Not So Peachy Keen

My head has been spinning over the past couple of weeks. Ever since Nancy Pelosi finally pulled the trigger and decided to pursue impeachment proceedings, it has been as if the floodgates were opened. New revelations of additional examples of the Trump administration's systematic abuse of power and obstruction of justice have been almost nonstop.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ever obedient to his master, blithely trashed and trampled on the institutional integrity of the diplomatic corps (again) to repurpose U.S. foreign policy to pursue not U.S. national interests but conduct oppo research for the president's 2020 election campaign.

Simultaneously, Tutti frutti Rudy Giuliani plunged, snake-like, into the bottomless muck of Ukraine's oligarch-controlled political netherworld to snake out some filth on Joe Biden, Trump's potential Democratic opponent in 2020, and Hunter Biden, who engaged in a little slimery of his own a few years back, serving on the board of directors of a shady, oligarch-controlled natural gas company.

Not content to live in the wreckage of his past, President Trump commissioned Attorney General William Barr to jettison whatever professional reputation he might have had left to jet around Europe in hopes of discrediting the Mueller Report. Rather than leave this task to the former federal prosecutor whom he had assigned, Barr insisted on taking the lead himself.

Meanwhile, other whistle blowers have begun to come out of the woodwork to corroborate the initial one's 7-page report to the National Intelligence Council's inspector general. That means that the White House will have to ramp up and extend its deny-deflect-trash-and-smear efforts, all the while bulldozing over the rubble of America's norms of governance.

It's all almost like some sort of twisted child's story and, more specifically, like the nightmare beginning of one of my favorite's: Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. I'll give Speaker Pelosi credit, she's one tough customer, and she'll have to be. You never know what kind of slithery vermin is likely to crawl out of that gargantuan fetid piece of fruit. Although, you don't want to judge an insect by its slimy cover: the many-legged denizens, as in the original story, seem to only want to help Pelosi in her quest to get to the bottom of things and reestablish the rule of law.

Heat-Seeking Missle

I guess we should all be grateful now that John (I am the Walrus) Bolton has been unceremoniously shown the door. True, he was an unrepentant warmonger, always pounding his little fists and flapping his chicken hawk wings, squawking for regime change, nuclear strikes or obliteration of some enemy, real or contrived. But the idea that his departure means that U.S. foreign policy is now safely back in the hands of adults? Well, let me just say that I have some mighty primo real estate to sell you down in Florida.

As many have pointed out, the only real decider in this policy arena is Cheeto Jesus himself, and there have been several pieces written about how his various advisers serve as mere props to legitimize his chaotic, impulse-driven policy making. Still, there are those who have shown themselves to be more adept than others in maneuvering to influence the White House's halfwit enfant terrible.

Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, has been one of the few members of Trump's cabinet who has been mentioned as having an almost a preternatural knack for anticipating the president's brain fart du jour. Then, elbowing aside his rivals, he rushes in, like a "heat-seeking missile," straight up into the Donald's backside, all the while mobilizing the foreign policy apparatus to make it happen. He has shown even greater skill in providing intellectually specious bubble gum and tinfoil rationales to prop up the president's numbskullery so that U.S. foreign policy maintains a thin veneer of seriousness.

Before we get too excited, let's not forget that Mike Pompeo is a Koch Brother Muppet. His failing business survived thanks only to their libertarian largess, which also underwrote his election into the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, the Year of the Teabag. While there, he quickly made his mark by blustering about the nothing burger that was Benghazi and bellowing for U.S. military intervention in Iran. He is an unrepentant hawk who would happily see the U.S. extend its endless, needless global war on fill in the blank. The only thing that has restrained him so far from vocalizing such a vision has been his laser focus on pleasing his master in the Oval Office. I have little doubt, however, that he would push the president to plunge this nation into another dead end military boondoggle were such an opportunity to arise.

So, dry your tears for the man with the toilet brush mustache and start counting the days for when, G-d forbid, Mikey "the Missile" Pompeo finally hits his mark.

I Believe I Can...Puke

Looks like the jig might finally be up for two of the biggest super predators. I'm speaking of serial child rapists R Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein. Both were sexually exploiting and abusing girls in plain sight with only feeble attempts at bringing them to justice and holding them to account for their horrible, vile acts. Both have been protected by their wealth and connections to powerful allies. And, as a result, both have exposed the sheer hypocrisy of these allies, many of whom would otherwise have us all believe what great champions they are on this and other hot button social issues.

Well, not exactly all of them. There is of course, the crotch grabber-in-chief, Donald J. Trump, who has spent most of his adult (child)hood sexually bullying, assaulting and raping women. He has then used his daddy's money to hire a whole pack of shysters do the very same thing to these women again, this time using the legal system instead of his own underperforming member to "schlong" them.

Maybe that's why he decided to nominate Alexander Acosta, the former U.S. attorney, to be Secretary of Labor and ostensibly policy lead of the U.S. Government's anti-(sex) trafficking efforts. It makes perfect sense that Trump would put Acosta in charge after Acosta gave Jeffrey Epstein the sweetheart deal of the century to avoid federal charges of sex trafficking and rape, among others. After a mealy-mouthed defense of his spineless cave to this wealthy scion of the Manhattan "Masters of the Universe," Acosta finally did the right thing and resigned.

I wouldn't be surprised if it were Trump who told him to hit the road, if only because the Donald went on record saying he did the exact opposite. Trump is nothing if not consistent, because he always telegraphs when he's lying. In this case, when he said, "It was him not me," implying that the resignation was entirely Acosta's decision, my antennae immediately went up. Poor Donald. He was probably getting nervous that all this focus on Epstein and his sordid acts might flush out some more of Trump's own heinous history of criminal misogyny. Not that it would matter, since he's gotten away with it pretty much every single time.

Still, one can only hope the this time will be different. With both R Kelly and Jeffrey Epstein potentially being sent up the river to do some quality time behind bars, it would be nice to believe that the public might focus just enough of its attention on these two men's cases. If it does, Americans will realize just how endemic sex trafficking is, right here in the U.S., right in their own neighborhoods in many cases. And maybe, just maybe, they'll also begin to appreciate how these two sociopaths' impunity is only the tip of the iceberg for a justice system characterized by gross, systemic inequities.

I can always believe, anyway. I believe I can...puke.

It's No Joke

There was once a time, not so long ago, when a Supreme Court ruling meant something, when it actually carried some weight. The recent ruling by the Roberts Court against the Trump administration's efforts to include a question on citizenship in the 2020 census was the right one. Among other things, it called the administration's rationale for including the question "contrived."

What a perfect description of the Trump administration for nearly the past 3 years - contrived:

• the faux populism used to cover up the massive giveaways to the wealthiest 1 percent; 
• the righteous claims to drain the swamp in Washington, only to carry out some of the most brazen, systematic corruption we've seen since the Teapot Dome scandal a century ago; 
• the effort to bring back the coal industry as a justification for rolling back the U.S.'s incremental baby steps towards addressing global climate change; and 
• the fact-free claims of protecting national security to impose a Muslim ban.

So when the Trump administration claimed that it was adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census to better enforce the Voting Rights Act, you just knew something stinky just had to be there, festering not too far below the surface. Sure enough, first an estranged daughter turned over her deceased father's hard drives with troves of evidence of the GOP strategy to undercount people of color in the 2020 census. Soon thereafter, the Trump administration's Cracker Jack communications team began losing message discipline with different administration officials backing different rationales. And finally, once the Supreme Court ruling was issued, there was the President himself, babbling about the need to have the question to better demarcate Congressional districts and allocate appropriations. Oopsy!

One might have reasonably thought that this palm-smacking display of incompetence and dishonesty combined with the Supreme Court ruling would have deep-sixed this poorly planned and even more poorly executed ploy. With normal presidencies, yes, but as we all know by now, the only thing normal about the Trump presidency is the setting on the White House washing machine.

Nope. The deranged day-glo orange crotch-grabber at 1600 Penn Avenue wasn't about to let the rule of law get in his way. What Donny wants, Donny gets, all the while making a public spectacle to rile up his de-based basket of deplorables. It's his census survey, by golly, and he'll put whatever dad gum question in there he wants. Why he'll even be happy to to door-to-door himself, knocking on doors while his jack-booted ICE agents go knocking a few heads in the much anticipated round up and separation of immigrant families. It all has a familiar, frightening ring to it. So if you hear a knock at your door, be careful answering it. You never know who might be on the other side...and whatever you do, DON'T ask any questions.

Internment Camp Redux (and Rebrand!)

If anyone is having trouble keeping track of the number of asylum-seeking children who have been separated from their parents (yes, it's still happening) or of the steady decline in their safety and well-being, don't fret. You're not alone. The U.S. judiciary system continues to be just as confounded and confused by the Trump regime's continued attempts to circumvent the rule of law and carry on with its inhumane disappearing and warehousing of these innocent and now deeply traumatized children.

And before my fellow white liberal/progressive types start waving their hands like scarecrows, sputtering and fuming about how all of this debauchery of "American values" only began under Trump, well, all I can say is, you're wrong. Many of the conditions to which I refer - refrigerator-like temperatures, overcrowding, limited/no access to toiletries, basic supplies for washing and cleaning; insufficient supply of nutritious food; and conditions that make sleep near impossible - all began under...wait for it...

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

...under the administration of none other than the "Deporter-in-Chief" himself, one Barack H. Obama.

Okay, here's the obligatory disclaimer: I am not engaged in "what-aboutism." This fact by no means excuses either anything the Trump has done so far or anything it appears hellbent on continuing to do to these children. But can we all just please stop deluding ourselves that Democratic administrations were somehow qualitatively different (i.e., better) in their treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers coming from developing countries? Sure, there was a greater respect for due process, the rule of law and there was even a more efficient administration of justice in enforcing these laws.

But - News FLASH! - many of these laws were unjust and their enforcement robbed people of their dignity.

They were also part of the grand bargain the Democrats made with the white supremacist wahoos in their own party and those on the other side of the aisle to inure themselves from said wahoos' attacks along the lines of, "You're for open (insecure) borders and unregulated immigration." That sort of line would be a variation on theme of "weak on crime/defense/etc." attack line that has struck so much fear in Democrats' hearts and led them to do commit so many unspeakable acts of spineless pandering to white voters anxious about their racial status. And now that the 2020 election cycle is almost about to go into full swing - with Speaker Nancy insisting on a laser-like focus on healthcare and such - I don't see too many vertebrae being aligned and girded for this kind of fight.

Back to Trump regime's moral depravity...I just wonder how much hatred must be oozing out of these folks' pores such that they don't bat so much as an eyelash in carrying out these policies. I realize that these acts are but one small subset of their ever-expanding body of foulness, but for Pete's sake, these are children, many of who are mere toddlers. They were traumatized during their journey from their home countries, ripped out of their parents' arms by U.S. law enforcement and then thrown into enormous, caged walk-in refrigerators. The conditions of which are so mind-numbingly inhumane that you wonder if we are finally hitting rock bottom as a society.

I guess not, since ICE will only begin its nationwide deportation operation will begin tomorrow. As a dear friend of mine once said about another nation in dire straits, "I guess there's always one more swish in the toilet bowl." Flush twice! It's a long way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.!

Down the Hatch (Act)!

We're probably running out of special places down you know where for members of the Creep Show that is the Trump Administration. They are nothing, if not consistent, continuing to outdo each other with their outlandish examples of moral turpitude. No surprise, since they're only following the lead of the Immoral Twerp-Dude-in-Chief. Still, you had to be left just a little gobsmacked by the lip-sneering show of entitlement by Kellyanne Conway when she dismissed charges made by the (Trump-appointed) head of the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), who called Conway a "repeat offender" of the Hatch Act. N.B. That's the law that forbids federal employees from engaging in campaign activities while on the clock at their taxpayer-funded jobs.

Conway's response? Essentially, she told the OSC, "Hatch Act, Shmatch Act, you can kiss my hairy Hatch (Act)!"

Not to be outdone, and just to make sure they cover their boss's prodigious backside, Trumpista flunkies fell over reach other, rushing to embrace their collective sense of victimhood - an increasingly regular occurrence these days - to claim the OLC was violating Conway's first amendment rights. Hoo, boy! Where do we start with that one? This little whiny bit of legalish-sounded horse puckey from the same crowd that supported Trump's calling journalists the "enemy of the people"? This from the followers of the wannabe-dictator who enjoyed whipping up his supporters into a frenzy at his rallies and urging them to assault reporters? I don't have enough time or space in this blog to list the many examples where Trump & Co. have shown their utter disdain and disregard for the first amendment (and most of the rest of the Constitution, too, for that matter).

But never mind all that, let's just sit for a moment and let it sink in that Conway's act of audacious impunity is likely to go unpunished, since the Democrats, despite winning back the House, are too busy wringing their hands and fingering their worry beads to lift, well, a finger. Okay, okay, to be fair, Conway's lawbreaking is probably exhibit #3,024 in the long, running list of crimes committed by Trump and his Creepies, but still. Couldn't the Dems muster just a little bit of moral outrage. Would it be asking too much to call before a Congressional committee or three to account for her behavior? Can a committee chair get a witness? Nope, Trump has defied and ignored all of the subpoenas issued by the oversight committees.

Doh!

But besides, we're told, the Democrats have been much too busy passing and sending bills to show us just how much better they are at governing than the other guys. You know, all that policy and legislative stuff that we, the public, are supposed to be paying attention to? And what has happened to said bills? They get sent over to the black hole that is Mitch McConnell's Senate where they promptly are given a bullet to the head and die a quiet death without so much as a proper burial. 

Which is another reason why Nancy, Chuck and the gang refuse to begin initiating the impeachment process, because they fear Mitch going all grim reaper on their you know whatsits.If you don't think you win a battle and you don't feel like doing the work to increase the probability of winning, then I guess it's okay to just delay, obfuscate, look the other way, and hope history treats you kindly in a few decades.

Hello, Mcfly? Anybody home? Impeachment IS your Constitutional obligation, even and especially more so in this dangerous political moment in which we find ourselves. Indeed, the Democrats need to figure out how to do both more effectively, but sadly, it is becoming painfully obvious that undertaking anything other than what they consider to be a safe political slam dunk is nowhere to be found in the Democratic Party's wheelhouse. So much for the loyal opposition sucking it up and putting on their big girl (and boy) pants.

I've ranted and raved enough. Time to take a break. Meanwhile, enjoy the toon and happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there. Just be sure not to let your daughters grow up to be like Kellyanne Conway, because there might still be some room in one of those special places somewhere you know where...

Tirade Policy

Score another one for the Donald. Serial crises, the likes of which would have normally sunk most presidencies, seem to buoy Trump instead. Indeed, the formula is now well-known and familiar:

Step 1 - create a totally unnecessary crisis of your own making.

Step 2 - threaten and bully your adversary with demands that are completely out of the realm of possibility.

Step 3 - wait until the world bites its collective fingernails to the quick.

Step 4 -  back down.

Step 5 - claim victory for having defused the bogus crisis, regardless of actual costs to yourself or anyone else.

In this particular case, Trump decided to conflate immigration with trade policy, which carried some significant economic costs for his wealthy GOP enablers - so much so that GOP politicos suffered a momentary lapse of spinefulness and muttered and sputtered about swallowing these costs while making maximum effort to avoid provoking the Donald's infamous temper.'

And, to make this whole exercise all the more absurd, the details of the actual "deal" reached with the Government of Mexico turned out to have been negotiated months ago between Mexico and the U.S. It makes me wonder, "Was this all a distraction? What the <bleep> was actually going on while we were so focused on the scary possibility of rapidly escalating tariffs on our #1 trading partner?

The list is probably too long, and probably involves a mixture of gross corrupt practices, obstruction of justice, and evisceration of some critical cornerstone of one of our long-established institutions. Good grief, why does all of that sound so familiar It must be déjà vu all over again and again and again and again...I think I need a nap.