“Where every day is a wonderful secret”
Category: Heckuva job, Trumpy
Trump reverses stance on Epstein files, urges Republicans to vote for releasing them
I didn’t see that coming, but it’s the smart play.
The Democrats had set a trap for House Republicans when Trump was opposing the bill
If they voted to release, they risked Trump’s ire, and the possibility that he would primary them with a wild-eyed nutbag incapable of winning the general election.
If they voted against the release, they would go to their next election as a defender of pedophiles.
Either way, it was a win for Democrats looking forward to the mid-terms.
It was also a loss for Trump personally, since an estimated 100 Republicans were prepared to vote for release, against his wishes.
The Republicans tried to avoid the trap by calling for the bill to pass by unanimous consent, but the Democrats declined that deal, insisting that every Republican vote on the record.
The Republicans tried to spin that by saying that the Democrats didn’t really want the files released, since they offered to pass it unanimously. Nobody bought that line of argument, which was truly absurd, since Democrats were behind the release 100%.
Just when it looked as if the Republicans were trapped, and Trump would be embarrassed by an estimated 100 Republicans voting against his wishes, Trump came to the rescue by reversing course and encouraging them all to vote for it.
That was smart politics.
This move was just about the VOTE to release, not the release itself. He gave himself and the Republicans a slick escape from the trap. If he really wanted the files released, he could have done that tonight, on his own authority. He don’t need no stinkin’ vote.
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The question now is: “What is his next step?” Nobody can say at this point.
1. Will he try to keep the Senate from passing it or bringing it to the floor?
2. Will he ask Senators to pass it, then veto it?
3. Will he let the bill pass, then withhold the files because they are important to “an ongoing investigation”? (Thus using this or some other lame excuse to drag it through the courts for months or years.)
4. Has he already had his lickspittles destroy or redact everything detrimental to himself, and is therefore comfortable with releasing everything remaining?
5. Is he sincere about releasing everything, including items that embarrass him?
It’s probably not number 5, but nobody is sure what he plans to do. Stay tuned.
“Justice Department to Investigate Epstein Ties, but Not to Trump”
This is actually a brilliant chess move on Trump’s part, and the press hasn’t figured it out yet. I think that the news media have so far misinterpreted what is going on here. It has been portrayed as retaliation and deflection for the recent leaks involving him, and that may be true, but in fact, that’s not the real purpose, nor what makes it so clever.
The brilliance behind it is that the FBI cannot release files or evidence related to an ongoing investigation. They can’t even comment on it. By opening an investigation, he has created a pretext to keep the files locked away (probably forever), and for nobody in the administration to answer any questions about it. If asked, they can simply reply, “We can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”
Once again – a scam with a real touch of genius!
Oh, you poor, sappy liberals, thinking you will ever get your hands on those files! It’s so adorable!
Of course, the legislative branch may eventually demand their release. (I doubt that will pass in the Senate, but it’s possible). In the unlikely event that passes both houses and survives a veto, that will still result in delay after delay as the administration fights it in the courts. If it comes down to the very last resort, and the Supreme Court rules he has to surrender the files … well …
The Trump modus operandi has always been to delay, deflect, deny, delay some more, and then, while the delaying tactics are occurring, to destroy documents mandated under discovery, essentially daring the courts to do anything about it. This will probably play out the same. If Trump has exhausted every other tactic to avoid releasing all of the files, he can just order some loyalists to destroy them, and there’s basically nothing anybody can do about it once it is a fait accompli. (Just like the destruction of the East Wing.) You either accept it or impeach/convict, and I don’t see the impeachment route as realistic, given the lack of backbone among Republicans in Congress, and the need for 67 votes in the Senate.
Trump 2028 – legally and constitutionally
I think there is one completely constitutional way Trump could serve more terms.
It’s not the Vice-President loophole, because that seems to be closed by the 22hd Amendment, which limits who can be elected, and the 12th Amendment, which implies that anybody ineligible to run for President is automatically ineligible to run for Vice-President.
However …
The 22nd Amendment only limits being elected President. One can become President without running for the office (or running for the Vice-Presidency as a President in waiting). In fact, one can become President without running for anything at all, not even Congress.
Here’s how:
If the President and Vice-President can’t continue for some reason, the Speaker of the House becomes President. But the Speaker is not constitutionally required to be a member of the House. Traditionally, the House has elected one of its own as Speaker, but in fact they can elect almost anyone. The Constitution does say there are requirements to serve in the House, and being Speaker would constitute service, so the Speaker would have to be at least 25 years old and a citizen for at least seven years. That’s the only limitation. The House may choose Britney Spears or Mark David Chapman – or Donald Trump.
That means if two loyal Trump lickspittles are elected President and Vice-President, let’s say Don Jr and Eric, with the slogan “a vote for me is a vote for dad,” and if Republicans can hold the House, then the House can choose Trump as Speaker, the kids can resign, and Trump would legally and constitutionally be President again.
If the House turns blue, then Don Jr. is President (cough, wink-wink) but we all know who’s really in charge.
Former US president Ronald Reagan FULL 1987 speech on tariffs and free trade
The province of Ontario ran some TV ads quoting Reagan. President Trump claimed they were presented out of context and did not represent Reagan’s positions. He then imposed additional tariffs on Canada.
Here, for the record, is Reagan’s speech:
I started it at 1:14 because the introduction is about some era-specific squabbles with Japan. You can take it back to the start if you want to hear every word.
Here’s a transcript of the middle portion:
When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports.’ It looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works, but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is first homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens. Markets shrink and collapse. Businesses and industries shut down and millions of people lose their jobs.
This is for your information. I am neither endorsing nor refuting, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Reagan’s positions.
It is clear that the Ontario ads did accurately reflect Reagan’s position, whether it was right or wrong.
It turned into a ballroom blitz.
Schumer’s sternly worded letter is due to arrive Monday, but the East Wing no longer exists.
The project was obviously done on the theory that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Given the speed of the demolition, there is nothing anyone could have done to stop it.
On the other hand, I read on several sources that the construction of the future $200m $250M $300M Epstein Ballroom might not even be finished by the end of Trump’s term! You know he’ll try to push that though faster. Imagine his chagrin if the maiden use is for Gavin Newsom’s Inaugural Ball.
When Trump is right, he’s right
Sometimes he gets it exactly right:
There have been other occasions when he has not been quite as accurate:
Trump claims 300 million people died from drugs last year. (Only 62 million people died last year in the entire world from all causes.)
Trump claims he discussed the Unabomber with his uncle, who taught Kaczynski at MIT.
There are many things wrong with his claims:
1) John Trump died in 1985. Nobody knew who Ted Kaczynski was at that time. He was identified as the Unabomber about ten years later.
2) Ted Kaczynski never attended MIT, where John Trump was a professor.
3) Trump’s uncle was a brilliant man, by all accounts, but he had no degree in any of the fields Trump mentioned (nuclear, chemical or math). John Trump’s undergraduate degree and his doctorate were in electrical engineering, and his masters degree was in physics.
The real housewives of government
“I no longer love Tesler”
Bad break-up of the day:
- Steve Bannon suggested that Elon might be an “illegal alien,” and should be deported.
- Elon suggested that Trump is in the Epstein files.
Wait! I’ve seen this movie already –
Steven Colbert pointed out: “I’m starting to worry that two narcissistic megalomaniacs with a total inability to see value in other humans might have a hard time making friends”
This one is not a joke: Trump suggested cutting all of Elon’s government contracts, without thinking that Elon is basically America’s space program. Elon promptly reminded him of that fact by saying he could decommission the Dragon spacecraft, which would basically strand everyone in the International Space Station.