What is the GOP plan on health care?

 As near as I can tell it's  better to go bankrupt  because of astronomical medical bills than to have a government-run system because that's Communism.  Trump wants to extend ACA subsidies.  Repubs don't know what to do.  Many people, far too many in this country are living paycheck to paycheck.  They're not anti-doctor but can't afford medical bills right now.  Something would have to be an absolute medical emergency for them to see a doctor.  I'm sure Speaker Mike Johnson doesn't have this anxiety.  There's no advanced country in the world which would want to exchange health care systems with us.

Maybe I'm due for this and maybe I'm due for that but I have a house to run and haven't received any of the checks yet promised from the Trump Government.   Maybe the question can be asked at the next presser.  The POTUS: "Let me pull them out of my ass."

After reading RFK Jr.'s sex poems

 I want to become a monk.  His past affair with journalist Olivia Nuzzi took a literary turn.  The Bard of Smut.  Also from the ticker a federal judge has tossed the indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and ex-NY Attorney General Letitia James.  Betcha didn't see that coming!  Pentagon wants to court-martial Sen. Mark Kelly over his taking part in that refuse illegal orders video.  Russia/Ukraine peace plan still being worked on and Trump has some kind of health care plan.

I long for the slow news days.

When a grouch is nice you're nervous

 A little bipolar action?

By all accounts yesterday's meeting between NYC Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani and President Trump at the WH went very well.  It was cordial, civil and even charming.  Trump said some of Mamdani's views are a little out there but said he hopes he'll be a great mayor and they'll work together.  They discussed housing, affordability and other matters.  At one point a reporter asked Mamdani if he thought Trump is a fascist and Mamdani started to speak but Trump waved it off and said it's OK to say yes it's easier.  That's a little skill right there.

Dunno.  Had a deli manager back in the day who was a real grouch.  One Christmas he bought everyone a bottle of Australian Yellowtail and we were like what's up with that?  Trump goes in and out of the clear state a lot.  Is it all shtick?

MTG resigning in January.  Will probably wind up with a talk show or podcast.  You haven't heard the last from her.

From dictator to lame duck

 Emasculated by the Epstein Files saga President Trump is now issuing death threats against Democrats.  Six Democrats from the Senate and House posted a video saying US service members and intelligence personnel can refuse illegal orders.  Trump in a typically hyperbolic post on Truth Social said such behavior amounts to sedition and George Washington would've hung 'em.  WH Press whore Karoline Leavitt said it may be a crime to defy Trump and that's not much of a paraphrase.  That being said the President is obviously not well in the head.  He's also giving in to Putin on the Russia/Ukraine War.  Ask Steve Bannon:)

I'm 62 years old come next March

 Can I get a 50 year mortgage?

Well it took an act of Congress for Trump to finally fulfill one of his campaign promises namely to release the full Epstein Files.  Transparency in government.  Who's Bubba?

Gay presidential porn

 Could be a new sub-genre on PornHub next to midgets and dwarves and granny porn.  I LONG for the days when politics was boring.  You'd be watching the PBS Newshour and experts would be on discussing the deficit, your eyes would glaze over and you'd change the channel.  You finally got your big political science degree at a college or university, you finally got a seat on an important TV roundtable and you have to discuss THIS?  What is this Ancient Rome?  You have to get the kids out of the room now before you flip on the news?  Oh yeah to hear the WH tell it this is just a massive distraction from Trump's many accomplishments.  Like what?

I can't believe I'm living;)

Pot - Kettle - Black

 In a post on Truth Social President Trump called MTG "wacky" and "a ranting lunatic."  The Trump brand is toxic at this point and expect more Republicans next week to vote for the release of the Epstein Files.  Handwriting on the wall.  After next year's mid-terms turn into a big blue wave Trump becomes a lame duck.  Probably one already.  On so many fronts has done the opposite of the core MAGA principles.   He has exploded the deficit and has started or wants to start more wars.  On the Epstein front he acts like he's hiding something.   Personality-wise he's pretty much a piece of shit.  The Cult of the Orange Man.  Only a few stalwarts left.

The Hoax is about to get interesting

 The dog that hasn't barked is calling it that.  Today House Speaker Mike Johnson finally swore in Representative-Elect Adelita Grijalva AZ and tomorrow she'll be the 218th vote on a discharge petition for DOJ to release the full Jeffrey Epstein Files.  Today was a document dump of a ton of old Epstein e-mails three of which claim Trump knew of the underage girls and the trafficking.  I don't keep old e-mails around do you but anyway WH reportedly put pressure on Republican Congresswoman from Colorado Lauren Boebert to take her name off the petition.  I mean if it's a hoax who gives a 🐀's ass ya know? So that'll be the news for awhile as Trump moves more aircraft carriers into the Caribbean.  One might almost be tempted to say that's a distraction.

Government shutdown finally ending

 Eight Dems struck a deal.  Has to pass through both Chambers of course and be ratified by His Highness but damage already done.  SNAP on hold.  Airports in turmoil.  Didn't stop Homan's Heroes though (wish I thought of that one but borrowing from BB).  Longest in history.  If Trump got a third term he'd land us into even a longer one and over something stupid.

I wish in the next three years we'd get a return to normal governance.  Fairly normal?  Semi-normal at least?  But the Trump Administration is an inversion, the reverse of the normal way things should be.  Putting the cart before the horse, counting your chickens before they're hatched or having diarrhea after you take a shower.  He's making cooing sounds now of a 2K tariff dividend check for most Americans except the highest earners.  Something tells me that may go the way of the DOGE check.

To paraphrase a Billy Joel song Christian Brothers will get you by.

Good time to travel no? Hop on a flight

 What was the bone of contention again to cause the entire Government to shut down?  Health care for illegals?  Release of the Epstein Files?  A UFO cover-up?  I forget.  Trump likes to break his own records.  Longest government  shutdown in history.  Second longest also held by Trump during his first term.  Trump doesn't like the government being open apparently.  Homan and ICE still doing their work though come rain or shine.  Meanwhile Pelosi's retiring after 100 years in the Congress.

My toilet bowl started glowing last night.  Are they retesting the nuclear program in Yonkers?

Because he thinks he's all that

 Usually off-year elections ain't all that interesting but the main focus this time was Zohran Mamdani's early win in the NYC mayoralty race.  The Groper had a respectable showing at 42% but his political career is over.  Sliwa continues to run for things but probably couldn't even get Sidewalk Inspector for Yonkers.  Mikie Sherrill handily won the gubernatorial race in NJ and a Democrat lady won the governor's race in VA.  Other key races across the land went to the Democrats.  Trump had a typical solipsistic take in his post-election analysis.  Republicans lost heavily in part because his name wasn't on the ballot.

WHY does Trump worship still exist and are there really going to be free bus rides in NYC?

Insomniacs get one extra hour of no sleep

 Why do we still do this?  Tomorrow night we fall back one hour.  Pretty soon it'll be pitch black at 5PM.  I'm getting old.  I don't drive good in the dark anymore.  Lights will go on in the house earlier too.  Electric bill goes up.  There is now a real movement behind ending Daylight Savings Time.  Not sure I said that right as I like summer evenings with that extra light.  Let's just go back to some kind of normal time for lack of a better phrase and leave it at that.

Got a set of 4 solar path lights recently at Harbor Freight.  Pretty cool.  They recharge themselves in the daytime even on overcast days.  Sometimes they don't last the whole night but that's OK.  Trendy but practical.

Whenever the Congress gets back in session can we do something about the time thing?  No fan of Trump but if he does something about this I'll give him three points.  Make that five.

Trump 3.0 - The Shitshow Continues

 May this never happen.  The King will be a doddering old fool at that point.  Steve Bannon says there's ways around the 22nd Amendment and believes Trump is an instrument of Divine Providence.  To what end explode the deficit and start wars against little countries?  The Nutty Emperor.  Oh SNAP food aid is about to end for millions of Americans but the military will continue to get paid because one of Trump's donor friends is covering their salaries.  Government shutdown with no end in sight but Chef at work tells me the stock market is doing well.

Perhaps Megyn Kelly can explain all this.

Last Tango at the White House

 Maybe they can play some Nazi Waltz music.

Construction has already begun on the East Room or the facade as Trump would have it since he says he respects the existing structure.  A big ballroom.  $250 million tab to be picked up by Trump and some private donors.  Is Bob Vila involved?  Will Taylor Swift perform?  What about a cineplex where they can show such classics like The Boys From Brazil?    Will Homan do stand-up?  Maybe show a compilation like ICE Bloopers and Practical Jokes.  Will they put a basketball court on the grounds?  After Diddy and Ghislaine Maxwell are pardoned will they be honorees?  

TRUMP - The everything but the cost-of-living president. 

Donald Trump's America

 What would Norman Rockwell have done with this?  ICE goes viral.  Maybe these are the trainees who signed up for the 50K bonus.  At one point in the video (entire video about 4 minutes long) one ICE agent looks like he's trying to hump the poor guy.  In the middle of a busy Chicago street!  Horns honking, even a funeral procession passing through at one point.  Plenty of other ICE Follies vids on YouTube.  Compilations, best of moments.  A blend of Keystone Cops, Benny Hill and if the Little Rascals were grown up.  You can't make this shit up.  If I were new to blogging I'd probably use this as my blog title.

Homan should be hauled before Congress.  I sure hope these assholes don't come to Yonkers.   How long will it take to restore a normal fully functioning democracy again?

They passed the big bad beautiful bill then shut the government down

 Kind of makes no sense but Trump says it's no big deal.  The Epstein Files also no big deal.  An illegal migrant picking your lettuce now that's a big deal!

A ragtag group of misfits

  Vance, Bondi, Patel, Homan, Hegseth, RFK Jr., Oz.  But somehow they'll survive.  I wonder if they ever wake up in the morning and have an inkling, a wisp of a suspicion their Boss is Nutz.  

How does attrition affect the job numbers?

 Economics not being my strong suit.  It is not an uncommon business practice that when someone leaves, passes on or retires the company doesn't replace them.  Many companies probably won't even officially acknowledge they've adopted a policy of attrition but the remaining workers are bound to notice over time.  Everybody else has to work harder of course and in some cases you're left with a skeleton crew.  I feel like at work in our department we're skeletal or close to it.  So rather than rambling further I would submit that Trump instead of firing some top labor stats person should make a sincere effort to understand the numbers better if they are poor.  The question: how common is the business policy of attrition and how significantly does it affect the jobs report?

The Kash Patel Comedy Hour

 During his two day testimony before the Senate and House FBI Director Kash Patel claimed Jeffrey Epstein only trafficked young girls to himself.  He further said previous administrations looked into the matter and could find no credible evidence that other clients even existed.  According to news reports Patel did not read any of the reports himself or interview any of the surviving victims.  Now a word from our sponsors......

Trump wants to ban drug advertising on TV

I see it as a free speech issue but Trump being Trump wants to protect us.  I see a little Bobby influence here.  RFK Jr. the nation's doctor.  Actually these Big Pharma produced TV ads are so well made you want the drug even if you don't have the ailment.  Guy or gal climbing a mountain at sunrise or kayaking.  Rare side effects may include swallowing your tongue or sticking your head in the oven.  I don't think Trump will ever get to the cost-of-living in his second term.  Too much on his plate.  Maybe he's saving it for his third term.

And Happy Tremfya to you.