by John Walters

Yesterday’s answers: 1) I honestly do not recognize a single name, but the leadoff hitter is Tony Kemp (5’6″…maybe he’s the next Altuve) and the opening day pitcher was Kyle Muller (who’s 6’7″) 2) Hoffman, lame, as in Midnight Cowboy; McQueen, incarcerated and caught trying to escape and put in solitary twice, as in The Great Escape, 3) U.S.A., New York City 4) 30-0, Yankees over Orioles, 2007, 5) Houston Nutt (others appearing were Fulmer, Holtz, Saban)

Arraign Man

Adding to his infamous list of firsts, Donald Trump becomes the first president, current or former, to be indicted for a crime. But it likely will not be his final indictment.

Expect zero epiphanies from the general public. Some of us have understood what a snake and a crook Trump is and has been for decades (just read Jeff Pearlman’s book, Football For A Buck, which details Trumpian manipulations and malfeasance dating back to 1985). All yesterday demonstrated is that at least one district attorney has the stones to put Trump on trial.

This is Law & Order Trump.

And there’s the rest of America, for whom Trump can do no wrong. Even when confronted directly with the evidence. Trump admitted on tape that he is a serial sexual abuser (the Access: Hollywood tape), he acknowledged later that he said it, and he still retained the evangelicals and a lot of pearl-clutchers and church goers who, for whatever reasons, opted to look the other way (at least he’s not a woman who forgives her husband receiving a blow job was the reasoning of some). They’ll buy into Trump’s persecution complex.

This is Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (and the victim is ME) Trump.

I’d suggest you follow Seth Abrahamson on Twitter. He had a long thread yesterday explaining how this hush money payment was never about Trump maintaining a reputation (ha!) of being a faithful husband but more about winning the 2016 election. And all the ramifications of that. It’s worth reading, though I believe that James Comey’s “We’re investigating Hillary’s server” statement less than a week before the election did far more damage.

The victory in yesterday’s indictment is not that the Deplorables will finally see the light. The victory is simply that, for once, the people in power chose to enforce the law rather than consider the repercussions of either choice and opting for the one that created less disruption (particularly among the rich and powerful). If only someone had had those stones during the sub-prime mortgage crisis, as opposed to resorting to “Too Big To Fail,” me might have avoided Trump altogether.

Dollar Quiz

1. Who was the first pitcher to violate the pitch clock rule?
2. If a batted ball sails over third base and lands directly on the white line, is it fair or foul?
3. Name the actor whose father competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (he’s British).
4. Name classic NYC-based sitcoms with 2, 4, 5, 6 and > 6 close friends (bonus $1 if you can name one with three).
5. Name a country that borders South Africa.