Trump Called Out In Church

Bravery of a bishop

A drawing for you. We have to mix fun in when we can.

Trump is signing all kinds of executive orders, as expected. Shock and awe for his base. He started signing last night at a rally in DC, sitting at a special desk on a stage in front of thousands and making a show of it. One of them, his desire to get rid of birthright citizenship for first generation children of immigrants, will have a tough time getting changed. Eighteen states and two cities are suing Trump over this order. “Presidents are powerful, but he is not a king. He cannot rewrite the Constitution with a stroke of the pen,” said New Jersey’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, who led one of the legal efforts with other attorneys general from Massachusets and California.

In an interview with former Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and New Yorker editor David Remnick, Blinken said that Trump’s pick for his position, Marco Rubio, is well versed in foreign policy and has a reasonable head on his shoulders. Sort of a sigh of relief there, although there is so much to worry about internationally.

Trump signed orders that removes the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.

Trump pardoned and commuted the sentences of a whole slew of bad actors in the January 6th assault on the Capitol. 1500 blanket pardons. He called them “hostages,” which they were not. It is an insult to real hostages, such as the ones who have recently been released by Hamas. He pardoned and comuted the sentences of non-violent and violent rioters. We knew this was coming, but it is hard to stomach.

The ex-sister-in-law of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pic for defense secretary, gave sworn testimony that was released today that Hegseth was so abusive to his ex-wife that she once “hid in a closet from him and had a safe word to call for help if she needed to get away from him.” She described him as “violent and erratic” and drank to the point of passing out on numerous ocassions. These allegations are similar to others that have been reported, which Hegseth repeatedly denies and calls “a smear campaign.” Is this the straw that breaks the camel’s back, will this end his nomination? It should. Hegseth denies the allegations and Republicans are trying to push him through to be confirmed.

.Trump, his family and JD Vance and his wife attended services at Washington’s National Cathedral this morning, a tradition for newly elected presidents. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde called Trump out to his face in her sermon. It’s fascinating to watch. Here it is on Instagram with a split screen of the Bishop on one side and her intended audience on the other. Here is what she said:

“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals — they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people — the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.”

Here it is on Youtube:

This is the kind of bravery we need from individuals.

Happy Tuesday, all. See you tomorrow. Thanks again for your support, as always. I really appreciate you being here. We will get through this.