This is an open thread for all things related to Donald Trump's second administration, including Elon Musk, his non-elected co-leader, and Stephen Miller, who holds the keys to the non-governmental lawyers he hired to write all the memoranda and policy . I think everyone's head is spinning from the speed at which his (often bizarre) announcements come. Every time I've started writing one up, he's done something else that warrants public awareness and all go unfinished. But everyone who reads this site is well aware of Trump's actions, from announcing his intent for the U.S. to take over Gaza a ..read more

NBC and Peacock tonight are airing a three-hour special Saturday Night Live Show for its 50th birthday. It starts at 8:00 pm ET and 5:00 pm PT. "Its stars are calling the "greatest reunion show" in TV history." The "red carpet" starts at 7 pm ET. There will be a slew of SNL "alums".Paul McCartney is the musical guest, and Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter and others will perform. If you missed the “Ladies and Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music" show, it was pretty awesome. Here is a list of the musical guests it featured. It is still streaming on Peacock. Long live SNL, with special thanks to Lorne ..read more

Republicans are throwing easy questions at Robert Kennedy. I am watching the hearing. I guess I've never heard him speak before. He has a condition called spasmodic dysphona. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are putting him on the spot as to whether he'll forego taking a cut of lawsuits suing over vaccines, whether he believes medical care is a human right, whether he supports a right to choose. Caroline Kennedy and another relative of Kennedy's wrote scathing letters to Congress urging he not be confirmed ..read more

Trump 2 begins today. Elon Musk is so excited. He spoke to Trump supporters about optimism and how much they are going to accomplish. Melania is hiding her face with a black hat going for a mysterious look. Either that or she's hiding a black eye. The White House website has already been scrubbed of Biden. It's all Trump now. Trump seems to have delegated an enormous amount of power in Stephen Miller. Miller moved his family to Florida, got office space and chose his own group of lawyers to vet the Executive Orders he's been salivating for the past four years. He's keeping them tightly under w ..read more

On his final day of office, President Biden issued scores of pardons to family members, congresspersons (Liz Cheney), Anthony Faucci, and others who have been threatened or targeted by Donald Trump. Trump made a slew of threats before the election. He hasn't stopped. Biden today said: “My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” Biden said in a statement released as the inauguration ceremony was underway at the US Capitol. Biden ..read more

Los Angeles continues to burn. (WSJ, free link). I hope the insurance companies have enough money to pay all the homeowner and commercial claims. The damage is devastating: Economic losses from the blazes have been estimated at tens of billions of dollars. Tens of thousands of people were displaced, roughly 33,000 acres were aflame and more than 200,000 were without power across the wider Los Angeles area. More than 360,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders, said Robert Fenton, Jr., a regional administrator at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. [More...] President Joe Biden ..read more

Donald Trump was sentenced to an unconditional discharge in Manhattan today, having been convicted of 34 felonies. He avoids a fine, restitution, probation, home confinement and prison. But the felony convictions stand, unless overturned on appeal. This is the first time in American history that a man who has been convicted of a felony will occupy a desk in the oval office. In only ten days, the carnival barker almost half of Americans have come to hate will be back in that office. Remember who put him there -- the people who voted for him. Shorter version: The majority of American voters are ..read more

By a vote of 218 to 215, Republican Mike Johnson beat Democrat Hakim Jeffries for House Speaker. There was some drama as it took a phone call from Donald Trump to get two Republicans to change their vote. (One person voted "other"). I tuned in to hear the end of Jeffries' speech on You Tube. He gave a flattering welcome to Johnson. Johnson then spoke and was gracious back to Jeffries. . Here's how Johnson described their agenda: [More...] The American people want an America First policy. We will start by containing our nation’s borders. We’ll deport illegal aliens and criminal aliens and finis ..read more

Starting the New Year off with an inspirational article in the Guardian about Mexico City's mayor, Clara Brugada, and her successful strategy of building spaces called "Utopias" in the poorest and most outskirt neighborhoods in the city. Not only have the Utopias helped the poor, they have reduced crime, including murder. At Bloomberg Citylab, a conference on urban innovation in October, she told hundreds of fellow city leaders: “One of the great objectives we have is that the peripheries of Mexico City are no longer synonymous with inequality and abandonment but that the peripheries are the ..read more

Happy New Year to all! It is going to be a rough ride as long as Donald Trump has a desk in the oval office. But he doesn't affect everything. My interests have moved well beyond Donald Trump. In 2025, I'll be focusing more on news and cultural topics I find interesting or curious from outside the U.S. [More...] I spent far more hours this past year reading news and watching international TV than that produced in this country. Since I am still practicing law, and don't expect that to change in 2025, I may be more of an "armchair" traveler than a real-life one this year. Which is why comments ..read more