I, for one, miss the journalistic je ne sais quoi that Larry King once brought to USA Today, so, in that spirit, let us continue.

ITEM!

It seems that the "Rose, remember what I told you about the lifeboats" conference call that Speaker Paul Ryan conducted with his caucus was a bit more of a shambles than we were led to believe, according to The New York Times, anyway.

One of the conservatives, Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, attacked the Republicans stepping away from Mr. Trump as "cowards," three lawmakers said. Another, Representative Trent Franks of Arizona, said, using graphic language to describe abortion, that allowing Mrs. Clinton into the White House would end with fetuses being destroyed "limb from limb." Trying to quiet the uproar, Mr. Ryan interjected after about 45 minutes to assure members that he was not withdrawing his endorsement of Mr. Trump, but rather doing what he felt was in the best interests of the House.

Here, with a comment is Mr. S.L. Clemens of Hannibal, Missouri.

Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.

ITEM!

On Monday, hard on the heels of the 1950s pulp novel that he created out of the second presidential debate, Donald Trump went to Pennsylvania and held a rally that would have had Leni Riefenstahl musing, "Ach du lieber! This is too much." The Philadelphia Inquirer was there.

Monday afternoon, Trump told the crowd in Ambridge, "I'm going to fight for you," and criticized media coverage of a leaked video from 2005 in which he boasts of physically accosting women. He also accused former President Bill Clinton of "predatory behavior" against women. Trump repeated attacks Monday night that he made in the debate 24 hours earlier, promising to have a special prosecutor investigate Hillary Clinton if he wins, and questioning Clinton's private speech excerpts released by WikiLeaks. He also suggested that the election could be "stolen" in Philadelphia. "I just hear such reports about Philadelphia," he said. "We have to make sure this election is not stolen from us." There is no evidence that the election in Philadelphia is in any way threatened and city GOP officials have said suggestions of rigging in the 2012 presidential election are unfounded. The state Republican chairman, Rob Gleason, has said he does not fear election rigging in Philadelphia or anywhere in Pennsylvania. In an hour-long speech in Wilkes-Barre, Trump drew the loudest applause when attacking Clinton and the media. "They are so dishonest," Trump said of reporters covering the campaign. "Without the media, Hillary Clinton couldn't be elected dogcatcher." The crowd frequently burst into chants of "CNN sucks" — referencing Trump's criticism of a CNN focus group that determined he lost Sunday's debate against Clinton.

He also took to the electric Twitter machine and paid Ryan back in full for not publicly withdrawing his endorsement of the candidate.

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It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 11, 2016

These "shackles" heretofore have not been obvious to the casual observer but, whatever you say, big guy. Go for the gold.

ITEM!

I don't even know where to go with this.

If the consequence of standing against Trump and for principles is indeed the election of Hillary Clinton, so be it. At least it is a moral, ethical choice. If she is elected, the world does not end.... Once elected, Hillary can be fought. Her tactics are blatant and juvenile, and battling her by means of political and procedural maneuvering or through the media , through public marches and online articles, all of that will be moral, worthy of man of principal. Her nominees can be blocked, her proposed laws voted down. The alternative does not offer a moral person the same opportunity. If one helps to elect an immoral man to the highest office, then one is merely validating his immorality, lewdness, and depravity. But it's OK, at least it is not her! Right??

No.

Isaiah in Palestine, hello!

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

ITEM!

The Party of Lincoln is in shambles. The Party of Lincoln is in shambles because it allowed the likes of Dana Rohrerbacher and Trent Franks to become men of influence within it. The Party of Lincoln is in shambles because it bought into the quack economics and the dream of a new Gilded Age so beloved by the likes of Paul Ryan. The Party of Lincoln is in shambles because it allowed the growth of an Id so large and powerful that it just sat there, like a land mine in history, waiting for the right vulgar talking yam. The Party of Lincoln is in shambles because so many of the people in it took Glenn Beck seriously for so long and became so warped that they were easy marks for El Caudillo del Mar-A-Lago.

ITEM!

The Party of Lincoln is an elephant with a bullet in its brain, looking for a place to fall.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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