tingilinde

from a few months ago

A friend in England asked why Republicans in the House and Senate fell behind Trump and seemed to be more resolute with time.  Of course there are any number of conjectures, but here's what I offered:

Immediately after Trump’s election many Republicans in the House and Senate had to put on a mask. As time went on their faces grew into it.

 

independence day

Erdogan owns Trump. MBS owns Trump. Putin *really* owns Trump. American needs a new kind of Independence Day.

 

trump numbers

Mathematicians have Erdös Numbers.. maybe lawyers will have Trump Numbers.

Trump has the Trump Number 0

Anyone who has represented him directly has a Trump Number of 1

Anyone who has represented a lawyer with Trump Number N has a Trump Number of at most N+1

 

Conjecture:  In ten years all lawyers with Trump Numbers less than 3 will have served or will be serving prison time for their work.

 

now where have I seen something like that before?

A US Attorney General who doesn't understand the Constitution.  Here's Paul Krugman's commentary.

 

 

 

oh yeah...

 

 

as rural america becomes more rural

Distrust of government grows making Trump a hero no matter what. Education, opportunity and healthcare be damned. (via The New York Times)

snip

...

It makes me wonder if appeals from Democratic candidates still hoping to win Trump voters over by offering them more federal services will work. Many of the Democratic front-runners have released plans that call for more federal tax investment in rural infrastructure. Mr. Widener told me he had watched some of the Democratic debates, and his reaction was that everything the candidates proposed was “going to cost me money.”

Economic appeals are not going to sway any Trump voters, who view anyone who is trying to increase government spending, especially to help other people, with disdain, even if it ultimately helps them, too. And Trump voters are carrying the day here in Van Buren County. They see Mr. Trump’s slashing of the national safety net and withdrawal from the international stage as necessities — these things reflect their own impulse writ large.

They believe every tax dollar spent now is wasteful and foolish and they will have to pay for it later. It is as if there will be a nationwide scramble to cover the shortfall just as there was here with the library. As long as Democrats make promises to make their lives better with free college and Medicare for all sound like they include government spending, these voters will turn to Trump again — and it won’t matter how many scandals he’s been tarnished by.

...

 

 

lake char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg.

learning the fine points of gerrymandering

A leaked tape of a session in Texas.

Lessons in staying in power as a white suprematist group as American demographics change.

 

 

a homeless singer in los angeles

A remarkable story (via The LA Times)

a tip of the hat to sara

 

val broeksmit

Deutsche Bank, North Korea... Trump.  A remarkable story with some jaw dropping moments. (via The New York Times)

a tip of the hat to John

 

the nra was a foreign asset for russia

No surprises here (via NPR)  The NRA disputes this as one might imagine They really need to lose their tax exemption.

a tip of the hat to Sukie