Beware The Ides Of Epstein!
Where Today's Scandals May Land (With Footnotes)
It’s so tempting to wallow in the Epstein files. The New York Times does a good job, as always. Here’s a gift link. You’re welcome.
What are we likely to find out when all this is over? That Donald Trump knew about, laughed about and was not about to object to “the girls,” as Jeffrey Epstein said in his emails?1
That isn’t exactly news about the President who likes pornstars.2
I fear that all of the ink and pixels being spilled on this story has two unintended consequences.
One is that for Trump’s hardcore3 fan club, it doubles down on why they like him.
The other is that it distracts from the other stories that need our attention, like this one just posted by Reuters:
USDA searched for terms like ‘diversity,’ ‘climate modeling’ to target grants for cancellation
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture directed its staff to identify grants for possible termination in the early months of the second Trump administration by searching for more than two dozen specific words and phrases related to diversity and climate change, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Again, are we surprised?
We’re past being shocked by the amateur incompetence, arrogant ignorance and criminal contempt for institutions, laws and democracy of the Trump Administration, and the bottom of the barrel staff they elevated into the federal workforce.
It’s practically tiresome. Yes, people say, the president is a dangerous moron who mostly cares about bathrooms, ballrooms and personal glory, but what else is new?
I won’t go on again about how I think this all comes back to the way voting has been devalued and politics degraded, except to link again to this one and this one.
But I will answer that question I just posed.
Here’s what’s new. The fallout from the government shutdown includes the (inevitable, but worthy) failure of Democrats to secure an extension of Obamacare subsidies. This means millions will lose coverage and millions will see increases they can’t afford to pay.
As
wrote:This is now a messaging campaign. It is an opportunity to make sure that every American knows two things: Republicans raised their premiums and Democrats tried to stop them.
As much fun as it is to wallow in a scandal involving tens of thousands of documents,4 I suggest we get over this sport as soon as possible. I’ll be surprised if we learn anything major we don’t already know about Donald Trump. Every day that Jeffrey Epstein leads the news is another day we’re not talking about affordability, health care, and fairness.
Beware the empty calories of the sickening Epstein diet. Go back to the meat and potatoes of the politics that win elections.
Do I believe Trump Did What Epstein Did? No, I don’t. But did he wink enviously at it? You bet.
Don’t follow that thought. Don’t imagine Donald Trump’s history with porn. Don’t see him in your mind’s eye. Just don’t.
That one just came out, I swear. Wasn’t planning a joke there…
I should know—I wrote this op-ed about my Watergate obsession