Broken Glass

[H2O Man]

“Thoughts in time
and out of season.
The hitch-hiker leveled his thumb
in the calm calculus of reason.”
Jim Morrison


This morning, I heard a person on television talk about the “political calculus.” The global calculus is easily defined: our allies fear Trump, and our enemies are emboldened by him. It's as simple as that.

Things become more complicated for future presidents when Russia decides to attack its neighbor, or when a Saudi Arabian “prince” decides to have a journalist murdered. They do not to consider if maybe Trump will respond, or maybe he won't. They know in advance.

Refugees from the violence in Central America are met with violence on our southern border. Images of infants being tear-gassed are justified by Trump claiming that their mother may not actually be their real mother. The perfect image of republican christianity as we enter the Christmas season – no room at the inn, for the only vacancies to be found are in republican morals.

Feeling pressure from the synergy of the House election results and the Mueller investigation, Trump seeks the comfort of refuge in a KKK meeting in Mississippi, to support the most racist candidate since David Duke ran in Louisiana years ago. He rants for a candidate who is more of a national embarrassment than was Harriet Miers being nominated to the Supreme Court.

Adding to the surreal atmosphere, Alan Dershowitz makes a truthful public statement, in noting that Mr. Mueller's report will be devastating to Trump. Sages ask, “Does this portend the End Times?” For the Trump reign, perhaps. Several journalists questioned what he might know, other than what has been publicly reported? This great mystery is most easily explained by the fact that Alan communicates regularly with Trump's personal legal team.

Two plea deals are flushed down the drain in recent days. Jerome Corsi, a slightly melted human marshmallow with a facial rash, publicly claimed he turned down Mr. Mueller's offer, because it would have required him to make a guilty plea. He must have anticipated a plea deal that would declare him innocent.

Paul Manafort has found that Mr. Mueller doesn't play games. Some suspect he anticipates a pardon. But he has pleaded guilty to crimes that, if he were pardoned, would quickly result in state charges and convictions, we can safely conclude that he isn't looking for Trump to rescue him. Rather, Manafort knows he has already crossed some powerful Russian interests. These are the same interests that previously invested in Trump's businesses, and then his campaign for the presidency. It's not just that Trump can't deliver on those pesky sanctions ….Manafort made promises he couldn't keep. His lies to investigators that have nixed his deal are due to his fear of those Russian interests being greater than his fear of spending the rest of his life behind bars.

Both Corsi and Manafort's roles are closely tied to Roger Stone. Another fringe player in their “campaign work” is Randy Credico. The chances of all four keeping their stories straight is remote. The chances of their out-smarting Mr. Mueller are zero.

Today's reporting on Manafort's visits to Assange are, by all definitions, explosive. One might go so far as to say they are devastating to Trump's claim that there was “no collusion.”

Trust in the process. We will find 2019 to be a wild year.

Peace,
H2O Man

[violetpastille]

1. K & R

[H2O Man]

2. Thank you.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

44. K&R, here's another. better late than never

[yonder]

3. Good post as always, thanks

[H2O Man]

23. Thank you.

Sounds like Trump's legal team was tampering with a witness!

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

4. Beautiful, devastating,...

...and uplifting read, as always. Thank you

[H2O Man]

24. Thank you!

Much appreciated!

[voteearlyvoteoften]

5. Republican Christianity No room at the inn

Hope you are warm by a fire!

[H2O Man]

25. I've been talking

with two friends my age today. We all agree that one of the nice things about being old men is being able to stay warm inside on days like today! Other than when my dogs want to venture out, I'm inside for the day!

[eleny]

6. And Mueller might know if Trump's written answers are tied to contact with Manafort

Mueller could have fed Manafort false information via his questioning. If Trump camp has been in contact with the Manafort camp, perhaps via the acting AG, Trump could have been told the falsehoods that Manafort was fed. If Trump's answers reflect knowledge of the falsehoods then we have proof of obstruction of justice.

2019 - between the economy, climate change and the political climate - I sure hope you're right about the process.

[yonder]

11. +1.

Chess, Check and Checkmate. We can hope.

[H2O Man]

26. Yesterday afternoon,

I was thinking about the meeting Don Jr "hosted" at Trump Tower. And how Manafort was on his cell phone, sending coded e-mails to himself during the meeting. I suspected that this was one area he tried to hide from investigators. The media reports since then have indicated that Jr's phone calls to the blocked number are also at issue. I think the shit will hit the fan in the next few days. It already is behind the scenes, but I believe that more evidence will be made public soon.

[eleny]

28. About those calls to a blocked number

Yesterday I was wondering to myself if Trump would have been smart enough to use a burner phone. Maybe it doesn't matter if the location of the phone could be determined. No matter what, Mueller has a record of all the calls made by all the parties in attendance. His net is wide.

[H2O Man]

30. My cousin

called me last night. When he was finally able to stop laughing long enough to get a sentence out, he asked, "Why do these idiots think they can fool Mueller with their lies?" That's an interesting question to ponder. Obviously, they were successful in lying to anyone and everyone for years. But they are lying to themselves now, as Mr. Mueller has been catching them in virtually ever lie.

[eleny]

33. Malcolm Nance's explaining how Manafort could be a triple agent floors me

They obviously don't even see their actions as a toss of the dice or risky. It's all business as usual. Meantime, I worry about driving through yellow lights.

P.S. I have a cousin who sends me the best text messages on the doings. Thank goodness for great cousins!

[H2O Man]

35. When I first heard

Mr. Nance speak a couple of years ago, I was very impressed. My respect has continued to grow since then. I think he should be the choice for Secretary of State when we take the White House in 2020. In fact, I think that is one of the most urgent issues for the presidential election.

[eleny]

39. I never thought of him serving in that kind of position!

That's a really interesting idea. He knows a heck of a lot about the Middle East. But what part of the world isn't critical? I'd trust his judgement since he's proven to be right about issues big and small. He understands the minutia and builds a big and accurate picture.

Surely he's done some things that would make my hair stand on end. Nevertheless, I'd trust him with the nation's security.

[lunatica]

7. It's all downhill for them now

Ha! In the sense of the snowball effect that is!

[H2O Man]

31. Downhill

until they hit the wall at the bottom ….and it ain't the wall Trump rants about.

[FakeNoose]

8. It's all coming together nicely!

[eleny]

29. I love that gif

[H2O Man]

32. Tick, Tock!

I love that!

[erronis]

9. A self-constructed Hobson's Choice - or painting yourself into a corner

Or just getting caught up in your own lying machine.

Most of us outgrow our needs to embellish ourselves via small/white/grey lies. Sometimes they become such a definition of who we are that we wouldn't know how to lead our lives without a lie.

Manafort and Trump and most of the GOP has now been caught up in their own web of lies.

Enjoy! Because I will.

[H2O Man]

34. Right!

Your post remined me of when I was young, and my father caught me in a lie. I tried covering my lie up with other lies, which did not get the intended results. My father told me that if a man tells the truth, he only has one thing to remember ….but if he lies, then makes up more lies to cover his tracks, he has to remember too many things to keep straight when confronted with the truth. It was a lesson I passed down to my own children when they were little.

Trump, Manafort, Stone, and Corsi have been living lies so long, they have become lies. It is their essence.

Thank you for your post!

[matt819]

10. There is some comfort. . .

There is some comfort in knowing a couple of things.

First, the Democratic-majority House will spend the next two years holding hearings that will likely bring to light that which has been hidden. From Ivanka Trump's e-mails to Jamal Khashoggi's murder to treason to all manner of corruption throughout the Executive Branch, the House will shine a light on all the crap. What happens from there, who knows. Maybe resignations, maybe legal action. Don't know, but it will help Dems in 2020.

Next, when a Democratic president is elected, in 2020 I hope, of course, the primary objectives should be to undo the damage that has been done, via EO or via legislation, assuming a fully Democratic Congress. Actions on Saudi Arabia. Reversals on tariffs. DOJ and IG investigations with teeth. Restoration of our relationships with allies and renewed commitments to treaties, including, NATO and non-proliferation. Climate change action on a fantastically broad scale. Reverse the anti-immigration policies and craft a path to citizenship among all immigrants, legal and not. (Yeah, yeah, that may suck, but we can't go on as we have with 12 million people here but not quite part of our society.) Renewed and restated commitments to the LGBTQ community and to women's reproductive rights.

Frankly, it's extremely difficult to picture the task of undoing the damage, and I can only hope that Democratic legislators and liberal think tanks are compiling the damage that has been done and developing a program, from day one, of undoing it.

Well, there is some comfort in this. But for now, I wake up every single fucking morning wondering what fresh new hell awaits. The truly astounding thing is that we all have confronted a fresh new hell every single day since January 2016. Every single fucking day.

[H2O Man]

37. Exactly!

Thank you very much for this. I agree 100%.

I think that a firm understanding of how systems work correctly is essential. It is a necessary part of voter registration and participation. I've been tempted to post two essays here on how the House of Representatives works best -- with focus on the Democratic majority we just elected -- since an understanding of this reduces confusion on issues such as who should be Speaker, and more importantly, why that person represents the best option.

The cause of my hesitation to do so is that frequently, what I find fascinating strikes the majority of people as dull or tedious. (grin) So I appreciate your stating much of it in a concise way!

[erronis]

38. I also hope that WE (the American people) can get the congress and executive branch back

to rationality. And currently there doesn't seem to be any rational people within the repuglicon party. I miss the days when there were some moderates but those have all been thrown out.

I would like to see a transparent platform of what WE would like to accomplish starting with the 2018 mid-terms and through the 2020 change in the presidency and, I expect, the senate. While the opposition forces (some of the blue dogs) may try to block progress, we should still strive for openness in our plans and execution.

One can dream.

[lunatica]

40. Once the new Congress is sworn in we should definitely

demand a comprehensive and clear and transparent plan from them for the next two years, up to and including the Presidential elections.

This blue wave didn’t happen so they can quietly go back to the business as usual of putting on kid gloves and turning the other cheek. I don’t think the vast majority of Americans are in any mood to hear anything is “Off the table” again. But I do think we Democrat’s and Progressives don’t want Republican style suppression and opposition either. Let’s get some neglected vital work fucking done for a change! We literally have a planet to save! We have so much more money than other countries that for every dollar they spend on climate change issues we have a million to contribute. Our responsibility is great because we’re also the greatest contributors to global warming,

[spanone]

12. Great Post....today may be a serious turning point.

K&R...

[Hermit-The-Prog]

13. excellent summary

Republicans must be trying to turn hypocrisy into an art form.

[erronis]

42. Poo flinging on canvas?

[NRaleighLiberal]

14. I completely agree. This is magnitudes worse than Watergate and that took a lot of time

Using that as a measuring stick, Mueller is working at warp speed.

what makes it hard to bear - and us all impatient - is the obvious and terrible damage it is doing, and will do, to so many and so much, not to mention the ludicrous nature of it all.

[Hekate]

15. KnR

[Fuzzpope]

16. Well said.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

17. My dear H20 Man!

Superb essay, as always.

I DO trust in the process, especially since Mueller heads it. And I trust him so much.

I was hoping for a peaceful old age...Alas, 'twas not to be. But rather the tumult of justice than the silence of subverted democracy.

Excellent essay!

[mahannah]

18. Well written, as always. Love the Morrison quote.

[malaise]

19. Great post WaterMan

Rec.

[JDC]

20. "Corsi, a slightly melted marshmallow with a facial rash"

Classic!

A very nice post.

[coeur_de_lion]

21. violence on our southern border

I read this news and shrugged. Another atrocity by the trum admin -- I've become numb to the atrocities. I'm used to them now.

I'll take your advice and trust the process H.

But I'm deathly sick of this slow process. I just want justice.

[Poiuyt]

22. Well written, as always

Thanks!

[Grammy23]

27. A wild year ahead? We've already had one jaw dropping event after another

with tRumpolini at the helm. And we only know (for certain) a fraction of what is to come. We’ve been waiting for the Big Reveal and have had numerous false starts that had many of us with our knickers in a twist. The possibility that all will be known in the next year is tantalizing for sure. We should know by now not to bet the farm on anything to do with this debacle but hope springs eternal. So with caution sprinkled with optimism, we await what Mueller has to report. tRump’s behavior and comments of late lead me to believe we better buckle up for a very rough ride. After what he has put us through, we deserve a full, thorough report. Bring it, Mr. Mueller!

[saidsimplesimon]

36. "The chances of their out-smarting Mr. Mueller are zero."

"Trust in the process. We will find 2019 to be a wild year."

Well written, thank you H2O Man.

[geardaddy]

41. Well written, informative piece H20 Man.

K and R

[cp]

43. Good essay

From what I've read of the Russian Mafia, they will have no trouble getting into prison, so Manafort is not safe. Possibly a little safer for a little while, but he has cooked his own goose.

[ms liberty]

45. I have to tell you this - Corsi is on Ari Melber right now and

All I can think about when I look at him is "a slightly melted human marshmallow with a facial rash"...I will admit the absurd humor of it keeps me amused enough to prevent me from throwing things and screaming at the teevee right now! What an awful person he is, and he's thick as thieves with a bunch of other awful people.

[burrowowl]

46. Good analysis!

I hope you nailed it.