Sean James of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump lambasted ABC senior political reporter Rachel Scott on Monday, calling her 'terrible' and the 'most obnoxious reporter' in the White House press corps. The president raged at Scott after she asked a follow-up question on whether he would release classified footage of a September 2 military strike on a suspected drug boat — an attack that has led to controversy in recent weeks, with critics of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claiming there was an illegal second strike on the vessel.”
~~~ Marie: I don't know if reporters who cover war zones get extra pay while they're in the zone, but if so, those who cover Trump should get combat pay bonuses, too.
Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: Donald “Trump rolled out a $12 billion bailout for struggling farmers on Monday as he looks to shore up the finances of some of his most loyal supporters whose financial fortunes have been hurt by his trade war. The rescue package, which was unveiled at a round table at the White House, is an acknowledgment by the administration that Mr. Trump’s trade policies have had negative consequences for the American agriculture sector. Although his plan to raise tariffs were intended to spur domestic production and open export markets, China — the biggest buyer of American crops such as soybeans — retaliated by halting purchases of U.S. farm products this year.... Most of the relief funds will come from the Agriculture Department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program. According to the White House, the money will go to corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, cattle and wheat farmers....
“Although he said the tariffs made the payments possible, Mr. Trump’s aggressive use of import levies is the primary reason that American farmers need economic support. The payments are not being funded directly by tariff income.... While the payments will be welcomed by farmers, a $12 billion bailout probably will not be enough to stanch their losses this year.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: As Patrick points out in comments Monday, Google's Art Intel sez, "The 'Farmer Bridge Assistance Program' (FBA) was ... authorized in December 2025 under the H.R.10545 - American Relief Act, 2025 (Public Law No: 118-158) on December 21, 2024, as an extension of the Farm Bill, with payments stemming from supplemental disaster aid...." So as Trump would have it, as Patrick wryly notes, some unknown factotum in the Biden White House signed the bill with an autopen. According to the NYT article cited, "Mr. Trump sought to blame former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for failing to protect farmers and manufacturers...." But, in fact, Patrick writes, "As I assumed, it was just DiJiT renaming something that was signed by Biden a year ago." The Times article should have said so.
Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday appeared poised to make it easier for ... [Donald] Trump to fire independent government officials despite laws meant to insulate them from political pressure in what would be a major expansion of presidential power. Hearing a case dealing with Mr. Trump’s attempt to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, members of the court’s conservative majority seemed ready to overturn or strictly limit a landmark decision from 1935. That precedent said Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove some executive branch officials. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is almost always in the majority in significant cases..., referred to the 1935 precedent as a 'dried husk.'... A decision in the president’s favor, [the three liberal justices] said, would call into question the constitutionality of job protections extended to leaders of more than two dozen other agencies Congress has charged with protecting consumers, workers and the environment. Justice Elena Kagan said such a ruling would 'put massive, uncontrolled, unchecked power in the hands of the president.'” MB: That's the idea. Politico's report is here.
Jeremy Roebuck & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: “Alina Habba..., Donald Trump’s embattled pick as top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, said Monday she would leave her post after a federal appeals court ruled last week she was serving unlawfully in the role. Habba posted her decision in a statement on social media, saying she chose to resign as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey 'to protect the stability and integrity of the office which I love.' She said she intends to continue serving as a senior Justice Department adviser. Last week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the Trump administration unlawfully maneuvered to secure Habba’s original appointment to the U.S. attorney position.... Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a statement, called the Third Circuit’s ruling 'flawed' and said the Justice Department would continue to appeal the decision.” The AP report is here.
Seung Min Kim, et al., of the AP: “... Donald Trump is planning a $12 billion farm aid package, according to a White House official — a boost to farmers who have struggled to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war. According to the official, who was granted anonymity to speak ahead of a planned announcement, Trump will unveil the plan Monday afternoon.... The aid is the administration’s latest effort to defend Trump’s economic stewardship and answer voter angst about rising costs — even as the president has dismissed concerns about affordability as a Democratic 'hoax.'”
Steve Hendrix & Lizzie Johnson of the Washington Post: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top European leaders in London on Monday amid continuing public pressure from ... Donald Trump that he accept a plan to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms largely favorable to Moscow. Trump over the weekend once again cast Kyiv as the obstacle to the American-championed proposal, accusing Zelensky of slow-walking the plan and not bothering to read it, even as Moscow has shown little, if any, willingness to compromise on its maximalist demands. Trump’s continuing pressure, including his stern tone toward Ukraine and apparent openness to granting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s territorial claims, has unnerved European capitals, heightening fears that Kyiv’s negotiating leverage is evaporating as Putin’s forces advance on the battlefield and Zelensky’s government remains consumed by a swirling corruption scandal.” ~~~
~~~ Dear Europeans: Forget about the U.S. We are now a bunch of ignorant, self-absorbed, monolingual lunkheads. The boys of us just want to blow up South Americans -- Hoo Yah! -- and the girls of us all dream of Mar-a-Lago lips. You can't count on us for anything. S/Your friend, Marie
And Now the Ellisons Are All Mad and Everything. Benjamin Mullin & Lauren Hirsch of the New York Times: “Paramount on Monday mounted a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, a brazen attempt to secure a Hollywood prize snatched away by Netflix last week. Netflix announced an $83 billion deal to buy a big part of Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday, in an agreement approved by the boards of both companies. In a news release on Monday, Paramount went around the Warner Bros. Discovery board and straight to shareholders with what it called a superior offer. Paramount said it would pay $30 per share in cash, valuing the company at around $108 billion, including debt. It said it was going to shareholders because the board of Warner Bros. Discovery is 'pursuing an inferior proposal' that would lead to 'a challenging regulatory approval process.'” The CNBC story is here. MB: Whatever. I assume viewers like me will get screwed. ~~~
~~~ Oh. And This. Dan Primack of Axios: "Affinity Partners, the private equity firm led by Jared Kushner, is part of Paramount's hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, according to a regulatory filing.... Paramount is telling WBD shareholders that it has a smoother path to regulatory approval than does Netflix, and Kushner's involvement only strengthens that case."
This is terrific. Thanks to RAS for the link. AND of course to the "Artist Known as Beeple" for this timely creation: ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~
Marie: It takes a great deal of resolve & near-saintly integrity not to hate Donald Trump. I'm not sure I'm up to it anymore: ~~~
Jonathan Carter of the Hill: Donald “Trump on Sunday said he does not think Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to sign off on a U.S.-proposed peace plan between Ukraine and Russia. 'I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,' Trump said Sunday evening. 'His people love it, but he hasn’t. Russia’s fine with it.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This little mutt, on the other hand, merely arouses my contempt: ~~~
~~~ Patrick Wintour of the Guardian: “Donald Trump may walk away from the Ukrainian war, the US president’s oldest son has said in comments to a Middle East conference. In a lengthy tirade against the purpose of continued fighting in Ukraine, Donald Trump Jr also said Ukraine’s 'corrupt' rich had fled their country leaving 'what they believed to be the peasant class' to fight the war.” MB: You'll have to admit it's rich to hear a stupid, grasping parasite complaining about somebody else's corruption. As for Don Sr. “walking away from” the Ukraine war, that's a good thing. Europeans may not want to foot the bill for the war, but they can do it, and they should rejoice in the retreat of the Meddlesome Donald. ~~~
Trump Sr. is right about one thing: "Russia's fine with it." ~~~
~~~ Joe Stanley-Smith of Politico: “Vladimir Putin’s press secretary on Sunday praised ... Donald Trump’s controversial new National Security Strategy as largely in line with Russia’s view of the world. Moscow's public acknowledgement of the alignment between the former Cold War enemies underlines how much cozier their relationship has become since Trump returned to office earlier this year. "The adjustments we are seeing, I would say, are largely consistent with our vision, and perhaps we can hope that this could be a modest guarantee that we will be able to constructively continue our joint work on finding a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, at the very least," said Dmitriy Peskov per local media.” ~~~
~~~ Stanley-Smith views the U.S. position on the Russia/Ukraine war in light of the global realignment the Trump administration advocates in the "Trump National Security Stragegy" released December 4. For a different -- but equally sound -- context, see also Anne Applebaum, linked yesterday. ~~~
~~~ Rachel Muller-Heyndyk of BBC News: "Russia has welcomed ... Donald Trump's new National Security Strategy, calling it 'largely consistent' with Moscow's vision. The 33-page document, unveiled by the US administration this week, suggests Europe is facing 'civilisational erasure' and does not cast Russia as a threat to the US.... Several EU officials and analysts had pushed back on the strategy, questioning its focus on freedom of expression and likening it to language used by the Kremlin.... n the document, the EU is blamed for blocking US efforts to end the [Russia/Ukraine war] and says that the US must 're-establish strategic stability to Russia' which would 'stabilise European economies'." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess the best way to maintain my equilibrium is to view Trump as a corrupt Russian agent doing everything he can to destroy Western democracy and replace it -- here and abroad -- with autocratic kleptocracy. ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman: "Last week the Trump administration released its updated National Security Strategy for the United States. Much of the document is vague, meandering and self-contradictory. But it becomes clear and focused when it turns to Europe. Quite simply, Trump and those around him hate Europe. And they hate it because it still honors the ideals they’re abandoning in America.... The people trying to turn America into an authoritarian, white supremacist state, who want us to forsake democratic ideals in favor of Volk, of blood and soil nationalism, want to see Europe go down the same path. There’s also the role of the tech bros — billionaires who still describe themselves as libertarian but have in practice become hardline authoritarians with enormous sway over the Trump administration.... There are two striking consequences of Trump’s assault on Europe: it weakens the US against what is clearly its only serious geopolitical rival, China, while weakening Europe against the assassin on its doorstep, Russia."
Kelsey Ables, et al., of the Washington Post: “The 48th iteration of the awards gala kicked off Sunday evening with ... Donald Trump taking the stage as the first head of state to act as the show’s host.... The president addressed the room several times to deliver relatively tight, short remarks and jokes that won cheers and laughter. His hosting — never an especially involved job at the Honors — eventually took the form of prerecorded videos introducing most acts. Legends dotted the crowd, especially from the country music world, but Hollywood turnout was noticeably down.... Speaking from the red carpet earlier in the evening, Trump said he personally approved the honorees from about 50 names, joked he would nominate himself for an honor next year and touted the physical changes he is making to the center. 'John F. Kennedy would have done a very good job hosting,' Trump said, when asked whether other presidents could do the job. 'But building, no. … I build better than anybody.'”
Gosh, Sometimes Corrupt Intent Does Not Pay Off. Bill Barrow of the AP: “Donald Trump is angry that Rep. Henry Cuellar is running again as a Democrat rather than switch parties after the president pardoned the Texas congressman and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case. Trump blasted Cuellar for 'Such a lack of LOYALTY,' suggesting the Republican president might have expected the clemency to bolster the GOP’s narrow House majority heading into the 2026 midterm elections. Cuellar, in a television interview Sunday after Trump’s social media post, said he was a conservative Democrat willing to work with the administration 'to see where we can find common ground.'... 'Oh’ well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!” Trump said.... Trump explained his pardon he announced Wednesday as a matter of stopping a 'weaponized' prosecution.” MB: What happened to honor among thieves??
Trump Loves Drug Kingpins. Meryl Kornfield & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: “On ... Donald Trump’s first full day in office this year, he pardoned Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who was convicted of creating the largest online black market for illegal drugs and other illicit goods of its time. In the months since, he has granted clemency to others, including Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover and Baltimore drug kingpin Garnett Gilbert Smith. And last week, he pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for running his country as a vast 'narco-state' that helped to move at least 400 tons of cocaine into the United States[.] Overall, Trump — who campaigned against America’s worsening drug crisis and promised to crack down on the illegal flow of deadly drugs coming across the border — has pardoned or granted clemency to at least 10 people for drug-related crimes since the beginning of his second term.... He also granted pardons or commutations to almost 90 others for drug-related crimes during the four years of his first term, the analysis showed.”
David Ignatius of the Washington Post: Pete “Hegseth launched a frontal attack on the laws of war in his 2024 book, 'The War on Warriors.' He wrote: 'If our warriors are forced to follow rules arbitrarily and asked to sacrifice more lives so that international tribunals feel better about themselves, aren’t we just better off winning our wars according to our own rules?! Who cares what other countries think.' Hegseth’s 'who cares?' doctrine is now being tested in a congressional review of what happened on Sept. 2.... After 11 months when the rubric seemed to be 'anything goes,' civilians and military must now think more carefully about what constitutes a 'legal order' — and whether they could face serious consequences if they act without proper authority.” The link is a gift link. Well worth a full read. ~~~
~~~ Jeh Johnson, in a New York Times op-ed: “With its strikes on suspected drug couriers in the Caribbean, our government is conducting extrajudicial killings on the high seas — plain and simple. Some Americans may wonder how this is any different from the targeted killings of other bad guys around the world by previous administrations, including that of Barack Obama, in which I served. There is a world of legal and moral differences.... Our military’s new precision weaponry allows for targeted lethal force with the single tap of a device. But that capability should never become a convenient and expedient substitute for law enforcement. That is the very definition of 'extrajudicial killing.'... The general tenor of Mr. Hegseth’s comments suggests that he relishes, rather than agonizes over, the approval of these lethal operations, and that others below him should do the same.” The link is a gift link. Read on. ~~~
~~~ Johnson was Homeland Security Secretary. The differences between the current DHS Secretary and him is jarring. ~~~
I am recommending a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies. Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom — not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS. WE DON’T WANT THEM. NOT ONE. -- Kristi Noem, on X, December 1 ~~~
~~~ Robert Tait of the Guardian: “On the eve of Thanksgiving, a lone gunman shot two West Virginia national guards, Sarah Beckstrom, and Andrew Wolfe, as they were on patrol outside Washington DC’s Farragut West metro station ... – and thereby opened the floodgates to a wave of racist and anti-immigrant invective that seemed extreme even for Trump.... Trump seemed to focus less on the fates of the two guardsmembers whose deployment he had ordered to combat a supposed 'crime wave' than the origins of the suspected assailant, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a recent immigrant from Afghanistan.... The following day, Thanksgiving, he issued a social media bereft of any message of gratitude to Afghans who [-- like Lakanwal --] had been admitted to the US after helping American forces in Afghanistan. Instead, in an extraordinary outburst, Trump suggested all Afghan arrivals should be ended and broadened his animus to cover immigrants from an undefined list of 'third world counties'.... On Thursday, [Kristi] Noem told Fox News that her travel ban would extend to 32 unspecified countries – a prohibition that would dwarf the highly controversial exclusion of ban against seven predominantly Muslim countries of Trump’s first presidency.” ~~~
~~~ Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: “Recent days have seen ... Donald Trump escalating and amplifying his anti-immigration rhetoric.... Those around Trump have joined in the nativist fervor.... Language such as that used by the president and those around him harks back more than a century ago to the passage of a series of laws, capped by one in 1924, known as the Johnson-Reed Act.... Its explicit goal was to turn back the calendar to a time when America’s racial and ethnic mix was dominated by people from Northern and Western Europe. The law sharply limited the number allowed in from southern and eastern parts of the continent and almost entirely excluded people from Asia and Africa. One intended effect was to effectively close the door to Catholics and Jews.... Historians regard the 1920s, which also saw the rise of the Ku Klux Klan as a political force, to be the zenith of nativist paranoia in American history.” ~~~
~~~ Tom Homan “Articulates” His Support for Trump's Deportation Policies. Cheyanne Daniels of Politico: “In an interview with CNN’s 'State of the Union,' [border czar Tom] Homan said he was 'not aware what the president was thinking' when he said he wants Somalis out of the country but added: 'I agree with 100 percent what he’s doing.... 'He was put in the Oval Office to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen. That’s exactly what we’re doing. That’s what American people voted for.'... 'There’s a large illegal alien community there [Minneapolis/St. Paul --],' Homan said... 'Even we don’t know how many illegal Somalis there are because, remember, under the last four years of Joe Biden, there’s over 2 million known gotaways people caught on video.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: It's not easy to make three grammatical errors in a seven-word clause, especially when one is appearing as an "expert" on national teevee. Nevertheless, Tom Homan once again has prevailed over the English language: "there’s over 2 million known gotaways people." (1) "There are," not "there is." (2) "More than," not "over." (3) "Gotaways people"? I give up.
Marie: I have a close relative who's a mean girl like Karoline Leavitt. I credit Tina Fey with teaching me that "mean girl" is a standard "type," not an anomaly. ~~~
~~~ Maria Sacchetti & Todd Wallack of the Washington Post: “From her confinement in a remote detention center in Louisiana, Bruna Ferreira recounted all the ways she said she has tried to maintain a friendly relationship with the family of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. After all, Ferreira shares a child with Leavitt’s brother. The Brazilian immigrant selected Leavitt to be her son’s godmother.... Arrested Nov. 12 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ferreira, ... is being detained for being in the United States illegally, a civil violation, after overstaying a visa when she was a child. Since her arrest, the White House media office has portrayed Ferreira as an absentee mother who had not been in Karoline Leavitt’s orbit in years. The White House issued a statement that said Ferreira had not spoken to Leavitt in years and that Ferreira had never lived with her son. The White House also shared a Department of Homeland Security statement that called Ferreira a 'criminal,' with a previous arrest for 'battery,' though it has not responded to repeated requests for supporting documentation. Court records, family photos and Ferreira’s account tell a different story.”
Another Kavanaugh Stop. Here's what it's like to go grocery shopping while Hispanic: ~~~
~~~ Colin Sheeley, et al., of NBC News have the story. This U.S. citizen was lucky to get home; others have not been so fortunate.
“Sort of Blackmail.” Alice Ollstein, et al., of Politico: “The Trump administration offered states a deal: pledge to enact White House-favored policies for a chance to win a bigger share of the $50 billion aimed at transforming the nation’s struggling rural health care systems. The battle for those funds is now underway.... Democrats and health advocates described the Trump administration’s criteria for doling out the money as highly unusual, and some fear it could be wielded to favor political allies.... When the Trump administration begins distributing the money at the end of the year, it will divide half of the $50 billion among all states that apply evenly, regardless of population — giving smaller states vastly more money per capita. It will also dole out a quarter of the funds based on factors like the size of a state’s rural population, how much free health care its providers give to people who can’t afford to pay, and how large its land area is. The rest is up to the discretion of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on how well states’ plans align with the Trump administration’s vision for the program.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: This manner of distributions appears to be part of "the big beautiful bill," which makes that law even dumber than I realized it was.
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “Long before ... [Donald] Trump declared he had the power to fire independent agency leaders, the United States experienced a nearly identical test of presidential power. The president then was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wanted to oust a member of the Federal Trade Commission he believed was an obstacle to his sweeping plan to pull the nation out of the Great Depression. The Supreme Court ruled against Roosevelt, agreeing that Congress could pass laws shielding independent regulators from being fired by the president for no reason — a precedent that has stood for 90 years. But the battle between Roosevelt and William E. Humphrey, a conservative lawyer who refused to leave his post at the F.T.C., has resurfaced in a blockbuster case the Supreme Court will hear on Monday, as the court decides whether to overturn the nearly century-old Roosevelt-era precedent.” ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: “The Supreme Court will debate Monday whether to finally finish off a teetering, 90-year-old precedent that limited presidents’ power over many federal agencies. But lurking in the wings is a far more radical bid by the Trump administration to remake the federal government from top to bottom by ending the concept of the civil service. Indeed, some legal experts say that as a practical matter, the administration — emboldened by the justices — has already managed to eliminate job protections that have been on the books for nearly 150 years.... Donald Trump’s drive to replace agency leaders and his mass firings across the federal government are all based on the same basic legal concept: the unitary executive theory. It holds that every employee of the executive branch is answerable to, and fireable at will by, the president. The most extreme version of the unitary executive theory holds that the central premise of the civil service — that rank-and-file government employees shouldn’t be hired or fired for political reasons or simply on the president’s whim — is unconstitutional because it tramples on the president’s power to control the federal government.” ~~~
~~~ AND here's where that comes from: ~~~
~~~ Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “As a young staff member in the Reagan administration, John G. Roberts Jr. was part of a group of lawyers who pushed for more White House control over independent government agencies. The 'time may be ripe to reconsider the existence of such entities, and take action to bring them back within the executive branch,' the future chief justice of the United States advised the White House counsel in a 1983 memo. Independent agencies, he wrote, were a 'constitutional anomaly.' Once he ascended to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts joined other conservatives on the bench in a series of rulings that have chipped away at Congress’s power to constrain the president’s authority to fire independent regulators. That decades-long project of the conservative legal movement collides on Monday, when the case is argued in the court. At stake is ... [Donald] Trump’s desire to oust officials across the government, in defiance of federal laws meant to protect their jobs and shield them from politics.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: That is, confederates have always been more interested in concentrating power than in democracy and honest, stable government serving the public. Government, to them, is not of, by and for the people, but a racket to be exploited. The intellectual hill on which John Roberts stands is Mount Turpitude, a peak in the Peculation Range.
Nick Cumming Bruce of the New York Times: “The United Nations plans to reduce by half the amount of money it requests from donor countries in 2026 to help people affected by war and natural disasters, a consequence of the drastic cuts by the United States and European governments to their foreign aid budgets.... 'This is a heartbreaking report to share. There is pain on every page,” [Tom] Fletcher[, the U.N. under secretary general for humanitarian affairs,] said of the appeal. 'We are overstretched, underfunded and under attack.' The Trump administration has repeatedly questioned the value of the United Nations, pulled the United States out of several U.N. agencies, clawed back $1 billion in funding and told Congress that it plans to cut another $1 billion. European countries, including Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, have also pulled back on U.N. funding and other forms of aid, to focus on defense and other domestic priorities.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: But we do have plenty of billions to spend on deploying thugs to round up people who overstayed their visas, even if those visas were issued when the people were children.
Kissing the Ring. David Gilmour of Mediaite: “Netflix chief Ted Sarandos quietly met with ... Donald Trump at the White House as the streaming giant maneuvered to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a blockbuster $82.7 billion deal.... During the mid-November meeting, which lasted more than an hour, Trump insisted Warner Bros. should 'sell to the highest bidder,' a sentiment Sarandos was more than happy to lean on, people familiar with the interaction told Bloomberg.... Sarandos walked out of the West Wing believing Netflix would not meet immediate resistance, despite Paramount Skydance’s insistence that it held the inside track, according to Bloomberg. In Sarandos’ view, Paramount Skydance bosses Larry and David Ellison had misread their political pull and would likely bid too cautiously, leaving Netflix room to seize the advantage. That Oval Office conversation now looks decisive.” ~~~
~~~ Or Maybe Not. Kissing the Ring Is Not Enough. Steve Kopack of NBC News: "... Donald Trump said Sunday that the proposed $72 billion merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery 'could be a problem' because of the amount of market share the resulting company would have.... Trump expressed some skepticism Sunday about the prospects of approval. 'Well, that’s got to go through a process, and we’ll see what happens,' he told reporters as he walked the Kennedy Center Awards’ red carpet in Washington. 'They have a very big market share,' Trump said of Netflix. 'When they have Warner Bros., that share goes up a lot.' Netflix, which has more than 300 million subscribers, is the No. 1 streaming service. Warner’s HBO Max is ranked slightly lower. Trump said he would consult 'some economists' before the deal get his stamp of approval. 'I’ll be involved in that decision, too,' he said." MB: Yeah, I'll bet.
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine. Adam Rasgon of the New York Times: “Over two years of war, top Hamas commanders and thousands of fighters have been killed, and the group’s arsenal has been severely depleted. It now controls less than half of the territory in Gaza, with the rest occupied by Israel. Yet Hamas has managed to reassert its power in Gaza, according to Israeli security officials and an Arab intelligence official.... This swift regrouping presents a formidable obstacle to the Trump administration’s plan to reconstruct a Gaza free of Hamas. The plan envisions the enclave’s demilitarization and calls for all military infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons production facilities, to be destroyed. Hamas emerged from the war with a foundation it can build on.” MB: Gee, maybe the best way to get rid of a radical terrorist group is not to bomb, murder, starve, and generally terrorize the ordinary people who otherwise would have been happy to get rid of the terrorists in their midst.
44 comments:
The Fat Fascist is miffed because he claims Zelensky "has not even read" Fatty's wunnerful Pease Plan? I guarantee you that Fatty hasn't read it either. And what sane person would bother reading any sort of scheme put forward by Fat Hitler and his incompetent grifter flunkies, Condo Man and 666 Boy? Zelensky, unlike Trump, is trying to save his country, not tear it down to the studs. He has more important things to do than to waste his eyesight on yet another sop to Fatty's Russian handler. Fuck him and his disappointment.
Zelensky can read Russian. So he probably read the original version before FH's Russian stooge gave him the google translated version.
"Ed Dept To Hundreds Of Fired Workers: Come Back Temporarily To Catch Up Backlog Of Complaint Cases
Facing a backlog of school discrimination cases, the U.S. Department of Education has asked hundreds of employees it fired months ago to temporarily return to work.
A Dec. 5 email obtained by USA TODAY shows the agency ordered a significant portion of staffers in the Office for Civil Rights to come back later this month. In the “return to duty” directive, officials acknowledged they’re facing a sizable caseload of civil rights complaints, and they underscored a need to utilize every resource at the government’s disposal to work through them."
Digby's Blog
"How a Cryptocurrency Helps Criminals Launder Money and Evade Sanctions"
Marie,
"Mount Turpitude, a peak in the Peculation Range"...very nice. Moral turpitude serves as the primary active ingredient in Roberts Court decisions. As for peculation, I think the last time I came across that word was in an Emerson essay, so, good company for describing corrupt betrayal of one's oath of office. The Supines debase themselves, their robes, and the very idea of justice, all in a vile and odious scramble for raw power.
We are all just hanging on as we try to whether the insanity and stupidity and cruelty.
The Fat Hitler Reich has released (snarling, from a cage, I believe) the New National Security Strategery thingie. Know who loves it? I'll give you a hint: his name is redolent of a certain fictional, murderous vampire. If you guessed Vlad the Impaler
, aka, Putiekins, you win our prize, a year's supply of industrial strength Xanax.
Yup. "Russia publicly welcomed President Donald Trump’s new 33-page National Security Strategy blueprint on Sunday and noted that the 'vision' of the plan 'corresponds' with its own in a document that also warns Europe is a continent on the verge of 'civilizational erasure.'" Right...so let's help that erasure along.
Can you imagine the apoplexy had any Democratic president released a load of crap like this that was welcomed with open arms by our sworn enemy, described as being consistent with Russia's own vision as to how things should go in the world?
And get this little nugget...the strategery thingie opens with a paean to Fatty's world class ability to "“surgically extinguish embers of division between nuclear-capable nations and violent wars caused by centuries-long hatred.” Who writes like this? This sounds like it was hatched by the runner up in the Bulwer-Lytton horrible writing contest.
First of all..."surgically extinguish embers of division between nuclear-capable nations"? Of course, this refers to the West being mean to poor old Putin. The only nuclear-capable nations we have to worry about are Russia and North Korea, not exactly tops in the Best Neighbor contest. But Fatty makes it clear whose side he is on, and it ain't the side of Western Democracies.
This is like publishing a cook book and having it blurbed by Jeffrey Dahmer.
No thanks.
RAS,
Thanks for the laugh (the hanging on by fingertips guy). This would be Fatty putting up Christmas decorations (if he could ever get his jiggly blubber up a ladder), either that or doing his best Clark Griswold impersonation. There ain't much to laugh about these days, so any teensie bit of mirth is welcome, even the black comedy variety.
Did you guys catch this amazing self-own by one half of the Jerry Mahoney-Knucklehead Smith team now running the FBI (into the ground)? Here's former Fox screamer, Dan Bongino admitting that in his previous gig, he was paid basically to make shit up:
“'Listen I was paid in the past, Sean, for my opinions,' the former political commentator continued. 'That’s clear. And one day I will be back in that space, but that’s not what I’m paid for now. I’m paid to be your deputy director, and we base investigations on facts.'"
So...his previous bombing run of infamy was NOT based on facts. So why should anyone believe that now, all of a sudden, this execrable (and from all accounts, unhappy and indolent) unqualified moocher at the FBI has become cozy with the truth?
A purveyor of piffle, trader in twaddle, and merchant of mendacity like Bongo-Boy has as much to do with factual information and truth as the Trump Crime Family has with honest business practices.
“Regular Animals,” by the artist Beeple
On the other hand:
https://www.goskagit.com/news/education/mount-vernon-school-board-member-sammy-solano-is-ready-to-serve/article_2496ed1d-8edb-48d6-b852-092de7a78ce6.html
Marie,
Hating people makes me uncomfortable, too. But hating what they do and what they stand for? That's easy, and I have a lot of that kind of hate in my system these days.
For all the meanness, the corruption, the racism, the greed, the lying, the me-first-and-only behaviors exhibited by some politicians, business leaders, judges, the whole sorry, arrogant, unChristian MAGA lot.
All that is easy for me to hate, and I do.
Cruelty is the point.
"Trump administration plans to end prison rape protections for trans and intersex people, memo says
“PREA is still the law,” Knizhnik said. “Standards that are in place are still the law, and so this is essentially a directive to disregard the law.” She also said nothing is stopping individual jurisdictions from continuing or enacting their own protections for trans, intersex, and other vulnerable populations in custody."
"Retailers About To Run Out Of Pre-Tariff Inventories
The Trump administration is touting record Black Friday shopping as a sign the president’s tariffs haven’t hurt the economy the way some predicted. Economists and businesses say: Just wait.
That could come as soon as January, according to economists, as holiday discounts come to a close and retailers run low on inventory they secured at pre-tariff prices. Major retailers like Kohl’s, Abercrombie, Williams-Sonoma and Under Armour have all warned of price increases starting as early as late December or January."
@RAS: After laughing out loud at that fellow "just hanging on," I thought, "Hmm, hope that guy has a fenced front yard and/or his homeowner's insurance is up-to-date. That ladder is an attractive nuisance." But it really is the best Christmas decor ever.
So DiJiT is announcing $12B farner aid package just now.
According to Google AI there is no apparent new authorization or appropriation of these disaster relief funds. Google AI thinks that the provenence is in a bill signed back in December 2024. AI doesn't say it, but them was the autopen days, no?
Here is the Google, trying hard to figure this out. If the wrords are correct, AI did a good job of putting this together in less than a minute. Note the conditional phraseology:
-----------------
"The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program was announced on December 8, 2025, by the Trump administration. The specific legislative authority and full appropriation details appear to be connected to existing legislation and ongoing funding discussions, rather than a single distinct bill with that exact name passed on a specific date.
Here are the key details regarding its authorization and funding:
Authorization: The aid package, estimated at $12 billion total (with $11 billion for the Farmer Bridge Assistance program), was announced under the authority of existing law, likely the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) charter, which allows the Secretary of Agriculture to provide support to farmers.
Appropriation/Funding: The funds were expected to be sourced from the USDA, potentially as part of existing emergency or ad-hoc disaster assistance appropriations. The specific date the funds were formally appropriated for this exact program isn't a single event, but part of a broader allocation process.
Context:
The assistance was announced to help farmers impacted by trade disputes and increased input costs.
Earlier in 2025, a separate Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP), also providing aid to farmers, was authorized by Congress in the American Relief Act, 2025, which was signed into law on December 21, 2024.
The 2018 Farm Bill had expired, and a one-year extension was passed in late 2024 through the American Relief Act, 2025.
In summary, the "Farmer Bridge Assistance Program" is a program name under an announced aid package (Dec 8, 2025), utilizing existing administrative authority and congressionally appropriated funds. It was not a standalone piece of legislation with its own distinct authorization date. "
I should have mentioned that the AI essay above was the answer to my question "When was the farmer bridge assistance program authorized and appropriated?"
As I assumed, it was just DiJiT renaming something that was signed by Biden a year ago.
Just thinking about how the Fat Fascist, at the Kennedy Center thingie, which has, in the span of a few months, gone from being a prestigious affair recognizing serious artists to a slapdash POS event hosted by an idiot, was acknowledging that maybe JFK could have done an okay job of hosting a similar event, even though he, the Donald, is naturally the best at everything. But then he added that as far as building goes, he is the best.
Gee, Donnie, love what you've done with the East Wing. Is that a new style, all the crumbling concrete and busted pipes, and dangling cables, and shit all over the ground? What do you call that, the Gaza Look? Great job. Of course Bibi is the true originator of the Gaza Look, but who's counting?
Oh-ho! So 666 Boy, the Kushner kid has his sticky fingers in the Netflix-Warner deal? Wow. These fuckers glom on to anything they see that will pad their pockets. And I'm sure having that Trump connection doesn't hurt the people organizing this deal. A little walkin' around money for the Kushner kid isn't a bad idea. Fucking goddam grifters.
Another protection against dictatorship looks about to fall.
Little Johnny and the Dwarfs appear ready and willing to hand the Fat Fascist total control.
"The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case that could allow the court’s conservatives to supercharge President Donald Trump’s effort to assert absolute control over agencies that regulate the economy, the stock market, federal campaign finance and communications.
At issue in the case is Trump’s attempt to fire Rebecca Slaughter, the last remaining Democratic commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Throughout oral arguments, the court’s Republican-appointed majority appeared to be leaning toward shattering a key limit to the president’s ability to influence agencies that Congress designed to be insulated from direct White House control."
Because who needs a functioning government when you can have a grifter's paradise ruled by an unstable fat man who sees bribery and corruption as essential tools of a president*?
"At one point in the hearing, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned that through the case, the court could dismantle the modern U.S. government.
“'You’re asking us to destroy the structure of the government,' Sotomayor said to Solicitor General D. John Sauer, who defended Slaughter’s dismissal before the court Monday."
No, Justice Sotomayor, they're not asking. They're demanding. And they're gonna get it.
I don't think we can survive three more months of this, never mind three more years. But I suppose at some point, there will be no need to run to the Supines for some rubber stamp ruling. All the power will have been drained out of two branches of government and siphoned off by the Executive branch. There'll be no need for courts or legislation or any fucking thing, The king speaks, that's it.
And it would be one thing if the Supines were handing complete control of the country to some esteemed, noble, and learned philosopher king. No. They're handing it over to a egomaniac, race baiting, pocket stuffing, war mongering, hate filled, rabid dementia patient. What can they be thinking? The only answer has to be their vast hatred for democracy, and their long nursed bitterness against "the libs" whom they seek not just to own but to crush under the blubber of a porcine idiot. It's truly abominable.
RAS,
Loved the robot dogs with the heads of Zuckerberg, Musk, Warhol, etc. The Musk dog is uber creepy, but the thing I liked best about these things is that, as their creator points out, they only operate for three years. If only.
Ak, I can't think that there is any real value in trying to figure out "what can they be thinking" with respect to the SCOTUS. But I will assume that they have an intellectual attraction to the idea that a chief executive has to be in charge, or what does the word "chief" mean? They have been following that idea to the logical conclusion -- the fuhrerprinzip.
However ... the constitution refers only to the "president", not chief, el jefe, boss, fuhrer, vozhd, duce, capo de tutti capos, or anything else. Just "president." One who presides. And the p's job is "to take care that the laws are faithfully executed."
If you were really a strict constructionist, you'd say that congress does laws, presidents take care they are followed. If a law is unconstitutional, the court says that ... not the president.
And if you apply the Alito "what does history say?" test, if honest, you'd say that the 1787 conventioneers, and the 1789 ratifiers, did all they could to ensure that the branches were equal but the congress held the trump cards (money and war), and that the prerogatives of kings were denied to any part of the federal government. They worked hard to keep the king-y stuff outout out. Hence, unless the SCOTUS overrules a law on constitutional grounds, when the congress authorizes a federal function and appropriates funds for it, the executive (president) job is to see that it is faithfully executed. So when the congress' law says that means that the president cannot arbitrarily remove a congressionally-confirmed functionary (e.g. an FTC commissioner), the court cannot override that part of the authorizing law without repudiating the intent of the framers (no kings) and without advancing the idea of fuhrerprinzip.
There's plenty of casuistry in this business, but if the conservatives on the court were actual conservatives, they'd throw the administration's case into the Potomac, weighted by the bronze statue of Jackson (which is in ... Farragut Square?).
But they are not really conservatives. They are elitists. So we'll see how much they think thay can get away with.
Scary times.
Ah. Learning italicization in blogspot. The end character after fuhrerprinzipshould have had a backslash. Apologies.
Patrick,
My question was only partly rhetorical. It may not, as you say, matter what the Traitors on the Supine Court are thinking, but I feel like it matters to the extent that we understand more clearly why they are avidly assisting in the demolition of the nation.
My sense is that each has their particular reason: Thomas has always felt dissed by the hoity-toity, pretend liberals at Yale. Alito just hates everyone. Kavanaugh is an imbecile, but together they all seem to despise the New Deal, the New Frontier, the Great Society, the voting rights act, Civil Rights, and the great unwashed who don’t have billionaire bros paying for luxury vacays and who are looking for “handouts” (aka Constitutionally guaranteed rights).
From their rarified bubble, they see that the only way clear to the country and the society they crave is a monarchical despotism masquerading as a constitutional democracy (another Big Lie). They see separation of powers as separation of the Dear Leader from power he (never she) must have in order to slap down uppity nobodies.
Today, Gorsuch asked Fatty’s point man Sauer as to the fact that it seems the traitor controlled Congress has handed all its power over to the Fat Fascist. As such, there’s nothing the Supines can do about that. If Congress waives its power, then that’s it.
But in fact, the Supreme Court can and SHOULD do something about that. That’s their freakin’ job! They can tell the president* to back the fuck off and stand down,
As for the Italics, that typeface is typically used to highlight important points, ergo, your entire post is fine being italicized.
Unfortunately.
Why is my comment italicized? Oh wait… I bought some Italian hot ham the other day, what is referred to on “The Sopranos” as gabigol. That must be it.
Defining the Court's conservatives:
What will they preserve?
White supremacy
Male dominance
The privilege of wealth
Unrestrained capitalism
Religious freedom, when it suits them.
What they hate:
Democracy
Any dried husk of a law (including the Constitution) they don't like. Some of them apparently dry real fast.
Johnson Gets Rid Of IVF Coverage For Military Families
"A massive defense policy bill, revealed by US lawmakers on Sunday, does not include a provision that would have provided broad healthcare coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) for active-duty members of the military, despite Donald Trump’s pledge to strengthen access to the procedure.
Both the House and Senate previously approved the provision, which was added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as an amendment earlier this year. But Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House and a diehard anti-abortion Republican, worked behind the scenes to strip the provision from the new version of the NDAA."
What if the EU had written the strategy paper and...
Texas
"Rep. Jasmine Crockett on Monday filed paperwork to run for Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas, a source tells CBS News Texas, hours ahead of a planned news conference where she is set to announce her plans. The announcement is set to be held 90 minutes before the state’s 6 p.m. CT deadline for candidates to file paperwork to run in the upcoming March 3 primary."
If somebody forgets to close an html italics command, in Blogspot every comment thereafter is italicized. akaWendy knows how to fix this, but I don't. I'm going to try now by closing the italics at the top of this comment, but I'm not particularly hopeful.
Nope, it didn't work.
Okay, I'm trying again with one more nutty idea.
Obviously, that didn't work, either.
Well-- the news is so bad today, I wonder if the country we oldies have become old under will even exist in the next six months. There is nothing going our way, and one third of the country (at least) is cheerfully oblivious about what is happening and the significance. All I can figure is they are ultra dumb, mal-educated and married to their phones, TikToked to the core.
@Marie: Patrick may have to add the </i into his next comment since when akaWendy did it she was the one who started it and then eventually closed it off.
Can anyone post a <\i>?
Test
Test
@akaWendy: In my second try, I posted about 20 in a row of the close-italics html code in case it was necessary to close the italics of all the other comments that ended up italicized. It didn't work.
Afterwards, I asked Google's Art Intel if there was anything I could do as the site administrator (the way in Squarespace I could go in and edit comments -- which I did only very occasionally & when for some reason I thought it had to be done), and the answer seems to be "no."
I do recall that when you left italics open once, you were able to go back and close them in a subsequent post, but I cannot figure out how to do that in blogspot.
RAS may be right that the person who left the italics open is the person who has to close them. Dumb system.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/nyregion/ny-school-vaccinations.html
Another front on which reality takes a hit from fantasy.
That must be correct that the person who sets the attribute (bold or italic) has to turn it off. Definitely dumb!
test
Test
Oh well. I rather like italics-- it's fancy and slightly more fun, less serious. Probably not appropriate for reports on our lives in these
United States.
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