RIP INGVAR KAMPRAD

Ingvar Kamprad was a Swedish business magnate. He was the founder of IKEA, a multinational retail company specializing in furniture in flat boxes.

Mission Accomplished

The bill to fund the federal government that looks after a 19 Trillion Dollar economy showed it's dysfunction when political infighting and posturing caused a shortfall of the required 60 votes by the deadline on Friday night.

Without delay, Trump accused the Democrats of putting politics above the interests of the American people, and the Democrats blamed him for rejecting bipartisan compromise proposals. And the Democrat insistence to staple a DACA requirement to the continued funding of the government.

Both teams claim they will keep talking, and the White House budget chief has expressed optimism that a resolution will be found before Monday.

When that doesn't happen, hundreds of thousands of federal workers face the prospect of no work and shuttered offices at the start of the working week.

The last government shutdown was in 2013, and lasted for 16 days. However, any thoughts that a shutdown will actually save taxpayers, it will, in fact, do the opposite. According to Senator Rand Paul - it actually cost taxpayers more. Here's an article, if you care.

The Torch Looks Dim

On the surface, it should have been a banner week for The Trump Administration. Despite unemployment being down, and Wal-Mart throwing around $1000 one-time checks to 20-year employees like Oprah (while simultaneously closing down a big pile of unprofitable Sams Clubs) -- Trump let his true colors fly at a meeting when he (allegedly) said, "Why do we want all these people from 'shithole countries' coming here?" 

I'm not totally sure why everyone is acting so surprised. I mean, other than the word SHIT being on every banner headline and on the local news. It's not the cursing that everyone's up in arms about. 

It's not that he lumped all of Africa as one single country. Although, he clearly failed geography.

Perhaps the bigger taboo is that you can bomb countries without wealth and have citizens with darker skin tones than those in Norway - and no one batts an eyelash. But you're not allowed to talk about those inequities.

Much has been written about The Donald's racist remarks. And let's all be clear, his remarks are clearly, and painfully racist. Yes, the torch dims for that reason, across the globe. But wait. There's more.

What's NOT getting any coverage, this week was The House of Representatives passed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. The short version is that Congress makes it legal for the NSA to search communications that mention a given target but was not sent or received by the target.

So, in other words, gives them carte blanch to spy on Americans without a warrant. Another huge blow to the 4th Amendment and privacy.

It still has to pass the Senate and Trump... but, which headline are you busy reading?

Bannon Down On His Luck

Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, was thrown out of Breitbart News.

He was tossed after picking a fight with The Donald. Especially after suggesting that the meeting between Donald Trump Jr., other Trump associates and a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower was “treasonous.”

“The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor — with no lawyers,” Bannon told Michael Wolff the new book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

“Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit, and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately,” Bannon added.

The fallout from Bannon’s comments was almost immediate.

Apparently, he's willing to write for food. 

Fire And Fury Hits Bookstands

Michael Wolff calls Trump the, 'least credible person who has ever walked on earth' in his new book, ‘Fire and Fury.’ 

His new book that gives a behind-the-scenes account Trump's White House, said he spoke with The Donald on-record. 

Wolff, added on NBC's "Today," said that everyone he spoke to for the book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," described the president the same way. 

"I will tell you the one description that everyone gave, everyone has in common: They all say he is like a child, and what they mean by that is, he has a need for immediate gratification. It is all about him." 

Wolff added that "100 percent of the people around" Trump, "senior advisers, family members, every single one of them, questions his intelligence and fitness for office."

Don't know why they didn't stick with the original title.

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch Plans to Retire

Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah (83), the longest-serving Senate Republican, announced on Tuesday he will retire at the end of the year. He's rebuffing Trump who pleaded with him to seek an eighth term. His leaving paves the way for Mitt Romney, a noted NeverTrumper, to run for Utah's chair.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, fellow Blasphemers!

Resolutions for this year - to get more than three readers to follow, like and share.