After The Raid

I don’t want to speculate wildly about the FBI raid on Trump’s home because speculating wildly is what the Democrats have spent the six years doing and the country has suffered as a result. 

If the FBI and the DOJ have a compelling case to show why an unannounced raid was necessary over Trump doing something that every other President has done, they need to show it and show it now.  Right now, it looks like it was simply the Biden administration trying to intimidate an opponent.

If the FBI and the White House’s goal was to fire up a Republican base that was feeling a little bit demoralized last week, mission accomplished.

This is the sort of thing that the Democratic base will eat up but how are they going to react if it doesn’t lead to charges against Trump?  Democrats, I think, always assume that the rest of the country is as obsessed and angry with Trump as they are.  

Democrats spent four swearing that Trump was going to use the FBI and the DOJ to target his political opponents.  I imagine Trump would have if not for his staff, who often do not get enough credit for reigning in Trump’s worst instincts.  Biden’s staff does the opposite.  With old Joe checked out mentally, they’re free to make their Resistance fantasies a reality.

Democrats need to stop governing as if the Republicans are never going to be in power again.  

Liz Needs Donald

I was just reading that Liz Cheney now says that she doubts she could support Ron DeSantis if he received the Republican nomination in 2024.  All I can say about that is that if Ron DeSantis is too extreme for you, you really have no business calling yourself a Republican.

Not supporting Trump I can understand.  If Trump were the 2024 nominee, I would be very tempted to stay home or cast my vote for a third party candidate.  (Ultimately, it would depend on who the Democrats nominated.)  But refusing to support DeSantis seems like it’s more about keeping Liz’s newfound admirers happy than anything else.  It reminds me of when Colin Powell endorsed Obama because he claimed Mitt Romney — MITT ROMNEY! — was just too extreme in 2012.  

In 8 days, Liz Cheney will lose her primary.  Next year, regardless of who is in control of the House, neither Cheney nor Adam Kinzinger will be in it.  I get that both of them have to do something to keep their name out there and I guess pretending to be principled conservatives on CNN and MSNBC is the route that they’re going to take.  Ironically, their future worth as media commentators depends on keeping Trump in the news.  It’s an interesting situation.  They may hate him but the future of the media and the Cheneys and the Kizingers of the world are all dependent on Donald Trump not going away.

 

Good News

We made it through the night without the new, extremely bright porch light attracting any aliens, ghosts, or angry neighbors.  All is well in the neighborhood.

Greetings To Those Above

Today, we got a new porch light.  The one we had was dim and old and made the house look like it might be haunted so we bought a new one and this morning, a man came out and installed it.  It took less than 30 minutes to install and we couldn’t be happier with the aesthetic design of it.  It makes the front of the house look much more impressive and cared for.  The new porch light is sleek and modern.

And incredibly bright.

I just flipped on the light a few minutes ago and the light is not only illuminating our front yard but it’s also illuminating the front yards of the houses on either side of us.  Fortunately, one of those houses is empty and the other is owned by someone who I don’t think has ever turned off a single light, regardless of the time of day.  Hopefully, no one will complain.

When I first turned on the light and saw how bright it was, I was reminded of that commercial where someone’s Christmas lights are so bright that they can be seen from the International Space Station.  To my friends in the night sky, greetings and keep up the good work!

Finally, Some Good News

In a week dominated by dispiriting election news, it was nice to read that Rebekkah Jones, one of the most shameless and destructive grifters of the COVID era, was disqualified from running for Congress.  While it’s doubtful Jones would have been elected, even if she hadn’t been disqualified, it’s good to reminded that this shameless con artist is the type of person that the media will promote as a hero in order to further its agenda.

Questions of the Day

Is Howard Stern still running for President or has he moved on to something else?

Who among us every believed that there would be a time when news moved so quickly that a major media figure announcing his presidential candidacy would be forgotten within a month?

If Howard is still running, the Forward Party could probably use a candidate.

Marilyn and Abe

I really couldn’t justify calling this site “Pop Politics,” if I didn’t share this picture of Marilyn Monroe and Abraham Lincoln.

 

The picture was taken in 1953. Apparently, Marilyn was a big fan of Abe, as we all should be.

Happy Birthday To The TRS-80

Say happy birthday to the TRS-80, one of the first mass-produced personal computers. The TRS-80 was introduced on August 3, 1977 and it used to be sold exclusively at Radio Shack.

(This is a file picture. This is NOT my Dad’s TRS-80.)

My Dad still has his somewhere.

Looking Over Last Night’s Results

Last night’s primaries were definitely a mixed bag but here are two things to be happy about:

1. In Missouri, the right Eric won.
2. In Kansas, Aaron Coleman lost.

Forward?

Occasionally, I like to check in to see what’s going on with Andrew Yang.  His improbable 2020 Presidential campaign was one of the few enjoyable things about that campaign season.  While I doubt I would ever vote for Yang, I can at least respect him as someone who sincerely seems to be trying to make the country better for everyone.

Despite all that, I’ve always been skeptical about The Forward Party.  For as long as I can remember, people like Yang have been trying to form “non-partisan” third parties.  They always start with a lot of fanfare but, inevitably, third parties act as a magnet for the usual collection of kooky activists and low-level, unemployed political figures who are trying to remain relevant even while the world changes around them.  The rise of Trump has especially left a lot of former Republican insiders in the type of limbo that makes joining a third party seem like an attractive option.

For instance, Gov. Christie Todd Whitman has signed on as co-chair of the Forward Party.  Whitman was a big deal in the late 90s, when she was the governor of New Jersey and she was one of those Republicans that the press loved because she spent the majority of her time criticizing her own party but she hasn’t exactly been a major political player in the years since 2001.  With Whitman aboard, I won’t be surprised to see people like Larry Pressler, Richard Painter, Jim Webb, and others joining as well.  If none of those names are familiar, it’s not for lack of trying on their part.

The Forward Party has endorsed a handful of Democratic candidates, all of whom have, so far, lost their primaries.  The Party is having their first convention in September and they’ve unveiled the ugliest logo that I’ve seen.

Forward indeed!