TWGB: Citizen Krasnov?

 

I'm just a simple, mostly reality-based blogger, and I have to admit, the "Krasnov" story about Trump being recruited by KGB in the 1980s both interests and concerns me. On one hand, I'm skeptical, because I remember the "Steele Dossier" dropping shortly before Trump's first term and well-enough after the election and coloring all investigation into the Trump/Russia ties in the public opinion with a hint of scurrility. 

In the public mind, everything regarding the connection between Trump and Russia was supposedly a little bit fake, because despite every nugget of fact that Trump did seem oh so very partial to Russia and enamored with Putin, we were supposed to not connect the dots and fail to acknowledge the evidence of our eyes.  The Republican US Senators who wrote the intelligence report on Russia's connection to Trump concluded they most certainly did help him in 2016. 

So, I get the game by now--let's call this a "limited hangout". Maybe there was an attempt at a KGB recruitment of Trump--after all, he subsequently did publicly downgrade NATO--what is up with that? 

Maybe Trump is just a dipshit who misunderstands NATO as, not a defense against Russian aggression, but a kind of protection racket. He is kind of stupid.  Is that so wrong? (For someone in the office of the presidency--it is so much wrong it is like a mirror universe, an "opposite day", an abortion of reality.) 

And what of Trump's business connections--oh, shit, well, here's the thing. Trump's good friend Rudy Guiliani oversaw the transition from the Italian to the Russian mob SOME PEOPLE SAY. Anyway, there's a good book about Trump business and mafia and mafiya connections from Craig Unger. Is it persuasive? Folks don't want to say--but me, I think probably.

TWGB: This Polished Coprolite

 

So, Monday I found myself thinking about Trump wanting and accepting Purple Hearts even though his probably fake bone spurs prevented him from actually serving our country when young when Trump stood in front of a backdrop of ruin and disaster and human tragedy--and accepted a french fry pin for doing a dopey photo op in a swing state from someone who for some reason decided that the way to handle Trump is to go the "Dear Leader" juche approach. Trump, while there, having disrupted relief efforts, defended his lies about FEMA that already resulted in the arrest of a man who threatened violence. 

It's really, really hard to imagine a shittier human being--but just watch! He gets shittier!

He since went on to say, in all sincerity to a person asking about what he would do regarding education that he would end the gender re-assignment surgeries that absolutely are not happening in schools. You can't get Tylenol in a public school without a permission slip. Teachers are buying crayons and construction paper out of pocket. And this deeply disturbed person thinks hours-long surgeries are being given out for free to minors? With no parental consent? And he said it all to demonize schools, teachers, trans kids. To spread hate as fertilizer for his own benefit.

It's beneath contempt to think that anyone takes this seriously. It's "children who identify as cats use litter boxes at school" level stupid. Anyone with a modicum of critical thought would understand why you don't say something that weird and wrong out loud where thinking people could hear--

"Hungary" for Turkey?

 

Trump: I was very honored, there’s a man, Viktor Orbán. He’s the leader of Turkey pic.twitter.com/h3vrIESVrF

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 23, 2023

Perhaps it's a little petty of me to note that Trump should know better and doesn't it seem just a little like he's...losing it? But--oh heck, This isn't the first time that I've pointed it out, and it won't be the last. He's not a stable genius. He's met both Erdogan and Orban. 

He also said in his recent rambles that he just realized that the "US" is also "us." Aw. He compared himself to Nelson Mandela and said he was never indicted? He's claimed Sidney Powell was never his lawyer.

He thinks the United States could also use an "Iron Dome". (This isn't a new one for him. He's obsessed with "the nuclear" and I think wants something like Reagan's "Star Wars" program. I firmly believe Trump knows more about STI's than SDI. Also, I want to speculate again that it's possible that somehow, some way, secrets about penetrating Israel's Iron Dome got around...hm? Trump is always projecting and telegraphing. He's the Edison of inventing his own reality.)

Oh, that's right, and he also wants to pull out of NATO. I know, it isn't entirely new, but it feels like he's trying to get Daddy Putin's attention again. 

The man ran for office unprepared and ignorant of what was expected of him, served for four years, and LOST GROUND in understanding what the job entails. Isn't it time that the media focuses on that? Sure, he's criminally deceitful. But damn.

Sometimes I think he's also just dumb.

TWGB: Finally!

 

Trump truly respects the Grand Jury that returned a vote for indictment on a whopping 34 counts against him, so I don't really understand what all the consternation is about, because they were definitely not a rubber stamp and extremely listened to the legal scholars. Are we supposed to believe this is a witch hunt now, after Trump already admitted it was no such thing? Honestly! What these good citizens determined was that Donald Trump should get his day in COURT to DEFEND HIMSELF against the charges and bring the evidence that the WITCH HUNT is VERY BOGUS AND BAD!

Am I being wry? Yeah. I just yesterday said Bragg might be pulling an okey-doke by making like the indictment was far in the future, and I've been talking about how this case is dead simple and also not--because Trump is very bad and his situation looks very bad. When I hear 34 counts, I know the Pecker vault is open and there is more to the story. But Trump's defenders aren't hearing what a normal person would:

Are we supposed to believe there is a two-tiered legal system where it is a White, politically connected male whole ass billionaire, who is disadvantaged by our current legal system? Like, is he definitely being served by one lone public defender who has no access to the media or any other venue but the court where this civil servant is working x number of other cases, and tries to make Trump plead instead of fucking up the court system for the next umpteen years instead of lawyers who for whatever reason think they are being paid to go on Fox News, OANN and Newsmax all the time to try this case in the court of public opinion and maybe create civil chaos? 

Yeah, that's mental. What Trump also has in his corner is R. Congressmen who have his back as much as they did during his first impeachment, his 2020 election loss (that they challenged) and his second impeachment. They don't apparently give a fuck about the law, the Constitution they swore an oath to just as much as he did and violated it or the very concept of the rule of law and the idea that no one should be above the law. 

But once again: are we supposed to believe that Trump is somehow the disadvantaged one here? The former president, the billionaire, the twice impeached, the admitted pussy-grabber, the seditionist backed by Putin? 

Trump Does Some Truthing on Truth Social

 

Trump would really like it if other presidential type people were in the same boat he's in, even though they are not, because they didn't try to Ocean's Eleven shit out of the White House to their own actual homes for reasons that could be truly nefarious indeed. 

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, George Bush--they all need to be raided like he was just to make things fair. Why didn't they get raided? Why was he singled out? How weird, right? Oh, he did take the documents--but is it fair that only he gets looked at?

This is a complaint worthy of a fussy baby. 

Why was he singled out? Why are they treating him like a traitor after he raised an insurrection attempt? Why are folks so mean to TRUMP? Why aren't they kissing his hand for the good things?

Long story short--he did steal docs and they were top secret and so on, and he wasn't even that good at being a president. 

He even raised an insurrection while lying about whether the votes were fair and correct. Maybe he earned extra scrutiny, right? 

Also, he doesn't get that there is a limitation to privilege. Such as one's immunity to civil suits. Or even one's ability to try and have things both ways: retaining (stealing) docs as being because of personal use or executive privilege: whatever works. 

Anyway, Trump acknowledges he took stuff and isn't that kind of like a confession?  And he's attacking the special counsel's family, too, so. That's greeeeeaaaaat. 

Where Does It Go From Here?

 

Ingraham: It starts with Marijuana but where does it go from there pic.twitter.com/uSMfpNvANM

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 7, 2022

I really love when conservatives try to wrap their heads around the concept of limited government like WTF? People will just be responsible...for THEMSELVES? Apparently. What stops the government from legalizing shooting heroin into your eyeballs? Putting rainbow fentanyl in your socks and calling it the Devil's pedicure? If we don't treat potheads like criminals, how will the drunks know they are better substance users? Where the hell does it go from here? Anarchy? Bloodsports? The PURGE! AAAARGHHHH!

Or, follow the math on this, people doing a drug not more harmful than liquor, which is already legal, get to have it and use it responsibly, and are only fucked up with the system when they violate the law high on their little friend. It seems equitable to me. 

But our conservative friends have a problem with the concept of equity. We just saw this with a court case regarding folks who wanted to cancel President Biden's college debt forgiveness because it would really benefit Black people. This is shades of a case that our newest Justice, Ketanji Brown-Jackson, entirely revealed the lie at, regarding whether reparative justice is still justice. (It is, for all the necessary reason to having an equitable society is, and equity is not a dirty word. We all have that nasty euphemism: skin in the game.) 

Sometimes a Flute is Just a Musical Instrument

 

Sometimes I struggle with the diagnosis of being "terminally online". I prefer to think of myself as only "critically online". What I do know is, as a blogger, I don't love that my blog muses occasionally insist on my dealing with whatever messed-up thing is going on with the Online Discourse. 

I try: "Please," I bargain. "Let me do other stuff. The Discourse sucks. The people are terrible. I hate it here."

And the answer I get is hollow, mocking laughter. "This is the price you pay for your remit: the culture, white supremacy, radicalization, misogyny. Do your thing here, or we won't let you do the other stuff." 

And there I am. 

So, for some reason, the right wing online freaked out because Melissa Viviane Jefferson, an American musician and actress known for her ability to play the flute, was invited to play a 200-year-old crystal flute once owned by James Madison that was being stored at the Library of Congress. That's right, a modern popular musician who has done as much for the flute lately as, I dunno, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull or Chris Wood of Traffik (look, folks, I am not young anymore and rock music only ever does so much flute) played an instrument that it would be a damn shame to never get played again, and the racists got all up in arms. 

My "favorite" dumbass comment is probably this one from some guy I never heard of named Pedro who was just openly racist:

He said "The thing that is obvious but people don't want to say is that this is about humiliating white people, about desecrating American history and heritage. That's what you do when you're a conqueror. Humiliate the conquered."

It isn't obvious. This wouldn't humiliate white people who weren't unrelenting racists. She's literally a musician playing a musical instrument. She's an American, She's respecting the awesomeness of playing an antique historical artifact. There was no conquering or desecrating. She just played a flute. It was made to be used by musicians. The entire world this terribly online creature lives in is grievance-based and for no reason at all. 

What he's saying is: she used the wrong water fountain. She sat in the wrong bus seat. He wants to take her existence as an accomplished musician receiving the opportunity to handle a unique object as an affront, but by doing so, can only point to her race as the reason for his discomfiture. Because that's all the outrage is. 

Searching for Sara Carter

 

A Fox News contributor, of all the people in the world, made a very bad mistake by amplifying a viral video purporting to be of a protester trampled under the feet of the "obviously" heavy-handed and tyrannical fascist government of notoriously insane and not at all PMILF Justin Trudeau. The woman is fine. Someone threw a bike at the horse and the horse is fine. Ted Cruz left a tweet up about how terrible this was for longer than the story lasted after anyone followed up, but I guess he's okay, but like, no, everyone check in on that guy because he's been way more signifying than usual and that is generally a sign of people being not okay in his world. like is he worried about liability for stirring up the crowd at 1/6 and his reputation stinking more than usual, because wow. Nice time to notice. 

So, the reality is, the pro-trucker crowd were denied their Ashli Babbit for the time being. For what it's worth, Sara Carter eventually dropped her story and Ted Cruz deleted his Tweet, but the idea that the response in Ottawa was trampling the FREEDUMBS of the protesters will live on, because that was the idea. Asking the Fox News audience to even consider the source is probably too much. Asking Fox News itself to consider whether running with this is definitionally journalistic malpractice is stupid when you consider Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity exist.

One People and One True Church?

 

So, bear with me, because Mike Flynn has spared you from my explaining why Mark Thiessen,* who employs Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to mean something along the lines of "music critics hate music" and fumbles around his actual Golden Rule refinements to create a general code of ethics (a categorical imperative) to imply that one of the most influential philosophers of the 18th century actually meant objective reality is bullshit so just make shit up as you go along to satisfy your needs--which might describe how Thiessen became a torture apologist, but doesn't really sort out how people experiencing actual privations came to identify the source of their privations and, by means of historical review, call them out. 

But I can switch off from the obvious bad faith train of somehow MSM-published and wildly intellectually bankrupt Thiessen, the Ed Gein of anti-intellectual elites: he dresses up in the skin of intellectualism to mock it. After all, we have people willing to actually burn heresies in the form of books--a bonfire of the vanities, if you will. Why use words at all, if fire will do? Look at the willingness of so-called conservatives to burn books. This is not just because of the backlash at education because of anti-CRT astroturfing, but also because they are concerned with children being exposed to LGBT characters and history. But it has been said that where people would burn books, they would burn people. 

So what does this have to do with Mike Flynn? Mike Flynn, recently suggested that the US should exist under one God. Presumably the Christian God. What does that even mean for non-Christians in MAGAland? Mike Flynn wants Christian soldiers for his version of the future of America. Which is an America in which the 1stAmendment means nothing and military law is always around the corner.