Donald Trump wants nothing more than to stamp out the First Amendment.
This wannabe dictator will use his final 925 days in the White House unleashing the Department of Justice and abusing the levers of presidential power to stifle, harass and prosecute his political enemies by any means necessary.
First it was former national security advisor John Bolton who published “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.” Bolton plead guilty to one charge against him and is looking at a 2.5M fine and five years prison time.
The media world needs to rise up and defend the right to free speech without being intimidated and bullied.
Excerpted from The New York Times 7.10.2026
The Trump administration issued subpoenas on Friday to several journalists for The New York Times, after the news outlet reported this week on security concerns involving President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One.
The smirking bully Trump
The Times journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, who reported on Wednesday that Mr. Trump had departed Turkey on the old Air Force One as a security precaution at the urging of the Secret Service. On Thursday, The Times reported that the new Air Force One, a Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. Both articles cited sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues.
The subpoenas — which seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan on Wednesday — were an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organizations.
In some cases, the subpoenas were delivered by federal agents who showed up at reporters’ homes.
The Times denounced the administration’s actions.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” said David McCraw, The Times’s top newsroom lawyer, in a statement on Friday evening.
Adolf Hitler perished in his bunker in bombed out Berlin over 81 years ago as the Russian closed in.
Hitler may be long gone physically but his insane 12 year Third Reich lives on. No more so than in the hearts and minds of the German public.Memorialized worldwide in countless historical works, fiction recreations, movies and documentaries.
It’s no surprise that Deutsche Welle would ask the question, “How do Germans cope with having Nazi Grandparents?” Leave it to the bureaucratic Germans to make publicly available online the names of Nazi party members. There were over 8,000,000 members.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 7.9.2026
Germany is now regarded abroad as a world leader in how to confront a country’s dark past. There are 100,000 Stolpersteine (“stumbling stones”) embedded in streets to commemorate the victims of National Socialism, a Holocaust memorial stands in the heart of Berlin, and schools place a particular focus on the Nazi era.
Since millions of NSDAP membership cards have been made available online, many Germans have been surprised to discover that their ancestors weren’t always as innocent as family stories had led them to believe.
“I always thought of my grandfather as a left-wing unionist, and now he’s turned up in the NSDAP database,” Hanno Dannenfeldt told DW. It was always said in the family that his paternal grandfather had clean hands.
Now that the National Archives of the United States has published its collection of National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) membership cards, Dannenfeldt is one of countless Germans eager to find out whether their relatives were members of the party that ruled Germany during the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945.
This has not been an easy task: The site is often inaccessible because of heavy traffic, and the user interface is difficult to navigate.
A German tool simplifies the search
The German weekly newspaper Die Zeit has developed a tool that simplifies the search. Users simply enter the name and perhaps the year and place of birth of a person — and the results appear immediately. These records are sure to be of interest to people in South America, as well: Many Nazis went into hiding there after World War II. However, a subscription is required to use the service.
What users find there can be painful. Often, it means suddenly looking at their families in a very different light. Memories of a loving grandfather who was always full of fun and energy can contrast sharply with evidence now presented in black and white that the very same grandfather was a member of the National Socialist Party.
After the war, few families spoke about the crimes of the Nazi era, let alone their own role in them. According to a study, more than two-thirds of Germans believe that their ancestors were not Nazis. Nearly 36% believe that their relatives were among the victims, and over 30% believe that their ancestors helped victims of the Nazis — for example, by hiding Jews.
But this can’t possibly be true. Only about 1% of Germans actively resisted. In 1945, one in five adult Germans was a member of the Nazi Party — which had a total of 8.5 million members — thereby lending their support, at least on paper, to that unjust system.
And yet, nationalism is on the rise in Germany again. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is gaining influence. Dannenfeldt wonders whether Germans might again embrace the justifications of the Nazi era. “Some people might think, ‘I’ll join the AfD and make a career for myself,’ he said. “When you realize that your own family didn’t put up much of a fight back then, it makes you think about just how great the danger is today, as well.”
Nazi sentiment has always been widespread in America. Perhaps the most factual documentation is the Academy Award nominated “A Night at the Garden.” The Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in 1937.
I came upon ‘Lou Reed – King of New York’ written by Will Hermes while having lunch with my daughter at a neighborhood Cafe which has an extensive selection of books for purchase.
My first connection with Lou Reed was in the late 1960’s when I purchased the classic ‘Velvet Underground and Nico’ album which, on its cover, had a banana peel which could be peeled off.
Since that time I followed Lou Reed’s musical odyssey. He was definitely one of the most cutting edge American musicians. For both his style and political commentary. Following are three of my favorite Lou Reed compositions.
The Velvet Underground & Nico was released in March 1967 and peaked at No. 171 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[33] Much later, Rolling Stone listed it as the 13th greatest album of all time; musician Brian Eno once stated that although few people bought the album at the time of its release, most of those who did were inspired to form their own bands.[40]Václav Havel credited the album, which he bought while visiting the U.S., with inspiring him to become president of Czechoslovakia.[41]
Reed’s commercial breakthrough album, Transformer, was released in November 1972. Transformer was co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and it introduced Reed to a wider audience, especially in the UK. The single “Walk on the Wild Side” was a salute to the misfits and hustlers who once surrounded Andy Warhol in the late ’60s and appeared in his films.
The 1989 album New York, which commented on crime, AIDS, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, then-President of Austria Kurt Waldheim, and Pope John Paul II, became his second gold-certified work when it passed 500,000 sales in 1997.[62] Reed was nominated for a Grammy Award for best male rock vocal performance for the album.[53]
“Karma at Work.” Ann Killion – Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle – 7.6.2026
Lee Heidhues 7.7.2026 UPDATED
The US soccer team was ousted from the World Cup by Belgium in what the press is reporting was an uninspired and desultory performance on the Pitch in Seattle before nearly 70,000 fans.
The blogger has to believe that the US team was thrown off its pregame mojo by the antics of Donald Trump who blatantly interfered to get the star Folarin Balogun American striker back in the game.
Trump utilized all his political muscle and succeeded to get Balogun’s Red Card rescinded. A brazen act which FIFA boss Gianni Infantino acceded to in his sniveling bowing down to curry favor with Trump.
Trump’s bombastic showboating worked. Team USA paid the price on the Pitch.
The Guardian – 7.7.2026
“Overturn this.” Belgium post match comment on ‘X’ – New York Post 7.6.2026
The headline in the Wall Street Journal says it succinctly ‘Belgium ends Team USA’s World Cup Run After Political Firestorm’
Ann Killion in San Francisco calls it “karma at work.”
Top photo – SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 06: Referee Adham Makhadmeh checks in as Christian Pulisic #10 of the United States reacts after challenged by Youri Tielemans #8 of Belgium during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match between USA and Belgium at Seattle Stadium on July 06, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Once again Donald Trump has cast himself as the Audience of One with his blatant off the Pitch pitch to have the Red Card assessed against Team USA start striker Folarin Balogunrescinded.
It worked and America is now in the cross hairs of international scorn.
The US Team will take to the Pitch in Seattle on Monday afternoon against Belgium trying to reach Final Eight for the first time.
Sadly the entire match will be overshadowed by Trump’s blatant interference in this global spectacle. The entire soccer world is lambasting Trump. He doesn’t care.
The biggest irony of all this is the fact the American striker Folarin Balogun is a “Birthright Citizen.” A group of Americans against whom Trump has waged a political war the past 10 years. Finally losing his anti-immigrant holy war at the US Supreme Court a week ago.
For One Night, Support for Belgium’s Soccer Team Swells
Belgium’s fans gathered in Seattle last week for their team’s match with Senegal. Nico Vereecken/PsnewZ/ZUMA Press
I want to single out one American who represents what should be the cultural and political values this country strives for and often fails miserably.
Art Spiegelman published the Pulitzer Prize winning anthology MAUS. His interpretation of the Holocaust in cartoon fashion. A work of political art which has graced the bookshelf of the blogger’s home for years.
In 2025 Spiegelman cast his artistic acerbic pen to call out Israel, and Benjamin Netanyahu for his murderous onslaught against the people of Gaza.
On the Fourth of July the blogger decided to republish a blog post of February 10, 2025.
In World Cup terminology the only way to describe it is an “Own Goal” by the Republican Congress for its failure to pass an extension of an abortion defunding bill.
In World Cup terminology the only way to describe it is an “Own Goal” by the Republican Congress for its failure to pass an extension of an abortion defunding bill.
The best event on the Fourth of July for the blogger is to learn that Planned Parenthood funding has been restored.
The anti-choice crowd is in an uproar. Having fully expect their reactionary allies in Congress would continue to do their bidding.
Pro-choice advocates have fought hard and need to remain vigilant. The foes of a woman’s right to control her body are relentless.
Excerpted from Politico 7.4.2026
Planned Parenthood’s beleaguered network of clinics will regain access to hundreds of millions in Medicaid funding this weekend — the fallout of Republicans’ failure to pass an extension of the one-year defunding provision they approved last year.
Though Republicans pushed last year to include a decade-long or even permanent defunding of Planned Parenthood in their megabill, a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian forced them to scale back to a one-year measure. Anti-abortion activists — who warned at the time that the GOP would struggle to pass an extension in the lead-up to the midterms — have demanded in vain that Republican leadership ignore or fire the parliamentarian in order to get it done.
Nora Walsh-DeVries, the vice president of political and legislative affairs for Planned Parenthood, said the past year of defunding caused “irreparable damage” to many communities where access to health services is already scarce.
The group reported this week that two-thirds of the health center closures occurred in rural areas, medically underserved areas, or areas with shortages of health workers. Across the national network, there were 250,000 fewer visits compared to the year before. And while nearly a dozen progressive-leaning states where abortion is legal, including California, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, dug into state coffers to backfill some of the lost funding, red states that prohibit the procedure did not, resulting in the shuttering of many facilities that only provided non-abortion services like contraception and pelvic exams.
A rally partcipant holds up a sign during the Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Stand with Texas Women Rally at Discovery Green in Houston, Texas. The Rally highlighted the abortion restriction bill, House Bill 2 being Pushed in Austin. The Parenthood Action Fund will held the rally in Houston as part of the statewide Stand with Texas Women tour. Tuesday, July 9, 2013, in Houston. ( Billy Smith II / Chronicle )
Starting July 5, clinics around the country can once again bill the federal program for reimbursement after providing non-abortion services, like birth control and screenings for sexually-transmitted infections, to low-income patients.
Though other funding threats loom, it’s a lifeline for the struggling organization, which has closed nearly 30 health centers nationwide that collectively served more than 40,000 patients since the defunding provision in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect in July 2025.
Leaders of the anti-abortion movement say the restoration of taxpayer resources to one of the right’s longtime nemeses is an even bigger blow to voters’ morale than their other grievances with the Trump administration, such as its inaction on abortion pills, because they view it as backsliding on something already achieved.
The blogger has been watching the World Cup since Day One on June 11th and is thrilled that the United States men’s team has moved to the group of 16 and will meet Belgium on Monday, July 6th in Seattle.
Despite all the joy of the game there is most definitely a political element. Deutsche Welle and The New Yorker have broken down and dissected the problems afflicting what is euphemistically titled The Beautiful Game.
Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 7.1.2026
US President Donald Trump was front and center when Chelsea lifted last year’s Club World Cup trophy
It’s a familiar and understandable diversion of attention from the issues that dominated the buildup. Many Argentine fans were denied visas to attend the tournament and see Messi make history, Vozinha’s mother was only granted a visa bond waiver to the country after her son’s heroics for Cape Verde, and those fans seen on TV are often the lucky few rich enough to afford outrageous ticket prices.
The decision to award US President Donald Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize last December, shortly before Trump started a war with tournament participant Iran, was reportedly a unilateral move by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and has further eroded trust both within and outside the organization.
Excerpted from The New Yorker POWER MOVE – Sam Knight – 6.8.2026
Gianni Infantino is both absolutely in control and strangely ill at ease. “He doesn’t trust many people,” a former official said. “His circle is very small.” Patrick Oberli, the Swiss journalist, has interviewed him four times. (Infantino declined to speak with me.) “In every case, I was faced with someone who was fearful,” Oberli said. “It was a peculiar feeling. It was as if he were sitting an exam.” In 2023, when Infantino was reëlected, unopposed, for a second full term as president, he opened a rare news conference with a rebuke for the waiting reporters. “I don’t understand why some of you are so mean,” he said. “Why? Why? I don’t get it.”
Blogger’s World 🌎 Cup tracker – 7.7 2026
Infantino—now the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which governs global soccer and owns the World Cup—was twelve years old and living in Brig, a small town in the Swiss Alps. Infantino’s parents were Italian migrants: his father worked on the night trains that ran under the mountains and across Europe, and his mother managed a kiosk at the railway station. Working-class Italians suffered discrimination in Switzerland during Infantino’s childhood. But the triumph of the Azzurri, the Italian men’s national team, in the World Cup helped to change that. It “allowed us to grow,” Infantino said in a speech, in 2021. “For me personally, I think that the 1982 World Cup was definitely the moment when the football virus . . . became part of my life and my body.”
Swiss Italians of Infantino’s generation have described the mounting euphoria of that summer as a feeling of riscatto—redemption and release. Brig is only a few miles from the Italian border. (Infantino calls his personality a combination of Italian creativity and Swiss precision.) After one match, he and his family crossed the border to the town of Domodossola to celebrate. There were no Italian flags on sale anywhere, so Infantino’s mother bought strips of red, white, and green fabric and sewed them together herself.
Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible. Six miles along the valley is Visp, the birthplace of Sepp Blatter, Infantino’s predecessor at FIFA, who, until Infantino entered the picture, was the most infamous soccer administrator of all time.
Gianni Infantino is both absolutely in control and strangely ill at ease.
Infantino will be unavoidable this summer. During the previous World Cup, in Qatar, directors of the official tournament feed were reportedly instructed to show him in the crowd once per match and not while he was looking at his phone. The geography of this year’s World Cup means that he won’t be physically omnipresent, but his imprint will be everywhere. “It’s safe to say that there’s no major decision that’s being made at this tournament without the direct involvement of Gianni,” a former high-ranking FIFA official told me. FIFA has staged two men’s World Cups under Infantino, but the 2026 edition is the first to be awarded and delivered during his tenure, and thus fully shaped in his image. He has already declared it to be the greatest of all time. Infantino’s messaging is as relentless as a 3-D printer’s. He is fond of the number eleven, which is the number of players on a soccer team. Most things are iconic. He likes to describe FIFA as “the official happiness provider to humanity.”
Top photo: American star striker Folarin Balogun will miss the round of 16 in Seattle after he was assessed a controversial Red Card in the USMNT win over Bosna-Herzegovina
What’s happened to American edgy political film making? Hollywood has been cowed during the Trump regime and is afraid to speak of racism and violence on the screen.
The 1988 film ‘Mississippi Burning’ is the Hollywood telling of murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi on June 21st 1964 and the subsequent investigation by the federal government.
‘Mississippi Burning’ is violent and political. Church burnings, lynchings and blatant racism.
The performance by Gene Hackman portraying a home grown FBI agent is arguably the strongest performance in the story of American racism and all its ugliness. Hackman was awarded the Silver Bear for best Actor at the 1989 Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award as best Actor.
The following clips from Mississippi Burning are vivid examples.
Chaney was Black, and Goodman and Schwerner were both Jewish. The three men had traveled roughly 38 miles (61 km) north from Meridian, to the community of Longdale, Mississippi, to talk with congregation members of a Black church that had been burned; the church had been a center of community organization. The disappearance of the three men was initially investigated as a missing persons case. The burnt-out car the three were using was found parked near a swamp three days after their disappearance.[2][3] An extensive search of the area was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), local and state authorities, and 400 U.S. Navy sailors.[4] Their bodies were not discovered until seven weeks later, when authorities received a tip leading them to the remains of the three activists. During the investigation, it emerged that members of the Ku Klux Klan, the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office, and the Philadelphia Police Department were involved in the incident.[1]
The murder of the activists sparked national outrage and an extensive federal investigation, filed as Mississippi Burning (MIBURN), which later became the title of a 1988 film loosely based on the events. In 1967, after the state government refused to prosecute those involved in the murders, the United States federal government stepped in and charged 18 individuals with civil rights violations. Seven were convicted and another pleaded guilty, and all received relatively minimal sentences. Outrage over the activists’ murder helped pass of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Forty-one years after the murders took place, one perpetrator, Edgar Ray Killen, was charged by the state of Mississippi for his part in the crimes, and in 2005 was convicted of three counts of manslaughter and was given a 60-year sentence.[5] On June 20, 2016, federal and state authorities officially closed the case. Killen died in prison in January 2018.
Elon ‘X’ Musk has suspended my years old @dogrunner47 account for alleged “inauthentic behaviors.”
Since beginning this blog nearly eight years ago I have included all my posts on Twitter. Now ‘X’. Unless and until this whimsical and censorious act of censorship is lifted I will no longer be able to engage on ‘X’.
I am publishing this act of censorship by Elon ‘X’ Musk because it is inexplicable and a curtailment of free speech.
I have reached out to my readership circle. Following is one of the responses. “I always found you to be nothing if not authentic.”
Another http://www.Leesperspective.com reader aptly wrote “There’s no explanation as to why you were blocked” advising me to go to San Francisco media “and see what happens!”
I encourage anyone to read the attached caption and translate for me what “inauthentic behaviors” mean.
Lee's Perspective 