CASH MICHAELS

                 TWISTED LOYALISTS

             by Cash Michaels

        Well whadaya know? I guess pigs can fly!

Last week, Donald Trump actually fired one of his most shameful Cabinet officers, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, theoretically for a whole host of reasons, the least of which, beyond irresponsibly spending $220 million in taxpayer money for creating ads to promote herself and then lying about it; spending another $70 million on a luxury plane with luxury bedroom and bar; overseeing a federal agency that is killing American citizens, being called out by the courts and then refusing to take responsibility for it; and finally being publicly outed for having a rumored sexual affair with a member of her staff not her husband.

And that’s just the short list.

Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, was a mess from first breath to last. But she was a perfect example of the clownish cast of twisted loyalists Trump kept around him only because of their blind fealty. Not because any one of them had any expertise or devotion to service that was any good for this country.

And Kristi, who fancied herself as some kind of superwoman or something, shouldn’t be the only one forced to hit the bricks.

The fact that Pres. Trump reportedly took his unhinged FBI Director Kash Patel to the woodshed recently because this clown publicly acted like a drunk, beer-chugging 19-year-old in front of worldwide cameras celebrating with the USA Men’s Hockey team in their locker room after they won gold in Milan, Italy weeks ago, should tell you something.

Patel has been accused of using the FBI’s private plane as transportation for his dates with his country music singing girlfriend, in addition to inexplicably assigning FBI SWAT Team protection for her. Patel has also fired many of the best FBI agents in the agency because they previously investigated Trump, which was their assignment at one time, not a political choice.

Patel’s been a very, very loose cannon from the start, and in anyone else’s administration, would have been kicked out on his can faster than you can utter the word “unqualified.” 

Patel’s extraordinarily undignified display is just the latest proof that Trump’s clown car of administration, below-standard-delinquents are dragging this country into the gutter.

And there’s plenty more where that came from.

If the explosive House Judiciary Committee hearing a few weeks ago featuring Attorney General Pam Bondi was instructive about anything, it was that when people in Trump’s Administration drink the Kool-Aid, they drink ALL of it.

I’m not going to go over just how embarrassing AG Bondi’s last appearance before the Judiciary Committee was, but after watching her performance, you had to wonder, “Why is this chick so loyal to this corrupt old con man?”What does he have on her?’

And then you take a look at Trump’s cabinet meetings. All of his Cabinet secretaries around the table are required to pay tribute to the “greatness” of Trump to his face in front of the press, and how the country is doing “better” than it ever has in history because of his leadership before they deliver their individual reports about how their respective government agency is doing.

It’s as disgusting an exhibition of self-humiliation and unyielding -ss-kissing as you’ll ever see. And yet, Trump requires this extraordinary fealty from those who serve him, either in his Cabinet, his administration or from Republican members of Congress who have been warned that if they dare think for themselves, he’ll come after them so relentlessly they’ll live to regret it.

The power that clown has over his MAGA minions is incredible, and as we’ve seen, also dangerous. 

But back to AG Pamela Jo Bondi, age 60.

By most accounts, the most shameful part of that Judiciary Committee hearing last January was when Bondi refused to turn around and apologize to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein who were all there to witness her testimony about how she has completely and royally screwed up the Epstein files matter with lies and incompetence.

And I agree it was all of that and more.

But the most disgraceful thing Bondi did during her shameful performance before that committee to me was when she, in mid-sentence during one of her diatribes extolling the virtues of  Donald Trump and demanding that Democrats apologize to him, suddenly and without warning, began talking about how high the Dow Jones industrial average was that day, suggesting that that was more important than why the oversight hearing was being held in the first place.

Many people felt that was funny. But when I heard it, I shuddered, because what this sick sycophant was telling members of Congress (especially Democrats) was that they should all be bowing down to and kneeling at the throne of Trump because of his “greatness.”

This woman is supposed to be our nation’s top law enforcement officer beyond the president. We pay her salary. And yet, Pam Bondi made it clear that she wasn’t at that oversight hearing to report to the American people about how she was doing her job, but to defend the legacy of a crooked, corrupt and convicted felon who has hijacked our federal government, and is exploiting the power that comes with it to serve his own ends.

The incompetent crap that has passed as loyalty to Trump from his Cabinet officers like Defense Sec. Pete Hegeseth (who I wouldn’t trust with a slingshot, let alone our armed services), HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr.; administration figures like Stephen Miller, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Assistant AG Todd Blanche; and of course notable administration standouts like Vice Pres. J.D. Vance, D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanne Pirro, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, continues to fill volumes.

Hey, I almost forgot Sec. Of State “little” Marco Rubio, who has dutifully carried out Trump’s craven “New World Order” foreign policy, from pressuring  Denmark to give up Greenland; to encouraging Ukraine to bend over for Russia; to greasing the wheels so that Gaza can be taken over and turned into some of resort community by Trump’s new Board of Peace, ignoring Palestinian rights to their own land.

What we do know about Trump’s circus of clowns is clear - their loyalty is to him, NOT to the country.

They’re a collection of unapologetic twisted loyalists. The question is why? What’s his hold over them, I ask again?

Perhaps it’s the offer of having more power than anyone has ever had before in America, perhaps in the world. Maybe they all hate Democrats and liberals so much, that’s what keeps them in line.

Or maybe it’s as simple as they’re all white supremacists, and this is closest they’ll ever come to having the authority needed to keep America from becoming a majority nation of color (good luck with that one).

Maybe it’s a bit of all of the above.

Whatever it is, Trump’s bitches brew (I’m including men in that description) has proven to be absolutely toxic for this country.

I agree with former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb, who said recently that Hegeseth, Noem and AG Bondi should be impeached for the illegal calamity they’ve caused while in office on Trump’s behalf.

Make no mistake - Trump loves chaos and confusion, because that means the established rules are being broken, and nothing is more important to Trump than keeping the established world off balance so no one knows what he’s really up to.

That’s why he demands complete and total loyalty.

It’s also why Trump is successfully weaponizing the government, with the unfettered help of his sycophants, against people and institutions that have either previously held him to account, or stood in his way in his march towards greater power.

Pam Bondi and Pete Hegseth are just two of the many, many examples of Donald Trump’s twisted loyalists - puppets at his command who are more than willing to destroy this country in service to a demented leader whose power is beyond question for them.

And look who’s replacing Kristi Noem at DHS… former mixed martial arts fighter Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. The book on this guy is that when it comes to Trump, he’s the bootlicker’s bootlicker, which is exactly what Trump wants in such a high Cabinet officer.

Is Mullin qualified? He doesn’t even have a bachelor’s degree, let alone any experience running a major government agency!

These pitiful people aren’t going to change. That’s why we’re going to have to begin changing them come the 2026 midterms by taking back power from their crooked leader.

If you love this country, make sure you vote to take it back from the twisted people destroying it right in front of our eyes.

Like Rev. Al Sharpton recently said at Jesse Jackson’s funeral, “We’re gonna fix Trump’s tricks in ’26!”

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THE CASH STUFF FOR MARCH 12, 2026

                                       GASTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE IN GASTONIA

 APPEALS COURT RULES

AGAINST NAACP IN 

GASTON  CONFEDERATE 

STATUE CASE

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

A three-judge state appellate panel has ruled against the Gaston County NAACP in its case to have the statue of a Confederate soldier holding a rifle in front of the Gaston County Courthouse removed because it was offensive to Black people.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals rejected the civil rights organization’s 2020 lawsuit against the towering 1912 monument's display in Gastonia, saying that it did not deprive African-Americans of their civil rights per the state’s Open Courts Clause and Equal Protection Clause. The judicial panel maintained that the rebel soldier holding the rifle on top of a 30-foot obelisk did not prevent people from accessing the Gaston County Courthouse. 

“The Gaston County branch of the NAACP and others who sued needed to prove an “actual denial of access to functioning courts,” not “subjective beliefs or feelings that might discourage some hypothetical person’s entry,” wrote Appellate Judge Donna Stroud in the unanimous three-judge opinion.

The ruling now codifies government’s right to maintain Confederate monuments on public property in North Carolina.

The 2020 lawsuit was brought by the Gaston County NAACP, the National Association for Black Veterans, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and three taxpaying residents in Gaston County after the police murder of George Floyd in May of that year.

Gaston County officials countered in superior court that the NC General Assembly’s 2015 Monument Protection Act outlawed the removal of historic statues on public property. But in 2024, a Superior Court judge ruled that the law  did not completely prevent the removal or relocation of historic monuments, and that the Gaston County Confederate Soldier statue could qualify. That judge also ruled against the Gaston County NAACP lawsuit then, saying that there was no evidence that anyone’s civil rights were being violated with the statue.

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MIDTERM PRIMARIES

SET STAGE FOR

NOVEMBER ELECTIONS

By Cash Michaels

Contributing writer

Now that last week’s  2026 midterm primaries are virtually over and Democrats and Republicans have chosen their standard-bearers of the important November 3rd midterm general elections, a few issues remain.

In the race for Senate District 26, challenger Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page has shocked North Carolina’s political class by adding to his lead over powerful Republican Senate Pro Term Phil Berger with provisional votes, leading now by at least 23 votes at press time. Berger is expected to ask for a recount.

Fourth District Congresswoman Valerie Foushee was finally able to claim victory in her nail-biter of a race, 49 to 48% against progressive challenger Nida Allam, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, when Allam finally conceded the race.

Foushee, who represents parts of Wake and Durham counties, will now face Republican Mahesh “Max” Ganorkar and Libertarian Guy Meilleur in November to win reelection.

Rep. Alma Adams, who has served the 12th Congressional District since 2014, won her primary against challenger Monica May Williamson in commanding fashion with 79% of the vote.  Rep. Adams will face the winner of the Republican primary Jack Codiga, in November.

It was absolutely not a good primary election for three Black Democratic House lawmakers who were booted from their seats by the party faithful.

Charlotte Representatives Carla Cunningham and Nasif Majeed, and Rocky Mount’s Shelly Willingham were all kicked to the curb by voters, primarily because they voted with Republicans and against their party.

Rep. Cunningham, who also delivered a diatribe against immigrants on the House floor that turned many against her, including Gov. Josh Stein, was defeated by Baptist Minister Rodney Sadler by a whopping 70%. Rev. Sadler was endorsed by both Gov. Stein and the local Charlotte Black police caucus.

Rep. Majeed  was ousted by challenger Veleria Levy, who took an impressive 69% of the vote  in the Northwest Charlotte race, and Rep. Willingham was defeated by Patricia Smith by 56%.

In another state House race of importance to North Carolina’x African-American community, Rep. Rodney Pierce reclaimed his House seat against Michael Wray for a second time after losing it to Wray in 2022.

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THE CASH COMMENTARY FOR MARCH 5TH, 2026

                                                                     CASH MICHAELS

                A BAD WAR OF LIES, MORE LIES AND WRONG CHOICES

    by Cash Michaels

We are now days into Donald Trump’s ill-advised and illegal war against Iran, and a few undeniable facts must be made clear about this very dangerous misadventure. 

People forget, Trump deliberately changed the name of our U.S Defense Dept. to HIS “Dept. of War” for a reason.

Because he’s always intended to do something stupid with it, and he has!

Make no mistake, we will win this conflict. If there’s one thing Trump and I totally agree on is that the United States military is the best in the world, and has been for years (though he would quickly add that it wasn’t really “great” until he took it over).

But that’s not good enough reason to put the precious lives of our brave young men and women in uniform at risk. Their priority one job is to defend the homeland, NOT satisfy the personal whims of a crazed convicted felon with bad rashes on his neck and hands (as far as I'm concerned, a person's body can hold only but so much evil before it starts showing)!

According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US attacked Iran first because we knew that Israel was planning to do it, and we figured that when Iran responded, it would then attack us too. So we launched Operation Epic Fury.

If what Marco says is true (which I doubt, and Trump contradicts), what kicked off last weekend was clearly the classic Moe, Larry and Curly defense strategy we all grew up watching on TV as kids (Moe slaps Curly, Larry slaps Curly, Curly counter-slaps Moe and Larry back together).

Like I said, Three Stooges “defense” strategy, which obviously requires a lot of lying to successfully pull off. For instance, it’s clear that Trump has been planning to more than “slap” Iran for some time now, but make no mistake, Israel or no Israel, he was always willing to come up with any excuse to do it.

Developing nuclear weapons, state sponsor of world terrorism, slaughtering tens of thousands of its own people, and the list goes on.

Sure Iran is a horrible and dangerous actor on the world stage, but it’s not the only one. And just because you have the ability to take Iran on, doesn’t mean you should, unless you have to.

And you shouldn’t have to unless Iran has definitely attacked you first, which, for the record, it hasn’t, regardless of what Trump, Rubio, or our stooge-level “secretary of war” Pete Hegeseth says. 

        And speaking of stooge Hegeseth, what the hell is he talking about complaining that the news media is paying more attention to the deaths of our fallen heroes, than to how many precision bombs have fallen or how "successful" Trump's war is being conducted? Anytime an American service member gives his/her life for this country, we in the media pay tribute to their ultimate sacrifice. It's the decent and respectful thing to do!

         I agree with MS NOW's Joe Scarborough that Pete Hegeseth is very much unqualified to lead the Defense Dept., and should " Act like a man" in properly doing his job, instead of openly pimping for Donald Trump! 

        What an -sshole!

But wait a minute, didn’t I just say that Iran was a “horrible and dangerous actor on the world stage?” Doesn’t such a dangerous state deserve to be attacked first, like Trump has done?

Glad you asked! That’s why we have Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution:

“[The Congress shall have Power…] to declare War…and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water…”

So that con men like Trump who somehow end up in the Oval Office, don’t, on their own, decide to commit our nation to war on their own.

Now over our 250-year history, Congress hasn’t done a very good job of reining in presidents who take our powerful military bull by the horns, and crashing it into another country’s china shop. And despite all of the “jibber-jabber” (my favorite Mr. T phrase), Congress isn't doing a very good job now. Especially given how at least six U.S. service members have died, over 1,000 people killed, and the whole Middle East region has been pulled into the quagmire now by Iran’s targeted missile and drone attacks.

So what we have now is an extraordinary pre-World War Three mess with no real end in sight (despite Trump’s phony prediction of four to five weeks, if not  more) and the growing possibility of seeing US boots-on-the-ground to close the deal.

Any other president would have gathered his evidence (military satellite images, intelligence, etc.), and presented it to the nation and the world to justify his actions as he proceeded by now.

But our intelligence community says based on their info, Iran wasn’t planning anything against the US or our assets. 

Any other president would also have a solid plan for what happens after the bombs fall, not this business of telling over 90 million Iranians “Hey we’re going to bomb the crap out of your country, so stay indoors, but as soon as we finish, come out and takeover what’s left of your government while you still can...”

That’s as solid a plan for success, as my going to City Barbecue and ordering just the veggie platter.

So we started this week with six American casualties because Iran had a “powerful” weapon we couldn’t defend against, and three downed U.S. fighter jets by friendly fire from Kuwait. Apparently we didn't strategize for all of that.

And why wasn’t there an evacuation plan for the tens of thousands of Americans in 14 surrounding countries, both vacationing and working in the Middle East? Those folks are trapped there as their hotels and U.S. embassies are being attacked, and their country is only now trying to figure out how to get them out. Over 60% of international flights in and out of the Middle East have been canceled, and airports are closed. 

Trump’s excuse? “It happened all very quickly!” 

My Lord! The extraordinary level of leadership and undeniable competence here is just breathtaking!

As we sit here days after the initial bombing attack that started in the wee hours of last Saturday morning, we continue to wonder exactly why Trump attacked Iran. 

Not the industrial strength bullcrap he's tried to feed us, but the real reasons he ordered the planes to fly, the bombs to fall, and the missiles to be launched, so that people would be killed.

He says because we had to stop Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon and long range ballistic missiles, adding that we were “…very nearly under threat.”

But wait a damn minute. That’s the reason (supposedly) why our B-2s bunker-busted and bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities back in June 2025. And if I’m not mistaken, Trump got on TV afterwards and bragged that Operation Midnight Hammer "completely and totally obliterated" Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities.

Apparently the clown doesn’t know what the definition of "completely and totally obliterated" means, or was lying through his MAGA teeth, because here we are, less than a year later, pounding Iranian real estate into the Stone Age again.

But wait another damn minute!

Our infamous liar-in-chief also posited that this whole face-off with Iran now is about regime change, something he earlier said he wasn’t interested in. But now that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, someone Trump has called, “one of the most evil people in history,” has been killed, Trump has had a change of heart, and wants a say in whomever takes over.

Why?

O-I-L my friends, and I don’t mean the baby lotion kind.

Trump has always openly fretted that the United States was not greedy and calculating enough to take over the oil fields of neighboring Iraq after the war which toppled then Iraqi Pres. Saddam Hussein back in the ’90’s. So now that Trump’s in charge here, you think he’s going to pass up influencing Iranian control of one fifth of the world’s oil distribution, especially through the Strait of Hormuz?

Threatening violence, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has already closed that narrow shipping lane through which much of the world’s oil supply comes through in tankers, affecting supplies and sending oil prices higher. The global economy will now suffer.

Iran is one of the world’s major oil producers, but because of sanctions, it’s limited to supplying primarily to China. Think Trump doesn’t want to now change that calculus, like he did after back-banging Venezuela for control over its oil a few weeks ago? Probably why he’s now talking about sending US Navy escorts in to protect those oil tankers going through the strait.

Gee, the stuff we shouldn’t have to do if we just didn’t start wars with folks who were always itching to blow us apart.

This mess was predictable. As the late and still great General Colin Powell once warned Pres. George W. Bush about starting stuff in the Middle East, “You break it, you buy it!”

There are also at least two other compelling reasons why Trump would want to draw attention to his left paw, while we should also be looking to what he’s up to with his right.

To take increasing focus away from the growing attention to allegations from a woman who says that when she was just 13-years-old and apparently under the control of convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, she was ordered to engage in oral sex with Trump, and actually bit him, which resulted in, as you can imagine, an alleged violent reaction from him.

This woman reportedly shared her story with the FBI years ago in four separate interviews, but in the recent release of the Epstein files to Congress from AG Pam Bondi’s Justice Dept., three of those four written interview sessions were missing. Democrats in Congress were beginning to ask tough questions why, and where are those missing pages of interviews.

That brings us to the second shiny-thing-over-here reason why Trump would prefer we all pay attention to the novel way he’s putting American lives at risk with this war (and attempting to placate us with the expectation that there will be more American casualties coming):

The 2026 midterm elections and his stated intention to screw with it.

Democrats can scream to the high heavens about investigating allegations that many of Trump’s alleged nefarious actions with Jeffrey Epstein are being covered up by Pam Bondi, but unless Dems actually take back control of Congress in the midterm elections, they can’t do a whole lot about their suspicions.

Trump is committed to Dems never getting that chance or the power, and that means he has to screwup the upcoming November midterms so bad that it can’t happen. Reports are that his attorneys are already setting the stage for him to issue his all-purpose executive orders mandating this, and outlawing that, as far as election law is concerned.

Mind you, Trump legally has no power over elections. The states do. But he’s already proven that he’s capable of sending federal troops into any America city he chooses under the guise of a “national emergency” to seize voting machines, ballots, whatever, to hold onto power, and ensuring that Democrats are never in the position to hold him accountable again.

Flexing his military muscle is one way to keep us all distracted from what's coming. Like comedian Jimmy Kimmel says, this is Trump’s “war of distractions.”

Never mind how many American, Palestinian, Iranian, Venezuelan, Cuban, or anyone else’s lives may be deemed unfortunately in the way of Trump’s insatiable appetite for power. No matter what the cost, Donald Trump now has the firepower to get more power, and he’s not allowing ANYBODY to get in his way.

By the way, MAGA voters, apparently you’re on this list too, because your “America First” president is certainly acting like he no longer listens to, nor needs you with this "going to war" business, a war he promised YOU he’d NEVER get into.

You got snookered again, MAGA, but it was nice while it lasted, wasn’t it?

And for the rest of us, all of that affordability bull Trump was feeding us has gone up in absolute smoke, as the rising cost of war affects gas prices, which then impacts the cost of food, travel, imports, you name it. And yet, Trump doesn’t seem to mind too much, does he?

Of course he’s already blaming any negative effects he’s caused on Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Wouldn’t be a classic Trump screwup if he didn’t.

So yes, the attack on Iran, in my opinion, is a bad war of lies, more lies and wrong choices on Trump’s part. Part of his master plan to rule the world, or at least what’s left of it when he gets through.

Already there’s been a mass shooting event at a Texas bar where two people were killed, fourteen wounded by a man with a sweatshirt saying “Property of Allah” and an Iranian flag design. Should we expect more alleged terrorist events to come?

When you choose to wage war, there are always casualties, unintended or otherwise. That’s why we have a Constitution, so that the serious business of waging war is done in OUR name, NOT at the whims of some proven shyster.

This is why we have to make it our business to vote in the November 2026 midterms to get Democrats back in power to control the rest of Trump’s term.

It may be our very last chance to save our democracy!

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