The majesty of the law

 It seems like only four days ago -- it was! -- that Clay Travis, who describes himself as a lawyer and writer, was on the Xitter helping out with the jury selection part of Trump's latest trial.  "If you're a Trump supporter in New York City, do everything you can to get seated on the jury and then refuse to convict as a matter of principle, dooming the case via hung jury.  It's the most patriotic thing you could possibly do."  Counselor Travis was probably beating up protesters against the Iraq war when they covered jury tampering, so maybe he gets a pass.  But this morning, on Xitter rival TRUTH SOCIAL Trump posted, "'They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,' Jesse Watters."  What a dilemma.  It's almost as if Trump is challenging the verdict ahead of time, not unlike his claim that the 2024 election is already RIGGED AND STOLLEN.  

Jury selection is proceeding faster than anyone anticipated but slower than we thought a couple of days ago.  Seven people were seated (with alternates, they need eighteen), but one asked to be excused out of fear.  Judge Merchan is keeping names and addresses confidential but she said friends had identified her by other details.  Another was dismissed after the prosecution discovered information about prior criminal activity.  People are being excused because they read certain books, because they read the New York Times, because they watch television.  One man was sent home after saying he was born in Italy and comparing Trump to Silvio Berlusconi.  Another was born in Ireland.  It sounds like a cross-section of New York County (the official name of Manhattan).  If the Republicans have their way, voting will be as complicated and time-consuming as qualifying for this jury.

One dismissed prospective juror told MSNBC, "[Trump] looked less orange, definitely.  Like, more yellowish."  Bet he doubles down on the fake spray tan tomorrow.  Like, more Samuel L. Jackson.

So far Trump has remained conscious today.  Earlier in the week the judge admonished him about making remarks audible to potential jurors, a technique he perfected in the civil fraud trial.  The thinking is that his lawyers shot him up with animal tranquilizer to keep him quiet, resulting in nicknames like "Al Napone" and "Don Snoreleone."  Maybe he should get some sleep instead of violating gag orders all night.

The Trump trial was not the only legal proceeding this week, of course.  The House Act Like We're Doing Something Committee delivered articles of impeachment on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate, and when I say "delivered," eleven of them formed up like this was something serious and marched over to the Senate chamber.  It was impressive.

It's like they know what a fucking waste of time it's been.  And sure enough, on a party-line vote the Senate tossed it straight into the trash.  What a disappointment for Margie Greene, who was up all night directing her staff to make the pictures from the border even bigger.  At least she can take comfort in her new celebrity on Russian state media.  Since Greene threw her leathery body in the path of aid to Ukraine, they praise her every night and one punditnik has even suggested her as a substitute (not running mate) for Trump.  You know the Russian proverb, "One puppet falls out the window, another walks through the door." 

As Tom "Bang Bang" Massie joins Moscow Marge (thanks, Ken Buck) in her mission to vacate the chair, Mike Johnson is trying to accomplish something that is not completely idiotic, perhaps as early as this weekend.  He has a four-bill package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and more sanctions on Russia, Iran and China; and is ready to appease MAGA with a new border bill.  Why?  "My philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may."  What is this "doing the right thing"?  He goes on, "I believe Xi and Vladimir Putin and Iran really are an axis of evil.  I think they are in coordination on this...We have to do the right thing and history will judge us."  Who are you and what have you done with Mike Johnson?

Maybe he was upset by this:

Speaking of Putin, he's now using hostage-taking as a recruitment tool.  When Putin decides he doesn't like you, you suddenly face charges of tax evasion or "corruption."  That's what happened to self-help influencer Yelena Blinovskaya and now her husband Alexei Blinovsky has secured her release by enlisting to fight in Ukraine.  He joins the thousands of violent criminals who got out of prison by agreeing to repeat their crimes (mostly murder and rape) on the Ukrainian side of the border.  Great Patriotic War 2.0.