A lazy day by the pool today after yesterday's time at the Outlet Shopping Mall. I finally got a replacement TravelPro Crew case as well as a chance to see wild alligators basking by the side of the water running through the mall.
In the evening we came back and watched some American television. More alligators and swampland as we saw the sentencing of charge dodging Paul Manafort creating the first occasion where someone has been part of the election committee for a current president and also gone to jail.
Curiously, Manafort's recommended sentence for money laundering, tax dodging, witness tampering and so on of 19-24 years was awarded at a mere 47 months, minus the 9 that he's already served. 3/19ths = 16% of the recommended minimum sentence.
Judge Ellis commented about the 'otherwise blameless' Manafort, conveniently forgetting Manafort's time as a lobbyist and strategist for brutal warlords, helping swing elections in their favour.
Although it didn't have anything directly to do with Russia, the Judge's statement after sentencing ambiguously pointed out that this trial was not about Russia. It was said in a way which Trump will try to use to dodge allegations of collusion.
I suppose this is a white collar crime by one of the Washington elite, so when the judge said the recommended sentence was excessive, he was maybe thinking about his own future as well. Alligators? Who knows? Who knows if any shadowy small hands were operating anything?
We'll see what the second set of guilty charges generates and whether it runs parallel or consecutive.
We also saw that Mr Cohen has decided to sue Mr Trump for not continuing to pay his defence bills, which was laughably part of the deal, at least until he changed to become the equivalent of a state witness. Cohen has also indicated that even his testimony to the court was 'adjusted by the small hands of someone high-up in the White House. No alligators here either?
That's just two of the myriad daily developments on the evolving topsy trumpy world here. I drive past signs like the one above every day at the moment. In local news there's been another big car smash on the nearby main road and a further single person school shooting. I actually drove past another car crash today, where someone had spun their car off the road and down into a ditch. They looked shake but alright although it'll take a truck to get the car out of the hole.
I'm again reminded of that old Freak Out album by Frank Zappa. Trouble every day. Same as it ever was.
Well I'm about to get sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is anybody's guess
Listen to it right through to the harmonica. I'm going back to the pool.
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