Of all the things you would not expect to happen, this may take the prize. The president sues the government for $10 billion because he alleges that someone leaked his tax information. Ridiculous case, you say? Yes, it is. But Trump controls the DOJ and all he has to do is to tell Bondi not to defend it. Then what?

This is only one of a number of cases that Trump (“in his personal capacity”) has filed recently. Remember the suit against CBS for editing an interview not with him, but with Kamala Harris, for which he received $16 million in settlement? He has also sued, in very recent years, ABC, CNN, Walt Disney, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, The New York Times, Christopher Steele and Bob Woodward for libel or related matters. Some of these cases have been dismissed, others are still pending.

But his $10 billion suit against the IRS hits a new low (and a new high). It isn’t the first time. In the fall of 2025, Trump filed claims against the Department of Justice seeking a measley $230 million for damages arising out of the government’s investigations into the “Russian hoax” and claims he took confidential documents to Mar-a-Lago. I don’t know what happened to those claims. And if the “government” does not vigorously defend against all of this (and how can it?), what is the remedy? If Pam Bondi files something in court saying that the defendant agrees with the plaintiff, and requests dismissal of the case, and the plaintiff agrees, and Trump gets a $10 billion dollar check from the federal government, the courts may be powerless. Once again, Walt Kelley is proven right, as Trump is in effect saying “We have met the enemy and it is us” as he sues himself.

In the meantime, the 2026 elections are under threat, as the Trumpers are filing suits against multiple states, the goal of which is to have the federal government take control of elections from the states, something that once again flies in the face of Constitutional provisions. Trump wants federal control, of course, to  allow the disqualification of voters, voting groups, and voting methods that he believes favor the “enemies within”, i. e., the Democrats. And along with this, he is encouraging right wing gerrymandering to increase red, rather than blue districts.   Remember when the GOP was the “better dead than red” party?

The good news is that it looks like an agreement has been reached to allow the government, with the exception of HHS, to continue to operate. There will then be a 2 week period to see if an ICE funding agreement can be reached. It will be an interesting debate.

On to better things. Anyone else belong to the Facebook Group “St. Louis History and Architecture”? I highly recommend it. Today’s entry involves this house at 16 Westmoreland Place:

This house belonged to the Mallinckrodt family, and the description on Facebook  gives a nice brief history of house and family.

I am spending this morning sitting at Jim Coleman Toyota having my car checked as it hit 60,000 miles.

It is quiet here as many are still not venturing out in the snow. I have been here about an hour. Usually it takes 2 or 3, but I hope a smaller load means quicker service. Yes, hope is eternal.

Update: 3 hours, 40 minutes.