HereForTheParty
HereForTheParty's JournalSpeaker Johnson orders US Capitol flags raised to full height for Trump's inauguration
Source: Associated Press
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday ordered that flags at the U.S. Capitol be raised to their full height on Inauguration Day, pausing a 30-day flag-lowering order following the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
The Republican leader’s decision means that President-elect Donald Trump will not take the oath of office for his second term under a half-staff flag, a prospect that he had previously complained about.
It mirrors actions taken in recent days by some Republican governors who have announced that flags in their states would be raised on Inauguration Day to mark Trump’s second term.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee did so on Tuesday, noting in social media posts that U.S. flags across their states would be relowered on Jan. 21 in honor of Carter. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar notice on Monday.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/flags-half-staff-trump-inauguration-johnson-a0c99a017e74b880df1c2eadfce25c28
China mulls potential sale of TikTok US to Musk, Bloomberg News reports
Source: Reuters
Chinese officials are mulling a potential option that involves the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the company fails to fend off a potential ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Chinese officials prefer that TikTok remain under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, adding that the company is contesting the ban with an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Under one scenario, Musk's social media platform X would take control of TikTok U.S. and run the business together, the report said, adding that the Chinese officials have yet to reach any firm consensus about how to proceed and their deliberations are still preliminary.
TikTok declined to comment, while Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. X could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/technology/china-mulls-potential-sale-tiktok-us-musk-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-01-14/
I didn't think Trump could shock me anymore
He actually reposted this. He is Satan. Or a damn close relative.
It finally dawns on me who Elon reminds me of
Titanic villain Billy Zane! Personality matches too!
Loving BlueSky - Here are some favorites of mine
If you've thought about hopping on, these would be a great start.
https://go.bsky.app/3qCPzNJ
Includes...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The Lincoln Project
Mary L Trump
Mueller, She Wrote
Brian Tyler Cohen
George Takei
Mark Hamill
Rob Reiner Fan
Harry Sisson
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett
Palmer Report
Occupy Democrats
Ron Filipkowski
Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)
Robert Reich
George Conway
The Onion
House GOP puts Medicaid, ACA, climate measures on chopping block
The early list of potential spending offsets obtained by POLITICO includes changes to Medicare and ending Biden administration climate programs, along with slashing welfare and “reimagining” the Affordable Care Act.
Five people familiar with the document said those provisions are options to finance Republicans’ massive party-line reconciliation bill or other spending reform efforts, including those being spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
The people, granted anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations, said that the list originated from the House Budget Committee, chaired by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). Republicans involved in the reconciliation plans have been generally targeting the listed programs for several months, but internal GOP fights over trillions of dollars in potential cuts are just beginning.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/10/spending-cuts-house-gop-reconciliation-medicaid-00197541
Medicaid will be ravaged, imo.
WTF? DOGE is already dispatching agents across U.S. government
In recent days, aides with the nongovernmental “Department of Government Efficiency" tied to President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team have spoken with staffers at more than a dozen federal agencies, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media. The agencies include the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services, the people said.
At the same time, Musk and Ramaswamy have significantly stepped up hiring for their new entity, with more than 50 staffers already working out of the offices of SpaceX, Musk’s rocket-building company, in downtown Washington, two of the people said. DOGE aims to have a staff of close to 100 people in place by Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, they said.
While much about DOGE remains unclear — including who is paying the salaries of these staffers or exactly how DOGE representatives work with the formal transition team — the agency outreach reflects intensifying efforts by Musk and Ramaswamy to propose what they say will be “drastic” cuts to federal spending and regulations. Even as the scale of their project grows, Musk and Ramaswamy are encountering a slew of obstacles, including reluctance among congressional Republicans to approve deep budget cuts and a skeptical career civil service.
https://archive.ph/0wCQS#selection-673.0-754.0
GOP Rep. on CA wildfires : "If they want the money, then there should be consequences"
https://x.com/atrupar/status/1877740417610895673
Trump given unconditional discharge in hush money sentencing
It was the citizenry of this nation that recently decided that once again you should have the benefits of those protections which include, among other things, the supremacy clause and presidential immunity. It is through that lens and that reality that this court must determine a lawful sentence.
This court has determined that the only lawful sentence that permits entry of judgment of conviction, without encroaching on the highest office of the land is unconditional discharge.
Therefore, at this time, I impose that sentence to cover all 34 counts.
Merchan concluded with: “Sir, I wish you godspeed as you assume your second term in office.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2025/jan/10/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-sentencing-new-york-live-updates
Fox's Maria Bartiromo Asks If Migrants Can Be Blamed For LA Wildfires
TEPPER: No. In fact, I think there were videos of some arsonists creating new fires. So no, I don’t think that’s been ruled out at all and given the terror attacks that we saw on January 1, I mean, it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility that that’s happening. But you know, what’s happening right now — at least for me — a lack of mitigation standpoint prior to this has to do with the fact that California is effectively a one-party system. And when you’re operating under a one-party system, there’s no accountability from the other party to help you make sure that you’re doing what you should be doing.
BARTIROMO: That’s a great point.
TEPPER: Gross incompetence. Having priorities backwards. All that stuff contributed to what’s happening, not saying it caused it, but it certainly contributed.
BARTIROMO: But I’d like to know what kind of investigation is underway in terms of outside agitators. I mean, all of these people who have come into America and wanting to disrupt our lives. I would like to see an investigation to ensure that we know that there were no outside agitators starting these fires.
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/outside-agitators-foxs-maria-bartiromo-asks-if-migrants-can-be-blamed-for-la-wildfires/
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