The full Mueller report with redactions came out yesterday.  Will it change anyone's mind?  Probably not.  If someone had believed and supported Trump all this time, he/she will continue to do so.  But here is my take:

1.  While the report could not establish any collusion or conspiracy in legal terms, it says that the Russians interfered with the election with the goal of helping Trump win over Clinton.  Also Trump welcomed the help and believe that it would benefit his campaign.  You must wonder, why did Putin want Trump to win?  Why did Trump think that the Russians want him to win?  Either Putin thought that Trump is a weaker leader than Clinton or that he had something on him. 

2.  The report certainly does not exonerate Trump on the matter of obstruction of justice.  In fact, Mueller said that he tried to obstruct, failing at times because his subordinates did not follow his orders.  Mueller even said that if he had confidence that Trump did not obstruct, Mueller would have said so, but he could not say so.  It is like saying:  I would say you are innocent if I believe that you are innocent.  But I can't say that.  Implication:  I think you are guilty.

3.  It looked like Mueller did not want to deal with any prosecution of this mess and thus punted.  He punted to Congress, not Barr.  But Barr intercepted and cleared Trump of obstruction.  I guess even if the punt went to Congress, it would have called for a fair catch and led to nowhere.  Impeachment should be off the table, given that the GOP controlled Senate won't convict.  It would be a waste of time and divide the country more.

So what do we go from here?  Maybe if Mueller testify, it would clear things up and make Trump's guilt more apparent.  But if Mueller wanted to sink Trump, he would not have punted.  So I am not sure he will have much more to say on the subject.  The best the Democrats can do is use this in the 2020 election.  Keep hammering the fact that Putin was trying to help Trump.  Point out how Trump have nice things to say about Putin and other dictators.  Point out why Trump wanted to obstruct justice, as mentioned in the report, if he was not guilty.  Maybe all this will get some independent votes and get him out of office.  We can't afford another four years of this.

Many news pundits believe that Stephen Miller is the guy who drives the anti-immigrant policies in the Trump administration.  He maybe responsible for Kirstjen Nielsen and others who are out at the DHS.  It is remarkable how this 33 year old has that much power.  But to me, what is remarkable is how much hatred this man has for immigrants and refugees given that his family history includes escape from Jewish persecution from the Russian Empire.

Of course many descendants of undocumented immigrants and refugees are vehemently against those fleeing persecution or economic disasters today.  Recently, Trump was cheered at a Jewish group meeting for his anti-immigrant stand.  I am sure there are descendants of holocaust survivors and victims in that crowd.  They should understand that if  their ancestors had a choice of coming here as undocumented immigrants or suffered their fate, the choice would be obvious.  And we as a country should have taken them in.

The same with the descendants of those who escaped Vietnam, the Irish famine, and Mao's China.  How can those people be against undocumented immigrants and refugees?  Even if their ancestors came by the legal route, they should realize that if the legal route took too long, given the  circumstances, their ancestors would be doing the same thing as those at our border today.

Turned out my prediction of Virginia for the NCAA basketball championship was correct.  But I can't claim any skill as I said it without much conviction.  I just thought that Virginia had the easiest regional and most likely to get to the Final Four.  Turned out, they were remarkably lucky to win at least three of the games.  I had no idea that Texas Tech, who were much more convincing than Virginia in getting to the finals, would be that good.  Parity has come to college basketball.

Now for the NBA.  I am taking the Bucks and the Greek Freak to win it all.  I think GS will have a much harder time getting out of the West.  I think they will be tired out by the time they get to the Finals.

Just came back from a trip to Sequoia National Park on the way to SF.  Not my cup of tea to trek through the snow.  But it is a magnificent to see these great trees.  A reminder of the wonderful things in this country.  Hopefully these remain for generations to come.

Back to reality.  I understand that Trump had come up with a great healthcare plan to replace Obamacare while I was away.  But he won't reveal it until after the 2020 election.  If the plan is so good for Americans,  wouldn't it be hurting Americans by delaying its implementation?  Come on!  Tell us what you got, Mr. President.  Or is it just more BS?

The President also threatens to shut off the border.  Wait until the agricultural businesses lose tons of money when their produce perish at the border.  Wait till the automakers had to shut down plants because parts cannot come from Mexico.  Maybe this is the plan that Trump will implement after 2020, when he has one more month in office as a lame duck.

I did not know that Trump's father was born in Germany!  I would think that we would have known that.  Well, at least Donald would know, right?  I can understand someone wants to lie to gain an advantage.  But I don't see how lying about your father was born a German is beneficial to Trump.  But I guess if someone lies frequently, he just can't help it.

If Donald's father was born in Germany, maybe we should ask to see the President's birth certificate.  Then ask again after seeing it and repeat the process.  After all, anyone who has a father born in another country must not have been born in the U.S. himself!  I don't think Trump was born in Germany even though he claims his father was from there.  But Moscow, maybe?