So as not to promote his brand, I vowed as a New Year’s resolution never to speak the ex-president’s name again. I briefly considered calling him “Individual-1” but then realized he would shorten that to “I1” and use it to perpetuate the “Big Lie.” So I decided to call him “45” because he is such an “angler.”

45’s current behavior is driven by fear of jail and possible bankruptcy. He has little control over the former, but some over the latter. So, to replenish his funds he created a plan to suck away all the money that normally goes toward the GOP/RNC. By exploiting the current weaknesses of the GOP, he is appealing directly to his base. He brazenly promoted his new Super PAC at CPAC and said all money should come directly to him, hoping to amass a personal fortune from the gullibility of his core supporters. He needs this money to shore up his family business and fight all the legal actions about to take place. I am guessing that his plan for avoiding jail is to run out the clock.

Please don’t help him with either of these.

Herb Krasner of Spicewood is a computer sciences guru. He taught software engineering, data structures, database engineering and more and founded the Software Quality Institute at the University of Texas. He also taught at Missouri University Science & Technology and Clemson University and worked at Harris Corporation, Lockheed and SAIC. Now retired, he likes to share his musings in letters to the editor of local and national publications.