Indecent

 "The fires are still raging in L.A.  The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out.  Thousands of magnificent houses are gone, and many more will soon be lost.  There is death all over the place.  This is one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country.  They just can't put out the fires.  What's wrong with them?"

I can feel the Leader-elect's frustration.  Why don't the "pols" just put out the fires?  Why are they wasting so much time?  His anguish over the "magnificent houses" comes right through the screen, not so much for the twenty-four dead people or the tens of thousands evacuated and homeless.  Nothing for the exhausted firefighters except abuse and accusation -- too much DEI, probably.  

Alabama's dumbest life form pities the "Republicans, a lot of good people" in California who are "just overwhelmed by these inner city woke policies" (translations:  The Blacks).  He's willing to send "some money" but only if the state gets back to building dams like the St. Francis, which worked real good for a while.  Otherwise "they don't deserve anything," unlike the Gulf coast when raked by hurricanes, or the good, white, Protestant towns of the Midwest ripped up by tornadoes.  Never mind that California pours billions of dollars into the federal coffers so welfare recipient Alabama can pay its bills.  Did you know that, Senator Tuberville?  I didn't think so.

Not that he and Trump are the only vicious idiots the fires have exposed.  Little Mike Johnson wants "conditions" on federal aid, like raising the debt limit so the Leader can run up the deficit, cut taxes on the Musk/Bezos/Gates axis and screw the needy (especially his own deluded supporters) even more.  Seems fair, it's what Jesus would want.  More to the point, it seems to be what a couple of those "good people, Republicans" who represent California want, too.  Voters should remember that when Kevin Kiley and Tom McClintock are up for re-election.

It's been an eventful day.  Pete Hegseth showed up for his hearing sporting so much hair grease, he should not get within a hundred miles of California.  Some of the toughest questioning came from fellow veteran Mark Kelly, whose inquiries about his public drunkenness were all answered "Anonymous smears," the MAGA version of taking the Fifth.  He did no better with disabled veteran Tammy Duckworth, who was equally unimpressed with his recently changed position on women in the military and his inability to name the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).  Three days after the election DOD officials had a meeting about how to respond to unlawful orders, which is a perfectly normal thing to do when the commander-in-chief is a demented felon who enjoys "presidential immunity."  They won't get any guidance from this creep, nor should they seek any.  In fact, he should have to blow a breathalyzer every morning.

Joe Biden continues to enjoy his final fuck-you days.  He removed Cuba from the state-sponsor-of-terrorism list and announced the naming of the next two Ford-class aircraft carriers for Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.  There is already a carrier named for George H.W. Bush so there may be some confusion unless it's de-commissioned before these two are built, but the real point is to annoy Trump.  Mission accomplished!

Only in 2025 America could mourning be politicized, but that's where we are.  Michelle Obama did not attend the Carter funeral and has announced she won't go to the inauguration either.  Her husband is catching all kinds of hell for being cordial to Trump.  And in half-staff-be-damned news, Greg Abbott ordered Americans flags in Texas raised on January 20, "a day of celebration for America."  He got the idea from Motel a Lago, where the official mourning is already over.  (It's also, in a case of tragic irony, Martin Luther King Day, but that's an "inner city" holiday.)  Ooh, me too, cried Mike Johnson.  Big high flags!  "To celebrate our country coming together."  Dream on, little man.

Opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin has joined the throng abandoning the Washington Post.  She and Norm Eisen are starting a new Substack called The Contrarian.  Remember when Yankee fans regularly pleaded with George Steinbrenner to sell the team?  Bezos should do that before the Post loses whatever subscriber base and credibility it has left.

On what promises to be a Benzedrine-fueled Day One, Trump proposes to invent an "External Revenue Service" to collect all the tribute that other countries will pay for the privilege of selling their exports to Americans.  Currently tariffs are collected by US Customs and Border Protection, a division of DHS, but duplicating agencies is a surefire way to reduce the government's costs.