As rumors swirl about what may be an upcoming indictment against former president Donald Trump from Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, Republican Party leaders are in a bit of a pickle.
Big news today that Trump attorney Corcoran apparently testified to the other GJ investigating the hidden classified documents. Judge Howell ordered him to turn over his contemporaneous notes of his telephone conversation with whoever told him about the delivery of the complete set of classified docs which of course was false. The government now has his notes. Presumably he was told that all the docs were produced that morning by this other person and that person was...you guess who? If so, guilty as charged of a serious national security crime! If someone else told him, the investigation just shifts to that person but it is probably fair to state that the buck ends up with Trump! The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh! An indictment is very close to fruition! Finally! Kudos to Jack Smith for his motion to Judge Howell to waive the attorney client privilege which succeeded! A long shot that worked! Very rarely accomplished! Justice may be done quite soon!
Optimism around the Barnum and Bailey Daily - Republican Party's goals and outcomes is something we all want to have. Even me.
But, I don't recommend it.
The Republican Party's and Trump's intent are nothing to be optimistic about. Indicting Trump (for anything) is fraught. Everyone can see he is attempting to call up his violent army of people willing to go to jail for him while he goes free. Plus, a black man in NY and a black woman in Georgia are participating in attempting to bring Trump to justice. That makes the whole endeavor even more fraught.
American history is built on arresting a black man for stealing a loaf of bread from the 7-11 to feed his family, since, of course, nobody will hire him - while simultaneously ignoring the stealing of billions of dollars by white men.
Like those guys who gave themselves "bonuses" of depositor money at SVB bank as it was crashing. Nobody has or will arrest those guys.
So, American history and culture is NOT attuned to arresting rich, white men.
America, in fact, does not tolerate holding rich white men to account well at all.
True enough, but what makes the current scenario more interesting is that Trump is a parvenu and not part of the monied political aristocracy. Their allegiance to him is, shall we say, "situational." The situation has changed: he's now a liability who is, among other things, blowing their cover. Further complicating the *situation* is the mob, aka the base, which the monied political aristocracy has no reason to love or trust and with good reason: they're at least dimly aware of what went down in the French and Russian Revolutions.
In other words, there are several wildcards in play here, and at the moment I can't hazard a guess as to how they're going to play out.
Susan, very true. The biggest chip on Trump’s shoulder is he has not and never will be accepted by the high society he desperately desired to be part of. I’m sure his late father had something to do with the articles in ‘80’s People magazine about Donald and Ivana being the newest rich couple in New York society. Flop. The truly elite rich eschewed his every attempt to be ushered into their halls. Join the clubs and societies, sure, but don’t look for invitations. The mob boss mentality didn’t play there. His reputation precedes him as a financial doofus and a bully. Your post is spot on. He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner. Republican dilemma; to Trump or not to Trump, that is the question...
I agree with Susanna and you, Karen, about wild cards. Rs are all over the place trying to keep the base and yet some of them yearn to be rid of death star. Love the riff on Hamlet.
As I read this, a vision of Donald in blue sweats sitting amongst the intellectual elites of the 1960s, discussing literature and political theory and planning the next rally against the Viet Nam War while sipping cheap red and pulling the ocassional toke came to mind .... and I snorted my coffee all over myself and broke into a paroxysm of laughter. Nah. Not possible. Thanks.
Karen L., I love "He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner." I can totally see it, and if I had talent in the visual-artistic direction I'd try to paint it.
What’s additionally ironic is that this situational quandary is exactly the way TFG treats his allegiance to others. He’ll defend them only if it is in his best interests. Full circle Trumpism.
Exactly how I feel, but so succinctly expressed. With all due respect, when I compare Professor Richardson to all the other media I consume (Times, Atlantic, New Yorker, CNN, Cafe Insider with Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara++, political Gabfest, Amicus - the latter 3 being podcasts), she comes off as being extremely optimistic. And, I should add, she always brings receipts. It’s a rare day that she doesn’t uncover a little nugget seen nowhere else.
At this point, most of the other media are at least cautionary, if not pessimistic. The NY indictment, while historic, feels historic but sadly minor. And I use the word ‘minor’ merely in comparison to Trump’s broader treasure chest of crimes commîtted. Getting Trump indicted in New York could produce a whiff of historic (literallly) proportions. It would make Trump’s road through the primaries nearly unassailable. The Republicans would dial for dollars for months off it. What a boon, to not have to create your own good publicity.
If America bungles, stumbles or gets a case of the chlilblains in NY, in Georgia from which there GM has been radio silence since the giggle fit of Emily Kohrs, or God forbid, at the DOJ we might has well curl up in a ball. Evil, allied with its helpful friend Mr. Timidity, will have triumphed.
I think the Republicans have other possibilities now. I think they will work on shifting the base toward someone who is not wobbling along on two+ Achilles heels.
Okay. You and Judith Felsten just made me laugh right out loud. The image doesn't work, though: We all know that Weebles may wobble, but they don't fall down. And this woebegone wobbly is definitely due for a fall.
I should probably add that when I talk about the "monied political aristocracy," I'm not thinking entirely of Kochs, Mercers, Thiels, and their right-wing ilk. I'm a huge admirer of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but her & husband Paul's "investments" are part of the problem, and if you take a look around the Democratic caucus, esp. in the Senate, you'll notice that they are nowhere close to unique. In the 1990s the Clinton administration was very friendly to invested money and -- _pace_ the attempts at health-care reform -- less friendly to those of us who work for a living. As many others have pointed out, many of the safeguards that might have prevented the global economic meltdown of 2008+ came off during the Clinton administration. If we were starting to doze off now that there's a (surprisingly progressive) Dem in the White House, what's going on now in the financial sector should be a good kick in the pants. Dozing off is not an option.
This is truth! I have no issue with casting aspersions on any politicians who’ve reach the state or federal level of government. Their accountability is to the monied investors whose interests they concern themselves with. Not us. For far too long these actions have gone without any regulation or oversight by the DOJ and even the voters that re-elect them.
Yep! And the Citizens United decision and other rollbacks on campaign-finance regulation only increase the incentives -- indeed, the necessity -- for making deals with big investor-donors in order to get elected and re-elected.
Susan, rump's not just a parvenu, he's not even wealthy. "Actually wealthy" people, even parvenus, just can't give him the time of day. And the "actually wealthy" elites would just scrape him off the soles of their shoes.
You are right Mike - from a historical perspective. And if it were only the Stormy Daniels case or the multiple times Trump stiffed contractors or a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll...I would say that trend would continue.
But there is so much more happening than paying off a porn star, more than business theft, more than a rape at Bloomingdales.
There are two other things to consider.
First, the potential indictments by Willis and Smith/Garland are so huge and so egregious that they have a life of their own. Those crimes have taken on a momentum and there are millions of people who are pushing for justice on those events. Supremely capable people are in charge of those investigations. Their expertise and their egos are powerful weapons for justice. Inertia is now fully on our side.
Second. I am not a religious or spiritual person. We are born, we live the best life we are capable of, then we are done. But I do have a sense of karma. Picture a scale of justice. On one side there is a list of all the people who Trump has stolen from, publicly humiliated, fired in a fury of epithets, ruined the careers of, thrown under the bus for the tiniest disloyal statement, thrown ketchup at....the list on that side of the scale is enough to flip the scale off the table. On the other side are a few people. Some are just thoughtless selfish idiots. Many more are hanging on to Trump out of what they think is a political necessity. That necessity is crumbling.
Trumps "rallies" see smaller turnout. Other Republicans are pecking away ever so carefully. But they are pecking. Pence runs in and out with a statements that slightly condemns his former boss. Then he walks it back. But each time he criticizes, it's a little stronger. Same with Haley. Pompeo the Pompous is in the wings. Chris Christy is salivating for another run. Sununu wants the job very badly...fumbling now, but watch out. The latter two hate Trump intensely.
The anvil of justice and the avalanche of a flipped public opinion are about to fall on Donald J. Trump. And then the fun begins. Picture a football game where the hated quarterback is piled on by the whole opposing team and then his own team that he has embarrassed and abused piles on. And then...the stadium - the "fans" launch themselves onto the pile. Karma is a bitch.
Indeed, Christine. Karma has no deadline, and we might or might not see the manifestation of TFG's Karma. I hope OUR own Karma is such that we do see something, and ...... soon! I'm hoping for something big to come from Fani Willis's carefully well documented investigation in Georgia. And the January 6th Committee. I fear that the Stormy Daniel's charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Why? Though it was the Feds, Michael Cohen did prison time for his involvement in the same crime. If Bragg uses all this resource to load and aim a cannon, and all that happens is a flag pops out that says ‘Bang!’ he will be forever derided as the definition of anti-climax. Surely he knows that.
I think we're all a little disappointed that the first indictment is the porn payoff case. It's like a serial killer who gets prosecuted for jaywalking.
Cheryl P. -- Funny comparison! As for the first indictment, as of last night (Wednesday) the MSNBC crew and lawyer-guests, were discussing the details of the other three possibilities. Hopefully by Friday something will happen!
Bill, as historically true and cautionary as Mike S’s comments are, I think I am leaning on your side this time. The hammer of justice is about to come down on TFG.
His popularity has always been that he puts on a good show. Apparently few people are willing to lose their careers or freedom to continue to watch it now that it has jumped the shark.
And all those namby-pamby statements just highlight their cowardice. Taken all together, they wouldn't be the equal of even Gerald Ford. Fie on the lot of them.
I fully expect that the brightest minds at SVB are squarely in the crosshairs of the feds. They know what happened to the bitcoin jerks. They've caused to many people with power too much grief, including pols. The fact that the public wants some whipping boys will lend motivation politically. Now, if the goofballs in the House will do their job or at least step out of the way...
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
They know, without a shadow of a doubt, based on the history of 2008, that they are home free.
ONE person was arrested during that time: A woman. For insider trading of like $ten bucks. Martha Stewart.
Stewart was never charged with Insider Trading. She was charged with lying to the federal investigators, repeatedly, about what her broker told her. Insiders are a defined group (senior executives, some of their deputies, sometimes outsiders -brokers, advisors, consultants, junior employees. If others are temporarily or permanently made insiders, they sign documents that record that. If you are a junior person at a company and discern something that you trade on, and you are not an insider, you are not guilty of insider trading. If an insider gives you information and does not say, "I'm an insider", or "this is insider information", you can trade on it freely. Thus, Stewart could have freely traded on the info. She went to prison for trying to lie for her broker.
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
A great visual -- not least because in my very small town we had a bank robbery last fall that looked like that, except that the perps were more like the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight than upper-crusty execs.
Mike S. All sad but true. The great historian Will Durant observed that we still jail people for stealing too little. There is a different law for the rich.
You seem to suggest that the pursuit of truth and justice is absent the psyche of the typical Republican pol. Unless it is as an opportunity to take down some ... other pol? Shucks.
Not clear what you're saying. Does "poll" = "pol"? The "pursuit of truth and justice" is an abstraction. The need for money is up close and personal. And it's not just about Republicans.
Noted. Spell check plus my diminished proofing skills. Yes, too. I was raised in Democratic Chicago when every extra vote was paid for, money-power was a badge worn with ease, and favors were never unpaid.
For all those who have seen trump for what he is so desire that he pay for ALL his crimes. And for those who see the hush money crime as small relative to all his others, I say, Michael Cohen paid with time in jail the order for the crime came from trump and he was sighted as a coconspirator, how should he not pay as MC did?
Comey put him in the White House! He caved to agents who were about to commit a crime by leaking info about an ongoing FBI case with his ‘midnight’ announcement that they were reopening the investigation into HRC’s emails! Comey is as creditable as road kill!
Completely agree re: Comey's pivotal role in Trump's election in 2016. The pain of sane Americans over the last 7 years can be laid squarely at Comey's feet.
Hmmm... yeah, I strongly agree. But would point out the one error: your sentence: "The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh!" has a misspelling... the correct word is 'nigh', neigh is what horses do.
Mr. Sheehy did not make that error! His English prof would turn over in his.... well, you know. That mistake was made way up the comment pile... Poor ol' Bill simply pointed it out. Nitpicking, you know. Meanwhile those pesky magapublicans continue to play the three monkey game; see no evil, hear no evil and.... go on repeating the evil.
Important to understand that Trump posted this on "Truth" Social: "THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION" and "MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS' So...."Woke" people are baking German Chistmas pastries and boarders are flooding our cities.
I don't typically remark upon such cosmic levels of malignant stupid, but tonight I am weak.
Why would the supposed anarchists go to the trouble to try to take over the government? ANARCHISTS DON'T BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT! Just like big businesses cannot be Marxist! Buy a dictionary, you 10.0-magnitude moron.
Sometimes there are things that just don't make sense. What you say is 100% correct; I have watched as "Antifa" and "Anarchists" have become one and the same here in the Pacific Northwet. The first time I saw organized anarchy (and that's a clue right there) was at the WTO in Seattle, 1999 during those protests. Eugene had its fair share of involved activists (which is a more accurate description of those that I had the opportunity to interact with.) In the early 00's, there were some related protest movements that took on components of violence and anti-corporate stances and became self-described anarchists. Those who took place in the Occupy movement were more of the former than the latter.
Since my retirement, I have not been as "in the know" as I was previously, but what I have seen is that these self-described anarchists have been lumped into the Antifa movement (which I believe is an outgrowth of the Occupy movement) and through pretty savvy labeling have become known as anarchists are nothing like real anarchists at all, but violent protesters of corporate greed and its detritus.
Some of them yes, but I think some of those, particularly in Portland, who use every opportunity to create havoc and vandalize are actually apolitical and love to smash windows and set fires in the middle of the street just because. They are detrimental to people who are actually peaceful protesting and giving all protesters a bad name.
This and the terrible homelessness is why we left Portland. It was once a beautiful city. We loved it there. But the pandemic, the George Floyd riots (and the weekend incursions from the Vancouver-based Proud Boys that kept things stirred up) , and inept city government that just seemed helpless in addressing the city's issues became too much. We no longer felt safe going downtown.
Unfortunately, there is a small group in Portland that take every change they have to vandalize and cause a mess. During the George Floyd protests there were people who were not peaceful and the problem was exacerbated by death star's administration sending in Feds. Kotek is making a big effort to address homelessness and housing among other things. But we have not in my neighborhood and cities that want no additional construction. I am reminded of Great Expectations where Magwich escaped from a prison ship. I say this because people want the unhoused off the streets and out of sight and they would be fine with such a solution. There was a book review in this Sunday's NYT's of a book called Poverty, by America, and it calls to task all of us including liberals and progressives. I will buy it in my next order.
You must have been up close and heatedly trying to defend Seattle from the black shirts in 1999, while I watched stunned on TV. The lineage of protest and the means and methods have apparently a complex history, with the biggest and most gruesome methods so far displayed January 6, 2021. But the endless cycle of people killing large numbers of others is a grim parallel. Where do they overlap? Will you write more about this?
I only attended training with cops from Seattle; their report of that event was a real eye-opener. That event ushered in a period of violent protests (some of them for the sake of violence rather than true protest.)
I was there in Seattle. The night before the WTO meetings started we held a very peaceful and prayerful gathering encircling the Kingdome. The next morning the violence was amazing!
There were many aspects that were totally unexpected and Seattle was unprepared for what was in many ways an invasion. So many people came from other parts of the country with the intention of creating a riot, not protesting.
‘Libor’ you are boring us with your shameless attempt to get hits on your writings! Wow 150 subscribers! Not even a pin prick into to the maga crowd numbering in the 10’s of millions!
Those posts tell me tfg is now doing his own writing. Remember his tweets early in his presidency? Ungrammatical, weird capitalizations, misspelled, more a stream of consciousness than a coherent thought? Then suddenly the tweets were strategic, using BIG words, etc? I had to laugh when newscasters would say “Today trump tweeted....” since obviously he was no longer writing his own posts - he had Ghost-Tweeters. These unhinged posts simply mean he is back to doing his own writing, which was always unhinged!
Yes, he went from himself to Guglilisni, to other ‘free’ (because he doesn’t pay anyone, or his bills) attorneys, and now back to himself. He’d be better getting a first grader to do his tweets for him!
I have taken to ignoring him but reporting him daily. At some point, the moderators will intervene. Interestingly enough (well, not really interesting but notable) is that I have seen this same person posting and begging on OTHER Substacks as well! So forking out the $50 multiple times to toss out his word salads doesn't appear to be hurting him.
Thank you Miselle, the Bay Area is recovering from a power outage, so I am back on-line. 👌
Thank you a great deal for registering your daily complaints; please keep it up as you see fit.
Reports of the Disruptor's activity on other Substack Inc platforms is significant. Please post activity on other Substack Platforms if you feel like doing so but, I can handle this matter as my experience with JAMS goes back to 1990 more than 20 matters. :)
Since she mysteriously fell down the steps and died and was very quickly buried on TFG's golf course in New Jersey (I am really hoping SOMEONE is investigating this!), I consider any reference involving Ivana yet another possible piece of evidence that he really should be charged under RICO.
Big news today that Trump attorney Corcoran apparently testified to the other GJ investigating the hidden classified documents. Judge Howell ordered him to turn over his contemporaneous notes of his telephone conversation with whoever told him about the delivery of the complete set of classified docs which of course was false. The government now has his notes. Presumably he was told that all the docs were produced that morning by this other person and that person was...you guess who? If so, guilty as charged of a serious national security crime! If someone else told him, the investigation just shifts to that person but it is probably fair to state that the buck ends up with Trump! The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh! An indictment is very close to fruition! Finally! Kudos to Jack Smith for his motion to Judge Howell to waive the attorney client privilege which succeeded! A long shot that worked! Very rarely accomplished! Justice may be done quite soon!
Optimism around the Barnum and Bailey Daily - Republican Party's goals and outcomes is something we all want to have. Even me.
But, I don't recommend it.
The Republican Party's and Trump's intent are nothing to be optimistic about. Indicting Trump (for anything) is fraught. Everyone can see he is attempting to call up his violent army of people willing to go to jail for him while he goes free. Plus, a black man in NY and a black woman in Georgia are participating in attempting to bring Trump to justice. That makes the whole endeavor even more fraught.
American history is built on arresting a black man for stealing a loaf of bread from the 7-11 to feed his family, since, of course, nobody will hire him - while simultaneously ignoring the stealing of billions of dollars by white men.
Like those guys who gave themselves "bonuses" of depositor money at SVB bank as it was crashing. Nobody has or will arrest those guys.
So, American history and culture is NOT attuned to arresting rich, white men.
America, in fact, does not tolerate holding rich white men to account well at all.
True enough, but what makes the current scenario more interesting is that Trump is a parvenu and not part of the monied political aristocracy. Their allegiance to him is, shall we say, "situational." The situation has changed: he's now a liability who is, among other things, blowing their cover. Further complicating the *situation* is the mob, aka the base, which the monied political aristocracy has no reason to love or trust and with good reason: they're at least dimly aware of what went down in the French and Russian Revolutions.
In other words, there are several wildcards in play here, and at the moment I can't hazard a guess as to how they're going to play out.
Susan, very true. The biggest chip on Trump’s shoulder is he has not and never will be accepted by the high society he desperately desired to be part of. I’m sure his late father had something to do with the articles in ‘80’s People magazine about Donald and Ivana being the newest rich couple in New York society. Flop. The truly elite rich eschewed his every attempt to be ushered into their halls. Join the clubs and societies, sure, but don’t look for invitations. The mob boss mentality didn’t play there. His reputation precedes him as a financial doofus and a bully. Your post is spot on. He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner. Republican dilemma; to Trump or not to Trump, that is the question...
I agree with Susanna and you, Karen, about wild cards. Rs are all over the place trying to keep the base and yet some of them yearn to be rid of death star. Love the riff on Hamlet.
It doesn't matter whether they trump or not; they've run out of good tricks and they're going down. I hope the opposing players doubled.
As I read this, a vision of Donald in blue sweats sitting amongst the intellectual elites of the 1960s, discussing literature and political theory and planning the next rally against the Viet Nam War while sipping cheap red and pulling the ocassional toke came to mind .... and I snorted my coffee all over myself and broke into a paroxysm of laughter. Nah. Not possible. Thanks.
There's a lot of Karma to the first indictment coming from NYC...
Karen L., I love "He has painted himself into a very unstable, unpredictable corner." I can totally see it, and if I had talent in the visual-artistic direction I'd try to paint it.
What’s additionally ironic is that this situational quandary is exactly the way TFG treats his allegiance to others. He’ll defend them only if it is in his best interests. Full circle Trumpism.
Exactly how I feel, but so succinctly expressed. With all due respect, when I compare Professor Richardson to all the other media I consume (Times, Atlantic, New Yorker, CNN, Cafe Insider with Joyce Vance and Preet Bharara++, political Gabfest, Amicus - the latter 3 being podcasts), she comes off as being extremely optimistic. And, I should add, she always brings receipts. It’s a rare day that she doesn’t uncover a little nugget seen nowhere else.
At this point, most of the other media are at least cautionary, if not pessimistic. The NY indictment, while historic, feels historic but sadly minor. And I use the word ‘minor’ merely in comparison to Trump’s broader treasure chest of crimes commîtted. Getting Trump indicted in New York could produce a whiff of historic (literallly) proportions. It would make Trump’s road through the primaries nearly unassailable. The Republicans would dial for dollars for months off it. What a boon, to not have to create your own good publicity.
If America bungles, stumbles or gets a case of the chlilblains in NY, in Georgia from which there GM has been radio silence since the giggle fit of Emily Kohrs, or God forbid, at the DOJ we might has well curl up in a ball. Evil, allied with its helpful friend Mr. Timidity, will have triumphed.
I think the Republicans have other possibilities now. I think they will work on shifting the base toward someone who is not wobbling along on two+ Achilles heels.
With bone spurs.
Okay. You and Judith Felsten just made me laugh right out loud. The image doesn't work, though: We all know that Weebles may wobble, but they don't fall down. And this woebegone wobbly is definitely due for a fall.
Eric
"treasure chest of crimes."
Love it! What other hidden gems await discovery? What we know is considerable but likely only the tip of the iceberg.
Tantalizing, in an ugly sort of way.
Thank you. :)
Beautifully posited, Susanna.
Excellent synopsis of the history of Trumpty Dumpty.
Trumpty Dumpty promised a wall.
Trumpty Dumpty had a bad fall.
And all Putin's horses,
And all Orban's men,
Couldn't put Trumpty atop us again.
How's that for synopsis?
Terrific! Well done. I do love authentic poetry! Says so much with so little verbiage.
I should probably add that when I talk about the "monied political aristocracy," I'm not thinking entirely of Kochs, Mercers, Thiels, and their right-wing ilk. I'm a huge admirer of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but her & husband Paul's "investments" are part of the problem, and if you take a look around the Democratic caucus, esp. in the Senate, you'll notice that they are nowhere close to unique. In the 1990s the Clinton administration was very friendly to invested money and -- _pace_ the attempts at health-care reform -- less friendly to those of us who work for a living. As many others have pointed out, many of the safeguards that might have prevented the global economic meltdown of 2008+ came off during the Clinton administration. If we were starting to doze off now that there's a (surprisingly progressive) Dem in the White House, what's going on now in the financial sector should be a good kick in the pants. Dozing off is not an option.
This is truth! I have no issue with casting aspersions on any politicians who’ve reach the state or federal level of government. Their accountability is to the monied investors whose interests they concern themselves with. Not us. For far too long these actions have gone without any regulation or oversight by the DOJ and even the voters that re-elect them.
Yep! And the Citizens United decision and other rollbacks on campaign-finance regulation only increase the incentives -- indeed, the necessity -- for making deals with big investor-donors in order to get elected and re-elected.
Please can we have Gilbert and Sullivan? This piece is rich with musical satire possibilities. It’s even richer than “Servant of the People.”
OK, now I'm seeing the 1/6 committee, led by Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney, coming onstage to "When the Foeman Bares His Steel" . . .
How about Anais Mitchell's Hadestown call-and-answer anthem, "Why We Build the Wall?" That's the one I keep hearing.
Susanna,
I hope you are right. I hope that the variables will result in a non-violent outcome. But, all things considered, I am worried.
So am I. The future is very unsettled.
Interesting assessment. Thank you!
Susan, rump's not just a parvenu, he's not even wealthy. "Actually wealthy" people, even parvenus, just can't give him the time of day. And the "actually wealthy" elites would just scrape him off the soles of their shoes.
You are right Mike - from a historical perspective. And if it were only the Stormy Daniels case or the multiple times Trump stiffed contractors or a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll...I would say that trend would continue.
But there is so much more happening than paying off a porn star, more than business theft, more than a rape at Bloomingdales.
There are two other things to consider.
First, the potential indictments by Willis and Smith/Garland are so huge and so egregious that they have a life of their own. Those crimes have taken on a momentum and there are millions of people who are pushing for justice on those events. Supremely capable people are in charge of those investigations. Their expertise and their egos are powerful weapons for justice. Inertia is now fully on our side.
Second. I am not a religious or spiritual person. We are born, we live the best life we are capable of, then we are done. But I do have a sense of karma. Picture a scale of justice. On one side there is a list of all the people who Trump has stolen from, publicly humiliated, fired in a fury of epithets, ruined the careers of, thrown under the bus for the tiniest disloyal statement, thrown ketchup at....the list on that side of the scale is enough to flip the scale off the table. On the other side are a few people. Some are just thoughtless selfish idiots. Many more are hanging on to Trump out of what they think is a political necessity. That necessity is crumbling.
Trumps "rallies" see smaller turnout. Other Republicans are pecking away ever so carefully. But they are pecking. Pence runs in and out with a statements that slightly condemns his former boss. Then he walks it back. But each time he criticizes, it's a little stronger. Same with Haley. Pompeo the Pompous is in the wings. Chris Christy is salivating for another run. Sununu wants the job very badly...fumbling now, but watch out. The latter two hate Trump intensely.
The anvil of justice and the avalanche of a flipped public opinion are about to fall on Donald J. Trump. And then the fun begins. Picture a football game where the hated quarterback is piled on by the whole opposing team and then his own team that he has embarrassed and abused piles on. And then...the stadium - the "fans" launch themselves onto the pile. Karma is a bitch.
And Karma has no deadline!
Indeed, Christine. Karma has no deadline, and we might or might not see the manifestation of TFG's Karma. I hope OUR own Karma is such that we do see something, and ...... soon! I'm hoping for something big to come from Fani Willis's carefully well documented investigation in Georgia. And the January 6th Committee. I fear that the Stormy Daniel's charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor.
Why? Though it was the Feds, Michael Cohen did prison time for his involvement in the same crime. If Bragg uses all this resource to load and aim a cannon, and all that happens is a flag pops out that says ‘Bang!’ he will be forever derided as the definition of anti-climax. Surely he knows that.
Tom, I have no valid reason for my "fear." Just sayin' that the well of surprises is deep.
Particularly in the Game of Trumps. Not everything is logical. However, things do seem to be changing.
The good Karma demonstrated on this website has no deadline either! Keep putting it out there…
Judith
I think we're all a little disappointed that the first indictment is the porn payoff case. It's like a serial killer who gets prosecuted for jaywalking.
Cheryl P. -- Funny comparison! As for the first indictment, as of last night (Wednesday) the MSNBC crew and lawyer-guests, were discussing the details of the other three possibilities. Hopefully by Friday something will happen!
I am adopting this as my answer to all thing "You won't be around for his conviction" comments from my equally old Red friends. Perfect.
I would like to think that you are right, Bill. TFG needs to learn that karma is a bitch.
He’s going to learn alright Ellen on this side or the other, I wouldn’t trade all of the money in the world for his karma. 😎
Well done Bill. I'm not yet optimistic, that will have to wait until serious charges are filed, but the balance does seem to be swinging a little.
Bill, as historically true and cautionary as Mike S’s comments are, I think I am leaning on your side this time. The hammer of justice is about to come down on TFG.
His popularity has always been that he puts on a good show. Apparently few people are willing to lose their careers or freedom to continue to watch it now that it has jumped the shark.
YES. Karma. Have at it.
And all those namby-pamby statements just highlight their cowardice. Taken all together, they wouldn't be the equal of even Gerald Ford. Fie on the lot of them.
Bill,
Thank you. It would be great if you read the book "Railroaded" By Roger White.
There, you will see, Karma is something we hope for, but, is rarely realized, although, sometimes it is.
Remember, if you flip a coin, well, half the time it will land on "heads".
I fully expect that the brightest minds at SVB are squarely in the crosshairs of the feds. They know what happened to the bitcoin jerks. They've caused to many people with power too much grief, including pols. The fact that the public wants some whipping boys will lend motivation politically. Now, if the goofballs in the House will do their job or at least step out of the way...
Richard,
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
They know, without a shadow of a doubt, based on the history of 2008, that they are home free.
ONE person was arrested during that time: A woman. For insider trading of like $ten bucks. Martha Stewart.
I would laugh it if it were not so very sad.
Stewart was never charged with Insider Trading. She was charged with lying to the federal investigators, repeatedly, about what her broker told her. Insiders are a defined group (senior executives, some of their deputies, sometimes outsiders -brokers, advisors, consultants, junior employees. If others are temporarily or permanently made insiders, they sign documents that record that. If you are a junior person at a company and discern something that you trade on, and you are not an insider, you are not guilty of insider trading. If an insider gives you information and does not say, "I'm an insider", or "this is insider information", you can trade on it freely. Thus, Stewart could have freely traded on the info. She went to prison for trying to lie for her broker.
No one is above the law in this country.
KD,
Those three guys who owned SVB bank who, three days before the bank's collapse, ran into the bank, without masks, grabbed a bunch of depositor money, threw it in bags labelled "bonuses", and ran out might disagree with you.
A great visual -- not least because in my very small town we had a bank robbery last fall that looked like that, except that the perps were more like the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight than upper-crusty execs.
Trump’s karma has always run over that dogma. Hope that stops here.
I light candles and beseech all the gods that’s true.
What country are you referring to?
Not Russia or China….
Well said. And, your term, "the Barnum and Baily Daily," is priceless.
Your fourth paragraph immediately brought the vision to my mind of Jean Valjean,
the hero of "Les Miserables".
Mike S. All sad but true. The great historian Will Durant observed that we still jail people for stealing too little. There is a different law for the rich.
You seem to suggest that the pursuit of truth and justice is absent the psyche of the typical Republican pol. Unless it is as an opportunity to take down some ... other pol? Shucks.
Not clear what you're saying. Does "poll" = "pol"? The "pursuit of truth and justice" is an abstraction. The need for money is up close and personal. And it's not just about Republicans.
Noted. Spell check plus my diminished proofing skills. Yes, too. I was raised in Democratic Chicago when every extra vote was paid for, money-power was a badge worn with ease, and favors were never unpaid.
For all those who have seen trump for what he is so desire that he pay for ALL his crimes. And for those who see the hush money crime as small relative to all his others, I say, Michael Cohen paid with time in jail the order for the crime came from trump and he was sighted as a coconspirator, how should he not pay as MC did?
Harvey. Bingo
...And let's not forget that Weisselberg is in Rikers as well, another person caught up in TFG's orbit.
As James Comey so aptly observed, "Trump eats your soul in small bites". We are now about to witness a whole bunch of soul chunks dropping.
Comey put him in the White House! He caved to agents who were about to commit a crime by leaking info about an ongoing FBI case with his ‘midnight’ announcement that they were reopening the investigation into HRC’s emails! Comey is as creditable as road kill!
I agree with your Comey assessment. Perhaps his accusation was a hidden confession!
My thoughts precisely...
Completely agree re: Comey's pivotal role in Trump's election in 2016. The pain of sane Americans over the last 7 years can be laid squarely at Comey's feet.
Or as Rick Wilson aptly titled his book, "Everything Trump Touches Dies".
I am reminded of Rick Wilson’s book title, “Everything Trump Touches Dies.”
Tracey,
Indeed, that is absolutely, without a doubt, true. Being infected with Trump has a worse set of statistics than the Black Plague in Europe.
Nigh - not neigh ( like a horse)
Thanks I was galloping along!
Hmmm... yeah, I strongly agree. But would point out the one error: your sentence: "The net result, dear Substack friends, is neigh!" has a misspelling... the correct word is 'nigh', neigh is what horses do.
I can see spellcheck making that choice and Bill Sheehy not spotting it.
Mr. Sheehy did not make that error! His English prof would turn over in his.... well, you know. That mistake was made way up the comment pile... Poor ol' Bill simply pointed it out. Nitpicking, you know. Meanwhile those pesky magapublicans continue to play the three monkey game; see no evil, hear no evil and.... go on repeating the evil.
Important to understand that Trump posted this on "Truth" Social: "THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION" and "MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS' So...."Woke" people are baking German Chistmas pastries and boarders are flooding our cities.
I don't typically remark upon such cosmic levels of malignant stupid, but tonight I am weak.
Why would the supposed anarchists go to the trouble to try to take over the government? ANARCHISTS DON'T BELIEVE IN GOVERNMENT! Just like big businesses cannot be Marxist! Buy a dictionary, you 10.0-magnitude moron.
Wise as always, Will!
Exactly. And Pense being shocked?!? C’mon. A crime is a crime. And #45 has been a criminal since a young man
He (Pence) still can’t believe he sold his soul.
Sometimes there are things that just don't make sense. What you say is 100% correct; I have watched as "Antifa" and "Anarchists" have become one and the same here in the Pacific Northwet. The first time I saw organized anarchy (and that's a clue right there) was at the WTO in Seattle, 1999 during those protests. Eugene had its fair share of involved activists (which is a more accurate description of those that I had the opportunity to interact with.) In the early 00's, there were some related protest movements that took on components of violence and anti-corporate stances and became self-described anarchists. Those who took place in the Occupy movement were more of the former than the latter.
Since my retirement, I have not been as "in the know" as I was previously, but what I have seen is that these self-described anarchists have been lumped into the Antifa movement (which I believe is an outgrowth of the Occupy movement) and through pretty savvy labeling have become known as anarchists are nothing like real anarchists at all, but violent protesters of corporate greed and its detritus.
Some of them yes, but I think some of those, particularly in Portland, who use every opportunity to create havoc and vandalize are actually apolitical and love to smash windows and set fires in the middle of the street just because. They are detrimental to people who are actually peaceful protesting and giving all protesters a bad name.
This and the terrible homelessness is why we left Portland. It was once a beautiful city. We loved it there. But the pandemic, the George Floyd riots (and the weekend incursions from the Vancouver-based Proud Boys that kept things stirred up) , and inept city government that just seemed helpless in addressing the city's issues became too much. We no longer felt safe going downtown.
Unfortunately, there is a small group in Portland that take every change they have to vandalize and cause a mess. During the George Floyd protests there were people who were not peaceful and the problem was exacerbated by death star's administration sending in Feds. Kotek is making a big effort to address homelessness and housing among other things. But we have not in my neighborhood and cities that want no additional construction. I am reminded of Great Expectations where Magwich escaped from a prison ship. I say this because people want the unhoused off the streets and out of sight and they would be fine with such a solution. There was a book review in this Sunday's NYT's of a book called Poverty, by America, and it calls to task all of us including liberals and progressives. I will buy it in my next order.
You must have been up close and heatedly trying to defend Seattle from the black shirts in 1999, while I watched stunned on TV. The lineage of protest and the means and methods have apparently a complex history, with the biggest and most gruesome methods so far displayed January 6, 2021. But the endless cycle of people killing large numbers of others is a grim parallel. Where do they overlap? Will you write more about this?
I only attended training with cops from Seattle; their report of that event was a real eye-opener. That event ushered in a period of violent protests (some of them for the sake of violence rather than true protest.)
I was there in Seattle. The night before the WTO meetings started we held a very peaceful and prayerful gathering encircling the Kingdome. The next morning the violence was amazing!
There were many aspects that were totally unexpected and Seattle was unprepared for what was in many ways an invasion. So many people came from other parts of the country with the intention of creating a riot, not protesting.
That is exactly what/who we saw in Portland's BLM protests following George Floyd's murder.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
‘Libor’ you are boring us with your shameless attempt to get hits on your writings! Wow 150 subscribers! Not even a pin prick into to the maga crowd numbering in the 10’s of millions!
Louis, he is just a scammer.
Report and ignore him.
He is just taking up space from the legimate LFAA Community.
Spelling was never tfg's forte... And the increasing typos and all caps speak volumes about his state of anxiety.
And childish mentality.
Those posts tell me tfg is now doing his own writing. Remember his tweets early in his presidency? Ungrammatical, weird capitalizations, misspelled, more a stream of consciousness than a coherent thought? Then suddenly the tweets were strategic, using BIG words, etc? I had to laugh when newscasters would say “Today trump tweeted....” since obviously he was no longer writing his own posts - he had Ghost-Tweeters. These unhinged posts simply mean he is back to doing his own writing, which was always unhinged!
Yes, he went from himself to Guglilisni, to other ‘free’ (because he doesn’t pay anyone, or his bills) attorneys, and now back to himself. He’d be better getting a first grader to do his tweets for him!
Oh so true. Are you sure you weren’t on the investigative team back in the early 80s investigating him? We called him the exact same thing!
Isn't it wonderful!
This man spams more than a British family after the blitz.
And thinks he’s so clever… blooming idiot
…and I DO like the fact he had to pay $50. to Heather to comment here!😁😁
I got this Will, from Cal.
Thanks. This is getting very old. I'm doing my part.
Yes, you are an Officer but, I got this one. Very god news at JAMS concerning conflict resolution.
I have taken to ignoring him but reporting him daily. At some point, the moderators will intervene. Interestingly enough (well, not really interesting but notable) is that I have seen this same person posting and begging on OTHER Substacks as well! So forking out the $50 multiple times to toss out his word salads doesn't appear to be hurting him.
Thank you Miselle, the Bay Area is recovering from a power outage, so I am back on-line. 👌
Thank you a great deal for registering your daily complaints; please keep it up as you see fit.
Reports of the Disruptor's activity on other Substack Inc platforms is significant. Please post activity on other Substack Platforms if you feel like doing so but, I can handle this matter as my experience with JAMS goes back to 1990 more than 20 matters. :)
I bet he bought his own books.
Damn. You hit him on his tiny head with that one.
Since she mysteriously fell down the steps and died and was very quickly buried on TFG's golf course in New Jersey (I am really hoping SOMEONE is investigating this!), I consider any reference involving Ivana yet another possible piece of evidence that he really should be charged under RICO.