He Can't Do the Math

Today on Twitter, Donald Trump claimed that:

• his poll numbers are the highest they've been since his election
• his rallies attract larger numbers than did Ringling Bros. circus
• he's America's greatest President

None of these claims are supported by math, let alone facts.

The 60th Anniversary

60 years ago, a spontaneous sit-in at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina marked the start of a movement to end Jim Crow segregation.

Another Travel Ban?

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D - PA 5th), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote this op-ed for the newspaper Pennsylvania Capital - Star.  The piece addresses two topics:

• Scanlon's experience as a pro bono attorney dealing with the first Trump travel (AKA Muslim) ban
• her concern over his administration's efforts to establish a new ban - this one against Nigeria

We should all be similarly concerned.

It Doesn't Add Up

It's a fundamental principle of math and computer science : the greater the number of symbols in a given set, the more compact are the representations that set can produce.  Hexadecimal notation is widely used in a (no pun intended) number of areas of computing; for instance, colors in web pages almost always are defined in hex, with the code C1CDCD representing a pale azure blue.  More germane to this discussion, though, is the fact that what we would write, in the decimal; notation we're used to, as 14, hex would render as E.

Team Trump, quarterbacked again today by Alan Dershowitz, chose an even less flexible set of symbols than decimal.  They pushed Mr. Dershowitz's  self-important I used to think abuse of power was impeachable, but I'm smarter now and I even did more research.  AKA they adopted the political analog to octal.

A Mistake? Or a Signal?

On Monday evening, Senator Joni Ernst (R -IA) gave tacit support to one of the impeachment charges against Donald Trump.

What Ernst seems to hope is that the focus of Trump's  legal team on Joe and even Hunter Biden will change the minds of Iowa Democrats.  Those folks might otherwise choose the former VP in their caucuses this coming Monday.

If you can't get what you want by extorting Ukraine, maybe you can get it by continuing to repeat demonstrably false charges ...

If ...

If any of my grandparents had tried to emigrate to the United States in this day and age, they might very well have been denied entry, or the ability to stay.

In August, DHS decided to expand the definition of public charge as it's applied to people emigrating to our country.  The definition came to include entry and residence being denied if concern arose that such individuals would depend on the government for their overall support.  That concern included the possibility of such folks needing benefits like SNAP . Come to think of it, despite having two college degrees and almost three decades of work experience, I too might be denied a green card, since I have for three years received food stamps.

Today, the Supreme Court, in a 5 - 4 decision, upheld the Trump Administration's plan

According to DHS official Ken Cuccinelli, such proposed rule changes would reinforce the ideals of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility, ensuring that immigrants are able to support themselves and become successful here in America.

New depths in prejudice and condescension ...

More Irony

As I type, I'm listening to Ken Starr's expressions of regret over the politicization of the impeachment process.

Several folks found Mr. Starr's statements questionable ...

Bolton's Bombshell

The New York Times is reporting tonight that the draft manuscript of John Bolton's soon-to-be-published book may blow the Trump impeachment trial out of the water.

According to the Times,  in August Donald Trump told Bolton that he wanted to continue holding military aid to Ukraine until the country helped with investigations into Democrats, especially former Vice President Joe Biden.

The clamor you hear in the distance comes from Congressional Democrats in both Chambers, demanding that Bolton testify in the ongoing impeachment trial.  The chortle is mine, wondering how Sekulow and Cipollone will handle this revelation in the two days of defense arguments they have left.