Trump reminds me of Mr. Mayhem on the Allstate commercials

 Shock and Awe.  The DOGE.  Have Musk and Trump showered together yet?  Do we really need cancer research?  When am I going to get my tax refund?  Will Trump change the street cleaning days in Yonkers?  Layoffs of thousands of federal workers.  When can I expect my first DOGE check?  Will Medicaid still cover nurse visits?  When is ICE coming to Yonkers?  Trump wants Zelensky to pay the money back with rare Earth minerals.  Like what?  Hannity was more interested in what Musk had to say.  Why does Musk want the personal details of millions of Americans?  When are we going to Mars?

Chaos.

I'm sorry, what?

 So I'm reading on my phone Sen. Ted Cruz is in talks with Denmark about purchasing Greenland.  Why Cruz?  Why not the My Pillow guy?  How come Ronald Reagan never thought of this?  Welcome to the political Twilight Zone.  The bizarre Trump presidency continues. 

Do we really need health inspectors?  You know those folk who protect us from things like rancid meat.  With this billionaire punk nothing is off the chopping block.  Musk is not interested in the policy of attrition.  Say a company or agency has too many workers when they leave or retire you don't replace them.  Not dramatic enough.

A LONG four years with the joyless prick in office.  What does Melania think?

Everything but the cost-of-living

 Being a foreign policy hero.  The DOGE.  The term "government efficiency" always strikes me as an oxymoron.  When is Homan going to go after the lettuce pickers, the masonry workers, the diner cooks and the fence installers?  Is Trump going to tariff the Aleutian Islands?  A Trump Hotel on the Gaza Strip?  Panama Canal. Greenland.  Canada.  Gulf of America.  Rare Earth minerals in Ukraine.  Cutting the Defense budget in half.  Would Reagan have done such a thing?  Dementia in overdrive.  Why doesn't he make a peace treaty with the fairies?  The MAGA cult and OAN applaud his every move. EVERYTHING but the price of eggs and Fancy Feast.

Oy vey!

You don't suppose Musk can send me a stimulus check for the price of eggs

 Taking a chainsaw to government.  How much is Homan's budget btw?  When is Trump gonna lower my grocery bill?  He said during the campaign it would happen "very rapidly" (his words).  What's his obsession with the Gulf of Mexico?  There's not even a movement behind this.  Has he forgotten about Greenland?  So much on his plate.  About the only good thing is he wants to open up the JFK files.

It's wearying.  I might devote the rest of his term blogging about cats.

Trump wants to get rid of the penny

 Have to agree with him here.  He has instructed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies calling it wasteful.

I have tons of pennies at home accumulated down through the years that I don't know what to do with.  I could put them into those little coin wrappers but I got better things to do with my time.  Could take them to the Coinstar kiosk at the local supermarket but again other things on my plate.  Don't know my true net worth because I haven't counted them yet.  Ain't gonna remodel the kitchen with it.

A total waste.  Trump is right.  Won't even get you a bus ride these days.

Make America Great Again just not yet

 Or as my Momma used to say it has to get worse before it gets better.

I think;)

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.

Tariffs on Greenland?

 I'm not getting it.  Nobody wants to retire and move to Greenland.  It's a strategic military location and is said to have rare mineral resources.  OK.  25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting today but Trump cut China some slack with only 10% tariffs.  His endgame may be to end the federal income tax and fund the government with tariffs.  Is he shifting the Overton Window?  What's the deal with Greenland?  Can't really put a golf course there.  The subject never came up on the campaign trail.  Look every president does things we disagree with.  Biden didn't do enough to protect the gray wolf.  There was his covid authoritarianism.  I always thought it would be interesting to have one of the Star Trek spinoff shows do an episode on the crew encountering the race of Covidians who always stand six feet apart and worship a Fauci-like figure but I digress point being Trump is taking things to another level and how did the National Review become part of the MAGA cult?  When he's done deporting can he get back to the price of Fancy Feast?  Health care?  Families shouldn't have to go bankrupt because somebody has cancer.  Homan is in his glory but can we take a breather?

BTW can Trump at least slip in a stimulus check or two to my direct deposit?

Paying a mortgage on a house that no longer exists

 The finer details for survivors of the LA fires

Even if reduced property taxes no matter what.  Good to know.

Basic thuganomics. 

Why not Puerto Rico becoming the 51st State?

 It's already a U.S. territory.  In the wake of woke Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's resignation Trump is again saying Canada should merge with the U.S. to avoid tariffs and enjoy lower taxes.  He also wants to buy Greenland from Denmark and says we need to retake control of the Panama Canal.  I'm getting a spooky feeling this is not going to be a normal presidency.

Don't know if this is a false issue or not

 I wasn't actually going to say anything about Jimmy Carter.  Am I required to?  So the latest Trump controversy is the President-Elect is upset that the Dems want to fly the flag at half-staff on the day of his inauguration to honor the recent passing of Jimmy Carter.  So my thing is today is January the 4th.  The inauguration is still slightly more than two weeks away.  HOW LONG are the flags supposed to fly at half-staff anyway?  What's the rule on this?  Sure when a former head-of-state dies there'll be three funerals and the whole thing will go on for a month so I guess the funereal feelings can well wash up against Jan. 20 but again if anyone knows the rule on the flag thing let me know.

There's always been a kind of rough consensus that Jimmy Carter wasn't a great president but a decent human being.  There were the long gas lines and the Iranian hostage crisis but he also negotiated the Panama Canal Treaties and of course is well known for the Middle East peace accords.  He did better work post-presidency.  Took up a hammer and nail for Habitat for Humanity and put his work pants on.  A devout Christian also taught Sunday school.  Made it to the 100 Club with Kirk Douglas.  Must've been all the peanuts.

Thoughts?

Never understood congestion pricing

 Don't get me wrong traffic can sometimes be existentially annoying.  You're stuck in traffic, you made a wrong dietary decision earlier in the day and your stomach is now percolating.  Heard of a story of a woman who ruined her front car seat once because they were blasting rocks on the Sprain Parkway in Westchester and so some lanes were closed.  "OH God please deliver me and I promise to be good!"  Also from a philosophical standpoint we're all given a finite time on this Earth and being stuck in traffic is totally wasted and non-productive time you can never get back.

Having said that I don't understand the whole logic behind congestion pricing.  Set to start in Manhattan starting January the 5th.  If you dare to enter the Congestion Relief Zone (sounds like a cold remedy), generally the Central Business District below 60th Street your E-Z Pass will be charged a toll.  The tolls on trucks depending on size range from $14.40-$21.60 during peak hours.  There are discounts for driving after dark.  NJ has been fighting this tooth and nail. People can't help it if their jobs take them into certain areas.  It's like they're being punished and it's an effort to control human behavior.  Yes I'm aware that congestion pricing has been around since the 70s and has been tried in places like Singapore and London and that many economists are in favor of it and sing of the bennies but I think it's loopy, harebrained and unfair.  It needs to be shelved permanently. 

The whole subject makes my head congested.

But what about our guest lettuce pickers so our H-1B visa holders can enjoy their salads?

MAGA CIVIL WAR ERUPTS

First off Trump hired some Indian-born foreign guy to be his ai advisor.  Now presidents need ai advisors?  Musk and Ramaswamy are all for extending the stays of our highly skilled foreign workers in the tech field.  Musk says a shortage of them is the main problem facing Silicon Valley and Ramaswamy called American culture mediocre (think Family Guy and Judge Judy - editor).  MTG kind of agrees with them.  Trump ally and hard-righter Laura Loomer, Matt Gaetz and the hard-core MAGA base say they're straying from the original MAGA policy on immigration.  Nikki Haley took issue with Ramaswamy's X post.  Things are getting heated.  Pass the popcorn.

BUT WHAT DOES HOMAN THINK???

Forget about retaking the Panama Canal

 President-Elect Trump is putting too much on his plate.  Focus instead on 3 main areas: the economy, border security/illegal immigration and foreign affairs.  THAT'S IT and maybe scale back on the social media posts.

Back In The Day

 Saw an old video of Hillary talking about the problem of illegal immigration.  Deport the illegal criminal ones she said and the rest who are hard-working should have to pay a big fine and back taxes and LEARN ENGLISH to eventually become citizens.  Protect our borders and learn the language?  She out-Trumped Trump.  Give her a MAGA hat.  These were the Democratic talking points back in the day.

There really is not going to be any massive detention facilities for the illegals waiting to be deported.  How long would they take to build? Are they going to sprout up like McDonald's and dot the landscape?  "Mommy what's that?"  Are the Ancient Aliens gonna come back and spring them up out of the ground like the pyramids?  Then the immigration courts are gonna be clogged up for years and you'll be spending $40 for a head of lettuce.  Ain't gonna happen.

And a happy TDS to you:)

The Trump legal bundle is being dismissed

 As in have a nice day.  DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith says let's move on.  No community service in Yonkers when he leaves.  Nothing.  Meanwhile Trump has said he will impose massive tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on Day One.  A lot on his plate on Day One.  Securing the border, deporting the illegals, tariffs.  So who's coming in from the North anyway?  The illegal French?  Canadian drug cartels?  It's so much bloviating.  I think Day One will be more like settle in, move the furniture around and have a cold one.

Pre-inaugural bloviating

 Prediction -- There will be no mass deportation of non-criminal illegal aliens not unless Trump doesn't mind people paying $40 for a head of lettuce.  Meanwhile Morning Joe and Mika are catching flack for meeting up with Trump at Mar-A-Lago.  The Left doesn't like don't hate - participate.  Trump told them he wants to work with Democrats.  Damned if you do damned if you don't.   Wondering any illegal help at Mar-A-Lago?

The existential meltdown continues

 I have actually read in some online forums about people who have broken down emotionally and mentally over the Trump victory and have to be counseled.  I kid you not.  Now let's remember Trump also won the popular vote and his victory was big enough you could call it a mandate.  The legacy media is pretty much dead at this point as they're not as influential as they thought they'd be.  People are gravitating more towards alternative independent media like Joe Rogan and not even giving a passing thought to what the New York Times has to say these days.  Ole Gray Lady hubris.

Whither this blog?  Start any post even mildly favorable to Trump and there's threadshitting.   I don't plan on this place becoming a dumping ground or landfill for Trump hatred over the next four years.  Criticism yes but there's a fine line between that and unhinged, valid takes and deranged rhetoric.  I'm also seeing a lack of critical thinking skills like Trump wants every Latino person who voted for him to leave the country.  That's just low-effort shitposting.  Another one people who haven't gone to college don't know how to vote that's just plain intellectual snobbery.  You know some calculus and some Nietzsche that makes you special?  Saw a bumper sticker once that said "Without Truckers America Stops."

Word of advice to the Democrats:  Next time leave Taylor Swift out of it.

Is Pfizer working on a pill for TDS yet?

 You can find people melting down over the Trump victory all over the Internet.  It's entertaining to watch tbh but truthfully if these people keep this up over the next four years their health is going to suffer.

Joe Scarborough and Al Sharpton talking racial smack over at MSNBC saying black men didn't want a woman for president.  Now there's two sober analysts.  Thought - Maybe black men don't like the price of food like the rest of us.

America's mental health crisis continues.

My take on the Trump victory

 Kamala Harris should never have been the Democratic candidate.  Exit polling showed most voters had concerns about the cost of living and the economy.  The incumbency or in this case part of the incumbency doesn't normally win with that kind of data.  The Democrats should have gone with someone outside the WH and surprised there was no real discussion of this apparently between the time Biden dropped out of thr race and the start of the DNC.  They may have still lost with another candidate but their chances would have been at least slightly better imo.

There will be the liberal wailing and gnashing of teeth over the next four years.  Also Trump will be dealing with a hostile media on a daily basis led by the New York Times.  As my friend said let the man do his job and finish the work he started.  IF he had won the last time against Biden he'd be nearing the end of his second term right now and liberals and the Left could finally get on with their lives or at least be free of the TDS episodes and suffering.  Instead this is what you got deal with it.  You're out of tune with the American people.