TheRuralPragmatist
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theruralpragmatist.bsky.social
TheRuralPragmatist
@theruralpragmatist.bsky.social
Retired engineer. Now a tree farmer, wood worker, musician, maker.
No longer republican.
Getting the money out of political campaigns would solve most of US political problems.
(AKA: ClintEastwood's Chair, from twitter)
Pinned
For IWD2025:
Women were essential to wining WWII, as were gay men and black men and women.
Women did the manufacturing of equipment, they invented very key technologies, they flew delivery missions, they "manned" hospitals,...
getpocket.com/explore/item...
The Woman Whose Invention Helped Win a War — and Still Baffles Weathermen
Her work long overlooked, physicist Joan Curran developed technology to conceal aircraft from radar during World War II.
getpocket.com
Putin's regime must fail.
RUSSIAS MKB BANK SIGNALS HUGE LIAN DEFAULT PROBLEM

Bad loans have surged 800% adding $7.66 billion in bad debts, meaning 28% of the banks outstanding loans are now in default, totalling nearly $9 billion.
Allowing for PPPx4 in US purchasing terms that nearly $40 billion. Any bank in the west that
December 10, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
MERZ POLITELY TELLS TRUMP WHERE TO GO…let’s face it it’s not Europes democracy that’s under threat as Americas.
❗️🇩🇪German Chancellor Merz: "There is no need for the Americans to save democracy in Europe. If it really needed saving, we would manage it ourselves."
December 10, 2025 at 8:19 AM
#TrumpIsANationalDisgrace
Trump doesn't care about any other humans, except the ones that are personally serving him, and only while they serve his needs. He is a complete psychopath.
Czech President Pavel warns: “If Putin wins in Ukraine, we all lose.” He compared secret U.S.-Russia talks on territorial concessions to the 1938 Munich Agreement, calling them dangerously familiar. Letting Russia emerge victorious from this war, he stressed, would be a defeat for all of Europe.
December 9, 2025 at 3:42 AM
How many investigations were aimed at trying to prove pay for privilege with the Clinton Foundation while trump does out pardons & contracts for personal gain.
Trump rages that Henry Cuellar didn’t pay him back for a pardon by switching parties, blasting Cuellar for a “lack of LOYALTY.”

In other words, Trump admits he was trying to use his pardon power to buy Republicans a House seat.
December 7, 2025 at 6:49 PM
The Trump deception. The policy of racism and self-dealing scum
AMERICAN STRATEGIC POLICY IS A GOODBYE NOTE FOR EUROPEAN NATO

The policy document outlines a belief the European states are risking their existence as a civilised society.
What that means is too many immigrants, changing racial profiles and fewer whites not practising Christianity. It’s that
December 7, 2025 at 6:31 PM
The US, under the fascist and fascist trump regime, has become the asshole of the planet.
I am truly ashamed of the blatant racism and ignorance of the electorate. Fuck you all.
THE NEW AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY

This document is one of the most dramatically important to be published in decades.
All the usual American First stuff, throw in Christian ethno-nationalism and add some isolationist rhetoric and away we go. Sprinkle a finishing touch of racist white
December 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The bottom line: trump wants to reward Putin, his benefactor, and punish Ukraine for not caving in to his constant blackmail. Trump was impeached for blackmailing Zelensky.
ZELENSKY’s ADRESS TO UKRAINE LAST NIGHT WAS POINTED AND POIGNANT

Saying that the country faced possibly its darkest and most difficult time over the coming winter, he said they faced the choice of choosing dignity or a valued partner (in the US).
Little else in the speech mattered because that’s
November 22, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Trump administration corruption is boundless. The US is now a full-on Kleptocracy
IF IT WASN’T TRUE YOU WOULD FIND IT HARD TO IMAGINE SUCH CORRUPTION

Howard Luttnick is US Commerce Secretary. He is responsible for tariffs.
His company that he handed over to his children to run, is offering businesses facing hard times because of the tariffs, a deal. They will buy your rights to
November 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
Seems like changing the label from “hate symbol” to “potentially divisive” also makes it easier to crack down on something like a rainbow flag because someone could call that “potentially divisive,” too. So now they’ve defined swastikas and rainbow flags as equal and subject to the same punishment.
November 21, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Turns out the sweetheart deal that Trump's former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta gave Epstein back in 2008 was even worse than we thought. Epstein's emails show Acosta tanked an investigation that had Epstein dead to rights on money laundering, and other financial crimes.
🚨 EXPLOSIVE NEW investigation: We uncovered previously undisclosed details about an 18-month money laundering investigation into Jeffrey Epstein that took place alongside the 2007 sex crimes probe, according to emails obtained from Epstein's personal Yahoo account
🎁 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
November 2, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
Wooooow we knew Acosta (labor secretary during Trump's first term) was a POS.

It's now clear he lied to Congress -- *or at least intentionally hid* -- that he had investigated Epstein for money laundering.
NEW: The Republican chairman of the House oversight committee on Friday asked Alex Acosta, the former US Attorney who signed off on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s controversial 2007 plea deal, if he wanted to clarify his recent testimony to the panel.
🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The revelation that the investigation had a financial aspect also puts a spotlight on Alex Acosta, the former US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, who signed off on Epstein’s plea deal.
November 2, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
A distressing but important read.
The Trump admin is rewriting disability eligibility rules.

Changes would fall disproportionately on some of Trump's most loyal supporters in red states. Most affected would be 50- to 60-year-olds without a high school or college education who have, for decades, toiled in physically grueling jobs.
Red State Workers Could Lose Out on Disability Benefits as Trump Administration Rewrites Eligibility Rules
Planned changes to Social Security’s disability program could leave hundreds of thousands of older blue-collar workers ineligible for aid. These changes would fall disproportionately on some of Presid...
www.propublica.org
November 2, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
XI JINPING APPARENTLY LOSES POWER OVER THE ARMED FORCES

The 4th Plenum of the CCP came out with a roaring statement supporting Xi, but he has unquestionably lost position and power over the military and much of the party apparatus. The new ‘real’ leader is General Zhang Youxia. Xi is being
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
DEMOCRACY SUNDAY

In all my life, in all the histories I have read and absorbed, in all the words written, speeches made, constitutions lived by, greatness achieved and lost and regained. There was nothing that prepared me for a US President posting a video of himself in a crown shitting on the
October 19, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
ORENBERG GAZPROM
SITE IS A DIRE LOSS FOR RUSSIA

Ukraine’s attack has knocked out the equivalent of a $10m per day income stream by shutting down this plant. Around 30% of the plant - the worlds largest oil and gas processing facility - has been destroyed but it uses gas powered generators to
October 21, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
That’s exactly what networks/interviewers need to do. When republicans deflect or lie (democrats too) cut them off-do not allow them to lie. If they walk off the interview so what-Plan for it so you can move your show forward. @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy @nbcnews.com @apnews.com @msnbc.com #nomorelies
October 12, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
The reason Mike Johnson is able to keep the House closed and not pass bills to pay the military or fund the government is because Trump is going to circumvent congress and illegally steal that money from other government programs. All to avoid releasing the Epstein files.
October 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
October 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
❗️REPOST if you stand with President 🇺🇦Zelensky!
October 4, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
LAVAROV’S EMPTY WORDS AND CRITICISMS

The Russian foreign minister complains about threats to Russia from the EU & NATO insisting Putin had no agenda for attacking the west. Then he had the gall to complain about Israel bombing Gaza seemingly having forgotten about the war in Ukraine and the
September 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
US Prosecutor Hagen Scotten who was ordered to drop the charges against Eric Adams, wrote in resignation letter, ‘"I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion... But it was never going to be me.’ Well TACO found his fool,coward Bondi
September 26, 2025 at 2:57 AM
With a little brain worm casings
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Look, it’s Heroin and Adderall ganging up on Tylenol.
September 23, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
"The US insists no one has died because of aid cuts. Shahnaz and her baby's deaths are not recorded anywhere. Neither are countless others.

The BBC has documented at least half a dozen first-hand, devastating accounts in areas where USAID-supported clinics have shut down."
BBC investigates Afghan maternal deaths after US aid cuts
The BBC hears devastating accounts of Afghan mothers and babies dying after US-backed clinics shut.
www.bbc.com
September 14, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by TheRuralPragmatist
September 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM
If it walks like Goebbels, and talks like Goebbels…
September 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM