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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 8h

With his gilded 90,000 sq ft White House ballroom, Trump follows in the footsteps of Ceausescu, the Kims of N. Korea and other leaders who forced their bad taste on their people at great expense in service to their ego.

“Dispatches From Exile.”
LINK: jameslbruno.substack.com/p/weekly-min...

Weekly Mind Dump: Why Dictators Love Gilded Palaces

History reflects both glory and shame in architecture, structures of divinely-inspired beauty and monstrosities of power-mad potentates. Trump's White House ballroom falls into the latter category.

jameslbruno.substack.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 1d

You know that autocracy is complete when the dictator has currency issued with his image on it. Yes, that's how far we've come. Postage stamps can't be far behind. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/u...

Treasury Defends Lawfulness of Minting a $1 Trump Coin

www.nytimes.com

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 2d

ICE Barbie plans to deploy ICE goons to the Superbowl to intimidate Bad Bunny. Hold on. This sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon show.

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 2d

Trump & Gang are itching to use the military power in their hands to impose their autocratic agenda for the nation. Trouble is, the law stands in their way. Senior officers face a decision.

My latest in “Dispatches From Exile.”
jameslbruno.substack.com/p/will-us-tr...

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 8d

I have no doubt that Trump would love to resurrect Stalin’s and Hitler’s hanging judges, Andrey Vyshinsky and Roland Freisler, to head his DOJ and the US District Court for Eastern Virginia.

My latest in “Dispatches From Exile.”
jameslbruno.substack.com/p/weekly-min...

Weekly Mind Dump: The Comey Affair & Corrupt Prosecutors

Pam Bondi, Lindsey Halligan, Todd Blanche and fellow travelers in the Trump regime would be wise not to ignore the examples of their historical predecessors.

jameslbruno.substack.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 9d

My prediction: there will be no FEMA response. People will suffer and die. Thank you MAGA. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Tropical Storm Imelda forms and is expected to become hurricane off the US East Coast in coming days

Tropical Storm Imelda formed Sunday and is expected to become a hurricane on a forecast track that could take it away from the U.S. East Coast early next week. The storm was causing disruption in the...

www.yahoo.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 11d

The Kimmel show and Epstein files cases underscore the impact of people power. And it is not too late to build on it, taking lessons from the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements. But we must act now.

My latest in "Dispatches From Exile."
jameslbruno.substack.com/p/america-at...

America at a Turning Point: Trump's Power Grab vs Our Jimmy Kimmel Moment

We are now at the stage of authoritarian consolidation. But we have one last chance to reverse it through people power and Jimmy Kimmel showed us the way.

jameslbruno.substack.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 11d

The world's only superpower sticks its head in the sand: Tulsi Gabbard eliminates the office that assesses future national security threats.

Self-inflicted blindness, after all, is what "America First" stands for.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

Gabbard Ends Intelligence Report on Future Threats to U.S.

www.nytimes.com

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 12d

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 13d

Nicknamed "Stinkball" as a kid, he sucked to bullies and craved everyone's approval.

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 13d

Clever pranksters have placed a statue on the Mall in DC featuring Trump & Epstein holding hands and dancing. It honors “Friendship Month.” The plaque reads:

"We celebrate the long-lasting bond between President Donald J. Trump and his 'closest friend', Jeffrey Epstein."

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 15d

Spot on!

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 15d

This is people power. It shows autocracy can be challenged and defeated if millions mobilize to oppose it from the grassroots to celebrities. This power must be harnessed across a range of issues. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/b...

Jimmy Kimmel’s Show to Return to ABC on Tuesday Night

www.nytimes.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 15d

Makes sense.

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 15d

What you get when you display hostility to visitors:

"Just over 313,000 students entered the country on visas last month, down 19 percent from a year ago—the fifth straight month of declines." The biggest drops are from Asia and Africa. www.thedailybeast.com/us-student-v...

U.S. Student Visa Arrivals Plunge to 4-Year Low Under Trump

Arrival rates have plummeted by 19 percent, and most sharply from Asian students.

www.thedailybeast.com

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 16d

This is what constitutes "law and order" in the Trump administration - or rather crime syndicate. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

Trump’s border czar who promised to bring “hell” to Boston, caught taking $50K in cash from undercover FBI agents, media reports say

Tom Homan, who previously earned up to $150,000 lobbying for a border wall contractor, was caught in an undercover sting operation that the White House now calls "blatantly political."

www.yahoo.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 16d

Everything monetized and corrupted. Trump's commoditization of US visas turns immigration to this country into a third world rug bazaar.
charliesykes.substack.com/p/trumps-gil...

Trump's Gilded Age of Immigration

Plus, a week in deplorable commentary

charliesykes.substack.com

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James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 17d

The walls are fast closing in on freedom of expression in the US. It won’t be long before anybody who wants to be a public commentator will be required to display loyalty to the regime and embrace “alternative facts” or go silent.

"Dispatches From Exile."
jameslbruno.substack.com/p/weekly-min...

Weekly Mind Dump: Tick Tock - The Clock is Running Down on Writers' Freedom

As we complete the transition from the Orwellian to the Kafkaesque under the MAGA junta, writers face the choice of turning dissident or going full Vichy.

jameslbruno.substack.com

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 17d

What is it about fascists that they lack a sense of humor?

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 17d

"House, Senate pass 'National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk'"
www.msn.com/en-us/news/p...

Here’s George Orwell’s take:

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 18d

Good to keep in mind as we teeter on the precipice:

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 18d

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 19d

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Should Democrats ever control the White House and Senate again, be prepared for mass confirmations of dozens of Democrats for high office in one fell swoop. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Senate confirms 48 Trump nominees at once after GOP changed the chamber's rules

Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups of lower-level, non-judicial nominations. Democrats had forced multiple votes on almost...

www.pbs.org

James L. Bruno @jameslbruno.bsky.social · 19d

Entertainers axed. Right out of the old fascist playbook -