The Worst Thing Trump Did on 2/3/25

In the last few days, it's become clear that Elon Musk, Trump's BFF, a man who has not been elected to any position, nor has he gone through any Congressional approval process, has a much bigger plan in place than just loading himself up with unbreakable government contracts.

Trump has given Musk unfettered access to the Social Security database, the Medicare database, the IRS database, the Dept. of Education database (including all student loan/financial information), and the USAID database. He has taken private servers and employees of HIS COMPANIES into these organizations and seems to have downloaded the information for his private use. 

If you wonder why Musk is jeopardizing his billion-dollar companies (Tesla, Twitter) for this power grab with Trump, it's because he has access to a trillion dollars of OUR information he can use, buy, and sell to his heart's content.

It also allows him to create a blackmail/intimidation machine that will have complete power over our entire government, ensuring Musk gets what Musk wants.  

Proof he already has amassed a massive amount of control over the government is how quiet the Republicans are about such a violation of the American people.  The same people who scream about the government harvesting personal data are suddenly silent as everything heads to Musk's private servers.  Notice how suddenly all the Republicans are in line with Trump's grossly unqualified cabinet picks?  His takeover is already wielding results.

Musk is not the first person to realize a complete idiot who resonates with the masses is the springboard to their own agenda.  You'd think we as a society would've learned from the past's mistakes.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 2/2/25

After it was revealed that Elon Muck (intentional) was given access to sensitive information at the Treasury, including the Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems (reminder Musk is not an elected official, nor a Congressionally confirmed Cabinet member.  He's Trump's buddy!!!), Trump and Musk turned their ire against USAID, an organization tasked with overseeing humanitarian, developmental, and security programs in over 120 countries.  

USAID has been a growing villain for the Republican Party. They feel helping foreign countries with humanitarian aid is somehow promoting a liberal agenda (that tells you a lot about who these people are right there).  Earlier, Trump removed two top security officials at USAID after Musk (once again, just Trump's buddy) wanted access to sensitive materials, and they refused to give them to him (pretty sure Musk could not pass the clearance test in order to see those documents).

Sunday, Trump once again attempted to shut down a government agency without Congressional approval as he has told staffers to stay away and locked most of them out of the computer system for USAID. This was after they had shut down all USAID programs worldwide last week.  He is reporting USAID is now officially closed as of 2/3.

I've heard that at Multiple MAGA Evangelical churches across America yesterday, sermons focused on the evils of being a compassionate humanitarian.  They basically preached against the 'Good Samaritan.' 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 2/1/25

The absolute f-ing moron that is Trump, ignoring every intelligent person who has a basic high school understanding of economics, started an unnecessary and damaging trade war with the USA's three largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico, and China.

Conservatively this will cost at least $700 per household in this country and likely much more. Everything will cost more.  And no, our manufacturing base is not coming back.  They pay workers in foreign countries a dollar an hour (at best!).  They're not about to pay substantially more here. 

And we are about to learn the rest of the world likes Canada and Mexico more than they like us. 

Nope, this is only going to hurt. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/31/25

It's clear by the air disaster response of the White House and the Trump Administration that caring, empathy, and compassion are impossible for the modern Republican to convey.

Add to that an epic level of stupidity and there are no words.

Trump, when asked if he was going to visit the crash site where a commercial jet hit a military helicopter and everyone died, said:

"I have a plan to visit, not the site. Because you tell me, what's the site? The water? You want me to go swimming."

...

...

...

What a f-ing idiot!

It's not like he wasn't talking crazy the entire campaign.  His supporters and the media made excuses for it.  Now that it's official national policy, I will never forgive the national news media for intentionally getting us into this mess.

The Friday Link for 1/31/25

Hi all!

I'm going to start you off with a great short film, Echo Torch! This showed up in my feed, and I thought it was very good.  A man invents a light that allows him to see otherworldly dimensions.  Yes, there are a few jump scares and a bit of a horror feel to it, but it also has a really nice ending (no spoilers!). Worth a watch! 

Then two videos for you that talk about the modern conflicts we have.  The first is a heartbreaking video from a guy I featured on the Link before, John Green.  He and his brother came up with the Crash Course series on YouTube, which are very good school-like lessons.  They have many channels and I highly encourage them for people who like to learn things.  

I also featured John talking about tuberculosis.  He has done a lot to educate people on how deadly it still is today, but it is preventable.  By the way, there's currently a TB outbreak in the state of Kansas which has the potential of becoming an absolute mess. 

Today, he talks about how the vast majority of what we would call modern humans never lived beyond 20 years old, and it's only in the last 50 years that we've been able to make child mortality rates plummet. Why?  Government-funded programs have undoubtedly saved millions of lives and made it to where most humans are almost guaranteed to live past 20.  That is all being threatened by the Trump administration cutting funding for the programs that have kept us safe.  This is not politics.  This is a real threat to undo the advances humans have made in the last 50 years. 

The last thing is another Dan McClellan video.  He is REALLY good.  The modern MAGA "Christians" are trying to argue that Jesus would have LOVED ICE roundups of immigrants and anyone thinking differently is only "weaponizing empathy." They say that like it's a bad thing.

If you are doing something where basic human empathy is a threat to your agenda, you are CLEARLY doing something even you know is horrible.  Shame on these clueless content creators for trying to validate their bigotry by twisting Jesus to fit THEIR needs. 

Have a great weekend.  Get your vaccinations while you can, as I guarantee Trump will make that harder.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/30/25

In what will end up being a presidential moment that will live in infamy, Trump, less than 24 hours after a tragic midair crash between a commercial plane and a military helicopter, which killed everyone involved, BEFORE any major investigation into the cause of the crash had been conducted, started desperately trying to blame his standard list of villains (Presidents Obama and Biden, DEI[???], Pete Buttigieg, the recently deceased pilot of the helicopter less than 24 hours since his death), before making the insane argument that the real culprit was the hiring of DISABLED WORKERS(!?!).  He blamed them with no evidence, LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER THE CRASH!!!

He was doing so because in the first week of his Administration, he fired the head of the FAA (because Elon Musk didn't like him) and many of its leaders and laid off thousands of its workers. I'm not saying those things caused the crash (it has been reported that there indeed was a staffing shortage at the airport's tower), but they are a FAR MORE likely culprit than wildly blaming disabled workers.  Trump realizing he might have screwed up, tried to get out in front of his mistake by blaming others and then acting as if his unfounded accusations were proven fact. 

He did all this as they were still pulling the bodies from the river. He is truly a disgrace to humanity. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/29/25

Another "A Lot to Choose From' day, but I think that Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a horrifically unqualified stooge, deciding to end the extended deportation protections for 600,00 Venezuelans in the US is the worst.

This program allowed people who were fleeing armed conflict to stay here, preventing them from having to return to a country where there's a decent chance they'll be killed. Noem, a woman who constantly claims she's a Christian but is one of the least Christian people I've ever seen, not only likely signed the order to send many of these people to their deaths, but implied all 600,000 Venezuelans here were all breaking the law, making her orders just plain old fashion racism. 

By the way, this is the same woman who, on the same day, canceled grants to specific non-government groups who are aiding immigrants by implying the groups weren't doing enough to promote Jesus in their operations. 

Kristi, you SUCK at being Christian. Jesus would not like you. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/28/25

I do not want to marginalize or ignore the bigoted anti-transgender ban Trump just put on the military, using insanely inflammatory language straight from a fascist dictator's manifesto.  On most days, that would hands down be the worst thing, but...

Trump tried to initiate a federal government spending freeze, a hastily and poorly written order that seemed to catch the Administration off guard when they realized all the programs they initially stopped, and it ignored a basic reality; a move like this is pretty much impossible without Congressional approval.

This is the clearest evidence the Trump Administration knows its massive government overhaul bill, which they've been teasing for a few weeks, can't get through the House and Senate, so they're trying an end-around by claiming this spending is a "temporary freeze."  If it's only temporary, they need to explain why multiple government websites and databases that are designed for the states to access this money were shut down even before the deadline was nearing.

Spoiler alert, a judge halted this before it's 5 PM Eastern Time start. 

This was chaos.  While initially, the Administration stated only Medicare and Social Security would be omitted from this freeze, they quickly had to add that Pell Grants, food stamps, and welfare payments were not included in this freeze, and more programs were being given a reprieve before the judge stopped the carnage, with the Administration seeming to react to media questions about individual programs with a "We didn't cut that did we?  WE DID!  Well, that's not good" ignorance!

But what's stunning is the number of programs they were bragging about cutting, including Medicaid, which helps deliver 40% of the babies in the country, school food service for kids (with Republicans calling feeding kids promoting laziness), medical research, police and firefighter funding, spending on major construction projects that are well underway, and even programs like Meals on Wheels! This truly was an insanely heartless and anti-Christian act the Republicans.  It was degisgned to hurt people just to hurt them.

Christopher Titus said it best: "We are at a place where billionaires are deciding that poor, starving people have too much." 

Considering most jackass-ian MAGA idiots suddenly got REALLY QUIET yesterday, I think it's starting to dawn on them the billionaires might NOT be on their side.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/27/25

One of the few good things George W Bush did during his term (at the encouragement of Bono from U2) was the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PRPFAR) a program that distributed HIV medications to low-income countries, primarily in Africa where AIDS had ravaged communities. The program is credited with saving 25 million people!!! That's a pretty freaking awesome rate of return!

Not anymore. Trump ordered the decades-old program to be stopped immediately, even stopping the distribution of medication that is sitting in local medical facilities ready to be used. The Trump Administration has said it is only a temporary three-month halt.  Still, they have already turned off the databases needed for the program to work, and there is apparently no plan to restart the database (an official policy position). 

A lot of people will die because of this pettiness from Trump.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/26/25

The country of Colombia, as they were awaiting planeloads of migrants returning from the US, vocalized they wanted Colombians to be treated fairly by Trump and would deny the planes the ability to land in their country until they had such guarantees.  One would think treating other human beings humanely wouldn't be a major ask, but it is for Trump and his administration.  Trump planted tariffs on Colombia, and Colombia retaliated with tariffs on US goods.

Incensed, there were reports that Trump was considering a full trade blockade of Colombia. The Colombians conceded and everything de-escalated very quickly. This all happened on Sunday!

Aside from the fact you just ANNIHILATED relations with one of our few South American allies, you could've paid another country a million dollars to divert the flights to another location.  Instead, Trump threatened a retaliatory strike, which would've potentially cost the country billions, and considering Trump's desire to be perceived as tough, I could have seen this escalate with the US military getting involved, at massive cost.

On top of that, when they released a WHITE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE about the conflict, there was a typo naming Colombia, "Columbia."

That means we almost went to war with a University, a city in South Carolina, or a sportswear company.

 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/25/24

It came to light yesterday morning that Trump fired multiple federal inspector generals.  Inspector generals are tasked with finding fraud, waste, abuse, and misconduct at their federal agencies.  They are a simple way to prevent the Executive Branch from abusing the departments themselves.  Inspector generals are independent of the government, not political, and provide basic oversight for the American people.

There are three reasons Trump wants them all gone.  

1) To abuse the departments themselves, leaving no record of what they've done.  This abuse would primarily be of the department's employees and the agency's mission.

2) Weaponize the agencies to go after their enemies.

3) Steal blindly from the American people.

When you look at how bad Trump managed COVID, whereas when Biden took over, there was NO GAME PLAN in place to get vaccines into people's arms even though the vaccines had been available for a few months, that will seem quaint compared to what will happen over the next four years.  I'm fully expecting Trump to back a truck up to the Treasury and fill it full of cash once a month, stashing it overseas, and when we finally figure out he stole 20 trillion dollars, at least 3 of the Supreme Court Justices would say "Did you specifically tell him you couldn't steal trillions?  Not Guilty!"

Without independent oversight, it will take years after he's gone to finally find out all the evil, corrupt, and illegal things he did, requiring an extensive forensic audit.  When we do find out all the illegal things he did, the Republicans who ARE COMPLICIT AND KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, will insist what has happened has happened, and we should just move on.

This is all by design and they're all in on it.

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/24/25

If this was the worst thing Republicans did, Lauren Boebert called security because she thought there was a transgender Representative in the bathroom, only to be told that no, it was another woman, being forced to apologize to security, the woman, and to the people she lied to about the experience...

Or the Senate confirming Hegseth.  Unforgivable! Prepare for US troops firing on US citizens...

But as far as Trump, his new demand for specific political concessions by Democratically controlled states before he will send them needed federal natural disaster relief aid is as evil as it gets.  Not only is he forcing victims of a natural disaster to suffer more than they already have, but this idea that helping fellow Americans in need is a bargaining chip is textbook MAGA Christian.  

By the way, someone must have informed him that not delivering disaster relief aid through FEMA to a state paying their Federal taxes is quite literally 'taxation without representation.'  That's why suddenly he's talking about killing FEMA itself, removing the promise of federal emergency disaster relief, which would allow him to use disaster survivors as a way to force his dictator agenda on the American people. 

The Friday Link for 1/24/25

Hi all! 

This week we start with the triumphant return of the Collegiate Dance Competition.  Last year, the University of Minnesota went viral with their routine to Aerosmith's 'Dream On.' The University of Minnesota was back to defend its title, and this year, it won the Team Pom category and came in second in the Team Jazz competition.  

Watch the routines yourselves, starting with the Poms.

Also this week, we go to Anti-Chef, the cook who dares to take on some of the more difficult recipes from the most popular cookbooks.  This time, he goes with 4 soup recipes from Fannie Farmer and actually an older copy of the cookbook from before 1900 (jumping a little into Tasting History's realm).  

The thing I like about this guy is he does not candy-coat the cooking.  Cooking used to be much more laborious and complicated. For example, these soups all require chicken stock, and so he makes homemade stock, like you used to have to make. 

Prepare yourself for hygienic soup, duchess soup, imperial soup, and St. Germain soup! 

Finally tonight is another video from Dark Brandon talking about how the Republican Party became the party of the stupid. Considering the number of Trump voters who are shocked at what he is doing this week, unaware that they all applauded and cheered for this to happen all last year, this no-kid glove analysis is spot on.

Plus it explains people like Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

PLEASE get vaccinated while you can before Trump limits access to them. Plus, buy yourself N-95 masks.  I have a feeling avian flu will become a HUGE problem, and if we wait for the crisis to get things done, it'll be too late. 

Take care.

 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/23/25

In the Trump Admistration's war against the LGBTQIA+ community, particullarly transgender people, his State Department ordered all passport applications with an 'X' in the Gender column to immediatley stop processing.  

Also, they announced that the passports would no longer feature "gender," but will now refer to "sex" and that if an applicant is trying to change their sex status, the passport application would be flagged and halted.

This is a douchey for them to do just for the headache and hassle it causes for people trying to get a passport, but this attempt to erase transgender people from existence is truely evil.  I fully expect to see Trump aligned militia, probably rebranded as 'Riley's Crusaders,' start carrying out more violent activities agains the transgender communtity, under the smiling approval of Trump. 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/22/25

Two things to preface this.

1) Rumors were floating around the incoming Trump Administration that they wanted to fire all employees hired during the Biden Administration and only hire Straight White Christian Men to replace them, under the argument that it was the only way they could guarantee that Straight White Christian Men weren't discriminated against.  I know.  It comes from the White supremacist mentality that no minority or marginalized group could ever do a job better than a Straight White Christian Man. For the record, the laziest and most incompetent people I've ever worked with were all Straight White (sometimes Christian) Men.

2) When dictators take over, they want to create a massive network to spy on their own people. They can't expand the government to do so, so instead, they encourage people to squeal on "suspected bad activity."  This emboldens 20-time losers, who happen to be Straight White Christian Men, to blame everyone else for their failures, as opposed to acknowledging they suck.  It also effectively creates Trump's Rat Brigade.

The worst thing from yesterday was Trump's order to lay off and fire all non-Straight White Christian Men hired in the last four years.  He also encouraged the remaining Straight White Christian Men employees to start ratting out suspicious behavior.

How Stasi of him.  Squealing Straight White Christian Male pigs are going to squeal... 

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/21/25

The worst thing the Trump administration did yesterday was the 'happy' announcement that his Gestapo-like ICE will no longer recognize churches as sacred areas.  The order has been given that ICE will eagerly raid houses of worship, treating them more like a crack house.

Imagine what the "Christian Right" would be like if Democrats merely suggested churches follow non-discriminatory hiring practices.  They would be going INSANE.  But Trump saying they can toss a church like it's a Hells Angel bar searching for terrified Christians looking for sanctuary?  They can't applaud and cheer loud enough.

Some churches in America are going to become like churches in war zones, with hidden rooms and secret passages to whisk their parishioners to safety. #TrumpsAmerica.

Time to bring back Facepalm Jesus...

The Worst Thing Trump Did on 1/20/2025

With the jackass back in the office, I'm going to revisit my cataloging of Trump atrocities.

I will start a daily post of the Worst Thing Trump Did for that day.

Yesterday was a freaking Mount Everest of incompetency. Still, in my opinion, his pardoning of the January 6th terrorists, including the masterminds and the ones who proudly beat the cops, is a permanent dark stain on this country. 

It was a betrayal of Democracy, the military, and the citizens of this country.  Plus for the party who insists they are tough on crime, they undeniably let police abusers walk away scott-free.  According to Trump, beating cops is okay, as long as he's the one ordering the cops to be beaten.

The Call Came From Inside the House!

I've taken the last two-plus months to think about the results of the election and how we got here.  Not only because I had to process how such a bad outcome could've happened but also to make sure I didn't just start throwing out accusations in a knee-jerk fashion.  Having taken the time to observe, evaluate, read up on, and analyze the outcome, there are three culprits that the Democratic Party needs to address:

1) You are BADLY getting destroyed on the messaging front, all but buried under Conservative-owned and Conservative-obedient media.

2) Billionaires realize the Republicans are trying to give them all the money and they like it.  Billionaires are not the Democrat's friends.

3) Moderate Democrats are the most effective anti-Democratic Party campaign the Republicans could ever imagine.

I will address the first two items in future posts, but I want to spend time on the easiest problem for the Democrats to get back under control, stopping the moderate Democrats from killing our chances.

Right after the election, a handful of moderate Democrats who won started screaming "If you Far left Progressives would've sat down and shut up, and the party would've taken our lead, becoming more moderate, the Democrats would've won!"

This is not only a delusional lie, but moderate Democrats know this is a lie and are frantically yelling this to cover up their part in Trump part 2.  Not only did Harris/Walz and most of the state Democratic parties run moderate campaigns, but they also ran some of the most moderate campaigns in Democratic election history...AND THEY GOT BEAT!

Harris/Walz came off of the Convention on a FREAKING ROLL! They resonated with the masses, pushing forward an effective Democratic message, and Tim Walz's popularity pushed the country toward a Democratic win.  Then, the moderates got involved.  

The moderates toned down the campaign's biggest weapon (Walz) because they didn't want the party of new populism, but rather a Democratic Party that was Republican Lite. They forced Harris to abandon any party platform messaging that seemed liberal or progressive, and they had her focus almost solely on campaigning with Republicans.  They did so because they are convinced of a strategy that has already been proven wrong in multiple elections:  If you act like a Republican, maybe enough moderate Republicans will abandon their party and we'll win.

This is a LAUGHABLE, MULTIPLE TIMES DISPROVEN theory.  It ignores traditional Democrats and progressive elements of the party who get turned off by the Republican Lite stance, deciding to sit the election out. It also ignores a simple fact of politics; why would I vote for a 'Lite' version of something when I can just vote for the original version.

In 2010, 2016, and now in 2024, moderate Republicans GLEEFULLY ran away from the Democratic Party, attacking their own party with a fierceness and ferocity Republicans only dream of, and screwed over the country in a pathetic attempt to win over 20 voters who were never going to vote for them in the first place. 

The moderate Democrats, who are stunningly eager to attack their own party, have become easy to manipulate. It starts with a wealthy donor walking through the door and saying "I have a few thousand dollars to help you out, but we need to have a discussion about those liberals!"

You see, the far-right news media of America (mostly owned by the SAME billionaires) searches out the most liberal of causes and then finds the most extremist person in the crowd (a person who is usually not even a Democrat!!!), and they paint the entire Democratic Party as that one far-left extremist.  It's a laughable smear campaign, but because Moderate Democrats are ALWAYS looking to throw their own Party under the bus, especially the progressive side of the party (who they despise), they validate the lie and make attacking their own party the focal point of their campaign. 

Compare that to Republicans.  They actually have Nazis in their party, proud card-carrying members! People ask the non-Nazi GOP about the Nazi issue, and Republicans say, "There isn't an issue.  That's not real," and the questions end! Even though their Nazi problem is an actual real problem, they knock down the dissent before it can fester.  Moderate Democrats fan the flames, proudly looking to paint themselves individually as an outsider.  

In Minnesota, our top state race was Senator Amy Klobuchar's seat, but because the Republican candidate was a freaking nightmare, her race was never in question. The race that became the focus of statewide media attention was the MN-02 race, where moderate Angie Craig was trying to hold onto her seat. Her entire campaign was FAR MORE Republican than it was ever Democrat.  She bashed Biden (REPEATEDLY AND EAGERLY!).  She adopted Republican platform talking points. She ran ads that basically boiled down to "I hate the Democratic Party FAR more than Republicans. Vote for the me, the anti-Democrat Democrat!"

She won her race, but it cost the DFL across the rest of the state.  She made the Democratic Party toxic and helped cost the Minnesota DFL control of the Minnesota House with her rhetoric. And most egregiously, she pushed her anti-Democrat Democrat campaign as she took Democratic money and used Democratic volunteers. 

Craig aside, many Moderate Democrats don't even see how badly they're getting manipulated.  They get a paltry check from a billionaire, ignoring that the same billionaire is spending 200 million trying to get Republicans elected. 

How do you solve this? Democratic Parties first need to have a come-to-Jesus moment with the moderates.  Are they in the party because they are like Walz, a moderate who supports the party platform, or are they in the party because they're former moderate Republicans and they know they wouldn't survive a primary in the GOP? If a Democratic candidate, regardless of where they are on the political spectrum, can't PROUDLY support 80% of the Democratic platform, then they shouldn't be allowed to run as a Democrat.  Political parties can demand some basic loyalty, something the Democrats desperately need to remember.

And if a Democratic candidate starts focusing their campaign around an anti-Democrat narrative, the party needs to step in and remove money and volunteers.  Democrats can no longer embrace the serial killer calling from within their own house! 

The years the Democratic Party has done best is when they have embraced a true middle-of-the-party political platform.  Sure there might be one or two moderate platform points and one or two progressive platform points, but the platform always works best when we embrace the main issues that make Democrats Democrats.  

Moderate Democrats, stop.  You're actively hurting this country with your selfishness. If you want to be a Republican, then GO, be a Republican! We'll respond accordingly. At least you'll stop torpedoing the party from within.

The real power to stop this lies with the Democratic Party.  They need to embrace a basic standard: Democrat means Democratic priorities first!

The Friday Link for 1/17/25

Hey all.

The next week will be rough.  A grossly unqualified man compromised to dictators, entangled with billionaires with an agenda, a man who tried to overthrow the government, a convict, an ultra-narcissist who shouldn't be in charge of a spoon, who is a low IQ moron will become President again because people who are racists, or people who think racists are okay, love how he 'owns the libs,' causing them to vote for a guy who will dramatically make all of their lives worse.

Not a banner day in American history.

This week's link is all about prepping you for what will be ahead, starting with Paleopedia, a page which talks about dinosaurs being forced to debunk a complete moron who thinks they know more than anyone else...because they need to feel superior in their sad pathetic lives.  Watching this guy dismantle this idiot's ramblings is entertaining.

I watch that crazy woman and I think about this cartoon.

If you want to know where some of this comes from, it's from the religious extremists of yore, who have now been given a platform to push their craziness further, and with the blurring of politics and religion, we get to where everything is made up, everything is a conspiracy theory, and being an expert means you can grunt loudest.

I know I featured Dan McClellan last week, but this video of him disputing a religious guy attacking an atheist is spot on. I love it when Dan just starts laughing at this guy! 

Enough with the fools who enabled Trump.  Let's look at his nominee for Defense Secretary with the hilarious Sarah Cooper.

Next up is a sobering look at dictators throughout history with Joe Scott.  The thing that worries me most about Trump is the way he learned from his first term. He's made sure the number one thing of all the people he has put around him is unwavering loyalty to himself.  Look at his Cabinet picks.  They are all clearly extremist zealots like Bondi, or pathetic idiots like Hegseth.  They will all blindly take orders from Trump without questioning. And they all will gladly fall on a sword if things go bad.  Trump never wants the eyes of the public on him, so he is surrounding himself with as many Ollie Norths as he can find. 

But what is really scary is there are at least ten people in the Trump Administration who seem ready to start marching people to soccer stadiums. I'm dead serious.  Multiple people surrounding Trump have called for purges, arrests, prosecutions, and even the death penalty for his opponents. We were fortunate to survive the first Trump administration.  I am far more concerned about where this country will be in two years this time around. 

Finally, tonight is the band OK Go. They are spectacular with the music videos, and this is fantastic. But it's the message of the song which is outstanding.  I wish I could tell you it would all be alright. I wish I could tell you it will all be fine. 

Batten down the hatches.  The next four years will be really hard on everyone. 

Stay safe America.

The Friday Link for 1/10/25

Howdy, all.

This week we go to church.  I'm a Christian. I'm not here to convert anyone.  My mantra on my show is a simple one:  "You do, or don't do, whatever it is you do or don't want to do. I have a personal relationship with my faith and I'm very comfortable with my interpretation of it.

That being said, one of the worst things that has happened to the Christian faith in America is the amount of far-right zealots who have taken a religion CLEARLY centered on peace, love, welcoming, compassion, inclusion, tolerance, and empathy, and molded it into a weapon to persecute all of their political villains.  By making Christianity only about hating the LGBTQIA+ community, railing against abortion, and worshiping Trump as an equal to Jesus, the far right is destroying my faith.  It makes me sad.

They never talk about feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, taking care of the sick, or welcoming in the stranger.  Nope, for them, it's all HATE HATE HATE!!!

After hearing the great John Fugelsang talk about religion 10 years ago, I became inspired.  If I don't try to save my religion, who will?  This began a lot of religious talk on my radio show and on this blog.  I try to take my time to counterpoint the misinformed and evil opportunists who seem content driving Christianity into the ground.

Where do I get a lot of my defense?  Many different places, but Dan McClellan has become a rich source of facts to defend my points.  I really enjoy his videos. 

Three from him tonight, starting with addressing the Paul issue. Paul's teachings are often placed above the teachings of Jesus himself because they imply a harshness, a harshness opportunists have used to create obedience. But who was Paul, and how much of what is attributed to him actually came from him?

Next up is a brilliant video from Dan where he goes after a content creator who attacks a woman who is a Lesbian and a Christian.  The hate is nothing more than right-wing identity politics, and the people who expound on them ignore they're doing the exact thing they're accusing others of doing.

Last one from Dan is him talking on Mel Gibson for implying the Shroud of Turin is something more than it is, which is a fake. 

By the way, Mel Gibson came back to California after his appearance on the Joe Rogan show and immediately started blaming Democrats for the wildfires.  Not very Christian Mel. 

Finally tonight is a reminder from Bob Odenkirk and David Cross why they are one of the greatest comedy teams of all time. The Good Cop Bad Cop routine gets put on its ear here. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Make sure you get your flu shot and stay up to date on your COVID vaccinations! 

The Friday Link for 1/3/25

Happy New Year everyone! 

SPORTS! 

This week's link focuses mainly on sports as this town (Minneapolis/St. Paul) is a little on edge about the final game of the regular season, a winner-take-all battle for the number one seed and the first round playoff bye between the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings. This morning I heard the ESPN guys and the NFL Radio guys both spend 20 minutes on this game, talking about it being the game of the year.  I don't think I can watch it.

Good for me (and those like me) that there are plenty of other sports things to focus on! None of it connected in any way shape or form.

First up is the all-time classic bit from SCTV, Battle of the PBS Network Stars. This is almost perfect sketch comedy.  It's not dumbed down at all, leading to some very high-brow references and impressions (all of which are spot freaking on!!!) but at the same time, it presents you with the best kind of low-brow humor (Mr. Rodger's beating Julia Child with Good King Friday while an on-point Howard Cosell impression laments the outcome). Everything about this is freaking perfect!

Next up is a great video from the soccer/football channel StuntPegg.  I got lost in her channel this week.  She's fantastic! 

She decided to visit the northernmost professional football club in the world, in Tromsø, Norway. For us, imagine a major city NORTH of Yellowknife in Canada, about twice the size of Yellowknife, and they have a professional sports team! It's a quirky place that has an avid fan base for their team.  Considering the circumstances, it's easy to see how the fans can rally around something so unique to their community.  

And our final sports video is the Vikings themselves! Here are the highlights of them beating Green Bay for the second time this year last weekend. And of course, with the NFL rules, you have to watch that video on YouTube itself.  

Our final video this week is Brennan Lee Mulligan from the Dropout channel taking over the role of head of Oreo Cookies, confronting the problem that is clearly haunting the halls of the cookie maker. 

That's it for this week.  Remember to stay safe.  Get vaccinated.

Have a great weekend!