One wonders if Mnuchin's off-the-wall phone calls...

...were intended to cause the market to tank followed by "assurances" that caused it to recover, creating opportunities for insider trading.

Scares me that I don't see any downside for Trump in extending the shutdown until he gets his wall.

Equally scary: I don’t see any upside for congressional Republicans voting with Democrats to override a Trump veto.

Well, there is that minor issue of well-being of the country and the American people.

At some point doesn't the issue of the House impeaching Trump...

...stop being a political calculation and become a moral issue? Seems to me that when enough dreck comes out, those who don’t support impeachment start looking like co-conspirators.

Don't you wonder why Evangelicals are drawn to Donald Trump?

Is it possibly because the Evangelical conception of God bears an amazing resemblance to Trump? They say that people who have been in an abusive relationship are at risk of falling into another one. Could it be?

They said at work, if Fridays seem to drag on, put a little Cold Duck in your thermos.

What do Evangelicals truly believe?

I'm wondering if any journalists or writers have made a deep dive into Evangelical culture post-11/2016 to try to get a grip on what beliefs are central to their existence.

As far as I can tell, the only fixed stars are:

1. They're right about everything.

2. They're going to Heaven and everyone not like them is going to Hell.

Sent an email to my sibs before the election.

I explained that Trump was so bad that it was a moral imperative for me to urge them to vote against R’s everywhere. I said that I thought that they knew very well who he is and what he’s capable of and I hoped they would make the right choice.

I thought that Trump’s behavior had become so rank in the past month that a reachable moment might have arrived for some.

Seems not. Two negative responses and silence from the other three.

Crap.

My message to voters everywhere:

When you go into the booth take a moment to stop thinking about the people you hate and what will be bad for them. Think instead about the people you love and what will be good for them.

Then do what seems right to you then.

Trump is a battering ram.

One of Trump's key behaviors is making outrageous statements and policies that would have sunk any other politician. It's tempting to think he does that because he's crazy, but it makes more sense that he's goaded into doing these things by people (Putin?) who don't really care how badly he's damaged in the process because to them, he's expendable.

I picture him tied to the end of a giant log wielded by his handlers as they use it to smash through legal barriers and political norms. The handlers are probably surprised as anyone that he's managed to survive as long as he has.

(Trump is fully culpable, still. I've never changed my mind about that.)

Between 1978 and 1995, Ted Kaczinski (the Unabomber) killed three people and injured 23 others...

...with homemade bombs sent in the mail. Don't let Republicans frame this as harrassment or a symbolic act. It is nothing less than attempted first-degree murder.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski

Hat tip to other DU'ers who have made the same point in a variety of ways.