Before the Biblical Divorce
To celebrate yesterday’s results in the Texas Republican primary, please grab your favorite snack and your preferred beverage and enjoy this 2016 musical offering from the then Mrs. Ken Paxton.
The ex-Mrs. Paxton’s 2016 musings on her husband’s frequent absences are especially pregnant in light of allegations that Paxton’s current lover is a married mother of seven.
The Paxtons’ “biblical divorce” is further explained here:
An Amusing Afterword
YouTube apparently decided that I would be interested in songs about love gone wrong. After viewing the ex-Mrs. Paxton’s 2016 musical offering, YouTube speculated that I would probably enjoy Norwegian chanteuse Heidi Hauge’s version of The Tennessee Waltz.
Indeed, I enjoyed it immensely, and hope you do as well.
It was a popular song—the English version that is, not the one in Norwegian—back when (in my father’s words) I was only knee high to a grasshopper.
My mother always said that, if you lose your Little Darling in the course of one dance, then she was probably never your Little Darling in the first place.
Likewise, I am afraid that Ken was probably never Angela’s Little Darling. How sad to see love gone wrong.
We have another two months—until the Texas Republican primary runoff—for John Cornyn to tell us all about what a lying, corrupt, adulterous son of a bitch he’s running against.
The Tariff Decision, Looking Forward: How Smart Was it for Trump to Hurl Vile, Hyperbolic Insults at Justices Gorsuch and Barrett and at Chief Justice Roberts?
As we have seen, the Learning Resources decision was 6 to 3, but there were three distinct factions:
- the liberals, who thought that ordinary tools of statutory interpretation condemned Trumps IEEPA tariffs, and that the “major questions doctrine,” which they did not recognize, was not germane to the decision,
- three of the rightwing justices, who cherished the “major questions doctrine” and thought it was of considerable relevance in ruling against Trump on the tariffs, and
- the three other rightwing justices, who also cherished the “major questions doctrine” as a general matter, but who squirmed to deny its relevance to the case at bar.
In other words, at least for this case, probably for other tariff cases, and possibly for future cases on other topics, the six rightwingers have split down the middle into two opposed factions.
Justices Gorsuch and Barret, along with Chief Justice Roberts, are the swing votes. Who wins a future tariff case will turn on whether Barrett, Gorsuch, and Roberts side with the liberals or whether they side with the other three rightwingers.
And, make no mistake, there will be future tariff cases. There will be future tariff cases up the wazoo.
Trump’s post-decision hissy fit will do nothing to persuade its targets—who are, of course, the very three people he must persuade if he is to have an icecube’s chance in Hell of prevailing in future tariff litigation.
The hissy fit is also intended to threaten and intimidate, but I am persuaded that intimidation will not work either. Why? Because if Barrett, Gorsuch, and Roberts were going to be intimidated, I think we would already seen the effects of that intimidation.
Call the ambulance.
He has shot himself in the foot again.
Oh, the Former Duke of York
“Donald Trump is Worried That We’re About to Flip Texas”
The Colbert-Talarico Interview That CBS Would not Broadcast
There Seems to be a Trend Here
Louisiana state House of Representatives District 60 is a rural area south of Baton Rouge. In 2024, 56 percent of its voters cast their franchise for Trump, while 43 percent voted for the Democratic ticket.
In yesterday’s special election, the Democratic candidate won 62 percent to 38 percent.
In other words, there was a 37 percent shift in favor of the Democrats between November, 2024, and February, 2026.
Wobbling, On the Defensive, Losing their Will, Falling Apart
“Nationalizing Elections”
David French (N.Y. Times), This Is Not a Drill
David French’s warning is timely and well taken. That said, I think we may all thank Orange Mussolini for sending a clear and timely signal about his intent with respect to the 2026 elections. We have a reasonable amount of time to litigate l’affaire Fulton County ballot seizure, establish beyond peradventure of doubt that Tulsi Gabbard is a blithering idiot—and that Trump’s delusions are in fact delusions, and take the preventative steps that David French encourages us to take.
It’s a sign of the times that Senator Thune recognized that “nationalizing elections” is unconstitutional, and that he did not cotton to the idea.
First Bonus News Report: Panic in Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ‘Blood in the water.’ Why Republicans fear an upset in MTG’s backyard.
Georgia Republicans are shitting their pants about the special election in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s district.
Second Bonus News Report: Legal Karma
While some law firms caved to Trump, renowned plaintiffs’ firm Susman Godfrey stood tall, and walloped the living daylights out of Team Trump. See here.
This week brings reports that top lawyers at the Susman firm are now charging $4,000 per hour. See here.
Point of personal privilege: I was one of the late Steve Susman’s ten thousand closest friends. I’m confident Steve is looking down from heaven or the bardo at recent developments, and I know he’s still wearing that shit-eating grin.
He Has Set His Own Ass on Fire and is Rolling Around on the Floor
Why Greenland? From Whence This Madness?
IMHO, George Will and Ross Douthat have some pretty good things to say this morning. Will sees a crisis caused by “a president’s fragile ego, as usual.” Douthat has two alternative explanations: “malignant narcissism flavored with insane Nobel Peace Prize-related self-pity” or “how Trump always negotiates.” There’s much truth in both op-eds, and you would probably do well to read them.
You would also do well to take a look at the online front page of the Wall Street Journal—a good source for the business/financial elites’ view of the world. Part of it is reproduced above.
The elites are worried. The thing they value most—maybe the only thing they value at all—is their money. Trump’s behavior is increasingly threatening their core values.
I’m posting right now because I have my own take on the Mad King’s current thought processes. It’s set forth in the next paragraph, which is all speculation—but reasonable speculation based on known facts, analyzed logically.
Trump has been told—probably by the Solicitor General, the unfortunately named Mr. Sauer—that he is going to lose the tariff case in the Supreme Court. Bigly. Faced with that grave forthcoming affront to his fee-fees, Orange Mussolini has devised an insane Hail Mary pass: use tariffs to force Europe to give him Greenland, thereby “demonstrating” to the Supreme Court the great “value” of his favorite play-pretty, his usurped power to bully other countries with tariffs and threats of tariffs.
There will be consequences.
I hope y’all have a lot of popcorn on hand.
The 5.2 Million Epstein Files and the 400 Lawyers
In recent days, widespread reports say the Justice Department has discovered more than five million new Epstein files—and that it has pressed 400 lawyers into service redacting the files.
If all of that is so, then there is a document that must exist—and therefore it does exist—namely, a written summary of criteria that the 400 lawyers are required to use when choosing that passages to redact.
I want to see that set of redaction instructions.
And I will see it. And so will we all. Sooner than you may think.
Facing MAGA 