Monday, Monday

[H2O Man]

Monday, Monday, so good to me
Monday mornin´, it was all I hoped it would be
Oh Monday mornin´, Monday mornin´ couldn´t guarantee
That Monday evenin´ you would still be here with me

Monday, Monday, can´t trust that day
Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way
Oh Monday mornin´ you gave me no warnin´ of what was to be
Oh Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me
The Mamas & the Papas

Who “wins” the indictment lottery? I am convinced that Team Mueller has not indicted Colin Kaepernick for taking a knee during the national anthem. And it's unlikely to be Hillary Clinton, no matter how many times Jack Kingston tries to convince the CNN audience that the last of the redacted CIA documents prove that she had been photographed on the grassy knoll with a rifle.

Some of the experts on CNN have stated the indictment was sealed, due to concern the suspect may try to flee the country. Others have said that it is routine. Either way, I think that several of the guilty-as-sin Trump team are looking out their windows, to see if there are black SUVs parked outside. More, I believe that several of these people will see such vehicles.

I'd even say it's a safe bet that inside the White House this weekend, there is a high level of stress and anxiety. Every rat inside is thinking about how long it will be to they are indicted? And who can they sell out in an attempt to save their own ass? Keep in mind that, not long ago, it was reported that White House staff were concerned about if others were wearing a wire. Gracious!

At the top of this shit heap is Donald Trump. No doubt, his legal team is concerned about his mental state, for when a personality-disordered individual such as Trump is under pressure, they can experience episodes of psychosis. General Kelly can be of limited help, because he has proven himself to be at least partially under Trump's spell. In “The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness,” Erich Fromm documented how those with rigid personalities are prone to take actions to support a psychopathic leader, that they would not take under any other circumstance. Kelly's recent lies about a Congresswoman are a prime example of this dynamic.

As much as we might like to see Jared Kushner frog-marched out of the White House on Monday – and Kelly Ann Conway tasered by police as she attempts to interfere – it is best to set the bar of expectations relatively low. Keep in mind that Team Mueller is pursuing a legal case, not a political agenda. The larger goal is a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violations case. It includes conspiring (rather than “collusion”) within a group, where some member or members break the law, to achieve a specific desired result.

Thus, it is possible – even likely – that we will learn that Paul Manafort has been indicted for past financial crimes. Team Mueller would do this, not because they are not pursuing higher crimes, but to insure that Manafort flips. It is uncertain of how Trump will react to the news this weekend, much less next week. Obviously, the utter nonsense that the media wing of the Trump administration (Fox News) and White House cheerleaders were peddling in the days previous to the breaking news was their strategy to divert attention from the coming indictment. But their reaction post-indictment will in the upcoming days be more aggressive.
We are witnessing an extremely important point in our national history. I do not think it is unfair to say the events that unfold will determine if we can regain our constitutional democracy, or if the US becomes yet another empire that self-destructs, and morphs into a dictatorship. Strange days have found us.

Peace,
H2O Man

[spanone]

1. K&R...

[H2O Man]

3. Thank you!

[rzemanfl]

2. K&R. Strange days indeed. n/t

[H2O Man]

4. Thanks!

[dhol82]

5. Strange days have found us

Indeed.

[H2O Man]

6. When I was young,

I remember old men saying, "This ain't the country I grew up in." Now days, I think the same thing. Perhaps they are lucky in that they didn't experience the things we see today.

[dhol82]

7. The things we are seeing today are horribly reminiscent of 1932 Germany

I am a student of history. This administration has me totally crazed.

[H2O Man]

8. Right.

I was showing my son part of a transcript of a Carl Jung speech, about the "rise of the beast." Yet, I think we have a far greater percentage of people who will continue to stand up, and prevent it from reaching that point. Not that it isn't a real possibility.

[dhol82]

9. Thankfully, we only have about 30% of the population that are hard core

Doubt most of them would be guerilla fighters.

Let us hope that trump and bannon don’t ever control the military.

[burrowowl]

25. I agree!!!!

My French teacher in high school was in the last fire coming of the war in Royan and warned us that Nazism could occur in the US, I had other friends in the French and Yugoslav resistance. One of the French friends had a silver Croix de Guerre. She and her mother went to a reunion in France and saw a woman there who had ratted on them.

[mopinko]

10. i am bracing my self for anti-climax.

i think it will be a couple of small fish to start with. but fish with keys to bigger fish.

nonetheless, i love the smell of flop sweat in the morning.
it smells like impeachment.

[H2O Man]

13. Right.

In a sense, I'm thinking that none of the possible suspects is really a small fish. All of them are pretty closely connected to Trump. But it may be a "small" charge (in the context of federal crimes). Yet, the further the fish is from Trump, the more likely they will flip. Thus, for us, it's a win-win situation.

Also, I plan to repeat your last two sentences for the next 36 hours. No matter if I'm talking to others, or just myself, I am going to really, really enjoy saying that over and over! Thank you.

[mopinko]

21. yeah, thinking about how many are sweating is almost better than

knowing who is gonna do the frogmarch.

[LongTomH]

26. Very probably small fish, who can be expected to rat out the big fish to save their own worthless...

......hides!

[zanana1]

34. I'm with you.

In fact, I don't think we'll ever know who was indicted.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

11. K&R for this Jack Kingston: Hillary Clinton had been photographed on the grassy knoll with a rifle.

I'd laugh, but that's how ridiculous he is.

[H2O Man]

14. He has no shame.

And if he thought he could hijack a conversation with that, he would.

Thanks!

[kentuck]

12. Thanks H2O Man !

Strange days have indeed found us.

[H2O Man]

15. Thank you!

Do you think Trump will try to fire Mr. Mueller tomorrow? I suspect he has mainly been tuned in to Fox, but if he's watched anything else, he must be furious. I think the next 72 hours could be extremely harsh.

[kentuck]

19. He's the type to make very quick decisions...

...without much thought. i.e, the airstrip in Syria and the ambush in Yemen.

You may be right.

[tiptonic]

16. Well said

Thank you, for pretty well summing up the state, of our dis-union. I'm going to keep this one.

[H2O Man]

35. Thank you.

[orangecrush]

17. K&R

[H2O Man]

36. Thanks!

[zentrum]

18. Manafort. nt

[H2O Man]

37. Thanks.

I think that's the most likely one. It wouldn't surprise me if he is taken into custody before Monday morning.

[Hekate]

20. I do hope Manafort flips like a trampoline acrobat. I fear Trump flipping-out (psychosis)...

Youe analysis is intriguing and fact based as always -- and thanks for the Mamas and Papas reference. I could hear the music in my head.

[NastyRiffraff]

28. Manfort and/or Flynn

Neither one strikes me as being loyal to anyone but themselves. And money, of course.

[H2O Man]

38. Thank you!

I will be surprised if Trump doesn't tweet something outrageous -- way beyond his average obnoxious crap -- by sunrise on Monday. Indeed, I believe Team Mueller is keeping a close eye on how he reacts.

[argyl]

22. Always loved that tune. Heres to good things Monday. Excellent analysis

[NBachers]

23. I agree; I'm cautiously optimistic, but expecting an incremental small fish, medium one, or nibbling

around the edges. I don't know if it'll be a small pop with a dull fizzle, or The Start of Something Big. But RICO's been in my vocabulary against these traitors for years.

Here's to RICO.

[H2O Man]

39. Right.

All prosecutors are intent upon charging suspects on those things that they can most surely prove in court, beyond any "reasonable doubt." And with the gang in question, using the RICO charges allows for just that against the most substantial number of crooks.

[Honeycombe8]

24. David Gergin said maybe Flynn, since we know he did lie to the FBI. Here's the MONDAY MONDAY video!:

For your listening and viewing pleasure:

[H2O Man]

40. Thanks.

I had a feeling, while listening to Mr. Gergin, that he might have some inside information per Flynn. That could be to the prosecutors' advantage, too. Manafort is a mobster, who would be more "comfortable" keeping his mouth shut if he is put on the hot seat. Flynn is both rigid and unstable. I assume he would crack much faster than Manafort.

It would be outstanding if both were indicted tomorrow. Each would be told that if they were to flip, be the first of the two, in order to secure the better position.

[SergeStorms]

27. I used to love The Momas and the Popas.

And believe it or not that song was going through my head this morning for the very same reason.

I think they've taken Trump's phone away from him this weekend. He'd certainly do much more harm for anyone being indicted Monday. There's no way Trump could keep his big, stupid mouth closed if he had his phone. Maybe the adults (if there are any in the White House) have finally taken little Donnie's toys away from him. It should have been done months ago.

[H2O Man]

41. I agree.

There isn't any self-discipline that might have allowed Trump to not run his mouth (on twitter) if he had his phone. It had to have been outside discipline.

[NRaleighLiberal]

29. Brilliantly laid out and, I think, spot on.

"at the top of this shit heap is Donald Trump".

Indeed!

[H2O Man]

42. Thank you!

[grantcart]

30. Monday Monday is here to stay

I just woke up from a nap.

My subconscious was trying to tell me everything is going to be OK, I dreamt that the FBI arrived at the White House with three super buses. You could here someone with a megaphone "All those who have been given a number 1 -78 proceed quietly to bus number 1. All those who have been given a number from 79 . . "

[Beringia]

31. Thanks for the analysis

Though it is a bit disquieting to read that you think we may morph into a dictatorship.

[sellitman]

32. My money is on Kushner

Or makes the most sense. Is a little meeting is history. Nothing more needs to be added. He admitted collusion.

[canetoad]

33. As always, H2O Man, beautifully written

I'm trying to avoid the guessing game. Flynn? Manafort? Kushner? Maybe some small fry, further down the food chain. The answer will be clear in 24 hours or so.

Here's what really worries me; that the good old US, in it's self-confidence, some may call it hubris, has perpetuated a political system in which the end-game was always going to be a man like Trump assuming the highest office.

This idiot is in the White House, with no clear path to his removal. He has assumed the highest office in the land, the world, and no-one can really say with clarity how you can be rid of him.

No point in blaming the Founding Fathers; they were honest men who made provision, as they knew it at the time, for such a person as Trump to never be eligible for the highest office. What changed? What ideals became so hopelessly corrupted?

After the war of Independence, America was founded on new, fresh thought; a new system unlike the old. But there are many devices present in the old, rejected system that would have prevented a Trump from assuming office. I have no answers, only questions. Did the system have inherent flaws? In the eagerness to break from England, was the good discarded along with the bad?

This is of immediate and pressing urgency not only in the USA but the entire globe. An unbalanced fool holds the highest office in the most powerful country on the globe, putting the wellbeing, the lives of every living being on the planet in jeopardy. Once rid of this fool, what is America going to do to prevent it happening again?