Today is Wednesday, August 30, 2023, one day left of this month before we plunge into September and back to school for the city’s close to a million schoolchildren. I will not happily return to school with them this September.

Today the former tarnished mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, was dealt another legal setback when a federal judge ruled that the consigliere of Donald Humpty Dumpty defamed former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, and is liable for damages after he failed to comply with discovery obligations in their lawsuit over his baseless claims that they committed fraud during the 2020 election. This stunning development is reported in an ABC News online article by Daniel Barnes and Summer Concepcion entitled “Rudy Giuliani defamed Georgia election workers, a federal judge rules.”

This can’t be considered good news for the morally and financially bankrupt disbarred attorney for the Orange Hemorrhoid, as as civil trial will be held to determine the amount of damages.

The two election workers, Freeman and Moss, have indicated their lives were turned upside down when conspiracy theorists, as well as then-president Donald Trump and Giuliani, his lawyer at the time, claimed they committed election fraud in the fraught 2020 election. A brief, heavily edited clip of security video was widely circulated online by Dumpf allies as supposed proof.

Giuliani had the balls to claim that Freeman and Moss were “passing around USB ports like they were vials of heroin or cocaine.” In reality, as reflected in the House January 6 committee’s report, they were passing a fucking ginger mint. A tiny ginger mint, can you believe that?

The two women recently talked of how their lives were made a “living nightmare” as a result of the interference of both Dumpf and Giuliani; they greeted the ruling today with some satisfaction, noting that the decision puts them “one step closer” to rebuilding their lives. They continued to condemn their torturer, Rudy Giuliani, saying that “He unleashed a wave of hatred and threats we never could have imagined.” They further stated, “It cost us our sense of security and our freedom to go about our lives. Nothing can restore all we lost, but today’s ruling is yet another neutral finding that has confirmed what we have known all along: that there was any truth to any of the accusations about us and that we did nothing wrong.”

The women also added, “We were smeared for purely political reasons, and the people responsible can and should be held accountable. Throughout all of this, we have kept the faith, secure in the knowledge that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. . . . The fight to rebuild our reputations and to repair the damage to our lives is not over. But today we’re one step closer, and for that we are grateful.”

This former prosecutor is now facing racketeering charges (smirk, smirk) alleging that he meddled in the state’s election. The indictment contends he was a key part of a criminal conspiracy, pressing election officials to act on voting fraud claims he was repeatedly told were false.

Dripping Face” was booked on the charges last week, and, along with the codefendants, will be arraigned September 6.

The ruling handed down today against the former counsel to the Donald just reaffirms the maxim “anything Donald Trump touches turns to shit!”

It’s getting late here since I decided to play pickleball at the last moment after receiving an email from the pickleball facility at Queens College Tennis Center today proclaiming that spots were available from 6 to 8 p.m. I called the center after returning from my comic book store on Metropolitan Avenue and after receiving the sad news that my old Dominican diner has closed in a handwritten note attached to the store’s window.

Oh, I didn’t visit my breakfast friend “Carol” at her rehab center earlier in the day since I spoke to “Sarah” upon waking up (actually, Elliot woke me up with a morning welcome call from sunny (?) Florida) and she was unsure the other ladies wanted to go. At that time, it had rained considerably before 10. It had eventually cleared up later, though.

So that’s why I was able to drive to Royal Collectibles at 11 and pick up only one book. Instead of having breakfast at the diner next door, I had to go to Dunkin’ Donuts for a coffee and an inferior sesame seed bagel.

When I drove back to Forest Hills, I actually parked not far from Austin Street and, believe it or not, walked to my Austin Street Diner, to have the breakfast I couldn’t have at the old Dominican restaurant. You can wonder how surprised I was when I walked in – it was a little after 12 or so – when I saw my lady friends still seated in the booth finishing off their morning meal. A table was placed next to the edge of the booth and I sat down to kibitz with the women. At breakfast today, there was no definite arrangement made as to when to visit Carol, so I’ve decided that I will go at some point by myself before Elliot returns this Saturday.

As for playing pickleball for the second time, I would have to say that I prefer the first place, the one in Hempstead. I thought the facility at Queens College was inadequate in that there was no air conditioning downstairs in the bubble where the courts were located. There was a $5 fee to rent a paddle and an unnecessary $5 to get a sticker to park my car in the lot. I didn’t need that in July when I went there for the first time and had to leave because the session I thought I was attending was not the right one.

I must say that my game improved a little after playing about four games with different classes of players – all women. There were two large men playing, but I was never paired with them during the two hours. I still am puzzled by rules regarding scoring, though. I also didn’t know when it was my turn to serve, but my partner helped me with that. The “coach” that was with us was not very helpful himself since he mumbled mostly and I couldn’t hear him over the thrum of the fan and the overall din in the playing area.

So would I play again? you might ask. Probably, but not at Queens College. I also didn’t like driving home at night. I would now prefer to play earlier in the day if it’s doable.

Stay safe and be well.