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.

New York Times has 10 years of Trump taxes.  He paid zero taxes in 8 of the 10 years.

Between 1985 through 1994, he lost over One Billion Dollars.  He lost 500 million dollars in two years – the biggest loss of any taxpayer by far.

Still breaking news.

Okay, I’m fixing to scare the ever-lovin’ poop outta you because I don’t want to be the only person around here scared
poopless.

No specific reason was given for the cancellation. The press pool traveling with Pompeo has not been told where they are going next, and have been warned they may not be able to report from the country they are going to until after their departure.

Now, when you have a Secretary of State you wouldn’t trust to oversee high school wrestling match say there’s something “pressing” but he won’t tell you what or where, you would really like to know if you’re in the fallout zone of where this secret place is.  This guy is CIA and a Trump lover.

Here we’ve got a guy who wants to start a war in Iran, Venezuela, and probably the House of Commons.

God love the press pool.  I know I am not getting on an airplane with Mike Pompeo not knowing where I am going or even if I have a return ticket.

Okay, so Steve Mnuchin, who is a creepy guy no matter how you look at it, has announced that he will not allow the Treasury Department to turn over Trump’s tax returns, calling it a “fishing expedition.” I suspect that’s different from a witch hunt because it appears that the last witch hunt found bunches of witches and a few goblins.

This is proof that Trump isn’t the only guy in this administration who cannot read.

The chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have had the authority since 1924 to obtain the tax returns of any American, and the law stipulates that the treasury secretary “shall furnish” the information once it is requested. This law was put in place during the Harding administration because of financial improprieties that stemmed from the Teapot Dome scandal.

Shall is a pretty definite word. It does not say, “if you want to” or “except for fishing expeditions.” It says shall.  They could have said can but they didn’t.

I’m not saying that congress should also request Mnuchin’s tax returns, but it might be fun.

UPDATE:  Deb T reminded me of something timely today: