Brian Cornell and Target’s silence, Bill Ackman’s fat mouth, and the manbaby economy

Story of the Week (DR):

1. Target silent after federal immigration agents arrest Twin Cities employees, operate near stores DR

1. Press Release, January 14, 2026: Target Expands Its Style Offerings with Exclusive Bedding Collection from Acclaimed Interior Designer Jeremiah Brent

2. Quote from the investors page: “Together, Target’s purpose-driven team of more than 400,000 works daily to help all families discover the joy of everyday life.” Brian Cornell, Chair and Chief Executive Officer

3. Bill Ackman defends donation to ICE officer who shot Minnesota woman: 'Presumed innocent until proven guilty'

1. Chipotle clarifies Bill Ackman 'not affiliated' with chain after billionaire's ICE agent donation

4. Ford worker suspended for calling Trump 'pedophile protector' has 'no regrets' for 'embarrassing' president

1. Suspended Michigan autoworker who heckled Trump gets outpouring of donations

2. Grok blocked from undressing images in places where it’s illegal after global backlash

1. I asked Grok's AI to undress me after X's new limits. It's still easy on the app

2. Grok was finally updated to stop undressing women and children, X Safety says

3. Grok Is Getting Access to Classified Military Networks

4. Elon Musk's xAI probed by California DOJ over Grok's deepfake explicit images

5. Elon Musk’s X Under UK Investigation Over Grok’s Sexualized A.I. Images

6. Opposition to Elon Musk’s AI Stripping Clothing Off Children Is Nearly Universal, Polling

7. Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk's Grok over sexually explicit deepfakes

1. Ashly St Clair, the conservative influencer who had Musk’s baby, just sued Xai for sexualizing her - after saying in 2024 that X and Musk were “essential” to free speech, that Musk was the only one doing it, and that, “Truly, the only things they will ban are things that are against the law”... oops?

3. Trump canceled or stopped enforcement against 166 corporations in his first year. Many of them were donors

1. New analysis finds federal agencies halted or limited enforcement and prosecution, including many involving companies and individuals with ties to President Donald Trump

2. Ripple, the cryptocurrency company behind XRP, donated $4.9 million — among the largest donation — to Trump's inauguration events. Shortly afterward, the Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew an appeal seeking nearly $2 billion in penalties against the company, settling instead for $125 million.

3. After he and his wife donated $1.8 million to Trump's reelection, Trevor Milton — the CEO of electric vehicle startup Nikola, who was convicted in 2023 of defrauding investors — received a presidential pardon wiping out over $660 million in restitution. Milton’s legal team included Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad Bondi.

4. Amazon was facing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit for allegedly discriminating against pregnant workers. After Trump signed an April 2025 executive order directing agencies not to rely on disparate impact analysis — an important tool for proving discrimination — the EEOC then dismissed the case.

1. The report details how Amazon donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, made another $1 million in-kind donation by streaming the inauguration on Amazon Video, and is backing Trump's $300 million “Golden Ballroom” in the White House's East Wing. The company also announced a deal to stream The Apprentice, resulting in "unspecified" payments to Trump, who starred in and executive-produced the show. The company reportedly also paid $28 million to first lady Melania Trump for a documentary.

2. What’s more, Attorney General Pam Bondi worked as a registered lobbyist for Amazon in 2020 and 2021, while Trump ally Brian Ballard lobbied on Amazon's behalf in 2024.

4. Trump tries to reduce CEO pay and halt billions in stock buybacks at defense contractors

1. Trump threatens to sideline Exxon from Venezuela's oil: 'They're playing too cute’

2. Justice department opens investigation into Jerome Powell as Trump ramps up campaign against Federal Reserve

1. Fed chair accuses DoJ of threatening criminal charges over building renovation projects because central bank defied Trump’s interest rate demands

Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):

1. DR: MacKenzie Scott is using her $26 billion philanthropy push to rescue organizations in danger after the Trump administration’s funding cuts

2. MM: RFK Jr.’s Health Department Is Studying Health Effects of Cellphones

1. Not that there are any doctors there, or that anything they do anymore is science, BUT THIS IS GREAT

2. Even if they end up with spurious research that says “your cellphone and wifi will give you ballsack cancer”, it means less phones, less online, and happier humans with human friends and going outside more

Assholiest of the Week (MM):

1. Brian Cornell

1. “That could have been one of my Target team members”.

2. “We have to be the role models that drive change and our voice is important. And we’ve got to make sure that we represent our company principles, our values, our company purpose on the issues that are important to our teams.”

3. “The eyes of America, and the eyes of the world were on Minneapolis.”

4. “As a Target team, we’ve huddled, we’ve consoled, we’ve witnessed horrific scenes similar to what’s playing out now and wept that not enough is changing. And as a team we’ve vowed to face pain with purpose.”

5. “We’ve got to stand up and do more”

6. Oh, wait, that’s not when ICE shot a woman without due process or outside of every protocol?  That was when there was a lot of money in saying “we’re for DEI” and every other CEO put out the same statement?  Ahhh… maybe one of your board members should say something… 

1. Derica Rice flipped on DEI at Disney, probably not him

2. Dmitri Stockton flipped on DEI at both Deere and Black & Decker, probably not him…

3. Grace Puma is on the board of Phillips 66 who wants in on Venezuelan oil, probably not her…

4. Christine Leahy is the CEO of CDW who has had 11bn of government contracts in the last decade, and 270m+ last year, so probably not her…

5. David Abney is on the board of Northrup Grumman…

6. Monica Lozano was on Disney… 

7. Brian Cornell and Michael Fidelke run the board…

8. That leaves a minority of directors who MIGHT have said something!  

2. Bill Ackman DR 

1. The woman shot in the face was apparently NOT innocent until proven guilty, or at least Bill can’t find a way to get her any money because “her GoFundMe had closed”... also, she’s dead

2. Ackman needs to get punched in the mouth - no one should care what he thinks about anything, every, at all.  He’s the worst kind of blowhard - has he ever offered a full throated defense of a blank person?  A woman he’s not married to who’s not on Fox News?  Does he ever admit he’s wrong, biased, or a fucking hypocrite?  Oh, but he says we all are?  Shut. Your. Mouth.

3. But Ackman is part of a bigger problem - at this point you are either aiding ICE’s tactics, which have crossed fully into unaccountable personal army of the US dictator, or you’re not aiding them. ICE abetting includes: 

1. AT&T

2. Booz Allen Hamilton

3. Comcast

4. Dell

5. General Dynamics

6. L3Harris Technologies

7. Motorola Solutions

3. Men from Stanford saying they love people who didn’t go to school

1. Google’s Sergey Brin admits he’s hiring ‘tons’ of workers without degrees: ‘They just figure things out on their own in some weird corner’

1. Go hire some homeless people, too

Headliniest of the Week

1. DR: Tech Billionaire Forced to Rename Humongous Yacht After Realizing It Spelled Something Horrible Backwards

1. Larry Ellison: “Izanami.”

2. MM: Opposition to Elon Musk’s AI Stripping Clothing Off Children Is Nearly Universal, Polling Shows

1. NEARLY

2. 96 percent said they shouldn’t be able to generate “undressed” images of minors only wearing clothing like underwear

3. So… should they release the names and addresses of the 4%?

3. MM: Jamie Dimon slams DOJ probe of Jerome Powell, warning investigation could stoke inflation

1. Not says, SLAMS

Who Won the Week?

1. DR: Acclaimed Interior Designer Jeremiah Brent and his new Exclusive Bedding Collection at Target

2. MM: Rhode Island - 350,000 homes will be powered by wind despite Trump’s make believe “radar interference”

Predictions

1. DR: Target lazily repurposes its October 20, 2025 news feature “Target’s Partnership with RICE — fueling a more inclusive economy” to “Target’s Partnership with ICE — fueling a more exclusive economy”

2. MM: Brian Cornell, after seeing the error in his ways, is seen outside of ICE officer Jonathan Ross’s house kneeling in solidarity and burning gay pride merchandise as a tribute