The Mueller Report: Is That All There Is?

After two years and millions of dollars in taxpayer money invested (some would say wasted), Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of possible influence by the Russian government into the 2016 presidential election has apparently determined that (A) there was no collusion between President Donald Trump and the Russians, and (B) no conclusion was made on whether Trump obstructed justice or not.

We say "apparently" because that is the interpretation of Attorney General William Barr in his four-page memo.  It is likely the best information we're going to get, unless Congress succeeds in getting Barr (Trump's hand-picked choice for the AG job after Jeff Sessions left) to release as much of Mueller's report as legally possible.

Because there's still too many questions about what's in the report and what isn't, this is not going to stop Democrats in the House of Representatives or the Southern District of New York from investigating alleged wrongdoing by Trump, his family and his cronies.  Barr and Mueller are expected to testify under oath before Congress.  But the report's apparent conclusions certainly takes the heart out of any momentum or significance it might have had, given that a sitting President can't be indicted, according to the Justice Department.

For the President, he can tweet and shout "NO COLLUSION" all he wants.  But he won't be magnanimous in victory, attacking enemies like the Democrats and the media just like he did with John McCain and "Mr. Kellyanne Conway".  (He did say nice things about Mueller, but only after the report was done.)  Trump will still take advice from dictators than his own intelligence people, ramble on in front of adoring audiences, and play golf at his own resorts.  The legal messages he still has to navigate might still bother him, but it won't be enough to affect his reelection plans.  He now has a new incentive to stay in office for the next four years:  Staying out of jail.

For the Democrats, they can investigate Trump all they want.  But even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has conceded it's not worth the trouble to impeach him.  As long as Democrats have the House, they might as well get back to the issues that resonates with voters:  climate change, improving health care, immigration, etc.  It might even help them in the 2020 election by running on those issues, and not harping so much on Trump's record.  But the crowded field of presidential candidates, which so far includes mostly has-beens and newcomers, does not inspire much confidence as real challengers to Trump.

For the Republicans, they need to grow a spine.

For the rest of us, after two years of intense scrutiny by Washington, the media, and Trump's constant heckling, we have to ask if the result was all worth it given the amount of material Mueller had to work with.  We ended up expecting more and got less.

Pundits liberal and conservative have been telling us over the past few days that it is good for the country that Trump was not charged with collusion.  It doesn't feel that way.  Instead it was more like Trump has bamboozled the American people once again.  And not for the last time, either.

Schools for Scandal

If you're making out your brackets for the upcoming men's college basketball tournament, you might want to take a second look at them.  Some of those fine schools have been named in a scheme in which wealthy individuals--CEOs, attorneys, Hollywood actresses, etc.--allegedly had documents and test scores altered for thousands of dollars so their kids could get into the best institutions for learning money could buy.

This stuff has been going on for as long as anyone can remember.  The only surprise is that now people are getting caught for it, but will likely not see much (if any) prison time.  And the kids who might be just as guilty as their parents are the ones who had mediocre academic records, and who'd rather be social media stars than scholars anyhow.

This leaves all of those deserving students--the ones who don't have rich parents or connections--out in the cold as far as getting into prestigious colleges is concerned.  Instead, they're forced to make do with State U and/or their local community college.  Nothing wrong with them.  It's just that they're not Duke, Stanford or Harvard.

Another big problem is the debt that comes with a college education, especially if you don't have much money to begin with.  Unless you've saved up enough by working two or three jobs or applying frequently for every student loan available, the college of your choice is out of reach.  And since you have a loan, you are expected to pay it back, right?  Maybe for the rest of your life, until your grand children finally pay it off.  Which is why people are having such a hard time finding a home, buying a car or starting a family.  Rich kids don't have to worry about any of that, because their parents would take care of that for them.

Now that examples will presumably be made of all those affluent parents who only wanted what was best for their college-bound children, but ended up doing things the wrong way, it will be interesting to see if anything changes.  Colleges and universities, at the government's request, will review and then update its admissions policies to ensure that they are done fair and square.  They will also have to find a way to make school more affordable to those who do not otherwise have the means to do so.

But most of all, there's nothing wrong with being a graduate of Podunk U. instead of the University of Southern California or Yale.  They might not have bracket-worthy athletic programs, but a degree is still a degree no matter how much it costs.

Trump: In or Out Like a Lion?

As the calendar turned from February to March, President Donald Trump capped off his no good, horrible week by roaring like a lion at a conservative convention in Maryland.  For two hours in front of a friendly audience, he ranted and raved against the media, the Robert Mueller investigation, Democrats and others he deemed worthy of his scorn.  It's nothing you haven't heard before, but Trump did it in a manner that suggested that he needed to be removed under the 25th Amendment, except no one could agree on a tactful way to do it.  Oh, and the fact-checkers went into overtime trying to keep up with his whoppers.

Here's some of what made the President go off the rails:

• His former attorney Michael Cohen spilled some of his guts to a House committee and a national TV audience, on his way to a prison sentence.  The rest of Cohen's guts are all tied up in investigations and closed-door hearings, but what we did hear makes it sound like the Trump family isn't much different from the Corleones or the Sopranos.
• Mueller's investigation has yet to wrap up, despite indications that the report could be released "soon".  There is concern that the report--what there is of it that's made public--might be less than the sum of its parts when it comes to Trump's alleged involvement in Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.  That's why House Democrats are putting together a more extensive investigation.
• While this was going on, Trump failed to make a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to shut down their nuclear weapons program, thereby closing their summit in Hanoi,Vietnam earlier than planned.  The President blamed his failure on the Cohen hearings, but in truth he didn't do his homework.  He continues to take the word of dictators like Kim and Vladimir Putin and his own gut instead of his diplomatic and intelligence corps.
• There are at least 14 people (and possibly more) announcing their intention to run for Trump's job as Democrats in 2020.  There is also the realization among Democrats that 2019 is their last, best chance before the election of unseating Trump through indictment or impeachment.  If that doesn't happen, then Trump wins re-election no matter who they put up as their candidate.

Cohen in his public testimony mentioned the possibility that the President might not go quietly if he loses the election, especially if the results are close.  Also, if he does not face indictment until after he leaves office, he might refuse to leave the White House to avoid prosecution and saddle the new President with an unwanted house guest.

So what's it gonna be?  Will President Trump go out like a lamb or a lion?