After Donald Trump’s attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in favor of Russia, the United States can no longer claim to be the leader or “defender of the free world.” This shift signals a dangerous drift toward authoritarianism, drawing unsettling parallels to Germany in 1933.

MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell captured the gravity of the situation, stating:

And so the President of the United States is no longer the leader of the free world or even a defender of the free world. The free world has rallied around the leader, who through struggling with the language barrier, tried to cut through Donald Trump’s lies on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy might never be called the leader of the free world, but he is without a doubt the bravest leader in the free world.

It is a sobering reality that America is now led by a man weakened by his own inadequacies and a wounded ego. What was once a beacon of democracy and strength is now marred by insecurity and self-interest. This is indeed a profoundly sad day for the United States.

She thought a rapist convicted of 30+ felonies would make fertility treatments more affordable but not a woman? You f’d around and now you are finding out. I have no sympathy for these people.

Organizing a 24-hour economic boycott on February 28th to protest the ongoing actions of the Trump administration and to send a message to corporate America. From The People’s Union USA website, here are the details:

Thursday February 27th from Midnight till Friday The 28th Midnight
(A full 24 hours of the 28th)
12:00 AM to 12:00 AM

WHAT NOT TO DO:
Do not make any purchases
Do not shop online, or in-store
No Amazon, No Walmart, No Best Buy
Nowhere!

Do not spend money on:
Fast Food
Gas
Major Retailers

Do not use Credit or Debit Cards for non essential spending

Show corporate America, using the thing they best understand (money), how much power Americans have when collectively organized.

34 count felon Donald Trump’s mug shot is one of the first things visitors will see when approaching the Oval Office. I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still am.

Chris Kluwe at a town hall meeting in Hunting Beach, CA:

MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence.

MAGA stands for censorship and book bans

MAGA stands for firing air traffic controllers while planes are crashing

MAGA stands for firing people overseeing our nuclear arsenal MAGA stands for firing military veterans and those serving them at the VA including cancelling research on veteran suicide MAGA stands for cutting funds to education, including for disabled children.

MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably anti-democracy, and most importantly, MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement. You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat but that is what it is.

I will now engage in a time honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience.

And so it begins. MAGA has rallied the best among us to stir up good trouble. Let the mayhem unfold.

It’s no secret that Project 2025 serves as the ideological roadmap for a second Trump presidency. While Donald Trump himself downplays his direct involvement, the reality is that this comprehensive policy agenda is already in motion, setting the stage for a dramatic reshaping of the federal government.

From executive power expansion to sweeping reforms across key agencies, the vision outlined in Project 2025 is not just theoretical—it’s actively being built. The pace at which its architects are working suggests a level of preparation rarely seen in modern political transitions.

For those keeping a close eye on its implementation, we are at 34% as of this post (February 20, 2024). You can track its progress here.

Kevin Kelly recently shared some of the advice he’s learned over his 50+ years on the road. Here are a few of my favorites:

Don’t balk at the spendy price of admission for a museum or performance. It will be a tiny fraction of your trip’s total cost and you invested too much and have come too far to let those relative minor fees stop you from seeing what you came to see.

[…]

The most significant criteria to use when selecting travel companions is: do they complain or not, even when complaints are justified? No complaining! Complaints are for the debriefing afterwards when travel is over.

[…]

Your enjoyment of a trip will be inversely related to the weight of your luggage. Counterintuitively, the longer your trip, the less stuff you should haul. Travelers still happy on a 6-week trip will only have carry-on luggage. That maximizes your flexibility, enabling you to lug luggage up stairs when there is no elevator, or to share a tuk-tuk, to pack and unpack efficiently, and to not lose stuff. Furthermore, when you go light you intentionally reduce what you take in order to increase your experience of living. And the reality of today is that you can almost certainly buy whatever you are missing on the road.

[…]

The list of most coveted cities to visit have one striking thing in common—they are pedestrian centric. They reward walking. Better online hotel sites like Booking.com have map interfaces which allow you to select hotels by their location. Whenever possible I book my hotel near to where it is best to walk, so I can stroll out the door and begin to wander.

[…]

And finally the my favorite advice:

For the best travel experiences you need either a lot of money, or a lot of time. Of the two modes, it is far better to have more time than money. Although it tries, money cannot buy what time delivers. You have enough time to attend the rare festival, to learn some new words, to understand what the real prices are, to wait out the weather, or to get to that place that takes a week in a jeep. Time is the one resource you can give yourself, so take advantage of this if you are young without money.

Time is the great equalizer - no matter how much money you have, or the luxuries you partake in, we all have 24 hours in a day. When you go, make sure you take the time to be fully present in your new adventure.

The February 13th cartoon from The New Yorker:

Get the Daily Cartoon here.

This cartoon of Steve Bannon explaining MAGA from a prison cell is the perfect mix of comedy and dystopian nightmare fuel. It’s like a satire sketch come to life—except it’s real. The fact that a disgraced, jailed political operative is still somehow influencing a movement built on blind loyalty and delusion is beyond absurd. And yet, here we are, watching Trump corral his MAGA minions like a doomsday cult, completely immune to reason or reality. You couldn’t script a more ridiculous plot if you tried!

Lyndon B. Johnson predicted as such way back in the 60s:

If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you

That right there sums up Donald Trump’s business model.

these these fucking billionairs they they they need to be put down. You know like fucking rabid dogs. They’re like rabid with fucking greed and just going out and just dividing everybody. You know know just the the the fucking epitome of this time right now. Like how divisive we are that like you know the Gulf of Mexico is now called the Gulf of America and people get excited about it. Like how the fuck does that help your wallet? It’s an empty gesture.

– Bill Burr, “Super Bowl, Drones, Valentine’s Day Grift | Monday Morning Podcast 2-10-25”, Feb 10, 2025

Bill Burr is the George Carlin of our time.

While the billionaire class distracts us with debates over the names of bodies of water, DEI, and gender identity, they’re quietly dismantling Social Security, gutting the FBI, and trying to eliminate the Department of Education. Classic misdirection—keep the people arguing over nonsense while they rewrite the rules to serve themselves.

Jamelle Bouie video essay on his YouTube channel is an adaptation of his NY Times piece, There Is No Going Back:

Now, even if Musk had been elected to office, this would still be one of the worst abuses of power in American history. That is unquestionable. No one in the executive branch has the legal authority to unilaterally cancel congressional appropriations. No one has the legal authority to turn the Treasury payment system into a means of political retribution. No one has the authority to summarily dismiss civil servants without cause. No one has the authority to take down and scrub Americans’ data unilaterally. And no private citizen has the authority to access some of the most sensitive data the government collects on private citizens for their own unknown and probably nefarious purposes.

Professor Christina Pagel of University College London has mapped the actions of the Trump administration’s first few weeks into a Venn diagram with “five broad domains that correspond to features of proto-authoritarian states”:

• Undermining Democratic Institutions & Rule of Law; Dismantling federal government
• Dismantling Social Protections & Rights; Enrichment & Corruption
• Suppressing Dissent & Controlling Information
• Attacking Science, Environment, Health, Arts & Education
• Aggressive Foreign Policy & Global Destabilization

The information is also contained in this categorized table. And to keep upto date on the all of the Trump administration is this list of authoritarian actions that the Trump administration has taken, each with a link to the relevant news story.

So, you voted for Trump because of egg prices. He assured you that costs would drop on Day 1. Well, here we are—24 days into his presidency (as of February 13, 2025).

How’s it going? Inflation has climbed back up to 3% (compared to 2.1% when Biden left office), we’re locked in trade wars with Mexico and Canada, and—just in case you were wondering—egg prices have risen 15.2% since Trump took office.

This is what you voted for. Actions have consequences, you f*cked around, now you are finding out.

Rick Wilson of the Lincoln Project:

You’re not allowed to be surprised when Trump told you the things he would do to hurt you, and yes MAGA you will be the ones who get hurt the most. I promise you. Rich people don’t give a shit.

MAGA - you are NOT allowed to be SURPRISED.

Donald Trump announced Sunday that he has instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt the production of pennies, citing the high cost of producing one cent.

The government is set to save $179 million this year. While that might sound like a significant amount, in the grand scheme of the U.S. federal budget—projected at approximately $6 trillion for fiscal year 2025—it barely registers. To put it into perspective, $179 million amounts to just 0.00298% of the total budget.

With the potential phase-out of the penny, how will prices be affected? Economist William Dickens from Northeastern suggests that prices might actually drop in some cases.

“The item that once cost $2.99 might then cost $2.95,” Dickens says.

Ok. What’s the price of milk?. I don’t have a PHD in economics, but I can guarantee that business will round up to $3.00.

If we’re serious about saving money, here’s a thought: eliminate direct fossil fuel subsidies, which total approximately $20 billion per year. Let’s not pretend oil companies are struggling—they’re raking in record profits while still receiving government handouts.

Maybe instead of minor budget tweaks, we should start cutting waste where it actually matters.

No translation needed, but for those wondering, it translates to: “Trump pushes his way closer to recession.”

Its humiliating to be an American these days.

Donald Trump ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to open up a federally controlled flow of water in northern California that was completely unnecessary and unusable by anyone in southern California.
[…] That water is vitally important for farms and cities later in the summer.

It’s going to be a tough summer in California - and you can thank the ineptitude and stupidity of the Trump administration for it.

From the Wallstreet Journal’s Editorial Board:

If the North American leaders need to cheer about a minor deal so they all claim victory, that’s better for everyone. The need is especially important for Mr. Trump given how much he has boasted that his tariffs are a fool-proof diplomatic weapon against friend or foe. Mr. Trump can’t afford to look like the guy who lost. Ms. Sheinbaum in particular seems to recognize this, and so far she’s playing her Trump cards with skill.

None of this means the tariffs are some genius power play, as the Trump media chorus is boasting. The 25% border tax could return in a month if Mr. Trump is in the wrong mood, or if he doesn’t like something the foreign leaders have said or done. It also isn’t clear what Mr. Trump really wants his tariffs to achieve. Are they about reducing the flow of fentanyl, or is his real goal to rewrite the North American trade deal he signed in his first term? If it’s the latter, there’s more political volatility ahead.

In other words, Trump got nothing new for all his insane retoric and folded like a cheap deck of cards. It’s going to be fun watching Trump’s sycophants twist themselves into pretzels trying to claim this as a victory for the administration.

Trump administration made big moves to realign federal law enforcement in this country — purging top leaders at the FBI and multiple federal prosecutors at the DOJ.

John Fugelsang sums brilliantly sums up the current situation:

They care about their authority symbols, and they’re proving it right now. This is Joker taking over, firing commissioner Gordon and letting all the crooks out because Gotham was tired of woke Batman.