MAUREEN DOWD–Jan. 20, 2026
It’s almost quaint to look at the misrule of W. and Cheney. At least they made up some highfalutin’ cover story about bringing democracy to the Middle East, when the real story was closer to daddy issues for W. and a Halliburton windfall for Cheney.
” I’LL FOLLOW YOU DOWN ‘TIL MY VOICE WILL HAUNT YOU” (Fleetwood Mac, SILVER SPRINGS )
January 14, 2026–from David French in NEW YORK TIMES:
When I think of the contrast between Jesus’ life and ministry and the will to power that has consumed so many Christians, I’m reminded of the words usually attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
IN TOTAL
JACK SMITH ON DJT FRAUD PER JAN 6 ASSAULT ON CAPITOL ( EXCERPTS )
“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Mr. Smith said, according to the transcript.
And Mr. Smith appeared intent on making another point: that he was unfazed by Mr. Trump’s vow to prosecute him.
“I am eyes wide open that this president will seek retribution against me if he can,” he said.
According to the transcript, Mr. Smith pushed back hardest when Republicans suggested Mr. Trump’s public statements after the 2020 election were protected under the First Amendment.
“Fraud is not protected by the First Amendment,” he said in the interview.
“There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case,” Mr. Smith responded.
“He was free to say that he thought he won the election — he was even free to say falsely that he won the election,” Mr. Smith said. “But what he was not free to do was violate federal law and use knowingly 19 false statements about election fraud to target a lawful government function.”
“Don’t P on my leg and tell me its raining”
Total Article–https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzQdzmbgCThVqTspkmQDcJdQqKsz
Excerpt :
And, like flypaper, he has attracted to his side a coterie of retainers who fit the same psychological profile: warped fanatics like Stephen Miller or Robert Kennedy Jr., conscienceless grifters like J.D. Vance, without exaggeration some of the very worst people in America. His followers, likewise, the 30-plus per cent of Americans who still, after the unceasing chaos of the last year, tell pollsters they approve of his “performance,” share many of the same traits. To them, he represents revenge on the people who have been looking down on them all their lives, as he does liberation from all restraints, legal, ethical or customary.
Cancel the National Center for Atmospheric Research ? Bet Humanity ?
It “supports the scientists who fly into hurricanes, the meteorologists who develop new radar technology, the physicists who envision and code new weather models, and yes — the largest community climate model in the world,” she wrote, adding, “Dismantling NCAR is like taking a sledgehammer to the keystone holding up our scientific understanding of the planet.”
Mr. Trump routinely mocks climate change as a hoax and his administration has labeled virtually all efforts to study climate change, reduce the level of dangerous greenhouse gases in the atmosphere or protect communities from the impacts of global warming as “alarmism.”
Recently I suggested the last 20 minutes of Ken Burns’ 6th (and last )
segment on THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
A new book, THE GREAT CONTRADICTION ( The Tragic Side of the American Founding ) by Joseph J. Ellis , is additional support. In a word, both point out the blind eye we have turned concerning Slavery and the treatment of Native Americans.
Last night I watched THE LAST CLASS. It goes on the list. Pat Conroy once said, “…if anything is more important than good teachers I wish someone would tell me what it is before I die.”
Robert Reich is a giant of truth. Should one be interested in the truth–listen to him.
NYT today by Sam Sifton—
“Is it possible to become president and not steal?” Volodymyr Zelensky asked before he became president of Ukraine in 2019. “It’s a rhetorical question, as no one has tried so far.”
The Little Green Book of Tennis 