From late last year, George Packer of the Atlantic summarized the last 60 years of the GOP and nailed it, from pre-Goldwater to the Trump era.  Best quote:

“The corruption of the Republican Party in the Trump era seemed to set in with breathtaking speed. In fact, it took more than a half century to reach the point where faced with a choice between democracy and power, the party chose the latter. Its leaders don’t see a dilemma—democratic principles turn out to be disposable tools, sometimes useful, sometimes inconvenient. The higher cause is conservatism, but the highest is power.”

it gives a blistering picture of what we non-GOPers face against “true believers”.  And it ain’t pretty.

We’ve all seen Trump fawn all over brutal dictator Kim Jung Un, ignoring his human rights record, nuclear weapons threat, and outright brutality.  Last week, Trump sided with Kim against Japan, our most important Asian ally, after North Korea launched short range missiles towards Japan that fell into the sea.  Trump dismissed the launch saying,

“It doesn’t matter. All I know is that there have been no nuclear tests, there have been no ballistic missiles going out, no long-range missiles going out. And I think that someday we’ll have a deal. I’m not in a rush”

We all know that Trump is an unthinking, narcissistic ass.  No one or nothing is more important to him than himself.  He ignores his advisors, our allies, and all intelligence and law enforcement agencies.  He’s an “expert” and a “professional” in all matters, taking his own counsel.  He has done the same when it comes to Kim, playing games and coddling him.

Well, that behavior has now gotten at least five North Korean emissaries killed according to South Korean newspaper, Chosun Igbo.  Remember when Trump abruptly ended the sham negotiation with Kim over nuclear weapons last March?  Apparently, Kim showed his displeasure with Trump’s walkout by executing by firing squad chief negotiator Kim Hyok Chol and four of his staff.

The guy that Trump loves and trusts, who has a murderous track record, just murdered five diplomats because His Orangeness, in his all-knowing wisdom, is screwing around with nuclear weapons, close allies, and a brutal dictator for reality television storylines and more tweeting from the toilet in the WH.

Thanks a lot.

R. L. “Dirt” Janochek and I often disagree about philosophical things.

For example, we disagree about which American publication writes the best headlines.

I say Vanity Fair and Dirt says Esquire.

Today, Dirt won.

Former Members of Congress are different from you and me.  They get to take vacations while awaiting trial on corruption charges.

Look toward North Carolina and squint because you don’t want to get too much of this in your eyes.

Robin Hayes, the current chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and a former congressvarmint, was indicted earlier this month trying to help a wealthy political donor in a convoluted corruption scheme intended to influence a state regulator whose department has oversight of the donor’s company.

We’re talking $150,000 here.  And the local newspaper says this is going to be a tough trial for Hayes to come out exonerated.

But here’s the kicker.  Hayes wants his passport returned from authorities who took it before setting his bond so he can go on a long-planned July vacation with his family.  See the PDF here.

Because, you know, all that crime gets very tiresome.

Thanks to Alfredo over at the Dairy Queen for the heads up.

Welcome to Mississippi, friends. What the hell you doin’ here?

Army National Guard Sergeant Franklin Richardson and his wife, Jessica, took their dog to Oktibbeha County Lake in Mississippi to enjoy a picnic by the water. As soon as they arrived, a woman in a Kampgrounds of America shirt pulled a gun on them, said she was the manager, told the couple they didn’t belong, and that they didn’t have a reservation. Then she said “Get! Get!” as if shooing away animals.

Sergeant Richardson and his wife are African American.

They suspect there may have been some racism involved.  Ya think?

Thanks to Rick for the heads up.

Well, the Department of Energy finally has a plan and it’s got Rick Perry’s paw prints all over it.

You thought Rick was hiding out at the Department of Energy and staying away from headlines – meaning Trump – as much as he could.

No.  He was pondering. He was pondering on what he could do that would change the world and make everybody realize that he should have been president.

He has it now, bygawd!

Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg, who signed the export order and also attended the Clean Energy Ministerial, said he was “pleased that the Department of Energy is doing what it can to promote an efficient regulatory system that allows for molecules of U.S. freedom to be exported to the world.”

Molecules of Freedom.  You know, because Freedom Fries had such staying power.

They are pushing natural gas. Natural gas leaks contribute about 1/3 of all the methane released in in the world.

All the hoopla and cute names have come about because of a petrochemical company in Quintana, Texas, a former sleepy and lovely beach town between Houston and Corpus Christi that has now become something out of a post-apocalyptic movie.

You can bet your best pair of pink boots that Rick Perry knows and has a fancy relationship with the good ole boys building this leaky empire on the beaches of Texas.

So, you see, Rick is laying low until he can go back home and be a rich, rich man who has never held a job outside the government in his whole damn life.

Thanks to Carl for the heads up.