NATIONAL PEPPERMINT PATTY DAY UPDATES

While It Is About the Candy, Go Ahead and Celebrate Marcie’s PEANUTS Pal, Too!

-As court after court after court continues to put stop after stop after stop on all the illegal after illegal after illegal sh*t President Musk and Vice President Trump (aided by their intern JD Vance) are doing, there is an issue that has emerged that is turning into what a ton of non-Fox and non-MAGA commentators are calmly terming a five-alarm hair on fire all hands on deck EMERGENCY … in the form of what could very well be an in-process Constitutional Crisis.

-The crisis is simple but profound: court orders that are demanding Musk and Trump end their illegal choking off of funding to organizations across the country and world – with foreign aid disbursed by USAID and medical research funding controlled through the National Institutes of Health being primary pressure points – are not being fully obeyed, as some funding that should have been resumed has not been resumed.

-In more direct terms, Musk and Trump appear to be, in the direct words of Musk, Vance, and Trump Right-Cloven-Clawed Ghoul Stephen Miller, openly ignoring the court orders and doing what they damn well please because (in the words of Substacker Jeff Tiedrich), “FK YOU THAT’S WHY!” (and also, Because Dear Leader – whoever that is – wishes it so!)

-Now, there is plenty of other virulently anti-Constitutional stuff going on in the Trump/Project 2025 SHOCKANDAWE! Blitzkrieg of the first weeks of the second Trump regime, not the least of which is the demand that administrative offices like USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau immediately close on orders from bureaucrats is … oh, what’s a term for it … ILLEGAL A.F. and UNCONSTITUTIONAL A.F., but layoffs are continuing as courts order the layoffs to stop, but the march continues under Musk’s ridiculous claim of “government efficiency” that even MAGAts are realizing will be super-duper-bad for their localities (at least if you value silly things like jobs and economic activity and potentially getting re-elected) and asking for at least a little closer moderation.

-It also must be emphasized that, at this moment, no court order has been completely spiked or blown off, but it is being talked about even as it looks to be happening on the down-low, but make no mistake: what is at stake is one of the bedrock elements of American constitutional power, Marbury V. Madison and the line drawn by the Supreme Court that it’s up to the Supreme Court and not the President or anyone he appoints (and certainly not a foreign-born drug-addled emotionally damaged mega-billionaire) to decide what is and is not Constitutional – and that when the courts say something, their orders are obeyed (or at least counter-challenged in other courts).

-Observers are convinced it is a matter of time for that challenge to be made, and while Chief Justice John Roberts has “warned” that defying SCOTUS would not be a good idea – even as this SCOTUS has bent their hips towards Trump in a way no other SCOTUS has – the worry that the other five Federalist Society-trained dullards wouldn’t is the profound fear.

-Thus far the courts have been uniformly ruling against Trump (no surprise there given his court records and time-worn if sadly effective strategy of suing and suing and suing until opponents run out of money and/or interest and/or Trump runs the cycle off, at which point they write a check) and the defiance has not yet been so blatant as to openly trigger a crisis, and the continued building anger and disgust towards President Musk is also not abating (and let’s note that the rumored ad wave to smear USAID during the Super Bowl turned out to be a dud), so the more the message that Musk and Trump are up to no Constitutional good and they will need to be genuinely stopped must continue.

-The polling does not favor Musk – and while a CBS poll gave Trump surprisingly high approval numbers over the weekend, that poll appears to be an outlier (and his negatives continue to be at record highs) and anything to make MAGAts feel vulnerable could push to stem some of this tide.

-Indeed, yesterday Musk suffered a major pushback when his offer to purchase OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, for $94.7 billion was roundly and publicly rejected by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who countered with an offer of $9.47 billion to take Musk’s garbage scow social media site X off his ketamine-stained paws. In doing so, Altman appeared to try to make this an AI CEO version of the Kendrick/Drake feud by calling Musk “sad” and adding “I don’t think (Musk)’s a happy person. I feel for him.” In a response that bespokes the internal emotional security of the world’s richest man, Musk changed his X handle this morning to “Hairy Bolz” (GET IT? GET IT?!?!!) and asked how insecure could he be if he was changing his name to “Hairy Bolz”?

-While I think we all know the answer to THAT question, you may also have noticed that Musk was trying to buy the pre-eminent artificial intelligence program, reflect on his marauding horde of twentysomething dudebros who seem to be vacuuming datasets throughout the government for their employer Elon, and connecting a few dots in the process. This Substacker, for one, will not stop you from doing that – but will note that, in addition to some MAGA legislators suddenly freaking out about federal monies no longer flowing into their state coffers because of Apartheid Boy, CEOs who supported the Leopard-Eating-Face Party are now getting worried that said leopards are now licking their faces and purring loudly – and what to do about such a shocking turn of events!

-Meanwhile, Vice President Trump continues to prattle on dementedly about all sorts of things, including using his social media feed to mock Taylor Swift getting booed at the Super Bowl (never mind the person who got booed the loudest was Trump, as those who watched the European Fox Sports feed could clearly hear while the U.S. Fox Sports feed unsurprisingly weeded those out for the MAGA crowd), blaming DEI policies for the Kansas City blowout (despite Trump picking the Chiefs and their open MAGA lovers Harrison Busker and Brittany) and pardoning former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (with a rumor that Blago may soon be the Ambassador to Serbia, too!). He also got the Department of Justice to end the corruption trial of New York City Mayor Eric Adams for now – many observers believing Adams will return the favor with more ICE raids and a possible appointment.

-But Trump was not done! Before retiring for the 10^th day in his Mar-a-Lago golf compound to demand the rest of the government return to the offices to work, Trump busted out his Sharpie to Declare as President of America and All The Power It Is Given Unto Him that pennies shall be banished from his site (at least until they show his face?) and that low-pressure showers and toilets shall be banished forever so as to give Dear Leader all the luxurious hot water cascading down his mountains of transfats and body detritus (EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!) he so desires.

-Hopefully I didn’t go too far with “Trump body detritus.”

-Speaking of that Super Bowl, by the way – let’s! Besides the Trump prediction proving what a losing loser Trump is – especially given that the Philadelphia Eagles, whatever other flaws they have, are owned by an Obama/Biden supporter that has openly mocked Trump at NFL owners’ meetings and refused to visit the White House when they won the Lombardi in 2018 – without question the major buzz out of the game was the Kendrick Lamar halftime show. MAGAts were FUUUURIOUS about it while openly admitting they really couldn’t understand it, and the show was full of multiple layers of political commentary (no White person performing at all, Samuel L. Jackson as “Uncle Sam”) along with constructing the ultimate diss track of all time (Kendrick’s gold necklace with the word “a” on it alluding to the singalong line of “Not Like Us”) and fusing the two (look up all the levels of meaning to seeing Serena Williams crip-walking both literary and petty), it very clearly was not a Kid Rock singalong that MAGAworld would have preferred!

-And speaking of Robert Richie, a gratuitous shot at this rich-boy poseur supplied by him over the weekend, as an angry Kid Richie cut off a performance at a Jon Bon Jovi-owned bar in Nashville when the crowed refused to clap after finishing a song at the joint. To suck so bad that a Bon Jovi crowd won’t clap is one thing, but to go full Karen, tell the crowd to FK it, and stomp off to try to shoot some woke cases of Bud Light … well, it’s almost good enough to have a Bud Light!

-Almost.

-Anyhoo, football season is over, and that means we have mid-season breaks in the NBA and NHL – and both are tweaking their traditional All-Star formats to jumpstart what used to be a highlight of both seasons but have definitely waned. In the NBA, the chosen All-Stars going to San Francisco (along with a group of rookies and second year players) have been divided into four teams and will face each other in short games in an elimination format rather than a full game. Teams were picked by INSIDE THE NBA commentators Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kenny Smith, with Candace Parker head of the Rising Stars team). The mini-tourney is on Sunday with the traditional three-point and slam-dunk contests on Saturday.

-Meanwhile, the NHL will have a four-team two-week tournament called the 4 Nations Face-Off, in which the All-Stars will be in national teams – the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden – with preliminary round-robin rounds played in Montreal and the finals played in Boston.

-And if those did not or do not float your boat, this week four of the most beautiful words will be uttered in Arizona and Florida: PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT! Baseball training camps are opening – and in the case of the Chicago Cubs actually opened on Sunday, as the Cubs will start the 2025 regular season in Tokyo in late March to play two games with defending champion and Team That Has Everyone, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

-Best of all, at this point there is no indication Trump, Musk, or MAGA will be anywhere near any of these events in the next few days. Don’t let them take joy away from you – spread the word about the constitutional shenanigans, demand everyone including leaders get louder about it, and stay tuned for more as events warrant.

-And now, the trivia!

-NEWS ON THIS DATE: In 1858, St. Bernadette saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s Conservative Party leader. In 2011, Hosni Mubarak stepped down as President of Egypt, marking the high point of the Arab Spring. In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI stepped aside – the first time a Pope did not let go of the papacy without dying since 1415. In 2020, the World Health Organization named the Wuhan-based coronavirus COVID-19 (for the year it was identified).

-DEBUTS ON THIS DATE: Japan (660 BC), Vatican City (1929), science fiction on TV (an adaptation of Karel Capek’s R.U.R., 1938), THE FRENCH CHEF starring Julia Child (1963), MEAT IS MURDER (1985), a Female Bishop (Reverend Barbara Harris, Protestant, 1989).

-HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Thomas Edison, Tony Hulman Jr., Max Baer, Sidney Sheldon, Eva Gabor, Lloyd Bentsen, Leslie Nielsen, Paul Bocuse, Conrad Janis, Larry Merchant, Mary Quant, Tina Louise, Gene Vincent, Burt Reynolds, Boris Pickett, Gerry Goffin, Sergio Mendes, Otis Clay, George Winston, Sheryl Crow, Tammy Baldwin, Ken Shamrock, Jennifer Aniston, D’Angelo, Brandy Norwood, Kelly Rowland, and Daniil Medvedev.

-REST IN PEACE/REST IN POWER: Rene Descartes, Sergei Eisenstein, Charles Scribner III, Sylvia Plath, Whitney Young Jr., Lee J. Cobb, Frank Herbert, George Stephen, Sorrell Booke, William Conrad, Roger Vadim, Peter Benchley, Chuck Tanner, Whitney Houston, Bob Simon, Jerry Tarkanian, Vic Damone, and Joseph Shabalala.

-FEED THE WORMS: Manuel Noriega, Jeb! Bush, Sarah Palin and Alex Jones entered Earth on this date.

-YOUR MUSICAL INTERLUDE: Celebrate the release of Nelson Mandela on this date in 1990 - and remind yourselves that fights can take time and can seem hopeless but they can - and are - won when you keep fighting …