Tuesday Stuff

Trevor Hayes of More Perfect Union brings us the sordid, seamy tale of companies bribing Mango Mussolini, featuring a $130K gold bar along with a gold Rolex desk clock on the resolute desk; you know, the one used by presidents who were actually legitimate...and oh yeah, a host of other businesses are also included when it comes to paying off the Gropenfuhrer, including a meat packing plant, plastic bottlers, and humongous tech companies, among others (and oh yeah, those stinking tariffs figure into this also)...and I guess it’s unintentionally hilarious in a Stanley Kubrick kind of way that a company named Pilgrim’s Pride figures into this, though they apparently were bought out by a foreign conglomerate called JBS...not exactly sure why the latter outfit needed permission from Cantaloupe Capone to go public, but given the seamy activities of this company, I guess it’s a case of “birds of a feather,” you might say, including that MAGA-aligned lobbying firm that figures into this, leading to dropping the stinking tariff on Brazilian beef...oh, and we also learn that Ford and GM got some kind of a tariff break because they were major donors to the inaugural for #47 (another reason not to buy their vehicles as far as I’m concerned)...one point made clear to yours truly is that we’re going to have to do something about this “inaugural fund” stuff, which is pretty much a “slush fund” for the Tangerine Toddler and may have been that for prior presidents also; one idea is to have that dough regulated by Congress, which actually has the “power of the purse”...so many examples of pay-to-play here that your head will spin...we learn yet again how soybean farmers were destroyed by Cheetoh Hitler’s stinking tariffs with China refusing to purchase them from our farmers, yet another tale met with a shrug by our corporate media as nearly as I can tell...



...and something that got a little lost with the ongoing ICE horror show is the fact that former special counsel Jack Smith recently testified before the House about the criminal investigations into Bronzer Beelzebub (which seems almost quaint now I guess), with Smith basically laying out the case that, were he not residing in An Oval Office, #47 would likely be in a Club Fed somewhere...Rachel Maddow brings us this recent exchange between Smith and Dem U.S. House Rep Becca Balint of Vermont concerning Our Treasonous Orange Pustule of a *preznit and #47’s petty, childish, ridiculous threats against Smith (I don’t think it needs to be pointed out what a hero Smith is for his courageous work as well as that of his staff in investigating the crimes of our ruling regime)...panel discussion includes Nicolle Wallace (who correctly, and tragically, points out how the DOJ has been eviscerated) along with Chris Hayes (I think his phrase “click-tatorship” is apt, sadly), and I know Lawrence O’Donnell brings kind of a “West Wing” mentality here, which makes sense because he worked in the U.S. Senate during that era (and I make that observation with respect, and he makes a TERRIFIC point that there could be no Trump without his party’s meatheads in Congress)...also, I think Ari Melber’s perspective is particularly important here since he has a law degree...



...and Brian Tyler Cohen discusses Maria Bartiromo of Fix Noise starting off with what appears to be feigned outrage over the murder of Alex Pretti, and then she proceeds to let Repug U.S. House Rep James Comer start spewing a torrent of utter bullsh*t in response to this tragedy; about 61 percent of this country overall believes that ICE has gone way too damn far according to recent polling....to be honest (and I mean no disrespect to Cohen), I really could care less what the right-wing fever swamps say on this, including Joe Rogan (NSFW/H).

Oh, and as far as #47 supposedly reducing crime in D.C. with a greater ICE presence, I offer the following from here...

Though Trump has taken credit for reducing overall crime in 2025, rates were already declining before he returned to office last January, and experts say it’s at best too soon to tell if his Administration has played a notable role in the drop—and that it could be outright false to attribute the change to his crackdown.

And oh yeah, as far as Comer’s nonsense about “white liberal agitators” encouraging ICE protests, I give you this.

Here's the Cohen clip...



...and sometimes I think it's best just to let the folks who actually live in the affected area make their own case for themselves (doesn't sound like a white "liberal agitator" to me)...

This woman speaks for the majority of Americans. 🙌🙏🫶👇 pic.twitter.com/IIBzSHHVAQ

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) January 25, 2026

...and I thought this was a good take by Mr. Newberger...



...and happy 75th birthday to Seth Justman of the J. Geils Band.