The (doctored) Trump photo that needs to hang in the gallery of presidential portraits

He's accused of kicking a Wichita toddler and yelling racial slurs. Now he's free

What Was Your Favorite X-mas Present as a Kid?

Yep, it's time to take a stroll down memory lane. I will begin:

I had a lot of excellent presents when I was little, but the one that stands out the most is the one my grandfather gave me in 1979: a Millennium Falcon!!! You see, like many other children my age, I was fascinated by all things related to Star Wars. Oh sure, I had a few of the "action figures" (they were dolls, damnit!). I even had an X-Wing fighter with a single LED in the front that would light up when you "fired" its laser cannon. But the holy grail of all Star Wars toys (for me at least) was the coveted Millennium Falcon. You could take the top off to reveal the inside where Luke practiced his light saber skills! It even had the chess table where CP30 lost to Chewy! You could reenact those scenes to your heart's content! Very exciting!

I had no idea how my grandfather knew that the Millennium Falcon was at the very top of my needs list. Honestly, all that mattered is that here at last was THE MILLENNIUM FALCON!!! Later on I realized that, of course, my parents had clued him in. But for that brief moment I was sure he was a Star Wars fan, too.



So now it's your turn. What present most stands out in your mind?

He Just Wants a "Win" at All Costs. Nothing to Do With What's Right

I keep thinking about Bush Sr's "Read my lips. No new taxes" promise that came back to haunt him. And from what I heard on the radio during the funeral, it really did "haunt" him mentally. Think then of the difference between that promise and Rump's border wall promise and the difference between how Bush Sr handled his issue versus how Rump is handling his. No new taxes seems almost reasonable. It was not outlandish to conceive of a few cuts here and there (yes, I do know how Rs make cuts). Compare that to the completely absurd notion that we could have a wall extending across the entire length of our southern border and the equally absurd notion that Mexico would pay for it.

Bush Sr gave in. He realized his position was untenable. He owned up to his failure to keep his promise. He was ridiculed, but he decided that, in the best interest of the nation, he had to let go of his promise. On the other hand, Rump in entirely incapable of conceding. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN!!! In twenty five years, the R party has become so dissolute, corrupted, depraved, (add any of several pejoratives) that they placed a tyrant in the WH. This tyrant's sole concern is for himself. Ask yourself, "What does it matter to Rump whether or not he gets his damned wall?" It matters not a whit, save for the fact that he must get whatever it is he promised or risk ridicule.

Ridicule is Rump's kryptonite. His handlers allow him to see only those news reports that praise him (remember the two folders of praise they give him each day?). He refuses to watch anything other than Faux. Now that even Faux is beginning to doubt some of what he does, you can be sure he is tuning in selectively. We have a "leader" who is incapable of governing his own emotions, let alone a country. We have a leader who lets the most xenophobic, bigoted morans make decisions even if those decisions cause only great harm to our country.

*Note: In no way do I wish to endorse any damned thing Bush Sr did while he was president. My only point is to show the rapid decline of the R party and its full swing to ultra-ultra-ultra right complete with a tyrannical leader.

I am hereby formally announcing my resignation

Just in case I ever get hired by the Rump.

Who Wore it Better?

Methinks it might be a way of signalling the aliens in their mothership who is worthy for pickup.

The Flynn Recommended Sentencing Bullshittery Reminds Me of My Students

This is something I have only noticed in the last few years: the expectation of reward for honesty. A student will not hand in a paper on time. When I ask why, the response will be along the lines of, "I had to babysit my sister, and I just didn't have time. But at least I'm being honest." It's that last part I want to concentrate on here for a moment. Since when did simply being honest mean absolution of all wrong doing? I am an educator, damn it, not a fucking Catholic priest! If you don't turn in your paper, you get a zero. That's what you earned by not doing your job for my class.

So let's turn to the Flynn situation. He committed felonies! He committed them knowing full well they were felonies! So now that he has told the truth, both his counsel and the prosecutor feel that his honesty should be enough and he shouldn't serve any time? This simply does not make any sense whatsoever to me. For example, if I knowingly run over and kill someone but months later turn myself in to the cops and tell them everything, should I be let loose? I was being honest with the cops. Shouldn't I be rewarded for my honesty? Now, you may take the stance (as his counsel has) that the FBI did not inform him that he was being questioned regarding his Russian connections. Pardon me if I think that is the single most bullshittery excuse ever. To believe this would mean you have to believe the National Security Advisor had no idea that is was wrong to enlist the aid of foreign nationals. You would have to believe the National Security Advisor had no idea that he shouldn't lie to the FBI...ever...under any circumstance.

No Mikey, I hope for all of our sake the judge sees through this "reward for honesty" bullshittery and sentences you to the absolute maximum time possible. You deserve that.

A New Connection between the Gut and the Brain

Holy Crap! The Rump Might Be On To Something!

Need to Get Something Straight Regarding Manafort

He's facing sentencing for those eight counts he was found guilty of back in August. Now, supposing he was sentenced. Rump could pardon him. That does not mean he goes free. He still has the other ten or eleven counts that he could be retried for. He also has added a few in recent weeks lying to Mueller's team. Rump cannot do a damned thing about that.

My questions:

1. Supposing Rump pardoned Manafort for the first eight counts, how long could the courts continue to keep Manafort in jail before retrying for the other ten or eleven counts? What is a reasonable estimate? Another year? Two years? I'm sure they could find a way to keep him there for a very long time, but I want to know what is a "reasonable" length we could expect.

2. Obviously Manafort knows that the longer they wait the less likely it will be that his buddy Rump will be in office to pardon him. So what the hell is his game plan here? Maybe I'm being completely stupid, but it seems like he continues to shoot himself in the foot. Is there any way in hell he would risk a life sentence just to protect Rump? Or does he feel safer surrounded by guards because Pooty Poot has a vial of polonium with his name on it?

Has Anyone Changed Their Opinion of Bush Senior?

I will admit that these last few days have somewhat altered my opinion of him. There have been some interviews on NPR that have convinced me he was not quite as bad as I used to believe. Maybe I'm just becoming soft.