Three weeks of ranting about the Post Office on Fox News will tank its approval rating among Republicans, who will suddenly discover all sorts of reasons to hate it while maintaining that they felt that way all along. The Libertarian wing of the Tea Party will be happy to supply talking points. I mean, the Republicans thought the economy sucked right up until the moment Trump was elected, and they were for Romneycare, McCain, the FBI, the intelligence services, national security, and free trade before they were against them.

Freely granted that they're really dumb and dishonest people; but if it was that easy they would have lost Social Security and Medicare by now. They need the USPS and they know it.

An interesting question occurs: what time sensitive crime does Trump want to commit that he absolutely has to have a confirmed flunky in position nownownow? He's threatening to order Congress adjourned if the Senate doesn't physically gather and approve his co-conspirators immediately. It's possible that he can according to the Constitution, but if the two houses of Congress note that they agree on the adjournment date, then ignore him and send in a couple of Congresscritters for a pro-forma session anyway? That could make his interim appointments dicey and the Supremes would have to weigh in again. Unless the Republicans find their collective nads and finally let him have it, but please, they sold those decades ago.

And to nobody's surprise, Trump's EPA has just said coal and oil burning power plants can spew mercury again. Last I looked, which was before the Obama era, there wasn't a single body of water or stream in the US that had fish with no mercury contamination. Looks like Trump misses those days. Maybe mercury induced brain damage explains it all?

Trump's poll numbers are so bad he threatened to sue his pet pollster. Granting he was supposedly 'joking', he jokes about a lot of stuff as a trial balloon just before he tries to do it.

While Trump denies his own internal poll numbers, he's really not doing well. Long story short, if he can't take 7 of the 8 states where Biden is ahead by 1-4 points then he loses. For perspective: Trump didn't take a single state where he was ahead by 4 or less in 2016, and Clinton took a couple where he was ahead by 5 or 6. So he's got a lot of work to do.

I know it's super early, but blue Texas makes me very happy. I know he's probably going to win Texas, but he can't win without it right?

There's really no way he could possibly win without Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio; just putting Pennsylvania in Biden's camp means Trump has to sweep 7 of those 8 blue bordered states, and that pretty much isn't happening. But what amuses me is that the Republicans in Georgia are sounding the alarm that they could lose the state. Sure, it could be them crying wolf in order to get up enthusiasm; but between the mess Kemp's created with reopening (and Trump cutting him off at the knees), and the two very damaged Senate candidates they've got running this cycle, it could also be a serious warning that an awful lot of election fraud will be needed for them to keep those electoral votes.

An open question to Trump on CNN. This should have been asked three years ago, and we shouldn't hold our breath waiting for a straight answer; but it's still all too cogent.

Yeah, Bill Barr abused his position to pardon Flynn (which dropping the charges basically does). And the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the recent court decision that they have to turn over Mueller investigation materiel to the House. No public health officials can testify in the House either. And the announcement that Trump was invoking the Defence Procurement Act to keep meat plants open can be counted on to be used by Republican governors who have already cheerfully connived at the murder of the plant workers to further undercut public health agencies. After all, why would the Republican governors who censor public health information because it's politically inconvenient as they send folks back to the public spaces hesitate when there's meat packing company bribes at stake? Oh, and the RNC has doubled the official voter suppression legal fund from 10 to 20 million dollars. Yet another day for the party of corruption and it's natural head.

But really. What world does Trump have to be living in to think the sick little souls in his base will now, in the middle of a deadly epidemic, overlook his killing Obamacare when they didn't do so the last half dozen times the GOP tried? Granted he's always obviously been the one most willing to believe his own lies, but still. He's probably going to die in a New York State prison if he can't somehow steal another election and he's getting crucified; you'd think he'd have noticed.

A rather British view of Trump. Ok, it's the view of any honorable and/or moral American too; but rather better put than most would do it.

Alas, you can only say 'The Emperor Has No Clothes' so many times until it loses all meaning.

I don't quite understand how Barr can get DoJ to drop a case that Flynn already pleaded guilty to. You can retroactively un-convict someone?

And Trump has officially reached Bolsonaro levels of crazy because two White House staffers have tested positive for Covid, one of them his freaking Navy butler, and he is still shaking hands with old folk.

You might have heard that Senator Burr, who is suspected of insider trading, was handed a subpoena by the FBI (with the specific approval of AG Barr) and has since stepped down as head of the Senate Intelligence Committee. That would be the same committee which unanimously endorsed our intelligence agency's reports that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to get Trump elected. And that's why Barr authorized the FBI to serve the subpoena.

In other news, the state of California now has universal mail in voting (though in person is allowed if you insist). Trump is terrified because if California can do it, then no other state has any possible excuse besides Republican malice for failure to do it. Any attempt to pretend it's technical will not fly. Needless to say, though everyone in the White House votes by mail, this is not a privilege that those who might vote Democratic can be allowed. Nope, not a bit. As he says himself:

Meanwhile, it looks like 23% of the Republicans are convinced Trump will lose and want another candidate. Though I found it amusing that 5% of said Republicans didn't say they think Trump is the likely nominee; but to be fair, 'Don't Know' is pretty much always going to get 1-2%. Even if you're asking men if they've had an abortion (and yes, I've seen that).

Oh, and Flynn? The judge did not give the DOJ what they want, and is thinking of throwing the book at him for perjury. Trump may have to own pardoning him after all.

Ugh.

Whatever else Trump screws up, the sight of ethnic minorities rioting (despite some fraction of the destruction being wreaked by suburban anarchy cosplayers, libertarian nutjobs and idiot white nationalists) is almost guaranteed to produce a conservative-authoritarian backlash.

Not so much as he might hope. Trump's no Nixon, and there are very few people who don't already know where he's coming from. So basically he might sway some of the lowest of information voters very briefly; but Covid 19 and a largely wrecked economy will still be here come fall when those folks have very long since forgotten all of this.