Trump Admits to the Thing That He's Been Denying for Two Years

President Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to change his story about a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that is pivotal to the special counsel’s investigation, tweeting that his son met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer to collect information about his political opponent.

There is no "appeared to" about it. Trump has just admitted that he, his son and his campaign sought to get information from a hostile foreign power about a political opponent.

That is an "in kind" donation. It's illegal for foreign nationals, let alone governments, to contribute to political campaigns.

So, sorry, El Trumpo, you not only broke the law, you just admitted to it.

If you're on the Right and you're going to defend Trump, then ask yourself how you would have reacted if Clinton had done it. If you say "no problem," then you're more than likely a pants-on-fire liar than not.

Trump colluded with the Russians. That point is now an established fact.

So now we're seeing whether the Right owes its allegiance to Donald Trump or to the United States of America, for "both" is no longer a viable answer.

We Can Do Better, Surely

One in five foster children become homeless when they "age out at 18 in South Carolina. About an equal percentage of female former foster kids become teen moms. Almost two-fifths go to prison. Almost that many are unemployed. Damn few go onto any form of college.

It's not only an American problem.

The United States is ranked 47th in the world for maternal mortality.

In the rest of the First World, this joke wouldn't make sense:

Surely we can do better.

Your Sunday Morning Turboprop Noise

A quartet of CL-415s fill up on the French Rivera:

I have no idea what corrosion issues arise from operating on the ocean.

Shorter Kavanaugh: "I'm Against Investigating (Republican) Presidents."

Brett Kavanaugh apparently said, during the Clinton investigation, that it was wrong to have an independent counsel investigating a president. But those doubts didn't stop him from participating.

So I guess, to Kavanaugh, the rules differ depending on the party holding the White House.

No wonder The World's Oldest Toddler wants him on the Supreme Court.

Caturday

An outdoor kitten relaxes in the shrubbery.

Commentariat Doesn't Get It

Bret Stephens, a neocon, argued in the NY Times that Donald Trump will have blood on his hands when one of his unhinged supporters kills a reporter or three.

The fear isn't unfounded.

I believe that warning Trump that his rhetoric will lead to people killing reporters ignores the fact that to Trump, if reporters do get killed by his supporters, that's not a bug, it's a feature.

It is exactly what Trump wants. He probably believes that if some of his supporters kill some reporters, the rest of the media will tone down their criticism of The Presidential Baboon out of fear. That those supporters will end up being shot themselves, spend life in prison or be executed is, to Trump, the cost of doing business.

Trump is inciting murder. If somebody gets killed, he should be charged with incitement, or something.

Trump is a despicable excuse for a human being. He is a fascist. His supporters, by cheering on Trump's attacks on the press, are demonstrating that they are not true Americans. They are phonies. They recite the Pledge of Allegiance and stand for the National Anthem, but they do not believe in the concepts of liberty and freedom for anyone other than themselves.

Trumpanzees are cockroaches on the body politic.

Because It's Friday

UP 844 last month.

844 had a starring role in the latest Longmire novel The Western Star by Craig Johnson. Other than 844, it's not my favorite of the series, by any means.

Trump's Lies Get More Brazen

"You know, if you go out and you want to buy groceries, you need a picture on a card, you need ID," Trump continued. "You go out and you want to buy anything, you need ID and you need your picture."

Other than buying ammunition at Walmart (and that's only been recently) and buying guns, I can count on the fingers of one hand the last time I had to show ID to buy anything and have five fingers left over.

Of course, his gamey wingman tried to have his back. By now, if Sarah Huckster-Sanders has any shame (or soul) left, it's not evident.

World's Oldest Toddler Rages On

The Trump administration says people would drive more and be exposed to increased risk if their cars get better gas mileage, an argument intended to justify freezing Obama-era toughening of fuel standards. Transportation experts dispute the arguments, contained in a draft of the administration's proposals prepared this summer, excerpts of which were obtained by The Associated Press.

By that logic, they might as well mandate that cars weigh a minimum of three tons. That way, the cars would get shitty mileage and people would take mass transit.

We all know what's going on here: Trump's guidestar is that whatever Obama did, he'll do the opposite. If Obama wanted to send out free guns with tax refunds, Trump would propose banning all guns.

Apply Trump's Razor to everything Trump says: Everything Trump says is a lie, until proven otherwise.

Imbecile Detector in Operation

Police around the world have warned people against doing the “Kiki challenge”, after multiple people attempting the viral dance have been injured.

The “Kiki challenge”, also known as the “In My Feelings challenge”, involves jumping out of a moving car and dancing alongside it to Drake’s hit In My Feelings, while the car continues moving.

It's a sad commentary that people have to be warned not to jump from a moving car.