Open Thread Jan. 11: Stumbling Through the Fog

Donald Trump’s mental fog was on display again this morning, when a “Fox & Friends” story about government surveillance prompted him to tweet against his own policy. This is what I mean by his decline making it impossible for him to finish his term. Propping up a derelict president only works if the president in question stays quiet and out of sight — think late-stage Reagan or Woodrow Wilson. Trump makes that impossible, which is what will make finishing his term impossible. The more the public sees of this, the more people will point out that it’s not a good idea to have the nuclear button in the hands of a hot-headed dotard.

Republicans in Congress are faced with their own problem: Everyone can now see that they have been lying about “the dossier”, either to protect Trump, themselves or both (remember, the money-laundering Russian oligarchs who donated to Trump also spread some of that money around Congress). At this point they’re like the guy who jumps off the 50-story building, and when someone at the 20th floor asks how he’s doing he says, “So far, so good.”

Muslims come from all different races, just like Christians, or any other religion that accepts converts. So, technically speaking, this South Dakota state senator is correct when he says his anti-Muslim positions are not “racist.” Disrupting an interfaith prayer photo-op to say so, on the other hand, has to make you wonder.

For all of the hand-wringing over the MeToo movement, word clearly hasn’t filtered down through the justice system yet. Otherwise this former Hartly Fire Company official would have gotten more than probation for repeatedly fondling an underage girl.

I’ve had my run-ins with former Joe Biden aide Claire DeMattheis over the years, but good on her for bird-dogging the recommendation to study Delaware’s horrible prison health-care system. It’s been a perennial source of problems ever since the state contracted it out instead of doing the job properly. Let’s see if she’s able to budge the sluggards in Dover — she’s certainly got the brains and energy for it.

You may have missed this if you don’t spend time reading liberal outrage web sites, but a clothing company called H&M got itself in hot water by showing a child’s sweatshirt with the phrase “coolest monkey in the jungle” on it. The problem: The child model was black. The company issued an apology, but the level of outrage online could only have been higher if the child had been fondled by Woody Allen. Here’s the best part: The child’s mother, who lives in Sweden, told everyone to “get over it.” What, and quit show biz?

And, just because he’s one of the best journalists of his generation and has long experience in the matter, this link to James Fallows explaining how most people who are really, like, smart actually talk about themselves.