Rearranging Deck Chairs 🧊 😱 ✡️🌻😱 👿 🧊  

ICE 🧊 and Mirrors:  Don’t be fooled.  Trump’s concern about the executions of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis is all about optics, polling, and the midterms. Despite achieving his promise to shut down the southern border, a recent Reuters/IPSOS poll has his overall approval at 38% with 59% believing that his ICE tactics have gone too far.  Trump hasn’t ended or even ratcheted down the Homeland Security invasion of Minneapolis, rather he’s trying to deescalate, as in change the tone of the press coverage that he doesn’t like.  Rounding up anyone and anyone who, based chiefly on color or language rather than criminality, appears to be an undesirable foreigner remains his priority, he’s just rearranged his deck chairs.  Gregory Bovino, who as US Border Patrol Commander at large, had been running the ill-fated Minneapolis adventure in ugliness,  has been sent back to his previous post in California. He hasn’t been fired and an administration mouthpiece denies The Atlantic’s report that he will soon “retire.” Bovino has been replaced by Border Czar Tom Homan. Homan, who is best known these days for the $50,000 of payola he allegedly stashed in a CAVA bag.  Homan, who is more presentable than Bovino mostly because Bovino gives off icky Nazi/Miller vibes, has 30 years of experience serving in various border control roles. During the Obama administration his plan to separate children from their parents as a deterrent was rejected as a step too far.  That plan was subsequently embraced by the Trump team until all those pictures of kids in cages went viral.  Despite calls from a crowd, that now includes several Republican Senators including Tillis and Murkowski, for her to step down, Ice Barbie Kristi Noem and her illegitimate puppet master, Corey Lewandowski are still in place as is Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s do whatever it takes, even if that involves deporting citizens and kids, as long as you make your daily quota strategy. Everyone’s blaming Bovino, a convenient scapegoat because he really did engage in violent overreach and brag about doing so on his social media account which has now been temporarily frozen by his overlords.  Noem is also blaming Miller for crafting the talking points that she says he told to say in the aftermath of the Pretti shooting. According to Axios, those lies included calling VA nurse Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who "tried to assassinate” federal law enforcement which came on top of Bovino’s remarks that Pretti, who apparently was shot by two rather than just one of Bovino’s thugs, was out to do maximum damage. For his part Miller is blaming Bovino’s CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) for providing him with misinformation about the shooting.  While heading out to Iowa for another one of his “the economy is great even though its not” speeches, Trump who had temporarily backed off calling out Pretti, once again badmouthed him harping on the fact that he was carrying a gun though he’s softened on Good because her father voted for him. All of this would be funny to watch, including Trump pissing off all his Second Amendment supporters and pleading with people to go to see Melania’s documentary, were it not that two people are dead, many others including children have had and will likely continue to have their lives uprooted, and Trump is only one year into a four-year term.               

Temperatures Rising (Metaphorically only):  Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Chris Madel, a Minneapolis attorney who provided legal support to the ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good, ended his campaign to be the state’s Republican candidate. He called the recent immigration enforcement operation in his state an "unmitigated disaster" while also criticizing the rounding up of people based on their color and said that he couldn’t look his daughters in the eyes if he continued running.  Senator Amy Klobuchar who has filed preliminary paperwork to be the Democratic candidate, has put her announcement on hold given current events, which makes me wonder if there is still a path for Governor Walz to run again given that he’s looking better every day compared to the Republicans trying to unseat him 🤷‍♀️.  A man threw an unknown but stinky liquid at Minneapolis Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a townhall last night, he’s been apprehended as has the man who punched Florida’s Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost in the fact while calling for him to be deported at an event in Park City, Utah. Meantime, Trump who last night asserted that Omar must have orchestrated the assault, says the DOJ is investigating her over her increase in net worth, kind of the pot calling the kettle black. Omar attributes her new wealth to her newish husband’s business ventures.  The Biden administration had previously looked into her, but nothing came of that investigation.   Alexander Vindman, not to be confused with his twin brother Virginia Congressman Eugene Vindman, is running for the Florida Senate seat currently occupied by Ashley Moody who was appointed to replace Marco Rubio when he was appointed Secretary of State and lots of other things.   

More 💩:  We are once again barreling to a partial closedown.  Senate Democrats want funding for Homeland Security removed from the funding package that the House has already passed and say, or at the least, are threatening to hold up the whole package if it isn’t.  The off ramp, if there is one, could involve putting some restrictions on how Homeland Security operates however, Democrats don’t believe that those restrictions will accomplish anything given Trump thinks and acts like he is king. Any changes in the funding legislation would require House sign off but Speaker Mike Johnson, who appears to have entered witness protection to avoid commenting on the events in Minneapolis, and his crew are on recess and wouldn’t be available for a re-vote before the January 30 deadline. LI Democrat Tom Suozzi who voted for the package now says he regrets his vote and Laura Gillen, who also voted for it and who is also from swingy Long Island, has joined the majority of Democrats calling for Noem’s impeachment.  In other funding news, major cuts to FEMA were scheduled to go into place before last weekend’s storms but were temporarily put on hold because cutting emergency services going into a storm was a bad look even for ICE Barbie.  Notably, Noem has been sitting on funding relief due to a number of states, those owed the most include red states Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, so even without FEMA cuts, disaster areas are suffering.  Health and Human Services is also doing the now you see it, now you don’t dance.  Last week, after notifying thousands of organizations across the country that their substance use recovery and mental health grants were being terminated, the cuts were rescinded.  At least until after the midterms, because polls.

The body of Ran Gvili, the last remaining Israeli hostage is now back in Israel. May his memory be a blessing.