Good morning, Mutts.  My pill caddy tells me it is a Monday, my Echo dot informs me that it is a whopping 20° F outside and I am here in my office nestled between two stadiums in Seattle.  Winter will be rather short this year, with the past two days and today being the coldest we will see.  From here on out it is pretty much 40 degree weather until Spring.

Today’s featured image is of the bronze sculpture commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday in Boston. However, a lot of folks are NOT feeling it. And that’s putting it mildly. The $10 million sculpture, titled “The Embrace,” was unveiled at a public ceremony in the Boston Commons on Friday, Jan. 13. The crowd cheered and applauded — until the sculpture was fully unveiled. Then the applause faded, as many in the crowd wondered aloud “What is it?”  Read more about this  at The Reporter.

I have three HVAC units to deal with today, so let’s get this ball rolling:

Headlines That Caught My Eye This Morning

Item 1:  ‘Ordained by God’: Trump’s legal problems galvanize Iowa evangelicals

Oh fer fuck’s sake, people, REALLY? Ordained by God?  Have evangelicals started taking peyote?  Dropping acid?

I can think of nothing even remotely ‘godly’ about Trump.  IF he shows up in a church, it is for a photo op.  He can’t even recite the most basic passage from the bible. About the ONLY thing that could remotely be considered biblical is the fact that Jesus chose to hang out with all the sinners of the world — and Trump would have been right up there with prostitutes and thieves.

Item 2:  “Liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps”

President Projection has spoken.

Item 3:  The unusual political vocabulary of Ron DeSantis

Mister Thesaurus.

Item 4:  Caucuses leave many Iowans out in the cold – and not just in bad weather

I don’t care who the candidate(s) are — there is no fucking way in hell you would catch me going out in sub-zero weather to vote for them.

Item 5:  Fears grow that Trump will use the military in ‘dictatorial ways’ if he returns to the White House

He tried to use the military in Seattle and Portland to quell the protests.  The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he was surrounded by people who were smarter than him.  But given the fact that both he and his legal team sincerely believe that a president IS above any and all laws, and unless Congress votes to remove him from office there is absolutely nothing stopping him from using the military to go after his political opponents — which is just about anyone who doesn’t stick their tongue up his ass while kissing it.

Item 6:  The wealth of the world’s five richest men more than doubled since 2020

Has YOUR income doubled since 2020?

Item 7:  The world could get its first trillionaire within 10 years, anti-poverty group Oxfam says

I sincerely believe that NO person or family should have more than $100 million in cash and/or assets at any given time.  Anything above that should be taxed at 100 percent and that money recirculated through the economy.  There is absolutely no reason you can give that would justify someone having more than $100 million.

Item 8:  The Businesses That Rescued America From Inflation, Recession, Lost Jobs

Contrary to the doom and gloom that most Republicans claim to have, the economy is actually doing quite well.  We are back to the pre-pandemic levels of inflation, and while prices are higher in comparison to 2019, they are back to the typical inflation of between 2-3% annually.  Our GDP is also doing quite well, and most everyone has seen a rise in their basic income.

Item 9:    Hamas releases chilling video of Israeli hostages including 26-year-old Noa Argamani whose abduction 100 days ago disgusted the world and warns that ‘tomorrow we will inform you of their fate’

I suspect that the hostages are the ONLY thing keeping Israel from almost nuking Gaza.

Item 10:  Baby raised with chimp ‘sister’ in sick study started acting like ape before tragic end

“Sick” doesn’t even come close to describing this.

Item 11:  He Warned of Nuclear Disaster in Ukraine. Then He Was Thrown in a Russian Jail and Tortured.

There is STILL the threat of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine.

Item 12:  Putin’s £260,000,000 spy plane ‘shot out of the sky’

He only has nine  er.. eight of these AWACs type planes left

What In The Hell Did I Just Watch?

Happy! – Netflix

Disgraced police detective Nick Sax lives as a social outcast, filling his days with heavy drinking and substance abuse, moonlighting as a hitman to feed his various habits. After having a massive cardiac arrest, Nick comes into contact with a small, blue, winged (animated) unicorn named Happy that apparently only he can see. Happy explains he is the imaginary friend of a little girl named Hailey, who has been kidnapped by a deranged man dressed as Santa Claus (“Very Bad Santa”). Happy reveals that Hailey is Nick’s estranged daughter and sought Nick’s aid, believing him to be the hero cop that Hailey envisioned him to be. Though skeptical at first, Nick reluctantly agrees and the two work to save Hailey. The events of their search slowly begin to reveal the existence of a massive, global conspiracy involving child trafficking, sex cults, aliens, ancient gods, and the apocalypse.

Music I found on the Rott Server

Today’s selection brought to you by the letter

“M“

Memes From the Meme Box

I receive dozens of memes in my Meme Box on a daily basis from people all over the landscape.  Some are political, some topical, but most are just everyday events with a little fun inserted.  My absolute favorite are just photos that will speak those thousand words clearly.