I have been working most of the weekend. My work always entails writing, either legal briefs or fiction. Thus, I have [more than] ample time to come over here, make a complete nuisance of myself, and dash out before lasting damage is done. Additionally, I have my electric TV on MSNBC every minute not occupied by Nova or big time sports.
I would really like to believe I am pretty-well informed. People around here are so perceptive that if one is just “up to date” on the hot diaries here, it’s hard for anything major to get by.
But, with this president, the definition of “anything major” becomes so desperately warped that there are all too many examples of major things that “slip through.”
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The weekend had plenty of important stories arising from the lunatic in the White House:
— Chris Wallace actually did a pretty good job of nailing Steven Miller to the wall, that’s kind of unique, and welcome.
— Trump called for retribution for SNL, and that is not welcome. We have already seen that MAGA-heads respond all-too-routinely to Trump’s violent nature.
— Adam Schiff states what many would think to be obvious, that “collusion” is hiding in plain sight. That is certainly true, after all, just because Trump invited Russia to hack databases in a press conference doesn’t make him less culpable than if he had done it through a secure network, encrypted, all that.
— I have even seen some fairly good reports concerning the fact that even Republicans are a little nervous about Trump declaring a state of emergency without — you know — an actual emergency.
Pretty decent cache of stories, there.
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So imagine my surprise when, desperate for a break, I click my ample ass over to The Daily Beast and find out that the president of the United States openly endorsed a call to jail the lawfully appointed, former FBI director, special counsel investigating whether Trump and Russia joined forces to interfere with our election. (Note also that this special prosecutor was held in such esteem as leader of the FBI that he was approved unanimously by the Senate for a 2 year extension of his term),
Yes, that is the man that Individual One apparently wants jailed.
A friendly effort to anchor ourselves to reality here. That actually IS the current “acting” president of the United States tweeting — endorsing — something Rush Limbaugh said, calling for the Office of Special Counsel “guys” to be “in jail.”
This is where we are with this man.
Moreover, this is not the lede headline blasting out from every newspaper and TV show in existence in this country, or the world.
Somehow, the president of the United States publicly advocated jailing the people investigating him — without naming a crime committed — and it is not the only story blaring across the airwaves and tubes de’ net.
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I could actually make a really good argument that characterizing the entire intelligence community as “Obama agencies” is an even greater inherent threat to our rule of law. Just goes to show how much raw outrage this man can shovel in our faces with every tweet.
It also shows that I only have so much time, and you only have so much attention. We will have to leave that be for now.
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I get it.
Really.
There is such a thing as Trump fatigue, it’s as real and serious as a heart attack (the subject of yet another fine diary posted of late).
It really is almost impossible to keep up with the outrages. I also suspect that Trump is getting some undeserved leeway because he merely “quoted” something said by someone else. It shouldn’t matter. It certainly wouldn’t matter to the MAGA-heads if Hillary were president. When one “re-tweets” something, it’s an endorsement, especially when one’s short stubby thumbs have to put the letters in all by himself.
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I was reading some comments in a diary over the weekend, people frustrated by the lack of urgency from Mueller. News comes out in drips and drops. Over the weekend it was that people at Cambridge Analytica had been called to testify or at least talk. The drip drop makes the waiting even harder.
Some, here, understandably, want something, an “interim report” or “Findings to this date” type of document. Given the magnitude of the issue, whether there’s a Russian asset directing our people in Poland to discuss war in Iran? Yeah, it is entirely understandable why people are frustrated, needing “something” to get the ball rolling to remove this man.
As understandable as the impatience may be, let’s all try to make this point every bit as much understood: Robert Mueller and his team have already put their very lives on the line by investigating this matter. Does anyone doubt that there is a MAGA-head out there who agrees totally with the Trumpian assessment that the team belongs in jail? Doubt that these people aren’t heavily armed and loosely-tethered to sanity?
There is also another constituency, one on the banks of the Volga, that would do anything to get this investigation quashed. And they kill for a living.
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Now imagine just one mistake — an honest mistake — made by the Mueller team, one that underlies a major accusation but proves to be unreliable or inaccurate. Imagine how quickly that mistake would be turned into justification to allege purposeful political attacks on the “president,” characterized as an attack on the Constitution, an attack on the “United States.”
Imagine A.G. Barr alleging that the Mueller team acted with criminal intent in “altering evidence” or “committing perjury.” Imagine just how ready 35% of the nation is to believe it.
Imagine all that next time we express our angst about the pace of the investigation.
Imagine a president of the United States expressing support for jailing those who dare to investigate him.
Imagine it not being big news.
And all that it means.
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Peace y’all. Love one another. It matters.
If you want to revisit better days, days when Obama was president, and a college kid saves the world, here’s a five star novel endorsed by many Kossacks