This is not my week to be optimistic but some things are moving in the right direction.

Russia’s war on Ukraine and common decency is going so poorly that Putin is threatening to use nukes again. It’s hard to take this as anything other than a desperate attempt to stay in power. Desperation makes people do stupid things. In the immortal words of Richard Thompson, “You can’t hide from the turning of the tide.”

The Impeached Insult Comedian’s embrace of QAnon is a sign of fear and weakness. His little friends are already crawfishing:

“Fuck if I know,” one Trump ally replied to Rolling Stone when asked this month why the most powerful figure in the Republican Party has been so publicly promoting Q symbols and messages, particularly on his own social media app, Truth Social. Others close to the ex-president (most of whom just like to pretend this isn’t happening) say that conversations with Trump that have touched on this topic in recent months paint a clearer picture — one of a Boomer internet troll who just loves to be liked. And one thing that QAnon adherents really, really like is their supposed god-emperor Trump.

 

“He’s said that he thinks some of their memes and images are ‘funny,’” says another person close to Trump, who has heard the former president privately weigh in on Q-boosting Trump fans since leaving the White House. “He also sometimes mentions that it’s hilarious to make people like you [in the media] so mad when you see him touch the Q shit … But to be fair, he says that they’re some of his biggest fans, which, you know, is his thing.”

It’s just the latest in a long line of cons and scams perpetrated by former President* Pennywise. He’s clearly afraid of being convicted of a crime and thinks that threatening violence can stave off his problems.

It reminds me of the scene in Citizen Kane where Boss Jim Gettys threatens to expose Kane’s affair if he doesn’t withdraw from the Governor’s race. Kane’s response was blustery proto-Trumpy bullshit:

I’m on the record as doubting Trump will go prison for security reasons BUT the odds of charges, a conviction, and an ankle bracelet with the initials DJT on it are rising. You can’t hide from the turning of the tide.

I was right about Judge Dearie. He has provided adult supervision to the stolen papers case.

Here’s Josh Marshall on the reaction of Team Trump:

Now they’re finding out that he’s your average federal judge, the type who goes in with the assumption that classified documents are classified rather than owned by former Presidents, the type who doesn’t go in with the assumption that the FBI is run by Antifa.

The special master gambit has blown up in Team Trump’s face. Judge Dearie’s attitude makes a reversal of the corrupt judge’s corrupt opinions more likely. You can’t hide from the turning of the tide.

Merrick Garland administered the citizenship oath at Ellis Island last weekend. His stirring speech gave a hint of where his thinking lies vis a vis indicting Trump:

The protection of law – the Rule of Law – is the foundation of our system of government.

 

The Rule of Law means that the same laws apply to all of us, regardless of whether we are this country’s newest citizens or whether our [families] have been here for generations.

 

The Rule of Law means that the law treats each of us alike: there is not one rule for friends, another for foes; one rule for the powerful, another for the powerless; a rule for the rich, another for the poor; or different rules, depending upon one’s race or ethnicity or country of origin.

Shorter Attorney General Garland:  No one is above the law and if there’s sufficient evidence DOJ will indict. You can’t hide from the turning of the tide.

Finally, Empire State AG Tish James doesn’t have the power to threaten the Kaiser of Chaos with imprisonment in Sing Sing BUT she’s filed a civil fraud suit against the Donalds, Ivanka, and Eric; you know, the blond one. She’s referred possible criminal charges to the Sovereign District of New York.

The New York suit excited me almost as much as when Morticia Addams spoke French to Gomez:

You can’t hide from the turning of the tide.

The last word goes to Richard Thompson: