Charged, Mugged, Debates, Flight Risk, Polls, Wagner, Vlad, Vivek, DeSantis

  • Nojo neatly summarizes the legal week with one photo and a three word headline.
     
  • Legal expert Imani Gandy of Rewire News Group explains, in very simple terms, this week’s Trump related drama in Georgia.
     

    And I react:

  • One oft heard defense of Trump and Associates is that prosecutors can’t prove he knew he had lost and believed he had lost.
     
    Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson isn’t picking up what they’re laying down:

  • The Senior Senator from Florida has a warning about prosecuting a political figure:


    Cato Institute’s Julian Sanchez has a bit of fun with it before making a more serious point:

  • At his booking, mr Trump was not weighed. He simply assured police that, at 215 pounds and 6’3″, they could take his word. We non-members of the party have had some fun with that exhibition of prime fitness.
     


    One or two humorless MAGA members tried to defend the stats. Poor souls.
     

  • As Republicans accuse the Biden administration of politicizing law enforcement. President Biden responds by not responding, insisting on a hands off approach.
     
    Trump, during his term, seemed exempt from Republican accusations of politicizing law enforcement. Sarah Cooper fondly recalls
    those halcyon days when Donald Trump was in charge.
     
  • Today, the Texas Attorney General could give lessons on selling law enforcement to his pals, but enjoys a similar indulgence:
     
  • The Republican base does seem convinced that mr Trump is innocent of any wrongdoing. Not everyone is buying it.
     
    News Corpse has the numbers.
     
    Most Americans tell pollsters they are convinced mr Trump is guilty.

Continue reading “Charged, Mugged, Debates, Flight Risk, Polls, Wagner, Vlad, Vivek, DeSantis”

Libertarians, Communes, Early Christianity, and Socialist Sidewalks

Government Owned Boston Sidewalk
Photo by Gabrielle Audu on Unsplash
A question is posed on question/answer platform Quora:
 
If socialism is superior… why don’t socialists simply make a socialist company and show to the world how much better it is compared to a capitalist company?
 
Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara has an answer: They have.
 
The concept of a socialist company may seem contradictory to those mindful of the classic definition of socialism, in which the means of production is no longer in private hands. You know, Power to the People, except in more structural ways than implied in the clenched fisted slogan.
 
Michael stretches a point to include communes, kibbutzim, Amish communities, and others.
 
Thankfully, he doesn’t get into the hippie communes known to us in my long, long ago youth.
 
Nor does he mention the earliest Christian communities, organized in their own form of shared possessions.
 
Key concept, volunteerism:
Socialists can and have established socialist companies; even, for a time, successfully. The key is for people to adhere to the basic principle of voluntary consent, and renounce the use of political power–governmental force and coercion–to impose their socialist beliefs on everyone by law.
 
However, Michael sees voluntary socialism as universally doomed:
This is why socialism, in all of its political manifestations, always leads to tyranny. It has to, because it faces an implacable force—human nature. People simply want to live for themselves.
 
I dunno. I kind of like living in a system of loosely regulated capitalism. But I confess I also like government ownership of fire departments, public works, and ICBMs.
 
My doctor (bless her heart) and my wife conspire these days to get me to take walks. I like strolling on sidewalks owned by local government. When I drive around here in Missouri, it’s on state owned highways.
 
On those rare occasions when I am in contact with individual police officers, I make it a point to thank them for their community service, working as they do for a government owned (which is to say socialist) enterprise.
 
When Elon Musk toyed with the idea of cutting off internet access to all of Ukraine, I especially appreciated that we never got around to privatizing ownership of nuclear weapons.

Worst Person, RICO, Years Totaled, Threats, Meadows Marked, Rudy

Thirty seconds of fun

  • Green Eagle mixes, matches, and considers the worst people in our nation’s history.
     
    Key run-on quiz:
    Can you think of anyone in our history who was a cheating builder, a thief that stole from sick children and veterans, a con man who ran a fake university and other phony schemes, a rapist accused of sexual assault by multiple women, a traitor who betrayed our country to a foreign dictator, a spy who stole national security documents, a gross tax cheat, a mass murderer who precipitated hundreds of thousands of Covid deaths in an attempt to win re‑election, someone found guilty of open racism in his apartment rentals, a compulsive liar, a bully who threatens anyone who stands up to him, a destroyer of democratic government, all in one package?
     
    Me (frantically waving my hand):
    Oooh… I know!
    Pick me, pick me!!
     
  • At The Moderate Voice, policy analyst Kathy Gill provides a good explanation of Georgia’s version of the RICO act and, as is required, how RICO ties together all those charged.
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger, doing more than simply reading the new Georgia indictment, presents the 19 alleged conspirators and which of the 91 charges applies to each.
     
  • Tommy Christopher totals all the charges within the four indictments. Maximum sentences for mr Trump add up to 712 years and 6 months.
     
    Reminds me of the old story of an elderly criminal convicted of something horrible. The sentence is 50 years.
     
    “50 YEARS!” protests the old man. “Your honor! I won’t even LIVE long enough to do that much time.”
     
    The judge speaks gently. “Don’t worry about that”, he says. “Just serve as much as you can.”
     
  • The Onion helpfully lists everything Trump did in Georgia to try to overturn the 2020 election.
     
  • What’s with mr Trump’s last presidential Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows? He is very much a well positioned witness, or a key participant in alleged criminality.
     
    Bill Palmer, of the Palmer Report, relates the evidence. One aspect seems a bit contradictory.

    • Federal prosecutor Jack Smith does not list Mark in those to be charged with conspiring to overturn the election.
      So it is apparent that he is cooperating with prosecutors.
    • This past Monday, he was among those criminally indicted by the Fulton County grand jury in Georgia.
      So it is crystal clear that he is NOT cooperating with prosecutors.
       

    Key puzzle:
    Did Meadows make the bizarre decision to cooperate with Jack Smith but not Fani Willis? Or is Meadows also getting indicted by Jack Smith?
     
    Key conclusion:
    In any case, what we’re seeing tonight is what we’ve been consistently seeing for a very long time: Mark Meadows is an idiot.
     

  • Hackwhackers seems to have momentarily lost the gift of empathy as mr Trump doesn’t pay what he owes to Rudy Giuliani, leaving poor Rudy with a ton of his own legal bills.
     
    Key counter-intuitive:
    One would think that the Malignant Loser would have quickly agreed to help out his former lawyer, who likely has extremely damaging evidence…
     
  • Disaffected and it Feels So Good sees grand jurors turned into targets of threats as right wing sites post home addresses.
     
    Key posted threat along with names and home addresses:
    These jurors have signed their death warrant by falsely indicting President Trump
     
    Key prediction:
    Death threats and on-line terrorism are de rigueur for conservatives, but thus far few have acted upon them. That’s going to change.
     
  • This week, as mr Trump is indicted for the fourth time, the Georgia case does look serious.
     
    But, lest we forget, last week mr Trump was indicted for the third time in the stolen documents case.
     
    News Corpse reminds us how he responded with implicit threats:
     

    So Judge Tanya Chutkan admonished the Trump legal team that any further threats or other inflammatory statements about prosecutors or potential witnesses could cause her to overrule their attempts to delay the trial.
     
    Her legal reasoning is that public attacks would necessitate an early trial date to prevent tainting the jury pool.
     
    Instead, mr Trump attacks the judge herself.
     
  • Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit carries the sad tale of Sam Bankman‑Fried who had his bail revoked, was handcuffed, and now resides in a cell for trying to influence witnesses.
     
    Reminds Comrade Misfit of someone else.
     
  • Indictments swirl, but tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors notices that Donald has class ‑‑‑ and grass.
     
    Donald promises a public presentation that will clear him of all charges…

    …and tengrain notices the usual:
    “Riggers” that’s cute. Dog whistle heard, Stupid.

Continue reading “Worst Person, RICO, Years Totaled, Threats, Meadows Marked, Rudy”

Trump PsyOps, Threats, Free Speech, Ohio, Biden Bugged, Thomas for Sale

  • The recorded quote is:
    I just want 11,780 votes
     
    Trump lawyers try to make the case that mr Trump never actually demanded anyone overturn the election. He was only expressing a hope. You know: Free speech.
     
    Gosh, I sure do hope 11,780 more votes somehow turn up.
     

    Well, after that, President Trump did suggest that a State official might just find himself prosecuted if he didn’t somehow find those extra votes for Trump:
     
    It’s more illegal for you than it is for them because you know what they did and you’re not reporting it — that’s the — you know, that’s a criminal, that’s a criminal offense. And, you know you can’t let that happen. That’s — that’s a big risk to you…
    So there is that:
     

     
    I can think of other examples of aspirational free speech:
     
    Dutch Schultz: I do hope District Attorney Dewey dies tonight.
    OR
    Henry II: Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?
    OR
    Frank Nitti: Nice to have a family. Man should take care. See that nothing happens to them.
     

    Sarah Cooper explains how mr Trump’s hopeful anticipation fits in:

  • Republican politicians (okay, not all) are indignant that Donald Trump is being prosecuted for speaking his mind.
     
    CalicoJack in The Psy of Life carefully takes the argument apart, brick by brick.

     

  • While Rudy Giuliani is discovering other limits on free speech ‑ defamation of random poll workers for one ‑ PZ Myers goes to transcripts and directly quotes Rudy, who was unaware he was being recorded, going full throttle bigot with a lot of sexual harassment added. So more limits.

Continue reading “Trump PsyOps, Threats, Free Speech, Ohio, Biden Bugged, Thomas for Sale”

Re-Arrest, Trump’s Head, Shiny Slavery, 1488, Hot Seas, Abortion, Tony Bennett

Sometimes age and experience add up:

  • The most serious Trump indictment has been released and
    Boy Howdy
    it’s major! We’re finally talking about the plot to overthrow our democratic republic: from the fake electors to Trump pressure on state officials to Trump attacks on Pence.
     
    tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors links to the charging document (not a hard read), and notes a remaining mystery. Six co‑conspirators are not yet named. tengrain speculates on the identities of the accursed.
     
  • Dave Dubya has produced a brief, excellent, summary of each of the 4 counts.
     
  • Hackwhackers uses Twitter posts to provide expert insights on the principles and personalities involved.
     
  • Most televised experts point to the fourth charge in the new indictment as critical. It ties the others into a conspiracy to deprive very real voters of the right to have their votes count.
     
    In Letters from an American, noted historian Heather Cox Richardson points to another supporting section that is truly startling.
     
    Trump and his plotters anticipated Americans would object to the planned overthrow. So they were prepared to meet the expected widespread pro-democracy demonstrations around the nation with military violence: using US troops to forceably suppress any dissent.
     
    Key quote from political pollster Tom Bonier:
    I understand Trump fatigue, but it feels like the president and his advisors preparing to use the military to quash protests against his planned coup should be bigger news.
     
  • Anyone know the main differences between the Watergate hearings and the Mueller Report? Come on, let’s not keep seeing the same hands!
     
    How about this?
    Watergate reduced Nixon Support from an overwhelming 49 state election win to a low 24% approval.
    Why would that be?
     
    Well-l-l-l-l-l:
    The Watergate hearings were televised. People heard witnesses firsthand.
    The Mueller report was     …well… a report.
     
    I remember one of the few honest Republicans in Congress who voted to impeach Trump. Justin Amash defended his vote, urging constituents to read the Mueller Report:
     
    Key principle:
    I’m confident that if you read Volume 2 you’ll be appalled by much of the conduct. I was appalled.
     
    Seriously? We wanted voters to read a report that had to be divided into VOLUMES?
     
    MadMikesAmerica makes a critical point about the Trump trials: We need to insist on cameras in the courtroom.
     
  • The Borowitz Report has a new Trump fundraising email asking supporters to serve prison time for him.
     
    Key Success:
    “This offer is doing even better than the Trump N.F.T.s,” a campaign spokesman said.
     
  • While the third indictment is the most serious, the other two aren’t just hanging around.
     
    Tommy Christopher watches the news shows so the rest of us don’t have to scream at the screen. But this wasn’t all that bad:
     
    A CNN host reacts as a Republican tries to downplay a previous charge: the attempted tape destruction by mr. Trump
     
    Key incredulous question:
    So, you think destroying evidence is a process crime?
     
  • Frances Langum has to explain to Fox host Greg Gutfeld why Trump can’t delete his own security tapes.
     
    Has to do with destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice, Greg.
     
    Key salient reminder:
    Greg leaves out the part where Trump was made aware that there is a subpoena for the security tapes one day before he (allegedly!) instructed his underlings to destroy them.
     
  • Stealing and hiding sensitive documents is a high-level criminal charge, particularly when that is the sort of thing that gets American spies killed. Deliberately destroying video evidence pretty much seals the deal. Why cover up something completely innocent?
     
    Could the biggest legal problem mr Trump has be his own incompetence? The Palmer Report finds the evidence in plain sight: his choice of co‑conspirators.
     
    Key weakness:
    It’s even more surreal that his two co-defendants thus far are his personal assistant and the pool guy. The former President was trying to get away with violating the Espionage Act, and this was the best cast of supporting characters he could come up with?
     
  • The primary (get that?) rightist argument is that Joe Biden is weaponizing the Justice Department to take out opponent Donald Trump with trivial accusations:
     

    Cato Institute’s Julian Sanchez has a legal observation:
     

  • The Onion has the slides as Trump supporters react to the third indictment.

Continue reading “Re-Arrest, Trump’s Head, Shiny Slavery, 1488, Hot Seas, Abortion, Tony Bennett”

Too Tired for Words

On Thursday, I arrived back home in Missouri. I am still testing negative for COVID. The only remaining symptom is fatigue. Even the joint aches are gone.

On the other hand, that sleepiness could be a residual symptom of fun time with joyful, active young grandkids. Even with COVID, it ended as a great trip.

Back in 2020, I joined others in prayers of support for scientists seeking answers. I’m glad they came up with life-saving vaccines, and advice on how to mitigate the virus. I am not the only one saved from having to go to the hospital or the morgue.

A number of our family members were afflicted by COVID. It has not escaped our notice that the half-dozen who died were all unvaccinated, mostly because of inept state administration of what should have been available jabs. We mourn their loss.

We always will.

I look forward to being back on line next week.

Independence, Economy, False Quote, False Witness, Hitler, SCOTUS, Race

Do click: Brief bit of beautiful appreciation
from one (still) sovereign nation to another:

  • Infidel753 preaches against the loud, very loud, trivialization of what should be a solemn celebration of American Independence.
     
    Key verdict:
    An adult approach to national history and observances is surely not too much to ask.
     
    Followed by a series of hilariously reckless fireworks fails.
    As in The damn fools had it coming!
     
    Confession: I’m ashamed at my out loud laughs at what could be serious injuries.
     
    However, they really did have it coming!
     
  • In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson looks at the Declaration of Independence as a radical document, limited by a constricted definition of “all men”, but expanded with time and the evolution of social morality.
     
    In the Civil War, the ideals in the Declaration were threatened by an illegal rebellion in denial of founding principles.
     
    Those ideals are similarly threatened today.
     
  • North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz devoted Independence Day to mourning for the America we could have had. Should have by now.
     
    Key observation about the political right:
    They can say they love this nation, while betraying almost everything central to its beauty: diversity, plurality, equality—and the indoctrinated cult will lap it up because they need the story to be true.
     
  • Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson compares the state of our ideals with Independence celebrations in the past, focusing on America’s 1976 bicentennial, and concludes we have triumphed over far worse times than we face today.
     
  • Our US Senator from here in Missouri, Josh Hawley, quoted Patrick Henry in support of a Christian nation. Turns out the quote was a fraud. My own reaction:
     


    tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors goes a little deeper and discovers that the actual source that inspired Senator Hawley was YIKES! Worse than I thought!
     

  • Dave Columbo confronts his Republican doppelganger on Biden and Trump:
     
  • Hackwhackers looks at Bidenomics for June, comparing the economic performance that was predicted by experts with what actually happened, and proves that one picture is worth almost half a million jobs.
     
  • News Corpse reports President Biden’s reaction to Hunter Biden’s drug addicted behavior, and the Fox/Republican reaction to Joe Biden’s reaction:
    Both attack the President for a lack of family values.
     
    Key attack (From Congressman James Comer):
    And his own son pled guilty to two tax evasion charges and one [count of] illegal possession of firearms. This is a terrible example of leadership in the White House.
     
    Key description (from Fox anchor Rachel Campos-Duffy):
    …the biggest political scandal in modern history, as far as I’m concerned.
     
    Key actual value (noted by News Corpse):
    …Comer’s implication of nefarious intent regarding strengthening gun regulations, even though Hunter was found to have violated them, proves that Biden is committed to equal justice under the law, even if it means holding his son to account.
     
    Key additional point (mine):
    Investigative reports have only uncovered a father’s continuous unconditional love, combined with a calm insistence on each step of recovery and acceptance of responsibility. When dealing with addiction, this strikes me as a parental model to be admired.
     
  • It was a dark, quiet night. Most people were asleep. The next day was July Fourth, so many had the day off from work. Alas, one man was not asleep.
     
    So begins the Palmer Report, speculating on why, as dawn on Independence Day approaches, a former president lies awake in the dark, obsessed with social media.
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger has the survey on who voters find personally likable.
     
    For Joe Biden, the numbers are mixed. Some groups like him, some groups not so much. Overall, it’s negative but only marginally so.
     
    For Donald Trump, everyone seems to agree. They love to hate him. It isn’t close.
     
  • In MadMikesAmerica, Michael John Scott goes sci-fi and predicts what happens when Donald Trump meets space aliens.

Continue reading “Independence, Economy, False Quote, False Witness, Hitler, SCOTUS, Race”

SCOTUS, SCOTUS, SCOTUS, Democracy, Bravado, Kevin Sorrow, Women’s Wash

  • Dave Columbo explains democracy to an extra-terrestrial:
     
  • This week, the Supreme Court rejected the Republican idea that state legislatures should be able to overturn election results they don’t like:
     
    Key worthwhile few seconds:
    Winning oral argument against that proposal by Neal Katyal.

    It is rejected by the Articles of Confederation, rejected by the early state constitutions, rejected by the founding practice, especially, New York where judges vetoed federal election bills. It’s also rejected by this court, and cases such as Smiley and Hildebrandt.
     
  • A woman, who had religious reasons for discriminating against a gay couple by not designing a website advocating gay marriage, gets a ruling in her favor from the United States Supreme Court.
     
    It turns out to be a “hypothetical” case on many levels:

    • The web designer was not really a web designer, not having ever learned to design websites.
    • The gay couple did not actually exist.
    • The referenced “gay” man was surprised to find himself named in the suit.
    • He is not gay.
    • There was no wedding. He was already married. Had been for years.
    • Happily married, with a woman.
    • He never contacted the “web designer”.
    • In fact he was an experienced web designer himself, with no need for any outside help with a non-wedding.

     
    Well, anyone can make a mistake, and it’s not as if she lied to authorities about something classified. Besides, she might, in the future, get web design skills. She might develop a legal need to discriminate against hypothetical couples.
     
    Because of a religion that forbids false witness.
     
    Hackwhackers reacts to an excerpt from Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent.

  • Imani Gandy and Jessica Mason Pieklo of Rewire News Group review the separate affirmative action case and its likely impact on college admissions.
     

     
    You may prefer a complete transcript or podcast form.
     
  • After this week’s negative decisions:
    Shamelessly stolen from Mastodon (https://mastodon.world/@GetMisch@masto.nyc/110634857449191508)
  • News reports tell us dozens of Secret Service agents have been testifying against Mr. Trump for a variety of alleged crimes.
     
    The Palmer Report is dismissive – – partially. It is not news that agents would be willing to testify. A grand jury subpoena is not a voluntary invitation. The real news is that Jack Smith knows which witnesses to call about which crimes.
     
  • For as long as I can remember, organized crime figures were often convicted and put into prison on the basis of recordings in which they boasted about their crimes.
     
    Tommy Christopher reminds us of the latest excuse after Donald Trump’s own incriminating recording, an excuse past crime figures never thought to make. Tommy traces Trump’s novel defense to its likely source on Fox.
     
    Key excuse:
    The audio leaves little doubt that Trump was representing to others that he was waving sensitive papers around at that meeting, which he now claims was mere “bravado” for his guests.
     
  • Julian Sanchez reads the bravado defense:
     

  • CalicoJack in The Psy of Life examines 3 specific mass brainwashing methods and their role in defending Trump’s espionage.
     
  • The Borowitz Report has an alternate story. Americans are shocked by the audio recording proving Trump can read.
     
  • In MadMikesAmerica, Michael J. Scott turns on his television and is startled to see Donald Trump – no longer energized as he carries his rage, bluster, and (yes) bravado. Instead, he seems burdened and tired, staring into the abyss and seeing prison time glaring back.
     
    Key image:
    It appears that the reality of his situation is slowly dawning on him – a realization that protestations, threats, and power can’t always shield one from American justice.

Continue reading “SCOTUS, SCOTUS, SCOTUS, Democracy, Bravado, Kevin Sorrow, Women’s Wash”

Putin, Insurrect, Tough Trump, Bret, Durham, GOP, Racism, Submersible

MY sci-fi opinion is finally proven!
 

  • So Putin pal or former pal Yevgeny Prigozhin and his troops may or may not be moving toward Moscow in what may or may not be an insurrection in Russia.
     
    In Political Wire, Taegan Goddard links us to what little is, as yet, known about what may or may not be turmoil in Putin’s Russia.
     
  • Something was brewing in KremlinLand, even before current mystery moves. In Hackwhackers, fighting among Putin elites already seemed to be a possible good omen for Ukraine.
     
    Key tradeoff:
    If military leaders can be blamed for Russia’s poor performance in Ukraine, it diverts from Putin’s responsibility for his initial, catastrophic mistake with the invasion. Playing factions off against another may help Putin in the short term, but not if he hopes to defeat Ukraine
     
  • tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors shows mr Trump bragging to Bret Baier on Fox about how tough he was with Putin on Ukraine. Donald plays both parts of a telephone argument, with his Putin side and his brave tough Presidential side getting very angry.
     
    tengrain is definitely amused, although seeming much more than skeptical.
     
  • Iron Knee at Political Irony watches Fox host Bret Baier skewer Donald Trump who then unravels.
     
  • News Corpse takes notes as Bret Baier gets Donald Trump to admit to having documents he denied having, and had tried to hide from authorities.
     
    Donald’s main reason? He had been too busy to remove his personal things that happened to be mixed in.
     
    Key editorial comment:
    Well, golfing, watching himself on TV, posting hundreds of comments online, and those cult rallies, do take up time. Furthermore, his complaint that there were “many things” in the boxes that were personal really amount to only wearable items (“Golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes“).
     
    Key observation from MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace:
    …he’s so addled he’s talking about stuffing his pants in with his desk stuff. I mean, that’s not a good look either. Why were his pants in with his papers? He sounds like a crazy hoarder.
     
  • Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson pictures lawyer reactions to the Trump interview:

  • Tommy Christopher tries to grade Bret Baier’s non-aggression pact with Donald Trump after Bret gets praised for Donald’s inadvertent, but serious, admissions of criminality.
     
    Tommy includes the good and the bad, but comes down hard on the ugly:
     
    Key ugly:
    Baier’s errors are fundamental and serious, and should not be waved away because the net result is positive.
     
    Key example, out of many:
    Would Jake Tapper have said “I’m not going to belabor this?”
     
  • In the Borowitz Report, Fox apologizes for a regrettable flirtation with accuracy.
     
    Key satiric nonquote:
    In a statement, Rupert Murdoch criticized the Fox personality Bret Baier for “disseminating information that was recklessly and unforgivably true.”

Continue reading “Putin, Insurrect, Tough Trump, Bret, Durham, GOP, Racism, Submersible”