Sunday Facepalm.

facepalm_estatua1

All of life has become one gargantuan facepalm, ennit? Here are a few of them, adding to the whole:

Corey Lewandowski is now on record saying that no republicans ever questioned the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency, no, not those holy rethugs. That’s just so baldfaced, it’s hard to say it qualifies only as a facepalm.

“You’ve seen that the Democrats are trying to say that he’s not a legitimate candidate,” he said. “Can you imagine just for a second if a Republican congressman would have gone out and said this about Barack Obama and continued that narrative? It would be an uproar in the mainstream media.”

Right, because there wasn’t round the clock, constant coverage of all the rethugs screaming for birth certificates and the like.

highlights-magazine-2Kevin Swanson, who is rabid in his hatred for all things queer, is now raging about…Highlights. It’s just as bad as ISIS, did you know? Oh yes, just as evil, and maybe more evil. What brought on this irrational tirade of abuse? Inclusivity, natch. Inclusiveness of any kind is always to be found right at the top of the most evil list the Religious Reich has in their pocket.

Highlights Magazine announced they will be featuring same sex parents in future editions. That’s nice, isn’t it? Well, it’s nice for people who aren’t terrified by inclusiveness, and think it’s a good thing for the children of same sex parents to see themselves and their families represented. That helps to establish healthy, stable children, and a healthy, stable society, things which Christian Republicans are fanatically against. None of that inclusive wholesomeness for them, oh no!

Swanson said that while ISIS is releasing videos showing young children killing prisoners, Highlights is just as evil because it will “encourage the support for the sin of homosexuality among kids.”

It will encourage acceptance, yes. That’s a good thing, at least if you’re a decent, ethical person. I guess we know where that places Mr. Swanson.

“So now, here’s Highlights magazine, an American kids’ magazine promoting homosexuality amongst kids,” Swanson fumed, “and now ISIS is teaching kids how to kill people. Now, I got to thinking: Which sin is worse? Homosexuality or murder? Which is worse? Are we really that much better than ISIS?”

No, Highlights is not promoting homosexuality, anymore than it promotes heterosexuality. It’s simply reflecting their readership, and society as a whole. As for which sin is worse, can we just count Christianity as one big evil stain of a sin? It would save time. There are times I wish the xian hell did exist, because some people definitely deserve an extended dip in it, like Mr. Swanson. Even I’m not nasty enough to think he deserves such for eternity though. I’m simply not evil enough to be a good christian.

Okay everyone, hang onto those hats…

POTUS-Shield-800x458

Yeah. Are you impressed? I think we’re supposed to be impressed.

We reported earlier this week that a group of Trump-supporting dominionists has launched a POTUS Shield project to protect Trump and his presidency from his enemies. They’ve now posted video [warning: autoplay] from last week’s prayer gathering at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. In addition to prayers of gratitude for Trump’s “anointing” and his having “surrounded himself with evangelical people” and “magnified Christianity,” the group prayed individually for each member of the Trump family, as someone came forward to act as a sort of Hollywood-style stand-in for each of them.

Lance Wallnau, who had repeatedly declared that Trump was anointed by God, prayed for Donald Jr., declaring that God would give him a personal heads-up—“a word of knowledge ahead of time”—when the media is trying to trip up or embarrass the family.

Sure, why not get to the really important stuff right away? I’m sure there couldn’t possibly be anything more urgent than embarrassment, given that Trump is sort of the living embodiment of embarrassment.

Frank Amedia, who served the Trump campaign as a voluntary “liaison for Christian policy,” prayed for Eric, saying that he too has “an anointing on him” and that Eric’s “humility for you is already beyond natural.” Amedia prayed that God would “bless his seed and the seed of his seed.”

Eeeuuuw. Seriously, christians, just start fucking more, maybe it will take care of this constant need to shove your noses into crotches, and stop concerning yourself with people’s semen.  As for humility, Eric. Really. Guess they didn’t see those disgusting hunting photos.

Leigh Valentine, a beauty-industry entrepreneur associated with John Hagee’s Christians United for Israel, thanked God for “the anointing” he had placed on Melania to walk alongside her husband. The “wisdom of God”, she said, will be upon Melania, who will “astound the women of her nation.”

What nation are we talking here? Astounded. By what? Her penchant for plagiarism? The fact that she was hawking her QVC crap on the whitehouse.gov site before someone hastily yanked it? Her standing silently by when her husband is busy drooling all over his daughter? Standing by her man when he talks about grabbing women by the pussy?

Mark Gonzalez prayed that young Barron would be given wisdom beyond his years and asked that God protect his heart when he sees “evil” being “launched at his family.”

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen such a blank looking kid. Either he’s so overwhelmed he’s close to paralysis, or he’s simply not affected by anything. I think he should be protected too, but that’s a tough call when he’s in the bosom of his family.

Clarence McClendon, a Los Angeles-based preacher who said in post-election Twitter messages to “the Prophetic Community” that the election was “supernatural” and a “Re-Set” for the country, prayed for Mike Pence has his wife, saying that God had told him Pence was “a covenant man.” Pence, he said, is “malleable and pliable” in God’s hand, and prayed that Pence would speak wisdom into Trump’s ears.

I wouldn’t describe Pence as malleable and pliable in the least. Rigid, cold, uncaring, devoid of empathy, and a willing toady, yes. There’s more at Right Wing Watch.

Reality Check.

Credit: Bigstock.

Credit: Bigstock.

The inaugural speech was dark, ominous, painting a picture of a disintegrated America. The inaugural speech was also a lie. All of it. This should not come as a surprise; if there has been any consistency about Trump, it’s been that he lies, constantly. It’s in Trump’s interest to paint such a picture, and it’s also necessary for his plans for fascism – reality is not his friend. Fortunately for us, Think Progress has a nice point by point refutation of all Trump’s inaugural claims.

During his inaugural address on Friday, President Donald Trump painted a bleak picture of an America beset by violent crime, drugs, and lack of education. He presented himself as a savior who will “fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.”

[…]

But as was the case during Trump’s similarly dire Republican National Convention speech, many of the claims he used to paint his picture of “American carnage” were false. In other instances, Trump referred to real problems, but didn’t mention that he has no plan to fix them.

[…]

Here are some of the ways in which Trump tried to deceive the American people about the state of their country during his first speech as president.

Jobs

“Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed… We will bring back our jobs,” Trump said.

But during the Obama years, the economy has actually been adding jobs each month at a steady pace: it added jobs for 75 straight months, the longest streak on record. There were 2,157,000 more jobs added over the last year, and 11,250,000 created over Obama’s presidency.

Head over to Think Progress for the full reality check.

Yep.

HLM

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.” — H. L. Mencken.

The Power to Nullify.

Reps. Julio Gonzalez and John Koster.

Reps. Julio Gonzalez and John Koster.

Two state legislatures are considering measures that would allow lawmakers to overrule decisions by Supreme Court majorities — and one Florida Republican wants to change the U.S. Constitution to allow Congress to do the same.

In Florida, state Rep. Julio Gonzalez (R-Venice) has filed two bills that would allow the state legislature or the U.S. Congress “to override or nullify court decisions.”

House Joint Resolution 121 would allow lawmakers to undo any state court decision by a two-thirds vote for up to five years, and House Memorial 125 would permit Congress to propose a similar constitutional amendment to give themselves the power to nullify federal court decisions.

Gonzalez, an orthopedic surgeon, said the bills are necessary because judges are often unaccountable to voters and unable to decide cases without considering their practical or political impact.

“(The legislation) would curtail the tendency of activist judges to manipulate the law to suit their political views and agendas,” Gonzalez said. “Equally as important, this would force the people to engage the Legislature in enacting rectifications to current laws that they see as objectionable or flawed, restoring the natural relationship between the people and their legislative bodies. This would also force the electorate to more carefully look at their candidates and their actions during times of re-election.”

There’s that dog whistle, “activist judges”. Yes, we only want judges who will do what we want, fuck the law!

[…]

Washington is considering a similar measure that would allow lawmakers to “reject the determination of the court” by a simple majority on cases where the state’s Supreme Court rules an act unconstitutional.

State Rep. John Koster (R-Arlington Heights), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said he supports the measure because he believes the court overstepped its authority in deciding a lawsuit on education funding.

“It’s a worthy effort to tap (judges) on the shoulder and remind them of separation of powers,” said Koster, who admits the bill might not pass.

Gonzalez identified rulings on public displays of religion — including holiday celebrations and school prayer — and laws against flag-burning as his justification for the bills.

Emphasis mine. Well, that didn’t take long, did it? There isn’t even the slightest effort to wrap this in flowery language. I wonder how long it will be before bibles and public prayer are foisted on what’s left of schools.

Via Raw Story.

Okay…Inauguration Roundup.

IR

© Laura Racero.

Oh, where to start. I guess we’ll start with “Hey, look, a tiny, Bane-full inauguration!

(Photo: Wikipedia commons and screen capture).

(Photo: Wikipedia commons and screen capture).

For all the boasting about the bigliest ever, the crowds at Trump’s inauguration were woefully scant. The Twitternet jumped all over this immediately, and you can see many of the tweets here. Also noted by the Twitternet, and most everyone else on the planet, Trump borrowed a bit of his speech from a fictional villain, which is terribly apropos, but he picked the wrong villain, Bane. Bane was more of a “eat the rich!” kind of villain. That didn’t stop Trump:

Fans of the Batman franchise film The Dark Knight Rises were startled to hear the words of the movie villain Bane coming out of Republican Pres. Donald Trump’s mouth as he made his inaugural address — purportedly written by Trump himself — on Friday.

“We’re giving the power back to you. The people,” Trump said Friday, a nearly verbatim quote from Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s screenplay for the 2012 film starring Christian Bale as Batman and Tom Hardy as Bane.

You can read all about this one, and see some of the tweets here.

The Twitternet also broke out in gales of laughter and comparisons over Kellyanne Conway’s outfit:

Kellyanne Conway attends President Trump's inauguration (Screen cap).

Kellyanne Conway attends President Trump’s inauguration (Screen cap).

Conway’s outfit, which TMZ claims she describes as “Trump Revolutionary Wear,” is a red-white-and-blue getup that is meant to be somewhat reminiscent of Revolutionary War-era military uniforms.

CNN’s Hunter Schwarz notes that her coat is actually a $3,600 Gucci wool a-line coat — and CNN’s Kate Bennett writes that the coat was originally designed to pay tribute to the city of London, which isn’t exactly a place to celebrate the American Revolution.

You can read all about that, and see tweets here. Oh, and the buttons on it are cat heads.

Then there’s a compilation of all the things that didn’t happen, didn’t come through, and weren’t bigly at all:

Women’s March bus permit requests outnumber inauguration requests by 3 times.

Most hotel bookings have been made by anti-Trump protesters.

Trump is wrong (again): dress shops still have plenty of available frocks.

“There’s never been less demand for inaugural ballgowns in my 38 years,” Peter Marx, who owns D.C. dress shop Saks Jandel, told People. “Never ever has it been less for the inaugural.”

Other shops expressed similar sentiments.

“We were expecting heavy traffic and it has not been that way,” a D.C. Bloomingdale’s representative told Elle. “The last inauguration was a lot more people shopping.”

A spokesperson from Intermix told the outlet, “Usually, it is really big for us, but this year we haven’t seen anything yet, surprisingly.”

Elle notes that “among others we called, White House Black Market and Cusp in Georgetown confirmed they have options in stock. So does Neiman Marcus. And Gucci. And Lord & Taylor. And Nordstrom.”

There’s more here.

And there were artists out, as well as all the marchers and protesters. FORCE put on a big show:

CREDIT: Nate Larson.

CREDIT: Nate Larson.

…For roughly 45 minutes, a slideshow of photos and quotes from survivors circulated on the front of the building, as passersby stopped to take it in. The organizers of the installation hoped their message reached at least a few visitors here for Trump’s inauguration.

“As a native woman, as a queer woman, as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and intimate parter violence, there’s so much that is traumatic about seeing my country support somebody that represents violence against all of those things,” said Rebecca Nagle, a co-director of FORCE. “The racism and the misogyny that [Trump] represents is bigger than just him as a person and a figurehead, but is something that is deeply embedded in American culture.”

Many victims of sexual assault were particularly traumatized by the election of Donald Trump, who bragged on tape about sexually abusing woman. Now, as he prepares to enter the White House, there are already signs that Trump won’t pursue policies aimed at preventing sexual violence. As part of his proposed plan to reduce government spending, Trump administration officials reportedly approached the Department of Justice with a plan to eliminate the federal grants used to combat violence against women.

“The goal of the piece is really to uplift survivors voices at a time that a lot of people are normalizing Trump’s behavior,” said Nagle.

Full story at Think Progress. A great work by FORCE!

And because there’s always bad news:

President Donald Trump’s whitehouse.gov page omitted references to a number of policy issues championed by his predecessor, including climate change, civil rights and healthcare, providing a blueprint for the new administration’s priorities over the next four years.

Full story here.

Budget Slasher Horror.

Pennywise

© Jorgel007, via http://welcome2creepshow.tumblr.com/

Trump is preparing his own slasher flick, featuring The Budget. Most Trumpoids won’t care, they will most likely cheer this massacre on, but those of us who cherish things like art, social justice, education, the environment, because our earth sustains us, and other commie hippie stuff are in for a very bad ride. As per usual in the rethug agenda, anyone who isn’t rich is gonna get screwed.

Incoming President Donald Trump’s administration is already working on preparing his budget. And it looks like it will be far more extreme than anything the Republican Party has proposed so far.

The blueprint Trump’s team is working with as it crafts the plan would cut federal government spending by $10.5 trillion over a decade, according to The Hill’s sources.

[…]

To get such deep cuts, the Trump budget contemplates completely eliminating a number of programs, particularly at the Departments of Energy, Justice, State, Commerce, and Transportation.

On the chopping block, according to The Hill, would be the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the Department of Justice’s Legal Services Corporation and Violence Against Women Grants; funding for the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity, and Office of Fossil Energy, among others.

It’s likely many other programs will be cut as well, even if they aren’t eliminated entirely. […] But if the House Republican budget is any guide, programs that serve the most needy are likely to be in danger. That proposal derived 62 percent of its cuts from low-income programs, such as food stamps and Pell grants, even though those programs account for just 28 percent of non-defense spending.

Think Progress has the full story.

All The Promises.

Prom

CREDIT: AP Photos/Graphic by Adam Peck.

Trump made promises about every five to ten seconds. It didn’t matter what he was talking about, false promises fell from his lips like water tumbling over a cliff. He also made many promises about promises, of the “I promise we’ll keep our promises!” variety. Oh yes, he’s not going to be like every other politician in the world, no. This bit of bullshit most people see through, or at least they should. It seems that Trumpoids actually expect him to make good on all the promises. Silly Trumpoids, promises aren’t for politicians! Or narcissistic, filthy rich despots, either.

Think Progress has put an enormous amount of work into tracking all the promises. They discarded all the vague, general ones, like “I promise to make the country great again”, because that doesn’t actually mean anything. Even limiting themselves to concrete promises, they counted 663 promises to date, and counting. That’s a whole lot of promises. The full article is in-depth, and a very good, if depressing read. This is an ongoing program, naturally, tracking the life of these promises. Most politicians are savvy enough to limit the amount of promises they make; the really smart ones talk more about efforts needed, and possible programs. The savvy and smart do that because they know just how much hot water they can land in for breaking promises, voters tend to be a bit weird in that regard. Perhaps most voters don’t believe the promises, but they’ll still hold a politician’s feet to the fire if they don’t come through. It’s a bit different with Trumpoids, they believe the promises, and they want them kept. It’s going to be interesting, to say the least.

Donald Trump will take the Oath of Office 583 days after he first announced his improbable run for the White House.

Along the way, he made 663 promises (and counting), according to a ThinkProgress analysis of Trump’s public statements that examined well over 4 million words from his media interviews, his policy position papers, and his speeches to supporters, interest groups, and national television audiences.

These promises matter. Trump’s voters expect him to deliver. As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pointed out two weeks ago on the Senate floor regarding Trump’s pledge to not cut entitlement programs like Medicare, “This was a central part of his campaign… This is what he asked millions of elderly people and working class people to vote for him on.”

Yet attention spans are shorter than ever, and Trump himself is skilled at distracting attention from policy or scandal with tweets and endless varieties of incendiary remarks. It’s easy to forget what he told voters he would do.

So starting the week after the election, ThinkProgress undertook a two-month research project to document every promise Trump made, from the golden escalator ride to the inauguration. They are housed here in ThinkProgress’ searchable, interactive Trump Promises Database.

I clicked on ‘Promised by Day One’ (sourced quotes not included):

Hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce workforce size.

Instruct Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator on day one.

Stop losing jobs on day one from Florida and nationwide.

Announce plans to renegotiate NAFTA day one.

Pursue requirement that for every new regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated on day one.

Announce withdrawal from TPP on day one.

Direct Commerce Secretary and USTR to identify foreign trading abuses that affect the American worker, and begin ending those abuses immediately, on day one.

Begin cancelling billions in climate change spending for the United Nations on day one.

Lift restrictions on production of fossil fuels on day one.

Lift environmental roadblocks to “energy infrastructure projects” to move forward on day one.

Turn around EPA “killing your companies” and losing jobs on day one.

Propose constitutional amendment for term limits.

Propose ethics reforms on day one to end government corruption.

Pursue a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising campaign dollars on day one.

Pursue five-year ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists on day one.

Pursue lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government on day one.

Ask Congress for bill repealing Obamacare and replacing with “reforms that expand choice, freedom, affordability.”

Get all criminal immigrants out.

Get rid of “international gangs of thugs and drug cartels” before anything else, first piece of paper he signs.

Begin moving 2 million “criminal aliens” out of country on day one.

Issue mandate to everyone, including police to get the bad illegal immigrants out of the country in first hour.

Put strong language in first day in office that when illegal immigrants first get caught they get jail time.

All illegal immigrants out day one.

Repeal Obama’s Immigration executive orders.

Ask Congress to pass “Kate’s Law”.

Cancel all federal funding of sanctuary cities on day one.

Ask DoS, DHS, DoJ to comprehensively review terror immigration cases for extreme vetting as soon as he enters office.

Suspend immigration from “terror-prone regions” on day one.

Immediately suspend admission of Syrian refugees.

Begin working on impenetrable physical wall with latest technology on day one.

Build impenetrable physical wall.

Get rid of gun-free zones in schools.

End gun free zones on military bases on the first day.

Issue temporary moratorium on new agency regulations.

Order review of every regulation issued over last 10 years, cancelling “needless” ones.

Cancel every unconstitutional Obama admin executive action, memo, and order on day one.

Unsign executive orders.

Knock out ISIS oil day after he’s president.

As we now know, Donny isn’t going to work on Day one at all, because hey, weekend! Jesus fuck, I thought that list was never going to end. Obviously, it’s incredibly unrealistic, and it goes to show that Trump will say anything at any time, to any one. Lots of words, no thought. Have a wander over to Think Progress for the full story.

What Art Under Trump?

Illustration: sophiazarders.tumblr.com.

Illustration: sophiazarders.tumblr.com.

Margaret Atwood has an excellent article up at The Nation about the chill which is already sweeping over the artistic community at large. Atwood is no stranger to dystopian scenarios, but thankfully, those were fiction. We may well be facing an artistic dystopia very soon.

Of what use is art? It’s a question often asked in societies where money is the prime measure of worth, usually by people who do not understand art—and therefore dislike it and the artists who make it. Now, however, the question is being posed by artists themselves.

For American writers and other artists, there’s a distinct chill in the air. Strongmen have a well-earned reputation for suppression and for demanding fawning tributes: “Suck up or shut up” has been their rule. During the Cold War, many writers, filmmakers, and playwrights received visits from the FBI on suspicion of “un-American activities.” Will that history be repeated? Will self-censorship set in? Could we be entering an age of samizdat in the United States, with manuscripts circulating secretly because publishing them would mean inviting reprisal? That sounds extreme, but considering America’s own history—and the wave of authoritarian governments sweeping the globe—it’s not out of the question.

In the face of such uncertainties and fears, the creative communities of the United States are nervously urging one another not to surrender without a fight: Don’t give up! Write your book! Make your art!

But what to write or make? Fifty years from now, what will be said about the art and writing of this era?

[…]

In the short run, perhaps all we can expect 
from artists is only what we have always expected. As once-solid certainties crumble, it may be enough to cultivate your own artistic garden—to do what you can as well as you can for as long as you can do it; to create alternate worlds that offer both temporary escapes and moments of insight; to open windows in the given world that allow us to see outside it.

With the Trump era upon us, it’s the artists and writers who can remind us, in times of crisis or panic, that each one of us is more than just a vote, a statistic. Lives may be deformed by politics—and many certainly have been—but we are not, finally, the sum of our politicians. Throughout history, it has been hope for artistic work that expresses, for this time and place, as powerfully and eloquently as possible, what it is to be human.

This is a do not miss article. Outstanding, and highly recommended.

Sister Marches.

Wm

If you can’t make the women’s march on Washington, there are sister events! They are going on everywhere, not just here in uStates, but all over the world. Check out the sisters page, and see if you can find a march near you. (There are even three here in nDakota!)

World of Wonder has more details.

ACA Repeal: Catastrophic.

CREDIT: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite.

CREDIT: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite.

On Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its estimate of how many people will become uninsured if Republicans move forward with their likely plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and the numbers are brutal. Thirty-two million people would lose their health insurance by 2026, and premiums would double in the same time frame.

Americans would also see a sharp and immediate drop in insurance rates. According to the CBO, “the number of people who are uninsured would increase by 18 million in the first new plan year following enactment of the bill.”

The CBO examined a bill pushed by Republicans in the previous Congress, the “Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015,” which would phase out provisions of the Affordable Care Act that help make health insurance affordable — including subsidies for plans purchased on Obamacare exchanges and the law’s Medicaid expansion. It would also immediately repeal provisions, such as the law’s individual mandate, which are intended to bring people into the insurance market.

At the same time, this bill would also leave in place certain regulatory reforms, such as the requirement that insurers cover people with preexisting conditions.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but if I faced doubled premiums, that would be the end of healthcare coverage for me, and as someone who needs to have spinal and neck injections every 3 months, well, that would stop too, because I know damn well I couldn’t cover the procedure out of pocket. That would leave me in massive pain with no respite, because without the injections, I don’t get pain med scrips.

Nevertheless, partial repeal would lead to a massive expansion of the uninsurance rate. Indeed, many people would be unable to obtain insurance at any price. As CBO explains, “roughly 10 percent of the population would be living in an area that had no insurer participating in the nongroup market.”

A Massachusetts study found that “for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year.” If this figure is applied to the 32 million who will lose insurance if key provisions of Obamacare are repealed, it means that about 38,500 people will die every year who otherwise would have lived in Republicans succeed in their plans to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act.

Yeah. All that shit about death panels? Well, now we know for sure who doesn’t care about people dying, but that’s hardly news. Naturally, rethuglicans are attempting to discredit and dispute the report, but they are still offering nothing but vacant looks towards anyone who expects details about the so-called replacement plan.

Republicans have indeed suggested several possible replacements for the Affordable Care Act, such as dismantling state insurance regulation, giving states more leeway to deny Medicaid coverage to people who are now eligible, and tax cuts that would primarily benefit the wealthy. To date, they have not settled on a specific replacement plan, however, and the ideas they have floated so far would insure only a fraction of the people currently insured under the Affordable Care Act.

So, what we have to look forward to in this brave new world? Taxes, Pain, Death.

Via Think Progress.

Day One-ish.

Trump humps flag. Twitter.

Trump humps flag. Twitter.

Trump has disclosed to The London Times that his first day of working as president will be Monday, January 23rd, because I guess now presidents of whole countries don’t work weekends.

“One of the first orders I’m gonna sign — day one — which I will consider to be Monday as opposed to Friday or Saturday. Right? I mean my day one is gonna be Monday because I don’t want to be signing and getting it mixed up with lots of celebration,” Trump told the London Times.

Stephen Colbert had something to say about that one:

Via Raw Story.

Potential Grizzlies.

Waving Grizzly gif on Twitter.

Waving Grizzly gif on Twitter.

Betsy DeVos’s hearing veered straight into the absurd, citing potential grizzlies:

However, nothing quite caught the flavor of how poorly her hearing went than her response to Sen. Chis Murphy (D-CT) who asked her, “Do you think guns have any place in or around schools?”

After saying the availability of guns should be “best left to locales and states to decide,” Devos replied to further questioning on guns on campus by adding, “I will refer back to Senator Enzi (R-WY) and the school he was talking about in Wyoming … I would imagine that there is probably a gun in the schools to protect from potential grizzlies.”

Ms. DeVos is not only singularly lacking any qualification to head up the Department of Education, she’s not exactly stellar in the thinking department. She did note she had a bleeding heart:

If the question is around gun violence and the results of that, please know that my heart bleeds and is broken for those families that have lost any individual due to gun violence.”

Buuuuuuut…potential grizzlies, man! I’m hearing Cheech & Chong in my head. The twittersphere erupted over the potential grizzly bears.

Mo Gaffney

✔ @mogaffney

So DeVos won’t say guns don’t belong in schools. Except says yes when grizzlies are near. How many grizzly adjacent schools r there?

*

Adam B. @AllThingsBooks

“We need guns in schools because of grizzly bears.” You know what else stops bears? Doors.

*

Sarcasticsapien @Sarcasticsapien

I’m confused. Betsy DeVos wants to bring God into schools but also guns because I guess God isn’t powerful enough to stop grizzly bears.

*

Gary @mrgaryhuang

I must REALLY live in a liberal bubble. I didn’t think grizzly bears were even remotely a problem in public schools.

More Tweets at Raw Story.  Also covering this story, Think Progress.