Gall In The White House

       And now, further adventures with Kaptain Klump and the Klepto Kids,  also known as the president of the United States and his top appointees.
     Today's episodes include a return appearance by that old presidential retainer Michael Flynn, who keeps showing up like a black-sheep cousin at Thanksgiving. Booted earlier for making eyes at the Russians and lying about it, Flynn was a busier boy than most of us knew even yet. Before and after the election of his patron, he was also pocketing a cool half million in boodle to run errands on American soil for the Turkish government. In this he was required by law to register as an agent of a foreign power -- but, well, he just didn't get around to that part of it until now.
     The Klump presidential transition team knew about Flynn's deal with the Turks.  They did not however, reveal it. They didn't even tell the Kap. Perhaps they didn't want the voters worrying their pretty little heads about whether they were actually voting for the Kap, Vladimir Putin or Recep Erdogan.  Perhaps they also reasoned that the Kap was busy figuring out how to use federal law to enforce religious prohibitions and enhance the privilege of white people.
     The Kap does have an especially full plate these days.  Federal civil servants have annoyed him by continuing to fulfill their sworn obligations under law. He has responded by firing them in wholesale lots.  This leaves him with a very great deal of hiring to do. His challenge is compounded by his very particular job requirements. He must find candidates untroubled by the premise that government workers can be loyal to him or to the American public but not necessarily both.
     Meanwhile, the Kap's sons are busy as well. Although they lack official status, they are a kind of junior varsity Klepto Kid.  The junior KK's (no, no; only two K's; only two) have been jetting around with tax-paid protection to run their Dad's business empire.  The Kap and his folks think it churlish of others to worry about conflicts between the public interest and the family's mercantile imperatives. After all, the Kap has demonstrated that he does respect the altruistic principles of public service. In moving from his New York tower to the White House, he has selflessly accepted smaller quarters in a poorer neighborhood.
     Truth to tell, the Kap has stumbled a bit with this presidential thing. Now, he's giving it another big try. He's wading in with support of the proposed new health care law. Republicans like it for being consistent with their philosophy of channeling wealth toward people who already have some and are therefore experienced in handling it. Republicans are big on Capitol Hill. Sometimes it seems the Congress has more Republicans than members.  If he's been reading his poll numbers, the Kap might reasonably feel that he needs to round up a lot more friends.
     And the work never ends. The Kap is busy. The junior Kleptos are busy. Supplicants of the government are lined up over here. Customers of the empire are lined up over there -- except when the supplicants and the customers are the same people.  Witness the current example of the candy industry, which is lobbying the government to change its policies on sugar subsidies. Industry leaders gathered last week for their national conference -- at one of the Kap's resorts. They have two more meetings scheduled, both in one of his hotels.
     Perhaps the Kap and boys would represent this overlap as a kind of efficiency. This would be consistent with the administration's wholesale redefinition of words and ideas. Mendacity is alternative honesty. The greed of the few is good for the many.  That sort of thing.
     To this pattern there is, however, one sure exception.  The Kap and his team would never argue that black is white.