For all the years I worked at a newspaper, I had a press pass. It was a laminated card with my picture on it.  The picture was a mug shot and the issuing authority was the county sheriff. I remember the sheriff handing it to me in a nice little flip-open nylon pouch to hang around my neck and saying, “Okay, Lois Lane, this gives you permission to go anywhere that nobody else wants to go. You can even run into buildings that everybody else is running out of. Use it to do good stuff.”

Do good stuff. I tried.

So did Dana Milbank.  After 21 years, Milbank’s White House press pass was denied. He suspects it’s because he’s a Trump critic.

I’m not looking for pity. Trump’s elimination of briefings and other changes have devalued White House coverage anyway. But there’s something wrong with a president having the power to decide which journalists can cover him.

I don’t pity Dana because he’s a big boy with lots of power and he can fight back. I am, however, outraged. The Trump White House has taken to the mattresses.

One other story. My last boss was a bodacious loudmouthed owner of a weekly newspaper that was the official newspaper of the county. I wrote both news and editorial columns. When someone asked her, “what exactly does Susan do at your newspaper?” Bev replied, “She finds out what people are doing and makes them stop it.”

That, right there, was the best description of an editorial writer I had ever seen.

And that’s what Dana Milbank did.

Say what you will about Nancy Pelosi, but she is seldom wrong.  Yesterday, the Noise Machine went nuts when she said that Trump was trying to goad the Dems into impeaching him.  The Noise Machine went nuts for one reason, and one reason only:  she’s 100% correct.  Think about it:  The latest ABC News/WaPo poll found that 55% of voters definitely will not vote for Trump; further, 85% said they were going to vote in 2020.  High turnout is death for all politicians Republican.  Trump’s approval is hovering at 39% to 41%.  All these numbers are terrible for him. Terrible.  I would say that Trump’s chances of getting re-elected now are low, unless the Dems are stupid and run HRC again in 2016, which is not going to happen.  Biden, if he maintains his current intensity, will slaughter Trump, especially with a vibrant younger VP like Harris or Hickenlooper.

In short, the shine is off the fake gold plating, and Trump’s record as a fraudster and criminal is finally beginning to catch up with him, especially with those not in his drooling, Confederate flag wearing base.  Indictments on a number of state and federal charges once he leaves office are a virtual certainty; he will be legally and financially destroyed once he comes out from under his rock in the WH.  His only hope to fight off the wolves at the door is to stay in office as long as possible, and a new term will protect him until he’s too old to throw in jail for the rest of his life.

Because of these facts, Trump’s only chance of survival is to gain sympathy and support from low information voters by fighting off a huge threat.  That huge threat is impeachment by the Big, Bad, Democrats in the House.  So let’s consider what would happen if articles of impeachment were drawn up in the House. First, it takes a majority vote in the House on Articles of Impeachment, and that is not a certainty, especially if Pelosi continues to oppose.  If Trump is charged by a majority of the House, he must undergo trial in the Senate, which requires a 2/3 supermajority to convict.  With current Senate membership and leaders, Trump’s conviction has a zero chance of happening.  Zero.

So, impeachment is exactly what Trump wants.  He wants to play victim on Twitter and national television over a “witch hunt” and “coup attempt”.  That’s why he’s begging for impeachment by blocking disclosure of the unredacted Mueller report, claiming executive privilege.  That’s why he’s preventing Barr and McGhan from testifying.  That’s why he’s ignoring every single subpoena and request for information.  Since beating an impeachment charge is his only chance of winning another term, expect him to continue escalating his attacks on the House, Dems, and all things that are considered good and decent.

Though no other president has deserved impeachment more than Trump, the Dems must not take the bait.  They need to continue bombarding him and his cronies with subpoenas, demands,  requests for information and admonishments, but Pelosi is right.  Impeaching this son of a bitch is the last thing the Dems should do.

Okay, so there’s a small town north of Atlanta where time stands still.

Hoschton was hiring a city administrator and – oh Lord, we should have been this coming – a black man applied.

The mayor decided that although the man was qualified “she just didn’t think Hoschton was ready to hire” a black person as an administrator.  She said this privately to a council member.

“We are not Atlanta,” she carefully explained.

Two other council members were not in agreement and went to the city attorney to complain.

But Councilman Jim Cleveland agreed with the mayor.

“I’m a Christian and my Christian beliefs are you don’t do interracial marriage. That’s the way I was brought up and that’s the way I believe,” Cleveland was quoted as telling the newspaper.

“I have black friends, I hired black people, he added. “But when it comes to all this stuff you see on TV, when you see blacks and whites together, it makes my blood boil because that’s just not the way a Christian is supposed to live.”

Yeah, stunning.

Meanwhile, while racists were being racists, the man who had applied was hired at another city.  I hope at a much higher salary.

Thanks to Sam in Minn for the heads up.

I know you’ve noticed by now that Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen is a man with a lot of insider contacts.  But, then again, anybody with a Dairy Queen franchize makes lots of contacts.

Here’s his take on the Jerry Falwell “incident.”

You’re gonna love this.

The Reverend, His Wife, The Pool Boy and a Presidential
Endorsement Obtained by Blackmail?

It seems pretty clear who had the compromising photographs of the Reverend Jerry Falwell, Jr. and his wife.

The Falwells told Cohen that someone had obtained photographs that were embarrassing to them, and was demanding money, the source said. Reuters was unable to determine who made the demand. The source said Cohen flew to Florida and soon met with an attorney for the person with the photographs. Cohen spoke with the attorney, telling the lawyer that his client was committing a crime, and that law enforcement authorities would be called if the demands didn’t stop, the source said.

The matter was soon resolved, the source said, and the lawyer told Cohen that all of the photographs were destroyed.

Gee, who do the Falwells know in Florida? Oh yeah, Giancarlo Granda, a 21-year-old pool attendant at the Fontainebleau Hotel that the Reverend and Mrs. Falwell “befriended” during a Miami vacation – and then loaned $1.8 million to buy a South Beach youth hostel. Oh yeah.

The case raises more questions than answers: Falwell Jr. and his wife appear to have simply “befriended” a then-21-year-old pool attendant while the husband and wife were staying at the ritzy Fontainebleau. They then welcomed the pool attendant into their lives, began flying him around on a private jet, and even put up millions of dollars to help his business ventures. Falwell and his wife have appeared in Facebook photos eating at Macchialina with the pool attendant — a Florida International University graduate named Giancarlo Granda, who now lives in Washington, D.C., and attends Georgetown University.

The reverend, his wife and the pool boy.  A ménage a trois in Miami.  A cellphone.  Seems like a pretty clear violation of the Seventh Amendment.

So did Trump blackmail Falwell into giving him his endorsement for President?  Seems like a possible explanation for an otherwise inexplicable act.

Fortunately, Mr. Granda is now a student at Georgetown University.  Probably taking final exams this week. I’m sure he’ll be glad to  clear this up.

Thanks to Alfredo over at the Diary Queen.

Some of you have inquired about our weather here last night.  We stayed high and dry but our street flooded and it didn’t even flood during Harvey.  The Brazos River is at peak because of rain upstream and we are expecting a lot more rain here this week. So, I’ve been putting anything I love up high – preparing for the worst but hoping for the best.

Meanwhile, there’s Jerry Falwell, Jr. to entertain me.  Michael Cohen says he helped bury ya-ya pictures of Falwell right before he endorsed Trump.

It is unclear what the photos allegedly depicted. Cohen described the images as “photos between husband, wife, and the whole bit.”

“I actually have one of the photos,” he said on the recording. “It’s terrible.”

Well, that’s not hard to believe.  Any photo of Falwell is pretty terrible.  Why, right here is one of his dick pix.

You recall that it was Falwell who first suggested that Trump should get two more years on his term of office because we’ve been picking on him.  So, I pretty much know who has those photos now.

I wonder if Trump also has the Graham Boys – Franklin and Lindsey – pictures.

I’m betting yep.

Okay, so here’s how he explains being the biggest loser in America.

Yeah, we know about that.  There’s even a term for it: “Tax Fraud.” And, apparently you were the best in America at it.

Somebody, please cue Elliott Ness.