Tag: Donald Trump

Phone it in Friday LXXX: Leavitt to Trump

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Today’s post is old news by now, but, dang, Karoline Leavitt, President Trump’s new Press Secretary, really impressed me.  She is razor sharp and fast—a world of difference from the diversity hire we had under the last president.  Turns out that being a black lesbian doesn’t automatically qualify you to field questions from reporters.

What I also appreciate about Leavitt is that she’s not just some blonde bimbo.  Yes, she’s easy on the eyes, but she’s conventionally attractive, not some kind of bombshell, which is what we usually see in conservative media (the regrettable influence of Fox News).  Instead, she has the brains needed to provide thorough, feisty press briefings.

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Open Mic Adventures CXV: “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains”

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The Sunday before the Inauguration I cheekily proposed to my pastor and our deacon that we should sing “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains” for our morning congregational hymn in honor of Trump’s then-upcoming Inauguration.  I had practiced the piece a bit Saturday evening, but with a pretty gnarly bout of sinus drainage, I found the high notes hard to hit.

Instead of singing the piece—a very old missionary tune by composer Lowell Mason, with words by Reginald Heber—either on my own or in church, I played it a few times as a bit of instrumental prelude music.

The melody for the piece is interesting, with a few suspensions and some unusual timing, like the long half-note pickup at the beginning and midway through the piece.

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SubscribeStar Saturday: Professional Useless People

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Americans are not accustomed to monarchy, nor should we be; we’re not a land built for hereditary rule the way Europe is.  We might be the children of great monarchies, but we are republicans (with a lower-case “r”) at heart.

That said, it’s been extremely gratifying to see a Republican (with a capital “R”) flinging pens and issuing executive decrees with bold resoluteness.  Donald Trump has accomplished more of the conservative agenda in a workweek than the vast conservative apparatus has achieved in fifty years.

Granted, executive orders are fragile, as they should be.  They’re only as endurable for as long as the issuing president and/or his like-minded successors can maintain them, or get a recalcitrant Congress to pass an actual law (fat chance).

There are also limits to what they can do.  Executive orders are not royal decrees—as much I’d like for them to be while my guy is in office—but they do have the force of law.  Essentially, executive orders are instructions to the federal bureaucracy on how it is to enforce the laws Congress has passed.

The problem is that as Congress has delegated more authority to the executive branch’s bureaucracy, the more power those executive orders contain.  Most presidents have largely left their bureaucracies to run themselves, in part because those bureaucracies are so elaborate, no single man can understand—or control—them.  That lack of control became scarily apparent during the Obama years, and continued to hound President Trump during his first time.

President Obama wielded executive orders like a tyrant, due in part to his famously poor relationship with Congress—even when Democrats controlled it!  Joe Biden—or, more likely, Joe Biden’s many handlers and puppeteers—used executive orders to weaponize the federal bureaucracy, entrenching all manner of Leftist pipe dreams into the functioning of the government and the execution of its laws.

President Trump has undone most of Biden’s legacy with the stroke of a pen.  Even realizing that the real challenges of passing substantive legislation through Congress rests on the horizon, it is incredibly exciting and energizing to see President Trump fulfill one promise after the next, including enacting policies that are guaranteed to scare off huge chunks of the bloated, entitled, infantilized federal workforce, what I call the “professional useless people.”

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River of Tear

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Trump is in office, and what a glorious start it has been.  It seems like finally—finally!—something is going to be done about illegal immigration.

Pictures and videos circulated yesterday of a chubby Mexican woman shedding crocodile tears upon realizing that the “punch-for-a-free-green-card” app the Biden administration had been running was no longer functioning, and all hearings for entry into the country via the app had been stopped.  It was glorious:

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I’m not normally one to gloat about human pain and suffering—I do understand why people are desperate to get to our awesome country and away from their pitiful hellholes.  But we can’t and shouldn’t take everyone in, and it seems like the majority of Americans have finally come around to that perspective.

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Daybreak in America: Trump’s Inauguration, MLK Day, and a New Hope

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Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in America, and I typically write a retrospective post this day as a way to give myself a day off from blogging as well as work.  However, today is even more important, as it is Inauguration Day.

I cannot help but note—with a great deal of mildly vindictive relish—that the Inauguration of GEOTUS Donaldus Magnus falls upon a holiday that, let’s be honest, has become something of a high holy day of identity politics and progressive radicalism.  MLK was a courageous man—the sordid details of his tawdry personal life notwithstanding—and a martyr to the cause of racial justice, but the idea that he was the “aw, shucks” racial harmonialist that is often depicted is a fairly outdated idea.  King was moving towards more progressive, overtly racialist politics as the civil rights movement moved from its early, legitimate gains to become a grift for race hustlers; King was trying to stay relevant in an era when black nationalism and political violence were en vogue, and his brand of nonviolent resistance was losing its appeal.

But King and Trump are not so different in one important way:  both suffered real oppression—politically and physically—to achieve goals that fundamentally shifted American history.

King was fighting against an entrenched system of segregation that was, frankly, already living on borrowed time.  That said, a dying system will fight with all its might, just as a sick animal will lash out unpredictably, especially when cornered.  Trump, similarly, faces a sclerotic system that is well past its prime, but which has fought him tooth and nail.

What is rather remarkable in both cases is that, once real resistance to the system was applied, the respective systems collapsed relatively quickly.  Look at how the tech bros suddenly became friendly puppy dogs following the assassination attempt on Trump.  Once it became clear that the king would not be beheaded, they quickly rolled onto their backs, presented their soft bellies, and curled up to Trump like a golden retriever.

Even the usual outcries from the Left and mainstream media have been muted.  There is a general sense that we are entering a new era, and all the hysteria of the past nine years is exhausted.

As a rare treat to my non-paying readers, I’m going to share with you the entire text of Saturday’s post as it appears on my SubscribeStar page, “A New Hope is Dawning.”  It is a bit of a contrived comparison between Trump and the original Star Wars trilogy, and I often loathe ham-fisted comparisons between popular film franchises and contemporary politics (and as much as I love Star Wars, the moralizing of the original trilogy is rather fascile), but I think the post captures something of the triumphs, tragedies, and comebacks of the Trumpian Age.

With that, here is 18 January 2025’s “A New Hope Dawning”:

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SubscribeStar Saturday: A New Hope is Dawning

The Portly Politico10 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Several Internet memesters and commentators have drawn parallels between Trump’s rise, fall, and return to the original Star Wars trilogy:  his first term was A New Hope (1977); his stolen re-election bid was The Empire Strikes Back (1980); and his triumphant return (in just two days!) is Return of the Jedi (1983).

I’m not one to reduce all of human experience and history to pop culture touchstones—it drives me crazy when people reduce their entire understanding of the world to Harry Potter references—but I think the comparison is apt here.  Trump won election in 2016 against all odds, taking on an Establishment that at first dismissed him as a political sideshow (myself included), then came to fear him.  Much like the scrappy group of Rebel X-wing fighters blowing up the massive Death Star—a symbol of the Establishment’s massive, overwhelming power and reach—Trump and his allies blew up the Clinton regime, to the point that the juggernaut of the Clinton machine was utterly destroyed.

2020 saw the Establishment wise up, pulling out every crooked tactic at their disposal to assure Trump would not see a second term.  Just as Lando Calrissian betrayed our heroes to Darth Vader to save his own skin, many fair-weather Trump supporters abandoned him in his hour of need, and even supported lesser “alternatives” in a morally compromised bid for relevance.  This era would last well into the 2024 Republican primaries.

Then came 5 November 2024, the best Guy Fawkes Day in modern history.  It was The Return of the Jedi, with Trump boldly marching directly into the wicked, venal, degenerate palace of the Establishment to free the J-6 political prisoners—and America—just as Luke strode confidently into Jabba’s Palace to confront the lugubrious crime lord over the capture of Han Solo.

We’re at the beginning of that flick now.  The momentum is on Trump’s side.  He’s already redeemed the fallen Tech Bros, just as Luke led his father to redemption.  More machine than men, the tech oligarchs have fallen dutifully behind Trump.

Now:  can they destroy the Emperor?

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TBT^4: Resist the Black Pill

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What a difference a year makes!  Trump is back—and America with him.  What a time to be alive!

It is, perhaps, a good reminder that the vagaries of the American election cycle are too unpredictable and short-term for us to pin our hopes and dreams on any one election.  I’d argue, however, that this year’s presidential election is the exception.  It was, in many ways, the culmination of many years of struggle and torment, even pre-dating the first Trump administration.

Regardless, it’s worth remembering that things are often darkest before the dawn.  And it is morning in America, baby!

With that, here is “TBT^2: Resist the Black Pill“:

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Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVII: GEOTUS

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America is back, baby—and it’s going to be better than ever!  2024 feels like 2016, but this time the majority of sane Americans realized Trump is not some reckless blowhard but is, instead, the man in the arena willing to fight for his country—even when he risked death.  Trump 

Lord, please Bless and Protect President Trump!

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

  1. Lazy Sunday – APR Pieces
  2. Lazy Sunday II – Lincoln Posts
  3. Lazy Sunday III – Historical Moments
  4. Lazy Sunday IV – Christianity
  5. Lazy Sunday V – Progressivism, Part I
  6. Lazy Sunday VI – Progressivism, Part II
  7. Lazy Sunday VII – Deep State
  8. Lazy Sunday VIII – Conservatism
  9. Lazy Sunday IX – Economics, Part I
  10. Lazy Sunday X – Economics, Part II
  11. Lazy Sunday XI – Walls
  12. Lazy Sunday XII – Space
  13. Lazy Sunday XIII – Immigration
  14. Lazy Sunday XIV – Gay Stuff
  15. Lazy Sunday XV – Work
  16. Lazy Sunday XVI – #MAGAWeek2018
  17. Lazy Sunday XVII – #MAGAWeek2019
  18. Lazy Sunday XVIII – SubscribeStar Posts
  19. Lazy Sunday XIX – Music
  20. Lazy Sunday XX – The Laziest Sunday
  21. Lazy Sunday XXI – Travel
  22. Lazy Sunday XXII – Reading
  23. Lazy Sunday XXIII – Richard Weaver
  24. Lazy Sunday XXIV – Education
  25. Lazy Sunday XXV – Techno-Weirdos
  26. Lazy Sunday XXVI – Small Town Living
  27. Lazy Sunday XXVII – Bric-a-Brac
  28. Lazy Sunday XXVIII – World History
  29. Lazy Sunday XXIX – The New Criterion
  30. Lazy Sunday XXX – Trump, Part I
  31. Lazy Sunday XXXI – Trump, Part II
  32. Lazy Sunday XXXII – Festivals
  33. Lazy Sunday XXXIII – Virtue Signalling
  34. Lazy Sunday XXXIV – The Desperate Search for Meaning Series
  35. Lazy Sunday XXXV – Corporate Grind
  36. Lazy Sunday XXXVI – Best of the Reblogs, Part I
  37. Lazy Sunday XXXVII – Best of the Reblogs, Part II
  38. Lazy Sunday XXXVIII – Best of the Reblogs, Part III
  39. Lazy Sunday XXXIX – A Very Dokken Christmas Series
  40. Lazy Sunday XL – Christmas Carols
  41. Lazy Sunday XLI – Food
  42. Lazy Sunday XLII – 2019’s Top Five Posts
  43. Lazy Sunday XLIII – Music, Part II: More Music
  44. Lazy Sunday XLIV – SubscribeStar Saturday Posts, Part II: The Search for More Money
  45. Lazy Sunday XLV – Techno-Weirdos II
  46. Lazy Sunday XLVI – Man Time
  47. Lazy Sunday XLVII – Winning
  48. Lazy Sunday XLVIII – Culture
  49. Lazy Sunday XLIX – Family
  50. Lazy Sunday L – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  51. Lazy Sunday LI – Just for Fun
  52. Lazy Sunday LII – Democratic Candidates, Part I
  53. Lazy Sunday LIII – Democratic Candidates, Part II
  54. Lazy Sunday LIV – Coronavirus
  55. Lazy Sunday LV – Animals
  56. Lazy Sunday LVI – Movies
  57. Lazy Sunday LVII – Christianity, Part II
  58. Lazy Sunday LVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap
  59. Lazy Sunday LIX – The God Pill Series
  60. Lazy Sunday LX – Music, Part II: Gigging
  61. Lazy Sunday LXI – The Tuck
  62. Lazy Sunday LXII – The South
  63. Lazy Sunday LXIII – Holidays
  64. Lazy Sunday LXIV – Grab Bag
  65. Lazy Sunday LXV – Rioting
  66. Lazy Sunday LXVI – Video Games
  67. Lazy Sunday LXVII – Phone it in Fridays, Part I
  68. Lazy Sunday LXVIII – Phone it in Fridays, Part II
  69. Lazy Sunday LXIX – Phone it in Fridays, Part III
  70. Lazy Sunday LXX – Phone it in Friday, Part IV
  71. Lazy Sunday LXXI – Road Trips
  72. Lazy Sunday LXXII – Forgotten Posts, Volume I
  73. Lazy Sunday LXXIII – Forgotten Posts, Volume II
  74. Lazy Sunday LXXIV – Forgotten Posts, Volume III
  75. Lazy Sunday LXXV – Forgotten Posts, Volume IV
  76. Lazy Sunday LXXVI – Forgotten Posts, Volume V
  77. Lazy Sunday LXXVII – Rural America
  78. Lazy Sunday LXXVIII – Space, Part II
  79. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – SCOTUS
  80. Lazy Sunday LXXX – Big Ideas
  81. Lazy Sunday LXXXI – Education, Part II
  82. Lazy Sunday LXXXII – Universal Studios
  83. Lazy Sunday LXXXIII – The Mountains
  84. Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks
  85. Lazy Sunday LXXXV – Elections
  86. Lazy Sunday LXXXVI – Questions, Part I
  87. Lazy Sunday LXXXVII – Questions, Part II
  88. Lazy Sunday LXXXVIII – Questions, Part III
  89. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – 100 Week Review
  90. Lazy Sunday XC – Questions, Part IV
  91. Lazy Sunday XCI – Questions, Part V
  92. Lazy Sunday XCII – Christmas
  93. Lazy Sunday XCIII – 2020’s Top Five Posts
  94. Lazy Sunday XCIV – My Favorite Things
  95. Lazy Sunday XCV – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  96. Lazy Sunday XCVI – More Movies: Movie Reviews, Part I
  97. Lazy Sunday XCVII – More Movies II: Movie Reviews, Part II
  98. Lazy Sunday XCVIII – More Movies III: Movie Reviews, Part III
  99. Lazy Sunday XCIX – Romantic Music
  100. Lazy Sunday C – Valentine’s Day
  101. Lazy Sunday CI – Obituaries, Part I
  102. Lazy Sunday CII – Obituaries, Part II
  103. Lazy Sunday CIII – Begging
  104. Lazy Sunday CIV – Time
  105. Lazy Sunday CV – Grab Bag II
  106. Lazy Sunday CVI – Adventures
  107. Lazy Sunday CVII – Easter
  108. Lazy Sunday CVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2021 Recap
  109. Lazy Sunday CIX – Pillow Talk
  110. Lazy Sunday CX – Inspector Gerard Reviews
  111. Lazy Sunday CXI – Bric-a-Brac II
  112. Lazy Sunday CXII – Responsibility
  113. Lazy Sunday CXIII – Short Stories
  114. Lazy Sunday CXIV – More Movies IV: Movie Reviews, Part IV
  115. Lazy Sunday CXV – Memorable Mondays
  116. Lazy Sunday CXVI – Delays
  117. Lazy Sunday CXVII – More Movies V – Movie Reviews, Part V
  118. Lazy Sunday CXVIII – More Movies VI – Movie Reviews, Part VI
  119. Lazy Sunday CXIX – Summer Camps
  120. Lazy Sunday CXX – Animals, Part II
  121. Lazy Sunday CXXI – MAGAWeek2021 Posts
  122. Lazy Sunday CXXII – MAGAWeek2020 Posts
  123. Lazy Sunday CXXIII – Murphy
  124. Lazy Sunday CXXIV – Bible Posts
  125. Lazy Sunday CXXV – More Movies VII – Movie Reviews, Part VII
  126. Lazy Sunday CXXVI – Joy, Part I
  127. Lazy Sunday CXXVII – Joy, Part II – Music
  128. Lazy Sunday CXXVIII – Civilization
  129. Lazy Sunday CXXIX – Friends, Part I
  130. Lazy Sunday CXXX – Friends, Part II
  131. Lazy Sunday CXXXI – Friends, Part III
  132. Lazy Sunday CXXXII – Milestones
  133. Lazy Sunday CXXXIII – Inspector Gerard
  134. Lazy Sunday CXXXIV – Friends, Part IV
  135. Lazy Sunday CXXXV – More Movies VIII – Movie Reviews, Part VIII
  136. Lazy Sunday CXXXVI – More Movies IX – Movie Reviews, Part IX
  137. Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks
  138. Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII – Friends, Part V
  139. Lazy Sunday CXXXIX – More Movies, Part X – Movie Reviews, Part X
  140. Lazy Sunday CXL – More Movies, Part XI – Movie Reviews, Part XI
  141. Lazy Sunday CXLI – Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)
  142. Lazy Sunday CXLII – More Movies, Part XII – Movie Reviews, Part XII
  143. Lazy Sunday CXLIII – More Movies, Part XIII – Movie Reviews, Part XIII
  144. Lazy Sunday CXLIV – More Christmas Carols
  145. Lazy Sunday CXLV – Christmas Cheer
  146. Lazy Sunday CXLVI – 2021’s Top Five Posts
  147. Lazy Sunday CXLVII – More Movies, Part XIV – Movie Reviews, Part XIV
  148. Lazy Sunday CXLVIII – The Gemini Sonnets #1 and #2
  149. Lazy Sunday CXLIX – The Gemini Sonnets #3 and #4
  150. Lazy Sunday CL – The Gemini Sonnets #5 and #6
  151. Lazy Sunday CLI – More Movies, Part XV – Movies Reviews, Part XV
  152. Lazy Sunday CLII – Romance
  153. Lazy Sunday CLIII – Behind the Songs, Part I
  154. Lazy Sunday CLIV – Behind the Songs, Part II
  155. Lazy Sunday CLV – Péchés d’âge moyen Posts
  156. Lazy Sunday CLVI – More Son of Sonnet
  157. Lazy Sunday CLVII – Ponty’s Posts, Part I
  158. Lazy Sunday CLVIII – Ponty’s Posts, Part II
  159. Lazy Sunday CLIX – Scrambie Eggs
  160. Lazy Sunday CLX: Fine Arts Festival
  161. Lazy Sunday CLXI: Easter II
  162. Lazy Sunday CLXII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap 2022
  163. Lazy Sunday CLXIII: Friends, Part VI
  164. Lazy Sunday CLXIV: Friends, Part VII
  165. Lazy Sunday CLXV: Friends, Part VIII
  166. Lazy Sunday CLXVI: Friends, Part IX
  167. Lazy Sunday CLXVII: Friends, Part X
  168. Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: More Movies, Part XVI: Movie Reviews, Part XVI
  169. Lazy Sunday CLXIX: More Movies, Part XVII: Movie Reviews, Part XVII
  170. Lazy Sunday CLXX: More Movies, Part XVIII: Movie Reviews, Part XVIII
  171. Lazy Sunday CLXXI: Frederick Ingram, Part I
  172. Lazy Sunday CLXXII: Frederick Ingram, Part II
  173. Lazy Sunday CLXXIII: MAGAWeek2022
  174. Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: More Movies, Part XIX: Movie Reviews, Part XIX
  175. Lazy Sunday CLXXV: More Movies, Part XX: Movie Reviews, Part XX
  176. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: More Movies, Part XXI: Movie Reviews, Part XXI
  177. Lazy Sunday CLXXVII: School, Part I
  178. Lazy Sunday CLXXVIII: School, Part II
  179. Lazy Sunday CLXXIX: More Movies, Part XXII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part I
  180. Lazy Sunday CLXXX: More Movies, Part XXIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part I
  181. Lazy Sunday CLXXXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II
  182. Lazy Sunday CLXXXII: More Movies, Part XXV: Portly’s Worst Films, Part II
  183. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIII: More Movies, Part XXVII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part III
  184. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIV: More Movies, Part XXVIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part III
  185. Lazy Sunday CLXXXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films
  186. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVI: More Movies, Part XXX: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part I
  187. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVII: More Movies, Part XXXI: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part II
  188. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks
  189. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical
  190. Lazy Sunday CXC: Cozy Time
  191. Lazy Sunday CXCI: Veterans Day Posts
  192. Lazy Sunday CXCII: Myersvision, Part I
  193. Lazy Sunday CXCIII: Thanksgiving Week Posts
  194. Lazy Sunday CXCIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I
  195. Lazy Sunday CXCV: Solo Cover EP, Part II
  196. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: 2022’s Top Three
  197. Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Review[s] of A Christmas Carol (1951)
  198. Lazy Sunday CXCVIII: The Worst of 2022
  199. Lazy Sunday CXCIX: More Movies XXXII: Portly’s Best Films, Part I
  200. Lazy Sunday CC: More Movies XXXIII: Ponty’s Best Films, Part I
  201. Lazy Sunday CCI: More Movies XXXIV: Portly’s Best Films, Part II
  202. Lazy Sunday CCII: More Movies XXXV: Ponty’s Best Films, Part II
  203. Lazy Sunday CCIII: P​é​ch​é​s d​’​â​ge moyen Picks
  204. Lazy Sunday CCIV: Arizonan Sojourn, Part I
  205. Lazy Sunday CCV: Portly’s Best Films, Part III
  206. Lazy Sunday CCVI: Ponty’s Best Films, Part III
  207. Lazy Sunday CCVII: The Beach
  208. Lazy Sunday CCVIII: Walks
  209. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Paintings
  210. Lazy Sunday CCX: Arizonan Sojourn, Part II
  211. Lazy Sunday CCXI: Hono[u]rable Mentions
  212. Lazy Sunday CCXII: Easter III
  213. Lazy Sunday CCXIII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2023
  214. Lazy Sunday CCXIV: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Picks
  215. Lazy Sunday CCXV: Myersvision, Part II
  216. Lazy Sunday CCXVI: Myersvision, Part III
  217. Lazy Sunday CCXVII: Myersvision, Part IV
  218. Lazy Sunday CCXVIII: Myersvision, Part V
  219. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Myersvision, Part VI
  220. Lazy Sunday CCXX: Myersvision, Part VII
  221. Lazy Sunday CCXXI: Intergalactic Nonsense
  222. Lazy Sunday CCXXII: Stories
  223. Lazy Sunday CCXXIII: Original Music, Part I
  224. Lazy Sunday CCXXIV: Original Music, Part II
  225. Lazy Sunday CCXXV: MAGAWeek2023 Posts
  226. Lazy Sunday CCXXVI: Greatest Hits Recap
  227. Lazy Sunday CCXXVII: Ponty Week 2023
  228. Lazy Sunday CCXXVIII: D.C., Part I
  229. Lazy Sunday CCXXIX: D.C., Part II
  230. Lazy Sunday CCXXX: TJC Deep Cuts
  231. Lazy Sunday CCXXXI: Weird Piano Music
  232. Lazy Sunday CCXXXII: Cinema
  233. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIII: Monarchy
  234. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIV: Sandwiches
  235. Lazy Sunday CCXXXV: Skeletons
  236. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVI: Myersvision, Part VIII
  237. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVII: Myersvision, Part IX
  238. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVIII: Festivals II
  239. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIX: Two Cryptid Tunes
  240. Lazy Sunday CCXL: Ghostly Doings
  241. Lazy Sunday CCXLI: Veterans Day Posts II
  242. Lazy Sunday CCXLII: Indie Musician Rants
  243. Lazy Sunday CCXLIII: 2023 Releases
  244. Lazy Sunday CCXLIV: Civilization Series
  245. Lazy Sunday CCXLV: Chapel Lessons, Part I
  246. Lazy Sunday CCXLVI: Chapel Lessons, Part II
  247. Lazy Sunday CCXLVII: Christmas Concert Reviews
  248. Lazy Sunday CCXLVIII: The Best of 2023
  249. Lazy Sunday CCXLIX: Best Ponty Posts of 2023
  250. Lazy Sunday CCL: Best Myersvision Posts of 2023
  251. Lazy Sunday CCLI: YouTube Roundup Roundup I
  252. Lazy Sunday CCLII: YouTube Roundup Roundup II
  253. Lazy Sunday CCLIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I
  254. Lazy Sunday CCLIV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II
  255. Lazy Sunday CCLV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III
  256. Lazy Sunday CCLVI: Days Off
  257. Lazy Sunday CCLVII: Murphy Vids, Part I
  258. Lazy Sunday CCLVIII: Food II
  259. Lazy Sunday CCLIX: Four Mages, Part I
  260. Lazy Sunday CCLX: Murphy Vids, Part II
  261. Lazy Sunday CCLXI: Ultra Laziness
  262. Lazy Sunday CCLXII: Mothers
  263. Lazy Sunday CCLXIII: Four Mages, Part II
  264. Lazy Sunday CCLXIV: End of School Events
  265. Lazy Sunday CCLXV: Disco Elysium Reviews
  266. Lazy Sunday CCLXVI: Political Stuff, Part I
  267. Lazy Sunday CCLXVII: Political Stuff, Part II
  268. Lazy Sunday CCLXVIII: Milestones II
  269. Lazy Sunday CCLXIX: Cryptid Epistemology Mini-Series
  270. Lazy Sunday CCLXX: TJC Deep Cuts II
  271. Lazy Sunday CCLXXI: Trump Stuff
  272. Lazy Sunday CCLXXII: Harris Stuff
  273. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIII: Heptadic Structure Tracks, Part I
  274. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIV: More Movies XXXVI: Movie Reviews, Part XXII: Reviews for Audre
  275. Lazy Sunday CCLXXV: Singing to Murphy
  276. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVI: Music Stuff
  277. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVII: Reviews of Video Games After Only Playing a Tiny Bit of Them
  278. Lazy Sunday CCLXXVIII: Composing Antiquity
  279. Lazy Sunday CCLXXIX: Ancient History
  280. Lazy Sunday CCLXXX: Mel Brooks Films
  281. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXI: Smooth Brass Tunes
  282. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXII: Spooky Season Prep
  283. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIII: Spooky Season Prep II
  284. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXIV: Spooky Season Prep III
  285. Lazy Sunday CCLXXXVI: Post-Spooky Season Blues

SubscribeStar Saturday: America is Back, Baby!

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

Can you feel it, dear reader, the paradoxical sense of relief and excitement cutting through the air?  The spirit of optimism and vigor percolating in the coffee pot of our body politic?  The determination to get it right—and Right—this time?

America is back, baby—and this time, it’s personal.

That’s always been my favorite tagline for cheesy action sequels, but with President Trump’s approaching second term, it’s particularly apt.  Trump II: The MAGAnificent Seven already broke ballot box records.  Trump is back—and, again, this time, it’s personal.

I know, I know—“we should temper our optimism,” I hear the wags—“scala-” and otherwise—clucking.  “Politicians have let us down before.”  In some ways, even Trump let us down before.

But we’re dealing with a man who has transformed, I would argue, fundamentally.  This Trump isn’t the Trump of 2016, surrounding himself with a coterie of sycophants and Washington insiders.  This Trump has survived an assassin’s bullet.  He’s survived political persecution and “criminal” prosecution, often at the hands of the very sycophants who claimed to love him.  Trump is a scorned groom who is about to set his duplicitous lover’s house on fire.

Instead of Washington insiders and Boomer Con darlings (I’m looking at your, John Bolton), Trump’s next administration is going to be the cool table in the cafeteria:  Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, RFK Jr., Vivek Ramaswamy, Joe Rogan, RFK’s cute running mate (Shanahan?), and a whole lot of other hyper-intelligent super geniuses and bros.  We’re about to witness the most masculine presidency since at least Theodore Roosevelt’s.

Buckle up, buttercup—it’s gonna be one wild and fun ride.

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