Lindsay Graham furious today on George Stephanopoulos' ABC Sunday show raging about Trump being indicted.

Lindsay and other Trump supporters who understand how dangerous Putin is and believe in NATO are in for a shock if Trump is reelected They look at Trump's first term and they assume the second term will be the same. They don't grasp the fact that Trump was holding back in his first term because he knew he had to run again. But he will no longer need the voters in his second term.

If we had a better system Trump who got fewer votes than Hillary in 2016 would never have been President. And now Trump can be indicted and if reelected pardon himself. We have a crazy system and it's leading to our destruction as a democracy.

A zillion stories about Trump case — but bottom line is he is getting charged and it will be in DC. And this week. Open issues are whether others may be charged and whether they will be in DC or FLA. - Andrew Weissman on Twitter.

Let's hope so and regarding Trump one has to be philosophical. These indictments and the E Jean Carooll verdict are going into the history books and Trump will never be able to pardon himself out of that.

I am worried about the relentless attacks on China coming from the right. These attacks have driven China much closer to Russia which no doubt thrills Putin.

Back during the 2016 Pres campaign Trump seemed obsessed with China and how they were taking advantage of us. Did the right begin to take their cues from him which has led to the dangerous rift we have today with China?

"Careening towards bankruptcy': DeSantis slams debt deal" - Politico

This remark by DeSantis shows how extreme he is. He's no better than Trump and I am worried.

The jazz show on NPR here in the Miami area and I believe nationally runs from 9:30 pm to 1:00 am and it's a very relaxing way to wind down the night.

"I would’ve taken the default if you had to, if you didn't get it right,” Trump said on the Des Moines radio station News Radio 1040 WHO. “

Another reminder of who Trump is. We would be on our way to default right now if he were President and if two years from now he is sitting in the Oval Office that could very well be our future.

And on so many issues Trump knows he won't have to face the voters again and so there will be no guard rails. His supporters are in denial about this

"Republicans got outsmarted by a President who can’t find his pants" - Rep Nancy Mace.

Notice the dig at Biden about how he is not "all there". It's common for many in the GOP to make these kinds of jokes. And you have to wonder have they seen alzheimers up close because that is what they are joking about when they continously make these "can't find his pants" remarks. My guess is they haven't seen it up close. At least I hope not because if they had they would never joke like this.

"US debt ceiling: Hakeem Jeffries urges Democrats to vote for bill as AOC says she won’t" – UK Guardian.

And the above headline from the Guardian is an example of what I mean. Hakeem Jeffries is a serious legislator who cares about his constituents and though he is not happy with the bill he knows the devastation a default would cause.

AOC is willing to risk default because it's better to look pure than put your constituents first. We need to remember who voted no risking default

It's important to pay attention to who in Congress votes no on the debt ceiling bill regardless of whether they are on the right or left because what they are telling us with their no vote is that they don't care if the US defaults. They don't care if social security payments, veterans benefits, any sort of government assistance stops or if people's 401K's take a nose dive. That's what defaulting will mean and the extremes on the right or left in Congress don't care if they vote no.

I am about 40 pages in to Lawrence Block's A Drop of the Hard Stuff. It's book 17 in his excellent Matthew Scudder mystery series and maybe I should wait until I finish the book but I am having such a good time that I had to share.

If you have never read Lawrence Block A Drop of The Hard Stuff is a very good place to begin even though it's the 17th book in the series. Lawrence Block does a very good job of catching you up on who Matthew Scudder is and the writing is first rate

# CoSo Books

In the news Liz Cheney gave the graduation address at Colorado College. About half of the students turned their backs to her when she began her speech. I thought at first these students were Trump supporters but no they are liberals upset with Liz Cheney's conservative views.

I was upset to hear this. I disagree with Liz Cheney on issues but I so respect her for her courage in putting country over party. Liz Cheney gave a great speech and the audience applauded at the end.

As we all know who does the reading of an audio book matters a great deal. A good reader can enhance the book tremendously. A bad reader can ruin the book. I was reminded of this today when I decided to read a memoir that came recommended to me in an audio version. Big mistake. The reader read the book in a flat bored tone and here is the thing, the reader is the author of the memoir.

I am rooting for Meghan and Harry to stay together not because I am a huge fan. I have my own life to live but I do feel bad about the way so many have gone after this couple, eagerly waiting for their divorce etc. It's similar to my support of Hillary. The hatred leveled at Hillary also bothers me. I can't imagine being on the receiving end of all this hatred but actually having been bullied in school I can imagine it and I will always support Hillary, Meghan and Harry and wish them well

Today I watched a YouTube video by a young woman sharing her cancer diagnosis. She kept going to doctors insisting that something was wrong. Her doctors ran a few tests but not the right ones and told her not to worry but she wouldn't drop it. She knew something was wrong.

It's an inspiring video because I fear even routine checkups. But this woman had the courage to follow through even though it must have been scary and fortunately her cancer was caught at an early stage. It's inspiring.

It's going to be a long hot summer and not just temperature wise.

"Debt ceiling talks break up with negotiators unsure when they’ll next meet"

What do they mean they don't know when they'll next meet? The stock market fworldwide for starters will be taking a big dive next week if this isn't figured out.
A US default could happen as soon as June 1st and so what else do they have to do but meet and figure this out. What else do they think is on their plate but this?

There is now a pause in debt ceiling talks and here is Trump on Truth Social today posting the following:

“Republicans should not make a deal on the debt ceiling unless they get everything they want (Including the ‘kitchen sink’). That’s the way the Democrats have always dealt with us. Do not fold!!!”

No President or former President would ever post something like this with a US default looming. They would be too worried about the economic catastrophe a US default would bring.

People have been saying that in DeSantis vs Disney, Mickey is having the last laugh. I haven't been sure about that until now. But this move Disney pulled announcing a week before DeSantis possibly announces his Presidential run that Disney is scrapping a billion dollar deal to build a new employee campus in Florida is quite the chess move and DeSantis is not in the same league.

"CNN - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to enter the 2024 GOP presidential race next week"

I was sure DeSantis had no plans to run for Pres and was playing games with the media by remaining silent leading to all this speculation. That's the sort of guy he is.

But DeSantis is not stupid. He has always known were he to win the GOP nomination that Trump would ruin his chances, even running third party if he had to.