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Sunday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Sun Jan 11, 2026 at 08:32:21 PM EST
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There's a lot to break down, from the Golden Globes to Venezuela and its Oil to Minnesota, ICE, Iran, Colombia, Greenland, and the Trump family's unstoppable (so far) greed, sticking its dirty, small fingers in every pie it can get a slice of.

And all the Trump aider and abettors.

Have at it, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

P.S. "Dead Flowers" is from the Stones album "Sticky Fingers". One of my top three favorite Rolling Stones song ever.

< Happy New Year and Open Thread

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    A 21-year-old protester narrowly avoided ... (5.00 / 1) (#34)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 09:38:09 AM EST
    ... being killed but suffered a fractured skull and was left permanently blind in one eye after a Department of Homeland Security officer fired a nonlethal round (rubber bullet) at close range into the crowd during a confrontation with protesters in Santa Ana, CA last Friday night.

    from my niece in Minneapolis: (5.00 / 1) (#43)
    by leap2 on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 04:10:12 PM EST
    "From my friend who lives by Powderhorn Park [a neighborhood park in Minneapolis] just now:

    "Well now I have been pepper sprayed, so I can add that to my resume. My dad is EIGHTY.  He was with a group of peoeple who went to help another old person who had been knocked down. they pepper sprayed all of them.

    "Someone who has actual power needs to fucking do something since it's clearly not any of us."

    Are there any real political leaders in this country? ICE needs to be terminated. NOW.

    Parent

    The turnout for the ICE Out for Good demo (none / 0) (#1)
    by Peter G on Sun Jan 11, 2026 at 09:33:05 PM EST
    in my town today (Sunday afternoon) was around 250 on less than two days' notice. The population is around 14,000.

    Trump's new picture at the (none / 0) (#2)
    by desertswine on Sun Jan 11, 2026 at 10:02:27 PM EST
    Smithsonian (because he didn't like the old one) shows how sick his mind is. who would want a threatening picture like that.

    It's suggestive (none / 0) (#3)
    by jmacWA on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 04:16:32 AM EST
    to me that he is in that permanent bent over position because he has to use a walker.  Every picture lately is with his elbows on a surface and his chest leaned against it.

    Parent
    his right hand seems (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Jeralyn on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 04:41:27 AM EST
    always planted on the table. It doesn't move with the rest of him. I saw a video demonstrating this last night from the meeting with the heads of oil companies. Then again, with AI, everything seems fake to me. I also saw a really convincing photo of El Chapo shaving Madero's head in a prison, but El Chapo is in Colorado and Madero is in NY so obviously it was fake. It didn't seem photo-shopped though  -- more like created.

    Parent
    The final, terminal stage (none / 0) (#8)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 01:11:44 PM EST
    of chronic constipation..when the sufferer starts lashing out at anyone around him.

    Parent
    I had only seen a couple (none / 0) (#5)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 12:15:29 PM EST
    of the nominated movies last night.  I wish Sinners had done better but I want to see Hamnet

    I just saw an amazing movie.  

    it's called GOOD BOY

    It's one of the best movies I've seen in a while.
    It's a horror movie starring a dog. The humans are basically shot from the knees down.   It's on SHUDDER and AMC+.

    SPOILER ALERT, the dog lives.  


    Woo hoo (none / 0) (#6)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 12:20:31 PM EST

    Indy the Dog from `Good Boy' Just Won Best Horror Movie Performance at Astra Film Awards



    Parent

    Why do I suspect (none / 0) (#7)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 01:03:46 PM EST
    that the dog isn't a good boy in the usual way that dogs are when we say "good boy!"

    Parent
    Not sure (none / 0) (#9)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 01:24:04 PM EST
    but he absolutely is.

    Parent
    He doesnt (none / 0) (#12)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:11:16 PM EST
    and would never hurt anyone.

    Whatever you expect this movie to be, it won't be that.

    Parent

    So it's not (none / 0) (#16)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:37:59 PM EST
    Lassie, why did you throw Timmy down the well?!

    Parent
    No (none / 0) (#18)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:57:16 PM EST
    Timmy is terminally ill and he is protecting him.

    Parent
    Thus (none / 0) (#22)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 04:28:44 PM EST
    In the film, canine hero Indy finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner -- and best friend -- Todd, leaving city life for a long-vacant family home in the country. From the start, two things are clear: Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering.

    After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant's grim death

    Parent

    Predictions for 2026. (none / 0) (#10)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 02:42:24 PM EST
    As Dementia Donnie and Ghoul boy Miller keep pressing on Greenland, and they take any aggressive action, we will be at war with Europe by year's end. I would cheer on Europe to win.

    I have voiced my doubts about the mid-term elections. I still have serious doubts they take place. However, if they do, I think I know the end game. Dementia Donnie will unilaterally declare election fraud in any and all blue/purple districts. Then use his new secret police to simply confiscate ballots before they can be counted. I think this is from the recent NY Times interview `I should have' seized ballots in 2020 election.

    They are constantly testing the bounds of what they can get away. This week they murdered a woman in Minneapolis, then proceeded with a massive propaganda campaign to denigrate the victim. Nothing will come of it except a bunch of protests. They will take that as a win and push the limits again and again. I've already seen video online from Minneapolis of ICE agents threatening people with more murder. Quote from one video "learn from the past, if you keep following us, we're not going to arrest you." They aren't even trying to pretend to a law enforcement agency anymore. They are Dementia Donnie's hitmen. A massive execution squad. No one in this country is safe from this violence. Trust me. NO ONE.

    Minneapolis has turned into a proverbial warzone over the last two days. What is happening there has no equivalent.

    As long there are nothing but scattered protests and stern letters from Senators, this will continue unabated.

    I'll see you (none / 0) (#11)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:10:20 PM EST
    on the predictions n thing.

    Trump WILL try to stop the election.  He will fail.  Democrats will win both houses of Congress.

    (We now have 4 likely Senate pickups)

    He will be impeached and this time removed.  Paving the way for prosecution.  

    I think Greenland is going to be the last straw for a few.  We will not attack or occupy Greenland.  

    Trump is flooding the zone.  Expect more of that.

    My 2 cents


    Parent

    4 (none / 0) (#15)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:29:09 PM EST
    Maine
    North Carolina (Tillis)
    Alaska
    Ohio

    AI Overview

    To gain a majority in the Senate in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, Democrats must secure a net gain of four seats, provided they defend all their currently held competitive seats.

    Parent

    IMO (none / 0) (#13)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:17:44 PM EST
    the most interesting part of that seizing the ballots quote is this part.

    "I don't know that they [the National Guard] are sophisticated enough," Trump said. "You know, they're good warriors. I'm not sure that they're sophisticated enough in the ways of crooked Democrats and the way they cheat, to figure that out."

    He's smart enough to know the National Guard will not do it.  I suppose he thinks his chubby ICE goon squads would work better.  They won't.

    IMO ICE is about to be reighned in.  

    Parent

    More than a few republicans (none / 0) (#14)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:25:24 PM EST
    will also choke on the investigation of Jerome Powell.

    Parent
    Nominated by Obama (none / 0) (#20)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 04:25:14 PM EST
    That's all you need to know about why he's being investigated. That and pure Trump vindictiveness over Obama refusing to bend the knee and be a Trump/Kushner family man servant of the Clarence Thomas variety.

    Parent
    Trump appointed Powell to the Fed (none / 0) (#23)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 05:10:11 PM EST
    2017

    Parent
    Yeah (none / 0) (#24)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 05:13:15 PM EST
    Obama nominated him to the Board of Governors in 2012.

    Parent
    They are back pedaling this already (none / 0) (#25)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 05:20:57 PM EST
    This is a bad move.

    Bessent Warned Trump Over Probe Into Fed Chair
    January 12, 2026 at 4:40 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 77 Comments

    "A perturbed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told President Trump late Sunday that the federal investigation into the Federal Reserve chair `made a mess' and could be bad for financial markets," Axios reports

    Parent

    Backlash (none / 0) (#26)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 05:27:19 PM EST

    DOJ investigation of Fed Chair Powell sparks backlash

    Several Republican senators have condemned the Department of Justice's subpoenas of the Fed, which Powell revealed Sunday and characterized as "pretexts" to pressure him to sharply cut interest rates. Powell also said the Justice Department has threatened criminal indictments over his June testimony to Congress about the cost and design elements of a $2.5 billion building renovation that includes the Fed's headquarters.

    "After speaking with Chair Powell this morning, it's clear the administration's investigation is nothing more than an attempt at coercion," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Monday.

    A bipartisan group of former Fed chairs and top economists on Monday called the Trump administration's investigation "an unprecedented attempt to use prosecutorial attacks" to undermine the Fed's independence, stressing that central banks controlled by political leaders tend to produce higher inflation and lower growth.

    "I think this is ham-handed, counter-productive, and going to set back the president's cause," said Jason Furman, an economist at Harvard


    Parent

    It's llike (none / 0) (#27)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 06:29:39 PM EST
    NETWORK

    Parent
    They'll choke and swallow (none / 0) (#21)
    by jondee on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 04:28:25 PM EST
    like the yellow-bellied, utterly unprincipaled cowards they are.

    Parent
    I don't believe they will try to use (none / 0) (#17)
    by Chuck0 on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:51:54 PM EST
    National Guard or military. It will be all DHS stormtroopers. The new secret police.

    I honestly hope you are right and I am wrong. But I just don't see it. This an evil, evil cabal of miscreants. And I don't believe there is anything they are not willing to do. Look at the whole White House demolition. He thinks that is his property. He owns it. Especially after the ballroom is built. He has no plans to leave. Even dead. He will decree he put in state on the grounds like Lenin.


    Parent

    I don't disagree with any of that (none / 0) (#19)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 03:58:43 PM EST
    clearly that is his plan.  

    Parent
    I do realize (none / 0) (#28)
    by CaptHowdy on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 06:43:51 PM EST
    its not

    Parent
    These (none / 0) (#29)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon Jan 12, 2026 at 08:59:58 PM EST
    ICE monsters are now threatening people in MN and even kidnapped a child that worked at Target.

    Target is hiring (none / 0) (#30)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 07:54:28 AM EST
    Children?

    Parent
    I am pretty sure that many states allow minors (none / 0) (#35)
    by Peter G on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 10:07:26 AM EST
    aged 16 (for example) to work, perhaps with parental consent, even though the age of majority for various other purposes may be 18 or even 21.

    Parent
    AI (none / 0) (#36)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 10:17:42 AM EST
    Details of the Incident
    Location and Date: The arrests occurred on January 8, 2026, at a Target store in Richfield, Minnesota, as part of a larger federal immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities area.
    Individuals Involved: The two young men, identified in social media posts and by local activists as Jonathan Garcia and Christian Romano, were working as drive-up employees when agents approached them.
    Events Leading to Detention: According to witnesses and social media posts, federal agents, including Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, approached the men and asked if they were citizens. When the workers tried to go back inside the store, agents physically apprehended them, pinning one to the ground. One of the individuals was heard shouting that he was a U.S. citizen.
    Aftermath: Both teenagers were later released. Reports indicate that after confirming one of the individuals (Jonathan Garcia) was a U.S. citizen, agents "dumped" him in a nearby Walmart parking lot, where he was found bleeding and crying, reportedly sustaining injuries from the agents' use of force.

    Parent
    Greg Bovino is a sociopath. (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 02:50:41 PM EST
    I once inadvertently had a run-in with him several years ago in La Mesa (outside of San Diego), before he was appointed as Trump's so-called border czar. He was being rude and confrontational to my late uncle in the Walmart parking lot at Grossmont Center, and after he threatened to punch my uncle (who was 95 at the time), my cousin and I told him to STFU and move on before I called the cops.

    I had no idea who he was until my wife posted the video she made of the incident on her social media account (since deleted), and people informed us that he was Gregory Bovino, (then) agent-in-charge of U.S. Border Patrol's San Ysidro-El Centro sector. This was early 2022, during the Biden administration.

    Seriously, that clown has a few screws loose. He was recently cited in a ruling by a federal judge in Chicago for lying to her. He was caught on video throwing a tear gas canister toward a crowd of protestors, and he denied to her that he had done so. He isn't fit to be in charge of a one-float rose parade.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    He commanded Operation Midway Blitz (none / 0) (#42)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 03:19:02 PM EST
    in Chicago. Who the hell comes up with these names? Talk about tone deaf branding.

    It sounds like if the U.S and the Nazis teamed up in WW2.


    Parent

    Seen this? (5.00 / 2) (#44)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 04:26:20 PM EST

    The slogan is from the threat that if you kill one nazi we will wipe out your town.

    It happened.  A few times.



    Parent

    I actually talked to an old (5.00 / 1) (#45)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 04:44:11 PM EST
    guy who had been in the Dutch Underground in WW2 who said he witnessed that firsthand.

    An SS officer killed meant all the men and boys in the nearest village were rounded up. It was SOP for the Germans at that time.

    What they did after Rheinhard Heydrich was killed is one of the most notorious examples.

    Parent

    That's shocking (none / 0) (#37)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 10:23:13 AM EST
    I can't believe this is going to be allowed to just continue.

    One thing to watch for, I think, is the end of primary season.  
    That sounds crazy but the truth is it could matter this summer.  

    This is going to be a summer for history I think because all this is going to get worse before it gets better.

    Parent

    Definitely (none / 0) (#38)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 11:36:38 AM EST
    Going to get worse. We are dealing with a rabid cornered racoon

    Parent
    Peter, isn't there a way ... (none / 0) (#39)
    by Donald from Hawaii on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 11:47:04 AM EST
    ... that attorneys could file a request in federal court for an injunction against DHS, ICE and Border Patrol? DHS is clearly in violation of its own protocols regarding personnel conduct, and as far as I can tell, while their stated purpose is to enforce the law, the net effect has been a wholesale disruption of urban communities in blue state and the willful terrorization of our residents of Latino ancestry.

    Your own hometown of Philadelphia has put ICE on notice that if agents try to pull this crap there, they will be subject to arrest. I do applaud that assertive defense but honestly, things shouldn't have to come down to such a confrontation. The courts need to order DHS to cease and desist.

    Aloha.

    Parent

    The governors of Minnesota and of Illinois (none / 0) (#41)
    by Peter G on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 02:52:59 PM EST
    filed suits like that yesterday, to prohibit ICE from carrying out its mission in those states unless it can and will do so within the bounds of constitutional and statutory law (which the federal court is being asked to define).

    Parent
    Trump is flooding the zone (none / 0) (#31)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 07:59:18 AM EST
    because that's what he does

    It makes it hard to hear about all the good things that are happening.  Yesterday Maddow did a great rundown of all the bad things that happened to Trump lately

    Trump rebuked at every turn

    Some of the others clips are good too.

    Probably tariffs tomorrow (none / 0) (#33)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 08:59:30 AM EST
    Trump doesn't sound very confident.

    "If the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE'RE SCREWED!" he wrote on social media



    Parent
    Powell problems (none / 0) (#32)
    by CaptHowdy on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 08:21:34 AM EST
    White House Reels From Powell Probe
    January 13, 2026 at 6:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

    Playbook: "The Trump administration's decision to launch a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell has overshadowed all economic discussion for the past 36 hours, and the row shows little sign of abating. The whole thing is proving a disaster for the White House -- to the extent that you have to wonder how quickly this probe might get wrapped up."

    Politico: "The inquiry, which blindsided many White House aides, is renewing fears over the future of the central bank's independence and offering fresh fodder for concerned Senate Republicans, many of whom will be needed to confirm the next Fed chair."

    -

    Senate Has Little Appetite for Powell Probe
    January 12, 2026 at 7:23 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 70 Comments

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that the Justice Department's targeting of Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell "better be real" and "better be serious," raising concerns about "political interference" in monetary policy, Punchbowl News reports.

    Thune is the highest-ranking Republican to raise concerns about the unprecedented criminal investigation of the Fed chair.

    Financial Times: Top Republicans denounce justice department's criminal probe into Fed chair Jay Powell

    I want him to paint (none / 0) (#46)
    by jondee on Tue Jan 13, 2026 at 05:00:50 PM EST
    the Whitehouse gold. The entire thing. And then erect a fifty foot tall Big Boy Restaurant-style statue of himself.

    Let it be so in-your-face what the 70+ million schmucks voted for that they're unable to perform any more yogic contortions to justify it.

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