;)
September 10, 2022
Afternoon Update:
Steve Hendrix, et al., of the Washington Post: "... a fast-moving Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed Russian forces into a stunning retreat from key strategic areas in the northeast Kharkiv region. As the advancing Ukrainian troops regained lost territory with shocking speed, liberating the town of Balakliya and raising their blue-and-yellow flag over the city of Izyum, jubilant Ukrainians and officials in Kyiv and Western capitals indulged in a daring hope: maybe the grinding, stalemated war was swinging their way.... The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday confirmed that it had pulled forces out of Balakliya and Izyum, after a decision to 'regroup' and transfer them toward the regional capital of Donetsk in the south 'in order to achieve the goals of the special military operation.'"
U.K. Sophie Zeldin-O'Neill & Steven Morris of the Guardian: "Prince William and his wife, Catherine, have been named the new Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles III. King Charles announced their new titles during his first speech as monarch on Friday night, a day after his mother's death. 'Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru,' said Charles, who previously held the title."
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The Slo-Mo Trump Disaster Series, Episode 1,197 or So
Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department and lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump failed to agree on Friday on who could serve as an independent arbiter to sift through documents the F.B.I. seized from Mr. Trump's Florida club.... In an eight-page joint filing that listed far more points of disagreement than of consensus, the two sides exhibited sharply divergent visions for what the arbiter, known as a special master, would do, and put forth different candidates. The Justice Department proposed two former Federal District Court judges for the position: Barbara S. Jones, a Clinton appointee to the Southern District of New York who performed a similar role in cases involving two personal lawyers of Mr. Trump, Michael S. Cohen in 2017 and Rudolph W. Giuliani in 2021; and Thomas B. Griffith, a George W. Bush appointee who retired from the bench in the District of Columbia in 2020. Mr. Trump's legal team countered with ... a retired Federal District Court judge, Raymond J. Dearie, a Reagan appointee...; and Paul Huck Jr., a former deputy attorney general in Florida who also served as general counsel to Charlie Crist, who was its Republican governor at the time. Mr. Huck is married to Judge Barbara Lagoa, whom Mr. Trump appointed to the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta, which oversees federal courts in Florida. Such an appointment would appear to create a conflict of interest that could require Judge Lagoa to recuse herself from litigation involving the case.... The dispute over the special master's purview was reflected in an appeal the Justice Department filed on Thursday seeking to lift part of Judge Cannon's order temporarily barring it from using the documents in its investigation." Politico's report is here.
Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department has subpoenaed two former top White House political advisers under ... Donald J. Trump as part of a widening investigation related to Mr. Trump's post-election fund-raising and plans for so-called fake electors, according to people briefed on the matter. Brian Jack, the final White House political director under Mr. Trump, and Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump's top speechwriter and a senior policy adviser, were among more than a dozen people connected to the former president to receive subpoenas from a federal grand jury this week. The subpoenas seek information in connection with the Save America political action committee and the plan to submit slates of electors pledged to Mr. Trump from swing states that were won by Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the 2020 election. Mr. Trump and his allies promoted the idea that competing slates of electors would justify blocking or delaying certification of Mr. Biden's Electoral College win during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.... The subpoenas were issued to a wide range of people who either worked in the White House or on the Trump campaign, including senior officials like the campaign's chief financial officer; personal aides to Mr. Trump; and the former chief of staff to Ivanka Trump."
Judge to Trump & Lawyers: You Whining, Lying, Incompetent Nitwits Wasted My Time. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Florida has dismissed Donald Trump's lawsuit against former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, saying there was no basis for the former president to claim that Clinton and her allies harmed him with an orchestrated plan to spread false information that his campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential race. Trump 'is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this Court is not the appropriate forum,' Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the Southern District of Florida wrote in a scathing 65-page ruling dated Thursday. The judge also wrote about 'the audacity of Plaintiff's legal theories and the manner in which they clearly contravene binding case law.' Middlebrooks noted 'glaring structural deficiencies in the plaintiff's argument' and said that 'such pleadings waste judicial resources and are an unacceptable form of establishing a claim for relief.'
"Middlebrooks criticized the quality of the legal work presented by Trump's attorneys. 'Many of the Amended Complaint's characterizations of events are implausible because they lack any specific allegations which might provide factual support for the conclusions reached,' Middlebrooks wrote.... Trump's attorneys also presented citations ... that were simply not true, the judge wrote. The lawsuit claims Clinton and top campaign officials conceived of and carried out the plot against Trump and hid their involvement 'behind a wall of third parties,' and it cites a specific page of a report from the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General. 'I went to page 96 of the Inspector General's Report looking for support for Plaintiff's conclusory and argumentative statement but found none,' the judge wrote. Trump's lawyers can disagree with the report, Middlebrooks wrote, 'but they cannot misrepresent it in a pleading.'... Alina Habiba, an attorney for Trump..., said they will appeal the decision." Ha! Good luck with that! The Guardian's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "When Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton accusing her of spreading false information about his 2016 campaign and Russia, the former president tried to get the case heard by a judge that he himself had appointed to the bench. That news was first revealed in April and got renewed attention Thursday when a different judge dismissed Trump's lawsuit in a scathing decision, saying that his claims 'are not only unsupported by any legal authority but plainly foreclosed by binding precedent.' 'I note that Plaintiff filed this lawsuit in the Fort Pierce division of this District, where only one federal judge sits: Judge Aileen Cannon, who Plaintiff appointed in 2020,' Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the Southern District of Florida wrote in a footnote on a separate motion. 'Despite the odds, this case landed with me instead,' Middlebrooks wrote. Cannon is the Trump-nominated judge who this week intervened in the Justice Department investigation into Trump's possible mishandling of classified information, agreeing to grant his request for an independent review of the material that FBI agents have seized." This is a point Patrick also made in yesterday's Comments. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Middlebrooks is taking a dig here, not just at Trump, but at Cannon. And just imagine what Cannon's decision would have looked like: maybe 65 pages of what a terrible person Hillary Clinton is. And if you think Cannon would have checked the inaccuracy of Trump's footnotes, as Middlebrooks did, may I remind you that it's apparent Cannon didn't even read (or else didn't understand) the briefs the government presented her in the special-master case. Of course she didn't need to read all that lawyerly gobbledygook; she indicated she had made her decision even before the government had presented its first brief.
Dan Mangan of CNBC: "Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb called ... Donald Trump a 'deeply wounded narcissist' who acted in a 'criminal' manner when he pushed then-Vice President Mike Pence to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election win. In a new interview, Cobb also said Trump's conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, while a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, could -- at least theoretically -- lead to him being barred from seeking the presidency. 'There is a simple way to disqualify President Trump,' Cobb told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett in an interview on 'The Takeout' podcast. 'He clearly violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution's Article III when he gave aid and comfort and three hours of inaction with regard to what was happening on the grounds of the Capitol,' he said." MB: Why, it's almost as if Trump's former lawyers -- and that would include Bill Barr, who was not supposed to be Trump's lawyer but who was -- hold the former president* in low esteem.
You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect and defend it.' -- Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address ~~~
~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "'Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal,' as [President] Biden put it in Philadelphia last week. 'Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.' The proof is everywhere you look.... A large part of the Republican Party is, as Biden says, working to ensure that the next time Trump is on the ballot, he cannot lose." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Andrew Gawthorpe in the Guardian: Steve Bannon's "We Build the Wall" grift " in which two people have already pleaded guilty -- is a very direct example of a prominent figure in the Maga movement lining their pockets with the money of unsuspecting marks. But it also stands as a metaphor for the movement as a whole. Far from standing up for the interests of 'ordinary Americans', Maga exists to funnel money, power and prestige to a small elite while not lifting a finger to improve the lives of anyone else.... They have made a mythic folk hero out of the white male worker, promising to return the country to an era like the 1950s, in which such people reigned supreme. That they then have actually done little to help even white workers should not obscure the fact that they have also poured hatred and vitriol on the immigrants and people of color who do so much of America's actual work.... The border wall has endured as the ultimate symbol of Trumpism because the soul of his movement is racism and exclusion...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Tim Carpenter of the Kansas Reflector, republished by the Raw Story: "Kansas attorney general candidate Kris Kobach offered a sweeping defense of ... Stephen Bannon amid allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and fraud related to operation of We Build the Wall Inc.... Kobach said alleged wrongdoing involving the organization that raised millions of dollars for construction of barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border took place before he was hired as general counsel at We Build the Wall. He has continued to perform legal work on behalf of the organization.... Kobach, who served two terms as Kansas secretary of state, said he was convinced that he wasn't in jeopardy of being indicted." ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Shorman of the Kansas City Star: "Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the Republican candidate for state attorney general, resigned Friday from the board of directors of We Build the Wall after the nonprofit organization was indicted on allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and fraud." MB: In case you've forgotten, Kobach is a first-class jerk.>
Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "The first rioter from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to be charged with attacking a member of the news media pleaded guilty Friday to felony counts of assault on law enforcement and assault on a news photographer.... Court records show [Shane Jason Woods] was captured on video and in photographs on multiple occasions, on both the west and east sides of the Capitol, over a period of several hours. He was arrested on a federal complaint in June 2021, and indicted on eight felony assault and disorderly conduct charges last March. Woods is one of about 11 rioters who have been charged with assaults on members of the news media or destroying their equipment." Woods attacked a female police officer, knocking her to the ground and causing injuries. Hours later, he attacked a news photographer, "with a blindside shoulder-tackle, knocking G.P. [the photographer] to the ground and causing him to drop his camera,” according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Jeanne Whalen of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Friday celebrated the start of construction of a $20 billion project that aims to reassert the United States as a major technology manufacturer after decades of offshoring, with the building of two giant semiconductor factories that could deliver thousands of jobs in coming years.... Billions of dollars of federal subsidies, approved in newly signed law, convinced California-headquartered Intel to proceed with the project, which aims to dramatically boost domestic manufacturing of the tiny components that power all modern electronics, from laptops to fighter jets.... In a speech, Biden said the project -- and a flurry of other big semiconductor investment announcements -- are an endorsement of his push to use $52 billion of taxpayer money to incentivize the reshoring of manufacturing deemed vital to U.S. economic and national security. The approach has also won wide support from Republicans, who want to strengthen U.S. competitiveness versus China, which is pouring state funding into tech manufacturing."
Dave Philipps of the New York Times: "The Navy has started an independent investigation of the brutal selection course for its elite SEALs after a sailor's death this year revealed a tangle of physical abuse, poor medical oversight and use of performance-enhancing drugs in the course. The order for the new investigation came from the highest levels of the Navy -- the outgoing vice chief of naval operations, Adm. William K. Lescher. It was given to a rear admiral from outside the SEALs, signaling that the Navy had given it high priority and wanted it to be independent. Admiral Lescher issued the order in a letter obtained by The New York Times. The letter is dated the day after The New York Times reported that the sailor's death had exposed a number of problems at the harrowing selection course, known as Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs, or BUD/S for short. Among the problems were a damaging ethos of forced suffering that often dismissed serious injuries and illnesses as weakness and a growing subculture of students who saw illicit performance-enhancing drugs as the only way to get through the course."
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "More than 1,000 households in Oklahoma used the identity of a single 4-year-old to obtain free or discounted internet service from the U.S. government, part of a broader wave of suspected fraud now raising new questions about Washington's attempts to close the digital divide. The apparent plot targeted the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides up to $30 each month toward millions of Americans' mobile phone or home internet bills. Similar suspicious activity also surfaced in Ohio and Texas, according to the inspector general for the Federal Communications Commission.... The government sent that money directly to telecom carriers, which under law accept federal benefits on their subscribers' behalf and apply the discounts to customers' bills. None of the companies that processed the suspect applications and received federal funds are named in the report.... David L. Hunt, the agency's inspector general, said in a statement that telecom providers seeking 'program support each month after failing to properly train and monitor their sales agents' enrollment activity will be held accountable.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Not enough "proper training"? Really? Was that the problem? I'd guess that those so-called "sales agents" were a bunch of tele-scammers who knew full-well what they were doing. It's not quite as clear that the lucky duckies who got the free internet services were in on the scam. But if the "sales agent" told you to fill in the "Applicant's Name" with the name "Tommy Toddler," I imagine you'd be a tad suspicious.
Caroline Kitchener, et al., of the Washington Post: "An aggressive push by Republicans to pass hard-line antiabortion measures is faltering in some state legislatures and on Capitol Hill, the latest indication that many Americans are balking at extreme restrictions being imposed since the fall of Roe v. Wade. In South Carolina, Republicans failed to pass a near-total abortion ban during an extended legislative session Thursday night, unable to agree on whether to include exceptions for rape and incest. In West Virginia, a recent special session over similar legislation ended in gridlock. At the same time, efforts to advance a strict nationwide ban in Congress have quietly fizzled. After pushing for a national 'heartbeat ban' on abortion in the spring -- which would have outlawed the procedure as soon as cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks of pregnancy -- Republican lawmakers and some antiabortion advocates have retreated from the idea. Some legislators are now pushing for a 15-week ban; others have abandoned any kind of national abortion legislation." MB: But, but, they have let on they were such principled absolutists!
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Friday put on hold a lower court's order requiring Yeshiva University in New York to recognize an LGBTQ student club while legal fights continue about the group's efforts at the religious school. A New York state trial court ruled that as a public accommodation, Yeshiva was covered under the New York City Human Rights Law and required to provide the Pride Alliance the same access to facilities as dozens of other student groups. The group said that means access to a classroom, bulletin boards and a club fair booth. Sotomayor's short order stayed that ruling 'pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.' That indicated that there might be more to come and that the court was acting now because of a deadline. Sotomayor is the justice who reviews emergency applications from the New York region...." The NBC News report is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Mississsippi. Laura Strickler, et al., of NBC News: "A team from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General arrived in Jackson last week to begin a 'multidisciplinary' top-to-bottom review of the current drinking water crisis, an agency spokesperson told NBC News.... Residents recently experienced a dayslong outage of running water, and even now more than 150,000 residents in Mississippi's capital still lack clean drinking water. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Friday that a citywide boil-water notice in effect since July 29 was unlikely to be lifted over the weekend."
Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Race. Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Right-wing gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano can be heard on a recorded Zoom call with Christian Nationalists praying for the Jan. 6 insurrection to succeed.... [Independent researcher Bruce Wilson, who gave the tape to Rolling Stone,] noted that Mastriano was seated in front of the pine-tree flag that has been adopted by Christian Nationalists, and he said the candidate clearly understood and articulated their views." Includes video. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Texas. María Paúl of the Washington Post: "On the morning of Aug. 30, a 13-year-old transgender boy was pulled out of class by his school's administrators, his mother says. While his classmates continued their studies, he sat in a conference room at a Texas middle school where a Department of Family and Protective Services investigator began asking personal questions, court records state....The state agency was probing his family following a February directive from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to investigate the use of gender-affirming care in minors as child abuse, according to court documents. The nearly hour-long interview touched on a range of personal topics -- from the teen's medical history to his gender dysphoria diagnosis to his suicide attempt years back, court records state." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: If this story is found to be true or mostly true, the boy should not only get a whopping settlement from the state of Texas, Greg Abbott & everyone involved in the youngster's interrogation -- including the school administrators -- should do hard time for child abuse. This is preposterous.
Way Beyond
United Kingdom
The New York Times' live briefings of developments in King Charles III's accession to the British throne, etc., are here: "For more than 300 years, Britain's kings and queens have been proclaimed sovereign in a ceremony laced with history. But on Saturday morning, for the first time, the public was able to see the process in action as the proclamation of King Charles III was broadcast live, weaving just a bit of modernity into a centuries-old tradition.While Charles became the new monarch automatically upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on Thursday, his new role was officially proclaimed on Saturday morning in a ceremony filled with pomp and procedure, which was held at St. James's Palace, a Tudor royal residence near Buckingham Palace." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here.
~~~ Charles says he will take the job: ~~~
~~~ This part was fun: the Garter King of Arms reads the Privy Council's proclamation from a balcony at St. James' Palace to a few hundred members of the public:
~~~ This whole proclamation reading recurred at the City of London. And apparently it goes on in other places throughout the U.K. The whole idea was to inform a non-literate public in pre-teevee days. Now, we all get to see the pageantry & great outfits in real time. (Those buglers reportedly were wearing coats of cfloth woven from gen-u-ine gold thread.
This New York Times page has links to all of its current stories about Queen Elizabeth II's death & related topics. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Caroline Davies of the Guardian: "King Charles III has pledged to serve the country 'with loyalty, respect and love' in an emotional address in which he paid tribute to his mother, the Queen, saying: 'May "flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."' Speaking with 'feelings of profound sorrow', he said: 'Queen Elizabeth's was a life well-lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.' In a speech that reflected his transition from heir to the throne to king, he also acknowledged his role must change. He spoke of the 'roles and duties of monarchy' and the sovereign's relationship with the Church of England, in which, he said, his own faith was rooted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ William Booth & Karla Adam of the Washington Post: Charles III will be a different sort of monarch from Elizabeth II. "The thing is: Charles has opinions.... He says that as king he will have to express his views less openly and often -- political neutrality is often understood to be essential for the monarchy and its survival in modern times.... But he is a crusader at heart.... He was a rock star at last year's COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.... The new king was gracious on Friday in his first meeting with his new prime minister, Liz Truss -- who seemed nervous on what was only her fourth day in her job. Charles greeted her warmly at Buckingham Palace, accepted her condolences, and said straight up, on camera, 'It's the moment I've been dreading, as I know a lot of people have, but you try and keep everything going.'" ~~~
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Marc Santora, et al., of the New York Times: "Ukrainian forces have scored the most significant battlefield gains [link fixed] since they routed Russia from the area around Kyiv in April by reclaiming territory in the northeast, according to Ukrainian officials, Western analysts and battlefield imagery. In his overnight address to the nation Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian military had captured scores of villages and large chunks of Russian-occupied territory across Ukraine since the offensive began. 'In total, more than a thousand square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine have been liberated since the beginning of September,' he said. On Friday the Ukrainian military appeared to be moving rapidly to cut off the city of Izium, a critical logistical hub for Russian military operations.... The new offensive in the north appears to have caught the Russian forces off guard."
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Reader Comments (7)
Soooo…this special master thing has entered the Extra Mishigas phase already. What a surprise. But that was the whole idea, right? The government could put forward a combination of Clarence Darrow, John Marshall, and King Solomon, and Fatty’s side would say “Not experienced enough for us” or something similarly stoopid. Trump, on the other hand puts forward at least one candidate who has “conflict of interest” stamped in large red letters across the top of his CV.
Actually, I’m surprised the Trump side selected people who have even been to law school. I was expecting them to choose Fatty’s caddy, Don Jr., Roger Stone, or the gardener at Marred a Lardo.
Or it could have gone like the opening scene in one of my favorite baseball movies, “Major League” in which the ex-showgirl wife of the recently deceased owner of the Cleveland Indians hands her advisors a list of players she wants to bring to camp. Her underlying motive is to make sure the entire season is a disaster so she can screw the city and the fans, move the team and make a fortune. Sounds very Trumpy, don’t it?
Anyway, the advisors react to her selections:
First: “I never heard of half of these guys, and the ones I do know are way past their prime!”
Next: “Most of these guys never had a prime.”
Finally: “This guy here is dead!”
And like that…anything to screw it up and make a mockery of the entire enterprise, while making a bundle on the side. The Trump Way.
Billboards across the nation: With a picture of the Donald in the worst possible way:
YOU PEOPLE WHO GAVE MONEY TO THIS MAN FOR (mention all of them) GOT SCREWED, SWINDLED, AND LIED TO. WAKE UP AMERICA!
The story above re: the trans boy who was taken out of class and interrogated is, as Marie says, " If this story is found to be true or mostly true, the boy should not only get a whopping settlement from the state of Texas, Greg Abbott & everyone involved in the youngster's interrogation -- including the school administrators -- should do hard time for child abuse. This is preposterous." YES!!!!!!
And looks like we have judges who haven't been compromised; let's hope they override those that have been.
Would recommend Dr. John Geyman's latest book, "Are We the United States of America?"
It's a fine short summary of where we are as a splintered nation, well illustrated with pertinent graphs and charts. So well done, I thought, that it actually might successfully explain to even a reluctant learner how we got to this sorry pass.
It concludes with sensible (cross your fingers) prescriptions for treating the national illness.
Dr. Geyman is a distinguished physician who has been in the business of diagnosing and treating illness for a long time. He's now in his ninety-first year.
The admiration (leavened with a dash of envy) his age and accomplishments evoke are reason enough for this someone who expects to be drooling long before he reaches that age to recommend the book.
Makes me recall Dr. Schwalb.
@Ken Winkes: Ken, I'm quite surprised that you didn't take one of your off-the-grid vacations Wednesday & come back tomorrow only to pick up the newspaper and exclaim, "What? England has a king???" Had you left a day or two earlier, you might have said, "What? England has a new prime minister and a king???"
Check you calendar. I think you missed one of your planned river-rafting excursions.
The NYT's this morning has an essay "What John Donne Knew About Death Can Teach Us Alot about Life."
Here was a man who was born into a Roman Catholic family in a time when the religion was illegal in England. He suffered throughout his life the loss––-deaths–- of a brother, all six of his children and a beloved wife who dies at only 32. But here is a man who took those ill winds in, dealt with them and produced some of the most moving poetry in our history.
"Wake, his writing tells us, over and over. Weep for this world and gasp for it. Wake, and pay attention to our mortality, to the precise ways in which beauty cuts through us. Pay attention to the softness of skin and the majesty of hands and feet. Attention — real, sustained, unflinching attention — is what this life, with its disasters and delights, demands of you."
@P.D. Pepe: Good advice. I used to be a worrier & regretter. Then, at a particularly low point in my life, I read one of those -- usually useless -- self-help books. Can't recall the author, but he advised to live more in the moment. At that point I was fretting all the time about things that had gone wrong, so I didn't have much to lose in trying out the plan. And it worked! I recall having to train myself to think about the "scenery" -- even if it wasn't very scenic -- when I was driving instead of worrying over my current situation, but I was able to do it.
Since then, I've mostly spent as short a time as possible troubling myself with unpleasant thoughts, and that is quite a liberating way to go. That doesn't mean I don't try to do a better job at various things I've goofed up, but it does mean enjoying the moments when I'm not -- as far as I can tell! -- goofing up.
A reminder that we here don't need of how little work HRC had to do to associate the Pretender with Russian interference in the 2016 election:
Maybe "no collusion" but the Pretender did it all himself. At least 140 times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Links_between_Trump_associates_and_Russian_officials