Marianne Faithful has died: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgA4-bLcoN8

These are not very bright fellows and things are getting out of hand: https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/475657302_1105985187874792_9154255246372883800_n.jpg

FWIW, DEI is now polling favorably, largely because as the poster notes, Americans seem to be ornery and have pathological oppositional defiant disorder: https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c73ac9a456cc1f9e019d54c3cca2ced75d09d454864c674ab8f4f59d98c53b4.jpg

"EUROPE PLOTS TO STOP TRUMP FROM TAKING GREENLAND"-Fox News, topping itself:

https://bsky.app/profile/dandrezner.bsky.social/post/3lgwnkwzisc24

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/29/opinion/trump-inflation-bonds-debt-yield.html

The Bond Markets are not happy

Yeah I can see Trump making a mistake like that

Trump told everyone what he was going to do when he got to the WH. Project 2025 was reported on but the too cool for school types and self-appointed very serious people decided to hand wave it way. He is doing everything he said he would including the Executive Order blitzkreig.

Will he pay a price? Maybe. A bunch of stuff appears to be blowing up in his face but this is still a constitutional crisis that should be taken seriously and literally and there is a good chance he will tell the courts to stuff it and proceed as he is doing and then what do we do?

At the risk of invoking Godwin,

At first they came for the Jews, and I did not speak because I was not...

Sometimes you have to take a position that is moral and correct and advocate for it even though it is unpopular. Slate has a story about a trans person stuck in passport limbo because of Trump's new EOs and it looks like they are going to try and ban gender affirming surgery even for people over 18 potentially.

So yeah these might be marginal positions but it doesn't make them morally incorrect

Yes, soft peddling abortion is going to be a sure fire winner for Democrats

The blatant stupidity of the lies is the point: Trump claims to have found 50 million dollars being used to send condoms to Hamas: https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3lgvoyiy26v2e

The WH Press Secretary's response to rescinding the OMB order is interesting in a "these are not very smart people and things got out of hand" kind of way and a disturbing kind of way too because it might imply that they are going to defy court orders

We won in 2020

I wouldn't quite call it massive brand damage yet and MY himself conceded that things can change quickly and 46 R - 45 D is still a statistical tie.

No politician has been able to do what Trump does successfully. Every one who tries to be a mini-Trump fails.

Things seem to be going very poorly for him even compared to Hegseth: https://bsky.app/profile/anjalikdayal.bsky.social/post/3lgvjsa2iik2g

Yeah, no doubt on the first part. This was a battle and the pushback needs to be quick and strong.

I'm not certain on their competency levels.

I think MY sincerely dislikes Republicans and Trump but this whole column feels like a whole lot of retconning and taking what might be reasonable points and going off the deep end with them.

Harris was an untrusted and untested VP? She whipped up her party when it was at its lowest morale and got them back in fighting mode. She did not win but she was far from a distant second and the "throw the bums" out election trend is not unique to the U.S., it is hitting governments around the world.

Blocking US Steel from being purchased by Nippon Steel? Trump also opposes it and there is no indication that US voters are up in arms on this one. Unions are a core Democratic constituency and politicians do things for their constituencies, what a shocker!!

I can concede that there were probably times Biden did let the cart get before the horse on some social issues but MY's rage does not reflect that the polling for everyone is very close. 46 R - 45 D is statistically a tie.

OMB orders rescinded

I don't think throwing Biden under the bus would accomplish anything and I think his shots against Harris are cheap. Harris ran as good a campaign as anyone under the circumstances and final result was not a 1984 blowout victory for Trump. Also polling on what Trump is doing is not good for them: https://digbysblog.net/2025/01/29/trump-isnt-popular/

Musk's lackeys, are storming into government positions: https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-lackeys-office-personnel-management-opm-neuralink-x-boring-stalin/

It borrow from a classic movie, "it's a trap" and a very stupid one: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-administration-offer-federal-workers-buyouts-resign-rcna189661

This would appear to affect Pell Grants and Federal Student Loans. It is also probably against Federal Law because Congress already apportioned the money but Vought has decided the President can do what he pleases with the Treasury and they are still in Blitzkreig mode to try and get people to bend the knee.

For years and years if you traveled down the highways of the Central Valley or San Joaquin Valley, you would see cranky right-wing ranch owners put up signs expressing their ire at CA Democrats for not giving them enough water. Trump is apparently trying to use the LA Wildfires to circumvent CA water laws and give water to the Central Valley ranchers on the pretense that it is for the wildfires: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-seeks-circumvent-laws-californias-water-wildfire-response-rcna189386

Of course the ranchers won't have anyone to pick their ample crops because all the fieldworkers are hiding from ICE.

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9c06640bc19250e3d1832c4cf5b1f5c55448ca11205383502a05d5e774e1d7d3.png

As Jonathan V. Last pointed out on the Bulwark, this is basically gangster government. Trump feels the need to swing his member and there is seemingly nothing stopping him.

The last week was a total blitzkreig of executive orders and it is going unabated this week. So far we have only seen one court rule on one EO (birthright citizenship) being blatantly unconstitutional. Everyone else seems caught like a deer in headlights and/or find as going Garland slow because it is important because of norms and reasons and being sent in a train to Dachau couldn't convince them otherwise.

I agree with all your points here but something has to boomerang hard and hit Trump back and nothing seems to be doing it yet and there is a part of me that thinks they have to know everything they are doing has a good chance of creating a recession or possibly a depression.

Jaybird is stuck in terminal contradiction mode where he just can't concede a point to anyone critiquing Trump