Armistice Day

Molly McKew writes, "POTUS has nothing else on sched today but is nonetheless late to Arlington National Cemetery to honor veterans on Veterans Day, keeping decorated veterans, their families and others waiting in the rain, not understanding the significance of the day, hour, minute of commemoration."

That's harsh.  She obviously doesn't know how hard it is to get him out in the rain.  Also, he hates cemeteries, which waste potentially profitable real estate, and is bewildered by dead soldiers ("I don't get it -- what was in it for them?").  Meanwhile the President-elect and Dr. Biden visited the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia, and the Vice President-elect and her husband Doug Emhoff stopped by the Dog Tag Bakery in Washington, a business run by and for disabled veterans.  

The Evertrumpers are challenging 10,000 mail ballots in Pennsylvania which arrived after November 3, though a federal judge has already ruled them valid and at this point even Sam Alito is starting to roll his eyes with boredom.  Even if they are disqualified, Biden would hold a 37,000 vote lead in the state, so what's the point?  Over the weekend a postal worked named Richard Hopkins said the Erie postmaster ordered him to backdate ballots mailed after election day.  This caused Lindsey Graham and Bill Barr to order immediate investigations.  Hopkins recanted to officials of the postal service's inspector general, and then insisted he didn't recant.  Stay tuned, if you care.  Or get more details about the 135 ballots in question here.

Brad Raffensperger is trying to fend off more whining from Georgia Republicans (who are starting to mutter about "traitor to his race") by ordering a hand recount, which is less accurate and more expensive than a machine recount.  Since there's no paper receipt for machine voting, it's not clear how those votes can even be counted, neither has even one claim of fraud been documented, but even if ol' Brad counts the votes "right" this time, Biden won.  Without Georgia or Arizona (still uncalled) or even Alaska, which proudly handed Trump all three of its electorals today.  How long do you have to coddle the world's oldest four-year-old?  What part of "270" do you not get?  One more reason to shit-can the Electoral College along with the three-fifths clause and the appointment of senators by state legislatures.  And the "originalists" can lump it.

It's slightly disturbing that Trump chose this week to re-organize the Department of Defense.  Could Mary Trump be right about a coup?  Did he force himself to go lay a wreath today despite the coif-destroying downpour just to prove his love for The Troops?  And so they'll totally ignore the oath they swore to defend the Constitution and seize the radio station and the post office when the Q signal is given?  I don't know, but here's the new lineup:  Christopher Miller, acting Secretary, former Special Forces Afghanistan and a friend of General Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs;  his chief of staff Kash Patel, who believes the Russia investigation was a hoax; race-baiter Anthony Tata, who Trump nominated and then un-nominated once before, now in charge of policy for the next couple of weeks; and on drums "intelligence and security," Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who used to pal around with confessed felon Michael Flynn at the National Security Council.  Enjoy them now, they'll be working for Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin by March.

You know it's desperate when the lieutenant governor of Texas offers a million dollars to "incentivize, encourage and reward" reports of voter fraud.  (Republicans won Texas.)  Up here, we-all call that a  bribe, Dan.  But it's your money, or rather, your campaign's.  Better than spending it on hookers and Adderall, I suppose.

Will Gina Haspel (CIA) and Christopher Wray (FBI) walk the plank of the Trumptanic next?  Will they be replaced by Lou Dobbs and Jon Voight?  I don't know.  I want to think about the people who gave the last full measure of devotion, not the bone-spur battalion.  Ask me tomorrow.