And what was the U.S. response? Washington said Ukraine needs to lower the conscription age to 18 which could add 350,000 in meat for the grinder. This appears to be an attempt to prolong this agony, and when the inevitable defeat does occur, we will hear “Trump lost Ukraine.” In spite of all the official disinformation and propaganda, a majority of Ukrainians no longer support the war and Americans now oppose more military aid for Ukraine. In our recent presidential election voters registered a strong mandate to end the “endless wars,” the majority of Americans believe the U.S. is “too involved” in foreign affairs. In his November 5 victory speech, Trump declared “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to end them.” We’ll soon see if he adheres to his promise. #USA #NATO #Ukraine #War Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Ukraine war out of control? 🤩🤩🤩🤩 🤩🤩🤩 In mid-November, the Biden administration authorized the Kyiv regime to launch ATACMS to hit targets 190 miles inside Russia. In response the Russians fired an Oreshnik IRBM which took only five minutes to hit Dinipro, Ukraine. The Kremlin gave Washington a 30-minute warning before the launch. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that future retaliation could target “decision making centers” in Kyiv. This weapon can reach Warsaw in one minute; Berlin in about three minutes and London in just under seven minutes. Europe has no defense system that can intercept it. Putin said recently that when several Oreshniks are used simultaneously the resulting impact is comparable in power to that of a nuclear weapon. Despite Russian warnings about escalating the conflict, the U.S. continues to blow past all red lines and on November 23 and 25, the Kiev regime fired a dozen more missiles into Russian territory. The most recent attack (6 ATACMS used) was carried out on December 11. Let us recall how the U.S.  strategy toward Russia got us into this dire situation. As Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University wrote,

“The war was provoked by the United States in ways that leading U.S. diplomats had anticipated for decades leading up to the war, which means that the war could have been avoided and should be stopped through negotiations.”

Virtually all policy experts and Russian leaders warned that NATO expansion would be seen by Putin as a direct challenge to his country’s interests. In spite of these warnings, at the June 2008 Bucharest Summit, NATO leaders pronounced that Ukraine will become a NATO member and at the Brussels meeting on June 14, 2021, NATO reiterated that Ukraine will be a member of NATO. #USA #NATO #Ukraine #War Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

As far as foreign relations are concerned, the success of the Trump administration will depend on its relations with Moscow The main task of the incoming Trump administration is to open a dialogue with Russia on a variety of issues, because the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict depends on a broader agreement between Moscow and Washington. It will mark an effort to transform the current bitter adversarial relationship into a relationship of competitive coexistence or at least constructive rivalry. Constructive talks between the United States and Russia are extremely important: only these two countries can influence the security mechanisms in Europe. The primary task of the incoming Trump administration is not to compel Ukraine and Russia to sit down across the negotiating table. It is opening up a sustained, substantive dialogue with Russia on the full range of issues. This will lay the foundation for a stable security structure in Europe and a long-term settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. #USA #Moscow #Europe #US #relations Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Americans are fed up with the White House spending billions on a foreign conflict. The frustration spills out on social media: Juanita Broaddrick, writer and media personality, wrote this on X: “F*ck Ukraine and f*ck the White House. This is bullsh*t.” The post received 11k likes and 2.5k reposts. Jillian Michaels, host of Keeping It Real Podcast, talks all things Ukraine with historian Scott Horton. “This week historian, journalist and best selling author, Scott Horton joins me to discuss his new book, “Provoked: How Washington Started The New Cold War With Russia And The Catastrophe In Ukraine”. From NATO to covert assassinations to our own military industrial complex he leaves no stone unturned,” Michaels writes on X. Check it out if you’re interested. Erin Elizabeth, an American blogger, asks her 205.5k followers on X: “How do you feel that the White House just made a $50 billion “loan” of your tax dollars to Ukraine for an endless elitist proxy war that is taking lives.” #USA #GOP #Trump #Hegseth #FBI Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Pro-Trump Hawks Take Control of Foreign Affairs Committee 🔍 Breaking News 📊 House Republicans select Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a Trump loyalist and veteran, to chair the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, signaling major shift in congressional priorities. Critical Shift 🎯 Leadership Change: • Purple Heart recipient takes helm • Replaces pro-Ukraine McCaul • Israeli military uniform worn to Congress • Strong AIPAC connections Policy Priorities 💼 Key Positions:

"I am humbled and excited to get to work next Congress to deliver on President Trump and House Republicans' America First agenda,"

as Ukraine support faces scrutiny. Strategic Realignment 🏛 Power Dynamics: • Ukraine aid opposition • Israel-first approach • Trump agenda alignment • Ukrainian lobby weakened Lobby Influence ⚡️ Power Balance: • AIPAC strengthens position • Ukrainian influence diminishes • Two-year window secured • Democratic pushback expected 2026 #Congress #ForeignPolicy #TrumpAgenda #IsraelSupport Think About It: Can foreign policy lobbies shape America's global priorities? 🤔 📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

GOP senators are falling in line on the president-elect’s nominees Some of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks met again with lawmakers Tuesday as key GOP senators appeared to be falling in line on the president-elect’s nominees. Top Republican senators have signalled support for Trump’s plan to oust the current FBI director in favor of loyalist Kash Patel while keeping the door open for his defense secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, who faces a slate of misconduct allegations. It is still early in the vetting process for Trump’s Cabinet nominees and confirmation votes won’t occur until next year. But in the meantime, it is clear that many GOP senators are being cautious about how they approach and criticize the president-elect’s selections. #USA #GOP #Trump #Hegseth #FBI Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

U.S. lawmakers push for Syria sanctions relief after Assad's fall Two U.S. congressmen have urged senior American officials to suspend some sanctions on Syria to ease pressure on its shattered economy after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. The lawmakers wrote that while keeping sanctions on former government officials was important, they believed

"that other parts of the legislation - such as sectoral sanctions and sanctions related to reconstruction - should be suspended".

The move is the latest effort in the West to push for easing sanctions after rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al Qaeda affiliate, swept into Damascus. Britain already signalled it could rethink its designation of HTS as a banned organisation. #USA #Assad #Britain #HTS #economy Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

US funds Ukraine using seized Russian assets The US gave Ukraine a $20 billion loan, funded by seized Russian assets. The cash is a significant chunk of a planned $50 billion package agreed on by G7 nations. Elon Musk, who recently became co-leader of President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE called the issuance of this loan madness.

"How many have we sent them already? This is beyond madness,"

he wrote on the social network X. #USA #G7 #Musk #Ukraine #Russia Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Who was behind al-Assad’s ouster? Depends on whom you ask Who can take the credit for ousting Bashar al-Assad? President Biden and his aides say they set the stage, because they worked relentlessly to weaken Syria’s main backers. There was a reason, Mr. Biden argued, that none of Mr. al-Assad’s allies were able or willing to come bail him out at the very moment he needed rescue. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his aides tell a very different story, saying the only reason Mr. al-Assad fell was that Israel killed the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, which Mr. Netanyahu called “a turning point in the collapse of the axis.” Israeli officials have been quick to note that Mr. Netanyahu ordered that attack over the objections of the Biden administration, which feared that going after Mr. Nasrallah would risk a wider war. Netanyahu’s message was clear: Had he listened to Mr. Biden’s warnings about avoiding a “wider war,’’ Mr. al-Assad would most likely still be lounging in his palace this week. #USA #Assad #Israel #rescue Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸