NATIONAL HOMEMADE BREAD DAY UPDATES
The World Is A Little Bit Better With Fresh Bread in the Oven. (Trust Me On That One!)
-I'm not sure about anyone who reads this Substack, but speaking very personally, I have found the last week to be full of emotional whipsaws from utter despair to tentative hope to steely determination to hallucinatory absurdism - often within minutes of each other. This is what we hoped to avoid by beating Trump, but since Trump is to Democrats as Aaron Rogers was to the Chicago Bears and Michael Jordan was to the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James was to the Chicago Bulls - i.e., they own their opponents no matter what those opponents do to beat them - this is where we will dwell until Trump himself leaves the scene once and for all.
-So, what to do? Document the absurdities, find the hope, steel the resolve, and help who you can where you can. Starting with as much verifiable truth as can be found and being able to defend it (which I will do my tiny bit to do, along with my talent for being a smart-arse).
-Here ... we ... go ...
-For example, while everyone from House Republicans to the Federalist Society are granting Trump all the deference they seem to have believing he won with a Putin-esque vote margin, the actual votes continue to be counted - and, counter to Election Night and the now all-but-worthless political mainstream media have been saying since, Trump once again will not receive a majority of the popular vote. Now, it may be a matter of 0.1% or 0.2%, but that difference has had ramifications in state houses (MI and WI), state Supreme Courts (NC), the Senate (where votes are still being counted and Democrat Bob Casey still has a chance to hold the seat even before a mandatory recount will take place - his margin down to around 16,000 votes), and especially the House.
-In the House, GOPMAGA will at best barely get an extra vote or two to build the four-vote margin it had this Congress - and more than likely will be very tentative with at least three potential special elections in early 2026 just to hold that Trump hand-size-like wee tiny margin. That will matter since, again, Congress will be needed to lock in a lot of what Project 2025 proposes - and if those elite experts are right, the economy and deportation raids makes at least some Trump voters wonder if maybe their vote wasn't worth cheaper bacon or lording themselves over a neighbor or two.
-There is also the Cantina Bar of nominees, uniformly bad for conventional GOP reasons (of COURSE the nominee for Energy Secretary would be own a fracking company - duh!) but also the utter personal emotional dysfunction of so many of them. The Matt Gaetz Attorney General nomination naturally leads the list for its sheer moral depravity and horse-in-the-Senate dare Trump is making to see how hard the Senate may push back. Privately, Gaetz is even more loathed on Capital Hill than Ted Cruz (I KNOW - RIGHT?!) but Trump is apparently enjoying the caterwauling of it all, so we have weeks to see whether the House report on Gaetz being sexually involved with at least one minor gets leaked or whether they actually tell Trump that he has to remove the horse from the chambers or not.
-Gaetz isn't alone in hideousness, of course. National Intelligence nominee Tulsi Gabbard has her own issues, from Russian state television cheerfully calling her "Putin's girlfriend" to her still-not-totally explored affection for Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. In literally any other world but this one the mere prospect of Gabbard being nominated would be ridiculous since chances of her getting security clearances are as big as her returning to the Democratic Party.
-Similarly, Defense Department nominee Pete Hegseth would also never even be seriously considered for any kind of position in any government even remotely concerned with national security. Having never run anything large than a private office, he is utterly devoid of experience necessary to run the world's largest bureaucracy. Even worse, Hegseth has tattoos that, depending on who you talk to, signify sympathy towards if not outright endorsement of Christian nationalists (Hegseth, being a Fox News commentator, of course labeled any questions about the tats "Anti-Christian bigotry"). And, as is apparently a prerequisite for any Trump nominee, Hegseth has a nasty history involving women, including multiple examples of cheating (the 44-year-old has already been married three times) and at least one charge of sexual assault.
-And then we get to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Holy Living F*$k - THIS GUY.
-The dozens of interviews involving all the anti-vaccine, anti-medical research, anti-sanitary habits (which Hegseth would love, as Hegseth has said he does not believe in washing his hands), and even his pro-abortion rights stances (which are getting that branch of MAGAville uncomfortable) are spilling out after his trolling nomination for Health and Human Services - and likely will continue to, because there are so many. The stories coming out are not bugging him, though - in fact, last night, RFK bent his hips to Trump as Trump conducted one of his favorite things he loves to do: humiliate anyone who wants to breathe in his stench for his blessing and temporary housing in his inner circle.
-The event: a UFC fight held by Trump ally Dana White. RFK Jr., along with fellow humiliant House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Jay-EE-Zuz!, LA), were allowed to join the Trump Kool Kids, which included failson Donald Trump Jr., faux populist quasi-musician Kid Rock, and apparent new Trump caretaker Elon Musk, and they were first photographed in a super-crowded elevator to the match as a tease.
-The real dumb show came in a second photo on the once-owned-by-Jeffrey-Epstein Trump jet (maybe - it's unclear whether that jet is still in use by Trump, but it was so I'm mentioning it). In said photo, Johnson is perched behind a table like a six-year-old trying to photobomb his high school brother's prom picture, while RFK Jr. - who in one of those unearthed stories tore into Trump's fast-food-and-Diet-Coke soaked diet - is seen doing his best to enjoy several McDonald's hamberders and fish delight sandwiches sitting under his chin stuck there to prove his loyalty to Dear Leader.
-Everything Trump touches ...
-Incidentally, Musk's continued appearances in Trump-ville are emerging as one of the odder parts of this part of the story. Clearly taking a bet that he sees as being able to pay off, Musk has been at Trump's side virtually non-stop since Election Night (save for one strange trip Musk took to the Iranian Embassy - Iran, recall, was home to a group of people arrested for allegedly plotting an assassination attempt on Trump). Stories of the Trump camp getting increasingly annoyed at Musk made Musk respond "Nuh-UH!" or words to that effect on his now-rapidly-declining social media site X.
-The Trump history is full of overt shows of loyalty by people desperate to be part of the Trump entourage that crumble at the whim of Trump himself, so if we cared what would happen to these people personally we would say be careful ... but they made their own beds, so we will instead care about the vast harm such people could inflict and how to mitigate it instead, thank you very much. (I realize "we" is doing a lot of work in that previous sentence, so if that does not apply to you, understood. It's a rhetorical device, y'all.)
-In other news ... the BBC reports Russia launched one of its heaviest missile assaults on Ukraine in months last night, focusing on their power infrastructure as winter and Trump begin to descend. The Biden Administration is working to get as many dollars and munitions to the country as he can before January 20, and Europe is also working as the potential for a cease-fire and Putin-friendly negotiations may begin. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy continues to fight for his country, telling MEET THE PRESS last week that the goal remains not to surrender to "that fucking terrorist Putin," with the F-bomb dropping on host Kristin Welker Todd.
-Russia's once-vaunted Army has reportedly amassed 50,000 troops around the city of Kursk but has not launched a counter-offensive yet, with one of the emerging issues being that that troop number includes several thousand North Korean troops sent by Putin/Trump ally Kim Jong-Un. In fighting where the imported troops did fight, reports are they (like over 700,000 Russian troops before them) suffered heavy losses and defections - and in an unanticipated problem, are finding that the troops are not ready to fight because they have discovered pornography and are filling their mobile phones with them. (You may add your occupation and hands jokes here.)
-Hands UP - SLAVA UKRAINI! (And ... yay porn?)
-These posts will end with bits of Good News which we all need, and this bit of Good News (at least in my world) comes from NBA media.
-Last night, to resolve a lawsuit involving TNT and the move by the NBA to move the game rights to other networks and carriers (NBC and Amazon), it was announced that the flagship TNT program INSIDE THE NBA will continue after TNT no longer telecasts games. Instead, INSIDE THE NBA will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC under what is being called a 'licensing agreement' that apparently means Ernie Anderson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neill and Kenny Smith will do their thing on the outlet which will be the home to the NBA Finals - and create a very intriguing and potentially drama-filled situation with the current top dog among ESPN commentators, spokesmouth Stephen A. Smith. Or it may if ESPN allows the show to stay in its current format.
-Stay tuned and enjoy the gang as they get ready to keep going (no, Barkley is NOT retiring) - and LET'S GO CAVALIERS! #DefendTheLand #LetEmKnow (they face Charlotte this afternoon to extend their opening season undefeated streak to 14)!
-Stay healthy, stay sane, take care of yourself and someone else (h/t Hal Sparks for that), and ...
-On this date in 1558, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I began. On this date in 1968, NBC ended coverage of an AFL game between the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders to broadcast a movie version of HEIDI - only to have Oakland stage a miraculous comeback to win and NBC to interrupt the movie with a crawl bulletin announcing the final score, thereby offending pretty much every viewer on NBC in that moment. On this date in 1970, the computer mouse was patented. On this date in 1973, Richard Nixon lied and told the country "I am not a crook!" On this date in 1989, antigovernment demonstrations under the leadership of playwright Vaclav Havel erupted in what was then Czechoslovakia - demonstrations that led to the collapse of the Communist government in what is now known as "the Velvet Revolution." And on this date in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was inaugurated as Governor of California. (Sigh ...) (And sigh on the sigh ...)
-Debuts on this date: the U.S. Congres (1800), the Suez Canal (1869), the National Rifle Association (1871), DUCK SOUP (1933), live FM broadcast from a recording studio (of Elton John, 1970), DOUBLE FANTASY (1980), Britney Spears's Hollywood Walk of Fame star (2003).
-Happy Birthday to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, Lee Strasberg, Soichiro Honda, Archie Campbell, Rock Hudson, Bob Mathias, Peter Cook, Gordon Lightfoot, Martin Scorsese, Lauren Hutton, Gene Clark, Danny DeVito, Jim Boeheim, Lorne Michaels, Tom Seaver, Elvin Hayes, Roland Joffe, Howard Dean, Howard Fineman, Stephen Root, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, RuPaul, Jeff Buckley, Ronnie Devoe, Rachel McAdams, Reggie Wayne, and Isaac Hansen.
-Rest in Peace/Rest in Power to Auguste Rodin, Duk Koo Kim, Audre Lord, Esther Rolle, Weeb Ewbank, Bo Schembechler, Ruth Brown, Pete Newell, Jimmy Ruffin, and Dave Frishberg.
-Feed the Worms: drinky weepy former House Speaker John Boehner entered Earth on this date. Mary I - aka Mary Queen of Scots - defintely did not get better and died on this date. Fred Koch also bought it on this date.
-The Number One Movie in America on this date ... in 2024, RED ONE ... in 2014, DUMB AND DUMBER TO ... in 2004, THE INCREDIBLES ... in 1994, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE ... in 1984, MISSING IN ACTION ... and in 1974, THE TRIAL OF BILLY JACK.