Last Night in Simi Valley and the Madness of Donald Trump

 Last night on Fox seven republicans who are running for the party's presidential nomination  gathered on a stage at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley, CA. The bizarre tableau could have been titled, Donald Trump and the Seven Dwarfs, except, of course Trump wasn't there. He was off in Michigan somewhere lying to some workers and it turns out hand picked shills at a non union auto parts plant. He was there at the behest of the plant's management team in order to explain why collective bargaining agreements are evil. Not surprisingly though he spent most of his time, talking about how great and wise he, Donald J. Trump, is. 

The former president appeared to get through the speech without any of the mishaps which have recently plagued him. You know, like telling the crowd he defeated Barack Obama in 2016 and Joe Biden, if re-elected, would start World War II.

Perhaps El Donald is due a little sympathy. Earlier the same day a New York Judge ruled he and one of his kids had committed fraud when they and the Trump Organization had over valued their properties by delirious amounts to secure loans. The decision could directly lead to the Trumps forfeiting huge chunks of property and the right to do any business in the state of New York.

All these legal problems seem to be wearing down Trump's mind. Nearly 100 different felony charges will do that. It is obvious the man began to unravel as soon as the results of the 2020 election came in. The criminal charges have apparently hastened the syphilitic like deterioration of his brain. So much so he doesn't even pretend to be pro-democracy any more. All those inhibitions have been eaten away and only God knows how far he will go now.

We do have some hints though.

Late last year he posted on his private social media outlet, "...Massive fraud of this type (the election results) and magnitude allows the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the constitution." 

We could, I suppose, ask the ghost of James Madison its opinion of that statement, but it's too busy spinning in its grave to respond.

Last week, after promising his justice department would investigate and prosecute NBC and its holding company, Comcast Trump posted this about retiring Joint Chief of Staffs, General Mark Milley: "This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck, who if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH." 

What Milley did was call his Chinese counterpart after the failed coup of Jan. 6th to reassure him an increasingly unhinged Donald Trump wouldn't launch an all out nuclear attack on his country. Milley also called all the pertinent American commanders and told them if they got some, "strange," orders directly from the White House to let him know before they did anything. It is the same thing DOD officials did during those chaotic days before Richard Nixon gave up and resigned. It is called, making sure no one does anything stupid if the old man becomes completely unglued.

Yes, that is how crazy Donald Trump was then. Just think how far his madness has progressed by tow. 

 Meanwhile back in Simi Valley we did learn at least one fact last night. That is, as one wag posted, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone loved you as much as Nikki Haley hates Vivek Ramaswami?"

Well yeah it would, but some things are just not possible. 

9-28-23

The Further Adventures of Rudy Giuliani

 Dear Rudy:

Our law Firm, Davidoff, Hutcher, Citron has represented you in legal matters the past several years. These matters include a federal  investigations into your now defunct foreign lobbying venture, investigations and charges brought against you by the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney, and the investigations of Special Counsel, Jack Smith regarding the January 6th, 2021 insurrection in Washington D.C. Our records indicate we have received payments totaling $214,000. Your outstanding balance for services delivered is now, $1,350,196. That amount is currently OVERDUE. It is time to pay up, you dead beat son of a bitch. WE WANT OUR FUCKING MONEY!!!

Sincerely

Davidoff, Hutcher, and Citron LLP

Well, Davidoff-Hutcher didn't put it exactly that way, but their message was clear the other day. There are no more free rides for Rudolph Giuliani. He owes them a huge wad of cash and they are going to court in order to collect.

The man who used to be called, "America's Mayor," issued a statement which read, "I can't express how personally hurt I am for what Bob Costello (Davidoff-Hutcher partner who represented Giuliani in court) has done. It is a real shame when lawyers do things like this, and all I will say is that their bill is way in excess to anything approaching legitimate fees."

Rudy knows these guys are serious. The firm and Costello in particular had represented that outlaw fascist, Steve Bannon when he was hip deep in legal trouble. After Bannon tried to stiff them, Davidoff--Hutcher sued and won a $500,0000 judgement. The judge ruled Bannon had read and signed a retainer agreement with the NYC based firm and didn't object to any of their invoices when they were actively representing him. He just chose not to pay them when they were done.

In this latest action brought against a former client the suit points out Giuliani had read and signed a similar agreement and, like Bannon, had never objected to the amounts on any of their invoices. At least not until now. It's unclear if Rudy-Toodie thought Davidoff--Hutcher would write off the fees--a sort of personal gift from his old pal Costello, or he actually believed Trump and others would pick up the tab. 

If the latter was the case he should have known better. Hell, Donald Trump doesn't even pay his own lawyers, There is no way he is going to foot the bill for some groveling toady like Rudy Giuliani. No, if the Mayor is looking for help in that direction he is going to have to settle for those rare moments when the big man is bored enough to throw him a fundraiser. 

Of course the problem Davidoff, Hutcher, and Citron has is exactly the same one faced by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. Unless there is a secret account, or two tucked away in someplace like the Cayman Islands, Rudy Giuliani is tapped out. Right now his main asset is the upper eastside apartment he owns in New York City. It has been on the market since late July with an asking price of $6.5 million. The way he is running through lawyers and bail bondsmen right now there is no telling how much of that will be left to split, even if he gets his full asking price. 

Indeed, it might end up that Freeman and Moss, not to mention Davidoff-Hutcher  have to settle on cuts of Giuliani's income after the state of Georgia employs him in the license plate shop at the state prison. It won't be much, but it beats nothing at all. 

Meanwhile, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson has accused Giuliani of making unwanted and utterly crude, sexual moves on her in the VIP tent the day of the failed coup. The details of the alleged assault are contained in her new book which will be released next week. She also claims a co-conspirator in the insurrection, Trump attorney du jour, John Eastman served as lookout/voyeur during the incident. 

No one knows if Ms. Hutchinson will back up her allegation with a civil action against Mr. Giuliani, but if she does she needs to hurry. The slices of that pie are already extraordinarily thin and the line is long.

There is also no telling where all this will end up. All we do know at this point is things are grim for Rudolph Giuliani. And even if he doesn't end up in either federal, or state prison the odds are increasing his next residence will be at best a maintenance shed at Mar A Lago, or at worst, a crate beneath an overpass somewhere. 

Such is the fate of those who devote their lives and fortunes to The Cult of The Big Orange Guy. 

 

9-21-23

Congresswoman Gone Wild: Lauren Boebert at the Theater

 I was a little too eccentric. I'm well known for having a very animated personality.

Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert describing her ejection from a Denver theater in an interview on the OAN cable network this past weekend.

Totally embarrassing bimbo.

A social media post by conservative commentator, Ann Coulter which included a photo of Boebert vaping in the audience during the play.

In truth, there was a little more to it than being," too eccentric," that weird night in Denver. Lauren Boebert was also accused of being verbally abusive to the pregnant woman sitting behind her, singing and waving her arms as if she was at some rock concert, and behaving like a teenager gone wild on ecstasy. 

Actually a tab of MDMA would explain a lot. You know like the sudden disappearance of all inhibitions which led to the vaping and what some have described as crude, mutual groping between her and her male companion. Not to mention repeatedly using the flash on her phone to record videos and take photos of the performance of the musical, "Beetlejuice." 

She will no doubt deny she has ever used that drug, or any other, but hey, we all know she is a congenital liar. Up until Boebert was shown the security camera footage of her doing it, she had denied vaping. Even now she maintains she has no memory of vaping. Since I've never tried ecstasy myself (it wasn't around back in the salad days, when pharmaceuticals and various herbs and fungi were on the table}I cannot testify to its memory impairment capabilities. 

I do know, however, completely unhinged behavior and memory loss almost always involves some sort of outlaw drug wildly bubbling in your brain. Well, either that, or a complete psychotic break of profound proportions.

Unfortunately with some people you can never tell the difference. Take Boebert's rival gang leader, Marjorie Taylor Greene, for instance. She is still claiming people are using her TV to spy on her at home. Is it paranoid delusion, or the dreaded brown acid that plagued Woodstock attendees? Who knows?

Of course the Congresswoman from Colorado's 3rd district has never been one for rules of any kind. In 2017 her two restaurants, Shooters Grill and Smokehouse 1776 jointly operated a food outlet at the local county fair. Because such things are for non-patriots Boebert didn't secure the required permits. Apparently all those pesky safe food handling requirements were another sign of government over reach. By the time it was done 80 fair patrons had come down with food poisoning thanks to her, "pork sliders."

Beyond her distastes for rules, Ms. Boebert also blamed her behavior on her, "public divorce," earlier this year. In other words the break up with her husband made her, "too eccentric," and pushed her, "animated personality," into overdrive. 

Personally, given the choice between mental instability and drug use, I would have gone with the ecstasy defense. You are in Congress for God's sake. A little substance abuse is expected every now and then.  Besides, you can always tell your constituents you've kicked the habit, but only the most devoted cultists will believe you have become uncrazy.

Last November 327,000 people voted in Colorado's 3rd congressional district race. Lauren Boebert's margin of victory was 546. That doesn't leave much room for fuck ups like the one in Denver the other night. Her 2024 democratic opponent, Adam Frisch has already seized the moment to launch attacks saying in part, "She even lied about her lies."

Well what do you expect? She is, after all, a Capo in the MAGA crime family. Only in her case she might be dumbest of the lot. How else can you describe someone who plays crotch grab between tokes on a JUUL Pod in public. 

It's either that, or as her fellow republican Meghan McCain posted, "Lauren Boebert is trash."

9-18-23

Republicans in Wisconsin Go All Vlad Putin

 Janet Protasoieicz was born in Milwaukee and raised there. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin and then the Marquette University school of law. She spent the next 26 years of her life working in the Milwaukee DAs office. The only reason I bring this all up is to let you know she is no stranger to either the state of Wisconsin, or its politics.

On February 21, 2023 she ran for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in what was supposed to be a non-partisan race. It was her second political campaign. Ten years earlier she had lost when she ran against an incumbent circuit court judge in her home town. She won the primary this time around, but didn't get the 50% needed to secure the seat. In April there was a run off between her and the runner up, Daniel Kelly.

That April election was also supposed to be non-partisan. It was anything but. 

Daniel Kelly had been paid around $120,000 after the 2020 election for legal advice by the Republican National Committee and the Wisconsin GOP. The republican state chair, Andrew Hitt admitted he and Kelly had, "extensive conversation," about appointing a second set of Wisconsin electors which would change the outcome of the presidential election and give the state to Donald Trump. This scheme, like all the others failed. In addition Mr. Kelly was steadfastly in favor of an 1849 Wisconsin law which forbids all abortions in the state unless the mother's life is in danger.

Janet Portasiewicz was up front about her support of women's health care rights, LGBTQ rights, and her belief the republicans had blatantly gerrymandered the state voting districts in order to perpetuate their legislative majority. 

Money and, "volunteers," on both sides came pouring into Wisconsin from all over the place. The super pac, Fair Courts in America, a hard core right wing outfit alone spent $1.8 million on ads supporting Kelly. The national media went into a frenzy and called the election a referendum on abortion rights. 

When the smoke cleared in April, Protasiewicz had won by a little over 11%. Kelly, being a republican, told the press, Protasiewicz was, "Not a worthy opponent to which I can concede. " He also claimed she was a, "serial liar who had demeaned the judiciary." Refreshingly, what he didn't say was the vote had been rigged.

However, within a month of the election some state republican lawmakers were floating the idea of impeaching the new justice. Now that particular notion is gaining steam. And, thanks to that gerrymandering Protasiewicz has objected to, they have the numbers to do it. Republicans currently hold 64 out of 99 seats in the house and 22 of 33 state senate seats. 

But, wait, you might justifiably say. What will the charges be? What high crimes, misdemeanors, or judicial misconduct has the newly minted Supreme Court Justice committed? 

Well, as near as anyone can tell, Janet Prottasiewicz's most grievous offense is that she's a liberal who beat their right wing Trumpy boy like a gong. That and she's for a lot of the stuff they hate. 

The truth is these clowns aren't even pretending there is any malfeasance on Protasiewicz's part. They are simply trying to overturn a legal election because they don't like the results. Even at the height of their power, those hard drinking, cigar chewing Irish lads of Tammany Hall never pulled shit like this. At least Trump claimed the election was stolen before he tried to overthrow the government. No one in the legislature has even hinted at that. The impeachment of Janet Protasiewicz is an unabashed and brute power grab. Indeed, fuck Trump's cheap lies, not to mention over a million voters. Republicans in Wisconsin have gone all Vlad Putin on the people of the state.

The republic for which we stand can't survive when its politicians begin to discard the will of the people in order to remain in power. Places like Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Texas are leading us down a road which ends in a dark, ugly place. A place where elections are irrelevant and the people are held in utter contempt by legislative whim and a horrifying cult of personality.  It is a place that has nothing to do with liberty and self determination, but everything to do with a dictatorship.

sic vita est

9-12-23

A Brief Criminal History of Enrique Tarrio

Make no mistake. We did this.

A social media post by Enrique Tarrio on January 6th, 2021.

Enrique Tarrio's first time in court was when he was 20 years old back in 2004. He was charged with theft and found guilty. He was sentenced to community service, three years probation, and ordered to pay restitution. According to Wikipedia a little while after that he moved from Miami to northern Florida in order to run a poultry farm. While this might sound like an unusual move by many, it is not without precedent. Before he got involved with the Nazi party and ended up head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler was reported to be a chicken farmer.

Alas, just as it did with the late, unlamented Himmler, chicken farming didn't agree with Enrique Tarrio. He returned to his home town of Miami where he was accused of another crime. This time prosecutors said he was involved with a scheme to rebrand and resell stolen blood glucose test strips. Even though he turned state's evidence on over a dozen others in 2013 he was sentenced to federal prison for 30 months. He got out after serving 16. 

Ah yes, a promising political start. No wonder he and Roger Stone are best buds.

More recently Brother Tarrio did 160 days in the Washington D.C. jail after he pled guilty to vandalizing a couple of black churches and burning a Black Lives Matter banner he stole from one of them. He was arraigned on those charges on January 4th, 2021. He was bailed out the morning of January 6th on the condition he leave Washington and not come back unless it was for his trial, or to consult with his lawyer. It's why he was sitting in a Baltimore hotel room coaching from the sidelines instead of being in the thick of the action when the capitol and democracy in general was attacked that terrible afternoon. 

Well, that and it is a fact of life commanding generals don't lead the way during frontal assaults. James Longstreet may have planned Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, but neither he, or Pickett went marching up that long slope with their men. 

After being released early for the glucose testing strip scam court records show Enrique Tarrio became an informant for federal and local authorities. (Another sign of political acumen) Among other things, his information is credited with helping them bust three green houses full of illegal marijuana plants. 

The former Proud Boys leader vehemently denies he has ever been, as they say in the parlance, a rat. Who can blame him? He just got 22 years in the joint, The last thing you want in a situation like that is a title which becomes probable cause for a shiv in the liver. Hey, let's face it, two plus decades is a long time to keep your head on a swivel. Not to mention letting the soap stay on the shower room floor if it slips out of your hand. 

9-6-22

Rudy Giuliani and the Great American Loophole

Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straight forward defamation case.

Judge Beryl Howell

In other words, your bullshit might work on MAGA rubes, but it doesn't mean squat in a federal court. Just to prove it, Howell followed up his statement with a default decision in a suit brought against Rudy Giuliani by Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Georgia election workers.

In the weeks and months following the 2020 election Giuliani accused Ms Freeman and Moss of being master criminals out to steal the election from Donald Trump. He also repeatedly claimed they were a couple of drug users who openly passed around a vial of either cocaine, or heroin as they rigged the vote. His attacks led his keeper Don Trump to announce that Ruby Freeman was, "a professional," in the field of voter fraud. 

We have yet to hear either man speculate on how much, "a professional," in such matters is paid, or whether they earn a flat fee, or a commission. Or how they can keep their heads screwed on tight enough to pull the scam after a few toots of coke, or smack.

As we know, Guiliani said and still says many things. A lot of them render his credibility about the same as those who claim they see lizard people eating babies. After the 2020 election he ran around the country making all sorts of wild claims about fraud.  However, when it came to providing proof he dodged, ducked and weaved as if he was in a boxing match. Tragically for them, Moss and Freeman were caught in his maelstrom of lies. He couldn't come up with a single name out of all those thousands of dead voters he claimed had cast ballots, but he did identify two black women counting votes in Atlanta.

There is video of Rudy Giuliani admitting he lied about Freeman and Moss. His original defense was lying was protected by the first amendment due to his representation of Donald John Trump. This week when questioned he denied he had ever made such an admission. It is unknown if this case of memory loss is temporary, or permanent.  

Attorneys for the maligned mother and daughter had repeatedly requested documents for the purpose of discovery from Mr. Giuliani. The judge had ruled each of the requests reasonable and instructed, "America's Mayor," to comply on several different occasions. Giuliani, hiding behind constantly shifting and questionable excuses, never came up with the material. 

Earlier this week Howell's patience ran out. Now, thanks to hubris so run amok it cannot be accurately described, Rudloph Giuliani is fucked. 

Oh, there will still be a jury seated in the defamation case, but they won't be there to decide if Rudy Toody defamed Freeman, or Moss. Beryl Howell just ruled he did. Now the panel's only job will be to decide exactly how much Giuliani has to shell out to them and their attorneys. And one would suppose if he has to mow the lawns of Freeman's and Moss' expansive new homes. 

All that is in theory, of course.  Before everything is said and done, Rudy Giuliani will no doubt take full advantage of the Great Civil Law Loophole. All he needs to do to escape this mess is declare bankruptcy.  Hey, your lies have already caused them to be the targets of every MAGA psycho in the nation, forcing them to live in terror behind shuttered windows and locked doors. Cheating them out of financial compensation for their pain and suffering should be expected. It is, after all, The American Way.

Sic Vita Est

9-1-23