Freak Out Friday – September 7, 2018

At a rally in Billings, Montana, Trump–as always–attempted to shift blame for his problems away from himself and to someone else. In an unusual move, his target was his own supporters. He claimed that if they did not get out and vote for Republicans in November, he would be impeached.

“I’ll be the only President in history they’ll say: ‘What a job he’s done! By the way, we’re impeaching him,'”

Well, not exactly. What will be said is, “What a job he’s done. That’s why we’re impeaching him.”

1). It must be true. I read it in “The New York Times.” . The Trump administration went absolutely bat fuck crazy when the Times took the unusual step of publishing an anonymous op-ed piece. It was written by someone identified as a high ranking member of the administration, who claimed that the Trump presidency faces challenges it didn’t even know it had. “The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.”

Asserting that Trump is amoral (which, let’s face it, we knew), he (or she) and others are working together to thwart “Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.” He/she claimed that the 25th amendment was not invoked because it would cause a constitutional crisis, which of course is false. If it’s in the Constitution and you’re following it, that’s not a crisis. That’s doing exactly what you should be doing, especially if you believe–as this individual clearly does–that the President is not suited for office. Using that as an excuse is just gutless.

So who wrote this essay? Smart money is on Mike Pence, because the writer said this: “We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example — a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.”

Lodestar? Ever hear that word before? I had not. Think about normal conversations you’ve had, things you’ve read. Commonly used? Nope. But it’s one of Pence’s favorite words; he’s used it in any number of speeches.

Trump is already shouting at Sessions that he should investigate it. On what grounds? National security, he claims, although of course he can’t come up with any specific national security needs that would be threatened by the writer’s anonymity.

I’ll tell you what’s going to happen: He’ll sue the New York Times. Why? So that when the top editors refuse to answer the question of who the source is (as they inevitably will) then they’ll be thrown in jail. Which Trump would love. He’d be so hot to get reporters locked up that he would have a visible stiffy just talking about it.

2). Read all about it. Excerpts and reviews are showing up about Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” an overview of the Trump White House.

The diss on Woodward has always been that he adheres rigorously, if not insanely, to the concept of journalistic neutrality. Like Sergeant Joe Friday, he cares about the facts and just the facts, offering none of his own assessment. But you know what? In this day and age, where news is disseminated by biased hacks who scream their opinions at the top of their lungs, oftentimes devoid of sources–indeed, when “alternative facts” has become an actual thing–a return to Journalism 101 is a welcome relief. Say what you will about Woodward, but his devotion to, and support of, the facts he presents is untarnished (okay, he got fooled about the whole weapons of mass destruction thing, but other than that…). He’s got recordings of everything on tape, and this is someone who knows from first hand experience how recordings can screw you over if they get out, so you know his printed descriptions are going to match up. When a man who brought down a president and received two Pulitzer Prizes says stuff, you believe him.

The portrait he paints of the Trump administration is by all accounts chilling. Some of it even matches up with the New York Times op-ed piece in which certain of his personnel step in to prevent Trump from making things even worse than they are. Letters stolen off his desk, orders not carried about because they would cause catastrophe, and Trump’s micro memory serving well because he doesn’t notice or remember when things aren’t done.

Trump and his people, of course, dismiss the book out of hand as fabrications. I’m sorry, guys, no. It’s Bob freaking Woodward. He doesn’t lie. He doesn’t have to. The facts are horrific enough. You want to trash the author of “Fire and Flame” whose main source seems to have been Steve Bannon? Knock yourself out. But Woodward is the gold standard of reporting. He is to print journalism what Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow were to television. “We were informed by men; men who were revered” said Jeff Daniels’ character in the immortal first ten minutes of “The Newsroom.” Woodward is revered. “Fear” is all true. I’m going to be picking up a copy of it this Tuesday and review it in next week’s “Freakout Friday.”

3). Hey, did you hear Talos the Untamed is in the new “Captain Marvel” movie!. Sorry, I just…I wanted to say it again.

PAD