Leap before you look

 As if 2024 doesn't come with more bad omens than a production of Macbeth, it's a leap year.  Thanks, ancient Romans.

I gave myself a day off from what we used to call the papers, and look what I found today.

"US pastor accused of trying to put wife's co-worker's head in deep fryer."  Yes, McDonald's was involved.  Otherwise your basic man-upholds-wife's honor-with-Southern-gallantry.  Dwayne Waden is described as a truck driver as well as a pastor of Elevated Life International Ministries in High Point, North Carolina.  The co-worker is described as suffering a contusion but was not actually deep-fried.  

Remember Kim Davis, the county clerk who refused to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple on the grounds of religious hatred?  She has to pay them $260,000 in damages and fees.  Lindsey Graham will no doubt take up her cause when he's done fighting for Chik-Fil-A's right to flout New York law by closing on Sundays.  Lindsey has so little to do.

The consensus on the right seems to be that Trump is guilty as hell.  Every Republican "candidate" has promised to pardon him as soon as he/she takes office (giggle), and a Fox News pundit who glories in the name Dr. Janette Nesheiwat says, "He can be president from jail if he has to."  Presumably two turkeys would be brought to the visitors room and he can pardon one there.  SOTU might be trickier.

At the same time, two Maine Democrats have criticized secretary of state Shenna Bellows for following the Fourteenth Amendment and removing Trump from that state's ballot.  Bellows's home was "swatted" by Trumpanzees on Friday night while she was out, but neither Angus King nor Jared Golden seems bothered about the violation of her rights by agents of a terrorist.  The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity.

Steamboat Willie is now in the public domain.  Try to control your emotions.

Hollywood elites are interfering in politics again, contributing 0.03 percent of the total raised by Adam Frisch in the Colorado Third.  That's $1,000 from Barbra Streisand and $500 from Ryan Reynolds out of a total of $7.7 million.  That's why poor Lauren Boebert is switching to the Fourth District on the other side of the state, where they don't care if their Member grabs members while attending a musical.  If, as she says, "Hollywood is trying to buy their way into Congress," they'll need to do better than $1,500.

We're still waiting for the judge to unseal the guest list on Epstein's Island.  Unless one of the names is Jorge Mario Bergoglio, I don't expect to be flabbergasted.

South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in the International Court of Justice, and it's said that Netanyahu wants Alan Dershowitz for the defense.  Not only would that be an insult to Israeli lawyers, but does he really want someone associated with O.J. Simpson and Trump?  (Giuliani is still licensed in some places, and he really needs the money.)

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave an interview where he described Gaza as a "ghetto" from which all but about two hundred thousand Palestinians must be "strategically" removed.  Keep connecting those dots.  It took two years for the United States to burn through the good will it experienced after 9/11.  Israel has done it in three months.