So…no one believes trump is actually going to show up for those debates as agreed upon and as scheduled, right? Okay, sure, if he’s in jail, it’s out of his control. Fair enough. Otherwise? I just don’t see it from the guy. No audience AND the mic gets cut when your time is done? How could Donny pull any of his avoid-the-question shenanigans?

The conditions of the debate were laid out at the time of the challenge. Donny knew them. Donny accepted them. But my guess is that was just a Donny ploy. He wanted to look tough for his base. But he KNOWS he can’t debate in a real debate. If he can’t disrupt and stir a crowd to disruption, he’s got nothing. So, now Donny will start screaming about how the format is unfair. The whole thing is rigged. He just can’t participate in a rigged debate. Then, he’ll run away. Like usual…

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More and more MAGAGOP are showing up at trump’s trial. This isn’t the base. These are members of Congress. No, really. So many members went to New York, Thursday, to lick trump’s boots, business of the House had to be suspended. They’re so busy trying to fluff trump they’re not doing their jobs. I know, ‘not doing their jobs’ describes their entire tenure in Congress. This is just another excuse.

They’re playing proxy to Donny. As a result of the gag order he has earned with his big mouth, he can’t attack witnesses or other people not associated with the case. So he got his MAGA toadies to do it for him. Of course, that’s a violation of the gag order, too. The judge has already threatened jail time if trump keeps violating the order – and presumably, that includes having others violate it for him.

Of course, so what? Judge Engoron kept threatening, too. He never followed through. I don’t know if Merchan will follow through or not, but I wish he would. The fear seems to be, putting Donny in jail for a night or two would be just what he needs to motivate his base. I suspect the process of being booked into a jail cell would have a tempering effect on Donny. Yes, he would try to fire up the base but the base seems to be believing the charges, even as they scream about how unfair life has been to the pampered rich kid.

That’s just a suspicion. I base it on the fact that he can’t get anybody to fall out for him in New York in support. He called and called. A few showed up but not the fearsome army he seemed to be hoping for. THAT’S why he ordered his toady MAGAGOP minions to show up. So, how big of a threat are they?

MAGA already suspects the charges have more teeth to them than he’s saying. They’ve already seen him walk away from the J6 crowd after siccing them on Congress. (Oh, sure, he’ll pardon the J6 protestors NOW, he promises. He had from Jan 6 to Jan 20 to pardon them in 2021 so they could have avoided jail time altogether. Why didn’t he do it then? He could have. He didn’t.) MAGA isn’t going to say anything to thinking Americans about it. Donny’s their guy. But they’ve noticed. They’re still being frivolous with their words, but they’re being a bit more cautious with their actions. As they should be.

But we should ALL remember the politicians more loyal to trump than the Constitution of the United States. Matt Gaetz of Florida; Anna Paulina Luna of Florida; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; and Bob Good of Virginia, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Michael Cloud of Texas, and Mike Waltz of Florida. My second favorite moment of the day was when a thinking American held up a sign behind Gaetz that read ‘bootlicker’ as Gaetz spoke.

My favorite bit, though, was when Boebert leapt to the mic after the others had finished. I’m not sure she was expected to speak. As the others walked away, she pushed in to add her two cents, still only worth a half cent. But her crew walked away, anyway. She looked the fool.

But then, don’t they all, groveling for Donny’s praises? Maybe we should pass the hat. We could try to buy each of them a spine…

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So…now MAGA Samuel Alito is flying the US flag upside down in front of his home? At sea, a flag flown upside down is said to be a distress signal, a “Save Our Ship” kind of thing. People on land adopt the signal from time to time to indicate their displeasure at whatever the current political climate is. These days, MAGA has adopted it as a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement, particularly obnoxious since THEY are the only ones trying to steal elections.

But a member of the Roberts Kangaroo Court? Gee, do you think the Supremely Kangaroo Court might get involved in any matter regarding the 2024 election? Do you suppose, now that everyone knows Alito is all-in for Donny, that he would recuse himself, as any person of honor should do? HELL NO, he won’t recuse! He’ll sit up there with his crooked buddy “Cash-based Clarence” (who should also recuse, but I did say ‘person of honor…’) and rule however helps his preferred candidate – and the constitution be damned.

This bizarro America is a very strange, very unpleasant place…