A 2019 Christmas Carol

It was Christmas Eve. Scrooge McTrump was arriving back at the White House. He had been at a Holiday fete given to him by the RNC at his own DC hotel. It would pay for the month's lease, so he was content. As his limo slowly pulled up to the security checkpoints, Scrooge thought on the evening's event. So many obsequious and fawning sycophants! So many previous opponents now turned into groveling acolytes! He had succeeded in conducting his hostile takeover of an entire political party and now most of the nation's government. It felt good to be king.

"Thank you, sir, for making it safe to say 'Merry Christmas' out loud," said a burly security guard at the gate, tears streaming down his face. "Yeah, yeah. Merry Christmas. Now get the fuck outta my way!" If he was lucky, he could still catch the last minutes of Hannity on Fox.

Once inside, he walked up to the Residence floor. He knew Melania and Barron weren't there. They rarely were, and he didn't care. All he wanted was to relax and watch some Fox. He reached for the doorknob and recoiled -- "WTF!" The elaborate doorknob had somehow taken on an eerie and uncanny visage of his old pal, Jeffrey Epstein! Scrooge dismissed it as the result of having eaten some bad shrimp at the party. Maybe he would need to rush off to Walter Reed Medical Center again?

Feeling his pulse rate race a bit, he got into this golden night robe and turned on the TV. And there on the big screen was Jeffrey Epstein's mournful face appearing momentarily before giving way to Tucker Carlson's perpetually perplexed persona. "Fuckin' frozen fish trust fund loser," Scrooge grumped. He set his phone on the night table next to his Adderall and closed his eyes.

A booming knock at the bedroom door awoke Scrooge. He drew the covers up to his nose. There was the ghost of his old booty call partner - Jeffrey Epstein! The ghost walked in, burdened with heavy chains linked with sex toys, money boxes and hotel room safes. A knotted prison bedsheet was wrapped tightly around his neck. He gazed at Scrooge and began to moan and shake.

"Jeffrey! What the hell do you want? You're dead! I made sure of it!"

"McTrump, hear me well. Tonight at midnight, you will be visited by three spirits, showing your past, present and future. Heed their visions. This is your last chance to amend your ways. Don't be a total shreklekh mensch like I was." And then he vanished!

"Jeffrey, wait! Can I tweet about this?" Scrooge thought better of it. Shaken, he pulled the covers over his head. What the hell was Epstein on about? Scrooge liked him back in the day when they were on the poontang patrol. Ep had even introduced Melania to him. Jeffrey said he'd imported her like so many other "models" from Eastern Europe. But he had crossed Scrooge by poaching girls from Mar-a-Lago without his permission. That was the last he'd seen him... until tonight. He tried to go to sleep.

The phone alarm rang. It was midnight. Scrooge sat up and was startled to see the shade of Roy Cohn standing by his bed.

"Hello, Scrooge. Long time, you old counter-puncher!"

"Roy!! My old mentor! You died of AIDS in 1986. Where the hell did you come from?"

"Hell. A lot of your dead family and associates there say 'Hi'. Now let's get going. I've got a job to do here. I'm your Christmas Past."

And off they went lifting into a swirl of clouds and stars and the night sky!

When Scrooge could focus, he saw himself with family and friends at his Trump Tower penthouse. He felt an urge to visit his gold toilet there. But Cohn held up a cautioning hand. "You cannot pee. And they cannot see you." But he could see them, and himself. He squinted at one of his three wives. Everyone was laughing.

McTrump was regaling the group about having recently stiffed the Association to Benefit Children. "Yeah, it was for that nursery school opener for AIDS kids..." Scrooge remembered. He hadn't been a donor and never intended to be. But he knew where the NY press would be that day. So he showed up, got backstage and talked his way onto the Big Donor spotlight area. There was an empty chair there, so he sat down as the event began (he didn't care that the seat was reserved for an actual donor who now couldn't get into the chair before the event began and had to sit back in the audience).

"Yeah, what a bunch of schmucks," he recalled. The NY press took oodles of pics and video of him smiling and clapping. Then he left, and never gave a donation. But he got a lot of press coverage for nothing that day. "Yeah, that was a good day. That was fun, that I can tell you." Everyone laughed again.

The party was now raising a toast to McTrump. "To the man who always stiffs his workers. To the chief who bought two huge portraits of himself for $80,000 using his own foundation's money. To being able to stay above water despite writing off ONE BILLION dollars in losses over ten years. To Russians and their dirty money. To real estate and money laundering! Yay!"

Everyone clinked their glasses. Scrooge looked at the shade of Roy Cohn, who smirked and shook his head. "To all the stupid failed sucker businesses that we've foisted on the rubes! Trump University! Trump Airlines! Trump Steaks! GoTrump search engine! Trump Vodka! Trump Mortgage! Trump Magazine! Trump Ice! The New Jersey Generals! The Trump Network! Trump New Media!" Everyone laughed again and slurped their champagne as they began to fade into the chintzy decor - this vision was swirling about and then Scrooge found himself back in his White House bedroom.

"Roy, those were such good times, the likes of which have never been seen. And, quite frankly, I don't have as much fun now." But Cohn simply said, "Wait for the next Spirit." So Scrooge got back into bed.

He awoke again at midnight when his phone alarm sounded. Scrooge looked wildly around and saw the shade of the recently departed Elijah Cummings standing there. "I'm here, Scrooge, to take you for a spin through your Christmas Present. So hang on, it's going to be quite a ride." The room spun. Soon he witnessed a whirlwind of voices and images.

Scrooge saw the 1% enjoying their stock market and tax cut gains. There were glaciers melting, withering droughts, wildfires and floods. Sexual assault victims sought the comfort of their friends and families. Hundreds of immigrant/refugee children were in cages at the southern border. Puerto Ricans and Virgin Islanders were still struggling.

He saw old flames like Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and felt his mushroom stir. In a flash, the 24+ women who have accused him of sexual assault flew past. Then he saw courtrooms and prison cells with associates like Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates. And then he saw others he knew who would be there soon.

He saw his adult children being told they were required to attend training classes on the duties of running charities (this, and a $2 million dollar fine, was the civil case punishment for operating a fraudulent Trump Charities scam).  He looked past the 1000+ former Federal prosecutors who agreed that the Mueller Report would have resulted in multiple felony charges against him if he weren't President.

He saw China's Xi sipping a drink, chuckling, saying to himself "an immense fortune". There was his love letter pal, Kim Jong-un, riding a horse and thinking "What a dumb fuck!" And there was his boss, Vladimir Putin, sitting by a fire in his dacha, quietly laughing and shaking his head, saying "Who could have imagined?"

Finally, Cummings brought Scrooge to an Arizona desert home where he found Cindy McCain lighting a Christmas candle for her late husband.

"I can't take it anymore, Elijah!! Take me away! Get me outta here!"

Scrooge found himself in bed again when the phone alarm rang once more at midnight. He opened one eye and saw the Spirit of the Future waiting for him. It was Richard Nixon. With a glower and a shake of his jowls, Nixon raised his arms high, flashing his famous Victory hand signs. Then the now-familiar swirling of senses began and they were gone.

He began to focus on familiar settings. It was a wing of his residence at Mar-a-Lago. The room had been set up like a hospital room. There was a hospital bed, a crash cart, and vitals monitors. Two nurses were unplugging cables and removing IVs as the long "beeeeep" was heard, registering a flatline. A silent bored orderly waited in the background.

"He was such a crazy man! Still grabbed at my cooch with his dying breath!"

"Oh, honey. I was so tired of his constant yelling! It was such a load of mush! 'I'm the real victim!' and 'I've had the worst treatment anyone in the world has ever had!'. And that's the stuff I could even make out..."

"Well, at least it will be quiet around here now. His wife won't come and most of his kids and friends  are in jail. It's sad."

"Yes, it is."

Nixon turned to Scrooge and pointed to the shrouded body. Scrooge peered closer and saw a marmot-like mop of disheveled dyed-blond hair spilling out from the top of the sheet. It looked familiar. He looked back at Nixon, who shook his jowls and lifted his arms aloft again.

And then it was over! McTrump opened his eyes. It was Christmas morning! He leapt out of bed, feeling like a completely recharged man. He grabbed his phone and shot out a quick tweet. "Merry Christmas, even to the hateful losers who are trying to destroy me and America! This means you, Democrats!!"

Scrooge felt fine! He didn't need any redemption. When you're the greatest person in the world, the one who is the smartest genius, the handsomest man, The Chosen One  by God who requires undying support and obedience, well, who needs flippin' redemption? He got on his phone.

"Hey! Kitchen! Where the hell is my Diet Coke and Egg McMuffin?!! Let's go, chop-chop!!"

It felt good to be king.

53%??

Let's take a quick and adventurous look at how half of our nation thinks!

In a recent poll, it was revealed that 53% of Republicans preferred Trump to Lincoln. Yes they did:

You.Gov poll shows 53% of Republicans think Trump is greater than Lincoln

It's not all bonkers. Reagan beats him 59% to 41%. The same Reagan who, in his farewell speech as President, urged the nation to accept more immigrants. This poll really is indicative of the swirling toxic mess that the GOP has become over the last few decades.

Less popular than Reagan, but more popular than the President who freed the slaves and saved the country. Imagine that. Throughout his tumultuous scandal-a-day administration, Trump is still amazingly popular with Republicans, who cannot get enough of him. Given how 78% of GOP support the Confederate flag as a symbol of "Southern Pride" it is not entirely surprising they prefer him to Lincoln.

How popular is he? Pretty much since taking residence in the White House, Trump has claimed a 95% GOP approval, according to the usual unnamed poll. The Sharpie Poll? It must be this one:

Actually, this consistently hyped figure is likely when considering former Republicans have left the party because of The Freak Show, leaving it in a more purified state for the grifters and the rubes.

So, looking past the Soviet-style near-100% approval mark, it's clear that T enjoys rampant approval from his progressively regressive GOP base. As an example let's listen in to Exhibit A, a caller to a recent CSPAN show:

Hilarious/Horrifying Trumper call to CSPAN

Oh, how did we ever fall to this lowly state?

Back in the day (pre-Lee Atwater and Karl Rove), the GOP was comprised of three basic groups: Partisans, Ideologues, and Others.

Partisans - Every party has its share of partisans. They will carry the water and do whatever is necessary to advance the party. They don't have much philosophical attachment to anything except advance the party. It is more Tribalism than anything else. It's Us vs. Them. Some might step past the legal line if they could get away with it.

Ideologues - The GOP was renowned for their share of high profile principled ideologues. Think Milton Friedman, Barry Goldwater and St. Reagan. Belief in such values as Fiscal Conservatism, Free Trade, Pro-Business, Maintenance of Law & Order/Rule of Law, Pragmatic Management of Government, Pursuit of Balanced Budgets, Strongly Hawkish Foreign Policy towards Autocratic States, and such were always loudly ballyhooed.

Others -  This category used to be an ambiguous amalgam of subgroups that flitted back and forth between Republican and Democratic parties. "Reagan Democrats". "White Working Class". "Disaffected Union Workers". "Non-College Educated". "Conservative Christians". "Independents". Before the Internet Age, this diverse group was hard to identify, much less motivate for action.

OK, that was then. Let's take a moment to consider why so many Americans continue to defy reality and support Trump. Over the last decade, a small stream of Republicans began leaving the GOP. For the last three years, the stream has widened as former members have become acutely uncomfortable with their old party. Now that the party has purged its people who think independently and morally, GOP is a depot for three basic groups.

1) Nihilists who find laws and rules to be useful only when advancing their own political purposes. This group used to be the Partisans. These are the fine folk who believe that Power and Control are more important than Right over Wrong. Those who follow norms are Losers. This may seem like a horrible conclusion. However, it is a very popular theme amongst DC observers.

2) Reflexive Regressives have taken the place of Ideologues. When Trump conducted his hostile takeover of the Republican Party in 2016, members had a choice. Some became Never Trumpers and joined the stream out of the GOP. Most abandoned whatever principles they may have had and lashed themselves securely to the guy. It's safe to say the guiding philosophical lights of the party have been snuffed out. Milton Friedman? Goldwater? No sir. Russian hawk Reagan? Nope. That school of conservatism is dead. The premier thought leaders in the GOP are found foaming on Fox State News and Hate Radio. And these people have no principles except to their own bottom line. Truth for them is extremely relative.

3) Deplorables are the new Others. As Trump loudly spoke in racist and misogynist terms, he galvanized racists and bigots. He said what they thought. He celebrated the resentful "poorly educated." He called for a Muslim registry and a complete Muslim ban from entering the country. When he made an alliance with top evangelists, their followers were told Trump was a vessel of the Lord. "God works through this imperfect man." Of course He does. When one is convinced that God is on your side, there is no bottom to what is accepted and promoted. The Lord works in mysterious ways, all right.

Barf me out. What a bunch of phony grifters.

The GOP has become so bad that it celebrates when WAR CRIMINALS are pardoned. Why? Because these are tough men who were put in bad places to protect our country -- like sniper shooting unarmed and defenseless Muslim girls and old men. And killing/desecrating an enemy combatant and posting pictures. When Trump pardoned three Navy Seals for having conducted this egregious and murderous conduct, charges brought against them by their own team members, he was cheered. He even suggested he'd bring them along to appear at his campaign rallies!! It's a degradation of U.S. military values, but nothing matters when you've got the Lord's vessel working for you, so who cares?

It really is a political party that has pursued Power Politics for so long that it has completely lost its way. And the leader it has is so obsessed with himself that he cannot lead, beyond saving his own skin. There is no moral compass. There is no moral imperative at play. What is left are the Left Behinds who have "raptured" themselves into their Members Only club. It's a party that has much power at this moment. The Electoral College gives them a huge advantage. Maybe they can extend it somewhat over the next few years. But within ten years, this carnival will have left town and few will admit to having been a part of it. The main question is, then, how can the GOP positively evolve from this point on? Magic Eight-Ball, what say you?

Wow, what a rant this has been. Let's end again with the useful quote from former Bush communications staffer and speechwriter David Frum. In writing about the possibilities of Trump's win and the rise of an authoritarian state, he stated this chilling thought:

"If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy."  

When people abandon Rules, it's easy to figure what happens next. William Goldman certainly knew this. So did George Orwell. Democracy is fragile and needs constant tending. The alternative is having the Boot on your neck for the rest of your life.

We Regret The Error

It's Friday late afternoon and after a tumultuous and incredibly intense week here in DC, it's time for a few moments of fun and silliness. Yes, the above correction regarding star Impeachment Inquiry witness Lt. Col. Vindman appeared in GQ magazine. This represents the stuff that makes life worth living.

The great Parker Molloy took this correction and really ran far and wide with it. She created an epic twitter thread of her favorite corrections, and they are deliriously wonderful. So are many of her followers' comments. Check it out, you won't regret any lost time:

Parker Molloy's epic "corrections" thread

Here are a few choice selections:

Oh, yes! Every one of the corrections in her thread is classic!! OK, we're on a bit of a roll here. So let's turn to our old standby, The Onion (America's Finest News Source), for their article on Vice President Mike Pence and his efforts to Self-Rapture himself:

https://politics.theonion.com/sweating-grunting-mike-pence-straining-to-rapture-hims-1839984347

And their photo of a "healthier-than-ever" Trump addressing a campaign rally from an iron lung machine is also a laugh:

Speaking of surreal, here is the weird and strangely addictive twitter site, "Giant Military Cats". It features all sorts of major military hardware and gigantic cats:

https://twitter.com/GiantCat9

A couple of samples from this super silly site:

And as long as we're trying to get past the High Ridiculousness of this past week, it's useful to take a quick look back at when this all began:

Of course, we cannot leave without sharing the wonderful moment that came to us on Wednesday during the Impeachment Inquiry. Ambassador Gordon Sondland had just delivered a morning's worth of sworn testimony that would have sunk a dozen other administrations. He had thrown the entire Trump Administration under the bus. The reaction of ranking Republican and cow lover Devin Nunes, GOP House counsel Castor and chief tool and sex abuse enabler Jim Jordan is priceless! A video for the ages:

And if all these amusements have not done the trick for you, keep in mind the words of the great Comedy Zen Master, Harpo Marx:

Where The Avalanche Is Headed

The time between Veterans Day and next year's Baseball Season Opener will be remembered as Donald Trump's Terrible, Horrible, No Good and Very Bad End of His Presidency. And though there will be times when President Screamy von Poutface and his sleazy sycophants seem to be gaining the upper hand, he will be relentlessly hammered into submission from a variety of circulating fronts.

Let's examine how this proceeds...

IMPEACHMENT. Right, this is obvious and definitely will be happening, 100%.  Ever since the news broke two months ago regarding the curious phone call Trump made to Ukrainian President Zelensky, an intractable avalanche of impeachable evidence has been piling up. I won't bore you with the details, except that the basis for Impeachment is firmly established and is growing.

Public hearings start next week. This should last into December. Articles of Impeachment will be presented for a House vote before Christmas. A Senate trial will begin sometime in January. It could last for several weeks, depending on the number of Articles approved and the witnesses to be called. And because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will establish the trial rules, the Dems need to work hard to avoid his obstacles.

Sometime between the Ides of March and Opening Day, the Senate will have voted. Trump will be acquitted, probably in a nakedly fact-free and partisan fashion, although there will be a few Republican defections. It will be close.

But that doesn't matter. He will be royally hosed. For why that is, let's look at what else is happening, apart from the Impeachment drama. Some of the following will simply pester the President. But others could debilitate. (Note: any of these that are Federal Department of Justice investigations will likely be hampered or delayed by Attorney General Bill Barr. However, he has his own difficulties ahead. When he is gone, these investigations will proceed.)

The Unredacted Grand Jury Testimony from the Mueller Report. There are lots of juicy items here. Not to be forgotten are the 10 specific Trumpian events that were highlighted as Obstruction of Justice material. There will be oh so much more. These instances can be used to prosecute Trump and allies after he leaves the Presidency. Also, some secret memos obtained via FOIA lawsuit already have been released. They don't look good for Team Trump at all. Judge Beryl Howell ruled to release all GJ testimonies to the House Judiciary Committee. Status: Release is stayed, pending appeal.

The Mazar accounting firm.  Trump's financial records are held by this firm. They have been ordered to turn over everything, including taxes, to the House Oversight Committee. Now Trump's lawyers are preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court. Should be interesting.

Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Following subpoenas from the House Financial Services and Intelligence Committees, Deutsche "and others" handed over thousands of documents. These involve Trump and his adult children. Since then, Deutsche revealed it had some of their tax returns, and would wait for a court order to send everything else to the House. Status: on appeal with the Federal appellate court in NYC.

Emoluments Clause To paraphrase Chico Marx, there ain't no such thing as a Sanity Clause, but there is an Emoluments Clause to the Constitution. This involves the unconstitutional payments to Trump from foreign entities staying at Trump properties, like his DC hotel and Mar-a-lago. Also involved is the question of compensation to Trump by the Federal government. Three lawsuits against him are in the Federal appellate court pipeline. Two of them will see some action next month.

Roger Stone's witness tampering and Lying to Congress trial The circus is in town here in DC. Stone's trial started yesterday and it's already wild. Why is it important? It implicates the President with Wikileaks, stolen emails and Russia's involvement in the 2016 campaign. And much more might be revealed with the release of some unredacted testimony from the Mueller Report that is being used as prosecution's evidence.

Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal and Michael Cohen and David Pecker Wow, what a Plato's Retreat combo! The SDNY investigation into Trump's hush-money payments to two former paramours was suddenly "concluded" this summer, prolly by Bill Barr. But Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for lotsa financial records. And the House Judicial Committee was poised to investigate last month, but its docket was cleared because of the silly Ukrainian business. It will proceed later.

Jean Carroll, Summer Dervos defamation suits, and the 25 sexual assault accusers These women are not vanishing from TrumpWorld. Carroll, who accused Mushroom Man of sexual assault, has sued him for defamation. So has "The Apprentice" contestant, Summer Dervos, who recently established via phone records that Trump was where she claimed he was when he was. As for the others, well, here's an update:  https://www.businessinsider.com/women-accused-trump-sexual-misconduct-list-2017-12

Inauguration Committee corruption One of the least known scandals involves Trump's Inauguration Committee. Lots of questions about the huge amount of monies raised versus the not so huge monies spent. Where did it all go? Who donated? No foreign money is allowed!! The SDNY feds have been going over thousands of documents, but it's possible that Bill Barr's coverup hand is at play here.

Trump taxes and IRS   Yet another variation of on a theme. But this involves an IRS whistleblower who claims that "political appointees" prevented a proper audit of Trump's taxes. Hello, Steve Mnuchin?

Trump Foundation  A New York judge announced today that Trump & his kids need to pony up $2 million to various non-profits because of their fraudulent use of the family foundation. It's not much, but it's something. It should be hugely humiliating to them all, but they are sociopaths, so there is that.

Saudi Arabia -- nuclear program for sale, MBS/Kushner and Khashoggi 
Oh jeez, Turkey knew we gave the green light to arrest (and then kill) Jamal Khashoggi? And then used this info as blackmail to get U.S. troops out of their way in Syria? What a spectacular speculative stew!! Well, who knows? But there seems to be a ring of truth there. And though Trump is a key player in all these shenanigans, the main actor is Boy Wonder-In-Law Jared Kushner. His BFF, Saudi ruler MBS, helped secure the miracle billion-dollar loan that saved Kush's bacon with his  666 5th Ave. building. There is so much juice here that it will be impossible not to have various investigative entities circle like sharks.

Hoo Boy! I had to stop because there are so many other scandals out there I couldn't breathe anymore. Suffice to say, the President will have his non-Impeachment hands full through 2020. It will all make him an appealing candidate for re-election.

So now that we have a glimpse of why the avalanche is so big and wild, let's consider where it is headed. Taking the Senate Trial and the barrage of other investigations into consideration, here are my best guesses:

1) An acquitted President spends most of his time fighting off the on-going barrage of high-exposure legal battles. His base still adores him, but it is not as large as before. And the Independents of Suburbia are beyond soured. His approval ratings bounce between 25% - 30%. He is radioactive and doesn't become the GOP's 2020 standard-bearer. He stays on through his term, but his role as President is radically diminished, a figurehead.

2) A convicted President is removed by April. VP Pence becomes President... unless evidence shows he is involved with this toxic Ukrainian goulash, too. He might very well be. If he goes too, huh. Okay, you want some crazy, well here's some crazy: Trump goes, Pence goes and Pelosi is given the keys to the Oval Office. But she doesn't take it! She knows it could lead to violence from an unstable segment of society. Instead, she works out a backroom deal with the GOP to create a "caretaker" administration, helmed by acceptable "Never Trumpers". She remains Speaker of the House, with her heel on the GOP's neck.

3) Before the Senate Trial ends, Trump suddenly resigns - a bolt from the blue. Rumors abound: Ongoing health problems (this is probably legitimate). Didn't want to be convicted. Didn't want to be acquitted with overwhelming evidence, crippling his political life. Again, a Pelosi-led deal is forged in the background: Get the fuck out of Dodge right now and a Barr-less Department of Justice won't go after you for oodles of charges. He takes the deal and splits, setting himself up as a go-to Fox News "I'm The Victim" guy for years to come.

Woof. Well, the future is unknowable, mostly. However, The Daily Kibitz is doubling down on its past prediction that this will all end in tears for Trump, his family, his businesses and the GOP. People are going to prison. Lives and careers will be ruined. Businesses will be destroyed. Fortunes will be lost. Doors may even be pried open a bit to show us the furtive, corrupt world of Dark Money. International Crime Organizations and their Nation-State hosts might be better understood. What a fascinating time to be alive as our society slowly, but surely, changes its collective consciousness and develops better self-awareness.

Now, this doesn't mean the Dems are going to win Presidency in 2020. They can really screw that up. Watch out for a Trump-less GOP ticket of, oh, Nikki Haley and Tom Cotton (or some variation thereof) to power through the hidebound Electoral College. Trump may be gone, but the political mindset that put him there will still exist, and will be harnessed again. There is still a potent Last Hurrah left in the GOP. But the Dems will win both houses of Congress. They will be a strong check against the GOP Executive and Judicial branches. Meanwhile, the Trump & Co. revelations, along with state (and some Federal) prosecutions, will continue past 2020. They will continually erode the GOP's appeal to Independents. By Inauguration Day, 2025, it's a Blue Sky White House and Congress going forward.

Unless. Unless...  Here is David Frum's warning from his remarkably prescient March, 2017 article, "How Donald Trump Could Build an Autocracy in the U.S."

Trump and his team count on one thing above all others: public indifference. “I think people don’t care,” he said in September when asked whether voters wanted him to release his tax returns. “Nobody cares,” he reiterated to 60 Minutes in November. Conflicts of interest with foreign investments? Trump tweeted on November 21 that he didn’t believe voters cared about that either: “Prior to the election it was well known that I have interests in properties all over the world. Only the crooked media makes this a big deal!”

What happens in the next four years will depend heavily on whether Trump is right or wrong about how little Americans care about their democracy and the habits and conventions that sustain it. If they surprise him, they can restrain him.

OK, let's surprise him!!

A Meeting Of The Minds

You think you have had bad meetings?

Here's the set-up. The Kurds, our long-time allies against Saddam Hussein, al-Qaeda, Bashar al-Assad, and then as the primary fighters against ISIS, have been cut loose by President Trump. The Turks are crossing into Syria for some Kurdish "ethnic cleansing" using their Russian allies to help. The U.S. military presence that had protected the Kurds in northern Syria is abruptly done. Our soldiers have been ordered by the Commander-in-Chief to immediately abandon their bases and evacuate. Their compulsory haste is so great that they leave their facilities intact for Turks and Russians to seize. In fact, the U.S. has to order airstrikes to circle back and bomb an abandoned ammunitions depot rather than let it fall into Russian/Turkish hands!

It's appalling and humiliating and will set back American foreign policy and military credibility for ages. So, naturally, a meeting at the White House is held to explain things to Congressional leaders.

Trump starts by distributing and bragging about his tough guy letter to Erdogan (the one which the Turkish leader promptly tossed into the wastebasket and then launched his offensive against the Kurds). By all accounts, it is a meandering and braggadocios monologue.

Pelosi tells Trump that the House had voted 354 - 60 against his actions in Syria (including 123 Republicans). Shivving the Kurds has finally stirred up some GOP outrage. As Speaker of the House, she wants to know what his plan is going forward.  Let's let Nancy tell it: "Then the President said, 'Well, the reason I'm taking the troops out of Syria is because I promised in the campaign to bring the troops home.' My question to him was, Is Saudi Arabia home? Why are our troops going to Saudi Arabia?"

"He said, 'Well, the Saudi Arabians are paying for it.'

"Really? We're putting our troops in harm's way for Saudi Arabia? It just didn't add up. What it did do was cause a meltdown on the part of the president because he was unhappy with those questions."

She pressed him for his plan for the region, including how to contain a newly liberated ISIS. He responded, "My plan is to keep the American people safe."

"That's a goal, not a plan!" she retorted. After listening to Trump claim he "had captured ISIS" Pelosi explained that by removing ourselves from Syria we created a Mideast power vacuum for Russia to fill - a long-time goal of theirs.

"All roads with you lead to Putin." Ka-bloowey!!

During Trump's meltdown he called the Speaker of the House a "third-rate politician." He claimed that there were communists in Syria, "so you (Democrats) should like that." After House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer voiced, "This is not useful" he and Pelosi stood to leave. "Goodbye! See you at the polls!" yelled President Goombah.

(For a nice short rundown on this lovely exchange, check out the Associated Press's reconstruction, using "anonymous sources." It's really good:   'See you at the polls'

So... The picture of Nancy P standing up to Trump is going into the history books. It will be the  emblematic moment when a person - a woman - finally had the balls to confront The Mad King face to face. And the cracking sound of the Titanic's hull just got louder.

Honestly, just look at the expressions from the Trump side of the table. I've seen these kind of downward-cast facial sets before. We all have. It's when something is being said that you know to be true, and you can't even raise your eyes or voice because you know you are in the wrong.

Even the bust of Benjamin Franklin looks honked-off. He's there along with a painting of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence (they seem to be hailing her).  And in the Oval Office, there are portraits of Washington, Hamilton, Jefferson and Jackson. They are not pleased with President Occupant, either.

After hearing Pelosi refer to his "meltdown" the President had this picture tweeted out with typical disparaging language, claiming that she had had the meltdown. And in her own Queen Boss fashion, Pelosi now uses the picture as the header for her own Twitter account:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Twitter account

Standing up to the bully. Telling truth to power. He must hate her as much as he fears her.

The next several months will be filled with plenty of deranged Trumpkin pushback. It will seem at times that he will succeed. He does not lack for ridiculous, powerful and loud supporters. But his ship has begun taking on water, and as the boat starts to list, those voices will diminish. It looks like the stars in their courses have begun to align. And this image will forever be associated with what is to come.

When The Mad King Falls

Lightning has struck Trump's Tower and it's teetering with a wobble befitting a Jenga structure. It's been an awful month for the President. The "champ" has been staggered with a self-inflicted blow and is on the ropes. We can speculate on what happens next, but who could have predicted what has happened up to now? (I've already been wrong a number of times as the crazy carousel careens.)

Why did President Goombah think that it was a good idea to release the 'nice country you have here, shame if something were to happen to it' Ukrainian phone call summary? Did he really think that it would exonerate him like he said? Did he really think that it was a "pitch perfect" conversation? It might have been the best option of actions. Or... he really believed it exonerated him. When considering anything about Donald Trump, I've maintained that he always believes what he says is the truth - or should be.

This mindset has been ever-present. But the quality of the mind has been in decay for some time. And now it has become the subject of serious mainstream public conversation.

Some shocking comments were made a couple of weeks ago from White House staff and advisors: "His mood changes from one minute to the next... he's losing his shit." "You should ask a psychiatrist about that." "I think the president is in severe mental decline..." "You're basically stuck looking after a 4-year-old now." Read more in this amazing Business Insider article:

"He's deteriorating in plain sight"

"My father was born in a very wonderful place in Germany." His father was born in the Bronx. (His grandfather was from Germany.) He called Venezuela a company, and Tim Cook "Tim Apple". These and other nuggets form the grist for alarm among psychiatric experts. From earlier this spring:

"Mental Health experts warn Trump is in decline"

Understanding the state of his mental health is "Trump's Rosetta Stone." "(His) disordered personality - his unhealthy patterns of thinking, functioning, and behaving - has become the defining characteristic of his presidency. It manifests itself in multiple ways..." Read more about these multiple ways in this terrific piece from The Atlantic by former GOP White House advisor Peter Wehner. It is damning:

"Donald Trump Is Not Well"

Some more examples of his disordered personality and ebbing physical health are highlighted here from the last two weeks or so:

From the United Nations:
He sounds terrible

More from last week:
Others agree - he looks and sounds awful at U.N.

His return from a campaign rally earlier this month:
Trump looks terrible

You want some more? Well, here's some more:

He forgets the name of his son... and that he is the father.

Talking about China tariffs:
Struggles to make sense

Aaron Rupar's wrap-up of wild statements earlier this month:
A deep hodge-podge of crazy talk from two weeks ago

Allow me to introduce you to Tom Joseph. He's an interesting guy. I don't think he's always right and he can exaggerate.  He's definitely not a doctor. But he does have much experience with Dementia victims and his observations are useful. This thread was made in May and things have only gotten worse since then. I don't think he's wrong:

Tom Joseph twitter, following Trump possible dementia

So what are we really looking at? Trump has been a shady grifting mobster-channeling bully all of his life. His moral compass has no True North and spins madly around, inducing vertigo for the rest of us. His character is dedicated towards self-benefit at all costs. He's been a severely flawed man since he left boyhood. His genius has been in marketing himself as a colossal success story while hiding the ugly truth back stage.

But now his real self can't be contained and covered up.

Malignant Narcissism is not a formally recognized disorder diagnosis, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. But most in the psychiatric field recognize it as an unfortunate combination of two psychological disorders: Narcissism Personality Disorder and Anti-Social Disorder. This list of symptoms for both disorders are revealing. Read and think about President Goombah:

NPD occurs on a spectrum and involves a range of symptoms. The DSM-5 lists nine traits that help identify NPD, but only five are needed for diagnosis. 

Common symptoms of NPD include:

• grandiose fantasies and behavior, such as a preoccupation with thoughts of personal success, power, and attractiveness or sex appeal
• little or no empathy for other people’s emotions or feelings
• a significant need for attention, admiration, and recognition
• an inflated sense of self-importance, such as a tendency to exaggerate personal talent or achievements
• a belief in personal specialness and superiority
• a sense of entitlement
• a tendency to take advantage of others or exploit people for personal gain
• arrogant or conceited behavior and attitudes
• a tendency to envy others and believe others envy them

and for Anti-Social Disorder,  one needs at least 3 from these to qualify:

• disdain for authority and social norms, shown by continued illegal or lawbreaking behavior
• a pattern of deceit, including exploitation and manipulation of other people
• reckless, impulsive, or risky behavior that shows disregard for personal safety or the safety of other people
• little or no remorse for harmful or illegal actions
• a generally hostile, irritable, aggressive, restless, or agitated mood
• a pattern of irresponsible, arrogant, or disrespectful behavior
• difficulty planning ahead

Now let's take a look at Dementia symptoms:

Mayo Clinic symptoms of dementia

-- Memory loss

-- Difficulty communicating or finding words

-- Difficulty with visual and spatial abilities, such as getting lost while driving

-- Difficulty reasoning or problem-solving

-- Difficulty with planning and organizing

-- Difficulty with coordination and motor functions

-- Confusion and disorientation

-- Personality changes

-- Depression

-- Anxiety

-- Inappropriate behavior

-- Agitation

-- Hallucinations

And here is a fun list compiled by our friend Tom Joseph. Yes, this is mostly true stuff:



Jeez. Combine Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Anti-Social Disorder, plus add an increasing level of Dementia and we have a clear and present danger in the Oval Office.

All of this is incredibly concerning, of course. What makes it all the more alarming is how his base, the most dedicated of followers, perceive things:

"Malignant Normality" is a term popularized by Dr. Robert Jay Lifton in a study of Nazi doctors and the German public. According to a group of psychiatrists called "Duty To Warn", it occurs "when a segment of society sees reality through the skewed lens of its leader. Its in full bloom. Norms are shattered. Previously unthinkable behavior is routine. Guardrails disappear. Democracy decays. Mental health has to be more of the story."

I believe this to be very much a part of our current story. And for this skewed leader, we've seen and heard rumblings and actions from behind the curtain. Former Assistant Director of Department of Justice Rod Rosenstein, Robert Mueller's boss, tried to get the Cabinet to enact Trump's removal through the 25th Amendment (he says he was joking, and was joking when he said he would be willing to wear a wire to meetings with the President, ha ha). There was the infamous Anonymous Letter to the New York Times that described high-level staff's concerns about Trump and how he is "managed". And there was the more-relevant-than-ever quote from Nancy Pelosi following a brief, strange and abruptly-concluded meeting with the President in May:

Pelosi: "Again, I pray for the President of the United States. I wish that his family, or his administration or his staff would have an intervention. Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence."

Reporter: "Your prayer comments almost suggest you're concerned about his well-being."

Pelosi: "I am."

Something else to consider: Trump made his now infamous phone call to the Ukrainian President the day after Robert Mueller testified to Congress about possible collusion with Russia. His mindset is cast. He doesn't care about consequences, because everything he thinks and says is the truth, no matter what. His mind and body are a toxic vessel of supreme dysfunction. He is unfit for office.

Now for the real speculation:

We all know about the call and the Whistleblower complaint and a path for Impeachment action is being drawn. Already we see super-shady stuff like White House lawyers being instructed to move telephone transcripts to a highly-classified cyber "vault", where no prying eyes would see them. We hear that this is not the first time such a transfer was made. There is much DC conjecture about transcripts regarding Saudi Arabia/MBS and the Jamal Khoshoggi murder; Putin and anything/especially the Helsinki meeting; and North Korea conversations. It's an investigative Holy Grail of sorts.

Those who may be in immediate jeopardy are White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and probably former White House counsel Don McGahn. Others who are going to feel real repercussions include Secretary of State Pompeo, Attorney General Bill Barf,  and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner. A possibility is Vice President Pounce. And, of course, our Chief Executive.

I've seen this all as a five-act play. Act One - The Election. Act Two - The First Year. Act Three - Mueller. Act Four - "I got away with it." Act Five - Rectify. Act Five seems to be underway. We will know it's drawing to a close when people like Paul Manafort start singing from prison and Kelly Ann Conway jump ship. It may all happen much faster than anyone thinks. I'm calling it here: Impeachment Articles will pass the House by mid-December, Senate Trial begins mid-January, Senate Vote by the Ides of March. Trump is acquitted by a very, verrrry thin margin. But it doesn't matter. He's been fully exposed and is toast, except for the die-hard 35% base (which may even shrink a point or three). The GOP will work behind the scenes to remove him as their 2020 nominee.

Let's see what happens!

Not the Sharpie-est tool in the shed.

It can be difficult to assess the most inane and ridiculous news story of the not-yet-completed year, but this is surely it. "SharpieGate" fully captures the malignant narcissistic drive of our Sociopath-In-Chief. It also reveals a couple of other themes: to what lengths sycophants will go to accommodate this nitwit's resistance to admitting a mistake; and how Trump's staff is handling his public persona.

As you probably know, SharpieGate began last Sunday when President Trumplethinskin gave a brief public statement regarding Hurricane Dorian and its projected destructive path. He warned the state of Alabama to brace for the hurricane's impact. The problem was that Alabama was not on the projected path of the storm.

And so throughout this week, Trump has been ridiculed for his mistake. But Trump being Trump, he can never admit error, and so he predictably double-downed. Yes, Alabama WAS SO in the path! Yes, it was, TOO!! Cascades of incredulous media responses showed the hurricane path map from last Sunday, which clearly showed that Alabama could relax: Dorian wasn't coming anywhere near it.

All this served to boil over Trump's anger like the lidded pot that contained the bunny in "Fatal Attraction". It was a full-on tweet offensive all week. He couldn't let it go. And by insisting he was right the whole time, it enabled many to check out the story (which would have died and gone away in the 24-hour news cycle, like most of his Trump transgression stories) and see what a doofus he is.

At best, Trump's Alabama blunder was predicated on a previous Wednesday projected map which included a small portion of southeast Alabama. Maybe it stuck in his head (hard to imagine anything sticking in there). Or, probably, he simply used that outdated forecast map when he made his Sunday statement, instead of using the most up-to-date map.

Then on Wednesday, September 4, Trump presented to a breathless nation his now infamous Sharpie forecast map of Dorian's path, calculated on Thursday, August 29. Added onto the NOAA's "cone of possible storm path" was an additional black outlined bubble that was drawn to include far southeast Alabama. He claimed he'd been told that 'Bama had a "95% chance of being hit".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/04/president-trump-shows-doctored-hurricane-chart-was-it-cover-up-alabama-twitter-flub/

Of course, this wonderful image of a Sharpie-created outline where no NOAA forecast existed laid the Prez open to a tsunami of ridicule. "SharpieGate" was created!

And because it's well-known that Trump favors using a Sharpie over a crayon or any other writing instrument, speculation rose that he had created the Alabama bubble of projected destruction.

All this gave birth to a remarkable and really splendid barrage of memes. (My favorites will follow what comes next here...) And it's important to note that he was carrying forth with this defense days after Dorian had moved up the Florida coast towards the Carolinas. Everything was about Alabama. Everyone else, not so much (also, Bahama's apocalyptic event - no word on US assistance yet).

Today, there are reports that the NOAA upper management has now backed Trump's assertion that Alabama lay in the path of danger. NOAA climatologists and scientists are aghast and appalled. But it becomes very clear what happened. The NOAA spokesperson is a Trump appointee... and had been a member of his Trump Inaugural Committee. 'Nuff said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/07/noaas-support-president-trump-over-its-own-scientists-provokes-mass-uproar-weather-community/

So there is the sycophant angle, which is sadly predictable. But what is really interesting is how Trump is being managed in his public appearances. His stupid, if brief, public bellowing about Alabama have been among the few Real Time show-ups that he's done recently. In fact, over the last 10 DAYS he has accumulated just 2 HOURS of public exposure. Something is seriously wrong with this dude, and I don't mean attitude-wise. There might be a real health-related issue that is requiring significantly limited and managed exposure to The Outside World. More on this for the next Kibitz.

But now, as promised, here are my favorite SharpieGate memes. Enjoy!!

Oh, this could go on forever. Until next time...