Measles For All ✡️🌻✡️🌻✡️🌻

Trump Trials: Today is expected to be all about Michael Cohen, the guy who once said that he’d take a bullet for Trump but who gave that up a long time ago maybe because he saw the light but more likely because, unlike former CFO Allen Weisselberg, he didn’t appreciate being Trump’s fall guy.  The rambunctious Cohen rivals Trump in contentiousness while also sharing his lack of impulse control. It’s not clear whether Cohen will be able to hold himself together on the witness stand especially during what’s expected to be a withering cross examination but if he does, it will spell trouble, or at least should spell trouble for Trump.  Cohen ties all of the prosecution’s pieces of evidence together but due to his big mouth, zillions of interviews, and history of lying, everything he says will be questioned by the defense which is why the prosecution has spent so much time having others pre-validate almost everything that he is expected to say. Another guy who could also validate a good part of the prosecution’s case is Allen Weisselberg because he knows all about the hush money plan and its mechanics, but we probably won’t be hearing from him, not just because he’s currently in jail for lying, but because his compensation agreement with the Trump Organization hinges on him keeping his mouth sealed shut.  On Friday, prosecutors told the judge that they don’t plan to call Weisselberg to the stand but would like to introduce his compensation/non-disclosure agreement as evidence.  No surprise that Trump’s defense lawyers don’t want that to happen.  Judge Merchan suggested that maybe having Weisselberg testify would be a good thing adding said that he’d give some thought to that over the weekend.  No one really expects Weisselberg to be called to the witness stand, but anything could happen so stay tuned.  Merchan also turned down the defense team’s request to impose a gag order on Cohen, but he did ask prosecutors once again ask Cohen to refrain from talking for the duration of the trial.  They’ve tried to do that and said that they’d ask him again, but Cohen is more than a bit hard to manage. Prosecutors expect to wind up their case this week, possibly with one other unnamed witness after Cohen.  That will mean some jampacked days because Merchan generally hears other cases on Wednesdays and this Friday is an off day so that Trump can attend son Barron’s high school graduation.  By the way, contrary to last week’s announcement, Barron will not be serving as a Republican delegate as Melania has announced that her son has a scheduling conflict, as in she doesn’t want him anywhere near the convention.  Rudy Giuliani may be at the convention but if he attends, he’ll have to borrow the bus fare.  Over the weekend, Rudy lost one of his few remaining sources of income after New York billionaire/Republican honcho John Catsimatidis fired him from his WABC radio gig for pushing “fallacies” about the 2020 election.  Catsimatidis said Rudy had been warned and now it was time for him to find out what happens to those who don’t listen.  It appears that Steve Bannon may finally have reached the #FAFO part too.  On Friday, a federal appeals court panel upheld his criminal conviction for defying a subpoena from Congress.  Absent a reprieve from the Supreme Court, which is not expected, he’ll be spending the next four months in jail.  Maybe Russian tool Paul Manafort who is once again advising Trump on his campaign while also working with Chinese government tied companies can give him some pointers on how to survive prison life?  Don’t expect a trial in Fulton County anytime soon, a Georgia appeals court has decided to hear Trump and his co-defendants’ appeal of Judge McAfee’s decision to allow Fani Willis to remain on the RICO election interference case. Also, in case you missed it, Trump is now all in on “the late great Hannibal Lecter,” as in the cannibal of “The Silence of Lambs” fame.  That was one of the nuggets that he tossed out at his frighteningly heavily attended New Jersey rally this weekend where he also promised to defund any school that mandates childhood vaccines. Make America Have Measles and Polio Again!    

Fog:  Several things can be true at once.  Hamas is beyond despicable, far more concerned about its continued existence than doing what’s right for the people of Gaza.  You only have to look at the heinous killings, sex crimes, mutilations, and hostage taking they committed on October 7 as well as their strategy of hiding behind civilians in schools and hospitals to see that. For Israelis, the October 7 attack validates their worst fears, that their neighbors, on all fronts, want to wipe them off the map and view torture and rape as legitimate ways to achieve that goal. Prime Minister Netanyahu is past his due date, a leader whose decisions are too often tainted by his quest to stay in power to survive his own legal problems.  President Biden has been, both historically and in the aftermath of October 7, a reliable supporter of Israel. All expectations are that the November election will be very close with the result hinging on voters in just a few states where a core group of key voters are very pro-Palestinian, with some even sharing Hamas’ view that Israel should be washed out to sea.  Clearly, Biden doesn’t share that vision, and while it’s fair to criticize Israel for being heavy handed in its war against Hamas, count me among those who believe that the Biden administration shouldn’t be airing its disputes with Netanyahu so publicly, because even if the concerns are valid, it’s hard to see the public airing as anything less than political, an effort to bring “wayward” voters back into the fold.  Ironically, it probably won’t work, though it may alienate some of the swing voters who held their noses and voted for Biden last time around, including those much sought after Nikki Haley voters, many of whom are likely Israel supporters.  US politics aside, the public airing, punctuated by this weekend’s appearances on the Sunday talk shows, is also fueling Hamas’ public relations efforts, empowering them to believe that putting off a ceasefire, while dire for many Gazans, is in their best interests. And, sadly, it also pushes off the release of hostages and at this point, who really believes that Hamas plans on releasing all, if any, of the remaining hostages?  Lastly, the public airing has given the Republican party some valid talking points. For what it’s worth that’s my two cents.  Also, October 7 happened and war sucks.

#BringThemAllHome