Thank you to the wonderful Michelle Kinney for joining me today to talk about my crazy four continent journey to get my family out of Israel and back to NYC this weekend.

Please watch and let me know your thoughts.

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I have been traveling, so a belated thank you to everyone who tuned into my weekly Pax Americana show with Olga Lautman on Thursday.

As a reminder, we are off next Thursday but will pick up again for our regular show on June 19th at 11 AM ET.

In the meantime, please join us for a Pax Americana Town Hall Zoom Meeting on June 17 @ 3:00 PM EST

Our virtual town hall on June 17 is for paid subscribers. We will have an urgent and important conversation to discuss the path forward, answer your questions, and continue building this strong, informed, and vibrant Pax Americana community together.

This event is open to all paid subscribers—whether subscribe to me or to Olga Lautman’s Substacks (or, preferably, to both). We were so blown away by the amazing crowd we got a few weeks ago, especially because it was so nice meeting so many of you and having a back and forth with you. If you are already a paid subscriber, please use the registration link below to sign up for the town hall on the 19th. If you are not, now is a great time to subscribe.

Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1InLg53QPkQrTTJVEQxqgsaiLdgHocpF3s8D09iS-wkA/edit

Show Notes (courtesy of Olga):

* Putin-Trump Call: Putin and Trump held a call in which they discussed Ukraine’s attacks on Russian airfields and Iran’s nuclear program—but the real story lies in what the media isn’t focusing on. Also, missing from the Trump-Putin conversation was any condemnation of Russian aggression, any defense of U.S. allies, or any push for accountability—revealing once again Trump’s fealty to Moscow

Source: CNN

* Trump Official Who Dismantled Russia Disinfo Unit Tied to Kremlin via Wife’s Family: Darren Beattie, the Trump appointee who shut down the State Department’s Russia disinformation agency, is married to Yulia Kirillova—whose uncle has been thanked by Putin and held Kremlin posts. Beattie, previously ousted for white nationalist ties, is known for disseminating pro-Kremlin and anti-NATO propaganda. Source: Telegraph

* Russia's Useful Idiots, Trump's inner circle sides with Putin -- again:

* Hegseth will skip a meeting on organizing military aid to Ukraine in a first for the US: For the first time since its creation, the U.S. defense secretary will not attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. Pete Hegseth won’t appear in person or virtually as over 50 nations gather to coordinate military support for Ukraine. Source: Associated Press

* Official Involved in Withholding Ukraine Aid Confirmed for Defense Role: The Senate confirmed Michael Duffey—who infamously ordered the freeze on Ukraine military aid in Trump’s first term—to serve as undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. Source: Reuters

* Under Trump, State Department questions Europe’s commitment to “democracy.” Trump is accusing key European allies of “free speech backsliding” and plans to impose visa bans on officials tied to online content moderation. A new “Office of Natural Rights” is being created to push this line, while Trump praises far-right leaders like Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán. Source: Washington Post

* State Dept. Launches “Remigration” Office to Advance Trump Deportation Agenda: The State Department is replacing its refugee bureau with an “Office of Remigration” to carry out Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The plan slashes 300 offices and purges over 3,400 jobs, gutting refugee support in favor of expulsion. Source: The Guardian

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Thank you so much to so many of you who joined my Substack Live with Gretchen Carlson!

The corporate media has been reporting on the death of the #metoo movement pretty much ever since it launched — but that’s just false. We break down why this movement is very much alive, why survivors have more ways to speak out today than ever before and why this movement’s not going away.

Catch the conversation here and spread the word.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltypolitics.substack.com/subscribe

Salty friends! Over the past few days, Ukraine has stuck it to the Kremlin over and over. Olga Lautman and I convened an emergency Substack Live today to break it all down (and discuss a few details that only people from the former Soviet Union could catch about how Ukraine psychologically really stuck it to the Russians).

If you missed it, please catch it above.

Stay salty and Slava Ukrainii!

Julie

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Thank you to everyone who joined my chat with Ken Harbaugh of theThe Ken Harbaugh Show, who is on the ground in Ukraine.

Ken is in Ukraine this week, delivering much-needed supplies to the Ukrainians, as they courageously fight not just for their own country’s sovereignty but for the western world order and what is left of the Pax Americana.

In the meantime, Russia has increased its genocidal war against Ukraine, indiscriminately killing dozens of civilians just in the past several days. This comes as Nina Ostanina, a member of the Russian State Duma and head of the Committee on the Protection of the Family, Fatherhood, Motherhood, and Childhood, expressed readiness to revisit the legality of the USSR's collapse. She echoed Kremlin advisor Anton Kobyakov's claim that the Soviet Union “still legally exists,” arguing that the Belovezha Accords, signed in December 1991 by leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, lacked legitimacy because these leaders did not have the proper authority to dissolve the USSR.

Russian rhetoric is escalating, along with its military bombardment of a sovereign, independent nation. Meanwhile, Europe is readying itself for war, while the Trump Administration ignores even its own allies in the senate by refusing to impose harsher sanctions on Russia or send much-needed military aid to Ukraine.

You can watch our discussion above.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltypolitics.substack.com/subscribe

Thank you to everyone who joined us for today’s episode of Pax Americana.

A special thank you to the paid subscribers who joined Olga Lautman and me for our very first Zoom town hall yesterday. We were completely blown away by the turnout and the great back and forth discussion. It was wonderful to meet so many members of this community and to put faces to some of the names in our comments.

Based on the number of people who stopped by yesterday, we decided to host a regular town hall for our paid subscribers every two weeks. We will send a date for the next one soon. Meanwhile, if you are not already a paid subscriber, please consider upgrading to join us.

In the meantime, here are the notes from today’s show, courtesy of Olga.

Elon Musk, unauthorized DOGE, and our data

The Authoritarian Playbook: DOGE, Surveillance, and the Collapse of Democracy

Ukraine, Trump theatre, and the failure of media —

* Russia, Stalin, and their new claims that the dissolution of USSR was “illegal” —Russia is resurrecting Stalin statues and glorifying his legacy, in its campaign to whitewash Soviet crimes. And, the Kremlin now pushes the narrative that the USSR was illegally dissolved—part of a broader effort to rewrite history, legitimize imperial ambitions, and erase the truth of past atrocities. Source: @BBCSteveR on X

* Noem blasts 'weak' European leaders, stumps for conservative candidate in Poland —

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stunned diplomats by endorsing far-right Polish candidate Karol Nawrocki at CPAC Warsaw, slamming his opponent as “a train wreck” and attacking Biden over immigration and terrorism. Source: ABC News

* Germany Deploys First Permanent Brigade Abroad Since WWII to Bolster NATO Defense

What Happened: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz inaugurated a permanent German army brigade in Lithuania—marking Germany’s first long-term foreign troop deployment since World War II. The 5,000-strong unit, to be fully operational by 2027, will help guard NATO’s eastern flank amid escalating Russian threats.

Source: CNN

* Young U.S. Men Join Russian Orthodox Churches for ‘Absurd Manliness’

A growing number of young American men are converting to Russian Orthodoxy through the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, drawn by its rigid gender roles, anti-modern ethos, and glorification of “traditional masculinity.” Priests like Father Moses McPherson in Texas preach virility, large families, and rejection of liberal norms. ROCOR, with historical ties to the Moscow Patriarchate, has seen a surge in U.S. popularity alongside Trump’s growing alignment with Russia.

Source: BBC News. Some background on the Russian Orthodox Church from an article I wrote for CEPA

* Judge Orders Release of Russian Harvard Scientist —

A federal judge ruled that ICE must release Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist at Harvard, detained since February for failing to declare frog embryo samples at U.S. customs. The DOJ then filed felony charges to keep her in custody. Source: New York Times

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Thank you P. J. Schuster, john king (MY HUMBLE OPINION), A. Hofferkamp, Politics And Aphrodisiacs, Ronna Smith, and many others for tuning into my live video with Olga Lautman! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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It’s a dark time for the United States. The First Amendment is under assault. Today, after spending several days with leaders who occasionally dismember unfriendly journalists with chainsaws, Trump threatened Bruce Springsteen after the music icon called him “treasonous” at a concert in England.

You can read more about this chilling development here.

My Over It! cohosts Michelle Kinney and Tara Setmayer joined me for a Substack Live today to discuss why this is all about much more than Springsteen. We also traded stories about The Boss. (Tara even wore her Jersey Girl baseball hat but since she mysteriously prefers Bon Jovi to Springsteen, the jury is out on her Garden State bona fides.)

Check out our discussion above and let me know your thoughts in the chat.

In the meantime, join Michelle, Tara, JoJoFromJerz and me on Saturday morning at 10 AM for this week’s Coffee and Conversation. You catch it here.

Stay Salty,

Julie

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Thanks to everyone who joined Olga Lautman and me for this week’s episode of Pax Americana. We got through a lot on today’s show, from updates on the war in Ukraine to what is happening in Europe and how it all affects our national security (and our personal security). If you missed it, check out the show and the notes below.

Unlike legacy media, we are unafraid. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Show Notes

(courtesy of Olga)

* Germany Foils Alleged Russian Plot to Mail Explosives: German authorities arrested 3 men—two in Germany, one in Switzerland—accused of plotting to send explosive-laden packages in a Russian-backed sabotage campaign targeting logistics operators. The suspects reportedly tested the scheme with GPS-tracked dummy packages. Source: Wall Street Journal

* A Guide to How to Deal with the Media: Donald Trump has taught me one thing about how to deal with the media, and I hope that Democrats learn from it

* The Rise of State Media in Trump’s America: The White House launches a taxpayer-funded “news wire” to push state propaganda.

* U.S. Reportedly Opposes Zelensky’s Invitation to NATO Summit: The U.S. is reportedly blocking President Zelenskyy from attending the June NATO summit in The Hague. If true, it would be the first time Zelenskyy has been excluded from a NATO summit since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Source: The Kyiv Independent

* Putin, Trump to Skip Ukraine Peace Talks: Both Putin and Trump will not attend Thursday’s Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, despite Putin proposing the meeting and Trump previously signaling interest. Instead, Russia is sending senior aides, while Trump dispatches Secretary of State Marco Rubio and top envoys. Source: Reuters

* Will Russia Attack NATO? Experts Warn of Possible Invasion by 2027: A new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) warns that Russia could rebuild its military and threaten NATO as early as 2027 if a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine. The report suggests Putin could test NATO’s Article 5 by targeting a Baltic state within two years. Source: The Times

* Poland Detects Foreign-Funded Election Ads Amid Russian Interference Fears: Poland’s National Research Institute uncovered foreign-funded Facebook ads ahead of the May 18 election. The ads weren’t linked to any official campaign and outspent all registered candidates while targeting multiple contenders. Source: The Kyiv Independent

* Poland Prepares for War: Poland is rapidly militarizing, spending nearly 5% of its GDP on defense—more than any other NATO country. It’s deploying Abrams tanks, laying mines and anti-tank barriers along its border, and training civilians for war. Source: NPR

* Trump ‘Weakened’ the West as Russian Threat Rises, Warns Former NATO Chief: Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that Trump has significantly undermined Western unity and Ukraine’s defense by offering concessions to Russia and questioning U.S. NATO commitments. Rasmussen criticized Trump for weakening deterrence while Putin refuses to make meaningful compromises. Source: Politico

* Trump-Kushner Serbia Hotel Project Stalls After Forgery Scandal: A top Serbian official admitted to forging a government document that allowed a bombed-out defense complex in Belgrade to be demolished for a $500 million Trump-Kushner luxury hotel project. The fake document stripped the site of protected status, clearing the way for the controversial real estate deal backed by Trump’s family. Source: New York Times

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That was a rhetorical question. Of course the media is failing us. While they spend all their time breathlessly reporting on a book about Joe Biden’s deteriorating health, they have completely missed the story of Donald Trump’s declining mental state. Like, for instance, this gem from his conversation with the president of the United Arab Emirates today, where he said, “We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old fashioned sound but groceries are down.”

Can you imagine if Biden had said this? The press would have had a gurney outside the Oval Office, ready to cart him off to a nice rest home in the country.

While the press hyperventilates about whether Biden would have needed a wheel chair in a hypothetical second term that will never be, here in the real world, the United States is sliding further into fascism.

There was no one better to discuss all this with than Wajahat Ali. Waj is never afraid to call it out and he’s been around legacy media for years, so he knows how it operates. If you don’t subscribe to his Substack THE LEFT HOOK with Wajahat Ali, you should (and if you can afford to be a paid subscriber, you should do that too).

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Legacy media is afraid to call this out. I’m not. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltypolitics.substack.com/subscribe