Miller, phone conversations, grand jury …

Stephen Miller

This morning (Aug 3) I started to write about my dismay at the reappearance of Stephen “Dead Eyes” Miller at a White House press conference yesterday. You remember Miller, don’t you? He’s the awful little senior policy advisor to the president, the one who announced in February that

Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see, as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned.

I was horrified to turn on CNN and see him standing there apparently running the press conference and sparring inanely with CNN’s Jim Acosta. Obviously the week’s purge had not gone quite far enough; it missed Miller.

Here’s the video if you’re curious, but you needn’t watch it all to get the gist. It’s a decidedly unpleasant exchange between two adults, each of whom has an axe to grind and complete disregard for what the other is saying. (Acosta’s father was a Cuban refugee and the subject at hand was the new immigration law.)

But before I got that done, news of the transcriptions of Trump’s January phone conversations with Mexican and Australian leaders broke. It made Wedneday’s nasty little press conference look pretty inconsequential.

And I was still absorbing Miller’s unexpected reappearance when we learned Special Counsel Robert Mueller had empaneled a grand jury to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing by Trump or his associates tied to Russian interference in our 2016 election.

No wonder I stopped trying to write about Washington politics. I can’t get one post finished before being hit by two more. All this transpired in about 24 hours.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Trump called the White House “a dump.” And then he announced a 17-day vacation to his golf club in New Jersey. If he doesn’t like the accommodations in DC, he’s free to resign and return to the tasteless, palatial gold plate that he prefers. Historical surroundings be damned; the place is a “dump.” His majesty said so.

17 thoughts on “Miller, phone conversations, grand jury …

  1. When I saw him, Miller, I thought the very same thing plus oh oh “here comes trouble.” He is a frighteningly cold man. I can’t even imagine where all this will be in three plus years. I keep saying, I’m glad I’m old and lived in the time frame I did.

    1. I’m old too and we’re still living in our respective time frames. I hate that they include the likes of Trump and Miller. Maybe we’ll live long enough to see someone truly wonderful become president … if we survive the next 3 1/2 years.

  2. With any sort of luck, we will be rid of turnbull, before you get rid of trump. The way our system works he may well have to call a General Election sooner rather than later, and the way things are going, I’m hopeful that the ALP will win the next easily.

      1. He’s a self made multi millionaire banker, nuff said?
        He was once a left wing leaning bloke but when it became obvious he would never get to lead the Australian Labor Party, our left wing party, of which I’m a paid up card carrying member 😀 he switched to the right wing who let him be the boss. A complete liar and hypocrite, switched sides just so that he could become Prime Minister of Australia. Makes me want to throw up! 👿

    1. Hmm, I hadn’t thought about that. Wouldn’t be good. Actually, I’ve been more concerned about what would happen if Pence became president. Scary to think that either situation could be worse than the insanity we’re living with now.

    1. It’s like creatures from the black lagoon. I wonder who else is in there besides Miller, Conway, and Bannon.

      I doubt the renovation will satisfy Trump. It’s not going to transform the historic old White House into a Trump Tower penthouse.

  3. They are building the wall in the wrong place.
    A mandatory session of congress should be called and rumors of big policy/money changes should be spread so all the major political party people and lobbyist would surge in too – then slam the gate shut, cut the internet, radio signals and let none of them out – ever. Things would be a lot more pleasant and run better with just local level decisions.
    Gads what a circus – but same story every time…I think there’s songs about that.

    1. Yep, I’ve often thought all the legislators from both parties should be locked in a room together, with no outside communcations, and put on a diet of bread and water until they produce some intelligent bipartisan legislation that addresses the nation’s problems. And lock the president in there too to make sure he signs the legislation. But no spin doctors, policy wonks, advisors, counselors, lobbyists, communications directors, spokespersons, (ie, non-elected personnel).

      1. They do that when electing Popes? Yep, lock them up together until it’s done
        Outraged that they are too busy going on Aug vacation when so much needs to be done – and all of them complain about so much about serious things not getting done…on their way to the airport….Regular people/families can’t skip out when work is incomplete 🙁

  4. I’ve been having such a hard time keeping up on the White House news now. I missed all this. I hear bits and pieces. Trump is sinking and that’s all I care to know.

... and that's my two cents