Podcasts about kitm

On today's KITM, we bring in David Waldman, who brings in Greg Dworkin, who brings in the latest primary updates and some news summaries, which is perfect, exactly what we needed them to do. There are a bunch of important elections this month, with some big ones yesterday. Going anti-Trump is working out well for Dems, not so much for Gops. Nancy Mace does hate the Trans but was not a true believer in hushing up the Epstein files, so she doesn't even get a participation trophy. Nothing to be too proud of there. Lindsey Graham still had to spend the kind of money some spend on a reflecting pool just to stay in office. On the other hand, Graham Platner ran the gauntlet and came out unscathed even without Kellyanne Conway's approval. Mike Johnson knows that he's never smelled anything like this around Trump. A yearslong effort to woo Trump culminates with the World Cup. Why? Sending Donald cash usually results in a quick turnaround. Donald K. Trump might be getting sick of winning, but he wants to see his arch before he gets too sick. Trump's arch could become taller than the Statue of Liberty, the same way Trump Tower became taller than the World Trade Center.

David Waldman fit a KITM into his Tuesday schedule, and ours! Everybody saw this coming. The New York Knicks won 13 times in a row, then Donald K. Trump touched their winning streak, and it died. Trump was greeted by boos. He was booed while he was there. He was booed as he was leaving. Trump heard "cheering", because he's an idiot or he thinks you are, or both. Trump was a deluded liar on Meet the Press. Are all Gops deluded liars? Are all MAGA? JD Vance and Mike Johnson are here to lie to the deluded. Omar Artan was set to be the first Somali to referee at the World Cup, but won't now, because he is Somali… It says it right there on his papers. Black Americans are moving back to southern states, which is why southern whites are in such a hurry to block them. Virginia was the first southern state to pass an assault weapons ban, which its rural counties won't enforce. JD Vance wants Tim Walz investigated for fraud. Trump wants to transfer billions in Iranian assets to Jared Kushner. Trump says he will not nominate Bill Pulte to be permanent intelligence chief. That's ok, John Thune will handle it. Todd Blanche loves Donald so much that he'll handle anything for him.

David Waldman and Greg Dworkin recall the weekend and envision the week on today's KITM. Donald K. Trump burned through 11 layers of makeup before doddering off the set of Hee Haw/Meet the Press on Sunday. Facts do anger Trump but will never stop him. Donald makes it about himself. If he can make America's 250th anniversary all about him, why not some basketball game? If the game can't be played, Trump can stand in the center of the court and bask… in whatever they want to bask him in. It doesn't matter as long as he's being basked. Scott Pelley was at CBS supervising the editing of videos to make ICE protesters look like rioters, when Bari Weiss came along and tried to make him cross his ethical line. Brendan Carr can tell you it is the boss who always draws the ethical lines. Often it is the boss who erases the ethical lines. Anywhere the Trump Supreme Court draws a line, at that moment it is exactly where that line should go. If there was a Purcell principle for Secretaries of State, it was just violated in Texas. Meanwhile, Ken Paxton's defense lawyer endorses James Talarico.

David Waldman's house is on the blink. The basement wiring is frayed, the ceiling skylight is plastered over, and some guy is running around with a chainsaw. Yet, David remained focused on delivering a KITM in the quality that you've come to expect. Donald K. Trump says Bill Pulte won't be his nominee for director of national intelligence… well, not his "permanent" choice, whatever that means. Gops aren't voting for Bill, which means a lot more. Trump's Jan 6 slush fund is dead, dead, dead, but might be feeling better soon. The Senate passed a reconciliation bill without driving a stake through its heart. Now, the SAVE act, that's pretty much dead. So, Trump's description of the War Powers Resolution should be expected to be "wrong, misleading in a way in which it is true, but irrelevant"... and it is all of those things. But what is the War Powers Resolution, and what really sets it apart from your regular run-of-the-mill war powers resolutions? David knows and tells!

David Waldman and Greg Dworkin ponder and elucidate the world's mysteries and conundrums on today's KITM, and probably their off hours as well. As polls go, Donald K. Trump is the loserest. While Trump loses, folks prefer Sherrod Brown even more. Not just in comparison to Trump, but to the palooka he's running against, too. Zohran's Mamdanimentum mounts even after election. People now publicly cheer his political ads! It's Zohran vs Donald at Knicks' Game 3 at Madison Square Garden! Momentum always seems to be heading in the opposite direction of Graham Platner, but he presses on. The Trump Supreme Court gives Alabama a chance to use a map already found to be unconstitutional, which wouldn't seem like something SCOTUS would do, until you remember that they aren't SCOTUS anymore. The Gop House voted for a resolution to end the Iran war, which everyone knows that we won through obliteration ages ago, like Viet Nam. Meanwhile, the Senate voted to finally consider funding immigration enforcement agencies, following their decision to pretend that Trump has given up on his Jan 6 slush fund.

It might be an uneventful weekend, if there are no anomalies. David Waldman and KITM could be the biggest thrill you get! Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Milli Vanilli, and scores of other bands and performers that you were dimly aware of decades ago are now bowing out of Trump's "Freedom 250". Groups are vying to sign up so that they too can bail out for the street cred. Kid Rock is still waiting for his invitation. Trump Is spending millions to cover four horse statues in gold before he selects one as Senator at the event. But of course, he did: Trump is having the DOJ launch a criminal investigation on his rape victim, E. Jean Carroll. But of course, it is: This investigation is a major headache for Senate Gops. A judge has temporarily blocked Trump from ladling out slush to his Jan 6 troopers, while fraud charges are being investigated against him.  Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not guilty again and again, while probably never to actually go free. Joe Biden has plenty of reasons to sue the DOJ and has picked one. Trump refiles his lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal, because he can. Shhh… Samuel Alito's son has been quietly working for Trump's Treasury department. History's biggest pyramid scheme might not be propping up America's economy for much longer.

More stuff happened™; therefore, David Waldman made a KITM to tell us about it. The heist was running so smoothly… The DOJ was to pretend to stop a robbery, the IRS was to hand them the cash out the back door… Split the haul, plenty to go around… Then somebody got greedy. The Trump family wanted a cut of everything, forever. That got everyone's attention, so now things aren't so quiet anymore. The Senate GOP canceled their ICE bill vote over it. House and Senate Democrats are doing something about it. Gop Ralph Norman says that Jan. 6 was staged by Trump haters, except for the ones who were convicted of crimes who are heroes. Gop Thom Tillis says he won't vote for Iran war powers resolution and is against the Jan 6 slush fund because it is bad policy, it's bad timing and it's bad politics. Donald hates that nitpicking. John Thune doesn't know what to do, so he'll just go home. There are no cameras where Gop Tom Kean is… in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and several local banks. A federal judge told the White House personnel to comply with Presidential Records Act. Well, some of them. Some you can't tell anything. Federal prosecutors have dismissed all charges against the "Broadview Six," as it was looking like the lawyers themselves were the ones deserving of going to jail. Judges have ruled against ICE 10,000 times. That isn't enough. There is now a nationwide arrest warrant for an ICE agent, and that isn't enough. It turns out that the Trump Iran war was mostly for Israel and is destroying the world economy, who'd guess? Update: Clavicular has avoided jail time for shooting a dead alligator in public… and no, he wasn't "that" happy to see the verdict, those are actually shopping bags full of soup cans in his pants.

The "Clavicular of Podmaxxers", David Waldman, is joined by Greg Dworkin today in mogging MAGA, amongst others, on today's KITM. Jeffrey Epstein! That is why this is all happening, but don't knock the grift. There's Donald K. Trump's patriotic Jan 6 slush fund grift, the $1.776 billion Looting of America, marked down from $10 billion Just for you… and because Donald couldn't get the $10 billion. $8 billion off, and it's still corruption like nobody's ever seen, and anyhow, he and his boys have plenty of time to pick up the rest. That is, if the rest of the gang doesn't wuss out on him, or the cops don't stop him. Gops might drop Trump's billion-dollar ballroom grift, at least a billion dollars of it. There are still the drone-proof drone empire, and the Trump Presidential Spider Hole to grift. And, the Arch grift, which is as the Founders would have wanted. There is also the Trump-Bibi-Iran War grift, racking up an extra $40,000,000,000.08 In gas so far. David discovered a bargain with E15 gas, which might not be a great bargain in the long haul, but his car will just learn to toughen up in these tough times. Democrats could be in disarray, but so are Republicans, the good news is that Dems are used to it. 90% of the Colorado Democratic Party voted to reprimand Governor Jared Polis. Voters generically like Democrats but specifically dislike Republicans. Once they get to know Dems, they might like them better. Trump wins more, even as more hate him. Voters would prefer the Democrats they don't know over Trump. RIP, Barney Frank, who would have had fun, and would have been fun in today's politics.

East bound and down, David Waldman is loaded up and truckin' through the Saguaro with his significant staffer to deliver our latest KITM. The Donald K. Trump Notta War quietly rages on as the Navy kills Iranians with kindness, and other ordnance. If Trump pulls a few thousand soldiers out of Germany, where is he going to put them? What shall we do with the drunken Hegseth? Iran makes social media a key front in war against America Trump wants a favor from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Granting Trump a favor never does anyone any favors. The US never asks permission for anything they do in Mexico anyhow. Infowars aired its last episode this week, and also their first episode. The difference is that this Infowars will pay their debts.

David Waldman and KITM, now departing from San Luis Obispo with stops at Lompoc, Ventura, Azusa… and Kook…amonga! All aboard! For MAGA, "owning the libs" means being "hotter" than them too, by Trump's definition. Rosalyn MacGregor returns with an article by Michael Cohen, that Michael Cohen, warning us about Project 2025 and the hidden war on women to be fought over the next 250 years. Trump's 60 Minutes interview was edited, even though Trump sued 60 Minutes for editing interviews. That sounds hypocritical. Democrat's redistricting win lasted a few hours before being blocked by a court order, which unfortunately has not been halted by the Virginia Supreme Court. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been indicted for paying the groups it has helped to expose and prosecute for 55 years. The administration does not have a case, because a case would make a quick and easy smear campaign difficult and time consuming.

Yes, I did recommend that tin can that David Waldman used to record today's KITM, but I did not spec out that string… David might have told you that we would have beautiful sound in "two weeks", but what he really meant to tell you is, "Don't rush" him. The Waldmans pass through beautiful Astoria, the coastal city that seems like it was plucked right out of a storybook, and like it has had a thousand movies plucked right out of it, including one of David's earlier roles in Kindergarten Cop. Donald K. Trump plans to rename everything good after himself and eliminate any bad references. That should work great, right? As long as time no longer moves forward from this point. What would accountability look like if Democrats were back in control? The ex–FBI informant who tried to Smirnov Joe Biden has been slipped out of prison. It might not be named the "Trump War", but that name will do until he gets us into something bigger. Having achieved complete victory in Iran, Trump and Pete Hegseth now are wiping out the top echelons of our armed forces. Replacements will be assigned once Donald's and Pete's visions are hashed out. The latest ousting is Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was fired after Hegseth caught him sending Donald unsolicited deck pics. Good news for anyone downwind of Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner: Donald won't be sticking around for the "dinner" part; he has something to get to after his speech.

The bluest sky you've ever seen is in Seattle. And the hills the greenest green, in Seattle. And David Waldman, plus one is in Seattle! KITM reaches apogee in their orbit around the US. Hear all about it, and some news! It seems as if everyone knew that Kash Patel was a freaking out pass-out drunk, but that's not enough for Kash. Patel will sue the Atlantic until everyone is sick of hearing about him. Kash believes that he can withstand non-stop media attention like the boys of the Trump brigade, rather than the girls. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving her job as Labor Secretary, making it 0-3 for women cabinet members. Over on the other end of the ethical spectrum is brand-new Representative Analilia Mejia. Si, se puede! The US Forest Service is being not only "dismantled". The administration is salting the earth to make sure nothing can ever thrive there again.

On today's KITM, David Waldman says, he was drinking at a bar in Deadwood, when in walks Rambo, who told him he was Chef Rambo… and David has been at this for less than a week. Kids today! Is it the rock and roll? No, it's the AI! AI is taking over their education, but also their thinking, undermining their persistence, curiosity and personal effort, encouraging in their place growing passivity and indifference… Or maybe not. Rape! There's an online rape academy which is not a Trump LLC. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales have not been accused of rape but are ducking out before something like that happens. Murder! John Edward's body man, Justin Fairfax was accused of sexual assault, but unfortunately killed himself and sadly, also his wife. War! Children… It's just a shot away. Donald K. Trump didn't turn into a pathological sadistic narcissist overnight. It took years of work, focus and the power of positive thinking to make him whatever he is today.

Is the news really getting dumber and more chaotic every day? There's only one way (that I'm willing) to find out! And that's by re-running our March 31, 2025 episode today. David Waldman and Greg Dworkin are were, at the time, back for yet another week of KITM! How do they do it, what is their secret? No one knows! We begin the week with the White House embroiled in scandal. Which scandal? All of them! There's SignalGate, the main culprit of which has been finally determined to be JD Vance, or the news media, or an unspecified Democrat yet to be announced. JD Vance is also guilty of blowing the art of the deal in Greenland. Like Canada, Greenland has a lot to offer in both material and strategic benefits. Just think of the partnerships, alliances, and investments Trump could have potentially made if his first negotiation tactic was ever something other than a pussygrab?  Countries who turned away their pussygrabs get tariffs this Wednesday, or at least more threats of more tariffs. Nothing makes Trump angrier than someone stealing his pickup technique. Don't knock it, the Trump pussygrab has been a success with most of the media, several law firms, and an undisclosed number of SCOTUS. Following many, yet not enough, injunctions from lower-court judges, the Supreme Court has six pending emergency applications from Trump demanding to know "So like…What are we?"   Gops warned Victoria Spartz not to have town halls, but she didn't listen, and conducted a town hall in which she wouldn't listen. For Victoria, if you have to ask for due process, you must not deserve it. Think those masked guys heading your way wouldn't put a bag over your head? Surprise! Democrats will fix this all soon… we just need to get a little bit closer to their mid-term election fundraising drives, ok, please? In contrast, Donald K. Trump is already getting set for his 2028 election, and beyond. Wait a second, doesn't the Constitution prohibit that sort of thing? Where we're going, we don't need Constitutions. France on the other hand, takes these things seriously, but their guillotine must have been on the fritz because Marine Le Pen only received 5 years off from seeking office.

David Waldman and Greg Dworkin take podmaxxing to the extreme, naturally the good extreme, on today's KITM. Greg reminds us that you can't treat responses from a fabulist president as serious answers… as referenced in the leading source of internet misinformation. Eh, if the posts are backed up on Blue Sky, they're probably good to go.  Of course, you wouldn't expect more accuracy if the info came straight from this administration, because what would they know? Everyone's favorite war, Iran, continues. Merchant ships are hesitant to sail into the Strait of Hormuz, because they are afraid that they might blow up, because Iran has said that they will blow them up and the US says they won't be escorting them because they might blow up.  Donald K. Trump says, Wait, what? Who's afraid of a bomb or two? His guys say the water's great, dive in! There can't be that many Khameinis left anymore, anyhow, and his boy J' red El Qush Nar has prime beachfront property to be developed as soon as his Grok figures out all the nuclear stuff. Republicans still like the war, but Americans do not. The new prices will make fewer admit that they are Republicans. Democrats will still tell you that they are moderate, when they are not. More elections flip, and more to come. Have we reached peak antisemitism-ism? Will anyone new from the Epstein files ever go to jail? Can Ed Martin be more of a contemptible contemptuous contemnor? John Cornyn, a long supporter of whatever, is now vehemently against it. She-Wolf of the DOJ, Pam Bondi, is evacuated to a secure bunker as forces of justice close in.

Barack Obama joins David Waldman and KITM in encouraging voting "Yes" for redistricting in Virginia. We would have had him on, but our Friday story backlog is a killer. Kristi Noem has been fired. Not for killing dogs, or goats, or people, but for telling the truth under oath. As far as Donald K. Trump knows, that's the only unpardonable offence. Noem had no reaction, as she had those surgically removed last year. Kristi and her young ward Corey Lewandowski will now be "employed" as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, which might stand for Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, but really stands for pretending to roll the ICE atrocities odometer back to zero by pretending that serial nosepicker Markwayne Mullin is now the guy in charge. ICE is building camps and closing camps and building and closing camps. Do ICE agents wear masks because they fear Covid? This is a common mistake for stupid people to make. Of course, the economy crashes and Americans die, but Trump isn't going to let any of that ruin this experience for him. Jesus Christ hired him to pull the greatest heist of all time, and Donald isn't about to let God and Vlad down while recreating the world in their image. Pete Hegseth is Trump's crusader thrill-killer, his fiery sword of bro-alpha-America laying low the scourge of children and the defenseless. Pete did a Lusitania on an unarmed Iranian ship, sinking it, and watching the crew drown, because we don't do stupid rules of engagement anymore... Democrats witness all this and say, "but..."? Dan Crenshaw is known to be a pretty touchy guy yet discovered that he was no match for a touchy billionaire. Robert Marling knocked Dan out for the bargain price of $675,000. Crenshaw loses the primary to Steve Toth, an unknown, who we at least know is not related to Lazlo Toth, or László Tóth, but possibly Laszlo Toth.

David Waldman shakes out the KITM grab bag o' stories heading into the weekend. It turns out that Donald K. Trump's State of the Union speech wasn't only a boring litany of lies but was filled with confessions of 2025 and plans for 2026 crimes. In that case, it was kind of amazing that he was able to fit so much into so little time. At that rate, Trump's Epstein testimony could still take days. A judge blocked Trump from cutting off funding to 22 Dem states to coerce them into giving up food stamp data. Netflix has backed out of its Warner Bros. bid, so CNN slides all the way to the dark side. The military shot off its ray guns again, taking out a Customs and Border Protection drone. Soon, the CBP army will be unstoppable. Kristi Noem is assembling a fleet of bidet-equipped, dildo-laden, flying boudoirs. U.S. Vice Admiral Fred Kacher has been removed from his position as director of the Joint Staff after only taking the post in December. Some just aren't cut out for the military life. Idiot Nick Shirley makes money frightening idiots. Trump can rule the world with enough frightened idiots. A massive pro-Trump Twitter account is run by a paid White House staffer. Zohran Mamdani goes back to the White House to play Trump and makes it all look so easy. Kansas' trans bounty hunter bill was slipped through the legislature hidden in a gut and go shell. A three-year-old company with fewer than five employees hopes to pick up $25 billion before the tariff gravy train runs off the rails.

Ta-ta-ta-da! David Waldman and Greg Dworkin serve up a tasty KITM that you'll prefer to the high-price spread! People are still talking about Trump's boring lying in the SOTU. The bits tying the lies together got some attention, but they weren't the point and weren't why anyone was tuning in or tuning out. Trump voters are so embarrassed, that they are pretending not to be Trump voters. Many are getting sick of pretending that they are winning. Many importers are tired of pretending tariffs worked. At least Mike Johnson only needs to pretend for a few more months. Hey, Cubans are now killing Caribbean boaters! Is that even legal? Whoa! Gops don't know what's going on in Texas, neither do Dems. When in doubt, throw money at it. Things are much more clear in the New York Governor race, and out in Pennsylvania. ICE remain the manifestation of MAGA weenie ethos. The SAVE act is dying, and the talking filibuster won't save it. Howard Lutnick is Trump's favorite dealmaker, so it probably doesn't matter if he can make deals. Jeffrey Epstein remains a concern as more villains are exposed, and more villains try not to be exposed. MAGA are reaching down and finding cognitive dissonance they didn't know they had. Kansas demands that trans residents behave how they want them to, until they do, then they'll demand that they act a different way. The FBI raided Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Alberto Carvalho's home and office in relation to an AI chatbot company, which is the new hot place to do felony scams.

David Waldman delivers another KITM under the cloud™ of a mass shooting... a Canadian cloud, but as gloomy and awful as the ones we produce. Greg Dworkin popped in, but soon buckled under an ice onslaught, or at least his internet did. The other, more toxic ICE Is spreading across the US, along with their concentration camps. They are thugs and pansies. The FAA closed the airspace over El Paso for 10 days, ok, maybe not, nothing to see here, move along. Howard Lutnick confused Epstein Island with 6 Flags. Bipartisan nausea over the Trump-Epstein files has the mop & bleach crews working overtime, except for Karoline Leavitt, who only wants fun questions from now on. Peter Thiel wasn't there for the girls. The House has voted to take whacks at Trump's tariffs as if they were a piñata. Tariffs remain one of the best methods of tracking Donald K. Trump's dementia. Trump says it's time for traffic problems on the Gordie Howe Bridge, while tariffing the imaginary prime minister of Switzerland's attitude. None of the 6 Democrats who Trump ordered killed have been executed. In fact, none of them have been indicted.  Oklahoma's State House District 35 Special Election flipped Dem… by 75 points. Trump's job approval is so low that Gallup has given up trying to even measure it. Georgia ballot inquiry originated with an election denier who of course became an election integrity officer. Roger Stone returns for 2026.

David Waldman wouldn't miss a KITM even for a lunch date with Stanley Tucci and the US women's hockey team, probably. That's how important you are to him! Everyone from Thomas Massie to Jamie Raskin figure that at least a half-dozen men are being protected in Epstein files. Ya think? It's driving some Democrats to vulgarity! It's driving MAGA to bellow, "HO HUM!" After all, as Donald K. Trump has been saying since 2006, everyone knew about Jeffrey Epstein and that Ghislaine Maxwell was evil. Bad Bunny is the pressing issue today. The only thing more boring to a Gop than Epstein would be ICE. Why are people so obsessed with those guys? Let's talk about something more pertinent, like the 2020 election, which may be due to uninterest them again soon. Listen, if you want something new to cry about, Trump always has something cooking. Time for some traffic problems on the Gordie Howe bridge, the international bridge Gops refused to pay for and now want half of. If you want to talk about tariffs, Gops can put you in exactly 4 to 6 months from now. Or how about never? After all, Trump's man in the Fed says, why worry? Anyhow, Trump's pick to head the Fed, Kevin Warsh, will have the economy growing three times faster than any time in history soon, why not?

David Waldman's weekend assignment for KITM listeners is to review the newly released Trump-Epstein files and copy him with notable highlights before Monday's show. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Lovable rogue Donald K. Trump is suing himself for 10 billion dollars, but don't expect that to teach him a lesson, he'll always be a kind of demented jerk, too. Meghan McCain wants attention… and needs attention also. Trump tacoed on his own taco, backing out of pulling back in Minnesota, now that there are two instances of Alex Petti not pulling a gun on ICE officers, and AI has been effective at making anti-ICE bad guys seem maybe as bad as his bad guys. Meanwhile ICE still gallop through town like drunken rustlers in a western. Someone somewhere for some reason decided to arrest Don Lemon. Pam Bondi took credit for taking out not one but two especially uppity journalists. Judge Patrick J. Schiltz says ICE has violated nearly 100 court orders but cancels the contempt hearing requiring the ICE director's appearance. We know who raided the Fulton County Board of Elections building, who wanted it done, and why… but what about the paperwork? No, it was not Thomas Albus, the German Muppet dubber, but a guy who might be his son, Thomas Albus, the United States Attorney for the eastern District of Missouri, and the official elections persecutor/prosecutor heading into the midterm elections. With only hours to spare, Chuck Schumer resolved the Federal shutdown. Ok, that might be a bit oversimplified. There will be a shut down, but Chuck did good.

David Waldman cheerfully returns with another KITM, even after Amy Poehler stole his award. Greg Dworkin reports on some polling that he found on a porn site. That's the good news. The rest of it, and there is a lot of it, is pretty bad. The good news would be if all this bad news will lead to a turning point. We got to bottom out sometime! ICE'S enough to make anybody cuss, and it is probably time to think of worse curse words to describe what's going on. Everybody is trying to figure how to handle ICE, but their whole point letting everyone know they can't be handled. Might means right is their message, even when they play the victim. That is how they can make this woman into a trained assassin. In fact, that is how they make any woman into both an existential threat and an easy target. Hey-Oh, we won't be silent while our friends are gunned down. Gaseous dotard Donald K. Trump somehow rules America with fear and is tearing apart the world. He's an easily duped moron who would be happy to destroy the world tomorrow if he knew humankind's final moments would be spent envying him. Today's target, as suggested by Machiavellian cretin Bill Pulte, is Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell. Tomorrow's target is the CEO of ExxonMobil.  Governor Jared Polis of Colorado is cowed. The Washington National Opera is not. Former Representative Mary Peltola is bringing the good fight to the Alaska Senate race. RIP Bob Weir, the late great Grateful Dead founding member.

David Waldman presents today's KITM, sadly under the cloud of yet another mass shooting as part of the ICE shooting spree across the United States. Five people are dead so far, and the killers are still on the loose. There might not be many suspects however, because there really aren't that many ICE. Nonetheless, good luck catching any as they move from town to town. One day after the fifth anniversary of Jan 6, MAGA are reminding everyone of their respect for and compliance with law enforcement. With ICE it also helps to avoid frustrating, angering, or interacting with them in any way, and never, ever interfere with their influencing side-hustle. Minnesota psychosexual racism hustler Nick Shirley is surely saddened that his hustle might come to end because of one little homicide. Help is on the way to Nick in the form of many future homicides in the near future. The Trump administration are never the ones to let facts get in the way of a good time. Renee Nicole Good might have been a widow returning from dropping her child off at daycare, but we are now reminded that she was no angel. Kristi Noem says Renee was a trained assassin. Donald K. Trump can't believe that his ICE agent escaped her with his life seeing how profusely he was bleeding from his ear and all… The FBI is blocking Minnesota investigators from the case. Schools close across Minneapolis... Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, you know what else David talked about today? Our arbitrary and capricious president might be an unreasoning dotard, but others might be playing 4D chess with Donald, not as a pawn, but as a proto-neo-king. With clankers doing all our thinking soon, it won't be what you know but what neo-royalty you have become aligned with. Goodbye international law and cooperation, welcome back trillionaire God-kings.

David Waldman and Greg Dworkin don't need a hastily prepared PVC pipe and black draped tent to deliver the action KITM listeners crave.  Today's apocalyptic earth-shattering black-swan event is the abduction of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro. Nobody is really certain why we did it. Maybe Maduro is involved with Jeffrey Epstein, or the Nobel Prize committee? Maybe he just wanted to piss off Marjorie Taylor Green one last time? Maybe war with Venezuela was a campaign promise? Did a tariff payment check bounce? You know, Maduro was asking for it… a lot of people are asking for it... One thing is certain. It sure is fun to watch stuff blow up. Trump wanted Zero Dark Thirty and Delta Force delivered. Delivered clicks, that is, and what's more important than that? Everybody's wondering, "Where does this franchise go from here?" The possibilities are endless, but time is of the essence, as cheap overseas knockoffs are already in the works. Now, you are probably asking yourself, "Hey, remember Venezuela? What's happening with those guys?" Well, that's yesterday's news. Somebody down there surely has a handle on it. Marco or Stephen will check in later this week to look in on them or something. Right now, it's doing everything Trump needs it to.  If not, someone should expect to see a nasty email or drone arrive soon with their name on it. Of course, all of this is perfectly legal. In fact, it is illegal to say that it is illegal, that's how legal it is. Meanwhile, let's pretend that we still have a democracy. Tim Walz is taking time off from being an assassination target to spend more time with his family, opening the door for Amy Klobuchar to run for Governor. Amy has been preparing for this moment. California also still exists, and Matt Ortega is running for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 14th Congressional District. 

My mind was rarin' to go again today, but the rest of me wasn't having it. The smart thing to do was to use the Black Hole Week down time to answer a question the last couple of re-runs might have put you in mind of: What the hell did KITM sound like on January 7, 2026? Well, now you'll know! And if you'd like a preview, here's Scott Anderson's summary of that fateful day… after the actual fateful day. David Waldman, broadcasting from the center of our vast KITM World Headquarters, phones Greg Dworkin down in the laundry room, to discuss all that happened yesterday: Did you read my summary yesterday? No? Well, I don't blame you. Yesterday was pretty crazy. Yesterday, I was certain Trumpers would be no challenge to Capitol police. The day before, I thought even the idea of an assault on the House chamber to be an outlandish joke. Imagine my surprise to find attitudes change so quickly.  Otherwise, it wasn't much of a surprise. The forces of white entitlement, white supremacy and white lunacy amassed in DC, and statehouses across the country. Some of the assembled mob believed they were literally going to war. A few of them might have been surprised on all what that entails, but plenty sure as hell knew what they were doing. The rioters might have looked like jokes but they weren't joking, and everyone knew it. Rudy Giuliani tried to subvert the will of the people, but called the wrong Senator. Violent insurrection is what Donald Trump wanted. He already goaded a mob to seize the capitol in Lansing, Michigan, and he used social media to attempt a coup. He and the gang are being deplatformed 5 years too late, and it's not nearly enough anymore. William Barr, Mick Mulvaney, along with several others of the Trump administration, many Republicans, and all the other presidents can tell you it is not enough anymore. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have called on Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. Of course, it was only yesterday that Mike got his big boy pants pulled up, so that might be a big ask.  Speaking of Mike, Politico's "Congress Reporter", Kyle Cheney misspoke about a discovery that he misconstrued as Pence manipulation of the electoral count, when in fact it is a parliamentarian hero story.

David Waldman wrings out the old year with Greg Dworkin on today's KITM. Chuck Schumer will be delivering the most harshly worded letter to 2025 today but vows to take the fight to 2026 and to persevere to the very moment that he doesn't. Donald K. Trump, who lost his right hand in a botched gender-affirming surgery late in 2024, might have to disclose this and other medical and psychological records in future lawsuits. It is said that the worst Cabinet Secretary is the one that kills the most civilians.  This is a heavily competitive category, but under that criterion, RFK Jr. takes the lead and looks to hold that lead for the rest of our much-shortened lives. Trump environmental policies will make certain that any survivors, world-wide, will spend their short lives in increasing misery. Can you imagine the reputational and financial damage an artist could incur by performing at a Trump-branded venue? At least the Kennedy Center changed its board rules to save some members the permanent humiliation of being associated with the name change. Hours after the death of JFK's granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg, Trump insulted the Kennedy family for not actually owning the building with their name on it. Sans serif type can help millions of people with poor vision and disabilities. Trump and Rubio say 

'twas the day after The Night Before Christmas, and all through the house, nobody really wanted to be responsible for making other people work. So I didn't. Uh... not even a mouse, or whatever. Today, we'll all take a moment to relax--whether you have reason to or not--and think back to a time when Christmas meant the impending departure of Donald Trump. A simpler time, when we didn't yet know that someone had blown a city block of Nashville sky high, on Trump's "watch." You could be forgiven for forgetting, though, since he also launched a MAGA assalut on the U.S. Capitol less than two weeks later. So, yes, please enjoy this, our December 24, 2020 episode! David Waldman, opens today's KITM yawning like the MGM lion, waking us up for Christmas eve: Donald Trump keeps handing out pardons like moist candy canes to anyone that met him under the mistletoe over the last few years. Donald pardoned Jesse Benton as a gift to his employers, Ron Paul and Mitch McConnell and the uncle of Benton's wife, Rand Paul… (Jesse will probably be Matt Gaetz' son by the end of the day.) Trump pardoned a former Maryland police officer whose heart he knew was in the right place. (They need to be arrested faster than Trump can pardon them.) Merry Christmas! Trump's Blackwater pardons aren't bringing much cheer to their victim's families, however. There's bound to be more today, but Dad's saving the nicest ones for under the tree in Mar-a-Lago. Greg Dworkin reminds us that actually, Donald Trump doesn't give gifts to anyone but himself. If he can take someone else's gift, it's even better. Merry F***ing Christmas to everyone in Congress with the Gop at each other's throats and Democrats trying to pull $2000 checks out of the fireplace. It seems that Trump might be a little over his head still on how government works, or how reality works for that matter. Kelly Loeffler, too. Two Republican House members voted by proxy — while simultaneously suing to ban the use of proxy voting . Ron DeSantis figures, why appoint experts when he can be the guy that says expert things? Rep.-elect Luke Letlow checked himself into the hospital for no particular reason, and is now thinking about checking out the ICU for the holidays. People who are immunocompromised or otherwise allow coronavirus to hang around for while might encourage unfortunate mutations. Did Bill Barr arrest Lev Parnas to keep him from testifying against Donald Trump? Did a Democratic House candidate lose by 6 votes after 22 votes were improperly excluded in Iowa? Did the Kansas City Star misreport on Black Kansas Citians for generations? Yes.

David Waldman bridges the gap between pre- and post-election analysis days to devote today's KITM to the consequences of bad voting decisions.  The Trump Supreme Court is set to overturn the 20th century, and probably a chunk of the 19th. We were pre-wrong on whether Trump could do no wrong, and soon we'll be pre-wrong thinking that he can't eliminate those who won't do wrong for him. Paramount, with Saudis', Qataris' and Emiratis' money, wants to buy Warner Bros Discovery and CNN and Time Warner and etc... So does Netflix. Of course, now, the president picks the winner... so who will he be choosing? In case you care to place a bet, SIL Jared Kushner has taken time off from his measuring the drapes in Gaza to pop out of Mohammed bin Salman's bisht pocket on behalf of Paramount. Even if Jared loses, he can sue daddy, so it's win-win all around. Trump is giving corporate farmers $12 billion in taxpayer money, but actual rural residents will have to go to the big city for a doctor. Nobody does anything for free, at least in Trump world, and it never matters what you did to get in jail, it's what you do when you get out that concerns Donald. Trump does not owe Marjorie Taylor Greene nor CBS. Today, as always, they owe him.

David Waldman knows all, reveals about two hours' worth, on today's KITM. Is Pete Hegseth more sober, or less, today? Pete has Donald K. Trump's full support, which has got to worry anybody. Now, Admiral Frank Bradley has Pete's full support. Admiral Alvin Holsey retired before anyone's full support got to him.  Each of these people really wanted ALL of the Caribbean "suspects" turned into a thick red mist… but they didn't mean ALL of them… Ok, "all" of them… but all of them simultaneously… They see this as a problem of not using big enough missiles. Trinidad is installing a US military radar installation in order to guide B-2s in locating some more suspects. Speaking of extrajudicial killings of civilians, that's what Afghan "Zero Units" were known for. DC shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal was a US trained member, then abandoned by the US government, really never a solid plan. Speaking of sleeper cells, DOGE isn't dead, they are now the Deep State. Speaking of John Durham/Nancy Pelosi/Nicolás Maduro/Michelle Obama conspiracies, that's what Trump posted only last night! There's 22 Trump gift shopping days till Christmas, then 1122 after that!

David Waldman, mentally tough host of KITM, and his edgy sidekick Greg Dworkin return to the big pod screen for what could be their final adventure this week! Gops are stunned to see their most cozy rat jump ship. You don't have to hand it to Marge. She knew exactly what she was getting into, and exactly what she's getting out of. Who didn't? That is why it's always a good time to talk about Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, Epstein, Epstein. Can you believe that there is any Latino support for Donald K. Trump? Can you believe there is any support at all for Trump? Anybody but Trump is the person to be. Judge Boasberg will look into contempt charges on those ignoring orders to halt deportation flights. Emil Bove always has plenty of contempt to go around, but Kristi Noem will be the one cosplaying under the bus.  How does Lindsey Halligan not do it? Ed Martin knows and is ready to dish on all the retribution plans with Alex Jones. Tina Peters is staying at the state pen, and she will be staying at the state pen. Trump wants her sprung and might still have something pictured. We don't know much about what the US does overseas, because the guy in charge, Vladimir Putin, tends to keep things close to his chest. Vlad's advisor, Steve Witkoff, leaked some guidance that he gave on how to play Trump, which turns out to not be too hard.  Ha ha! Oh, well. That's Our Trump!™

David Waldman and Greg Dworkin didn't just fall off the turnip truck, have been around the block and happen to be the sharpest knives in the drawer on today's KITM. Folding like a card table, America's greatest power bottom, Donald K. Trump ordered Republicans to demand that the Democrats finally release the Epstein files. Now, Republicans are set to decisively reveal the whole truth about… what is "barely" legal, anyhow? Lamest of ducks, Trump wasn't all that to begin with, and is decaying beyond the hope of bronzers, Latinos, or even bros. Living hand to mouth doesn't leave much for heat and electricity as inflation is becoming everyone's biggest concern, and affordability is this administration's least. Drop a penny in Marjorie Traitor Greene's slot and she sings a different tune, but really, it's all the same song and dance. That is, until she drops a dime on daddy. The gun is on the table with Venezuela, as we ready to drink their milkshake. Emil Bove explains that we are at actually at war with boats. People and cargo are only collateral damage. Coming apart at the seams, the bottom is falling out of the DOJ as some see the light.

David Waldman brings us another two hours of KITM, while Greg Dworkin puts down his Xbox controller for an hour to join in the latest news and badinage. But his emails! The House Oversight Committee gave us a small nasty taste of what's to come in the Epstein files. Republicans retaliated with 23,000 pages of proof that Jeffrey Epstein and his oh-so-close frenemy Donald K. Trump weren't only about the little girls. Sometimes they were about Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump, and little girls, and sometimes they were about Russia, Trump, and little girls. The thing about Jeffrey Epstein is that he never had a shortage of strange bedfellows to pillow talk with. Meanwhile… Matt Gaetz! Adelita Grijalva has finally been sworn in and became the 218th signature of Trump's very painful discharge petition. Who wouldn't vote for this bill?  Wow, this news almost pushed Dem's shame of shutdown caving off the front page! Hey, Democrats didn't perform "horribly", some say they didn't completely "fail", in fact… they "won", that's it!  In fact, Trump wasn't really "winning". People hate, hate, hate Trump… and they disapprove of him as well. Republicans love him less than they used to. In fact, Jeff might be the more popular one across the board. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker worries what Trump might do to distract from the Epstein files and will be discussing it over the Thanksgiving table with family members. Kash Patel keeps hoping to score frequent flier points with his girlfriend.

David Waldman, Greg Dworkin, and Dems are back, baby. Now, if you are tuning in to KITM today, you are probably wanting to know when, what, where, how, and why.  When? Yesterday, and over the last 9 months or so, voters have determined that they need to fix things, and universally that Democrats were the ones to do that. What? Dems won in red and blue areas, in big and little races. Where? New Hampshire, New Jersey, Bucks County, Wake Forest, Edison… everywhere. In Cincinnati, JD Vance's brother is a loser.  You might have heard about places like California, and New York City, where the Mamdanimentum has become a Mamdanimandate. You got to love Virginia, where even the reddest counties turned blue, including, of course, home of Kagro in the Morning World Headquarters, Loudoun County. Democrats could gerrymander blue states bluer, but so could Republicans. How? The Hispanic vote, obviously, makes a lot more sense in a party that isn't cracking their skulls daily. A party whose motto is "Resistance is just asking for it." shouldn't expect much support from women. Antisemitic comedy is antisemitic. Why? Trump. The rest of them suck too, of course.  If the new Dems do a good job, the contrast will be harsher come midterms. Gops aren't the only ones smelling the onions and mustard this morning. Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore still has BMT PTSD. Greg Bovino says he may never recover from that punch to his blutbewußtsein, but the judge says he'll just have to soldier on. Trump still can't attack Portland, but Indianapolis wants some. Hey, guess which Dick is still dead? Cheney! Dick Cheney did horrible things when he was alive but was never the kind to allow a cardiac arrest to obstruct his skullduggery.

A catch-all Friday! Tops on the list for the day: the continued destruction at the White House. HuffPost documents the donors who thought they were signing up for ballroom construction, only to find out Trump was saddling them with East Wing demolition, instead. Next up: We've always been at trade war with Canada! Or at least, we are now. Again. Because something, something, Ronald Reagan. Speaking of which, “something, something, Ronald Reagan.” Third: Trump says he has no intention of asking Congress to authorize his Caribbean (and now Pacific) strikes. Even though it would give the tacti-cool set lots of lingo and jargon to toss about. Israeli hard-liners are talking about annexing the West Bank, now. JD Vance makes it about him. Happy Diwali! MAGA makes that about Kash Patel. Ronny Jackson is so dumb, not even Matthew Kacsmaryk can save his “case!” Neither can anyone save the MAGA “cases” of supposed “left-wing violence.” The right has never learned—and never had to learn—the lesson of The Case of the Backwards B. New bootstrapping theory dropped! The “reason” Trump thinks he's entitled to reparations from the DOJ is that they should have foreseen in 2022 that in 2024, SCOTUS would invent a new theory of “presidential immunity,” and that he would totally have been entitled to it. Heading out to vote early in Virginia? Do you feel like you need some context on Jay Jones? Or nah?

David Waldman talks about the things you wanted to hear about on today's KITM! Greg Dworkin found some polls floating in the sewage over at ex-Twitter. They indicate that Dems are way up. Now, people still hate Democrats, but they despise Republicans, which could lead to midterm wins if Republicans allow voting to happen. R Paul LePage is winning in Maine, but D Jared Golden is putting the effort in. In the Senate race Graham Platner will be getting his past lasered off and is presently doing quite well. To guess at who will win in Virginia, watch who is resigning now. Zohran Mamdanized Andrew Cuomo in their second debate and gave him a kick out the door. Donald K. Trump opens his Pacific theater of operations in order to serial murder fisherfolk and possibly curtail “the ocean drugs and the sea drugs, drugs by sea they call it also”. (The president was of course referring to the deadly drug “chloroquine”) After the trawlers are cleared out, Trump can pump the Pacific on to the Portland fires. The mind-rot algorithm destroys minds around the world, including those doing the rotting. Mike Johnson thinks inflatable frogs have it in for Hakeem Jeffries. Lindsey Halligan wants this, and everything prior to this, off the record. John Fetterman must have meant to say that Trump is stealing $230 million because of his small balls, it just doesn't make sense any other way.  Trump will demolish anything to put his thing in its place. The East Wing is the thing he is demolishing this week. Planning only gets in the way of the demolishing. Demolishing will become easier once the economy is out of the way. Don't worry, Democrats have a word they've been focus grouping and are almost ready to deploy. Senator Jeff Merkley had 22 hours and 36 minutes of words to say against Trump doing such things.

David Waldman is back to sort out the weekend chaos. Belated RIP to Ace Frehley, yet Greg Dworkin is back in his New York groove today, presenting links from Ex-Twitter, which, alas, is still with us. Not long for this New York mayoral race world is Andrew Cuomo, whose absence won't be felt like Curtis Sliwa, world's easiest interview subject. Silwa voters aren't part of the Mamdanimentum, btw. No Kings rallies had a very nice day. Several million pleasant people at a few thousand locations made their presence known to everybody other than the New York Times. Sadly, in these days and times, terrorists will inevitably show up wherever large groups of patriotic Americans gather. Terrorist in Chief, Donald K. Trump wishes he could have been at all of them. Kenny Loggins is pretty certain that Trump is more of a bottom gun, but Mike Johnson believes that Donald is just perfect the way he is. Trump notes that the Constitution plainly states that he's allowed to be king, just like 50 or 60 of his predecessors did 1000 to 1500% of the time.  Unfortunately, he could be right. It turns out that the test for enemy terrorist drug runners is the same as the test for witches: If they float, they are innocent. Marco Rubio betrayed drug gang informants to get the El Salvadoran prison deal. Trump is betraying American ranchers to pay off Argentina. Australia discovers that they aren't on the good end of the kickback seesaw. JD Just Dance Vance was almost taken out by a Marines artillery shell. No way could his ear have withstood that.

David Waldman drops us off in time for our weekend fun, but not without some parting words of wisdom. We're so sorry, Uncle Albert, but Admiral Alvin Holsey has notified the US Southern Command that he will be departing only a year into his 3-year mission of slaughtering Trinidadian fishermen. Pete Hegseth will drown his sorrows this weekend with Jeanine Pirro, who also hasn't been able to catch a break or a conviction. Multiple judges have shut down multiple Chicago attempts at military takeover and harassment of citizens. Karoline Leavitt wants to throw judges and their laws in jail. Schools are actually winning their cases against Trump, but that's just not as fun for retail media to report. Now, shooting missiles across California Interstate 5, that's a media event. So is indicting John Bolton, who probably deserves indictment, maybe for what he was indicted for. Russian drones and jets keep wandering into NATO countries. Now little green men are reemerging along the border.

David Waldman delivers another two hours of merriment and erudition. Unfortunately, Greg Dworkin's construction project is in its final stages, so his time was necessarily restricted. Vile, deplorable, Nazi-loving young Gops are… exactly that, as anyone related to, acquainted with, or standing behind them in Arby's will tell you. The White House looks into the mirror and sees nothing. JD Just Dance Vance says that under 40-year-old boys will be boys. Mike Johnson kinda digs the bad boys but has his son's number in case he goes overboard. BUT!! ...WHAT ABOUT Jay Jones? BUT!! ...WHAT ABOUT Graham Platner? New Jersey is what New Jersey was for a while now. John Fetterman, however, has changed, and so should his support. 2,500 No Kings protests are set for this Saturday. Republicans who hate America will hate you for going to these things. Luckily for us, Democrats are filled with love and are law-abiding patriots with sympathy and trust abounding, and this will be plain for all to see. We are a bit late, though. At least if the intent is to prevent a monarchy. That ship has sailed, along with the budget. The budget is whatever Donald K. Trump says it is, to whomever he has said it to, until he says differently. All professional and amateur sports will be relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. What's left of the IRS will be pursuing anyone who ever checked a “D” box in an election. Sure, that's “a crime”, but try telling that to our new Sheriffs of Nottingham.

David Waldman survived to Wednesday! He can breathe again! Greg Dworkin has been adding the finishing touches on his home renovation yet still had the time to tow in a raft o' stories for us today. With government shut down, Democrats have even more time to convene focus groups to work out what their thoughts might be on a given subject. Perhaps the next poll will lend some clarity to their subsequent moral stand. “Pollingism” is trying to follow to where you guess people are heading. “Magnetism” is deciding to lead to where you believe people should go. Magnetism is at the center of Zohran Mamdanism. Young Gop leaders obviously do not focus group their statements and only speak from the heart. Donald K. Trump kills 6 more people and dares anyone to try to stop him. “You and whose army?” takes on a new meaning as Trump assembles his own troops.  Los Angeles County declares a state of emergency over immigration raids, so FEMA better load up. Meanwhile, unfortunately, the National Guard has something constructive to do after Typhoon Halong devastated western Alaska communities.  The Trump Supreme Court draws the line at Alex Jones.

David Waldman is back and flying solo again! He's the Charles Lindbergh of podcasters, but without the antisemitism! Remember when Joe Biden brokered peace and secured the release of hostages in Gaza? Well, Donald K. Trump just did some too. Only, Trump got the last of the hostages, which, like the last piece of cake, is always the most important part. Now what? Who knows? What's in it for Trump? At the Gaza summit, Trump, always the dealmaker, remembered to “ABC”: Always Be Covetous”, Always Be Corrupting”, Always Be Coercive”, “Always Be Crass”, and “Always Be Cruising.” Trump made certain to complement Egypt, not just because he admires their lack of human rights, but because he owes them for helping take care of Hillary Clinton. Oh, yeah, also that $10 million in American $100 bills. Did Donald commit a crime or two? Like they say, “follow the money”. Two halves of Trump's halfwit battle it out over China, and the only ones who have a clue probably have Trump or Kushner as their last names. Meanwhile, while everybody else goes low, Barack Obama goes high.

Donald Trump shipped 50% of USRDA of crazy overseas this weekend, with a trip to Israel and Egypt to collect some unusual MAGA hats, and to try to get into heaven. The good news is, the hostage/prisoner swap has taken place and the guns are (at least temporarily) silent. Or at least that's what we hear. But we hear a lot of things about this deal. Many people must be saying them. The weekend at home was therefore about half as crazy as usual, but routine in all the sad ways they sometimes are. The loss of an entertainment icon, for one. And lots of gun violence, in places where zero National Guard troops are on their way. Essential background on a continuing source of crazy—Bill Pulte—proves once again how deeply weird top Trumpers really are. The rich are different. By which we mean weirder than normal weird. Normies, by contrast, are still pretty normal. Which only makes the Deeply Weird that much more suspicious of them, given that they're usually busy committing the same violations, but on a much grander scale. The “case against” Letitia James continues in what we can only hope is its death spiral, which can only surprise Pam Bondi in that she was apparently surprised by the case being brought at all. Is it just a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing? If so, it's not limited to the DOJ. The CDC, for instance, fired everybody in sight over the weekend, then scrambled to rehire them (again) before Monday. Dominion Voting Systems is under new ownership, by which we mean Republican. Going forward, the company appears poised to forgive defamation judgments against… Republicans and just maybe, “Twitter files-style,” prove its new owners “right” about vote-rigging. Would that be enough to ensure success in 2026? If not, Gop activists in Oregon have a proposed solution: kick the Oregon (and maybe Washington) delegations out of Congress. Lastly, a reminder that the traditions of “judicial deference” and the “presumption of regularity” are earned benefits, not entitlements. And at least one judge has laid out a path forward on that. (I mean, what kind of judgemental deference do you give to a guy promising you 1,500% discounts?)

David Waldman places our basinet at the Gateway to Chaos, rings the bell and slips away, but first sings us one more two-hour lullaby: If only María Corina Machado went fishing more often, Donald K. Trump would be painting his TRUMP Nobel Peace Prize gold today. Now, who does he have to blow up to score next year's? The tough part for Donald will be pretending to be humanitarian for yet another year, the easy part will be that Bibi will let him declare peace every year if he wants. Trump only has to have his boy Jared Kushner “get to a yes” first, and then… Well, then there is no “second step”. Of what use would be a “second step”? Trump has found less use for peace in this country. Stephen Miller said the words “plenary authority” out loud on CNN, then had to pause to orgasm. National Guard units in Chicago are now useless, even for picking up the trash. Kristi Noem will remind people in airport lines that “Ignorance is Strength”. With James Comey, and now Letitia James, the goal is to get to an indictment. Again, there is no second step. A judge won't let Trump regulate federal elections. Soon, he won't need to. Meanwhile, election denier/Andrew Tate fanboy Paul Ingrassia is set to be installed to watch over elections and would also like to be installed to watch over female employees.

David Waldman brings us one day closer to… whatever that is up ahead. Greg Dworkin is still renovating yet still has time to drop by for a chat. Donald K. Trump has a new can of gold Rust-Oleum waiting for his Nobel Prize this Friday, but first he must attend to his conquest of Portland, the crushing of his adversaries, subjugation of the masses, etc. His commands, spoken face down in his morning oatmeal, are then relayed to Nikolai Yezhov, or in his absence, Stephen Miller and the She-Wolf of the DOJ, Pam Bondi. The government shutdown has now riled Democrats into actually walking over to Republicans and asking them questions. It's pushed Marjorie Taylor Greene to the point of empathy. It's even made Chuck Schumer… ornery. It might even help save health care. There's even a possibility that it might save the United States. What's in it for Trump, though? The war between the states front has moved from the courts, to right outside the court, to right over to the judges themselves.

David Waldman returns to take another whack at the week, with Greg Dworkin taking a break from his myriad construction supervision duties to chip in with the latest facts and opinions. Today's news: Things are awful and will get worse. In this environment, if Democrats stood still, they'd end up looking progressively less bad.  But hey, Dems are better than bad — they're good! Caring about others might just work for us this time, as people who don't care about others are also getting screwed. Also, the Gop pro-cruelty message becomes less convincing when some of the cruelty gets on them. Pam Bondi, She-Wolf of the DOJ, went to Congress yesterday to add more people to Trump's shit list. First through the gate is James Comey, who is not going willingly. Comey's indictment has a few “fatal flaws”, not the least of which is the chief prosecution witness will be the chief defense witness. Grand juries would prefer to indict ham sandwiches rather than the people being sent their way. Meanwhile, jackboots march across America. Trump has Texas declare war on Illinois. If Portland isn't burning now, just wait until the B-2s drop by. Americans don't want this. The Pope doesn't want this.

David Waldman is out introspecting today, as his Days of Awe end and our days of awful begin. A hidden conservative network bankrolls right-wing news. A dark money group is secretly funding Democratic influencers. Clearly, Mr. Waldman needs to get out more and make some more friends. Whether you were “politically correct”, “woke”, or “pinko”, the Right has always wanted you to shut up. Government has ended; Donald K. Trump burns the crops and salts the earth. Federal workers know who to blame but are told to blame the others. Lisa Cook remains at the Federal Reserve Board as her office window is just too low to throw her out of. E.J. Antoni however, can't run the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, now that people found out what an asshole he is, and since “statistics” have been added to the Trump enemies list.