17 October—If you’re keeping count of the murders in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela being committed by the United States Navy on orders of Donald Trump and his equally villainous warlord-flunky Pete Hegseth, it’s now five boats allegedly transporting narcotics that have been blown to kingdom come (destroying evidence) along with at least 27 people Trump and his mob insist without proof are narcoterrorists.

The naval engagements (maneuvers?) in the Caribbean in typically Trumpish defiance of international and domestic law are being executed (so to speak) by forces of the navy’s Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), whose boss is Admiral Alvin Holsey (not to be confused with Admiral Bull Halsey, who died 66 years ago). One wonders how Admiral Holsey and USSOUTHCOM personnel feel about following the scumbag-in-chief’s illegal orders.

It’s possible, perhaps even probable, that Admiral Holsey has had enough. Because just this morning Hegseth announced on social media (of course) that the four-star admiral would be retiring by the end of the year. After only about a year on the job. It’s also possible, perhaps even probable, that Hegseth fired Admiral Holsey for not kissing his and Trump’s despicable asses, as is required under the current dictatorship’s rules of engagement. Admiral Holsey was promoted during Joe Biden’s administration, after all.

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On the subject of Trump’s dictatorship, he threw a dinner party on Wednesday for the 130 schmucks who’ll be helping to pay for the inappropriate and lavishly tasteless gilded ballroom the scumbag-in-thief [sic] intends to desecrate the White House with. He’s already had most of the Rose Garden paved over.

Given Trump’s blatant monarchical pretensions and tendencies as well as his conspicuous lack of taste, one wonders why he hasn’t suggested dressing up White House guards like European palace guards.

Grown-ups may remember that Tricky Dick Nixon did just that during his reign. Here are pictures of the Nixon’s White House anything-but-Secret Service guards in 1970. The Ruritanian uniforms, designed by D.C. tailor Jimmie Muscatello, became a laughingstock, so they didn’t last long; the caps disappeared within weeks and the entire uniforms were abandoned by mid-year. The government surplus shmattes were eventually put out to bid in 1980 and Iowa’s Meriden-Cleghorn Community High School marching band’s bid of ten dollars per uniform beat out Alice Cooper’s bid.

Couldn’t the holsters have been a little less conspicuous?