For those not paying attention, Day 1 would have been a surprise. For those who really did pay attention, then yes, it all started to pan out exactly as expected.
Amongst the Jan 6 pardons this pardon happened on Day 1 …
- Will the ADL want us to now take a breath and consider that this may just be a t-shirt advertising educational summer programs that travel to important historical sites?
- The House and Senate, Democrats should have then read the names of every law enforcement officer who died or was injured as a result of the January 6 insurrection. It would also have been nice if the Capitol police staged a walkout for 187 minutes from 1:10 to 4:17 PM.
Regarding that quip about the ADL above, I’m really not kidding about what they have been saying. Thankfully some such as AOC is willing to call them out …
…and of course Michele Bachmann defends Trump pardoning violent insurrectionists by insisting there was no violence: “It was like a prayer meeting on Jan. 6 in DC.“
- A “prayer meeting” where people smear poop, many were seriously injured, and some even died violent deaths, is that what happens at her church?
- Quote: “The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears“. (Hat tip if you not only know the quote but have also read the book, that has now become one that is worth revisiting these days).
… oh, and this also rolled out on Day 1 …
- Imagine how callous and evil you have to be to go after elderly people and low income people who need medication. He doesn’t need their votes, any longer. He literally doesn’t give a crap if they die.
- This is not a surprise, those that voted for him were warned that this would be one of the many consequences, and yet they still voted for him. The real problem here is not just him, but those that supported this.
- Are those that wanted to lower the cost of eggs happy now?
A Lyndon Johnson exec order from 1965 that stopped discrimination was also obliterated …
- The minorities who voted for Trump, after being told over & over that he was a bigot and a racist, have now reached the finding-out phase.
- For those keeping score, this is in Project 2025, page 583. However, I must admit that I didn’t have cockblocking LBJ on my DTv2 EO Bingo Card.
Just to be really clear what is going on, this also happened …
Doing any biomedical science was also put on hold …
- For context – Study sections are the review panels that allocate NIH research grants. They bring in experts from around the country and have to be scheduled many months in advance; they provide the funds that keep the nation’s biomedical research going.
One key observation on all this and much more – It is not just Trump. He is a puppet who is willing to sign anything put in front of him without reading it or understanding it. For him this was all about avoiding prison and playing King, so damn to consequences, because he will sign literally anything for that.
Meanwhile here is a summary of week 1 …
But let’s also add this as a reminder that actions do indeed have consequences …
OK, let’s move on from this utter lunacy and see what other crazy stuff has popped up during the past week. There has of course been plenty more.
The Cult of Trump
As MAGA leaders fan outrage against Episcopal Bishop Budde for daring to challenge Trump, dominionist Jim Garlow urged people to phone and email and ask her to repent for her “leftist propaganda rant.”
- So yes, MAGA figures who constantly demanded that preachers should be more political are now outraged when they got what they asked for.
- Her “Leftist propaganda” is perhaps better known to most as the teachings of Jesus Christ.
- To quote Hemant: “Cruelty in the name of God is always justified in their minds. But using faith as inspiration to help others? That’s blasphemy.“
- Trump insults John McCain, the media, the disabled, NATO allies, federal law enforcement, etc., etc. etc. MAGA retort: “Get over it, libtard snowflakes.” Bishop tells Trump to be nice to frightened, powerless people. MAGA is offended: “HOW DARE YOU??!!“
- Elected representatives are now calling for the Bishop to be deported!! … to where exactly, she was born in NJ?
Naturally stuff like this next bit has now happened – Rep. Josh Brecheen has introduced a resolution “to fully condemn the distorted message that was preached at President Trump during the National Prayer Service“
- It is indeed deeply weird to see somebody quoting more or less directly from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount needs to now be condemned.
- Also, we learn that the first amendment is now just a suggestion to be ignored – Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
However, this next item just has to be the weirdest possible pushback on Bishop Budde …
Moving on.
The day before the inauguration, Trump cultists gathered in DC to pray that “our beloved Donald Trump” will assume a fathership position” and “be a role model for the children and the kids in our nation.“
- But of course – it is an essential life skill to learn how to commit business fraud while paying off the adult film star you cheated on your recently pregnant wife with, oh and let’s not forget that “grabbing them by the pussy” is also a life skill that the kids need to learn.
Oh, and least you wonder what might happen in 2028, then here you go, this BS has already started ….
- To actually pass this he would need 2/3 of congress, so that’s really really not going to happen.
Stolen Birthright
It may feel a bit like yelling into the storm, but hell yes, taking a stand is important …
- The 14th Amendment’s guarantee that every child born in the United States is a citizen is fundamental to the fabric of our nation. An executive order will change that if nobody challenges that.
- We now live in a nation where The Constitution is a list of suggestions, apparently.
Project 2025
Remember this from not too long ago from many “media” sources …
… well here now is what you were all warned about – project 2025 really was the plan all along …
Other Crazy Actions
Thank goodness our long national nightmare of having a federal public health system seems to be over. Or to put that another way, when the next pandemic happens, they really want the body count to be as high as possible …
- Deeply ironic to see the Washington Post reporting on the consequences of their own failure to tell the truth about Trump
- The FDA puts out warnings to alert consumers about potential food contamination. Stopping that will have dire consequences. So when contaminated food is sitting on grocery store shelves, we won’t know because the FDA isn’t allowed to issue recalls.
- If concerned, then you can support and subscribe to the mail lists ISID produces to stay on top of what is not being shared or what is being downplayed regarding health concerns. promedmail.org (FYI, it was their emerging infectious diseases list that broke the news of COVID-19 worldwide)
Hey “Muslims for Trump”, this is what you voted for … right?
It really is a Cult
Seriously, it really is a cult …
- MHGA – Making Heresy Great Again
- Side Note: If you ever find yourself invoking the name of God to justify any political position, you are brainwashed.
Trump cultist Lance Wallnau says God moved the inauguration inside to thwart Satan’s attempt to make Trump supporters miserable by having to stand out in the cold.
- Lance’s weird theology – Satan controls the weather, and the god he believes in can’t do anything about it.
The time for bipartisanship is over
Trump just pardoned 1500 people who tried to overthrow the United States government, smashed windows and smeared feces through the halls of the Capitol, and bludgeoned Capitol police officers with flag poles carrying the American flag. Tell me how that’s going to make groceries more affordable?
Working together implies the other side wants to work with you toward the same end. If they don’t, it’s on you to make that clear to people …
We live in a world where this is now how things work …
- I don’t think this guy understands what bipartisanship means.
The Inspectors are pushing back
This is how you do it – basically don’t roll over without a fight …
FAFO
Lance Wallnau is angry that Charismatic MAGA Christians, such as himself, are supposedly being prevented from speaking at high-profile political events like the Christian Inaugural Gala, the National Prayer Service, and the upcoming National Religious Broadcasters convention.
- They really bought into the con being run – Now that Trump has what he wants, he can happily ignore them.
However the FOFO crown of the week goes to …
Weirdest of the Weird
Ali Alexander is urging President Donald Trump to sign an executive order “prohibiting time travel by unauthorized persons.“
- Well about damn time because don’t you just hate tripping over all those illegal unauthorised time travellers all the time.
This is going on, and almost nobody is shouting about it …
Elon finally clarifying what he meant with the Nazi salute …
Religious Grifters
Here is a MAGA preacher running a crypto scam. I miss the good old days when preachers just took money from gullible grandmothers to buy private jets …
- This is such a 2025 way of grifting
Self-proclaimed “prophet” Manuel Johnson claims that God took him “ahead 12 years in the spirit” to show him that the inauguration of President Donald Trump has opened “a supernatural window for the body of Christ.“
- The prophet con is still popular.
Political Cartoons from the past week
As always, there are many excellent cartoons. Below are a few samples. Each comes with a link to the cartoonist putting the cartoon out via BlueSky. If you are on Bluesky then you can use the link to follow them and they speak truth to power.
Media Madness
- How do they become journalists without understanding how journalism should work?
- The mainstream media gave Trump billions in free airtime so they could try and make a few bucks. The monster they created will eat them soon enough. FAFO
- So yes, Democracy Dies because of a press corpse of egotistical morons (no, that’s not a typo, I really did mean “press corpse”)
- Clearly they loved watching the circus with jugglers tossing flaming chainsaws and hated the boring old guy and his dog, so we are back to the circus again.
CNN going full North Korea Dear Leader …
- It should read “Bully Trump continues to menace the world for their lunch money“
- No one has more testosterone than a 79-year old obese guy wearing too much makeup. It’s just science
Telling the truth at CBS also now gets your fired …
- The degree of gaslighting going on now is off the charts.
- To be clear, she was fired for what she said on her own time on her own Instagram account.
However, not all media outlets have lost the plot, some still do an excellent job …
- It is indeed so 2025 that Rolling Stone and Teen Vogue are now the only major publications with a spine.
- Teen Vogue??? … yes really, Teen Vogue Jan 26: “ICE Watch Programs Can Protect Immigrants in Your Neighborhood — Here’s What to Know“. And there is plenty more of that, check out their excellent politics section here.
Finally…
ChatGPT suffered an outage last week …
- Anyone who says “ChatGPT is down, I can’t get any work done” should probably not be doing that job.
And yes, somebody did it …
Eggs
