POKING AROUND THE DAY KRASNOV SAYS DEFEAT S ARE VICTORIES

There are 609 days to the mid-terms and the GOP will drive the government off the cliff in ten days, Friday after next. The Trump Tariffs went into effect at midnight last night and the markets are tanking as I write this. Tonight Krasnov will try to bullshit you that all his disastrous decisions are actually good news. On Monday, the Dow lost 600 points while the S&P lost 500.

From the Depazrtment of How Fucking Bad Will This Shitstorm Get?: The Nasdaq Composite index fell 10% from its record high hit on December 16 into what is commonly known as correction territory. At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 610.73 points, or 1.41%, to 42,580.51, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 86.35 points, or 1.50%, to 5,762.26 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 284.14 points, or 1.55%, to 18,066.06. Just for the record, before the Trump Slump was declared, the Federal Reserve was projecting a 1.5% contraction in GDP for 1QTR25, down from 2.3% growth in GDP during all four quarters of 2024. As of last night, the Federal Reserve has revised that to a MINUS 2.8% contraction in GDP for first quarter. That’s 1929 territory. With any luck, the GOP will get smacked in 2026 like they did in 1932, when they weren’t allowed to touch the economy until 1980, after the majority of Americans who knew how they fucked things up back in 1929 were dead. The downward pressure created by threatened tariffs is being exacerbated by “extreme economic uncertainty” depressing consumer confidence and purchasing behavior. Random, arbitrary job cuts that ripple through the economy tend to depress consumer confidence in their future prospects. H.L. Mencken wasn’t wrong 101 years ago when he observed that “nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” All you damn egg-eaters out there can politely go to hell. Oh, and Canada and Mexico both slapped 25% tariffs on all US goods, while China China responded with a 10% “match” and then another 15% on top of that.

From the Department of Here’s How Bad It Gets: The CEO of Target announced this morning that prices for fruits and vegetables are likely to rise within a matter of days thanks to Krasnov’s sweeping tariffs on products from Mexico. CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC that during the winter months, the retail giant relies heavily on Mexico for fresh produce like strawberries, bananas and avocados. Given the short supply chains for fresh produce, buyers will see those price increases almost immediately, Cornell said. A couple of months ago, only about 20 percent of America understood what a tariff was, but now it’s closer to 50 percent, proving Americans are still dumber than shit. (The 50% that doesn’t get it are the ones who read and comprehend at a 6th grade level or less.) The conversation around tariffs has contributed to buyers becoming more cautious and consumer confidence falling in recent weeks, he said.

From the Department of You Knew This Was Coming: Krasnov has cut off Ukraine from further US aid, stopping the transfer of weapons approved by the Biden Administration. “The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” Peter Doocy said Krasnov will now only agree to try and end the war if Zelensky apologizes: "I have been told by a senior official here that nothing is gonna happen with this minerals deal until Zelensky goes in front of cameras and makes an explicit public apology for the way he behaved in the Oval Office with that meeting." I suspect Krasnov’s deal to steal Ukraine’s minerals flew out the window, never to return, since no Ukrainian politician will be able to make such a deal now. Interestingly Julia Ioffe has posted at Puck that there was never a deal to be made outside of Krasnov’s mind: there is no firm accounting of potential Ukraine mineral reserves; the majority of the rare earth possible reserves are in the area of eastern Ukraine stolen by Russia; and the majority of what rare earth reserves there are in Ukraine are privately held and would not be subject to the Theft Treaty Krasnov was promoting.

From the Department of I hope Canada Wallops Us Good And Hard: Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Monday he is prepared to cut off electricity exports to the U.S. if President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods go through. “If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything — including cut off their energy with a smile on my face,” Ford told reporters at a mining convention in downtown Toronto. Ford doubled down on his pledge to retaliate by matching tariffs, noting the U.S. is a major customer of Canada’s electricity. “They rely on our energy. They need to feel the pain. They want to come at us hard, we’re going to come back twice as hard,” he said. The Sun reported Ford said he would go dollar-for-dollar in matching tariffs: “That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” “The provinces have a big say in it, but it’s the federal government that’s leading the charge, and we’re going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder no matter who’s in the federal government.” Bear in mind that 90% of the oil and gas for New England comes from Canada. That’s also the case in all the states that border Canada. And this morning, all those measures against us went into effect when Krasnov’s tariff began. This morning, Premier Ford announced that Ontario will impose a 25% export tax on electricity it sends to homes and businesses in the U.S. The province powers 1.5 million homes and businesses in New York, Michigan, and Minnesota, as well as a substantial portion of the rest of New England and the Mid-Atlantic states..

From the Department of Don’t Cry When KrasnovTakes Away The Vehicle You Want To Buy: Bloomberg reported that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico are likely to make US car prices rise by as much as $12,000, since so many parts and pieces of vehicles are manufactured at plants in those countries. Auto industry analyst Anderson Economic Group said a large SUV with “significant” content from Mexico would see a nearly $9,000 increase, while a pickup would see an $8,000 increase: “Tariffs on the scale that President Trump has threatened would have a sharp negative effect on auto sales.” Popular vehicles who will rise dramatically from the tariff would be Ford Maverick truck, Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram pickups. Ford CEO Jim Farley: “It will blow a hole in the US industry that we have never seen. You’ll see some model and trim types just disappear.” In his remarks today, Krasnov said the manufacturers are “just going to have to move all their plants to the US.” He then posted that American farmers should “get ready to make lots of product to be sold INSIDE America - have fun!” As if that could happen by a snap of the fingers.

From the Department of Skeletor’s Hyprocisy Really Stinks: According to Skeltor, er, I mean Senator Rick Scott, noted worthless piece of shit, “AOC should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” for posting videos on social media advising people what their rights are if ICE agents come to their door: “We took an oath - we’re supposed to uphold the constitution, not tell people how to evade the constitution. It sure seems like she’s violating the law.” Let’s recall that during Skeletor’s tenure as chief executive of Columbia/HCA - nation's largest for-profit health care company. Scott was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997. When the company was charged with defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. The U.S. Department of Justice won 14 felony convictions against the company, which was fined $1.7 billion in what was at the time the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history. Scott pled the 5th 75 different times when his hospitals were investigated for Medicaid fraud in 1997. Florida being florida, Scott - who wasn’t found individually guilty - was elected Governor for two terms and then Senator for now two terms. (I will never live in that scumball state) Bloomberg reports that there has been 8,200 migrant detentions over the past two weeks, which is down from 10,000 for the two weeks prior to that. Homan has blamed AOC, other elected officials, and media for the much lower than expected numbers, alleging they are tipping people off about imminent ICE raids. Yeah, the fact you’re a bullet-headed braindead moron has nothing to do with it, Herr Reichsmarschall.

From the Department of Krasnov’s Corruption Is Beyond Imagining: A few days ago, Eric Trump started making strange posts on social media telling investors in crypto to hold onto what they had even though all of them are way down from previous highs. He even told people to put more money in: “Buy the dips!” Yesterday Krasnov posted on Truth Social: “My Executive Order on Digital Assets directed the Presidential Working Group to move forward on a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA. I will make sure the US is the Crypto Capital of the World. And, obviously, BTC and ETH, as other valuable Cryptocurrencies, will be the heart of the Reserve. I also love Bitcoin and Ethereum!”Krasnov has no idea what any of that is. He just knows he’s potentially making billions off this scam. One crypto commentator on X: “In 20 years of investing, this is the most corrupt thing I've ever seen in financial markets. Eric Trump is not even trying to hide the fact that his Dad, the President, is deliberately pumping crypto coins, of which they own huge amounts. Well, now we know what Eric meant. His Dad gave him the insider trading information, and he was low-key passing it on to the public. I bet you Wall Street takes him a lot more seriously from now on. Whatever he says now will absolutely move markets.” Former Rep. Tom Malinowski: “Just so everyone is clear - this is using your taxpayer money to buy up crypto currency so that the price goes up for those holding it.” And the Krasnov family are now major holders of the “less popular” crypto that’s top of the list to be pumped by a federal buyout.

From the Department of This Is How Big Krasnov’s Corruption Is: One crypto analyst posted on X: “Trump’s ‘Crypto Czar’ David Sacks is up there among the biggest pieces of shit in the US. He literally cried for the government to save his bags when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed - now did it again with his crypto fund. He’s a shit stain on America. The day he finally ends up in jail should become a national holiday.” Ben Norton, Editor of Geopolitical Economy Report, on Sacks: “Jaw-dropping corruption in the US: Trump's billionaire crypto czar is heavily invested in a fund whose top 5 holdings are the 5 in the proposed US govt Crypto Strategic Reserve. Mere hours before Trump announced it, someone bought $200 million in Ethereum & Bitcoin on 50X LEVERAGE. I'll say it again: The blatant corruption and looting in the US today is like what was done to Russia in the 1990s - but this time, the USA is doing it to itself. The US govt was always run on behalf of oligarchs, but now the oligarchs are directly in charge. It's pillage!” A disillusioned MAGA influencer on X: “As an enthusiastic supporter of 2016 MAGA, I admit I was fooled by Trump's empty campaign promises. But at least we OGs didn’t support sex traffickers, crypto scams, and alienating all of our allies. MAGA 1.0 was naive. MAGA 2.0 is disgusting, corrupt and dangerous.”

From the Department of This Is How They Are No Longer Interested In Protecting The US: Pete Hegseth ordered Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh to halt all work to counter cyber threats from Russia, and focus instead on China and Iran. US officials said Russia launched a major ransomware effort right after Krasnov took office attempting to penetrate US hospitals, infrastructure and municipal networks. One official told CNN that this is “a major blow” to national security because it will make the US more vulnerable to cyberattacks from Russia, which has a formidable cadre of hackers capable of disrupting US critical infrastructure and collecting sensitive intelligence. The official said Russia and the US are in a constant battle in cyberspace, and the Kremlin sees that it has an asymmetric advantage in cyberspace to burrow into US critical infrastructure and try to influence US elections. “A person familiar with the issues” said “Russia and China are our biggest adversaries. With all the cuts being made to different agencies, a lot of cybersecurity personnel have been fired. Our systems are not going to be protected and our adversaries know this. People are saying Russia is winning. Putin is on the inside now.” Another one said, There are dozens of discrete Russia state-sponsored hacker teams dedicated to either producing damage to US govt infrastructure and commercial interests or conducting information theft with a key goal of maintaining persistent access to computer systems.”

From the Department of Wingnuts Are Always Victims: Newsmax host Todd Starnes was outraged that the Dennis Quaid biopic “Reagan” didn’t get any Oscar nominations. He says it was because of DEI. Starnes posted a quote from the screenwriter: “We didn’t seriously expect to be nominated for anything by Hollywood in this cultural climate." Screenwriter Howard Klausner told Fox News Digital: "What has become of the magnificent Dream Factory that once was Hollywood. Once upon a time it spoke to the heart and dreams of pretty much everybody, and the leaders and luminaries of the 20th century industry intuitively seemed to ‘get’ the middle of the country as well as the cultural elite. We were among 116 films that were eliminated for consideration this year," he continued. "Obviously, there needs to be a conversation about this policy." FACT CHECK: Dennis Quaid is a shitty actor who can’t get work anywhere but among his fellow talentless moron on the right, and right wing screenwriters are fucking talentless typists. Read the reviews, it was the typical piece of talentless right wing bullshit.

From the Department of How fucking Stupid Is This Bimbo?: Noted canine assassin Kristi “ICE Barbie” Noem stepped in it publicly, then did it again. Three Times. On a trip to Derby, Vermont, in January following the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent, Noem visited a library which is directly bisected by the border with Quebec. A line of black tape on the floor of a reading room of the Haskell Free Library and Opera House marks the spot where Derby ends, and Stanstead, Quebec, begins. Noem reportedly stepped up to the tape and said, with a grin, “U.S.A. No. 1,” and then crossed the line into Canada and said, “The 51st state.” “She did it at least three times and was very clear in saying, ‘U.S.A. No. 1,’ and didn’t even say ‘Canada.’ Just, ‘The 51st state’,” said Deborah Bishop, the library’s executive director, who is Canadian, speaking to the Boston Globe. The stupid bimbo airhead managed to even piss off the National Review, when Jay Nordlinger, a senior editor there tweeted, “This is not patriotism. It is an idiotic jingoism, unworthy of a great country.” Now all you have to do, Jay, is stop voting for fucking morons, er, I mean MAGAts. Or Republicans in general.

From the Department of Elmo Once Again Proves He Is A Moron: If you needed proof t hat Elmo was never “Chief Engineer” of anything and that his only talent is as a takeover artist, his latest fakakte should be all you need: The New Republic reports DOGE canceled a contract for nutritional peanut paste that is lifesaving assistance for starving kids abroad. It is grown by American farmers and manufactured by American workers, and huge amounts of it that was ready to ship has been sitting in Georgia warehouses rotting. The optics of the richest man in the world starving kids while food from American farmers rotted in warehouses was too much for someone inside Maladministration II,so Elmo announced the funding to ship the peanut paste and distribute it was reinstated. However, as Harvard Medical School professor Sasha Gusev reports: “The beauty of DOGE is that it is self-correcting. For example, someone pointed out to Elmo that he was letting food we had already paid for go to waste, he called that person an ‘imbecilic propagandist’, and then several hours later reinstated the wrong contract.”

From the Department of The Racism Is The Damn Point You Morons: In a controversial decision, the Board of Visitors at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) has declined to extend the contract of its current superintendent, Major General Cedric Wins. “Those who voted against extending or renewing his contract were very cognizant that a strong successful black man, a graduate of VMI, was a threat to them,” Virginia NAACP President Reverend Cozy Bailey said.

Wins, the school’s first Black superintendent, has been in the role since 2020 after VMI’s previous superintendent resigned following the Washington Post’s report on a history of “relentless racism” at the college. A 2021 state-ordered review backed up that report finding that “racial slurs and jokes are not uncommon” at VMI. State Senator Jennifer Carroll — a VMI graduate, herself — said she believes Wins’ contract wasn’t renewed because the board, most of whom were appointed by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, views Wins as a DEI hire trying to change VMI’s culture on racism. “It is very well documented that they felt offended because the Stonewall Jackson statue has been removed. They had disdain for the fact that there was a chief diversity officer at Virginia Military Institute,” Carroll Foy said.

From the Department of The Department of Injustice Decides To Inflict Some Injustice: The Department of Injustice said in a court filing Monday that it will “review” the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was convicted in a breach of her county’s election system carried out in an attempt to prove election conspiracies. A top Justice Department lawyer wrote Monday that their “review will include an evaluation of “will include an evaluation of the state of Colorado’s prosecution of Ms. Peters and, in particular, whether the case was ‘oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.’” It was signed by Yaakov M. Roth, acting assistant attorney general in the department’s civil division. “Reasonable concerns have been raised about various aspects of Ms.Peters’ case. These concerns relate to, among other things, the exceptionally lengthy sentence imposed relative to the conduct at issue.” Peters, a Republican who supports Krasnov, was prosecuted by Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, a Republican, with help from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. She was convicted in August and sentenced in October. Peters was convicted of three counts of attempting to influence a public official; conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation; official misconduct; violation of duty; and failure to comply with an order of the Secretary of State.

From the Department of Krasnov Continues His Bullshit: After pardoning the convicted treasonous seditionists who obeyed his January 6, 2021 order to assault the capitol, Krasnov this morning continued his war on the First Amendment and college campuses by threatening anyone who protests at colleges with arrest and deportation., He posted on Lies Anti-social: “All Federal Funding will STOP for any College, School, or University that allows illegal protests. Agitators will be imprisoned/or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on on the crime, arrested. NO MASKS! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Not much good news today but there’s these:

From the Department of Elmo Is Now A Democratic Fund Raiser: Independent journalist Kyle Tharp reports that Elmo has been a great fundraiser for Democrats, with Sen. Chris Murphy leading the pack: “In the past month, Democrats have spent over $3 million on Facebook and Instagram ads mentioning Elmo. Everyone from Senate campaigns, to the DNC, to local races are getting in on the action - a sign that Musk is becoming a strong fundraising bogeyman for the party.”

From the Department of Let The Resistance Roll: This morning, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled in favor of Cathy Harris, who chaired the three-person Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) during the Biden administration. He indefinitely reinstated her to her post on the board, writing that federal law prevents presidents from removing members of the MSPB without cause. “The President’s attempt to terminate Harris was unlawful,” Contreras wrote in a 35-page decision. The order allows Harris to return to her post, granting her full access to the benefits of her office while barring the Trump administration from recognizing any other person as a member of the MSPB in her position. Harris was fired via a one-sentence email from the Presidential Personnel Office last month. She had four years left in her seven-year term on the MSPB, from which the president can only remove members for “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.” Contreras’s order dictates that Harris will continue to serve as a member of the board for the duration of her term unless she’s removed for one of those reasons. During a hearing Monday over injunctive relief, (In)Justice Department lawyer Jeremy Newman said that the constitution vests in the president “sole authority and duty” over the executive branch, including over firings. The president must be able to remove at will principal officers who exercise executive power, he argued. Contreras ruled that the MSPB falls within the scope of Supreme Court precedent giving Congress the power to specify the length of members’ terms and determine under which circumstances the president may remove those members. “The President thus lacks the power to remove Harris from office at will. Because the President did not indicate that he sought to remove Harris for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, his attempt to terminate her was unlawful and exceeded the scope of his authority.” Harris’s is one of several lawsuits challenging firings of independent federal agency leaders with statutory removal protections. The head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), plus Democratic appointees to multimember commissions like the National Labor Relations Board and Federal Labor Relations Authority, have also challenged their firings. A different federal judge on Saturday ruled that Trump’s firing of OSC director Hampton Dellinger was unlawful, which the Justice Department quickly appealed. Last night, a federal judge extended a pause on firing staff from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. The judge asked the DoJ if “making sure consumers are protected from abusive practices” was “inconsistent with policy priorities of this administration.” The DOJ didn’t have an answer for that. In a separate case, another judge refused to lift a block on Trump’s awful anti-DEI orders, while it’s out on appeal. This is a Big Fucking Deal - the Supreme Court could overrule their 1926 case on which independence stands; at least three justices have indicated they would like to.

From the Department of Democrats Must Step Up: House and Senate Democratic leadership have decided to leave it up each of their members to decide whether or not they will attend Trump’s Tuesday night address before a join session of Congress, but many Democrats are not going to attend the speech. Others are planning to walk out, or bring guests that will highlight the pain that Trump is causing. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who has been at the center of the resistance, said on Sunday, “I think that State of the Union speech is going to be a farce. I think it's going to be a MAGA pep rally, not a serious talk to the nation. I think Donald Trump is going to spew a series of lies about his alignment with Russia, about what he's trying to do to allow Elon Musk to essentially monetize the American government to enrich Musk and his billionaire crowd. And I'm just not going to be a part of that.” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) announced, “I will not be attending President Trump’s address to Congress. The state of the union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law and he is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies."

From the Department of Bad News For Krasnov Is Good News For America: Protests being held today are expected to be the largest against Trump and Musk so far this year. Massive demonstrations are planned at all state capitals, and in other major cities across America, coinciding with Trump’s joint session in front of Congress tonight. Yesterday, in Silver Spring, MD, Sen. Chris Van Hollen joined hundreds of attendees outside NOAA HQ—calling DOGE an “illegal operation.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, who was also there, said: “If you believe in facts, if you believe in science, if you believe in the truth, you need NOAA.” Raskin added: “A rally a day keeps the fascists away.”

From the Department of Thank You Senator Shumer: Chuck Shumer kept the Democratic Senate minority together long enough to block the godawful Republican bill Protecting Women and Grils in Sports Act promoted by Senator Tuberville who believes there are entire women’s sports teams composed of trans athletes (FACT CHECK, according to the head of NCAA, there are 10 trans athletes in ALL women’s sports). The bill would have allowed inspection of an athlete’s genitals to “prove” their sex, The party-line 51-45 vote maintained the Democratic filibuste and stopped the Senator From Alabama Who Lives In Florida dead in his Confederate Traitor tracks.

Damn. Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, died Monday in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 82.

Lastly, Rep. Jasmine Crockett blasted Trump, and said what most us are thinking: “As far as I am concerned, Donald Trump is an enemy to the United States. When you are literally putting us at risk, because you want to convince your followers you should be a dictator.”

There’s more but this is as much as I can wade through in one morning.

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