Early this morning Puddle announced the release of retired teacher Stephen Hubbard. Hubbard was detained by Russian forces in Ukraine in 2022 and accused of fighting for Ukraine in the war Vladimir Putin started.
At the same time, Puddle was busy punching down on Joe Biden in a one-sided dick-measuring contest. Steve "Jerkoff" Witkoff was in Russia, taint-glazing Putin, calling him a "humanitarian."
Jerkoff:
He's a 75 year old man and you talk so much about my President, President Trump, being an humanitarian, you are an humanitarian also, sir. I salute that I commend you when I thank you again.
Buzz App. My Ears. 10/21/2026.
Puddle continued his one-sided dick measuring contest...
Midweek Doom Scroll
After listening to Jerkoff--jerk off Putin, I say this...
2/ Signed by Rubio and Hegseth, the 18-page doc reveals carefully constructed terms that appear to favor U.S.interests at every turn. It also cements the power of a small group of people handpicked by the Trump admin to govern and profit from the deal. https://t.co/JfxhBb4tRS
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
4/ The Trump admin is taking a 35% stake in Betancourt’s firm, NABEP, by acquiring shares in a Barbados-registered parent company. The deal document provided little info about the owners & investors behind this company, which could receive enormous wealth from the arrangement.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
6/ The deal also safeguards Betancourt’s position as CEO of NABEP and says the U.S. will work with the parent co. to appoint a 7-member board to govern the company for 15 years. According to insiders, this was to prevent future U.S. or Venezuelan leaders from dismantling it.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
8/ While the agreement gives the U.S. the right to purchase 20% of NABEP’s oil at a discounted rate of $30/barrel, this fee does not account for the potentially steep costs of getting Venezuela’s oil out of the country — or making it useable.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
10/ Finally, it could be some time before Betancourt’s company produces enough oil to fulfill a significant share of U.S. demand. Right now, it produces about 200,000 barrels per day — or about as much over the course of a year as the United States uses in 3 days.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
12/ But we found that the role of the Venezuelan gov. and the potential benefits to its people are largely absent from the deal. NABEP never explicitly guarantees it will pay the ~$200B in royalties & tax payments to Venezuela that the White House has promised.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
14/ The White House, State Dept, Pentagon and NABEP all defended the agreement, saying in statements that their new public-private venture will provide meaningful and lasting economic benefits to both countries that cannot be captured in a legal document.
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
16/ The Pentagon said that the Defense Department conducts “extensive due diligence” before extending any capital assistance. A spokesperson declined to comment on any of the legal considerations or further technical aspects of the deal “to protect the integrity of the process.”
— Cate Brown (@catebrown12) October 21, 2026
The article is 24 minutes long if you listen to it. I decided to include her lengthy thread rather than copy and paste the entire article.
Daniel Dale, CNN's best and only fact-checker validated my feels shared in yesterday's Coffee Talk...
Trump keeps saying the law required Sen. Roger Marshall to aggressively pursue patients’ unpaid bills and that Marshall could’ve been arrested if he didn’t. In reality: 1) The law the White House told me Trump was talking about gives doctors wide latitude to forgive the debts of patients with financial difficulties…as even an article the White House sent me says 2) Marshall himself told CNN last week that “we wrote off hundreds of people’s bills every month” and also provided millions in annual “charity care” 3) The controversy centers on Marshall’s hundreds of lawsuits against patients, and the law never requires lawsuits. Federal authorities have made clear that the “reasonable collection effort” standard often required of providers is satisfied by sending bills and doing follow-up like letters and phone calls 4) Nothing required Marshall’s 18% annual interest rate, which a Kansas City Star review of court records found was unusually high even among the Kansas practices that did sue patients Fact check: https://t.co/sJS11lPkHi
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) October 21, 2026
Ohio governor wannabe and asshole Vivek Ramaswamy doubles down on being a scumbag.
Ramaswamy's campaign confirms they are behind the ad featuring Acton's mom Spot will begin streaming tonight, and will be airing statewide https://t.co/cLphxycGoG
— Alex Isenstadt (@axiosalex) October 21, 2026
Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign for Ohio governor is pouring $4 million into a bombshell ad [narrator: it's a disgusting ad, not a "bombshell"] in which his opponent's estranged mother attacks her daughter — doubling down on the message despite fierce bipartisan backlash, Axios has learned.
[snip]
Driving the news: Ramaswamy's campaign confirmed to Axios that it produced the ad, which began circulating on social media late Monday without language identifying its sponsor.
AXIOS. 10/20/2026.
- Sources close to Ramaswamy's campaign said the ad tested well with "persuadable" voters, prompting the decision to launch a $4 million statewide campaign that began streaming Tuesday night.
What they're saying: Despite bipartisan criticism, Ramaswamy's campaign continued to treat the mother's statements as campaign gold.
AXIOS. 10/20/2026.
- "This is a campaign-ending moment for Amy Acton. The people who know her best keep warning Ohioans about her," Ramaswamy campaign manager Jonathan Ewing told Axios.
By the numbers: A mid-October Marist survey showed Acton leading Ramaswamy 50% to 43% among likely voters.
What's next: Ramaswamy and Republican Sen. Jon Husted are set to campaign with Vice President Vance in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
AXIOS. 10/20/2026.
Tiff Talk:
I'm not sharing the ad. It's disgusting. The "mother" hasn't had contact with her daughter since she was twelve years old, in 1978. By running the ad, IMO, Ramaswamy shows the world just what a slimy fucking scumbag he is and that he has no business being governor of his own home, let alone an entire state.
