5 Thoughts for July 21, 2017

1. Fool Me Twice Shame on the News: I can't get it out of my head that a majority of Donald's supporters are blaming the news media for the bad news tracking Donald's lies. People who are honest with themselves and who lack egos, can identify their own blame in being fooled the second time around, but these folks are deep in denial. It's so bad, when Don Jr published his own emails and changed his story, these people pointed the finger at the news media and called it fake news.
2. The Shakeup is Here: In less than 24 hours, Mark Corallo, Sean Spicer, and Marc Kasowitz quit. Jeff Sessions has so far resisted despite the very public dressing down via Donald's interview with the NYT. That Sessions has resisted is fascinating, given that he had offered to resign months ago when Donald initially lambasted him for recusing himself from all Russian related investigations. I think Donald will stew on Sessions for a few more days before he finally loses it and fires Sessions. One big reason why Sessions has to go is that once Sessions is removed, Donald can then direct the acting AG to fire either/or Rosenstein and Mueller -- searching for the Robert Bork in the current line of succession in the DOJ. Priebus will be out, too, one suspects. Maybe even Bannon?
3. Pardons: Read this first. Let's say Donald issues blanket pardons to everyone under investigation. An irate Congress would likely compel these people to testify under oath, who, no longer requiring the protection against self-incrimination, can be held in contempt by Congress for refusing to testify or answer questions. Once held in contempt, Donald would issue new pardons for these new offenses. Ad infinitum. But in the meantime, this madness corrodes the White House and destroys Democracy along with it. Republicans are in a very tough situation, yet, most of them still can't see the threat Donald poses. It's a terrible, mind-blowing situation we're about to enter. It would be a comedic tragedy for Republicans if their delayed efforts at impeachment brought about President Bernie Sanders and the single-payer system in 2021.
4. HOA Board: Shit y'all. I just caught my HOA board in a lie. Well, I suspect that they may misunderstand a report that was prepared for them, then applied that misunderstanding to create a terrible rule. Nevertheless, what really annoyed me was that they asserted poorly-informed opinion over the facts that I presented to them yesterday. Lay people telling me about construction and materials, imagine that; worse, they already know my qualifications. Now, it turns out that the report they cited as the basis for their opinion, in fact, explicitly supports my posit of the facts. We all make mistakes, but not all of us can admit when we've made them.
5. Manchurian Candidate: The remake with Denzel Washington is available for streaming on Netflix. I watched it earlier this week. Just saying, it's available and it might make for a fun thing to watch on a Friday night in the middle of the summer of 2017. Friday nights are, politically, not for the faint at heart these days.