Just a reminder that there is literally nothing preventing Democratic leadership from doing this except inertia.

E.P.A. Declares ‘Greatest Day of Deregulation Our Nation Has Seen’ Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, reframed his agency’s mission, saying it is to make it cheaper to buy cars, heat homes and run businesses.

“a good way to waste years of time and effort and accomplish nothing.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/c...

YouTube video by The Daily Show Trump Lies, Attacks Biden in Joint Address & Rep. Al Green Leaves Early | The Daily Show

Trump Lies, Attacks Biden in Joint Address & Rep. Al Green Leaves Early

youtu.be/fb6oHu5A4Ak

Exclusive | Draft of Trump Executive Order Aims to Eliminate Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon would be directed to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” based on “the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.”

Just restating the simple point: President lacks the constitutional authority to close a department created by Congress. Full stop. Both the creation and on-going funding of these Depts are LAWS not suggestions. This is criminal conduct. www.wsj.com/politics/pol... via @WSJ

Silver lining, I guess: With one White House meeting, Trump and Vance managed to unite all of Europe today.

Every single politician in America, especially Republican could learn a lesson about not cravenly debasing yourself like a pathetic meek coward. (There are other terms that come to mind.)

One of the things I was known for back on the bad site was promulgating the My Boxes theory with @sonnybunch.bsky.social, so please allow me to say …. MY. BOXES.

It really is like the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of Defense all shat themselves in public, on live television, in the Oval Office, and (a) they are proud of themselves for it and (b) their fans think it was a show of manhooditude and strengthliness

Hell freezing over. WSJ, centrists, progressives, and Democrats all agree Trump and Vance are kowtowing to Putin, a tyrannical thug, and undermining the US.

Nothing AOC is saying here that couldn’t be said by a moderate politician who wanted to be seen fighting. bsky.app/profile/aoc....

Counting down

We have 1435 days left of this shitshow!

They should all demand raises.

I miss the range of emotional responses that one has on FB. A heart is far from appropriate for 85 percent of posts here, at least now.

Many dear friends are leaving FB and coming here. I want to stay in touch, but this site is about ideas, not about friendship and family. So, I'm on FB for now, too.

Does Trump think he's talking to a reporter from Afghanistan or E.T.?

The Fight for the Past: Contested Heritage and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Many in the West do not understand why Putin decided to attack Ukraine. Russian propagandists have thrown up a smokescreen, placing the blame on the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, slanderin...

My friend, Christoph Mick, published this article in 2022. It is a very useful survey of the historical relationship between Russia and Ukraine. doi.org/10.1080/1756...

The penny is obsolete. The penny should be abolished. The Constitution vests power over the coinage in Congress, and Congress's laws require production of the penny. Trump's actions are illegal. Again. www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...

Factchecking Trump’s inaugural address, from inflation to healthcare Following up on key claims made by 47th US president during his day one speech

And so it begins:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Because laughing is doing something positive:

bsky.app/profile/thed...

He changed TV, too, which was harder.

Opinion | Starting Monday: The Trump administration’s days of blunder Talk of tattoos, Jesus and a war with California mark the week before Trump’s inauguration.

Steve Bannon promises "Days of Thunder." But it's already looking more like Days of Blunder for the incoming Trump administration. My latest @postopinions.bsky.social column. wapo.st/4hlWVWi

Changed TV for ever.