OrangeVerse (LXVII): WHCA Part 2

Are you ready for more poetry? Let's pick up with another section of the FOTUS at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

It's about the One Big Beautiful Ballroom Activities, or OBBBA, which we know is one of the most very favorite FOTUS topics, right up there with the Arc de Trump, and painting the Reflection Pool/Pond/Lake 'American Flag Blue' and using 23.75 carat gold on the four bronze statues, and painting the granite of Executive Office Building one of several different white options, because everyone paints granite right?

The news isn't getting any better, but at least the poetry isn't getting any worse... I mean, the bar is on the ground already. 

The Great Room of China

I just visited China

They have this magnificent room,

The Great Room.

They call it The Great Room.

It's a great room

but what we have is gonna blow,

there won't be anything like it,

It's gonna be fantastic.

And with all of the things that are

going along with it

for safety and security

of future presidents.

You know, I'm only gonna be

using it for about six months,

assuming we finish it right on time.

Upstairs, Downstairs

I get to use it. Somebody said,

"He's building it for himself."

I'm building it for the future.

I'm not build, like, I'll use it.

Now, had it not gone down six or seven stories,

then, in that case, I would have been able

to get a couple of years out of it.

But that was far more complex,

what we did downstairs

than what we do upstairs so,

uh, we're very proud of it.

That is gonna be amazing.

Talk is Cheap

And I think I was just telling, uh,

the whole group sitting at the table,

we were talking about it.

I said, "I think, you know, it's

White House Correspondents, so I

don't see any reason why you

wouldn't be able to use that.

It's gonna be

very large and

very beautiful and 

very safe and

that's what you need."

Fetterman the Betterman

So I was thrilled

to see that after witnessing

the attack, even Democrat Senator 

John Fetterman

told his fellow Democrats to drop the

Trump Derangement Syndrome

and build the White House ballroom,

but it's much more than that.

Czech, Please

It's something that you're gonna use.

I predict that you're gonna end up using it

and, uh, a lot of people are gonna end up using it.

They're gonna be as safe as you can possibly be.

But despite everything that happened

at the previous dinner

and all of the dangers involved,

I'm told that this is still

the hottest ticket in town, this ticket

to get in tonight, because it's

a smaller room,

it's a beautiful room,

it's a luxury room.

See those beautiful chandeliers?

I can tell you everything

about them if you'd like to know.

[Laughter]

A Beautiful Capital

See that beautiful capital above?

See the beautiful capital?

See the, everything, the brass.

Uh, those chandeliers are great.

I, I'm looking at them saying,

"I wonder if I could --"

You know, I sold this building.

And, uh, they're doing a nice job, 

but they're nice people.

But I'll tell you, I'm looking at them saying,

"I wonder if I could walk out with those chandeliers"

because you can't buy them.

They're very special.

 I won't tell you the fact.

I won't mention that

they're Czech crystal,

because I'd like to say

everything's made here,

but they are Czech crystal.

[Laughter]

I'm Floored

And they are beautiful.

And the Waldorf people are

doing a really nice job.

We're proud of them,

actually, because, you know,

when I left town,

I was angry.

I was a little bit angry.

I was offered a nice price.

I said, "I'm getting out of that place."

And then I said, "Let's make a comeback."

And, uh, but I was very proud of this building.

This building was hot.

Remember the lobby floor?

82,000 feet.

For those in the

real estate business,

82,000 feet.

That's a major,

that's a major floor.

 That thing was packed

 every single night.

It was packed mostly Republicans,

I would say, but it was

 packed every single night.

It almost brings back memories.

What a Feeling!

But, uh, I left town and,

uh, I have just had nothing

but good experiences. And

this might be the best

experience of all, having all of these

incredible people in this room.

It's a great, it's a great feeling,

frankly. It's a great feeling.

But tonight's event, thank you.

Thank you. But tonight's event

is even crazier than the last time.

A Hot Lotta Money

It's so successful that I've

been informed by CBS News's

David Ellison, 

who's gonna do a fantastic job.

He's the owner.

 He's the owner.

 He bought it,

spent a lot of money,

and he's gonna make,

I think, fantastic changes

and keep some of the

great stuff going.

But the next year,

they're going to call it

the Trump White House

Correspondents' (Dinner).

He told me that.

 And I like that very much.

We're gonna change the name of it, okay?

Well, it's gonna be so hot,

just like our country is hot.

We are hot, by the way. But to be honest,

it's just about the only way

that they're gonna ever get me back here.

You're gonna have to change the name of the dinner.

Hey Bobby? What's For Dinner?

But how's that one going?

Not too good. I hope

that everyone finally got to enjoy

their entire very delicious

beef tenderloins, very special beef.

And I want you all to know

that Bobby Kennedy,

who's right here, personally

ran over the cow in his car.

[Laughter]

Boom. 

And he cut it up and

he brought it here for you to eat

tonight, so it's very fresh.

And Bobby also suggested

an appetizer featuring

his favorite cut of

male raccoon

roadkill.

[Laughter]

But we drew the line at that,

Cheryl. We said, "No, we're

not gonna do that." We're not doing that.

We love Bobby. I'll tell you.

He's a piece of work.

 You think it's, it is fun,

but he is a very different

kind of a person,

I will tell you.

[Laughter]

What a Feeling

But he has what it takes

 and he's smart.

And he loves 

the country.

And he 

wants people

to be made 

to feel good.

Do you agree

with that, Bobby?

 He wants people

to feel good.

And, uh, he's

doing a fantastic job.

Thank you, Bobby.

Thank you.

We can joke

all we want,

but thank you.

Quick Takes (v75): Treat Everyone the Same

According to an article from one of my local news stations, Onondaga County, where I live, has received a renewal of a New York State Department of Health grant to help educate residents on the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise.

I'm fine with that; as the article notes, CDC data from 2023 indicates "around 37% of the county's population is obese and around 9-10% have diabetes."   Further, 

The northeastern and southwestern parts of Syracuse both have the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the county. They also have the highest rates of physical inactivity.

And, 2022 data shows that around 4% of county residents don't have health insurance, so they're likely not getting the health care and education they'd typically get from a primary care physician. 

Taken together, my area is ripe for this kind of program, and hopefully the money will be spent efficiently and effectively, helping move the dial a bit. 

So what's the post about? Not the grant, but the comments from people inside and outside our community that belittle and denigrate others. Here's a taste:

Talk about throwing good money after bad, ridiculous waste. No amount of money is going to change the food choices of the obese population.

We could do a lot better if we did not allow people to use EBT on fast food, junk foods, soda, etc. A physical should have to be done. People who smoke should not be allowed EBT services.

Put the people that are on EBT etc.. Put them on MREs and watch what happens.

Now, in the overall scheme of things, these aren't half as bad as many comments that typically accompany stories about SNAP recipients or others, some of whom are living at 400% of the federal poverty level and are still eligible for government benefits. 

Bur whenever I see a comment on an article like this, or on MAHA statemenrs from RFK Jr., or Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, or Dr. WhoEver suggesting that folks who get food assistance should have a physical before they can enroll, or not get benefits if they're obese or a smoker, and not be allowed to get soda or snacks, or a steak, or lobster, or even a stupid birthday cake for their child, I think,

OK, let's do this! If we want strict rules for people who receive benefits paid for by us taxpayers, let's be fair and apply them to everyone.

I hope you're aware it'll be a LONG list:

• all federal, state, and local government employees, and their families
• all elected officials, from dogcatchers to governors to senators to the president, and their families
• everyone who receives a government pension, and their families.
• everyone on Social Security, disability, unemployment, and workers' comp
• everyone on Medicare and Medicaid
• everyone in the military, and our veterans, and their families
• everyone who works at any company, college, university, K-12 school, hospital, nursing home, rehab center, charitable organization, foundation, institution, many day care providers, or any other entity that receives government money through a contract, grant, reimbursement program, or bailout, and their families, and
• dairy farmers, crop farmers, and livestock farmers, and their families

This means everyone in law enforcement and their families; your kids' favorite teachers, lunch ladies, coaches, and bus drivers, and their families... It also means anyone who receives a tax benefit, on things like OT, tips, Social Security, mortgage interest, car loan interest, home office expense, 'stuff teachers buy' expenses, mileage reimbursement, property tax write-off, and so on - and their families.

Have you found yourself on the list yet?

Before you know it, almost everyone would be unable to have junk food, soda, lobster, energy drinks, or anything like that without a medical exam, and, (if we channel our conspiracy theorist gremlins), without a household visit; an audit of grocery purchases; a review of corner store, dollar store, bodega and gas station surveillance footage; a complete rmedical history and health insurance claim review; and so on.

And, if you're approved, you'll have a food intake monitor, an exercise monitor, and 24-hour monitoring via cameras in your cupboards, fridge, freezer, and on your stove.

All this, just to make sure you're not abusing your benefits by eating the wrong food and not working out, or treating your child to a birthday cake on the taxpayer's dime.

Is that really what we want? Is this really who we are?

Breaking Fake News Update (v25)

 Fake News Broke on November 12, 2015!

Lordy, lordy, what do we have here? More breaking fake news, that's what! 

Yesterday, the FOTUS stepped away from honoring veterans by telling them and their families all kinds of crazy, irrelevant stuff (that's real news I'll address later), and called in to chat with the guys on the Pat McAfee Show. At that time, he expressed his dislike for the kickoff format the NFL has adopted. 

According to the linked article, the president said the change was "demeaning to football" and added that he doesn't think it makes things any safer. 

I mean you still have guys crashing into each other. And it’s the opposite of what the game… the ball is in the air and nobody is moving. It’s supposed to be when the ball is in the air, when the ball is played, you’re supposed to be moving.

My favorite part of his remarks? The part he left unsaid.

I don’t want to say what it reminds me of because I’ll get myself into big trouble but it is not football.

What on earth does it remind him of? Why will saying whatever that is get him in big trouble? If saying that avoiding STDs during the 70s was his personal Vietnam War, and saying he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose any votes, and cheating on all his wives didn't get him in trouble, what on earth is he worried about? 

I can't wait to hear the results of the MAHA leather helmet study - I'm dyeing to hear what the hairdressers comb up with! 

As always, when fake news breaks, I'll have it for you here!

Breaking Fake News Update (v19)

 Fake News Broke on September 9, 2025!

Are you scratching your head about this latest fake news? If yes, you're not alone! 

First, some background. As reported in a previous BFNU, the White House will be hosting a bigly UFC event as part of the slate of events planned around our nation's 250th birthday. Originally planned for July 4th, the Wall Street Journal reported (not fakely) that the event has been moved up a week, to late June. This was disappointing to the FOTUS, and others, who thought that a birthday beating happening on the actual birthday would be more impressive and more illustrative of our 'warrior mentality' and BDE, or whatever you call what Secretary of War Pete Hegseth thinks he exudes. 

Dana White, the UFC guy, said that things will still be hugely celebrated, with weigh-ins at the Lincoln Memorial, and maybe even warm-ups and a walk from the White House to the cage.

Now, what about Bessent?  Well, boy howdy, he's a fighter! From the linked NY Post article, Bessent got into a heated verbal altercation with Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency

Two sources say that Bessent, 63, threatened to beat up Pulte, 37, for allegedly trash-talking him to President Trump.

At one point, the Treasury chief lashed out at Pulte, saying: “Why the f— are you talking to the president about me? F— you.”

And, from The Hill, 

When the club’s co-owner sought to intervene, Bessent reportedly said to him, “It’s either me or him. … You tell me who’s getting the f‑‑‑ out of here.”

There was more, but you get the drift. It seems Bessent also hit Elon Musk, the Artful DOGEr.

I don't know about you, but that sounds exactly like the kind of nonsense folks are used to seeing in the lead-up to UFC battlers, so it seems like a perfect fit. 

And, I think it sets a high bar for RFK Jr, who's had a very combative few days in hearings on the hill. I'm sure he could rise to the occasion, and if not, maybe Hegseth will step up?

As always, if there's fake news breaking, we've got you covered!

Wondering on Wednesday 1/15/25

Ready... Set... Wonder!

The Once and Future President (OAFP) wants to make our government smaller. And that's just one reason why I can't help wondering whether we really need a new External Revenue Service to collect tariffs from foreign countries. Separate from the fact that tariffs aren't paid by foreign governments, they're paid by the importers of goods from foreign countries, who typically will pass them on to customers, we already have the good folks at Customs and Border Protection who are responsible for collecting money from foreign governments. Why do we need another team to do the same thing?

You might wonder, as I did, whether the creation of the new department is a suggestion that they're not doing a good job. That doesn't appear to be the case. Rather, the ERS is a way to help us all - even the donor class! Take a look at these comments from MAGAist Steve Bannon, speaking with Dasha Burns of Politico.

Tariffs paid for everything up until the early 20th century. But you wouldn't just look at tariffs, you look at everything about how you can charge fees essentially, whether that's on investment, whether that's on other things of access to this country. America's behind the golden door, OK? And this market is the most robust, lucrative market in the world, and we shouldn't just let people have access, we shouldn't let foreigners have access to this market and to the American people and American citizens for free.

And he said, the ERS, which he envisions fitting under the Treasury Department,  

should eventually take the “burden off people on Internal Revenue Services — no reason the American people, American corporations, even the donor class has to pay for everything.” (emphasis added)

I have to wonder how many Americans woke up this morning worried about the donor class?  

We know who they are, right? The tech billionaires, media billionaires, pharma billionaires, think tank billionaires, and so on. My first thought? Most of us regular folks are pretty sick of hearing about - and from - 'the donor class.' And it seems no one's more sick of one of them -Elon Musk, the First Buddy - than Bannon himself. 

What could be going wrong between these two, you're wondering? Bannon and other MAGA 'originalists' have been publicly bickering with Musk over the coveted H1-B visas, which give foreigners up to six years to work in the US in mostly high-paying jobs that could go to Americans, thinking that supporting those visas goes against the MAGA goal of reducing all immigration, and against America First principles.

Speaking with an Italian newspaper, Bannon proclaimed

I will get Elon Musk kicked out by the time (Trump's) inaugurated. He won’t have a blue pass with full access to the White House. He’ll be like everyone else.

He’s a truly evil person. Stopping him has become a personal issue for me. Before, since he’s put in so much money, I was prepared to tolerate it. Not anymore.

With only a handful of days til the inauguration, is anyone else wondering who'll be the last man standing? I'm guessing it's Musk, with whom the OAFP has sided on the visa issue, but we'll see... that 'co-president' stuff will get to Trump sooner than later, I think.

Sticking with the monied people a bit longer, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has submitted revised financial disclosure documents. It seems he was unaware that, when asked to state his income, the correct number to submit is the gross amount, not the net amount. And, I think he's also learned that any positive gross amount would be greater than zero. 

Now, you may be wondering why this matters. After all, there are many concerns with RFK's nomination and his positions on a whole host of issues, from the healthiest way to travel with and dispose of dead animals, to whether having part of his brain eaten by a worm is still detrimental to his mental function, or if it was only an issue during a divorce proceeding, to his wide-ranging controversial comments on vaccines and fluoridated water, to whether he would have been chosen by Trump at all if he weren't a Kennedy and a former Democrat, to why his family is so adamantly against him getting any government job... 

But here's the thing I'm wondering: now that we know he not only didn't work for free, as he has stated in interviews, but he was paid a whole lotta money from his anti-vax stuff, has anyone checked his tax returns? Did he report gross income then, or net? 

Speaking of health and stuff, the FDA today banned red dye 3 from food and beverages by January 2027, and from the medications we ingest by January 2028, due to its cancer risk. It's important to note that it was removed from cosmetics over thirty years ago. Think about that for a minute: we haven't been able to put it on our faces for almost half my lifetime, but we can continue eating, drinking, and ingesting it for at least another two years? I can't help wondering the logic of all of that, and I also have to wonder why Big Pharma gets a whole year longer than the food industry to protect us. 

And news is officially breaking today that there's a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, which if all goes well should get at least some of the American hostages released soon. President Biden noted in his remarks that members of the OAFP's administration were engaged in the talks that led to the agreement, which is what would normally be expected in a well-functioning government in transition between administrations. I wonder, as we wait for word of Israel's formal acceptance, if this will be the deal that finally brings this nightmare to an end. 

There was no wondering at all on whether the OAFP would take credit for the deal; of course, he did. Similarly, I didn't wonder for a second whether the reporters covering the White House would throw a 'credit' question into the mix; of course, they did. Why? Because they simply can't help making fools of themselves at times like this. 

And they wonder why people don't trust them. 

There's always more to wonder about than I can ever fit in a single post... drop a comment if there's something on your mind.