"The Walls Are Closing In"

The first Durham indictment! Former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith will plead guilty to

doctoring an email used as part of a process to secure court approval to renew surveillance on a onetime Trump campaign junior adviser, Carter Page. The Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, referred the matter for criminal review. . . . Despite the federal surveillance of Carter Page, he was never charged with any crime.

NPR reports the Klinesmith indictment pretty straight, with nothing like my title's nostalgia for how this kind of thing was reported when the shoe was on the other foot a couple of years ago. Not to worry, most of the rest of the NLMSM are is accompanied by headlines and ledes suggesting that the investigation does not, repeat not, point to any higher-up conspiracy of any kind, quit saying it does, nothing to see here, move along.  When they're done with that message, they turn to worries that the timing of further Durham indictments may be calculated to affect the election.  They also spend some time explaining that there's no indication--really! none!--that Klinesmith has cut a deal and is singing like a canary.

Medical Politics

I don't claim to know much about how COVID treatments work, but I find this article pretty persuasive.

Hiatus

Thanks for all the commentary on the post below about closing the Hall.  For now I will follow the advice some of you gave and leave the Hall open for archival use and for my co-bloggers to continue to use as they prefer.  AVI's recommendation based on his own experience is what I'll follow:  for now consider me on at least temporary hiatus, which may become permanent if I don't rediscover a desire to do this. 

I might be around to comment on posts from time to time, but I will not be visiting or posting on a daily, weekly, or any regular basis.  

Some posts from the archive will be deleted if I want to publish them elsewhere, or if in my review of the archives I decide to remove them.  

You can contact me by email if you need me, but I won't necessarily be checking that regularly either.  I need to focus on professional duties when I'm behind a keyboard; and I need to spend less time behind keyboards, too. More in the wind.

Truth and justice prevail in my hometown

My county's citizens prevailed in their move to force the Commissioners Court to set a proposed bond for election.  The powers-that-be are glum.  The bond is mostly to fund the construction of a new courthouse, a project I believe would have been more likely to win voter approval in November if we (1) made it smaller and cheaper and (2) not tried to pull it off without an election first.  But we'll see what my neighbors think.  The proposed new courthouse, though expensive, is pretty nice, and our post-storm temporary quarters really aren't a long-term fix.

One of the pleasures of the process has been a woman who spoke at yesterday's contentious Commissioners Court meeting.  Oh, she was a star!  The whole package:  telegenic, good writing, good delivery, seemingly effortless ability to deflect bullying.  She spoke simply and intelligently for about five minutes about the importance of preserving the right to vote in a time when our civil rights are under assault.  I'm determined to get her to run for office.