Buck Banks, Author at Pensito

TACO Wednesday in Davos
A foolish consistency ...

January 21, 2026August 14, 2026 Buck Banks

Trump swaggered into Davos like a doddering old lout,
Threatening NATO allies with his tired old tariff knout.
But even as Trump was bloviating,
The tariff threats began evaporating,
Because, as was easily predictable, Trump Always Chickens Out.

What Price Peas?

January 21, 2026 Buck Banks

Legumes can add protein to one’s MAHA diet with ease.
They have fiber and vitamins to ward off disease.
But few so far seem willing
To pony up a cool billion
To secure a seat on Donald Trump’s new international Board of Peas.

Choosing Between Being Trump’s Happy Vassal or Miserable Slave

January 21, 2026 Buck Banks

“Until now, we tried to appease the new president in the White House. We were very lenient, also with the tariffs. We were lenient hoping to get his support for the Ukraine war… But now so many red lines are being crossed that you have the choice between your self-respect. Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else.”

— Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever, quoted by The Guardian.

Tillis Says Trump Is Getting Bad Greenland Advice

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

“To be clear — I’m not critical of the president. I’m critical of the bad advice he’s getting on Greenland.”

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), on CNBC.

Carney: We’re in a Rupture, Not a Transition

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

“Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry. That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. … “Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”

— Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada did not mention the United States or President Trump by name in a speech on at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, but it was clear where he placed the blame for what he called a “rupture” in the world order, the New York Times reports.

Pentagon Readies 1,500 Troops for Minneapolis Deployment

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

1,500

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, where federal authorities have been conducting a massive immigration enforcement operation, the Associated Press reports.

Not Your Uncle’s MAGA

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

The Danes and Greenlanders have something to say:
Ownership of Greenland is emphatically not in play.
But MAGA says it’s Greenland’s fate:
Lose sovereignty to make America great.
But the resistance has its own MAGA: Make America Go Away.

Mothers of All Threats

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

Used to be that the greatest threat in the world was atomic bombs,
But the latest threat assessment just makes one want to facepalm.
Out of all the dangers in the world,
What gets Fox News’s panties in a whirl?
The “antifa tactics” employed by roving bands of militant wine moms.

Trump’s No Hitler

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

“You know, people keep saying, ‘Oh, this guy’s Hitler.’ No, he’s not. And I’ll tell you why he’s not; Hitler was popular. This guy’s not.”

— Jon Stewart, quoted by The Wrap, on President Trump.

We’re in Full King Lear Mode

January 20, 2026 Buck Banks

“Yes, it’s real. He really did write that letter to the Norwegian PM, whining (once again) about not getting the Nobel Prize and declaring that since he didn’t get the Prize, ‘I no longer feel any obligation to think purely of Peace.’ And no, you are not the crazy ones if you think we have fallen down a black hole of mad king dementia. … ‘Unhinged’ doesn’t really capture this moment, where we find ourselves in a full-blown crisis because our president is butt-hurt about losing an award no one was ever going to give him. And now we are left actually wondering if our military commanders would obey an order to fire upon our closest allies.”

Author: Buck Banks

TACO Wednesday in Davos
A foolish consistency ...

A foolish consistency ...

What Price Peas?

Choosing Between Being Trump’s Happy Vassal or Miserable Slave

— Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever, quoted by The Guardian.

Tillis Says Trump Is Getting Bad Greenland Advice

“To be clear — I’m not critical of the president. I’m critical of the bad advice he’s getting on Greenland.”

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), on CNBC.

Carney: We’re in a Rupture, Not a Transition

“Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry. That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must. … “Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”

— Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada did not mention the United States or President Trump by name in a speech on at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, but it was clear where he placed the blame for what he called a “rupture” in the world order, the New York Times reports.

Pentagon Readies 1,500 Troops for Minneapolis Deployment

1,500

The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active duty soldiers to be ready in case of a possible deployment to Minnesota, where federal authorities have been conducting a massive immigration enforcement operation, the Associated Press reports.

Not Your Uncle’s MAGA

Mothers of All Threats

Trump’s No Hitler

“You know, people keep saying, ‘Oh, this guy’s Hitler.’ No, he’s not. And I’ll tell you why he’s not; Hitler was popular. This guy’s not.”

— Jon Stewart, quoted by The Wrap, on President Trump.

We’re in Full King Lear Mode

— Charlie Sykes

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“One woman at a rally in New Jersey told me last week that she was ‘nauseously optimistic.’ That may capture a lot of people’s last-minute jitters.”

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by Axios, on what Democrats feel ahead of the midterm elections.

“I think Congress made a mistake not protesting turning the Rose Garden into what looks like the entrance to Liberace’s bathroom.”

— Former President Bill Clinton, quoted by The Wrap.

“Boy, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. It feels like a real desperation play to me, because it has got zero basis in the law.”

— Republican election law expert Ben Ginsberg, quoted by Politico, on the Trump administration’s effort to invalidate Alaska’s election results.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”