Epstein
Epstein debris is scattered from “Coast to Coast” and beyond. Yet, the Department of Justice only acts as a fool. Aside from releasing Epstein data files as Congress mandated, it has done nothing. It has been preoccupied with chasing persons the President does not like.
My guess is that the coordinated viewpoint of the interested parties (potential defendants) is to do and say as little as possible, as this will blow over. This is a bad bet.
Suffocation
National Debt Up. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that it will “balloon” to more than $56 trillion by 2036.”
And by “later this year, the federal debt held by the public is expected to surpass the size of the entire U.S. economy.”
Dependence on debt that eclipses annual economic activity is insane.
We need a debt commission that is bipartisan, deeply competent, and one with the mandate to come up with alternative plans for attacking our debt crisis. Yes, crisis. And a large part of the crisis is that we do not have political leadership in either the White House or Congress that is equal to the task.
More on those thoughts later.
Revelation
Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) was twice elected to Congress, retiring early this year. She performed incendiary vignettes that were at least loosely tied to right-wing populism, often saluting the President.
She retired the first of this year, proclaiming in part:
“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich, powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for.”
MTG was often the clown. But as she stepped down it became evident that while a clown she left the circus behind.
No
The Supreme Court last Friday, in its tariff decision, said in my words: The Constitution’s division of government authority is real, cannot be trampled, and that a bipartisan majority of the Justices will vote to uphold the Court’s independence and the Constitution’s integrity.
In the days and weeks ahead, the decision’s main points will be assessed with both spot and laser lights. Fair enough, as close inspection is certainly needed, but the larger and affirming message should not get lost in rivalrous parsing. Constitutional government, our bedrock, has a heartbeat.
The Royals
America, without a Royal Family, could take a lesson from the British.
The British Royals are, it seems to me, letting justice unfold in the proper venues in the case of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (AKA, Prince Andrew).
King Charles has succinctly stated the Royal Family’s viewpoint in what has turned into a criminal inquiry into the former Prince’s Epstein entanglement. Charles said, “They (the police) have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation,” after the arrest of his brother.
In the U.S., the President’s use of his pardon power highlights self-serving financial and political interests leading to pardons. Is it any wonder that Americans are looking for a leader who does not put power and money first?
Expensive Question
President Trump has, among other very expensive adornments, raised the East Wing of the White House to build an expansive ballroom. Importantly, he said that donations would pay for the addition. Will, as his power declines, the financial pledgers fulfill the pledges? Are the pledges a legally binding document? I’d say the “press” should inquire.
Artistic Landscape
I conclude, having just finished shoveling snow. Over coffee, I learned that the weather had produced a “bomb cyclone”. A vague memory recalls being told that cyclonic winds were 70 miles an hour or more. Oh well, performative writing is characteristic.
As I was shoveling, the landscape dazzled. I have rarely seen it more resplendent. So rather than dire this and that, maybe the accent should be on art, not inconvenience or worse.
And to those who decamped to warmer climes, you missed a real museum moment.
3 Responses
It is no longer the Justice Department. It is now the Pedophile Protection Department and is run by Mr. Trump. Ms. Bondi is an inconvenience at best.
Feel free to put this in your “Who Asked You” file, but… my thoughts:
Epstein — The potential defendants are betting that President Trump has as much to lose as they do, and that he will go to the wall to protect everybody. That may be a good bet, unless Democrats can flip the House and Senate in November.
National Debt — Our management of the National Debt reminds me of the fictional character (maybe in Catch-22?) who buys oranges for 12 cents, sells them for 8 cents, and says he makes a profit on volume.
MTG — She has said unforgivable things and remains a clown. MTG is attempting to re-invent herself solely for a return to politics. She’s not Saint Paul on the road to Damascus.
SCOTUS’s “No” — Constitutional government is indeed our bedrock. What’s remarkable is that three Supreme Court justices do not share that view.
The Royals — Too late. Charles’s shot came way after the buzzer. The Royal Family knowingly turned a blind eye to Andrew’s corruption and licentious behavior for decades.
The East Wing — The financial pledges may fall through, but the construction contracts are binding, so ultimately the American taxpayers will foot the bill. Nothing to see here, just move on.
Artistic Landscape — Get a grip, sir. You are too old to be shoveling.
Hi Al. I enjoyed you short, topical style of addressing numerous important topics this week.
I’d add that our DOJ is playing less the fool and more the tool of the president. It is a complete sham of justice and only the Lord knows who is getting away with massive financial fraud and criminal acts, aside from Trump, his family and his close associates.
My thought on the Epstein mess is that perhaps these horrendous criminals are hoping to wait Trump out, perhaps out of fear if they come clean, they become endangered species (like Epstein himself). My sense is that His former Royal Highness Andrew needs to watch every step he takes because what he knows can bury many others.
Marjory Taylor Greene is now learning what happens to Republican females when they speak out of turn or out of “school”. From now on, she would fit in well with the Dixie Chicks for her sortie into speaking truth to Republican power. She discovered the jarring truth of just how little she is valued by her peers on the Republican side of the House and the White House.
With the National Debt skyrocketing once again under Trump, Republican rank and file voters appear to have completely lost sight and memory of their beloved Tea Party activists’ intensive passion to control that ever growing financial burden on our future. Even as they wave bye bye to affordable health care, the first signs of trouble with their 2026 health insurance premiums are being felt. Yet the MAGA rank and file (and former Tea Party faithful) seem to be nonchalant because America has been made great again. Somehow.
The SCOTUS situation is perhaps even more tenuous than the abdicated Legislative Branch. Certainly it was a relief to see the 6-3 decision go against Trump’s tariffs. Yet our reality is that the validity of our constitution was just two votes from being washed away by the Court, which has already granted Trump authority to commit unlawful acts so long as they are in his official capacity as Chief Executive Officer, sworn to uphold the constitution he is seeking to undermine or overthrow.
I wonder if SCOTUS would have any trouble with Trump providing blanket pardons for those mentioned in the Epstein Files because, as he has suggested, it is so unfair to many good people.
The State of the Union Show was a stroke of demagoguery and charlatanism where Trump told every falsehood and twisted every fact possible in his herculean effort to excite his base. I thought he’d have had John Philip Sousa music playing in the background as he handed out medals and greeted the US Olympic hockey team (giving the goalie a Medal of Freedom Award).
Trump might as well have simply draped a flag around his shoulders during the oration. In his attempt to steal the patriotism/flag issue from the Democrats, just as he is stealing billions for himself and his cronies. Trump revealed the essence of his red, white and blue presentation. In his case, patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.