The Conversation -- December 26, 2024
~~~ Darlene Superville of the AP: "The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country's national bird. President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle -- familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body -- as the national bird. The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized. The seal is made up of the eagle, an olive branch, arrows, a flag-like shield, the motto 'E Pluribus Unum' and a constellation of stars. Congress that same year designated the bald eagle as the the national emblem, and its image appears in a host of places, ranging from documents and the presidential flag to military insignia and U.S. currency, according to USA.gov. But it had never been officially designated to be what many had just assumed it was -- the national bird. The bald eagle is indigenous to North America."
Marie: In the right-hand column of Reality Chex. you'll find President Biden's Christmas message, hoping and praying for peace and love and all that. By contrast, there's this, from the most hateful, most mirthless bully in the USA: ~~~
~~~ Adam Edelman of NBC News: "... Donald Trump took aim at Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts that suggested the United States could take control of all three. Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump kicked off the lengthy posts by wishing a merry Christmas to all, 'including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal.'... Trump then mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he referred to as 'governor,' and suggested once again that the United States could annex Canada as its 51st state. He wrote that 'if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.' Trump continued his post by addressing 'the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!'... Trump also mocked President Joe Biden as 'a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing' and sent season's greetings to the 'radical left lunatics.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gee, I guess that means Trump wished us season's greetings. Fortunately, we didn't have to wish him a Merry Christmas, because it would be kinda cruel, knowing as we do that he has no idea how to have a merry day. ~~~
~~~ Phillip Nieto of Mediaite adds some more of Trump's diabolical Christmas wishes. Last week, I watched this video of Mary Trump's describing Trump family Christmas traditions. It's kind of boring, but it does help explain why Trump is so dismissive of what is a joyous day for millions of people around the world. ~~~
~~~ Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday named a Florida county commissioner to serve as his ambassador to Panama, a few days after Mr. Trump called for the United States to assert control over the Panama Canal. Kevin Marino Cabrera, the District 6 commissioner of Miami-Dade County and the vice chairman of its International Trade Consortium, worked for the Trump campaign in 2020 and won Mr. Trump's endorsement in January when he ran for vice chairman of the Florida Republican Party. This year, he served as the state's representative to the Republican National Committee platform committee.... Mr. Cabrera's views on the Panama Canal are unknown, but in a social media post on Wednesday, he thanked Mr. Trump for the appointment and wrote, 'Let's get to work!'"
A Christmas Message from Trump's Border Czar: No Stable, No Manger, No Crib for a Bed. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "U.S. immigration authorities will once more put families with children in detention centers when ... Donald Trump returns to office next month, according to incoming White House 'border czar' Tom Homan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will look to hold parents with children in 'soft-sided' tent structures similar to those used by U.S. border officials to handle immigration surges, Homan said. The government will not hesitate to deport parents who are in the country illegally, even if they have young U.S.-born children, he added, leaving it to those families to decide whether to exit together or be split up.... As acting director of ICE during Trump's first term, Homan drove the 'zero tolerance' policy that separated more than 4,000 children from their parents soon after they crossed the border into the United States."
Brianna Tucker of the Washington Post: "Former president Bill Clinton was discharged from a hospital in Washington on Tuesday, a day after being admitted with a fever. Angel Ureña, Clinton's deputy chief of staff, said the former president was treated for the flu."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al. Yan Zhuang & Rawan Ahmad of the New York Times: "Five journalists were killed early Thursday when their vehicle was hit by an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat area of Gaza, according to the local authorities and Palestinian news media reports. The Israeli military said its air force had struck a vehicle overnight in Nuseirat with a 'terrorist cell' from the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad inside. Reports about journalists being targeted were 'fake claims,' Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said on social media. The media office of Gaza's Hamas-run government said five journalists from Al Quds Today, a Palestinian television channel, were killed in an Israeli strike on their broadcast vehicle. The office said this brought the number of journalists killed in Gaza to 201 since the start of the war in October last year. The vehicle, bearing the word 'Press' in red letters, was hit near the gates of Al Awda Hospital, according to a post on social media from Quds News Network, another Palestinian news outlet.... The local government and Al Quds Today identified the five killed as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Ali, Ayman Al-Jadi, and Mohammed Al-Lada'a. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate condemned the strike and described it as a 'war crime,' calling for the protection of Palestinian journalists."
So much for any brief showing of decency from Trump's friend Putin: ~~~
~~~ Ukraine/Russia, et al. Pjotr Sauer of the Guardian: "Christmas morning in Ukraine was overshadowed by a massive Russian aerial attack using cruise missiles to target energy infrastructure across the country, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned as 'inhuman'. 'Today, Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than a hundred attack drones,' the Ukrainian president said on Telegram. He said there had been hits and blackouts in several regions. 'The targets are our energy. They continue to fight for a blackout in Ukraine,' he said. The attack left half a million people in Kharkiv region without heating, in temperatures just a few degrees celsius above zero, while there were blackouts in the capital, Kyiv, and elsewhere." The New York Times report is here. ~~~
~~~ Ashleigh Fields of the Hill: "President Biden on Wednesday denounced Russia's latest attack on Ukraine, declaring the wave of missiles and drones 'outrageous.'" President Biden's full statement is here, via the White House.
U.K. Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "King Charles III on Wednesday thanked the medical workers in Britain who helped treat him and his daughter-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, after their cancer diagnoses, and praised communities that came together after anti-immigrant riots gripped the country in the summer. In his annual Christmas message, the British monarch spoke from the chapel of a former hospital, rather than from a royal palace, in a rare departure that was designed to emphasize his appreciation for health workers and volunteers." Here's Charles now! With musical accompaniment, fore & aft: ~~~
BTW, Akhilleus says he has found the antidote to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." MB: Uh, perhaps not an antidote, but it does prove that Carey's is not the worst rendition possible. (One commenter on the Toad's page writes, "My favorite thing to do around Christmas time is to drive around with my windows down blasting this and watch peoples' reactions. It will never not be funny." I am not as cruel as that commenter, but I would blast it at Carey's house in my own little act of retribution. (Maybe not. Carey lives in a Tribeca penthouse which she purchased for $9MM in 1999 with the wages of schlock. The downstairs neighbors don't deserve this.)
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Paul Krugman , on Krugman Wonks Out substack, comments on "T****’s sudden embrace of what looks like old-fashioned imperialism." and considers whether
"the Greenland/Panama/Canada thing reflects anything beyond brain worms? Maybe Trump is trying to change the topic after a bad week of setbacks in Congress and a growing sense that he’s being overshadowed by President non-elect Elon Musk. And I do think he believes that engaging in or at least threatening to engage in imperial adventures makes you look strong."
Conquest doesn't make a modern nation — or its leader — great
Krugmen recommends a substack for Henry Farrell or Farrell's longer piece currently free and linked within the substack article What will happen to U.S. economic power under Trump?
Too bad we can't completely escape the chaos and likely economic havoc by moving.
Probably like most Americans, I had assumed that the bald eagle already had that exalted title of national bird, so, good, I guess.
I’m waiting and hoping that Biden authorizes the ERA. If a bird deserves official recognition, so do women, especially in this era of renewed and turbocharged misogyny as President Pussy Grabber sits his fat ass back on the throne.
Not only would it be the right thing to do, it would be especially pertinent just as a rapist (okay, Fatty, sue me!) takes office, supported by woman hating incels and self absorbed ‘bros of all kinds.
I see assholes like that Teamster douchebag are still attacking Kamala Harris. This needs to be done. Besides, it will give the PoT woman haters fits.
C’mon, Joe. Legacy time. Do it for all of us, not just the women. It puts us all into the category of civilized peoples and makes that business of true equality more actual than aspirational.
Test…
Okay, we’ll try it without the link…
As we prepare ourselves for another descent into the Trump maelstrom, it’s worth revisiting the Domesday sized book of Fatty scandals, pilferage, fraud, peculation, treason, self glorification, narcissistic nabobery, outrages, despoilings, douchebaggery, lies, ignominious ignorance, sexual assaults, and solipsistic stupidity.
Yes, we could be there forever, and I’m hoping the hope of the distraught that Old Scratch has been keeping track of this louche loser’s litany of licentiousness, but leave us for the nonce use the following trumpecdote as a synecdoche for the sinister whole.
The ever helpful Rachel Maddow reminds us of the true essence of Trumpiness: unapologetic thievery and underhandedness in the service of vainglorious pomposity.
To be quick about it (not my strong suit, as you can see), the Orange Monster, for years has glorified himself (and his shabby holdings and cheesy products) through the use of a purloined family crest.
After picking up his pretentious castle-thing in Florida, for a song, Fatty noticed a coat of arms given to the Davies family (the former owner was a Mrs Davies, Marjorie Post) by the British government. Never one to bother with niceties like legality and honesty, the Fat Fascist co-opted this crest as his very own. He had the previous inscription sand blasted off and stuck his own name in its place.
The previous inscription? Integritas: integrity. He removed that ideal and substituted his name in its place. The very opposite of integrity. This shabby act represents not just the removal of a word, but the veritable obliteration of integrity.
But then, you knew that already.
Still, the head shaking obviousness of his cupidity and ignorance still boggles.
And lest we forget, the protagonist and survivor of Poe’s maelstrom had his hair turn instantly white from the terrifying ordeal. We may be in store for quite a few other changes.
I'm glad to see the Bald Eagle made an official emblem of the United States and not the MAGA candidate, the flipped finger.