Greetings! If Donald Trump ruled over the Conclave of Cardinals the way he does over the GOP, his likely choice to succeed Pope Francis just might be the ultra-conservative  Raymond Burke, an American who for many years led the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  Cardinal Burke is an ardent Trumper who clashed with Francis over the late Pope’s position on marriage, divorce and the role of women in the church, according to many media accounts including The Daily Mail….A civil war may be brewing in MALA-land (Make America Laugh Again). Larry David, our nation’s greatest grouch, has a humorous NY Times op-ed imagining a 1939 dinner he had with Adolf Hitler. Without specifically mentioning Bill Maher’s infamous White House dinner with The Donald several weeks ago, David's satire nonetheless eviscerates Maher’s lame defense of the MAGA-in-Chief. Times Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healey has a companion essay to the David op-ed stating: “Larry’s piece is not equating Trump with Hitler. It is about seeing people for who they really are and not losing sight of that.” I wonder if Maher, who described Trump as “gracious and measured” after his meeting, will now curb his enthusiasm for POTUS and respond to his old pal Larry….Irony alert: the nation’s chief of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, had her bag stolen from a DC restaurant over the weekend containing  her passport, driver’s license, security badge, $3,000 in cash, emergency hair gel for Pete Hegseth and the secret password to SecDef’s Signal account (It’s 1,2,3,4  if you’re wondering).  That’s all true except the parts about Hegseth….The Washington Examiner observes that “Saturday Night Live” has gone anti-woke.  Hadn’t noticed but I’ll be watching for it…If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard

Greetings! RIP Pope Francis. This headline from The Bulwark nails it: A Pope Who Preached Decency in Indecent Times…A big swing and a miss by Time magazine for its recent 100 most influential people in the world issue. Better to dub it the 99 most influential people in the world after Donald Trump.  Trump is the most influential person on the planet.  No one comes close…Dept. of Sticks & Stones: In the same sentence that Trump wished everyone a happy Easter yesterday, he called Joe Biden “a highly destructive moron.” Here's his vile Truth Social Sunday post…Adios Pete Hegseth? Ex-Pentagon spokesperson and Hegseth loyalist Jon Ullyot predicts the scandal-scarred Secretary of Defense days atop the Pentagon are numbered. “Even strong backers of the secretary like me must admit the last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon” Ullyot wrote  in Politico, “and it’s becoming a real problem for the administration.” Ullyot expects  there will be more negative stories about Hegseth coming out this week…Stating the obvious: America Gets Trump Fatigue is the headline on Karl Rove’s latest Wall Street Journal column.  Welcome to the party Karl.  Where have you been the last nine years?...Conservatives looking for right-leaning love should look no further than the Date Right Stuff app. In his latest article for TheRighting, Michael Lovito examines the dating app that’s hoping to give “swipe right” a whole new meaning…If you keep reading, I’ll keep Righting. Howard