Do You Feel Equal Yet?

Plus: Fauci preemptively pardoned, hostages released, Inauguration Day, and more...

Corpse President is leaving office today but he spent a chunk of Friday trying to get the Equal Rights Amendment enshrined in law before he goes. For what reason and with what legal authority, you ask? Aren't men and women mighty equal under the law in the year of our Lord 2025?

Today I'm affirming what I have long believed and what three-fourths of the states have ratified:

The 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex. pic.twitter.com/oZtS6Q89zG

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 17, 2025

It's fitting that Joe Biden goes out in this hubristic manner, because it's exactly how he's behaved for the duration of his single term. Note his phrasing—"I'm affirming what I have long believed"—as if the beliefs of the executive alone are enough to simply bring an entirely new constitutional amendment about!

As I wrote back in December, "The ERA is a zombie that won't die." It was first introduced a century ago, but it picked up steam in the 1970s. Congress passed a 1982 ratification deadline that the amendment fell short of, and several states subsequently withdrew their approval (while a few other states ratified during Donald Trump's first term).

This is textbook Biden: Pick a fairly marginal issue, then make a sweeping declaration contra the facts and the law (which can be so inconvenient sometimes!), and attempt to simply shove the issue through via a potent mix of progressive heart-flutteries and executive power. Somehow, half the country believes him to be a real democracy respecter; I'm not sure I'll ever get it. Speaking of…

"Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day," said Biden, referring to none other than Anthony Fauci, who oversaw the nation's disastrous COVID response, including the waves of lockdowns that shuttered businesses and forced children to stay at home. Public servants like Fauci (who worsened countless lives while lying to the public) "are the lifeblood of our democracy," said Biden, issuing a preemptive pardon out of fear that Fauci will be targeted by the incoming administration.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out!

What fresh hell awaits us on this Inauguration Day? Possibly a flurry of executive orders, including one to crack down on immigration, if incoming President Donald Trump gets his way.

"Trump's swearing-in ceremony will begin shortly before noon Eastern time in the Capitol Rotunda," reports The New York Times. "He is scheduled to ride to the building after meeting with Mr. Biden at the White House in the morning, a traditional nicety that Mr. Trump did not extend to Mr. Biden four years ago. After the swearing-in ceremony is complete and Mr. Trump has delivered his Inaugural Address, he will be ushered into the President's Room, which lies off the Senate chamber in the Capitol. There, he will complete a tradition of signing nominations that began in 1981. He could also begin to introduce major policy announcements."

Rumors have already circulated about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents getting in position to start cracking down on illegal immigrants in Chicago on Tuesday; it's possible new executive actions pertaining to border policy will also be announced today.

It's also possible that a new round of pardons will be announced for January 6 rioters. Some 1,600 people were prosecuted for their roles that day, with 240 still serving time, so a mass pardon could certainly be on Trump's mind.

And Emily Yoffe writes at The Free Press that Trump is expected to sign an executive order titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." The order "ends the practice of housing men in women's prisons and taxpayer funded 'transition' for male prisoners" and "ends the forced recitation of 'preferred pronouns'" in workplaces and schools that receive federal funding.

Trump has also made noises about how he wants to start imposing tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, like, yesterday; he says he'll call the agency that handles this the External Revenue Service. It's unclear whether that is a Day One issue or something to start later. The man better have a good time-management system in place because he has lofty ambitions.

Ceasefire update: "We don't know whether to prepare for a funeral or a festival," one relative of a soon-to-be-released hostage told the BBC. Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire, now in phase one.

This morning, in accordance with the agreement, Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners and Hamas released 3 Israeli hostages. In a few days, four more hostages taken on October 7 will be returned to Israel. In total, 33 of the remaining 100 hostages will be returned to their homes in Israel, and upwards of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners will be released, all over the course of six weeks.

"Israel has said the first stage of the deal is 'temporary' although they want all three stages to come into force, and it reserves the right to resume the war if it was to break down," adds the BBC. We'll see how this goes. Stay tuned.

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Scenes from New York: Everything old is new again, NYC edition.

On NYC disorder in the 1990s pic.twitter.com/NOSBODe8gH

— Santi Ruiz (@rSanti97) January 7, 2025

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QUICK HITS

• TikTok was offline, banned in the U.S., for all of 14 hours last night. Basically, the company that owns the social media app (ByteDance) has been forced by the U.S. government either to sell the app to an American company or to cease operating in the country. Donald Trump, who has flip-flopped on this issue, apparently intervened; since he takes office this morning, TikTok appears to be simply be risking possible consequences by choosing to go ahead and operate in this interim period.

• The Laken Riley Act, named after a 22-year-old nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant, looks set to pass the Senate (having already passed the House) and be signed into law today. ("If a law is named after a person, it's probably bad," writes Billy Binion at Reason.)
• Yes:

I think a big part of it is that Democrats had internalized this idea that they're the more popular party and institutional bias is why they lose power (the Senate structure, electoral college, SCOTUS, etc.). Them being the less popular party is a shock to them. pic.twitter.com/LXSYxtwRLX

— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) January 19, 2025

• This is the app many former TikTokers have been flocking to. Beware:

Every day I see something I am convinced I hallucinated. Today, this was that. pic.twitter.com/hTFxoxaUlk

— Marc Andreessen ???????? (@pmarca) January 19, 2025

• "'Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,' said Biden," writes Robby Soave in The New York Post. "The president did not name names, but it isn't difficult to surmise that he was referring to Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon executive chairman and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, among others. Each of these tech billionaires has subtly—or in Musk's case, not at all subtly—broken with the Democratic Party and progressive governance. Bezos declined to let his newspaper endorse Kamala Harris for president; Zuckerberg recently fired the fact-checkers who had served as de facto enforcers of liberal groupthink on Facebook and Instagram; and Musk is a full-throated backer and key adviser for President-elect Donald Trump. And that is what has earned these figures spots on Biden's enemies list."
• This is the way:

Digital hygiene. Cognitive security. Practice thinking. Retain your dopamine, keep ur critical thinking skills. Understand the cutting edge of propaganda. Retain the ability to deep read and deep learn. The only thing that cannot be seized is your mind

— ???????????????????????? ⏳ (@Grimezsz) January 19, 2025