Nothing changes, everything changes

 

New York finally decided to do something about the very public killing of Jordan Neely, charging Daniel Penny with manslaughter.  Was the decision controversial?  Well, the officer on the right is wearing a bulletproof vest.  I don't know the details of his bond but Penny and his porn 'stache will probably have to miss Eric Trump's ReAwaken America Bund Rally in Miami.

Gabriella Gonzalez had to travel to Colorado for an abortion.  When she got back to Dallas Harold Thompson, the father of the fetus, was unhappy.  He put her in a chokehold, which she managed to escape, and then shot her.  He too has been charged with manslaughter but unlike Penny can expect a pardon from the governor if convicted.  Texas is big on law and order, selectively.

The British director Guy Ritchie has taken up the case of an Afghan pilot who fought with British and American forces and is now facing deportation to Rwanda, the UK's official dumping ground for unwanted immigrants.  The government apparently learned nothing from Joanna Lumley's campaign on behalf of Gurkhas who fought for Britain in the Second World War.  (It's hardly her fault that their re-settlement was less than perfect.)  How far will the Tories go to appease the worst racist elements of the party?  Ask the Republicans.  

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan was unhappy about the just-concluded trial of Carroll v. Trump -- the years of pre-trial delay, the abusive rants on Twitter and then Ministry of Truth Social, the cowardly bluster from European golf courses, the continued defamation of the plaintiff as recently as Tuesday -- and he's determined that it not be repeated in his court.  He has ordered Trump to appear by video on May 23 to hear a lecture on the rules of procedure in the criminal case of New York v. Trump and make sure he knows what the legal meaning of "contempt" is.  Meanwhile, of course, the sexual predator's lawyers are trying to get the case moved to federal court for some reason, because that worked so well in the Carroll lawsuit.  

The far right's effort to conflate Jewishness with support for the Israeli government took a goofy turn on Wednesday when Bernie Sanders appeared at a Nakba event organized by Rashida Tlaib.  (Nakba is Arabic for "catastrophe" and refers to the removal of Palestinians from their homes in 1948.)  This led Ben Shapiro to proclaim Sanders "as Jewish as a ham sandwich."  Apparently Jews who don't keep kosher are also ruled out by Rabbi Shapiro.

Is the US permanently fragmented?  Maybe it always was.  Kansas City has declared itself a sanctuary for the transgendered as Missouri passes still more anti-LGBTQ laws to keep them from playing sports.  It's hard not to think of Newton Knight and his efforts to create the Free State of Jones in Mississippi after it broke away from the US.  There are rightwing counties in Oregon right now that would prefer to link up with white nationalist Idaho.  Republican-controlled legislatures in Tennessee and Montana are not content with outvoting the Democrats in their midst and have begun trying to expel them.  We can't even pretend to live side by side anymore.

As grotesque as Trump is, we can be grateful he hasn't stripped on live TV like his BFF Nigel Farage.  All the horrifying details are on Twitter.  The Trumpers love those Jon McNaughton paintings which carry on the Hans Holbein tradition of flattering fat slobs like Henry VIII, but on some level Trump is not delusional enough to appear in a Speedo. 

I did not know this:  Back in 2003, when foreign terrorism was still a greater concern than the domestic kind, the skies over the two Disney theme parks became no-fly zones.  This annoyed advertisers and the aviation industry no end but was considered prudent in view of the thousands of people who fill Disneyland and Disney World every day.  (Well, the president did urge that in response to 9/11 we all go shopping -- it's practically the same thing.)  But Disney is now the enemy in the War on Woke and two mean girls named Boebert and Greene have patched up their spat to join Troy Nehls (R-TX) in a bill to revoke this privilege.  (Notice none of them represents Florida or California.)  Wouldn't it be funny if this idiot legislation passed and the next day someone flew a plane into Splash Mountain?  No, it wouldn't, but the people who embarrassed Governor Sununu by hooting and cheering Trump's attacks on E. Jean Carroll would shit themselves laughing.

Another case of Supreme Court corruption was narrowly averted.  Some high school friends of Justice Elena Kagan decided she needed a care package and tried to send her a gift basket of bagels and lox from the legendary New York deli Russ & Daughters.  As the would-be organizer said, "She turned it down because her ethical standard is to not accept any gifts." 

You can send it to me, ladies.