GETTING AWAY WITH THE FIRST OFFENSE ON …

THE ROAD TO PERDITION

Take heart…false alarm! Michael Moore hasn’t really endorsed Donald Trump’s 2024 election, despite that claim by the Former Guy, as Moore was included along with endorsements by many Florida GOPers that nobody has heard about. A three and a half minute video shown on Truth Social appears to show Moore giving The Don a thumb’s up, but it represents only the first portion of a six minute video posted by Michael in 2016 purporting to make the case for his candidacy; but a satirical takedown covering the reasons why Trump would be the worst possible president with strong disapproval is explained in the second (and unseen) portion. This has to be akin to the ‘IRS phone call’ asking for your Social Security number to process a ‘refund.’ Or like the contact by a ‘friend’ or ‘relative’ who is in need of funds, being stranded in Timbuktu…or Dade County Florida.

Florida’s Governor DeSantis, being satirized by Andy Borowitz in The New Yorker, says the struggling presidential candidate has decided that instead of building the state’s own amusement park as an alternative to Disney World, or building a state prison next door to the popular destination as a retaliatory measure, he will instead raze the home of Minnie and Mickey and replace it with a ‘Dilbert‘-themed entertainment location. In his estimation “this will attract millions of Americans who were deprived of their favorite Scott Adams comic strip by the left-wing media Reich.” It will be “a woke-free zone, where parents can rest assured that their children will not be exposed to the vile multicultural propaganda that it’s a small world, after all.” DeSantis had some difficulty explaining what rides would be built, vaguely saying only “that they will probably involve cubicles.” Probably repurposed from the equipment and furniture from the shuttered library system across his state.

The months-long buildup of the Fox News/Dominion Voting Systems trial date came to a surprising and disappointing conclusion last week, with Fox capitulating to Dominion just before the opening bell was about to sound in the Delaware courtroom. Dominion sought $1.6 billion in damages for Fox’s malicious lies following the 2020 presidential election and for hosting guests such as Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani and Mr. ‘My Pillow’ Lindell who theorized that their machines stole votes from Trump. The two parties agreed on a $787.5 million settlement, with the jurors standing by and ready for a six-week ordeal which many saw as a mortal blow to Fox should a guilty verdict have been rendered. Since Fox was not obligated to publicly address or apologize for their campaign of misinformation, this ending was less than satisfying for those who had laid in plenty of popcorn for watching during the spectacle. And the Murdochs are still rich even after one of the largest payouts in a defamation lawsuit on record! Still billionaires, so did they actually win?

Dominion will receive less than half of their original demand, but far more than the $80 million evaluation of their company, and many times their revenue of $100 million in 2022. Private equity group Staple Street Capital bought their controlling stake in Dominion in 2018, and their lawsuit claims it sustained $921 million in damage to its business, $88 million in lost profits, and $600 million in lost future profits because of Fox’s false coverage. Comparing this to a Fox Corporation filing, the broadcast giant revealed it had about $4.1 billion in cash and equivalents at the beginning of this year, with a net income of $321 million in the last quarter of 2022. To be sure, $787.5 million is a chunk o’ cash, but Rupert is still rich. Considering that sponsorship of prime-time spots costs around $76,000, Fox will have to run 10,362 ads, perhaps for My Pillow, to make up for their court payout. That amounts to three days, fourteen hours and twenty minutes of Mike Lindell kissing a pillow and cuddling with a sheet. Hannity’s program runs about fifteen minutes of ads, so Fox-watchers could view 345 nights straight of pillow-talk advertising.

As proven by pretrial discovery’s release of hundreds of thousands of emails, texts and other internal communications, Dominion showed that not only the Murdochs, but Fox’s execs, producers and show hosts were knowledgeable about the Trump campaign’s Big Lie, yet were sanctioned to continue the masquerade in order to satisfy their audience. Murdoch chose the trade off of advertising revenues, which he hoped would exceed any Dominion settlement cost, even risking that a jury settlement might give Dominion more than it was seeking. The disclosure of the settlement came after the stock market closed for the day, but in after-hours trading Fox Corp. was down less than one percent. Rupert is still rich…just the cost of doing business in the Murdoch Empire. Economist, lecturer and political activist Robert Reich estimates that Fox Corporation’s value is around $17 billion – they can still insult a boatload of minor corporations and pay them off…by raising their subscription rates to cable channels who in turn will raise rates to their own subscribers, Fox Zombies or not!

Georgia’s Marjorie Traitor Greene, insurrectionist, Trump worshipper and conspiracy theorist tweeted about the Fox/Dominion outcome: “We have food critics that criticize restaurants, consumer reports that criticizes products, auto critics that criticize automobiles, and conservative Americans have just wrapped up a week of nuking a beer company, but you can’t criticize a voting machine company or you’ll get sued for millions and millions of dollars.” She doesn’t get it and never will! In the case of settlements between private entities, the one having to pay can deduct the cost from taxes in its entirety, with the recipient paying corporate taxes on their windfall. In 2022, a combination of Federal and New York corporate taxes amounted to a tax rate of 27% for Fox, and by writing off this settlement to Dominion, a tax savings of $213 million might be realized unless a portion of it is covered by insurance – which can’t be written off – but they can write off any increase in insurance premiums resulting from this debacle. Rupert still has a fat wallet.

One solution for Fox, has satirist Andy Borowitz writing that Fox is selling off Representative Kevin McCarthy for a quick cash-flow solution. In the Fox Corral for only a few weeks, Murdoch expressed sadness that the sale is now necessary. “I wish Kevin well. I hope whoever buys him finds as much use for him as I did.” Many in D.C. were skeptical about his market value, but Marjorie Taylor Greene piped up with, “I have no idea why Fox thinks they can sell Kevin McCarthy…I own Kevin.”

Much online commentary complains that after all is said and done, Fox has “gotten away with it,” since they weren’t even required to apologize and immediately began making excuses and rationalizations, carrying on as usual, and making Americans pay for their misdeeds. Artist and writer, Robert Harrington, is reminded of the scene in Monty Python’s movie, ‘Life of Brian,’ where Brian is languishing in prison, asking his cellmate, “What will they do to me?” His cellmate replies, “Oh, you’ll probably get away with crucifixion.” The astounded Brian exclaims, “CRUCIFIXION?” Explaining, the cellmate answers, “Yeah, first offense.” The still dumbfounded Brian chokes, “GET AWAY…with crucifixion?” Harrington goes on to say that Fox is not going to “get away,” that this is only the beginning, and scene #2 involves a $2.7 billion lawsuit, courtesy of Smartmatic Corporation, another voting systems company with the same charges, same script, same scenario against Fox. As part of any settlement Smartmatic will demand an on-air apology from the broadcaster, giving Smartmatic the option of wording the apology, along with an admission Fox has lied about the ‘rigged election’, and that Smartmatic is completely blameless. Hopes of the mea culpa coming directly from the ‘King of Sleazy Lies,’ Tucker Carlson – Harrington’s honorific for him – won’t be happening officially with Fox and Tuck’s parting. Unable to get what he considered a fair price for Carlson, resulting in his being being placed on waivers, Murdoch will have to sell off Senator Lindsey Graham, or Representative George Santos to make any movement into a Smartmatic settlement.

Harrington writes that there are two types of culprits in this fiasco…first the ‘nutjobs‘ such as Giuliani, Powell and Lindell, “the people who think Donald Trump is God, though the only thing Trump has in common with God is his constant need of money.” The second type are the cynical manipulators like Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham, who knew the election was proper, but chose to give the ‘nutjobs‘ airtime to increase Fox’s bottom line, a “clear case of greedy people manipulating sick and stupid people cynically” for profit. Harrington thinks it’s a litigation disaster for Fox and he looks forward to both Donald Trump and Fox News going down in flames this year. As citizens we can view this recent settlement as a small win, but it’s only a baby-step toward forming and supporting a media framework that protects our democracy and holds its enemies liable for their efforts to deceive America.

A headline on Progressive Change’s website loudly and sarcastically proclaimed: “Another national nightmare ends. Tucker Carlson out at Fox!” Tucker Carlson’s sudden departure from his Fox News throne as a top-rated prime-time host is pretty significant in that he wasn’t allowed to host a final Monday show to tell his viewers goodbye, even though his Friday sign-off was, “We’ll return on Monday,” with Fox’s airing of promos up until the axe fell. The broadcaster’s released statement only said, “We thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” A new interim program entitled ‘Fox News Tonight‘ will fill the 8 p.m. slot with rotating Fox personalities until a permanent host is selected, leaving a faithful legion of 3+ million viewers wondering what the hell happened. Tuck’s one hour show began in 2016 as he stepped into Bill O’Reilly’s empty slot, featuring controversial guests discussing subjects on race, immigration and hot news of the day, following his opening monologue. Conservative activists reaching out for new converts and office-seekers pitching for votes and money will need to find a new outlet to achieve their goals…at least until Carlson finds a new home…perhaps as a United Nations spokesperson for third-world refugees. Uh-huh! But horror of horrors, former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill thinks he might announce his candidacy for the presidency, something that would strike fear even into the heart of the Trumpmeister.

The split was characterized as being mutual, but Carlson had made comments about Fox management, brought to light in the Dominion case with his accusations that higher-ups were incompetent, prideful liberals destroying the network’s credibility in calling the 2020 presidential outcome for Joe Biden. Congressman Jamie Raskin called Tucker a “propagandist hitman for Donald Trump who was exposed as a complete fraud” in the Dominion lawsuit revelations. Carlson found traction as a TV personality on CNN, co-hosting with Paul Begala, their ‘Crossfire‘ show, a left-versus-right public-affairs debate presentation on the network with a varied history back to 1982. That partnership’s destruction is attributed to Jon Stewart’s appearance in October 2004 when he confronted the two hosts, calling their show “partisan hackery,” an exercise in “doing theatre when you should be doing debate.” The bowtie-wearing Carlson was so taken aback by Stewart’s mockery he had no response aside from asking the Comedy Central star why he wasn’t telling jokes, drawing Jon’s response that, “I’m not gonna be your monkey! I watch your show everyday and it’s painful to watch the knee-jerk, reactionary talk.” Three months later, CNN’s new president agreed with Stewart that the show was “hurting America,” cancelling the show and Carlson’s contract.

Fox News staffers were in total surprise at Tuck-Tuck’s separation as they shared private insights around the newsroom. An unidentified member said, “This is major. It sends a message that even the guy with the highest ratings of all, by a long shot, doesn’t get to survive this disaster.” Andy Borowitz, not one to let this occasion slip by without a comment says, “Fox News has announced that it has replaced Tucker Carlson with a state-of-the-art lying Chatbot. In a brief statement, Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch thanked Carlson for his service but said the he had been “rendered obsolete by swift advances in lying technology.” A dry run of the Chatbot showed it emitting nine lies per minute, besting Carlson’s average of eight. News of the Chatbot’s arrival sent shockwaves down the corridors of Fox’s midtown Manhattan headquarters. “I’ll be next,” a reportedly shaken Sean Hannity said.” Without a doubt, Rupert has a price tag on his head.

CHEATING FOXES AND TESTING TESTER

One of this week’s highlights may have been diminished with the Delaware judge overseeing the Dominion Voting Systems/Fox News trial delaying the scheduled Monday start until Tuesday…a sign that Fox is trying to broker an out of court settlement. If that succeeds (or has succeeded) the American public will be cheated out of fully seeing how a devious organization functioning as the propaganda arm of the GOP, which has been masquerading as a news network, has led us astray. Not being able to see the likes of the Murdochs, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Maria Bartiromo, or Laura Ingraham on the witness stand, stumbling and flop-sweating their way through the court proceedings is truly a letdown.

Joyce Vance writes in a Civil Discourse post on Substack, that an early settlement appears unlikely, since the judge has already ruled that Fox was pushing falsehoods, leaving the jury to decide if Fox knew they were doing so in their reckless disregard of the truth, and subsequently the jury arriving at a settlement amount for damages. If the trial goes forward, it is estimated to last five weeks, but that won’t mark the end of Fox’s court troubles: voting machine manufacturer, Smartmatic is in the lineup, having filed suit in New York, to include Lou Dobbs, Rudy Giuliani and Maria Bartiromo; shareholders have filed suit alleging a breach of fiduciary duty, which could develop into a class action suit; and, former Fox employee, Abby Grossberg, has filed suit for being ‘coerced’ into providing false testimony which she says was a setup to make her a scapegoat, deleting evidence from her phone, and claiming that Fox has a history of sexism and discrimination against women. Fox has filed a countersuit against Grossberg, leaving this situation in play…so our getting cheated out of one big Fox exposition allows a few minor possibilities remaining in the docket.

Speaking of cheating…The Donald is already making excuses for losing the 2024 presidential election, even though he claims on Truth Social that his numbers are ahead of Biden’s. He posted, “The Dems are working hard on various forms of CHEATING, including Election interference through the illegal use of Prosecutors, on a scale never seen before. Do not discount their ability to CHEAT!!!” Which stage of grief can be attributed to his state of mind if he is already conceding defeat eighteen months ahead of a scheduled election? He is acknowledging the many criminal indictments and trials have already doomed his pathetic candidacy, but that he would have won if only the ‘cheating’ against him had not been allowed to happen. His president-for-life dream is over! As a former business associate of Donny’s, Donnie Deutsch, said on MSNBC, “I’m bored. This latest chapter seems to be enough already; I can’t look at this guy anymore; I don’t want to see this guy anymore.” Boredom! So that’s what killed the campaign…and tediousness?

Another loser in the news is ex-contender for the 2024 GOP presidential election slot, Governor Ron DeSantis, having such a disaster of a campaign rollout this month that one of his major Republican donors bailed on him. Losing a mega-donor because your polling numbers take a dive is a big hit ‘cuz that’s where the power lies, not with Mom ‘n Pop contributors. The donor in question closed his wallet “because of his (DeSantis’) stance on abortion and book banning,” going too far to the right with extremist positions. Decline in the gov’s polling spot show that those supporters became ‘undecideds’ or shifted to other candidates NOT to include The Trumpmeister. Media buildup of DeSantis as a legitimate opponent of Trump, now has no basis with his true character as a weakling being brought to the fore.

The end for DeSantis may lie in the food related incident that Trump and the MAGAts are blowing up. Story is that a few years back, flying from Florida to D.C., DeSantis lacked a spoon with which to eat his pudding dessert, so he improvised by using three fingers, expanding the folklore that he is one messy eater anyway. Being christened with a new nickname, ‘Ol Puddin’ Fingers, by The Don, and now a campaign video showing pudding being enjoyed in the DeSantis style, with a voiceover announcing that Ron has to “have his puddin’ fingers in everything,” where they don’t belong, such as our entitlements!

Possible GOP presidential contender, Mike Pence, showed up in his home state of Indiana for an appearance at the NRA convention, making history by being the first Republican candidate in memory to be booed by the attendees. Stepping onstage, the boos started, rising in crescendo as the gathering heaped its punishment upon the former vice-president. Shouts of “Traitor” could be heard amidst the booing, as Pence stood in the spotlight, waiting for the booing to subside, and as it quieted, he said, “I love you too.” After a short speech, he walked away from the spotlight, and the vicious booing showered over him as he exited. This humiliation won’t be enough to discourage him from his quest, and we can be certain that further rejections await him as he plunges ahead in his useless campaign to win over the old, white, gun toting crowd who drove their DeSotos with the ‘Perot for President’ bumper stickers to Indianapolis.

On ABC’s Sunday presentation of ‘This Week’, Senator Lindsey Graham slammed Marjorie Traitor Greene’s comment in praise of the Air National Guardsman arrested for leaking classified military documents, saying, “If you’re a member of the military intelligence community and you disagree with American policy and you think you’re going to be okay when it comes to leaking classified information, you’re going to jail.” Greene had tweeted: “Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more.” The documents showed NATO intelligence about U.S. involvement in Ukraine, including deaths and training of Ukrainian troops, some of which officials indicated are doctored. Some Republicans who oppose this country’s support of that war were quick to strengthen their arguments upon seeing the leaked material, even though The Washington Post says there is a video of Teixeira “shouting racist and antisemitic slurs before firing a rifle.”  Figures!

Senator Graham rebuked their arguments, saying it would “destroy America’s ability to defend itself. And for any member of Congress to suggest it’s okay to leak classified information is terribly irresponsible,” being directed toward Marge. Representative Greene then responded to his criticism by posting a Photoshopped image of him holding a can of Bud Light beer with the image of transexual-influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Following last week’s brouhaha of the ‘Tennessee Three,‘ two of whom were kicked out of office in that state’s House, reinstatement was made by their home districts in just days. The House Speaker, Cameron Sexton, drew attention to himself with a report that he had purchased a home in Nashville, and not two hours away in Crossville which he supposedly represents. The Tennessee Constitution then makes him ineligible to represent Crossville since he isn’t a ‘qualified voter’ living within that district. He admitted that he and his family live in Nashville even though the Legislature is in session only four months out of the year. To obscure his purchase and the move, he established an anonymous trust to buy the property, with his financial advisor listed as trustee, with ability to sign all documents. Sexton’s wife, Lacey, signed the warranty deed for the property as the ‘affiant,’ but her name is not printed on the document and the signature looks iffy. The bank which handled the sale lists Sexton as a director and he assists in ‘business development.’ Tennessee law provides for a temporary residency, if the person intends to return to the original residence, but investment in a $600,000 property looks highly suspicious to say the least, since the Crossville house was sold.

During the legislative session, members receive a per diem to “cover meals and incidentals equal to the allowance granted Federal employees for such expenses in the Nashville area,” being about $79 daily. However, members who live more than fifty miles outside Nashville are given $313 to cover cost of lodging in Nashville, and per diem is available when Legislature is out of session if a trip is necessary to conduct official business. Of course, Sexton would claim the round trip to and from Crossville, which has cost the taxpayers $92,071 since 2021. Sexton’s new home is in District 56, six miles from the state capitol; the actual representative of District 56 has collected $10,885 in that same period. Karma is a bitch.

In a similar vein, Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal requested $2 million from the city council to fill 79 vacant deputy positions. Said Bilal, “Our office is consistently under-funded, and this jeopardizes the lives and safety of our sworn and civilian personnel.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, checking city records and internal documents has found that the awarded funds were rerouted toward hefty pay raises for her executive staff, with an attempt to raise her own pay by 109% which would have made her the highest-paid elected city official. She wisely declined comment in later testimony to the city council. A call by Rochelle to House Speaker Sexton for sharing an attorney might be a prudent move.

A recent vote in Missouri resulted in a ban for care of trans youths, with bans from sports to “protect kids.” The GOP-controlled Assembly passed the bill 106-45, and now needs another House vote to move it to the state Senate. The sponsor of the legislation, Senator Moon, when asked about a vote on child marriage, defended the custom by saying he personally knows some who “are still married.” Moon ran on a platform toward “putting an end to abortion” along with his support of eliminating corporate taxes and limiting sex education classes. Next up is a bill to ban drag shows in public venues. Sounds as if Missouri has mixed feelings about being ‘The Show Me State.’

As it now stands, we as a nation are just six state votes away from holding an Article V Convention. Four major campaigns exist for such a gathering: the Balanced Budget Amendment, the Convention of States campaign, the Wolf-PAC campaign, and the term limits campaign…each with different goals but convincing 28 states that this is necessary. If six more state legislatures call for a constitutional convention, Congress will have to hold one because that rule exists, the catch being no rules for an Article V Convention are outlined in the Constitution. The danger is that those who convene such a group to rewrite our sacred document might be unelected and unaccountable, so many of our cherished rights might be revoked – right to peaceful protest, freedom of religion, or right to privacy! What’s to keep corporations from dumping money into the process to see their wishes are followed? Bottom line points to a disaster, leading to extensive and expensive legal fights, with uncertainty about the functioning of a democracy, and assuredly economic instability would follow. Extremists and wealthy special interests see a chance to pursue their far-right agenda, putting it into the Constitution, working fervently to convince those allies in the state legislatures to make the push. The issue is sneaking below the radar and needs to have the attention of us all!

Montana’s GOP is trying to change the rules for next year’s Senate primary to take down Democratic Senator Jon Tester and take back the U.S. Senate. A bill to change the structure of elections in the party primary system to one in which the top two preferred candidates would advance to the general election regardless of party – no Libertarians to muck up the results, thank you! Tester is in his third-term, and getting third party voters to switch to the GOP would be their best bet to oust him, though these voters like neither party. The GOP is calling this an experiment, is not applicable to congressional races, and would sunset in 2025, affecting only Tester’s race. Angry Democrats are being told by Republicans that it simply wants to ensure that the winner has more than 50% support of Montana voters. Democrat Jayson O’Neill charges that it is a D.C. implemented ploy – the Montana legislature didn’t come up with this on their own. “It’s a Hail Mary throw…throw deep and see if they get a catch. They are desperate to find the magic pathway to success, willing to throw anything at the wall to see if it sticks.” The NRSC declined to comment…fill in the blanks on your own.

INCENSE, PEPPERMINT, BUD LITE AND CIGAR SMOKE

Donald Trump, after his Manhattan court appearance, immediately fled for refuge at Mar-a-Lago where he feels safest. In a speech he proclaimed, “I never knew something like this could happen in America. The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those that seek to destroy it,” in his belief that if it is said ad infinitum his complete innocence becomes a reality. As he enumerated all the crimes of which he is accused he said, “This is a persecution, not an investigation, but our heads are held high.” His two oldest sons, Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dweeb, though not named, were thanked for their support, yet naming Tiffany and Ivanka as he complimented them…even predicting “Barron will be great someday. He’s tall and smart.” There was no comment regarding The Onion’s headline: Trump Revealed To Have Paid Hush Money To Conceal Children He Had In Wedlock.

Continuing, The Don said, “But I have a great family and they’ve done a fantastic job and we appreciate it very much.” No mention of truant wife, Melania? It appears that she chose not to attend – neither did she watch his cringe worthy blather on those outlets who capitulated to airing it. Sources say she is angry about his extramarital affairs, doesn’t care to hear it mentioned, while being aware of who she’s married to, as she socializes with her own friends and family who know better than to mention reality. Staying at Mar-a-Lago offers her some safety, a retreat from the environs of Washington, D.C. and New York, despite the physical deterioration some have reported about the complex. Disclosures by some visitors of peeling paint and a general feeling of neglect may indicate that Trump may have his eyes on a dacha in Russia as his legal options narrow down. Will Melania be on that Underground Railroad escape? It’s a good bet that son-in-law Jared Kushner will hitch a ride as far as Saudi Arabia.

The net has gathered tighter now that several of the former prez’s administration associates have been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Jack Smith, most notably former chief of staff Mark Meadows who attempted to stay out of the limelight by claiming executive privilege. Meadows is seen as instrumental in providing information leading up to the January 6, 2020 Insurrection, and in the attempt to overthrow Biden’s election in the weeks prior to the inauguration of the new administration, especially in his dealings with Ginny Thomas. Others subpoenaed by Smith are John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence; Robert O’Brien, former national security advisor; and, Ken Cuccinelli, former Department of Homeland Security official. Former VP Mike Pence has ended his opposition to testifying, with ‘Mother’s‘ acquiescence, and can be expected to comply in the near future.

Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest rolled over in his grave with a smile on his face this week, as the GOP controlled Tennessee House expelled two of its Black members over a peaceful protest against gun violence on the chamber floor. General Forrest, founder of the KKK, would have been glad to see that a White member was spared removal from the body – heaven forfend that it had to be a woman accused of the same impropriety! Republican members are obviously attempting to solidify their race to the bottom of the heap by doing such things as overriding police accountability measures passed by voters, stripping civilian boards of power, making it more difficult to investigate abuse and excessive force by law enforcement, and generally ignoring wrongdoing by their own members. Candace Owen, a Hitler admirer, was honored for her ‘criticism of creeping socialism and leftist political tyranny,’ but they declined to honor Renata Soto for working with undocumented immigrants. Former basketball coach, Representative David Byrd, was accused of sexually assaulting three teenage girls as their coach, and while he did not seek reelection, he was allowed to serve out his term. Several years ago, two GOP lawmakers raised hell during a Capitol building renovation about a Muslim foot-washing sink being added to a bathroom – which was actually intended to be a mop sink. And on and on!

Mark Zaborowski on Quorum writes, “The lower chamber in Tennessee has just solidified Democratic control in these three districts for years to come. Special elections will be held, and these same folks can run again, if they wish. Meanwhile, the state is getting a lot of attention for this high-handed and frankly juvenile act. If the House had voted instead to censure the lawmakers for breaking the ‘rules of decorum,’ the point would have been made and the whole thing would have blown over quickly. Now, it’ll be brought up and re-examined after the special elections and beyond. It’s not as though these Democrats were invited into a club and then kicked out. They were elected by Tennesseans to represent their interests. Lawmakers ignore that important fact at their peril. Expulsion for committing a crime is one thing. Taking a political stand opposite the majority is viewed by most Americans as a right, not a privilege to be granted or denied by the majority.”

We can see the GOP errors in judgment with their continuing to harp about Hunter Biden and his laptop. They fail to disclose any information on why his hard drive is a smoking gun for Biden family criminality and voters are growing weary of this time waster. A study by the Congressional Oversight project indicates 63% of voters want Congress to look into issues like health care, rising costs and climate change instead of their petty distractions. But they have their base, who haven’t noticed that the wheels have come off, and a serious political party doesn’t exist anymore, able to handle new and relevant insights.

One Trumper has shown us the proper use of the AR-15 in getting rid of some anger and frustration. Kid Rock was disgruntled that Bud Lite had chosen actress, musician, comedienne and trans woman Dylan Mulvaney for an ad campaign in celebration of her milestone year of identifying as a woman. Taking to an Instagram video, Rock used his weapon to destroy a crate of Bud Lite, then consigning the leaking, foaming beers to the trash while yelling, “Know your audience, BUD!” Untroubled by this hillbilly’s elegy, Budweiser issued a public statement that it was standing by its decision to honor Mulvaney, uncaring that ‘this Bud’s obviously not for you, Kiddo!’

ProPublica blew the roof off the Supreme Court this week with the revelation that real estate magnate, right-winger and Hitler memorabilia collector, Harlan Crow was the benefactor of two decades worth of lavish vacations for Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Insurrectionist Ginny – all of which were not disclosed by the unethical twosome. Texas billionaire and GOP mega donor Crow bestowed gratuities totaling millions at this juncture, far above the threshold of $415 which would require reporting, and a violation of disclosure law. ProPublica cites flight records, internal documents and interviews to back up its charges of Thomas’ failure to include this generosity on his financial records, thumbing his nose at the 1978 Ethics in Government Act. Crow’s response was to claim that the Thomas duo never asked for anything and have been friends for over twenty-five years, to whom he was only extending hospitality which many of his “dear friends” have received. Thomas has vacationed on Crow’s 162-foot yacht around the world, as well as being flown to destinations in a private jet both domestically and internationally. In 2019, Clarence and Ginny were treated to an Indonesian vacation reputed to be worth around $500,000 had they footed the bill themselves. Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks hosted the Thomas’ numerous summers, via private jet, of course.

The Supreme Court’s spokesperson had no immediate response for comment, but we can rest assured there are plenty of strategy sessions to provide some upcoming Justification. Justice Thomas finally managed a response (HE SPEAKS AGAIN!) – pleading ignorance, saying he had been “advised” it was unnecessary to this largesse since there was “no business before the court.” It must have been information from the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who had invited Thomas to accompany him on a Texas hunting trip, leaving the invitee behind because he couldn’t “arrange a ride.” So, casting aside his oversights, he promised to follow more stringent guidelines in the future. Hearing that, Crow may decide to provide only his 98-foot yacht and the little-used Piper Cub as a gift for his old friend’s next vacation, provided Chief Justice John Roberts doesn’t butt in wanting a piece of the action.

Roberts may be a bit late in this sort of bid (or not?) with calls for an ethics investigation into Thomas‘ secretive activity, primarily by Democrats, with Republicans responses amounting to little more than, “Oh, look over there at the bunny!” Looking into Harlan Crow’s background we find he was a backer of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which attacked John Kerry’s war record during his presidential campaign in 2004. In 2011 Crow donated $500,000 to a Tea Party group founded by….wait for it!…Ginny Thomas, which paid her an annual salary of $120,000. Currently, he gives support to FreedomWorks, one group opposed to Biden’s student loan relief plan, and for 25 years he has served on the board of the American Enterprise Institute and on the board of the Hoover Institution, both being conservative think tanks. Many groups that benefit from his generous patronage are unknown, since he only discloses what is necessary to keep him within the law.

Although both Crow and Thomas vow there was never any discussion about court cases, it doesn’t pass the test since conservative politicians manage to get massive contributions with nary a discussion about what the donors want in return. A fireside chat, or cigars and wine following dinner has to influence one’s thinking. ProPublica concludes,‘When a justice’s lifestyle is being subsidized by the rich and famous, it absolutely corrodes public trust.” Bruce Maiman of HuffPost says, “A fundamental problem with our democracy is that bribery is legal and baked into the system. In closing, I’ll just say this: I believe you, Anita.”

Former conservationist, now anti-vaccine and anti-science extremist, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was encouraged by Steve Bannon, to throw his hat into the ring as a 2024 presidential candidate. The nephew of President John F. Kennedy has abandoned his family’s legacy of public service and is now a self-serving libertarian bent upon spreading conspiracy theories and deceitful anti-vaccine messages, associating with the likes of not only Bannon, but Roger Stone at ‘Reawaken America’ events. He has attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci in a tiresome commentary, comparing COVID-19 mandates to Nazi Germany, and being condemned by his own wife, Cheryl Hines. His siblings have attempted to convince him to mend his ways to no avail, as he sinks deeper into his destructive misinformation campaign. COVID-denier Trump appointed him to a vaccine safety panel during his administration, but quickly backed away after more rational heads prevailed. His pathetic political campaign is going nowhere but it still poses a danger since he has an established base and we’ve seen where this type of demagoguery gets us.

In other news, a Florida suspect was arrested for two home invasions after fleeing from police. The man, naked and covered in wheel bearing grease, peppermint oil and blood, and under the influence of drugs, dived into a swimming pool, then bounced on a trampoline before being restrained by three medics. He was charged with occupied burglary, battery on a police officer, criminal mischief, and violently resisting arrest. To the disappointment of Governor DeSantis, he couldn’t be charged with carrying a library card.

April 3

STORMY WEATHER REMOVES TEFLON FOR A MUG SHOT

Well, it finally happened this week, and now Ivanka Trump’s kids can have matching photos of both their grandfathers’ mug shots sitting on the mantel…maybe, unless The Donald gets his way and is/was able to opt out of that part of his booking on Tuesday. The former TV showman is being thwarted in his attempt to borrow from a collector, O.J. Simpson’s white ’93 Ford Bronco, as he shows up at Manhattan Criminal Court for his appearance to hear the charges prepared by County D.A. Bragg and the grand jury. Senator Lindsey Graham asked to be the driver, but the Secret Service determined that his teary-bleary eyes disqualified him, handing him a box of facial tissues and telling him to go stand in the corner and straighten up. As reported, the Trump defense team of Susan Necheles and Joe Tacopina declared, “President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court. Substantial legal challenges will be filed and a plea deal is not gonna happen.” Trump was caught off guard by this action…Bragg’s strategy, with the grand jury previously announcing a recess until late-April and the defense team preparing for a break from the case amid hopes that it was perhaps being dropped. Trump’s call for court house protests resulted in more reporters showing up, with a large contingent being present celebrating the indictment news.

Critics of DJT’s ‘political persecution’ are calling his caper with Stormy Daniels ‘a personal matter,’ ignoring the likelihood that there are numerous charges in the sealed indictment, as they beat the drums loudly about the unfairness of a perceived, but deceptively characterized, single charge. So, take the rag away from your face, Lindsey, now’s not the time for your tears. D.A. Bragg seemed reluctant to take on the ongoing Trump case when he assumed his position, having reservations about the testimony given by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney. With the passage of time, Bragg became more focused, especially as other legal actions against the former president were resulting in successes, and speculation is that over 30 counts against Trump lie within that sealed envelope…in hindsight, were these predictions correct? Defendant Trump views the court action as working in his favor, energizing his base and winning new sympathetic adherents who may not like him but feel that a former chief executive should not face the music for an alleged extramarital affair. Team Trump’s email says they raised over $4 million in the hours after indictment was announced. They offered no comment on reports that Melania Trump was once again wearing her ‘I Really Don’t Care, Do U?’ jacket once again.

As expected, the GOP has rushed in to protect the Defendant’s sainted orange halo, the tearful Lindsey G. begging for contributions to fight this ‘injustice’, and Governor Ron DeSantis expressing his refusal to cooperate with any extradition orders from his state of Florida. In vain, House Republicans have asked D.A. Bragg to testify before their committee, as they interfere with the prosecution, but he has sternly told them to stay on their side of the fence…as in “Butt Out…go pound sand!” Fox News is firmly back in Trump’s camp, calling for protests and inciting unrest, with Tucker Carlson saying, “…probably not the best time to give up your AR-15.” Even Senator Graham showed his colors with a sure fire plan to have his idol escape prosecution, by attacking Bragg as being soft on crime, and suggesting that The Don on his journey to the Criminal Court he could “smash some store windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop. He would be released IMMEDIATELY!” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted his support, criticizing Bragg, saying, “He routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public.” Governor DeSantis added, “Bragg consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal conduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.” Former Trump side-kick, Mike Pence, says the indictment “sends a terrible message to the world,” about American justice, and will encourage dictators to abuse power. Uhh, Mikey, isn’t that what we are fighting against in your old buddy? Oh yeah, ‘now’s not the time to talk about…blah, blah, blah.’ Let’s talk after Tuesday, ‘kay?

Non-candidates Pence and DeSantis continue to hedge their bets in their non-presidential race declarations as they keep their attention on Trump’s base – don’t want to offend anybody, guys! Never know when you’ll need a good word from Dorito Mussolini and his minions. Former Arkansas governor, Asa Hutchinson, on the other hand has jumped right into the race, joining Nikki Haley and a couple of other minor players, as an announced candidate, and will make a formal bid official later this month. He claims that in touring the country he hears Americans asking for “leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not appeal to our worst instincts. I believe that I can be that kind of leader for the people of America.” Prior to his governorship he served in the House of Representatives, and was a federal prosecutor, and has suggested with the indictment, Trump should drop his presidential aspirations, “For the sake of the office of the presidency.” It has become too much of a “sideshow and a distraction, and he needs to concentrate on his due process…I’m not supportive of Donald Trump. I want to provide an alternative, but I’m happy if the voters make that decision and choice. I don’t like the idea of the charges from what I’ve seen coming out of New York. But the process has got to work, and we have to have respect for our criminal justice system, but also for the office of the presidency.”  Ace, did you clear this with Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders?

Robert Reich on Inequality Media Civic Action, writes, “The indictment of Trump is a victory for the rule of law and democracy. It shows that no person is above the law and that our justice system will not be bullied by threats of violence. But make no mistake: This indictment also makes Donald Trump more dangerous than ever. You see, for the tens of millions of people who still believe the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen, this indictment simply confirms Trump’s narrative that the system is rigged against them. They believe the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a patriotic act of resistance, and Trump will use this indictment to further galvanize his supporters, laying the groundwork for another, possibly more violent, coup attempt in 2024. That’s Trump’s plan, clear as day, and we ignore the threat at our own peril…Our democracy is facing another major stress test, with Trump’s rhetoric more apocalyptic and dangerous than ever, and no one in the Republican Party seemingly able or willing to stop him. The bottom line is this: Donald Trump’s next coup attempt is already underway, and we must start now fighting back to defend our democracy.” That should be the perfect call for us to start scraping the Teflon coating from Defendant Prima Donald.

With all the ruckus around Manhattan this week, it would be understandable that the big news was overlooked…our U.S. Senate voted to end the Iraq War, a symbolic vote which took no bravery whatsoever! The 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force to invade Iraq, a historical hangover of the first degree, and a reminder of the game of chicken played with then-president George W. Bush and his war party…repealed! The vote will have no impact on the 2,500 or so military advisors and trainers remaining in that country, as Congress tries to reclaim its war-making duty after Bush won several skirmishes for funding to stay in Iraq, while refusing to be forced into a withdrawal timetable. With troops already in place, Congress blinked, feeling it had no choice but to protect our military with even more money and materiel. That portion of the Authorization that covers counterterrorism operations worldwide remains intact, but evidently feeling their oats, Congress went so far as to repeal the authorization for the 1991 Persian Gulf War because…why not? Makes you proud that two wars were ended on the same day by such an august body which is mostly in the September of its years.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was so shocked this week when he discovered a poll revealing Americans are less focused on religion and child-bearing, equating that with loss of pride in America. “Why can’t we be proud of America?”, he asked. So there you have it folks…raise the flag, have more babies and read your holy book. Oh, and keep the AR-15 handy…genuflect, genuflect. Look for a House investigation into this matter by Bonehead Kev, coming to a committee near you to appease his favorite alleged billionaire and other demented pols.

According to Daily Kos a 2013-2014 video clip from the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) is circulating which will set Marjorie Traitor Greene’s hair on fire. “CBN has brought you all the greatest fundamentalist and evangelical hits over the years: homophobia, racism, climate change denialism, bad science, and hydroxychloroquine cures for COVID-19,” says Kos. Baptist media mogul Pat Robertson, on one of his call-in shows, was asked by a caller if it was wrong to refer to two co-workers as females after legally changing their gender status in light of the Bible’s admonitions against homosexuality. Robertson was slightly dismissive of “all that,” stating, “There are men who are in women’s bodies, rare but true; or women that are in men’s bodies, and they all say they want a sex change. And that is a very permanent thing. I don’t think there’s any sin associated with that. I don’t condemn anybody for doing that. It’s for you to decide or to judge.” Kos goes on to say, “There has been homophobia in Judeo-Christian religion for a very long time…evangelicals and Christian conservatives in our country did not invent it…many people whose faith is connected to Old or New Testaments have continued to apply context to their religion and history, while also keeping the concept of metaphor alive. The problem with these two groups, while pretending to be stoic and unyielding in their beliefs and readings and teachings, continue to change and move the goalposts of their religion as political norms ebb and flow…it bears repeating: Evangelicals and Christian conservatives are simply politicians, and if you follow them you are receiving the same amount of spiritual guidance that you would get from a politician.” Fire extinguisher, Marjorie?

Another freight train derailment involving about 25 cars in Montana on Sunday sent several freight cars into the Clark Fork River near Lolo National Forest with no resulting injuries. A butane tanker car was undamaged but many of the cars were empty, aside from several cars carrying hundreds of cases of Coors Lite and Blue Moon beers, several of which ended up in the river. Most of the spillage was confined and it was reported that fish in the river could detect no difference in water quality. Ouch! Take that light beer imbibers!

QUESTIONING ETHICS IN THE BATTER’S BOX

As we await the arrival of Godot and the adoption of an ethics code by the US Supreme Court, not to mention absence of results in an investigation by the House Ethics Committee into Representative George Santos‘ indiscretions, the Senate Ethics Committee is finally admonishing Senator Lindsey Graham for his solicitation of campaign contributions for Senate candidate Herschel Walker in November of last year. During a Fox News interview, inside a federal building, the Senator asked for donations to Walker’s campaign five separate times, in violation of the prohibition of campaign activity in federal buildings. It must be noted that Graham turned himself in to the committee following the interview.

Even though this is Graham’s second violation, criminal penalties could result, but likely won’t. He solicited contributions for his own campaign in 2020 when approached in a hallway for an unscheduled interview, and while the committee sent a private letter to him after concluding that it was “inadvertent, technical, or otherwise of a de minimis nature,” the public never learned of it at the time, and the complaint was dismissed. Committee members, Senators Coon and Lankford, wrote Graham that prohibitions on campaign solicitation in federal buildings and the use of federal resources for campaign activity “have been consistent and clear throughout your years of Senate service…and despite the Committee’s specific guidance following your October 2020 violation, your actions failed to uphold that standard, resulting in harm to the public trust and confidence in the United States Senate. You are hereby admonished.” Hardly the shot heard round the world, but in a released statement Graham said, “It was my mistake. I take responsibility. I will try to do better in the future.” Do we have any other suggestions out there in how he might do better? How about a walk across the aisle for a talk with Representative Weasel McCarthy?

Kevin McCarthy in a tweet last week, responded to Master Donny J’s tweet about a possible Tuesday arrest, putting himself in the middle of the indictment excitement. One Twitter responder told The Mac that he was surprised he had cell service from inside Trump’s colon. Anyway, the stupidest man in the country howled, “An outrageous abuse of power…all politically motivated prosecutions!” His tweet suspiciously followed one by Marjorie Traitor Greene who might actually be in command of this bunch of Trumpsters. She probably told Kev, “Relax, you got your job…now leave the rest to me, ‘atta boy!”

The Durango Herald newspaper in Colorado criticized Representative Lauren Boebert after her visit to a local high school last week, where her session with students went beyond “governance and into political territory.” Her speech, followed by a Q&A mentioned “moral decay” as she inveighed against infringement of liberties during the COVID-19 period. Parents of the Dolores High School students had misgivings leading up to the event, but were somewhat reassured when she confirmed that she would not be armed with a weapon, though brimming over with QAnon conspiracies. The editorial board of the Herald wrote, “Like her or otherwise, Boebert is a polarizing politician. Apparently, she also told students they should know about these issues and let it motivate them to stand up for their freedom. Come on! This is Boebert’s brand on stage in front of students without parents present…she didn’t separate herself and her politics from the mechanics of government.” The editorial continues, “She could have inspired students with her personal journey from a manager at McDonald’s to a representative in the hallowed halls of Congress.” Since she has not advanced her ‘personal journey’ for the better, how about we remove her from those hallowed halls with a return to where she surely mastered the phrase, “Want fries with that?”

Meanwhile, in Arizona, gubernatorial election loser, Kari Lake, fights on to have the election overturned in her favor or to re-run the election as she refuses to concede to declared winner, Katie Hobbs. She filed a lawsuit contesting the legitimacy of the results, blaming problems on printers and tabulating machines, which prevented some same-day voters from casting a ballot. Maricopa County Judge Peter Thompson and the Arizona Court of Appeals determined her case lacked evidence of devious intentions by the county to disenfranchise her supporters, so was thrown out. An appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, which declined to hear her case, did send back one of her claims to the county for review, which involves improper signature verification procedures. With six of her seven claims dismissed, Loser Lake’s response was, “They have built a house of cards in Maricopa County. I’m not just going to knock it over. I’m going to burn it to the ground. Signature verification has been the third rail for Maricopa County for the past few years. They have thrown every obstacle at Arizona election integrity activists to prevent them from reaching it. Unfortunately, they messed with the wrong woman.” Kari, Kari, Kari – put down that blowtorch! Don’t you know that Master Trump favors the baseball bat? Don’t jeopardize your standing for possible VP consideration!

Who hasn’t seen the Truth Social post made by Combover Caligula where he placed a photo of himself preparing to swing a baseball bat at a photo of New York D.A. Bragg? It was widely distributed over all social media sites, and notably picked up by the Rupert Murdoch newspaper, The New York Post, with the classic tabloid headline, “Bat Hit Crazy,” taking its place above the previous classic headline, “Headless Body found in Topless Bar.” The lead to the headline, “Deranged Trump threatens violence against Bragg who gets death note,” which refers to a letter enclosed in an envelope with white powder sent to the Manhattan D.A., threatening death with the possible indictment of The Donald. Conclusion was that the powder was harmless; but concern about the message, which followed Trump’s Social Media that his arrest could lead to “potential death and destruction,” would provide impetus for his followers to “stand back and stand by.” Legal experts feel that the former prez theoretically could be charged for such posts, not only for ethically crossing the line, but also legally, facing charges for menacing, of aggravated harassment, or inciting a riot, a charge which he still faces resulting from J6. Because of Trump’s social media comments and the undercurrent of threats circulating because of his impending arrest, security has been especially tight in Manhattan, ranging from deliveries, to placement of barricades, and patrols by bomb-sniffing dogs. Bragg’s office staff of 1600 is constantly fielding threatening phone calls and emails, as they attempt to complete their work.

An attempt by three House GOP chairmen – Jim (Gym) Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil – to investigate D.A. Bragg for his Trump investigation as an “unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” to cloud, and possibly delay any charges has fallen flat on its face. Their letter to Bragg insisted that congressional scrutiny about how funds appropriated by Congress are implemented is valid and that he must submit to their probe. A spokesperson for Bragg responded by saying, “We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law.” Kevin McCarthy, momentarily emerging from his sheltered perch said, “Republicans are just asking questions…let them ask questions. There’s nothing wrong with asking the question.” So, reporters posed a question – about whether he could support Trump with all his potential indictments pending. “It’s a political play,” he says. Good, solid answer, Kev.

Bragg tossed the letter back to the chairmen with, “We will not be intimidated by this. Many false claims have been lobbed out, so let’s set the record straight. New York remains one of the safest big cities in the U.S,” – in response to their urging him to spend more time on controlling local crime rather than pursuing Trump. When the Proud Boys and their adherents react to the indictment we can bet on continued job security for the D.A.’s office with increased New York criminality. Trump continues to deny any involvement with porn actress Stormy Daniels, aside from having a side by side photo taken at a golf course. His post on Truth Social claims, “I did NOTHING wrong in the ‘Horseface’ case. I see she showed up in New York today trying to drum up some publicity for herself…Never had an affair with her, another false acquisition (sic) by a Sleazebag. Witch Hunt!” Stormy, in a tweet shot back a photo of her horse, replying, “My horse is prettier than me. There is nothing about Tiny that would remind anyone of a horse.”

PREPARATIONS FOR REPARATIONS, SEPARATIONS FROM REALITY

Most of us can remember a past where Senators Ted Kennedy, John McCain, and Lindsey Graham respectfully associated with each other, sharing their differing views without heated rancor. Aldous J. Pennyfarthing in a Daily Kos essay lays into Senator Lindsey Graham after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviewed five members of the grand jury looking into Donald Trump’s election tampering. A.J. says, “Graham presumably once had a soul before Trump covered it in a pony keg of Magic Shell and a soupçon of snackin’ lard and inhaled it like a stoned pelican running loose in a Long John Silver’s.” Early in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Graham had criticized The Donald with intensity, but once the die was cast he succumbed along with the rest of the GOP into the void. However, hearing one juror’s statement regarding Lin’s grand jury testimony has led Pennyfarthing to say, “We now have confirmation that Lindsey still has a brain,” as he testified that Trump would have believed that aliens came down and stole the 2020 election had he been told so!” Whoops…no more golf games with Ex-Prezi Pampers!

Of course, DJT was listening to earth-aliens Rudy Giuliani and Mike Lindell, who still can’t seem to come up with any evidence about election rigging. The grand jury also was presented with a previously unpublicized phone call made by Donald to the late Georgia House Speaker, David Ralston, who recorded Trump’s request for him to convene a special session of the Legislature to overturn Joe Biden’s Georgia victory. As jurors reported, “Ralston basically cut the President off, saying he would do everything in his power that was appropriate.” A stumbling, mumbling Trump could only say, “Well, thank you.” Pennyfarthing maintains that if Ralston “actually got Trump to eat his dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and go down for a nap,” he was an amazing person. He ends with, “Trump can fool some of the people some of the time, but apparently he can’t fool a grand jury – or the legal system. And in the end, that’s all that really matters, now isn’t it?”

At this writing, we are anxiously awaiting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s dropping of the indictment hammer on Trump – fingers crossed that it occurred! Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, has testified for countless hours regarding the Orangeman’s escapade with Stormy Daniels and possible campaign finance fraud as it relates to the hush money paid to the porn star, and other women as well. No public announcement was made regarding the possible indictment, but Horatio Combover claims to have obtained confidential information that Tuesday, March 21 is/was the fateful day and that his army should “PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!” Taking a clue from the January 6 Insurrection in D.C., law enforcement officials are taking necessary precautions to deal with any possible violence – which the former prez seems to encourage.

Violence would seem to be the watchword within Representative Matt Gaetz’s office, having just hired a new staffer who wasted no time in showing his misogynistic, pathetic, and sick hatefulness. Andrew Kloster described himself as a “raging misogynist,” who once tweeted, “I need a woman who looks like she just got punched.” With Gaetz’ history, Andy should fit right in, especially since he is facing a Class A misdemeanor in Texas for causing bodily injury toward a woman. To this he answers, “I’m a 100% women respecter precisely because I’m a raging misogynist. I’m so kind you’ll want to kill yourself and die, which is the goal.” Candidates for jail seem to be prime candidates for political office in the GOP nowadays.

Prisoner-in-waiting Trump, on the third front of his many defenses, courtesy of DOJ Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, continues to play victim, going ballistic all over his Social Media network, and accusing Smith of “intimidating” his defense lawyers. Smith remains silent and keeps on truckin,’ comfortable in his role while ignoring or removing the claimed attorney-client privilege from the equation, while turning the Prima Don’s defense team into star witnesses against him. Smith’s experience and résumé gives him the expertise to avoid the political blowback that Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors floundered within while investigating the Trump-Russia connection. Handling high-profile cases has given him the breadth of experience to weather the scrutiny and make tough judgement calls quickly and bravely, which led to his appointment as Chief Prosecutor at Kosovo Specialist Chambers where he served prior to his DOJ appointment. The International Criminal Court located in The Hague in the Netherlands had him, since 2018, investigating and prosecuting war crimes during the Kosovo War.

It is said of Smith that if he doesn’t see a valid case, there will be no prosecution, and if it moves to the next level it’s because the evidence and facts exist, and he will see it to the end. Two prominent cases in his past involve Representative Tom Delay of Texas, where the evidence was slim, and so the case was dropped; the other was against Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards for alleged campaign violations to hide an extramarital affair – is there an echo in the room? Anyway, a deadlocked jury resulted in the DOJ dropping that case. Success hit its mark against a former president, however, who still languishes in jail in The Hague – the case of Kosovo’s Hashim Thaçi, accused of countenancing atrocities including mass rape, murder, ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity. Had Smith not injured his leg in a cycling accident, afterwards spending time in recovery, he might have been devoting efforts toward laying out the criminal case against Vladimir Putin, which came to light last week, but the call to take on the DOJ case against Trump in November was one for which he is highly qualified.

Prosecutor Smith would definitely be classified by Republicans as a ‘woke’ individual who is taking things too far, a progressive who wants to tear down their golden orange idol for the crimes they refuse to recognize. The conservatives have stolen a term originating in African American vernacular which meant ‘awake to injustice and racial prejudice’ but has now evolved in some progressive circles to have a broader meaning – with the word ‘enlightened.’ Unable to come up with their own original term to heap division and hate upon the libs, the GOP purloined a peaceful word and made it into a dog whistle for bigotry and a term of ridicule for a person who is too sensitive. The efforts by Republicans to stop progress and change to ‘make America great again’ seems to be the perfect impetus for us to reclaim the term and become ‘woke‘ to the nth degree!

We can rest assured that San Francisco’s city-appointed 15-member reparations committee will be thrown into the ‘woke’ pile after proposing that every qualifying Black adult should receive payments of five million dollars, accompanied by the elimination of debt and taxes, with a guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 for 250 years and homes for the family priced at one dollar. The draft reparations proposal with over one hundred recommendations was released in December, but unsurprisingly, has encountered pushback from a wide spectrum of critics. The plan seeks to atone for centuries of slavery and systemic racism, and recently upon reviewing the outline for the first time, the S.F. Board of Supervisors gave their support, many believing that cost should not be a hindrance to doing the right thing. No cost analysis has been done so far, but critics say it is financially and politically impossible, with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution estimating a cost of around $600,000 for each non-Black citizen of San Francisco. Some analysts say that reparations should not subject the taxpayers in municipalities which never enslaved Blacks with payouts to those who were not enslaved. A final committee report will be released in June, in which the body can approve, reject or change the various specifics of the plan as they also keep an eye on the stratagems being developed by other cities and states across the country. Evanston, Illinois was the first city in the country to fund reparations, with Boston’s City Council forming a task force to do a study.

The delusional GOP Representative George Santos of New York, under the grinding weight of investigations by the House Ethics Committee, a county prosecutor in New York, and with the country of Brazil reviewing charges made from his short residency there, continues to show up for short speeches on the House floor and has filed paperwork for a possible run for reelection. Among the many lies about his background fed to the electorate during his campaign was his claim of being from a Jewish family of Holocaust survivors – a falsehood he later admitted to spreading. But keeping all his irons in the fire in the event he has to give up his House seat, either through resignation or being unseated by his colleagues, rumor has it that he will move to San Francisco, identify as Black and get in line for the reparations when they become available. Luckily for Santos, somehow Ancestors-‘R-Us.com found that he comes from slaves who became sharecroppers after their forced servitude in Mississippi, never receiving their ‘forty acres and a mule.’ So, let’s all agree we that at the least he deserves a donkey as he fights the windmills of his delusions?

“Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.” – Frank Zappa

RINGLEADERS AND KNOW-NOTHINGS BEARING BEAR SPRAY

Representative George Santos of New York, who is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for misconduct and unlawful activity in his congressional campaign, has been recognized by a Brazilian man who pleaded guilty to credit card fraud in 2017, identifying Santos as the ringleader of the Seattle-based scheme. Gustavo Ribeiro Trehla recognized the credit card skimmer-in-chief from TV appearances, as Anthony Devolder, the alias he was using at the time, as the one who taught him the skimming technique and how to clone ATMs and credit cards after they met in 2016 in Florida. Reconnoitering later in Seattle, they implemented their plan, which resulted in Trehla’s arrest, and deportation, ending their scheme for a supposed 50/50 split of the take. After the Brazilian’s arrest, Santos visited the jail, threatening him if he squealed, and stealing his bail money, as anybody could have guessed, of course. A lawyer for Santos had no comment regarding investigations into potential financial crimes by both US state and federal agencies, and Brazilian authorities. No word yet of any Kevin McCarthy involvement in this arrangement.

Columnist Dana Milbank of the Washington Post accuses McCarthy of being as boastful of his ignorance as were the adherents of the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s, because he has no answers to any questions directed toward him…he hasn’t read it, seen it, or heard about it. After giving FoxNews‘ Tucker Carlson the video security footage from the January 6 Insurrection, who then aired select portions on his show to falsely claim the day was “mostly peaceful”, Kev asserted, “I didn’t see what was aired.” Senator Mitch McConnell rebuked McCarthy for his contribution, calling Carlson’s presentation an “outrageous, false and offensive portrayal of the insurrection,” but, McCarthy “didn’t see” Mitch’s blast. Trump’s provocative January 6 speech on the Ellipse sending his followers to sack the Capitol? “I didn’t watch it,” says Mac. When Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia called the rioting rampagers a “normal tourist visit”? “I don’t know what Congressman Clyde said…I didn’t see it,” sez Mr. Mac. The bipartisan agreement to form a commission to probe J6? “I haven’t read it through,” parrots the Macster. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s harassment of fellow reps? Little Mac missed that – doesn’t “know what happened.” Asked by CNN’s Manu Raj if he had regrets after turning over the J6 footage to Tuck-Tuck, he replied, “No, look, each person can come up with their own conclusion.” Own conclusion about what? The stupidity of releasing the videos to a fascist wanna-be, or the fiery, anarchist, speech of The Don to launch the attack by his ignorant horde?

Milbank says, “At best, McCarthy’s willful cluelessness is just a dodge. But this week, McCarthy’s see-no-evil approach was just plain evil.” Several other Republicans spoke up calling Carlson’s presentation, “Inexcusable b.s.,” ,”whitewashing,” “dangerous and disgusting”; however, there were those who claimed the show “demolished the Dems dishonest narrative”, even appearing on the show to congratulate him on his deceit. Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corporation chairman, has voiced that perpetrating The Big Lie should have had more restraint, since the truth was known within the walls of Fox. Senate Majority Leader Schumer charged McCarthy with making “our democracy weaker,” preferring to put himself and his repulsive hangers-on before the security of the country. Milbank concludes with ,“And McCarthy isn’t finished with his depredations. (Marjorie Taylor) Greene, given a position of influence and respectability by the speaker, is launching a probe, complete with a field trip to a D.C. jail, into the “inhumane treatment” allegedly suffered by the accused insurrectionists awaiting trial. McCarthy has also given the green light to a new probe designed to challenge the conclusions of the J6 Committee. The man who will lead that panel, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) declared this week that Americans “didn’t see the other side” of the insurrection. “I think the truth is going to be somewhere between the violent videos and the supposedly peaceful actions there,” he said.”

“No. The only truth is that J6 was a violent attack on the seat of American democracy. There was nothing peaceful about an armed insurrection attempting to overturn an election – even if some people there that day weren’t themselves violent. But that truth – and this democracy – are threatened by a dangerously weak speaker of the House, who has concluded that the only way to preserve his own power is to support Fox News in its sabotage of this country.”

Charles P. Pierce in Esquire admits to feeling a bit ashamed about his initial reaction to the Carlson/McCarthy video deal saying, “Holy hell, was it funny. He apparently culled every piece of January 6 video he could find in which nobody does anything and then used it to suggest (and I quote): More than 44,000 hours of surveillance footage from in around the Capitol have been withheld from the public, and once you see the video, you’ll understand why. Taken as a whole, the video does not support the claim that January 6 was an insurrection. In fact, it demolishes that claim. The crowd was enormous. A small percentage of them were hooligans, they committed vandalism…but the overwhelming majority weren’t. They were peaceful, they were ordinary and meek. These were not insurrectionists, they were sightseers.”

“I know that every time I get on the sightseeing trolley on the National Mall, I bring along my bear spray. Just in case Tucker Carlson shows up in G.I. Joe cosplay. I mean, it could happen! The extended farce on Fox is going to go on for awhile, and the rest of us are obligated to poke as much fun as we can at the ruined tree on which Carlson has hung the bleeding carcass of his professional career.” 

Politico says, “Indeed, polls show that there just isn’t much of a constituency in the GOP primary for anyone criticizing Trump on January 6. More than two years after the riot, the share of Republicans who disapprove of Trump supporters taking over the Capitol building has fallen to 49 percent, from 74 percent in 2021, according to a recent Economist/YouGov poll. And even if Republicans didn’t like what they saw that day, a majority of them don’t blame Trump.” Pierce ends his piece with, “There wasn’t a single actual patriot in that hall. The Fifth Column now stretches into the distance, out of sight.”

And trying a bit harder to gain some traction in his lead-up to a presidential bid, former VP Mike Pence delivered his strongest rebuke yet of his former Orange Boss, criticizing his role in the days leading to the J6 riot to overturn the election and rewrite history. In a Saturday night speech before the journalists of the annual Gridiron dinner in D.C. – no TV cameras, so he could be daring…ooooh! – he said Trump was wrong about his sidekick’s ability to overturn the election before the assembled Congress, and that history will hold the former prez responsible. History? We don’t need no stinkin’ history – we need the courts to act…NOW! Pence still holds a grudge about the dangers that he and all those present in the assembled chamber, including his own family, faced on that day, yet he still refuses to appear before the grand jury investigating the invasion of the Capitol to testify under oath.

The Gridiron is generally a lighthearted event, with sketches, comedy bits and parody songs by the press corps, but Pence ended his segment saying there is one topic he would not joke about, “The American people have a right to know what took place at the Capitol on January 6th, but make no mistake about it, what happened that day was a disgrace, and it mocks decency to portray it in any other way.”

Social media comments bloomed following his appearance, none too complimentary: Coward needs to testify!; Too little, too late!; Said not out of duty, not out of patriotism, nor love of this family, but as a political tactic in his quest for power. Sad; A Faustian character lurking in the shadows of the Capitol corridors in his under-the-table manner, believing Trump is dog meat in 2024…so much for his soul; A crock! He previously hemmed and hawed when asked about J6, refusing to criticize his boss, kissing his butt for his own sake; No one likes you, Mike. Go home!; Say what you want, Mikey. You’re still a loathsome, intolerant Bible-thumping windbag; What?! And wake up tomorrow next to a bloody horse’s head? No way! Better a live chicken than a dead duck!; If Pence was any more amorphous he’d end up in a lava lamp on ‘Mother’s‘ prayer commode! Or, as a car lot dancer!

We all know the symbolism of snowflakes contained in story and legend, their delicate beauty being rendered in art as jewelry or other art forms, perhaps in psychedelic art. So who could refuse to accept a gifted piece of framed art bestowed by an admirer in Iowa, a state that knows snowflakes well. The recipient was none other than Florida’s GOP governor, Ron DeSantis as he paid a visit to that state to gauge his popularity as a possible presidential candidate. He smilingly posed for photos holding up the shiny gift for all to see, a gift that had also been presented to Iowa’s GOP governor Kim Reynolds. Only later was it revealed to have a secret message (times six), each of the six branches of the hand-crafted snowflake decoratively spelling out the word ‘Fascist’. Right-wing broadcaster Laura Loomer, tweeted, “DeSantis got trolled in Iowa. Read the snowflake…,” to the one million plus viewers who viewed it across the media. “If the snowflake fits…,” tweeted Connecticut senator Bob Duff.

Glitch number two for the DeSantis visit occurred when a video truck appeared outside the event, playing clips showing his earlier conflicting statements on social security from which he has since attempted to distance himself. Privatization of the program, along with raising the retirement age were espoused, but with public opposition and the GOP trying to calm the waves have brought him more in line with the prevailing trend. And, he couldn’t escape without Mocker-in-Chief Trump’s commentary, “Very small crowds for Ron DeSanctimonious in Iowa. He’s against farmers, Social Security, and Medicare, so why would people show up – other than fake stories from fake news!” Give that man a red snowflake baseball cap!

And there we have it! The battle of dunces has started in which there can only be one winner between these two losers. Matt Lewis, a conservative columnist for The Daily Beast, says that if DeSantis is serious in his quest, he must disclose everything in his past that Trump might weaponize against him. If we know Blitzkrieg Bozo, he already has an arsenal of cudgels ready to go, so Lewis says to head him off. This won’t end well, however, because, as we know, each contender is ‘smarter than anybody else.’ The best scenario will have Trump, who is going down anyway, take DeSantis down with him. And, ‘Mother‘ is telling Mikey to just keep his mouth shut from here on out.

CHARIOTABLE RUTS ON THE CLIFF ROAD

Twenty percent of the seats were empty, and The Trumpster failed to get enthusiastic responses to his calculated applause lines at times, but the ballroom crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gathering outside D.C. in Oxon Hill, Md., managed to give him a 62% showing in the straw poll against other possible GOP presidential nominees. He declared, “In 2016, I declared I am your voice. Today I add: I am your warrior, I am your justice – and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution. I will totally obliterate the deep state.”

It was lauded by many as ‘Woodstock for Conservatives’, and even dubbed as ‘TPAC’ – “It’s Trumpism – it’s Trump’s party!” GOP activists, lawmakers, donors and other known right-wing movers and shakers attended the event, but it was ignored by several prominent GOP hopefuls, such as Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence who are hedging their bets on declaring their intentions so far. But VP hopeful Marjorie Taylor Greene was there…and Ted Cruz…and Matt Gaetz…and Lauren Boebert…and Ron Johnson…and Jim Jordan…and DJT Jr. – not a ‘woke‘ bunch by any means, just a bunch of whiners! Fewer college Republicans attended the conference this year, and Fox News was a no-show. Thursday night found DeSantis at a fund raiser in Florida organized by the Club for Growth, after which he departed for a GOP rally in Texas on Friday, and then on to California’s Reagan Library for a Sunday speech.

CPAC was graced by aspirants Nikki Haley, an announced candidate, and Mike Pompeo who is still putting out feelers for a possible run. Following Haley’s speech, she was heckled by Trump supporters shouting, “We love Trump!” as they waved their signs, banners and red caps in support of the beloved, but disgraced former president. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll released last week has Trump being favored 45% to 41% over DeSantis, a reasonably commanding path forward for the Retributionator. Such news is a disturbing factor to most Senate Republicans who doubt that their Agent Orange can upend Biden in another contest, and besides, what happened to predictions that his star would fade in time? It seems that his base is the unyielding white, uneducated, working-class conservative evangelicals, and rural voters, leaving DeSantis’ moderates and Never-Trump voters hard-pressed to make any inroads into that lead. GOP strategist, and former Senate aide, Brian Darling, says, “It’s clear that Trump is the front-runner and Republicans in Washington need to get used to that idea,” even though it gives them “a case of heartburn.”

Ron DeSantis is working feverishly to stay in the news cycle, and his method seems to be proclaiming his state of Florida as the last bastion of human freedom in the country, all while banning books, attacking the Disney Corporation, and passing the ‘Stop W.O.K.E.’ Act, the Parental Rights in Education Law, and House Bill 1467. Classrooms in Duval County had 176 titles removed last year, and 1.6 million book titles are under review by a ‘certified media specialist,’ prompting some teachers to cover book collections or remove them for safekeeping. The vague ‘Parental Rights’ law, which critics named the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ statute, reads, “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Perfectly tailored to have people on the ground err on the side of not talking about the subject at all!

The State College Board has been forced to change the curriculum for AP African American Studies, echoing DeSantis‘ claim that the course lacked ‘educational value’ for covering subjects such as queer theory or the prison abolition movement, and that it is historically inaccurate, violating state law on teaching of race issue. The ‘Stop W.O.K.E.’ act asserts that “schools are teaching Whites that they are evil racists and Blacks that they are morally superior to White counterparts,” resulting in this legislation calling for strict penalties. The never-ending social force of race is now forced out of the classroom, and according to PEN America is likely unconstitutional since it applies to public colleges and universities.

This DeSantis attack also pushes for tenured professors to come under ‘review’ every five years, even as he pushes for more frequent reviews by a board appointed by himself. Since the point of tenure is to protect teachers from retribution (that word again!), this move will affect what educators can teach and how they conduct research. That’s hardly tenure, Mr. D!”

Conclusion: Horse’s asses control everything. To wit: The US standard railroad gauge, distance between rails, is 4′ 8.5″, used by the English engineers who designed our first railroads. This measurement was adopted because the same people built the wagon tramways, using the jigs and tools for their vehicles’ wheel spacing. The old rutted roads of England tended to break any other spacing, so that gauge worked well inside the ruts. Those rutted roads were built by Imperial Rome for their legions, with war chariots forming the initial ruts, so the Romans and the English had to follow the ruts to preserve the integrity of their conveyances. The widths of the chariots were determined by the haunches’ width of two horses – bureaucracies never end!

The above was posted on Quora by Dasha Taran, who adds: The two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the fuel tank of the Space Shuttle were made by Thiokol in Utah. The designing engineers preferred that they be made a bit wider, but shipping by train through the mountain tunnels to the launch site wouldn’t allow a wider load, accommodations roomy enough only for a Roman war chariot pulled by two horses. A Greek solution with a Pegasus or two might have solved this dilemma!

And speaking of horses haunches, Chairman Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. and its ASSet Fox News, acknowledged in a deposition as part of the lawsuit against Fox by Dominion Voting Systems, that hosts on the network promoted the false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Cadet Bonespurs and the Tin Foil Hat Brigade by a secret algorithm in their machines. Hosts Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo were pinpointed as endorsers of this fake news, about which Murdoch “would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing in hindsight.” With a $1.6 billion defamation suit staring you in the face, we have to believe you, Rupe! Dominion has built a trove of evidence to drill home its central allegation: Those running the popular network knew The Don’s claims of voter fraud were wrong but chose to broadcast them anyway. Murdoch could have kept the Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani interviews from airing, but chose not to do so. A Delaware judge has scheduled an April trial start, which should be a real drama as Fox tries to justify its ratings and profit motive over being truthful to its viewers.

The backlash by viewers in response to Fox being the first news source declaring Biden the winner in Arizona, with a projection that he would win overall, saw a shift to other conservative news outlets, causing Fox’s move to overcome the exodus with its lies. That the show hosts offered no pushback and little discussion to the lies of their guests makes the cry for First Amendment rights seem a bit outside the ruts. Many observers are predicting that either Hannity or Dobbs, or both, will be offered up as sacrificial lambs in this fiasco, but let’s hold out for adding Tucker Carlson, who is not on the ‘list’ and is the ratings king, to this lineup! No reason we can’t have a troika pulling this broken chariot over the cliff!

February 26

RIGHT-WING REWRITES, EDITS AND REASSESSMENTS

Rhode Island Representative and ranking House Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, Seth Magaziner, says he is deeply disturbed that House Speaker McCarthy has given sensitive security surveillance footage from the January 6 D.C. insurrection to Tucker Carlson of FoxNews…“because it was promised.” A group of news outlets have enlisted the help of attorney Charles Tobin to request of congressional leadership all closed-circuit camera footage recorded both inside and outside the Capitol on that day be given to them, saying, “The incredible public interest in understanding what transpired on January 6 crosses party lines.” McCarthy has previously said reviewing the tapes would “let everybody make their own judgement.” So what are we to think if a photoshopped Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter are exposed as they carry a banner bearing an ANTIFA message? Or if Hillary is seen with Nancy Pelosi ripping up Trump posters?

The approximately 41,000 hours of footage will allow Carlson’s team to reassemble it in such a way to allow him to continue questioning the significance of that event, as well as carrying on with attacks on the House Select Committee investigation and its conclusions. Senate Majority Leader Schumer slammed Mac’s decision, accusing him of “needlessly” exposing the Capitol to further security risks by giving information to those who are planning future attacks. Attorney Tobin cited a federal appeals court case that found the government cannot selectively exclude certain outlets from information which might otherwise be available to the public. His letter to congressional leaders McCarthy, Scalise, Jeffries, Schumer and McConnell claims, “Without full public access to the complete historical record, there is concern that an ideologically-based narrative of an already polarizing event will take hold in the public consciousness, with destabilizing risks to the legitimacy of Congress, the Capitol Police, and the various federal investigations and prosecutions of January 6 crimes.” Tobin also sent an expedited request under the Freedom of Information Act on behalf of ten news organizations, as well as The Associated Press and The New York Times.

Announcing a lawsuit against McCarthy because his pillows were evidently over-fluffed, perhaps left out in the rain, is Mike Lindell of MyPillow fame. He let Steve Bannon know of his plans, and of his anger at the House leader for daring to favor Tucker Carlson by bestowing such a gift, claiming he is “injured” that Fox was selected over him, as Mac curries favor with the propagandist, and now he wants his due! So, maybe for once we can agree with this goofball…for our own reasons? Let’s also roll our eyes around a few times – as even the GOP seems to be doing.

As if the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment wasn’t bad enough, The Former Guy felt the need to show up at the site last week, and it proved to be toxic to the ego of Mr. Trump. After the visit he did his usual braggadocio of what a success it had been, as he handed out Trump-labeled bottles of water along with McDonald’s delicacies. On Truth Social he crowed that his visit was seen by 180 million viewers on both social and traditional media…“numbers off the charts!” Interesting to note that NO major stations carried his visit. Your major coverage is coming, however, Donny! He added, “The visit meant a lot for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding communities. The trip gave them hope and raised awareness needed to combat the incompetence of the Biden Administration.” He failed to mention that relaxation of rail regulations during his term likely led to the unfortunate accident. No word on the number of paper towel rolls he tossed to the assembled for use in sopping up the mess.

The former prez is by now realizing that the DOJ Special Counsel, Jack Smith, is heavily into pursuit of indicting him in a criminal case, especially after three of his attorneys have testified against him before a grand jury. Now it turns out that an aide of Trump’s brought a box of additional classified documents to Mar-a-Lago after being stored at a leased office elsewhere in Palm Beach. With headlines screaming about the discovery of classified material at M-a-L, who or what figured the coast was clear enough to bring another stash to the scene of the crime? Malice, extreme negligence, or stupidity? Smith will have to make that determination, but somebody squealed, and it indicates that DJT’s people are cooperating with DOJ, with him squarely in the viewfinder.

Compounding this issue is discovery that the documents were found on a laptop recovered from the aide, according to attorney Danny Cevallos, a giant problem for Trump because the information could be transferred easily to thumb drives to serve whatever purpose Traitor Trump had in mind. The aide, not an attorney, was working for Trump’s favored Save America PAC, and being a governmental outsider is a clear national security issue. The hard copy classified documents were distributed among miscellaneous papers, such as schedules, McDonald’s menus, ketchup packets and napkins, but it is noteworthy that they were scanned with a phone by the aide upon being instructed to do so, then transferred to the laptop. Special Counsel Smith now has the documents, the laptop and a thumb drive, plus testimony of the aide. Get your popcorn, peanuts and Cocolas, ready!

The Save America PAC is The Don’s favorite, in particular because the actual name should be the Save Trump PAC, as we discover that more than ten million dollars of the sixteen million dollars spent on legal-related expenses went to the Former Guy’s legal bills in the two previous years according to filings. Some of the money was paid to lawyers representing witnesses in investigations related to Stop the Steal efforts, but about $10M went to law firms repping for Trump in a series of investigations and lawsuits…some related to Trump, Inc. So, who says Mr. T refuses to pay his attorneys? However, this poses the question about whether he can get away with this as a presidential candidate. “Payment by a PAC that exceeds the contribution limit are contributions to the candidate and are unlawful,” reports Jason Torchinsky, a campaign finance expert with Holtzman Vogel. For the current two-year political cycle, donation limits are set at $3,300.

Pomeranian Margie T. Greene yapped out her criticism of Joe Biden’s sneak visit into Ukraine recently, barking, “Put America First!!!” Calling Ukraine the 51st state, she has long denounced the billions in aid sent to that country in its battle against the Russian invasion. Referring to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “the shadow president” when he appeared before Congress, she called the visit “absurd,” with many in the far-right wing of the GOP in agreement. Malcontent Marge, in her brazen self-pity, laments her “low” congressional salary and the fact that the job is “practically year-round. Becoming a member of Congress has made my life miserable.” Po’ li’l thang! Folks, do we know a better way to spend $174,000? You bet! Let’s work on it!

Speaking of complainers…we find cartoonist Scott Adams, along with his long-extant ‘Dilbert‘ comic strip, may have hit the wall with his extreme-right wing comments calling Black Americans a “hate group, and White people should get the hell away from them.” He is well-known for his ideologies and Trumpist conspiracy theories, but became upset after reading a Rasmussen poll that found a thin majority of Blacks agreed with the statement “It’s okay to be white.” On his YouTube show, the 65-year old Adams blamed Black Americans for not “focusing on education. I’m also really sick of seeing video after video of Blacks beating up on non-Black citizens.”

This outburst prompted many newspapers to cancel his comic strip, and if Adams‘ prediction rings true, he will be down to “zero distribution by Monday,” suggesting he had done irreparable harm to his career…“There’s no way you can come back from this.” Darrin Bell, ‘Candorville‘ cartoonist, the first Black artist to win the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, said, “His racism is not even unique among cartoonists,” and compared him to having views held in the Jim Crow era. Upon cancellation of the ‘Dilbert‘ TV show, Adams in 2020 claimed, “It’s the third job I lost for being White,” and in 2022, he tweeted his intent to “self-identify as a Black woman.”

Recently dropped by the San Francisco Chronicle, ‘Dilbert‘ had “stopped being hilarious, to being hurtful and mean,” according to editor-in-chief, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz. “Very few readers noticed when we killed it, and we only had a handful of complaints.” Looks like R.I.P. (Reprints In Podunk), ‘Dilbert‘!

Oops! Texas and a gun in the news again! The elementary school superintendent in a school district near Abilene has resigned because a third grader found his forgotten pistol in a school bathroom. Robby Stuteville’s three decade service in the district, two years as the super, came to an end with “a grave mistake,” as he pointed out. In an interview he admitted the permitted gun was left unattended for about fifteen minutes before being found. “There was never a danger other than the obvious,” Stuteville claimed. Adding, “Guns (are) a considerable danger,” and that the child had done well “to be on the lookout for any unusual placement of a weapon or anything out of place.” Anybody else think Robby is unclear on the concept? Approval to carry guns came about after the Uvalde school shooting to ensure protection of students, terming it a ‘reassessment.’ Time for a ‘re-reassessment!’

COVID-19 pandemic is over!?! So, hopeful travelers are jamming the phone lines and websites of the airlines and ticket agents to plan getaways, plaguing the air carriers with a growing, four-wheeled problem in the form of – wheelchairs! A dramatic increase in wheelchair requests and wheelchair assistance has arisen. Is it that more passengers with physical limitations are flying? Or is it crafty, deceitful passengers attempting to be among the first to board a flight? Short-staffed airlines are having difficulties at handling such an abundance of requests for those seeking perks, which can result in late departures, and a resultant reduced operating profit in some cases. As the industry becomes more aware of this problem, many of the trips are called ‘Jesus Flights’, as the limitations seem to be ‘healed’ during the flight, wheelchairs are cast aside, and the passenger skips down the steps to the tarmac into their vacation site. Air carriers are reducing the number of summer flights, meaning sold-out flights, and a wheelchair issue coming to prominence, so prepare for delays and discomfort – and whatever your travel plans, don’t get on a plane transporting Margie or Scott, for sure!

February 20

Whoa, hold the presses…oops too late! This line from my February 8-14 Musings in BrattonOnline  submission had a glaring typo that simply can’t stand: ‘Former Trump personal attorney, Michael Cohen, recently appeared for testimony in the Manhattan DA’s probe into the $13,000 hush money paid by Trump to Stormy Daniels for her silence in their affair during the 2016 presidential campaign.’ Dropping that critical ‘0’ from $130,000 made it sound like chump change for DJT, though chump change it is…in many ways!

Manhattan District Attorney Bragg leaked to the media several weeks back that he was presenting a criminal case against The Former Guy, after dragging his heels for about a year. According to Trump’s former attorney, Cohen, he has given testimony on at least sixteen different occasions in this case, and in several interviews with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC he has made clear he believes things have finally gotten serious, having given very specific details to the DA of his activities under Trump’s employment.

Cohen wholeheartedly endorses the legitimacy of the investigation, and in his best-selling book, ‘Revenge’, he was overtly critical of various prosecutors for not doing their jobs properly, and with zeal. He expects Trump and others, who he declines to name, will be held accountable not only in this $130,000 campaign fraud case, but in a more extensive range of charges. He says this with a radiant and gleeful demeanor, not wishing to blemish the progress…’revenge’, indeed!

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith has marked successes in persuading three of DJT’s attorneys to testify for several hours before the grand jury – Evan Corcoran, Christina Bobb, and Alina Habba. The whole story needs some clarification evidently, as Smith is going through a court process to force them to come back for additional questioning. The DOJ has done some heavy persuading to the courts to let such a thing happen, indicating that Smith and Justice are succeeding at removing attorney-client privilege roadblocks, and molding The Don’s legal phalanx into star witnesses toward his indictment. As expected, Trump exploded on his Truth Social network, that Smith is using intimidation on his team with “never seen antics.” He is assuming that the attorneys sold him down the river, and now victimhood is in order. Light, medium or dark toast, Donnie?

Several weeks after requesting the transcripts from the January 6th Committee’s closed door transcripts, the DOJ is putting its foot down with a demand that they be turned over. The committee was waiting until the public hearings were completed to prevent any leaks, but now the time is ripe as Justice appears to be determined to prosecute those criminal targets who previously refused to give testimony to the DOJ.

Another story which is getting increased coverage (and should be shouted from the proverbial rooftops), thanks to the Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against FoxNews, is the discovery that the big names at the network are nothing but a pack of liars, all the while knowing that their reporting about failures of Dominion’s machines in the 2020 election was false. Yet, they chose to interview the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell who made outrageous claims that the election had been stolen from Trump and the Republicans. The $1.6 billion suit has been strengthened by obtaining FoxNews internal documentation that reveal executives and news personalities knew what they were doing, with page after page of quotes by Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Rupert Murdoch himself, and FoxNews Media CEO Suzanne Scott.

The case is so strong, that a motion for summary judgment has been filed, where a judge could rule that based on evidence and material facts that a trial is unnecessary. By going this route, the question of damages would not be settled, and in fact, a summary judgment is usually desired by a defendant; but, in this case it is Dominion that is asking for this ruling, since defamation suits are difficult. RonNell Andersen Jones, at S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah says, “It gives a powerful preview of one of the best-supported claims of actual malice we have seen in any major-media case.”

Fox knew its reporting and interviews were total poppycock, but they had their base viewers who expected their messaging, and they had Newsmax and OAN to fear as alternative sources for the crazies. Tucker Carlson is quoted saying to his producer, “Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane. It’s unbelievably offensive to me. Our viewers are good people and they believe it.” Laura Ingraham tells Carlson and Sean Hannity, “Sidney Powell is a bit nuts. No one will work with her…ditto with Rudy.” And, Rupert Murdoch calls it, “Really crazy stuff.” Trump supporters were already incensed that Fox called Arizona for Joe Biden on election night, so the network had to offer them a bit of what they wanted in the form of fake news. On January 5, 2021, Murdoch suggested that the Big Three should announce that the election is over with a Biden win, trying to stop the Trump myth of the Big Steal. CEO Scott privately warned him about making viewers angry, so the lies went forward about Dominion machines stealing the votes with appearances by Powell and Giuliani for weeks. Lou Dobbs had Powell on his show with her fraud and algorithm lies, after she had filed her infamous ‘kraken’ lawsuits, with Dobbs calling them “complete b.s.” Carlson, however, was not ready to capitulate to the truth, saying, “It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”

Carlson’s worries about the stock prices may have been influenced by Pillow Man Mike Lindell who came on his show to further denigrate Dominion, as a top advertiser for his pillow empire. How did Fox let this suit reach such a point, with all the damaging evidence being publicly aired and presented to the court? And, still the main messenger about a stolen election is Mr. Carlson! Even billionaire Murdoch was doing all in his power to assist Trump in his Georgia election escapade, all the while keeping an eye on the competition’s ratings in order to hold their business model together…more concerned about ratings than the truth. Anchor Bret Baier punctuated the behind-the-scenes messaging, writing, “There is NO evidence of fraud,” to one of his bosses. During a November 9 broadcast, Neil Cavuto cut away from a live briefing by White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, saying, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Unless she has more detail to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue to show this,” as he warned viewers that she was making unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

As they plodded forward, later that month Fox showed the complete news conference of Powell and Giuliani as they outlined their case for election fraud, a performance that Murdoch called “really crazy stuff and damaging.” By now, as Fox host Dana Perino warned of a lawsuit from Dominion, CEO Scott directed that the crazies shouldn’t be given an inch. She acknowledged a breach of trust with their viewers which could be fixed, “but we cannot smirk our viewers any longer.” For the first time in twenty years, the network saw its ratings fall below those of CNN and MSNBC. One thorn in the side of Fox viewers was the belief that anchor Chris Wallace had pitched unfair questions at Trump during one of the debates with Biden, along with the later prediction that Joe would take Arizona in the election. Sean Hannity wrote to Carlson and Ingraham that these two incidents had “destroyed a brand that took 25 years to build and the damage is incalculable.” “It’s vandalism,” Carlson responded.

Truth and democracy? Meh! Respecting an audience who has an appetite for lies, and executives who care about ratings and their stock portfolios, while keeping the audience tuned in and outraged over falsehoods and conspiracy theories…that’s the ticket! Achieving expanded ballot access to include mail-in voting, and ensuring that every voice is heard and that every vote counts make up the elements we must defend as we move forward to the next voting cycle to retain our democracy.

DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed former VP Pence to testify about the events leading up to the J6 Insurrection, but Pence intends to fight having to do so with a claim of executive privilege, or by using the Constitution’s ‘Speech and debate clause.’ This clause was used Senator Lindsey Graham to avoid testifying before the Fulton County Georgia grand jury, to no avail, because it covers only questioning regarding legislative acts. The reality is that Indiana Mike will only be delaying the inevitable as he puts up a fight to appear strong to Trump’s base, a base he will need if he expects to get any traction in his feeble attempt to gain support in a run at the presidential nomination… to be announced. Pence can only hope that Trump is deeply mired in the morass of court cases, or better yet, tucked away in an orange jumpsuit at the proper time.

Laurence Tribe and Dennis Aftergut wrote in Slate, “Pence is trying to have it both ways legally. He invoked the separation of powers to wrap himself in executive branch garb so as to avoid testifying before Congress’ Jan. 6 committee, and now he is invoking a privilege designed to protect lawmakers to wrap himself in legislative branch garb so as to avoid testifying in a grand jury. Heads, he wins; tails, the law’s search for truth loses. His purpose is transparent. It’s not to protect our legal institutions but to protect himself and his ambition to run for the White House.” They go on to say that Pence should know he is making a novel, but legally frivolous claim, and that we can count on him to produce high-minded public statements about how his goal is to preserve and protect the Constitution…a pick up line from George Santos without the grandiloquence? All the while, ‘Mother’ is holding the cue cards.

And speaking of Mr. Santos, is it possible that the Flaxen Klaxon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, was outfitted in her Pomeranian outfit at Biden’s State of the Union speech, by Santos and his Friends of Pets United organization? Perhaps Rupert Murdoch and his staff can throw some light onto this rumor.

The Fulton County Georgia grand jury report has been released in part, without naming names on possible indictments which will come later. Significantly, the report did say that some witnesses likely committed perjury, leaving no doubt that the process left no escape for any of The Don’s cohorts to slide on by. There was an extensive list of Trump people called to testify, despite court battles to fight doing so – if called, you appear, if you refuse you are held in contempt. False testimony results in indictment by the prosecutor…slam dunk! As one Twitter user said, “Lindsey Graham has either perjured himself or threw Trump under the bus. Can’t have it both ways.”

Now the waiting game, with the judge in the case assisting DA Fani Willis in keeping the relevant parts of her report under tight control as she exercises the necessary legal procedures for bringing the indictments. So, legal peril or dump on Trump? That’s how this works for the those under subpoena, and it’s doubtful we will see any magic tricks to shield Trump and his co-conspirators.

Unless…unless…the scandal-rocked Supreme Court manages to stay together long enough to muddy the waters. We all know the ethics violations perpetrated by Justice Thomas and his wife, Ginny. Now we learn that Chief Justice Roberts‘ wife, Jane, has been paid millions of dollars in commissions by law firms who have had cases before the high court – one alone having argued 125 times in those hallowed halls of justice! We only know this from a former coworker of Roberts, and not because there is legally binding code of ethics by which the court can govern itself. Who can doubt that the funds flowing into their coffers is an effort to influence rulings? We won’t mention Ginni Thomas and her income from the Heritage Foundation, Liberty Central and other tea party-type organizations. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act was introduced by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees which would create a means of investigating misconduct in the Court, to strengthen recusal standards and disclosure rules, and mandate a binding code of ethics. All other federal judges are expected to follow a code of conduct, but the Supremes exempt themselves…because they can! To see this to a satisfactory conclusion, it will take public support to overcome the right-wing Federalist Society’s influence in our governmental bodies. No more pillow-talk for the Thomases!

Let’s close with the old favorite descriptions of Ayn Rand’s novel, ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ The first says, “This is a novel not to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” The other reads, “There are two novels that can change a fourteen-year old’s life: ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Atlas Shrugged.’ One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.” And, surprise of surprises, George Santos was revealed to be a ghost writer for Ms. Rand! Who’da thought?