1/4/2026

 Sunday, January 4, 2026

1965 LBJ's "Great Society" State of the Union Address

1974 Richard Nixon refused to hand over tapes subpoenaed by Watergate Committee

1975 Boston Bruins Dave Forbes became the 1st athlete indicted for criminal assault for excessive violence during play; stick butt-end the face of Minnesota North Star Henry Boucha caused permanent vision damage; court case ended in a hung jury, and a civil settlement was eventually reached

1995 Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House of Representatives

2007 The 110th United States Congress elected Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House

2010 The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 829.8 m (2,722 ft), officially opened in Dubai, with exterior lighting provided by Sarah Clausen et al.

In bed at 9:20, up at 6:55.  16/30/18, clear but cloudy all day after 10.

Meds, etc.  Morning meds at 11 a.m.    

Quagmire, n. a soft wet area of land that gives way under the feet, or a difficult or precarious situation.

 Donald J. Trump, 2026: "We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition."

George W. Bush, 2003: “The United States has no intention of occupying Iraq. Our aim is to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.” . . .  “The day of your liberation is near… We will help you build a new Iraq that is prosperous and free.” . . . “The Iraqi people will choose their own government, and Iraq’s territorial integrity will be respected.”  In practice, the U.S. did run Iraq through the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) at least from May 2003 to June 2004, which exercised sweeping executive, legislative, and judicial power. 

What is really going on?  We don't know.  What we don't even know what to call what happened.  Was it an act of war?  Are we at war?  Are we at war with "narco-terrorists," a non-state actor?  or actors?  Is it with the State of Venezuela, or only with its government?  Or only with its head of state?  Were we simply executing an arrest warrant for an accused criminal indicted five years ago, though with the "assistance" of an American armada assembled off Venezuela's shores?  Did we remove Maduro because he was a cruel dictator?  Since when have we given a shit about cruel dictators?  Indeed, don't we prefer cruel dictators so long as they play ball with us?  Because he put down the results of the 2024 democratic election, which ousted him from office and power?  Are we attempting to re-establish democracy in Venezuela?  Since when has Trump or his minions given a shit about democracy?  Do we care in the slightest about democracy in Venezuela, or are we simply interested in a government we can do business with, and, when we say we, do "we" primarily mean ExxonMobil, CoocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Occidental Petroleum, and Marathon Petroleum?  Is our main concern petrodollars, maintaining the U.S. dominance as the main currency for the buying and selling of oil around the world, and the dollars' position as the World's reserve currency?  Maintaining the 'rigged' market for U.S. Treasuries, low interest rates, and low inflation in the U.S.?

A progressive advocacy report estimated that Big Oil and related fossil fuel interests spent roughly $445 million in the 2024 election cycle to influence outcomes — including direct and indirect contributions, advertising, and lobbying — with about $96 million going directly to Trump’s campaign and affiliated PACs. 

Individual oil industry executives also made large political contributions:

Harold Hamm (Continental Resources) contributed tens of millions via PACs tied to Trump’s campaign (one piece of reporting cites ~$4.3 million tied to the White House ballroom list). 

Yahoo

Kelcy Warren (Energy Transfer Partners) has been a significant Trump supporter and adviser, donating large sums to Trump-aligned causes.

The Guardian

Bryan Sheffield, founder of Parsley Energy, reportedly donated over $1 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign. 

Wikipedia

Note: Trump’s campaign and affiliated Super PACs (like Make America Great Again Inc.) have not disclosed all individual contributors by industry, but energy sector donors feature prominently among top backers.

 

.Contributions to the Inauguration (January 2025)

The Donald J. Trump Presidential Inaugural Committee — which raised event funds (separate from campaign funds) — received significant contributions from fossil fuel companies:

Oil company donations (reported)

Chevron: ~$2 million

ExxonMobil: ~$1 million

ConocoPhillips: ~$1 million

Occidental Petroleum: ~$1 million

Together, fossil fuel industry donations to Trump’s inaugural fund totaled more than $19 million according to an analysis of FEC itemized contributions. 

Contributions Toward Trump’s Presidential Library and White House Ballroom

There are no official public disclosures that specifically break out Trump’s presidential library fundraising by donor name or industry that are legally required to disclose. However:

Inaugural funds potentially repurposed

A Senate report highlighted that leftover funds from the inaugural committee — which include corporate donations — may be funneled toward Trump’s future presidential library. Corporations that gave at least $1 million to the inaugural fund are listed, but oil companies beyond the ones above are not prominently reported.

A published donor list for the Trump White House ballroom project does not list any major oil companies as top donors. Instead, it is dominated by tech firms, manufacturing, finance, and other indust

While lobbying firms and corporate representatives (including those hired by energy firms) attended events related to this fundraising, the public list does not show major fossil fuel corporations or executives as primary donors for the ballroom project. 

 

Lobbying and Influence

While not direct contributions to Trump’s campaign or committees, oil companies spend heavily on lobbying to influence policy:

The oil and gas industry spent hundreds of millions on federal lobbying around energy policy and tax issues during the election cycle and afterward. One analysis estimated around $243 million just on lobbying activities separate from campaign spending. 

Truthout

Lobbyists often meet with administration officials and policymakers, but lobbying expenditures are tracked separately from political campaign or fundraising contributions.

Caveat

Corporate political contributions (to federal campaigns, parties, and PACs) are legally restricted under U.S. campaign finance law; corporations can only give small amounts directly. Much of the money from corporate-related interests comes via employee contributions, political action committees (PACs), Super PACs, and dark money groups. 

Dark money groups and 501(c)(4) nonprofits are not required to disclose full donor identities, meaning the true total from oil-linked interests could be significantly higher than the numbers that are publicly reported.