SPECIAL PROJECTS, SQUIRRELS, MISSING MEL, SELF-LOATHING

On a recent edition of the ‘Late Show,’ Stephen Colbert said in his opening monologue that he didn’t want to “cause panic” as he began to relate all the panic-inducing illegal and unconstitutional actions of the Trump administration. As for the firing of all the Justice Department personnel who investigated the J6 Insurrection case, Colbert said there will be nobody left, necessitating a name change to “the Department-Of-Just-This-Guy,” adding, “The firings are probably illegal, and it’s clearly retribution — unless you ask a Republican like Congressman Dan Crenshaw.” A video clip of Crenshaw, asked about the retribution aspect, said, “Who knows if it’s revenge. I think it’s open to interpretation,” to which Colbert added, “Sure. Who knows? It’s just like that movie ‘V for Vambiguous.’” He decried the administration’s ‘Special Project’ of launching investigations of specific prosecutors who were just doing their job. “Going after honest civil servants doing their job is not a special project. It is a disgrace. A special project is when, to protect you from bullies on the playground, instead of going to recess, you get to help Miss Brogdon clean the erasers,” he explained.

The Bully-On-The-Playground Trump ignores the laws, adhering to the ugly habits that he can’t abandon, even a law that Congress passed as a reform simply because of his behavior during his first term in office. So he charges ahead with his corruption,  not caring, joined by an uncaring electorate who isn’t paying attention anyway. His recent firing of fifteen inspectors general, those independent watchdogs heading agencies of the executive branch to monitor waste and corruption, purging some who were appointees from his first term, is only a continuation of his ripping out the guardrails — no walls here, please! The inspectors came into being in 1978 as a deterrent to scofflaw presidencies, such as Richard Nixon’s, against the abuse of executive power. Originally, there were only twelve inspectors, but over the years that  number grew to 73 — inspectors general for the inspectors generals? The current issue is that under the law, a president had to give Congress 30 days’ notice regarding an intent to fire an I.G., providing some vague reason why it is necessary. Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith wrote at Lawfare in 2022, “More frequently than prior presidents, Trump manipulated vacancies and related laws to fire or dismiss disliked inspectors general and replace them, pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, with a more like-minded or pliant official.” This prompted Congress to amend the law by replacing the word ‘reasons‘ with the phrase ‘substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons.’ In spite of the law’s change, strengthened because of Trump’s actions, he has mocked it by flouting the original law. No 30 days’ notice, no rationale — he just did it, telling the press that it was all fine and, “It’s a very common thing to do,” which became the catchword for Republicans, Fox News, Sinclair, and the remainder of the propaganda chorus. As you might expect, Senator Lindsey Graham admitted that Trump broke the law, “technically,” but chuckled that he wasn’t losing any sleep as a result.

We can expect the president’s new I.G. appointees to turn a blind eye to petty corruption, but these dark-of-night actions foretell that more serious and aggressive acts are in the offing a la Project 2025, such as attacking executive agencies, as Michael Tomasky wrote in The New Republic. Tomasky says that’s only a guess, “Not being an evil genius myself, I have trouble keeping up with these people.” He accuses the Democrats of “being their usual wobbly selves, with mealy-mouthed vows to work with the administration, not understanding the situation we’re in.” Sounds very much like most of the media prior to the election, treating the presidential race as a business-as-usual quadrennial event — ho-hum, let’s move along, nothing to see here, it’ll all work out, la-la-la-la-la. Tomasky says, “The situation is this. Trump takes up about 80 percent of the oxygen. His craven party and the right-wing media will applaud everything he does, legal or not, and invent some justification for it. The half of the country who voted for him will agree and approve. They assume, for example in the case of the inspectors general, that these people are corrupt deep-staters who are standing in Trump’s way, so good riddance, law schmaw. They don’t need to be galvanized, in other words. As long as Trump’s getting his way, they’re in the game, and they’re content.” He goes on to say that those who voted against Trump need to be galvanized, but some are still hurting from the election results, others don’t want to engage, while many feel there’s no hope. But somebody needs to step up and lead, choosing issues that will galvanize the anti-Trumpers, instead of ignoring Trump’s missteps as part of the game. Tomasky characterizes this as “such a passive, Democratic way to look at this. There’s always an excuse not to act, if not acting is what you want to do.” He closes by adding, “The president broke the law. Clearly and unambiguously. On his fifth day in office. In what democracy is that NOT an issue? I fear we know the answer.”

To smooth over some of the rough edges of his new tenancy, Trump continues to reach out with his being “saved by God” mantra, which he emphasized in his inauguration “weave.” So now we have, by executive order no less, a new ‘Faith Office’ in the White House to be led by televangelist Paula White-Cain, who has been Trump’s so-called spiritual advisor, with Attorney General Pam Bondi running interference with a task force to root out “persecution” of America’s Christians. These actions will sit well with Christian nationalist cabinet members, and Trumpster Dumpster/Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, despite Trump’s sketchy relationship with religion. His flirting with religion during his first term, is noted by his tear-gassing demonstrators to clear the path to allow him to clutch an upside down Bible in front of a church for a photo-op. Other photo-ops show him praying with evangelicals in the oval office, after which he derided the event, in essence, asking aides, “How do these people believe this stuff?” He recently told a crowd at a prayer breakfast in DC, that he has had a religious awakening, especially since the assassination attempt in Butler, PA during a campaign rally. Evidently, he wasn’t awakened enough to heed Bishop Mariann Budde’s sermon when she called for him to show “mercy” toward immigrants and LGBTQ citizens. Many of his appointees and hangers-on have ties to the New Apostolic Reformation Church, which as a Christian Nationalist movement is calling for government and society come under their control. Notably, House Speaker Mike Johnson is linked to this group, as is ‘Faith Office’ leader Paula White-Cain. Secretary of Defense Hegseth belongs to a church affiliated with the right-wing Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches — you guessed it — a Christian nationalist front, calling for reestablishment of Biblical law, and possible repeal of women’s right to vote. For the moment, Trump is not espousing these views, but he continues to please the religious right with his accommodations — he’s easy! In his prayer breakfast speech, he explicitly called for an increased role in religion, saying, “We have to bring religion back. Let’s bring God back into our lives.” Also hinting that we need to bring him back to a third term in the Oval Office — identity confusion?

Florida’s megachurch preacher, Paula White-Cain, as a proponent of ‘prosperity theology’ fits right into Trump’s credo that God rewards the faithful with material wealth and personal success. Many of Trump’s MAGA supporters are disappointed that White-Cain is now embedded in the Oval Office, considering her theology as heretical by blaming financial woes as a lack of faith, which will only be used to exploit vulnerable churchgoers. Christian podcast host, John Mason, wrote on X, “Paula is a known heretic and known false teacher who has no regard for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Self-described ‘Orthodox Christian’ and leadership coach Scott Ross, agrees that White-Cain is a heretic, calling Trump’s appointment “an abomination, utterly opposed to authentic Christianity, she has had multiple husbands, twisting the Gospel for profit.” Curiously, Paula is currently married to guitarist Jonathan Cain, of the San Francisco-based band, Journey. Ruth Ben-Ghiat whose blog is ‘Lucid‘ via Substack posted on Reddit about an email from a reader recently. The reader states, “I have prayed about writing you. I know you are a liberal but you are also a historian. I want you to know that God himself spared Trump twice from death at the hands of another. This means he has blessing and approval from the Almighty just like George Washington. I think you should recognize that, and admit God wants him as our salvation.” Ruth replied, “Well, Hitler survived six serious attempts and at least 42 plots. God also allowed him to live. Do you think God approved of what he was doing? Do you think he was Germany’s salvation?” Crickets.

The biggest bit of news has been the establishment of a new branch of government to join the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial — the MuskRat, headed by slasher Dork Lord, and now co-president Elon Musk (or Leon, as Trump calls him), and his fake departmental DOGE team of unvetted, non-security-cleared teens and twenty-somethings who are rummaging through the files of governmental departments with their computers and portable hard drives. Hold ’em high guys, for the highest bidder — what say you Mr. Putin? The Blitzkrieg Team has had a field day with access to sensitive Treasury Department data, paramount in that treasury trove being Social Security and Medicare information. Musk and his DOGiEs demanded access to the files, resulting in a refusal from 30-year veteran Deputy Secretary David Lebryk, and upon his refusal to do so, he was put on administrative leave before being forced to resign. Following the DOGE raid, Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter of outrage to Trump’s new Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, indignant that “officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs. To put it bluntly, these payment systems cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country  and the economy. I can think of no good reason why political operators who have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law would need access. Sources tell my office that DOGE was granted full access to this system — Social Security, Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies.” Wyden goes on to point out that Medicaid portals in all 50 states were shut down when Trump unsuccessfully attempted to freeze all grant and loan payments, and has concerns that Musk is seeking to gain access to and potentially control the Fiscal Service’s payment systems in order to carry out a political agenda in violation of the law. The senator says it appears that Musk is forcing out qualified and experienced public servants in order to get his way and fulfill Trump’s goal of eviscerating the federal budget, including potentially by cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits for millions of Americans. Perhaps instead of four branches of government we are really looking at only one — headed by two individuals? Just remember, Trump’s first lie of his second term was the oath of office.

Elon Musk revealed that he and Trump were in agreement to shut down the foreign aid agency known as USAID, telling employees not to report to work, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio then declaring that he had taken over as acting administrator of the agency, ending its largely independent status. Without warning, senior officials and hundreds of civil servants have been suspended and eliminated, though Rubio said many of the programs would continue, even as he blamed the radical change on “worker insubordination.” Many USAID employees and Democratic lawmakers gathered in front of the agency’s headquarters in DC, denouncing the shutdown as illegal because Congress created, and funds, the agency as a distinct entity. Over the past several months the omnipresent Musk has gained a growing list of critics, but a voice from his past has been brutal in an analysis of his former confidant’s character. CEO Philip Low, of NeuroVigil, a Bay Area startup, posted on Facebook that Musk tried to undermine the business even after investing in it, because of his own rival business, NeuraLink. Low’s post has less to do with the two enterprises, which only have similar products with different marketing bases, than about personality, as he terms Musk to be “a total miserable self-loathing poser.” Low claims that the 14-year relationship of the two allowed them to share personal problems, with both men having violent fathers who lost their fortunes, both being bullied in high school, then ending up in similar environments in Silicon Valley. He portrays Musk as self-centered, believing he is above everyone else, as a power hungry and cynical individual who persuades people toward far-right political leanings world-wide. Low attributes Musk’s two Nazi salutes at Trump’s inauguration festivities, to his being a thrill-seeker who knew exactly what he was doing, as he tried to ingratiate himself to the Nazis in the MAGA movement. He says Musk was likely disappointed when the audience didn’t return his gestures to show his complete control and domination over them — and raising his leverage over Trump in the process. The post ends with Low’s warning that Musk readers should stop working for him, not supporting Tesla and X, saying, “He only wants to control, dominate, and use you — don’t let him. Cut him and his businesses out of your, and your loved ones, lives entirely. Unless you happen to be a self-loathing loser, too, he will be much more afraid of you than you should be of him.” But as Rex Huppke posted on Bluesky, “These are not good people. And the time to panic is right freakin’ now!” 

The Little-Day-One-Dictator (you think he meant to say One-A-Day-Dictator?) still has his greedy territorial expansionist gears turning in his head from Canada to Panama to Greenland to Gaza, which can become the Riviera of the Middle East after ethnic cleansing, bomb and land mine clearance, and bulldozing for removal of megatons of debris from demolished buildings. No mention of a wall to prevent residents from returning, or to keep spies, saboteurs and bomb squads at bay. Senator Amy Klobuchar, speaking at the Washington Press Club Foundation Annual Congressional Dinner, mentioned that the organization dates back to a time when the US was comprised of only 46 states, sarcastically joking that the US would be adding more states thanks to Trump’s roving eye to other lands. “Speaking of Greenland, there’s a question for you that I want to pose. What’s the difference between Greenland and Donald Trump? Greenland is not for sale!” she gloatingly cracked. This was met with a chorus of boos from the GOPers in the audience, to whom she said, “OK, to any Republican and Trump administrators out there, who might want to throw eggs at me for that joke — you can’t, because they’re too expensive.” ‘Late Show‘ host Stephen Colbert suggested that Trump probably wants to change Canada’s name should it become our 51st state, and since it’s just above Minnesota, it could be called Maxisota. Then again, Trump might want to investigate leftover names suggested by Thomas Jefferson in 1784, for some of the western territories, a grid divided into sixteen regions. Jefferson submitted ten names, two of which, Michigania and Illinoia survived with editing, but other baroque offerings as Pelisipia, Assensipia, and Cherronesus only made it into the circular file. The Donald will probably grace any new states with names based on his DEI hires: Don, Eric and Ivanka.

President Trump has chosen his next battle to be with paper straws, saying an executive order would “end the push for Paper Straws. BACK TO PLASTIC!” People posting on media could hardly believe it: “This takes an executive order?”, “Clutching at straws, literally,” “Focusing on what really matters!”, “Politics aside, this genuinely reads like a toddler upset at school lunch,” “This is what you voted for?”, and “Congrats, America!” With the flood of executive orders so massive that Trump can’t remember them all, a Congressman said, “They’re running low on squirrels they hope we chase.”

Satirist Andy Borowitz, in his Report a few weeks ago wrote: “In a bid to reassure the nation, Pete Hegseth said if confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will connect a breathalyzer device to the nation’s nuclear arsenal…instead of being on a car it would be on nuclear weapons. Hegseth added that he would submit to a daily phone conversation with his mother, and ‘if Mom says I don’t sound right, I won’t go near any nukes. Besides, if I’m hung over, I won’t set off anything loud.’ In a final pledge, Hegseth said, ‘I promise the American people: if I’m drunk in the morning, I’ll have someone else drive me to the Pentagon.’” In a subsequent satire, Borowitz indicates things went awry, writing: “Pete Hegseth’s tenure as Secretary of Defense got off to a wobbly start on Monday after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI for crashing an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank into the Pentagon. The arresting officer, Harland Dorrinson, arrived at the Pentagon shortly after receiving reports of a large battle tank making figure 8s in the parking lot. Finding the smoldering Abrams protruding from the side of  the building, Dorrinson said Hegseth was ‘extremely combative when I asked him to step out of the tank.’ Hegseth was later booked, released, and driven home by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.”

Mr. Trump became the first sitting US president to attend football’s Super Bowl on February 9, and amazingly he managed to make it all about him! He erroneously chose the Kansas City Chiefs to win the game in a pre-game interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, giving high praise to quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He revived his grudge against pop singer, Taylor Swift, when she was shown on the Jumbotron and was soundly booed by Eagles fans in the stands because of her relationship with the Chiefs. Trump turned this negative reaction toward himself when he claimed she was being booed for supporting Kamala Harris in the presidential sweepstakes, saying, “MAGA is very unforgiving! Only the Chiefs had a rougher night.” Raise this man’s golden high chair before he throws another ketchup-laden plate of french fries onto the field! And where was Melania? In the cheap seats?!