SWIFTIES TO THE RESCUE? SCRAWLING POLI-SCI 101 IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT, VASELINE COVERED CRAZY

Presidential candidate Donald Trump will soon have to drop his popularity indicator of rally crowd size if he starts paying attention…hoping that your are not, of course! He is denying the reports of his audience starting to trickle away at his Wilkes-Barre, PA rally, which took place to begin with in a venue that started off with rows and rows of empty seats with unclaimed ‘Trump-Vance’ campaign signs. In spite of photographic- and video-proof, The Donald shot back, “We had to turn away lots of people yesterday…but Comrade Kamala Harris’ Social Media Operation showed empty seats, long before the Rally started, early in the afternoon when, in actuality, we had to turn away 11,500 people!” Perhaps he meant 11,780 people since that number has such meaning for him, particularly in his effort to overturn the Georgia state election in 2020…and we can be assured that staff was outside with hand-counter clickers to back him up with an accurate count of those sent packing. Ramblin’ on, Trump added, “She should have never been Vice President, and had to stage a COUP of Joe Biden, with her America-hating friends, Barrack Hussein Obama, Crazy Nancy Pelosi, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and the rest. Comrade Kamala is a STONE COLD LOSER, and she will FAIL and, if she doesn’t, our Country will cease to exist as we know it, turning into a Communist, Crime Ridden Garbage Dump. November 5th will be the Most Important Date in the History of the U.S.A. It’s as simple as that!”

The bearer of bad tidings, USA Today reporter, Zac Anderson, who was in attendance, writes that as Trump’s ‘speech’ hit the one-hour mark, people were headed for the exits, though the former president directed his critical remarks toward Harris, later posting that his opponent, “…is a LIAR, and shouldn’t even be allowed to run for Office!” Former Republican Jeff Timmer flagged the post about empty seats, writing, “Looks like someone woke up on the gibbering, barking, panicked side of the bed today.” Ron Filipkowski, a former prosecutor, commenting on the high number of posts the subject spawned, said, “Panicked Trump completely melts down. He’s coming apart.” Republicans Against Trump highlighted his desperation, after discovering he had posted ‘Swifties for Trump’ using AI-generated photos of supposed Taylor Swift fans displaying the slogan on t-shirts…below which Trump wrote, “I accept.” Conservative Army Iraq War Veteran Peter Heinlein laughingly posted, “LOL…I mean…this is uniquely pathetic, even for Trump.” Another Trump post features another AI-generated photo of Kamala Harris posing before a communism-themed rally, prompting former Republican lawmaker Chris Vance to post, “I guarantee you this moron couldn’t write a coherent PoliSci 101 answer to the question, ‘What is communism?'”

The Palmer Report’s Robert Harrington writes that he is gratified by the current political polls, acknowledging that polls can be erroneous, so he derives greater comfort from crowd size, coupled with its enthusiasm…for him, a metric that is more telling than the theoretical. Harrington admits that Trump would agree with him…in theory. He is buoyed by the fact that Harris and Walz filled the 20,000 seat arena in Phoenix, while Trump on the same day, only filled half of the 7,000 seats in a Montana arena. Trump’s Phoenix rally the previous week, same venue, was much smaller…with photo evidence for proof. Desperate MAGA posters claim, it’s ‘reported’ the Harris-Walz rally was attended by vetted, paid actors, the majority being flown in to the closed-to-the-public venue. Harrington counters with his charge that, “It is being reported by the voices in your head…an obvious lie…have to be loony to believe it…you would have to be a Republican, but I repeat myself.” “Besides,” he maintains, “…bribing 20,000 people to a rally is something a sane person would never consider. It would immediately leak. How do we know this? Trump has tried it many times…and it always leaked.” Bocha Blue writes on Palmer, “Something is happening. He has matriculated at the University of Psychotic Criminals. Witness the anger, the wild lies, the FUTILITY in every letter he writes. Something is different. Here’s what is it…the madness has claimed him…from dawn to dusk…no longer confined to a few mad scrawls in the dead of night.”

Recent comments reported by Jack Dunn of Variety, from the ‘Variety, Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Summit’ as seen on Paramount+, a panel discussion with Yamiche Alcindor of NBC News, Katy Tur of MSNBC, CNN anchor Abby Phillip, PBS News Hour co-anchor Geoff Bennett, CBS Mornings co-host Tony Dokoupil for the Politics in the Zeitgeist, and moderator Ramin Setoodeh of Variety, emphasized that transparency in the journalistic process is more important than it’s ever been. Alcindor remarked that “truth is fact,” a simple definition to which not everyone subscribes. She recalled, as a PBS reporter, she was hit with tear gas outside St. John’s Episcopal Church as protesters were cleared to allow then-President Trump to pose in front of the church directory sign holding up a Bible.  Her report of the incident on PBS was promptly labelled a lie by the government, then a couple of days later it was admitted that people were gassed…“not exactly tear gas.” Bennett responded, “People often assume bias on the part of us as journalists because they don’t fully understand how we do the work we do, and to the degree that we are able to be more transparent about how we do that news gathering and how we pull it together, is good. It’s good for the work we do and it’s good for our democracy.”

Tur says Trump has remained the biggest story in political reporting since he ran in 2016, and although he is unpredictable, he is “self-aware” and operates on “gut reaction” regarding how he communicates with his supporters. “He has an instinct of how to behave in front of a camera and in front of a crowd. That’s why you saw him raise his fist after he was almost assassinated. I was one of the first people that covered him, so it was often just me and him at rallies. I was the only reporter he knew. So he would come up to me, and call me a lot. He is very magnetic, he’s very charming. And when he doesn’t think he can charm you any longer, he’ll get very angry, and that’s when he starts to attack,” Tur notes. She continued, “My discomfort here is, we interview him and we don’t get a lot out of it. It’s not as if we are covering all the crazy things he says. The headline is, ‘Donald Trump Gives Long, Meandering Speech, Agrees to Debate Kamala Harris.’ That puts Vaseline over the crazy of what he’s saying. This is a guy who tried to stay in office because he wanted to…he tried to do it in 2016 when he thought he was going to lose, and he is starting to do it again.”

Dace Potas of USA Today writes that Trump “erred greatly in selecting JD Vance as his running mate,” displaying his overconfidence in facing Joe Biden and leading him toward prioritizing the MAGA legacy. Everything shifted when Biden dropped out, endorsing Harris, making the Vance misstep painfully clear. The election changed, leaving The Donald with his Ohio Albatross, blowing up his confidence and that of his Republican base and their willingness to follow along. Trump has jeopardized the election and his own legacy, handing the Democrats the momentum on a silver platter, yet in his cockiness he remains his own worst enemy. Potas says as of July 15, Trump had an implied 66.2% chance of winning in November, but since that time his chances have dropped by over 20 percentage points, with his opponent having to do almost nothing…the biggest factor benefitting Democrats is that Trump is electoral poison. His narcissism may cost the GOP once again, in his choice of Vance, and by taking over the RNC as a family organization, assigning the party platform to himself…further sowing divisions rather than building bridges of cooperation. Potas concludes, “In reality, the best thing for Democrats is GOP incompetence and Trump’s own ego. This has been true the whole time.”

From digital media company, The Dispatch: “Kamala Harris is hardly even bothering to campaign in the conventional way against Donald Trump. And why should she? Joe Biden beat Trump in 2020 without running a real campaign against him, either. Trump’s three big problems as a candidate are precisely the same qualities that mitigated the worst of what might have been a much worse Trump presidency the last time around: He is lazy, he is stupid, and he is childish.” Terming this description as analysis, rather than name-calling, and being the most relevant traits of The Donald, we should be accept this on its face value! The Dispatch believes “…laziness is most hurtful for Trump, unable to get his mouth and his brain in gear, as he speaks in half-understood generalities…dishonest ones at that! His stupidity is wrapped up in his laziness. Anyone who has heard Trump speak or read his unedited writing knows he is not an especially intelligent man. But his native stupidity is compounded by his ignorance, which is to say, by the fact that he is too lazy to do his homework and acquire the kind of grasp of the issues that would make him a more effective candidate. But he won’t do his homework, and he may not have the raw brainpower to simply file away enough mental notecards to get the job done. There is a reason he wanders all over the place in his speeches…it isn’t only arrogance and self-centeredness…he’s dumber than nine chickens. That’s why he was an incompetent real estate investor even though he was a successful reality-television grotesque. He isn’t the first dumb person to find success in the celebrity business, where stupidity seems to be an asset. All of this is made worse by his childishness when he goes into rooms full of possible donors and supporters and bores them to death with tales of how the 2020 election was stolen, or his blubbering about the unfairness of Biden and Harris trading places to make him suffer. His penchant for using demeaning nicknames as a substitute for political argument might be thought of as an aspect of his laziness or his stupidity, but it is, at heart, part of his childishness…he doesn’t need to run a conventional campaign because he is a very special little boy. I am not quite sure that I believe the maxim that ‘character is destiny.’ Stupidity, on the other hand…”

JD Vance continues to get his derogatory comments about Trump’s 2016 candidacy thrown at him, but as The Lincoln Project says, “Trump’s found his anti-Pence who will do or say anything to be next in line…there’s no zealot like a convert.” And, ClimatePower.us reminds us the Ohio senator has pulled in $340K in donations from Big Oil since 2019 for his vote to dismantle EPA protections…member in good standing of Club Grift! People for the American Way describes Vance as a former never-Trumper who fully embraces the most extreme MAGA policies, as an election denier, a supporter of Project 2025 – Trump’s lapdog for this proposal, and an advocate of the white nationalist’s racist ‘great replacement theory.’ Vance joins the chorus in describing immigration as an ‘invasion’ that will replace ‘real’ – make that read, ‘white Christian’ – Americans. Steve Schmidt blames the ‘stupidity’ of Chuck Schumer in not funding the $5M needed for Democrat Tim Ryan’s Senate campaign, allowing Mitch McConnell to put the GOP’s $40M to get Vance his ticket to the Senate seat. He says it’s only history now and we can point a finger at Donald Trump, Jr. for his pushing JD into the VP candidate slot for his daddy. Both Don Jr. and brother, Eric, must have glossed over a 2021 Vance quote that hits squarely upon dear ol’ dad; Vance said, “One of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, was convincing people in ‘unhappy,’ or ‘even violent’ marriages that getting divorced would ‘make people happier in the long term.'” He also criticized people who “shift spouses like they change their underwear.” Oopsie!

Anti-woman Vance’s spiel about “miserable, childless cat ladies with no direct stake in America’s future,” has gained him few fans, yet he continues to double down with this attack, against Democrats in particular. His stance is not enhancing his favorability ratings which range from -5 points overall, to -16 points in his stomping grounds of Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana…the region that knows him best like him even less than the remainder of the country. Where’s Sarah Palin, or Dan Quayle, when you need them!? Satirist Andy Borowitz writes, “In a move that infuriated her Republican opponents, Kamala Harris announced that her economic plan would include a $10,000 tax credit for households with cats. “For too long, Americans with cats have shouldered an unfair burden,” said Harris, who revealed that a household with multiple cats would receive $10,000 per cat. Shortly after her announcement, Sen. JD Vance alleged, “Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and their far-left cronies are plotting to turn America into a giant litter box.” “Mark my words,” Vance said. “If the Democrats are elected, millions of cats will come swarming over the border to give birth to anchor kittens.”

Vance seems unwilling to face reality when pressed about the GOP’s sluggish poll numbers. “Consistently, what you’ve seen in 2016 and 2020 is that the media uses fake polls to drive down Republican turnout and to create dissension and conflict with Republican voters,” he claims. Sounds reasonable and valid, huh? Forward!

FIRED UP, ON OFFENSE AGAINST FELONIOUS BUNK, STOLEN FIRE

Kamala Harris’s choice for her VP running mate, 60 year-old Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has turned him into a household word for most who were never aware of his existence. The former six-term congressman has made his presence known quickly and can be credited with slapping the term ‘weird‘ onto the GOP’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees, much to their consternation. The Donald doesn’t care for name calling if someone else does it…especially towards him! In his term as governor, Walz is credited with securing free school lunches, free college tuition for students in low-income families, enacting 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, and enacting an impressive children’s tax credit. As a hunter and gun owner, the NRA awarded him an A-rating for a time, but that was speedily downgraded to an F-rating when he dared to call for more stringent gun control measures. A former football coach, he says he is “fired up and back on offense” and is ready to bring some joy to their campaign to turn around the doom and gloom politics of the MAGA Monsters as exhibited by the scowling, angry Donald Trump and his cat-woman hating sidekick.

CNN’s Van Jones believes the GOP is breathing a sigh of relief with Walz’s candidacy, relieved that Harris passed up on selection of Shapiro or Kelly, referring to their estimate of Walz’s middle-of-the-road leanings; yet they are attempting to portray him as a left-winger who will burn the country down. Jones sees satisfaction in MAGAland at facing Walz, which he says is a disquieting early indicator, but “this is the most unpredictable race that you’ve seen, I think in the past 50 years…it’s just nuts, yeah.” Convicted felon Trump issued a statement criticizing Walz, saying, “Embracing policies to allow convicted felons to vote, Walz is obsessed with spreading California’s dangerously liberal agenda far and wide.” So, citizens in both Minnesota and California won’t necessarily be seeing him taking up residency in their states post-election…ya think? A New Republic staff writer comments, “Need to get the campaign’s position, but it sure seems like they think Florida should strip Donald Trump’s voting rights!” Walz’s 2023 legislation restored voting rights to over 55,000 formerly incarcerated citizens in his state…and thank-you, Felon Don for the reminder of one of the prime issues the Democrats are pushing in this campaign. Crying-on-My-Pillow election denier, Mike Lindell, chimed in with his complaints against Walz, saying, “He made horrible decisions with the China virus…we had to sit out in snowbanks to eat.” He claims his company was prepared to provide masks for congregations during the pandemic before Walz “shut down our Christian churches.” And the clincher for Walz’s sinfulness against Lindell, the My-Pillow CEO complains, “And I was gonna run for governor of Minnesota after the 2020 election, but Walz feared that and he put out a hit job on me throughout the state, sent postcards out everywhere.” Ok, that’s it, Mikey! Your fifteen minutes were up long ago…back to your pillow fort!

Satirist Andy Borowitz writes, “Responding to Vice President Harris’ choice of Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, Donald J. Trump claimed that the Minnesota governor ‘was never white before. ‘I saw him on television many, many times, and, quite frankly, he was never white. Then, he suddenly became white.’ Hinting that ‘there’s something going on, and his last minute decision to become white should be looked into.'” Film critic and journalist, Peter Travers, reviewed Walz with, “Coach Walz sells well from left to right! Nobody will believe this guy is anything but their neighbor…America will love Coach Walz. He’s authentic, jocular, everybody’s favorite uncle, and affable, engaging, a rural ex-teacher with ‘dad energy’ – and he can land a punch, too! Give him four mesh trucker hats, way up!” As The Lincoln Project says, “So, if you’re keeping score at home, that’s a prosecutor and a solidly moderate Governor, versus a convicted felon and a bonafide weirdo who no one likes.” Taking up Walz’s call for “going on offense,” Trump will “make even more mistakes in his backpedaling, whether it’s forgetting to supersize his meal at McDonald’s or making the worst VP pick in recent memory (oops!), it all adds up. Being inside the head of Donald Trump is how we win this election.”

Several postings on X zero in on the impressions Walz is making with voters:  “I just know Tim Walz could teach me how to drive a stick shift without making me cry once.”

“My real concern with Governor Tim Walz is that he seems like the kinda guy if you leave your car unlocked in the summer, he’s going to leave you 6 zucchinis on your front seat.” “Tim Walz is definitely bringing green bean casserole to the DNC convention.” “Walz has the vibes of a man who makes short, helpful videos on how to fix garbage disposals in his spare time.” “Tim Walz would immediately stick out his palm if he heard the Chex Mix bag open in the back seat of the car on a vacation trip.” “Guaranteed 1000% that Tim Walz says, ‘What’s the damage?’ when the waiter hands him the check.” “Tim Walz seems like the kind of guy who has a favorite ladder in his garage. Moreover, he’d let you borrow it.” “Tim Walz would take his family to Disney World and have a Dole Whip for breakfast everyday.” “Tim Walz is the dad an entire generation wish they had instead of the one they lost to Fox News.” “JD Vance will disintegrate when Walz hits him with a ‘son, lemme tell you something about life.'” “If you want to signal midwestern ‘dad solidarity’ with Tim Walz, open your garage door just half way for absolutely no reason.”

Andy Borowitz has picked up on the ‘Dad-can-do-it-all’ theme regarding Walz, writing, “Turning up the heat on his Republican counterpart, on Thursday Gov. Tim Walz challenged Sen. JD Vance to change a tire. ‘I’ve driven in the dead of night outside Duluth when it’s twenty below and the wind chill coming off Lake Superior makes it feel like thirty,’ Walz told supporters in North Carolina. ‘All of a sudden, holy hell, you get a blowout,’ he continued. ‘What would you do, JD? Call Elon and ask him to send you a new car? I can’t wait for you to show me what you learned about changing a tire at Yale,’ Walz declared. ‘Any time, any place, any tire.'” Petition both parties to arrange for a debate at a convenient Firestone or Big O outlet! We need to witness this!

So the Orange Felon is angry. Angry that Joe Biden skipped out on him after it had burned into his brain for over three years that Joe was to be his adversary. The only happy moments in his life are when he gets into his performance art of name-calling, or making others unhappy alongside him…a trace of a smile perhaps, a smirk with certainty. With Kamala’s campaign showing its strength, especially with drawing huge crowds, Trump is beside himself, attacking Fox News for rashly reporting the truth of her success. He’s mad at everyone, even attacking Kellyanne Conway to slap at critic George Conway, though she remains loyal, so far. Lately, he’s been quiet about sharks, sinking electric boats, and windmills, but he must think his new story of crash landing in a helicopter with California’s Willie Brown who dished on Kamala Harris during their ride is a winner. Hannibal Lecter probably feasted on his brain cells containing the other subjects, so the MAGA faithful have to suffer with this new falsehood in his pity-party rally diatribes. Willie says he was never on a helicopter with Trump, and former governor Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom recalled their shared ride to a destructive forest fire site was uneventful.

To be fair, The Donald wasn’t lying completely about a scary helicopter ride according to Nate Holden, a former LA city councilman and state senator. Holden says, “I guess we all look alike…Willie is the short Black guy in San Francisco…I’m the tall Black guy in LA.” Sometime in the 90s, Trump was planning to develop a site of a historic LA hotel, which was approved by Holden. Five passengers, including Holden, Trump, Trump’s brother Robert, attorney Harvey Freedman, and Trump’s executive VP of construction and development boarded a helicopter to take a quick tour of the new Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Instrumentation was lost during the flight, with the aircraft shaking violently, necessitating an emergency landing at a Teterboro airport…and you guessed it…Trump later enjoyed joking about Holden “turning White.” Holden says it was actually Trump who turned white, and incidentally, Kamala Harris was never mentioned, and that Trump has now “mixed it up, or he made it up.” Trump threatened to sue The New York Times for disputing his story, claiming he has the flight record to substantiate his lie, but so far…nada, with only crickets from his campaign. And as Steve Schmidt suggests, “Perhaps Donald was never orange after all?”

Handlers of the former president are perturbed as his rallies become more chaotic, with him flailing, unable to stay on subject while bouncing around with his on-the-fly stories, or his repetitive lies and fantasies. The assassination attempt has thrown him off-balance, with Harris’s sudden surge in the polls and her ability to attract large crowds which should be flocking to him as a mark of his popularity. The old byword to just “let Trump be Trump” has fallen with a thud, but his keepers have no influence, knowing he will never change. He has taken to calling Harris a “bitch” in private…actually a milder version of his name-calling, and his staff now fears he has alienated Miriam Adelson, calling her and the super PAC Preserve America to which she has donated heavily, “RINOS” – Republican in name only – according to The New York Times. To cope with Trump’s stubbornness, his advisers are focussing “not on the need for him to change but on the need to adapt his message to win,” a source admitted to Axios. It’s difficult to even see this happening! After all the strutting he displayed at the RNC, his smugness and contentment transmitting to the faces of those in attendance that victory was just 100 days away, only to have his fire stolen a few days later, by a WOMAN!

SHE has also stolen his big crowds, filling stadiums, as he continues to bore his decreasing number of followers out of their gourds. As he plunges in popularity, voters tiring of his same-old-same-old act, he has to be questioning his choice of a weird running mate – privately, of course – and as Bocha Blue writes on the Palmer Report, “He picked a moron, and she picked America’s dad.” Harris has something to say, Trump does not, which is why, after the ugly Mar-a-Lago press conference, Blue calls the GOP candidate, Donald Dump. Non-stop exaggerations and lies…the gathered reporters could hardly keep up with his rapid-fire diatribes and the praises he heaped upon himself. Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, believes “Trump has issues on his side, but that his ‘persona’ is to blame for his drop in the polls.” As he told CNN, Trump could be more successful if he sticks to the issues, but Harris’s attributes are pointing her toward success because people like her better. Luntz continues, saying, “If he’s watching this interview right now, his head is exploding – and that’s part of the problem. He has lost touch with the people that he needs, and she is in perfect touch. And the reason is the Donald Trump persona.”  As a source told Axios, “He has to convince himself to leave the other garbage behind.” Enough with “The Silence of the Lambs” cannibalism jokes, Donald Dump!

Comedian Chelsea Handler is adding her jibes to those criticizing VP candidate JD Vance, particularly after his notorious “childless cat ladies” comment. She posted on X, “Listen up, you Wingnut Elegy! This country is still controlled by men in systems that were set up by men that are carefully crafted to continue to benefit men. So, to put it in women-hating terms that you’ll understand, you’re being hysterical.” She continues, “There’s no correlation between childless people and the presidency,” noting that President George Washington had two stepchildren, as does Kamala Harris, who has none of her own. Further, she points out that no president in the history of the US has ever been a mother, all being men. Dinging nominee Donald Trump, she writes, “But maybe if she had five kids with three different men, and a scandalous affair with a porn star, and was a convicted felon, that would be more palatable to Republican men.” Not letting up on JD, she rants on, “You sad, Diet Mountain Dew-drinking, couch humping, dolphin-porn aficionado…all of us childless cat and dog ladies are gonna go from childless and crushing it, to childless and crushing YOU in November. And before you tell me the couch story is untrue, spare me. I grew up in New Jersey in the 80s where everyone had a couch in their basement, and I know a couch [abuser] when I see one.” A skit on “The Daily Show” last year, with Handler celebrating not having children, drew criticism from former Fox News luminary, Tucker Carlson. After his head exploded, she responded, “Are you really upset about how much freedom I have, or are you upset that you haven’t been able to take it away from me yet?” Ah yes…and to that we can add, “Nothing says family like three marriages, lusting after your daughter, cheating on your pregnant wife, and burying the woman you divorced on a golf course.”

If you support Trump, we won’t judge you for your choice of political parties. We will judge you for your lack of morals, ethics and humanity. So will others. So will history.

STUPIDS IN FERTILITY WRECK, 2025 SMOKESCREEN, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW

“Hello, 9-1-1, there’s a black woman running for President of the United States!” That seems to be the panicked message being disseminated by the MAGA/GOP for the past couple of weeks after Kamala Harris dive-bombed the election scene and began to overtake The Donald and his cat-aclysmic, fake Sancho Panza in the polls, a former lead that seemed to have a bright future for them in facing President Joe Biden’s windmills. Trump continues to self-destruct as evidenced by his out-of-control, wild appearance on stage before the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. Down-ballot GOP candidates looked on in disbelief as he sabotaged their standings among the electorate, but they only have themselves to blame…they created this Orange Monstrosity! And of course, they, along with his handlers can’t attempt to stop him simply because they are afraid of the reactions, and they see the futility of such a course of action in the end. With no level-headed Mike Pence-type as second banana, they’ll have to go forward with a woman-hating, cat-hating, dishonest charlatan who is too crazy to neutralize Trump’s irrationality. Republican operatives are in a complete panic because Trump can’t stop his grifting…donations to the RNC are paying his legal bills instead of keeping his campaign afloat or benefitting other races. In President Biden’s campaign exit speech, he said, “We are a great nation because we are a good people.” Earlier that day, Trump said, “We are a stupid country that’s led by stupid people.” Whose side are you on?

Bocha Blue, on The Palmer Report, writes, “I want to see a wipeout. It’s not enough, friends and readers, to merely beat them. I want to see a wipeout. I want to clean their clocks and wipe the floor with them. I want to see our margin of victory so large, so amazing, that they won’t know what hit them. We have a few things on our side that will make this wish a reality. Republicans work less hard than we do. Oh, they try. But they ALWAYS seem to get sidetracked by their own weirdness, by outrage at the latest food or drink they must boycott, and by infighting that has torn them apart for years. They have anger but no way do they have our PASSION, our determination…yes, we need to have a wipeout. We want a wipeout. They want a whiteout. A whiteout blanketing America, insolent white Christian MEN, a whiteout so vast, so completely glowingly white that it wipes out all the other colors of the rainbow…like Black, Brown, and Gold.”

We can make Trump’s run for the presidency analogous to a dog running to the door when the doorbell rings…it’s never for them.

click here to continue (link expands, click again to collapse)

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SNAKE BITTEN, A RUBBER STAMP, ROTTEN TOMATOES, YES WE ARE!

Watch out for flying ketchup bottles at Mar-a-Lago! Seems like at least a year since the events of few weeks ago began…first with the attempt on Donald Trump’s life, followed by the RNC convention where 39-year-old JD Vance became the second banana on the GOP presidential ticket, only to be capped by President Biden’s decision to abandon his attempt to be elected for a second term. Enter VP Kamala Harris in dramatic fashion, tossing her hat into the race for the nation’s top spot, and quickly gaining support of the Democrats who responded with carloads of cash donations. A bewildered Trump called ‘foul‘ since his backers had spent wads of campaign funds to battle Biden in what seemed like a sure path to victory. MAGA is trying to block Harris’s entry by insisting her delegate count doesn’t belong to her, but to the President, as well as the campaign’s $91M money stash, even though she is listed as a part of the Democratic team vying for reelection. And besides, Trump wants compensation for all the time and money spent for his lying and name-calling against Biden…calling it “fraud!” Trump has been out-trumped in his quest to find someone to solidify his base of White working-class voters!

Many in the GOP had second thoughts about the selection of JD Vance on the ticket, and now with Kamala’s show of strength, the dissatisfaction is growing, though Trump will not acknowledge that he has an albatross around his neck…as Roy Cohn told him, “never admit that you’re wrong!” Extremist psychopath Vance has become mired in trying to explain his way out of multiple flubs from past social media posts and TV appearances, Harris changing her characterization of him as a DJT rubber-stamp to describing him as a “hypocrite” and a “major liability.” Counting on her VP running mate to focus on that narrative during the campaign, she is saying, “The message is not just that Vance is ‘weird,’ it’s that the Ohio senator shouldn’t be a heartbeat away from the presidency, and that Trump picking him raises more questions about the top of the ticket.” Picking up on the previous criticisms of Biden by MAGA, she intends to highlight Trump’s 78 years of age to raise the alarm on a Vance presidency…a deflection of GOP targeting her supposed lack of experience. As Harris’s campaign co-chair, Mitch Landrieu, told CNN, “We have a Black woman, we have a White guy, and nobody asked the White guy about his job qualifications.”

As Walter Einenkel writes on Daily Kos, “Vance’s RNC speech was so boring that the enthusiasm from the crowd, who was clearly desperate for something to cheer, came when they started chanting for themselves. Vance says, ‘You guys are a great crowd,’ with the crowd answering back, ‘Yes we are! Yes we are! Yes we are!'” The speech pushed Trump into golden slumbers, but women have since perked up since the surfacing of his old interview with Tucker Carlson, when he called childless women “miserable ‘cat-ladies’ with no direct stake” in America’s future. In 2016’s run for the presidency, Trump’s inner circle included Melania, Ivanka, Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway, all instrumental in his selecting of Mike Pence as his VP, but this time around, females were benched…even Melania only brought her smile and a few friendly waves for the gathered at the RNC confab. With The Don letting only men be pivotal in the selection process which resulted in Vance, he is stuck unless, or until, JD offers to jump ship. No doubt the estrogen will continue to roil the campaign if Vance continues with his advocacy of no abortions, elimination of no-fault divorce, and no leaving an unhappy/abusive marriage. A Harris VP selection will certainly have women’s input on her final choice.

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NEVER MIND, WORKING CLASS NAPALM, ATTACK DOGS ON THE LOOSE

Last Sunday marked a dramatic change for American politics in one of the most unusual presidential races in our history with Joe Biden stepping aside from his Democratic presidential campaign. After weeks of back-stage whispers and hand-wringing by party stalwarts, the growing cacophony in support of this conclusive act caused the president to acquiesce after discussions with associates and family, ending his bold promise to charge on against Trump and the MAGA horde. His embarrassing ‘debate’ with Trump was not the first indication that trouble lay ahead, but it was the final straw for a majority, and his follow-up interviews with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and CBS’s Lester Holt did nothing to restore any confidence in his ability to carry on with the race as concern about his age and mental acuity only increased alarm.

Despite eroding poll numbers, Biden was undaunted, even in the face of the now-steady stream of calls for him to step aside to allow a stronger candidate to save democracy from the MAGA-controlled GOP which threatens to overhaul the government and negate the Constitution and our body of laws. His withdrawal basically reshapes the campaign for both parties, and may invigorate the Democrats who have faced waning support from apathetic voters, especially the big-money donors. Over the past months a disinterested electorate has rolled their eyes at a possible repeat of the Trump-Biden race of 2020, so a fresh new face could put some spice into the race, spurring the undecideds, as well as those who had decided to sit this one out to start paying attention. Democratic donors and operatives have been discussing possible replacements for some time now; and while several names have come to the fore with the dawning of a new day, VP Harris seems to have leapt to the top with her declaration of candidacy, donors coming out of the woodwork to fund her campaign. The only other person who has said Biden’s delegates are her target is Marianne Williamson, author, spiritual adviser to Oprah, and perennial political candidate who has never received more than 5% of the vote in any state primary she has entered. Senator Joe Manchin had hinted that he was considering re-registering as a Democrat in order to throw his hat in the ring, but Monday morning brought him to his senses and he discounted the notion.

CNN’s Trump-Biden ‘debate’ was damaging to Biden not only for his faltering showing, but it allowed the former president to retreat, holding back without revealing the real Donald Trump…fewer lies and name-calling than in his usual performance. Some members of Congress thought that Biden had been slow to reach out to his party’s leaders, and to those lawmakers in difficult races, with some charging his staff with shielding him from those calling for his withdrawal. A recent meeting of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, allowed members to vent about The Boss and his staff, referring to the situation as “the elephant in the room,” some calling it “the donkey in the room.” Last week, as Biden fell victim to his third bout with COVID-19, Democratic strategist Van Jones remarked, “Wednesday was a terrible day for Democrats,” as he contrasted the Trump assassination attempt the previous Saturday, adding, “If you pull back and look at this thing, strength versus weakness, a bullet couldn’t stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden. The Democrats are coming apart. The Republicans are coming together.” After his diagnosis, Biden headed for Delaware for self-isolation, and presumably the critical meetings that resulted in his letter on X for a graceful withdrawal from the race, which Obama adviser, David Axelrod, had termed “inexorable.”

Biden announced his support for VP Kamala Harris, giving her a clear edge to replace him, also saying that selecting her as his 2020 running mate was the best decision he has made. One advantage she has is that she was a member of that winning ticket, and has several months of campaigning under her belt already. She has been a prominent figure in the administration’s push for abortion access, and is likely the candidate who would be able to access the president’s campaign war chest of donations for a solid start to a candidacy. Conventional wisdom says an open DNC convention is unlikely at this late date, but should that happen it could well be a disaster of infighting and chaos which will defeat the party in the end. Ryan Grim, on a Substack post says, “If Kamala Harris wants the nomination, and wants it to be worth anything, she has to at least show that she fought for it and won it cleanly. It just so happens Democrats are scheduled to meet to nominate a presidential candidate in Chicago next month. That process could help to resolve the legitimacy crisis by at least offering an attempt at something like a participatory democratic process.” Quickly tossing her hat into the ring, Harris issued a statement saying, “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

Republicans, anticipating this turn of events, have their attacks against Harris in a row, labeling her the “border czar” for her work on addressing the root causes of migration from Central America, and of course, she will be connected to the issues they have raised that are plaguing the Biden administration. Trump’s attack dogs were in the fray after Biden’s endorsement, blasting that, “Kamala Harris is just as much a joke as Biden is. Harris will be even WORSE for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden.” As satirist Andy Borowitz reports, the Trump campaign is “Calling it ‘the most crooked conspiracy in American history,’ as Trump and other Republicans accused Democrats of plotting to nominate a winning presidential candidate. ‘I’ve seen the Democrats do some pretty evil things, but I never thought they’d choose a nominee with a chance of winning,’ Trump said. ‘This should never be allowed to happen in our country.’ ‘What we are witnessing is no more and no less than a shameless scheme to mount a successful election campaign,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson charged. ‘As God is my witness, this will not stand.’ Senator J.D. Vance attacked the Democrats’ ‘blatant use of strategy’ and warned of more sinister machinations to come. ‘In a matter of days, be prepared for them to announce that they’ve chosen a qualified and appealing VP candidate,’ Vance said. ‘We Republicans would never do that.”” We can expect culture-war excesses over a Harris nomination from the MAGAs. A Californian? Too liberal! A former prosecutor? Too conservative! Too female! Too Black! The last two charges will not be said aloud…but count on dogwhistles thunderous enough to disintegrate the case holding the Constitution.

When the RNC closed its convention, party officials were beaming at the future they believed was spread out before them, expectations high! A party united, a candidate leading in the polls, opponents disorganized and a Democratic incumbent dropping like a rock in the polls. Donald Trump with victory in his eyes, had started solidifying plans for the post-election transition period, his 2024 election being a given in his cockiness. Then came the slap in the face, as Biden abandoned his candidacy, provoking fear in the MAGA ranks, as their anti-Biden offensive fell apart, while Democrats transitioned from despair to prudent optimism that they were finally on-track. One important factor is the contrast of youth versus old should VP Harris be the chosen one to face Trump…it’s no longer a race between two old, unpopular candidates…The Donald is now the oldest presidential nominee in US history! A South Carolina state representative said in a CNN interview, “The man is 80-years-old and so the question is, can he serve another four years? I’m not sure he can.” Tit-for-tat retribution! Anti-Trump Republican George Conway chimed in with, “Seriously, how do you convince people you’re going to make America great again with some old guy who slurs his words and rambles incoherently after his jail ti- …um, I mean bedtime??” And perhaps the most delicious comment came from E. Jean Carroll who said, “Suddenly, he is looking really old.” Former Trump advisor and MAGA extremist, Stephen Miller, enraged in his Fox News interview, accused Democrats of undemocratic actions, calling Kamala Harris a weak choice, and “napalm for the working class.” Miller whined that the GOP had spent tens of millions of dollars running against Biden, only to have the Dems pull the rug out from under them with a “never mind.”

Trump primary challenger, Nikki Haley, predicted in January, “The first party to retire its 80-year-old candidate is going to be the party that wins the election.” In her campaign, she had called Trump “unhinged” and “not qualified,” drawing an impressive number of followers, but her appearance at the RNC convention giving the former president her “strong endorsement” revealed her true colors. A small PAC of disaffected Haley supporters, committed to preventing Trump’s return to the Oval Office, has endorsed Kamala Harris for president, changing their organization’s name too ‘Haley Voters for Harris.’ The group’s director, Craig Snyder, calls Harris a “tough former prosecutor and the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump in November.”

Ezra Klein writes in The New York Times: “It was a convention that picked Abraham Lincoln over William Seward. It was a convention that chose F.D.R. over Al Smith. I’ve been reading Ed Achorn’s book ‘The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History.’ My favorite line in it comes from Senator Charles Sumner, who sends a welcome note to the delegates, ‘whose duty it will be to organize victory.’ Whose duty it will be to organize victory – I love that. That’s what a convention is supposed to do. It’s what a political party is supposed to do: organize victory. Because victory doesn’t just happen. It has to be organized.” Tom Nichols wrote in The Atlantic Daily: “Every voter who cares about democracy but has claimed to be paralyzed by the two old men in the race will now have no excuses for indecision. The Democrats have made clear that they intend to field a stable, experienced candidate. The Republicans, a cult of personality in the grip of fevered delusions, will field Trump. Tonight, Americans have the clarity they demanded.”

Independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had to get his licks in, saying, “the contest for the White House is now a two-man-race’” and that only he can defeat Donald Trump. At his press conference he praised Biden for his service to the country while blaming Democratic leaders for concealing the president’s “mental decline.” “If the Democrats do what I suspect they’re going to do, which is to anoint Kamala Harris, a vice president who is monumentally unpopular within her own party…they’re doing it because it’s the easiest way to hold onto the money,” he added. He also said he would consider accepting the Democratic nomination if it were offered to him. Count on your telephone ringer to be deathly silent, junior!

As reported on HuffPost by Lee Moran, former Trump White House aide, Sebastian Gorka made racist comments about VP Harris before Biden pulled the plug on his candidacy, as talk arose regarding her possible succession to the slot. Gorka called the first female, Black and Asian American VP, a “DEI hire” and “colored,” reflecting a racist right-wing spin on efforts to boost diversity, equity and inclusion…which they have made into racist diatribe with the “DEI” term. Actor and comedian, D.L. Hughley, on CNN called Gorka’s comment a product of “mediocre white men,” as he defended Harris in her past achievements, her professionalism and ability to run the country, which makes her suitably qualified in the event of Biden’s inability to complete his term now or in the future. Hughley believes, “America has been more damaged by GCI than DEI…greedy, corrupt, incompetent white men who have caused more damage to the USA than diversity, equity, and inclusion. So what men do, what mediocre white men do, is blame things. They have no excuse for their failures. Trump did to get a second term because he so mishandled COVID that he was fired by the American people.”

Hughley says, “I find the whole tone of this insulting…for a couple of reasons. I watched a man get convicted of 34 felonies. I watched a man get adjudicated for sexual battery. I watched a man who got convicted of fraud and never have I heard from the media in general about his qualifications to be president.” Trump, as might be expected, took to his Truth Social platform to launch more conspiracy theories and propel insults at the president. “It’s not over! Tomorrow Joe Biden’s going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race!” Said the man who is still facing questions regarding his own mental fitness! He went on, accusing Biden of faking his COVID illness, and saying, “He is a threat to democracy. Who is running our Country right now? It’s not Crooked Joe, he has no idea where he is. If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country!!!” Yada-yada-yada…

Stephen Colbert, on a recent show said, “Donald Trump’s brain is broke, and we got more proof of that when he tried to shame Joe Biden into taking a cognitive test.” A video clip was shown of Trump bragging…again!…about passing a cognitive test of his own, muffing the name of the doctor who administered the test by calling him “Ronny Johnson” instead of his correct name, Ronny Jackson. Launching into his Trump-voice impression of the former president, Colbert said, “Doc Ronny Johnson, he gave me the test, then I went home to my beautiful wife, Malaria, and my two hideous sons, Urkel and Carl’s Jr.” The Late Show host then reminded us of the comments from a Republican lawmaker, who said a meeting with the former president was “rambling…like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion,” and a business leader who complained that a meet-up with Trump was “meandering…he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

The Late Night host, Seth Meyers gave President Biden credit for allowing Melania Trump to attend the RNC convention undisturbed after passing new protections for undocumented immigrants, which shields about 500,000 immigrants from deportation. Meyers said, “It’s the first time a US president has done something nice for Melania.” So, the mystery of the missing Melania ended when she made an appearance in the final hours of the RNC gathering, only 45 minutes late. Her apathy showed as she appeared onstage with The Donald after his record-breaking snoozer of a speech, when she quickly turned aside as he tried to kiss her. Maybe there is something to satirist Andy Borowitz’s post that she was lured to the convention by a promise that her husband was ready to sign the divorce papers?

A GATHERING OF FASCISTS, AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT, BRINGING DOWN THE HORSE

It’s a mystery at this writing, how the RNC’s Milwaukee nominating convention is going, and most of all, how it ended up. So, how did the electrifying coronation go? And did the gathering of fascists (so named by Steve Schmidt) celebrate their new martyr with the veneration that a cult leader who disdains them…cares nothing for a single one of them…truly deserves? We have to remember Trump’s Las Vegas rally where people were falling like flies from the heat, when he said, “Because I don’t want everyone going on me, we need every voter. I don’t care about you, I just want your vote. I don’t care.” Straight from the MAGA Master’s mouth! Schmidt writes, “The Republican Party retains a name, but it has lost its identity because it has become unmoored from Americanism. It rejects the US Constitution, the peaceful transfer of power, election results, pluralism, women’s rights and separation of church and state. Trump is running on a platform of retribution and revenge with the claim that an American president is a Caesar.”

Would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, turned the presidential election sweepstakes on its head, by disrupting the Trump rally in Butler, PA with his AR-style semi-automatic rifle, clipping the former president’s ear, killing one attendee and wounding two others, before he was dispatched by a Secret Service sniper. A Bethel Park High School classmate disclosed that the shooter failed to make the junior varsity rifle team, and “was asked not to come back” because he was such a poor shot. Curiously, he was looked upon as a political conservative. However, this is a perfect opportunity for Trump to resurrect his fulmination, “They’re not after me. They’re after you. And I just happen to be standing in their way,” and we might expect to hear more of the same paranoid martyrdom from 2016, “I am your voice. Today, I add I am your warrior. I am your justice. And for those of you who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Trump promised to carry out his plans for attendance at the RNC convention, suggesting that he would edit his scheduled anti-Biden speech by calling for more unity in our nation’s politics. So, was it a complete change of heart, a conversion on the road to Damascus, and assigning Project 2025 to the scrap heap? Ha!

HBO’s Real Time host, Bill Maher posted, “I unequivocally denounce the shooting. Not funny. Not for me. I don’t want to say the election is over, but MAGA nation finally has its full martyr. They loved it when he went to jail…the mug shot…nailed it! And he reacted to the shooting like he rehearsed it…one take! It doesn’t matter who the Democrats put up now…so much damage to the Left now. I’ll be in Milwaukee tomorrow…to go to the strip clubs! But I’m glad Trump’s okay. I gotta say this: he’s he luckiest ______ that ever walked the face of the Earth. Always lucky, lucky, lucky!” The bartender at Mar-a-Lago looked up to see a distraught-looking Trump plop himself onto a barstool, ordering a Scotch. The bartender says, “Whoa, Mr. Trump…that’s not like you! What’s eating you?” He replies, “I thought I’d sneak out and take a short drive to get away from all the activity, and on the way home my car died. I had no idea what to do, so I raised the hood like everybody else does. A horse popped his head over the roadside fence and told me how to fix it! And here I am!” The bartender says, “Wow, was it a black horse?” Puzzled, Trump answers, “Well, yes it was…?” The bartender tells him, “You are a lucky man! There’s a gray horse in that field that doesn’t know crap about engines!”

In the aftermath of the shooting, both parties signaled they would back off from campaigning, a sort of grace period…but how long will/did that last? Tim Stanley of The Telegraph says descriptors of Trump will transcend from “admirable” to “awesome…like Moby Dick or the Terminator, a force of nature…who can doubt he will win?” Stanley says, “In the United States, every assassination attempt is a tragedy but every near-miss is a triumph – because Americans are schooled in what could’ve been…Lincoln, Kennedy, King. This time, the target got right back up. Trump punched the air, he yelled ‘Fight,’ and the crowd chanted ‘USA! USA!’ Remember: Rocky lost in the first movie, he didn’t win until the second. And in the fourth he single-handedly brought down the Soviet Union.” A post on X-FKT presents a dilemma: Should Americans be traumatized by the happenings at the Trump rally, or should Americans just pretend it was another elementary school shooting  and get over it…asking for a nation tired of double standards!

USA Today’s columnist Rex Huppke posted on X-FKT (X-Formerly Known as Twitter – aren’t you tired of seeing this silly clarification in every news story mentioning X?) that after the news of the shooting broke, a chaotic churn of social media, the birthing of lies, conspiracies and speculation arose that has become our new normal. “The event was sickening, we didn’t need to wait on specific details to know that…a crackle of gunfire, seeing the presumptive GOP presidential nominee rushed offstage with blood on his face? It’s unthinkable. It’s not how America is supposed to work. Speculation blasted out on social media from random knuckleheads, pundits, lawmakers who decided in the moment they knew exactly what happened. Facts rendered meaningless. Opinions and hot takes elevated to levels that were once the sole realm of actual, reputable news. It was this person’s fault…it was that person’s fault…you’re to blame…they’re to blame. Trending topics took off with claims of everything from an assassination attempt to a staged event. Unfettered garbage. Cynical manipulations. Sick, twisted imaginings and attempts at humor…worthless chatter that once had no way to enter the mainstream were blasted out to a country where, quite literally, everybody has to have a damn opinion in order to grasp at some form of social status. What is wrong with us? How have we let the drip of conspiracy theories and lies that are part of any society become a fire hose? I look forward to every detail of this horrific shooting coming out so we can move forward together and do what Americans should be doing: Make things better.”

Ryan Grim of dropsitenews on Substack posts, “One quick thought on the political ramifications: My first instinct was that the assassination attempt would seal the election for Trump, particularly given the imagery it produced. But others have noted that it may also feed into the fear the public has that another Trump term means a return to nonstop political chaos. There’s no reason for us to guess, though, as we’ll have polling in a few days that answers the question.” Polls in ‘a few days’ may not be entirely accurate since presidential candidate’s usually get a boost immediately following a convention, so ‘calm down‘ may be the cautionary phrase needed here.

Steve Schmidt writes on The Warning: “Violence begets violence begets violence, and on and on it goes. Donald Trump is a man who has long courted, celebrated, incited and threatened violence. He has now become a victim of the malice and insanity that he has spread more singularly, directly and indiscriminately than any living American. Donald Trump has built his political career on grievance, imaginary persecutions and indomitable toughness in the face of his enemies. Much of MAGA is a community of the disaffected and aggrieved who have been conditioned to believe Trump is being attacked by a hideous elite who is similarly attacking them. Last night, Trump became mythological to those people. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump was every bit as much an attack on American democracy as was the disgrace of the January 6 insurrection. It deserves absolute condemnation and our utter contempt.” Schmidt sees no silver lining for our future, believing, “A period of chaos has begun in America, and unfortunately, it will get worse through the election and beyond. This is a moment during which Trump could choose to back down and refuse to pour gasoline on the fire. He will not make that choice. He will inflame the situation. ‘Fight, fight, fight!’ will become his anthem. The one thing that nobody gets to say about this situation is that they are surprised by it.”

We were greeted last Monday with news that Trump the Lucky had his classified documents case dismissed by Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida…although not a surprising turn of events, it was still shocking to hear the announcement, nonetheless! Without a doubt, the decision will be appealed, and the case assigned to another judge, with no chance of it being heard in the courtroom before the presidential election. With a Trump election victory, this case, along with the other Federal charges will be scattered to the Four Winds, never to see the light of day! So, Mr. Lucky rode into the RNC convention on a black field horse, and exited atop a black, fire-breathing steed with hooves of steel. The only thing easier to buy than a gun in America is a US senator or judge…is it future president Cannon, or Supreme Court justice Cannon? Ms. Lucky has hit the jackpot!

And how did this element work itself out? Retired, former Fox News media mogul, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch was actively seeking an active role in the selection of Trump’s running mate but was not looking forward to kissing the former president’s ass, reports Kipp Jones on Mediaite. Murdoch was said to be pressuring people within Trump’s inner circle, expressing his wish to see North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in the VP slot, since he loathes JD Vance. So serious was Rupert, that he called Trump and his staff several times a day, sending surrogates to do his campaigning, or dispatching reporters from The New York Post to Mar-a-Lago to smear Vance. Even News Corp execs met with the former president to make the case for Burgum, though the original pitch was for ‘anyone but JD.’ Marco Rubio was acceptable originally but Murdoch’s focus narrowed. It is speculated that because Rupert had always viewed Trump as subservient to him, and since he doesn’t look forward to another four years of kissing up to him by having him on Fox News, a VP Burgum could be the face of the administration as they groom him for a presidential run. Thus ending Trumpism? Nah…not a chance! All the while, Trump had a great time with his reality show lead-up to the “You’re HIRED!”  finale…sorry, Little Marco!

Ruth Ben-Ghiat posts on Lucid@Substack: “Afraid to talk about Trump right now? You can continue to talk about the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and the ghastly outcomes of a Republican return to the White House. The collective popular and media focus on Project 2025 has led many Americans to wake up to the dangers that will befall us if Trump is re-elected. Focus on policies, not personalities. That’s always a good rule.”

Regardless of all the recent chain of events, Steve Schmidt warns us that Trump is an American fascist, raising money from the assassination attempt, with his MAGA faithful competing in “an Olympics of demagoguery blaming President Biden for the crime.” The Biden campaign has paused “all outbound communications, working to pull down television ads as quickly as possible” in the wake of the attempt…probably for the best since they are ineffective, a waste of money, says Schmidt, and a pathetic decision a that. A former Republican who had senior roles in two presidential campaigns, serving in the White House before joining the Lincoln Project to help elect Biden, he says his life was never threatened until Trump came on the political scene. He’s had suspicious packages mailed to his home, was accused of pedophilia, the purpose of which was to trigger an unhinged person to confront him, all thanks to MAGA. Steve say, “Violence has always ridden in the shadows of our republic, accompanying our progress towards justice every step of the way. Trump has incited violence, he celebrated thuggery in the 2020 presidential debate, he has killed with words, following his January 6 speech. He has openly pondered the killing of his fellow Americans. The choice in the election is perfectly clear because what Trump stands for is perfectly clear. National suicide is on the ballot…talking about this isn’t just honest, but reality-based. History didn’t stop on Saturday night [in Butler, PA]. It kept moving forward.” And all we have to do for verification of this statement is review the speeches given at the RNC, from Tucker Carlson to Marjorie Taylor Greene. Trump must be defeated…we must become the lucky ones!

HERITAGE FOUNDATION’S PATRIMONY, A BLOODLESS 2025 COUP?

We are hearing, and learning, much more about Project 2025, also misleadingly called ‘Mandate for Leadership,’ as the presidential sweepstakes progresses. This ‘Mandate’ is a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation, written to reshape the US federal government and consolidate executive power for the Republican winner of the 2024 election, and to bring to fruition all those items not accomplished by the first Trump administration. Ruth Ben-Ghiat of Substack says, “They got a slow start, so their codeword is ‘day one,’ forming the basis for the potential Trump term number two.” Ben-Ghiat, authoritarianism expert and history professor at New York University who authored ‘Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present,’ comments, “Already politically-vetted people are in place to immediately implement the plans if Trump wins the election,” though the former president has claimed to have no knowledge of the project’s purpose nor who, or what, is behind the handbook! Mass deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants is one facet in the 970-page guide with Ben-Ghiat warning, “One thing that’s very important for people to realize is that undocumented immigrants won’t be the only ones who end up being targeted. It’s always more people. They use one group to have the justification to build the repressive infrastructure like the transit camps, whatever they are going to do; but be assured, and this is the history of authoritarianism, many groups of people will be targeted to be in that.”

MSNBC anchor, Joy Reid, launched into Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation, after an interview on ‘Real America’s Voice,’ a right-wing fringe network, after he said, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the Left allows it to be.” So, to avoid violence Americans should simply accept his group’s ‘Mandate.’ Reid called him a “coward,” contending that he won’t do anything violent since he’ll be in the country club after golfing, as the violent and armed people such as the Proud Boys-types will be doing the dirty work. She asserts, “So that man is a coward, and he likes to talk a lot of crap, but it is still a threat. And I took it as a declaration of war against the rest of us.” Reid’s guest, Sherrilyn Ifill, a law professor and former president of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, remarked, “The gloves are off. They are no longer afraid to say what their true intentions are. They don’t get the American Revolution. They are the Confederacy, bent on destroying this country.”

Progressives were astonished that the authoritarian conspirators were so bold in publishing their ‘Mandate’ to destroy the government, a plan so malevolent it seems they might wish to hide it; yet, there it is on a website open to all, fascist flag a’flying. But MAGA adherents have never been terribly secretive about their agendas, Trump being candidate number one when he calls for “retribution” against opponents, or promises “pardons” for J6 rioters, or calls anyone who objects to his strategies “vermin” who should be eliminated…or deported. This tactic works because most Americans aren’t paying attention, never learning that such heinous things are being advocated…except for the ‘base’ who will get their hackles raised, and some progressives who will absolutely panic. The panic-stricken then get called out for being a pack of liberal crazies prone to exaggeration. Amanda Marcotte, senior political writer at Salon, likens it to “a guy who pinches a woman’s butt in a bar, and when she protests, laughs and insists she’s just a crazy lady making it all up.” Marcotte continues, “We say this about the strategy with the Supreme Court’s recent presidential ‘immunity’ decision…it’s factually correct that it gives Trump a license to kill, but anyone who speaks this fact is accused of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and “madness” by the Republicans.”

Marcotte believes the MAGA strategy is successful because less politically engaged Americans assume that both parties engage in hyperbole, with the low information individuals being quick to believe false accusations that liberals are “deranged” upon hearing their accusations of Trump’s dictatorial plans. The Heritage Foundation revealed Project 2025 in assuming normal voters would never learn of it, and those few who heard would dismiss fears as “overheated nonsense”  – if it’s so evil, why would they disclose it? Recently, on the Black Entertainment Television awards show, host Taraji P. Henson managed to speak out against Project 2025, when she said, “The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up! I’m talking to all the mad people that don’t want to vote. You’re going to be mad about a lot of things if you don’t vote.” From there it went viral, being picked up by other celebrities, spurring the MAGA squads into action with their gaslighting efforts against those who are starting to see that the ‘Mandate’ may not be hysterical progressives theatrics, but a valid threat. MAGA’s fake leftists are busy sowing confusion online by saying Project 2025 is a Biden undertaking, but the Biden campaign has begun to raise awareness on its site with bullet points to highlight the dangers in the right’s efforts. Marcotte says the initiative’s name sounds like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel, as does the Trump team’s “Agenda 47,” which it uses in-house, and is only a light-weight version of the same fascistic game plan. These scary-sounding names may thrill the sadistic MAGA base, but liberals react with fear and caution, and the tide may be turning as Trump’s schemes come to the fore. Marcotte believes Trump can’t win without a large percentage of voters backing him under the false belief that he’s “not so bad,” and that as they discover his intentions, a second term will spur second thoughts. Good bumper sticker: Second Term? Second Thoughts!

Heritage Foundation’s President Kevin Roberts may wish for a bloodless second American Revolution, but North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, now running for governor, had a different take as he recently told the congregation at Lake Church in White Lake, North Carolina, “Some folks need killing! It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity!” Of course, the authority in pronouncing judgement rests on Mark Robinson and the MAGA base…being kind and benevolent, naturally!

Last came Anarchy: he rode
On a white horse, splashed with blood;
He was pale even to his lips, 
Like Death in the Apocalypse. 
And he wore a kingly crown;
And in his grasp a sceptre shone;
On his brow this mark I saw –

‘I AM GOD, AND KING, AND LAW!’

Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy
(Thanks to Asha Rangappa/The Freedom Academy)

California’s Representative Jared Huffman is leading a group of congressional Democrats in a task force aimed toward examining, preempting and counteracting the Heritage Foundation’s dystopian plot to undermine our democracy, which plainly states its intent to abolish our checks and balances, to chip away at church-state separation, and impose far-right agendas infringing on basic liberties in violation of public will. Huffman warns, “This is an unprecedented embrace of extremism, fascism, and religious nationalism, orchestrated by the radical right and its dark money backers. We need a coordinated strategy to save America and stop this coup before it’s too late. Donald Trump and those behind Project 2025 are ready to turn America into a theocratic regime if they get the chance – and we are going to be ready to stop them.” Two prominent lawmakers involved are Representatives Jamie Raskin and Pramila Jayapal, who are ready to stand against the MAGA agenda, to never see the light of day. Right-wing groups backing Project 2025 have received tens of millions of dollars in funding from dark money networks led by Leonard Leo, co-chair of the Federalist Society, and billionaire oil tycoon Charles Koch. Despite his claim of lacking awareness of the plot, Trump has openly embraced its objectives, vowing to gut climate regulations in exchange for Big Oil donations, and launching the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history, and threatening to weaponize federal agencies against his opponents, while deploying the US military against protestors.” Undoubtedly, the new 4th of July will be J6 from here on out.

Trump would begin his second term by purging nonpartisan civil service workers who prevented some of his most glaring excesses in his first term, replacing them with unqualified toadies. Project Sovereignty 2025 is taking names of “anti-American bad actors burrowed into the administrative state” by trawling through backgrounds, social media posts, and statements from high-ranking civil servants as they prepare for the massacre of reclassifications, reassignments or outright firing, with the immediate goal of sowing fear and menacing federal employees. “Flooding the zone with conservative personnel,” is on tap according to Kevin Roberts, in a fashion that they weren’t prepared to do in 2017, this time with their lists at the ready, the ducks in a row! That list would affect around 50,000 federal workers, though former Trump director of the OMB, Russell Vought, has plans to cut up to 68% of staff, from senior attorneys down to admin staff all over the country who had nothing to do with policy-making. According to Robert Reich, Inequality Media Civic Action is preparing to launch videos across every major social media platform to sound the alarm, because the mainstream media has yet to begin the clarion call for action. Even Fox News is hiding from its viewers the GOP assaults on IVF and contraception as described in Project 2025, because these policies are highly unpopular among the electorate, even as Trump and his base have begun to downplay their previous opposition to reproductive freedom…which only muddles the picture for both progressives and supporters of the Trump candidacy. The Fox News pattern of glossing over, or ignoring, coverage of the topic, contrasts with the Christian right’s moral panic, revealing of how anxious the GOP is about American voters discovering their extreme agenda. Republicans know the vast majority of the population take contraception and IVF for granted, as a normal and morally accepted practice (82%), second only to birth control (90%). As Sarah Posner of MSNBC says, “By now it is clear that the GOP’s 2024 strategy depends on evasions and prevarications about the right’s ambitions to restrict reproductive freedom. Any claims that Project 2025 envisions a Republican program for Americans’ ‘self governance’ is yet another rhetorical bait and switch in this cynical campaign of misdirection.”

Andy Borowitz satirically reports, “In a lawsuit filed on Monday, millions of Americans asked the US Supreme Court to grant them immunity from Donald J. Trump. The lawsuit argues that the Constitution was intended to protect the people from Trump, unlike the Court’s recent actions, which have protected Trump from the Constitution. ‘The Constitution was designed to shield the people from domestic tyranny and foreign threats,’ the filing reads. ‘Trump represents both.’ In a separate filing, the American people asked for protection from violent insurrections enabled by Supreme Court justices’ wives.”

Interesting post on The Nation’s website: “We’re not Leninists here at The Nation – we’re apostles of small-d democracy. But right now it is impossible to deny the salience of the Russian revolutionary’s observation that ‘there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.’ This has clearly been one of those weeks. Just as some of us thought it might be safe to come out from under the covers where we’d been hiding from reality, the Supreme Court dropped a decision on presidential immunity that – while not wholly unexpected – will have both immediate and long-term effects every bit as bad as we had been dreading. Real progress requires clarity of vision as well as energy and direction. So to those still mired in self-delusion, whether by Joe Biden’s mental acuity or the benevolence of our Supreme Court, I offer Marx’s challenge: ‘Who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?’…Chico, not Karl.”

Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield, Missouri had to issue an apology for running an ad in its bulletin, which read, “We are calling all young men back to Church to form a militia dedicated to protecting the Holy Eucharist, our congregation, our clergy, and the church grounds.” The proposed name for the militia, ‘The Legion of the Sancta Lana Council,’ was to be made up of young men between the ages of 18-29, to be trained in strict physical fitness standards, classroom study, and instructions in military operations. A QR code was printed for scanning for those who have experience in military, fitness instruction, Latin, business or medicine, which brought up the application for membership with ties to the Ascension parish. The application said that the church “has been chosen as the testing ground for the militia and, if successful, we hope to establish platoons at parishes around the world.” According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the church has retracted the announcement, apologizing for the “error and the anguish it has caused,” clarifying that the activity does not have its support, nor is it tied to the parish, and that the ad was “sort of a mistake…it slipped through the cracks of the review process, being inappropriate and unhelpful,” since no threats have been made against the community. They are everywhere!

And, THEY are certainly in Louisiana, as proven by Governor Jeff Landry’s signing of an educational bill requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every classroom, while also removing requirements for vaccinations…tailor-made action for a truckload of lawsuits. The package as signed will give more money to private schools, weaken teacher standards, and eliminate preferred pronouns, while giving more power over school curricula to a new state board which will determine what, and how, teachers can teach. Landry said, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses. And I can’t wait to be sued.” Four civil liberties organizations immediately obliged his call. No state funds will be used to display the Big Ten on posters or plaques, as they will rely on churches to voluntarily provide the goods. It is not out of the question to think that the current Supreme Court will find a way to make the Louisiana law acceptable…and perhaps the law of the land? Mark Sumner posts on Daily Kos, “Regarding claims about the ‘original lawgiver,’ someone might want to inform Landry about Hammurabi or Ur-Nammu. Not only do these expansive lists of laws predate any version of the Ten Commandments, but those ancient vengeance- and retribution-based legal systems would likely appeal to Republicans. Of course, the intention of putting the Ten Commandments in every classroom from kindergarten through college doesn’t have anything to do with education. And it’s certainly not about respecting the rule of law.”

As Rudy Giuliani continues in his devolution from the treading water stage into the slime in an amoeba state, we can find comfort in that he is finally gainfully employed! Sure, having been unsuccessful in his courtroom experiences, filing a declaration of bankruptcy, and being barred from practicing law in New York are hardly résumé highlights; but, now this announcement from MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom show, “Speaking of Rudy Giuliani…we hired him over at FrankSpeech.com. He’s on my network now. He follows Steve Bannon, Lou Dobbs and then myself.” Lindell told Newsweek that he hired Giuliani after his suspension from WABC for lying on his daily show about the 2020 election, so now he’s host of a daily podcast. The free fall from mayor of New York City to podcaster will gain him no respite from his creditors who are hot on his trail, as he spouts his election lies from the pillow fort of co-conspirator Lindell.

TANGERINE IMPERIALISTS, DECISION FOR THE AGES (OR AGED?), FLAGS FLY FOR REVENGE

Well, well…it looks as though His MAGAness was right about his innocence all along, and that he has the right to be a criminal, borne out by the US Supreme Court decision released last Monday. Does the new Imperial Presidency, supported by the new Imperial High Court apply to President Biden as well, or does he have to abide by the law as we ordinary citizens must do? The Court could have, and should have, decided on this case in December (only agreeing to take the case in late February)…or at least shortly after that acceptance, as the courts demonstrated in 16 days when the Nixon/Watergate tapes scandal erupted. This very court ruled that Trump’s name should remain on the Colorado primary ballot in less than a month! Constitutional law professor emeritus at Harvard University, Laurence Tribe, accused the Court of dragging its feet, saying, “It’s obvious that the Court has DELIBERATELY delayed everything. It could easily have issued a ruling much sooner.” Special Counsel Jack Smith brought the four-count indictment against Trump almost a year ago, accusing the former president of conspiring to derail the 2020 Biden victory by preventing Congress from verifying the totals from the state Electors.

In December, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan rejected Trump’s motion to dismiss the charges on ground of absolute presidential immunity in his argument that any actions taken while in office protects him from prosecution, and that the House of Representatives must impeach, and the Senate must convict a former president before criminal prosecution is initiated. Trump’s claim was rejected by the DC Circuit Court in February, with Chutkan delaying the scheduled March 2024 trial date until the Trump argument wended its way through the court system. Trump asked the Supremes to weigh in and offer their “thoughtful consideration.” We now see that the ‘consideration’ wasn’t very ‘thoughtful’ as they delayed release of a decision for four months, waiting until the last day of the court session to rule on a decision that was, in reality, probably decided six months ago by the majority of six MAGA-leaning judges. James Sample, a Hofstra University constitutional law professor believes there was “no legal necessity” for the High Court to accept this case in the first place, pointing to Trump’s “dangerous” arguments. Sample argues, “When you compare the Supreme Court’s handling of similarly urgent presidential matters in the past, including Watergate…, and certainly Bush v Gore, the delay that has occurred here is intentional, and it is destructive of our democratic process. The DC Circuit’s decision was correct on the merits, the Supreme Court has effectively interfered in the political process for no reason whatsoever other than for the purpose of interfering.”

Clair Wofford, poli sci professor at the College of Charleston, said it’s “certainly fair” to criticize the court for not taking up the case sooner, adding, “If you wanted, there are lots of people you could hold responsible for how long this is taking.” She references Attorney General Merrick Garland, who waited until November 2022 to appoint Special Counsel Jack Smith, and the FBI’s hesitancy of a year before investigating the J6 riot. “If you want something to be reasonable and rational and thoughtful and ordered, it doesn’t happen quickly,” Wofford stated. So, in it’s tardy ruling last week, The Supremes ruled that our Tangerine Darth PaidHer can be tried for any of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss that were not in an official presidential capacity…too late for a trial to be completed before election day. Both Wofford and Tribe agree that Jack Smith can rewrite the indictment against Trump to include things that Trump’s lawyers admit were private, narrowing the case to the fake elector scheme. Tribe says, “No one doubts that that’s outside the president’s powers, that he supported the filing of false allegations of election fraud, that he signed verifications in court filings knowing that they were false.” He adds that Smith could proceed with trial 88 days from the decision, time to which Trump and his defense team are entitled for trial prep. Smith’s narrowing the case might allow for a trial before the election, but it wouldn’t include all the crimes committed leading up to and including January 6, the only advantage being that Trump could be partially exposed for his criminality to voters. One hitch might be that AG Garland will determine that with the election being eminent, he will not authorize holding a trial, a decision that Tribe warns against since a winning candidate Trump will appoint a compliant attorney general who will simply waive all charges.

Writing for the 6-3 court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts says, “The parties before us do not dispute that a former President can be subject to criminal prosecution for unofficial acts committed while in office. They also agree that some of the conduct described in the indictment includes actions taken by Trump in his unofficial capacity.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in a dissent joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote that the majority’s decision “makes a mockery of the principle, foundational to our Constitution and system of Government, that no man is above the law.” She argues that the Supremes gave the former president “all the immunity he asked for and more. With fear for our democracy, I dissent.” The Chief Justice downplayed the dissenters, saying, “As for the dissents, they strike a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the Court actually does today – they conclude that immunity extends to official discussions between the President and his Attorney General , and then remand to the lower courts to determine ‘in the first instance’ whether and to what extent Trump’s remaining alleged conduct is entitled to immunity.” Of the six conservative justices, half were appointed by Trump, and he was quick to jump on Truth Social, calling the ruling “A BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND DEMOCRACY.”

Roberts agrees that presidents are not above the law, but says, “…under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts. That immunity applies equally to all occupants of the Oval Office.” Former Justice Department attorney, David Becker, called the Supreme’s decision “deeply disturbing” and “really striking” for what it would allow a president to do in office and remain unchallenged criminally, such as immunity from interactions with an attorney general who might endeavor to change election results or kill a political opponent. “The way I read this opinion is it could be a road map for (presidents) seeking to stay in power. It could put into question whether or not future peaceful transfers of power occur.” Robert Mintz of McCarter & English, said the decision created more heat than light, and, “Rather than finding either a clear immunity or no immunity for alleged criminal conduct, this new standard will unquestionably lead to protracted hearings and further appeals as the lower courts have to now grapple with the question of which allegations in the indictment constitute official acts.”

Presidential criminal immunity is something the framers of our Constitution didn’t consider, nor could they have conceived of such a clause for inclusion, after having rejected the toxic rule of a royal sovereign. But now it seems we must crown King Donald. Previous courts had ruled that presidents are immune from civil lawsuits for official actions taken while president though not from lawsuits tied to their behavior, but after the three judges of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals discounted the Trump claim of absolute immunity, the Supreme Court felt a need to step in to examine whether or not there are barriers to any criminal charges against a president. Though it had to make a ruling on the Trump appeal, rather than make a decision for the ages, it mutilated any rationale that a responsible court could have accomplished by cherry-picking to satisfy the MAGA swamp. Indeed, Justice Neil Gorsuch said as they took up the case, “We’re writing a rule for the ages,” with Justice Kavanaugh joining in that the justices should be focused on how their decision would affect future presidents…the “here and now of this case,” as he said. Sorry guys, but you missed the mark by a bunch since you no longer share OUR values, but those of MAGA! Guaranteed to have smiles on their faces are justice’s wives, the flag-flying Martha Ann Alito, and ‘Ginni-Stop-the-Steal’ Thomas, who undoubtedly pillow-talked and conspired with their respective spouses in their decisions.

Clarence Thomas questions whether Jack Smith is a legitimate prosecutor, by saying, “If this unprecedented prosecution is to proceed, it must be conducted by someone duly authorized to do so by the American people. The lower courts should thus answer these essential questions concerning the Special Counsel’s appointment before proceeding.” Instigating another Supreme Court decision, eh Clarence? And since the justices left it to the lower courts to decide what constitutes an official act versus an unofficial act, this must be seen as a tactical victory for The Donald, since it fits right in with his strategy of delay-delay-delay, as he attempts to exhaust prosecutors and the courts with his tactics. As Steve Schmidt tells us in The Warning, “Scumbaggery is his rocket fuel, and all you need is anger, rage, and stupidity if you want to advance politically and advance Trump’s scumbaggery!” It’s now easy to conclude that the Court’s ruling have validated Trump’s ideas of “retribution” against his enemies should he return to the Oval Office, especially against Joe Biden and the Democrats who he charges with attempting to sidetrack his candidacy in acts of political persecution…for which he has no proof…because “I said so!”

Political revenge may need to be meted out, as Trump said to Dr. Phil, “Well, revenge does take time, I will say that, and sometimes revenge can be justified, Phil, I have to be honest. Sometimes it can.” He continues to bring up possible retribution in his interviews, or at his campaign rallies. Trump’s White House attorney, Ty Cobb, says, “I think there should be concern. From a 30,000-foot view, what I see is Trump angrier now than he was before he was convicted.” In an interview on Fox, Trump told Sean Hannity that critics were wrong in saying that he will use his possible return to the White House for revenge, but the next minute found him to be laying out the opportunities. “Look, when this election is over, based on what they’ve done, I would have every right to go after them. And it’s easy because it’s Joe Biden, and you see all the criminality, all the money that’s going into the family and him, all of his money from China, from Russia, from Ukraine.” Both Hannity and Dr. Phil tried to dissuade him from speaking of retribution, that it serves no purpose and will not help the country, but on Newsmax, Trump went so far as to mention the possibility of imprisonment for his political opposites if he has the opportunity, also suggesting that the public would reach a “breaking point” if he is sentenced to jail time or house arrest at his July 11 sentencing. In 2020, Trump criticized his attorney general, William Barr, for not arresting Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for their “illegal activity” tied to Robert Mueller and the Russia investigation, as he continues to claim this is being done on behalf of his base. “I know a lot of Republicans who want retribution. They want to do that. We’re going to see what happens.”

Ty Cobb once said that he believes the nation’s institutions would hold the line if Trump attempted to delve into what would clearly be political revenge, nevertheless fraught with peril. After the Supreme Court ruling, his opinion today would be interesting to hear, since he felt that the checks and balances would resist these attempts, and that it would be difficult finding people to carry out his demands. Raise your hand if you think Ty should take another look! For instance, revenge-seeking Trump supporters had their hackles raised when a federal judge ordered former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to prison after the Supreme Court turned down a hearing on his appeal to delay his four-month term. True to form, Bannon in his anger issued his own threats. “Don’t pray for me. Pray for my enemies. They’re the ones who need it,” he barked. In defense of Bannon, Trump posted on Truth Social that members of the J6 Committee should be indicted, writing, “INDICT THE UNSELECT J6 COMMITTEE FOR ILLEGALLY DELETING AND DESTROYING ALL OF THEIR ‘FINDING!’” Caution is advised after Trump shared a post…“Haul Out the Guillotine!”

The political world is still roiled by President Biden’s poor showing at the so-called CNN ‘debate’ last week, with Democrats far and wide making their views known about the candidate’s future. Polls are in flux for whatever that may be worth, but it seems that the rank-and-file are still on board with continuance, and a family confab over the weekend seems to suggest support for his staying the course. Historian Allan Lichtman of American University, who has correctly predicted the results of nine of the last ten presidential elections, argues that replacing Biden on the ticket would cost his party the 2024 election. Post-debate concerns of Biden’s age and ability don’t seem to sway Lichtman, who says, “It’s a huge mistake. They’re not doctors. They don’t know whether Biden is physically capable of carrying out a second term or not. This is foolhardy nonsense.” Lichtman uses a series of 13 historical factors or “keys” in his election predictions, missing only the race in 2020, out of the last fifty years. His system includes four factors based on politics, seven on performance, and two on candidate personality, making it imperative that the incumbent party maintain at least seven out of the thirteen to retain the White House. The state of the economy and the presence of third-party candidates factor into his determination, but debate performance is not a determinate of election outcome…pointing to Ronald Reagan who captured 49 states in spite of poor debate performance and age considerations. Lichtman considers Biden’s age and mental acuity are “fundamentally different” than his metrics as a president. “Debate performances can be overcome, yet at the first sign of adversity the spineless Democrats want to throw him under the bus, their own incumbent president. My goodness!” However, it must be pointed out that he has not made his final prediction for November’s contest.

Final thoughts, with thanks to the Scots and Luckovich: Trump has all the wit, charm, and intelligence of a rectal thermometer. Something the Scots would call a “cockwomble”…a person, usually male of course, prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or exhibiting inappropriate behavior while generally having a very high opinion of their own wisdom and importance. And recapping a Mike Luckovich cartoon with Trump sitting across from a fortune teller and her crystal ball, she says, “In your future, I see corruption, vengeance, dictatorship, internment, deportation…” A pleased Trump interrupts with, “So far, so good…”

KKK ON THE RISE, BILLIONAIRES AND 2000 MULES, A FINALE?

Greg Palast, author, freelance journalist (often featured in The Guardian), and film maker who has produced several presentations for the BBC, is in the process of making a film entitled “Vigilantes, Inc.” in which he exposes the scam of ‘volunteer vigilantes” who have operations in several states to disrupt the vote by purging Black voters. He is endeavoring to hunt down what he calls the “Klan-Lite” operatives who are initiating these challenges to the voting rolls in a return to the KKK of the 1940s…this time backed by financing of billionaires as they continue the assault on the Voting Rights Act. Palast began his investigation in 2018 after Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp (now governor after defeating Stacey Abrams in that race), had purged about a half-million voters, with Palast getting access to the whole list. Hiring a private contractor to verify names and addresses, he probed each name, finding that over 150,000 had legitimately moved away from Georgia, while over 340,000 had not moved, and surprise, surprise…most were Black voters.

Election Day 2018 found the Palast Investigative team, with film crew, in Atlanta where they met up with a Black woman outside her usual polling place (for fifty elections), and who had been denied a ballot because she had been purged from the rolls. She was interviewed, then invited the crew to her house, where it was discovered she was a cousin of Martin Luther King, Jr. Brian Kemp won the election by 54,723 votes, having overdone his purging by several thousand votes…oh well. Within the two years leading up to the 2020 presidential election, Kemp’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger (Palast emphasizes pronunciation as RaffensPurger), purged another 309,000 voters, bringing Palast back into the fray with his investigative contractor, along with the Georgia ACLU Black Voters Matter Fund, and the Georgia NAACP. Their efforts restored about half onto the rolls, allowing Joe Biden to win the state by…repeat after me…”11,780 votes” which Trump unsuccessfully attempted to move into his column.

Not surprising that the purges are ongoing in Georgia, but the trend is picking up adherents across the nation as the “vigilantes” step up their efforts in at least 20 states. Palast found that in the 2020 election-leadup analysis that Black voters in Wisconsin, particularly those voters in Milwaukee, had been purged, along with students in Madison being incorrectly added to the list. The Palast Investigative Fund, and Black Voters Matter, filed their findings with a bipartisan elections commission which stopped the purges…resulting in a Biden victory. The vigilante “challenges” skirt the legalities in Red States under the guise of “whistleblower challenges,” undertaken by citizens who suspect that an individual who they think is casting a vote illegally might be called out. For instance, Georgia’s SB202 allows “unlimited” challenges to voters by those not in government. While individual states are prohibited from purging voters by “list maintenance” within 90 days of an election, a citizen vigilante can present their voter purge lists even on election day, leaving no time for re-registration and casting a vote for those purged.

“In 2022, 149,000 voters were challenged in Georgia, not by the government, but by vigilante vote fraud hunters using specious data. Unfortunately, there have been two federal court rulings this far that have allowed this to continue, so it’s now spreading to other states,” comments Palast. He goes on to say that a Marjorie Taylor Greene associate named Pam Reardon, challenged 32,000 voters, heavily focused on Black people and college students, by using a list compiled by the group True The Vote. This group is known as the producer of the movie “2000 Mules” which falsely claimed millions of votes were “stuffed” into drop boxes by Black people across the nation. Hardly surprising that the movie premiered at Mar-a-Lago for Comrade Cheetolino! The conservative media company behind the movie and a companion book, Salem Media Group, Inc., recently issued an apology and announced it was removing the film and the book from its platform, halting distribution. ‘2000 Mules” has been widely debunked by law enforcement and the media, and an individual featured in the film who had been investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was cleared of any wrongdoing. This individual had sued Salem Media for the way he was portrayed and for the violent threats to his family, which resulted in an undisclosed “significant” settlement.

Palast identified vigilante Alton Russell, chair of the Ft. Benning area GOP, who challenged over 4,000 voters, including a “substantial number of Black soldiers.” Russell views himself as a bonafide vigilante in his Doc Holliday style clothing with a six-shooter on his hip. Palast’s Investigative Fund, along with NAACP and ACLU assistance, found not one single voter challenged by vigilantes Reardon and Russell were fraudulent, as they only stopped Reardon’s purge. On the other hand, Russell’s challenges were sustained, with the 4,000+ voters purged. Palast cautions, “Georgia’s brand of voter vigilantism has now legally spread to Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They”re now mass challenging literally hundreds of thousands of voters, and True The Vote has put out a call to get 100,000 volunteers to submit these challenges. They”re probably the most effective vote suppression organization since the Ku Klux Klan,” further noting, “Georgia and Texas are not Red states…if people were allowed to vote they”d be Blue states.”

The film, “Vigilantes Inc.” takes its name from the 1946 incorporation of the Georgia Klan, when they registered that name in their endeavor to specifically eliminate every Black citizen from the voter rolls, and now we have them back…so, if you want your next president to be elected by the Klan, stay home on election day! Interested in the film? You can get screen credits (alongside Martin Sheen’s) for a donation of $100 or more, which will also get you a signed DVD of the film upon its completion. If interested in simply being a film backer, any donation is welcome at Greg Palast Investigative Fund.

A couple of Sundays ago, Donald Trump visited the 180 Church, a Black congregation near Detroit, for what he called “a roundtable” and as we might have predicted, his mouth opened with a lie, by saying, “it’s an honor to be here. it’s a very important area for us. We”ve done more for…and I say this proudly…the Black population than any president since Abraham Lincoln. President Biden has done nothing for Blacks.” He claimed that he had lowered Black unemployment, but failed to say that Biden has exceeded his so-called record. Political science professor David Dixon at Howard University has lauded the Biden-Harris administration for the energy they have put toward Black constituents, and that record seems to be borne out by the nomination of 25 Black judges to the federal court system, notably, the appointment of the first Black female on the Supreme Court. Government professor Steven Taylor at American University is of the opinion that the full picture of Biden’s efforts is contrasted against a Congress, especially Trump Republicans, that votes against any proposal that might improve the lives of Black people. Contrast that with Trump himself who has the gall to stand before a Black congregation to puff out his chest about his supposed efforts.

We might also have correctly suspected this appearance would be a total scam, and after seeing all the blue-eyed, white faces peering from the pews, it was evident the MAGA gang had filled the church with a crowd who had never set foot in a Black church prior to this, and would not do it again unless called upon by their Cinnamon Jesus. After the phony roundtable had ended, Trump was back at it, criticizing Black majority cities…Milwaukee is “horrible,” echoing his past disparagements of “crime-infested hellholes” in Atlanta and Baltimore, and Detroit being declared “crooked as hell,” when he told his minions to “guard the vote.” Shirley Kennedy writes on The Palmer Report, “These words about and characterizations of predominately Black cities shows where Trump’s head is when it comes to Blacks. Yet, he wants the Black vote. Any Black people who vote for Trump are bigger fools than his regular supporters.”

Leo Daniel’s Trumpvirus post on Quora writes about election commissioner, Chris Jackson’s evidence alleging that the Trump Gang has been paying people to show up at his ‘rallies,” which has “sparked significant debate and scrutiny, adding another layer to the already contentious legacy of the former president. The allegations shed light on potential tactics used during his campaign events, raising questions about the authenticity of support garnered by Trump during his time in office.” As reported on Raw Story, Jackson is looking into a June 9 event, when individuals were incentivized with money to attend a gathering, though evidence of who made payments is cloudy, raising ethical implications. “In a democratic society, it is essential that citizens attend political rallies and events of their own volition, driven by their beliefs and values rather than monetary incentives. When attendees are paid, it blurs the line between genuine grassroots support and artificial manipulation of public perception,” writes Daniel. He continues, “It raises concerns about transparency and honesty of campaigns. Voters have the right to make informed decisions based on genuine interactions with candidates and their policies…it undermines the democratic process and erodes trust in the political system.” The Trump contingent has denied this scheme in question, which was in Las Vegas, but there remains much speculation and debate, which furthers the deepening divisions and distrust among voters.

MSNB’s Nicolle Wallace, who calls herself a “self-loathing former Republican,” charges Fox News of depriving its audience of the full picture of Idol Trump, as the network has chosen to cut away from several of the GOP candidate’s rally speeches when he starts going off the deep end. The Las Vegas rally is a prime example when the teleprompter conked out, with Trump then threatening the event contractors before going into his now-infamous ‘shark-vs.-electric boat” scenario. A former GOP strategist, Stuart Stevens, suggests to Wallace that Fox “can try not to show this and hide it, but it’s a long time to election day and a lot of people are going to start paying attention that aren”t paying attention now,” highlighting the differences between Donald and Joe. Stevens says, “I think Trump is like a guy walking around with a paper bag full of water. it’s probably not going to leak that much, but when it goes, it’s going to be hell to pay to get it back. That’s where he’s headed.” Rachel Maddow told Wallace the president is now “really, really, frequently incoherent. And when he’s not incoherent, he’s speaking in terms that are pornographically violent when he’s trying to rile up his audience.” Maddow believes his speeches would be shocking to a lot of the public, if people could stand to listen to him for longer that they do, if only news organizations could responsibly broadcast more of what he says. Because of the lies and threats he’s pushing, it might be considered irresponsible to do so, however. On the shark/electric boat story, Rachel says Trump will now double down as he always does, and his troops will fall into formation, eyes agog, salivating tongues hanging, and heads nodding. “it’s as hilarious as it is scary,” she adds.

In his dehumanizing characterizations of immigrants, Trump has now suggested that they could be pitted together in fights for our entertainment…as he told Christian conservatives on Saturday. He claims he proposed to his friend Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, that a competition of his fighting league champs against immigrants might solve the immigration problem. Hardly non-violent, eh? Satirist Andy Borowitz reports that, “in a rare public statement on Monday, Melania Trump said her husband has exhibited ‘alarming mental decline” since she last saw him three years ago. Mrs. Trump said that she happened to see him on television recently ranting about sharks and boats and was struck by how much he had deteriorated over the past three years. ‘He was incoherent before, but now he be worst,” she said. Shortly after Mrs. Trump released her statement, her husband vehemently disputed it. ‘I don”t know what Mercedes is talking about…I may be 78, but I have the mind of a two-year old.””

The Palmer Report’s Bocha Blue says, “This will not end well. At this point, Donald Trump’s brain is a ‘sopranos’ episode. it’s episode after episode, leaving us transfixed, at the edge of our seats, waiting to see how it all plays out. As the episodes become more and more bizarre each day, leading up to the denouement, they become darker and more ominous, leading us gently into the finale where…………”

TUCKER SPUTTERS, AS THE CROW FLIES, GREENE DENIED

Just in case you were eagerly awaiting the release of the much-heralded biography of Tucker Carlson, Bryan Tyler Cohen has disappointment for you on his odactionnews website…the publication has been shelved…at least until Tuck-Tuck regains some notoriety. As Cohen writes, “A biography about alt-right fanboy and testicle-tanning enthusiast Tucker Carlson has been cancelled by a major publishing house, apparently because Carlson’s star power has waned since his unceremonious ouster from FoxNews last year. Politico’s Michael Shaffer attributed the book deal’s demise to Carlson’s diminished cultural relevance, writing that ‘the cancellation stems at least in part from the belief that Carlson, once the biggest name on cable, no longer has the kind of cultural footprint to warrant a pricey, complicated book by a top-shelf writer.’ For the record, we would argue Carlson never had the kind of cultural footprint to warrant a complicated book of any kind; he simply had hold of one of Rupert Murdoch’s very loud and very well-funded megaphones.” Dominion Voting Systems seems to have a larger megaphone…to the tune of $787M worth! Make better choices next time, Tuck.

Bad news on another front, for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his ‘son,’ Mark Martin, who he claims to have raised from the age of six, comes word that they have evidently had a falling out, with no contact ‘in a long time.’ Mark is actually the grandson of Thomas’s sister, and was the beneficiary of donated gifts of tuition to two private schools, courtesy of the Clarence Thomas sugar-daddy, Harlan Crow. Martin, who is now 32, is awaiting trial in South Carolina on drugs and weapons charges, saying in a Business Insider interview that despite his reaching out to Clarence and Ginni several times over the years, he has been ignored and is unsure whether they are aware of his current plight…nor is he sure they would even care. He has said he was unaware of Crow’s footing the bill for his education, but that he “believed his intentions to be pure.” No word on whether or not he was a participant in any of the vacations enjoyed by the Thomas duo bestowed upon them by Mr. Crow. After ProPublica revealed that Thomas had benefited from the Crow largesse several times, he finally owned up to two trips which had been excluded in his filings, subsequently amending his 2019 financial disclosure; but then investigators questioning Crow himself offered him a deal, whereupon he spilled the beans about three more unreported private jet trips. Are there more dominoes about to fall? A statement from Crow’s office says Senators had been given information covering the past seven years, with the committee agreeing “to end its probe with respect to Mr. Crow. Despite his serious and continued concerns about the legality and necessity of the inquiry, Mr. Crow engaged in good faith with the Committee.” Crickets from Justice Thomas regarding his frequent use of Crow’s Canadian Bombardier Global 5000 business jet which can cost over $10,000 per flight hour if chartered from a private company.

The senate committee also authorized a subpoena for conservative legal activist Leonard Leo, who joined Thomas and Crow on one trip, but is better known as a luxury fishing trip buddy for Justice Samuel Alito. Leo is defying the subpoena. The clamor that arose from the questionable ethics of Thomas and Alito led to the Court adopting a historical-first code of conduct, which as might be expected, has no teeth and no enforcement mechanism. Last week the Senate Democrats attempted to pass a bill to tighten the Court-adopted ethics rules and create a process for investigating complaints of possible misconduct, but Senator Lindsey Graham called it “unconstitutional overreach” as he led a group of GOP Senators to block it.

Justice Thomas, in acknowledging the two free vacations reported by ProPublica, said he “inadvertently omitted” the gifts on his financial disclosure forms. And though many legal experts have described his unreported trips as violations, Thomas’s attorney maintains that free flights don’t have to be reported. Somewhere in his reasoning, Thomas, who claims to be a Constitutional originalist with ability to parse definite meanings from the ambiguous language of that founding document, loses the thread when it comes to his personal lifestyle. Those definitive words he spoke last year become contradictory in newer situations as he becomes an advocate of evolving explanations toward a forgetful audience. After ProPublica started revealing the beneficence of Crow toward him, Thomas issued his ‘disclosure’ that these were “family trips with dearest friends,” further explaining advice sought from colleagues that, “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure.” So, intentional exclusions, eh? But with the newly filed amendment, he says his information had been “inadvertently omitted” earlier? So which is it, Justice Thomas? The trickster is at work here…amended filings list only “food and lodging” – how did he get to Bali? Must have been a private jet or a luxury cruiser of some sort?  The listing on the disclosure as a “reimbursement” instead of a ‘gift’ enables Thomas to hide the dollar value of his Bali vacation just as was the case with other gifts. It is estimated that Mr. T has accumulated between $2m and $4 in gifts since 2004, to which Steven Lubet of The Daily Beast writes, “As a justice of the Supreme Court, Thomas must regularly interpret complex statutes, and determine the validity of laws based on his theory of ‘history and tradition,’ often with the life, fortune, or freedom of people at stake. If nothing else, it is a task that demands consistency, candor, and completeness. Although I seldom agree with Thomas’s jurisprudence, I can still appreciate the clarity of his written opinions. When it comes to his financial disclosures, however, it is all commission, contradiction, and obfuscation. Which raises the question: How gullible does he think we are?”

Still plying her wiles on our gullibility is Georgia’s Flaxen Klaxon, Marjorie Taylor Greene. However, her tactics were stalled by fellow House members, both Republicans and Democrats, after her recent attempt to remove Mike Johnson as House Speaker when she could barely gather just a handful of backers. This led her to begin pointing fingers at both political parties as a “uniparty” even though there is not much unity to see…except where they want her to clam up and disappear. Charlie Sykes commented on MSNBC that one doesn’t even have to like Speaker Johnson to enjoy this moment, where Greene is “basically reaching her expiration date.” Only after the former president posted that her action “will negatively affect everything,” did she back off, not daring to lose favor with her orange idol, though she was only following his example using a big mouth and a hate-filled heart. Amanda Marcotte of Salon identifies “she” as the operative word in MTG’s case…the Christian right-controlled GOP sees women as support staff, not leaders. She was beloved when she paid little attention to legislative work and spent all her time spewing invective to rally MAGAts…being a cheerleader. But then she jumped into the huddle and started trying to call plays, so a line was drawn, characterized by the boos and heckling from the House floor. As Marcotte says, “The GOP turned on her because, simply put, she got too big for her britches. Or, in more old-fashioned terms, she wanted to wear the britches, while they wanted her to stay in skirts. Greene is emblematic of the empty-headed fascism Trump has brought to life in American politics. Greene has painted a target on her back. Her relevance just took a big blow she may never recover from.”

But, never one to take a hint, Greene faced off with Dr. Anthony Fauci last week during a House hearing where he was questioned, fending off criticism that he harbors secrets regarding COVID-19 and is responsible for governmental policies during his tenure…“crimes against humanity.” Greene refused to address him by his title of ‘doctor’ until she was admonished by the chair, though she continued with her snippy rudeness. Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show mocked her actions as a “strong stance,” saying her come-on line was, “If you’re a real doctor, how come you’re not walking toward me with a straitjacket?” Fallon also noted that Pepsi had been surpassed by Dr. Pepper as the second top soda brand in the USA, just behind Coke. He imagines Greene’s response as a rant about ‘Mr. Pepper’ not being “a real doctor.” As the Red Queen said to Alice, “you have to run as fast as you can to stay in the same place.” Run, Marge, run!

Marjorie seems to fall into the category described by Aaron Blake of The Washington Post where he says that those who will be deciding the 2024 election this year are not “generally the ones who will be on the fence and making crucial calls late in the campaign.” He apologizes for this summation, which is not to be a reflection on those who read campaign politics newsletters and the like, because the decisive voters are going to be those who have little to no idea what those who have been paying attention are even talking about. He discusses a poll from Yahoo News and YouGov where people were asked a series of basic questions about current politics, with only about half of our citizens agreeing Trump had been indicted for the subjects of his three remaining indictments. Sadly, 16 to 21 percent said affirmatively that Trump had not been indicted for these things…which he in fact has been indicted for. With some skepticism, he thinks some Republicans answered the questions wrong to skew the polling numbers. Blake attributes the range of answers simply to lack of paying attention, or a media diet on outlets that also don’t pay attention, with those least familiar with the indictments being FoxNews viewers and who don’t watch other cable news. Referencing those who purposely answered questions incorrectly, a protest of sorts might be at work if they feel indictments were unjustified…how could a ‘witch hunt’ be an indictment anyway? Lack of engagement is emphasized by the 1 in 5 polled who claimed not to know details of the Trump Manhattan Court verdict, either saying the former president was ‘not guilty’ or the trial was still in process…with 2 out of every 5 registered voters under the age of 30! Yikes…not a good omen!

A Marquette University Law School poll finds that a majority of independents indicate that they have heard only “a little” or “nothing at all” regarding Trump’s purloined classified documents indictment. Last month, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that only 1 in 5 voters knew that Trump said purported voter fraud in the 2020 election “allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution.” Based on claims by Trump and his MAGAts, some voters believe our economy is in recession, and think we have a 50-year high in unemployment. It is concerning that we may not see big shifts approaching the upcoming election, even with voters becoming more attentive.

Notably, one who hasn’t been paying attention is Donald J. Trump who still hasn’t figured out how our government works…in particular the House of Representatives. After his conviction on 34 felony fraud counts in the New York case, he immediately contacted House Speaker Johnson  asking him to overturn the verdict, which in turn prompted Seth Meyers of ‘Late Night‘ to explain the Trumpian view of our three branches. “He treats them like his three adult kids. The executive branch is Ivanka, she can do whatever she wants; the judicial branch is Don Jr., his right-hand man who does his bidding; and, Congress is Eric,” Seth interprets, adding, “Send him a birthday card, even though Trump has probably tried to have him killed. Eric knew it wasn’t intentional that he got pushed into the quicksand.” Meyers rags on the MAGA fold for spouting conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, while ignoring “the real one right in front of them.”

Trump returned to the location of his four-year crime spree in DC last week, meeting with House Republicans, and was about as coherent as any of his verbal-incontinency rally speeches might be. One source described him as “rambling, like talking to your drunk uncle at the family reunion,” as he tried his repetitive bit at humor in describing Hannibal Lecter as a nice guy who had a friend over for dinner. Most of those in attendance had great praise for the gathering saying he had brought “great unity.”…perhaps, with the exception of Representative Chip Roy who spent part of his time watching golf on his iPad as the Orange One rambled on. Trump was serenaded with a round of ‘Happy Birthday’ as he exited, in celebration of his 78th birthday event to follow at a Mar-a-Lago the next day.

Keith Olbermann, formerly of MSNBC and ESPN, jumped on the reporting of the Associated Press for its coverage of Trump’s return to DC, saying on Xwitter, “Fire everybody for describing the visit as ‘triumphant.'” His article was headlined, “Cheers, cake and a fist-bump from GOP as Trump returns to Capitol Hill in a first since Jan. 6 riot,” going on to say, “I am surprised to find the AP is still in business today after it published this wanton, biased, compromised, prostituted, unsurvivable pile of Trump-sucking propaganda yesterday.” Yeah, but what do you really think, Keith? Referring to Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister, he adds, “Goebbels would have been embarrassed.” The AP did not immediately respond to his commentary, but the Trump campaign was quick to attack, with a post saying, “Joe Biden and his supporters  showing they are anti-press and in favor of punishing anyone who does not parrot their propaganda.”

Jimmy Fallon of the ‘Tonight Show‘ cracked, “Down at Mar-a-Lago, they’re planning a big party with candy ankle monitors and a bouncy jail house. Apparently, when the chef at Mar-a-Lago asked what kind of cake he wanted, Trump said, ‘The kind with the file baked into it.'”

HO, HO, HO CHI MINH, APOLOGIZING TO MIERS, PRISON BE BEST

Wow!…that was a close one for the GOP! The RNC website ran an ad for the upcoming convention to be held in Milwaukee, WI on July 15…only problem being that the imagery featured Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Maybe they meant to use a Hanoi image, or even one of Pyongyang? Kim Jong Il would probably welcome Trump and his minions since they developed such a cozy relationship during The Don’s presidency…they “fell in love” according to the record…and who can forget the “love letters” kept by Don, interspersed with classified documents, as he fled to Mar-a-Lago in 2021? After the press pointed it out, the RNC website was quickly changed to the proper host city, but Jimmy Fallon on ‘The Tonight Show’ had to have his chance to run a spoof ad, using his Trumpy voiceover, saying, “From the Capitol building to the White House, we’ll celebrate the wall on our southern border,” as imagery of the Taj Mahal, a White Castle Restaurant, and the Great Wall of China crossed the screen. The Boston Globe ran a screenshot of the RNC’s error, gleaning 598,000 views and 3,700 Likes. The Wisconsin Democratic Party posted on Xwitter an edited shot of a t-shirt reading, “I attended 2024 RNC convention in Milwaukee, WI, USA,” with the location Xed out and replaced with “Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.” Dems chairperson, Ben Wikler, posted, “It appears that Trump’s RNC is unfamiliar with the location of Milwaukee, WI.”  Upon correcting the imagery on the ad, the RNC claims the photo came from a web developer who is no longer on the payroll. Wondering if Trump is refusing them payment for their efforts?

The former president is expected to be nominated at the convention four days after his sentencing in the hush money/falsified business records case…guilty on 34 felony counts…add ’em up! RNC chair Michael Whatley says the convention is planning for the possibility of Trump sitting in jail during this Grand Old Party party, and as he told Newsmax’s ‘Wake Up America,’ “I’m actually going to Milwaukee, and we’re going to have a series of conversations.” One would certainly hope so! And wake up that fly on the wall who can relay the details!

Jimmy Fallon feels that Melania Trump is not doing “fine” as husband Don stated after his New York guilty verdict. Fallon said, “Trump indicates Melania is doing fine, but that this hush money trial has been hard on her, and you know Melania is boiling because whenever your spouse says, ‘I’m fine,’ they’re most definitely not fine,” adding, “If you want to show her your support, send her a message on any of the five dating apps she just joined. The big question now is whether Trump will get jail time or house arrest. If he’s sentenced to jail, Melania will be inside the courtroom chanting ‘four more years!’ Trump will be sentenced on July 11, and his lawyers told him, ‘You should get your affairs in order,’ to which he replied, ‘That’s what got me in trouble in the first place!'” In a similar vein, Andy Borowitz writes, “Writing an impassioned letter to Judge Juan Merchan, Melania Trump argued that sentencing her husband to house arrest would mean cruel and unusual punishment for her,’ arguing further, ‘…that confining her husband to any place where she resides would be a clear violation ‘not only of the US Constitution, but of the Geneva Conventions. Your honor, you can prevent a humanitarian crisis. The human I speak of is me.'” Andy ends by writing, “Suggesting an appropriate sentence for her felonious husband, Mrs. Trump wrote, ‘Prison be best.'”

In a recent conversation with the toadies of ‘Fox and Friends,’ Trump was asked, “What’s your relationship with God like, and how do you pray?” His reply from left field (right field?) was, “OK, so I think it is good. I do very well with the evangelicals. I love the evangelicals. And I have more people saying they pray for me – I can’t even believe it. They are so committed, and they are so believing. They say, ‘Sir, you’re going to be OK. I pray for you every night.’ I mean, everybody, almost – I can’t say everybody, but almost everybody that sees me, they say it.” MSNBC host, Joe Scarborough, had to laugh uproariously, afterwards saying, “Just go to church…once! It’s beyond parody…sad!” Joe’s co-host, Willie Geist, says Trump should carry around a few printouts of Bible passages to recite for the ‘right‘ occasion. But although Trump missed the point of the question, or avoided it deliberately, he is doing something right in courting the religious right, by calling out his multiple prosecutions as persecutions. The New York Times reports that he now finishes some rallies with a devout closing…“The great silent majority is rising like never before and under our leadership. We will pray to God for our strength and for our liberty. We will pray for God, and we will pray with God. We are one movement, one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God.” Let us pray that his Teleprompter doesn’t start waffling.

Stuart and Dickinson, in Rolling Stone magazine, write of Justice Samuel Alito speaking at the Supreme Court Historical Society, of the ideological battle of the left facing off with the right, concerned about the hardship of existing “peacefully” in the face of “fundamental” differences that “can’t be compromised.” In a discussion he agreed that it is necessary to fight to “return our country to a place of godliness,” with the final resolution being that, “One side or the other is going to win.” The duo writes that Alito’s comments make no attempt to present himself as neutral, but as a partisan, as a “member of a hard-right judicial faction that’s empowered to make life-altering decisions for every American.” Interviewed by documentary film maker, Lauren Windsor, posing as a religious conservative, Alito says “there are fundamentals that can’t be compromised…so, it’s not like you’re going to split the difference.” Interviewing Chief Justice John Roberts, Windsor found that he differs with the opinion that the nation is polarized, believing that the Court is experiencing nothing new historically. He argues that it isn’t the Court’s obligation to get the country onto a more “moral path,” believing it’s for the people we elect to office…not lawyers. Roberts disagrees that the high court should be “guiding us in that path” toward being a “Christian nation,” mentioning his “Jewish and Muslim friends,” adding, “It’s not our job to do that. It’s our job to decide the cases as best we can.” Windsor is putting together a documentary entitled ‘Gonzo for Democracy,’ dealing with the Trumpism phenomena of election denial and religious extremism. In the words of Don Pardo, “Watch for it next time…if there is a next time!”

Elie Mystal in a recent piece in The Nation, writes that she owes an apology to Harriet Miers who was first nominated to the Supreme Court by George W. Bush, with Samuel Alito as a second choice. She describes Miers as a Bush crony and sycophant, who was criticized by everyone as a partisan hack who would be in step with all that Bush and the GOP wanted done. Coming from Texas to be deputy chief of staff, before being White House counsel, she was one of Bush’s closest friends, a born-again evangelical, and a good friend of Condoleeza Rice. Mystal says that “Miers was nominated because she spent most of her public career…in service to Bush. And she treated Bush, the bumbling oaf and war criminal, with a saccharine level of sycophancy.” Her nontraditional experience didn’t meet up with the GOP’s idea of a Supreme Court Justice, particularly the more conservative bloc who felt she was unreliable as a vote against abortion, offering no proof that she would reject court precedents. Republicans wanted a candidate who was willing to reject precedent and produce the right-white outcomes, instead of one who would uphold the law. Enter the Federalist Society and Samuel Alito. In Mystal’s view, the world has been worse every day since, though she doesn’t necessarily think Miers would have been a good choice. She writes that Alito is the most partisan justice on the high court…Clarence Thomas is only the most corrupt, Neil Gorsuch is the most dangerous to society’s functioning, and Brett Kavanaugh the most attempted-rapey. FoxNews has picked Alito to fashion their talking points into national laws…and to fly his flags high. Mystal’s argument that the GOP rejection of Miers was “the precise moment the party was lost to MAGA, laying the groundwork for the antidemocratic authoritarianism now in our foreground…cultism came to the Supreme Court before it arrived anywhere else in government. I’ve learned that you’re always better off going with the person who loves what you hate, instead of the person who hates what you love. The former might create something you find appalling, but the latter will only destroy that which you find most precious.”

Rob Boston, Senior Advisor at Americans United for Separation of Church and State, calls the placement of a statue of the Reverend Billy Graham by the state of North Carolina an undeserved honor. Though it does replace the removed statue of a former White Supremacist governor, he thinks it is a misguided decision. He feels Graham was uniquely positioned to bring Americans together during a painful, divisive time, but lacked the courage or vision to do so, despite his popularity and fame as an evangelist for his particular form of fundamentalist Christianity. His antisemitic comments and crusading against LGBTQ+ equality evoked the pain caused by unjust social norms, yet he “was unwilling to break with the White status quo,” writes Anthea Butler, author of ‘White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America.’ “He bemoans racism as a sin, yet offered only small, cosmetic adjustments to change the ethos…characteristic waffling.”

Trumper Steve Bannon is finally going to prison for contempt of Congress…for four months. Not long enough in the eyes of many, but long enough for him to miss the remainder of the 2024 election cycle, putting a serious damper on his ability to carry out whatever election antics he was hoping for, says Bocha Blue and Bill Palmer of The Palmer Report. One thing he won’t be able to do is line his pockets from his podcast crowd, being locked away without his mic and camera. Blue says, “So Bannon would have been smarter to just serve his four month sentence back when he was convicted and get it over with. It’s the latest reminder that Bannon is very much the opposite of smart. He’s a guy who digs himself a hole, then labels himself savvy for crawling out of it, and somehow gets the media (on both sides) to portray him as a political genius. But the larger point here is that this is just the beginning for Bannon. He’s also set to go on criminal trial in New York for his ‘build the wall’ scam…Bannon is likely to be convicted in his NY trial. It’s centered on the kinds of serious felonies that come with multi-year prison sentences…In other words Bannon is now on track to go from Federal prison, to criminal trial, to state prison…if Trump were somehow to win in November, he wouldn’t be able pardon Bannon on state charges. He’s seventy years old and seemingly in poor health, so he may never get out.”

Andy Borowitz, on his The Borowitz Report, writes, “Panic gripped the nation’s prison guards on Thursday as they reacted to the prospect of body-searching Steve Bannon. The thought of interacting with the naked Bannon had many in the guard community rethinking their careers, insiders confirmed. ‘I’ve been living in fear of this day,’ Frank Klugian, a veteran correctional officer, said. ‘I knew it was bad news the minute I heard Mrs. Alito was flying her flag upside down again.’ Harland Dorrinson, the warden of the penitentiary that will be receiving Bannon, said that ‘every protection’ will be provided those carrying out the procedure, including, obviously, hazmat suits.” Who will get Trump’s prayers in this instance?