Breathless explanations of how much more trouble Trump may be in this time, with this latest indictment re the mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Many saying, in one manner or another, that this was an open and shut case from the get-go, and Trump really is in hot water this time…

But it was, as usual, Rachel Maddow who summed it up best and got to the root of the matter. How could we as a nation have elected this aberration of a human to the Presidency in the first place, and how could he possibly still be in consideration for the nomination in 2024?

And not really “how?” It was more an acknowledgment that it happened once and it must not happen again: an ill-intentioned, clueless, spiteful megalomaniac reaching the highest office, abusing his power, and the subsequent exposure to indictments and everything else, and the likelihood, at this point, that the same core support is still there and he could very well run again with an ankle monitor on!

It’s gonna make for a helluva movie some day.

Maddow cited the deal worked out with Spiro Agnew 50 years ago, and suggested that perhaps this might be what happens this time around, too—that some sort of plea deal is arranged involving no jail time but a stipulation that he be barred from running– hopefully not just in 2024, but forevermore.

Oh, the audacity of hope.

Couple questions: What was the thinking behind Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard NIxon? Was Ford acting on his own, or did he have people suggesting he signal to the country that a POTUS is untouchable, off limits, above prosecution? If so, that mindset must perish this time around. No one is above the law, especially one who’s lived his life thinking laws don’t apply to him.

The air quality of late has been unhealthy, to say the least. The worst many have ever seen, all over the northeast, all because of hundreds of wildfires currently burning in Quebec and eastern Canada. A yellow-orange tint to the landscape all day, a robin sitting at the peak of a neighbor’s garage, chirping non-stop, maybe not sure what to make of the smokiness, or what time of day it was. Not good to be out doing any kind of physical activity.

The footage from NYC was stunning—a camera trained on Central Park barely revealed the edge of the park and the start of the buildings surrounding it. In another shot, just the form of a bridge in the foreground and no buildings to be seen. Really bad air, probably made to look worse with the compression of a telephoto lens, but still…

The forecast is for more of the same today, with some improvement, and further improvement tomorrow. We all need some rain, and a change of wind direction.

So the latest meh news is that Mike Pence, the human Ken doll and conservative Christian from a Sears Wish Book, has thrown his hat into the ring for 2024. Oh, yay.

Not sure what kind of calculations are going on behind closed doors, but it seems Republicans must be thinking Trump is vulnerable, the noose may be tightening. We’ve been down this road before, so we’ll see what happens.

The trouble is that unless they can distinguish themselves from Trump and address issues that are actually important to a wider swath of people than just The Base, then why bother running? They’d be wasting time and other peoples’ money, especially if they’re only looking for their 15 minutes.

Well, well, well. The PGA has entered into some sort of deal with the devil, aka LIV golf.

Ah, the clarifying power of money. There was an air of inevitability about this, though it still came as a bit of a surprise, given the vitriolic exchanges along the way. The PGA must have felt somehow compromised, vulnerable. Or maybe they saw some sort of writing on the wall and just smelled the cash, couldn’t resist getting their piece of the cow known as the PIF, the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

Best of luck to all, as they, you know, work to grow the game…

If you want to grow the game, find a way to make it cheaper to play, and to buy the equipment you need. Five hundred bucks or more for a decent driver? Come on. This shouldn’t be like polo.

Jen Psaki interviewed Chris Sununu last night, and I was reminded of why I find many of today’s Republicans so repulsive.

A shit-eating grin, a barely contained resentment of progressive media, a typically dismissive demeanor conveying that he knows what he knows and everyone else is a dumbass, pretty much blaming the media for Trump’s capacity for hanging on in the polls (because they’re “attacking” him and unwittingly cultivating his “victimhood”).

He even went so far as to dismiss the accusations of Russian collusion in the 2016 election, which came as a bit of a surprise. He’s still on that?

This is why we can’t move beyond the animosity. It’s because of people like Sununu, who are so arrogant that you’re always rooting for their comeuppance, that they’ll eventually, somehow, crash and burn.

What are the news media gonna do when Donald Trump isn’t in the cycle anymore? Can anyone even envision a time when this will actually be the case? Sometimes it seems like even after the bastard buys the farm, he’ll continue to dominate the headlines.

A recent interview with James Comey suggested that one plausible scenario involves a Trump victory in 2024 even though he’s in prison, or on house arrest or wearing an ankle monitor. Seems a bit alarming to think that things could develop in this manner, but he could at least be the nominee, since the rest of the field looks to be having trouble mounting any kind of threat against him, at this point.

Pence? Haley? DeSantis? Hutchinson? Is there a dark horse in the group? Doesn’t seem like it, currently. Trump somehow is holding sway, though one might dare put money on his chances deteriorating significantly in the coming days.

As well they should. Politically speaking, he should have bought the farm a long time ago.

Confederate sympathizers must be beside themselves over the renaming of Fort Bragg. It’s now Fort Liberty—not very creative, but better than being named after a Confederate General.

So be it. May the name changes continue until there are no slavery-tainted monikers left. I see this as being less about erasing our past than it is about taking a closer look at who we want our heroes to be.

On a related note, what brand of history were we taught when we were in school? Was it anywhere near accurate, or was it the classic winner’s version of events—inherent bias bordering on jingoism, unencumbered by the reality of missing voices?

Recorded history is a messy enterprise, vulnerable to bias, subject to revision. To some extent, the onus is on the reader or student to learn to read between the lines, get the fullest picture. But more importantly, it is on teachers, who must not be afraid of or restrained from imparting a fuller, less sanitized version of the truth.

Unless you live in Florida. Then all bets are off.

Donald Trump doesn’t deserve one more minute of airtime. He should be done. He wants a new judge, like you can just order up something like this any old time you feel like? Who does he think he is? What kind of world is he living in?

People eat up this kind of behavior, though. They love it, actually. They love the fact that he’s an entitled wise ass. Only thing is, he doesn’t have the moxie and character to go with the brashness. He’s got nothing to back up the bravado. He’s just bravado, no depth, no heart, no talent, no gifts to share, no compassion or empathy, or even good intentions. He’s just a taker who talks a lousy game.

Why is he still around?

I’ll admit to enjoying Spare, written by Prince Harry of Wales. But I can’t quite dismiss the fact that he lives a ridiculously privileged life.

Don’t get me wrong—to hear him tell it, he’s done some good things with his time on earth, and he seems like as regular a guy as you can be when you’re born into royalty. But his troubles and challenges rise from circumstances that are really difficult to relate to.

The most glaring example of this, besides the lecherous and relentless press, is the frequency with which he traveled to get away from it all, to clear his head—to exotic places, like Botswana. My quiet place involves sitting on the couch in the basement with the dehumidifier providing some white noise. Harry hops on a plane, body guards in tow, and flies to South Africa, or Australia, or Vegas.

Quite unrelatable, in many ways, but entertaining. It’s been enlightening, from the perspective of getting some behind-the-scenes scoops, but I won’t be joining the Royal Family fan club anytime soon.

It’s so sad that it’s funny. And vice versa. And a lot of other descriptors as well.

My goodness. What can be said about the current choices a year and a half out from the next Presidential election? On the Democratic side, we have a personable octagenarian who should call it a day. On the Republican side, there is at this point a choice between dumb and dumber, between bad and worse, between airheads who either have no vision or operate under the illusion that the direction we should be heading is back to the 1950s or even further beyond those “simpler” times.

Donald Trump cannot possibly be in the running again. With the baggage he’s carrying and the storm clouds always swirling around him, there should be no chance whatsoever for him to consider the nomination. This, in addition to the fact that he’s a highly damaged, narcissistic wind bag.

And Ron DeSantis needs to stay in Florida, limit the damage.

Neither one of these pretenders has a prayer, apart from their appeal to a misinformed, paranoid base, whose issues include forcing their ill-formed religious “values” on the nation, worrying more about cross-dressing and banning books than paying attention to basic human needs, and making sure everyone has access to high-powered weaponry– you know, for protection when things fall apart.

They currently control the narrative, these two. They command the stage, riding a wave of perverse stubbornness and ignorance.