As curated by Matt Wuerker. Enjoy them HERE.

This isn’t the first time Trump has tried to rewrite history. Read Phil Rucker’s account HERE

The part about Trump being “persecuted” is particularly rich.

From the New Yorker. We are well on the way to a dictatorship. Read it HERE.

“SCUMP”:  I have been given to calling DJT Our Fake President, but I think a better nickname is needed.  I propose “SCUMP” .  He has revealed himself to be the most vile individual to occupy the Oval Office in our history and his behavior is worsening every day. His enablers  have created a monster who is actually threatening our way of life.  SCUMP has proclaimed himself to be “the chief law enforcement officer”  of the country.  He’s not. Every one of the criminals he’s pardoning are SCUMBAGS just like he is.   Dear God, only 8 1/2 months of this to go. 

 From CNN via Jake Tapper: “After weeks of House and Senate Republicans claiming, during the impeachment trial, that President Trump cares gravely about battling corruption, Trump this afternoon officially forgave crimes committed by powerful men who abused their office for personal gains, a continuation of the president’s post-acquittal campaign of punishing his enemies and rewarding his friends.” Media outlets that ignored this context missed the entire story…

And in the Nobody -Better -Tell-Me-No Bad News Dept,  Trump apparentty wants to go the rest of his term without  hearing unwelcome news.  Good luck with that one. The WAPO reports HERE.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Richard Grenell is basically an internet troll. He’s a loyalist to the President, and he is not qualified to hold this position even for a single day.” — Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island joins a chorus of criticism of Trump’s new choice for intelligence chief, Richard Grenell, who lives in LA and Palm Springs. Past stories, including in the Washington Blade, have detailed concern over Grenell’s “mean tweets” and “derogatory” comments on women which have delayed past confirmation hearings.  Ironically,  Grenell is one of the rare gay people appointed by SCUMP.  

From the WAPO: Mayor Pete on Rush Limbaugh’s comments: “Well, I love my husband. I’m faithful to my husband. On stage, we usually just go for a hug, but I love him very much. And I’m not going to take lectures on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh.”

LET”S FORGET POLITICS FOR AWHILE-  HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE  SEQUOIA PARK ZOO LATELY?  One of the perks of a $30 Zoo membership is that they mail you a nifty Annual Report. Did you  know that almost 100,000 visitors enjoyed the Zoo last year?  That the Zoo houses 163 animals of 60 species,  six of which are endangered?  Did you know that their recent additions include a Bush Dog from France, two Pygora goats, a spotted whistling duck, a Virginia opossum and a Western Screech Owl named Chilito.  You may have heard that the Zoo has joined the with  the  City of  Eureka, the Humboldt  Lodging Alliance,  the Eureka Lodging Alliance  and the Arcata Lodging Alliance to support funding for  new projects such as the eagerly awaited Redwood Canopy Walk,   which will enable you to walk in the treetops.   Come check out the Zoo!  $8 gets you in for a day,  but the way to go is really the  $30 annual membership and there are family memberships also.  See you at the Zoo!   http://www.sequoiaparkzoo.net/

As a Valentine’s Day read,  POLITICO   covered the Trump philosophy of love. Read it HERE.

as curated by Matt Wuerker. Enjoy them HERE.

From the Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group:

Well, this is a fine mess, Ollie.  Our Fake President has decided that it’s OK for him to harass and  terminate law-abiding Federal employees because they obeyed a LEGAL SUBPOENA. Eight and a half months of this BS ahead. 

Did you have a good Valentine’s Day? We went to the good old Ichiban in Eureka (can you remember what was in that building before it was the Ichiban?  I’m drawing a blank. ) They sat us at the very front table,  right in front of the reception desk, and their VERY loud and VERY shrill phone rang constantly with no one seeming to answer it.  It would ring four times,  then pause, then start ringing again.  Next time we’ll ask for a seat in back.  But the food was great, including a new kind of sushi I hadn’t had before, the Lemon Dragon.  I already want another. 

From FOX News:  CHRIS WALLACE asked SANDERS  on“FOX NEWS SUNDAY” about his socialist label: SANDERS: “In many respects we have a socialist society today, we have a huge budget, puts money into all areas. Now Donald Trump, before he was President, as a private business person, he received eight hundred million dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to build luxury housing in New York. Now, what does that mean, when government gives you eight hundred million dollars in tax breaks and subsidies?”

– Democratic senator Brian Schatz tweeted: “The DOJ itself appears to have been corrupted by a President who rewards his friends and punishes his enemies. Media should treat this like a potentially explosive abuse of power even if this takes more than ten seconds to explain…” (Twitter)

– Bloomberg on Trump-  “AND, PERHAPS, MOST NOTABLY, HE SLAGS TRUMP to no end. He tries to get under his skin, saying his wealth is phony. He calls him “Donald.” According to BLOOMBERG, “Donald Trump is the world’s biggest schoolyard bully, with no respect for civility, decency or the facts.” Trump’s insults “do not bother me,” Bloomberg said, and he talks about sending him back to Mar-a-Lago for good.

Spotted: Chief Justice John Roberts out for lunch with a large group at Tosca on Thursday. The venison looks good. The menu is HERE.

And regarding Barr- – EYE-OPENING QUOTE from Barr’s old boss at DOJ: “‘With Bill Barr, on an amazing number of occasions … you can be almost 100 percent certain that there’s something improper going on,’ said Donald Ayer, the former deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration.” POLITICO

As curated by Matt Wuerker. Enjoy them HERE.

LIFE IN ARCATA can be hard, as reported by my favorite paper, the Mad River Union. Check out this recent dispatch:

  “Jan 29, 2020-  A woman who had no identification couldn’t rent a motel room, so she gave some guy she didn’t know $75 to secure the room for her. The friendly stranger rented the room,  moved in  and then wouldn’t answer the door. ” It is noted that there was apparently NO sexual chemistry between the parties.

The Feb 3 issue of TIME contains an essay by the Prime Minister of Malaysia who is fully functioning and is NINETY-FOUR YEARS OLD. 94!!!! Compared to him, Bernie, Bloomie and Steyer are just kids! 94!

A FAKE ACQUITTAL FOR A FAKE PRESIDENT: and the American people appear to be onto the “hoax” to use one of OFP’s favorite terms. The Democratic-led House put on a creditable showing with WITNESSES but Moscow Mitch shut down the show, reducing the Senate’s presentation to a joke. 270-some days till the election. Meanwhile, Trump is repeating everything he says four or five times, as if he’s trying to convince himself. He and his buddy Rudy Giuliani are examples of septuagenarians who are NOT aging gracefully. Trump, it is said, rambles and repeats himself like the old drunk down at the end of the bar. Rudy, on the other hand, IS the old drunk down at the end of the bar.

FACT-CHECKING THE SOTU- from the WAPO. Read it HERE.

Nancy Pelosi: He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech,’ Pelosi told House Democrats, according to multiple sources in the room. ‘What we heard last night was a disgrace.'” POLITICO …

That’s right! You go, girl! This is going to be a long nine months.