The Liberal Doomsayer

Katy Tur of MS NOW informs us of yet another horror show from the ICE criminals, and that is the news that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was snatched in order to grab his father, then both were abducted and sent to a detention center in Texas (I know I alluded to this yesterday)...is it even worth it at this point to note that the family had an active asylum case and had entered this country legally (I mean, yes, I know that matters to sane, rational people, which automatically precludes anyone from our ruling regime...more here and here)...can’t think of a word for the disgust about how our government is trying to terrorize communities to the point where this ICE garbage could ever be considered normal, which it DEFINITELY IS NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ("how is a five-year-old dangerous?" indeed)...by the way, there are some truly hideous trolls in the YouTube comment thread for this video, if you want to subject yourself to that for some reason...



...and Jonathan Montpetit of the CBC tells us how ICE is recruiting neanderthals online to terrorize communities, mainly by going to the far right fever swamps, using memes such as, “Which way, American man?” which is a pretty goddamn loud dog whistle IMHO...and oh yeah, “America for Americans” is about as subtle as a kick in the teeth also...and references to “The Flood” do indeed come from the Halo video game (and posting “banger memes,” huh? Doesn’t make you any less of a criminal as far as I’m concerned...and $30 billion by the end of the decade for ICE? Wonder how many dead civilians THAT will cost?)...



...well, for a bit of good news on this subject, Farron Cousins informs us that Lehigh County in our beloved commonwealth apparently evicted ICE from their field offices because they owe $100K in back rent (sweet)...this is even more idiotic when you consider their ridiculously beyond-bloated budget as already noted; they’re the last government agency under our criminal regime that should have to beg for dough, but it sounds like it wouldn’t matter even if ICE DID pay, so kudos to Lehigh County for that...definitely a good idea from Cousins about how to use the ICE back rent dough the RIGHT way (mildly NSFW/H)...



...and zeroing in on Philly, Jesse Dollemore tells us that our cretinous, thuggish ruling regime tore down plaques and markers depicting/referencing slavery around Independence Hall and the President's House...no disrespect to Jesse, but as far as I’m concerned, the question of whether or not the executive branch of our government is racist or not was settled LONG AGO...as far as Cantaloupe Capone is concerned, recalling our racist past is somehow ”disparaging,” to conservative white suburban boomers I guess with sensitive fee fees...and yeah, I think “Nazi sh*t” sums it up pretty well...I would love to see the guys who ripped down those exhibits get doxxed, since I think they deserve that at a minimum...I’d forgotten about the story of how George Washington came to have wooden teeth...much to atone for in our history as far as I’m concerned (and by the way, for the record, John Adams did not own slaves) (NSFW/H)...



...and I thought this was a pretty spot-on commentary from Ali Velshi in response to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and how we can honor them...Velshi is about 150 percent right that the old norms of granting the federal government the benefit of the doubt are gone; what matters for our ruling regime of monsters is to give cover for the ICE Gestapo above all else; ”pattern and practice” indeed...Velshi is also spot-on in saying that we have to give witness as we can to the carnage taking place around us and do what we can to combat it...



...and be careful trying to get rid of the snow; I’m actually shocked to report that it looks like our alleged weather geniuses were actually right about the amounts of accumulation – definitely not worth it to risk injury trying to shovel yourself out.

Kudos to the brave folks in Minneapolis for protesting the ICE Gestapo in freezing temperatures recently as noted here...

Holy shit! This is Minneapolis. 🙌💪👏✊👇 pic.twitter.com/71tHgkgq9l

— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) January 24, 2026

...and tragically, we have another ICE-inflicted killing in that city, as noted here...the victim is an ICU nurse named Alex Pretti who was executed by our government (Pretti was apparently trying to provide aid to women who were attacked by the ICE Gestapo)...Ayman Mohyeldin anchors coverage on this horror (and once more, Kristi Noem is an utterly shameless, lying piece of sh*t)...Alex Tabet also reports in Minneapolis...and apparently, Pretti had a license to carry but was shot with his own weapon...funny, but I’m not hearing any NRA bullsh*t at this moment about “a good guy with a gun”...I’m actually behind on my coverage of ICE atrocities I know because I haven’t had anything yet on the abduction of 5-year-old Liam Ramos...watch this space (more here)...



...and David Doel provides a detailed breakdown of exactly what Alex Pretti was TRYING to do, which is to aid a woman pepper sprayed by the ICE gorillas before he himself was sprayed also; when Pretti was down on the ground, ICE surrounded him, apparently took his gun and executed him with it...great point to mention that our Trumpist goons venerate “Killer Kyle” Rittenhouse but also engage in wanton murder of someone innocently trying to provide aid to someone else attacked by ICE...we know Fix Noise will try to spin this in a way favorable to the Gropenfuhrer, but of course now the “Tiffany Network” will do that also...I honestly don’t blame Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Commissioner Brian O’Hara since they’re plainly outnumbered, and I don’t think Doel does either...and as far as I’m concerned, we still have a Fourth Amendment to the Constitution protecting us against unreasonable search and seizure, despite what Our Treasonous Orange Pustule wants to do...and yeah, Schumer and Jeffries should oppose the government funding bill to give more dough to ICE, but unfortunately, because of The Big Beautiful Clusterf*ck that passed last year, ICE is already swimming in dough (an update from Schumer is here indicating that he’ll oppose further ICE funding, though I expect him to cave eventually as he always does)...Doel also mentions the recent protest in Minneapolis against ICE (NSFW/H)...



...and Farron Cousins informs us that ICE is now racially profiling off-duty police officers in Minnesota, demanding that these cops provide paperwork to prove they’re a U.S. citizen according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley...and Cousins is right to point out that modern-day policing evolved from Civil War era slave patrols...good point from Cousins that, for every story of ICE going nuts that we hear about, there are countless more that we DON’T hear about (also NSFW/H)...



...and Jesse Dollemore gives us his take on the 7 U.S. House Democrats who voted to continue funding ICE...actually, I think Jesse is incorrect about Tom Suozzi; I believe Jamaal Bowman’s seat was taken by George Latimer...and of all of these people, it’s possible that Henry Cuellar has the most baggage, though Jared Golden is right up there too on that score...I admire Jesse’s initiative to try and get these 7 primaried, but unfortunately, the issue lies with the people who elected them more than anyone else...and Jason Crow, for my money, is not just heroic on this issue but many others also (NSFW/H as well)...



...and as long as I’m bumming everyone out, I should also not that yesterday was the 70th anniversary of the killers of 14-year-old Emmett Till (who were acquitted) confessing to Look Magazine that, yeah, we really did murder Till because we thought he looked at a white woman the wrong way (here)...I think this tune is appropriate for the occasion (lots of use of the “N” word, just to warn you in advance, but I believe it’s for a good reason).

Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner tell us that it looks like Judge Winebox lost big time in court, again...she allegedly holds the title of the U.S. Attorney for DC; it seems that she tried to get a conviction on a felony charge against somebody who she said pointed a laser pointer at a helicopter carrying Dementia Donnie, and the jury returned a not guilty verdict in about 35 minutes (the defendant was a homeless man who apparently had a cat toy keychain...I wish I were making this up)...I’m glad Cohen brought up the fact that the DOJ apparently isn’t going to investigate ICE’s Jonathan Ross who murdered Renee Good, putting that in the context of Pirro’s laughable attempt at a prosecution...I didn’t know Pirro had lost 8 separate times when she tried to get an indictment against somebody, but that sure figures all right...and oh yeah, the DOJ is preoccupied with a ridiculous prosecution of a homeless man, but they can’t release the freaking Epstein files which they’re legally required to do – uh huh...



...and Tennessee Brando brings us the story of ICE getting fat bonus checks while people in this country suffer...he starts off by emphasizing that “America First” is nothing but another idiot wingnut slogan with MAGA not giving a fig about people getting poorer in this country, losing their jobs and/or health care while our economy takes care of the ultra-wealthy and barely anyone else (and kudos to Jared Moskowitz for calling out the obscenity of ICE getting all of this dough while the majority of this country gets the metaphorical shiv...and I don’t know about you, but I could NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS get a $42K bonus)...also, I didn’t hear about the people of Greenland supposedly getting $100K apiece for the privilege of being ransacked and pillaged by this country I guess (make it make sense somehow)...and I agree with Brando; if this isn’t the time for the 25th Amendment, then that time doesn’t exist (NSFW/H)...



...and Sam and Emma of The Majority Report bring us The Further Adventures Of Tony Dokoupil at the Bari-Weiss-run CBS “News” division...Mr. Katy Tur supposedly interviews real Americans and not some pointy-headed “experts” (who, BTW, actually know what they’re talking about) as Sam points out...I can see that the entire reason for Dokoupil’s existence as CBS Evening News anchor (aside from satisfying the whims of Weiss and David Ellison) is to present some populist façade while finding a way to repackage wingnut talking points (“Without my hair, what am I?” indeed)...



...and departing Repug U.S. Senator Thom Tillis recently expounded on the floor of the U.S. Senate, saying “I’m sick of stupid” regarding the treatment of our NATO allies; Tillis singles out Pee Wee German in particular for saying that “obviously” Greenland should be part of the U.S. (and yeah, I know the Tangerine Toddler has since come up with some kind of a “deal” on that island which pretty much confirms the status quo and doesn’t represent anything else)..being a Repug, Tillis is glossing over #47’s seizure of Maduro in Venezuela (which was illegal as near as I can tell), but Tillis is 100% spot on when it comes to defending Greenland and NATO (and no, Combover Caligula is NOT going to have a good legacy, Senator, right as you are about everything else)...



...and Seth Meyers gives us “A Closer Look,” and as just noted, it appears that “President Deals” came up with some kind of an “agreement” with Greenland that looks suspiciously like THE ONE WE ALREADY FREAKING HAD!!!...and oh yeah, trying to acquire that island nation outright is somehow more unpopular than trying to squash the Epstein files...”the ultimate long-term deal” huh? What a cheap, petty scam artist this guy is...and I have to admit that I’m having trouble picturing TACO Trump in film noir...“She strutted into my gumshoe office, and my eyes went up and down her frame like I was riding a Trump Tower escalator. She had more bling on her than the gold inlay of a Mar-a-Lago bathroom. She was more dangerous than a possible ruptured coronary artery after too many Big Macs.”; ok, I admit that I’ll never give Raymond Chandler a run for his money...I honestly don’t know how any adult out there with a double digit IQ or greater could listen to this barely somnambulant sweaty orange meat sack and take him seriously about ANYTHING...



...and as we brace for a potential weather white out in these parts, I’d like to extend upcoming Happy 85th Birthday wishes to Neil Diamond.

Chris Jansing of MS NOW informs us of two DOGE workers who allegedly accessed and shared sensitive Social Security data with some “Stop The Steal” supposed voter advocacy group, which could have been predicted by anybody with a brain as far as yours truly is concerned, and if convicted, those two incel pukes (and anybody else associated with this) should go to prison for 20 years (with former Undersecretary of State Richard Stengel and former U.S. attorney Harry Litman)...not surprised that DOGE and the DOJ under Pam “Blondi” misled a court, again...



...and Belle of the Ranch tells us about the speech by Canadian PM Mark Carney at Davos, declaring an end to “the American order” and talking about a “rupture” with NATO, saying a new economic order must be built...I really wonder how much of our political/media/industrial complex is truly grasping the import of Carney doing this, and he no doubt is speaking for other countries as well...”our closest allies aren’t waiting for us to sort out our political mess at home” indeed...



...and sticking with global matters, I give you the latest from Jonathan Pie from a couple of weeks ago...a few days behind on the Nicolas Maduro stuff I acknowledge, but a lot of this is still timely, unfortunately, when it comes to Pie’s rant about existing treaties and national sovereignty...and I’m not a fan of Keir Starmer either, but given the dregs he was left with by the Tories, I’m not surprised to see how ineffectual he is (if, God willing, the Dems ever take over again here, they’ll probably be in the same position...incredibly NSFW/H)...



...and Jordan Klepper of The Daily Show went to Oslo, Norway to ask people of that country and other Europeans about Cheetoh Hitler wanting the Nobel Peace Prize...yeah, this is pretty much what you can expect I realize (not saying we don’t deserve it)...



...and this from More Perfect Union lets us know about 60K Trump voters just electing a socialist in NYC (w/John Russell)...I honestly don’t know why Combover Caligula warmed to NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani the way he did (maybe the mayor promised some kind of tax break for #47 to put up some other ridiculous Manhattan property?), but I admit that it is noteworthy...I don’t know what to make of this Ron Barba guy; I’ll let you decide that, dear reader...I know it may be easy to laugh at this Christian Spariosu also, but I think his story is a cautionary tale of how someone can get indoctrinated by fake wingnut “populism,” though I expect that his tale will be totally ignored by the “brain trust” of the election losers of the DNC...actually, the more I listened I Spariosu, the more sense he made...living abroad in Japan definitely opened his eyes, to his credit (briefly NSFW/H)...



...and I don’t think this new tune from Lucinda Williams needs any explanation on my part.

Katy Tur of MS NOW speaks with Andrew Fahlstrom of Defend the 612, who describes Minneapolis residents “taken (by ICE) right in front of my eyes”...and oh yeah, pepper spray shot in people’s faces as well as clouds of tear gas going off along with flash bangs around kids according to Fahlstrom, who is doing the heroic work of notifying neighbors of the presence of murderous ICE thugs, making sure kids can get to school safely, generally looking out for neighbors, etc...



...and Rachel Maddow discusses faith leaders speaking out against Pumpkin Pol Pot on immigration and foreign policy in particular...segment leads off with a clip of Episcopal bishop Rob Hirschfeld saying we’re increasingly called to go into places “that feel dangerous,” referring to the ICE Gestapo, sentiments joined by Catholic Bishop Timothy Broglio (who serves our armed forces), who has told our military that they may have moral grounds to refuse orders, specifically when it comes to invading Greenland...Maddow interviews Chicago Archbishop and diocese head Blase Cupich about the ICE assault and deportations (which Cupich warned against about a year ago)...



...and turning to economic matters, Robert Reich discusses Mango Mussolini and affordability (which he said he’d fix on day one, or some such nonsense)...a whole bunch of good ideas here from Reich (and the first one to get rid of those stinking tariffs is as big of a no-brainer as anyone can imagine); strengthening unions and going after monopolies is pretty high on that list also, along with raising the damn federal minimum wage...also, I admit that I’ve gone back and forth on UBI, but I honestly think its time has come, largely due to the influence of AI in the workplace as Reich mentions...



...and David Shuster of Rebel HQ tells us about an Iowa voter indicating she (and don’t be too shocked) MAY – I say, MAY – vote for a Democrat, which is supported by polling data saying the Gropenfuhrer is TOAST with younger voters and Hispanics, two groups that had a lot to do with his election in ‘24...also, over 60% of both Republicans AND Independents oppose what Our Treasonous Orange Pustule is doing with the immigration raids (and when you’ve lost “Turd Blossom” Rove, you’re really in Repug no man’s land)...and I think it’s worth pointing out once more that those who have crossed our border commit crimes at a substantially lower rate than those who are naturalized citizens (here)...and oh yeah, it does indeed look like Kristi (“Unsafe At Any Speed”) Noem has gone too far with her wretched ICE raids, though don’t expect a flickering of an impulse of conscience from her in response...



...and Seth Meyers gives us A Closer Look on #47’s typically bonkers message to Norway that I know we already went over, and the Nobel committee’s response...God only knows what goes on in the addled brain of Cantaloupe Capone, but maybe Seth is right about the jealousy over the Tangerine Toddler thinking he should get more awards...and you know what? Just give this whining orange baby, this alleged adult who’s pretty much an adolescent stuck in arrested development his damn Nobel Prize already just to stop his insufferable whining about it, OK? I mean, for the love of God, just MAKE SOMETHING UP AT THIS POINT!!!...so ACTUAL Venezuelan president Maria Corina Machado gave Cheetoh Hitler HER peace prize, and he gifted her with a swag bag in response? Yeah, that makes demented sense actually (if, as Seth says, you’re living in a cocaine snow globe)...



...and every once in a while, I think it’s apropos to change things up musically around here, and I think this is one of those moments...world renown cellist Yo-Yo Ma was recently a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and he graced us with this performance (Bach Prelude from the 1st Cello Suite, followed by Over The Rainbow).

Jesse Dollemore informs us that Dementia J. Trump just threatened war with Norway (a NATO ally, let's not forget) over not getting the Nobel Prize, all in order to acquire Greenland...we’ve looong been in 25th Amendment territory, and this just proves that further (based on reporting form Nick Schifrin of PBS...and it’s pointless to rebut the typical cavalcade of lies from Cheetoh Hitler because he’s just going to keep repeating them anyway)...one of Jesse’s great points IMO is that NATO indeed did follow us into Iraq and Afghanistan; there was justification for the latter of course but definitely NOT for the former...and oh yeah, we’re also treated to Cancun Cruz verbally fellating Our Treasonous Orange Pustule on this...I commend Jesse in particular for about the last minute and a half of his commentary (NSFW/H)...



...and in a related story, Farron Cousins lets us know that this country has pretty much rejected Cantaloupe Capone’s stupid BS on this issue...only a whopping 4% supports a military takeover of Greenland, with 17% supporting some other kind of takeover (ummmm, that country has made it pretty damn plain that THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN A U.S. TAKEOVER AT ALL)...and no, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Cheetoh Hitler hasn’t done ANYTHING right in the eyes of the majority of the people of this country since he was sworn in...I’m glad Cousins mentions all of the generals who were basically fired by our clueless ruling cabal, since I barely recall any mention in corporate media about that, to say nothing of ZERO outcry along the lines of “are you people sniffing glue or something for doing this???!!!”...



...and this New York Times clip gives us Huxi Bach (a Danish comedian I believe) emphasizing once more why an attempted takeover of Greenland is a bad idea...video goes over how Denmark colonized the island and also let the U.S. build military bases there...kind of pathetic that we’re at a point where a U.S. president is actually talking about trying to take over that country somehow, but of course since we’re talking about the Tangerine Toddler, that means that any rules or norms are out the window...



...and this MS NOW clip gives us Slate journalist Laura Jedeed, who apparently was offered a job with ICE with barely any interview and no background check (figures), and that prompted the totally expected denial from ICE...if someone is given a start date of September 30th, it pretty much sounds to me like they got the job...I totally share Jedeed’s statement that we’ve basically got an emergency on our hands created by our ruling cabal of grifters and incompetent bottom feeders and we should approach it as such (meaning that any Dem out there who thinks ICE can be reformed somehow has no business running for elective office)...



...and John and Brett Erlich of The Damage Report bring us Pee Wee German as John’s “garbage person of the week” for complaining about “Star Trek” being woke and alleging that involving William Shatner more is an answer (with Miller Boldly Going Where Every Bigot Has Gone Before...about Shatner and Trump, there is also this; I’m sure #47 doesn’t know that Shatner is Canadian)...I don’t know if the racism is worse than the stoo-pidity, but one is running neck and neck with the other (and good for Brett to work in T.J. Hooker and Shatner riding the hood of the vehicle, which indeed was a cliché...and yeah, Baby Ben Shapiro, among other wingnuts, is just full of grievance against Hollywood because he couldn’t cut it for the reasons Brett points out)...I’d almost forgotten about Mike Pompeo, but he somehow emerged once more to claim that history shouldn’t focus on the victims in Gaza, which is pretty much right wing orthodoxy I realize (repellent as it is)...



...and today marks the 55th anniversary of the release of “What’s Going On” (the single that is) by Marvin Gaye; Berry Gordy of Motown definitely was not on board with this at first, but the recording did very well, and the rest is history, as they say.

Jinkies! It looks like “Curtsy Kyrsten” had a relationship with her bodyguard that was a little beyond the job description, you might say, and now the third person in this triangle is suing the former AZ senator for (allegedly) breaking up her marriage to Sinema’s “f” buddy (trying not to get dinged for bad language)...it also appears that the drug MDMA figures into all of this somehow (apparently Sinema’s paramour was being treated for PTSD with that, which isn’t funny at all I realize, though they may have both partaken in the substance, which, if nothing else, would explain some of Sinema’s behavior in the U.S. Senate...more here)...

...and Jesse Dollemore brings us Trump Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins telling the poors to SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUP SHUTUP and eat a piece of chicken, a single stalk of broccoli with a corn tortilla (and one other thing) for $3 (and this Orange Nightmare also wants to demolish the West Wing too??)...and I’m shocked to admit that this News Nation klutz is actually right about the inflation rate of 2.7% (last I checked), but I can tell you that our grocery bill has jumped overall by about 15-20 percent...and once more, the Capitol switchboard number to protest funding our bunch of criminals is 202-224-3121...(NSFW/H – Jesse uses some bad language, but given our desperate times, I don’t have a problem with that)...



...and Thom Hartmann tells us about Jerome Powell fighting back against Mango Mussolini trying to force Powell out of his job as Federal Reserve chairman...and I know I mentioned this before, but ’25 was the worst year for job creation since two-thousand-freaking-three, after the dot com bubble burst as Thom says...and I’m pretty sure Thom means we’ve lost about 129K jobs per month, but I admit that I need to look into that some more...



...and Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report tells us that the Tangerine Toddler is pushing this country to the brink of collapse, which we're all living through and can plainly observe for ourselves...OF COUURRRSSE Our Tin Pot Dictator Wannabe is going after “sanctuary cities,” which actually obey the rule of law and won’t let someone from our criminal administration say “I’m profiling you, so you have to come with me” without producing a warrant to show cause for detaining someone (I get PO’ed at the national Dem party for a lot, and one of my gripes is their ABSOLUTE, UTTER FAILURE to fight back on Repug BS dealing with this in particular)...I also need to read up on Cascadia, it seems; didn’t know there was a western regional movement against our government, but it makes sense...and yeah, throwing flash bangs into a vehicle with six kids and the driver THAT WAS ONLY TRYING TO GET THE HELL AWAY AND WASN’T PART OF A PROTEST, and the kids had to be taken to the hospital – probably stirs what passes for the manhood of Baby Goebbels...and I think Figueredo is exactly right to say in essence that, if you’re a Democrat running for office and you’re NOT calling for the total abolition of ICE (we can reconstitute it some other way later...I had some thoughts on that a few days ago FWIW), then don’t even bother to ask for anyone to vote for you...and I know I recently trashed Ford vehicles here, and I think any automaker whose vehicles are being used by ICE should be sounding the alarm in protest along with refusing to supply vehicles to our renegade regime altogether...the fact that these ICE monsters use the murder of Renee Good to try and make the rest of us scared is even more of a reason why we should resist, Pee Wee German’s bleatings on Fix Noise notwithstanding...I know this video is depressing beyond belief, but I also think we need to look the monster square in the face...(NSFW/H)...

...and in a related item...OMFG Carville, just SFTU! When was the last time you actually won an election? 30 freaking years ago??!! - more on abolishing ICE is here...
...and for MLK day, I think it's appropriate to revisit this speech from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Barratt Middle School in Philadelphia on October 26. 1967, with the them of “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?"....



Update 1: An important note is here (here here, and here also).

...and this tune is apropos for the holiday also.



Update 2: And oh yeah, there's this...
Update 3: Well said (also this).