Iowa Straw Poll Part Circus, Part Politics

It looks like at least some in MAGA world are waking up to the fact that when Donald Trump won the election, it meant that billionaire immigrant Elon Musk would be the president-unelected. Trump gal pal Laura Loomer seems pretty ticked off. She tweeted to her 1.4 million MAGA followers that Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) looks less like a way to cut spending and more like a con to “convince the peasants that we are saving them money as we enrich ourselves!” The shit is hitting the fan between Tech Bro MAGA and OG MAGA. — Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2024-12-26T18:31:25.908Zread more

MAGA is in an uproar after President Musk called a shortage of “excellent engineering talent” a “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley” in a Wednesday tweet. He argued that immigrant labor is an essential ingredient in American innovation and warned of a "dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America." Via Salon: “If you force the world’s best talent to play for the other side, America will LOSE.

Yesterday, Finland seized a ship carrying oil for Russia in relation to the cutting of an undersea cable connecting electricity to Estonia. Concerns are mounting over ships disrupting power and gas lines in European waters, often by Russian-related suspects. Via The Hill: Finland’s national law enforcement body, the Police of Finland, said in a statement it had seized a Cook Islands-registered ship called the Eagle S. The ship is suspected in the rupturing of the Estlink 2 power transmission cable connecting electricity between Estonia and Finland, but police said at this time the investigation is looking at the incident as “aggravated criminal mischief.” The power cable was disconnected on Wednesday, according to Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who said at the time that authorities were “on standby over Christmas and are investigating the matter.” European officials said the ship is suspected of carrying Russian oil, part of a vast shadow fleet Moscow is using to circumvent Western sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. read more

In today's edition of FAFO (F*ck Around and Find Out) we are starting to hear more from low income voters who are learning the hard way that Donald Trump doesn't give a sh*t about them. See, MAGA loyalty only goes one way. They want your vote, but won't do anything to make your life better.

Seasonally appropriate music from Tom Waits. Vagabond Scholar: Jon Swift Roundup 2024. Jacobin: How Capitalism Undermines Freedom. The Rumpus: Parallel Practice -- Haunting in Theory/Haunting in Practice. Attention space nerds! NASA Finalizes Strategy for Sustaining Human Presence in Low Earth Orbit (Spoiler: The HOA is going to be very strict.) Round Up by driftglass of the Professional Left Podcast and Science Fiction University Send tips to mbru (AT) crooksandliars (DOT) com read more

Yep, Rep. Melanie Stansbury did what Democrats are supposed to do, and took it to JD Vance and his fellow MAGA stooges for wanting to create a "blacklist" of government employees not loyal enough to the Trump cult. Therefore, they must be "purged." Stanbury educated anyone listening as she ripped into thugs like Vance and The Heritage Foundation, for their Project 2025 attempt to use "McCarthyism" to force out government employees not deemed sufficiently loyal to Donald Trump.