Today is Wednesday, February 7, 2024.    I’m sorry that I didn’t give fair warning that I probably wouldn’t be here yesterday since it was the first Tuesday of the new month in which my book discussion group meets at the Jefferson Market Library in the Village.    I attended without Elliot since he didn’t read the month’s book, Kiss of the Spider Woman, by Manuel Puig.    Afterward, a group of us strode to the oldest gay bar in the city, Julius’s.    I stayed there rather late schmoozing with the guys.   So I came home rather late and was not in the mood to write this blog.

The story that I couldn’t write about yesterday was a major one involving the insurrectionist president known as Donald T. (for traitor) Dump and the unanimous decision rendered by a District of Columbia Appeals Court concerning Chump’s claim of presidential immunity.   Thus a federal appeals court unanimously voted against all three of Trump’s presidential immunity arguments in his January 6 case, finally and formally dubbing the former president as simply “citizen Trump.”

This unanimous decision by a three-judge panel is examined in a Raw Story article by Travis Gettys entitled ‘No path’ to Supreme Court for Trump and ‘lawful thing to do’ is put him on trial: expert.”  

Now that this ruling has been rendered and delivers another death blow to the former commander in “grief,” MSNBC’s Chuck Rosenberg believes that the ruling will stand.    

Talking about the airtight ruling, Rosenberg stated, “The court of appeals decision was thoughtful and forceful and, I think, solid, and forgive the pun, but unimpeachable.”   He believes the ruling will not be reviewed by the “Extreme” Court, as Chump is expected to take yet another appeal (don’t you want to just retch over this guy doing his damnest to avoid justice at all costs?  Wouldn’t we all be better if this hoodlum were already in jail?) “at least not right now.    I don’t really see a path there.” 

Rosenberg then says that “the smartest thing to do, the lawful thing to do is to send this back to Judge [Tanya] Chutkan and let her try it.  I hope it’s before the election, I think it will be, I think it will be, I think that’s very much on the table and in the cards, but I think that’s the path forward.” 

So when can we expect a trial here for Donald T. Chump?    This country needs to exorcise itself of this 8-year-long American nightmare called Donald Fucking Trump!  Let’s have at least two trials where we will finally learn how horrible this man is!!!    I can’t stand listening to the news in which the first, second, and last story is about him.  He has created a news vacuum in this country and we need to break it.   

As for that scathing 57-page opinion, Justices Karen LeCraft Henderson, Florence Pan, and Michelle Childs rejected all of Chump’s arguments of sweeping protections around the presidency.  They declared:  “It would be a striking paradox if the President, who alone is vested with the constitutional duty to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’ were the sole officer capable of defying those laws with impunity.”   As Fucking Trump would do if Americans are stupid enough to elect him again in 2024!

They added, “We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.” 

The conservative lawyer and U.S. media pundit for MSNBC George Conway has described the ruling as “tight as a drum,” and said it would put pressure on the Supreme Court to decline hearing a Trump appeal or to confirm the District of Columbia appeal court’s verdict if it did decide to consider the issue. 

Conway writes in the The Atlantic, “I’ve read thousands of judicial opinions in my four decades as a law student and lawyer.   Few have been as good as this one.  It’s a masterful example of judicial craftsmanship . . . The opinion weaves together the factual context, the constitutional text, the judicial precedent, history, the parties’ concessions, and razor-sharp reasoning. . . “ 

Even with this “tight-as-a-drum” ruling, a stinking Chump campaign spokesperson said that Herr Drumpf would still appeal the ruling “in order to safeguard the Presidency and the Constitution.”   All a fucking lie!   Drumpf only wants absolute immunity which is so irrational that it’s laughable. 

So let’s hope that this partisan court might simply refuse to hear the damn appeal. As I said, this would mean that the January 6 election conspiracy trial, overseen by Judge Tanya Chutkan, could be up and running before the summer.  The new mantra concerning Drumpf should be “Lock him up!”

Now the Extreme Court is actually set to hear oral arguments tomorrow over whether or not the traitor should be removed from the ballot.  I say he definitely should, but we don’t know how this terrible court will rule, given that Drumpf has appointed three conservative judges to the court and the nine-member panel bends toward the extreme right in many of its decisions, thus losing the faith of many concerned Americans.     An online article in salon says that the path toward taking him off the ballot is clear:   that anyone who takes the office of president by taking an oath to the Constitution and then shreds it by engaging in insurrection or rebellion cannot run again.   The article is by Amanda Marcotte and it’s entitled “Booting Trump from the ballot is best way to prevent a second Jan. 6.” 

Marcotte says that if the Supreme Court does rule for Herr Drumpf, “it will be strictly due to their thorough corruption and politicization.”   As Vox‘s legal reporter Ian Millhiser argues, the arguments for keeping Donnie on the ballot are “embarrassingly weak.”  Anyone who doubts this should reread the Constitution, which states that anyone who has “previously taken an oath” of office and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” cannot run again.

There is, however, another camp that feels that just following the Constitution in this case would unleash Chump’s MAGA base of nutcases, the ones with the rifles and guns.    Yesterday Politico published an expert round-up with headlines that made it seem like the threat of violence is simply too great to go forward with enforcing the law.  Some of the reporters said that the response from these MAGA loyalists would be very dire if the Supreme Court decides to remove Chump from the ballot.

Other voices were not that worried about some violent MAGA uprising – as long as the Supreme Court does the right and proper thing.  These people feel that preserving our Constitution and democracy far outweighs the concern that random violence might break out.  Marcotte argues that if we do give in to MAGA threats, all we’re doing is encouraging them to use violence to undermine democracy even more.   I would agree here with Ms. Marcotte.   We should never give in to a bully like these dimwitted zombies of Drumpf demonstrate that they are. 

Another argument for taking Chump off the ballot is that it’s the best way to prevent future MAGA violence.    As a candidate, Chump can likely try to encourage violence much sooner, to make up for not having presidential authority to mount a pressure campaign.  As long as he is on the ballot, there are multiple targets he can direct MAGA terrorists toward in his efforts to steal the election.   Chump is already prompting them to attack polling booths in urban and minority neighborhoods.

There is some awareness that some incidents of violence could take place if he’s taken off the ballot, but they will be more diffuse, making it much easier for law enforcement to deal with than a centralized attack that we saw on January 6, 2021. One way or another, MAGA will be violent, but much less so without a goal – stealing the election for Drumpf – that the violence is meant to achieve.

Marcotte notes that the decision by the federal appeals court yesterday did not result in anything considered remotely violent. This despite Drumpf’s self-pitying lies plastered on Truth Social, his media platform, which caused nary a ripple among his crazy MAGA base.   By removing Chump from the ballot, it could serve as the best chance to head off future violence at the pass. 

A more practical argument against this Supreme Court outcome could actually leave Biden vulnerable to another Republican who would be nominated in Chump’s stead, and that nominee like former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, could have a much better chance of winning, given how low Biden’s approval ratings are.  It appears that Biden’s best chance of winning in November is by competing against Trump. 

We will all be biting our nails tomorrow, in any case, to learn what that decision by the Supreme Court would be.  It will be the most impactful ruling since Bush v. Gore n 2000. 

Stay tuned to the case being heard before the unpopular Supreme Court tomorrow.

Stay safe and be well.

“Hey, are you looking at me?” Atticus appears to be asking. 

Atticus is enjoying his day in the drawer!