Getting Your Wife and Donad Trump Off the Hook

 LOVE MAGA people! GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU STANDING UP or PRAYING!

Social media post written by Virginia, "Ginni," Thomas on January 7, 2021.

Prior to the January 6th coup attempt Ginni Thomas served on the advisory board of Turning Point USA, the group who sponsored the event which, at Donald Trump's urging, turned into an insurrection. She was so involved, Dustin Stockton, one of the primary organizers told the New York Times, "The way it was presented to me was that Ginni Thomas was uniting these different factions around a singular mission on Jan. 6." 

In addition Mrs. Thomas, with the help of Steve Bannon, founded a group collectively known as, "Groundswell," The Independent reports she also helped put together a list of , "disloyal" members of the government. One can only presume the list was to be used after a successful overthrow of American democracy for purposes we've most recently seen play out in Mr. Putin's Russia. 

Finally she was in Donald Trump's tent on the ellipse as part of his personal retinue on Jan. 6th.  That would be the day Rudy Giuliani told the cheering crowd, "We need trial by combat," and the President of the United States exhorted them to, "...march to the capitol." Then lied when he told them, "I will be with you."

When the mob began their march Trump then went back to the White House. Ginni Thomas said she also left. Hey, why not? When Al Capone ordered the St. Valentine's Day massacre he made sure he was in Miami when the actual hit took place.

Her involvement in the entire plot and the ensuing nightmare was so prominent one MSNBC legal expert claimed Ginni Thomas could very well be labeled an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case against Donald Trump. She won't though. In fact, right now, thanks to her husband, Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas and others on that bench who owe their jobs to Trump, there might not be any case at all. 

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it wants to rule on the ex President's legal argument that because he was still in the Oval Office on January 6th everything he said and did between election day 2020 and Joe Biden's swearing in is legal--that, everything he did in the four years as President is legal, because sitting Presidents have total criminal immunity. It is a concept that used to be known as, "The Divine Rights of Kings." In other words, the king is in power due to the will of God. Therefore the king can do whatever the fuck he wants and no law made by people can touch him. 

It is a notion so completely anti-American any normal Supreme Court would have immediately refused to even consider it. Unfortunately for the republic this isn't a normal Supreme Court. Despite his wife being deeply complicit, in the insurrection--or perhaps because of it--Clarence Thomas won't recuse himself from the case. In addition, both he and Samuel Alito are in the pockets of conservative billionaires, one of whom admires notorious dictators so much he has a garden filled with statues of them. John Roberts' wife has a lucrative, although ethically questionable business on the side. Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett are all beholden to Trump, the man this decision will directly impact.  

Indeed, the odds seem to favor the fix being in.

The court won't hear oral arguments on the issue of immunity until late April. Between now and then the federal charges against Trump are on hold. After hearing the arguments the Supreme Court of the United States can take as long as it wants before deciding if the nation is a country of laws, or imperial Presidential whims. 

Given its make up don't look for that decision until well after the November elections. The bet here is if Trump wins the race they will decide no because it won't matter. A Trump Justice Department will just drop the whole thing anyway. If he loses, they will say yes, Donald Trump did have immunity so he can't be tried.   

It's a solution that's overly simple and obviously corrupt, but when your wife is involved you had better get her off the hook. If you don't, there is no telling what she might say publicly about your deviant sexual preferences. Not to mention, when the Godfather needs a favor to be repaid you had better do it, no matter what the consequences might be for yourself and everyone else. 

2-29-24

What Presidential Immunity Looks Like

Well, for those wondering, we recently witnessed what happens when a President has complete and total immunity from criminal prosecution. Vladimir Putin just showed us in brutal fashion at some frozen prison north of the Artic Circle. Indeed, even though Alexei Navalny was out of circulation he just wouldn't shut up and neither would his supporters. The answer to this problem was clear for a man with complete immunity. A few days ago Russian authorities announced Navalny had died while in the joint. The cause of death was announced as, "Sudden Death Syndrome," apparently the adult version of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 

In order to keep that myth alive the Russians are refusing to allow an independent autopsy of the remains. in addition , according to his mother, the only way they will release Navalny's body for burial is if she immediately puts her son into a plot of tundra somewhere far away from any city without mourners, or presumably clergy present. 

No wonder Donald Trump admires Putin so much. This is the sort of shit he can only dream of. So far anyway.    

Of course we have seen glimpses of Russian executive immunity before. Over the years Putin has systematically shut down any vestiges of a free and independent press--which Donald Trump has threatened to do with American media outlets, MSNBC in particular--and a mini-epidemic of political opponents falling out of upper story windows, not to mention blowing up in planes. There has also been the occasional murder and attempted murder of Russian citizens who were and are living in Europe and the United States.  

One supposes in the Kremlin such acts of international criminality are simply referred to as the long arm of immunity.

There are still a few problems for Vladimir Putin, however. As many, let's say, immunized Presidents before him have learned, when you get rid of one opposition leader a new one tends to pop up. In this instance, as her husband 's body still lies on a slab in Siberia, Yulia Navalnaya appeared on stage in Munich, Germany to address western leaders and condemn Putin.  Later she had a sit down with American President, Joe Biden, a well known critic of political immunizations. 

Then there is Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  Instead of taking the first available flight out of Ukraine when Putin launched an invasion, he stood his ground and fought back. What one Russian military officer said would be a five day war has turned into a bloody two year slog. That Zelenskyy is still alive proves even Russian Presidential immunity has its limits, although thanks to pro autocracy zealots like Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene an assignation may no longer be necessary. Once the Ukrainians run out of ammunition we can expect Zelenskyy's quick trial and execution. It will all be, at least in Putin's twisted mind and probably Trump's, quite legal and above board. Such is the fate, of enemies of the state. The state being whatever Vladimir Putin defines it as.

Whatever the case might end up being, for the present, Yulia Navalnaya should watch her back. And stay away from windows higher than one floor up. Because if we've learned anything about the sort of Presidential immunity Trump wants and Putin has she is now next on the list.

2-23-24

The High Price of Being the Chosen One

 You can say one thing about Donald Trump. when he does something it is big. And on Friday he went really, really, big.

Indeed, there aren't a whole lot of people on this blue ball who can run up a $355 million tab in a single day. That's the amount of money Judge Arthur Engoron ordered the Trump Organization and therefore Donald John Trump to pay the state of New York late last week. Engoron also ordered Don Jr. and Eric Trump to shell out $4 million apiece, running the Trump family bill up to $363 million. Former Trump Org hot shot Allen Weisselberg was tagged for $1 million, which he will, no doubt, be on the hook for all by himself. 

For those keeping track of such things our Donald also owes E. Jean Carroll another $88 million plus. That means the family Trump at this moment in time owes a total of $451 million. But wait, as they say in the ads, there is more. All these financial judgements accrue interest during the appeals process. If the judgement totals remain the same after the appeals are exhausted--it's doubtful they will--the Trump Org/family will owe well over $500 million.

That's a figure which might cause 17-year-old Barron to rethink his lifestyle plans.    

As the appeals are pending the Trumps will have to post a bond on the sum of the judgements as they now stand amounting to somewhere between 10 and 20%. So, unless DJT wants to kick out $35 to $70 million of his own cash on that $355 million he need to find someone to front him the money. It's difficult to say who would do it. Thanks to Engoron's ruling they can't secure a loan from any bank licensed to do business in New York. In fact they can't do any sort of business at all in the state for two to three years. (Two each for Donn Jr. and Eric and three for the old man) In addition everything they do financially is monitored by two different court appointed officials.

Despite these restrictions MSNBC talking head, Lawrence O'Donnell is confident the Trumps will find a fresh influx of cash somewhere. As he points out, Donald Trump has a lot of, to borrow a Garth Brooks title, friends in low places. His son in law, Jared Kushner is in tight with the Saudis and they're pretty free with their cash. Then there is Don's old pal Vladimir Putin. In exchange for a few future favors from a second Trump administration--you know like leaving Ukraine high and dry and withdrawing from NATO--no one could deny they would be happy to foot Trump's bill. 

Sure there would be accusations of bribery, but it's Trump for God's sake. The man is a known rapist and been accused of felonies from New York City to Washington D.C. Atlanta, and beyond. At this point selling out Ukraine and all of Europe for personal gain is to be expected. 

Whether Donald Trump has to sell off some, or all of his properties to pay these massive tabs is unknown. What is known is he won't have to worry about his growing legal fees. No, all those bills have been and will continue to be paid for by hordes of devoted rubes who are utterly convinced he is the second coming of Jesus Christ. They might not be able to pony up $500 million, but by Donald they can pay for his never-ending appeals.

And why shouldn't they? After all, as we've just learned, it costs a lot of money to be, The Chosen One.

2-18-24 

Vlad and Tuck Have a Chat...Sort Of

 Last week former Fox News hitman, Tucker Carlson sat down with Russian President, Vladimir Putin for a couple of hours to conduct an, "interview." It really wasn't, but many knew that would be the case before the conversation took place. The entire mind-numbing episode was nothing more than a Putin propaganda speech meant for both internal and external consumption. In truth Carlson didn't even need to be there. There were certainly long periods, especially during Putin's half hour Russian history lecture--Russia According to Vlad, From the 9th Century to the Present--it felt like he wasn't. 

Carlson's only contribution to that presentation was to ask, "Where are we now?" Putin told him, "The 13th century," then the lesson resumed.

When we finally arrived at the 20th century we learned, without objection from Tuck, Poland provoked Germany into beginning World War II.  According to Vlad, the Polish government left Herr Hitler no choice, but to invade when they wouldn't agree to even his most modest demands. Then, over the course of the chat we learned Mr. Putin seems pretty put out in general by the Poles. It is unclear if an invasion of the NATO country is pending, but Putin, by one count, mentioned the nation 30 times. so it is probably safe to say the Kremlin is at least considering Warsaw as a future destination. 

When the subject of present day Ukraine came up Putin was all over the place. One moment Ukraine was a natural part of Russia. The next it wasn't, but it needs to be de-nazified and it must be unaligned militarily. Well, except for the Russian troops who would be based there. When it came to the invasion, Putin revealed the conflict began because of a, to borrow a title from George Lucas, phantom menace. That shadowy figure is former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. According to the Russian President the Ukrainians were on the verge of caving into Russian demands when Johnson, abetted by other western European leaders, convinced Volodymyr Zelenskyy to put up a fight. 

In other words, much like 1939 Poland, in 2022 Ukraine caused the invasion of, that's right, Ukraine. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise Carlson didn't make any real effort to challenge this bullshit. After all, this is the same guy who claimed the January 6th rioters running wild in the U.S. capitol building acted as peacefully as tourists. He proved it by airing deftly edited video clips to his audience, carefully deleting all those inconvenient scenes of brute violence and vandalism. In short, the man is a born liar. So much so he told his fans he is the only western journalist to ask for an interview with Putin. That fib was too much even for the Russians. They issued a statement saying he was wrong--all sorts of western media outlets ask for interviews with Putin nearly every day. 

While in Moscow Tucker also made an appearance of his own in front of an audience, telling them Joe Biden was senile and incompetent. He went on to rattle off a list of reasons why saying those things about the President of the United States isn't politics per se, just the unvarnished truth. In addition, he claimed American intelligence agencies have spent the last number of years spying on his text messages and preventing him from doing the interview. He told them America just wasn't the same place he grew up thinking it was. Finally, Carlson called his visit to Moscow, "radicalizing," because the city was so much cleaner, safer, and architecturally pleasing than American cities. 

For those of us who remember a right wing phrase popular during the 1960s and 70s such statements are dripping with irony.

However, telling Tucker Carlson, "America, love it, or leave it," would be lost on him. The problem isn't that Tucker Carlson hates America. The problem is he wants America to be just like Russia.

That, and there are far too many people out there who are exactly like him.

2-13-24

D.C. Court to Trump: No, No, and Hell No

 We cannot accept former President Donald Trump's claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the  most fundamental check on executive power."

Part of the ruling by the panel of three judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of The United States vs. Donald J. Trump 

That line was a small part of the decision written by judges Florence Pan, J. Michelle Childs, and Karen Henderson which was released yesterday. To put it simply it was a 57 page letter to Donald Trump which told him, no, no, and hell no. 

No, you can't have one team of lawyers tell congress a second impeachment isn't necessary because the client, since he is no longer President, should be tried in the federal court system--then have a second team tell the courts you can't be charged because you were never impeached and convicted by that same congress. No, being impeached then tried for the same crimes doesn't constitute double jeopardy. And hell no, you can't have political opponents assassinated then walk away from it if you aren't impeached and convicted in the Senate first.

The decision wasn't surprising. Hell, even Dick Nixon knew these arguments were bullshit. It's why he got down on his knees and thanked God and Gerald R. Ford for his Presidential pardon. 

Trump's people have already said they will appeal. They can ask for the entire court of appeals to review the decision, although in all truth they've probably already read it and given the three judge panel a thumbs up. or, they can go to the Supreme Court. If they do they will have to hurry. the Circuit Court gave them until Monday to file the paperwork with SCOTUS.

At that point the Justices can either agree to hear the appeal, or refuse to which would send it straight back into the court of Tanya Chutan. Liberal media, "analysts," are hopeful the Supremes will do just that. They have all sorts of plausible legal reasons for that sort of outcome. Given the presence of Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and others on the bench that optimism might be misplaced. The court doesn't even have to decide the issue. If they agree to hear the appeal they can sit on it for as long as they want--say this December, after the election--before delivering a decision. That gives Trump what he wants, especially if he wins, and the Justices can avoid all those accusations of corruption and malfeasance. 

Meanwhile in the House of Representatives republicans dove head first into a big pool of chaos and humiliation. After coming to the realization they couldn't pin anything on Joe Biden they came to the decision they would impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. The GOP controlled impeachment committee was a bit vague on the whole high crimes and misdemeanor thing. The Secretary's main crime seems to have been he works for the current President. Well, that and, by God we're going to impeach somebody and your name happened to come up.

Yesterday the vote to impeach Mayorkas failed. Later republicans tried to separate aid to Israel from border security and aid to Ukraine. That effort also went down in flames. 

Indeed the only thing House republicans accomplished yesterday is proving they aren't a political party in the majority, but rather a prison riot in progress.  

Next up, for another of Trump's legal teams anyway, is a stop at the Supreme Court tomorrow to deliver oral arguments in the Colorado ballot appeal. Odds are that decision will come quickly and in his favor. After all the man hasn't been convicted of insurrection, at least not yet. In fact, even at this late date as he faces 91 criminal counts, he hasn't been convicted of any felonies. 

That doesn't mean he won't be. Thanks to the D.C. Circuit Court, for the first time in his life, Donald John Trump does appear on the verge of coming down with a serious case of, as it's known in some professions, CTD. Or, in layman's terms, Circling the Drain.   

We can only hope.

2-7-24

Taylor Swift: Pop Star and Psy-Op Specialist

 Taylor Swift is an American pop music star and some say internet, "influencer." She has over 78 million followers on social media accounts which is roughly five million more people than voted for Donald J. Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Her most avid fans and called Swifties. 

According to Microsoft Stats,74% of Swift's fans are white.  Wikipedia says, "Swifties are known for high levels of participation, creativity, community, and fanaticism. The site also notes her fan base is subject to wide spread coverage in the mainstream media. 

Does any of that sound suspiciously like another group of devoted fans the media loves to follow these days? No wonder Don Trump is leery of her and her influence. He is also a tad delusional when it comes to Ms. Swift. (Trump has reportedly reassured aides he is more popular than she is) Well, what else can be expected from a man who has normalized delusions for a huge chunk of the electorate?

A month before the 2020 election Taylor Seift endorsed Joe Biden for the office of president. Since then she has spent some of her time telling her fans they need to register to vote. That hasn't gone over well with the MAGA crowd since they really don't like it when a whole lot of new voters cast their ballots--especially ones who are doing so at the behest of a known Biden supporter.  

Lately it has become even darker for those in the red hats.  

At the moment Taylor Swift is enjoying a relationship with pro football player, Travis Kelce. Kelce is the starting tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He is also considered a sneaky leftist due to his high profile charity work, participation in an on field protest of deadly police violence, TV appearances, and, of course, an ad urging people to get vaccinated against the flu and Covid-19.

Can you spell conspiracy? According to the MAGA word online, Swift is a Pentagon psychological war, or as they say in the business, psy-op asset Others claim she is an operative of the deep state, working to sabotage Donald Trump's campaign. Some say her strings are being pulled by the devious puppet master, George Soros, that great bugaboo of all things right wing. There are also accusations the whole, Swift-Kelce affair, as it were, is fake, just part of the nefarious plot to lure voters into Biden's camp.

After Swift showed up at a Chief's game last month that politically and socially astute observer Vivek Ramaswamy posted, "I wonder who's going to win the Super Bowl next month? And I wonder if there's a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially propped up couple this fall?"  

That's right, if the Chiefs beat the 49ers this coming weekend it is proof the democrats can rig Super Bowls just as easily as they do elections. In some minds the fuckers apparently control everything.

Yes, yes and we can all expect Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce to lead tens of thousands of  Swifties and Chief's fans down Pennsylvania Ave. this October as she belts out her rendition of, "The Internationale."   

For those interested, Kansas City is currently a one point favorite. I'm taking them to win. No, not because of Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, or even Vivek Ramaswamy. As always, in both football and politics, I go with the team who has the better quarterback. 

2-5-24