Federal courts don’t usually allow cameras. I suspect that’s part of the reason so many of Donny’s co-conspirators, along with Donny himself, tried to get their state case in Georgia moved up to Federal courts. It’s MUCH easier to lie about what happened in a courtroom – Donny does it every day as he leaves the courtroom in New York – if the world has to rely on second hand reports and, obviously, MAGA gonna lie. But if there are cameras in the room, with a live stream of the process (which MAGA will avoid at all costs), it will be easier to rebut fraudulent claims by lying conservative media in real time.

Several media outlets are formally requesting a waiver to the rule against cameras in the Federal courtroom. Their position? “If ever a trial were to be televised, this one should be, for the benefit of American democracy.” Interestingly, the judge hasn’t dismissed the request outright. Donny’s team has been given the opportunity to argue against the idea, suggesting that the court is open to cameras in this case.

There’s an Act out there that says that victims in Federal crimes have the right to watch the trial of the accused in their case. As it happens, every American who voted is a victim of Donny’s deceptions. I’m going out on a limb, here, but I suspect “every American who voted” won’t fit into the courtroom. Cameras are the ONLY reasonable solution.

I’ll tell you this: I hope cameras are allowed. I’ll whip up some popcorn and, if anyone needs me, you’ll find me glued to the set, watching every moment…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I read this sentence in this morning’s Guardian, in an article by Peter Pomerantsev called, ‘We Can’t Fight The Republican Party’s ‘Big Lie’ with Facts Alone.’ I wish I had written it.
“Agreeing to Trump’s claims about the rigged election is the absurdity you have to pledge allegiance to in order to show you belong to the tribe. It ensures your fealty by making you complicit. For anyone who has lived in authoritarian regimes, it’s a familiar sight.”

I’ve been thinking more seriously about the danger MAGA represents to what’s left of this nation. They are the least educated among the American people. Much of the world just laughs at their antics and lack of understanding about even the most basic things. They are bitter, blaming the world for their own failures. They are pissed off! Basically, we dismiss them for the wool-headed buffoons they are, and they ARE…but they’re also dangerous. These people are blind loyalists. Their leader is on his way to jail. They dismiss evidence against him and maintain their loyalty. One cannot reason with people who didn’t reach their position through reason. There’s a scary historical corollary, here: 1930’s Germany.

“Oh, God, he’s not invoking the Nazis, is he?”
“Yeah, I think he is.”
“Doesn’t he know Godwin’s Law? The first person to mention the Nazis loses?”
“Well, that’s not what Godwin said, so no.”

Okay, so, look. In the early 1930’s the Nazis started to come together in Germany. They were the least educated among the German people. Much of the world just laughed at their antics and lack of understanding about even the most basic things. They were bitter, blaming the world for their own failures. They were pissed off! Basically, the world dismissed them for the wool-headed buffoons they were (and still are). But they were also dangerous. Those people were blind loyalists, too. Their leader even went to jail. They dismissed evidence against him and maintained their loyalty. Sound familiar?

Then, the Nazi’s somehow ascended to power, anyway, and 40-50 million people died.

The people attracted to the Nazis, originally, seem to have been attracted by the feeling of acceptance, like they’d found a home. They were minimally marginalized people who found a community within the party. But then, to STAY in the good graces of the party, one had to toe the party line perfectly. Even the slightest slip and you’re OUT! Likely, ALL the way out, if you know what I mean.

I suspect MAGA is the same – minimally marginalized people who found a community within MAGA. But then, to STAY in the good graces of MAGA, one has to toe the MAGA line perfectly. Even the slightest slip and you’re RINO and you’re OUT! Trying to help a MAGA back to reality with facts and/or evidence alone simply doesn’t work, primarily because in stepping back into the real world, they have to step out of their community. They have to surrender their feeling of belonging to something. Imagine trying to talk a fundamentalist Christian out of their fundamentalist church. Imagine trying to talk one of “Manson’s Children” out of Charlie Manson’s cult. Same result, same reason. They lose their community.

I’ve never been much of a joiner but I DO know the feeling. When I was in basic training, I noticed that all the “slick sleeves” (trainees, aka: me) could talk to each other easily and comfortably because we were ALL in the same boat. Who came from where didn’t much matter. TODAY we’re all “recruits” and nothing more. Community.

I suspect we can only help someone back to reality by making sure they know there’s a place for them with a new community, a better community. A community where you don’t have to toe a specific line or repeat a ridiculous mantra to prove yourself. Hopefully, a community that promotes one’s BEST self and doesn’t prey on people’s worst instincts.

So I recommend maintaining communication with the MAGAs in your world. It’s not easy, but it’s worthwhile. Turning your back on your local, perhaps familial, MAGA only serves to marginalize them more, pressing them harder and harder into their destructive MAGA “community.” Remember, while we’re laughing at their antics, they’re slowly gaining power. Ascending, as Matt Gaetz says.

Back in the 30’s, the Nazis had a more difficult time spreading their message but they still had an advantage: people simply could not believe (or accept) what they were seeing from that group. Today, MAGA spreads their word easily through the internet and a gaggle of MAGA podcasts supporting the fraud. But today? The world knows what it looks like when their kind of message spreads too far and too successfully. In short, we’ve been warned by history. Do we learn? Can we?

I’ll tell you this: if we can’t offer them a welcome into a more uplifting community, they’re going to stay where they are no matter what is asked of them. In the 40’s, 50 million people died trying to squelch the Nazis. Today, we have FAR better weapons. The deaths have already started. If we don’t find a way to stop this process, how many will die? And I suspect community is the best answer…

Uh-oh. The Coup Klutz Clan is turning on itself. It’s not a surprise, to me. One of the characteristics of MAGA conservatism is pure, unadulterated selfishness. One does not find people willing to fall on their swords for loyalty among such a group. They worked together because they expected to benefit together. But when the situation became a more desperate “one for all and all for one” moment, they began bailing on one another. More like, “All for me and…um…who are you, again?”

One of Trump’s “lawyers,” Sydney Powell, has entered a guilty plea and a promise to testify in any future trials in return for a light sentence. $9,000 in fines and 6 years on probation for attempted treason is very light but it’s the way it works in these cases. Prosecutors work their way up the food chain until they get to the ringleader. They threaten to toss you in jail and lose the key if you don’t help or slap your wrist and give you tea and crumpets if you do. Even a MAGA eventually figures out that staying out of prison is better than going in…

Now Kenneth Chesebro has flipped, as well. Chesebro was one of the architects (allegedly working with John Eastman) of the plan to present fake electors and he’s the one who laid out the details in having Pence randomly choose to use other-than-official electors. Pence preferred the Constitution but how could Chesebro have know that in advance? Up until the moment in question, Pence had been a nearly perfect lap-dog for Donny so I’m pretty sure Chesebro thought he could count on Pence.

Chesebro’s punishment was less than Sydney Powell’s. He only has to pay $5,000 and do 5 years of probation. He also has to write a letter of apology to the people of Georgia. Of course, he has to turn over any and all evidence in his possession and agree to testify in future trials.

I had considered the possibility that Powell and Chesebro requesting early trial dates might be a ploy. It could have been a chance to let team trumpery see the case laid out in an early preview of what’s coming for them later. Instead, it was simply Powell and Chesebro distancing themselves from team trump so they could take their plea bargains and go home.

These seem like minor punishments but these two will likely lose their licenses to practice law, as well. So they might get a show in conservative media, but at this point, MAGA knows they took care of themselves and not 45. Powell and Chesebro may not be welcome in conservative circles, anymore, and I’m quite sure they’ve already been proclaimed RINOs. They’ll each write a book, mostly self-promoting and proclaiming their lack of guilt. It will be “remaindered” and stuck in some bargain bin within a week.

I’ll tell you this: We’ll hear a little more about them through the trials and then – gone! Forever, just a footnote in history of horrible people who did horrible things. Good riddance…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The fun part of Republican dysfunction is over. Now? Concern is setting in. Personally, my latest concern is that the MAGA cons doing all the damage have no incentive to ever do the right thing. Their GOAL is the destruction of this once-great nation and they’re achieving it simply by doing nothing. Well, nothing except a spectacle. “Sure, we’re going to destroy the nation, but we’ll be fascinating while we do!”

This country has a political party called the Libertarians. They’re far-right and their “solutions” to problems are often unrealistic and unworkable. They have a couple of traits in common. They did not pay much attention in classes on science, history, or social studies and they ALL lack empathy. They were, rightfully, relegated off to the “crazy” end of the political scale, along with other, extremist parties, like the Greens. So, after some prompting by Charles Koch, they infiltrated the Republican Party in order to gain political credibility. It worked, too.

They kept their more extreme elements to themselves for awhile as they crept in, one by one, inexorably. But they eventually became a strong enough force in the Republican Party to actually take over and direct the narrative. Hell, these days, the “Grand Old Party” should be called the ‘New Libertarian Party.’

Libertarians have always hated formal government. They’re okay with some small group that can make treaties and such, they understand that part, but they don’t want anything big enough to do the job of governance. Their position seems very optimistic, “Oh, people will just do the right thing without government interference,” but it’s really very opportunistic, “Without government to protect the weaker, the strong are free to pillage.”

People are pretty much on to them now, but they’ve gained a foothold in the party and they’re going to be very difficult to remove. In the meantime, they can do a great deal of damage and that seems to be their intent. They say it takes two to destroy a relationship. That’s not true. It takes two to make it work. But only one can decimate the thing pretty easily and in this case, the ‘one’ is the Libertarian MAGA GOP…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump comes out of the courtroom and starts his whiny shtick about, oh, poor him, he has to be in court. He’d rather be out campaigning but no, they FORCE him to be in the courtroom. Literally four minutes later, during the same rant, someone asks if he’ll be in court the next day. “Probably not,” he says, “I have a very big, professional golf tournament at Doral, so probably not.”

Okay, so…they FORCE him to be in court to keep him from campaigning but they let him take off for a “very big, professional golf tournament?” How does a judge issue THAT order? The truth is, this is a civil trial. Trump is welcome to be there, but not required to be there. He COULD be out campaigning if he chose to (or could afford to), in the same way he can get to the golf course. Suspicion is that Trump only showed up at this most recent sighting because he expected his old friend and “fixer” to be on the stand and he wanted to start menacingly at Michael Cohen.

MAGAs will believe his tale of woe, of course. They MUST. When he tells them the courts won’t let him campaign but the courts WILL let him golf, MAGAs won’t even blink an eye. Ignore the conflict, it must be the evil government. If Trump said it, it must be true so it’s the big ole’ meanie pants government. But it isn’t the government. Trump is still free to go where he wants to, within reason. He could campaign. He doesn’t want to (or can’t afford to). He wants to play golf, so that’s what he does.

I’ll tell you this: Every day, MAGAs seem more and more, to me, like an abused spouse… No, that’s not right. To me, they actually seem like hookers in the trump stable, doing as they’re told, when they’re told – fearful of abuse – and handing over every dollar they can earn…

$37 million dollars to more than 60 law firms since January, 2022. That’s how much Trump’s supporters have paid so far, according to the Associated Press. Trump’s ‘Save America’ PAC is really a ‘Save Trump’ PAC. According to FEC filings, $37 million is more than half of the PAC’s expenditures. I say the PAC’s expenditures. I mean his supporter’s expenditures. They send the money to the PAC, the PAC sends the money to the lawyers. Trump goes out and whines, “Poor me!” and the supporters send more and the cycle repeats.

They don’t mind. They KNOW nothing like this has ever happened to an ex-President before so they THINK it must be political in nature. Sure, they COULD decide on the truth: it’s never happened before because we’ve never had such an inept criminal in the Oval Office before but they don’t like that interpretation so they’ve settled on “Meanie-Pants Government.” Sure, it’s stupid but it’s what they’ve got, so…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By now, you’ve heard of the Republican effort to pin the entire mess in the House on the Democrats. “Wait, what? That can’t be right.”
“Well, they’re not right but that’s how they’re trying to evade responsibility for the chaos.”
“So they’re suggesting the Democrats should have kept a Republican House Speaker? Why would Democrats want a Republican House Speaker, given a choice?”
“OBVIOUSLY, they wouldn’t.”
“Well, who gave the Democrats the choice?”
“The Republicans.”
“Well, then, why the obviously silly story?”
“The base buys it. That’s really all they need.”

Jim Jordan is taking yet another shot at the Speakership. Round 3. After today, only twelve more votes and he ties the McCarthy for 2nd longest Speakership drama in history! (The longest was 133 votes in 1855/56.) In fairness, McCarthy set a high standard for low quality and Jordan is going to have to work hard to match it. Truthfully, we’re moving past the fun part to where this is getting serious but I still can’t help laughing at the Republicans.

I doubt anyone is surprised. The MAGAs are constantly on about how government sucks and people shouldn’t govern and government doesn’t work and, particularly, people in government are fools. What did they expect? Sudden interest in governance? Jordan and his ilk are threatening to strangle the House if they don’t get their oh-so-stubborn way. But if they DO get their way, all they want to do is strangle the entire government so it’s best none of them are given the job.

I don’t really expect any Republicans to cross any party lines in this very partisan day and age. But I DO think the only way past the impasse is for a few Republicans to threaten to vote for Hakim Jefferies in one of the upcoming rounds if not given a less ideological choice. If that doesn’t wake up the MAGAs – and it won’t, at least it could get the government back to work…

The cons should go with Don Bacon (no relation), and not just because I’m really zippy at typing ‘Bacon.’ Sure, he’s a moderate centrist but he’s still a Republican. I wonder why the Republicans never listen to me?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess the base believes it, or works to believe it, or is desperately trying to, please, God, help me, believe it but I’m just sick of hearing Donny constantly blaming witch hunts and conspiracies for his troubles. It can’t possibly make sense to anybody that you’re either a MAGA loyalist or part of a vast conspiracy to bring him down with no middle ground. Even people who were loyalists until the topic became “trash the Constitution.” Suddenly, the once-loyal, one-time followers who love America more than they love Trump are RINO’s (Republican In Name Only).

The truth is, nobody was looking any too closely at the Trump Organization and likely would not have done had he not run for President. But, no MAGAs, they didn’t look into Trump especially closely because he was such a great and awesome President. When one runs for President, people, mostly the press and political opponents, dig as deeply into your world as they can. The cons are doing the exact same thing to Biden right now. In Donny’s case, there was just SO MUCH to find!

His indescribably huge ego had convinced him he was untouchable and that made him complacent. His crimes weren’t even all that well hidden. It didn’t take much looking to find problems. Once someone started pulling even the tiniest thread, the whole thing unraveled.

Not three generations is a pretty quick turnaround for a fortune once estimated at nearly $8 Billion dollars. (Granted, that’s likely based on inflated values and was actually worth, like, $1.25 but without evidence, I’ll go with public information.) Grandpa Drumpf started the thing. Daddy now-Trump really built many of the buildings. The “stable bizness jenyus,” Donny, managed to grift the thing to dust. In 52 years. (He took control in 1971.) On average, this guy lost $153 million dollars a year, each year he controlled the company. Ivanka got herself a rich guy so she’ll be okay but it’s looking like Eric and Don, Jr. are going to have to get jobs. I wonder what they’re qualified to do?

I’ll tell you this: Losing $8 Billion dollars in 52 years is pretty impressive in it’s own way. I wonder why he never brags about that?

I like ‘Real Time with Bill Maher.’ I watch the show on a regular basis and usually enjoy it. The arguing gets to me from time to time, especially when it’s happening through obstinance and it’s not fact-based, but, generally speaking, I like the information exchange. I don’t always agree with old Bill but, what the hell, it’s his show, right? I think he’s pretty even-handed in most areas but he has one area that he clings to as tightly as any MAGA con clings to 45. Israel.

He says he an atheist, which I believe, but his loyalty to Israel seems religious in nature, anyway. With the renewed violence in Israel and Palestine, he voiced full support for Israel and complete condemnation of HAMAS on his October 13 show. Like the MAGAS, his “beloved” can do no wrong and evidence to the contrary will not be tolerated. He sees every egregious act committed by HAMAS but explains away egregious acts committed by Israel. In his mind and telling of the tale, HAMAS is ALWAYS acting and Israel is ALWAYS RE-acting. I don’t see it that way.

In this country, whenever anybody questions the actions of Israel, the State, defenders of Israel are quick to label that person anti-Semitic. I believe that’s a shut-down position intended to blunt criticism of Israel through intimidation – fear of being labeled a bigot – and, frankly, it’s pure folderol. I know Israel is, primarily, a Jewish state. Hell, that’s the whole point of Israel. But I do not believe that what the Israeli government does has anything, whatsoever, to do with Judaism. Criticism of the Israeli government in no way equates to “MAN, I hate Jews!” and the person who pretends otherwise, it seems to me, is kind of confessing their inability to discuss the politics of the matter rationally.

I want to be clear, here. I don’t support HAMAS, either. I think it’s a horrible idea to indiscriminately launch rockets into cities, killing… whomever happens to get in the way. I also think it’s incredibly, incredibly stupid. The Palestinians are never going to out-punch Israel and every time they re-ignite the violence, they end up costing themselves, which I see as the whole point – the actual goal – on Israel’s part. In short, Palestine is playing right into Israel’s hands when they turn to violence.

John Lennon said it best: “When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you.”

The whole thing reminds me of a little brother being quietly antagonized by his older sister until he explodes in anger. She puts on her best, “Who, me?” face and he gets in trouble for his reaction. But the antagonism is rarely part of the conversation. If it does get mentioned to the parent, the response he gets is, “Well, you should have come to me.”
“But I DID come to you! You just said we should try to get along and didn’t do anything!”

If you pay attention, and don’t blind yourself with automatic rights and wrongs, you can see the Israeli quiet antagonism slip through in the newspapers from time to time. (There’s always a “reason” but the reason is often a RE-action and not an initiating event and the end result is always the same: Israel has a little bit more land, Palestine has a little bit less land. HAMAS is pretty vocal about wanting Israel off the land and wanting to push Israel into the sea. Israel never says the same about Palestine. But Israel is constantly working to push Palestine into the sea, all the while talking about how the two sides should just get along. Israel is FAR better at PR than Palestine.

If you live in Gaza, you are 100% dependent upon Israel for electricity, water, medical supplies, and food. The entire area is walled off and poverty-stricken – think Warsaw Ghetto – and, from time to time, the gates get closed – always for “reasons” – and you can’t get to work. Also from time to time, Israel cuts off the flow of electricity and water… AND the medical supplies and even the food. ALWAYS, the Israelis are building settlements in disputed areas and moving people in as fast as they can. Once there are enough people there, Israel says, “Too many to move. That’s Israel, now.” It’s like sharing an arm-rest in a theater. One person just keeps moving their arm more and more onto the thing until the other person is off entirely.

To me, it looks like Israel intends to “scoot” the Palestinians off the map. “Hey, could you scoot over just a bit? Yeah, we need to get by. Hey, if you could just scoot a bit more, there, we can get this thing done. Hey, how about you scoot that way just a bit? Oh, man, one more person needs to fit, could you scoot just a little more? C’mon, man, I’m going to need you to scoot a little more.” It seems to me it never ends. Imagine how it feels to the Palestinians.

For every one of those micro-aggressions I’ve just described, there’s an answer. “Yeah, but remember that guy that time?” “Yeah, but the Palestinians said…” “Way back in 237 B.C.E, Palestinians…” That’s a key, for me. NO ONE can chicken-and-egg this thing, as in ‘Which came first?’ This dispute goes back nearly 4,000 years and the list of grievances on both sides is as long as any list you’ve ever seen. Even if you could find the original, initiating event, are they REALLY going to keep fighting, killing, and dying over something that happened 4,000 years ago? Talk about holding a grudge!

Based on past history, Israel’s response will not be “measured.” They’ve already cut off the electricity and water and medical supplies and food for ALL of the 2.2 million people who live in Gaza, whether the people living there support HAMAS or not. Now, they’ve told 1.1 million of those people to scoot a little to the south because they’re about to RAIN bombs on Gaza. The UN has pointed out that the demand is “impossible.” I expect the bombs to fall, anyway, and when Israeli (U.S) bombs kill Palestinian women and children, those deaths will be dismissed. “Hey, we told them to leave. They didn’t.” But I don’t support Israeli bombs killing Palestinian civilians any more than I support Palestinian bombs killing Israeli civilians.

I’ll tell you this: This isn’t the start of Armageddon (sorry, hopeful Christians) nor is it the beginning of World War III. Palestine will run out of resources, soon, and be forced to stand down for awhile and Israel will impose new and more aggressive punishments and sanctions on the entire area. When the smoke clears, Israel will be a little bit larger and Palestine will be a little bit smaller and the whole cycle will begin again.

Humanity can be quite disappointing…

You know who has it together when it comes to Speaker of the House? The Democrats. They know who they want, Hakeem Jefferies. 212 of them. Apparently, one must reach a minimum of 217 to gain the Speakers gavel. If 5 moderate Republicans crossed the aisle, or, more likely, threatened to, maybe the crazies would stand down. (Yeah, I know, but hope springs eternal.)

Meanwhile, the MAGA cons act around Jim Jordan was interesting. 45 told his obsequious boot-licking MAGAs to select Jim Jordan, they’re going to select Jim Jordan. It makes sense. Sexual predators, apparently, stick together. Aware of what a clown show the first round in picking a Speaker was, the Republicans had barricaded themselves behind closed doors to pick their guy. They came out and announced him: Steve Scalise. Steve Scalise describes himself as ‘David Duke without the baggage.’ David Duke’s “baggage?” Grand Wizard of the KKK. That’s the highest rank you can achieve in that particular hate group so, nice work? I think it means he is the least stupid among the very dumbest among us. Pretty low bar.

Anyway, after they left the closed-door session, they voted and, no, the MAGA’s just couldn’t stand behind him, after all. This move, of course, dragged their chaos right back out into the public eye. Then they all huddled again and, lo and behold, Jim Jordan has emerged as an option. Jordan is going to be a tough sell. Whatever is left of rational Republicanism needs only 4 votes against to stop that choice, as well.

I’ve said it before, the Freedumb Caucus reminds me of nothing so much as a toddler with a loaded gun. They have no idea, not a clue, how to use the power they hold effectively but they’re still very dangerous. Five rational Republicans could eliminate that danger by crossing the aisle – or threatening to. There are a few from districts won by Biden in 2020. Maybe those Republicans would be safer from backlash should they take action. (Which they won’t. The Party – and keeping one’s phony-baloney job – is more important to Republicans than America…)

So, the clown car runs free and we’re all watching and waiting and pointing and laughing. I’ll tell you this: I’m pleased that on the one hand, they can’t do any damage during their dramatic show of incompetence. On the other hand, they DO have actual work they’re supposed to be doing and they can’t do THAT during their dramatic show of incompetence, either. I hope the popcorn holds out…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the crime file, Trump’s CFO, the one who knows nothing of GAAP? He has apparently taken to lying on the witness stand in an effort to help himself. It’s really just going to make things worse for him. It will add perjury charges and probably harm any deals he may have made with authorities. Weisselberg, for that is the name of the criminal in question, said he hadn’t had anything to do with the fraudulent claim that Trump’s 10,000 sq/ft apt was 30,000 sq/ft.

Turns out, there’s plenty of evidence that the prosecutors don’t have (yet) that contradicts that claim. Forbes magazine, of all places, broke the story. They have emails proving Weisselberg was, in fact, very involved. His testimony was brought to a screeching halt as prosecutors look into the claim. The trumpery crumbles just a bit more.

I wonder how long it’s going to be before he jumps on his private jet and flies off to Russia. Of course, having to turn over the names of all of his silent investors might preclude that as an option. I imagine old Vlad is pretty much done with Trump. The dumbass won’t be President again and with his business dissolved, he can’t help Vlad launder any more money. Trump is less than useless to Vlad, anymore. In fact, he’s now something of a liability. Putin kills liabilities. Maybe Trump’s safer move is to take his chances with the American government…