Week 68
By 
They are pulling out all the stops. John Taney Roberts and his racist colleagues opened the way for the South to rise again, and the white supremacists didn’t miss the message. I have to admit I was not prepared for the level of gleeful racism combined with fealty to the Maximum Leader.
Democrats seem to be getting the message that maintaining norms is no longer the priority. We’re in early days of the reaction to the Redemption II Supreme Court, so we haven’t seen all the Democratic reaction yet. Some legal challenges have been filed, and that is just the beginning.
Meanwhile, the Maximum Leader staggers in his war against Iran, which he would just like to go away. So far, neither Karolyn Leavitt’s baby nor release of the UFO files has managed to eclipse the big numbers for gasoline that everyone sees on street corners. Nor is Iran letting up. The stock market, though, and to a lesser degree the price of oil are willing to do the Maximum Leader’s will as expressed at the times most convenient for both the stock and betting markets.
The Maximum Leader, meanwhile, is maximum redecorating the White House and Washington DC, pasting challenge coins on doors now that most spaces have been covered by Temu goldish schlock and the names of rooms have been written in graceful script in case anyone forgets where he is. A blue Reflecting Pool and a white Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Where is the money for all this coming from? The supposed donations from his friends have now ballooned into a $1 billion allocation for the magnificent White House ballroom, to be paid for by taxpayers. No bid contracts
The Extremely Male President, who sways when he stands up with difficulty, could beat most Republican men, those men tell us, although Democratic women think they could give him a little push and he’d fall over.
As I write this, I’m also looking at commentary on Bluesky about attacking people on our side. Just please stop. Find a way forward that you can manage and do it. If it’s sitting in at a Democratic legislator’s office to get them to move, do it! If it’s convincing a Trumpie relative, do it! If it’s volunteering at a food bank, do it! But stop the whining. We need many kinds of action.
THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DO NOT APPROVE OF DONALD TRUMP AND THE REPUBLICANS.
That is why they are pulling out all the stops. It’s likely to be their last chance.
The Washington Post this week reported on an intelligence assessment that the damage to Iran was not as bad as Trump and Hegseth have been saying. It was calming for me to read the material gleaned from the assessment, which actually made sense and showed some logic on the part of the people generating it, not just the shallow bombast and favorite words repeated too many times. According to the assessment, Iran can hold out for another 3 or 4 months. That will bring the hardships closer to the election. Trump has no idea what to do. He thought it would be like the Venezuela kidnapping. It’s not.
Follow the court-watchers for the details of the lawsuits. Chris Geidner (LawDork, Bluesky), Roger Parloff (Lawfare, Bluesky), and the Just Security tracker.
Let’s stay away from hypotheticals, as usual. Post your pets.
140 more weeks to go. What are you doing?
Previous weeks: Week 10, Week 20, Week 30, Week 40, Week 50, Week 60, Week 61, Week 62, Week 63, Week 64, Week 65, Week 66, Week 67