[guest post by Dana]

Getting her ducks in a row:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., plans to introduce legislation Friday that would create a “Commission on Presidential Capacity,” which would be involved in presidential transfer of power procedures under the 25th Amendment.

The legislation would create the commission “to help ensure effective and uninterrupted leadership in the highest office in the Executive Branch of government,” Pelosi’s office said in a news release.

…

Asked whether she thought it was time to invoke the 25th Amendment because of President Donald Trump’s illness, Pelosi said she didn’t want to talk about it right then.

“If you want to talk about that, we’ll see you tomorrow,” said Pelosi, who then questioned why the White House has refused to reveal when the president had his last negative Covid-19 test.

…

In an interview immediately after her press conference, Pelosi suggested that the president may not be thinking clearly because of the drugs he has taken while being treated for the disease.

“The president is, shall we say, in an altered state right now,” Pelosi said on Bloomberg TV. “I don’t know how to answer for that behavior.”

She continued, “There are those who say when you are on steroids or have Covid-19, there may be some impairment of judgment.”

(Yes, but that doesn’t cover his pre-Covid ‘impairment of judgment’…)

Anyway, in response, Trump did all he could to convince everyone that he really isn’t crazy in an altered state:

Crazy Nancy is the one who should be under observation. They don’t call her Crazy for nothing! https://t.co/7vE0Jvq0dM

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2020

My God, if this crap doesn’t come to an end pretty soon, we’re all going to be clamoring to find our own altered states in which to cocoon.

Stay tuned…

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Six men were charged today for allegedly conspiring to kidnap Michigan’s Gov. Whitmer, according to a federal criminal complaint, and the Michigan attorney general charged seven individuals for their involvement:

Federal agents said Thursday they thwarted a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — a conspiracy that included visits to her home in northern Michigan and training with explosive devices.

The alleged plot involved conspirators who met during a Second Amendment rally at the Capitol in Lansing in June and reached out to members of a Michigan militia known as the Wolverine Watchmen for reinforcements, according to state and federal officials.

The court filing alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer’s personal vacation home in northern Michigan and discussed kidnapping her to a “secure location” in Wisconsin to stand “trial” for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.

“Several members talked about murdering ‘tyrants’ or ‘taking’ a sitting governor,” an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. “The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message.”

A bit of detail:

At a meeting in July, allegedly attended and recorded by one of the informants, the men “discussed attacking a Michigan State Police facility, and in a separate conversation after the meeting, Garbin suggested shooting up the Governor’s vacation home,” authorities said.

Then at a July 27 meeting, Fox and an informant discussed a possible kidnapping of Whitmer, with the defendant allegedly saying: “Snatch and grab, man. Grab the f—ing governor. Just grab the b—-. Because at that point, we do that, dude — it’s over.”

After Whitmer thanked law enforcement for their work on her behalf, she lit into President Trump for not fully condemning white supremacists and hate groups last week:

Just last week, the President of the United States stood before the American people and refused to condemn white supremacists and hate groups like these two Michigan militia groups. ‘Stand back and stand by,’ he told them. ‘Stand back and stand by.’ Hate groups heard the President’s words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry, as a call to action. When our leaders speak, their words matter. They carry weight.”

Anyway, it’s a crazy story. And yet, 2020 has been nothing if not crazy. Oh, and here is Team Trump adding their own special brand of crazy to the mix today:

Trump campaign official Jason Miller is on Fox News attacking Gretchen Whitmer, the victim of a kidnapping plot: "If we want to talk about hatred, then Gov. Whitmer, go look in the mirror — the fact that she wakes up everyday with such hatred in her heart for President Trump." pic.twitter.com/sMXv7mgBfa

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 8, 2020

–Dana

Looking for any excuse:

#BREAKING: Commission on Presidential @Debates ANNOUNCES SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE WILL BE VIRTUAL pic.twitter.com/lKw99t3RT3

— CSPAN (@cspan) October 8, 2020

NEW: President Trump reaction to debate commission saying Trump, Biden will be in separate, remote locations.

"That is not acceptable to us…I'm not going to do a virtual debate…I am not going to waste my time."

— Karen Travers (@karentravers) October 8, 2020

Here’s the official campaign statement:

“President Trump won the first debate despite a terrible and biased moderator in Chris Wallace, and everybody knows it. For the swamp creatures at the Presidential Debate Commission to now rush to Joe Biden’s defense by unilaterally canceling an in-person debate is pathetic. That’s not what debates are about or how they’re done. Here are the facts: President Trump will have posted multiple negative tests prior to the debate, so there is no need for this unilateral declaration. The safety of all involved can easily be achieved without canceling a chance for voters to see both candidates go head to head. We’ll pass on this sad excuse to bail out Joe Biden and do a rally instead.”