Well, damn.  I am sorry to hear that the Republicans backed down on their gut of the ethics committee, but speaking of gut, I was looking forward to writing about this:

Yep – and everybody in South Texas went ho-hum when he was accused of sexual harassment.

That’s the Republicans who want to forget about ethics.

Thank y’all for raising hell about it.

Thanks to Don A for the heads up.

Ole Bubba and I went to the big city of Sugar Land yesterday, where we encountered Jesus.  Or, maybe I should say Traveling Jesus.

At Highway 6 and 59 yesterday in front of us.

Okay, this leads to a philosophical question:  I know Jesus arose from the dead, but he went to heaven. Is he the only alive person in heaven? Does that make for some space/time continuum snags? And, I bet it baffles the hell out of all the dead people.

And then five minutes later we see this one.

If you can’t see it, under Golden Rule, it says, “Christ’s Commandment is Our Commitment.”

Do I get a contract in writing?

Okay, I know this is supposed to make me not afraid and bring me comfort.

It doesn’t. Not worth a damn.

UPDATE:  As Juanita Jean has already pointed out, Congressional Republicans reversed themselves on dismantling the Office of Congressional Ethics after withering criticism from everyone including Cheeto Jesus.  An embarrassing start to what promises to be an embarrassing Congressional session.

Oh, and BTW – Best Tweet of the Day:

Well, we now know how this is going to go.  In it’s first action of the new Congress, Republicans dismantled the independent Office of Congressional Ethics which was put in place after the Jack Abramoff scandal.  You remember Jack, don’t you?  He was the guy who confessed to multiple counts of corruption during the GWB administration leading to the conviction of 21 officials all the way up to the White House.  I guess we don’t need no oversight anymore, yes?

Cheeto Jesus hosted hundreds at his lair in South Florida for New Years.  During his remarks, he repeated the lie that he was going to build a wall and gave passing acknowledgement to the terrorist attack in Istanbul.  But the crowning moment was when he renewed his promise to repeal Obamacare which has brought healthcare to an estimated 20 million Americans.  His well healed guests cheered others’ suffering.  We are on edge of the new Dark Age.

Okay, I know this is shocking, shocking I tell you, but most Americans think Donald Trump is a doofus.

The good folks over at Gallup polls have done their duty and discovered that …

As Donald Trump prepares to take the presidential oath on Jan. 20, less than half of Americans are confident in his ability to handle an international crisis (46%), to use military force wisely (47%) or to prevent major scandals in his administration (44%). At least seven in 10 Americans were confident in Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton in these areas before they took office.

I gotta admit to you that I’m confused.  Since he got 46.1% of the vote in November, that means .1% of people have lost faith in him.  Where is their apology?

Compared to other Presidents?

So he’s starting in a hole.  Somebody let me know if he hits oil.

We’ve seen it before, so it’s easy to recognize for people who have studied history.  Yesterday, Robert Reich rang in the New Year on Facebook by posting the 15 warning signs of impending tyranny.  It sent cold chills up my spine.  Here it is in it’s entirety:

What are the 15 warning signs of impending tyranny? As tyrants take control of democracies, they typically:

1. Exaggerate their mandate to govern — claiming, for example, that they won an election by a landslide even after losing the popular vote.

2. Repeatedly claim massive voter fraud in the absence of any evidence, in order to restrict voting in subsequent elections.

3. Publicly criticize anyone who criticizes them, labeling them “enemies.”

4. Turn the public against journalists or media outlets that criticize them, calling them “deceitful” and “scum.”

5. Hold few if any press conferences, preferring to communicate with the public directly through mass rallies and unfiltered statements.

6. Tell the public big lies, causing them to doubt the truth and believe fictions that support the tyrants’ goals.

7. Blame economic stresses on immigrants or racial or religious minorities, and foment public bias and even violence against them.

8. Attribute acts of domestic violence to “enemies within,” and use such events as excuses to beef up internal security and limit civil liberties.

9. Threaten mass deportations, registries of religious minorities, and the banning of refugees.

10. Seek to eliminate or reduce the influence of competing centers of power, such as trade unions and opposition parties.

11. Appoint family members to high positions of authority.

12. Surround themselves with their own personal security force rather than a security detail accountable to the public.

13. Put generals and other military commanders into top civilian posts.

14. Make personal alliances with foreign dictators.

15. Draw no distinction between personal property and public property, profiteering from their public office.

Be warned. 20 days to go. And a Happy New Year.