(NUNAL) (EYEBALL)

Here is comes, government by extortion and theft. Ted Cruz introduces "EL CHAPO Act" to pay for the wall " Senator Ted Cruz wants to use assets seized from drug lords such as El Chapo, the Mexican kingpin who was recently extradited to the U.S., to pay for border security and the border wall. The idea:  U.S. prosecutors are seeking $14 billion in drug profits and other assets from El Chapo. They also routinely seize the assets of other drug dealers and traffickers. The Cruz quote:  "Fourteen billion dollars will go a long way toward building a wall that will keep Americans safe and hinder the illegal flow of drugs, weapons, and individuals across our southern border." The acronym's meaning:  Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order Why it matters:  President Trump is trying to figure out how to  pay for his border wall , which will require American taxpayers to  front the bill , but Republicans  aren't helping  at the moment.

ok, for the moment even leaving aside Trump's utter incompetence, venality, racism, and general but consistent stupidity, let's just agree  the man is just an appalling fool . He just compared his ratings to those of the terrorist mass murder of 9-11: "Now, in an interview with the Associated Press  released Sunday, Trump set a new standard of hubris even for himself — comparing his ratings prowess to one of the darkest days in U.S. history: Sept. 11, 2001. “It's the highest for 'Face the Nation' or as I call it, 'Deface the Nation,' " Trump told the AP's Julie Pace, referring to the CBS News Sunday political talk show. “It's the highest for 'Deface the Nation' since the World Trade Center — since the World Trade Center came down.”