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Trump Ups Room Rates for His "Second Inauguration"

Not all QAnon cultists have abandoned ship since the failed arrival of "Judgment Day" on January 6. Q's most fervent followers are now looking forward to Donald Trump being sworn in as the next president—on March 4, 2021(the official Inauguration Day until 1933). And apparently, Trump still believes he has a chance to return to power.

The evidence? According to Forbes, the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC has raised the prices of its room rentals three-fold for the period of March 3-4. No other DC hotels have raised their daily rates—let alone tripled them.

This "Trump Bump" also happened last month, when the Trump Empire jacked up the price of its rooms for January 5-6—coincidentally coinciding with the day that Trump Tweet-ordered his true believers to show up in Washington with the veiled promise: "Big protest in D.C. … Be there, will be wild!”

The cheapest rooms for the day of Trump's March 4 "inauguration" start at $8,000 a day.

It looks like Trump has not given up on his hopes to regain control of the White House—nor has he given up on schemes to enrich himself at the expense of the Always-Trumpers. 

At Least It Was Quick 

We now give thanks to the unlikely duo of Stormy Daniels and convicted Trump Fixer Michael Cohen for giving us "The Best Headline of the Week." 

Sex-worker and author Daniels recently appeared on Cohen's podcast (waggishly titled "Mea Culpa") to discuss the details of her illicit 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Stormy's steamy interview gave rise to the following, bold-faced summary: "Sex with Donald Trump: The Worst 90 Seconds of My Life." 

Disney's Robo-Trump Headed for the Dump? 

More bad news for Donald J: A new Left Action Petition is calling on the Disney organization to "impeach and remove" its mechanized replicant of Donald Trump in the "Hall of Presidents" exhibit at Florida's Walt Disney World Resort. The petition's argument is simple: "He's a national embarrassment, he attacked our democracy, and he's probably giving little kids nightmares." 

Some signatories have left scathing comments, including: "Throw his figure in the pirates' moat" and "Turn off his spotlight and his audio-animatronics." 

Despite not looking much like the disgraced ex-president, Disney's Robo-Trump actually proves to be more graceful and eloquent than the real deal. (See video.) As a tribute to the actual Trump, the Trump-bot's sub-sized hands frequently flash the "OK/WhitePower" salute while the words in his pre-recorded speech ring as hollow as the automaton's interior. (According to one White House insider, Trump wanted to revise the Disney-provided script so he could boast about his real estate empire and make "inaccurate claims" about his accomplishments.) 

From the beginning, the Trump-bot prompted so much derision from visitors that the Disney team had to install "large spikes" on the stage to protect the ire-provoking effigy. Now, with the Trumpster headed for the Dumpster, the future of the entire Hall of Presidents is in doubt. According to the Orlando Weekly, "unofficial outlets with reliable insider knowledge [are] reporting that Disney had hired Lin-Manuel Miranda and Weird Al Yankovic to work together on developing a new version of the attraction." 

Don't Call That Chicken a "Dumb Cluck" 

It turns out that the Humane Society has a lesser-known compatriot. The Maryland-based Humane League is mailing solicitations for funds to "end the abuse of animals raised for food." The League shames the practice of "factory farming" and insists that "No animal deserves to live without the sun ever touching their back or fresh air in their lungs." The League says it's time to abandon the practice of using creature-mocking slurs like "birdbrained" and "pigheaded." Instead, consider the following fascinating factoids: 

Chickens can see more colors than people, can differentiate between human faces, can plan for the future, can count to ten. 

Pigs can recognize their given names at just two weeks old, are smarter than dogs, can run up to 11 mph, can play simple video games, love belly rubs. 

Cows have a memory of three years, have best friends, love to play. 

Senator Duckworth 

One of my fave senators, Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), has long been a stalwart opponent of the Trump Regime. She recently sent out a fund-raising letter with the following message printed on the outside of the envelope: "I didn't defend our democracy in a warzone thousands of miles away just to watch it crumble at home." Unfortunately, these ringing words wound up sounding like bag of clanging frying pans because it raised the question: How did our invasion, destruction, and occupation of Iraq—based on the lie that Saddam Hussein possessed "weapons of mass destruction"—have anything to do with "defending our democracy"? 

Duckworth compounded the confusion with the first two sentences of her fund-raising pitch: 

"I proudly served in a war in Iraq that I didn't support. I did it because I believed in the values our nation was founded upon." 

So what is Duckworth saying? That she did something she believed was wrong because our nation values unquestioning obedience? It's hard to find anything to be "proud" of in this equation. 

Ten Black Women Who Ran for President 

I recently spotted a headline on The Daily Kos that raised an interesting challenge. It read: "Surely, you know the name of one Black woman who ran for president. What about the other 10?" 

(I could only name two.) 

Here's a link to the story (which contains videos of the contenders). 

A Stauch Defender of Women 

Have you heard of the Stauch Book Prize? The contest, begun in 2018 by British screenwriter Bridget Lawless, honors "thriller novels" that do not include acts of violence against women. That's rare: awarding a prize not for something that's IN a book but something that's NOT. 

The existence of such a prize is a sad and sobering indication of how rare it is to find a work of fiction that doesn't involve a woman at risk. Winners are announced on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. 

Some people still don't get the message, as the following note from Wikipedia illustrates: "Some writers object to the premise of the award, referring to it as a 'gag order' and accusing it of censorship." 

It's Time to Declare a Climate Emergency 

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer mused: "It might be a good idea for President Biden to call a climate emergency." That call has been answered. 

According to the climate action group 350.org, Senator Bernie Sanders has joined with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Earl Blumenauer to introduced a bill that would do just that. A climate emergency declaration would give President Biden the power to "reinstate a ban on crude oil exports, send emergency climate aid packages to states, and even redirect billions of dollars of funding toward the production of renewable energy." 

This action is overdue. Around the world, 38 other countries (including Japan, New Zealand, and members of the European Union) already have acted to declare "climate emergencies." 

Invoking the National Emergencies Act would grant Biden more than 100 powerful tools to address the crisis. 

"We don’t take invoking the National Emergencies Act lightly," 350.org cautions. "We know that it’s been used in the past to abuse power, support militarization, and more. We remember when Trump tried to use the Act to funnel money from the Pentagon to build his 'border wall.' But if there ever was an emergency, the climate crisis is it." 

350.org is inviting Bay Area residents to click here to send letters to Barbara Lee and Senators Feinstein and Padilla, urging them to support the new climate emergency bill. 

Alphabetical Equality 

I've always been bothered by online forms that present lists of nations that begin with the "United States" at the top. Even the most reputable and progressive organizations are guilty of perpetuating this tradition of "alphabetical exceptionalism." So I've been pleased to see increasing cases where the US is properly listed alphabetically and appears towards the back-end of all entries. Now there's an organization—Sanctions Kill—that not only lists the planet's nations alphabetically but also presents country names in the local script. The first four entries—Afghanistan, Aland Islands, Albania (Shqiperia), and Algeria—feature nation-names rendered in Afghan Persian and Arabic script. 

Franken Nails It 

In case you missed it, former Senator Al Franken recently posted a splendid article titled "Surprise! Surprise! Republicans Care About Deficits Again" in which he observed: "Republicans have taken renewed interest in deficits and our growing national debt. That’s because a Democrat is in the White House. When a Republican is president, deficits don’t matter." 

Franken offered some history: 

• The national debt nearly tripled under Ronald Reagan, who gave huge tax cuts favoring the top of the income ladder. (Thanks to Reagan's payroll tax hike, taxes actually went up for the bottom 40 percent.) 

• During George H.W. Bush’s "No New Taxes" term, the national debt rose by 54 percent. 

• Bill Clinton increased marginal tax rates for the affluent. Instead of triggering a recession—as the Republicans loudly warned—the US saw eight straight years of economic growth, a balanced budget, and a surplus. 

• George W. Bush promised tax breaks for the poor but actually privileged tax cuts for those at the top. Under George W., the national debt doubled, leading to worst economic performance since the Great Depression 

• Barack Obama famously lead the country out of a crushing recession in 2008. During Obama's two terms, the economy continued to recover and marked 76 straight months of economic growth. 

• Donald Trump—like Bush #1 and Bush #2—promised to cut taxes for low- and middle-income Americans. Once in office, he made sure that massive tax cuts went to the massively wealthy. 

• The Congressional Budget Office warned Trump's 2017 tax cuts would add another $1.9 trillion in debt and, under Trump's misleadership, the US entered the decade "last among developed nations in income" and first in wealth inequality. 

Warren's Wealth Tax 

When Elizabeth Warren was appointed to the Senate Finance Committee she promised her first bill would be to introduce a wealth tax—a centerpiece of her presidential run. Since the start of the COVID pandemic, US billionaires reportedly added $1 trillion to their collective wealth. Ten billionaires made enough money to pay for vaccinating everyone on the planet. Meanwhile, many Americans faced lost incomes and the risk of homelessness. The country's frayed social safety net quickly collapsed.  

Warren's bill would levy a two-cent tax on every dollar of individual wealth over $50 million—with an added tax on every dollar over $1 billion. The new funds would help to restore the social safety net. If you want to help make this happen you can sign a petition to Congress calling for a Wealth Tax. 

Introducing Founders Sing 

After being intentionally trashed by the prior “president” and his cronies, the environment now has a fighting chance under the Biden administration. This video features fierce environmental advocates Leonardo DiCaprio and Greta Thunberg. 

Smithereens has occasionally ended with video clips from a group of prolific political satirists who perform under the name, Founders Sing. Here is a snippet of background information from the Founders themselves. 

A Note from Founders Sing 

We’re thrilled that you’re here because it means that, like Founders Sing, you’re committed to justice, integrity, equality… and rockin’ this joint! 

Our video series sprang to life in response to the rise of Trump and Trumpism—i.e. rampant corruption, racism, misogyny, voter suppression, environmental destruction… all exacerbated by sheer incompetence. The number of lies spewed now measures in the tens of thousands. 

We’re gobsmacked that barely a single Republican has lifted a finger to reverse the trashing of our Constitution and willful destruction of our entire way of life. (Nice try, Mitt!) 

We invite you to support our important mission by visiting our donation page. Your generosity will enable us to crank out more high-quality videos until Democracy (or at least a modicum of sanity) is restored. 

With love and laughs, ~ Founders Sing