Dunno. I just want my president to act human ya know?

 IMHO Trump entered his second term in an antagonistic attack mode itching for fights.  For instance he could have just deported those Venezuelan gangbangers simply on the grounds they're here illegally instead of invoking some long-forgotten wartime act although Judge Boasberg still comes across as your stereotypical soft on crime leftist judge.  Musk -  DOGE sees fraud and corruption everywhere.   Musk would probably see waste and abuse in the cemetery business.  Time to let this corporatist bastard go.  Let him concentrate on flying around the rings of Saturn or whatever suits his fancy.  Trump goes in and out of the clear state (e.g. Greenland).  He's half mental but Republicans and conservatives are enabling him for some reason.

Pop a Prozac. 

Part of the problem is judges see themselves as gods

 The other part of the issue is you can't just impeach judges for making stupid decisions judicial arrogance notwithstanding.  Talking of course about President Trump vs. federal judge James Boasberg who thinks he has the power to turn around planes in midair.  This ain't a movie.  Trump deported a bunch of alleged Venezuelan gang members back to an El Salvodoran prison.  Boasberg claims the order was signed in the dead of night and is pressing the government why they disobeyed his order to turn the planes around and return them to U.S. detention.  It was part of the reason though why the American people put Trump back into office to do things like this.  But at any rate it's the system we have but Trump is taking it to another level by calling for the impeachment of federal judges.  The drama never ends. 

Trump vs. the judicial branch

 Trump/Musk fire/layoff federal workers and a judge says they have to be reinstated.  Trump freezes spending and another judge says he has to unfreeze it. The President invokes some dustbin in history law about alien enemies to speed up mass deportations of Venezuelan gang members and yet another judge blocks that.  NOW STOP RIGHT THERE.

Trump obviously views the executive branch of government as properly being the most powerful.  On the other hand federal judges view themselves as the most powerful branch of government.  You can quibble about my formulation but for all intents and purposes..  THEY'RE BOTH WRONG.  Checks and balances.  Three CO-EQUAL branches of government.  Too complicated to put into a blogpost without it turning into a dissertation.  We're reaching a constitutional crisis and yet nobody properly understands it.

Long

 Trump's Joint Address to Congress last night.  He practically said everything he was expected to say.  Dems look constipated.  Heckler with a cane was escorted out early.  Some Dems holding signs saying "False" and "Save Medicaid".  Some girl walked out midway through with a "Resist" t-shirt on.  Bernie Sanders had to leave early.  Still not getting Gulf of America and Greenland.   Are we building a telescope there?  Big focus on immigrant crime. Republican pep rally basically.  Then the Asian rum took its effect and I went to bed.

It'll probably take them two hours to get into their own portal

 Mixed messaging from the Trump Administration

Illegal migrants now required to register an online account with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency or face fines or imprisonment or both.  Goes into a big DHS databse.  Part of the statement says that if they leave now they might be able to come back and enjoy the American Dream.  Seems more of a call for self-deportation.  Drop the head of lettuce and go back.  If not then at least register an account with us.  Civil liberties groups are concerned.  I'm a little confused.

Because he thinks he's all that

 He's turning up again like a bad penny.  Disgraced ex-Governor of NYS Andrew Cuomo vying for the mayoralty of NYC as Mayor Eric Adams' legal troubles continue.  Creeps just can't lie low.  NYS Governor Kathy Hochul meets with Trump at WH to discuss congestion pricing.  That's what the ticker says.  Cuomo has had too much time on his hands.  He wants to roll up his sleeves and work.  The comeback groper?

But does he know how to install an attic ladder?

 On a budget. Contractors charge too much.  So I woke up this morning to find the front gate wide open, went out to close it and found a homeless Mexican sleeping on the front porch in the corner with his own bedding and about three of those reusable shopping bags.  Regardless of the situation I ALWAYS go downstairs first to set the coffee and then feed the cats I mean if the house isn't on fire or something.  We called the cops they came and the man got up and took his stuff and left.  I asked the lady cop if they take him anywhere and she said no.  Homan might offer him a nice place to stay with three square meals a day and running water dunno.  The homeless guy left empty peanut shells all over the place snacking during the cold night.  Also left his bedding on the sidewalk which I had to throw out.  Code Enforcement you know can't take a chance.  Welcome to the Big YO.  What would Hannity have done?

Patio needs a little work.  Does he do masonry?  Ho ho ho and a bottle of Jose Cuervo.

Trump is just a sad sack at this point. He's joyless.

 He always looks angry.  He's a political grinch.  He's trying to be a micromanager with his endless executive orders trying to dictate things like what federal agencies can and cannot say.  Nobody likes a micromanager.  It's actually the opposite of true conservatism and limited government. He's mean-spirited as if he feels having empathy and compassion are unmanly.  He's impulsive with tariffs and says Americans can expect some pain but he ran on optimism and making a better economy for all.  Ronald Reagan actually embodied true optimism and hope.  Trump is depressing in tone and substance.  He makes it up as he goes along.  At work we call this bullshitting your way through.  May well go down in history as a bizarre presidency and not much else.  His first term seemed more muted even normal to a point say what you will.  It's as if his political id has taken over.  I spend more time cringing than clapping lately.

It's still way too early but the trajectory is bad.

Trump 2.0 - Back With A Vengeance

 ICE raids, Homan to talk to Canadian officials, Colombia caves and takes in the aliens, Laken Riley Act, Gitmo again, political retribution, firing inspectors general, tariff threats, funding freezes, eclectic Cabinet picks, executive orders, rescuing TikTok, no DEI, calls to Denmark, J6 pardons, Trump threatens BRICS, Hannity interview, Trump offering to buyout federal workers, Meta to pay Trump $25 million, DOGE, Rubio to visit Panama, Israel/Gaza, Trump goes after Buttigieg over DC plane crash, Bob Menendez angling for pardon, Greenland for sale? Gulf of Trump.

And it's not even 100 days.

In a surprise move Homan deports himself

 What do you guys think of the ICE raids?  They haven't hit Yonkers yet but I didn't check the list.  Obama holds some sort of record for deportations.  Unk Joe deported his share without the fanfare.  Are there any women out there who find Homan sexy?  Can Homan deport Diddy?  The Pope and the Bishops have issues with Homan and Trump and Vance said some things.  Is Melania going back to Slovenia?  Maybe Gordon Ramsay can have a spinoff Top Illegal Chefs winner doesn't get deported.  Selena Gomez was crying.  Maybe we need a boring president like Gerald Ford.

Forgive the clickbait. 

Government by executive order

 Trump's executive orders continue at a dizzying pace.  Covers all situations and issues great and small.  Might issue an order stating SNL should go off the air.  Trump operating in this make-believe monarchical framework of his.

Reading A LOT about ICE raids.  One news item said they went into some Chicago elementary school later amended to oh no that was the Secret Service.  What would either of them be doing at a grade school?  Is Trump planning a visit?  Did some student write an anti-Trump essay?

Not getting the TikTok ban temporarily on hold.  Has to do with data mining by the Chinese government.   So the Chinese government peers into my boring life and today learns I plan on cleaning the attic.  Not sure how this violates the national security though but I'm not as bright as the smarty-pants over at the National Review.  YouTube is funny.  Watched some attic ladder installation videos last night.  One said so easy a 10-year old could do it all you need is a drill a saw and a couple of other things then you'll see some false comment like "thanks Frank the Handyman I did it."

I'm just a rambling man;)

How much weight do Executive Orders have?

 I mean beyond the merely administrative technical stuff.  They never really impressed me as having the permanence of real law and besides that they can be legally challenged.  Laws or proposed laws have to go through the cumbersome process of passing through legislative bodies first where they are then debated and discussed.  Executive orders instead give off a whiff of whimsical autocracy.  "I hereby declareth I don't like polka dot ties."  The other thing that strikes me as silly is each succeeding president can simply issue executive orders that are the exact opposite of those of the previous Administration.  Trump wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico.  I don't care if he wants to rename it the Gulf of Yonkers it has no weight with scholars or academics or meets international standards of acceptability.  How 'bout the Yucatan Peninsula?  What strikes Trump's fancy here?  Where does it end?  There's a whole bundle of Trump executive orders dealing with immigration alone that are sure to be challenged in the courts.  This is not the way government is normally run it just gives any new president a sense of ephemeral power.  It's like a make believe scepter.  Go play with your crayons.

How 'bout an executive order that declareth that henceforth and going forward there shall be no more executive orders?  Forevermore.

Diddy was going to perform but he couldn't make it

 (Alternative title: Rough Day For Shaw)

Quite a pageant.  The swearing-in ceremony was quite long.  Had a strong religious, Christian flavor.  An all day affair.  Watched Trump's Inaugural Address.  A lot to go through comment accordingly.  Wants to put an American flag on Mars and Musk was ecstatic.  Said in his speech there are only two genders and that he would sign an executive order declaring such.  Who knew such a simple biological fact would be so controversial.  There was the parade and then an address by Steve Witkoff Trump's special envoy to the Middle East who was instrumental in the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.  Earlier Trump had already signed his first few executive orders back at the office.  These were mostly technical in nature having to do with things like cabinet and sub-cabinet appointments the most notable being going forward all flags will be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day.  I had hoped to publish something earlier in the day but it was a long wait before he signed a few more executive orders at the Capitol Arena the most notable this time being sending a letter to the UN saying we are withdrawing from the Paris Climate Treaty then it was off to the Oval Office to sign a large number of other executive orders.

A LONG day.  TikTok also back online thanks to Trump at least for the time being.  Sounds like a deal is in the works.

Of bluster and bullshit

 Should I keep my autograph book handy in case Homan and crew come to my workplace?  Greenland, the Panama Canal, the annexation of Canada, mass deportations...Trump is not going to invade a NATO ally.  It's not worth going to war over the Canal.  We never had a state the size of Canada makes no sense and we don't have the infrastructure for mass deportations.  Not so much in the hot air category though is a serious growing consensus that Trump is the one mostly responsible for this historic ceasefire/hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.  He even sent a Middle East envoy over there to take part in the negotiations and this is all pre-the Inauguration.  Biden has issues with Trump getting most of the credit.  Don't be jealous.  As for Trump being an expansionist president in the Polk tradition I highly doubt it.

So what is bluster, what is la mierda and what's the real deal here?  We'll just have to wait and see.

Bibi was only playing around

 He bombed a few hospitals in Gaza but Trump has promised "all hell will break loose" in the Middle East if Hamas does not release the rest of the Israeli hostages by the time he is inaugurated.  I almost said installed as Trump has a kind of monarch complex.  It won't be good for Hamas or anybody else he said.  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Also where can Netanyahu travel these days?  The ICC has issued a warrant for his arrest for war crimes and the Polish PM said he'd arrest him if he comes that way.  Our own House in turn has voted for sanctions against the ICC.  If Trump follows through on his threat to unleash hell in the Middle East he too could wind up on the ICC docket someday.  Meanwhile Trump said he will sign 100 Executive Orders on Day One.  About what?  Sidewalk cleaning in Yonkers?  Also where is T. Swift these days?  Will she send a multi-million dollar aid package to LA County?

Trump got a better deal than Martha Stewart

 RE the Trump hush money criminal case in which he was convicted of 34 felonies which is more than some serial killers might get the judge in the case Juan Merchan today sentenced or shall we say gave the President-Elect an unconditional discharge and wished him Godspeed in his second term.  No jail time, no probation, no fines even.  None of his rights have been restricted.  My TMI closet is already full but for those who are interested in this kind of stuff Trump was convicted of among other things falsifying business records to arrange a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.  Basically a soap opera crime.  Now without this hanging over his head he can focus on more important matters like invading Greenland and ending birthright citizenship.

I didn't vote for Trump so he could rename the Gulf of Mexico

 I also didn't vote for Trump so he could use military force to take Greenland and take back control of the Panama Canal.  He didn't rule that out at his Mar-A-Lago news conference.  Plausible scenario: Trump is officially deemed Nutz as per the requirements of the 25th Amendment Section 4 and JD Vance becomes president.  I don't hear other conservatives even talking about this despite Trump's growing list of strange obsessions.  Trump has lost sight of his own MAGA mission.  His mind has become like one of those Monty Python animated cartoons I watched growing up.  He and Biden can become roommates in some kind of ward or home (needs script).  Unless this is all shtick. 

Biden may as well pardon Diddy at this point

 In addition to son Hunter President Biden has also pardoned about 1,500 Americans mostly released to home confinement during the pandemic for non-violent drug offenses.  Being with the missus can be punishment enough.  In addition Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 federal prisoners on death row who will now be serving life behind bars.  Not a supporter of the death penalty myself but didn't know Biden was such a passionate opponent.  Trump has promised to become an execution machine while in office.  Is there anything not on Trump's to-do list?

Biden also pardoned the mailman for delivering the mail late.

Word on the street is Homan is going to start deporting in Chicago

 Who elected this guy?  He's like a law unto himself.  When does he hit Yonkers?

Homan's gonna kick some illegal ass

 I have a better proposal.  First off absolutely secure the border.  Plug that thing with Flex Seal if you have to.  Maybe let a few of the top chefs through but THAT'S IT.  Next absolutely deport the criminal element and expeditiously at that.  Get The Rock to help if you have to.  Now here's where I get off the MAGA road.  Of the remaining millions who haven't committed any crimes and are hard-working have them maybe pay a fine and some back taxes like Hillary said once.  Then they have a choice.  Take the citizenship test and learn English or else you have to leave.  You can't stay here perpetually in this quasi state.  You have to become official.  Call it forced assimilation if you like but it's less medieval. 

So that's it.  Let's move on.