THE INSANITY ACCELERATES

Headlines are grim, poll numbers are craptastically grimmer, the mood is watchful but bleak. And even through all that, nutbaggery flows down, with the crazy shit a mighty Mississsippi. And it’s only Day Two of Week Four in Month Ten. As we consider all this, it becomes clear through the fog that what’s bad for Maladministration II is good for America.

Trump is using AI to self-soothe after his call to punish “seditious” Democratic lawmakers was met with intense backlash. Trump, 79, fancied himself as a cape-wielding hero tasked with obliterating the “Deep State” in a series of Truth Social posts on Sunday that featured bizarre AI-generated images of himself and the six Democrats who urged the military to “refuse unlawful orders” in a video message. One clip reposted by the president depicted lawmakers Elissa Slotkin, Mark Kelly, Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow as prisoners behind bars, bringing to life Trump’s calls for them to be prosecuted over a video that sent him spiraling last week. Trump seems to have found solace in AI-generated videos that justify his threats. He reposted a second clip from an account called “DeepFakeQuotes” showing an individual hiding behind a Guy Fawkes mask, a la V for Vendetta, arguing in a robotic tone that the Democrats’ video was “a direct attack on the chain of command.”The images were all generated by a social media user who goes by Spiritual Streetfighter, whose previous AI work had also been reposted by Trump. Her bio reads: “I believe in Q. WWG1WGA.”

A senior House Republican has warned that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sudden decision to resign from Congress is only the start of a deeper implosion inside the House GOP. Several GOP lawmakers told reporters they are also weighing mid-term retirements. Another senior Republican delivered a blistering assessment of the party’s trajectory: “This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL. And Mike Johnson has let it happen because he wanted it to happen. That is the sentiment of nearly all - appropriators, authorizers, hawks, doves, rank and file.” He blasted what he called “the arrogance of this White House team,” accusing them of running “roughshod and threatening” over members while denying them even “little wins like announcing small grants or even responding from agencies.” He warned anger is spreading beyond the usual suspects. “The regular rank and file random members are more upset than ever. Members know they are going into the minority after the midterms. More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower.’ He forecast, “Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel, and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”

Punchbowl News reports the idea that Republicans could lose their majority in this Congress is no longer far-fetched. House Republicans are facing the prospect of having a zero-vote governing majority in the House. There is a special election in Tennessee for a House seat in a (+22) Trump district that is a lot closer than anyone expected set for early December. In January and April, Democrats will win special elections in blue districts in Texas and New Jersey. MTG’s decision not to resign until January 2026 means the election to fill her seat likely won’t be held until the Georgia primary election in May. So the current tiny three-vote Republican House majority could be gone before the election for Greene’s seat. At best - if they win the Tennessee special election - House Republicans will have to attempt to govern with a one-vote margin until May 2026. If Johnson loses another House Republican to retirement, death or illness, the GOP can end up in the minority at some point in 2026. When this will happen is uncertain, but resignations usually come after the holidays. There are Republicans in the House who aren’t going to walk the plank for Trump; instead of pledging to finish their term to keep the majority in Trump’s hands, they are ready to walk in what would be the ultimate middle finger to Trump and Mike Johnson. (Be still, my beating heart.)

Trump appears to want to play the role of Kultur Minister as well as Fuhrer in Maladministration II. He is reportedly leaning on Paramount’s new owner Larry Ellison - the world’s third-richest man, who has also donated heavily to Trump’s campaigns and was recently named as one of the Trump allies who could potentially take over ownership of TikTok - to listen to his suggestions about future Paramount projects, and one franchise in particular. Semafor - citing a source directly familiar with the conversations - reports that Trump “personally pressed” Ellison to revive the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy-cop franchise “Rush Hour” - which most recently played its third and last movie in theaters 18 years ago. Such a deal would hinge on the Ellisons also taking control of Warner Brothers Discovery - which is currently the center of a bidding war for takeover. That’s because Warners owns the Rush Hour franchise. Warners severed their relationship with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner in 2017 after credible accusations of multiple sexual assaults. Ratner - who has consistently denied the allegations - previously had a production deal with the company worth $450 million and is contractually a part of any further Rush Hour franchise reboot. However, if the MAGA-friendly Ellisons run Warners, this might not be a problem since Ratner has strong MAGA links: his first project since the misconduct claims being the $40 million documentary on Melania Trump, which follows her over the 20 days before the 2025 inauguration, which was attended by tech titans including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - and is due to be released in January through Amazon. There are more MAGA connections: Arthur Sarkissian, the producer of the Rush Hour franchise, made last year’s “The Man You Don’t Know,” a fawning Trump documentary (which has a 4 out of 10 rating at the IMDB). Ratner has been trying for years to get “Rush Hour 4” going, with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker returning. Ratner and Sarkissian seem to think they can get Trump to pressure the Ellisons to release “Rush Hour 4” as either a gesture toward their good relationship or an explicit or implicit condition of favorable treatment, especially in any acquisition of Warners. Should this happen, Trump’s other favorite movies include “Goodfellas,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Citizen Kane,” “The Godfather,” and “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.” Which proves that men shouldn’t be allowed to watch movies until they pass a test showing they fully understand the concept of the anti-hero. On a more immediately-serious level, the Trump-Ellison production dialogue goes beyond Hollywood and the Ellisons’ choices for film entertainment. The Guardian reported last week that Larry Ellison and White House officials have discussed specific personalities to fire if the Ellisons acquire Warners, which is CNN’s parent company. Paramount-plus is also set to be the likely broadcaster for the UFC cage fight reportedly set to take place on the White House lawn this July 4.

And just to demonstrate how cringey public life in America now is, Puck News’ Matt Belloni announced in a tweet this morning that “Paramount WILL release Rush Hour 4 after prodding from Trump on behalf of Brett Ratner. Distribution deal. Producer Tarak Ben Ammar is lining up financing. Get ready for the dumbest possible state-controlled media.” Indeed it will be.

Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of his pledge to slash the government’s size but which critics say delivered few measurable savings. “That doesn’t exist,” Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about the unit’s status. It is no longer a “centralized entity,” Kupor added, in the first public comments from the Trump administration on the end of Elmo’s bright shining lie. All he and the bro’s accomplished was to give Elmo - the world’s richest man - the platform he wanted to use so he could kill the world’s poorest people. And attempt to wreak as much damage as possible to the government of the worlds oldest democracy.

Since beng outed on Xitter this past weekend as the foreign trolls they are, many of the MAGA influencers outed for living in countries like Nigeria and Bangladesh have vanished from the platform. The users, who had several million followers between them, were turned overnight into objects of brutal derision on Xitter. Four prominent accounts unmasked by the new feature that exposes where a site is located - DarkMAGA, MagaScope, WilliamAlbrech, and IvankaNews - now show as “suspended” for “violating X rules.” Xitter says it bars users who pretend to be someone they are not: “You may not impersonate individuals, groups or organizations to mislead, confuse or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of others on X,” the rules state. The IvankaNews page - which turns out to be in Nigeria - even claimed to be a U.S. resident, writing at one point, “I live in Florida. Where are you from?” The page’s owner also suggested it voted in last year’s election. After Trump‘s so-called Big Beautiful Bill was passed in July, the page wrote, “This is exactly what we voted for. True or false???” Several accounts that were outed have continued posted, despite being hit with multiple “community notes” that they are foreign-based. In fact, being bombarded with criticism on each post may be just what the account owners want. Last fall, Elmo announced X would pay creators based on engagement from X Premium users. The math is simple: the more engagement, the more money by way of a biweekly payout, regardless of what the engagement is.

A federal appeals court over the weekend declined to lift a lower court order barring the Trump administration from using expedited removals to rapidly deport migrants without a court hearing.

The administration earlier this year looked to expand the use of such proceedings, which were previously only used for recent arrivals encountered close to the border. The White House aimed to broaden the use of expedited removals to those who crossed the border at any point in the last two years, anywhere in the country.

In a 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the panel declined to lift an August ruling that barred the administration from implementing the policy as the legal battle plays out.

The majority wrote the policy carries “serious risks of erroneous summary removal” by swiftly deporting people with little process for them to challenge.

The judges also chastised the administration for using a process that fails to alert migrants, the majority of whom have been in the U.S. for more than two years, that their longevity in the U.S. could exclude them from the expedited process.

“It simply leaves it to the detained individual to spontaneously and affirmatively prove two years of continuous residence,” the judges wrote.

Additional arguments on the merits of the case are scheduled for December.

Once again, we have arrived at the TACO Point, this time regarding health care. Trump’s initial proposal to extend ObamaCare subsidies has created problems for GOP leaders in congress.

Trump’s plan features a two-year extension of ACA tax credits paired with eligibility limits. Those subsidies expire Jan. 1, threatening to spike health care costs for 22 million Americans who currently benefit from them. The deadline has Republicans into a no-win position: if they extend the tax credits, they’ll be on record supporting a Democratic law they hate while infuriating their conservative base. If they don’t do this, out-of-pocket health costs for millions of people - including Republican voters - will skyrocket before the midterms, when Republicans are already at risk of losing control of the House. The conservative outcry forced Trump to delay unveiling the extension Monday. GOP centrists are hoping it’s only a delay, not a cancellation, saying that inaction would spell doom for Republicans next November. Trump’s plan reportedly features a two-year extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies, while installing new limits including an eligibility cap on income of 700 percent of the federal poverty level. It would also require all beneficiaries to assume some premium costs, a response to conservative concerns that zero-premium plans encourage fraud. Trump is directly involved in the conversations. His reversal has done little to appease Democratic critics, But Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said, “If the reports are true and the President is considering coming to the table in good faith, I believe we can find a path forward that can earn broad bipartisan support in Congress.” It turns out the delay from Monday is due to MAGA Mike telling Trump there weren’t Republican votes for the extension. Hakeem Jeffries busted MAGA Mike today, pointing out there are sufficient votes between moderate GOP and Democrats. MAGA Mike just doesn’t want to do this.

Border Patrol Gruppenfuhrer Gregory Bovino gave nearly seven hours of clipped, defensive, and evasive answers about his unit’s chaotic Chicago mission, according to newly released court documents. As reported by the Chicago Tribune, the full transcript of Bovino’s deposition featured lawyers trading insults and objections about his testimony regarding the behavior of his so-called “Green Army” during “Operation Midway Blitz.” “You didn’t want to shake his hand when he walked into the room,” DOJ attorney Sarmad Khojasteh told plaintiffs’ attorney Locke Bowman. “That was noted. Treat him with respect. Treat me with respect. You’re a professional.” The transcript also details government counsel repeatedly cutting off questioning and, at one point, Khojasteh calls Bowman a “petulant old man.” U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis torched Bovino’s credibility in a 233-page opinion, writing that he “appeared evasive… either providing ‘cute’ responses… or outright lying.” The major flashpoint featuring Bovino came during a Little Village operation in which he threw tear gas into a crowd without warning.

He initially claimed he was struck in the head by a rock before deploying gas. Ellis said he later admitted he wasn’t hit until after he tossed the gas. Ellis’ ruling catalogs broader discrepancies, including agents “almost immediately and without warning” launching flash-bangs, tear gas, and pepper balls while exclaiming “fuck yeah!” and even one agent using ChatGPT to help write a use-of-force report, undermining sworn accounts of nonstop rioter aggression. Bovino has maintained his agents confronted “violent rioters and assaultive subjects” and that uses of force were “more than exemplary.” But Judge Ellis concluded the government’s own body-camera videos often disproved that portrayal. After Chicago, Bovino’s 200-man unit shifted to North Carolina for a one-week push in and around Charlotte, where they claimed 370 arrests, before they left; the unit is now slated to redeploy to New Orleans on Dec. 1.

Pistol Pete Kegstand ordered Navy Secretary John Phelan to have the U.S. Navy complete its review of the Defense Department’s complaint against Sen. Mark Kelly over his recent remarks alongside other lawmakers and to report back with findings by Dec. 10. The order comes a day after the Pentagon said it has received “serious allegations of misconduct” against Kelly and that it kickstarted a probe into the Arizona senator to “determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”

Former Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham - who ordered his state health department to stop promoting mass vaccinations - has been quietly appointed as top deputy at the CDC. The appointment was not announced by HHS and the agency did not return a request for comment. However, it confirmed his hiring to multiple outlets. The CDC has no permanent director. HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill is serving as acting director. As second in command to an acting director, Abraham would essentially be running the agency. Abraham argued that government agencies should not promote “pharmaceutical products” when the manufacturers are “exempt from liability for harms caused by the drug, as is the case for many vaccines.” Abraham is also a supporter of warnings by Wrong RFK Got Shot for pregnant women to avoid taking Tylenol because of a possible link to autism. Yes, once again, let’s place “only the best” in charge of keeping America healthy.

In closing, Steve Vladek provides slid guidance in his most recent post, “Whereas the first Trump administration was often characterized as ‘malevolence tempered by incompetence,’ this is worse: it’s malevolence exacerbated by incompetence.”

NOTE: Any news tomorrow will be short. Over the weekend I have some “think pieces” I want to present. Those will show up Saturday-Sunday.

You are not the crazy ones. This is the fight of our lifetimes, and the challenge of our generation. Please consider joining the other paid subscribers here at That’s Another Fine Mess to keep things going. It’s only 21 cents a day.

Comments are for paid subscribers.