I Can Only Think of One Reason Why Trump Would Have Classified Nuclear Weapons Documents

If the FBI was indeed searching for (possibly recovered) classified nuclear weapons documents at Mar-A-Lago this week, I can only think of one reason they would be in the possession of defeated, former President Donald Trump. 

So he could sell them.

To whom would he sell them? Russia would be at the top of the list. But Trump being a businessman in the worst sense of the word, I suspect he would sell them to the highest bidder including a terrorist organization. 

If Trump was prepared to summon a mob to prevent the peaceful transfer of power then I don't think it is implausible he would sell state secrets.

I've long thought Trump was bad news and when I was told to stop criticizing Trump by Bob Tyrrell almost six years ago, I walked away from The American Spectator and eventually conservatism. In so doing, I have managed to spare myself from defending a man who won't accept that he lost an election and casually claims the FBI planted evidence. 

I only mention this because Trump has turned out to be so much worse than I ever contemplated and continually demonstrates why he should never be allowed to seek much less hold any elected office again. And yet the Republican Party will not only nominate him for a third White House bid there is a chance the country could elect him President again.

Anne Heche, R.I.P.

Actress Anne Heche has died one week after a fiery car crash into a house in a residential neighborhood in Los Angeles which destroyed the property and injured the woman living there. 

Although Heche had sustained severe burn injuries, she was initially expected to survive but with a "long recovery" ahead. But Heche also sustained a catastrophic brain injury and subsequently slipped into a coma never to regain consciousness. She had been kept on life support so that her organs can be harvested and donated. Heche was 53. 

While Heche had a lengthy career in movies and on TV, I must admit that when I thought of her I always associated her with romantic relationship with Ellen DeGeneres though that relationship ended more than 20 years ago. 

Whatever her success in her field, Heche led a difficult life alleging she was sexually assaulted by her father and was estranged from her family. Her brother also died in a car crash eerily similar to her own. One rarely escapes such tragedies unscathed and Heche had her share of mental health troubles. 

After her death was announced, Heche's 20-year old son Homer issued in statement which read in part, "Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom." As of now, we can only share his hope. R.I.P.

The Cincinnati FBI Shooter Will Be Hailed as a Martyr in MAGA World

The moment I learned a man had fired shots at the FBI office in Cincinnati, I was almost completely certain it was in connection the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago on Monday night. 

Sure enough, the man responsible was at the Capitol on January 6th and in the hours leading to his attack this morning declared he was "proposing a war", "be ready for combat" and "kill the FBI on sight." 

After a prolonged standoff, authorities killed Ricky Walter Shiffer when he raised his firearm at them.

I am certain of three things.

I am certain that Ricky Walter Shiffer will attain martyrdom status in MAGA World just as Ashli Babbitt did after she was killed at the Capitol on January 6th. Would anyone be surprised if Trump were to publicly praise and make a birthday video for Shiffer as he has for Babbitt?

I am certain there will be more attacks to follow. These attacks will likely target the FBI, the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies perceived to be cooperating with them. This could take the form of a suicide bombing or a truck bomb on the scale of Oklahoma City. One also cannot discount the possibility of kidnapping, hostage taking and murder of public officials with Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray at the top of the list. 

I am also certain that defeated former President Trump, Republican officials and conservative luminaries bear responsibility for inciting Shiffer's behavior and future attacks in their campaign to delegitimize the FBI. Perhaps the most irresponsible speculation of all was by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggesting the FBI had planted evidence. Their statements have already got one person killed. Next time it will be likely be innocent people.

Lamont Dozier, R.I.P.

Songwriter, producer and arranger Lamont Dozier, best known for being one third of the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team at Motown, passed away yesterday at the age of 81. 

The Detroit born Dozier collaborated with brothers Brian and Eddie Holland to write, arrange and produce some of Motown's biggest hits. Here is but a small sample of their collaborations. 

"Heat Wave" - Martha and The Vandellas

"Mickey's Monkey" - The Miracles

"Can I Get a Witness"- Marvin Gaye

"Where Did Our Love Go?" - The Supremes

"Come See About Me" - The Supremes

"Baby I Need Your Loving" - The Four Tops

"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" - Marvin Gaye (and later James Taylor)

"Stop in The Name of Love" - The Supremes

"Nowhere to Run" - Martha and The Vandellas

"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" - The Four Tops

"It's The Same Old Song" - The Four Tops

"I Hear a Symphony" - The Supremes

"My World is Empty Without You" - The Supremes

"You Can't Hurry Love" - The Supremes (and later by Phil Collins)

"Reach Out I'll Be There" - The Four Tops

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" - The Supremes (and later by Vanilla Fudge & much later by Kim Wilde)

"Standing in The Shadows of Love" - The Four Tops

"Jimmy Mack" - Martha & The Vandellas

"Bernadette" - The Four Tops

"Reflections" - Diana Ross & The Supremes

Let's add the songs they wrote under the name "Edyth Wayne" following a contract dispute with Motown. The Chairmen of The Board had two hits with "Just Give Me a Little More Time" and "(You've Got Me) Dangling on a String" as well as "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne. 

You could have a Motown Greatest Hits album exclusively of Holland-Dozier-Holland songs. The trio was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

As for Dozier, he did have some modest success in the 1980's through the 2000's writing the underappreciated "Invisible" by Alison Moyet, "Anything is Possible" for Debbie Gibson and "Spoiled" for Joss Stone. He also co-wrote "Two Hearts" with Phil Collins (who memorably covered the Holland-Dozier-Holland composition "You Can't Hurry Love").

My favorite Holland-Dozier-Holland song is one of their lesser known compositions - "There's a Ghost in My House" by R. Dean Taylor, who was a protege of Holland-Dozier-Holland as the first white employee at Motown. Sadly, Taylor also passed away earlier this year of COVID.

I leave you with Dozier discussing his songwriting inspirations from childhood including how he remembered his grandfather would flirt with women by referring to them as "sugar pie" and "honey bunch". Dozier would turn his grandfather's flirtations into a hit for the Four Tops and a chapter in the Great American Songbook. R.I.P. 

FBI Raid Hasn't Handed Trump the Presidency, But GOP is Circling The Wagons

MAGA world is making the claim the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago yesterday is the best thing to have happened to defeated former President Donald Trump. 

During an appearance on CNN, former Trump White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah Griffin claimed the raid could hand Trump the presidency in 2024. Griffin said, “This, I’m hoping, goes beyond simply not complying with some archiving laws or the DOJ just handed Donald Trump the Republican nominee and potentially the presidency."

No, the FBI raid will not hand Trump the presidency. It will not motivate independent voters who are on the fence to break Trump's way. The only people whose voting behavior this will impact are people who already view Trump as a victim and who believe the 2020 election was stolen from him. While it is a significant voting bloc, it would not put Trump over the top.

However, the FBI raid will make Republicans circle the wagons around Trump and make those who were starting to favor Florida Governor Ron DeSantis return to the fold. An example of this is Matt Vespa at Townhall.com. While Vespa foamed, "The FBI is the Democratic Party's political hit squad," he does provide an insight into the mindset of the MAGAverse:

I was leaning toward Ron DeSantis. I would have been happy voting for either man, but it was a 51/49 split in favor of Ron until last night. The good news is that the debate about whether this would be a bloody duel between Trump and DeSantis is over. Before last night's events, I wouldn't be shocked if DeSantis had beaten Trump should both men run next year.

For his part, DeSantis came to Trump's defense wondering aloud if the raid had turned the U.S. into "a Banana Republic". This from the guy who goes after corporations which disagree with his politics. Nevertheless, the raid makes it more difficult for DeSantis to launch a challenge against Trump.

Mind you, I've never had a doubt in my mind that Trump will seek the GOP nomination in 2024 and it will be his for the asking. After all, this man has spent more than 18 months claiming he won an election that he lost. This tells me he wants back in the White House.

At best, DeSantis is a baby Trump. The only Republican who could launch an interesting, if quixotic challenge to Trump would be Liz Cheney. She would lose but she would be a thorn in his side and could bloody him in a way no other Republican could.

Still, the long and the short of it is that Donald Trump will be the 2024 Republican nominee. Any doubt if it was removed by the FBI raid. But there is still a doubt if America will be foolish enough to make him President again. 

Olivia Newton-John, R.I.P.

Singer and actress Olivia Newton-John passed away today at the age of 73. No cause of death has been released but John was first diagnosed with breast cancer 30 years ago and had a recurrence in 2017. 

The British born John began to display her musical talents in Australia as a teenager. In 1971, she came to prominence in North America with her cover of Bob Dylan's "If Not For You" using the arrangement deployed on George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. Her first number one hit came in 1974 with "I Honestly Love You". She followed this hits such as "Have You Never Been Mellow" and "Please Mr. Please" as well as an uncredited vocal on John Denver's "Fly Away".

Between 1978 and 1982, John was arguably the most successful female artist in the world as she was launched into the stratosphere with her appearance in Grease spawning the number one hit "You're The One That I Want", a duet with John Travolta. The Grease soundtrack would feature "Hoplessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights", another duet with Travolta.

In 1980, John starred with Gene Kelly in Xanadu. While Xanadu flopped, its soundtrack did not as she scored hits with "Magic" as well as "Xanadu" and "Suddenly" with ELO and Cliff Richard, respectively. John's other notable hits from the early 1980's include "Physical", "Make a Move On Me", "Heart Attack" and "Twist of Fate".

John's recordings became less frequent with motherhood and her troubles with breast cancer though she regularly toured and occasionally acted. But if you were a sentient being in the late 1970's and early 1980's you knew who Olivia Newton-John was surely as you knew who the President of the United States. For those of us who were alive in those years, her passing is a kick in the gut. 

With that being said while she is now gone, the magic will always stay. R.I.P.

Roger Waters Calls Biden a "War Criminal" While Defending Russia & China

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has long been a vile anti-Semite who derides Israel at every opportunity.

It also turns out he despises President Biden almost as much as he hates Jews and thinks the Russian and Chinese regimes are just swell.

In an interview with CNN's Michael Smerconish, Waters called Biden "a war criminal" for "fueling the war in Ukraine" demanding that he encourage Ukrainian President Zelensky to engage in diplomacy. I think Vladimir Putin fueled the war when his troops entered Ukrainian territory. But Waters holds Putin blameless claiming Russia was provoked by NATO expansion eastward. The Kremlin couldn't have said it better. 

If that wasn't enough Waters also called Taiwan "a part of China" and asked Smerconish, "Who have the Chinese invaded and slaughtered?" When Smerconish indicated China has killed its own people including its Uighur Muslim population, Waters claimed it was "bullocks" and "nonsense" and insisted Smerconish needed to do more reading. Yet one wonders what Waters has been reading.

Whatever screeds Waters has read, there is no doubt Waters' useful idiocy on behalf of two of the world's largest totalitarian regimes will be rewarded with command performances in Moscow and Beijing in the not too distant future in gratitude for his apologism.