— Fella Bo Bella 🌍🐈🐈⬛🐿🇺🇦🇺🇸 (@jacquelines.bsky.social) February 13, 2025 at 7:35 PM
- via Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire,
Andrew Sullivan describes the administration’s public face:
…a drug-fueled, sleep-addled billionaire, commandeering the Oval Office, offering half-baked political theories, threatening judges with impeachment, tweeting at the pace of an adderall-addicted gamer, and holding press conferences with a toddler on his shoulders, where he tells the world he cannot be trusted to tell the truth. - A recurring thought:
- In Scotties Playtime ali redford watches Elon’s barely‑out‑of‑teens hacker hires break into the Treasury Department’s data system, accessing everyone’s (yours and mine) private information, and manages to laugh at an email containing a routine federal invitation to submit more personal data.
- Clickbait satirist Reductress carries the heartwarming story of a citizen unable to recall her Social Security number, but who is reassured and grateful that billionaire Elon Musk knows it.
- Iron Knee at Political Irony posts a video ad for Musk’s DOGE, along with a challenge.
Key dare:
See if you can tell the difference between reality and parody - In Hackwhackers, Elon Musk is faced with a problem. Consumers are rejecting his cybertrucks.
Creative marketing is called for: like taking over government and ordering (from himself) $400 million worth of what the public won’t buy.
Waste, fraud and abuse anyone?
- Dave Dubya sees the current chaotic destruction by the Musk/Trump administration as part of a longer term pattern.
- Juliet at Decoding Fox News follows the network’s weird attempts to support aggressive Musk activities.
If you can afford the 56 minute investment, her podcast is even better.
- News Corpse goes to a Fox Network host who praises Trump for impacting your everyday life. “Outnumbered” co-host, Emily Compagno provides a list of what she calls big moves: penny production, plastic straws, and the Gulf of America.
Key trivial omissions:
Trump can’t be bothered with … bringing down the high prices of eggs and other items. He’s busy working on the things that really impact your everyday life… - Julian Sanchez notes the obvious threat to our way of self‑government. He sees a news gap in media coverage and our resulting reaction to Trump:
This would feel paranoid or outlandish if Trump hadn’t already made an inept but absolutely serious effort to remain in power after losing an election.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The question at this point isn’t “Would Trump attempt to cling to power by fraud and violence?” We know he would. The question is “Why on earth would anyone imagine he won’t try again? That he wouldn’t spend four years laying the groundwork to guarantee the second attempt succeeds?”
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
It feels like mainstream discourse is still sort of trying to pretend we’re at least somewhat within the realm of normal politics, because it’s so terrifying if we’re not. But if that is what’s happening, the longer we remain in denial the more dangerous it becomes.
— Julian Sanchez (@normative.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 4:42 PM
- Brian Beutler is less than impressed with what, so far, has been passive opposition from Senate Democrats:
This is quite bad—it shows real fear about the idea of making clear demands. Schumer should ignore the strategists telling him that tossing the word “bipartisan” around is a magical persuasive appeal. But this is not him saying Dems won’t condition their votes on a return to the rule of law.
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 12:31 PM
- Infidel753 has a sound observation about the main reason Democrats lost in November. We put too much blind faith in official statistical measures, and not enough in actual reality as felt each day by real people. Voters experienced different crime rates, unemployment, rent, and prices than the Democratic experts who were telling them they were wrong.
Key statistical miss:
…in fact the voters were right, and the official statistics were — well, not always wrong, though some of them were, but calculated in a way that missed the realities of how most people actually live. - Disaffected and it Feels So Good begins with Star Trek to illustrate the point, then provides details on how many MAGA supporters are surprised to find themselves targeted and betrayed by Trump and his allies.
- Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit now has another demonstration that Trump does not hate all refugees.
- From The Borowitz Report Trump says those white refugees he is inviting from South Africa will alleviate America’s severe shortage of racists.
- Vixen Strangely begins with this:
She then proceeds to commit vivisection on the logic of JD Vance.
Key evaluation:
This is the “are you smarter than a fifth grader?” level of understanding how our government works. - So one Trumper, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), answers critics of attacks on democracy by boasting about Trump’s “complete transparency.”
Tommy Christopher brings us Bill Maher helping out with a brief summary:
We’re criminals, but we’re announcing it!
- Trump seems to be having trouble finding anyone willing to drop charges against a corrupt New York mayor:
Southern District of New York is standing strong.
Manhattan US attorney and top DOJ officials resign over order to drop Eric Adams case – www.reuters.com/world/us/man…
— Larry S Williams, MA (@lswma.bsky.social) February 13, 2025 at 5:20 PM
- Without much publicity the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to overturn laws that have been in effect since I was a kid (Yeah, that long ago) that kept federally licensed gun dealers from selling guns to those between 18 and 20.
Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire News Group go to podcast and, in their words, get into the weeds of Reese v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Their weeds are kind of a fun analysis of a serious topic.
In case you prefer reading, they helpfully provide a complete transcript (pdf).
- In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson notes one executive order, and contrasts Trump’s assiduous safeguarding of gun rights to actions that endanger most other basic rights.
Key Trump claim:
The executive order says that the Second Amendment “is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans.”Key rights reality:
In fact, it is the right to vote for the lawmakers who make up our government that is foundational to maintaining all other rights held by Americans.The same analysis is now available in audio format, as Richardson narrates in podcast.
- driftglass goes to a 70 year old movie clip to show how very close we’re getting.
- Right Wing Watch brings us Christian nationalist Wesley Todd, insisting women be barred from holding public office, especially if they’re pregnant
Key objection:
Do I want an 8-months pregnant woman voting on legislation and deciding different economic, rule of law, and civil things for our nation? Of course not, that’s stupid. - At The Onion, Trump regales a media influencer with wonderful memories of his old groping days.
- As Trump and minions disappear informational government webpages, tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors has a way to view backups of what they are now hiding.
- PZ Myers finds the perfect illustration of the sudden change in prescriptive values at the FBI.
- The Trump administration tosses an Associated Press reporter out of White House events because AP has not accepted Trump’s silly demand to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
At The Moderate Voice, retired U.S. Air Force Major Dorian de Wind reviews the serious 1st Amendment issues, then adds that Trump should be relieved that AP is not using another alternate name.
- Dave Columbo thinks about Trump’s aggressive approach to making Canada our 51st state.
- Frances Langum brings us former Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, claiming that Trump’s sudden impulse to annex the Gaza strip and force millions of residents to evacuate is actually a genius move in 4th dimensional chess:
- Max’s Dad laments, with resignation, the state of the country and halftime at Super Bowl. But single quote from Kendrick Lamar right in Trump’s face makes up for a lot of it.
- Juanita Jean’s Salon sees rulings by three federal judges as indicators that courts are finally beginning to respond to Trump illegalities.
And a new encouraging development:
Another federal ruling put a stop to Musk and the juvenile hackers he employs rifling through your private financial data at the US Treasury - CalicoJack in The Psy of Life sees Trump’s defiance of court orders as carrying the essence of dictatorship. He finds our best hope, ironically, in Trump’s penchant for overreaching.
Key tactic:
If we can create another Edmond Pettus Bridge moment — something so appalling that even the most disengaged voters and for-profit press can’t ignore it — then we might force a reckoning… - North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz is about ready to cut ties with soon‑to‑be ex‑friends.
Key regret:
I’ve devoted nearly a decade of my life trying to convince people who I thought were decent, rational, and loving, not to be deceived by his phony religious pandering or his transparent fake patriotism; to avoid being tricked by the bigotry and fear he trafficked in.Key misjudgment:
I’ve finally had to admit that many of these people were not all that decent, rational, or loving after all; that his cruelty, his violence, his hatred were what they wanted.
It wasn’t about them not understanding him, but about me not understanding them. - SilverAppleQueen quotes Pastor Pavlovitz: fight evil, resist fascism & take a nap.
She reacts to the nap part, relating recurring nightmares and exhaustion to which we can relate.
- Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson has the Gospel according to MAGA pretty much nailed:
Render Unto Trumpism
The Trump Administration, however, has every desire to turn “places of care, healing, and solace into places of fear and uncertainty,” and cannot understand how someone else might see that as a violation of Christ’s teachings.
open.substack.com/pub/jameswig…— James Wigderson (@jwigderson.bsky.social) January 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I have a thought:
A segment of any faith can be counted on to turn away from compassion to a sort of tribalism.
In our faith this brings some of our Christian brethren to reject the teachings of Jesus.
MAGA indignation:
What the hell does Jesus know about Christianity?!!— burrland01.bsky.social (@burrland01.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 1:28 PM
- Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger dives into polling and finds that the most popular living president is Barack Obama.
Which brings to my mind this:
- In Happiness Between Tails, da-AL writes about family fallout after she reveals abuse she suffered as a child.
Key non-support:
One gaslighted me and said I think too much. An extended relative made it clear they didn’t want me making waves. One severed contact when I mentioned my intention to write a letter to our father, stating that while I wouldn’t tell other relatives, I was done covering for our father. This relative became unhinged because, according to them, I didn’t love my abuser enough. - M. Bouffant at Web of Evil has no more faith in collective human intelligence, and doesn’t much like even theoretical choices.
- Ever seen, or heard of, someone experiencing a bad day, then coming home to kick the dog or holler at spouse or kids?
The Journal of Improbable Research brings a study by researchers at multiple universities in China of Triggered Displaced Aggression, or the kicking the barking dog effect.
- Sarah Cooper has an irrational fear of clown statues:
- @whiskeywhistle98 has a thought on mental health:
- The Savanna Bananas appreciate the tactical value of confusion:
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