Greetings! Trump wrote Jeffrey Epstein a bawdy note for the disgraced financier’s 50^th birthday, according to last night’s much-anticipated Wall Street Journal article.  It’s certainly not a good look for POTUS, but it’s probably not a knockout punch.  The “Extra” tape with the “grab them by the pussy” soundbite was released just before the 2016 election and he still wound up in the White House. Accusations of sex with porn star Stormy Daniels didn’t derail his political career. Some factions of MAGA-world have turned on The Donald.  While Trump is once again revealed to be a sewer rat, I predict he  slithers out of this latest revelation...While the media industry braces for devastating funding cuts to PBS and NPR, another bomb landed on a legacy outlet last night. CBS abruptly  announced the end of  “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” next May. Hollywood in Toto swallowed the hard-to-believe corporate BS that the decision was “based on financial realities, not content or political pressure.” Yeah, right. I’m sure it had nothing to do with Colbert’s years of anti-Trump monologues and the impending sale of CBS that needs FCC approval....Medical condition of the week: chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). Trump’s afflicted with the mostly non-life-threatening disease, which the White House announced yesterday. Take a look at this image of Trump’s swollen ankle and you’ll understand the condition on the first bounce.  Worth noting: while CVI is generally not fatal, it’s  a progressive condition so it’s likely to get worse, not better. As a public service to President Trump, I’ve included a link to Amazon’s Best Shoes for Edema page.....Weekend Watch: HBO Max’s two-part documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, which debuts tonight.  I’m a longtime fan of the Piano Man, and after this week’s nonstop news, it promises to give my brain a much-needed wash and rinse....If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings!  Word of the day: “Stupid.”  As in Donald Trump’s choice of adjective to describe denizens of MAGA Nation focused on Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories instead of concentrating on how wonderful his administration has been for our nation.  And yes, he did describe factions of his base as stupid (ABC News)...Where is the great woke novel, wonders Dominic Green of The Wall Street Journal?  Good point! “The raw material of history was everywhere,” opines Green. “Artists should have spent the past half-decade refining 2020’s historical dividend into the verities of art and royalty checks. We’re still waiting.” Where's the Norman Mailer of GenZ who's going to take a stab at this epic story and wind  up on the cover of New York Magazine? But who writes novels when you can cash in on social media (see next item)?...Following in grandpa’s footprints: The Donald’s 18-year-old granddaughter Kai Trump is getting into the marketing game, capitalizing on the Trump brand.  The eldest POTUS grandchild and daughter of Don Jr. just signed a deal with energy drink brand Accelerator Active Energy that gives her equity in the company.  A  social media maven with six million followers across three platforms, Kai is about to start her freshman year at  University of Miami, where she’s made the school golf team. Someone alert ESPN – I think I smell a good TV sporting event when she steps up to the tee in her first collegiate competition. (Yahoo Sports)....The “Butler” did it (and became #1):  The new non-fiction book, Butler, about last summer’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, has landed atop the NY Times Best Sellers list. The tome by respected rightwing journo Salena Zito, may even be turned into a movie (Hollywood in Toto).... If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard