Frank Chow: Asian- American Political Pundit

 Last day of work for the year. Blogging will be sporadic or consistent, who knows? Depends on what vile and terrible things the Trump administration does. It has been quite a year, and I'm still not sure he'll make it through the entire term. One thing I know is we won't stop. That counts for something. Nothing pisses off authoritarians more than not submitting. So, no matter what, I'm here. Thanks for the support and for continuing to check in. Time to cuddle with the kiddos.  Here are your highlights: Trump likes killing people. Biden stopped the executions of 37 men; Trump wants to punish them .  US drops plans to deport Chinese whistleblower.   Is the DOJ breaking under pressure? More Epstein files drop . Trump was on Epstein's plane more than reported.  The Empty Suit . Kash Patel undermines the FBI.  The Tariffs hurt Bourbon . Canadians are not messing around.  Some cool news. An ancient Egyptian boat will be assembled in real time at the Grand ...

 Christmas is nearly here. Times are rough, but the girls will still have a lovely holiday. They're lucky to have a family that spoils them. Santa will make it after all. I'm sensing I'll be under the weather this holiday. I woke up with a cough, a dry throat, and a headache. 'Tis the season.  Here are your highlights:  No surprise here. The Epstein files were heavily redacted . Bondi must be held accountable.  Bari Weiss halts 60 Minutes report on deported men to El Salvador.  Great start to her likely short-term at the helm.  Flooding in Cali. Illinois has one of the highest concentrations of data centers. People are starting to notice that, nationwide, it is harmful to the environment .  Vice President JD Vance is a-okay with bigots. A Russian general was killed in a car bomb.  - Ukrainian special forces? Maybe.  I am Frank Chow, and I approved this message. 

We're almost at the end of the year. Still no Epstein files. Yes, today is supposed to be the release of the files. I don't think that's happening. As more pictures are released , there is hardly anything funnier than David Brooks being captured hanging out with Epstein. The guy who literally wrote a "don't bother me with the Epstein files" article. Now, we know David to be a questionable man with his age gap marriage, look it up, it isn't normal, but damn, that photo is hilarious. It goes to show that rich folks knew and didn't care. Those with access knew and didn't care. This should motivate you even more to seek justice for the victims.  Here are your highlights:  China's chip rally . Trump is getting played.  What's a Climate Change? Warm weather is hitting ski resorts .  MTG and the Transphobic Mask is Off . This is why Dems can't capitulate or moderate. Trans rights are human rights.  United Healthcare is awful.  Russia, Russia,...

 There are no words. Trump is truly an embarrassment to our nation.  Here are your highlights:  RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz go after gender-affirming care.  Podcaster discovers an actual FBI job is difficult. Bongino out.   Mike Johnson and Epstein files . What does he know?  Trump Derangement Syndrome is the call from within .  Rural schools are struggling to make up for the loss of grants .  Sudan is in turmoil.   If we had a decent president, this humanitarian crisis would be front and center. But boats.... I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 I find it funny that Republicans are now fighting in the open about healthcare . It seems Speaker Johnson is losing the reins of his caucus. Obamacare is popular, works, and once you give someone something better, it's tough to take it away, especially from millions of Americans. It's been 15 years, and Republicans haven't come up with a better plan. I say let them fight. Here are your highlights: Tragedy in Australia. The Bondi Beach shooting leads to 15 dead . Antisemitism has no place in a civil society.  Climate Change research is being dismantled . Russ Vought is a sick zealot.  Student loans are about to hit millions . I bet it'll do wonders for the economy.  Venezuela is starting to sound like "WAG THE DOG." The Vanity Fair article with Wiles is funny because they're all such terrible people. And Vance is as weird as we've said.  ICE threw thousands of kids in detention.  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 There was a little debate yesterday about going back to Twitter. We must engage the right wing to sway them to our side. I call bullshit. The reason a lot of us left Twitter is that it became a Nazi-fested tool for Elon Musk and his toadies. The environment was and is unbearable. You can't convince those who have been converted to the cult. You can't win them over to be good people. I've sat with that long enough. If someone is willing to vote for Trump, they aren't willing to hear you.  Here are your highlights: Bari Weiss, a known grifter, is also bad at running CBS News .  Pritzker signs the end-of-life bill .  Alligator Alcatraz is an abomination.  DeSantis belongs in jail.  The "Peace" president still has no deal with Ukraine and Russia .  What's a Congress? More boat killings .  The failure of Ford and EVs will be studied for years to come . China continues to make US manufacturers look dumb.  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this messag...

 It's cold! It's so cold, you can't feel your face! We got a bunch of snow this weekend, and then today it's "feels like -2." I hate it here. The Midwest is not my friend. I used to think those who let the weather affect their mood were suckers, but this THIS IS DIFFERENT. I don't know how to function. I don't want to function. I'm here, but I'm without. Okay, enough complaining.  Here are your highlights:  Gunman remains at large . Brown University shooting.  RIP Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle . One of the best storytellers and advocates we had. Tragic.  Someone needs to do a documentary about Fetterman. The dude has lost his mind.   RFK Jr. is the worst appointee of all time.   Something weird is happening in the metals market. Copper soars .  Trump is ruining Christmas .  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 We got snow! Yet, the school is still open. So I traversed country roads, followed a few snow plows, and almost slid to my death when I got too comfortable. Luckily, the kids were already dropped off, and no one was harmed. My SUV hates snow. We purchased it in California after all. As the holiday season approaches, I'll be posting sparingly over the last two weeks of the year. I have some significant changes coming in my life over the next couple of months and need to prepare both mentally and physically. In the meantime... Here are your highlights:  Indiana Republicans tell Trump to suck it. Vote down the new gerrymandered maps .  Historic floods hit Washington . "The American Dream wiped out in a day." Justice for Kilmar-Abrego? Judge blocks government from re-detaining him .  RFK Jr. is comparing COVID-19 vaccines to opioids . Truly deranged.  Dems release more Epstein photos . Nothing incriminating, but Trump is in them, and um, he can't run from them....

 As we creep toward war with Venezuela, I still have to ask why? I can't recall a single campaign promise that mentioned any of this. Not sure what this has to do with "making America great." I've seen explanations, yet none of them play out. It is one of Trump's odd obsessions turned into conflict. Kind of like when he suggested we all start drinking bleach. Only this is different because it's escalated, and we know the "peace" president won't stop. War crimes have almost certainly already been committed. What comes next after hijacking an oil tanker? A Tom Friedman "suck on this" article. Here are your highlights:  Republicans are scrambling to come up with a health care plan . All these years, and they still have nothing better than Obamacare.  FIFA corruption. The way Infantino likes to suck up to dictators is truly embarrassing .  Denmark next to axe social media for kids? Let's hope so.  When all of this is over, I really hop...

 As we slide into more authoritarianism, it's important to know not everything is bad and terrible and awful and shitty and miserable. I could go on. Trump is getting older every day . He falls asleep during meetings. And even the feckless NYT is pushing back a bit. I know everyone is worried about a third term, but I'm not so sure he makes it.  Here are your highlights:  Democrat wins Miami mayor , first time in 30 years.  Climate Change: Ancient lake reemerges in Death Valley.   Illinois passes law protecting immigrants near hospitals, courthouses, and colleges .  Let's make this a movement. Millions of Australian kids lose social media .  Handing China the AI wars .  Hundreds of thousands at risk in Gaza as Storm Byron looms.  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 I was listening to Offline on the commute home last night. On it, Noah Smith made a compelling case that we, as a society, will survive the AI Boom and AI takeover. I'll admit, I'm rather negative on AI. I haven't seen it do what every evangelist claims it'll do; however, Noah has me rethinking my disdain. AI is happening, it's here, and it's not going away. So, how do we as a society frame it to our benefit? How do we use it and then utilise it? Will the robotpocalypse come?! For now, I remain a Skeptic, mainly because those in charge of the AI are the same folks who destroyed the internet.  Here are your highlights: 7 killed in Thailand-Cambodia crisis.  Thousands displaced. Trump creates a problem for farmers. Trump bails out farmers . Farmers are welfare queens.  Years of underfunding threaten our ability to protect fishermen , cargo ships, and wildlife.  Judge allows Ghislaine Maxwell's case materials to be released .  Mark Zuckerberg has no idea wh...

It's too cold to think. I admit I wish I had more to say. Being in the Midwest is a marathon. We wake up, check the weather, and have to decide whether to get out of bed and face this nonsense. I did it today. So that's a win. In other news, killing people on boats is apparently patriotic. It's what America was meant to do all those years ago. If you disagree, you must be a traitor.  Here are your highlights:  China is kicking our butts on Climate Change . I'm not sure we ever recover.  Stephen Miller, as Rep. Ilhan Omar says, is a Nazi .  It's the economy, stupid.  The "new" Democratic strategy.  The Trump administration has gone full Kremlin .  SCOTUS takes up birthright citizenship. The fact that they're taking it up is proof that they want to take it down .  Drone strikes on a kindergarten . Sudan is our most urgent humanitarian crisis.  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 Another week, and still no Epstein files. I believe there's a whole lotta bad in there. Worse than we think. It's the only thing that makes sense now. I want every dirtbag in those files to rot. Amazingly, they all voted, Trumped signed the bill, and then poof, they thought it would magically disappear. I guess we have to go to war with Venezuela.  Here are your highlights: Libraries and museums get money back .  The Roberts Court does it again. Rigging elections .  Satellite boom a threat to NASA telescopes .  World Cup Draw is this afternoon . Can you believe we're going to have a World Cup? It feels doomed.  Mike Johnson's power is floundering. Republicans are starting to get nervous .  200.000 children will die because of cuts to AIDS funding . Elon should pay for this.  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 As the cold continues to ruin my spirit and my health, I'm trying to muster the strength to be properly outraged. I do feel like the "flood the zone" analogy is proper. The Trump administration literally does nothing good. It's meant to beat us into submission until we're apathetic. Until enough of us stop caring and accept "our fate." The level of corruption in this administration has no bounds. The level of incompetence is staggering. We have to whoop them in 2026.  Here are your highlights:  How Minnesota became a hub for Somali immigrants .  Maybe this is why Majorie Taylor Green has changed her tune? FBI arrests suspect in Jan. 6th pipe bomb case.   (I kid, but it's one of my favorite conspiracy theories) Epstein Island photos are as creepy as you'd suspect .  ICE is at it again. This time it's New Orleans and the Twin Cities .  Over a million layoffs in 2025 . America is so great. Democrats, here's your messaging. You don't hav...

 I got hit by a stomach bug yesterday. Still not 100%, but we soldier on. Speaking of soldiers (see what I did there), throw them all under the bus! Hegseth, Trump, and their ilk clearly didn't commit war crimes. They gave the order, but the double strike was the Admiral. Actually, let's walk everything back, including those photos and videos. Nothing to see here . This administration is full of such false bravado losers. I'm not sure when the stupid will end.  Here are your highlights: Trump administration halts immigration for 19 nations .  The total is now 159 dead in the Hong Kong fire . 30 still missing. RFK Jr. continues to try to kill babies. New findings on COVID-19 and pregnancy.   The economy isn't collapsing , but it doesn't look good either.  APs Photos of the Year. Donny the Dealmaker strikes again. Russia says there's no peace deal .  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message. 

 It's December 1st, which means the annual game of avoiding "All I Want for Christmas is You" has begun. Who will be the first out? How will I avoid the torturous tune? I dodged it fairly well last year. I'm hoping it wasn't a fluke. There are over 20 of us participating this year. It's a fun way to enjoy the holiday spirit. What are some of your traditions? Let me know!  Here are your highlights: Deadly shooting in Stockton, CA . The shooter is still on the loose.  The Trump administration loves shooting itself in the foot. Presidential HIV council warns of cuts .  Ukraine and Russia . There's no peace deal in sight.  Bitcoin sell-off resumes.   Sen. Mark Kelly is calling it as he sees it. Hegseth is committing war crimes.   Pope Leo pro-Palestinian state .  I am Frank Chow, and I approve this message.