Wondering on Wednesday (v160)

And just like that, it's Wednesday again - time flies when you combine vacation with back to back holidays, I guess!

So, what are we wondering about this first Wednesday of the new year? Let's take a look.

The president decided again to abuse the trademark of Game of Thrones, putting an outdated, ridiculous poster the table at his cabinet meeting. I'm not sure how long it stayed on the table - he could have pulled it immediately after the press left the room. When he posted this on social media back in November, HBO noted they're prefer their trademark not be "misappropriated for political purposes."

So I'm wondering how a guy who IS a brand - nothing more, nothing less - would react if we all made posters that completely stole the Trump brand, mocked it up to meet our own designs, and then published them, maybe on billboards, or TV ads? Would he sit idly by? Oh wait: that would be unethical, so we wouldn't do that. Never mind.

What else is going on? A Romney family feud,  Elizabeth Warren grabs a beer, and a governor roars.
Former presidential candidate and, as of Thursday, freshman Senator Mitt Romney launched an attack on president Trump via an op-ed in the Washington Post. In it, he references thoughtless comments made by the president; that Trump's conduct "has not risen to the mantle of the office" and that he has a character "shortfall" -- all of which lead to American being diminished in the eyes of our allies and the rest of the world.

I wonder if Mitt considered what the reaction would be? I'm sure he expected attacks from Trump allies, but even his niece, GOP chair Ronna McDaniel, put politics above family, suggesting in a tweet that his attack on Trump was exactly what Democrats and the media wanted and that it was "disappointing and unproductive."

Moving across the aisle, what, I wonder, was Elizabeth Warren thinking, stepping away quickly during a live Q&A to grab a beer? Did she connect with the beer-drinking-white-guy, or maybe the craft beer set? Um, nope -- not with her choice: Michelob Ultra, the club soda of beers, she called it.

Her pandering was widely panned - no wondering there.

And finally tonight, sticking with actual or potential  2020 presidential candidates (Trump and Warren are in, Romney's considering alternatives or some such nonsense) there was a party at Ellis Island yesterday for the inauguration of NY's top Dems, including our Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo.

Even now, as he enters his third term, he's not a natural communicator like his father, three-term governor Mario Cuomo. Andrew always seems like he's trying too hard, no matter the venue. Last night, at several points during his speech, he was yelling at me, for Pete's sake. 

And I wondered, along with many other people watching, whether he was preparing for his entrance into the 2020 race?  I know, he's said several times he's not going to run, but then, Elizabeth Warren said the same thing in her campaign for reelection to the Senate. Most of them say they're not, until they say the are.

Time will tell.