This was last week.

And this is today.

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued a stern warning Sunday about the state of the US government after President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey last week, saying he thinks US institutions are “under assault.”

“I think in many ways our institutions are under assault both externally — and that’s the big news here is the Russian interference in our election system — and I think as well our institutions are under assault internally,” Clapper said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Pressed by anchor Jake Tapper if he meant US institutions were under assault internally from the President, Clapper responded, “Exactly.”

Exactly.

Why, yes he is.  You can’t make this up.

ON EDIT:  Okay, so we found out it’s an old photo and one is a medical boot, but this one is not old.  Here is Sean Spicer hiding between the Bushes.

Thanks to Deb for the heads up.

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ON EDIT AGAIN:  They pay me for this stuff.  OutSmart this month.  Comments at the OutSmart website are appreciated.

This morning, as I listen to all the MoJo talking heads recounting the stream of lies spewing out of the White House I am actually physically revulsed. Since the night of November 8th, my emotions have ranged from anger to despair.  My anger was directed at virtually everyone – those who supported Hillary’s nomination when her flaws were obvious to those not devoted to her (I know, I know), those who didn’t bother to vote, those who voted for third parties, and especially those who were so stupid as to vote for the worst presidential candidate in US history.  Those people were overcome with Trump’s celebrity, his crass word salad, his tacky gold-plated lifestyle, his obvious mental instability, and his absolutely undeniable immoral existence.  After he took office, despair overwhelmed me as my worst fears were realized.  Not only was Trump as bad as I feared, he surrounded himself with the worst WH staff imaginable.  It seemed his priority was to pick the absolute worst nominee you could imagine for each role, from an education secretary who opposes education, a housing secretary who knows nothing of housing, to a strategist who is a known bigot.

Trump also tightened his grip on power with the judiciary in his pocket and a cowed legislature.  I had hoped that the career professionals around him could at least hold him in check, but he’s now fired an acting attorney general, every single ambassador around the world, 46 US attorneys including Preet Bharara, the head of the Census Bureau, and now the head of the FBI who was investigating his corruption and ties to Russia.

Just this week, after firing Comey, Trump mustered his merry band of liars to go in front of the cameras and blatantly spin tales, not bothering to even try to square those tales with actual timelines or even with each other.  The only consistent lie that night was that Cheeto Jesus took “swift and decisive action”, and that was most certainly one of the worst lies after he later admitted to Lester Holt that he had decided long ago to fire Comey.  I sat and watched Holt try to get Trump to answer for his lies, and the result was the most concentrated collection of falsehood that has ever been emitted on national television.

As I watch this rolling disaster, I’m nostalgic for past days where we had a president who was precisely the opposite of  this creature now infesting OUR White House.  Barack Obama was known for his steadiness, his caution (some would say too cautious), his ability to speak to the nation’s heart at times of tragedy.  He occupied this very same house for a scandal-free 8 years, leading the country through some of its toughest times.

So I have to ask: Do you miss him yet?

As for me, I answer, you’re damned right I do, every single day.

Okay, I need to tend to some business for Momma this afternoon, but here’s some mess you can get into.

Customer Nancy let me know that an Annapolis Republican consulting firm was raided by the FBI this morning.  Now I’m not saying this is where they built the Trump Russian clone or anything like that but you never know.

Here is their website.  And to be honest, it does look way too generic (Strategic Campaign Group?) and developed too cheaply for them to be totally legitimate.

Here’s a list of the partners.  Kelley Rodgers, Chip O’Neil, and Dennis Whitfield.  Nose around the internets and see what you can find.

Thanks to Nancy for the heads up.

Update:  a trusted friend tells me that it’s Manafort’s former firm.

UPDATE 2:  Maybe.

UPDATE 3: When you keep hitting dead ins, always see the comments at Reddit – usually wrong but always entertaining.