"the Sword of Damocles"

The GOP’s House Intelligence Committee report reads like a poorly composed crime fiction.

While it confirms Russian meddling in our elections, it also denies collusion by the Trump campaign (despite the growing body of evidence). (Encrypted back-channel?)

It is a purely political piece written by Republican members of Congress who fear losing the midterm election.

A well established corollary exists: The lower a president’s job approval, the more seats his party will lose in Congress.

When Democrats won their majority in the 2006 midterm, President Bush’s approval was 38 percent. When they lost it in the 2010 midterm, President Obama’s approval was just 45 percent. President Trump’s is consistently under 40 percent in.

What happens down ballot? Energy.

Energy in midterm elections determines borderline seats won and lost. An unpopular president provides a wake up call for voters in the opposite party.

In competitive districts that decide whether a party will hold a majority or minority in Congress, moderate members have to balance between their own party base and crossover voters. They can’t win with just one group - like Trumpians.

That’s the big problem for House Republicans in this midterm.

It explains the partisan report from the House Intelligence Committee. Republicans may privately grimace at Trump’s tweets, careening foreign policy, daily distractedness, and evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia in the 2016 election but they keep these cards close to their chest (money chest, that is).

Publicly the GOP has no choice other than to appear to support him.

But, they have to persuade swing voters to swing in the GOP direction or stay home on Election Day. The problem hangs over a current total of 62 competitive districts.

And, so, introduce the cognitive disconnect. "Alternate facts."

The GOP must disregard certain facts (maybe even calling them false) and buttress certain myths as alternate facts as seen before by anyone who’s watched the Netflix adaptation of “Lost In Space”

The problem is that our democracy shouldn’t be fictionalized for a specific audience (or cult) for political gain.

We deserve better, which is why I’ll wait for the sequel, written by an independent investigator named Robert Mueller.

(after an article by Steve Israel, who represented New York in Congress for 16 years.)

Trump: "Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!"

Donald Trump is, among other things: A billionaire, a celebrity, a child of privilege, father, husband (for the 3rd time), and the President of the United States.

Remember when Roseanne Barr grabbed her crotch and spit while singing the national anthem?

For all of that, what Trump is, at his core, is a victim -- at least in his own mind.

The media, his staff, former business partners, his Cabinet and, well, almost anyone else not wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat, 24/7 are out to get him in some way, shape or form. He is always having to deal with their biases, their mistakes, their flaws.

Here's how Trump views the world:

At his very best, Trump is no more than a double flusher.

Roseanne's inappropriate tweet (a real Trumpsterism!)

Just 2 months ago, Roseanne Barr was a star -- again.

Her sitcom “Roseanne” returned after a two-decade absence to great ratings on ABC.

Trump himself called Ms. Barr to congratulate her on the show’s large audience – claiming it was his followers that gave her high ratings.

But today, that ended. ABC abruptly canceled “Roseanne” after Ms. Barr posted a racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American woman who was a senior adviser to Barack Obama throughout his presidency and considered one of his most influential aides.

Ms. Barr wrote if the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”

Ms. Barr later apologized by claiming she was only kidding, but it was too late.

ABC’s entertainment president, Channing Dungey, said that “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”

No one can deny:
These self-entitled right wingnuts are entitled to their "Flare-Ups."

As for me, I never watched even part of one or her "entitled anger" episodes so she will not be missed. Bye bye!

Trump's Inappropriate Memorial Day Message

He tweeted a message to mark the day, which was immediately met with scorn for primarily celebrating his own accomplishments:
Happy Memorial Day! Those who died for our great country would be very happy and proud at how well our country is doing today. Best economy in decades, lowest unemployment numbers for Blacks and Hispanics EVER (& women in 18years), rebuilding our Military and so much more. Nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2018

The Atlantic's David Frum responded by saying Trump's tweet was the "grossest, most inappropriate, most self-flattering Memorial Day message in the history of the US presidency."

A Bloomberg editor mocked Trump's use of the word "happy."

Senator John McCain's tweet was cited as an example of what a Memorial Day message should be:
"Today we honor the Americans who sacrificed everything to secure the blessings of liberty. Family and friends to some, heroes to all - who lived, fought and died for the safety and future of a great and good nation. God bless them and grant them perpetual peace. #MemorialDay"
#MemorialDay pic.twitter.com/OtdTAd3DS5
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) May 28, 2018

The Associated Press

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