Murders in Milwaukee vs. Murders In The Building: What I'll Be Watching Tonight

 

By Hal Brown, MSW, Retired psychotherapist and mental health center director

If you know me through this blog or know me personally you know I am passionate about politics. Even as I type this I have "Morning Joe" on TV and I've already reviewed the breaking poltical news on Raw Story, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

I am also very much aware that it is vitally important for my own, and everyone's, mental health to maintain a balance in life and monitor one's stress level and assure you aren't debilitated by worrying about politics.

All of my friends and aquaintances are mostly very liberal Democrats with a few who are old fashioned Republicans who are appalled at what the GOP has become since MAGA became it's mantra. Among them I know people who find that they have to asiduously ignore poltical news about the threat of autocracy should Trump or another authoritarian becomes president.

When I'm with the latter group I know not to broach the subject of politics. Some of them have even told me that they don't want me to talk about it when I am in their company.

I understand this. Everyone does well to understand what level of worry they can handle. I've been told by a few people that even thinking about politics raises their blood pressure. Some of them know. They've checked.

One of the things I hear is the "why worry about something I can't do anything about" question. I'm not about to lecture anybody about finding something to do, whether it's volunteering in a campaign or donating money to a candidate or cause. What I've said is that if you find yourself stressed out about politics is that it often helps to talk about the subject with like-minded friends. 

For me in addition to talking about politics I write about it in my blog and comments to articles.* I talk about it to a those friends who share my interest.  This is stress relief for me. I know sharing my opinions has a minimal impact in the greater scheme of things, but at least I feel I am doing something.

It seems like a no-brainer, and there's even a book Stress Management for Dummies, but a good way to handle stress is to make a list, mental or actually written, of the things you do that provide you the most enjoyment. Then add to the list things that you've considered doing but for whatever reasons haven't done. 

You can divide fun into passive and active fun if this makes sense to you. You can list the things that you enjoy doing in your home and things you have to leave your abode to do. You can rate them by the effort it takes to engage in an activity. Ask yourself if making an extra effort might be worth it.

This is part of dealing with worry stress by compartmentalizing.  This is what I try to do. It's isn't always easy and I know will become exceedingly difficult, but will really be necessary if Trump or another of his ilk get elected president.

I was a Boy Scout and am familiar with their motto:

The Girl Scouts have the same motto:

These are good words to try to live by.

Here's what my partner and I be doing tonight if you haven't already figured this out. We are into the second season of "Only Murders In The Building" and would rather see how Charles, Oliver, and Mabel figure out whodunnit and how and why they dunnit than watch eight bloviating Republicans only one of whom is entertaining (Chris Christi of course).

Read reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Footnote:

* The subscrption New York Times and Washington Post as well as HUFFPOST and Raw Story have active comment sections. HUFFPOST allows you to add images to comments as does Raw Story which use Disquis (as does this blog) which allows one to insert images.

For example this is my comment to the Raw Story article 

Busted: Internal emails show Secret Service agent was in contact with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes

Click above to enlarge

Could Trump avoid legal peril and go live in Russia, Russia, Russia as Vlad's roomie?

 

I superimposed Trump's plane over a photo of Moscow Airport Terminal C.

"The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me. I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a 'flight' risk – I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again. Would I be able to take my very 'understated' airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, I’d be much better off flying commercial – I’m sure nobody would recognize me!"

By Hal Brown 

The above Truth Social post is Trump's attempt at showing how unseriously he takes his legal situation and what a great comedy writer he is and is about as close as he ever comes to self-depricating humor and an awareness of his grandiose narcisism.

What Trump doesn't "get" about the bond is that it doesn't prevent him from leaving, or fleeing, the country to live in Russia, Russia, Russia. He can blow off the $200,000 and leave the country to live with Vladimir.

Where he'd actually live would have to be determined as Putin has eight official residences (read article).

 He might live in his suite (pictured below) where the ceilings have their share of gold.

One of the bedrooms in the Black Sea mansion known as Putin's Palace

Putin's $1.4 billion Black Sea compound is non-too-shabby (Link):

Putin apparently spends much of his time in a mansion in Valdai which is 240 miles from Moscow and has no airport so I assume he'd travel to and from the Kremlin by helicopter.

Putin's bedroom in his residence in Valdai on Lake Valdayskoye

Putin does not actually live in the actual Kremlin the way US presidents live in the White House so Trump could end up living at another of his residences. Putin reportedly spends much of his time in the Novo-Ogaryovo estate in Moscow which has been unofficially termed his de facto residence.

If he wants to end up a Putin's most famous houseguest he'll first have to convince the murderous dictator, who might have to convince his girlfriend gymnast Alina Kabaeva, to have him as a permanent roomie. 

Of course the judge could order him not to leave the country, and order his passport (or passports, he has said he has three) seized.  I don't know exactly how he could fly out of the country in his own plane illegally, but if he managed to sneak onto his plane and it took off on the way to Russia I doubt the Air Force would shoot it down even if it had a fleeing felon onboard.

What the bond does do is described here:

The bond agreement, known as a consent bond order, sets strict rules for Trump’s release. The former president is not allowed to communicate with witnesses or co-defendants about the case, except through his lawyers, and he is barred from intimidating witnesses or co-defendants. He is also forbidden from making any “direct or indirect threat of any nature against the community or to any property in the community,” including in “posts on social media or reposts of posts” by others on social media.

“The defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him … to be a co-defendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the agreement says. (Washington Post)

If he violates the conditions of the bond agreement as by now everyone who has been following this case knows there are actions that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee can take to punish him from levying fines up to putting him in jail.

Most people, probably including Trump himself, don't think Judge McAfee would take such a final step. 

As noted in Raw Story "former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen doesn't think the ex-president will be capable of complying with the bail conditions set in Fulton County, Georgia. Still, he anticipates that Trump will only get a slap on the wrist."

This doesn't mean that there's no way Trump can be certain he won't eventually end up incarcerated. He could end up in a Georgia prison and the only way he can be certain he won't be imprisoned for a federal crime is if a Republican is elected president and decides to drop the cases against him or pardon him.

If he does end up doing time at a Club Fed and Biden is president there's always the chance Biden would pardon him but then he'd have to admit guilt and accept the ultimate favor from the man he despises.

Let's say that Trump makes it to Russia and takes up residence there. As long as Putin is in power I don't see him allowing him to be extradited. If Putin is replaced a new leader might send him back to the United States to face charges.

What the United States might be able to do is freeze as many of his assets as possible. This might make a large dent in the money available to him depending on how much has has in foreign accounts in countries that won't cooperate with the US justice system. 

Trump might have tried to take actual cash or valuables like Melania's jewelry with him to sell since the government now has the documents he stole so he couldn't sell them. He'd somehow have to get ahold of as many suitcases full of $100 bills as he could if he wanted cash.

Although he won't get that much, he could sell a kidney. The most recent report I could find on this says he could get between one and five million rubles ($14,300 - $73,000).

The easy way for Trump to make it to Russia, Russia, Russia is to board his plane on a flight meant to go to Atlanta or between Bedminster and Mar-a-Lago for example and have it fly to one of his Russkie pal's pads instead.

For those who suggest that there's no pilot who would agree to fly Trump out of the country illegally consider that he wanted his personal pilot John Duncan  (bleow) to be made the head of the FAA. If he wouldn't do it I think he could find another pilot sufficiently loyal to do this for the right price.

One last thought: there is something the judge, any ot the jduges in his cases, can do that that might bother Trump short of throwing him in the hoosecow. They could confiscate his plane.

Of course he could ask Harlan Crow to have him flown out of the coutnry on his  Bombardier Global 5000 jet (below). 

Crow himself might like living in a mansion on the Black Sea, and while I am in a flight of fancy, perhaps Clarence and Ginni Thomas might also move there.

Is Trump the greatest man whoever lived, even greater than Jesus, or just the brand new Jesus?

 

If you want to save yourself the ordeal of listening to this decidely untalented excuse for a country singer just check out the lyrics to this song. They call Trump the greatest man who ever lived which I suppose means the writer either doesn't think Jesus was a man or that he thinks Trump is greater than Jesus. 

The singer/songwriter says Trump is the brand new Jesus. It you believe that Jesus was fully a man, as many religious scholars do (see reference) and Trump is the greatest man who ever lived, it stands to reason (that pesky word, reason, again) that Trump is greater than Jesus.

https://richiegoodfellow.ba...

Here's the first verse:

Here comes Donald, 

The greatest man who ever lived. 

Here comes Donald, 

The most important man on the planet. 

I vote for him and I'm not afraid to show it. 

He's changed my life and he doesn't even know it. 

God Bless Donald, 

The greatest man who ever lived. 

and when I praise the Lord, 

I'm thinking 'bout the President x 3 

Donald Trump is the Brand New Jesus Christ

I was prompted to write this after reading this on Raw Story:

Click above to read

The article above rferences this interview in The Bulwark

I found the Trump is the Brand New Jesus song when I read the article about Trump and the evangelicals and thought of writing a blog about it so I looked for a picture to use as an illustration searching Google Images for "Trump as Jesus" and the found the image on the second row far right linked to the webbage with the song.

Obviously there's a contradiction between the Rambo warrior Trump thinks he is and wants other people to see him as and a beatifically smiling Jesus figure holding a lamb.

Here's another similar illustration from a Who, What, Where article titled Trump the Secong Coming (here).

I haven't found any record of Trump ever having a pet and I doubt he'd acutally be comfotable even holding a lamb. There is a new digital Trump card showing him with a dog however:

Since he's made money off of these so-called trading cards (which aren't even on cardboard) I wonder if we'll see more of them only now they may be depicting him as a muscle bound Jesus like in these:

This is quite the contrast with Jesus as imagined by Renaissance artists: