The last terrorist attack in Atlanta was in 1996 -- it was committed by homegrown terrorist Eric Rudolph. But don't tell Sean Spicer, who mentioned Atlanta attacks three times in two press statements in two days. Now he says he obviously meant Orlando when he said Atlanta.

Loose lips sink ships. The Trump Administration is filled with dangerous neophytes, from the occupant of the Oval office on down, who don't know their as* from their elbow (as my grandmother used to say).

I'm purposely ignoring his counselor who got counseled yesterday because in my view, she is now officially the most unimportant person in America and I refuse to expend keystrokes on her.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Donald Trump's request for an emergency stay of a lower court order blocking implementation of his Executive Order denying visas to persons from seven countries for 90 days as unconstitutional:

{W]e hold that the Government has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, nor has it shown that failure to enter a stay would cause irreparable injury, and we therefore deny its emergency motion for a stay.

You can read the 9th Circuit's ruling here. [More...]

President Peña Nieto went to the airport Tuesday to meet with a bunch of people being deported from the U.S. He met with them in a private room for around an hour, an assured them they would be provided jobs and assistance to rebuild their lives.

...They are not alone, do not feel abandoned, the doors of this house will always be open," Peña Nieto told the group of deportees, according to the press release sent by the Mexican Presidency.

Wish we had a man in charge who felt that way.

With every step, Donald Trump comes closer to self-annihilating. An op-ed in The Guardian today, When a president fights the law, there's only ever one winner, calls it Trumpicide:

Donald Trump’s fury at a federal judge who overturned his immigration order betrays his deep – and dangerous – ignorance of the constitution

[More...]

The Senate just confirmed Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Vote talley here.

One Dem, Joe Manchin of W Va voted for him.
No Republican voted against him.
Two independents joined with Dems and voted no.

Final vote: 52 to 47. (Sessions didn't vote.)

The clapping sounded like a toilet flushing (I only have audio here.)

How demoralizing, to quote Neil Gorsuch, about Trump's comments on the 9th Circuit judges.

Tom Price, who reportedly wants to gut Medicare, is up for a Cloture vote now.

Trump now wants to put any future ISIS detainees at Gitmo.

Here is the draft of his proposed executive order.

Sec. 2. Continuing State of Armed Conflict With Terrorist Groups. The United States remains engaged in an armed conflict with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces, including individuals and networks associated with the Islamic State.

Sec.3. Military Detention of Aliens at Naval Station Guøntanamo Bay. (a) Subject to further direction from the President and consistent with the requirements of law, the Secretary of Defense shall maintain and continue to use the detention facilities at the U.S. Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, for the detention of enemy combatants captured in the armed conflict described in section 2 of this order, including such individuals captured after the effective date of this order.

[More....]

#GrabYourWallet is working. After Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, TJ Maxx has decided to disassociate from the Ivanka Trump brand. Her father's tweet against Nordstrom didn't hurt Nordstrom, it's stock is slightly up today.

So where can you now find Ivanka's merchandise? According to AV Club, on EBay and in bargain bins.

Trump's actions are taking a toll on the Trump brand.

For more, go to GrabYourWallet. The companies on the left column (in green) are safe to shop at.

Bump and Update:

Hearing begins in two hours (3 pm PT)

From the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals:

The oral argument scheduled for Tuesday, February 7, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. PST will be available for live streaming through the court’s public website.

Here is the direct link to the live-stream.

Here is the reply brief arguing against Trump's request for an emergency stay of the lower court order. Lots of amicus briefs have been filed on both sides. Former government officials, including John Kerry, Madeline Albright and more, have filed a statement opposing Trump's request for a stay of the lower court order. They explain in detail why Trump's order endangers the United States. [More...]

Trump's first military raid in Yemen on January 29 killed a Navy seal and innocent civilians, including the 8 year old daughter of al Qaida cleric Al-Awlaki, but it missed its target, AQAP leader Qassim al-Rimi (also spelled Qāsim al-Raymī.) al-Rimi has issued a statement that military sources believe is legitimate. It says:

"The fool of the White House got slapped at the beginning of his road in your lands."

Trump's Alternative Fact Machine proclaimed the raid a victory. [More...]

I'm not going to get sucked into reporting Trump's fake and alternative news. He is Pants on Fire 24/7 these days. And his team of incompetent aides can't even manage basic spell check. Who spells "attacker" "attaker" not once but five times in the same press release? Did he pluck these aides from kindergarten?

Of far greater importance, Amnesty International has released this list of Trump's first seven steps to sabotage human rights.

Everything about Trump feels grimey. And slimy. Who will be the first to patent a Trump Sh*t Scraper?

If you can't trust in the integrity of the Trump Administration, you can't trust in the integrity of its Orders. Simple as that. (His press statements are pure bubbe-meise.)

Update: Lady Gaga -- what a tour de force. Her energy, creativity, timing and artistry were all on display. She was about as close to perfect as it gets. Well Done! (Daily Mail has some great photos.)

I don't watch the Superbowl (or even know who is playing in it.) But since I do love music, some years I watch the half-time show. Also, I have seen some of the commercials for this years Superbowl, like the Budweiser immigrant commercial, which I applaud Budweiser for.

As to SNL last night, I missed it. Based on the superlative reviews, I tried to watch the opening with Baldwin and Bannon as the Grim Reaper, and the Melissa McCarthy as Spicer routine, and lasted about a minute for each.

I have no intention of watching spoofs of people I find revolting in real life and whose public role should be marginalized, not enhanced. Press spokespersons are nothing more than mouthpieces. Why have a character portray them? It's one thing to portray the UnPresident and other world leaders, it's another to portray people whose personal thoughts don't amount to a grain of sand in the universe.

There are, however, much more pleasant things to watch for entertainment this week. [More...]

Update: Trump loses first round in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals -- the court denied his request for an administrative emergency stay of the lower court order suspending Trump's executive order on visas. Both sides are directed to filebriefs before Monday for the court to consider. So --- Trump's minions wrote a 125 page brief and it was denied in one sentence.

Appellants’ request for an immediate ministrative stay pending full consideration of the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal is denied.

No superbowl for them -- they have their next brief due by midnight Sunday. bq. Appellees’ opposition to the emergency motion is due Sunday, February 5, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Appellants’ reply in support of the emergency motion is due Monday, February 6, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. PST. [More...]