What saddens me is the people who should be reading this post, won’t !!! Those who agree with you are sickened by what we are witnessing. I read somewhere that you will only change people’s minds when it affects them directly. What if sexual predators ruined the life of their daughter, wife, granddaughter, they would be singing a different tune. I can only pray there will be some justice for these animals. And yes, John, when I see that cross hanging from
The necks of some of these people, I want to pull it off…again, I have to leave that to God!!!
What if the predators have already impacted their children because no one called them out already, and they just don’t know.
My parents never knew what happened to me because I never told them.
How many more children will be abused because the adults in their lives don’t understand the threats out there and fight to protect all children which includes their own children as well.
Heard, Tamie. And agreed. Until parents and society stop telling boys that they are superior and have total access to girls, women, and their bodies nothing will change. Is this one of the more egregious examples of the utterly shameless and despicable ways in which men in power treat women? Yes. Is it unusual? Absolutely not. And the day of reckoning is very very late.
I raised my sons to respect “no” whenever and however it is said.
They are wonderful men, and I’m proud of them.
And a lot of that was because of my experiences.
It’s hard for people to,see how things could be better - doing the same thing because it’s how you were raised needs to be a choice, not an assumption. Humanity will not improve without thoughtful and lucky actions.
Right... and my parents never knew what happened to me either. Back in the 60s you just kept quiet, or suffered the questions like, what were you wearing, did you lead him on/ etc etc...
I cc and pasted to bluesky and FB. I think this topic gets everyone's attention, regardless of race, gender, financial status. This will bring him down. I hate pedos.
I can certainly understand how the Nazis managed to brainwash and coerce so many German people into going along with their evil deeds when I see what is unfolding south of the border. So many just going along with it all without blinking an eye. As long as it doesn't affect them, they could care less.
I know it could happen in Canada, too. There are lots of those brainwashed fools here, too.
I keep hoping and hoping this will be the final straw for DT with the Epstein Files and then he weasels out of it again thanks to all those selfish, cruel sycophants who surround him, eager to keep their positions and not make the toddler king angry. I'll keep hoping that the truth will come out and he will be gone, but JD Vance doesn't seem any better of a replacement.
J D Vance isn’t charismatic. He’s base and greedy, and it shows. He’ll be much more organized and efficient at dismantling democracy but will not be able to command and orchestrate “ The Base “
I used to think that. But that was before a cabal of co-conspirators formed close working relationships. Stephen Miller would be the power center in that case; Vance just a figurehead. And while many of them can’t stand each other, they’ll work together for a common purpose: their own self-preservation and aggrandizement . It would crash eventually of course, but only after immense agony.
One point to ponder: compared to the amount of media access we have today, the 1930s German people, & the world, didn't have the same ability to identify & withstand & counter the brainwashing... or realize the confirmation & strength from their neighbors & allies! Thank you Canadians!
Good point, Margaret. We do know so much more but the flip side is that the disinformation engine works overtime brainwashing people into believing their narrative online and on Fox News. I'm sure that disinformation and propaganda is to blame for how we are at this point in time since so many Americans were duped into believing Trump was the answer to their problems and they still worship him. We have some Maple MAGAS here, too, even in my village in rural Ottawa. And stupid reality shows making Trump a household name in the first place. UGH! Hate reality shows. We need to work hard keeping the truth alive and stay connected resisting as you say. Becoming isolated and divided is not the way to go. I hope the Scottish people give DT hell when he visits there.
John’s piece is blistering and true. Every word. And still, it barely scrapes the surface.
Because what we’re witnessing isn’t just moral decay—it’s institutional camouflage. The worst people in this country aren’t hiding under rocks anymore; they’re hiding behind podiums, under prayer cloths, inside the Office of the President. And their real crimes aren’t just what they’ve done—but what they’ve convinced the country to accept.
But let me take this one step further—into the undercurrent where the rot really lives.
I spent four decades inside the military and Homeland Security bureaucracy. That’s ALOT of time watching how the sausage gets made and how the rot gets plated. I’ve worked alongside decent people and I’ve watched as many of them became silent bystanders, and a few became something far worse.
So let me say this plainly: What you see in public is never the whole game.Not under the best administrations—and especially not under this one.
Even in a good-faith White House, the name of the game is misdirection. Smoke. Applause lines. Course changes. They don’t deny the problem—they redirect it. They don’t argue with you—they bury you in noise. They bleed you with a thousand untraceable edits. They wait until your outrage moves on to something shinier. That’s how policy gets killed, whistleblowers get silenced, and entire news cycles get turned into sacrificial decoys.
Now drop that machinery into the hands of an authoritarian regime? You don’t get misdirection. You get gaslighted genocide.
You get barbed wire in the Everglades and prayer circles kept outside the gates. You get Bible confiscation by the same people who scream about religious liberty on stage.
You get predators with pulpits and pedophiles protected by patriotism.
Don’t believe for a second that Tulsi’s smear on Obama is just misguided partisanship.
Don’t think immigration is about immigration.
Don’t imagine that DeSantis’s alligator gulag is just some eccentric footnote. Don’t mistake Christian nationalism for faith. It’s fascism in vestments. Every last one of these crises is theater—an expensive, weaponized distraction.
The whole point is to keep the press chasing shadows, keep the public too scattered to form consensus, and to shield Trump and his patrons at the Heritage Foundation while they drive their real agenda into the bones of this country.
This is the authoritarian blueprint. It’s not chaos—it’s camouflage. And I’m telling you now: we don’t have time to keep reacting to their bait.
Do not lose your focus. Do not let your anger be stolen by every new outrage of the hour.
Do not get sidetracked by the latest flare from a soulless press secretary or a headline manufactured by an AI-fueled outrage machine.
Stay fixed on the truth behind the tactics.
This regime is not clumsy—it’s calculated.
And it will burn this republic to the ground to keep the secrets inside that Epstein file buried. Because it’s not just a file. It’s a mirror. A confession. A ledger of the American elite’s bargain with depravity.
So yes—keep demanding release of those names. But even more than that—keep naming the system that protects them.
Protest. Shout. Expose. Disrupt.
But for God’s sake, don’t be misled.
This is not politics. This is not business as usual. This is not America having “a rough patch.”
This is theft. Of truth, of justice, of every last shred of what we used to pretend we were.
And if we ever want to claw back even a fraction of that promise—then we must never again be satisfied with spectacle.
Okay, Dino didn’t just drop the mic—he dismantled the entire sound system and set the podium on fire.
Forty years in the machine and this man just gave us the cheat code to American authoritarianism: it’s not a clown show—it’s a magic act. And we’re the ones being sawed in half while cheering.
The real headline isn’t “Epstein Files May Be Released”—it’s “America Fails Basic Moral Vision Test Again, Still Blames the Lighting.”
Tulsi’s not confused. DeSantis isn’t trolling. This isn’t performance—it’s policy. It’s fascism dressed as a Hobby Lobby commercial. And we’re one Fox News chyron away from people asking if guillotines come in red, white, and blue.
So yeah, thanks, Dino. You ruined my lunch… but in the most necessary way.
Agree with Mary Ann zehnder who wrote the people who should be reading this post won't. I fear, though, that even if they did, they would turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. I care deeply for those girls and women who were so heinously sexually exploited, but trump followers and loyalists just don't. That sickens me as much as the sexual exploitations that have been exacted on these girls and women. Thank you, John, for pointing out all that has been revealed, even without the files. I pray those files are released and everyone on the list gets what's coming to them and the girls and women get justice. These girls and women will have to live with the impacts of these horrific crimes for the rest of their lives. That is, perhaps, and truly the worst consequence of all this sexual exploitation. The impacts of sexual crimes are many and very difficult to come to terms with and heal from. I speak from personal experience. Many survivors/victims become suicidal, their pain is so great. I hope and pray there is support for all who were so cruelly afflicted.
Audrey, thank you for this. Seriously. You just said what a lot of people are too numb, too scared, or too politically caffeinated to say out loud.
You're right—this isn’t just about files. It’s about empathy bankruptcy. We’re watching people shrug at child exploitation because they think it might hurt their favorite TV president. Like… what kind of trade is that?
I mean, how broken do you have to be to look at the ruins of someone’s life and say, “Yeah, but gas was cheaper.”
You’re brave to speak from personal experience. That’s not easy. And I hope people read your words and feel them in their bones—not just their timeline scroll.
If we can’t care about this, then what the hell can we care about?
Thank you, David. I'm glad you appreciated what I wrote. And I totally agree
with and appreciate what you wrote me back. I love the way you put it, I hope they feel my words in their bones. Yes. Let our words resonate and have impact to shift the direction things have been going in so they go in the direction of compassion, caring and empathy.
I am 7 years younger than Trump. During the 80s and 90s Trump was constantly in the news for his over the top life style, business failures, fight against Native Americans casinos and cheating on his wife(s). He was a horrible person then, and when I tried to explain this to my younger siblings in 2015 they brushed me off.
All three consider themselves christians, and one's daughter was raped by a friend of her own father when she was around 15. They disowned me in 2018 so I have no idea how they are handling this. If they still support Trump, especially if they are doing it for their christian nationalist wet dream, I will lose the last of my respect for them I was hanging onto from our childhood.
And they called me the 'horrible person' for not following their christian convictions, because I have always said actions speak louder than words.
It never ceases to amaze me what people who have powerful positions will do to keep their status quo - never thinking of the harm that they do to humanity. Covering up information that might shed a good deal of light on nefarious doings via Epstein and his followers is just heinous. It is complete corruption that some day these high and mighty people will have to answer for.
I do t think it should be revealed just because it probably has the orange one’s name on it….but if it does exist, and we know by now that it does ….the whole lot of them should be revealed. Any American on that list should face prosecution. Is there also a list of the victims? That should be protected, but they are all witnesses to the horrific abuse.
Thank you John for pointing out that this is a deeper and more disturbing story than it seems in the surface. The rot is deep and well entrenched and has been for a long time. It’s especially disturbing that so many women are assisting with the distraction and cover up for these horrible men! It’s also disturbing that the press is focusing on the men… their opinions, their power, positions and actions, with the exception of the sudden interest in Maxwell. She is every bit as awful as Epstein and the men involved, and anything she says now will only be to serve her own interests… and should be taken with that in mind. The focus needs to be on the victims, the women who were brave enough to come forward years ago and whose voices were buried, like so many others of this kind of abuse are. Once this is all in the open, we need to learn from this that victims deserve justice and to be heard THE FIRST time they come forward… not years later… or never.
Wow. So the files didn’t just expose predators—they exposed everyone who saw the smoke and still said, “Eh, maybe it’s a fog machine.”
Honestly, the only thing more revealing than the Epstein list is watching people twist themselves into pretzels to not care what's on it. Like, “Sure, he’s a creep, but my 401k is doing great!” That’s not politics, that’s a horror movie where the villain wins because the neighbors were too polite to call the cops.
At this point, Jesus could descend from the clouds holding the files, and half the country would say, “But what about Hunter’s laptop?”
God help us all. Or at least send in a reboot of the Ten Commandments—with better Wi-Fi and a no-pedophile clause.
Back “in the day” I had a poster in my room that said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” I cannot count the number of times I have been pissed off by this autocrat’s and his government’s terrible, immoral actions. Now, added to anger is heartbreak. Each of us readers likely know and love victims of sexual abuse. Silence is not an option. I regularly turn to you, John Pavlovitz, with gratitude that you can say what needs saying and say it so well. Along with others, I wish the ones who most need to read this would do so.
Being so delusional as to ignore the many horrific atrocities being committed by the American people to fellow Americans and immigrants must be considered such a privilege. They go about their day "not wanting to talk about politics" so they can tell themselves it's all ok. Nothing to see here. As much as I wish I could be more delusional, I'm more comfortable in the fight for decency.
What saddens me is the people who should be reading this post, won’t !!! Those who agree with you are sickened by what we are witnessing. I read somewhere that you will only change people’s minds when it affects them directly. What if sexual predators ruined the life of their daughter, wife, granddaughter, they would be singing a different tune. I can only pray there will be some justice for these animals. And yes, John, when I see that cross hanging from
The necks of some of these people, I want to pull it off…again, I have to leave that to God!!!
What if the predators have already impacted their children because no one called them out already, and they just don’t know.
My parents never knew what happened to me because I never told them.
How many more children will be abused because the adults in their lives don’t understand the threats out there and fight to protect all children which includes their own children as well.
Heard, Tamie. And agreed. Until parents and society stop telling boys that they are superior and have total access to girls, women, and their bodies nothing will change. Is this one of the more egregious examples of the utterly shameless and despicable ways in which men in power treat women? Yes. Is it unusual? Absolutely not. And the day of reckoning is very very late.
I raised my sons to respect “no” whenever and however it is said.
They are wonderful men, and I’m proud of them.
And a lot of that was because of my experiences.
It’s hard for people to,see how things could be better - doing the same thing because it’s how you were raised needs to be a choice, not an assumption. Humanity will not improve without thoughtful and lucky actions.
Right... and my parents never knew what happened to me either. Back in the 60s you just kept quiet, or suffered the questions like, what were you wearing, did you lead him on/ etc etc...
This is exactly what happens in most cases. You, me, and countless others.
I cc and pasted to bluesky and FB. I think this topic gets everyone's attention, regardless of race, gender, financial status. This will bring him down. I hate pedos.
They still won't care or touch the surface of emotion... I am that daughter
I am sorry…
Well said as always.
I can certainly understand how the Nazis managed to brainwash and coerce so many German people into going along with their evil deeds when I see what is unfolding south of the border. So many just going along with it all without blinking an eye. As long as it doesn't affect them, they could care less.
I know it could happen in Canada, too. There are lots of those brainwashed fools here, too.
I keep hoping and hoping this will be the final straw for DT with the Epstein Files and then he weasels out of it again thanks to all those selfish, cruel sycophants who surround him, eager to keep their positions and not make the toddler king angry. I'll keep hoping that the truth will come out and he will be gone, but JD Vance doesn't seem any better of a replacement.
J D Vance isn’t charismatic. He’s base and greedy, and it shows. He’ll be much more organized and efficient at dismantling democracy but will not be able to command and orchestrate “ The Base “
I used to think that. But that was before a cabal of co-conspirators formed close working relationships. Stephen Miller would be the power center in that case; Vance just a figurehead. And while many of them can’t stand each other, they’ll work together for a common purpose: their own self-preservation and aggrandizement . It would crash eventually of course, but only after immense agony.
hoping you’re wrong
One point to ponder: compared to the amount of media access we have today, the 1930s German people, & the world, didn't have the same ability to identify & withstand & counter the brainwashing... or realize the confirmation & strength from their neighbors & allies! Thank you Canadians!
Good point, Margaret. We do know so much more but the flip side is that the disinformation engine works overtime brainwashing people into believing their narrative online and on Fox News. I'm sure that disinformation and propaganda is to blame for how we are at this point in time since so many Americans were duped into believing Trump was the answer to their problems and they still worship him. We have some Maple MAGAS here, too, even in my village in rural Ottawa. And stupid reality shows making Trump a household name in the first place. UGH! Hate reality shows. We need to work hard keeping the truth alive and stay connected resisting as you say. Becoming isolated and divided is not the way to go. I hope the Scottish people give DT hell when he visits there.
John’s piece is blistering and true. Every word. And still, it barely scrapes the surface.
Because what we’re witnessing isn’t just moral decay—it’s institutional camouflage. The worst people in this country aren’t hiding under rocks anymore; they’re hiding behind podiums, under prayer cloths, inside the Office of the President. And their real crimes aren’t just what they’ve done—but what they’ve convinced the country to accept.
But let me take this one step further—into the undercurrent where the rot really lives.
I spent four decades inside the military and Homeland Security bureaucracy. That’s ALOT of time watching how the sausage gets made and how the rot gets plated. I’ve worked alongside decent people and I’ve watched as many of them became silent bystanders, and a few became something far worse.
So let me say this plainly: What you see in public is never the whole game.Not under the best administrations—and especially not under this one.
Even in a good-faith White House, the name of the game is misdirection. Smoke. Applause lines. Course changes. They don’t deny the problem—they redirect it. They don’t argue with you—they bury you in noise. They bleed you with a thousand untraceable edits. They wait until your outrage moves on to something shinier. That’s how policy gets killed, whistleblowers get silenced, and entire news cycles get turned into sacrificial decoys.
Now drop that machinery into the hands of an authoritarian regime? You don’t get misdirection. You get gaslighted genocide.
You get barbed wire in the Everglades and prayer circles kept outside the gates. You get Bible confiscation by the same people who scream about religious liberty on stage.
You get predators with pulpits and pedophiles protected by patriotism.
Don’t believe for a second that Tulsi’s smear on Obama is just misguided partisanship.
Don’t think immigration is about immigration.
Don’t imagine that DeSantis’s alligator gulag is just some eccentric footnote. Don’t mistake Christian nationalism for faith. It’s fascism in vestments. Every last one of these crises is theater—an expensive, weaponized distraction.
The whole point is to keep the press chasing shadows, keep the public too scattered to form consensus, and to shield Trump and his patrons at the Heritage Foundation while they drive their real agenda into the bones of this country.
This is the authoritarian blueprint. It’s not chaos—it’s camouflage. And I’m telling you now: we don’t have time to keep reacting to their bait.
Do not lose your focus. Do not let your anger be stolen by every new outrage of the hour.
Do not get sidetracked by the latest flare from a soulless press secretary or a headline manufactured by an AI-fueled outrage machine.
Stay fixed on the truth behind the tactics.
This regime is not clumsy—it’s calculated.
And it will burn this republic to the ground to keep the secrets inside that Epstein file buried. Because it’s not just a file. It’s a mirror. A confession. A ledger of the American elite’s bargain with depravity.
So yes—keep demanding release of those names. But even more than that—keep naming the system that protects them.
Protest. Shout. Expose. Disrupt.
But for God’s sake, don’t be misled.
This is not politics. This is not business as usual. This is not America having “a rough patch.”
This is theft. Of truth, of justice, of every last shred of what we used to pretend we were.
And if we ever want to claw back even a fraction of that promise—then we must never again be satisfied with spectacle.
Eyes forward. Fire lit. No more illusions.
Okay, Dino didn’t just drop the mic—he dismantled the entire sound system and set the podium on fire.
Forty years in the machine and this man just gave us the cheat code to American authoritarianism: it’s not a clown show—it’s a magic act. And we’re the ones being sawed in half while cheering.
The real headline isn’t “Epstein Files May Be Released”—it’s “America Fails Basic Moral Vision Test Again, Still Blames the Lighting.”
Tulsi’s not confused. DeSantis isn’t trolling. This isn’t performance—it’s policy. It’s fascism dressed as a Hobby Lobby commercial. And we’re one Fox News chyron away from people asking if guillotines come in red, white, and blue.
So yeah, thanks, Dino. You ruined my lunch… but in the most necessary way.
I’m gonna go scream into a prayer cloth now.
Bravo, Dino!
Agree with Mary Ann zehnder who wrote the people who should be reading this post won't. I fear, though, that even if they did, they would turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. I care deeply for those girls and women who were so heinously sexually exploited, but trump followers and loyalists just don't. That sickens me as much as the sexual exploitations that have been exacted on these girls and women. Thank you, John, for pointing out all that has been revealed, even without the files. I pray those files are released and everyone on the list gets what's coming to them and the girls and women get justice. These girls and women will have to live with the impacts of these horrific crimes for the rest of their lives. That is, perhaps, and truly the worst consequence of all this sexual exploitation. The impacts of sexual crimes are many and very difficult to come to terms with and heal from. I speak from personal experience. Many survivors/victims become suicidal, their pain is so great. I hope and pray there is support for all who were so cruelly afflicted.
Audrey, thank you for this. Seriously. You just said what a lot of people are too numb, too scared, or too politically caffeinated to say out loud.
You're right—this isn’t just about files. It’s about empathy bankruptcy. We’re watching people shrug at child exploitation because they think it might hurt their favorite TV president. Like… what kind of trade is that?
I mean, how broken do you have to be to look at the ruins of someone’s life and say, “Yeah, but gas was cheaper.”
You’re brave to speak from personal experience. That’s not easy. And I hope people read your words and feel them in their bones—not just their timeline scroll.
If we can’t care about this, then what the hell can we care about?
No punchline. Just thanks.
Thank you, David. I'm glad you appreciated what I wrote. And I totally agree
with and appreciate what you wrote me back. I love the way you put it, I hope they feel my words in their bones. Yes. Let our words resonate and have impact to shift the direction things have been going in so they go in the direction of compassion, caring and empathy.
I am 7 years younger than Trump. During the 80s and 90s Trump was constantly in the news for his over the top life style, business failures, fight against Native Americans casinos and cheating on his wife(s). He was a horrible person then, and when I tried to explain this to my younger siblings in 2015 they brushed me off.
All three consider themselves christians, and one's daughter was raped by a friend of her own father when she was around 15. They disowned me in 2018 so I have no idea how they are handling this. If they still support Trump, especially if they are doing it for their christian nationalist wet dream, I will lose the last of my respect for them I was hanging onto from our childhood.
And they called me the 'horrible person' for not following their christian convictions, because I have always said actions speak louder than words.
It never ceases to amaze me what people who have powerful positions will do to keep their status quo - never thinking of the harm that they do to humanity. Covering up information that might shed a good deal of light on nefarious doings via Epstein and his followers is just heinous. It is complete corruption that some day these high and mighty people will have to answer for.
I do t think it should be revealed just because it probably has the orange one’s name on it….but if it does exist, and we know by now that it does ….the whole lot of them should be revealed. Any American on that list should face prosecution. Is there also a list of the victims? That should be protected, but they are all witnesses to the horrific abuse.
Hear hear. Imprison every single one of them who took part in this.
Thank you John for pointing out that this is a deeper and more disturbing story than it seems in the surface. The rot is deep and well entrenched and has been for a long time. It’s especially disturbing that so many women are assisting with the distraction and cover up for these horrible men! It’s also disturbing that the press is focusing on the men… their opinions, their power, positions and actions, with the exception of the sudden interest in Maxwell. She is every bit as awful as Epstein and the men involved, and anything she says now will only be to serve her own interests… and should be taken with that in mind. The focus needs to be on the victims, the women who were brave enough to come forward years ago and whose voices were buried, like so many others of this kind of abuse are. Once this is all in the open, we need to learn from this that victims deserve justice and to be heard THE FIRST time they come forward… not years later… or never.
They have no shame.
Wow. So the files didn’t just expose predators—they exposed everyone who saw the smoke and still said, “Eh, maybe it’s a fog machine.”
Honestly, the only thing more revealing than the Epstein list is watching people twist themselves into pretzels to not care what's on it. Like, “Sure, he’s a creep, but my 401k is doing great!” That’s not politics, that’s a horror movie where the villain wins because the neighbors were too polite to call the cops.
At this point, Jesus could descend from the clouds holding the files, and half the country would say, “But what about Hunter’s laptop?”
God help us all. Or at least send in a reboot of the Ten Commandments—with better Wi-Fi and a no-pedophile clause.
Back “in the day” I had a poster in my room that said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” I cannot count the number of times I have been pissed off by this autocrat’s and his government’s terrible, immoral actions. Now, added to anger is heartbreak. Each of us readers likely know and love victims of sexual abuse. Silence is not an option. I regularly turn to you, John Pavlovitz, with gratitude that you can say what needs saying and say it so well. Along with others, I wish the ones who most need to read this would do so.
what saddens me is that it was already exposed to those paying attention, but his base still won't see it.
Being so delusional as to ignore the many horrific atrocities being committed by the American people to fellow Americans and immigrants must be considered such a privilege. They go about their day "not wanting to talk about politics" so they can tell themselves it's all ok. Nothing to see here. As much as I wish I could be more delusional, I'm more comfortable in the fight for decency.
It definitely defies logic to understand how wrong this is! As always thanks for always speaking the truth.
Sums it up nicely
Bravo John! You summed it up and tied it with a bow. Thank you!