Repealing the 22nd Amendment is a great idea, but not Republican Andy Ogles' (TN-5) idea of revising it to allow Trump a third term but not Clinton, Bush 43, nor Obama

 Constitutional amendment to allow Trump third term introduced in the House

Ogles' idea that Trump was denied the power inherent in two successive terms is an admission that the 22nd Amendment limits the power of the executive.

Is the Congress so limited? No.

Is the Judiciary so limited? No.

The 22nd Amendment is an unfair limitation on the power of the executive. 

That is why we have dueling tyrannies, one of the legislative, and one of the judicial.

The one has put us $36 trillion in debt because it has the power of the purse. The other has jammed a code down our throats from time to time because in Marbury vs. Madison the Supremes arrogated to themselves the final say on the meaning of the constitution.

The founders intended the three branches to be separate, contending, equal powers.

The 22nd Amendment prevents the executive from contending beyond two terms, and so we are condemned to focusing unnaturally on who will be president every four years, which has the ironic effect of exalting the presidency to the point that there is all this hubbub all the time about the imperial presidency when our real masters are others, a neat trick those masters work like mad to pull and pull and pull.

Term limit everybody, or term limit no one.

Ronald Reagan appointee blocks Trump's birthright citizenship executive order

It is good that warriors such as we meet in the struggle of life... or death.

 Federal district court judge temporarily blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order

... “Ample historical evidence shows that the children of non-resident aliens are subject to foreign powers — and, thus, are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and are not constitutionally entitled to birthright citizenship,” Rosenberg wrote.

Ultimately, the case is likely to be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Native Americans were not made citizens by the 14th Amendment of 1868. It took an act of Congress in 1924 to do that. 

It is good that this will be decided by the Supremes, maybe, once and for all, maybe.

S&P 500 new record high close: 6,118.71

 S&P 500 closes at a new record, Dow jumps 400 points as Trump pushes for low rates, oil: Live updates

The benchmark finished the day at 6,118.71, surpassing its prior all-time closing high of 6,090.27 recorded in early December.

Hegseth advances to a final vote with 51-49 vote to end debate, with Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voting against him

 Pete Hegseth’s nomination to lead the Pentagon clears a key hurdle in the Senate

I find myself in small company agreeing with two of the most liberal Republicans in the US Senate, but that's what's become of the men.

Amateur hour 2.0: Trump thinks he can tell the bond market what to do when not even the Fed can do that lol

Welcome to the party, pal.

 

yippee-ki-yay mofo

President Donald Trump says he’ll ‘demand that interest rates drop immediately’

Does this dope pay attention? Oh, that's right, he doesn't pay anyone.

Anyway, the Fed cut rates by a full point since the September meeting, and rates on bonds and notes soared anyway.

The Fed can't demand anything, but President Goofy Nuts pretends it can, and he can.

 

 

 

OK, she's right, good for her

 Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against Hegseth, first Republican to oppose a Trump Cabinet pick 

... senators have remained doubtful of his experience and abilities and the alleged behavior that could lead to reprimand or firing for military personnel he would now be expected to lead. ...

Eaton fire 91% contained, Palisades fire 68% contained, new Hughes wildfire blows up overnight to 2/3 the size of the Eaton

 The Hughes fire is north of LA, Eaton to the east, Palisades to the west.

New wildfire near Los Angeles explodes to 9,400 acres, forces evacuations

. . . The Eaton Fire that scorched 14,021 acres (57 square km) east of Los Angeles was 91% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed 23,448 acres (95 square km) on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 68% contained. . . .

Burnin' ring of fire.

Gold up to $2,759.83, close to record peak $2,790.15

 Spot gold added 0.6% to $2,759.83 per ounce as of 0941 GMT. The price hit its highest since Nov. 1 earlier in the session and is close to its record peak of $2,790.15 hit in October.

More.

Trump executive order reverses Biden's pause on new approvals of LNG projects

 It is little discussed, but Biden's pause on the new projects was based, in part, on the negative impact on prices paid by consumers because natural gas was being diverted to LNG exports. Reduced domestic supply has led to higher prices paid by consumers:

The current economic and environmental analyses DOE uses to underpin its LNG export authorizations are roughly five years old and no longer adequately account for considerations like potential energy cost increases for American consumers and manufacturers beyond current authorizations or the latest assessment of the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Natural gas diverted to export already reached 10% of production in 2022.

Reported here:

The president reversed the Biden administration’s pause on new liquefied natural gas export facilities. Trump directed the Energy secretary to start reviewing new LNG projects as quickly as possible.     

Natural gas prices have exploded by 210% since Trump was elected in November.

Irrational exuberance produces flatulence, recently floated meme coin $FARTCOIN lingers in the air at $1.8 billion market capitalization

Something smelly this way comes.

David Einhorn says we have reached the ‘Fartcoin’ stage of the market cycle

“Other than trading and speculation, it serves no other obvious purpose and fulfills no need that is not served elsewhere.”

A crypto token called “fartcoin” exploded in popularity as the re-election of Donald Trump unleashed a storm of animal spirits on Main Street. The meme coin is now edging towards a $2 billion market value, surpassing many U.S.-listed companies.

More meme coins have emerged since the inception of fartcoin. President Donald Trump launched $TRUMP, a meme coin built on the Solana platform. Its market cap over the weekend climbed past $14 billion. The coin at one point was down more than 20% over the past 24 hours, but it has since cut its losses to around 3%. Trump’s wife Melania also unveiled a coin.

 

 

Gold hits two-month high

There's funny money like $Trump and $Melania, and then there's the real thing. 

Spot gold climbed 0.7% to $2,726.75 per ounce, reaching its highest level since Nov. 6 and nearing the all-time high of $2,790.15 set in October.

More.

As if the pre-emptive pardons of Fauci, Milley, and the Jan 6 lynch mob weren't bad enough, Biden pardoned his own siblings and their families at the last second

 Meanwhile, earlier in December Biden's own Department of Justice warned Jan 6 "insurrectionists" that accepting a pardon from Trump would amount to a confession of guilt.

So Fauci, Milley, et alia are all ipso facto guilty.

CNBC story on Trump and Melania meme coins, introduced on Friday and Sunday, sheepishly mentions conflicts of interest

The Grifters, the sequel

 

The meme coins were introduced precisely to cash in on the inauguration euphoria.

Melania Trump launches cryptocurrency ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration

... The Melania token was trading at $11.16 at 10:48 a.m. London time on Monday, up more than 50%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. It has a market cap of $2.15 billion. ...

“Meme cryptocurrencies like these are prone to large fluctuations and we generally consider them as speculative assets,” he said. “The tokens released by Donald and Melania Trump appear to symbolize support for the digital currency sector. However, the introduction of these coins during the presidential inauguration raises concerns about potential conflicts of interest.” ...

Following the Sunday launch of the “Melania” token, the president-elect’s “Official Trump” coin briefly crashed as much as 40%, according to analysts at The Kobeissi Letter in a Sunday post on X.

Speaker Mike Johnson and Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Ricketts say Chicom's TikTok is toast

 

“The law is very precise, and the only way to extend that is if there is an actual deal in the works,” Johnson added. “I think President Trump is probably intrigued by all this and he likes to make deals, as you know. So we’re very hopeful that that can happen, and that 270 million American people who enjoy the platform can enjoy it, but enjoy it safely and not have their data being mined by our nation’s enemy.”

More.

I'm really looking forward to the Ukraine-Russia war ending on Monday, or maybe even Sunday

 Here are 11 things Trump has promised to carry out on Day 1 of his presidency

... One of Trump’s most audacious promises was that he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office — or even before.

“That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,” Trump said during a September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia. ...

Deficit spending 40% worse than a year ago, national debt climbs to $36 trillion

 

Senator Jack Reed, D-RI, West Point graduate, US Army Ranger, paratrooper 82nd Airborne, drops the hammer on Pete Hegseth in the opening, speaks for the America we once knew and loved

 

But the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, bluntly told Hegseth, “I do not believe that you are qualified to meet the overwhelming demands of this job.”

Reed said he finds the allegations against Hegseth “extremely alarming.”

“I vote in favor of all your predecessors, including those in the first Trump administration. Unfortunately, you lack the character and composure and competence to hold the position of Secretary of Defense,” Reed said.

More. 

Jack is a patriotic liberal, ticking almost every box, in the mold of George McGovern, a B-24 Liberator pilot during WWII who won the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Meanwhile, speaking of wholesale prices, you are paying $9+ a dozen for eggs in some places because producer prices averaged $4.62 in December

 That would be 75-cents for an egg that cost the producer about 19-cents.

I got a $1 off 18 eggs yesterday at a nearby health food store and paid $6.99, 39-cents each.

Why eggs are selling for over $9 a dozen in some places—and when prices are expected to drop

The biggest factor pushing up egg prices is a wave of avian flu, which began in early 2022 and led to the culling of millions of egg-laying hens. With demand remaining steady, the reduced supply has caused prices to rise.

This is the second time egg prices have surged since 2022, following a previous wave of avian flu that wiped out large numbers of egg-laying hens and caused supply shortages that year. Avian flu has wiped out over 100 million chickens since a major outbreak began in early 2022.

 

You would think chicken prices would go up, too, but I consistently get chicken thighs in bulk at Sam's for $1.38/lb, and have done so right through the pandemic.

And the rotisserie chicken remains $4.98, too.

We'll get December consumer prices tomorrow. Here's November's chart for eggs:

 

 

Ignore the expectations game, wholesale prices were up year over year 3.3% overall, and core prices up 3.5%

 Three consecutive months of increases measured year over year for overall producer prices, FIVE for core.

But the stock market cheerleaders always play it this way:

Inflation watch: Wholesale prices rose 0.2% in December, less than expected.

Yeah, only half of the people we expected to be destroyed were. Good news!

The charts:

 

California's prison inmates tasked with doing the job Governor Gavin Beavis Newsom won't do: Removing the timber and brush ahead of the wildfires but after it's too late

 Absolute lol.

Gavin Newsom faced a recall election, but survived to prove in this new case that he more than deserved it. Just incredible stuff there in California.

28 paragraphs in.

Los Angeles wildfire deaths rise to 24 as more fierce winds are forecast

Along with crews from other states and Mexico, hundreds of inmates from California’s prison system were also helping fight the fires. Nearly 950 prison firefighters were removing timber and brush ahead of the fires to slow their spread, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The practice is controversial as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work: $10.24 each day, with more for 24-hour shifts, according to the corrections department.