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BIDEN ADDS to ENVIRONMENTAL LEGACY

Great environmental news! President Biden is blocking future offshore oil and gas drilling on an additional 625 million acres, protecting wildlife-rich areas in the Bering Sea, along the West Coast, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and along the Eastern Seaboard.

It’s noteworthy that Biden’s move, which protects waters equivalent in size to the states of Alaska, California and Colorado, is not easily undone by Donald "Drill! Drill! Drill!" Trump.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/06/biden-offshore-oil-gas-drilling-ban

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HERALDIC REBUKE TO TRUMP

Wow, this surely is a historical first! The King Fredrik of Denmark has changed the Royal Coat of Arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands – in what is seen as a clear rebuke to Donald Trump.

The updated version more prominently features the polar bear and ram, which symbolize Greenland and the Faeroe Islands respectively.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/danish-king-changes-coat-of-arms-in-apparent-rebuke-to-donald-trump

(The article shows the heraldic change.)

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🔸"Fascist politicians.. decry corruption in the state they seek to take over, which is bizarre,

🔸fascist politicians themselves are.. vastly more corrupt than those they seek to supplant.. "

"How Fascism Works the Politics of Us and Them", Stanley, p52

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"Sentence Donald Trump to a Mandatory Psychiatric Examination - Political/Legal Maneuverings do Not Change Medical Need"

by Dr. BANDY X.LEE

https://open.substack.com/pub/bandyxlee/p/sentence-donald-trump-to-a-mandatory?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=280c3q

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You are so right. I have been squawking for &^%$ years at the gerotocratic Dem leadership that they are a day late & a dollar short in knowing how to handle the growing dangerous alt-right faction. Status quo politics fails!

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THUNE SHOWING SPINE

Senate Majority Leader John Thune plants a key marker on reconciliation, telling Punchbowl News that Republicans should NOT try to overrule the Parliamentarian if certain border/tax/energy provisions are ruled invalid. He says this is akin to nuking the filibuster. “People need to understand that.”

https://nitter.poast.org/AndrewDesiderio/status/1876279723296510285#m

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Simon, great idea from Timothy Snyder.

Also, I have yet to read the best 'explainer' of the 2024 presidential election. And without a great analysis, we are not going to get anywhere.

I would like to get your opinion of this one:

https://www.weekendreading.net/p/how-trump-won?hide_intro_popup=true

Thank you.

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He mentioned Snyder's Substack in yesterday's post, "More Things To Chew On This Weekend:

A very good new analysis of the 2024 election from Mike Podhorzer"

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"Explainer" - They lie, threaten and cheat; we don't. Not saying we should, just saying that is the main reason they won. Enough people were easily fooled.

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Podhorzer's article makes clear that this election did not represent any susbstantial turn to the right -- Trump made only marginal gains in his vote share over 2020 -- but, instead, reflected voters' disbelief that Dems were any better or more effective. Think about WHY voters stayed home this cycle.

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Good point! But if the Republican party still abided by the constitution, Trump would not have been on the ballot. Your point is more optimistic, in that we can can figure out how to get those that didn't vote, to vote next time. I am still angry at the people that voted for him and the danger they have invited.

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If the Democratic Party leadership truly believed Trump represented a mortal threat to democracy and the republic (as I know that you and I believe), they would have pulled out all the stops to convince Biden to withdraw before the nominating season even began. Instead, according to Ezra Klein, Dem leaders were telling Klein in private that they could accept a Trump presidency if they didn't have to demand Biden leave the race. In other words, their words and actions in private completely undercut the public stance they were taking about the threat Trump represented. In addition to viewing the Dem base as an ATM machine (by constantly trilling that 'threat to democracy' line), the DNC and party leadership treated their base with absolute contempt through this particular act of betrayal and hypocrisy. No wonder the base stayed home this time around. Who wants to be treated with contempt? (This also explains the first-day-of-school photo and video shoot a few weeks back between Biden and Il Duce. Dem leaders never seriously believed that Trump was a threat to democracy, their public protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.)

https://x.com/SteveKrak/status/1811161320483434803?lang=en

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Excellent article and thanks for drawing my\our attention to it.

In the section entitled "The Credulity Chasm," the author makes the point that voters simply did not believe that MAGA Project 2025 threats were real nor that electing Dems would be a check on MAGA extremism. This goes to one of Simon's points that Dems had two objectives this cycle: a) qualifying Harris and b) disqualifying Trump and MAGA. The author points out that Dems failed the credulity test and thereby failed to achieve the second objective. Which brings up the question of exactly what the ~$1 billion Harris raised actually did accomplish. There needs to be some accountability and a reckoning among the Dem pooh-bahs for how they mis-spent\mis-allocated donor funds or, in my opinion, wallets and pocketbooks should remain substantially closed for future election cycles.

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Strongly support Snyder's idea of a shadow cabinet. Hope you, Simon, can move this idea forward

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I second this.

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I would also like to see a shadow SCOTUS (with maybe a 5-4 liberal\conservative tilt). This SCOTUS is so corrupt and illegitimate that every single one of its rulings require analysis and dissection.

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Simon,

It’s “date” that lives in infamy, not “day”. Everyone gets it wrong.

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Thanks Peter. You are right. I have changed it online.

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I actually reviewed the quote this morning and still missed it.

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I remember how offended I felt when Trump awarded Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the 2020 State of the Union Address. "Worst bigot on the airwaves" would have been a more fitting award for him. NPR had an interview that pointed out "he normalized racism and misogyny and cruelty in a way that had long-term implications." In another analysis, CNN published an article entitled "How Rush Limbaugh Created Donald Trump." Limbaugh's ideologies and love of conspiracy theories were echoed during the 2024 election. Trump's response to Liz Cheney's award is also full of such bigotry.

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Both Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich played decisive roles in turning America towards Fascism. I don’t think Trump could have happened without them.

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Justin Trudeau will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister of Canada as soon as a new party leader is chosen.

Fortunately, Garry Trudeau has no intention of resigning!

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media/vc/822add20-ac19-4ad3-969d-c15cc675cca0.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___.jpg

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Can a Dem in the house go to the floor and correct for the record the misappropriation on Johnson's speech and put in a real Jefferson speech? and do it today!

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It is a tough day to be an American. I will never understand and likely never forgive Americans for reelecting that POS. But to honor those who served nobly on that day - everyday - I am resolved to keep fighting.

For my fellow New Jerseyans, I just read that Senator Kim sits on the Senate’s Health, Labor and Pensions Committee and Homeland Security Committee. Certainly a must call to oppose the Unacceptable 4.

Additionally still seeking clarification on why I would call my House member (Mikie Sherrill) regarding the cabinet appointments since she does not advise and consent. Not opposed to doing so but would like to understand that strategy better.

Thanks fellow patriots.

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I think in terms of House members it may be more of a "please speak out" ask. Also, congratulations on being a constituent of the next governor of New Jersey!

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They have a platform and need to learn how to use it. All Dems should be getting as loud as possible about these four and making it as difficult as possible. All of us are info warriors now and our House members have to learn how to play the game far more effectively.

Thank you! S

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OMG, before he was nominated to head the FBI, Patel actively promoted conspiracy theories without any evidence that the FBI planned and instigated January 6. That's as crazy as it gets (although RFK, Jr.'s vaccines cause autism malarkey runs a very close second).

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There's not just one cause of the current situation, but I put Merrick Garland at the top of my list.

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Yes! Thank you Timothy Snyder! A shadow cabinet AND with widespread media coverage.

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