Maybe it’s the days growing slightly longer, and the ice melting.
Maybe it’s seeing the young Red Sox prospects running around the Spring Training field in Florida.
But something just feels different.
Or, maybe the country is just waking up.
Maybe our actions are making a difference.
Whew…. What a wild couple of days….
The world begins to realize who Elon really is.
Elon’s bizarre persona is becoming more readily apparent to the average person.
Even his staunchest defenders have to admit it. Whether it’s some physical condition, a strange childhood, or some form of medication: He is just an odd character.
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) always brings out the oddest characters in MAGA.
But Elon took it to another level.
Upon taking the stage, he picked up a chain saw, to demonstrate his work in his make-believe “Department of Government Efficiency”.
[By the way: Can we please stop using his department’s acronym as the way to promote his crypto-money scam? DOGE already gets enough free publicity, thank you very much.]
He screamed like a 12-year-old boy as he waved the chain saw around, pretending to “cut waste from the federal bureaucracy.”
Thank God, he didn’t actually know how to fire up the saw.
(Not to be outdone, Kristi Noem responded by posting a video of herself with with a flame-thrower, offering to help “cutting AND burning government waste!”
Ladies and gentlemen, here is your Secretary of Homeland Security. )
And his physical appearance was sobering.
Wearing blackout shades, he mumbled incoherently, slurring his words, unable to put a sentence together.
Consider for a moment: What would happen if any Democrat was exhibiting this erratic behavior?
We all heard the criticism of Biden’s mental state – justifiably. The Presidential debate was horrifying to witness.
(Of course, Trump’s own slip ups and gaffes were just accepted as normal.)
Trump and Elon have gotten away with bizarre, nonsensical behavior for years.
This week, for the first time, a lot of people started to question it.
And more and more people are realizing: Elon shouldn’t be anywhere near the US government.
The polling numbers show it.
Certainly nobody voted for Elon.
A CNN poll released Friday showed that 54% of Americans thought that giving him a significant role in the government was “a bad thing”.
(Somehow, 28% thought it was a good thing.)
Trump can lie as much as he wants about the “mandate” that he feels the American people gave him in November.
But the numbers don’t lie.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll, also released on Friday, showed:
- 53% of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president.
(Only 45% approve.) - 39% strongly oppose his actions.
- 57% believe that he has gone beyond his authority.
- The majority of Americans dislike his tariffs, dismantling USAID, and firing hundreds of federal workers.
- 57% disagree with deporting immigrants who have not been accused of crimes.
- 70% oppose deporting immigrants who came into the country as children.
- 83% oppose his pardoning of January 6 insurrectionists who committed violent crimes.
- 62% feel that Trump has not done enough to reduce inflation.
Some mandate.
Not surprising, though, when you realize that fewer than half of the country voted for Trump.
And it is slowly dawning on the good, hard-working people of middle-America: they were hornswoggled by this New York City con man.
His supporters are seeing the results of Trump’s tyrannical rule.
After his executive order ended the New York City congestion tax, he put out a self-congratulatory post (above).
Of course, his troops used the official White House account to put together the bizarre Time Magazine-style photo of him as King (at the top of this article).
I am going to say it again: This is not normal.
Maine Governor Janet Wells defies Trump. Right to his face.
On Friday, Donald Trump was hosting the nation’s governors.
In his usual gracious, courteous manner.
He basically treated it like one of his rallies, standing in his “relaxed” pose at the dais, spouting his usual stream of consciousness (as he says, “the weave”), slipping from one non-sequitur to another.
It reminded me of his endless, mindless, meandering victory speech, when he was acquitted of Impeachment (the first time, for the “perfectly good” Ukraine coercion phone call).
It was like the worst boss you can imagine, doing a cringey stand-up routine, and the entire office having to force-laugh like it’s the funniest thing they’ve ever heard.
Then he turned to his obsession, banning trans kids from playing sports.
He knew Maine had pushed back. “Is Maine here?” he asked. “The governor of Maine?”
Of course, he has no idea who Maine governor Janet Wells is.
[That may be the most damning thing. Again – can you imagine any other President not knowing the name of a governor? Particularly one he was addressing?]
“Are you, uh, not gonna comply with it?” he challenged her.
“I’m complying with state and federal law,” Gov Wells said.
“Well, I am – uh, we are – the federal law.”
[Which may have been the most terrifying statement of all.]
“Well, you better do it,” he stammered, going into full Mafia mode. “You better do it, because you’re not gonna get any federal funding if you don’t.”
Gov Wells’ response was short and to the point. “See you in court.”
“Good. I’ll see you in court. That should be a real easy one.”
[Since he’s done so well in all his lawsuits so far.]
He couldn’t resist one last shot. “And enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’re gonna be in elected politics.”
Shawn McCreesh put it succinctly in the New York Times:
“Something happened at the White House Friday afternoon that almost never happens these days. Somebody defied President Trump. Right to his face.”
GOP town halls run amuck.
You know, it may be time to stop referring to the Republican Party as the GOP.
At this point, they are hardly conducting themselves as the “Grand Old Party.”
Give them credit for holding town halls – when they actually show up for them.
Who could blame them for skipping out?
From Oklahoma to Oregon, from Georgia to Wisconsin, they’re facing an awful amount of wrath from their constituents (mostly Republican).
The voters are fully aware of how things are going off the rails (as in the above video).
They didn’t vote for this. And they have no patience when the Republican reps weakly try to defend Trump and Elon.
This just in (from Rolling Stone): The Repubs are advising their reps not to do any more town halls – because the backlash is going “too viral”.
Oh dear.
Trump tears apart the US-Europe alliance, and the world reacts in horror.
One of the most horrifying developments of the Trump regime has been the instant dissolution of the alliance between the US and Europe, borne out of the ashes of WW II.
Trump threatened to leave NATO, has welcomed Putin back in from isolation, and has decried Ukraine’s Zelensky as a dictator.
His Vice President has angered Europe with his speech, lecturing them to allow right-wing parties (such as Germany’s AfD) into the fold (under the guise of “free speech”).
Europe’s reaction to has been one of horror. It has been 80 years of alliance, gone in one month.
Now Europe is standing up for itself. They realize they have to form their own defense system, without the backing of America.
At this point, why would they trust us anymore?
The question is: When will the Republican leaders ever stand up for America?
When will they say that this is wrong, against everything they stand for?
There are a few brave Repubs who have dared criticize Putin, or speak out in support of Ukraine.
They have started on USAID, or other things that have directly hurt their constituents.
We need more.
JB Pritzker stands up to Trump, and to tyranny.
If you can find six minutes, watch the above speech.
It’s worth your time.
It may be the most important speech you’ll hear this year.
It’s Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, wrapping up his State of the State speech this past week.
He reflects on two things: helping create the Illinois Holocaust Museum, and taking the oath of office of Governor of Illinois.
As he discusses the Holocaust, he draws ties to today.
“I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly,” he says. “Here’s what I’ve learned…. The root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed…. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.
“The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here [in America today]. They point to a group of people who don’t look like you, and tell you to blame them for your problems. I just have one question: What comes next?
“After we’ve discriminated against, deported, or disparaged all the immigrants, and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women, and the minorities, once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends…. After that, when the problems we started with are still there, staring us in the face: What comes next?“
He reminded us that the oath he swore was “to the constitution of our state, and of the country. We don’t have kings in America, and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one….
“If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this: It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.”
His final call: “Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the ‘tragic spirit of despair’ overcome us when our country needs us the most.”
Midas Touch passes Joe Rogan as the #1 podcast.
This may seem like a small thing. But in today’s world, it’s not.
Democrats have long bemoaned the dominance of Joe Rogan, wondering, “Why can’t we find something that catches the spirit of the youth?”
Well, the Meiselas Brothers have.
The production is not smooth, the delivery not professional – not that any of the right-wing podcasts are.
But it is done with conviction and facts, in a fiery but plain-spoken way that could turn people’s minds around.
* * *
Here’s a little insight into the bizarre world that is my mind: Most of the time when I’m writing these things, I have a tune playing in the background in my head.
Today it’s from my good Texan buddy, Ben Kweller.
Here are his words to live by. (Why should we let Trump steal the “Fight, fight, fight” battle cry?)
Plus, it’s such an adorably goofy video.
Daddy Gibs 