Okay, go ahead and pick your jaws up off the floor, so I can get started. What is Trump wrong about this time? The Federal Reserve’s renovation project, because of course he is! He’s a six-time bankrupt former real estate magnate, so what would he know about building construction costs?

As little as you would think, it turns out. Trump made headlines today by forcing a snap visit to the construction site at the Federal Reserve’s Eccles building on Constitution Avenue in Washington. Met by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has threatened to fire, Trump came quickly to the purpose of his visit to the Fed, the first by a president since 2006 when George W. Bush attended the swearing in of Ben Bernanke.

MAGA ducks nibbling at Chairman Powell, looking for a reason for Trump to fire him, suggested to Trump that he could use the cost overruns on the Fed’s renovation project as a pretext – you know, he’s wasting the people’s money! Fire his ass!

Trump made a show of pulling a sheaf of papers from the folds of his commodious suit and shoving them at Powell, as he claimed that the Fed cost overruns are not the $2.5 billion Powell has quoted, but $3.1 billion. Powell, looking surprised at Trump’s attempt at a “gotcha” moment, quickly scanned the papers he was handed and replied that told Trump had mistakenly lumped in the cost of another Fed renovation, to the Martin building just across C Street behind the Eccles building, which went through its own renovation beginning five years ago. The Fed is using the freshly renovated Martin building to house its offices until the renovation on its headquarters, the Eccles building, is completed.

Trump appeared upset by Chairman Powell’s easy dismissal of his “gotcha” and they moved on to complete the construction site tour. When asked by reporters if he still had plans to fire Powell, Trump brushed aside the questions. He doesn’t want another hiccup in the stock market, which has reacted negatively to Trump’s previous talk of firing Powell.

So, if Donald the genius builder was wrong about the cost overruns being more than advertised, what else could he have gotten wrong?

How about the fact that the Federal Reserve paid for the construction of both of its buildings and is paying for the renovations of the Eccles building from its own funds, over which the Executive Department of the federal government – that would be Donald Trump – has no control or authority whatsoever. Neither does the Congress, which did not appropriate the funds for either Fed building from the public tax coffers. Federal Reserve money is paying for the whole thing.

The cost overruns on the renovation are in line with every other construction project in Washington D.C., as it happens. Buildings as old as the Fed’s headquarters, built in 1935, have to undergo removal of lead and asbestos, just for starters. And then there is the involvement of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission, which both oversee all building projects in Washington to make sure that they meet D.C. building codes and adhere to the federal classical style, which is mandated for government buildings in the nation’s capital.

And then there is the fact that the site of the entire Mall, on which the Fed headquarters sits, is filled with sediment dredged from the Potomac River to erase the creeks and swamps that once existed there. Part of the Fed renovation is to turn the building’s subterranean parking garage into new office space, necessitating the placement of 1,000 “micro-piles” beneath the building’s foundation, which are used when the ground does not permit the driving of regular construction piles.

The short answer: Costs go up, driven by building codes, redesigns, and the natural conditions of building on a former swamp. Powell knew this, and he knew the money in the cost overruns is Federal Reserve money, not Treasury funds. Trump didn’t.

This is what you get when a bumbling buffoon is elected to high office. But we knew that. And it’s what happens when the bumbling buffoon is consumed with ginning up as many distractions as possible to point the attention of his MAGA base and the media away from the real story in Washington D.C.: what is in the Epstein files? We already know the name of Donald Trump is in there, because the Wall Street Journal, already facing a $10 billion lawsuit from Trump, continues to report on details that keep coming its way from within the Trump White House.

And now Trump has to contend with the creators of the animated show, “South Park,” signing a $1.5 billion deal with Trump’s favorite media conglomerate, Paramount, to produce 50 new scathing episodes over the next five years, during four of which Donald Trump will be one of their biggest targets. The episode dropped last night skewered, among other things, Trump’s blackmail of Paramount for $16 million to settle yet another Trump lawsuit and closed with an AI-generated video of the Trump character wandering a desert, removing one piece of clothing after another until he is naked.

Dealing with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, newly seated on a pile of Paramount money 100 times bigger than the amount Trump squeezed out of the conglomerate, is going to have him posting Epstein excuses with one thumb and South Park attacks with the other.

I’m thinking this is going to be one of the best August recesses ever.

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The Trump regime is panicking so badly over the Epstein scandal, they shut down the House of Representatives early so Republicans could scurry away like the roaches they are. The clumiest cover-up since Watergate is getting worse by the day and we have all the goodies for you.

Oh, and some other news, too. You know, like Donald Trump probably dying soon and ICE concentration camps being worse than we thought.

Let’s do this.

Ogre Nation News Update!

4:24 - 6:52 Republicans achieve their long-cherished dream of stripping $1 billion in funding from PBS and NPR, which will be a massive blow to…rural America?

6:53 - 15:27 Trump is dying (probably). One less pedophile in the world. Womp womp.

15:28 - 21:15 You Scream I Scream We All Scream Because Of Fucking Ice

21:16 - 53:52 Headlines For Short Attention Spans - Epstein, Epstein, Epstein Edition

53:53 - 1:07:27 Self-care of the Week

Things We Discussed During The Show

Congress votes to strip more than $1 billion in funding for NPR, PBS

What is Trump's vein condition and how serious is it?

“You Feel Like Your Life Is Over” -Abusive Practices at Three Florida Immigration Detention Centers Since January 2025

ICE Agents Invade a Manhattan Little League Field

Exclusive: Pregnant Woman in Tennessee Denied Care for Being Unmarried (Updated)

Mehdi Hasan’s Debate With 20 Far-Right Conservatives On ‘Surrounded’ Goes Viral

Trump administration releases FBI records on MLK Jr. despite his family’s opposition

Durbin: FBI agents were told to ‘flag’ Epstein records that mentioned Trump

Trump's spy chief claims the Obama administration 'manufactured' intel on Russia

House speaker starts August recess early to avoid Jeffrey Epstein votes

Jesse Ventura: Hulk Hogan Ratted Me Out When I Tried To Unionize Wrestling

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Many of the arguments for risings US housing prices relate to events in metro areas. For example, some metro areas like Manhattan and San Franciso have limited land on which to build. Add in rising demand for living in these locations and rules that limit building, and the result is housing prices that rise faster than incomes. Another set of arguments is that in certain destination cities, either big US financial corporations or high-income foreign buyers or investors in short-term rental properties are looking to purchase homes, thus driving up prices.

But in most rural areas, none of these issues really apply . Land on which to build is plentiful, building codes usually aren’t highly restrictive, and buyers from outside the local area are not scooping up properties with the same vigor. But in rural areas, housing prices are rising faster than income anyway.

The Council of Economic Advisers provides a fact sheet showing some of the overall patterns in “The Deterioration of Housing Affordability in Rural America” (March 2025). The first figure shows income and rent for median-income rural renters; the second figure shows income and housing prices for median-income rural homeowners.

(For those interested in detail, “rural” is often defined as “not in an urban area.” CEA writes: “For purposes of this analysis, a rural area is one in which the population density is less than 250 people per square mile.3 With this definition, the estimated rural population in the United States in 2023 comes out to 58 million people, very similar to other estimates.)

It’s not at all obvious why this is happening. One possible explanation, for example, is that the new housing in rural areas has tended to be much more expensive than earlier housing, thus pushing up the average price. But if this was a big factor, then the average age of rural housing should be declining–as a result of this new building–and instead, the average age of rural housing is rising.

Another possible explanation is that the sustained period of low interest rates has cause homebuyers everywhere to feel that they could afford to pay a higher purchase price for a home–because the lower interest rate would hold down their monthly mortgage payments. But it’s not clear why this factor should affect rental housing. Also, if the supply of housing shifts only slowly, then households willing to spend more can drive up price. But shouldn’t the supply of housing in rural areas–with plenty of land and lower levels of regulation–be able to respond to any surge in demand? Or are regulatory constraints on building in rural areas stronger than I have previously believed?

The CEA doesn’t offer an answer here. But the report does point out: “Where housing is expensive and scarce, businesses also face greater difficulties recruiting and retaining workers. Rural America has much to gain if progress can be made revitalizing the growth of housing supply to drive greater affordability …”

The post So Why Has Rural Housing Become Less Affordable? first appeared on Conversable Economist.

Trump is in the Oval Office meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seated in front of enough gold leaf to line the tombs of Ferdinand’s mother and father both. A reporter throws a question at him about the deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, the woman incarcerated at the Florida federal prison for sex trafficking young girls.

“I don't know about it, but I think it's something that would be, sounds appropriate to do,” Trump answers. Asked if he thinks it is appropriate that the meeting with Maxwell be conducted by a man who was “your personal attorney,” Trump says, “No, I have no concern. He’s a very talented person, he’s very smart. I didn’t know they were going to do it. I haven’t followed that too much…it’s a…sort of a witch hunt, just a continuation of the witch hunt.”

Trump is impatient with the questions about Epstein. He wants to change the subject, to…uh…“President Obama…they caught President Obama absolutely cold. What they did to this country, starting in 2016, but going up all the way to 2020 and the election, they tried to rig the election, and they got caught. And there should be very severe consequences. After what they did to me? Whether it’s right or wrong, it’s time to go after people. Obama’s been caught directly. People say, oh, you know, it’s a group. It’s not a group. It’s Obama. His orders are on the paper. The papers are signed. What they did in 2016 and 2020, it’s very criminal, very criminal at the highest level. If you look at those papers, they have him stone cold, and it was President Obama. The leader of the gang was President Obama. Barack Hussein Obama. Guilty. He was guilty. This was treason. This was every word you could think of. They tried to steal the election, they tried to obfuscate the election. They did things nobody could ever imagine, even in other countries.”

Over on Capitol Hill, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is shutting down the House of Representatives, putting the place in recess, sending everyone home for the August break more than a week early because Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, is walking around with a discharge petition that could force a vote on the floor on a bipartisan bill that would cause the release of the Epstein files held by the Trump Department of Justice. “The public’s not going to let this die, and rightfully so,” said one of Massie’s Republican allies and a signer of the discharge petition.

Massie himself told reporters, “There are a lot of people here in the swamp who think that, ‘Oh, well, if we spend five weeks on vacation, the pressure for this will dissipate.’ I don’t think it’s going to dissipate. This will be an issue that does follow Republicans through the midterms, and it will follow each individual Republican through the midterms. It will follow people into their primaries. Did you support transparency and justice, or did you come up here, get elected and fall into the swamp? I think it is a watershed moment for the Speaker of the House and the president.”

Nothing to see here, folks. Todd Blanche is the lawyer who defended Trump during his trial in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, several of them to cover up the payments he made to shut up Stormy Daniels. Blanche is the lawyer who represented Trump on federal charges that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election. He was on the defense team that took on charges that Trump stole classified documents and illegally stored them in insecure locations within Mar a Lago, such as a public restroom and on the stage in the resort’s ballroom.

That man will be winging his way down to Tallahassee to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking and transporting a minor for the purpose of engaging in a criminal activity, sex with an adult male. “If Ghislaine Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in a statement from the Department of Justice today.

Now, the question is this: Why would Maxwell, who faces 16 more years behind bars on her 20 year sentence in federal prison, be meeting with the former defense attorney for President Donald Trump, with whom she was photographed numerous times in the company of Jeffrey Epstein, for whom she pimped underage girls?

What is Todd Blanche prepared to say to Ghislaine Maxwell? If she refuses to remain silent, she might suffer an accident in federal confinement. She might fall on a stray screwdriver or hand-crafted “shank” that is lying around a prison corridor.

On the other hand, if Maxwell tells Blanche, Trump’s deputy attorney general and former defense lawyer, that she has nothing at all to say about Epstein and sex trafficking of underage girls, because she is innocent of the charges, could she possibly get a deal? Could Blanche himself be prepared to suggest a deal? That if she remains silent about what she knows about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, many of which she personally arranged, or about the participation of a certain President of the United States in those crimes, said President will issue her a full and unconditional pardon?

Everything seems to be settling down. The Congress will be in recess. Todd Blanche will be on an airplane. Ghislaine Maxwell will be meeting with her lawyer preparing to meet with the President’s former defense attorney.

By Labor Day, all of this may be old news.

On the other hand, somebody leaked the Epstein birthday book to the Wall Street Journal, and Donald Trump has sued Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion, and Murdoch doesn’t like being sued by a person for whom he did enough favors that he was elected twice to the presidency. Murdoch does not publish stories like the one about Trump’s scribbled birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein on his 50^th birthday that reads like a confession unless he has enough ammo left to defend himself and his media empire. Murdoch is an impatient man. He does not suffer fools gladly. He is not a nice man.

Donald Trump may be about to find out just how not nice Rupert Murdoch is.

Stay tuned. The August recess may not be a vacation from the Epstein story for anyone.

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Hurricanes threaten to inflict catastrophic damage and can be extremely dangerous. That’s why it is important to take proper measures and avoid potential mistakes during these deadly storms. Otherwise, you have to deal with many severe problems and costly losses. 

But worry not. To help you out, here is a list of what mistakes you must avoid during a hurricane to keep yourself and your family safe. 

1.Ignoring Evacuation Orders 

Sometimes, in the case of a severe hurricane, the emergency services may not be able to reach you. In this situation, the government issues mandatory evacuation orders. You should follow their orders as soon as possible. Hesitating in this regard can put your life at risk and lead to many serious problems, such as injuries and accidents. Moreover, from a legal point of view, you may have to pay hefty fines if you ignore evacuation orders. 

2. Failing to Prepare for Pets 

Hurricanes are stressful events for both humans and animals. Your furry friend may also become scared and anxious, especially if it is unfamiliar with the environment. This can lead to behavioural issues, causing more severe problems. 

Pets left behind during a hurricane are vulnerable to injuries from flying debris, strong winds, and rising floodwater. Therefore, in this critical situation, you should not only think about your safety but also consider your furry friends. Your pets may be unable to escape dangerous situations, such as collapsing structures and falling trees. They need your support and care at this time, so when evacuating, you must take them along with you. 

3. Underestimating the Dangers of Flooding 

Floods are the most dangerous aspect of a hurricane. They often cause more deaths than wind or rain. Floodwaters may appear shallow, but a few inches of fast-moving water can carry away an adult and even a vehicle. So, you should never underestimate the dangers of flooding during a hurricane and avoid walking or driving in this deadly storm. 

The sudden and rapid rise in the sea level can inundate coastal areas. This traps more people in their houses, as escape routes get cut off. If you’re unsure what to do during a storm, Western Union has a helpful guide to dealing with a hurricane, consider searching online for related information. This will provide you with valuable insights into how you can save yourself from this natural disaster. 

4.Opening Windows and Doors of Your Home 

Many people believe that if they open a window during a hurricane, this will equalize the pressure and help prevent damage. But it is a misconception, and the reality is totally opposite to this. Opening windows and doors of your home during a hurricane can result in more severe structural damage and losses. 

When you open doors and windows of your home in this deadly storm, the wind enters and creates more pressure differentials inside your house. This puts extra pressure on your roof and affects the structural integrity of your property. Moreover, the coming wind will also bring water and debris with it, which can cause significant damage to your home’s interior.

Photo: Freepik via Freepik.

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The post 4 Mistakes You Should Avoid Making During a Hurricane appeared first on DCReport.org.

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A lot of people, including certain world leaders, do not seem to understand that Donald Trump’s second time in power is radically different than his first. Putin has critically misjudged his relationship with Trump and now Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be doing exactly the same thing:

As smoke and debris swirled over the Syrian presidential palace, the chatter in the West Wing grew louder: Benjamin Netanyahu is out of control.

What they're saying: "Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time," one White House official told Axios, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. "This could undermine what Trump is trying to do."

• A second senior U.S. official also pointed to the shelling of a church in Gaza this week, which led President Trump to call Netanyahu and demand an explanation. "The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the f***?"

• A third U.S. official said there's growing skepticism inside the Trump administration about Netanyahu — a sense that his trigger finger is too itchy and he's too disruptive. "Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won't behave."

I, for one, am quite pleased about this (Netanyahu angering the regime, not the bombing itself). Nothing makes me happier than bloodthirsty dictators stepping on the rake that is Donald Trump. If we have to suffer through his bullshit, we might as well get something useful out of it. What could be more useful than Trump taking down really bad people around the globe?

Mind you, he’s not lashing out for good or noble reasons. He’s doing it because they hurt his wittle fee-fees. Donald Trump is the most fragile man-baby in the fucking world. Buuuuut that’s not the worst thing when other narcissists have a fixed image of Trump in their minds as a weakling to push around.

To be fair, Trump IS a weak leader. He has no plan. He has no ideology. His only ambition is making himself rich and avenging all of his perceived slights while whining about it nonstop every fucking day all day long.

But a weak leader in control of the most powerful nation on earth is a weak leader with a very big stick. A malicious 10-year-old with a gun can still blow your goddamn head off. Trump is nothing if not malicious and he is no longer afraid.

This is the key point his good buddies in the dictator club have failed to grasp.

Trump 1.0 was afraid. He is a natural coward as all bullies are. He was overwhelmed by winning an election he expected to lose. He didn’t know what the hell he was doing. They couldn’t even turn the lights on or use the phones. THE LIGHTS!!! Fucking monkeys can turn on lights.

Trump had no idea how best to exploit and abuse his power. He didn’t know how to weaponize the government and didn’t surround himself with truly spineless sycophants willing to break every law imaginable.

This is why Trump bowed and scraped before every strongman on the planet. He wanted to BE them and was easily intimidated. They played Trump like a fiddle and he let them because he was hoping he could join the strongman club. They laughed at him, not always behind his back.

Did you know the Opinionated Ogre has a weekly podcast? It’s true! New episodes every Thursday! Catch the latest episode here:

The Ogre always laughs at Trump.

But that was then. This is now. Trump 2.0 is convinced he doesn’t have to worry about elections anymore (as I’ve mentioned before, he really does). His regime is filled with loyalists willing to obey his commands. Most importantly, Trump no longer fears legal reprisals because he’s “immune.” He also has Christian Nationalist Russell Vought and Nazi Stephen Miller whispering in his ear that he is the King of America, with unlimited power to do anything to anyone at any time.

So…Donald Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize and Putin won’t stop waging war? Then Putin will get a knife in the back. Trump doesn’t need him anymore and there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, Putin can do to Trump.

Trump promised to end the war in Gaza and, generally, settle things down in the Middle East. But Netanyahu won’t stop finding new targets to bomb. Well, now Bibi is getting in Trump’s way and making him look bad. Fuck that noise. Who the fuck does he think he is?!

Never mind the fact that Trump and his regime and blindingly antisemitic. Trump will no longer tolerate a world leader standing in his way. Especially one that needs him far more than he needs them. The Evangelicals think Israel is crucial to America’s future because of their insane end times mythology, but Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of that, and he really doesn’t care what they think anymore.

Did you think he was kidding? That wasn’t a promise. It was a threat and they weren’t listening. Whoops.

If Netanyahu continues to treat Trump like a fucking moron (even though he is), Trump is going to retaliate and that will be very bad for Israel. Sure, that might thrill you, personally, but I’m not going to get into that right now.

What would that retaliation look like? Obviously not an attack, duh. But Trump is certainly capable of cutting off weapons sales and financial assistance. He’s also capable of threatening other countries with sanctions if they continue to supply Israel. Israel can produce its own munitions, but enough to keep up its warmongering? Doubtful. Not without substantial trade which Trump can easily strangle if Netanyahu pisses him off enough.

Would peace be good for Israel? Yes. Would it be catastrophic for Netanyahu and his far right government? Absolutely. Just hearing the rumblings of Trump’s anger at the war criminal who refuses to stop bombing everything in sight to keep himself out of prison is music to my ears.

Just like Putin, Netanyahu cannot stop fighting because his survival depends on war. But ongoing hostilities run counter to Trump’s interests. And Trump no longer cares about what his good friends in the Bully Club want anymore. He only cares about what HE wants.

Trump threatened the Israeli courts into backing off from Netanyahu once. But that was during wartime. If Trump forces Israel to stand down? I don’t know that the courts will be so willing to continue to delay Netanyahu’s downfall. And wouldn’t that be just the worst? Boo. Hoo.

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Fascism hates organized protests. They fear the public. They fear US. Make fascists afraid again by joining Indivisible or 50501 and show them whose fucking country this is!

The Blue Wave has begun and the fascist fucks are scared. There are 104 days until it hits Virginia and Pennsylvania. If I were a billionaire fascist loser, I’d think REALLY hard about getting out of the way.