WIZARD OF ID: The Fraudster's Face Mask
Sometimes one’s fake mask is the most honest statement of who they really are.
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink (2/22/25)
Sometimes one’s fake mask is the most honest statement of who they really are.
The mask of the man behind the Presidential Curtain is not so much the Wizard of Oz as the Wizard of Id. The photo above is part of a larger image of Trump side-by-side with his boss man Elon at some recent performance. It is not a one-off or photoshopped image or freaky distortion from odd lighting.
Nor is it a recent facial remodel. This 2020 photo was taken outdoors in daylight:
And here’s from another angle by another photographer at the same time.
I have not adjusted the contrast on any of the three photos.
Honestly dishonest
No, as honestly dishonest a grifter, fraud and scamming sociopath as he is, Donald Trump wears it all out in the open for all to see with his mango facepaint mask plastered over his pale 78 year-old-guy reality. The pale white eye patches and lips and the stark swath of sickly ‘old-guy’ skin framing the mask reveal the reality beneath the orange plaster job.
Unlike a smear of spackling paste hiding a crack in the plaster, the stark mango orange/white border of Donald’s mask illuminates the fraud.
Like a terrorist’s facemask, Donald’s sticky mango mask is designed to hide his identity. But, ironically in his case, it illustrates the fraud of the reality beneath the paint job.
Here is my favorite photo of Donald, taken in 2024, sans the mango makeup and tailored toupee in his almost 80 year-old pale, befuddled reality and looking the old-fart ghoul he is…
Consider it the official portrait of the pale and befuddled pasty old-guy empire he represents.
Now here is a genuinely faked photo that accurately documents ElonTrumpTruth…
“The US no longer bothers to dress up its ruthless perceived self-interest in the garbs of high-minded principles. This is a major strategic mistake. These mythical moral claims helped win consent or at least acquiescence from the US public for the global projection of power: Hollywood’s presentation of the US as “the good guys” taps into a self-perception that is important for many Americans. These claims also beguiled significant numbers of people around the globe, offering up natural allies for the US in each continent.
“That is all dead now. And so all we are left with is a floundering superpower with depleted military prowess, a broken economic model, a crisis-ridden democracy and an openly thuggish demeanour. The fall of US power is anything but dignified.”
— Owen Jones, Let’s Be Clear – The US Never Had Moral Supremacy. With Trump, It’s Not Even Pretending Any More
FILES REVEAL: Swiss Knew They Had No Grounds To Arrest Palestine Speaker Ali Abunimah
The Electonic Intifada (2/22/25)
Executive director Ali Abunimah gives us an update on some significant revelations about his imprisonment in Switzerland last month and the legal steps he’s taking to fight back against this brazen attack on free speech. This is a segment from The Electronic Intifada's livestream on day 33 of the Gaza ceasefire.
Ali Abunimah, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Jon Elmer and Asa Winstanley were joined by historian Ilan Pappé. You can watch the full show here.
21-minute video
Swiss Federal Authorities Warned Arrest Of Ali Abunimah Was An Illegal Assault On Free Speech & Press
By Asa Winstanley
The Electronic Intifada (2/20/25)
Swiss federal authorities rejected a request to ban Ali Abunimah from entering the country, official documents seen by The Electronic Intifada show.
But this decision was hastily overturned, possibly due to political interference.
As a consequence, The Electronic Intifada’s executive director was abducted without warning by undercover police off a Zurich street while on his way to give a talk about Palestine last month.
The journalist was detained for three days without being allowed to contact his family and then expelled from the country.
The request to ban Abunimah was submitted to Switzerland’s national authorities by the Zurich cantonal police.
But even before Abunimah arrived in Switzerland, federal police, immigration authorities and the national intelligence service all concluded that Abunimah was not a threat to Swiss security and that there were no grounds for a ban.
Posts on Abunimah’s X account were “protected by freedom of speech,” the federal police, or Fedpol, wrote in a confidential assessment.
Despite all three federal agencies rejecting a ban, Zurich authorities reiterated their request the next day. …
NOTE: A crowdfunding campaign has been started to help support Abunimah’s legal action.
“But we didn’t vote for a king!”
Republican Lawmakers No Show As Western Wisconsin Farmers Face Brutal Toll Of Trump Chaos
By Henry Redman
Wisconsin Examiner (2/22/25)
Seven western Wisconsin Republican lawmakers did not appear at an event hosted by the Wisconsin Farmers Union in Chippewa Falls Friday as farmers from the area said they were concerned about the effect that President Donald Trump’s first month in office is having on their livelihoods.
Madison-area U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth), state Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and state Reps. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) and Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire) were in attendance.
An Eau Claire County farm. (Edited photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)
U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany and Derrick Van Orden, state Reps. Rob Sommerfeld (R-Bloomer), Treig Pronschinske (R-Mondovi) and Clint Moses (R-Mondovi) and state Sens. Jesse James (R-Thorp) and Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) were all invited but did not attend or send a staff member.
“All four of us want you to know that there are people in elected office who want to fight for you,” Phelps said. “Because I think there’s a lot of fear that comes from the fact that we’re seeing a lot of noise and action from the people who aren’t and some of the people that didn’t show up to this. So I hope that you will also ask questions of them when you get a chance.”
Multiple times during the town hall, Pocan joked that Van Orden was “on vacation.”
Emerson, whose district was recently redrawn to include many of the rural areas east of Eau Claire, told the Wisconsin Examiner she had just been at an event held by the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation where a Van Orden staff member did attend, so she didn’t understand why they couldn’t hear about how Trump’s policies are harming local farmers. …
*****
Georgia Trump Voters EXPLODE At GOP Town Hall
CNN (2/21/25)
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) faced angry voters in Roswell, Georgia, who were upset about President Trump attempting to expand his own power using executive orders.
10-minute video
'Outrage' & 'Anger': GOP Rep. Confronted At Town Hall Over Trump-Musk 'chainsaw approach' To Cuts — A Republican congressman was booed and heckled incessantly at his own tall hall Thursday, as Trump’s sweeping federal cuts have begun to hurt the very same Republican constituents who voted for them. At his town hall in Suwanee, Georgia—in a district Trump won by 22 points—Representative Rich McCormick was faced with hundreds of voters who were deeply disturbed by his complicity—as well as the rest of the Republican Party’s—in allowing Elon Musk and DOGE to transform the federal government in just weeks. One person told McCormick he had done a “disservice” to his constituents. “You don’t think I’m going to stand up for you?” the lawmaker replied, as the town hall booed him. Another pressed McCormick on what he’ll do to “rein in the megalomaniac in the White House.” … Read the rest
A Note On Resistance
“Bullies are cowards. They pick on people who can’t fight back, they thrive on the approval of the crowd. But they have no strength of their own. Which is why exposing their weakness doesn’t necessarily require big acts of heroism. It takes little, daily acts of gumption, and there is a name for that: civic courage.”
— Monica Bauerlein, Where Are The Heroes: All Around Us, Actually / Mother Jones Magazine (March/April 2025)
GOP Senator Lindsey “Grift N’ Grab”
“Check out [Sen.] Lindsey Graham's [R-SC] net worth. When he first went into Congress it was $800,000. His net worth right now is estimated between $42 [million] and $82 million. Well how could that possibly be, unless he's an investment genius. Well he ain't that, that's for sure. But he's not the only one … [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi is a prime example. [Sen.] Mitch McConnell is another example.”
— Larry Johnson, former CIA officer, Intelligence Roundtable, Judging Freedom podcast (2/21/25)
Heavens! I've never looked at Trump's orange face that much before. He really is an ugly spud, isn't he? Ugly inside = ugly outside. Not fooling anybody anymore that he's to be trusted.
It's good to focus on the power of the people than the narcissism of the oligarchy anyway. Remember the Economic Blackout on February 28th!
Really appreciate your highlights Mark. Ontario goes to the polls next week but, we're expecting the incumbant Conservative Premier Doug Ford to win again. He's fighting back against Trump tariffs and for our auto workers in Windsor.
He's also suggested blocking the hydro electricity that feeds your N.E. power grid. I am sorry that the American people are starting to suffer under Trump like we've suffered under Justin Trudeau since 2015 and sincerely hope normalcy returns soon.