In The Shadow Of Mt Hollywood

In light of Dean Phillips's truth-telling blurt that I talked about yesterday, Special Counsel Hur's remarks on Joe's mental state in his report on Biden's handling of classified documents suggests Washington insiders have been concealing a crisis for some time. In fact, it's beginning to shape up as a full-blown constitutional crisis. The closest parallel I can think of is the crisis in the UK over Edward VIII's wish to marry Wallis Simpson, which came to a head throughout 1936. According to Wikipedia , It is generally accepted that Wallis Simpson and Edward became lovers in 1934, while Lady Furness (who was also in a relationship with the prince) was visiting relatives in the United States. However, Edward adamantly insisted to his father, King George V, that he was not physically intimate with Simpson and that it was inappropriate to describe her as his mistress. . . . Edward and Simpson were secretly followed by members of the Metropolitan Poli...

I’m attacked for being honest and saying the quiet part out loud - the part DC insiders only do in private. I admire our President. I voted for him and campaigned for him. He has visited my home and been gracious to my family and our country. But shame on all of you pretending… pic.twitter.com/OdaKvW7vbc — Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) February 6, 2024 Dean Phillips, a moderate Democrat representing a largely prosperous Minnesota suburban district in the House, is running against Biden in a long-shot bid for the Democrat nomination. Since Joe's fitness to serve is currently among the top issues for the 2024 general election, Phillips has had little choice but to bring it up, which he does in the X post above. He includes video of Joe's two most recent gaffes, the one on the left where he claims he talked to French President Mitterand after the 2020 election, when Miterrand died in 1996, and on the right the one where he struggles badly over a reporter's question abo...

Trump has been moving with astonishing speed since the weekend to seize the initiative over the border. The best indicator is Joe's speech at the YouTube link above, where he struggles to control his slurring while wearing an ill-fitting suit -- note how the back of the jacket collar stands out from his neck. This is the sort of thing Dr Jill, if nobody else, should be on top of. Is he losing weight? (I've got to say again that his slurring and his clear efforts to control it by deliberately slowing down, for instance around 0:20, are a recognized symptom of alcohol-impaired speech and suggest his blood alcohol count is somewhere well above 0.0, despite his repeated claims never to have had a drink. What time does he get started in the morning?) The reason for Joe's sudden appearance was clear: When asked Tuesday morning about whether any Senate Republicans would vote in favor of advancing the bill, Senate Minority Whip John Thune responded: "I think it’...

No sooner did I post yesterday on Trump's next tasks, which I saw as neutralizing Leader McConnell and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, than it looks like he has them both well in hand . Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the shocking decision to recommend Republicans block the advancement of the Senate pro-migration border bill. . . . McConnell cited the overwhelming number of Senate Republicans planning to vote against the measure either on substance or because they wanted more time, according to Punchbowl News. . . . According to Punchbowl, McConnell said the political mood in the country has changed since negotiations began months ago. At that time, McConnell and Democrat leaders agreed to pair foreign aid to Ukraine, of which McConnell is the Senate’s greatest champion, with a border compromise. So what's changed about the political mood of the country? Just one thing, Donald Trump. In a remarkably brief period between his indictments, most of which took pla...

It's hard to disagree with Sen Lee's characterization of the Republican "compromise" security bill and Sen McConnmell's leadership : Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) called for Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) to be replaced as Senate Republican leader Sunday, denouncing the new border security deal McConnell supports as “an unmitigated disaster.” “This feels like an elaborate practical joke. But it’s not funny. Not one bit,” Lee wrote on social media when the details of the bill were made public. This follows, though, on the remarkable success of the House conservatives in removing Kevin McCarthy as Speaker and replacing him with Mike Johnson. Trump has allied himself with Johnson over the Senate "compromise": In terms of dictating Republican policy, Trump in recent weeks has gone out out of his way to try and kill the bipartisan bill to address border security. Trump, who has spoken repeatedly with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., says the bill in unn...

One of the additions to the language that came out of the Watergate scandal was the lament from Nixon's aides that "we can't get the toothpaste back in the tube". In other words, certain disclosures can't be un-disclosed after the fact. This actually strikes me as the futile goal of Fani Willis's February 2 filing with Judge McAfee : Willis and Wade have been subpoenaed to testify in a Feb. 15 evidentiary hearing that the judge in the election interference case scheduled to examine the allegations against them, but the DA in her filing has asked the judge to deny the motions from the defendants and essentially cancel the hearing, claiming that "no further factual development is necessary." However, even Newsweek is suggesting things have gone too far for that : Legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman warned that there is "blood in the water" in the developing Fani Willis-Nathan Wade investigation, despite his bel...

The big news yesterday was Fani Willis's acknowledgement of a "personal" relationship with her special prosecutor Nathan Wade , but that was just a limited hangout meant to minimize what was already generally and correctly assumed. I decided to bring myself up to date on the whole range of other motions, lawsuits, subpoenas, and allegations against Willis in the wake of the initial complaint by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant on behalf of Trump codefendant Mike Roman. Quite a lot has emerged in just a three-week period. The original Roman motion to disqualify Willis was filed on January 8 with Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the Fulton County RICO trial. All the other actions have cascaded from this motion. On January 12, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent a letter to Nathan Wade, an associate of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, demanding documents and information about the coordination of the Fulton...