The big surprise in the latest indictment of Donald Trump is that it actually contained no surprises -- that it was a rehash of the Jan. 6 committee, which was a rehash of the second impeachment trial.
There is still no evidence of incitement; no evidence of sedition; and, crucially, no direct evidence that Trump knew he was lying about the election, though Special Counsel Jack Smith may wish otherwise.
The indictment looks like a political document, rather than a good case. Even commentators inclined to give Smith credit for his other indictments in the "documents" case were shocked at this one.
Smith damaged his credibility -- and, as Jonathan Turley pointed out on Fox News, that of Attorney General Merrick Garland. But why? And why go for charges that even include a potential death penalty?
My speculation is that the DOJ is firmly inside the DC bubble and that most of the staffers do not have a broad diet of news. They read the New York Times and the Washington Post and listen to NPR.
They don't know how the rest of the country feels; they don't even know that things they may believe are facts really aren't. They think they are saving the Republic. They can't see that they are hurting it.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
