Sunday, July 27, 2025

Ryan Walters Forgets to Change the Channel

After a while all the talk, rumors, and speculation about Donald Trump's involvement with Jeffrey Epstein becomes exhausting. It is rather like that dream during which you are trying to get somewhere, but your feet keep sinking into the carpet, or sidewalk and each step is a monumental struggle. Indeed--let's take a break from the alleged salacious behavior of the rich, famous, and powerful to focus on something else for a moment. 

That's right. Let's look into the alleged salacious behavior of that wannabe rich, famous, and powerful apostle of Donald Trump, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Schools, Ryan Walters. There is now evidence the same man who has mandated that every classroom in Oklahoma have at least one bible in it--the man who ordered every state student and faculty member to either pray with him, or watch him pray on video, has a taste for watching what he, himself would classify as pornography. And not in the privacy of his own home, but rather in his state funded office while serving the people of Oklahoma, Donald J. Trump, and Jesus Christ, although, not necessarily in that order.

This past week members of the State Board of Education, chaired by Walters, met in what is known as an, "Executive Session." (It is a meeting where they decide things in private--no press, or public allowed--before they go out and pretend to decide the same things in public.) The meeting was held in Walters' office which apparently is spacious enough to seat everyone involved. One of the furnishings in the office is a television. As the meeting began the TV was on, but muted. Board members, Ryan Deatherage and Becky Carson had perfect views of the screen, which was to Walters' back, while others in the room didn't.

As the meeting progressed, both Deatherage and Carson told the media they saw naked women on the television. Although neither of them described in detail what the naked women were doing, Carson was quoted as saying in part, "I'm sorry I even have to use this language, but I'm like, those are nipples. And then I'm like, that's pubic hair." Deatherage, apparently, an amateur historian of such things, was quoted as saying, "It looked like it was made in the '60s maybe. Carson said she used her sternest mother/teacher voice to demand Walters, "Turn it off now!"

At that point Walters got up and in what seemed to be a flash of panic fumbled around for a moment or two (It always happens at the worst of times doesn't it?) before finding the off button. Board member Chris Van Denhende told The Oklahoman that while he couldn't see the screen when Walters sat back down he was, "shook up." Another member Mike Tinney also claimed he didn't see the screen, but said that after Walters turned off the TV he was, "Obviously a little flustered, or embarrassed."

According to everyone involved, after what we can presume was an awkward pause, the meeting then proceeded as if nothing had happened. In other words, it was another case of, "Nothing to see here, move on." On the agenda that day was Walters' planned test for licensing teachers coming in from other states which ensures they are, let's say, unwoke and loyal to the Donald Trump dogma of, "America first." 

So far Ryan Walters hasn't issued a statement. However, his mouthpiece, Quinton Hitchcock called the story, "..a junk tabloid lie." He added, "Any number of people have access to these offices, you have a hostile board who will say anything except the truth, and now NonsenseDoc is reporting on an alleged random TV cable image." 

In short, the whole thing is a conspiracy. How wonderfully Trumpian. 

State legislators are currently lining up to demand an investigation which includes the seizure of any and all electronic devices in Walters' office. Many on both sides of the aisle have waited for years to bring down what they consider a self-righteous, extravagantly arrogant, pompous asshole. Because, in the end, Ryan Walters is the local incarnation of Matt Gaetz--a man so personally reprehensible, everyone, no matter what their politics, hates his guts.

The chances of Ryan Walters resigning from his office over this incident are zero. His ego won't allow it. In fact, right now he is probably convincing himself the whole thing is a conspiracy. And no matter how much legislators despise him, it's doubtful they'll impeach the guy. What will more likely happen is Walters' days of running roughshod over the board are finished. From now on they and not the Superintendent determine policy take the decisions. In addition, that run for Governor Walters was planning on next year could well be in jeopardy. Even Oklahoma republicans have limits to their hypocrisy. At least we hope they do.

Otherwise, this sordid little moment did accomplish one thing. It validated my firm belief that deep within every one of these high profile hyper-fundamentalist Christian political Kahunas dwells the soul of a dirty old man. And sometimes all you have to do to find it is wait for the silly sons of bitches to forget to change the channel. 


7-27-25

Sunday, July 20, 2025

Banquo Takes a Seat at Donald Trump's Table

 Six days ago it was predicted here that by this weekend we would all be talking about something other than Jeffrery Epstein. Obviously, that was a bad call. Not only is everyone still talking about this increasingly sordid episode, but Donald J. Trump is promising to sue the Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch for billions of dollars because of it. (Which is, as someone might have pointed out to El Don, is not the best way to get everyone to stop talking about the Jeff Epstein files.)

According to the Journal in 2003 Epstein's girlfriend and fresh talent recruiter, Ghislaine Maxwell asked a bunch of his pals to send him greetings and congratulations on his 50th birthday. She collected all the responses and put them into a leather bound scrapbook. Donald Trump's alleged contribution to the collection opened with, "There must be more to life than having everything." Then it wandered off into a fictional conversation between Trump and Epstein with Trump saying, "Yes there is, but I won't tell you what it is." Epstein responds, "Nor will I, since I know what it is." Trump's next line is, "We have certain things in common, Jeffrey." Epstein answers, "Yes, we do, come to think of it." Then Trump adds, "Enigmas never age, have you noticed that? Epstein's answer is, "As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you." The note ended with Trump writing, "A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday--and may every day be another wonderful secret." The WSJ reports this text was framed by a hand drawn outline of an anatomically correct female torso. It was signed, "Donald," where the pubic hair should be. 

Almost at the same instant the Journal piece hit the internet a quote by Trump given during a 2002 interview with New York magazine became public. At that time Citizen Trump said of his friend, " I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said he likes beautiful women as much as I do and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it--Jeffrey enjoys his social life."

Adding insult to injury a couple of days before the WSJ story appeared Trump caught wind of it and called his old pal, Rupert Murdoch, asking him to kill it. The President now claims Murdoch agreed to, but the publication ran it anyway--which leads us to one of two conclusions. Either the most powerful media mogul in the world can't control his own staff, or Rupe Murdoch flat out lied to Donald Trump. Personally, I prefer the latter, it appeals to my appreciation of irony.  

Suffice it to say, our man in the Oval Office went ape shit crazy. So much so it appeared he tripped off into full blown dementia. In Pittsburgh Trump claimed his late uncle, John Trump, who was a long time professor at MIT, told him a story about having Ted Kaczynski as a student. The problem being, Kaczynski, who is better known as, "the Unabomber," was never enrolled at MIT. In addition, dear old Uncle John died before Kaczynski was even identified and caught. Mr. Trump also claimed Joe Biden appointed his arch enemy du jour, Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell. Scads of media outlets showed that clip, then gleefully followed it with one of Donald Trump, "...proudly introducing my nominee for Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell." 

Donald Trump vehemently denies he wrote the birthday note to that, "terrific guy," Jeffrey Epstein. In an interview he said, "This is not me. This is a fake thing." A moment later he added, "I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women. It is not my language. It's not my words."

While we have stone cold proof Donald Trump is a crudely obscene man and a sexual predator, when it comes to the Epstein birthday note, I actually believe him. That whole fantasy conversation between Trump and Epstein requires an imagination, not to mention literary knowledge and talent far beyond anything demonstrated by Donald Trump in the past, or present. (For God's sake, the guy said, "I never wrote a picture...") That, however, doesn't mean he didn't see it, approve it, and personally sign it. 

What probably happened is Trump got a call, or email from Maxwell, then handed off the job of composing it to someone else--maybe even Maxwell herself--then read and signed the final product. Whether the artwork was his or not really doesn't matter. Why not? While Donald Trump has denied writing the note, he has never said he didn't see it or sign it. 

Whatever the case, the issue, which Trump is desperate to get rid of now has new legs. We have the  hard core conspiracy wing of MAGA, the Wall Street Journal, and Trump's pending lawsuit to thank for it. Indeed, this story is becoming oddly Shakespearian in a way. In it, Jeffrey Epstein has become to Trump what Banquo was to Macbeth. The former friend turned terrifying ghost who is now seated at the banquet table. 


7-20-25

Monday, July 14, 2025

The Week the Monster Turned on Its Creators

 As Victor Frankenstein learned in Mary Shelley's novel, sometimes you lose control of the monster you have created. Such appears to be the case with the Donald Trump administration--at least for the moment. For years Trump and his sycophants have preached the gospel of conspiracy theories and nefarious plots concocted by that amorphous cabal known as, "The Deep State." Even if they didn't explicitly endorse the wilder ones, they never disowned them, never condemned them. They simply let them fly, no matter how outlandish they became.

This past week, or so--much to the entertainment of many and seemingly to their stunned surprise--Trump and his merry band of pranksters learned they can't just turn off all the craziness when they want to. In fact, you can almost hear Brother Don thinking to himself something along the lines of, "I can't believe these idiots actually believed that shit."

This past weekend the reaction to the DOJ's statement that Jeffrey Epstein didn't really have a client list and that he really did commit suicide in 2019 became so negative and loud Trump felt he had to take to social media to calm the troops down, "What's going on with my boys and, in some cases, gals? They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB. we're all on one team, MAGA, and I don't like what is happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD and selfish people are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein."

Perhaps the President was referring in particular to his former pal, Tucker Carlson who appeared the night before the post at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit down in Tampa, FL. During his time at the podium Carlson claimed the late, unlamented, Mr. Epstein as a Israeli asset working with the Mossad to blackmail American power brokers. His job was to lure them in so they'd participate in his private island orgies involving underaged girls, then take names and videos. According to Carlson, "Everyone in Washington D.C. is talking about it."  Carlson also questioned how Epstein made all his millions to pay for the parties, the island, and his and private jets. The very ham-handed hint was this ill-gotten evidence was the real reason, "the client list," disappeared. 

Other speakers at the get together demanded the heads of Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. The crowd, for the most part, roared their approval. It didn't help that there were reports of Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino throwing a screaming fit in Bondi's office, or in his office, or somewhere. Then not showing up for work on Friday to protest the lack of a list release. Well, who can blame the guy? The only reason he got the job is because his conspiracy driven, pro Trump podcasts made him a darling among the MAGA faithful. Now he has been made to look like either a liar, or a fool, or both.

So, what do you do when it looks like many of your own people are beginning to think your administration is starting to look deep statish? Obviously, you do what Donald Trump does best. Go fucking nuts. In the same social media post he also wrote, "For years it's Epstein over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoa, 51 'intelligence' Agents, THE LAPTOP FROM HELL, and more? The created the EPSTEIN FILES, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called friends are playing right into their hands." (Hey, the punctuation, use of caps, and syntax are all his. I can't make up shit like that.)

That's the ticket Don. Hit the bastards with more conspiracies and delusions of past grievances all wrapped up in one semi-coherent paragraph. Distract the mob and get their focus back on, The Others.

In the end this will all blow over. As one TV analyst said on Sunday, "We're all talking about Jeffrey Epstein this weekend. Next weekend we'll be talking about something else." She is right. If we've learned anything about Donald Trump it is that he never gives us time to dwell too much on any one thing, no matter how insane it is.  

It is, after all, what has made him the man he is today--the mad King.


7-14-25

Thursday, July 10, 2025

List? We Don't Have No Stinking List

 It began a long, long time ago. In fact, in this day and age of constant hysteria, xenophobia, blatant presidential corruption, and what looks to be the inexorable slide into authoritarianism the year 2016 feels almost as distant as 1916, Like many past ages it is hard to remember the minutia of what happened then. For instance, while many do remember 2016 was the year Donald Trump won the Presidential election, most of us have probably forgotten how the news cycles were fascinated and consumed by a loose band of conspiracy, let's say, enthusiasts, collectively known as QAnon. 

Indeed, they seemed to be everywhere that year, especially at Donald Trump's campaign rallies. Dozens, if not hundreds of them would show up wearing tee-shirts that said, "I am Q." Some carried large placards in the shape of the letter Q. At the heart of their fears and rage was the firm conviction a vast cabal of political, Hollywood, and British royal elites were running a worldwide child trafficking ring. It involved molestation, slavery, and in some instances child sacrifices and cannibalism. The believers were sure everyone from Tom Hanks to Prince Andrew, and most importantly, democratic Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton were in on it.

The QAnon aficionados even claimed the headquarters of this diabolical conspiracy was located in the basement of a Washing D.C. pizza joint--apparently because some hidden away estate was beyond the means of this gang of fabulously well to do perverts. The first time the whole thing came to a head was when a guy from North Carolina named, Edgar Welch entered a restaurant in D.C. called, Comet Ping Pong. He was armed with an AR-15, fired a shot into a closet door in the restaurant's storage room, but failed to find the rumored headquarters. Actually he couldn't even find a basement, because there wasn't one. He quickly surrendered to police admitting he might have been wrong to believe the Q party line. (Later Welch would end up doing time in North Carolina and in January of this year he was killed by the cops when they tried to pick him up on a parole violation.)

After Trump's victory and the whole Comet Ping Pong thing QAnon began to fade and the remnants drifted off into increasingly bizarre notions--that's right, bizarre even for them.

However, many on the far right still had their suspicions about wildly famous people involved in child trafficking. Then, a guy named Jeffrey Epstein hit the news. Tales of wild parties, private island retreats, and most shockingly decadent, unhinged orgies involving underaged girls emerged into the light. There was even video tapes of some of the guests enjoying the music and views. The most famous one included a guy named, Donald John Trump. 

Trump denied knowing anything about teenaged girls and he insisted he certainly didn't have sex with any of them . He wasn't alone. So did former President, Bill Clinton, celebrity defense attorney, Alan Dershowitz, and others. The ultraright bought Trump's excuse, but they weren't having any of it from the rest of those elitist sickos. It was Q all over again and now there was proof. Epstein's girlfriend and his chief procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested and so was Epstein. Pretty quickly rumors began to circulate Jeffrey Epstein had a, "client list" of the people he provided underaged girls to. Trump's supporters and many who aren't began to demand the list be made public. It didn't seem to matter to the MAGA crowd the only real big shot caught on video, swapping jokes, with Epstein was Donald fucking Trump. By God, we want those names!

In February of this year newly minted U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi was asked about the list. Her response to Fox News was not only did the list exist, but, "It's sitting on my desk right now to review." Then she added, "That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that." 

Now, a couple of things here. The American public will forgive a lot, especially when it comes to Donald Trump. His fans don't care if he sells everything from Teslas, to bibles, to bit coins while on the job. A lot of them even think it is a good thing when he ignores the rulings of federal judges. Some go so far as believing a life time Trump Presidency is a great idea, no matter how old he is. Let's face it though--and trust me El Don knows this as well--if that list proves Jeff Epstein was supplying him with 15, 16, and 17 year old girls to tap it all that forgive and forget shit will go right out the window. Too much of their political motivation is invested in, "protecting the children" (Gays are indoctrinating young kids into the homosexual lifestyle. Transgender athletes are subverting young girls sports. Latin American gangs are heavily involved in child trafficking.) 

There is a reason Elon Musk claimed the President's name was on the list when they had their messy divorce. There is also a reason that the other day the Department of Justice said, despite Bondi's previous claim, there is no such, "client list." There never was one and yes, Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide in a federal facility while on suicide watch. In other words, "Nothing to see here. Keep moving. Nothing to see."

Bondi was immediately forced into an awkward song and dance number. She issued a statement saying that back in February she actually meant she was looking at Epstein's file, not the list per se. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred any media questions to the Attorney General then announced an ongoing investigation of former CIA chief John Brennan and former FBI head, James Comey. It didn't take long to figure out she was talking about their role in the 2016 Russian election interference claims. It was an issue settled by investigators and grand juries close to eight years ago. Trump himself went all--well--Trump, on a reporter when asked about the list. He told her in no uncertain terms there were more important things to talk about than, "...that creep Jeffrey Epstein."

The hard core right is outraged the list won't be delivered as promised. Laura Loomer posted, "Bondi lied. She was always lying." Ultra conservative hot shot, Robby Starbuck wrote, "Was she lying then, or is she lying now? We deserve answers." Turning Point USA mouthpiece Savannah Hernandez said, "Pam Bondi should step down as Attorney General for lying to the American public." 

None of these clowns will admit, or probably even allow themselves to think, the reason the list suddenly disappeared is because someone at the DOJ decided there was no way to release it without implicating Donald Trump. Even the idea of simply erasing his name from it is probably out of reach now. Too many people have seen it and, in a pinch, someone will spill the beans. Let's face it, in this administration the concept of honor among thieves ranks right up there with the tooth fairy. 

Alas, Jeffrey Epstein's list, if it ever did exist--who knows, maybe it really never did--is gone forever now. Our salacious dreams will go unfulfilled. However, as many of us watch all this go down, amused to no end by all the uncomfortable squirming and caterwauling on the right wing we must keep one thing in mind. It's the not so enjoyable truth that the most despicably corrupt human being on the planet, Donald John Trump, has slipped the hook again.


sic vita est


7-10-25  

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Kandiss Taylor and the Fake Weather

 According to its website Camp Mystic for Girls was established in 1926 along the banks of the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, TX. It's located a little over 60 miles northwest of San Antonio. This fourth of July weekend a torrential rainstorm of what appears to be biblical proportions hit the area. The deluge was so horrific the Guadalupe rose and became a raging torrent of water so quickly there was little time for warning and what looks to be like none for evacuation. Depending on who you are listening to this morning anywhere from 43 to 51 people are confirmed dead. In addition, it is being reported 27 young girls staying at the camp are currently missing. It is a nightmare of unfathomable dimensions--a tragedy almost too great to express in words.

Well, unless you are a Georgia GOP politician named Kandiss Taylor. Ms. Taylor posted this on social media: "FAKE WEATHER. REAL DAMAGE. Hurricane Helene left me powerless for 16 days & caused $57k in damage. "This isn't just "climate change." It's cloud seeding, geoengineering, & manipulation. If fake weather causes real tragedy, that's murder. Pray, Prepare, Question the narrative. FAKE WEATHER REAL DAMAGE. Don't accept the narrative. Question the cause."

Later she posted, "Fake weather. Fake hurricanes. Fake floods. Fake. Fake. Fake." A few days ago Ms. Taylor went on Steve Bannon's podcast, "War Room," to announce she is running for Georgia's first district congressional seat in 2026. She was quoted as saying, "I'm ready to go to D.C. and blow things up." It's unclear how closely Ms. Taylor has been following the news lately because things in Washington are already pretty fucking blown up. However, she went ahead and added, "Republicans and democrats will support me because I represent Jesus."

It won't be Taylor's first rodeo. In 2022 she ran against incumbent republican Governer, Brian Kemp. During that campaign she toured the state in a bus adorned with the words, "Jesus Guns Babies." She came in a distant third in the GOP primary, results she has never accepted. because of what she claims was--does this sound familiar?--"wide spread cheating."

All of this brings to mind a few questions. First, where in God's name does Georgia find these demented freaks? Are they all the descendants of some twisted antebellum plantation owner? Did they all drink from the same tainted well? What the fuck are they even doing on this planet?

While those answers may always remain a mystery there is another, more important question. Are people like Kandiss Taylor the new norm? She may have lost that 2022 primary (apparently the same cloud seeding geoengineers managed to steal 97% of the vote from her) but is her brand of lunacy becoming acceptable? 

After all, Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene is sitting in the House right now after claiming space lasers controlled by a cabal of Jews caused wildfires in California. Later she told the media she believed an unknown government agency was spying on her through her television set. Even the big man himself, Donald Trump, made early noise by saying Obama's birth certificate was a forgery. Perhaps the tipping point was when hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans came to believe the wholesale murder of children at Sandy Hook Elementary school was a "false flag operation," and the victims never really existed.

Kandiss Taylor didn't say those missing children in Texas weren't real, of course. After all, everyone saw what happened to Alex Jones and next year she is going to need that bus that says, "Jesus. Guns. Babies." What she is saying is that a secret, nefarious, organization is manipulating the weather for their own evil reasons, causing destruction and now death. You know, perfectly reasonable stuff.

One supposes we can blame the internet and social media for giving these gruesome clowns a voice equal to that of Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, George Will, and others. However, we can also blame ourselves for listening to them--for eating up their nonsense like peanut butter M&Ms. Let's face it, there are far too many people out there whose sole source of news is social media. As one 30 something type told me, "I don't trust any TV news. I look at Instagram, they tell you what is really happening."

Think about it. Even as we scoff and ridicule Kandiss Taylor's cruel stupidity she is, in the end, the soul of Donald Trump's MAGA movement. She and those like her are his base. And while she really doesn't represent Jesus--the suspicion here is He would prefer her work the cash register at a 7-11--she does embody America's current political reality. Show us an elected official who is nuts and we'll find someone even crazier.


7-6-25

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Bryan Kohberger Cops a Plea and the Idaho Horror Story Fades to Black

 It was the type of scene which is usually associated with luridly gruesome pulp fiction, or low budget horror films. The setting is a small college town and an off-campus tri-level rental home occupied by five attractive college female students in their early 20's. After a night of parties and a stop for some street food, they return home after midnight--one with her boyfriend--then go to bed. Out of the darkness emerges a lunatic armed with a knife. Then the terror begins. 

Tragically, this wasn't the script for some grindhouse movie with a title like, "Sorority Slumber Party Massacre," it was Moscow, Idaho--home of the University of Idaho--early in the morning of November 13, 2022. The brutal crimes and the victims were real and so was the murderer, who, in the immediate aftermath, was unidentified and still on the loose.  

Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were found late that morning dead in their rooms. All had been stabbed, "multiple times." Two other housemates, Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen were inexplicitly left alive, completely ignored by the intruder for reasons known only to him. 

Initial reports were Funke and Mortensen had both slept through the attack--that their survival was based on the locations of their rooms on the ground floor. Later, police would say Dylan Mortensen woke up around 4AM that morning because she heard noises upstairs. One source said she thought Ms. Goncalves was playing with her dog. Another said she heard Kaylee say loudly, "There's someone here." The report also said Ms. Mortensen heard Xana Kernodle crying, then an unidentified male saying, "It's okay, I'm going to help you." 

Later, police reported when Mortensen opened her room door, she saw a man dressed in black, wearing a black mask covering his nose and mouth coming down the hall straight at her. She claims she froze in shock and panic, then the man walked right past her as if she wasn't there. The 20 year old told police she went back into her room, locked the door, then, one supposes at some point she either fell asleep, or passed out.

Whichever the case Moscow emergency services didn't receive a call for help until nearly noon that day, nearly eight hours after the encounter in the hallway. The delay has never been fully explained, at least not to the ever-growing army of internet detectives, conspiracy goofs, and social media, "journalists." Over the next few weeks places like TikTok ran completely amok with theories, speculation, and wild accusations. One user repeatedly accused University of Idaho professor, Rebecca Scofield of orchestrating the murders because she was having a lesbian affair with one of the victims and didn't want it to get out. Ashley Guillard's posts were read by tens of millions of TikTok readers. Her proof, she said, came from Tarot card and other, "psychic," readings. Scofield is currently suing her ass.

In December, just days before Christmas, Bryan Kohberger was arrested and charged with the crimes. He was a grad student at nearby Washington State University. He has been described as being everything from affable and outgoing to a withdrawn loner who was bullied in high school. What we know for sure is he was seeking a doctorate in criminology and had what can be described as a weird fixation on serial killers. After his arrests there were even rumors he had been in contact with Dennis Rader, the notorious, BTK monster who terrorized Wichita, KS for years.

As the weeks passed the press got their hands on some of the evidence against Kohberger. If the reports were true it began to appear the cops had their man, no matter what Ashley Guillard was continuing to post on her social media account. It must have sounded that way to Kohberger's lawyers too, because they asked for delay after delay and hit the court with a blizzard of legal motions. A few weeks ago the defense team was handed a huge setback when the judge ruled they could not use an argument involving up to four alternative suspects to explain the crimes. The judge issued a statement saying there was no evidence supporting the alternative suspect theories, just baseless speculation. In other words, those Tarot card readings just wouldn't cut it in a court of law.

This week, with their backs to the wall and the trial set to begin on August 11, the defense copped a plea. Bryan Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder one, waive his right to appeal, and serve life in prison with no chance for parole. In exchange the DA took the hot shot off the table. Reaction to the decision was mixed.

Kaylee Goncalves' father, who had been the most vocal of the parents (At one point he claimed his daughter's injuries were, "more significant," than the other victims--a detail the police have never confirmed) was outraged. Xana Kernodle's father on the other hand said he was happy his family wouldn't have to go through the trauma of a trial. 

The reason the deal was offered remains a mystery at this time. News analysts have speculated it probably involved the cost of the trial and the endless series of appeals a death sentence would trigger. And, as one legal eagle on Fox put it, "You never know for sure what a jury will do." 

All that's left is for the judge to accept the deal. The feeling here is he will, despite the elder Gonçalves' anger. The only way it might happen is if all four families expressed their disapproval and obviously that hasn't and won't happen. No, this horror story is set to fade to black. 

No one knows what caused Bryan Kohberger to go off his nut like he did. Even now it's unclear how much planning went into the attack, or why he picked the victims he did. We still don't have a clue why he spared Bethany Funke and Dylan Mortensen. All we do know is that for a doctoral candidate in criminology Kohberger either didn't know shit about modern forensics, or he didn't care. (While Mortensen's account was terrifying, she couldn't identify the man in the hall.) Indeed. The guy was as savagely brutal as any fictional psychopath and certainly just as coldly bat shit crazy, but he was no genius. That's a bit of fiction which will always remain just that, fiction.


7-1-25