Reality -- what a concept!

 "It's alarming, because you don't really think it's true."

That was Battalion Chief Bob Beaudet of the Manchester, New Hampshire, Fire Department, describing the woman who fell into a dumpster and was compacted four times by a garbage truck.  (She survived.)  But it could be anyone talking about reality in 2024 CE.  

If Trump suddenly starts grinding out badly spelled imprecations about the Steele dossier again, it's because he got more bad legal news:  A British high court judge dismissed his suit against Christopher Steele and his company, Orbis Business Intelligence, for accusing him of "perverted" sex acts and bribing Russian officials.  Not on substantive grounds, Mr. Justice Steyn said the statute of limitations had expired.  Also, the dossier has already been available online, so Trump has no realistic chance of collecting damages.  As if realism ever enters into his, uh, thinking.

When a reporter asked if he would use more campaign funds to pay his legal bills, Trump's response was "I didn't do anything wrong.  I mean, that's been proven as far as I'm concerned."  (It hasn't.)  "Actually, we won in the court of appeals."  (Neither case has yet been heard by the court of appeals.)  Meanwhile, he's trolling for new legal representation to appeal "one of the most ridiculous and unfair Witch Hunts our Country has ever seen."  I hope Alina Habba got the $3.2 million up front, no virtual trading cards.

Why are people still impressed by Ivy League colleges?  Yes, they're old and expensive and they have enormous endowments that let them attract eminent professors, but the results are frequently disappointing.  During yesterday's Senate auto da fe for tech executives, Tom Cotton singled out the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, for enhanced interrogation:  "Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?" he demanded.  "Senator, I'm Singaporean.  No."  "Have you ever been associated or affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party?  Are you scared you'll be arrested and disappeared the next time you go to mainland China?"  (Who talks about "mainland China" in 2024?)  Thomas Bryant Cotton, Harvard 1998, Harvard Law 2002, and they never told him Singapore is not part of China.  Thank you, Harvard, and you too, Arkansas.

Oh, look what I just found on All Hat No Cattle.  Thanks, Lisa!


Thirteen former employees sued the Teamsters International Union and its president Sean O'Brien, alleging racial discrimination in their firing.  Yesterday the union settled for $2.9 million.  Since game recognizes game, Trump promptly met O'Brien to beg for his endorsement.

On Fox News, which Trump just can't quit, Mark Meredith asked him about the weird red marks seen last week on his hand.  (Speculation had ranged from ketchup to syphilis.)  "Maybe it's AI," he ventured.  Sleep well, America.





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