Louisiana Voice

I’m certainly not one to moralize or pass judgment on others but there’s just something morbidly stomach-turning about anyone who would profiteer off the bodies of six (so far) American Gis or Iranian school children by placing bets on the date of an invasion of Iran.

But, eerily coincidentally (or not), that’s what happened when six anonymous accounts were created on the prediction market Polymarket, turning a slick $1 million profit by betting the U.S. would launch strikes against Iran by…Feb. 28.

Red flags went up immediately on the suspicion (I would have chosen the term near-certainty) of insider trading. It’s dang-nigh impossible to prove because there is no requirement that users of Polymarket identify themselves and because Polymarket accepts bets in (ahem) crypto, Mr. Trump’s currency of choice.

There have always been war profiteers, be they munitions manufacturers, arms dealers or mercenaries. Nearly a century ago, Marine Gen. Smedley Butler, who fought in four wars and at the time of his death in 1940, was the most-decorated Marine in U.S. military history (16 medals, including five for heroism and two Medals of Honor), said that war was the business of selling death to enrich armament bosses, not to protect the soldier in the trench.

And we know, dating back to Dementia Don’s first term, in 2017, he DISCLOSED CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to Russian government representatives and he also shared national defense information on social media and made private disclosures and repeatedly mishandled classified intelligence.

And we also know certain billionaire FOD (friends of Donand) reaped millions, possibly billions and Trump himself may have profited $140 MILLION from the takedown of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

And now we’re hearing early reports that as much as $529 million was traded ON THE TIMING OF THE ATTACK ON IRAN, a trend Bloomberg said could indicate insider trading. Moreover, Bubblemaps CEO Nicolas Vaiman said information involving potential military action coupled with Polymarket’s anonymity “can create incentives for informed participants to act early.”

Making wagers over the bodies of war casualties—both military and civilian—would have to go down as one of the most morally despicable, appallingly reprehensible actions a human being could ever take–even for this gang of thugs.

And even with the speculation that the Wag the Dog action of Trump in an effort to deflect attention from his alleged exploitation (read: rape) of children, it’s a toss-up as to which activity is the most heinous.

And now for the final question for your careful consideration:

Would any of you, MAGHATS or anti-MAGHATS, for one nano-second, put it past Trump or Donnie Jr. or Mouth-Full-of-Teeth Eric to have been behind the creation of those secret betting accounts? Or Kash Patel, of Pete Hegseth, or Steve Bannon or Stephen Miller?

If you’re completely honest with yourself, I already know your answer.

Not saying they are, but hell, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn of the involvement of a certain Texas attorney general or a Louisiana special envoy to Greenland, for that matter. That just seems to fit the Repugnancan makeup.

“Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

–Donald Trump, June 22, 2025.

“The world is far safer after President Donald J. Trump’s highly successful, decisive precision strikes against the Iranian regime’s key nuclear facilities.”

–Official White House statement, June 25, 2025

“Mission accomplished!”

–President George W. Bush, May 1, 2003

“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended.”

–George W. Bush, My 1, 2003

“Those we lost were last seen on duty. Their final act on this Earth was to fight a great evil and bring liberty to others.”

–George W. Bush, May 1, 2003

“[W]e grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives…”

–Dementia Don Trump, March 1, 2026

“Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.”

–George W. Bush, to FEMA Director Michael Brown on Sept. 2, 2005,

following landfall of Hurricane Katrina. Ten days later, Brown resigned.

The moral of all this: if their lips are moving, it’s likely B.S. you’re hearing.

“In the South, we give fair warning before we crack a jaw.”

–Rep. Clay (for brains) Higgins (R-Lafayette), who once served as a (stateside) National Guard MP, on U.S. bombing of Iran.

So, Clay, how’s that jaw-cracking working out for us so far? A brief recap:

American casualties:

Vietnam (20 years):  58,220 killed, 153,303 wounded (total 211,454 casualties more than 90% of total Baton Rouge population and 1.12 times population of Shreveport.

Afghanistan (20 years):  2,325 killed, 20,093 wounded.

Iraq (8 years):  4,402 killed, 32,222 wounded.

Total in those three failed experiments in cracking jaws: 64,947 Americans killed, 205,618 wounded. Total casualties of 279,565 equates to 1.2 times the population of Baton Rouge.

There are several points to consider when discussing Operation Epstein and Donnie Dementia’s determination to stage his very own Wag the Dog operation against Iran.

First and formost is his dismissive, callous way of anticipating additional U.S. casualties:

“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.” The president also told The New York Times on Sunday that projections from the Pentagon suggest U.S. casualties could be “quite a bit higher” than what has already been seen.

Go to the 1:11 mark on this disgusting video to hear him actually say it without a hint of empathy or emotion–almost as though he was reading it from a teleprompter (which he was because he could never on his best day recite that many words spontaneously and consecutively without falling down).

“That’s the way it is”? That sorry-ass bastard.

It simply matters little to him how many American military personnel or Iranian school children die so long as it deflects attention away from those cursed Epstein files. That is the FIFA Peace Prize winner we’re dealing with. The chairman of the Board of Peace (membership fee: $1 billion) has bombed eight separate nations in his first year back in the Oval Bubble.

The obvious response to all this is for Donnie Jr., Eric, Barron and Jared Kushner to sign-up, suit-up and ship out to the friendly sand-soaked amenities of the Mideast to join in celebratory regime change. To that suggestion, a regular reader added, “Why limit the faux soldiers to family? [Stephen] Miller? [Steve] Bannon? [Pete] Hegseth? When he has no one to hold his hand or any other appendage-then he might cry uncle.”

Thom Hartmann added in today’s Hartmann Report, “Given that Baron, Don Jr, and Eric Trump all apparently suffer from hereditary bone spurs and no Trump has ever served as a “loser” or “sucker” in our military, it’s unlikely this war will mean anything other than profit-making opportunities for the Trump children.”

During the presidency of Barack Obams, ol’ Cankle Ankles took numerous potshots at him, claiming that should he (Obama) encounter political problems, he’d start a war with Iran:

“In order to get elected, @BarackObama will start a war with Iran.” (2011)

“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective…” (2011)

“@BarackObama will attack Iran in the not too distant future because it will help him win the election.” (2012)

“Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in tailspin — watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.” (2012)

“I predict that President Obama will at some point attack Iran in order to save face!” (2013)

“Remember what I said about @BarackObama attacking Iran before the election…” (2012)

How ironic–and at the same time, moronic.

But just in case you need any other reminder of the current morass the fat-ass has foisted:

It’s almost like one of those afternoon soap operas where adult children compete for the affections—and inheritance—of filthy-rich Daddy in a no-holds-barred fight for the house, bank account, stocks and even the cars and horses in the stable. Nothing is to trivial to fight for and it’s on as deceit, back-stabbing and blackmail are rules of the day in the winner-take-all struggle.

Except it’s not a family inheritance, but political power and prestige that are at stake and there’s a common goal with each of the three Repugnantcan candidates: one has it; one ain’t gonna get it but keeps trying and the third has to be satisfied with a doctored photo on a mailout that not only tries to project a favorable image of himself but at the same time, attempts to paint the other two as an ogre and a rag-woman, respectively. The flip-side of the mailer contains a doctored (read: AI) photo of Fleming and Trump, side-by-side, both with Trump’s absurd “thumbs-up” that he loves to flash during funerals.

That, in a nutshell, is the scenario Louisiana voters face as they prepare for the closed primary on May 16 for United States Senator.

Bill Cassidy is the incumbent, of course, and he is posilutely, absotively desperate to hang on for a third six-year term. But he has that albatross hanging around his neck in the form of his vote to convict in Cankle-Ankle’s second impeachment trial back in 2021. No amount of suck-up is going to make Mar-A-Lardo forget that slight but God knows, Cassidy’s certainly giving it his best shot, never passing up an opportunity to invoke the sacred name of Trump in his TV ADS.

Much as he did when I asked him a few weeks back when he was going to work up the courage to stand up to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., he likewise DISMISSED  Trump’s endorsement of U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow who is challenging Cassidy’s Quixote-like windmill-tilting effort to return to the Beltway.

He, of course, denies any involvement in those ATTACK ADS against Letlow. His denials ring a little hollow when one learns that it’s his own super-PAC that’s behind the ads that accuse Letlow of less-than-forthcoming stock deals while in Congress.

But she’s so cute as she comes to the microphone in the House chambers and reads, word-for-word a prepared MESSAGE OF CONGRATULATIONS to the LSU baseball team on the occasion of its winning the College World Series last June.

But she is anything but cute in that mailer from State Treasurer/physician/payday loan owner/fast food entrepreneur/former Congressman John Fleming who apparently doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. Besides touting his conservative voting record, he includes a head shot of Letlow that is positively wretched—mouth drawn in a frown, hair in tangled strands, eyes appearing deep-set in a face etched in a decidedly negative expression. And the photo of Cassidy isn’t much better. He has the expression of an ax-murderer. And both the Cassidy and Letlow pics are in black-and-white while Fleming beams at the camera with a pleasant smile and in full color, proving once again, the age-old political strategy that substance is nothing; it’s all in the perception.

Letlow was the early odds-on favorite but those ads hinting at insider trading have had a withering effect on her campaign early-on and no amount of pandering and fealty by Cassidy is going to help him with the MAGHATS, so he’s still toast.

That leaves the heretofore largely ignored Fleming as a viable dark horse in this Shakespearian tragicomedy.

And then, there is Democrat James “Jamie” Davis, Jr., a THIRD-GENERATION FARMER from Waterproof and the grandson of a sharecropper who is standing by to take on the winner between Cassidy, Letlow and Fleming.

Davis studied electrical engineering for two years at LSU before returning home to help his father on the 2,000-acre farm which he now owns. He was elected to serve on the Tensas Parish Police Jury in 2015 and served as vice president of the parish governing body for four years.

I’m going out on a limb here and saying that having attended LSU, having been a farmer for decades and having served at the local governing level probably makes him the best-qualified of the four candidates in this post.

Unfortunately, running for office takes lots of money and all the money is with the other three.