Thought for the Day...

How Many Times did a Russian Flagged Operation or Asset knock on the door of the Trump for President Campaign and whisper thru the keyhole they had terrible evil career ending dirt on Hillary Clinton?
A lot, quite frankly...too many times in fact.
And did anyone in the Trump Campaign ever once call the FBI on these Porch Climbers from Muscovy?
No.
In fact, Donald Trump like the stupid credulous pathetic man child he is, publicly encouraged the hackery....
So regardless of what is in, the Mueller Report (which will leak soon enough if it isn't legitimately released), we already pretty much know that that greedy hapless gruesome spirits around Citizen Trump are a treacherous lot and perfect reflections of their master's vile personality and worse value structure.
And that IS Collusion in every sense of the word to me.

"Bartender Makes Good..."

I like this girl, she is a "kick in the head" as the late Johnny Carson used to say.  Of course, the Sean Hannity's of this world are malevolently obsessed with US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the mere mention of her AOC acronym gives Fox News the Vapors and Laura Ingraham the delirium tremens.
But of course, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez would know all about the delirium tremens, she used to be a bartender after all.
It occurs to me, that the fugue state she induces in the whole rightical chic apparat is a function of her youth, good looks, her race and sharp little digital teeth.  Normally, a Latina Bartender is someone the Sean Hannity's of this world can safely patronize, ogle, dismiss or colonize, they have perpetual economic leverage over the Alexandria's of this world.  Until now at least, AOC has completely inverted that relationship, allocated power and refuses to rhetorically demure to anyone on the right.  As a consequence, they can't fantasize about her, she has taken control of that process as well, and all but called them out on it as the final indignity.

They can't fantasize about someone who has seized control of her own destiny, remember that...

These are people who want to return to the patriarchy ridden society circa 1963, what drives them crazy about Rep Ocasio-Cortez is she asserts empowerment by insisting on living in the 21st Century...

On Christchurch...

The Internet is a unique tool for self-segregation, you can literally imprison your own mind in grim grievance or dangerous utopian.  In fact thanks to the largely fictitious feeling of anonymity conferred by the internet, self segregation seems built into the process especially for those with strong resentments and grievances. The self segregated are furthermore vulnerable to suggestion, something that can literally be transmitted digitally. Mind you I cannot quantify that statement, but my gut tells me it is so.
So, the suggestible are self segregating themselves in an environment that magnifies dissatisfaction and strongly amplifies impatience and under certain circumstances, moved to homicidal violence.
For the most part, it is solo actors that are moved to shoot up Synagogues, Mosques and Churches, these are famously "soft targets" that offer the homicidally programmed actor the best opportunity to maximize terror without immediately running afoul of retaliation or escalation.
I could dismiss this as a sort of "digital cowardice", but for the moment I wish to dwell on the gruesome calculus that goes into finding a suitable soft target for a shooter who wishes to "Act Out".
Note the singular, shooter.
Thats my rough theory here, "digitally triggered" terrorists at least the wing nut variety, tend to be one-off actors, they rarely seem to have more than one possibly two accomplices, and those circumstances are exceedingly rare, the Tsarnaev Brothers being the notable exceptions.
So if these are solo-single  event perpetrators, predicting their behavior becomes...difficult since one and all, they enjoy the tactical advantage of surprise. Nonetheless, the model does suggest this is still critically a law enforcement model with respect to domestic rightwing terrorism.  This therefore is still a situation that favors rigorous enforcement of existing firearms laws, better definitions of soft targets and above all, better communication between federal, state and local law enforcement. Because at least we now know, what they are looking for...

D'ye know what I just luuuuuv about the current college admissions scandal?

For the first time ever, privileged overmonied white kid's college degrees have been ruthlessly "delegitimized" to the level of every person of color who has ever had their academic credentials and aspirations questioned or dismissed because of "affirmative action/rampant social engineering".

Seriously, my neighbors are heartily sick of my braying laughter every time this issue is reported on the evening news.

At least we can look forward to a rousing and entertaining round of criminal trials here in the Commonwealth alas the one thing we won't get is a rousing debate on higher education, why it's so expensive, why its become a placebo for income redistribution, will it ever produce better citizenry?

Oh and Andrew Lelling? The US Attorney, you heard it here first, a candidate for Governor...2022, 2026...wait for it I tells yuh.  Just remember where Bill Weld came from mah frenz...

My Favorite Controversy...

The current college admissions scandal has superseded completely Robert Kraft's evil thang for ill paid Chinese Sex Workers as my new favorite humiliating crisis...I just sit there and guffaw at the evening news.

Because time after time, we apparently have to re-learn a simple lesson, "Money Always Deforms Outcomes", the more money in play, the less likely an honest transparent result.  This ethos dominates politics and now its worked its mercenary way down to the staid reaches of college admissions...why is this surprising anyone??
Only in a country that worships wealth like a Carved Pagan Rock Godling, could ever dream up something as cynical and unsubtle as "affirmative action for wealth".
I won't go into my usual rant about "education substituting for the redistribution of income", that is officially he Bullshit the Legacy Kids foist on the poor commuting students with scholarships.
No I wanna laud those college kids who pointed out on camera tonight, that Lori Laughlin's kinder essentially used wealth and power to steal a pace in an elite college from an inevitably better motivated student.
Which is in turn, nothing but a perfect illustration of everything Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders et al are talking about on the campaign trail, its like the Oligarchy is giving them the sword!

I think, before the din becomes deafening...

it ought to be said that when Speaker Pelosi says "it isn't worth it" to impeach President Trump she means she'd rather not make the effort to get impeachment resolutions thru the US House only to hand the President an acquittal in the subsequent trial in the US Senate.
Impeachment is a political act, removing the Chief Executive lawfully and constitutionally requires the balance of forces be in the prosecution's favor, right now Trump is down to the shittyest lawyers in DC AND Senator Mitch McConnell as his last line of defense.  The President's attorney's are all utterly hapless, but McConnell is skilled political fixer, an impeachment trial where he controls the majority to say nothing of a robust plurality is to guarantee acquittal for Trump.
Acquittal in turn, would be tantamount to vindication and a pardon in the degraded legal estimation of the Trump admin, it also takes certain legal markers off the table.
No, Speaker Pelosi is being realistic, sometimes that is just hard.  If the wind shifts, and sooner or later it will, she will change up accordingly but right now she doesn't have the horses.

Netanyahu is in the Fight of His Life...

Again...but the currently Likud's wing nut coalition is very much in a fight to the finish in next month's Israeli Parliamentary Elections despite PM Netanyahu's indictment on various bribery charges.
Say what you like, but Netanyahu has a genius talent for survival, stitching together dubious coalitions with twitchy weirdoes with a pending expiration date seems to be his political specialty. I give the guy even odds next month, even though I do have a feeling the corruption charges are very much a "Sword of Damocles" hanging over his head.  So my prediction is, Bibbi squeaks back in atop a rickety coalition of witch burners and whatever passes for a Wowser in Israel but will be forced to resign within a year, forcing yet another spin of the wheel.  In fact I think the "succession derby" will paradoxically commence as soon as he is re-elected.

Context...

For Sheer Continent Destroying Ego, no one could ever beat Napoleon Bonaparte, and yet when compelled to abdicate in 1814, the Emperor merely Kissed the Tricolor...this mook is spooning the National Ensign!