TGIF 3/15/24

It's been a while since I've posted - life and stuff interrupting. I'm sure you all know the drill. I'm happy to get back into the swing of things, starting with today's good week/bad week lists. 

Fulton County, GA District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the RICO case against former president Donald 'Orange Jesus' Trump, his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and several other co-defendants, dodged a bullet when Judge Scott McAfee ruled that she can stay on the case, provided she fires her former romantic partner Nathan Wade. I never really understood why Willis was the one accused of receiving financial benefit from the pair's relationship; it seems to me Wade was the one who had a financial interest in it, with his firm earning some $650,000 from the case since he signed on.

I think Judge McAfee had a good week; he reached a reasonable conclusion here, and on his decision to dismiss, without prejudice, a handful of charges due to a lack of specificity. Importantly, he didn't mince words criticizing Willis for her insanely poor judgment. I mean, where I used to work, we trained everyone in the company from the lowest person on the totem pole to the CEO and our Board of Directors, on why a boss/employee relationship is wrong; I can't imagine she didn't intuitively know that.   

Oh - by the way, Wade resigned from the case, "in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible."

*****     *****

The OJ and President Joe Biden officially became the presumptive nominees of their parties, each having secured enough delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at their respective party conventions this summer. To me, that's not news, but it seems news to newspeople. who now get to say extra words when talking about the candidates. Like tens of millions of voters, I wish we had different choices. 

*****     *****

In my heart of hearts, I wish this was a fake picture, but of course, it's not. 

I mean, the guy in the middle triumphantly autographed Bibles after a tornado struck Alabama, leaving 23 people dead and thousands dealing with the aftermath. And grinned, with an upraised thumb, while Melania stood next to him holding a baby orphaned in a mass shooting. There's really no reason to be shocked at him posing, grinning as usual, with a newly-autographed poster of a murdered college student. 

What's appalling, though - in addition to her smiling family surrounding the autographing OJ, is that he spelled the victim's name wrong - on a poster telling everyone to Say Her Name. This stuff can't be made up - it really can't. 

*****     *****

President Biden gave what could have been his last State of the Union address last week. According to the official time-keeping, which starts when the President addresses the Speaker of the House, he spoke for one hour, seven minutes, and 17 seconds. If you didn't watch the speech and happened to see or hear the news more than once in the days since then, you might think the only thing he said was "She was killed by an illegal," and the only other highlight was that he didn't say the OJ's name 13 times. We are done such a disservice by the media, we really are.

*****     *****

Shockingly, former Vice President Mike Pence has announced he will not endorse the OJ - and he "will never" vote for Biden. I say 'shockingly' because Pence raised his hand when Brett Baier asked which of the GOP presidential candidates would support Trump "if he were convicted in a court of law."

TGIF, everyone.

Quick Takes (v71): Meaningless "Major Endorsements"

Last night on ABC's World News Tonight, we were urged to the edge of our seats with the news that Donald Trump received a "major endorsement." 

Who could it be, I wondered... Meghan McCain? Jeb Bush? Rachel Maddow? Or wait... maybe it was Carly "Look at that Face" Fiorina, who ran against him in 2016? 

Oh, silly me... it was Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). You remember him, right? The only Black Republican in the Senate? Former presidential candidate? The guy forced by the press into declaring he had a girlfriend?  Yeah, that guy. 

Can you imagine how this must have been "a big boost" for Donald Trump,  and "a major snub" for Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to the Senate back in 2012?  That's how ABC's Rachel Scott described it about ten minutes into the broadcast. 

My guess? It's neither of those things. 

Sure, all the candidates in the race hope for the endorsements of those who drop out, and one might expect there'd be a bit of loyalty from Scott to Haley, but she's behind both Trump and DeSantis coming out of Iowa, and likely has little chance of winning regardless of who endorses her. 

Now, to be fair, ABC is not the only outlet gushing over the endorsement - it's pretty widespread, with folks all trying to make it sound more meaningful than it is. 

I agree with NH Gov. Chris Sununu, a Haley supporter, who said

If anyone cared about Tim Scott, he'd still be running for president. 

Honestly, I think there are two issues with this: the endorsers, and those who report on the endorsements.

In my opinion, if you're Tim Scott, Doug Burgum or Vivek Ramaswamy, or even folks like Nick Ayers, one of  Mike Pence's former chiefs of staff, you're endorsing Trump because you want something from him, not because you have anything to offer him. 

According to the folks at 538, as of January 14th, Trump had picked up 185 endorsements,

including nine governors, 24 senators, and 116 U.S. representatives. By comparison, only 22 of them had endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

How many of those governors, senators, and representatives honestly believe Trump needs their endorsement, and how many of them are more interested in making sure folks who can vote for them know they support Trump? 

If you're a political reporter paid to give your best attention to these things, you should be asking yourself, "What's in it for the endorser?" instead of simply giving free publicity to the endorsee.  

And please, do us a favor: when a truly notable endorsement happens - if Mike Pence, or Nancy Pelosi, or Merrick Garland, or Liz Cheney - decides for incomprehensible reasons to support Trump, let us know. 

Wondering on Wednesday 2/22/23

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

A pregnant woman, jailed while awaiting trial in Florida, is suing to be released because her unborn child is being illegally detained. When you think of it, she's right, isn't she? If her fetus has personhood under Florida law, how can it be imprisoned when it committed no crime? I have to wonder - did any legislators consider this type of consequence when they rushed to assign personhood to a fetus? 

GOP Congressional leader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-You Kidding Me?) has suggested we need a national divorce, in which we'd "separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government." She's also suggested that folks from blue states who move to red states should wait five years before being allowed to vote in their new state. Greene sits on the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability. I'll let you do your own wondering on this.

2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, never one to shy away from the cameras, traveled to East Palestine, OH today. The town, the site of this month's chemical-carrying train derailment, was the perfect place for Trump to stand behind a podium with his fundraising banner pasted on the front and tell people he's having plenty of Trump-branded water delivered to them, along with water of "much lesser quality." I couldn't help wondering if he brought any bottles of his swamp water to throw into the crowd; it seems he forgot to do that.

Comically, on the national news tonight, an anchor said that the train derailment in East Palestine "had become political" with Trump's arrival. Why is that comical, you might be wondering? Maybe because the coverage on all the networks and cables has been about the politics of it: what FEMA is doing (or not); what the EPA is doing (or not); what the Transportation Department is doing (or not); what the mayor, governor, senators, and congresspeople asked for (or didn't); what Norfolk Southern, the owner of the train, offered (or didn't) and so on. Throw in the names of Pete Buttigieg, Joe Biden, and Trump, all once and possibly future presidential candidates, and the politics almost overshadow the derailment and the related health and safety issues it may have caused.

Oh - one more name we need to throw into the politically derailed derailment? Mike Pence. He can't stop talking about it including saying that the Biden economy "derailed the economy of East Palestine long before that train came through...", He also said that he would have gone to East Palestine before he would go to Kyiv. If you're wondering, like I am, if Pence is running in 2024, the answer is yes. If you're wondering, like I was, whether Pence has visited Kyiv or East Palestine, the answer is no.

This last item?  I'm wondering how long it would take for the echo of right-wing screams to die down if Maddow had gotten the entire cache of the January 6th video. And I'm wondering, too, if the American people deserve to see what really happened, as the Congressional MAGAists have said, why the footage was exclusively given to a pundit, not a newsman. To a single network, not to every network. To Tucker Carlson, of all people.

What's on your wondering mind these days?

Quick Takes (v68): Bring on the Bounty Hunters

Breaking News Alert: Pence has classified documents, too!'

From the article:

Lawyers for former Vice President Mike Pence said a “small number” of classified documents were found at his home in Indiana last week.

Pence’s lawyers notified the National Archives and Records Administration of the discovery on Wednesday, according to a letter obtained by CNBC. The news was reported earlier by CNN.

The classified documents were discovered on Jan. 16 after Pence had outside counsel “with experience in handling classified documents” search his own home and records “out of an abundance of caution” following the news that classified documents were found at President Joe Biden’s home and office.

I'll let you put your own spin on why Pence waited until documents were found at President Biden's property and his old office, instead of doing that when they were found at his old boss's place.  

My spin? He realized that if it can happen to Biden - a regular, church-going guy - it can happen to anyone.

And what happens now?

• Does the press go back to slamming the Rs for their carelessness, and give Biden five or ten minutes of breathing room? 

• Does the media now invest air time trying to determine the political viability of Pence, who many think might be running for president against Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and that other guy?

• Will the House Oversight and Accountability Committee decide we need to know who's been in Pence's house? Who wouldn't love to see that visitor log, right? And why he waited so long to disclose the finding? And why the documents weren't already in a locked safe? And why he hired a lawyer to search, instead of inviting the FBI to tea? And what, exactly, constitutes a "small number" of documents? Is that Joe Biden literally a small number, or is that a Trumpian small number? And did Mother know he had them? 

• Will the Ds put their rising young stars (or their ancient ones) in front of the cameras to read their Republican colleagues' scathing tweets and press releases about how horrible it is when Democrats mishandle documents?

Shortly after seeing the headline, I sketched out a perfect solution.

The houses, garages, car trunks, libraries, golf bags, duffel bags, diaper bags, bar carts, and sock drawers of every member of Congress, as well as every living president and vice president, must be searched for classified documents or other absconded-with items; the search must happen as soon as possible, to protect our national sanity, er, I mean, our national security.

And Ivanka's grave, too, must be searched - don't forget Ivanka's grave. I mean, who buries his ex-wife on his golf course while under investigation for missing documents?

Who does that? Donald Trump does, that's who.

I realize this would be an expensive search, given the whole debt ceiling and fiscal cliff and whatnot. I also understand we have a shortage of law enforcement officers across the country, so we certainly can't repurpose any of them for this. But I have a plan for that.

Pull all of the Republican pork-barrel spending from the omnibus spending bill passed last month. There's at least $900M in there that they don't want, and think is wrong, and I expect they'd be delighted if it didn't get spent in their districts.

Now that we've got the funding lined up, how do we spend it?  

Call up the Texas bounty hunters.

Pay them on a graduated scale, starting at $2K per page for the lowest level of classification, and up to $10K for the highest level: top secret - classified - eyes only - compartmentalized - secured room - share under penalty of death - don't even think about burying this with the mother of your favorite kids - or sharing it with your financially impaired son - yada yada yada.

 I'm thinking that $900M would be a tasty enticement for these folks.

Why the Texas bounty hunters, you ask?

Anyone who can determine the date of a random woman's last period as she walks past them into doctor's office surely would be able to determine if a document has a classified marking on it. This should be a piece of cake for them. 

Got an idea for how to bring this all to an end? Drop a comment!

Wondering on Wednesday 1/4/2023

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

When Sally Field won her second Academy Award, she said, "Right now, you really like me!" I wonder what Rep. Kevin McCarthy would say, after losing six votes for House Speaker?  Perhaps it's, "Right now, I wished you really liked me?"  Or, maybe "Right now, I wonder if you ever liked me?" 

I also can't help wondering how many votes McCarthy will allow before he decides it's time to step aside for someone 16 0r 17 votes more palatable?  He's said he's in it to win it, and that he's "earned" the Speakership, but there may never be enough votes for him. 

Former president Donald Trump tried to exert whatever power and control he has over the party, urging the Rs to get behind McCarthy who, Trump said, "will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB - JUST WATCH!" That didn't work - Lauren Boebert even suggested that Trump should have told McCarthy to step aside - and now I'm wondering what other Rs might have the power to convince the GOP caucus to align. 

• Former Veep Mike Pence could offer a few hundred rambling words without ever really saying anything about anything, but it might confuse people enough that they accidentally vote for McCarthy...
• Florida Man Ron DeSantis could promise to cancel anyone who voted the wrong way, or - even worse - call them all 'woke' or something. That might get them in line...
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell could... nah, never mind.

Maybe there isn't a unifying Republican out there?

Sticking with the House, as Rep. George Santos (R- You Kidding Me?) cast his vote for McCarthy, someone allegedly yelled "mentiroso" - the word for 'liar' in Spanish and Portuguese. The shout came from the Democratic side of the chamber, which make sense, right? I mean, Santos was endorsed by McCarthy, and by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Trump), the GOP Conference chair. 

Georgia's Marjorie Taylor Greene has also chimed in, tweeting "I think we Republicans should give George Santos a chance and see how he legislates and how he votes, not treating him the same as the left is."  I know they've been busy the past couple of days, but I wonder how MTG feels now, knowing that Santos' website noted*, according to The New Republic, that he voted against the omnibus spending bill that passed, and was signed into law - in December. Does that mean he passed the test? 

Finally, I'm having lots of laughs over some of the McCarthy memes I've seen on Twitter. For example, there's Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football; there's a speaker captcha; there's six stages of toast. There's a Groundhog's Day quip (too easy?) and even a Home Alone riff.  Truth be told, I'm having a hard time picking a favorite; I wonder if anyone else is having trouble, too? 

Oh - the House came back into session, then voted narrowly to adjourn. I think this means that McCarthy might have won a vote, finally.

What's on your wondering mind tonight? 

* When I checked his website, there was no mention of the spending bill.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Watergate

Today is the 50th anniversary of Watergate, the scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. 

And I can't help drawing comparisons between that crisis and the one in which our most recent former president finds himself knee deep.

 For example, 

• Richard Nixon had a CREEP - the Committee for the Re-Election of the President; Donald Trump is a creep. 

• Nixon had criminals acting on his behalf; Trump had hundreds of criminals acting on his behalf.

• Nixon's scandal came to light with a break-in at the Watergate Hotel, a building in DC; Trump's came to light with the break-in at the US Capitol, a building in DC. 

• The Watergate scandal had Deep Throat, the long-anonymous source who fed reporters information they published in real time; the Trump scandal has deep voices: the dozens of reporters and former staffers who have written about his administration. 

• Nixon had the Saturday Night Massacre, in which DOJ folks quit so they wouldn't have to fire the special prosecutor investigating the scandal; Trump conspired to fire DOJ staff, and had a legion of people threaten to quit. 

• Nixon's secretary, Rosemary Woods, destroyed White House documents; Donald Trump has allegedly destroyed White House documents. 

• Nixon had the 'plumbers'; Trump was full of crap with his ideas of a stolen election.

• Nixon was overwhelmingly re-elected after the scandal; Trump continues to maintain that he overwhelmingly won an election he overwhelmingly lost. 

• Gerald Ford declared "our long national nightmare" to be over when Nixon resigned; Mike Pence prevented a constitutional crisis when he refused to follow Trump's directive that he not certify the election. 

• Nixon dealt with shady characters in support of his winning re-election effort; Trump had Rudy Giuliani, Steven Bannon, and countless others helping him try to steal back an election he lost. 

• It took a long time for Republicans to turn against Nixon; it's taking Republicans a long time to turn against Trump.

• Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon; Trump pardoned just about everyone.

• Richard Nixon famously said he was not a crook; Donald Trump said "No way we lost this election!"

Let's all raise a glass to the Republican who had the good sense to quit, shall we? 

Sunday School 6/5/22: Extra Credit

I'm switching gears from your Sunday School lesson on people trying to do something about gun murders, to people trying to do something about the January 6th insurrection... let's dive into this week's Extra Credit.

Jake Tapper had former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) in the State of the Union classroom. He worked as an advisor to the House January 6th Committee for several months, leaving at the end of April to focus on helping Ukraine.

Before we get into his interview, the Committee is unhappy with Riggleman's appearances on CNN, as Politico noted last Friday. After one interview last week, the Committee's staff director sent an email regarding an "unauthorized" interview. Per the article, the email said Riggleman's appearance was "in direct contravention to his employment agreement."  And, of course, Riggleman "sharply disagreed" with that portrayal.

So, in the interest of not piling on to the Committee's dismay, I'll limit my excerpts to Riggleman's exuberance and personal opinions, and omit anything that could be remotely sensitive.

He said that the hearings are "going to be very concise," and "very exciting," and

...I think people are going to be absolutely surprised how much was known... And I think that's what's going to be exciting to see the committee. There's some very talented investigators behind the doors, and even with our teams and things like that and what they found, but, again, the investigators going through the thousands of interviews that they have and all the data and the videos.

I think -- I do think they're going to be very successful in those six -- I think in those six hearings.

And, he has hopes for the rest of us.

... the American people have to look at this from the beginning, take their notes, and understand that the committee has to build a case in a very solid, facts-based way. There's not going to be a lot of partisan whining or screaming. The investigators behind the door are nonpartisan individuals. They're going to present this case in a very cogent way. But the American people need to -- they need to take notes.

Tapper pressed on whether there's some kind of orange-haired smoking gun here. The only part I can comfortably repeat is that Riggleman said there were multiple groups looking at more data than he'd ever seen before - "it's absolutely incredible" - and that the Committee has to put it all together and that's what makes it exciting, and the "talent behind the door" made all of this possible, or something.

He agrees with Rep. Liz Cheney (R- stands for Real Republican) that the GOP has become a personality cult, not a party, and said he doesn't consider himself a Republican anymore. What he saw during his time with the Committee

has even pushed me further away, that the party has moved away from conservative principles to this cult of personality that Liz Cheney is talking about. She's absolutely correct. And when you see it behind the door... it's absolutely stunning, that cult of personality, but also the belief systems, that I don't think any real conservative could follow at any point. It's absolutely insane what people have sort of put their arms around. 

I can't agree more with that assessment, even without peeking behind the door. 

Down the hall, Margaret Brennan spoke with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Face the Nation. Schiff, you'll recall, was involved in both Trump impeachments, and is a member of the January 6th Committee. 

On the DOJ not charging Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, Schiff said it is "very puzzling why these two witnesses would be treated differently than the two" the DOJ decided to prosecute (Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro). 

These witnesses have very relevant testimony to offer in terms of what went into the violence of January 6th, the propagation of the big lie, and the idea that witnesses could simply fail to show up. And when the statute requires the Justice Department to present those cases to the grand jury, they don't, is deeply troubling. We hope to get more insight from the Justice Department, but it's a, I think, a grave disappointment and could impede our work if other witnesses think they can likewise refuse to show up with impunity.

He also said there's plenty of stuff they could have testified about that wouldn't come close to executive privilege - things about the campaign, relevant documents and the like.

None of which is protected by privilege. And the idea that you can simply refuse to show up, rather than show up and say, as to this question I'm going to assert a privilege, that just invites others to be in contempt of Congress or be in contempt of judges around the country in other courtrooms. And I think it's a very dangerous precedent to set.

Schiff said he wouldn't comment on any specific witnesses or testimony, but did say

...one of the themes that we will be fleshing out is the fact that in advance of the 6th, that there was an understanding of the propensity for violence that day, of the participation of white nationalist groups, of the effect that the continued propagation of his big lie to rile up the country and rile up the president's base was likely to lead to violence. 

Wondering on Wednesday 4/7/21

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Former Vice President Mike Pence has signed a multi-million-dollar deal to write not one but two books. I'm wondering when the second book begins; maybe it's after all 50 states certified the election, and the guy who occupies The Office of the45th President started trying to rally the troops for the insurrection? I'm also wondering if Trump will offer some kind words for the book jacket? You know, something along the lines of 

Mike? Where's Mike? I heard he wrote a book, probably not as good as my books, and it won't sell as many copies, but he was a nice guy, for the most part. But he could have solved all the problems if he had just done his job and overturned the election. I hope he writes about that part - the worst decision he ever made, and me too.

Rudy "Gee, Your Hair Dye Looks Terrific" Giuliani's son Andrew, has announced he's going to run for governor of New York. And after I stopped laughing - seriously, he has zero qualifications, other than a resemblance to a younger Eric Trump, and a "job" as a "special assistant" to Former Guy - I had to wonder what he's smoking, or what kind of mirror he looks into in the morning that gives him this level of confidence. 

Outside of anybody named Trump, I think I have the best chance to win and take the state back, and I think there's an opportunity in 2022 with a wounded Democratic candidate, whether it's going to be Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo, whether it's going to be a radical [Attorney General] Letitia James, whether it's going to be a no-name lieutenant governor, I think there's a very, very real chance to win. I believe I can win the race. I think I'm the right candidate, and this is the right time to help change New York State, and we've got a playbook that works.

I wonder, will the NYS GOP disavow Junior G-man's candidacy, right now? Do they have the cannolis to do it, I wonder?

Matt Gaetz? Yeah, I wonder about him. And I wonder about Women for America First, a pro-Former Guy group, who will have Gaetz as a speaker at an event held, of course, at a Trump-owned property. Gaetz, you'll recall, is under federal investigation for alleged child sex trafficking - an investigation started under Snitty Snitty Bill Barr's term as Attorney General. And not for nothing, the women know he's under investigation, but it doesn't matter. And you know what else? The woman behind the group hosting Gaetz this week was behind the rally at the Capitol on January 6th. 

I also wonder about Mitch McConnell, who on Monday told CEOs to stay out of politics, and accused companies of acting like a "woke alternative government" and yes, he threatened them, he did. 

Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order. 

The wondering part was, has he lost his mind? But it's OK - we subsequently learned that he didn't really mean that, he didn't. He thinks corporations should be involved and CEOs should continue donating millions of dollars to Republicans, but he doesn't want them getting involved in, you know, acting like good citizens and stuff. That's woke, and woke is bad. Because the more woke they are, they less money they'll donate to people like Mitch McConnell - and we surely can't have that, can we?

I also wonder about FEMA and its plan to provide up to $9,000 towards funeral expenses to folks who lost a loved one to COVID. I sort of understand wanting to help, but I just wonder if there is a limit to our collective generosity here. And, of course, there are already scammers trying to get in front of this - and that's before applications even get submitted. 

Finally, and I'll take the hit if you think this is premature, since the Derek Chauvin trial is still going on, but I wonder this: would George Floyd have died on that street, next to that patrol car, on that day last May, had Chauvin not had held him down? The answer is no. 

What are you wondering about?

Thoughts on Winning

I got a message from a friend today, offering up a way that our national post-election nightmare can end and America can win, Biden (the winner) can win, Mike Pence can win, and the president (the non-winner) can win. And how we can all be tired of all the winning because there'll just be so much of it, we don't be able to stand it anymore.

I have to say, initially I thought his idea was kind of whacky, but then, it started to grow on me. Like moss, on a stone that's not rolling, or something.  No, really, that's not fair - it's kind of an interesting idea. 

First and foremost, we know that the president hates to lose - at anything - and that his first thought - always, right before threatening or actually taking legal action - is to deny that he lost. 

We also know that he doesn't like anything President Obama did, and wants to beat President Obama no matter what. And we've seen, over the past several months, that President Obama doesn't seem to be interested in retiring from public life. And neither does AOC, it seems - and we know that the president doesn't like her and would love to beat her at something, almost as much as he wants to do stuff that Obama is not capable of doing. 

We also know the president is a student of history. I mean, he's told us over and over that he's the best ever at so many things - fighting terrorism, producing jobs, building, attracting crowds, not being racist, developing resorts, owning clubs,  making fragrances, writing 140-character sentences, and more. And he's definitely up there on the list of best presidents ever, maybe even the best president ever, certainly the best president since Abraham Lincoln, he's determined that with certainty. 

Given his best-ness, and his better-than-Obama-ness, and the wanting us to get tired of all the winning - you remember that, right, back in 2016 at a speech in Iowa?

We're going to win so much that you're going to get sick and tired, you're going to say, "Please, please Mr. president, we're sick and tired of winning Please let us have at least one loss. It's no longer exciting to win" and I'm going to say, "No way, we're going to keep winning and I don't care if you like it or not." We have to win.

Well, here's how everyone wins, as we have to, as we are destined to.

First: the president retires, before the end of his term. He doesn't quit - that's what a loser would do. He retires, at the top of his game, as a winner: the guy who defeated ISIS and the caliphate, Antifa and monument-busting protesters, the coronavirus and Communist China; the man who put his slippery leather shoes in the DMZ between the Koreas; the man with ambiguously legitimate Israeli housing units named after him; the man who gave us covfefe and Happy Meal celebrations; the man who gave Rush Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom. 

Second: upon the president's retirement, Mike Pence becomes the President-lame duck, #46, who will guide us through the rest of the counting of the illegal Democratic votes and the ignoring of all the perfectly legitimate Republican votes on the same ballot as the illegal Democratic ones. He's got just the right temperament, and an uncanny ability to talk at length and never answer any questions. And, he's a horrible Tweeter, which will be good for us he tries to heal the nation, right up until January 5, 2021 when people run around all over the state of Georgia trying not to be members of a minority, and then again until 11:59AM on January 21, 2021, at which point no one will ever hear of him again.

Third: Before riding off into the sunset, Pence #46 can offer pardons to everyone: #45, Mrs. #45 (those Christmas decorations. That Rose Garden, (ahem) renovation. That green jacket. #BeBest...), the children of #45, the girlfriends and spouses of the children (after all, the best is yet to come), the swamp monsters, and more. He could even pardon Hunter Biden's laptops, which would go a long way towards the healing and winning we need. And, instead of releasing the Kraken (hey - he could pardon Rudy Giuliani, too!), he could release the transition funds, which would allow for the peaceful transition of power that's supposed to be happening. 

And, finally: At noon on January 20, 2021, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. will become the oldest President ever. And then, shortly after that, Pamela Camela Carmella Kamala Harris will become the firstiest Vice President ever. The first woman, the first black, the first Indian American, the first Chucks-wearing, the first rain-dancing, and, probably, the coolest Vice President since Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. jogged around the White House with Barack Obama.

It's a perfect plan, right? It plays to everyone's strengths, and it lets us get back on track with having someone run the country, not ruin it on their way out. 

Teddy Ballgame hit a home run, and retired. Eli's brother, Peyton 'Omaha!' Manning, won a Super Bowl and retired. Donald Trump, just 'won' the election, so he, too, should retire at the top of his game.

Let us begin to get tired of the winning. We're ready.

TGIF 10/9/20

As promised, this week's TGIF post is all about things I learned reading comments on social media posts. The comments come from posts of mine or my friends, posts from news organizations, or posts from politicians. 

I can't say I know more a lot more than I did before, but I sure had some good chuckles, some of which is not appropriate for this audience, so I won't be sharing everything. 

As has been the norm lately, I'll let you figure out who had a good week and who had a bad week.  Ready?

• It's totally wrong to talk about the fly on Mike Pence's head. There is nothing that can be said about that, EVEN IF you also talked about the fly on Hillary Clinton's face when it happened to her, and EVEN IF you also talked about the fly on Barack Obama's face when it happened to him.  (As an aside, there ain't no way we're ever going to see an un-doctored video of president Trump nailing a fly with his hand during an interview. We have that video of Barack Obama...)

• Some people who think it's offensive to talk about the fly on Mike Pence's head think it's perfectly OK to call people names, including libtard. Apparently insECTS are must worse than insULTS. (I love that one!)

• Some people think that white supremacists and BLM are literally the same people.( Not just Joe Biden literally, but actually - literally - the same people.)

• Some people think that it's appropriate for militia groups to plot to kidnap the governor of a state, and some of those same people wish that kind of thing would happen to my governor. And when they get backlash for that kind of comment, they double down and declare that's the only thing that will save us. 

• Donald Trump not only 'owns' the FBI, he owns the entire government and can use it however he wants, because he is the president, and he'll be the president for at least four more years. (I kid you not.)

• When Donald Trump said it was a blessing from God that he got COVID-19, he meant that it gave him the understanding of what people are going through. Or, it meant that it gave him the chance to lead us out of the pandemic. Or, it gave him the chance to test the new drugs so everyone else can have them. Or, it meant that God chose him. Or, it meant nothing. (I don't know about you, but I like having a president that didn't require a spin-the-wheel decoder ring to understand what he's talking about.)

• The Republicans constantly say that Democrats haven't gotten over losing the 2016 election, but what's fascinating is that the only people who are ever talking about Hillary Clinton are comedians and Republicans. (True.)

• The president wrote the 'Art of the Deal', but he is not Art of the Deal, he's Don of the Dumpster. (I'm having a hard time arguing with that one.)

• When a woman got dragged out of a store this summer for not wearing a mask, it was in Joe Biden's America. When protests happened in cities this summer, it was Joe Biden's America. When a policeman got ambushed and killed this summer, it was in Joe Biden's America. When the stock market is booming, it's in Donald Trump's America. (AH- that's it!)

• Mitch McConnell said that he's not been near the White House since August, because they're not following the COVID protocols. He's right - and not only is he right, but he should have gone there, hugged everybody and let them cough in his face. (This Biden fan is not messing around.)

• The president's decisions to pull his negotiators out of talks with Nancy Pelosi, followed by his announcement that he'd sign a bill to bail out the airlines, or a bill to send money to Americans followed by his request that his negotiators go back to work is not a sign of him being ill, or being on steroids. It's him being the master of the game, and when we get our money before the election, he'll be re-elected in a landslide Trump2020 ususus. (Says an unemployed person desperate for a stimulus check.)

• Nancy Pelosi should use the 25th Amendment on herself. No need for a commission. Just do it now. (Lots of likes for that one).

Go ahead  -- make your picks.

The VP Debate: Questions and Answers

Another post started with a confession - shame on me.

I did not watch the entire debate. I lasted about half an hour, and then I switched over to watch North Woods Law, a show about conservation officers in New Hampshire and how they deal with people, and animals, on a daily basis. 

Their work entails listening to what people say, and what they don't say; setting aside their own beliefs and impressions to cut to the chase and take care of an issue; and acting with empathy and compassion towards people (and animals) when they are not at their best. 

As I listened to as much of the debate as I did, I tried to act like a North Woods officer, and really listen to the questions that were being asked, and the answers that were given. When the lies and honestly, the "let me get my talking points in here before time runs out, or even after time runs out, because that's what I'm here for, really" stuff, I gave up and promised myself and others that I'd watch it today and that I would read the transcript. 

I kept my promise, I did.

Below is my take on the actual questions, sometimes hidden in a lot of moderator talk, and the portion of any response that directly addressed the question that was asked. 

HQ is a question asked of Senator Kamala Harris; PQ is a question asked of VP Mike Pence. If the answer provided was not directly responsive to the question, you'll see a blank space where the answer should be. 

Here is the debate, in a nutshell.

HQ. What would a Biden administration do in January and February that a Trump administration wouldn’t do? Would you impose new lockdowns for businesses and schools and hotspots, a federal mandate to wear masks?

A. And our plan is about what we need to do around a national strategy for contact tracing, for testing, for administration of the vaccine, and making sure that it will be free for all.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Why is the US death toll, as a percentage of our population, higher than that of almost every other wealthy country?

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. How can you expect Americans to follow the administration’s safety guidelines to protect themselves from COVID when you at the White House have not been doing so?

A. The difference here is President Trump and I trust the American people to make choices in the best interest of their health

*****     *****     *****

HQ. If the Trump administration approves a vaccine before or after the election, should Americans take it, and would you take it?

A. If the public health professionals, if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely. But if Donald Trump tells us that we should take it, I’m not taking it.

*****     *****     ***** 

PQ. Vice President Pence, have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with President Trump about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of presidential disability? And if not, do you think you should?

A.

*****     *****     *****

HQ.  have you had a conversation or reached an agreement with Vice President Biden about safeguards or procedures when it comes to the issue of presidential disability? And if not, and if you win the election next month, do you think you should? 

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Neither President Trump, nor Vice President Biden has released a sort of detailed health information that had become the modern norm until the 2016 election. And in recent days, President Trump’s doctors have given misleading answers, or refused to answer basic questions about his health. And my question to each of you in turn is, is this information voters deserve to know?

A. And the transparency that they practiced all along the way will continue. The American people have a right to know about the health and well-being of their president, and we’ll continue to do that. 

*****     *****     *****

HQ. Do voters have a right to know more detailed health information about presidential candidates and especially about presidents, especially when they’re facing some kind of challenge?

A. Absolutely. And that’s why Joe Biden has been so incredibly transparent. And certainly, by contrast that the President has not, both in terms of health records…I’m glad you asked about transparency because it has to be across the board. Joe has been incredibly transparent over many, many years. The one thing we all know about Joe, he puts it all out there. He is honest, he is forthright…

*****     *****     *****

HQ. And you would pay for that new spending by raising four trillion dollars in taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Some economists warn that could curb entrepreneurial ventures that fuel growth and create jobs. Would raising taxes put the recovery at risk? 

A.

*****     *****    *****

PQ. Should Americans be braced for an economic comeback that is going to take not months, but a year or more?

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Do you believe as the scientific community has concluded, that man-made climate change has made wildfires bigger, hotter, and more deadly and have made hurricanes wetter, slower and more damaging?

A. And with regard to hurricanes, the National Oceanic Administration tells us that actually as difficult as they are, there are no more hurricanes today than there were 100 years ago.

*****     *****     ***** 

HQ. What exactly would be the stance of a Biden-Harris administration toward the Green New Deal?

A. I will repeat and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking…And part of those jobs that will be created by Joe Biden are going to be about clean energy and renewable energy…And so Joe believes, again, in science…Joe is about saying we’re going to invest that in renewable energy, which is going to be about the creation of millions of jobs. We will achieve net zero emissions by 2050, carbon neutral by 2035…We will also reenter the Climate Agreement with pride.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Vice President Pence, do you believe that climate change poses an existential threat?

A. As I said, Susan, the climate is changing.

*****     *****     ***** 

PQ. How would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Competitors? Adversaries? Enemies?

A.

QH. How would you describe our fundamental relationship with China? Are we competitors? Adversaries? Enemies?

A.

*****     *****     ***** 

HQ. What is your definition of the role of American leadership in 2020? 

A. Just think about it as relationships. So we know this in our personal and professional relationships, you got to keep your word to your friends. Got to be loyal to your friends. People who’ve stood with, you got to stand with them. You got to know who your adversaries are and keep them in check… it’s about relationships. And the thing that has always been part of the strength of our nation in addition to our great military has been that we keep our word…

*****     *****     *****

PQ. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, what would you want Indiana to do? Would you want your home state to ban all abortions?

A.

*****     *****     *****

HQ. If Roe V Wade is overturned, what would you want California to do? Would you want your home state to enact no restrictions on access to abortion? 

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. Tell us specifically, how would your administration protect Americans with preexisting conditions to have access to affordable insurance if the Affordable Care Act is struck down? 

A.

****     *****     ***** 

HQ. In the case of Breonna Taylor was justice done? 

A. I don’t believe so…And her life was taken unjustifiably and tragically and violently.

*****     *****     ***** 

PQ. In the case of Breonna Taylor, was justice done?

A. I trust our justice system, a grand jury that reviews the evidence.

*****     *****     *****

HQ. If your ticket wins and president Trump refuses to accept a peaceful transfer of power, what steps would you and vice president Biden then take? What would happen next?  

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. If vice president Biden is declared the winner and president Trump refuses to accept a peaceful transfer of power, what would be your role and responsibility as vice president? What would you personally do?

A.

*****     *****     *****

PQ. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along? 

A. I want to tell you that we’re going to work every day to have government as good as our people, and the American people each and every day. Love a good debate. We love a good argument. But we always come together and are always there for one another in times of need. And we’ve especially learned that through the difficulties of this year.

*****     *****     *****

HQ. If our leaders can’t get along, how are the citizens supposed to get along?

A. Joe has a longstanding reputation of working across the aisle, and working in a bipartisan way. And that’s what he’s going to do as president… I do believe the future is bright. And it will be because of your leadership, and it will be because we fight for each person’s voice through their vote.

And blissfully, that was the end of it. 

Now, you may think that all the other stuff that was said during the 90 minutes or so of the debate was necessary, or helpful, but to me, it wasn't. It was just talking points, it was trying to get the soundbite in, it was looking for a zinger... and even those fell pretty flat.

You can see that, if we scheduled the debates for 30 minutes, there'd be more than enough time for the actual questions and answers. And if the Commission on Presidential Debates wants to allow an hour of random chatter after the actual question part, that's up to them. 

I've been watching debates since 1968, when I followed the election with my Dad, a history teacher, who was trying to get his high school juniors and seniors engaged in our process for choosing a president. That was also the first year I 'voted,' going into the booth with him, pulling the curtain back, and pushing the lever for his choices. With that foundation, I've been engaged in this stuff ever since, but my distaste for the debate process has increased as my interest in actually sitting through them while they are happening has waned.

How about you? Did you think anyone answered questions that were actually asked? Did I miss anything that was responsive to the specific question posed by Susan Page? What did you think of the debate as a whole?

Wondering on Wednesday 10/7/20

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I wonder what we should call tonight's vice presidential debate? Will it be the #UghfestinUtah or the #KnockoutinKingsburyHall or the #SmackdowninSaltLake -- I can't pick my favorite, but I can pick what I hope they get to talk about: something OTHER THAN the coronavirus pandemic. I get that the Biden/Harris team is running in large part on how poorly the Trump/Pence team handled things, and I know that Pence is the alleged head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but we really need to hear from the teams, without all the shouting and interrupting and gurgling and whatnot, what the heck these folks want to do if they're declared the winner after voting ends on November 3rd. 

And speaking of November 3rd, I see that Facebook is now saying they won't run any political ads after voting ends that day. And I wonder, who's still going to be running ads at that point, other than Trump and his main man #SnittySnittyBillBarr - I mean, I'm sure they'll still be screaming about election fraud even as ballots are being received, or removed from their locked boxes and then opened and inspected in accordance with each state's rules, but is anyone else going to be running ads then? If not, why doesn't Facebook just tell the Trump team to "stand back and stand by" (aka sit down and shut up) until counting is done?

And speaking of voting and interference and lies and fake ads and stuff, today FBI Director Christopher Wray had a virtual press conference reassuring Americans that our election will be safe. And I wonder, will Trump wait until after the election before firing Wray? Or will he do it first, just to make sure he has the chance?

What else is going on? Will there be a stimulus payment for Americans who are struggling and those who are not? Will there be a bailout for the 'too big to fail' airline industry?  Do we have to wait until after the election, when Donald Trump says he will be elected, before we'll see a rescue plan - for anyone? Or, maybe, those hearty, wholesome, crime-free red states will get some stimmy, and us blue-staters will have to wait until... when, I wonder? But the big wondering is, what happens if we hold off on handing out any relief until after the election and (drum roll please) Donny gets sent packing?  Who gets the bump then? Blue states? Blue states and maybe purple swing states that voted for Papa Joe and Mom-ala? I mean, has Trump thought this through, I wonder?

Um, let's see -- we're getting October surprises almost daily, it seems. Or maybe it's Trump's 'roid rage, not sure. Today he lost another case on his taxes, and he's declassifying documents going back to Abraham Lincoln, I think... oh wait - Hillary Clinton, not Abraham Lincoln. Sorry -- different three-syllable, two syllable name there. My take on the document dump? No one will read them.  

Instead, the nation will turn its lonely eyes to Fox and Friends, or Don Lemon, or Chuck Todd, or Judge Jeannine, woo woo woo, and be told what to think about what they haven't read. And, if all goes according to Trump's plan, his base will vote for him, and Biden's base will vote for him, and nothing really matters any more... 

When did the president last test negative before being diagnosed with COVID-19, I wonder?  Bueller? Bueller? Anybody?

Mike Pence's aide Katie Miller is married to immigration psychopath Stephen Miller, who has tested positive. Mike Pence attended the #2020RoseGardenSuperSpreaderParty for Amy Coney Barrett, sitting in front of Sen. Mike Lee who has tested positive. I'm impressed with his negativity, I am, no wondering about that. 

And according to something I just heard, there are now 34 cases stemming from that little party. Anyone wondering how long before Kevin Bacon tests positive? 

The president said that his getting COVID was a blessing from God. I'll let you wonder about that one, and whether the 210,000-plus people who have died from it since the pandemic began would think the same thing.  And speaking of blessings and bizarre statements, don't forget that Trump's 4th chief of staff Mark Meadows, said that sticking by Trump while he was doing photo ops  undergoing treatment at WRMC was a message for our military men and women and boy oh boy, if you're not wondering about that, I don't know what you ARE wondering about...

And finally, about tonight's debate, I'm not wondering at all which of them will answer fewer questions: that's Pence, for sure. He is a professional question-non-answerer, and we've got proof.  Even though his chief of staff just said Pence is a "gifted communicator" - blecch.

Get your snacks, your beverages, and your bingo cards, if you're so inclined. We can compare notes tomorrow. About that, there's no wondering at all.