Just for Skeets and Giggles (03.01.25)

I am without my treasured editor Kinnari this morning, as she is traveling back from a family trip to India. So please excuse in advance any typos, misspellings and name mix-ups, all of which I am prone to as my years advance and the number of dependents in my house grows.

Congratulations! We made it through the first full month of Trump 2.0. Only 47 more to go in this recrudescence!

To put it in pop cultural terms,

Narrator: The dinosaurs did get loose again. The dogesaurus was a particularly dangerous and ravenous threat.

So, we need to talk first about what happened yesterday in the White House with Trump and President Zelenskyy. Another movie reference may help here.

Come to think of it, Gibson and Trump have a lot in common.

The episode, which was an ambushed staged for the cameras, is really too shameful and horrific to fully digest on a weekend morning. So let’s have Secretary of State Marco Rubio set the general mood. This time, a TV reference:

If you don’t watch the show, here’s another way to put it:

Dictators around the world rejoiced at our complete 180 on democracy and the international world order.

The commentary from political writers was uniformly scathing.

Let’s just go ahead and do this now.

JD Vance pretty much played the part of attack dog for Trump.

If you don’t know the reference, google “JD Vance mother opioids” and you’ll get the picture.

Trump’s abandonment of our allies and friends wasn’t the only outrage from the Oval Office this week, of course. Trump also said he would (checks notes) sell citizenship to wealthy foreigners, presumably including Russian oligarchs, for $5 million each.

He also released an AI video depicting what Gaza would look like if redeveloped by the United States into (checks notes twice) the “Riviera of the Middle East.” But Trump posted it online without looking very closely at how the AI had trolled him and hard.

I’d say you can’t make this up, but he literally used AI to make this up.

The theme from the White House was “waste, fraud and abuse” and someone noticed something quite important.

The pin on Musk is a nice touch.

Speaking of whom, Musk was lurking more than ever around the White House. At points it got downright creepy!

Here it is zoomed in:

Musk even held court during a cabinet meeting. The scene brought to mind yet another film:

People noted that Trump appeared to be asleep at the meeting. Andy Borowitz FTW:

The “what did you accomplish last week” email that went out to millions of federal workers got a lot of press, and a lot of pushback from woke libs.

Given that it was Musk who pushed it, it was Musk who got the most pushback.

If you missed that last one with Elon and the astronauts, here were the exchanges:

I was unfamiliar with Senator Mark Kelly’s game. Slow. Clap.

Musk’s efforts to find “waste, fraud and abuse” continued to run aground, including a post heralding the discovery of “380 Microsoft 365 licenses with zero users.”

Giving a lot of this energy:

Musks is fast becoming the most hated man in America, even at his own companies.

Tesla sales cratered by 45 percent in January in Europe, thanks in part to Musk’s support of neo-Nazi parties. It would be a shame if that continued.

Where did things first go so very wrong with him?

Instead of running his companies, he’s tweeting ever more furiously, as those little dopamine hits from likes and shares just don’t go as far any more. Someone went and verified this:

Now it’s Musk v. The People of Earth:

There are many other horrible people in the administration of course. The new AG Pam Bondi was supposed to release the Epstein Files but she pulled a Bill Barr / Mueller Report on us.

There was also Patel, who will be weaponizing the FBI for use against Trump’s political opponents. Some senators tried to defend their decision to confirm him:

And scammers got started right away.

Trump denied any involvement in having the notorious Tate brothers, who were being held in Romania, come back to the U.S.

Even Gov. Ron DeSantis was mad about them coming to Florida. And for some MAGA folks the Tate brothers’ return was the last straw, though the logic of that is a bit off.

Then there was the new Deputy FBI Director named by Trump, right wing podcaster Dan Bongino. Here’s his genius on full display.

Can I just add, Kash and Dan are a matched set caught in the same headlights.

RFK Jr. reacted to the first reported death from measles by saying such outbreaks are “not unusual” (though we haven’t had a death from it in 10 years).

There is a correct term for them these days, I believe:

Let’s play fill in the Susan Collins gap:

Yes! It’s “concerned.” Susan Collins is very “concerned.” We can all rest easy and go home now.

Trump announced extreme anti-trans executive orders, which were quickly and thankfully blocked by the federal courts. But the whole thing really just feels like an odd fixation by the right.

Embattled New York City mayor Eric Adams compared himself to Jesus Christ because the world hasn’t seen enough megalomaniacal politicians.

We’ve nearly seen the last of the memes about renaming the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s a straggler from the Canadians, based on recent events:

And the Liugi Mangione case is starting to see some press.

Do you enjoy this collection each Saturday? I hope it’s a welcome break from all the scary and disturbing headlines. If my work brings you a bit of laughter each week, I already feel rewarded. If you’d like to add to that, become a paid subscriber to support my efforts!

Time for some doggos! This good boy a supermodel if I’ve ever seen one.

Every family needs great protector. This one’s a berry good one.

Here are more golden moments. Well, not everyone is a natural at this.

My own dog does a corgi butt wiggle rather than a series of these to go down stairs. Here’s a collection of alternative stairway methods. (Do not attempt at home.)

Warning: Cuteness factor high here. (If that Xcancel link won’t open, the original Twitter link is here.)

From the cute to the terribly destructive…

I saw the original of this classic clip long ago when it came out, but it’s the new plea that’s sending me. (Alternative Twitter link here if it won’t play.)

Back in the world of humans, there be monsters yet among us.

There was also this unsettling news, but the takedown was worth it.

And a random thought or two…

Also, JK Rowling went there. And met this digital sniper.

Them’s the breaks, JK.

Here’s a collection of people admitting to mispronouncing words and still feeling traumatized by it. Have any confession to make?

My sister Mimi sent me this clip of a little drummer boy and I wanted to share because it’s just kinda wow.

A PSA that not every word should be split for space.

I played Frogger when I was younger and this guy brought me back. Why was I nervous for him?! (If it won’t play, use this Twitter alternative link.)

I had to google this to be sure.

And this apparently is a real photo:

Speaking of nostalgia,

I’d never considered this before, but he is quite correct.

I really need to see this ring camera video.

Speaking of falling on your face in public, Joe Rogan probably thinks “The Boys” is about celebrating big bad superheroes like Homelander.

Meanwhile, over in weirdo central,

I did not have “Shrek is trans!” on my right wing crazy punch card.

I would totally watch this show:

And speaking of whatever happened to them…

Okay, that was a bit wrong.

On the subject of icons from bygone days, here’s a twist on a classic. (Alternative twitter link here.)

And let’s hear it generally for some best childhood moments. (If it glitches, alternative Twitter link here.)

So, here’s a test: Try not to think about fried chicken while watching this. Sound up!

I have two international dawg dad jokes for you this week. Here’s the first.

And here’s the second:

You’re welcome.

Have a great weekend! And remember, that what does not kill us mutates and tries again later. Recrudescence!

Jay