Patterico's Pontifications

6/10/2022

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 11:57 am



[guest post by Dana]

Here are a few news items to chew over. Feel free to include your own items, but make sure to include links.

Let’s go!

First news item

Our divided nation:

CNN homepage this morning – Jan. 6 Committee hearing:

Fox News homepage this morning – Inflation:

Americans really are capable of knowing that it can be both:

But it was clear last night that a costly effort was being made to dissuade Americans from knowing it was both :

To understand what the committee is up against in terms of breaking through the information bubble surrounding Trump voters, consider the fact that Fox News aired Tucker Carlson’s and Sean Hannity’s shows last night without commercial interruption. So determined was Fox to keep its viewers inside that bubble that it forfeited ad revenue to do so, knowing that a 30-second commercial break would have given some in the audience an opportunity to change the channel and check out the hearing.

Second news item

Uvalde Schools police chief defends himself and officers on that fateful day, also says that he didn’t know he was in charge and thought someone else was in control:

“Not a single responding officer ever hesitated, even for a moment, to put themselves at risk to save the children,” Arredondo said. “We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced. Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”

One of Arredondo’s most consequential decisions was immediate. Within seconds of arriving at the northeast entrance of Robb Elementary around 11:35 a.m., he left his police and campus radios outside the school.

To Arredondo, the choice was logical. An armed killer was loose on the campus of the elementary school. Every second mattered. He wanted both hands free to hold his gun, ready to aim and fire quickly and accurately if he encountered the gunman.

Experts disagree with his assessment:

The Tribune spoke to seven law enforcement experts about Arredondo’s description of the police response. All but one said that serious lapses in judgment occurred.

Most strikingly, they said, by running into the school with no key and no radios and failing to take charge of the situation, the chief appears to have contributed to a chaotic approach in which officers deployed inappropriate tactics, adopted a defensive posture, failed to coordinate their actions, and wasted precious time as students and teachers remained trapped in two classrooms with a gunman who continued to fire his rifle.

Read the whole thing.

Third news item

Putin seems to have let slip that it was never just going to be Ukraine…:

“During the war with Sweden, Peter the Great didn’t conquer anything, he took back what had always belonged to us, even though all of Europe recognised it as Sweden’s. It seems now it’s our turn to get our lands back [smiling]”.

Time to fortify Baltic States:

When Estonia won its independence in 1918, Narva, which had been part of the imperial Russian Governate of Estonia, became the easternmost city in the newly independent country, as it did again in 1991.

Needless to say, an attempt to take Narva, which was “transformed” into an overwhelmingly Russian-speaking city after the Soviets reconquered Estonia in 1944 (and still is today) would be a direct attack on a NATO country, meaning that the collective defense provisions contained in Article 5 of the NATO treaty should apply.

Related:

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide has told the BBC that between 100 and 200 Ukrainian troops are being killed on the front line every day.

Mykhaylo Podolyak said Ukraine needed hundreds of Western artillery systems to level the playing field with Russia in the eastern Donbas region.

He also said Kyiv is not ready to resume peace talks with Moscow.

Ukrainian troops are under relentless bombardment as Russian forces attempt to take control of the whole of Donbas.

“The Russian forces have thrown pretty much everything non-nuclear at the front and that includes heavy artillery, multiple rocket launch systems and aviation,” Mr Podolyak said.

He repeated Ukraine’s appeal for more weapons from the West, saying that the “complete lack of parity” between the Russian and Ukrainian armies was the reason for Ukraine’s heavy casualty rate.

“Our demands for artillery are not just some kind of whim… but an objective need when it comes to the situation on the battlefield,” he said, adding that Ukraine needs 150 to 300 rocket launch systems to match Russia – a much higher number than it has received so far.

Mr Podolyak also said peace talks could only resume if Russia surrendered the territory it had gained since it invaded on 24 February.

Fourth news item

Parents rights to make moral decisions for their children threatened or protected by DeSantis?:

When asked by reporters whether he would support proposed legislation from a Florida state representative that would punish parents who take their children to [drag show] performances, the governor said he has asked his staff to look into the idea.

“We have child protective statutes on the books,” the governor said. “We have laws against child endangerment.”

“It used to be kids would be off-limits. Used to be everybody agreed with that,” DeSantis continued. “Now it just seems like there’s a concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age appropriate.”

Fifth news item

Court tells GEICO to pay $5.2 million to compensate woman…for getting STD in car insured by company:

A Missouri woman was awarded $5.2 million in a settlement from insurance company GEICO after contracting a sexually transmitted disease from her partner in his vehicle, which was insured by the company, court documents show. The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld that award this week.

The woman, a Jackson County resident, said she contracted Human papillomavirus (HPV) from her partner, according to court documents. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals filed an opinion confirming the initial Jackson County Circuit Court arbitration award finding against GEICO.

In February 2021, the woman — anonymously identified in documents as M.O. — submitted a petition to GEICO directly. She alleged that her sexual partner negligently caused or “contributed to cause to be infected with HPV by not taking proper precautions and neglecting to inform and/or disclose his diagnosis,” according to court documents, and that his “insurance policy provided coverage for her injuries and losses.”

She made a final settlement offer of $1 million to resolve her claims, the documents say.

In April 2021, GEICO denied coverage and refused her settlement offer, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals filing. The case was then sent to an arbitrator…

This is a cautionary tale on so many levels…

Sixth news item

Today’s inflation report is just more bad news:

Inflation accelerated further in May, with prices rising 8.6% from a year ago for the fastest increase since December 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The consumer price index, a wide-ranging measure of goods and services prices, increased even more than the 8.3% Dow Jones estimate. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was up 6%, slightly higher than the 5.9% estimate.

On a monthly basis, headline CPI was up 1% while core rose 0.6%, compared with respective estimates of 0.7% and 0.5%.

Surging shelter, gasoline and food prices all contributed to the increase.

Energy prices broadly rose 3.9% from a month ago, bringing the annual gain to 34.6%. Within the category, fuel oil posted a 16.9% monthly gain, pushing the 12-month surge to 106.7%.

Shelter costs, which account for about a one-third weighting in the CPI, rose 0.6% for the month, the fastest one-month gain since March 2004. The 5.5% 12-month gain is the most since February 1991.

Finally, food costs climbed another 1.2% in May, bringing the year-over-year gain to 10.1%.

Seventh news item

Trump responds to Jan. 6 Committee hearing in Trumpian way:

So the Unselect Committee of political HACKS refuses to play any of the many positive witnesses and statements, refuses to talk of the Election Fraud and Irregularities that took place on a massive scale, and decided to use a documentary maker from Fake News ABC to spin only negative footage. Our Country is in such trouble!

Eighth news item

Striking back on unnecessary book ban:

In a tweet published this week by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, the organization claimed that the nonprofit Moms for Liberty had succeeded in banning Slaughterhouse-Five, the author’s classic, semi-autobiographical anti-war novel, in Florida’s Brevard Public Schools district. “In response, we are giving up to 1,000 free copies of Slaughterhouse-Five to [middle/high school] students who have had it banned,” the Vonnegut organization said in its tweet. Efforts to ban supposedly objectionable or inappropriate books in American school districts have escalated dramatically in recent years. “All we want is for content that violates child obscenity laws to be removed from SCHOOL libraries, and for the books that are not found to violate those laws to require some form of consent from parents that would provide more transparency as to the subjects contained within the text,” the Moms for Liberty group wrote on Facebook in May.

Oh, really? So, Moms for Liberty are just interested in banning books that violate child obscenity laws, you say:

Community members and advocacy groups, the report describes, have objected to the inclusion of books like “Ruby Bridges Goes to School” written by Ruby Bridges, who became the first Black child to integrate a segregated New Orleans school when she was six.

Robin Steenman, who heads Moms for Liberty’s Williamson County chapter, reportedly pointed to this book and others at an education committee meeting, claiming its mention of a “large crowd of angry white people who didn’t want Black children in a white school” was too harsh and pointing to the fact that it didn’t offer “redemption” at the end, the Tennessean reports. Steenman also reportedly objected to another book about school segregation and expressed disapproval of teaching words like “injustice” and “inequality” in grammar lessons.

Gimme me a break, Moms for Liberty. Your racist underpants are showing.

Ninth news item

Pushing for stillbirths to be covered under paid family leave:

“A mother buries their child that they carry nine months — when they go through all the physical aspects of birth and undergoing all the postpartum horrific symptoms that every other female goes through — and now you’re telling me that because my baby didn’t live I’m not entitled to the benefits?” Crough said. “(It) was an emotional slap in the face.”But Crough is hoping that her experience will spark a change and encourage the state to cover paid leave for parents of stillborn babies.

“It should be changed to ‘postpartum leave’ because that will encompass everyone that gives birth to a child. If you birth a child, whether it’s C-section or vaginal, you should be getting paid family leave because your body is undergoing a trauma,” she said. “It’s quite frankly a medical concern to have women returning to work before at least six weeks.”

I’m a yes for this. If women who have live births need six weeks to recover from a successful delivery, how much more for women who go through the delivery of a stillborn?

Tenth news item

This:

The Trump coalition is broadly built on two categories of Republican voters—those who know exactly who Trump is and either don’t care about his flaws or love him precisely because he’s so pugilistic and cruel, and those who even now don’t know who he is and would very much care if they know the whole truth. It’s the latter group that can deny him a second bite at the presidential apple, and it’s the latter group that most needs to watch the January 6 hearings in prime time.

For our nation’s sake, we can only hope that some do watch, absorb those facts that are new to them, and reach the conclusion that Republicans have to move on from a man who’d rather plunge the nation into a constitutional crisis than relinquish his hold on the presidency. When it comes to January 6 and Trump’s effort to steal an American election, casual concern simply isn’t enough. Good Republicans have to understand the true scale of the crisis we faced.

Have a great weekend!

–Dana

644 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello. Happy end of the week.

    I should note that the first news item was compiled by JVW, Patterico, and me.

    Dana (1225fc)

  2. One thing that would have been better if Trump had won: the press would be giving the president sh1t over runaway inflation rather than making up excuses as it does now.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  3. How DARE Fox not talk about what I want them to talk about!

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  4. It should be obvious by mow that I am more than a little bit tired of the “why don’t my political opponents admit they are wrong and join my parade?” line of commentary.

    Sure, I would like Trump hanged on the Mall for treason, but I don’t insist that everyone watch.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  5. And really, is it actually Fox that has it wrong? Inflation is rising uncontrollably (and much higher than 8.6% in areas that affect most households). Is that actually less important than a belaboring of 17-month old resentments regarding Donald Trump’s treason?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  6. Liz Cheney reads a Trump tweet from 1/6, but neglects to finish reading the tweet which reads “Go home with love & in peace.” – Townhall

    Of course she did. Without useful idiot conservatives like Liz Cheney, Biden would not be destroying the country.

    Obudman (fb32d6)

  7. lmao at the derangement of cnn republicans, come on nk, lay it on, I need some more self deprecating humor.

    mg (8cbc69)

  8. The Buffalo Massacre Illustrates the Inherent Limitations of ‘Red Flag’ Laws
    …….
    New York is one of 19 states that authorize court orders prohibiting gun possession by people deemed a threat to themselves or others. New York’s law, which took effect in 2019, allows a long list of people to seek such orders. Potential petitioners include police officers, prosecutors, blood relatives, in-laws, current and former spouses, current and former housemates, current and former girlfriends or boyfriends, people who have produced a child with the respondent, and school administrators or their designees, such as teachers, coaches, and guidance counselors. The “school personnel” covered by the law can report a former student if he graduated within the previous six months.
    ……..
    “We passed the law specifically to ensure that people who exhibit signs of being dangerous to themselves or others can be denied access to guns,” (State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, a lead sponsor of the red flag law) told the Times. “There’s a real question about whether that law was effectively applied when this person was apparently detained after making threats….It’s important that we understand what happened there and that every county in the state is implementing the red flag law that we passed.”

    When he mentions “threats,” Kavanaugh is referring to a June incident in which the Buffalo shooter, then a 17-year-old senior at Susquehanna Valley High School near Binghamton, responded to a question about post-graduation plans. He wrote that he “wanted to commit a murder-suicide,” the Times reports, citing “a law enforcement official briefed on the matter.” While he passed that off as a sick joke, his subsequent posts on the messaging platform Discord showed it was actually a slip that revealed his true intentions.
    ………
    Judging from the information that has been reported so far, however, the only basis for thinking this high school student posed a danger was the written comment that he claimed was a joke. That explanation evidently seemed plausible to the police, especially since the teenager had not mentioned any specific target or plans and at that point had yet to purchase the rifle he used in the attack.

    That incident, the Times says, followed “a pattern of increasingly bizarre behavior.”……
    ……..
    ……..People who favor (an aggressive) approach rarely consider the consequences for individuals who can be deprived of their Second Amendment rights based on little more than unvalidated allegations. Given the “hundreds” of reports that police in New York receive each year just in the school context, they certainly could be seeking and obtaining more extreme risk protection orders. But a wider net is bound to ensnare many people who do not actually pose a threat, including high school students who really are guilty of nothing more than making a stupid joke.
    ……..
    ……..So far there is no solid evidence that such laws reduce violent crime, and research on their potential benefits in preventing mass shootings relies on counterfactual assumptions that could easily be wrong.

    The very concept of “red flags” assumes that experts can reliably distinguish between harmless oddballs and future murderers. But there is little basis for that assumption.

    “The notion that we can identify mass killers before they act is, as yet, an epidemiologic fiction,” psychiatrist Richard Friedman noted in a 2019 New York Times essay. “These individuals typically avoid contact with the mental health care system. Even if they didn’t, experienced psychiatrists fare no better than a roll of the dice at predicting violence.”
    ……..
    ……..(If) you weigh the risk of preventable violence against the risk of taking away innocent people’s rights, this policy has inherent limitations that mean it is bound to fail in one way or, more likely, both.
    ###########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  9. The Trump coalition is broadly built on two categories of Republican voters—those who know exactly who Trump is and either don’t care about his flaws or love him precisely because he’s so pugilistic and cruel, and those who even now don’t know who he is and would very much care if they know the whole truth. It’s the latter group that can deny him a second bite at the presidential apple, and it’s the latter group that most needs to watch the January 6 hearings in prime time.

    This is utter crap. The Trump coalition was built out of people who neither party seemed to care about — middle-class and lower-middle-class workers such as tradesmen and manufacturing workers who had been marginalized by outsourcing and globalization over several decades.

    Since Bill Clinton, the Democrats had been just as subservient to the investing classes and corporate profits as they accused the GOP of being. Not one politician of note dared to raise the specter of hollowed-out America.

    Until Donald Trump (and his flip side, Bernie Sanders). People did not support Trump because of his veracity or reliability or suitability for the job. They supported him because he was the only one speaking their truth to power. What’s unfortunate is that the other GOP candidates didn’t realize why he was eating their lunch. A more agile GOP slate could have taken the nomination away but they kept with the old program.

    So, all this “oh, they were too stupid to know what he was” or “oh, they just liked bombast” is whistling past the graveyard, in the dead-ender sense.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  10. This is utter crap. The Trump coalition was built out of people who neither party seemed to care about — middle-class and lower-middle-class workers such as tradesmen and manufacturing workers who had been marginalized by outsourcing and globalization over several decades.

    CLose, but it was mostly older white men.

    Time123 (792209)

  11. Bipartisan senators reach a general agreement on updating Electoral Count Act

    (Republican Senator Susan Collins, R-ME) said the group has already drafted language that would make clear that the vice president’s role is ministerial in the process of counting Electoral College votes. The new language also raises the threshold for triggering a challenge to a state’s slate from one member in each chamber to 20% of the members in each body. There would be a majority vote for sustaining an objection.

    “That’s all drafted and agreed to,” Collins said. “There are some other issues that are more complicated that we made a lot of progress on last night.”

    The group has also agreed to allow federal grants that are used under the Help America Vote Act to be used to help security for poll workers and election officials, Collins said. She added that there’s “a sense of realism that we need to act this year to get it done, and we want to try to prevent another Jan. 6.”

    “Susan Collins put a group together and we’ve had a lot of participation. It was a very good meeting,” West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin told reporters on Thursday morning. “It was a very productive meeting and I feel very confident we’ll do something good.”
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  12. One thing that would have been better if Trump had won: the press would be giving the president sh1t over runaway inflation rather than making up excuses as it does now.

    There would have been no 8.6% inflation under a second Trump term; no $50 billion given to Ukraine no Ukraine invasion; no $80 billion abandoned to the Taliban; no January 6; no $7 gas; no Putin to blame everything on; no open borders flooding America with illegals; no buffooning in aviator sunglasses looking for the keys to the 18 wheeler he never drove; no Hunter laptop; no Mayon Pete on perpetual paternity leave; no pipelines cancelled; no begging the Saudis to pump oil; no SCOTUS leak; no boxes checked; no permanent appointments; no NorKo missile tests; no tripping on the steps boarding AF1; yes to shapely Meliana boarding AF1; yes to another rightie SCOTUS nom; yes the supply chain working; yes the shelves full of Covfefe and baby formula, and yes, less than 3 years left in his second term.

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  13. The way to keep Trump out of office is to convict him of insurrection, sedition, etc, which would trigger the 14th Amendment provision.

    I think we can give up on convincing people. 25% of the electorate supported Nixon the day he left office.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  14. @12-

    And no Sriracha shortage?

    ……..
    Huy Fong Foods, maker of the popular Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, said a shortage of chili peppers is limiting its ability to produce several of its in-demand sauces, including its Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek. The California-based company cited climate conditions as part of the problem.

    “We are still endeavoring to resolve this issue that has been caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest,” Huy Fong Foods said in a statement to NBC News, adding: “We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time.”

    An April 19 letter from Huy Fong Foods posted on a food distribution website for wholesale buyers said: “Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili.”

    The company sources its chili peppers from Mexico, where a drought is affecting that country and parts of the western United States.
    ……….

    Oh no!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  15. Bipartisan senators reach a general agreement on updating Electoral Count Act

    It will be interesting to see where it goes from here. My gut tells me that Pelosi, Schumer, and the White House want election reform (Democrat style) to still be unsettled come November, so they can try to whip up their voters with claims of impending disenfranchisement if they don’t vote Dem. Instead of taking half a loaf here, they will hold out for the entire thing. I would hope that Republicans (and some Dems like Manchin) might threaten that any election reform that appears after Congress reconvenes in January (likely with Republican majorities) will be GOP-flavored legislation that Dems will hate and Biden will be forced to veto. The best chance for some election reform legislation is therefore this compromise, even if majority Dems don’t get everything they want.

    JVW (020d31)

  16. Hot mess: There’s a problem with Trump’s Air Force One paint job

    Former President Donald Trump took a lot of heat for his controversial decision to replace the traditional Air Force One paint scheme with his signature red, white and dark blue. But no one quite expected this.

    The Air Force says that Trump’s paint job could contribute to excessive temperatures on the plane, a problem that Boeing would likely have to pay out-of-pocket to fix.

    …….[I]t could cost Boeing more money than the company has already lost — nearly $1.1 billion so far — converting two 747 aircraft into new Air Force Ones.

    The Trump plan calls for dark blue paint to cover the underside of the plane and its engines. Because the scheme is darker than the traditional blue and white version, the plane may require modifications to cool some of its components, a person familiar with the discussion said. This person spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss options.
    ………
    “Further analysis concluded darker colors, among other factors, on the underside of the VC-25B aircraft might contribute to temperatures exceeding the current qualification limits of a small number of components,” (Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek) said in a statement.
    ……….

    Update:


    Biden scraps Trump’s Air Force One paint scheme over cost

    ……..
    While the White House has not released a mock-up of the new Air Force Ones, which will consist of two modified Boeing 747-8s, it is likely they will revert to the classic JFK-era light blue and white scheme. The new planes aren’t expected to fly until 2026, according to Air Force budget documents.
    ……..
    The program continues to face delays due to supply chain problems, a Boeing dispute with a subcontractor and a workforce shortage of skilled mechanics that was detailed by the Government Accountability Office.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  17. The way to keep Trump out of office is to convict him of insurrection, sedition, etc, which would trigger the 14th Amendment provision.

    The way to keep Trump out of office is award him a lifetime eat FREE at Mickey Dees gift card– and let Nature take its course.

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  18. CLose, but it was mostly older white men.

    Who had been out of work for a decade because the contractors were hiring illegals at $8/hour, or the chair/electronics/clothing makers or textile mill or whatnot had been transferred to China.

    The young Hispanic men who thought living 5 to a room in the barrio was Heaven didn’t have a wife and three kids to support selling Nikes at the mall for half what they used to make.

    All politics is resentment.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  19. The way to keep Trump out of office is award him a lifetime eat FREE at Mickey Dees gift card– and let Nature take its course.

    I was thinking of getting him addicted to crack, but I worried that he might have better judgement on crack.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  20. Court allows Pennsylvania officials to count ballots that arrived in undated envelopes

    The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for a Pennsylvania county to count mail-in ballots that do not comply with a state law requiring voters to write the date on the ballot’s envelope. Although the case arose from a single local judicial race, it raised broader issues about how federal voting-rights protections apply when voters fail to meet state clerical requirements — a conflict that may crop up again in this year’s midterm elections.
    …….
    Under Pennsylvania law, voters must put their mail-in ballots in an envelope, and then place that envelope in a second, outer envelope for mailing. Voters must sign and date a declaration on the exterior envelope attesting that they are eligible to vote and have not yet already voted. But 257 of the mail-in ballots cast in November 2021 in Lehigh County were not dated. The board of elections voted in November 2021 to count the undated ballots, reasoning that the ballots had been received on time and that the failure to date the outer envelopes was simply a “technical error.”
    ………
    A group of five voters whose ballots had not been dated, and therefore were set aside, then went to federal court, where they argued that Pennsylvania’s dating requirement violates a provision of the federal Civil Rights Act that prohibits states from denying the right to vote based on an error or omission that is not “material” to the voter’s qualifications. The federal district court ruled that the voters did not have the right to bring a lawsuit to enforce the materiality requirement, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit reversed. It concluded both that the voters could bring a federal civil rights claim and that the failure to count the ballots that were not dated violated the federal materiality requirement.
    ……..
    (The) Lehigh County voters whose ballots were set aside told the justices that the case involves only the “routine application of a federal statute to a single local election, requiring the counting of 257 votes by voters who were unquestionably eligible to vote and whose votes were concededly received in a timely manner.” Indeed, they noted, the board of elections had accepted ballots bearing clearly incorrect dates – even dates in the future. It was only ballots with missing dates that were set aside.
    ……..
    In his dissent, (Justice) Alito cited “concern about the effect that the Third Circuit’s interpretation of” the materiality requirement could have on the state’s November elections. That interpretation, he suggested, “broke new ground” and was “very likely wrong.” First, he explained, the rejection of a mail-in ballot that was not filled out properly does not constitute the denial of “the right to vote”; instead, Alito contended, “that individual’s vote is not counted because he or she did not follow the rules for casting a ballot.” Second, he continued, whether someone is “qualified” to vote hinges on factors such as age and residence, rather than whether the voter has completed the ballot properly.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  21. The City off Seattle has agreed to pay half a million dollars to the father of a man killed in the chop shooting. Seems low to me. The city failed maintain order and I’m they’re paying a cost for that.

    https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/city-of-seattle-pays-500k-to-settle-lawsuit-over-death-of-man-killed-in-chop-shooting/

    Time123 (792209)

  22. … it is likely they will revert [AF1 paint schemes] to the classic JFK-era light blue and white scheme. The new planes aren’t expected to fly until 2026, according to Air Force budget documents.

    Joe proves a broken clock is right twice a day… unfortunately for him, he’s only awake half-a-day at any time.

    JFK Redesigns Air Force One

    Air Force One looks the way it does because President John F. Kennedy sat on the floor of the Oval Office with an industrial designer, scissors, paper and crayons.

    It was May 1962, and the Air Force had ordered a Boeing C-137 Stratoliner for the president. The airplane could fly anywhere in the world on a half-hour notice. It carried as many as eight crew members and 40 passengers, and had a range of 6,000 miles.

    The Air Force had designed a red-and-fold color scheme for the plane, a modified long-range Boeing 707. COMMENTS
    Air Force One looks the way it does because President John F. Kennedy sat on the floor of the Oval Office with an industrial designer, scissors, paper and crayons.

    It was May 1962, and the Air Force had ordered a Boeing C-137 Stratoliner for the president. The airplane could fly anywhere in the world on a half-hour notice. It carried as many as eight crew members and 40 passengers, and had a range of 6,000 miles.

    The Air Force had designed a red-and-fold color scheme for the plane, a modified long-range Boeing 707. Raymond Loewy, the world’s preeminent industrial designer, viewed the Air Force One design as hideous. “I was unimpressed by the gaudy red exterior markings and … the amateurish graphics of Air Force One,” he said.

    Loewy owned the largest design firm in New York. He had designed Lucky Strike cigarettes, Studebaker cars, Coca-Cola bottle and Electrolux refrigerators. The press called him The Man Who Streamlined America.

    First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, with her unerring sense of style, lobbied the president to hire the French-born Loewy.

    Loewy met with the president twice. The first time, he and Kennedy sat on the floor of the Oval Office drawing with crayons and cutting up paper to come up with a livery for Air Force One.

    Loewy met with the president twice. The first time, he and Kennedy sat on the floor of the Oval Office drawing with crayons and cutting up paper to come up with a livery for Air Force One.

    Then Loewy visited the National Archives to examine historic documents. He was struck by the first printed copy of the Declaration of Independence; it had the new country’s name set widely spaced in capital letters in a typeface known as Caslon.

    Kennedy had already ordered the Air Force to remove the military lettering in favor of the simple United States of America. And he told Loewy he liked blue.

    Loewy chose two blues: slate and cyan. He left the underside of the fuselage silver and added the presidential seal near the nose, a large American flag to the tail, and the words “United States of America” in capital letters using the Caslon typeface.

    The First Lady had a hand in designing the interior of the plane. She made sure the president had his own entrance, a customized bed, a stateroom, a conference room, glassware from Tiffany’s and a pale blue rug with an American eagle in the center of an oval with 13 stars, Air Force One to this day carries the Loewy design. In 1964, Loewy designed the memorial stamp commemorating John F. Kennedy.

    In 2018, President Donald Trump said he wanted to do away with ‘Jackie Kennedy blue‘ and have Air Force One painted in bolder colors.

    Trump then continued his campaign to redesign the airplane. In June 2019, he showed off a new model of the airplane in the Oval Office. Critics said the paint job resembled that of his private jet. Then the House passed an amendment requiring the president to get congressional permission to make changes “relating to aircraft paint scheme, interiors, and livery.” – source,

    https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/jfk-helps-design-air-force-one/#:~:text=Air%20Force%20One%20to%20this%20day%20carries%20the,have%20Air%20Force%20One%20painted%20in%20bolder%20colors.

    If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: there’s no outboard motor on Leutze’s 1851 painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, either; add one to the painting, right Donald? The flag depicted is an early version of the U.S. flag– the “Stars and Stripes” design, did not exist at the time of Washington’s crossing either. Paint it out, right? ‘Course we could compromise and rename the painting ‘Washington Escaping Biden’s Delaware’– but he was crossing the river of that name, leaving PA for NJ, avoiding rush hour turnpike traffic, right Donald? 18 wheeler convoys Joe knows all about, right?! 😉

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  23. At Least 20 Million Watched Jan. 6 Hearing
    …….
    Though the Thursday night figure pales next to presidential debates (63 million to 73 million) or this year’s State of the Union address (38 million), it’s still much larger than the audience that would normally watch a daytime congressional hearing. And it’s in the ballpark of television events like a big “Sunday Night Football” game or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
    …….
    ABC attracted the biggest audience, with 5.2 million viewers. NBC and CBS each had an audience of more than three million. MSNBC averaged more than four million, and CNN drew 2.7 million. (The 20 million figure did not yet include PBS, so the total audience was most likely a bit bigger.)

    Viewers who tuned in mostly stuck around for the entire congressional proceeding. Viewership on each of the broadcast networks remained steady between 8 and 10 p.m., according to half-hour Nielsen breakdowns.
    ……..
    Fox’s counterprogramming efforts drew an average audience of three million, which is just about normal.
    ……….

    The great thing about being on the West Coast is that prime time programming was uninterrupted. Even Jeopardy! was in its regular time slot, rather than late night like after the NBA playoffs.

    The ratings also do not include streaming views.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  24. I had deja vu reading that.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  25. The ratings also do not include streaming views.

    Or, likely, web viewing, two things that the under 30 crowd is more likely to do that watching it on the teevee.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  26. Let’s play alternate history the DCSCA way:

    There would have been no 8.6% inflation under a second Trump term; Speculative, because Trump didn’t care two hoots about inflation or debt or spending. But, the cheap oil from Russia probably woulld be flowing.

    no $50 billion given to Ukraine Absolutely true

    no Ukraine invasion Absolutely untrue.

    no $80 billion abandoned to the Taliban That’s likely untrue. If anything, Trump was more committed to bailing from Afghanistan as soon as possible.

    no January 6; Well, not until January 6, 2025. You think those jokes about a third term were jokes?

    no $7 gas; True

    no Putin to blame everything on; Who needs Putin, when you have the domestic version?

    no open borders flooding America with illegals; True.

    no buffooning in aviator sunglasses looking for the keys to the 18 wheeler he never drove; Trump has his own versions of this, usually involving golfing and “how hard he works”

    no Hunter laptop; Well, that would have been on constant play and replay on Fox News and GOP talking points

    no Mayon Pete on perpetual paternity leave; Trump’s cabinet was full of goldbrickers and scandal magnets. So this is true and untrue

    no pipelines cancelled; Agree

    no begging the Saudis to pump oil; Don’t agree, actually. The Saudis might have listened to Trump, though.

    no SCOTUS leak; Ohhhh BS.

    no boxes checked; Again, bs. It’s just a different set of boxes.

    no permanent appointments; BS. Trump would have worked to make hmself one of the permanent.

    no NorKo missile tests; Maybe. Maybe not.

    no tripping on the steps boarding AF1; We don’t know what Big Macs will/would do by 2023.

    yes to shapely Meliana boarding AF1; She might not really want to.

    yes to another rightie SCOTUS nom; Hm. Don’t think that the seat would have come open. Maybe Thomas would have retired.

    yes the supply chain working; Doubtful, actually

    yes the shelves full of Covfefe and baby formula, You got half of that right.

    and yes, less than 3 years left in his second term. And the election for his third term cancelled because — why bother?

    Appalled (1a17de)

  27. But it was clear last night that a costly effort was being made to dissuade Americans from knowing it was both :

    To understand what the committee is up against in terms of breaking through the information bubble surrounding Trump voters, consider the fact that Fox News aired Tucker Carlson’s and Sean Hannity’s shows last night without commercial interruption. So determined was Fox to keep its viewers inside that bubble that it forfeited ad revenue to do so, knowing that a 30-second commercial break would have given some in the audience an opportunity to change the channel and check out the hearing.

    Paul, in the previous thread, very convincingly lays waste to the bizarre notion that people can’t change channels.

    Heard on Progressive radio – it was under 1 million viewers

    More like 19 million, but they didn’t report the Carlson-Hannity ratings, but there was this.

    The Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum did cover the hearings live but did so on Fox Business, which attracts far fewer viewers. Roughly 223,000 people watched the hearings on Fox Business. When Mr. Baier and Ms. MacCallum switched over to Fox News for a two-hour special at 11 p.m., an average of 1.3 million watched.

    Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/10/2022 @ 1:04 pm

    https://patterico.com/2022/06/09/gop-working-to-dissuade-americans-from-watching-jan-6-committee-witch-hunt-what-dont-they-want-you-to-know/#comment-2599837

    Thank you, Paul.

    BuDuh (340919)

  28. The problem with the PA ballot thing is someone will try to expend it to unpostmarked, undated ballots received late (“count every vote”).

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  29. Question: why is it necessary to MAKE Trump voters listen to reason? What limits would you put on the effort?

    Consider Marxists to understand the scope of the problem.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  30. Jonah on Tucker.

    How else can you explain the fact that his show ran for the whole hour without commercial interruption? I know Tucker is a fan of Elizabeth Warren’s economic program, but let’s be clear: He’s a capitalist. At least in the sense that he likes to make money. But he decided that it was worth forgoing advertising revenue for the whole hour. Why? I’m open to any plausible theory, but the only one I can come up with is that he couldn’t risk people flipping channels while Seb Gorka droned on about Relief Factor (a fish oil supplement that all super-patriots take before they put their heads on Mike Lindell’s pillows), to check out the hearing—even on Fox Business.

    I don’t know what he thought we’d hear last night, but he clearly thought his viewers had to be spared even a moment’s exposure to it.

    “The whole thing is insulting. In fact, it’s deranged,” Carlson exclaimed. “And we’re not playing along. This is the only hour on an American news channel that will not be carrying their propaganda live. They are lying, and we’re not going to help them do it.”

    I think the motivation is exactly the opposite. He was afraid his viewers might be exposed to the truth, and he can’t have that. Whether he felt that way because he thinks so little of his audience or so little of his own claims, I don’t know.

    It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. He’s basically saying that Fox’s own sister network was broadcasting insulting lies, with his colleagues Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchoring the coverage of those insulting lies. And those “lies”—peddled by, among others, Trump’s former attorney general and Trump’s own daughter—might be so compelling it was worth turning his show, at least for an hour, into a non-profit without honor.

    Does this mean that I demand that FoxNews cover it? No, they’re free to cover what they damn well please, I was just comparing their 7 hours of live coverage on the Benghazi hearings to their zero hours of the J6 hearing on their flagship. If you want other differences in coverage, try to find CNN and MSNBC segments on what’s going on near the southern border, but don’t blink.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  31. Thursday Ratings: ABC, MSNBC Lead Coverage of Jan. 6 Committee Hearing

    In the latest TV ratings, ABC led the primetime Thursday coverage of the House Select Committee on January 6th’s first public hearing. ABC’s two-hour coverage averaged 4.9 million total viewers, TVLine has learned. Of the other broadcast networks, NBC tallied 3.6 million viewers, while CBS drew 3.4 million.

    Amongst cable news networks, MSNBC led the pack with 4.2 million total viewers, followed by CNN’s 2.6 million viewers. Fox News, which didn’t cover the hearing itself, averaged nearly 3 million viewers during the two-hour block. Fox Business (to which Fox News anchors’ actual news coverage was relegated) drew 223,000, while CNBC averaged 160K.

    ABC also commanded the largest share of Adults 18-34 and 25-54, while CNN easily led all cablers in those measures.

    https://tvline.com/2022/06/10/ratings-jan-6-capitol-attack-commitee-hearing-primetime/

    Thursday TV Ratings 6/9/22: January 6th Committee Hearing Draws Decent Interest Across Big Three Networks as ABC Coverage Leads (UPDATED)

    http://www.thetvratingsguide.com/2022/06/thursday-tv-ratings-6922-january-6th.html

    “The numbers, Mr. Keith. The numbers!” – USAF Systems Officer [Frank Marth] ‘Marooned’ 1969

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  32. Just like Donald Trump could not have escaped noticing that he really lost the elections and that all claims to the contrary (of massive cheating and fraud) were unfounded, so this committee could not have escaped noticing that there was a public call to attend a rally at the Capitol </i? </b? in the days before. In fact the Ellipse event was added later.

    This has gone into the memory hole.

    http://web.archive.org/web/20210106005050/https://wildprotest.com/

    It was carefully carved away in the testimony and presentation.

    It was made to look like only a few insiders knew about the plan to go to the Capitol, and not even the documentarian knew about that.

    I wonder why there were bike racks there, if so.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  33. The hearing made it clear er that alot of people were hurt. But I don’t know why the polce officer is still off duty. PTSD?

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  34. According to WOR. there were low ratings in New York, maybe because f the Rangers playoff game (and maybe because Dems already know this they think.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  35. Thw best line was Liz Cheney’s one about dishonor although I think it was sort of plagiarized from Churchill. (based on it)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  36. @Sammy@33 They said that she’s doing an intelligence analysis program currently.

    Nic (896fdf)

  37. Just a reminder that inflation is up over 15% if we use Jimmy Carter’s inflation numbers. Worst president ever, but no mean tweets.

    NJRob (d38d18)

  38. @26. ROFLMAO! Dream on. Thanks for playing!

    “We have games. That’s all. We play games. ‘What if?’ ‘How many men?’ ‘What would it take?’ ‘Is there a cheaper way to destabilize a regime?’ That’s what we’re paid to do…’ – Higgins [Cliff Robertson] ‘Three Days Of The Condor’ 1975

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  39. @37, still better then the guy who tried to steal the presidency

    Time123 (38a44c)

  40. Where’s the leaker?

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  41. @39. Well hang my chad: you mean Gore of course, right? Not Dubya. 😉

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  42. and yes, less than 3 years left in his second term. And the election for his third term cancelled because — why bother?

    This is the thing that really bothers me. Maybe we are doomed to transition to Empire, but Donald Trump is no Augustus. Why start with Nero?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  43. Without useful idiot NEOCONS like Liz Cheney, Biden would not be destroying the country.

    FIFY.

    Her own sentiments echo- ‘There will come a day when the Neocon Cheneys will be gone, but their dishonor will remain…’

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  44. @39 Small comfort for those who are struggling today.

    The vast majority of voters has “moved on” from J6, and the continual efforts to relitigate J6 while blindly ignoring the issues the most voters face today is doing more to ensure that this November won’t just be a “red tsunami”, but a Game of Thrones “red wedding” shocker.

    whembly (7e0293)

  45. “@37, still better then the guy who tried to steal the presidency”

    What’s all this than? It seems Biden’s historic low poll numbers can’t overcome this guy’s Pavlovian response tic. Oh well… it appears you and Biden will at least have each other.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  46. 35-40% of Under-50 Respondents Endorse “Assassinating a Politician Who Is Harming the Country or Our Democracy”

    This is according to a Southern Poverty Law Center poll, conducted by Tulchin Research (warning: FiveThirtyEight.com gives Tulchin mediocre marks, at least as to its campaign polls). The poll was “a nationwide survey of 1,500 adults ages 18+ which was conducted via online panel,” so I expect there were likely only about 150 respondents in each of the demographic categories (such as “Younger Republican Men”) which would mean a margin of error of about 8%, so I’d be hesitant to make much of (say) Younger Republican Women seeming to support assassination more than Younger Republican Men, Younger Republican Women more than Younger Democratic Women, or Younger Democratic Men more than Younger Republican Men.

    But it does seem that among the under-50-year-olds, there is about 35-40% support, with no detectable aggregate difference between Democrats (averaging 38-54%) and Republicans (37%-56%).

    …….[A]s a matter of abstract morality, assassinating political figures might be defensible. That’s certainly so within despotic governments; but some argue that, even within democratic regimes, people’s moral right to self-defense extends to lethal force (whether in the form of violent revolution or more targeted assassination) used to defend against sufficiently serious threats to liberty.

    But given the extraordinary damage that a culture of political assassination can do both to democracy and to liberty, I have to be pretty firmly in the “no” camp here. And, if the survey is accurate, the results strike me as extremely troubling, as to both sides of the aisle.
    ……..

    From the poll:

    ……..
    Just over half of people overall agree that the government “has become tyrannical,” including 70% of Republicans and 78% of those who consider themselves “very conservative.” Only 29% of Republicans say they have even a fair amount of trust in the Federal government, compared to 60% of Democrats. Significantly more Republicans have faith in their state and local governments — 51% and 59% — while Democrats’ level of confidence remains steady across those institutions.

    Forty-nine percent of Republicans believe the 2020 election was “fraudulent, rigged and illegitimate,” and only 36% of the same group says they have even a fair amount of faith in elections officials. Just over half of Republicans believe the Jan. 6 insurrection was mostly made up of Americans “protesting against election fraud and an unfair and illegitimate change in political leadership” — a belief that is highest among Republican men under 50 (60% agree).

    Those on the right also tend to believe that the government is using Jan. 6 to “justify the political persecute of conservative Americans” — 67% of Trump voters, as compared to 19% of Biden voters. This narrative is widely pushed by groups like the Proud Boys and hard-right politicians, who have referred to those facing criminal charges related to the insurrection as “political prisoners.”

    ……..Over 4 in 10 gun-owning Republicans say they own a gun “in case I may need to use it to protect myself against the government.”
    ……..
    ……..Sixty-three percent of Republicans say Democrats are a threat to the country, while 67% of Democrats believe the same about the opposing party. While each side views the other as similarly threatening, Republicans rank “extremists in the Democratic Party” as the most pressing threat facing the country, while Democrats believe the top three threats, in descending order, are Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and extremists in the Republican Party.

    Those on the right appear more likely to approve of political violence. When asked whether they believed that “some violence might be necessary to protect the country from radical extremists,” 41% of Republicans agreed, compared to 34% of Democrats and 29% of independents. Over half of Republicans say the country seems headed toward a civil war in the near future, compared to 39% of Democrats.

    ……..When we asked, for example, whether people approved of threatening a politician who is “harming the country or our democracy,” 24% approved. When we asked if people approved of assassinating a politician described in the same way, 1 in 5 approved. Levels of approval for both scenarios were slightly higher for Democrats than Republicans, driven largely by the approval of younger Democratic men. In perhaps a telling sign of the deep antagonism partisans feel for one another, more people approve of threatening or assassinating politicians they deem harmful than approve of destroying public or private property as a form of protest.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  47. If you read the first post, I point out that Americans can hold more than one thought on their head at a time and both the Jan. 6 hearings and inflation are vital concerns to our nation. Maybe you missed it.

    Also, right now if you google the NYT, the first four healing articles are about the economy/inflation.

    Americans are smarter and more capable than some people think.

    Dana (1225fc)

  48. @26/42. For Appalled… and Kevin:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loBe0WXtts8

    The coupe de grasse.

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  49. How DARE Fox not talk about what I want them to talk about!
    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/10/2022 @ 1:13 pm

    i mean, no mention of the baby formula crisis in this post?

    what gives??!!!!

    JF (03e314)

  50. Americans are smarter and more capable than some people think.
    Dana (1225fc) — 6/10/2022 @ 3:14 pm

    except wyoming republicans

    JF (03e314)

  51. Maybe you missed it.

    I didn’t emphasize what you wrote. I emphasized what you quoted. Using Paul’s comment and quote I reinforced your position.

    Of course I read your post. Geeze.

    BuDuh (340919)

  52. Americans are smarter and more capable than some people think.

    That ‘some’ cowering in the castle behind the drawbridge.

    Little wonder public access to institutions are increasingly fenced off.

    Yes, ‘smarter, capable…’ and have shown they’ve finally had it; have little to no tolerance for incompetence and will ‘storm the castle.’

    DCSCA (2cbce7)

  53. The way to keep Trump out of office is to convict him of insurrection, sedition, etc, which would trigger the 14th Amendment provision.

    No. “Trump should be convicted of [CRIMES]” is the answer to only one question: “What should happen if a criminal investigation finds Trump committed [CRIMES], he’s prosecuted, and a jury decides beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s guilty?” Holding conviction out as an answer to political ills is a tribal fantasy of both sides. “Lock her up!” “Lock him up!” It undermines confidence in the legitimacy of criminal justice and politics alike. You’re not a tribalist. Don’t feed the fantasy.

    As an aside, do I believe Trump probably committed one or more crimes in furtherance of his morally treasonous political self-interest?
    Absolutely. Do I believe the requisite intent can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt? Unlikely. If that’s wrong, great. Let him be tried and convicted. If it’s not, I don’t and shouldn’t want him prosecuted. Neither should you.

    I think we can give up on convincing people.

    Then we’re scr*wed.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  54. Do I assume the preview function is gone forever? I know it’s a small thing, but being able to see and avoid formatting glitches was nice.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  55. Carlton Tucker is a Putin stooge. He should be “broadcasting” from a cage in Gitmo. Is the Patriot Act still on the books? Trump can be in the cage over.

    nk (35f104)

  56. @44 Biden is doing a terrible job. And if Trump had been impeached or wasn’t the leader of the GOP I’d agree with you. But he’s the presumptive nominee and supporting down ballot candidates that support his lies and efforts to steal the election.

    We’ve come back from bad economic policies before. Not sure we come back from a successful coup.

    Time123 (6d813e)

  57. I remember the good old days when Trump asking for proof of his political adversary’s crimes was a crime into itself. Now it’s “show trials for all” to save the Republic.

    Good times.

    NJRob (694f53)

  58. @NJRob@57 Rob, that’s disingenuous. Asking for a foreign government to commit espionage against a major American political party or politian in order to help him is inviting a foreign government to break US law by interfering in a US election. Investigating an insurrection committed against the US government is law enforcement.

    Nic (896fdf)

  59. We’ve come back from bad economic policies before. Not sure we come back from a successful coup.
    Time123 (6d813e) — 6/10/2022 @ 3:44 pm

    funny how after seventeen months no one has been charged other than no name knuckleheads, yet the words coup, insurrection and treason get tossed around as if they were fact

    i don’t think anyone in their right mind thinks trump or anyone in his circle will get charged with any of those crimes, so quit with the gaslighting

    we know the game, and even if biden drags the country further down into the sewer to the point of no return you’ll still pat yourself on the back

    JF (03e314)

  60. An insurrection is an active rebellion or uprising against the government, and that is what happened on Jan. 6. Gaslighting indeed.

    Dana (1225fc)

  61. There was no insurrection unless you’re talking about the left saying they’re going to assassinate or pack the court unless they get the results they desire.

    But carry on with the Soviet show trials. There’s a reason contrary viewpoints are banned and clips are cut for maximum propagnada purposes.

    NJRob (694f53)

  62. Was there or was there not an active rebellion or uprising against the government on Jan. 6 at the US Capitol?

    Dana (1225fc)

  63. An insurrection is an active rebellion or uprising against the government, and that is what happened on Jan. 6. Gaslighting indeed.
    Dana (1225fc) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:21 pm

    yes, it is gaslighting

    after seventeen months neither trump nor any of his cronies have been charged, nor do i think you seriously believe they ever will

    so, why not just make it about the street knuckleheads? because then it’s laughable

    JF (03e314)

  64. Insurrection, because words have meaning.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  65. No, JF, it’s not gaslighting. And what’s laughable is your consistent predictability about denying the reality of Jan. 6.

    Dana (1225fc)

  66. Was there or was there not an active rebellion or uprising against the government on Jan. 6 at the US Capitol?
    Dana (1225fc) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:28 pm

    -knuckleheads commit insurrection on jan6
    .
    .
    .
    -trump violated the law and should be charged

    you have some dots to connect

    why not do that before gaslighting for a year and a half?

    JF (03e314)

  67. I don’t know who will or will not be charged, the investigation is still open and active.

    Nic (896fdf)

  68. Trump tried to steal the presidency after losing the election.
    The violent assault on the capital on Jan 6 was in furtherance of that.
    So were the lies about fraud
    So was pressuring state legislatures to send fraudulent electors
    So was pressuring Pence to refuse to count valid electors.

    I’d say Rob and JF know that. But JF isn’t very bright and I think Rob has legitimately lost his mind. So I’m not sure they do.

    Time123 (6d813e)

  69. Heh, JF, your predictability never fails. No matter how much you attempt to play games and minimize and deflect from Trump and his role in the events of Jan. 6, you’re really not fooling anyone. Well, anyone who doesn’t have their loyalty to the Republican Party and/or Trump baked in.

    Dana (1225fc)

  70. As much as Nancy Pelosi cannot say with any knowledge or certainty that the Supre Courts Justices won’t be in danger this weekend, JF nor anyone else can say with certainty that Trump or anyone in his circle will get charged with any of those crimes. Or do you think that Pelosi can predict that with certainty???

    Dana (1225fc)

  71. But JF isn’t very bright

    time for the blog hall monitor to clock in

    (i don’t care really, just keeping track of when blog rules get enforced)

    standard disclaimer: it’s not my blog, nor my rules

    JF (03e314)

  72. But JF isn’t very bright and I think Rob has legitimately lost his mind.

    You got away with your racist screed towards me so I am guessing these insults will prevail.

    BuDuh (340919)

  73. Oh, thanks for pointing that out. I didn’t see it.

    Reminder Time123,

    No personal insults. Period.

    Dana (1225fc)

  74. I stand corrected.

    BuDuh (340919)

  75. Or do you think that Pelosi can predict that with certainty???
    Dana (1225fc) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:44 pm

    i don’t care what pelosi can predict or not

    what does that have to do with anything?

    i do care if she says trump and cronies committed a coup, insurrection or treason, when she has zero proof of that after seventeen months

    and i’d rightfully call her a lying liar and a gaslighter if she did

    JF (03e314)

  76. Welp, that’s about what I expected.

    Dana (1225fc)

  77. JF, I’m sorry I said you were very bright. I shouldn’t have said that.

    Time123 (6d813e)

  78. Buduh, I never wrote a racist screed against you. That’s a lie.

    Time123 (6d813e)

  79. Here’s the funny thing: DCSCA thinks Reagan spent his 8 years watching old movies, yet his more readable comments sound like that’s what he does all day.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  80. These 911 calls from the suspect who made the death threat against Kavanaugh make me sad. He was clearly coming apart at the seams and needed mental health help probably for some time. What’s interesting is that the grandfather and all of his high school friends say that the behavior at Kavanaugh’s was completely out of character for him. They were shocked. Did he have mental issues all along and no one was aware of them? Was he making it up for the benefit of the 911 operator? I think he covered it well, and it makes me sad that he is now in this predicament. I’d like to know what went wrong. These situations remind me that loved ones can easily miss the red flags. Even in the best of families, and even with parents who have the best of intentions.

    Dana (1225fc)

  81. This may be painful to follow in good faith due to bias against the interviewer, but it is interesting:
    https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1535266082726064130

    He was an eyewitness to Babbit’s killing and the commission/authorities don’t want to talk to him about what he saw and videotaped.

    His theory makes sense.

    BuDuh (340919)

  82. WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) – The participant in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riots nicknamed the “QAnon Shaman” is negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists found he suffers from a variety of mental illnesses, his attorney said.

    In an interview, defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have diagnosed his client Jacob Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

    The BOP’s findings, which have not yet been made public, suggest Chansley’s mental condition deteriorated due to the stress of being held in solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, Watkins said.

    “As he spent more time in solitary confinement … the decline in his acuity was noticeable, even to an untrained eye,” Watkins said in an interview on Thursday.

    He said Chansley’s 2006 mental health records from his time in the U.S. Navy show a similar diagnosis to the BOP’s.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-qanon-shaman-plea-negotiations-after-mental-health-diagnosis-lawyer-2021-07-23/

    Later…

    Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Jan. 6 rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the assault on the Capitol, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison.

    Chansley, who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding, was among the first rioters to enter the building. He has acknowledged using a bullhorn to rile up the mob, offering thanks in a prayer while in the Senate for having the chance to get rid of traitors and scratching out a threatening note to Vice President Mike Pence saying, “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!”

    Though he isn’t accused of violence, prosecutors say Chansley, of Arizona, was the “public face of the Capitol riot” who went into the attack with a weapon, ignored repeated police orders to leave the building and gloated about his actions in the days immediately after the attack.

    Before he was sentenced, Chansley told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth it was wrong for him to enter the Capitol and that he accepts responsibility for his actions. He emphasized he wasn’t an insurrectionist and is troubled with the way he was portrayed in news stories in the aftermath of the riot.

    “I have no excuse,” Chansley said. “No excuses whatsoever. My behavior is indefensible.”

    The judge said Chansley’s remorse appeared to be genuine but noted the seriousness of his actions in the Capitol. “What you did was terrible,” Lamberth said. “You made yourself the center of the riot.”

    Mental illness sometimes has to take a back seat.

    BuDuh (340919)

  83. @80.

    Dana, he said he’d been hospitalized several times. If that’s true, it’s hard to imagine his mental illness came as a surprise to his loved ones. I’d speculate that what they were shocked by wasn’t that he has mental health issues, but by how they manifested in this event.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  84. But I wonder if it’s indeed true that he had been hospitalized before?

    Dana (1225fc)

  85. Yeah, I have no idea beyond what he claimed in the 911 call. I assume we’ll find out.

    This is even more speculative than my last speculation, but I’m going to guess he has indeed been hospitalized. He was, after all, calling 911 on himself, so he was going to be arrested and incarcerated whatever he said. What was the benefit of throwing in a sure-to-be-discovered gratuitous lie? Looks to me like zero, with a high potential cost.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  86. Why do we have inflation? Because Joe Biden and the Democrats decided they would pass the hugest “stimulus” program in the nation’s history without a single GOP vote.

    $1.9 trillion — about $6,000 for every man woman and child in the US — in printing press money. To put this in perspective, it is the amount the feds spent in 2019 on Social Security plus Medicare plus Medicaid.

    It was about double each state’s per capita spending in 2019. Californians got about $250 billion. My little state with 2 million people got over $12 billion dollars; our 2019 state budget for all services was $6 billion.

    And this is ON TOP of these continuing expenditures. Many states have so much federal money coming out of their ears that they are spending it wildly, with little thought to what this will mean down the road.

    As are many of the people who got checks from the feds and their state.

    And it was done without a single YES vote for the GOP.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  87. Note: I use 2019 because after that things got weird.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  88. Here’s the funny thing: DCSCA thinks Reagan spent his 8 years watching old movies, yet his more readable comments sound like that’s what he does all day.

    More like four w/Ronnie- as he was asleep a lot of the time from the carbs in all them unhealthy jellybeans; though most of his quips were ripped off from his Hollywood days– like from ‘State of the Union‘ and others, and particularly his Brass Bancroft days, as in ‘Murder In The Air,’ with a Navy dirigible and the “Inertia Projector,” a death-ray/laser gun- his ripoff for SDI. A real Ronald ‘Ray-gun’ movie. His most revealing comment was pet-naming the knocked up Nancy he wed as wife #2-‘Mommie.’

    DCSCA (9f033f)

  89. Kevin, that’s part of it. But covid and the response is also post. Look at EU economic impacts as a comparison

    Time123 (6d813e)

  90. @80. Would like to know how he managed to get on a plane in CA with a gun in his luggage and fly cross country to Washington when folks with keychain pen knives and travel kits w/shampoo and mouthwash get stopped.

    DCSCA (9f033f)

  91. “This may be painful to follow in good faith due to bias against the interviewer, but it is interesting:
    https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1535266082726064130

    He was an eyewitness to Babbit’s killing and the commission/authorities don’t want to talk to him about what he saw and videotaped.

    His theory makes sense.”

    https://youtu.be/AWMpTHLJXbw?t=25

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  92. ……..(If) you weigh the risk of preventable violence against the risk of taking away innocent people’s rights, this policy has inherent limitations that mean it is bound to fail in one way or, more likely, both.

    [red flag laws]

    Rip–

    I think that red flag laws present a false dichotomy. They are not a reasonable alternative. Instead you need to go the other way, with positive licensing not negative revocation of an assumed license.

    Now, this would only be tolerable if the licensing is must-issue absent a compelling reason to withhold. The NY or DC “may” issue rules are about as likely to result in a license as a black person registering to vote in the Jim Crow South. But if only 5 or 10% of applicants are turned down, or revocation follows due process like we have with drivers’ licenses, it might work.

    Of course, the argument is that RKBA is a RIGHT, not a privilege. But I’d rather have a privilege that allowed me a wide choice of weapons for defense, hunting or making the Man behave, than a near-absolute RKBA with those arms limited to paintball guns.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  93. Kevin, that’s part of it. But covid and the response is also post. Look at EU economic impacts as a comparison

    Yes, part of it was the @.2 trillion CARES bill in March of 2020 and Trump’s $800 billion bill in December 2020, both of which the GOP did sign onto.

    But the first bill did NOT trigger inflation (and in fact there was slight deflation). The second bill might have had inflationary effect, but Biden’s bill, more than double the $800 billion and only 4 months later swamped any effect it might have had.

    It was mostly done to honor a campaign pledge, and to stealth fund state Democrats’ wish lists.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  94. * $2.2 trillion

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  95. @89: I’ll compare Reagan’s speech to the Evangelicals to any speech of Trump’s. Trump really has a problem when words get past two syllables.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  96. I can’t say that I have changed my mind about high-capacity rapid-firing dangerous genital stimulation devices, but … the more I learn about the donut-munching wastes of the taxpayers’ money that the people of Uvalde trusted their babies to, the more I am concerned about about Texas border trash being the barometer of the rights of all American citizens, and not only guns.

    nk (6ce83e)

  97. An insurrection is an active rebellion or uprising against the government

    Words have connotations.

    “Uprising” implies a just cause.
    “Rebellion” less so, but a cause just the same.
    “Insurrection” implies evil intent.

    I will note that the 1992 Los Angeles Riots are now referred to as an “uprising” by those who felt the violence was necessary.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  98. Tayler Hansen is a batsh-t conspiracy nut, peddling revised history, so it figures that a batsh-t conspiracy nut like Ms. Greene would have him on her show. The attempt to cast Ms. Babbitt as some of peacemaker in the middle of a riot is downright creepy.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  99. @97: Those donut chompers are eligible to use automatic and/or burst-fire weapons under federal law. I suggest we need Red Flaw laws for police departments.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  100. *Red Flag (I think)

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  101. Time to fortify Baltic States

    One word: Reforger.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  102. @99 Jewish Space Laser lady isn’t being honest?!? Totally shocked.

    Time123 (6d813e)

  103. Community members and advocacy groups, the report describes, have objected to the inclusion of books like “Ruby Bridges Goes to School” written by Ruby Bridges, who became the first Black child to integrate a segregated New Orleans school when she was six.

    I’m willing to bet there are no black children attending her child’s school.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  104. @96. And this is Trump’s ready-made commercial for 2024;

    No music, 3 second audio lead in; dissolve to:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loBe0WXtts8

    super: Trump 2024; end credit; fade to black.

    Stormy couldn’t do a better job of screwing Squinty.

    DCSCA (6d4ea6)

  105. Energy prices broadly rose 3.9% from a month ago

    Gasoline is up 13.6% in the last month (5/10 to 6/10). 63.4% in the last 365 days.

    https://www.gasbuddy.com/charts

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  106. 105: Probably the most succinct campaign statement of all time. And I could not help but think that if Trump had been the other guy, he would have interrupted 7 times.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  107. @107. Carter was honest: responded ‘No.’ And got whacked.

    DCSCA (6d4ea6)

  108. the most succinct campaign statement[s] of all time.

    “If nominated I will not run. If elected I will not serve.”

    “I concede.”

    And, of course, the ever classic:

    ” What America needs are leaders to match the greatness of her people!” – The Big Dick, August, 1968

    DCSCA (6d4ea6)

  109. Another handy inflationary price increase metric…but don’t you get kicked out of the AZ GOP and maybe the Freedom Caucus for consuming these in the first place?

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-lawmaker-tortillas-capitol-riot_n_62a2cf8ce4b0cf43c847025e

    urbanleftbehind (2b999d)

  110. Save up your nickels. Then throw them at politicians.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  111. Save up your nickels. Then throw them at politicians.

    LOL. At $7/gallon for regular, it’s a cinch it won’t be Molotov Cocktails. 😉

    DCSCA (3a6743)

  112. In a tweet published this week by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, the organization claimed that the nonprofit Moms for Liberty had succeeded in banning Slaughterhouse-Five, the author’s classic, semi-autobiographical anti-war novel, in Florida’s Brevard Public Schools district.

    Great! Kids don’t need to read it- see the movie instead! A topless Valerie Perrine in the role of Montana Wildhack is forever lovely in the 1972 classic.

    DCSCA (3a6743)

  113. any news on the leaker? no justice roberts is a booosh dummy.

    mg (8cbc69)

  114. CLose, but it was mostly older white men.

    Time123 (792209) — 6/10/2022 @ 1:34 pm

    This is the same line the Democrats have been snarking for over 40 years. Pew found that Trump had virtually the same margin of the white vote and over-65 vote, and lost women by nearly the same percentage as Romney had in 2012.

    The real difference was in people who had college degrees. The ones without, particularly white voters, VASTLY preferred Trump and voted for him in droves. There was also less enthusiasm for voting for Hillary among minority and young voters than there was for Obama. These gaps, especially in the Rust Belt, are what led to Trump winning the election.

    2016 was a revolt against the elites, plain and simple, and they knew it–which is why there was a bunch of bellyaching from those quarters in the aftermath about the “anti-intellectualism” of the rubes. Just another variation of “they’re voting against their own interest!”

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  115. My wife and I filled our vehicles up with gas tyesterday. $225.00. R U Flucking kidding me.
    81 million incompetent rump swabs brought this crap to the middle class.

    mg (8cbc69)

  116. On a beautiful summer evening, after locking people indoors for nearly two years, they want people to stay inside and watch TV. Nope.

    mg (8cbc69)

  117. So 20 million watched – from hospitals and airports.

    mg (8cbc69)

  118. Was the class room door locked? A third of the class room doors would not properly lock and needed maintenance. For an hour law enforcement looked for door keys never checking if the door was locked as shooters bullets penetrated door. When keys were found did they unlock the door or was the door unlocked/ When media asked if it was locked news people told thats under investigation. (nyt)

    asset (c1f2bc)

  119. CLose, but it was mostly older white men.

    Time123 (792209) — 6/10/2022 @ 1:34 pm

    So, not racist? How is this different from my token remark that you labeled racist?

    frosty (9992b3)

  120. Trump tried to steal the presidency after losing the election.
    The violent assault on the capital on Jan 6 was in furtherance of that.
    So were the lies about fraud
    So was pressuring state legislatures to send fraudulent electors
    So was pressuring Pence to refuse to count valid electors.

    I’d say Rob and JF know that. But JF isn’t very bright and I think Rob has legitimately lost his mind. So I’m not sure they do.

    Time123 (6d813e) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:40 pm

    Remarks like this used to be a bannable offense. Now they’re perfectly fine as long as thry continue with the 2 minutes of hate against those who don’t repeat their anti-Trump mantras.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  121. Things I would like resolution on:
    1. What did Trump intend by saying “Stand back and stand by” to the Proud Boys during the election debate? Was he aware that this caused membership to triple?

    2. Did Trump know that the “vast election fraud” meme was false and that the election was not actually stolen? Why did he ignore the views of Bill Barr and other advisors who had studied the evidence? Did Trump intentionally repeat false election claims to build anger and resentment in his most passionate supporters?

    3. Did Trump try to replace acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Justice Department lawyer Jeff Clark because Clark agreed to draft a DOJ letter falsely identifying significant concerns in the election results of six contested states?

    4. Did Trump, with questionable pretense, pressure Mike Pence to refuse to count electoral votes on January 6? Was Eastman’s “rejection power theory” the most plausible read of the Electoral Count Act or was it a fringe minority legal community view that was latched onto out of convenience? Were other Constitutional experts consulted by the White House? Is Trump’s statement to Pence that “The States want to redo their votes. They found out they voted on a FRAUD. Legislatures never approved. Let them do it. BE STRONG!” accurate?

    5. Did Trump pressure state officials to manipulate the vote or rescind certified electoral slates?

    6. Was Trump’s Dec. 19th tweet “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” intended to call out reactionary elements to cause trouble? Was the tweet a byproduct of the Dec. 18th meeting between Trump, Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell, Patrick Byrne, and Emily Newman?

    7. Does Steve Bannon’s January 5th podcast statement that “It’s not going to happen like you think it’s going to happen. … All I can say is strap in. … You made this happen and tomorrow it’s game day, so strap in,” suggest pre-knowledge of the Capitol assault and, if so, how involved was he in the planning? Was Bannon in contact with the White House right before January 6th and what was communicated?

    8. Was Trump’s January 6th speech where he said “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” meant to enflame the protesters and cause them to join the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers in storming the Capitol? The same for his claims that “We will stop the steal”, “We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen”, and “We are going to the Capitol”? Taken in conjunction with his later inaction, did he light the fuse? Does Trump saying “peacefully and patriotically” mitigate his moral culpability?

    9. Did Trump say “Mike Pence deserves it” in reaction to mob chants to hang the Vice President?

    10. Did Trump’s tweet during the riot that “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify, USA demands the truth!” escalate the violence

    11. Did Trump have his lawyers draft an executive order to have the defense secretary seize voting machines and all electronically stored information from contested states that he had lost? Was this another byproduct of the Dec. 18th meeting with Powell et al?

    12. Why did Trump never contact the National Guard, the DOJ, the Joint Chiefs, or his Secretary of Homeland Security about securing the Capitol? Why did he not personally contact the VP to check on his welfare? Does this go to state of mind?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  122. @120, older white men is a description of demographics. And an accurate one based on 2016 voting patters. Referring to highly accomplished black professionals as “tokens” is a racist insult that asserts they’re not qualified. There’s more too it, but you have google.

    Time123 (c5ebc4)

  123. @115 FWO, we agree a lot about the demographics of 2016.

    Time123 (c5ebc4)

  124. @122, all great questions.

    Time123 (c5ebc4)

  125. I would add these questions to AJ’s reasonable list:

    https://twitter.com/SKMorefield/status/1451290535981948935

    BuDuh (340919)

  126. Americans are smarter and more capable than some people think.

    Dana (1225fc) — 6/10/2022 @ 3:14 pm

    Smart enough to be able to change the channel or decide what they want to watch?

    frosty (cec41f)

  127. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/10/poll-most-believe-biden-admin-allowing-gas-prices-rise-get-americans-off-fossil-fuels/

    53% know the obvious, that this leftist administration wants to punish people for driving instead of doing what they’re told.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  128. We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times… and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen.

    BuDuh (340919)

  129. @123 I think FWO corrected your stats.

    On the other issue; you think Biden asked for a list of the best legal minds and it just happened to have a partisan female POC at the top? You believe that even after he explicitly stated that was his criteria for VP?

    frosty (cec41f)

  130. a victory for the rule of law against a lawless administration, no thanks to those giving lip service

    A federal judge in Texas blocks a major DHS policy limiting immigration enforcement

    A federal judge in Texas has blocked yet another of President Biden’s major immigration policies.

    Federal Judge Drew Tipton threw out a Department of Homeland Security policy that limits who immigration authorities can arrest and deport. In a ruling published Friday, Tipton sided with the states of Texas and Louisiana, which argued that the DHS guidance is preventing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enforcing the law.

    Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the policy last year, directing immigration authorities to prioritize serious threats to public safety and national security, as well as recent border-crossers.

    Mayorkas said that being present in the country without authorization “should not alone be the basis” for arrest or removal — a sharp reversal from the Trump administration, when ICE agents and officers were free to detain anyone they encountered who was in the country illegally.

    Lawyers for the Biden administration defended the policy as a reasonable exercise of prosecutorial discretion, and the best way to make use of DHS’s limited resources. But Tipton was not convinced.

    “The Executive Branch may prioritize its resources. But it must do so within the bounds set by Congress,” Tipton wrote. “Using the words ‘discretion’ and ‘prioritization,’ the Executive Branch claims the authority to suspend statutory mandates. The law does not sanction this approach.”

    JF (c8dab8)

  131. Biden, Mayorkas’s behavior regarding border security ‘almost treasonous’: Former ICE chief

    TOM HOMAN: I get disgusted every day I see this because it’s been 16 months. They still haven’t done one single thing. No enforcement strategy, no consequence, no deterrence. Just every effort has been how quick can we send agents down there to process release quicker?

    Now, this genius plan: They were moving to the interior quicker. They’ve got to understand, when you make it easier and more efficient to get into the interior of the United States, that’s an enticement to bring more.

    So, I wait for an enforcement strategy and never see it. But you get the secretary every week saying something stupid like, “It’s not illegal to be in the United States and ICE can’t arrest you. And ICE can’t do worksite enforcement operations… ”

    Now, we’re going to move you to the interior, right off the border, so you’re not going to be detained for a single day on the border. It’s just everything they do entices more people to come. They’ve got to know this. This is by design… They don’t care.

    Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas say that we have much more humane policies than President Trump. Really? Because in the first year at Joe Biden, we have a record number of migrants dying on U.S. soil. Over 700 migrants have died on U.S. soil. Crossing, you know, even drowning a river, being left in the desert, we got over 100,000 Americans dying overdose death. That’s a record.

    What Joe Biden has done along with Alejandro Mayorkas is almost treasonous. If [Republicans] take back Congress in this next election, day one, they need to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas for violating the oath he took. This country is less safe under his leadership, he has failed for 16 months straight. This administration is lawless.

    JF (f2d4da)

  132. How many American adults still have landlines in their homes? Approximately 100 million.

    The age group most likely to have landlines? Those over 65. (As one would expect, wealthier people are more likely to have both landlines and cellphones.)

    How many party lines are there in the United States? Approximately zero. (You can find a link with a simple search.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  133. Here’s my favorite cartoon from Politico’s weekly collection.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  134. #122 – Excellent set of questions, AJ_Liberty.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  135. these primetime hearings are a great idea

    i can’t wait for republicans to hold primetime hearings about biden’s bumbling and borderline treasonous actions on fossil fuels, inflation, border security, baby formula

    most networks will refuse to carry it and the usuals here whining with butt hurt about fox news will cheer those networks on shaking their pom poms

    JF (f2d4da)

  136. I posted a comment over at Political Betting saying that I think that E-Verify (strengthened and, probably, reformed) was an essential part of any serious effort to reduce illegal immigration.

    Robert Smithson, who runs the site, replied by agreeing with me, and linking to this 12 minute podcast he did in 2018.

    (I think he is mostly right, though I would add that a disturbingly large number of illegals now are fleeing violence in their own nations, most of it from narcotics gangs.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  137. Farmer John meatpacking plant is leaving California after decades in the city of Vernon (a suburb next to downtown Los Angeles). For years and years they have been a sponsor of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it’s Farmer John who provides the Dodger Dogs at the stadium. They cite the high cost of doing business in the state. This will kill around 2,000 middle class union jobs for meatpackers, drivers, and other blue collar workers, but hey, as long as we have a bunch of tech billionaires propping up our economy then who cares about the little guy?

    JVW (020d31)

  138. One of the things going on with Liz Cheney that I’ve noticed is the gender pay gap:

    For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
    Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? — Mark 8:36-67

    And what were they offering Liz? Wyoming!

    nk (b72cae)

  139. poor wyoming, nk

    liz was offered the role of useful idiot instead and took it

    what a put down

    you go girl!

    JF (a3dedc)

  140. Alaska is having their “top four” primary today.

    There are 48 candidates hoping to replace the late Don Young in the special election.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  141. Sergej Sumlenny has an interesting thread on the books in Russian stores. Grisly warmongering stuff.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  142. Zack Brown, who previously served as the communications director for Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, shared a screenshot of an email he received inviting Young to be interviewed on Todd’s program “Meet the Press NOW” on the NBC News NOW streaming network.

    Except Young died in March at age 88.

    “Unfortunately, @chucktodd, I don’t think Congressman Young’s schedule will allow him to be on Meet the Press with you tomorrow, but I’ll circle back if that changes. Thanks for reaching out!” Brown tweeted Thursday.

    https://www.foxnews.com/media/nbc-chuck-todds-show-rep-don-young-interview

    The adults…

    BuDuh (340919)

  143. Biden says Zelensky ‘didn’t want to hear’ U.S. warnings of invasion

    ‘President Biden said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “didn’t want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence officials raised warnings of a looming Russian attack before the Feb. 24 invasion, according to the Associated Press.

    Biden, who along with Congress has deepened U.S. involvement in the global effort to reject the Russian invasion by recently finalizing more than $40 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance, spoke at a Democratic fundraising event in Los Angeles on Friday night, according to the AP and Bloomberg News. The president spoke about the American commitment to supporting Ukraine four months into the invasion, saying, “Nothing like this has happened since World War II.’” – WaPo.com

    Nothing like it, Joey?? Except for Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War 1, 2.. and Afghanistan, etc.. =sigh= Very Not “Churchill” of Z– eh, Joey? So “give” Huckster Z $50 billion of borrowed money. Why are you such an idiot Joe? Why do you keep dishonoring Scranton and Wilmington and Mel Blanc’s Foghorn Leghorn legacy with your stupidity? Why can’t you learn to walk up stairs? So now it’s Z’s fault, not Vlad, right, Joey? … and Putin smiled.

    _________

    Biden points blame for record oil prices: ‘Exxon made more money than God this year’
    President Biden blamed oil companies but took credit for the fastest-growing economy’

    During a speech in Los Angeles Friday, President Joe Biden blamed record gas prices on the oil industry and said that U.S. oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp were raking in massive profits this past year. “Exxon made more money than God this year,” the Catholic president told union representatives at the Port of Los Angeles as the national average price of gas is $4.99 per gallon.

    In 19 states the price of a gallon of gas is over $5, according to the motorist group AAA. Biden also accused the largest U.S. oil company of spending their profits on stock purchases, rather than using it to drill and produce more oil. “Why aren’t they drilling? Because they make more money not producing more oil,” the president said. “Exxon, start investing and start paying your taxes.”

    Exxon responded to Biden’s comments saying the company has spent tens of billions in taxes and continues to expand its operations. “We have been in regular contact with the administration, informing them of our planned investments to increase production and expand refining capacity in the United States,” spokesman Casey Norton said, Reuters reported. Norton also said Exxon will expand its operations in Texas through a refinery expansion.

    The expansion is large enough to constitute a “new medium-sized refinery,” said Norton, per the report. Exxon paid $40.6 billion in taxes in 2021 after losing nearly $20 billion the year before, the spokesperson added. During his appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Wednesday, Biden also blamed oil companies for high gas prices.

    “Oil companies, instead of everybody, says, ‘Well, Biden won’t let them drill.’ They have 9,000 drilling sites that they already own that are there. They’re not doing it,” Biden said to the host. “You know why? Because they make more money not drilling and buying back their own stock.” While pushing the blame for oil, the president took credit for the “fastest-growing economy in the world.”- source, FoxBusiness.com

    So it’s not Vlad’s fault; not your fault. It’s Exxon’s fault.

    God uses money, Joey? The Lord Almighty, creator of everything and all is a money changer, Joey? When did your become God’s accountant, Joey? Or are you getting his figures via Ouija board consults with Beau?

    The phone is ringing behind the gymnasium, Joey. Why don’t you go answer it. Idiot.

    DCSCA (aadd10)

  144. @139. Well whaddya know- pigs can fly after all.

    ‘Course $9 for 14 oz., of bacon and $5 for a package of beef weenies that sold for $1.25 ten years ago can make consumers squeal.

    But of course, doncha know, it’s all Putin’s fault, JVW.

    Ask Joe: he’s now God’s Accountant. 😉

    DCSCA (5ab4d1)

  145. @9. The Trump coalition was built out of people who neither party seemed to care about — middle-class and lower-middle-class workers such as tradesmen and manufacturing workers who had been marginalized by outsourcing and globalization over several decades.

    Seduced and abandoned. And it really isn’t specific to Trump– he is just the player woh got the ball across the goal line. The populist movement has been growing to a boil for years in the U.S. in reaction to incompetence and indifference to swampy politicians like Pelosi, Biden, McConnell, Dubya, Cheney, etc., and now the likes of the SCOTUS bureaucrats as well.

    They citizenry are stirred, pissed and have little to no tolerance for ‘fvck-ups’ any more– especially when the sheep have been shaved too closely for too long, and the razor burn stings way too much now.

    DCSCA (5ab4d1)

  146. Farmer John meatpacking plant is leaving California after decades in the city of Vernon

    Putin strikes again

    JF (a3dedc)

  147. Nearly three years after promising to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah,” President Joe Biden is set to extend an olive branch to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following months of reproach.

    The White House confirmed Monday that Biden will visit the oil-rich nation this summer, the culmination of an 18-month rollercoaster that started with Biden ostracizing Crown Prince Mohammed, commonly known as MBS, and ends with his administration trying to win back MBS’ affections as gas prices soar due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Attempts by US officials to convince the Saudis to pump more oil have been unsuccessful so far, with MBS reportedly ignoring Biden’s phone calls about the issue.

    In a direct showing of how much the US wants Saudi Arabia’s help, Biden may personally ask MBS to up oil production at a meeting between the two, Axios reported.

    The Biden White House has long kept the kingdom at arm’s length, refusing to meet with MBS and effectively demoting him by saying that his ailing father, Salman, is Biden’s opposite number. The US also sanctioned several dozen Saudi officials following a declassified intelligence report into the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA concluded was likely ordered by MBS.

    A visit to Saudi Arabia signals that, for Biden, it is no longer tenable for the US to estrange a partner over ideology, when more pressing matters like oil threaten US stability, experts told Insider.

    https://news.yahoo.com/biden-ripping-plan-ostracize-saudi-094500808.html

    Leadership.

    BuDuh (340919)

  148. Eat At Joe’s

    Today’s Menu:

    [ ] Putin’s fault

    [ ] Covid’s fault.

    [ ] Republican’s fault.

    [ ] Zelinsky’s fault.

    [ ] Trump’s fault.

    [ ] Mexico’s fault.

    [ ] Kamala’s fault.

    [ ] SCOTUS leaker’s fault.

    [ ] China’s fault.

    [ ] Big Meat’s fault.

    [ ] Baby formula makers fault.

    [ ] Supply Chain’s fault.

    [ ] Border Patrol’s fault.

    [ ] Cher’s fault.

    [ ] San Andreas Fault.

    Today’s Special:

    [ ] Exxon’s fault.

    Choose.

    DCSCA (5f83a1)

  149. Farmer John is one of the labels of Smithfield Foods, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary WH Group of China. That means the Chinese own all of it, and that “Virginia-based” smoke in the linked article just means that they own a piece of Virginia too along with that in California.

    Just so you know. If it matters.

    nk (46a037)

  150. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
    Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? — Mark 8:36-67

    Reaganomics!

    OTOH, The People’s Republic of China is officially an atheist state, but the government formally recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam. 😉

    DCSCA (5f83a1)

  151. And if you are by any chance curious, you might want to look up how many Smithfield packing plants in the U.S. were Covid epicenters at the very beginning of the pandemic. Just so you know. It was more than one.

    nk (46a037)

  152. New York Times: ‘Many Democratic lawmakers’ are concerned by Biden’s leadership, feel U.S. is ‘falling apart’

    A New York Times report revealed Saturday that many Democratic Party officials have little faith that President Biden can keep his party afloat amid mounting crises. The piece also implied that the Jan. 6 Committee is Biden’s last chance before the midterm elections to persuade swing voters who are more fixated on inflation.– NYT.com

    81 million can’t be wrong. Rigbt???

    “You bought him. You own him.” TM

    DCSCA (01c269)

  153. Here in Caliunicornia, I have friends who are active law enforcement and some who’ve recently retired. To a person, they advise folks who come to them and express interest in a law enforcement career to look for something else. To paraphrase,”you’ll be hated for no legitimate reason and there will be no support when the chips are down.”

    I can’t imagine things being much different elsewhere in the U.S.. That should be of concern.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  154. poor wyoming, nk

    liz was offered the role of useful idiot instead and took it

    what a put down

    you go girl!

    This comment reminds me of when Democrats accuse a Black person who has a conservative point of view, or assumes a position in a rightwing think tank or even on the Supreme Court that they are token Blacks, or are Uncle Toms or house because no smart Black would be on that side of the aisle. In the same way so many Democrats don’t believe that Blacks are intelligent enough to understand the politics at play and yet remain loyal to their own beliefts and values despite the professional/personal cost, so too here it’s as if a strong, intelligent woman can’t be smart enought to calculate where she will do the most good for her democracy by holding the powerful individuals accountable for their bad and unlawful behavior on Jan. 6 while understanding the politics at play. It’s as if she’s just a dumb blonde or token conservative foolishly allowing herself to be a useful idiot instead of being a sharp person who clearly understands that at the end of the day, someone has to work to push back on the threat to our nation and it might as well be her (since no one else on her side of the aisle is stepping up). What a narrow and antiquated view of women to hold in 2022.

    Dana (1225fc)

  155. @Haiku@155 probably depends on who you know. The two recently retired police officers I know are going to be teaching a couple of law enforcement career and technical ed classes at one of our high schools.

    Nic (896fdf)

  156. Maher on the media not talking much about Kavanaugh death threat:

    “They just wear their bias on their sleeves,” he says here of the paper, “and if it’s not part of something that feeds our narrative, f— it, we bury it.”

    This is one of the situations where it’s ridiculously easy to swap out the intended target and know that if it has been Kagan or Sotomayor, the media would rightfully still be writing about it days later and pushing Pelosi and House Dems to pass the funding bill yesterday. But as it stands, crickets.

    Dana (1225fc)

  157. Dana (1225fc) — 6/11/2022 @ 12:39 pm

    you left out the very gender specific comment by nk that I was replying to

    why was that?

    so you can make a ridiculously cheap charge of sexism and deflect from what was very pointed mockery

    mockery that is even more pointed now

    and for the record, kinzinger is an equal opportunity useful idiot, not blonde, hailing from nk’s home state of illinois to boot, though i haven’t looked up his preferred pronouns

    JF (a3dedc)

  158. I didn’t even see nk’s comment. I was scrolling from the bottom up.

    Dana (1225fc)

  159. 157… I’m certain there’s some of that at play, Nic, but I’m basing this on 26 LEOs, close to half of whom were decorated. Also their experience spanned city PDs and state agents.

    Carefully chosen words and anguished looks were evidence of something very real.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  160. @158. It’s all misleading. Threats against public officials occur all the time– our own government officials even threaten other heads of state [see Graham vs., Putin for details]. The be-robed bureaucrats get protection; armored SUV to and from work, fences arounsd the SCOTUS builiding…– and apparently are better protected than their own paper work.

    Where’s the leaker?

    Meanwhile, our school kids remain sitting ducks.

    DCSCA (25e456)

  161. Has Kinzinger ever appeared on camera when he wasn’t blubbering?

    Illinois deserves the mook.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  162. @166. No but a package of same arrived at the WH and when handed to Joe, he asked, ‘what is this?’ Staff said: ‘your ass, sir.’ 😉

    DCSCA (25e456)

  163. ^@163

    DCSCA (25e456)

  164. Joey’s in Alburquerque, NM, talking ’bout flaming wild wires.

    They’re all Heisenberg’s fault, right Joey?

    DCSCA (25e456)

  165. They keep tracing those wildfires back to federal agencies. The states might want to do something about that.

    frosty (c9799f)

  166. @167. Great! Joey’s got a new excuse:

    ‘It’s America’s fault.’

    DCSCA (25e456)

  167. @Haiku@161 I don’t disagree that there is something going on, but I don’t think it’s just a LOL liberals issue. There is A Problem between a lot of our law enforcement communities and our non-law enforcement communities that is multi-faceted and systemic and isn’t really explainable in political sound-bites IMO and that appears in both conservative and liberal communities. It’s a thing that I think needs serious discussion by serious people to come up with some kinds of solutions. LOL!Liberals and LOL!Conservatives isn’t really conducive to that conversation (or really, any others) IMO.

    Nic (896fdf)

  168. Joey’s in Alburquerque, NM, talking ’bout flaming wild wires.

    They’ve closed the N/S interstate here for Joe. As if they will let him within 50 miles of the smoke.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  169. know that if it has been Kagan or Sotomayor

    Witness the Gov Witmer kidnapping thing that was reported for days. Then note that everyone arrested has been acquitted.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  170. 81 million can’t be wrong.

    Don’t you start. Sometimes the fire looks better from the frying pan.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  171. As I read Trump’s reactions to the January 6th committee claims, I’m struck by the fact that he is still peddling the “stolen election” meme. And a good number of people still accept his claims despite no reputable journalistic outlet being able to substantiate it. The committee even showed via his text message to team Trump that Sean Hannity was trying to push Trump off of the “big lie”.

    Now we’ve seen Trump hold onto memes before. He was an original “Birther” and grudgingly…almost painfully….disgorged that one going into the 2016 election. But the question is, what drives this current mania. Is it

    A. This is just Trump trolling and it’s more an inside message to his supporters that he’s a fighter and will continue to mess with the mainstream media.

    B. This is just part of the big grift. Most people consume partisan media. These sourses are more sympathetic to conspiracy theory memes and so give people a handful of talking points that are sufficient to generate doubt. Trump plays on this doubt and continues to fund raise off of this doubt.

    C. Trump is a sociopath who genuinely believes that the only way he could have lost was if the other side cheated. He’s too much of a winner and people love him far too much to have been beaten fairly by Biden.

    D. Trump has a deeper cognitive impairment that makes him susceptible to fanciful arguments like those coming from Mike Lindell or Sidney Powell.

    E. Some unknowable combination of the above.

    The safe pick is “E” though I would probably go with “C” because of his resistance to even his closest advisors wanting him to move on. It has to be more than just the grift or day-to-day trolling…..

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  172. Dana wrote: “I didn’t even see nk’s comment. I was scrolling from the bottom up.”

    Often a good practice.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  173. There’s nothing like seeing a bunch of Trump haters gathered together to display biased and one sided opinions and cherry picked pics and videos (not facts) of a disturbance at the Capital a year ago. The only person killed was an unarmed woman shot by the Capital Police for no reason, and he never was investigated or penalized for the murder. They didn’t bother to tell us who declined Trump’s offer to send in the National Guard, either. This is a one sided, one story, display of corrupt Politicians using their power to deceive the American People. Cheney and Kissinger are both traitors and cowards. Hope we never have to see them again after the midterms.

    mg (8cbc69)

  174. Farmer John is one of the labels of Smithfield Foods, Inc., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary WH Group of China. That means the Chinese own all of it. . .

    Well that’s odd: you would think that the Chinese would find kindred spirits in Gavin Newsom’s California.

    Seriously though, sure the Chinese own the plant, but no doubt it is run by Americans who have to deliver a certain level of profit to their overlords in Beijing each year. And there’s been a decade of evidence that companies who produce lower-priced products made by blue-collar workers are abandoning California because the business environment is no longer conducive to anyone other than media and tech conglomerates.

    JVW (020d31)

  175. What about the ganja farmers,JVW? Its been Cantafordyas number 1 cash crop for decades.

    mg (8cbc69)

  176. Sometimes the fire looks better from the frying pan.

    ‘My, it’s warm in here,’ said the frog to the pot of boiling water.

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  177. I find not seeing nk’s comments to be a very good practice as well, Jim.

    BuDuh (340919)

  178. ShutDownDC group plans ‘blockade’ at Supreme Court with ‘jail support’ on hand

    ShutDownDC is planning to ‘blockade’ streets around the Supreme Court in light of a potential decision overturning Roe v. Wade

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/shutdowndc-group-plans-blockade-supreme-court-jail-support

    BuDuh (340919)

  179. In this great reset we the people have become collateral damage….
    So these numbnuts blame putin.

    mg (8cbc69)

  180. “know that if it has been Kagan or Sotomayor”

    US District Court Judge Esther Salas said that a gunman who killed her son and wounded her husband in 2020 had also set his sights on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, according to a CBS News “60 Minutes” report airing Sunday.
    Salas said that authorities found a dossier on Sotomayor in a locker used by the assailant, Roy Den Hollander, a lawyer who had a case before Salas and took his own life after killing her son Daniel.
    “They found another gun, a Glock, more ammunition. But the most troubling thing they found was a manila folder with a workup on Justice Sonia Sotomayor,” Salas said in the interview.

    https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/19/politics/sotomayor-salas-supreme-court-security/index.html

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  181. @180. Rescind a right; reap the whirlwind and enjoy the show. Especially directly affecting modern 21st cwntury American women.

    ‘Hell hath no fury like…’

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  182. @155 What do you expect? I have been warning about this for years. To have respect for the law the law has to be respectable. In 1969 during the stonewall riots I was shocked to learn that it was illegal to serve a gay person a drink in a bar hence the mafia ran the gay bars. The police attacking vietnam war protesters and civil rights marchers. These young people have grown up hating the police for enforcing rich white mans racist laws. Zoning laws to benefit the establishment and get rid of cheap afforable housing for the poor. Mercy and forgivness for the rich law and order for the poor. On the side of cop cars it says protect (the rich) and serve (the interests of the powerful). Sow the wind reap the whirlwind. Many towns like ferguson mo. get much of their revenue from righting tickets. In ny city some years ago the mayor told his cops if you don;t want to get laid off start righting tickets for the revenue! The black community has taken over some cities causing the wealthy who can no longer enforce their will on “them” to leave. Black lives don’t matter to the rich and powerful.

    asset (4b32de)

  183. @180 let me know when they storm inside the supreme court trying to stop the decision then will compare to jan. 6!

    asset (4b32de)

  184. The summit of Americas was another disaster for the senile pos.potus. But on a high note – he didn’t notice.

    mg (8cbc69)

  185. How in heck does grandma vodka keep her husbands arrest photo from becoming public?

    mg (8cbc69)

  186. Trump is a sociopath who genuinely believes that the only way he could have lost

    I’d think narcissist and megalomaniac would be closer to it. Those, and “sociopath” are pretty common among politicians.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  187. How in heck does grandma vodka keep her husbands arrest photo from becoming public?

    He wasn’t wearing a mask.

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  188. @187 same way lauren bobberts 2020 drunk driving accident with jeep and leaving the scene of the accident. See 184 above.

    asset (4b32de)

  189. The only person killed was an unarmed woman shot by the Capital Police for no reason, and he never was investigated or penalized for the murder.

    When an armed guard is staning behind a double barricade and you smash through it, in front of a huge mob, saying the shooting was for “no reason” is laughable.

    Darwin Award laughable.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  190. @mg@187 Napa doesn’t publish mug shots of anyone.

    Nic (896fdf)

  191. What about the ganja farmers,JVW? Its been Cantafordyas number 1 cash crop for decades.

    Now that they are regulating and taxing it, it’s only a matter of time. If Jefferson ever wanted to be their own state, they should make it clear that the pot business is in jeopardy unless they can leave.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  192. ‘My, it’s warm in here,’ said the frog to the pot of boiling water.

    81 million frogs jumped.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  193. We’re not all friends here anymore, Dana. Some come by here just to spew venom. No comment we make will receive fair treatment from them. They will twist it and contort it into something nasty. Every time. And try to make all commenting on this site nasty and venomous, as unpleasant as themselves.

    nk (f344bc)

  194. Especially directly affecting modern 21st century American women.

    If their idea of birth control is “abortion” they deserve to be hit upside the head by this 2×4.

    If the media reported the abortion debate honestly (e.g. the Mississippi law is actually more liberal than most first-world countries, or that current court rulings allow abortion during natural birth) I think the debate would be in the GOP’s favor.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  195. They’ve closed the N/S interstate here for Joe. As if they will let him within 50 miles of the smoke.

    That’s one way for Joey to save American gas. Tour the Lincoln Tunnel and visit Abe’s grave that’s not there, Joey– that outta save a few gallons of go juice, too.

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  196. @196. Their “idea” is to not have a right rescinded; not have the government dictate how to manage their own bodies; to have a choice.

    LOL But go ahead and try to dictate controls and morality to 21st century bra-burning, ass-kicking American women… and see what gets cut off by them– and who’ll be sleeping with a 2X4 on the couch for the next 50 years. 😉

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  197. 81 million frogs jumped.

    Boiling mad.

    DCSCA (dccbaa)

  198. sociopath, narcissist, megalomaniac

    Mm, I don’t know. I would say a cheat and fraud. Who is now trying to sell everyone a lead bar covered with glitter and calling it gold. Some will buy it, some won’t. What does he have to lose? All that’s left for him to do at this stage in his life is make trouble and play golf where he cheats there too.

    nk (f344bc)

  199. @196. Their “idea” is to not have a right rescinded; not have the government dictate how to manage their own bodies; to have a choice.

    That pretense–abortion on demand, all the way up until the kid’s feet fully emerge from the magic birth canal trip–can still get no more than 20% support after 50 years of Roe vs. Wade. It’s long been the ideological domain of upper middle class and upper class feminists, mostly in government and academia.

    Yes, the majority support having abortion legal in some form. The vast majority ALSO support having at least some restrictions on the practice. That’s why the Democrat-voting mainstream press always frames the former, and not the latter. A political group that whose intellectual capacity has degraded so rapidly in the last 10 years that they can’t even figure out what a woman is without a degreed biologist explaining it to them. Given this, it’s not a surprise that they can’t mull over when exactly a fetus becomes a living entity deserving of legal protections, even though the same class of people will happily brag to everyone about how smart they supposedly are because of their magic pieces of paper.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  200. Alaska’s new voting system has Sarah Palin facing Santa Claus for Congress

    Alaska’s new voting system and an unexpected special election have attracted a crowd of 48 candidates to run for the state’s lone House seat this year, including former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and a Democratic socialist from the city of North Pole, who legally changed his name to Santa Claus.
    ……..
    Here’s how the new voting system works: Alaskans cast ballots for single candidates in an open, nonpartisan primary race. The top four vote-getters advance to the general election, in which voters rank four candidates in order of preference. Any candidate who gets more than 50 percent of the vote wins the race. If no one gets a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and ballots cast for the eliminated candidate are recast for voters’ second choices. The elimination and retabulation process continues until only two candidates are left. The candidate with the most votes wins.

    Front-runners in the special election include Palin, the state’s former governor, who is running with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, and Nick Begich, a Republican who has won the endorsement of the state GOP and whose grandfather held the seat before Young. On the left, surgeon Al Gross, a 2020 Senate candidate, is running as a nonpartisan, while Mary Peltola, a Democratic former state legislator, is one of four Native Alaskans who are running. …….

    Ivan Moore, a longtime pollster in the state, said the open primary gives a wider variety of candidates — including those who don’t fit their party’s mold — significantly better shots at success.
    ……..
    Moore said his May survey of the race found Palin, Begich, Gross and Claus making it into the top four, when second- and third-choice votes will become real wild cards in the ranked-choice contest. Begich won the eventual ranked-choice contest in a variety of simulations, but Moore said that isn’t guaranteed.
    …. ….
    “I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up snagging the seat for real, through a combination of people who are just being mischievous and wanting to see a situation where Santa Claus wins,” Moore said.
    …….
    ……. Claus (is) running only in the special election to hold the seat for the rest of the year; a slightly smaller crowd of 31 candidates is running for the full term.
    ……..
    Critics worry that the open primary and ranked-choice general election system will confuse voters, particularly because this single House race will require four different elections this year — a primary and a general election for the last few months of Young’s term and a primary and a general election for the two-year term starting in 2023. The special election’s general election and the seat’s regular primary are both scheduled for Aug. 16, meaning voters will be picking one House candidate for the regular term and ranking four candidates for the special election’s monthslong term at the same time.
    …….

    What could possibly go wrong?

    Rip Murdock (e9d557)

  201. These young people have grown up hating the police for enforcing rich white mans racist laws.

    Most of those young people were “rich white people” themselves. None of the Weather Underground or SDS were actual working class people. They were Ivy League and upper/upper-middle class brats with Silent Generation envy for not getting to fight the Nazis in World War II, and inculcated with marxist quasi-religious woo-woo that “the revolution” was coming any time to bring about the glorious communist utopia. That’s why Marcuse was rending his garments so badly in Counterrevolution and Revolt over the failure of the working class to rise up–like all marxist intellectuals, he believed that the proles would naturally go along with their moronic, nihilistic revolution, and was incredibly disenchanted when things like the Hard Hat Riot proved otherwise.

    None of it actually has to do with hating “racism” or any of that other nonsense they’ve been peddling since the New Left took over the Democrats. It’s all been in service of this delusion that if they subvert the existing society and cause it to collapse, utopia will follow.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  202. a Democratic socialist from the city of North Pole, who legally changed his name to Santa Claus.

    Color me shocked that a DSA member would choose to emulate a snow fairy who magically delivers free presents to children every year, with the only condition being that they were “good.” Taking an actual productive member of society as a role model is just, like, late-stage capitalism, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  203. @mg@203 Those aren’t general mug shots, they are mostly fugitive reports and similar. If Pelosi’s husband goes on the lam, maybe they’ll publish his.

    Nic (896fdf)

  204. 2 sets of laws, Nic.
    1- for the elite
    1- for gas using, baby formula hunting middle class hard working tax payers.

    mg (8cbc69)

  205. demented joe: “jump!”

    ‘Exxon Made More Money Than God’: Biden Rips High Gas Prices

    media: “how high?”

    Fed up Massachusetts gas station owner stops selling fuel

    A Massachusetts gas station owner fed up with what he considers attempts by oil companies to fleece customers with outrageously high prices at the pump has stopped selling gas as a protest.

    Reynold Gladu, who has run Ren’s Mobil Service in downtown Amherst for nearly 50 years, drained his tanks earlier this month and has no current plans to refill them.

    “I don’t want to be part of it anymore,” Gladu told The Daily Hampshire Gazette for a story published Tuesday. “This is the biggest ripoff that ever has happened to people in my lifetime.”

    JF (199c5a)

  206. “I was always afraid of dying. Always. It was my fear that made me learn everything I could about my airplane and my emergency equipment, and kept me flying respectful of my machine and always alert in the cockpit.”
    – Brigadier General Chuck Yeager
    Yeager, An Autobiography
    ​Not enough men like him around.

    mg (8cbc69)

  207. Say a right winger had showed up armed at the home of Sotomayor, and previously Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy had warned her that she would “pay the price”.
    Ruh Roe
    Old Chuck could shoot someone on Broadway and no one would give a schiff.

    mg (8cbc69)

  208. @mg@207 Maybe so. I don’t think anyone can say that Napa County isn’t full of the well off, though it does also apply to those who are in the county to work or who happen to be driving through, regardless of socio-economic status. It’s just local government at work in this case, though, not specific favoritism.

    @JF@208 The oil companies almost always make an f-ton of profits. Exxon made 23 bil in 2021. The only year they’ve lost money in recent history was in 2020, because no one was allowed to go anywhere.

    Nic (896fdf)

  209. Biden said, “The idea we’re going to provide – the way to deal with gun safety is to provide teachers with guns in classrooms? There’s a reason why the military takes so long to train somebody. It’s not easy to pick up a rifle or a gun and blow somebody’s brains out.”

    https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/06/11/report-biden-opposes-armed-teachers-because-its-not-easy-blow-someones-brains-out/

    Fortunately the internet still has Biden’s training video:

    Vice President Offers Self-Defense Advice

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj1GaX_-E-E

    Thanks Joe!

    BuDuh (340919)

  210. “Czar” Putin’s “brain”, Aleksandr Dugin believes in Aleister Crowley?!

    Well, that would explain some of Putin’s magical thinking.

    (Aleister Crowley)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  211. Nic (896fdf) — 6/11/2022 @ 4:42 pm

    the oil companies must not be contributing enough to democrats

    i guess they should learn from big tech and media giants how to make an f-ton of profits and not get called out

    but, if they’ve “always” made an f-ton of profits, even during the trump years before covid, maybe always making an f-ton of profits has nothing to do with gas prices

    biden’s narrative is out there, it’s just a question of who’s going to run with it, as if that’s a mystery

    JF (c70d80)

  212. @Rip@214 I do wonder if they aren’t being a bit short sighted. Admittedly, I live in CA which has a rather unique economy, but I know a number of people who drive pick-ups and SUVs and pretty much everyone I know who is looking to buy a new one in the next 5 or so years is looking at hybrid or electric.

    Nic (896fdf)

  213. Rip Murdock (e9d557) — 6/11/2022 @ 4:48 pm

    frackers should trust blue states and a blue president not to lock down again

    (in case you actually want to understand why supply isn’t keeping up with demand — i don’t think you do though)

    JF (c70d80)

  214. @JF@215 chicken/egg problem. But literally a bunch of their profits come from selling gas, so I have to say that that they do in fact have something to do with gas prices (along with sales volume, weather, investment costs, and probably some other stuff I don’t know about despite having spent a Very Boring two hours at a cousin’s wedding sitting next to a Texas energy investment guy who only wanted to talk about energy investment. For. Two. Hours. Though I suppose I could’ve been stuck next to the home micro-brew guy like my brother was, which would’ve probably been almost as bad).

    Nic (896fdf)

  215. “useful idiot” harsh, but clearly both Cheney and Kinzinger were chosen because they were useful “bi-partisan” cover. They were chosen as useful because they could be counted on to bring the never trump hate.

    They are both (false) worshipped now by the 12% of the electorate who hate Trump viscerally, but the minute Cheney or Kinzinger get in the way of a Democrat, they’ll get curb stomped by most of the same people who rain praise on them now. Ask Mitt Romney or the ghost of John McCain how that works

    steveg (8e44d4)

  216. The oil companies almost always make an f-ton of profits. Exxon made 23 bil in 2021

    The US government takes in about $45 billion each year from fuel taxes. State and local get another $52 billion.

    There are also separation fees that amount to tens of billions.

    It’s not clear to me that the oil companies have the greediest hands in the cookie jar.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  217. @Rip@214 I do wonder if they aren’t being a bit short sighted. Admittedly, I live in CA which has a rather unique economy, but I know a number of people who drive pick-ups and SUVs and pretty much everyone I know who is looking to buy a new one in the next 5 or so years is looking at hybrid or electric.

    I bought a hybrid Escape in 2008. Still driving it. Problem is I drive so little it really doesn’t matter.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  218. The much nicer Dana quoted:

    To understand what the committee is up against in terms of breaking through the information bubble surrounding Trump voters, consider the fact that Fox News aired Tucker Carlson’s and Sean Hannity’s shows last night without commercial interruption. So determined was Fox to keep its viewers inside that bubble that it forfeited ad revenue to do so, knowing that a 30-second commercial break would have given some in the audience an opportunity to change the channel and check out the hearing.

    Heaven forfend! Apparently televisions in some households can only have the channel changed during a commercial!

    The Democrats orchestrated an hour long campaign commercial over what amounted to a college keg party that got out of control, and every news network other than Fox carried it. Anyone who has a television could watch it. The next Republican president, who I dearly hope is elected in 2024 should, on January 20, 2025, pardon every last one of the Capitol kerfufflers.

    Merrick Garland and his minions absolutely hate Republicans, but the vast majority of the kerfufflers have been allowed to plead down to a single count of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 or up to six months in prison, or both. Most got off with a fine and time served, and probation. Since most were people of normal means, and some of them were held without bail — punished for crimes for which they had not been convicted — it was simpler to plead to a misdemeanor to get the government behemoth off their backs and out of their lives. This hardly seems commensurate with the oh-so-serious insurrection claims.

    A lot of Republicans wanted serious investigations of the odious Hillary Clinton, but nothing happened to Mr Trump’s defeated opponent. Well, now the Democrats have been going after defeated Republicans, setting a new standard for government pursuit of their enemies. Look for Hunter Biden, at the very least, to be investigated thoroughly, and hearings held concerning whether Joe Biden knew of his son’s dealings with Ukraine, and whether bribery was an issue.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (5a6669)

  219. “useful idiot” harsh, but clearly both Cheney and Kinzinger were chosen because they were useful “bi-partisan” cover. They were chosen as useful because they could be counted on to bring the never trump hate.

    If by “useful idiot” you mean a politician who is not a cynical scoundrel, then maybe. Very few of the Republicans who dared vote for impeachment of conviction even tried to run again. They know that is was not going to be appreciated by the numerous unprincipled people among their voters (and no, being a cult member is not a principle).

    Face it: Trump got a mob to come to Washington and attack the United States Congress. That is “waging war against the United States” and calling it sedition is too polite for my taste. He should be tried and convicted and spend the rest of his misbegotten life in a Supermax. Or maybe exiled to Russia.

    Republicans have two choices: Support the former President in his treason and continuing sedition, or support the United States government. Pick one.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  220. Now, THAT is harsh.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  221. RIP Marine Corps pilot Capt. John Sax (33) and four others who died in a crash of a V-22 Osprey in Imperial County. Sax was the son of former Dodger (1981-88) second baseman Steve Sax.

    The others who died were Cpl. Nathan E. Carlson, 21, of Winnebago, Ill.; Capt. Nicholas P. Losapio, 31, of Rockingham, N.H.; Cpl. Seth D. Rasmuson, 21, of Johnson, Wyo.; and Lance Cpl. Evan A. Strickland, 19, of Valencia, N.M.

    ………..
    Semper Fi!

    Rip Murdock (e9d557)

  222. Frackers are only doing what their investors want, which is to make money.

    Rip Murdock (e9d557)

  223. Fuel taxes are by the gallon.

    The oil companies are each a vertical monopoly, from the oil field to the gas station, and together they are a price-fixing cartel (or oligopoly if you wish). They have essentially no restraints except what the market will. The old ones will think of the long term, while others, such as the domestic frackers we are now seeing, will grab their profits and run.

    nk (9a456d)

  224. As BuDuh noted above:

    Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Jan. 6 rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the assault on the Capitol, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison.

    At the time of his sentencing, Mr Chansley had already been locked up, without bail, for 8 months, so he had less than three years left to go. That was November of 2021, so he’s since served another six months, and should be out of jail by September of 2024, and possibly six months before that, which would be 85% of the sentence served.

    If the Capitol kerfuffle was that f(ornicating) serious, how is it that the most visible ‘offender’ was sentenced to slightly less than 3½ years?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (5a6669)

  225. Mr M wrote:

    Republicans have two choices: Support the former President in his treason and continuing sedition, or support the United States government. Pick one.

    How odd it is, then, that no one has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition.

    What, exactly, is the “continuing sedition” you claim he is undertaking? He has been doing something really, really radical, like exercising his freedom of speech, and criticizing the Biden administration and its ineptness, but that’s not a crime. He has endorsed certain candidates in Republican primaries, some of whom have won and some of whom have lost, but that’s not a crime, either. He has even held campaign-style rallies; those aren’t crimes, either. He has no power other than his money, so how is he engaged in sedition?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (5a6669)

  226. Grew up in this industry; gasoline is just one part of the petroleum industry; oil companies make, on average, about 3 cents a gallon on gasoline; which doesn’t include the local, state and federal taxes listed on the pump sticker; nor varying distribution costs- nor does the idiot POTUS understand the breadth and depth of petro-chemical use across industries worldwide– and he should, given how much of it is bases in Delaware. He’s a complete imbecile and his ignorance is not funny anymore. He’s hurting the country– and his stupidity has to quashed. The costs for oil exploration, drilling, leases, transportation- pipeline and tanker- refining etc., not to mention contracting w/wildcatters, meeting layers of rules/regs/environmental constraints/salaries/leasing and other expenses are all part of the deal. The thousands of employees in the oil biz at Exxon EARNED their profits and paid the taxes which this brain-damaged pile of steaming, smelly POTUS literally gave away- $50 billion of it- to non-U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizen who do not pay U.S. taxes in Ukraine. God’s new accountant can’t be flushed soon enough.

    DCSCA (0d2f48)

  227. @227. Ignorance is bliss. Stay happy.

    DCSCA (0d2f48)

  228. “I trust his judgment.” – Nancy Pelosi.

    This senile old bag has to go, too.

    DCSCA (0d2f48)

  229. grandma vodka wants to be president

    mg (8cbc69)

  230. He has no power other than his money, so how is he engaged in sedition?

    He is crying to his mommy that mean old America’s elections are no better than Russia’s, China’s, Turkey’s, and any number of other sh!tholes in the world, and he is doing it right out in the front yard, and it’s a shame for the neighbors.

    nk (36c508)

  231. And it’s not like he, Trump I mean, is some anonymous commenter on the internet who was never told that the “phase” he went through in boarding school was supposed to be only a phase. He was President of the United States. For our sins.

    nk (36c508)

  232. He has no power other than his money, so how is he engaged in sedition?

    Of course, having power is not a requirement to commit sedition. The fourteen Proud Boys and Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy have no “power”. (Two Oath Keepers have pled guilty).

    Seditious conspiracy (18 U.S. Code § 2384) is

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

    My emphasis.

    Trump could be charged (if there is enough evidence) for seditious conspiracy, but it is also likely he could charged under 18 U.S.C. §371 (criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States):

    On Thursday night, the Committee laid out a seven-part plan orchestrated by Trump and his allies to commit this fraud on the United States government by:

    1. Engaging in a colossal effort to spread false and fraudulent information to the American public claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him;

    2. Corruptly planning to replace the Acting Attorney General with Trump apologist Jeffrey Clark, so that the Department of Justice would substantiate his fake election claims;

    3. Pressuring Vice President Pence to refuse to count or delay the counting of certified electoral votes in violation of the U.S. Constitution and statutory law;

    4. Pressuring state election officials and state legislators to change election results;

    5. Instructing Republicans in multiple states to create false electoral slates and transmit those slates to Congress and the National Archives;

    6. Summoning and assembling a violent mob in Washington and directing them to march on the U.S. Capitol; and

    7. As the violence was underway, ignoring pleas for assistance and failing to take immediate steps to protect the Capitol and stop the violence.

    Trump could also be charged under 18 U.S.C §1512. (Obstructing an official proceeding).

    The theory of the case here is that Trump intentionally interfered with Congress’s certification of the electoral votes for his opponent—despite knowing full well that Biden won.

    Detailed elements and evidence for criminal conspiracy against Donald Trump.

    Rip Murdock (e9d557)

  233. Do you know what a tool, and I mean “tool” with scare quotes, that is to the likes of Putin, Xi, and Erdogan?

    nk (36c508)

  234. Dana-

    Please release my post at 236-not sure why it is in moderation.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  235. BadDana: “What, exactly, is the “continuing sedition” you claim he is undertaking?”

    Usually one episode of sedition is enough. As it appears that you might have been traveling abroad for the past 18 months…maybe in the wilds of Africa on safari…or maybe with only FNC and Hannity to get your hot takes, you might benefit from placing the keg tap down and focusing a bit harder on the alpha sedition….and worry about plucking off betas later. A good primer is my comment #122.

    Though to ease your concern, Kevin’s rhetorical flourish is likely referring to Trump’s continued claim that he is still the rightful President….and that despite losing 60 court cases to the contrary….he remains certain that the election was stolen from him, calling into question the legitimacy of our democracy and its peaceful and ordered transition of power.

    But either way, welcome back from your world travels and thanks for choosing this site for getting back up to speed.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  236. Sedition and treason was what the Obama administration and Clinton did when they used the power of the government to undermine and try and overturn the 2016 election.

    Carry on.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  237. As usual, a fact-free post from NJRob.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  238. …the Obama administration and Clinton did when they used the power of the government to undermine and try and overturn the 2016 election

    How did Obama use “the power of the government” to undermine and overturn the 2016 election?
    Hillary wasn’t even in government in 2016, so how did she do it?
    As I recall, she conceded the next day and mounted no court challenges, but she did whine and grouse about losing, especially after Trump was inaugurated.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  239. AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/11/2022 @ 7:51 pm

    sedition, coup, insurrection, treason

    these are all crimes under the law

    seventeen months later, no one has been charged for any of these

    and no one has been charged with anything at all, other than assault and trespassing and miscellany and only by no names you couldn’t identify in a line up

    so, continue with your bong fueled fantasies of what might have been and what you desperately wish had happened

    this is all in pursuit of a “yeah, but” narrative, as in “yeah trump russia collusion hacked emails election meddling pee bed russian bounties never happened, but hey whaddabout that obstruction of justice and stuff”

    you’re not after sedition, coup, insurrection or treason crimes, cuz you know it’s ridiculous just like you knew trump russia collusion was laughable

    you’re hoping to find something, anything that might stick, maybe possibly — who knows what it is

    the dead giveaway is a comment like this:

    I don’t know who will or will not be charged, the investigation is still open and active.
    Nic (896fdf) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:39 pm

    just listen to yourselves

    you’re like prosecutors in a soviet show trial

    put up, or STFU

    JF (942795)

  240. Leader of Proud Boys and Four Other Members Indicted in Federal Court For Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach

    https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-proud-boys-and-four-other-members-indicted-federal-court-seditious-conspiracy-and

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  241. There was a conspiracy in 2016 to invalidate 37 electors and thus throw the election to the House, but neither Hillary nor Obama were part of it, and Biden, still the Vice-President, was one of the people who stymied it. Actually, those conspirators did better than Trump attempted under Eastman’s plan — Hillary lost 5 electors and Trump lost 2.

    nk (36c508)

  242. sedition, coup, insurrection, treason

    these are all crimes under the law

    seventeen months later, no one has been charged for any of these

    Not just the 5 Proud Boys AJ mentioned, but also 11 Oath Keepers have been charged with seditious conspiracy.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  243. lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/11/2022 @ 8:58 pm

    you couldn’t name any of them, unless their name is Mr. Ham Sandwich

    but ok, I’ll correct my statement as “no one you could name or identify has been charged for any of these”

    I’ve already stipulated up thread that no name knuckleheads committed insurrection

    these nobodies are not who you’re after

    curious if you’ll admit it

    JF (942795)

  244. I’d tell you all to read Nunes’s book as he has the case listed with dates and actions by Obama and his corrupt cronies, but you’ll just say you know better.

    Carry on carrying water.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  245. How did Obama use “the power of the government” to undermine and overturn the 2016 election?

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/14/someone-committed-crime-michael-flynn-case-it-wasnt-him/

    JF (942795)

  246. https://freebeacon.com/columns/the-iran-crisis-is-here/

    Iran has enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon. Last week, David Albright and Sarah Burkhard of the Institute for Science and International Security (the good ISIS) wrote that “Iran’s breakout timeline is now at zero.”

    Swell. How does President Biden respond? He says there is still time to make a deal that even his lead negotiator, State Department official Robert Malley, admits is “tenuous at best.”

    The complacency is maddening. The other day, when a reporter asked National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan for his thoughts on Iran’s dispute with the IAEA, Sullivan said, “From our perspective, we have to view these on separate tracks, and that’s how we’re going to proceed.” Translation: We won’t let Iran’s hostile behavior get in the way of appeasement.

    On June 9, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Iran’s moves against the IAEA are “counterproductive and further complicate our efforts to return to full implementation of the JCPOA.” Also, the sky is blue. What’s Blinken going to do about it? “We continue to press Iran to choose diplomacy and de-escalation instead,” he said.

    This is willful blindness. Iran made its choice. It rejected diplomacy and de-escalation. It opted for confrontation and resistance.

    While Biden and the leftists in DC keep playing their Star Chamber games.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  247. The WSJ has a pretty balanced take on the J6 hearing last Thursday. This is the same editorial board that was full-throated pro-Trump since he was nominated.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  248. I’d tell you all to read Nunes’s book as he has the case listed with dates and actions by Obama and his corrupt cronies, but you’ll just say you know better.

    You made the assertion, Rob, so you back up your comment.
    It’s not a good start, though, citing a hyperpartisan chucklehead like Nunes, but the floor is yours.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  249. JF, Flynn’s lying to the FBI happened well after the election and after Trump was inaugurated.
    I’ll ask you the same question I asked Rob, the same question that he ducked: How did Obama or Hillary use the power of the federal government to undermine or overturn the 2016 election?

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  250. JF, Flynn’s lying to the FBI happened well after the election and after Trump was inaugurated.

    so a senior obama official committing a felony to undermine the incoming administration is okay if done well after the election?

    you mean trump just needed to wait a little longer?

    you have your answer, you just don’t have a response that isn’t laughable

    JF (942795)

  251. how did the senior obama official obtain the classified information that was leaked, montagu?

    JF (942795)

  252. Flynn’s lying to the FBI happened well after the election and after Trump was inaugurated.

    and actually you’re dead wrong, montagu

    the leak was reported by David Ignatius in wapo two weeks before inauguration

    JF (942795)

  253. so a senior obama official committing a felony to undermine the incoming administration is okay if done well after the election?

    What felony?

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  254. Ignatius reported the story on 1/12/2017, Flynn lied to the FBI on 1/24/2017. Stories lies Flynn speaking to a Russian ambassador will out, especially when he wasn’t even the NSA.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  255. Devin Nunes.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  256. these nobodies are not who you’re after

    curious if you’ll admit it

    JF (942795) — 6/11/2022 @ 9:07 pm

    Keep accusing me of stuff you’ve made up in your head.

    Curious if you’ll apologize. Just kidding. I don’t think you’ll apologize any more than I thought Rob would after he falsely accused me of dishonesty in the other thread. (Spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  257. lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/11/2022 @ 10:20 pm

    wading through that comment, I see you’re not agreeing with the others here, such as AJ

    so, I sincerely apologize to you only

    JF (942795)

  258. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/11/2022 @ 10:14 pm

    you’re confusing the lies with the leak of classified info, which is a felony

    don’t say I didn’t answer your question

    JF (942795)

  259. @JF@242 That is literally how investigations work. Suspicious activity takes place and then law enforcement investigates it to see if it was a crime and if so can they determine the responsible parties. Then the prosecutor looks at the results of the investigation to determine if they think they have enough of a case to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt and depending on their judgement about that, they do or do not prosecute. That is the process of law enforcement.

    Nic (896fdf)

  260. #260. Thank you. I accept your apology.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  261. That is literally how investigations work

    But not very well. Still no SCOTUS tagged and bagged.

    DCSCA (0d2f48)

  262. ^leaker

    DCSCA (0d2f48)

  263. @204 I was a member of the tempe peace center. Arizonians for peace. No sds are weathermen mostly middle age and older. The only militant wanting to throw blood on servicemen was a police undercover agent provocatuer. Who a year later we found out was a tempe police officer working undercover. I joined arizonians for peace after my political science teacher was fired from asu football and party school for leading an anti vietnam war march. Funny you don’t mention the rich white kid john lewis beaten up at the edmund pettis bridge or medger evers and viola luisso killed for civil rights. The black panthers were not rich white kids nor were the black protesters beaten and had fire hoses turned on them. How about all of the un-armed black men gunned down by the police. Are they rich white kids?

    asset (97db0e)

  264. They have essentially no restraints except what the market will.

    That’s a big restraint. In fact there are usually no other constraints. THe oil companies do not own all the oil, or all the gas stations, or all the truckers, etc. Everyone knows which brands of gas are cheaper in their area and which are not, and the cheaper brands sell higher volume.

    The price of obtaining raw feedstock (either drilling it themselves or buying from those that do), transportation, refining, trucking, the dealer’s lease, labor costs, federal and state taxes, etc, all factor into the price as it does for all the other oil companies.

    Vertical or not, there is only so much room on the top for profit and if they get too greedy their brands will be the high-cost-least-sold ones.

    To say “all they have are market forces” to limit them is pretty glib, but also pretty meaningless. I could make $1 million/hr if it weren’t for those damn market forces.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  265. How odd it is, then, that no one has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition.

    You weren’t listening Thursday then.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  266. If the Capitol kerfuffle was that f(ornicating) serious, how is it that the most visible ‘offender’ was sentenced to slightly less than 3½ years?

    Maybe he rolled on Trump. I understand that an number of these folks were deeply disappointed that Trump did not issue a mass pardon.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  267. you’re like prosecutors in a soviet show trial

    put up, or STFU

    Trump tried to destroy the constitution because he was convince that “he really won.” Even if he DID really win, what he did was treasonous.

    As you take sides with the treason.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  268. There was a conspiracy in 2016 to invalidate 37 electors and thus throw the election to the House,

    Which is kinda funny as the House would have chosen Trump anyway.

    BTW, I also consider the National Popular Vote Compact to be seditious. My feeling isn’t partisan. I’m actually more annoyed about it as no one calls it that, meaning the treason might succeed.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  269. Treason is spelled REPUBLICAN

    mg (8cbc69)

  270. Many people here use the democrat model – Think Like Me or Else

    mg (8cbc69)

  271. @273 Democrats dont care what you think they only care how you act. You can get more cooperation with a kind word and a cattle prod then you can with just a kind word. B.F. Skinner.

    asset (97db0e)

  272. 31 people arrested for conspiracy to riot in Idaho.
    Interesting to see how these charges play out in the courts.
    If there isn’t very strong evidence the Idaho police seem yo have clearly engaged in prior restraint of speech. The information presented so far isn’t very convincing that the arrests were justified.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coeur-dalene-patriot-front-arrests-pride-u-haul/

    Time123 (171fe8)

  273. nk wrote:

    He has no power other than his money, so how is he engaged in sedition?

    He is crying to his mommy that mean old America’s elections are no better than Russia’s, China’s, Turkey’s, and any number of other sh!tholes in the world, and he is doing it right out in the front yard, and it’s a shame for the neighbors.

    So, it’s not actually sedition, then? He’s expressing his opinion, as any free American has the right to do.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (c6d2c1)

  274. Mr M wrote:

    How odd it is, then, that no one has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition.

    You weren’t listening Thursday then.

    I see that I wasn’t specific enough: no one in a position to levy actual criminal charges has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition. This would exclude the old windbags in Congress bloviating on politics.

    But no, I wasn’t listening to the hour-long campaign commercial the Democrats were conducting, trying to draw people’s attention away from the abject failures of the dummkopf from Delaware’s administration. Of course, being mostly deaf, television doesn’t really do much for me, but even if my hearing was perfect, I wouldn’t have watched that inanity.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (c6d2c1)

  275. Mr M wrote:

    How odd it is, then, that no one has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition.

    You weren’t listening Thursday then.

    Perhaps the Democrats are going to try to impeach him a third time?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (c6d2c1)

  276. Other Dana, Trump lied about fraud, used that lie as a basis to pressure Congress to refuse to certify the election (many in the GOP went along) and to pressure state legislatures to send fraudulent electors. The violent assault on the capitol was in furtherance of that corrupt endeavor.

    If nothing else it would buy him time to continue the with his plot to steal the presidency.

    I hope you care. But I don’t expect you will.

    Time123 (171fe8)

  277. @260, “wading through that comment, I see you’re not agreeing with the others here, such as AJ”

    No I agree with Lurker’s post, proving intent is a steep hill. But if there are provable contacts between the Proud Boys/Oath Keepers and Roger Stone/Steve Bannon and then the Trump team about a plan to physically disrupt the electoral college count, then I could see a potential indictment. I doubt that it’s locked down but that’s why investigations are conducted and people lower in the chain are charged and/or subpoenad in order to gain leverage to unlock private communications.

    I do believe that Trump is at minimum morally culpable for the events of Jan 6th (the dereliction of duty to call off the insurection is pretty plain) and hope that his most fervent supporters might recognize that and quit pushing to inflict him on the GOP again. He should have been impeached and convicted. That was the proper political result if we had a functional GOP and political climate. That failure leads to at minimum a public documentation of who did what and the possibility of criminal charges.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  278. Nic@262 – That’s how they are supposed to work. It’s odd that there’s some sort of pattern to theory not always making it to practice.

    If you’re HRC they skip a few steps and decide not to prosecute, multiple times. If you’re JB’s son they do their best to suppress evidence in case there’s an investigation later (no this isn’t about the laptop). If you’re Granny McBotox or Alec Bladwin they just don’t file charges. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t (😉😉). If you’re BLM they decide not to even investigate. They’re to busy figuring out how and where to kneel. If you riot for BLM, or “the right cause” generally, it will depend on the city with some being willing to give you space. If you’re James Clapper no one even notices the crime.

    I could go on but Barr is right about the two tier thing.

    frosty (cec41f)

  279. Oh and my comment is with regards to sedition…the hill is far less steep for conspiracy to obstruct the certification of the election. There, the bigger question is whether such an indictment will potentially throw the country into chaos — is it in the best interest of the country. I have my opinion on that question but it’s not an easy answer.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  280. The violent assault on the capitol was in furtherance of that corrupt endeavor.

    This is where it breaks down for me. This view implies some sort of prior planning and coordination. I don’t see that.

    I hope you care. But I don’t expect you will.

    Time123 (171fe8) — 6/12/2022 @ 5:50 am

    It’s heartbreaking that people just don’t care as much as you do. Why can’t more people join you as a shining light on the hill? Why is your example of purity and moral righteousness not followed by everyone you interact with?

    frosty (cec41f)

  281. frosty, does nothing that Trump did from after the election through January 6th bother you?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  282. you’re confusing the lies with the leak of classified info, which is a felony

    Which is a still a non-sequitur to my question, JF. The election already happened, and the leak had nothing to with overturning the result.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  283. AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/12/2022 @ 7:15 am

    “yeah, but”

    yeah trump didn’t break the law, but doesn’t what he did bother you?

    since those are the goal posts, when are the primetime hearings about the current president?

    JF (c8dab8)

  284. @285 nope. It’s all “muh principles” dismissal and attempts to change the subject.

    Time123 (92d061)

  285. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/12/2022 @ 7:21 am

    BS

    the leak had everything to do with overturning the election through impeachment

    and trump’s only problem is that he acted a few weeks too soon?

    JF (942795)

  286. JF, good job @287 conflating conversations. I want to know if frosty sees any ethical or legal problems with what Trump did post election? I don’t want to assume his position. The problem with these discussion boards is that people do pick and choose what they respond to and spend a lot of time on tedious details without actually stating a position. Then we go in circles about what was or wasn’t said. Does frosty believe that arranging the alternative slate of electors was a crime? Now maybe the answer is that he doesn’t feel qualified enough to render an opinion. Fine. But then is it at all troubling to someone who is a non-lawyer type?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  287. @285 Yes. And I’ve said this before. I just don’t have a problem with the same things or think they are as important as you seem to.

    I feel like we’ve tried this before though. Did we have the NRA back and forth where you decided I was just to extreme?

    @288 Please never stop being you. You do the best job of proving the board rules are selectively applied than any other commenter.

    frosty (cec41f)

  288. Paul: “The election already happened, and the leak had nothing to with overturning the result.”

    JF: “the leak had everything to do with overturning the election through impeachment”

    Except of course impeachment wouldn’t have made Clinton the President. That aside, you’re making some really big logical jumps. An accusation of impropriety is not quite the same as a plan to change the electoral vote count and change an election outcome. For your claim, you need an adversarial investigation which produces evidence of wrongdoing, followed by an impeachment hearing, and if impeached, a trial in the Senate which requires a super-majority vote for conviction, which in this case meant sufficient bipartisan agreement. That’s quite the process to draw an equivalency.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  289. asset (97db0e) — 6/12/2022 @ 12:46 am

    This whole comment is marxist cope.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  290. It was somewhat cold (66 degrees now) in Brooklyn this morning, with a slight almost drizzle, but in the 90s in Minnesota.

    It had been predicted there might be some rain in the afternoon, especially south and west of the city.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  291. “Yes. And I’ve said this before. I just don’t have a problem with the same things or think they are as important as you seem to.”

    Quite opaque. Are you comfortable with the GOP renominating Trump? Do you trust TRump to follow the law in the future?

    “I feel like we’ve tried this before though”

    I look at it as one last shot at civil and productive discourse. You can make interesting points….it just always seems to devolve into being argumentative (like nit-picking the NRA’s own stated requirements for red flag laws)

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  292. the leak had everything to do with overturning the election through impeachment
    and trump’s only problem is that he acted a few weeks too soon?

    No, that’s BS. The phone call between Flynn and the Russian Ambassador alarmed national security officials who were already investigating Putin’s meddling in our election.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  293. Also, the leak had nothing to do with undermining the election–because it was over, Trump won–and had nothing to do with reversing the result, because Hillary conceded and Obama went through the transition process without objection.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  294. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/12/2022 @ 8:32 am

    you sound very distressed about the felony that occurred and the breach of the rule of law

    though i’ll bet this is new information to you and you’ll need time to digest

    but anyway let’s track down the SCOTUS leaker first

    JF (77f1a7)

  295. Trump is at minimum morally culpable for the events of Jan 6th (the dereliction of duty to call off the insurrection is pretty plain) and hope that his most fervent supporters might recognize that and quit pushing to inflict him on the GOP again

    As far as I can see, they’re firmly committed to these propositions:
    * Trump did nothing wrong, ever.
    * 1/6 was a legitimate protest of a stolen election.
    * Everyone who attests that it wasn’t stolen is either a Deep State traitor, or delusional, or just trying to get airtime on CNN.
    * Anything bad that happened on 1/6 was either part of a false flag operation or a consequence of patriots being goaded by FBI operatives.
    * All the investigations of 1/6 and the criminal prosecutions are nothing but a political attack on conservatives.
    * It’s absurd to think that a guy putting his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk was a threat to democracy.
    * No none cares; it’s all a distraction at best.
    A lot of people chose to believe that Donald Trump is a pure-hearted patriot who is heroically, selflessly committed to defending ordinary Americans and saving the constitutional republic, and that he’s been up against a vast machinery of institutionalized evil in his noble crusade — which means that those people have already chosen to disregard some of the most obvious facts about Trump, and build a myth that’s absurd on its face. Some of them have adamantly argued their case publicly. I expect that many of them will choose to maintain their own myth about the heroic virtue of Trump and the perfidy of all his critics and opponents, rather than admit that the NeverTrumpers got some important things right.

    Radegunda (c15743)

  296. Radegunda (c15743) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:10 am

    straw man flash mob alert

    JF (77f1a7)

  297. Referencing my post in 273 about the people arrested for conspiracy to riot by the Idaho police. I checking out a few more news stories.

    -The group is being reported as Patriot Front, and that many people came from out of state.
    -The event in question was a pride rally and a number of counter protestors were present, based on other reporting it was ‘mostly peaceful’ with some counter protestors being arrested / restrained by the police. I think this is relevant because it indicates the police were not attempting to stop all counter protests. To me this makes it more likely they had a reason to suspect there was a conspiracy to riot.

    Still would like to see what evidence they acted on to arrest this group before any actual crimes were committed. I think there’s a *very* fine line being walked by the police in this incident.

    Time123 (30afd3)

  298. Paul Sperry had a point about Carter Page, but not Manafort, which is why Paul Sperry is a hack.
    It wasn’t the Steele dossier that informed the FBI that Manafort delivered internal polling data to a Russia spy, or that proved he was getting millions under the table from the pro-Putin Party of Regions, or that Manafort was trying to get into the good graces of one of Putin’s pet oligarchs (Deripaska).

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  299. you sound very distressed about the felony that occurred and the breach of the rule of law

    Leaks happen all the time, and you’re really just deflecting with your ongoing non-sequitur.
    If they catch the leaker, then the person should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, just like rioters should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, whether they’re MAGA Nation zealots or BLM/Antifa. One standard, no?

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  300. Interesting to see where this goes, if anywhere.

    🚨NEWS: We have a deal. Today a bipartisan group of 20 Senators (10 D and 10 R) is announcing a breakthrough agreement on gun violence – the first in 30 years – that will save lives.

    I think you’ll be surprised at the scope of our framework.

    1/ Here’s what it includes:

    https://twitter.com/chrismurphyct/status/1536013602846560256?s=21&t=0ju37NxgEijUS1bV-hMKgg

    Time123 (30afd3)

  301. When I think about all the hardline Trumpists who are still believing his “stolen” election and “massive fraud” lines, this quote from Mark Twain comes to mind…

    “It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.”

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  302. When Andrew McCarthy’s right, he’s right.

    Unlike Congress, whose proceedings were obstructed on Jan. 6, the Supreme Court is a non-political branch of government. Section 1507 makes it a crime to protest at the homes of not only judges but also jurors and witnesses in federal cases. That’s because our constitutional system insulates judicial proceedings from politics. There is no free-expression right to influence court cases. Violence is not our “red line” when it comes to the judiciary.

    To put it another way, it is a crime to be present in a restricted area where a Supreme Court justice resides for even more obvious reasons than it is a crime to be present in a restricted area where Congress meets, and where officials protected by the Secret Service occasionally visit. Illegal presence near justices’ homes not only creates a patent threat to the safety of the justices and their families; it creates a severe risk that court cases will be decided based on fear and intimidation, rather than the rule of law.

    The Biden Justice Department is aggressively prosecuting the people who were unlawfully present at the Capitol but won’t touch the people unlawfully present at the justices’ residences. This has nothing to do with violence. The only distinction is that those unlawfully present at the Capitol on Jan. 6 are the Democrats’ political enemies, while those unlawfully present at the homes of the justices are the Democrats’ political allies.

    As to the latter, Biden administration officials, like their fellow Democrats and progressives, evidently are fine with intimidating the justices if that’s what it takes to prevail in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case.

    That is the inference that can be drawn when law enforcement fails to arrest and charge the so-called protesters in front of judges’ residence, which are acts that are every bit as illegal as breaching the barriers at the Capitol.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  303. 36. Nic (896fdf) — 6/10/2022 @ 2:44 pm

    @Sammy@33 They said that she’s doing an intelligence analysis program currently.

    Please explain.

    I think this was scheduled for now. not to help Democrats, but to help Liz Cheney. But it won’t help much, because she’s not attentive to what is probable and what is not – and even then, it has to reach people.\\The Wall Street Journal has a pretty good editorial on the hearings this weekend
    , although I don’t agree with every word.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-evidence-of-the-jan-6-committee-donald-trump-2020-election-mike-pence-11654896141

    The big problem is this idea that Donald Trump was responsible for everything that the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers did. Yes, the foot soldiers thought they were acting at Trump\s direction, but a lot of other things indicate that the leaders were not. People close to Trump were trying to keep some people away from him.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  304. I really like a lot of Larry Corriea’s books.

    But this is just celebrating terrorism, and ignoring everything else because you’re happy that terror was evoked.

    The ugly truth the beltway can’t grasp, it isn’t that regular America doesn’t care about Jan6. It’s that they hate you for making their lives miserable, so when they saw you cowering, they thought good, now they know how it feels to be afraid.

    https://twitter.com/monsterhunter45/status/1535297857208520704?s=21&t=0ju37NxgEijUS1bV-hMKgg

    Time123 (30afd3)

  305. Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:19 am

    Manafort delivered internal polling data to a Russia spy, or that proved he was getting millions under the table from the pro-Putin Party of Regions, or that Manafort was trying to get into the good graces of one of Putin’s pet oligarchs (Deripaska)

    But that’s as far as it went.\\\He did not want to become a Russia spy, especially for the low amount of money he would get. He kept dangling that, though.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  306. In a nutshell, Radegunda.

    Dana (1225fc)

  307. Time: “I think there’s a *very* fine line being walked by the police in this incident.”

    Yeah at first I thought guns might have been the trigger but it looks like it’s riot gear (shields, one smoke grenade). And all but one protestor was from Idaho (One as far away as Virginia!). I’m with you though that “conspiracy to riot” is a bit of a stretch….because it can look a whole lot like 1A protesting prior to any violence. I think they also arrested a minister for using a sound-amplifying device to…well…minister to the crowd of heathens. Not sure if that is a thing either unless the local disturbing the peace ordinance is that specific. Anyways, an awful lot of planning for people not even from Idaho!

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  308. AJ, I suspect you’re right. But I’m less concerned about what 30 really hateful bigots are going to do then the precedent around conspiracy to riot. Maybe it’s a regional bias but if this had happened in San Fransico or some other deep blue area I’d be a *lot more* skeptical that this was legitimate.

    On the other hand, 30 men so motivated by hatred/bigotry that they travel across the states to start a brawl isn’t great.

    Time123 (30afd3)

  309. Senators strike bipartisan gun deal, heralding potential breakthrough
    ……..
    Under the tentative deal, a federal grant program would encourage states to implement “red flag” laws that allow authorities to keep guns away from people found by a judge to represent a potential threat to themselves or others, while federal criminal background checks for gun buyers under 21 would include a mandatory search of juvenile justice records for the first time.

    It does not include a provision supported by President Biden, congressional Democrats and a handful of Republicans that would raise the minimum age for the purchase of at least some rifles from 18 to 21. Handguns are already subject to a federal 21-and-over age limit.

    Other provisions could funnel billions of new federal dollars into mental health care and school security programs, funding new campus infrastructure and armed officers. Several senators last week said they expected one cornerstone of the deal would be legislation sponsored by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to establish a nationwide network of “community behavioral health clinics.”
    ………
    The framework announced Sunday amounts to a statement of principles, not a fully written bill. While people involved in the process said last week that significant chunks of the legislation have already been written, new points of friction frequently arise in Congress as the drafting process is finalized.
    ………
    In recent decades, Washington has acted mainly to expand gun rights. In 2005, for instance, Congress immunized the firearms industry against product liability lawsuits, and in 2008, the Supreme Court enshrined an individual’s right to possess guns in the landmark case D.C. v. Heller. A 2013 push in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting to expand background checks to cover more gun transactions, including gun-show and internet sales, fell six votes short in the Senate.
    ………

    All sound and fury, signifying nothing.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  310. In 2016, what there was was an attempt to get genuine electors to cast their votes for other people than they were pledged to.

    he WSJ wrote:

    The committee calls “Jan 6 an “attempted coup” That makes it seem as if there was a chance of success. There wasn’t. It was an impossible plan hatched by screwballs, and it would have gone down as such if the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers hadn’t breached the Capitol.

    (If theywould have stopped the certification it would have made Nancy Pelosi Acting President. So Trump’s gosal was to have states send replacement certificates. Which some Republican legislators had told Giulinani they could do if they another day or two. No one had the votes for any part of the Eastman plan, and it wasn’t legally feasible anyway. Trump later. in August, 2021, wanted people to get behind a plan to recall the Electors which Mo Brooks did not go along with.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  311. @315, there are real improvements in that framework. The extra funding for mental health alone will have an impact.

    Time123 (30afd3)

  312. Paul: “That is the inference that can be drawn when law enforcement fails to arrest and charge the so-called protesters in front of judges’ residence”

    I think this needs to go to court for clarification. The question is threshold. I view targeting the individual at his personal dwelling and the family that lives with him as harassment with the intent to influence a judicial proceeding. So no milling about with signs even. I’m ok with protests at the Court itself, provided the justices, lawyers, and other court attendees can safely enter and exit the building. I think that is a time-honored tradition. The test is what is your opinion if you turn the facts around. It’s 8 years in the future. Dems hold the White House and Senate and are poised to turn the Court and reverse Heller….are you (Democrats) OK with the same level of pressure on your liberal justices?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  313. Still would like to see what evidence they acted on to arrest this group before any actual crimes were committed. I think there’s a *very* fine line being walked by the police in this incident.

    Time123 (30afd3) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:17 am

    Law enforcement should let these “conspirators” actually commit a crime rather than prematurely arresting them in advance.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  314. But that’s as far as it went.

    That’s as far as the FBI could take it, Sammy, because Kilimnik was ensconced in Russia where there is no extradition treaty to extract him.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  315. @315, there are real improvements in that framework. The extra funding for mental health alone will have an impact.

    Time123 (30afd3) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:57 am

    LOL! How would you measure success?

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  316. According to a CDC survey, the number of teenagers aged 13-17 in New York state who identify as transgender is 3% and the next highest state is New Mexico, and the rate nationwide has doubled in the last 4 or 5 years, and it is different for different age groups.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/science/transgender-teenagers-national-survey.html

    This is a reducto ad absurdum for the idea this is something natural and real, but they don’t realize it.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  317. Rip, Maybe. Depends on what their evidence is. I think if they have documented plans to commit violence I’d be ok with it. But if it’s easily explained as hyberbole and bravado I think it’s a very weak case. Hope it continues to be covered.

    Time123 (b900e0)

  318. I hope you care. But I don’t expect you will.

    Anything is acceptable to get the cult leader back in power. No collateral damage is of interest. What they miss is EVEN IF TRUMP IS RIGHT and the election WAS stolen, his actions were still crimial. He waged war against the United States Congress, sending a mob to threaten harm if they went through with their constitutional duties.

    It really isn’t the fraud that is at issue, it is the methods he use, even if he was right, that are inexcusable. The election was conducted legally and the electoral votes cast as prescribed by law and the constitution.

    The threat of force against that process is criminal, regardless of the correctness of the grievance. That’s why we have courts. He didn’t like the result in court, but what he did is as wrong as busting an innocent man out of prison.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  319. Peggy Noonan has a column about progressives and crime.

    I think the problem is that they don’t believe in deterrence in part because they don’t believe in moral capital. They would expect that, say, if no incarceration resulted in more crime the effect would be immediaate.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  320. Very few of the “mentally ill” commit mass shootings.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  321. The test is what is your opinion if you turn the facts around. It’s 8 years in the future. Dems hold the White House and Senate and are poised to turn the Court and reverse Heller….are you (Democrats) OK with the same level of pressure on your liberal justices?

    I’ll go even further, AJ. I think it’s inappropriate for any so-called protesters to picket and chant in front of any public officials’ residences, no matter the political stripe, because these officials have families to keep safe, though it may not be illegal (but is politically counterproductive and prone to political backfire), but I think there is a good case that picketing in front of a Supreme Court Justice’s house breaks the law and can hold up in court, doesn’t matter which Justice’s house.
    P.S. I do plead guilty to run-on sentences.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  322. I see that I wasn’t specific enough: no one in a position to levy actual criminal charges has charged Mr Trump with either treason or sedition.

    Well, I doubt that you would be OK with him being charged. There is an active DoJ investigation, and we don’t know what they’ve been told by all the people they have arrested, tried and sentenced. Some of those people are really pissed off about the lack of a blanket pardon.

    Nor do we know what all those depositions said. Again, an active investigation and unlike those blovating politicians, the DoJ serves its indictments cold.

    I expect that Trump will be charged with some crime, one that would disqualify him from federal office would be best, but maybe they can’t prove it. The lack of proof, beyond a resaonable doubt, doesn’t mean he’s innocent or even that he’d win a defamation suit against someone who called him a traitor.

    We’ll see. Right now he should be thinking about announcing his retirement, or taking the Spiro Agnew deal.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  323. Gun control bill: Nobody;s challenging any of pieties. Acts like it can be predicted by experts or by broad categories.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  324. Very few of the “mentally ill” commit mass shootings.

    If it were true that they did, Los Angeles would be a shooting gallery. Or at least one with guns.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  325. Nothing about getting rid of some guns – period — and relies on red flag laws, which won’t work in the real world, rather than green light laws which would.

    Possibly useful but probably watered down so much as to be almost worthless:: Some gesture against straw buyers.

    And it won’t pass in its current form.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  326. The last thing metal health professionals want is to be charged with predicting who is dangerous. They disclaim all ability to do so. So this will be mostly a waste of money.

    And they slso don’t want to discourage people from becoming clients.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  327. DCSCA (0d2f48) — 6/11/2022 @ 6:13 pm

    gave away- $50 billion of it- to non-U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizen who do not pay U.S. taxes in Ukraine.

    So according to you the only reason for the federal government to spend money is to buy votes. But aid to Ukraine does buy votes.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  328. Rip, there’s no silver bullet (forgive the pun). There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles. So if you pivot to “assault rifles” then you’re really just banning cosmetic features as non-assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols accommodate higher-capacity magazines, most rifles will have a higher muzzle velocity than a handgun (are more damaging to the body), and the features that make them attractive to mass shooters are features that make them attractive for self defense….especially for women who might prefer the lower weight and recoil of an AR-15 for instance. However you feel about it, you lose a lot of consensus once you wade into the AR-15 pool at this moment in time.

    The other reality is that most mass shootings have involved handguns so maybe it’s good to first target mental health, red flag law funding, enhanced background checks for those under 21, protections for disgruntled ex’s, etc. Do things most people agree about. Not fool proof but hopefully progress. Higher capacity magazines could be a future initiative that probably has more support but states can handle that if they want.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  329. “Very few of the “mentally ill” commit mass shootings.”

    Yes, but many of the recent shooters have problems that, if treated, might help sniff them out or prevent them from acting. Uvalde, Buffalo, Columbine….finding troubled individuals and keeping them from guns seems to be a wise action.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  330. The superintendent of the Texas school district where 19 students and two teachers were fatally shot said Thursday that the district will hire more police officers in the fall but released no information about the investigation.

    https://wgntv.com/news/texas-school-shooting/uvalde-superintendent-says-district-to-hire-more-police/

    lol. lmao.

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  331. AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/11/2022 @ 1:56 pm

    As I read Trump’s reactions to the January 6th committee claims, I’m struck by the fact that he is still peddling the “stolen election” meme. And a good number of people still accept his claims despite no reputable journalistic outlet

    To a lot odf peole there is no such thing as a reputable media outlet.I think it’s a mistake to argue from authority without attempting to expose the flaws in the claims. The latest is the 2,000 mules.

    being able to substantiate it. The committee even showed via his text message to team Trump that Sean Hannity was trying to push Trump off of the “big lie”.

    It’s not clear exactly what Sean |Hannity was referring to when he said “crazy talk” or even who was saying the crazy talk – just that there weas something of that nature going on — and they didn’t attempt to close the argument.

    Now we’ve seen Trump hold onto memes before. He was an original “Birther”

    No he wasn’t. He only started in 2011.I thought at first he genuinely believed this.

    and grudgingly…almost painfully….disgorged that one going into the 2016 election.

    No he backed down as soon as Obama produced a picture of a copy released by the state of Hawaii of hid official birth certificate, dated April 25, 2011.

    Except that he later tried not to back down. He claimed he wasn’t arguing it any more. He wanted it booth ways.

    \\\But the question is, what drives this current mania. Is it

    A. This is just Trump trolling and it’s more an inside message to his supporters that he’s a fighter and will continue to mess with the mainstream media.

    B. This is just part of the big grift. Most people consume partisan media. These sourses are more sympathetic to conspiracy theory memes and so give people a handful of talking points that are sufficient to generate doubt. Trump plays on this doubt and continues to fund raise off of this doubt.

    C. Trump is a sociopath who genuinely believes that the only way he could have lost was if the other side cheated. He’s too much of a winner and people love him far too much to have been beaten fairly by Biden.

    D. Trump has a deeper cognitive impairment that makes him susceptible to fanciful arguments like those coming from Mike Lindell or Sidney Powell.

    E. Some unknowable combination of the above.

    It’s basically, “Never, never, never, give in and say you were wrong…What will his believers think of him if her admits he was wrong??

    The safe pick is “E” though I would probably go with “C” because of his resistance to even his closest advisors wanting him to move on. It has to be more than just the grift or day-to-day trolling…..

    It’s F. Be believes other people believe that. He knows a lot of people do not follow the details, but they follow an argument from authority – he wants people who endorse him to be that authority.

    Trumpp tends to mention the stolen election only as afterthought.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  332. 336. Itwould be better to have quicker lockdowns, and no children near the entrances and openable exits

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  333. …….. finding troubled individuals and keeping them from guns seems to be a wise action.

    There is a difference between being “troubled” and those who are planning mass shootings. Most aren’t troubled, but do hold antisocial views. Psychology and psychiatry aren’t sophisticated enough to make the distinction.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  334. Inflation skyrocketed from April-May because the Federl Reserve Board decided to “fight” it.

    Higher interest rates result in higher costs and diminished supply

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  335. AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/12/2022 @ 8:14 am

    Comfortable is a vague word. Other than constitutionally defined eligibility requirements and some embedded non-democratic features in the primary process, I’ve got no issues with either party nominating whoever the political process spits out. This is how voting and the democratic process works. I wouldn’t describe this in terms of comfortable but I understand why other people do. This is part of the different POV I mentioned.

    I feel like Trump will do whatever he can get away with that serves his interests. I don’t think this is different in kind from any other politician at that level. I haven’t been opaque about this view.

    I didn’t nit pick the NRA. I have a different opinion and I gave it. You wanted to play a version of hide the ball and create some sort of gotcha. I didn’t want to play along. If you’d have wanted an actual discussion you could have just linked to the NRA info and asked the question. The good faith approach would have been “here’s the NRA position, do you agree or disagree and why”. I responded to that question. You still would have been able to dismiss my response as more extreme than the NRA.

    frosty (2d21b4)

  336. There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles.

    Which of course is clearly unconstitutional, and that’s a good thing. I was mocking the Senators for thinking that mental health funding and red flag laws would do anything.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  337. 68. Time123 (6d813e) — 6/10/2022 @ 4:40 pm

    Trump tried to steal the presidency after losing the election.

    The violent assault on the capital on Jan 6 was in furtherance of that.

    Ostensibly, but they destroyed his plans (which were screwball anyway) and the people who plsnned it may have been hoping for a civil war, or that Trump would declare martial law or maybe just that they would make money.

    So were the lies about fraud

    So was pressuring state legislatures to send fraudulent electors

    So was pressuring Pence to refuse to count valid electors.

    All those were part of Trump’s plan.

    But he needed positive acts on the part of Mike Pence, not a disruption of the meeting of Congress. He wasn’t trying to hand the presidency to Nancy Pelosi, which s=is what would have been the result if certification would have been prevented through January 20.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  338. He has no power other than his money, so how is he engaged in sedition?

    Of course, having power is not a requirement to commit sedition. The fourteen Proud Boys and Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy have no “power”. (Two Oath Keepers have pled guilty).

    Seditious conspiracy (18 U.S. Code § 2384) is:

    If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

    My emphasis. There is a case to made that Trump conspired “ to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States…..”.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  339. Sammy Finkelman (b434ee) — 6/12/2022 @ 10:43 am

    There is no such thing as a reputable media outlet that can be used as a basis for an argument from authority. The media outlets and leading journalism schools are completely responsible for this. This is what happens when journalists openly claim their role is shaping public opinion.

    frosty (a5d6fa)

  340. Trump could charged under 18 U.S.C. §371 (criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States) by:

    1. Engaging in a colossal effort to spread false and fraudulent information to the American public claiming the 2020 election was stolen from him;

    2. Corruptly planning to replace the Acting Attorney General with Trump apologist Jeffrey Clark, so that the Department of Justice would substantiate his fake election claims;

    3. Pressuring Vice President Pence to refuse to count or delay the counting of certified electoral votes in violation of the U.S. Constitution and statutory law;

    4. Pressuring state election officials and state legislators to change election results;

    5. Instructing Republicans in multiple states to create false electoral slates and transmit those slates to Congress and the National Archives;

    6. Summoning and assembling a violent mob in Washington and directing them to march on the U.S. Capitol; and

    7. As the violence was underway, ignoring pleas for assistance and failing to take immediate steps to protect the Capitol and stop the violence.

    Trump could also be charged under 18 U.S.C §1512. (Obstructing an official proceeding).

    The theory of the case here is that Trump intentionally interfered with Congress’s certification of the electoral votes for his opponent—despite knowing full well that Biden won.

    Detailed elements and evidence for criminal conspiracy against Donald Trump.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  341. @Sammy@309 IIRC you had asked why the woman police officer wasn’t still in uniform and had speculated possible PTSD. I think they had said she had gone back to grad school.

    @Sammy@332 The last thing metal health professionals want is to be charged with predicting who is dangerous Depends on what you mean by predict. For a lot of mental health workers, a significant part of their job is determining whether a person is a danger to themselves or someone else. In my district earlier this year we probably prevented a school shooting because the student’s counselor, the Dean of student, and I had all seen concerns and worked extensively with the student for years when he was younger, so that when a concerning event came up and looked into, there was enough background info from when we had him to determine that yes, it was a significant problem.

    @Davethulu@336 Maybe they should just unhire the current group and then hire different police officers. Maybe ones who want to protect children.

    Nic (896fdf)

  342. Very few of the “mentally ill” commit mass shootings.

    Not true. Of the 128 mass shootings that involved 3-plus deaths, exactly half had confirmed prior signs of mental illness. To me, that’s more than enough reason for well-crafted red flag laws.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  343. It is an interesting correlation: As much as Trumpers don’t believe Trump has done anything warranting an investigation, let alone prosecution, and that any effort to do either is obviously part of a rigged system that is persecuting him, so too is an election with MAGA candidates who lose. They can’t possibly lose because they were crap candidates and voters don’t want them, any loss is obviously the result of a rigged election. Similarly, any investigation into Trump can’t be for any reason other than persecution and not because he broke the law and attempted to overthrow an election, etc.

    Their operating premise is that any election loss or any unwanted impact on MAGA is obviously the fault of X.

    Dana (1225fc)

  344. frosty: “I feel like Trump will do whatever he can get away with that serves his interests. I don’t think this is different in kind from any other politician at that level.”

    So you would likely vote for Trump in a 2024 primary and then, if he advances, in the general? There’s nothing disqualifying in his actions or with what has been reported about his governance style that would give you pause with Trump. He is just a politician, no better and no worse than contemporaries that have run for the office previously?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  345. @349 Haven’t some Trump backed candidates been losing elections. For example, I haven’t noticed the big outcry that Kemp was obviously the fault of some big conspiracy theory. It seems like most of these lost elections are discussed here.

    On the other hand I have noticed some discussion about Liz’s poll numbers being the fault of X. And I’ve noticed a lot of talk about trumpers running dissenters out of the party as part of some big coordinated plan.

    frosty (2f4f14)

  346. @306. They agreed to get in a room and fart in a windstorm– then go home to constituents and cry, ‘See, we did something.’ Which is nothing.

    @333. But aid to Ukraine does buy votes.

    Ukrainian citizens don’t vote in America, Sammy. Aid to American citizens buys a helluva lot more votes, Sammy– if they bother to vote at all for these clowns.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  347. In 2016, what there was was an attempt to get genuine electors to cast their votes for other people than they were pledged to.

    This is underhanded, but it does not rise to the same thing as perverting the counting of electoral vote ballots by attempting to get states to ignore their own elections.

    If you want to compare Jan 6th to an equally seditious conspiracy, look to the Popular Vote Compact.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  348. Peggy Noonan has a column about progressives and crime.

    Pfft. One of Pegster’s first gigs was as a street reporter for CBS Radio the night John Lennon was murdered w/a gun. [Have her anguished reporting on tape BTW]… Today, she lives in protected surroundings and her workplace has plenty of private security. The Reagan Magpie is totally irrelevant in 2022.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  349. but anyway let’s track down the SCOTUS leaker first

    Six weeks. Nothing.

    Bring on ‘The Dancing Alitos.’

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  350. green light laws which would.

    “Red light” laws can work, if they are the product of due process and for actual infractions either in severity or in number. We do this with drivers. We don’t actually stop them from driving but we make driving with a suspended license a crime (and it should have steeper penalties).

    Green light laws have a tendency to be green for only a few, like getting a handgun permit in NYC. If it was presumptive issue, like we do with drivers licenses, then maybe. A positive statement of a Right should not be restricted more than a card denoting a Privilege.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  351. So, it’s not actually sedition, then? He’s expressing his opinion, as any free American has the right to do.

    It depends. Does widdums want a hug? Ice cream? For mommykins to burn down Congress?

    nk (36c508)

  352. Bring on ‘The Dancing Alitos.’

    I’m sure this means something to you …. wait. I don’t want to know.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  353. And I’ve noticed a lot of talk about trumpers running dissenters out of the party as part of some big coordinated plan.

    It’s closer to that Donald Sutherland scene at the end of “Body Snatchers”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  354. There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles.

    Sure there is. But the powers that be lack the will to do it.

    There is no such thing as a reputable media outlet that can be used as a basis for an argument from authority. The media outlets and leading journalism schools are completely responsible for this. This is what happens when journalists openly claim their role is shaping public opinion

    Don’t blame the messengers for dunces like Reagan or imbeciles like Biden. Blame the two major parties who front these empty vesseled windbags and their minions [‘I trust his judgment- Nancy Pelosi’; ‘It’s voodoo economics’ GHWB] — which is why populism, the folks repeatedly seduced and abandoned, keeps rooting deeper and deeper, folks fed up storm the castle and fellas like Trump can win. And can win again.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  355. @358. The world knows… catch-up:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQezL9pLUN4

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  356. Here in NM most of the Trumpers lost at the state level (hard to say about the part-time legislature), but one was running unopposed for the GOP nomination for Secretary of State. I expect her “Stolen Election” campaign theme will go nowhere.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  357. The world knows… catch-up:

    I’m sure Jar Jar Binks had witty catch-phrases, too.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  358. And I’ve noticed a lot of talk about trumpers running dissenters out of the party as part of some big coordinated plan.

    Closer to 1964.

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  359. Don’t blame the messengers for dunces like Reagan or imbeciles like Biden. Blame the two major parties who front these empty vesseled windbags and their minion

    Reagan will be on Mount Rushmore-adjacent, along with FDR. Biden will be with Carter at Camp Grenada.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  360. @363. And we’re certain Zealot Alito can dance to TL’s Vatican Rag:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvhYqeGp_Do

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  361. Higher interest rates result in higher costs and diminished supply

    That is an effect, but hardly a meaningful one. The near-tripling of fuel costs since Jan 2021 drives a lot of costs much higher.

    Though I can’t for the life of me figure out why eggs cost $3 a dozen.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  362. And I’m certain that you and Soupy Sales have a fine dialog.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n43zAbwtiaI

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  363. Reagan will be on Mount Rushmore-adjacent, along with FDR.

    Doubt it; Norquist is on a quest; dogs mark their territory:

    http://www.ronaldreaganlegacyproject.org/

    And you already have FDR’s memorial in your pocket: The Roosevelt Dime.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  364. Though I can’t for the life of me figure out why eggs cost $3 a dozen.

    Reaganomics.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  365. Their operating premise is that any election loss or any unwanted impact on MAGA is obviously the fault of X.
    Dana (1225fc) — 6/12/2022 @ 11:40 am

    who is saying this, other than John Q Strawman?

    do you have any names?

    and it’s not the fault of X

    it’s the fault of trump russia collusion election meddling steele dossier hacked emails

    oh wait… wrong election

    JF (040edb)

  366. I think what most committed NeverTrumpers don’t realize is that most people have figured out this is the same game that DC has been playing since Trump won the nomination in 2016 and then somehow, against all odds, beat the heir apparent in Hillary.

    This is just Cloudstrike, Russian collusion, impeachment all over again. And some just want to keep shoving that square peg into a round hole and wonder why everyone else isn’t going along with it. People don’t need to like Trump or even agree with him to realize this is about his voters and telling them to shut up and give up rather than fight for the nation they want.

    NJRob (33886e)

  367. @342. Bunk. Er:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwwD0MwQo5w

    “What the Supreme Court sez ain’t got nuttin’ to do with the law!”

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  368. People don’t need to like Trump or even agree with him to realize this is about his voters and telling them to shut up and give up rather than fight for the nation they want.

    Then goddam pick someone to lead who isn’t a narcissistic spoiled child who is willing to do the work. This is a man who doesn’t understand how government works, won’t listen to those that do or learn it himself, fires everyone who says NO or YOU’RE WRONG, and ends up with senile hacks like Giuliani or lower companions like MTG.

    He talks a lot, but that’s not fighting. When it comes to fighting he’s nowhere to be seen and when it doesn’t go right he blames other people.

    There are lots of people who can take the policies he’s expressed and move them forward with competence. Find one. But if you guys keep pushing this POS as the Messiah, you’re going to get #NeverTrump up your ass with extra hot peppers.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  369. *UNwilling

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  370. “I’m sure Jar Jar Binks had witty catch-phrases, too.”

    Nailed it. DCSCA is the Jar Jar Binks of patterico.com.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  371. 374,

    100%.

    Dana (1225fc)

  372. @374. Then goddam pick someone to lead who isn’t a narcissistic spoiled child who is willing to do the work.

    ROFLMAOPIP: Been there; done that, and sure as hell would say, ‘goddam it,’ too:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC6z0nz03JI

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  373. I think he gets paid by the comment.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  374. @376. Pfft. So says Randolph Agarn.

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  375. Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/12/2022 @ 1:31 pm

    i guess a lot of people don’t know that tee dee ess is derived from BDS

    the thinking that this all goes away if R’s just elect someone other than trump is another sort of derangement, which just doesn’t have a name yet

    and btw, for what it’s worth, I didn’t vote for trump in the primary

    that won’t matter to you

    JF (040edb)

  376. But if you guys keep pushing this POS as the Messiah, you’re going to get #NeverTrump up your ass with extra hot peppers.

    Nobody cares what you had for dinner, K; but “You guys?”

    Many White Women Still Voted for Trump in 2020

    https://www.thecut.com/2020/11/many-white-women-still-voted-for-trump-in-2020.html

    Yes, 55 Percent of White Women Voted for Trump. No, I’m Not Surprised.

    https://truthout.org/articles/yes-55-percent-of-white-women-voted-for-trump-no-im-not-surprised/

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  377. This is so personally devastating to me: the black male vote for Trump INCREASED from 13% in 2016 to 18% this year. The black female vote for Trump doubled from 4% in 2016 to 8% this year.

    https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/1323975456668979200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1323975456668979200%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmadamenoire.com%2F1199243%2Fmore-black-women-voted-for-trump-this-year%2F

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  378. KevinM
    12.6 million chickens euthanized so far
    https://www.ecowatch.com/bird-flu-outbreak-us-euthanization.html
    Big Egg uses a lot of energy to keep temperatures and light optimized for best production. Even the water is delivered within a temperature range in some areas of the country

    steveg (a36251)

  379. Radegunda (c15743) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:10 am

    straw man flash mob alert
    JF (77f1a7) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:15 am

    That’s an odd response to my summary of arguments and excuses I’ve seem Trumpers make. Some of them have been made within the last couple of days. It’s as though you think the Trumper lines of argument are too ridiculous for any rational person to make.

    I’ve seen Trumpers argue that Trump revealed people for who the really are, and that those who didn’t align with Trump and keep defending him have exposed themselves as Deep State hacks. Most of the GOP and conservative thought-leaders took the position that being a good Republican and a true patriot required always defending Donald Trump, and most doubled down on it after 1/6.

    Now the dominant position of the GOP and Conservatism Inc. appears to be that telling the public about the extraordinary lengths to which Trump went to hang on to power unconstitutionally is nothing but a partisan witch-hunt.

    Radegunda (71f977)

  380. 374… the time is ripe for Mensaman! Quit diddlin’ lizards in the desert and throw yer goddam sombrero in the ring, ese !

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  381. No, wait… you didn’t know the price of eggs is way up due to the cluck-flu… that marks you as out of touch like George Herbert Walker Bush at the checkout stand in ‘92…

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  382. Burma Shave!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  383. I’d like to think demand for eggs skyrocketed after idiots started super glueing themselves to NBA basketball courts to protest the euthanization measures taken because of the bird flu.

    steveg (a36251)

  384. “I didn’t vote for trump in the primary”

    Writing in Ramsay Bolton doesn’t count….

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  385. This is a man who doesn’t understand how government works, won’t listen to those that do or learn it himself, fires everyone who says NO or YOU’RE WRONG…

    Pfft., yeah, a NYC real estate developer… except he does understand how it works: because it doesn’t work and God Bless him for breaking cups, plates and firing everyone and any bureaucrat and unconfirmed pencil pusher he could. Now you know why his favorite film is ‘PATTON’:

    “You’ve got 4 hours to break through that beachhead. If you don’t make it, I’ll fire you!” – G.S. Patton [George C. Scott] ‘Patton’ 1970

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  386. Lizzy reminds me of Gerry Rivers milking that Capone schiff for years.

    mg (8cbc69)

  387. Writing in Ramsay Bolton doesn’t count….

    AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/12/2022 @ 2:12 pm

    You think this is witty, but it’s just more name calling and then you’ll complain when it’s returned in kind.

    People who have been here long enough know I supported Cruz in the primaries and still do to this day unlike those who sold him down the river because he didn’t denounce the president.

    I’m hoping Trump doesn’t run in 2024 as that opens the door to DeSantis, but then the usual suspects will tone police him and claim he’s too extreme and severe. Why can’t we just support democrat light and then they’d support him.

    On and on

    NJRob (33886e)

  388. @393 Writing in Ramsay Bolton doesn’t count….

    Witty? Meh.

    “Who says I’m dumb?!” – Randolph Agarn [Larry Storch] ‘F-Troop’ ABC TV, 1965-67

    DCSCA (7e376a)

  389. Mr Liberty wrote:

    I do believe that Trump is at minimum morally culpable for the events of Jan 6th (the dereliction of duty to call off the insurection is pretty plain) and hope that his most fervent supporters might recognize that and quit pushing to inflict him on the GOP again. He should have been impeached and convicted. That was the proper political result if we had a functional GOP and political climate. That failure leads to at minimum a public documentation of who did what and the possibility of criminal charges.

    So, now being “morally culpable” is the standard? That means that the written law is useless; it’s just someone’s standard of what is “morally culpable” at the time.

    Of course, Mr Trump was impeached, twice, and acquitted both times.

    I would prefer to see someone other than Mr Trump as the 2024 nominee, because I want the election to be about policy and not Mr Trump, but would most certainly enjoy the explosion of liberal heads if he was nominated in 2024 and won the election. Of course, it’s a vain hope that it will be about policy, because whomever the Republicans nominate will be “literally Hitler” to the Democrats.

    We do have a functional Republican Party. That functional Republican Party has seen what Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming has done, and if the polls are anywhere close to right, those Republican voters are going to nominate someone else for her position for the 2022 election.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (7ee9eb)

  390. There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles.

    Sure there is. But the powers that be lack the will to do it.

    Such laws would be unconstitutional anyways.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  391. Mr Murdock wrote:

    There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles.

    Sure there is. But the powers that be lack the will to do it.

    Such laws would be unconstitutional anyways.

    Since a semi-automatic is a firearm which loads and can shoot the next round without having to manually cock the weapon, even a revolver is a semi-automatic weapon.

    But saying that a particular law would be unconstitutional ignores a couple of things:

    1 – It would take years to get challenges through the court system, meaning that our rights would be infringed in the meantime; and
    2 – Whether the law would be found unconstitutional depends upon whom is on the Supreme Court at the time. If Democratic presidents can keep getting elected, we can kiss our constitutional rights goodbye!

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (7ee9eb)

  392. There’s simply not the political support to ban all semiautomatic weapons…..essentially meaning all modern pistols and rifles.

    That’s merely a matter of refining definition. And, of course, there’s no constitutional right to ammunition– but ouch, smacking somebody with the butt of an AR-15 or pistol-whipping a 7-11 cashier with an unloaded .357 has gotta hurt. Issuing every naturally born, property owning male citizen a SS number, a Brown Bess single shot musket for monthly militia duty at birth is a yanke-doodle-dandy-idea. Naturalized legal citizens get the waiting period. 😉

    DCSCA (75141b)

  393. DCCCP: “Witty? Meh.”

    Jar Jar say me the mostest unfunny. Ooh, mooey mooey.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  394. But saying that a particular law would be unconstitutional ignores a couple of things:

    1 – It would take years to get challenges through the court system, meaning that our rights would be infringed in the meantime; and
    2 – Whether the law would be found unconstitutional depends upon whom is on the Supreme Court at the time. If Democratic presidents can keep getting elected, we can kiss our constitutional rights goodbye!

    1. Enforcement of laws can be enjoined by courts pending resolution.

    2. Until recently, Republican court nominations have been much better.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  395. If Democratic presidents can keep getting elected, we can kiss our constitutional rights goodbye!

    Monthly militia drills would be healthy for all property owning males. 😉 And musket marching builds muscle- them there Brown Bess arm cannons weigh nearly 11 lbs.!!!

    DCSCA (75141b)

  396. “You think this is witty, but it’s just more name calling”

    You are free to call me one good name….just not Ramsay Bolton

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  397. @400. Meh.

    “Agarn, I don’t know why everybody says you’re so dumb.” – Morgan O’Rourke [Forrest Tucker] F-Troop, ABC TV 1965-67

    DCSCA (75141b)

  398. Liberal media now casting doubt on Biden’s 2020 win – well whadda know – fraud discovered in Dominion voting machines – machines illegally accessed during the election:

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/court-filing-offers-new-evidence-of-post-election-breach-in-coffee-county-ga/ar-AAYnxEm?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=7613804438bc4709a607500eb7466a13

    Now I’m not thinking the voting machines were the probem, but its the illegal ballot casting and millions of overvotes

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  399. drip drip drip – I remember the dozens of democrat officials in the 2000 recount in Florida who went to jail quietly in two’s and threes in the decade following as criminal charges were filed….

    Democrats don’t steal……

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  400. “That functional Republican Party has seen what Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming has done”

    Yes, she said the emperor keeps lying about the election, tried to get the Georgia Republicans to cheat, pressured Pence to cheat, fired up a mob and sent it over to the Capitol, and then sat passively while the Capitol was over-run. Acquitted indeed. Certainly it’s fair that Trump pays nothing while Cheney is run out of town. Fair I say.

    The head of the Wyoming Republican Party, Frank Eathorne, was at the Capitol on Jan 6th and….hold on….is affiliated with the Oath Keepers. Yes, it’s clear who the Republican Party is these days….and it ain’t pretty

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  401. Liz… your fly is open.

    DCSCA (75141b)

  402. @libertarianDana- yes, you have a constitutional right to own a gun, however I assume you also believe that I have a constitutional right to not get shot to death. What we are looking at is the balance of when your right to own a gun conflicts with my right to not get shot. I could argue (but I wouldn’t because it’s kind of reductive and not actually accurate, just like the opposite statement) that having conservative judges in takes away my constitutional rights to not be shot. This isn’t an issue of take away one person’s rights, and that’s it, it’s an issue of balancing rights between two different ones.

    Nic (896fdf)

  403. Mr Liberty wrote:

    The head of the Wyoming Republican Party, Frank Eathorne, was at the Capitol on Jan 6th and….hold on….is affiliated with the Oath Keepers. Yes, it’s clear who the Republican Party is these days….and it ain’t pretty

    The Republican Party are the people who call themselves Republican, and the people are the ones who vote. I’m sorry that you don’t like how the people vote, but that’s how our system works.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (7ee9eb)

  404. Nic wrote:

    @libertarianDana- yes, you have a constitutional right to own a gun, however I assume you also believe that I have a constitutional right to not get shot to death. What we are looking at is the balance of when your right to own a gun conflicts with my right to not get shot. I could argue (but I wouldn’t because it’s kind of reductive and not actually accurate, just like the opposite statement) that having conservative judges in takes away my constitutional rights to not be shot. This isn’t an issue of take away one person’s rights, and that’s it, it’s an issue of balancing rights between two different ones.

    The Constitution defines and restricts the government; it does not control the people. We do have laws which specify that you cannot be killed, and we have police forces and the legal system to punish people — unless they live in Philadelphia, that is — who break the laws, but we cannot somehow restrict the rights of people who have not broken the law. Perhaps you thought Minority Report was a good thing?

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (7ee9eb)

  405. Nic,

    No you dont have a constitutional right not to get shot to death. If you act in a threatening manner, you make someone fear for their safety or the safety of others, you’re going to get shot. If you hit someone with a car, if you try to run with someone’s property, you threaten someone’s kids, you can get shot. It all depends on circumstances.

    This my rights balance your rights has been shot down before

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  406. Nic, do you think the Second Amendment is a “constitutional right” to arbitrarily shoot anyone?

    I cannot figure out what you are saying.

    BuDuh (340919)

  407. Dana,

    Funny, how in the city where American liberty was born, that its now a lawless lifeless cesspool

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  408. @EPWJ@406 could you clarify what your concern is? according to the article, it appears that an election worker allowed an election denier access to the voting machines after the vote totals had already gone in in a county where Trump won very handily, which, yes, doesn’t seem to be legal, but I don’t think it’s fraudulent? and wouldn’t have changed the election results. Are you concerned that the election denier could’ve made it look like there’d been tampering by someone else?

    Nic (896fdf)

  409. The question is threshold. I view targeting the individual at his personal dwelling and the family that lives with him as harassment with the intent to influence a judicial proceeding. So no milling about with signs even. I’m ok with protests at the Court itself, provided the justices, lawyers, and other court attendees can safely enter and exit the building. I think that is a time-honored tradition.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/12/2022 @ 10:07 am

    I hope it’s generally accepted that protests at a family home are wrong, and at government buildings fine. But 18 U.S. Code § 1507 draws no such distinction. And I fail to see the connection you seem to between the location of the protest and the motive of the protesters. Do you think people who want to influence a judge’s decision don’t picket his workplace, and those who march in front of his house don’t include many looking to influence public opinion and/or simply vent their spleen? I think we’re back to the dicey business of proving intent, and as always, such proof must be individualized.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  410. @EPWJ and LibertarianDana- IIRC, several people have been charged and convicted of violating a person’s civil right due to killing them.

    We have laws the restrict certain aspects of our rights, such as freedom of speech, when they interfere with aspects of other people’s rights. My right to be alive is restricted by your right to shoot me if I do something threatening to you. You seem to think that any restrictions on gun ownership is a violation of your constitutional rights, but no right is absolute, they are balanced against other rights.

    Nic (896fdf)

  411. #387 I see there are still suckers falling for the false GHWB scanner story.

    (It is not a story the NYT can proud of.)

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  412. lurker: “Do you think people who want to influence a judge’s decision don’t picket his workplace, and those who march in front of his house don’t include many looking to influence public opinion”

    Well, there is a first amendment and though there are time, place, and manner restrictions that states and the federal government can impose, there is also a 3-prong test that such restrictions must survive

    1. The regulation must be content neutral.
    2. It must be narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest.
    3. It must leave open ample alternative channels for communicating the speaker’s message.

    #3 I will argue is the key. See United States v. Grace where the Court found that the 1A applied on the sidewalks outside the Court. So it’s less my opinion about intent then it is about precedent. There are no court decisions regarding protests outside of residences, but there is a law in Virginia that calls it a crime, asserting that picketing outside of residences causes emotional disturbance and distress to the occupants. There is a similar statute in Montgomery County, Maryland. There have been no convictions under either law.

    So picketing the institution is seen as different than picketing the individual and his/her family. That seems to me to be a reasonable distinction and I think where we’re heading.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  413. @409. ‘Yes, you have a constitutional right’… and it’s quilled circa 18th century:

    “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

    This can be sourced and virtually lifted word for word from the body text of Article 6 of Articles of Confederation- as an afterthought, too– that failed first attempt by the flawless Founding Fathers whose poop never smelled. So yes, you have a right to arms. But not to ammunition.

    All for a well regulated Milita; could cut a few billion out of the DoD and keep those property owning males marching monthly w/shouldered Brown Bess muskets. Healthy outdoor life! Burns fat; builds muscle! 😉

    You’re arguing 21st century common sense, Nic. They’re arguing camel nose under the tent.

    Good luck! 😉

    DCSCA (78a505)

  414. No you dont have a constitutional right not to get shot to death.

    No right to life? Which makes you pro-choice. Got it.

    DCSCA (78a505)

  415. Here’s what the Washington Post is saying about protection for judges:

    Democrats are right to weigh giving court officials the flexibility to order protection for justices, their families, clerks, clerks’ families or anyone else who might require security because of their relationship with the court. For that matter, they should look at extending protection to lower-court officials, too. But they cannot take long. The Senate bill has already languished in the House for a month. Their time is up.

    As you would expect, in the editorial the Post says they are opposed to overturning Roe — but that actually strengthens their main argument.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  416. @412. No you dont have a constitutional right not to get shot to death.

    Do you have a right to life under the Constitution?

    Yes:

    https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/constitutional-law/interpretation-of-rights-to-life-law-essays.php

    But then, why would we doubt any rigid interpretation and modern relevance of a document quilled for an era long, long over by long dead white males who owned both property and human beings, sipped warm ale from lead-pewter mugs, supped on squirrel stew and wild game unavailable at Ye Olde General Store as there was no grocery stores to shoot up; wore powdered wigs, pantaloons and wooden-soled shoes; used leeches as medical treatment; traveled coach- literally, no first class then- horse drawn coach; crossed the seas in square-rigged wooden sailing ships in months, not hours by 747; pooped and peed in two-holers behind the local tavern on the way to a knocking shoppe before trotting home to the woman of ye olde house tuckered out from churning butter all day and having no say in the affairs of her time and unlike modern car thieves, routinely made hanging citizens for horse thievery a must see picnicking event. Yep, them wuz the good old days. They were so wise. So civilized. An so, so, so, long dead. Next thing you know, you’ll believe the Bible is gospel, word for word. the Constitution is for the living. Not the dead.

    DCSCA (78a505)

  417. “I remember the dozens of democrat officials in the 2000 recount in Florida who went to jail quietly in two’s and threes in the decade following as criminal charges were filed”

    Like who?

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  418. @AJ: I hope you’re right about where things are heading, but, and maybe I’m just missing something, I don’t see how your comment is responsive to what I said. ISTM that how much if any of 18 U.S.C. § 1507 survives First Amendment scrutiny is a different question from whether the “intent of influencing” that’s prohibited by the statute can be inferred from the location of a protest.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  419. Bunches Dave. Mayors party leaders some got 20 year sentences

    EPWJ (4d46aa)

  420. Democrats could be on pace for a historic rout in November

    ‘[R]ecent developments indicate that Democrats’ already shaky political prospects are deteriorating further, and suggest that the party could be on track to experience a historic rout — worse than 1994 or 2010 — in the midterm elections.

    First, the president’s approval rating — which has historically been a harbinger of his party’s midterm performance — hit a new low this week: just one-third (35 percent) of registered voters approve of President Biden’s overall performance, while a majority (56 percent) disapprove, according to Quinnipiac polling.’ – THeHill.com

    When The Big Dick resigned in 1974, his had dropped from a high of 67% and a landslide win in ’72 to just 24% as he helicoptered away into exile.

    Attaboy, Joey.

    DCSCA (78a505)

  421. Steve Guest
    @SteveGuest
    How the Sunday shows covered the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh via TVEyes.

    # of mentions of “Kavanaugh”:
    ABC’s This Week: 0 mentions
    NBC’s Meet The Press: 0 mentions
    CBS’s Face The Nation: 0 mentions
    CNN SOTU: 0 mentions
    Fox News Sunday covered
    https://mobile.twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1536009575408799744?cxt=HHwWgMC4ncOkgNEqAAAA

    Just like Fox to pull a Benghazi hearings coverage type blanket overs everyone’s eyes!

    The stuff they force people to watch is far worse that the stuff other networks force people to not watch.

    Shame.

    BuDuh (340919)

  422. Ah:

    President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil has for months consistently trailed in the polls ahead of the country’s crucial presidential race. And for months, he has consistently questioned its voting systems, warning that if he loses October’s election, it will most likely be thanks to a stolen vote.

    Those claims were largely regarded as talk. But now, Mr. Bolsonaro has enlisted a new ally in his fight against the electoral process: the nation’s military.

    The leaders of Brazil’s armed forces have suddenly begun raising similar doubts about the integrity of the elections, despite little evidence of past fraud, ratcheting up already high tensions over the stability of Latin America’s largest democracy and rattling a nation that suffered under a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

    Military leaders have identified for election officials what they say are a number of vulnerabilities in the voting systems. They were given a spot on a transparency committee that election officials created to ease fears that Mr. Bolsonaro had stirred up about the vote. And Mr. Bolsonaro, a former army captain who filled his cabinet with generals, has suggested that on Election Day, the military should conduct its own parallel count.

    Mr. Bolsonaro, who has spoken fondly about the dictatorship, has also sought to make clear that the military answers to him.

    Dana (1225fc)

  423. More:

    Edson Fachin, a Supreme Court judge and Brazil’s top election official, said in an interview that claims of an unsafe election were unfounded and dangerous. “These problems are artificially created by those who want to destroy the Brazilian democracy,” he said. “What is at stake in Brazil is not just an electronic voting machine. What is at stake is maintaining democracy.”

    Dana (1225fc)

  424. Influencing a government official is the most important reason for freedom of speech. Unless you can think of a better one?

    Rallying the troops at Concord, maybe? Or instructing them: “First the powder and then the ball, Kowalski! First the powder and then the ball!”

    That’s the poison pill in that statute. The word “influence”.

    And, yes, there were Poles fighting on the American side in the Revolutionary War.

    nk (36c508)

  425. “Like who?”

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R0DQfwc72PM

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  426. @428. Sen. Lindsey Graham doubles down on call for Putin’s assassination

    Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday doubled down on calling for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin — a suggestion that has been widely rebuked by lawmakers in both parties.

    “I hope he’ll be taken out, one way or the other,” Graham said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “I don’t care how they take him out. I don’t care if we send him to The Hague and try him. I just want him to go. -3/16/22

    https://news.yahoo.com/lindsey-graham-calls-for-putin-assassination-163309587.html

    Classy. Graham wasn’t arrested nor censured.

    DCSCA (78a505)

  427. I think I saw it inferred upthread that I’m likely to give my AR an STD or god forbid vice versa.
    Here are the reasons why the AR won’t go away.
    The numbers are not favorable
    There are estimated to be 18-20Million AR’s owned in the US.
    In 2018 there were 167 homicides using AR
    In 2018 there were 1515 knife murders, 443 hammer murders, Fists and Feet were used in 672 murders.
    So you have 18-20 million AR15’s and out of all those, there were 167 murders. The math doesn’t make the case to ban look better, but I also agree all of those murder numbers need to come down.
    I’d rather get killed by an AR than a hammer, and by a hammer rather than by fists and feet.

    steveg (e7b01d)

  428. #418… only idiots use Snopes.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  429. You’re correct that all protest is about influencing, but it will lead to a ridiculous result to say that justices must not ever see any protests lest they be influenced. I’ll let Wizard White do the heavy lifting:

    Such sidewalks “are among those areas of public property that traditionally have been held open to the public for expressive activities and are clearly within those areas of public property that may be considered, generally without further inquiry, to be public forum property.” The interest in maintaining order or insulating courts from lobbying was insufficient to sustain a total ban on expressive activities in this venue.

    So sidewalks outside the Court are OK for protest….and such a ruling would obviously supercede a federal statute. Now the question will be are sidewalks outside a private residence a public forum property. I will argue that the nature of the lobbying now becomes more intense as the welfare of family members are impacted and the justice literally has no where to retreat from the protesting and its influence. The restriction of outlawing protests outside the justice’s personal residences is quite narrowly tailored and meeting the significant government interest to avoid adverse psychological distress to the justice and his/her family. I think this would be fairly close as an orderly peaceful demonstration where noise ordinances and time-of-day restrictions are applied may not be viewed as overly stressful….of course the justices may view this differently.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  430. @434m of course hammers are far from the weapon of choice for mass killings….as it does require strength and endurance whereas the AR-15 not so much. Hammers and feet….onesies and twosies, maybe. Focused mass destruction you want a gun. Even a car or truck can only be maneuvered so well in close quarters beyond the initial battering and are not as effective if you wish to strike targets at a bar, school, or grocery store.

    An AR-15 also has the cache of being in video games and movies….and perspective shooters see that it’s the gun of choice for mass shooters and can see the news analysis focus on them. Who wants to use last decades weapon when this one is available….available quick in many cases.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  431. @350 What did I say that gave you the idea that I’d “likely” vote for Trump? I’m also not sure I’d use “disqualifying” and “pause” like you have here. If something disqualifies him there wouldn’t be a need for a pause.

    Before I actually answer your question though I’d like to point out that, again, this isn’t geared towards one last shot at civil and productive discourse. You’re already assuming my position and baking those assumptions into the framing.

    As to your question, whether I’d vote for Trump in the primary would depend on the choices. Same for the general. There are better choices and worse choices than Trump. I’d prefer better but I like to keep my expectations low.

    That is also the choice I’d recommend everyone make. Educate yourself, be honest with yourself about your preferences, and make your own decisions.

    frosty (60e519)

  432. “Bunches Dave. Mayors party leaders some got 20 year sentences”

    And the ever helpful Haiku…

    There were 13 people convicted of “election fraud” between 2000 and 2010: https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud/search?state=FL

    Almost all of them were ineligible voters (not dozens and not “Democrat officials”).

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  433. @436. It’s ‘Whizzer,’ Agarn. ‘White was an All-American halfback for the Colorado Buffaloes, where a newspaper columnist gave him the nickname “Whizzer”, which to his chagrin followed him throughout his legal and Supreme Court careers.’ – source, wikicutandrun.gridiron.com

    DCSCA (78a505)

  434. @434. I’d rather get killed by an AR than a hammer, and by a hammer rather than by fists and feet.

    I’d rather you- and anybody else- not get killed at all, Steve.

    And that’s the goal.

    DCSCA (78a505)

  435. @285 nope. It’s all “muh principles” dismissal and attempts to change the subject.

    Time123 (92d061) — 6/12/2022 @ 7:24 am

    Time, is @438 “muh principles” or is it changing the subject?

    frosty (60e519)

  436. Wrong dave

    EPWJ (68baea)

  437. Then goddam pick someone to lead who isn’t a narcissistic spoiled child who is willing to do the work. This is a man who doesn’t understand how government works, won’t listen to those that do or learn it himself, fires everyone who says NO or YOU’RE WRONG, and ends up with senile hacks like Giuliani or lower companions like MTG.

    Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone they think the GOP voters will accept. Stanning for Liz Cheney and wistfully dreaming up fantasy football-style cabinets of politicians those voters have thoroughly rejected isn’t going to cook the stew.

    2016 should have been the wake-up call to the old guard that today’s GOP voters absolutely do not support globalism or foreign military adventures anymore. They don’t support cultural marxism in any form, or Hart-Cellar immigration. They despise the mainstream media, have no faith in the education system, hate the entertainment industry as much or even more than the latter hates them. They don’t want “limited government,” they want a government that works in their specific interests.

    One thing they will do in far larger numbers than their opponents is pick up a rifle and defend the country if actually was invaded, but that’s devotion to the soil and the nation’s history, not because they like Democratic-voting cities. And that’s because they do not believe anymore that that things that unite us are more numerous than the things that divide us.

    It’s not the mid-90s to mid-2000s anymore. The party’s voters moved on and they found a new waifu who at least knew how to connect with them on visceral level and tell them that he understood where they were coming from and why they were so frustrated. The party’s elites should have gotten the message when the base went bonkers for Sarah Palin in 2008. 14 years later, a lot of them are still in denial, and the ones who still don’t want to fight the culture war are going to find their campaigns DOA. The ones who do get it, like DeSantis, are the ones who are in a position now to essentially write their own ticket.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  438. I think I saw it inferred upthread that I’m likely to give my AR an STD or god forbid vice versa.

    Yeah, they used to say that about toilet seats, bus seats, and in older days a lady using a bathtub after a gentleman had. If they can sell it to their significant others their friends and their families, more power to them, but they should not hang on to any hope with their doctors.

    No, the one thing that those Uvalde cops were for sure safe from was catching an STD from their bangs-bangs and rat-tat-tats. But it is the thing about the things. Whatever reason people might have in mind for keeping them around, when it comes to actually using them, they use them when they should not and don’t use them when they should, and in most instances they and the rest of the world would not be any the worse off if they just stuck them [censored].

    nk (004dc2)

  439. In my previous comment, the top sentence should have been italicised. I was quoting steveg.

    Fifth news item

    Court tells GEICO to pay $5.2 million to compensate woman…for getting STD in car insured by company:

    It’s hard to say whether this item has been rightly or wrongfully neglected on this thread.

    On the one hand, it’s not every day that someone gets to separate Warren Buffett from $5.2 million. (Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico.) That makes it something worth talking about.

    On the other hand, I am not moved by the “injustice”. Geico has probably already laid out more than that to its publicists push a sympathetic story in the media. We might even see the lizard. For a fact, Geico pays out more to the defense bar to defend against claims than it pays out to claimants. So one got by them. Can’t catch every fly.

    nk (004dc2)

  440. That was the proper political result if we had a functional GOP and political climate.

    I believe that Mitch McConnell tried to get the votes, but could not. As Leader, he had to vote NO if he couldn’t produce the margin. Still, him voting AYE would have sent a message and might have gotten some of the cowards out of the closet. It would have ruined him as Majority Leader though.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  441. Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone they think the GOP voters will accept.

    They did for decades, then seduced and abandoned the very base Trump voters became. The establishment manipulators running the familiar faces of the current GOP are toast. The tail no longer wags the dog.

    DCSCA (3369fe)

  442. 1 – It would take years to get challenges through the court system, meaning that our rights would be infringed in the meantime; and
    2 – Whether the law would be found unconstitutional depends upon whom is on the Supreme Court at the time. If Democratic presidents can keep getting elected, we can kiss our constitutional rights goodbye!

    Your first point ignores injunctions, which based on Heller would be quick and firm. Lower courts can’t ignore SC precedent. Even the 9th circuit would enjoin.

    As for could the courts change? Sure. But you have the cart before the horse. Lots of times states have tried to nullify Roe, but got slapped down every time. Until now, AFTER the court changed.

    How long did it take? 50 years and 12-4 in nominations. After Roe, the GOP had SEVEN straight nominations and could not get it done. SEVEN. That’s 2 more than you need starting from scratch.

    It’s not easy to change the court. You don’t always have a strong President (e.g. Ford) and you don’t always have the Senate (24-22-3 in years since Roe). Trump had the Senate and he had McConnell who was able to defeat the Democrats’ delaying tactics (while providing a few of his own).

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  443. So one got by them. Can’t catch every fly.

    Well, there’s one defense lawyer gonna be looking for his next gig.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  444. So sidewalks outside the Court are OK for protest….and such a ruling would obviously supercede a federal statute.

    If you put barriers around them, they are no longer public sidewalks. Their purpose has been converted to “secured area.” This may seem like a fabricated coloration, but I don’t think it is.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  445. @444 would desantes be able to campaign in blue or even purple states? In 2016 trump held a campaign event in fountain hills az. Militants blocked the road into the event. After the kent state shootings police in san franciso pointed their guns at demonstratiors until they realized kent state killing protesters had people in the crowd pointing guns back. In madison wisconsin according to time magazine kent state protester tried to open up a second front against the vietam war. The john brown gun clubs and armed BLM militants would attend desantis campaign events and blue state juries would consider their actions active self defense. With the supreme court abortion ruling most people including jurors in blue state would not be sympathetic to desantis.

    asset (ab47f4)

  446. “Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone”

    That’s a pretty big field. I would start with current popular GOP governors like Larry Hogan, Charlie Baker, Desantis, Kemp, and maybe even Abbott. Some past governors can still be relevant in Nikki Haley, Kasich (a little old), Christie (still a little too Obama huggy), or my dark horse, and favorite, Mitch Daniels. From the Senate maybe Tom Cotton, Ben Sasse, Mike Lee, or Romney (I add him less because of his relevance/age and more because he’s everything Trump isn’t), though Senators who have no executive experience and haven’t crafted any substantial legislative measures or been key decision makers don’t excite me much. I would consider generals too, but none are well positioned (Mattis and Kelly are a bit too old with no campaigning experience but both understand the world better than Trump and don’t have his character challenges). Cruz is off my list because of his prominence in the electoral count mischief.

    So, there are plenty of people who could do a better job than Trump. It’s more of a question of do they want to jump in the gutter and throw poo with him (can’t imagine Daniel doing this), and can they struggle to get any oxygen at FNC and Talk Radio who are completely invested in Trump (maybe Desantis and in time Haley). If Trump disappeared, you could have a pretty diverse and interesting field. The GOP electorate is trapped in Trumpism though….because right-wing media wants them there

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  447. Militants blocked the road into the event. After the kent state shootings police in san franciso pointed their guns at demonstratiors until they realized kent state killing protesters had people in the crowd pointing guns back. In madison wisconsin according to time magazine kent state protester tried to open up a second front against the vietam war.

    Madison is the Beijing of Wisconsin. Even in deep blue Vermont, New York and Massachusetts transplants complain about how backwards a lot of the residents are. And Kent State was the event that marked a temporary pushback against the left’s excesses, until the neocons decided to abandon the culture war in the 1990s after the entertainment industry went on an 8-year chimpout against Reagan, and then went full-bore to get Bush out of office.

    The john brown gun clubs and armed BLM militants would attend desantis campaign events and blue state juries would consider their actions active self defense. With the supreme court abortion ruling most people including jurors in blue state would not be sympathetic to desantis.

    asset (ab47f4) — 6/13/2022 @ 1:38 am

    This is further cope and doesn’t have any connection to reality.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  448. There will be another broadcast public hearing of the January 6 committee this morning starting at 10 am (at least on NBC and CNN) It also can be seen or heard other places like probably NPR and a live video feed at nytimes.com.

    The next two hearings start at 10 am Wednesday and at 1 pm Thursday.

    There will probably be two more next week, one of them again in prime time.

    Today they are focusing on how Trump must have realized or known that he lost – it was not at all implausible – his pollster told him so before the election – how Donald Trump declared victory on Election Night despite being told he didn’t have the numbers to win – why Fox News called Arizona early, something Trump complained about. And the rest of the week on his efforts to stay in power. (pressure on Mike Pence, attempts to try to get U.S. attorneys or the Department of Justice to pursue election fraud cases that they didn’t believe were warranted by replacing the Attorney General, except that loads of people were threatening to resign.)

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  449. “And that’s because they do not believe anymore that that things that unite us are more numerous than the things that divide us.”

    I wonder what you believe will be the outcome of continuous cultural warfare? Do you think you “defeat” the liberals in some existential sense….or are you hoping for some civil war and a questionably practical divide of the country? Escalating anger and hate would also suggest more violence and our political system being unable to address any future big problems including debt, war, and the next pandemic/crisis.

    Is this the country we want to leave to our kids….where we can’t even talk to one another because of our political stances? This prescription seems to take us down the path to an authoritarian regime who will cheat to stay in power and who will impose cultural uniformity. Is that your dream for America? Owning the libs…literally. Your angst suggests giving up on democracy and federalism and just yelling at each other, as if that ever persuades. I think your quote above is wrong. I think your outlook is unnecessarily pessimistic and dystopian. I think this is existential drama that people cook up when they are locked in ideological bubbles. We have an amazing country and shouldn’t wreck it because we can’t get everything we want.

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  450. AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/13/2022 @ 5:24 am

    You left out the most salient part of my quote: Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone they think the GOP voters will accept.

    That leaves out Hogan, Romney, Sasse, and possibly even Mike Lee. The GOP voters simply won’t accept them. They hate Kasich’s guts in particular. That definitely leaves out Mattis and Kelly, even taking their ages in to account. After Milley gave that insipid “I want to understand white rage” quote to Congress, the absolute debacle that took place during the Afghanistan withdrawal, and the notable political migration of military officers over to the Democrats (especially in the intel fields), they won’t trust someone just because they have military service. Mattis especially, not just because of his spat with Trump, but because of the fact that he quit over Trump wanting to pull out of Syria after ISIS was finally squashed in the MERV.

    If Trump disappeared, you could have a pretty diverse and interesting field. The GOP electorate is trapped in Trumpism though….because right-wing media wants them there

    The GOP voters DO NOT WANT ANOTHER NEOCON, BUSH-STYLE POLITICIAN ANYMORE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER. It’s time to accept that fighting the culture war is now a prerequisite for GOP politicians. In fact, the time to accept that reality was 2008 or 2010, not 2022 or 2024. The Bulwark/Dispatch crowd has been completely rejected as the party’s leading policy driver. Heck, half of them are working to get Democrats elected now, anyway, because that’s who’s writing their checks these days.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  451. I wonder what you believe will be the outcome of continuous cultural warfare?

    This is the part you continually miss–the culture war has ALWAYS been continuous. That’s how the left took control of the cathedreal while the neocons focused on tax cuts and foreign wars.

    You simply don’t want to fight it because it makes you feel icky. And that’s fine. But it’s not how the GOP voters want their leaders to operate. To the extent that there’s a potential for conflict, it’s solely due to the left not wanting to lose their monopoly.

    Your angst suggests giving up on democracy and federalism and just yelling at each other, as if that ever persuades. I think your quote above is wrong

    No, it’s a recongnition of what is, rather than what you’d have it be.

    I think this is existential drama that people cook up when they are locked in ideological bubbles. We have an amazing country and shouldn’t wreck it because we can’t get everything we want.

    Too bad the left doesn’t actually believe the same thing. They might talk a good game, but their actions over the last 50 years since the rise of the New Left say otherwise. GOP voters simply got tired of accepting the pretense that anything which didn’t move the Overton window to the left was unacceptable.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  452. Sammy – One of the Fox affiliate stations here in the Seattle area — Joe TV — apparently will be carrying the hearing on a sub-channel.

    What’s odd is that, until quite recently, that sub-channel was giving us “Asian” news, some in English, most not. It’s my impression that the news in Chinese included a fair amount of ChiCom propaganda, but I don’t know Chinese, and never took the time to check it out in other ways.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  453. What they’re gliding over is that the breach of the Capitol didn’t fit into Trump’s plans. And some of what happened, Trump could surely not have wanted.

    Who placed the dud pipe bomb in front of the RNC? Two pipe bombs were placed early in the day in front of the RNC and in front of the DNC (believed by many to be part of a plan to draw away police from the Capitol. No culprits have been found)

    The assault was not even revenge for Mike Pence not helping Trump because it started before Mike Pence let his final decision be known. (which he postponed for as long as possible)

    Stopping the counting would only have handed the presidency to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had already been chosen Speaker.

    In an attempt to make the assault on the Capitol make sense there is the idea that maybe they wanted to hold them hostage and force them to certify Donald Trump as the victor but no hint of any such plan has emerged, and we can safely exclude it.

    Now Eastman wanted Mike Pence to do one of two things. One idea was reject votes. This would change the default. Instead of a majority of both houses being needed to reject a vote, a majority of both houses would be needed to accept it (it wouldn’t matter anyway — there weren’t the votes to vote the way Trump wanted — all the Republican members of Congress were not going to go along with Trump and against the truth)

    Then if the result was 232-227 in favor of Trump, either Trump would win outright, or, if 270 votes were still needed for a majority of the Electoral votes ,the election would be thrown into the House of Representatives where, voting by states, the Republicans had a majority.

    Again, all of this was based on the idea that members of Congress would all vote by party line.

    Trump thought the crowd could maybe cause them to do so (because of political pressure. He claimed there were hundreds of thousands of people at the Ellipse))

    The other idea of Eastman’s was that Mike Pence call for a 10-day delay in the count, during which some states would change their votes. (Ted Cruz, I think, got behind that)

    All completely screwball plans, to borrow a phrase from a Wall Street Journal editorial.

    Trump did call fro people to come to Washington, and he probably got roped into someone else’s plot. He was persuaded to use the word “wild” in a December tweet, probably without understanding any of it. I can’t say if Steve Bannon knew what would happen. The committee may be right in suspecting this. He may have been part of the plot to riot, but not because he thought it would enable Trump to continue as president.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  454. FWO, I appreciate your comment at 444. I don’t agree with some of it but I’m glad you shared it.

    2016 should have been the wake-up call to the old guard that today’s GOP voters absolutely do not support globalism or foreign military adventures anymore. They don’t support cultural marxism in any form, or Hart-Cellar immigration. They despise the mainstream media, have no faith in the education system, hate the entertainment industry as much or even more than the latter hates them. They don’t want “limited government,” they want a government that works in their specific interests.

    The bolded part of your comment is I think at the heart of where your preferences and mind diverge. I don’t want a big government conservative that will use the power of the state to enforce their cultural preferences and punish people who disagree with me. That’s a large part of why i don’t like the left, and they at least have plausible theories around liberty they assert as their motivation.

    I think DeSantis recent actions might be examples of things you want, that i feel are unacceptable.
    -Targeting Disney with the elimination for existing regulatory structure as punishment for opposing his positions.
    -Targeting a major sports team with a funding cut for making statements around gun control that his base disliked.
    -Reducing local control of eduction (a proposal)
    -Recent statements that exposing children to men dressed as women who read them a story would justify CPS investigations of the parents.

    If I’m reading your correctly I think these are things you would say are good. Am I correct on that? I’m not trying too put words in your mouth or ascribe to you a position beyond what you intend to take. I’m trying to make sure i understand what you’re saying and check that i have it right.

    For my part, I’m fine with reducing funding or changing regulatory structures, but not as a punitive response to speech a government official finds objectionable. To me it’s similar to airports that tried to pull the Chick-Fil-A franchises because the they didn’t like the owners stance on homosexuality, only much lager in scale.

    Time123 (30afd3)

  455. Jim Miller (406a93) — 6/13/2022 @ 5:54 am

    One of the Fox affiliate stations here in the Seattle area — Joe TV — apparently will be carrying the hearing on a sub-channel.

    An affiliate is a station that is not actually owned by Fox.

    What’s odd is that, until quite recently, that sub-channel was giving us “Asian” news, some in English, most not.

    Until quite recently == they stopped. The Ukraine war may have been the turning point. China backs it with propaganda, and trade civilian goods, but is careful to avoid military help for now They may be cutting back on trade a littler.

    It’s my impression that the news in Chinese included a fair amount of ChiCom propaganda, but I don’t know Chinese, and never took the time to check it out in other ways.

    There could be third hand accounts, and if the English does the hinese surely does.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  456. Recent statements that exposing children to men dressed as women who read them a story would justify CPS investigations of the parents

    At another time, maybe, but he pretends they haven’t changed. The activists captured them already.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/10/science/transgender-teenagers-national-survey.html

    Although the total estimated number of transgender people was small — around 1.6 million people 13 and up, or about 0.6 percent of the population — trans identification in recent years has become political dynamite, driven in part by the rise in minors seeking medical treatments. Republican legislators across the country have sought to prohibit such care by criminalizing doctors or investigating parents for abuse, which professional medical groups have condemned.

    NYT article links to:

    https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/08/transgender-texas-child-abuse-lawsuit

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  457. From the Texas link:

    Gender-affirming care is endorsed by all the major medical associations as the proper treatment for gender dysphoria, which is the distress someone can feel when their assigned sex doesn’t align with their gender identity. While many young people focus on social transition — dressing differently or using different pronouns — some are prescribed puberty blockers, which are reversible, or hormone therapy.

    In February, Paxton issued a nonbinding legal opinion equating gender-affirming medical care with child abuse. Days later, Abbott followed that opinion with a directive telling DFPS to investigate these cases. The agency said in a statement at the time that it would “follow Texas law … in accordance with Governor Abbott’s directive.”

    “Science” has betrayed them.

    Now, if anyone, people who disagree with the idea of gender fluidity may be in trouble.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  458. and they still want mental health professionals to decide who cannot possess agun? That;s because they prefer it to the alternative: fewer guns/

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  459. @452 More left on right political violence won’t help the left’s position. If we get more BLM/antifa style riots over roe that won’t help either.

    But it’s interesting that after a long discussion about the evils of political violence on the right the notion that simply campaigning, basically exercising a 1st amendment right as part of the normal political process, will generate violence, or threats of violence, and that will be tolerated isn’t surprising. I think the public at large is already expecting that and they are expecting the same people who are upset by Jan/6 to either support or give a token objection to it.

    frosty (60e519)

  460. 43. nk (36c508) — 6/12/2022 @ 6:35 pm

    Influencing a government official is the most important reason for freedom of speech. Unless you can think of a better one?

    Freedom of religion. But they pretty much stopped censoring religious speech and printing in the Atlantic world around the time of the adoption of the U.S. constitution.

    It was big in the 1500s and 1600s.

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  461. The bolded part of your comment is I think at the heart of where your preferences and mind diverge. I don’t want a big government conservative that will use the power of the state to enforce their cultural preferences and punish people who disagree with me. That’s a large part of why i don’t like the left, and they at least have plausible theories around liberty they assert as their motivation.

    The reason the left makes their theories around liberty sound plausible is because they treat definitions of words as malleable to fit their needs of the moment, but it’s not hard to figure out what they’re actually arguing once one realizes that everything gets placed within the marxist “oppressor/oppressed” social framework.

    Whether we like it or not, GOP voters simply are tired of feeling that they’re being forced to fight with one hand tied behind their back. If the rules of the game demand that they act like the left does, then that’s how they’re going to expect their politicians to act, too, because the left is going to complain about suppression and oppression anytime they don’t get their way, anyhow.

    If I’m reading your correctly I think these are things you would say are good. Am I correct on that? I’m not trying too put words in your mouth or ascribe to you a position beyond what you intend to take. I’m trying to make sure i understand what you’re saying and check that i have it right.

    Whether they’re “good” or not isn’t really the issue. That’s a moral question that isn’t really coming in to play. What they’re concerned with is whether politicians are working to advance conservative agendas or not, particularly in the social arena now. The politicians who don’t want to fight that fight aren’t going to get the same level of support.

    A big part of the problem here is that there are plenty of states which aren’t a monoculture statewide, but are dominated by one in very localized areas. Oregon is a great example of this, as outside Multnomah County as well as Eugene and Corvallis, the state is actually quite red politically. But they’d have to vote for a GOP candidate at a 75% or higher clip to overcome that demographic advantage. When state populations are more spread out–such as in Texas–that advantage evaporates. That’s a big reason why liberals are constantly advocating that everyone needs to be stuffed in a urban high-rise shoebox, using “sustainability” as the rhetorical lever.

    Breaking up the states into smaller pieces would probably do more in the medium term to dissipate political angst than anything else right now. Heck, the American West alone would benefit politically, environmentally, and administratively from being reformed along their watersheds, like John Wesley Powell advocated.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  462. FWO, you still fail to tell us where you think this “warring” ends? What is winning?

    AJ_Liberty (411e90)

  463. All the major networks plan live coverage of today’s hearing, including Fox.

    One thing that will be explored in the hearings is the use of the stolen election claim to raise money. They also wsnt to put on some Trump supporters who gave money who will say they were duped.

    https://www.newser.com/story/321668/what-to-expect-as-jan-6-hearings-resume.html

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)

  464. “I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating. But I knew we had data to sustain [Putin] was going to go in, off the border. There was no doubt, and Zelensky didn’t want to hear it,’ “

    —- Dementia Joe Biden

    “President Biden should have used his son Hunter to warn the Ukrainian Government.

    The reason why Ukraine had paid Hunter Biden $85,000 a month as a “compliance consultant” was that Ukraine understood well that [he] represented his father, Vice President Joe Biden.

    Ukraine understood that when Hunter spoke, he spoke for his powerful father. Ukraine understood further that the money paid to Hunter was essentially paid to the US Vice President.

    Warnings from the US State Department had far less impact on the Ukrainian Government than warnings from Hunter Biden would have had.”

    —- Mike Sylwester

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  465. “Gender affirming care” for what they do is Orwellian. “Freedom is slavery” Orwellian.

    Teaching a boy how to be a girl, and medically and surgically altering his secondary sexual characteristics is “gender affirming care” the way shooting him is “life affirming care”. But when the entire concept is a lie, what’s one more, eh?

    nk (004dc2)

  466. For my part, I’m fine with reducing funding or changing regulatory structures, but not as a punitive response to speech a government official finds objectionable. To me it’s similar to airports that tried to pull the Chick-Fil-A franchises because the they didn’t like the owners stance on homosexuality, only much lager in scale.

    Time123 (30afd3) — 6/13/2022 @ 5:57 am

    It’s not the same at all. The change in regulatory structures wasn’t because a single government official found it objectionable. It wasn’t even a case of a single branch acting alone. It was a change made by FL’s legislative branch.

    This also isn’t an issue of scale. Chick-Fil-A doesn’t have a corporate policy on homosexuality. They don’t market a political agenda into their products. A chicken sandwich and waffle fries doesn’t promote a cisgender hetero-normative world view. Disney is a media company and it very much promotes a political and social agenda. They are free to do that and the citizens of FL, via their elected representatives, are free to decide they don’t want to give them certain regulatory advantages.

    This also isn’t a similar legal issue. Airports trying to kick out CFA is a breach of contract situation. I also don’t remember this as being driven by Airports. I remember this as activists trying to get Airports to boot CFA.

    How do you feel about Abrams successfully advocating to get the MLB All Star game moved out of GA based on her false claims of voter suppression?

    frosty (f76b54)

  467. But that’s not what annoys me daily in the “culture wars” where I’m at. No, what annoys me daily where I’m at is Puerto Ricans riding full dress Harleys with straight pipes, and blasting rap music from their on-board quad speaker systems. “Go back to your V-Maxes, Interceptors, and Katanas, you poachers!” “And straight pipes are for rats, not hogs, you wannabes!”

    nk (004dc2)

  468. People lobbying private institutions & companies is fine. It becomes a problem when we use state power to punish groups of people for excising they’re rights of speech and association.

    Encouraging a hotel to not rent a conference room to the American Nazi Party is fine, changing regulatory structure to threaten or punish them for it is is.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  469. But this surprises me:

    Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ Banned in Saudi Arabia Over Same-Gender Kiss

    Arab men are always kissing each other. In public. It’s a common greeting. Like shaking hands.

    nk (004dc2)

  470. 475… and doing it all behind a lie “is fine”.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  471. 479–That’s the point. The warring doesn’t end. It’s been going on for decades in some form or another. So asking when it “ends” or what the “final result” is supposed to be is just “last battle” conservatism that isn’t supported anymore.

    The left doesn’t consider a cultural or political battle “lost,” that’s why they keep pushing the same policies over and over and over and over and over again until they get their way And if the left doesn’t stop, there’s no reason for the right to do so, either.

    Factory Working Orphan (bc2e66)

  472. –469, not 479

    Factory Working Orphan (bc2e66)

  473. Lies, lies and more lies is all you’ll get from the Biden Junta, #NeverTrump and that sort.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  474. @222 This, right here, is what we’re going to see when the GOP retake control:

    Merrick Garland and his minions absolutely hate Republicans, but the vast majority of the kerfufflers have been allowed to plead down to a single count of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building; The penalty for violating 40 U.S.C. §5104(e)(2) is a misdemeanor conviction punishable by a maximum fine of $5,000 or up to six months in prison, or both. Most got off with a fine and time served, and probation. Since most were people of normal means, and some of them were held without bail — punished for crimes for which they had not been convicted — it was simpler to plead to a misdemeanor to get the government behemoth off their backs and out of their lives. This hardly seems commensurate with the oh-so-serious insurrection claims.

    A lot of Republicans wanted serious investigations of the odious Hillary Clinton, but nothing happened to Mr Trump’s defeated opponent. Well, now the Democrats have been going after defeated Republicans, setting a new standard for government pursuit of their enemies. Look for Hunter Biden, at the very least, to be investigated thoroughly, and hearings held concerning whether Joe Biden knew of his son’s dealings with Ukraine, and whether bribery was an issue.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (5a6669) — 6/11/2022 @ 5:29 pm

    Please recognize for what this is – an escalation of abuse of power by one partisan party. When Democrat cries about a future GOP administration going after partisan democrats, I’m going to point to this “reap what you sow” moment.

    whembly (21b824)

  475. @475, etc

    The City of Los Angeles changed its rules about permissible size of stores that sold groceries in order to ban Walmart due to union pressure. When I lived there, the (gay) local city councilman refused to sign off on a plan to turn a failed restaurant property into a Chick-fil-A because of the owner’s Christian values. Eventually Chick-fil-A found a nearby property in Culver City which had no such objection.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  476. Should have been ‘changing the regulatory threaten or punish them is not’.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  477. @481, Whembly, the details I’ve seen on how the people charged with crimes related to Jan 6 shows they were treated consistently with how other federal defendants are treated.

    I think the assertions that they’re being held without bail as punishment is false. Additionally, many have been allowed to plead to minor offenses with minimal punishment.

    But if you want to investigate Hunter Biden as revenge for something that didn’t happen have at it. A precedent that no-show jobs, influence peddling, and corrupt perks for the friends and family of elected officials will result in a high level of public scrutiny is a good thing.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  478. The famous saying from Breitbart (the person, not the website) is “Politics is downstream from culture.” What FWO eloquently argues for is a reversal of the flow — we use politics to change the culture.

    I don’t like this approach, myself. But when the culture of Hollywood and the Universities is declared to be the only true culture, and is flung in your face everyday by the moralizers in the media, and (for heavens sake) corporate HR, I understand why it becomes popular.

    Ultimately, though, there’s going to be enough of a rebellion from the people that the nonsense will stop. America tends, ultimately, to reject scolds of the right and left. And, frankly, people like DiSantis are part of the rebellion. Cultural scolds don’t stop until the scolding starts costing them money.

    In the meantime, though, I doubt there is any escape from the ugly. Populists, though, might want to disassociate themselves from Trump’s personal grievances. The Trump Big Lie plot, had it succeeded, would have removed one of the best ways to dispose of cultural nags — a regular Democratic system that scares whoever is in power into not going tooo far down into the politicl fever dreams of the day.

    Appalled (1a17de)

  479. Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone they think the GOP voters will accept.

    Pretty much anyone else except Cruz and posers like Greene and Gaetz and racists like Gosar. DeSantis is the frontrunner when you take Trump out of it, and I’d vote for him (despite some of his un-conservative actions as guv) because he’s fitter, more hinged, younger and smarter than Trump.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  480. It becomes a problem when we use state power to punish groups of people for excising they’re rights of speech and association.

    Time123 (1c8cb7) — 6/13/2022 @ 7:17 am

    Disney isn’t being punished. They were given special regulatory and tax benefits. The people of FL can choose to revoke those. And again, this wasn’t an executive branch action or some bureaucrat with a personal agenda.

    The standard left/progressive tactic of claiming victim status here is unlikely to work. Disney is a very large corporation. They aren’t being victimized. The standard left/progressive tactic of claiming some right to special regulatory and tax benefits also seems like a non-starter.

    frosty (f76b54)

  481. Frosty, I like FWOs approach of just admitting they’re using the power of the state to punish people that disagree with them. It’s honest. I don’t think it’s constitutional or good policy but it’s honest and I’m happy to talk with him about it.

    Your vague protests that this isn’t being done as punishment for Disney’s speech are not and I don’t have any interest in more discussion with you on the topic.

    Time123 (8045e1)

  482. Disney isn’t being punished. They were given special regulatory and tax benefits.

    This was instigated by DeSantis, and he exerted his control over the FL legislature through a rewrite of state law to target Disney. It’s probably going to backfire but the attempt by DeSantis was apparent.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  483. #489

    Disney is losing a special tax/zoning break only available to Disney. Sure, it’s punishment. But it’s also consitutional. No company has constitutional right to a tax and zoning loophole. I understand there may be some problems with bonds/contracts that may make punishment expensive for Florida.

    There is a reason corporations are well advised not taking sides in cultural matters. Looks like the companies or going to get an educaton about that.

    Appalled (1a17de)

  484. Can I be a legit contrarian?

    Trump is at minimum morally culpable for the events of Jan 6th (the dereliction of duty to call off the insurrection is pretty plain) and hope that his most fervent supporters might recognize that and quit pushing to inflict him on the GOP again

    As far as I can see, they’re firmly committed to these propositions:
    * Trump did nothing wrong, ever.

    That’s a tiny minority of Trump voters imo. Sure, he’ll have superfans that think like that, but that’s true for any Presidency and Trump is no different.

    There were a lot, A LOT, of things I found Trump did do wrongs.

    * 1/6 was a legitimate protest of a stolen election.

    That was indeed, the perspective of those protestors. Its a legit concern too, and it’s mainly because of Democrat’s, mainstream media’s and NeverTrumper’s absolute refusal to engage on those concerns in good faith. (please note: I *do* believe Biden won fair and square. But that shouldn’t render questions regarding the handling of the election moot).

    * Everyone who attests that it wasn’t stolen is either a Deep State traitor, or delusional, or just trying to get airtime on CNN.

    I think that’s the Trump superfans pushing this. If you notice, it’s the same sort of people pushing that, and it’s not reflective to the wider Trump voters.

    * Anything bad that happened on 1/6 was either part of a false flag operation or a consequence of patriots being goaded by FBI operatives.

    J6 riot itself was bad. The J6 assaults on officers was bad.

    But, there are still a ton of unanswered questions, and strange responses regarding J6. (ie, they were “waved in” or the doors mysteriously was unlocked or the like).

    Can we separate and acknowledge both that the people who were part of the riots are getting prosecutions AND that the entire situation/handling seems suspect?

    * All the investigations of 1/6 and the criminal prosecutions are nothing but a political attack on conservatives.

    To be fair: The Biden administration, media and NeverTrumpers (like you) aren’t doing anything to disabuse that notion.

    * It’s absurd to think that a guy putting his feet on Nancy Pelosi’s desk was a threat to democracy.

    That’s true.

    Congress was delayed in doing their official duties. Congress, if it wanted, could complete their task in a different location. “Democracy” wasn’t anywhere near in “danger” because the entire government, as it should, was against these riots.

    The guy trespassing into Pelosi’s desk should get the book thrown at him for sure. But, democracy was “at stake”? Do you think we’re that fragile?

    * No none cares; it’s all a distraction at best.

    I think that’s true NOW. Most people see J6 as a bad thing. Most people see the government aggressively, maybe too much, prosecuting those involved in the riots. So the slow wheel of justice is churning and there’s no need to actively spend neurons about J6. There’s more immediate concerns right now.

    A lot of people chose to believe that Donald Trump is a pure-hearted patriot who is heroically, selflessly committed to defending ordinary Americans and saving the constitutional republic, and that he’s been up against a vast machinery of institutionalized evil in his noble crusade — which means that those people have already chosen to disregard some of the most obvious facts about Trump, and build a myth that’s absurd on its face. Some of them have adamantly argued their case publicly. I expect that many of them will choose to maintain their own myth about the heroic virtue of Trump and the perfidy of all his critics and opponents, rather than admit that the NeverTrumpers got some important things right.

    Radegunda (c15743) — 6/12/2022 @ 9:10 am

    Those super-Trumpers: Sure, I’d agree with that synopsis. But please don’t drag the other Trump voters into that bucket.

    TO this day, I’d still vote for Trump over Biden. And I say that as someone who believes he should’ve been impeach and REMOVED for J6 for nothing else than his dereliction of duty to protect Congress.

    That’s how badly I view Biden and current Democrats. I consider them a half-step away from declaring my mortal enemy.

    whembly (840a86)

  485. If Disney can make money in China, it can make money in Florida. And with pythons a non-protected invasive species, its executives can enjoy Chinese haute cuisine in Florida too. Uighur slave labor is a problem, but that’s the kind of thing that makes the world a kaleidoscope of wonder. Every place is different in some way.

    nk (004dc2)

  486. How important was January 6th? This important, according to conservative columnist George Will:

    The U.S. presidential election of 1800 was and remains the most important election in world history — the first in which an incumbent party peacefully transferred power to the party that had defeated it. Perhaps the second-most important election, it is mortifying to acknowledge, was that of 2020. Twenty-two decades after this nation gave the world a glimpse of glittering political possibilities, this nation saw how perishable democratic manners are, even where they first prevailed.

    The congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and the planning of it, can present facts crucial to Congress’s performing this legitimate function: supplying the public with information indispensable to understanding itself. The information’s importance can be, but need not be, related to some legislative purpose.

    (Links omitted.)

    This will be embarrassing, and should be, he concludes: “By disseminating the graphic record of Jan. 6, the committee can serve the nation by deepening its embarrassment, which is a necessary first step toward the recovery of its dignity.”

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  487. @461

    I think DeSantis recent actions might be examples of things you want, that i feel are unacceptable.
    -Targeting Disney with the elimination for existing regulatory structure as punishment for opposing his positions.
    -Targeting a major sports team with a funding cut for making statements around gun control that his base disliked.
    -Reducing local control of eduction (a proposal)
    -Recent statements that exposing children to men dressed as women who read them a story would justify CPS investigations of the parents.

    If I’m reading your correctly I think these are things you would say are good. Am I correct on that? I’m not trying too put words in your mouth or ascribe to you a position beyond what you intend to take. I’m trying to make sure i understand what you’re saying and check that i have it right.

    I know this wasn’t directed at me, but every single thing you pointed out is deeply popular with those on the right (and with me).

    At some point, we have to recognize that we ELECT people to represent our VALUES and we want our elected officials to RESPONSE to entities that does NOT reflect our values.

    Gone are the days where we reflectively announce that corporations or entities can do whatever they want.

    The fabric of our society, is made up of what we incentivize or disincentivize.

    None of those things you mentioned are remotely illegal, nor even abuses of power. (although, I am dubious about sending CPS after parents after taking them to a drag show. I think we’re missing a larger context: Were these shows tastefull? Or full on sexual/containing nudity?)

    whembly (840a86)

  488. The U.S. presidential election of 1800 was and remains the most important election in world history — the first in which an incumbent party peacefully transferred power to the party that had defeated it.

    Although Adams did not attend the transfer himself.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  489. whembly

    Excellent points! However this – congress is protected by its highest member – the speaker of the house. The President has no authority over congressional matters and in civil unrest the Mayor of DC is in charge (who – reports to the speaker)

    Pelosi was the guilty party, not Trump

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  490. “Please recognize for what this is – an escalation of abuse of power by one partisan party. When Democrat cries about a future GOP administration going after partisan democrats, I’m going to point to this “reap what you sow” moment.”

    Do you not remember the endless Benghazi committee meetings?

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  491. Good grief. Another government agency citing “public safety” as CYA for their incompetence.

    Paul Montagu (5de684)

  492. @497

    whembly

    Excellent points! However this – congress is protected by its highest member – the speaker of the house. The President has no authority over congressional matters and in civil unrest the Mayor of DC is in charge (who – reports to the speaker)

    Pelosi was the guilty party, not Trump

    EPWJ (4f24b3) — 6/13/2022 @ 9:06 am

    Trump bears the same responsibility imo. He could’ve ordered federal forces to secure the grounds.

    whembly (7e0293)

  493. @498 what about it?

    Every bloody response by the Obama administration ended up being a lie, and we wouldn’t have known that without those hearings.

    These J6 hearings is something else altogether.

    whembly (7e0293)

  494. Whembly, there are a lot of areas around elections that are ripe for a nuanced discussion. But it’s hard to have a conversation around how we balance accommodations made for covid with established rules outside of the context of the claims around fraud in 2020. It’s fair and reasonable to say that in some locations local officials exceeded their authority. But it’s hard to do that without making the implication that you think the outcome was determined by fraud and that Trump’s wild claims are true.

    I 100% believe you on what you say your motivations are. But for every person that shares your POV there are 100 more that couldn’t care less about those rules and are looking for a pretext to ‘stop the steal.’ So when we have these discussions I think the conversation is aimed at the more common POV. I know I’ve done that, which is unfair to people who share your outlook.

    Have you ever checked out Harris Hursti? He does a lot of really good writing on the technology side of election security. I found him when he was working on a counting machine issue in New England. Good stuff if you’re into election nerd type stuff.

    https://twitter.com/harrihursti/status/1535442832944676865?s=21&t=EPQpjZG6FJKDuiee076UiQ

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  495. When I lived there, the (gay) local city councilman refused to sign off on a plan to turn a failed restaurant property into a Chick-fil-A because of the owner’s Christian values. Eventually Chick-fil-A found a nearby property in Culver City which had no such objection.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/13/2022 @ 7:30 am

    There are at least 10 Chick-fil-A locations in all areas of Los Angeles, including the liberal areas of Hollywood, Westwood, and West LA.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  496. “Every bloody response by the Obama administration ended up being a lie, and we wouldn’t have known that without those hearings.”

    There were at least eight committee meetings and they all delivered essentially the same conclusions. The real purpose they served was to keep Benghazi in the news.

    “These J6 hearings is something else altogether.”

    Well, yeah, we’d need seven more of them for parity.

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  497. Whembly, I welcome any thoughts or comments you have something I write. It’s a comment section so you don’t need permission, but if you want it anyway consider this to be it.

    Appalled wrote:

    Disney is losing a special tax/zoning break only available to Disney. Sure, it’s punishment. But it’s also consitutional. No company has constitutional right to a tax and zoning loophole.

    Here’s my argument in a nut shell.

    Elected officials that use their authority to punish a person or group of people for exercising legitimate rights are behaving improperly even if the action itself is within their lawful authority.

    In this case, Disney issued a statement say thing they disagreed with a new FL law and the state of FL changed the law to Disney’s detriment as punishment for that statement.

    That’s the government penalizing free speech. In this case Desantis hasn’t even mad an effort to hide his motivations.

    I’d also argue that this is to the long term detriment of social conservatives. Society has been adopting more socially liberal positions for years. Ford recognized same sex partners before the SC did. “It’s OK for the state to punish people who don’t share our values” seems like a long term loser for people advocating increasingly less popular position.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  498. When I lived there, the (gay) local city councilman refused to sign off on a plan to turn a failed restaurant property into a Chick-fil-A because of the owner’s Christian values. Eventually Chick-fil-A found a nearby property in Culver City which had no such objection.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/13/2022 @ 7:30 am

    This is wrong and a great example of exactly what I’m saying we don’t want from the government.

    “Agree with the values of whoever controls the government or you don’t get due process.” Is a bad system, and not they system we have documented on paper.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  499. Speaking of Benghazi, wasn’t the GOP pretty open about using it as a tool to harm Hillary Clinton Politically? I’m not saying it wasn’t worth investigating, but it seems clear that political advantage was large part of the motivation behind their size and length.

    Here’s wheat Kevin McCarthy Said about the Benghazi hearings on Hannity

    REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The question I think you really want to ask me is, how am I going to be different? What are you going to see differently?

    SEAN HANNITY (HOST): I love how you asked my questions. But go ahead, that was one of my questions, go right ahead.

    MCCARTHY: I knew you’d want to ask it. What you’re going to see is a conservative speaker, that takes a conservative Congress, that puts a strategy to fight and win. And let me give you one example. Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping. Why? Because she’s untrustable. But no one would have known any of that had happened, had we not fought and made that happen.

    HANNITY: I agree. That’s something good, I give you credit for that

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  500. ……every single thing you pointed out is deeply popular with those on the right (and with me).

    At some point, we have to recognize that we ELECT people to represent our VALUES and we want our elected officials to RESPONSE to entities that does NOT reflect our values.

    Just in time for the DeSantis reelection campaign (and possible Presidential run). What happened to the previous three years?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  501. @505 You’re missing part of the story regarding FL’s response to Disney.

    Disney publicly stated that they’ll work unseat GOP legislators to overturn this law.

    Now, what FL/DeSantis did, doesn’t STOP Disney from doing so, as it isn’t infringing on their 1st Amendment right.

    It’s signalling to Disney (and other Corporation) that political advocacy is NOT a zero cost endeavor.

    whembly (7e0293)

  502. Frosty, I like FWOs approach of just admitting they’re using the power of the state to punish people that disagree with them. It’s honest. I don’t think it’s constitutional or good policy but it’s honest and I’m happy to talk with him about it.

    Your vague protests that this isn’t being done as punishment for Disney’s speech are not and I don’t have any interest in more discussion with you on the topic.

    Time123 (8045e1) — 6/13/2022 @ 8:00 am

    Of course you like that approach. It plays into the victim narrative you’re trying to leverage. Disney isn’t a victim. This is punishment only in the sense that telling a kid he can’t have any pudding because he didn’t finish his dinner.

    You did a fairly obvious job of getting this comparison between CFA and Disney completely wrong. And you’re having trouble getting traction whining for Disney.

    You’re also wrong on the constitutional issue.

    Yes, you should stop engaging with me on this topic.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  503. “Disney publicly stated that they’ll work unseat GOP legislators to overturn this law.”

    No they didn’t.

    “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law. Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country.”

    https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/statement-from-the-walt-disney-company-on-signing-of-florida-legislation/

    Davethulhu (054e7d)

  504. Disney publicly stated that they’ll work unseat GOP legislators to overturn this law.

    Source? Disney actually has a better chance in the courts to overturn the law.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  505. At some point, we have to recognize that we ELECT people to represent our VALUES and we want our elected officials to RESPONSE to entities that does NOT reflect our values.

    One other thought, i agree with this. But need to add that running the government according to those values is limited by the constitution.

    I won’t vote for a candidate the espouses Blood and Soil nationalism. I also won’t vote for a candidate that wants to deny Blood and Soil nationalists the right to march through the street shouting Nazi slogans, even if my preference is that such marches never happen.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  506. @509, Whembly, How is the government punishing a group of people for saying they’ll oppose them politically NOT a bad thing? I mean, play it out and assume someone’s doing it because a group of people advocated something you liked.

    Time123 (1c8cb7)

  507. “Agree with the values of whoever controls the government or you don’t get due process.” Is a bad system, and not they system we have documented on paper.

    Time123 (1c8cb7) — 6/13/2022 @ 9:53 am

    And in the case of Disney, this is absolutely not happening. This bill was passed as part of the legislative process and Disney is already saying it has legal options to oppose the implementation of the bill. There is no due process issue here.

    The overall claims you are making though are even more ridiculous. DeSantis doesn’t “control” the government of FL. He’s the governor not dictator.

    At best your complaint is “Agree with the values of the taxpayers or you don’t get special perks”.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  508. DeSantis says he plans for the state of Florida to take control of Disney’s Reedy Creek
    …….
    Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has said dissolving Reedy Creek — which was established by the Florida Legislature in 1967 to allow Disney World to self-govern — would be catastrophic for the county budget.

    Republican lawmakers never conducted an economic study of the impacts of dissolving the district before passing it in a three-day special session last month.The specialty district is currently set to dissolve in June of 2023.

    When asked Monday, DeSantis said local taxpayers will not be responsible for the nearly $1 billion of debt that Reedy Creek currently holds.

    While explaining his plan for the state to take over the district, he said that the debt would remain Disney’s responsibility, but didn’t give any details on exactly how this would happen, other than to say that lawmakers are working on proposals for after the November election.
    …….

    ……other than to say that lawmakers are working on proposals for after the November election.

    How convenient. Hiding the true cost to Florida taxpayers until after his reelection. I’ll bet he is hoping the courts will take the issue off the table before then.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  509. At best your complaint is “Agree with the values of the taxpayers voters or you don’t get special perks”.

    frosty (51f5f0) — 6/13/2022 @ 10:17 am

    fixed it

    frosty (51f5f0)

  510. frosty (51f5f0) — 6/13/2022 @ 10:17 am

    Why was this issue important now and not three years ago when DeSantis was first elected? Did he just become aware of it?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  511. Reminder: If you post a comment with a lot of links, it will get stuck in the spam filter.

    Dana (1225fc)

  512. How convenient. Hiding the true cost to Florida taxpayers until after his reelection. I’ll bet he is hoping the courts will take the issue off the table before then.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/13/2022 @ 10:17 am

    Time, this is a much better argument with conservatives than trying to push the victim narrative. Conservatives aren’t as sympathetic to the idea that something like this might in the future be used against them. They haven’t forgotten the covid response or the school board thing or BLM or CRT, etc.

    Especially when you’ve been a past fan of the “I don’t really see a problem here” school of thought.

    So, taking a lesson from you, I don’t really see a problem here. If you read past the headlines you’ll notice that this doesn’t kick in for a bit. Disney and FL will work this out and on both sides this is more political theater than anything else.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  513. Trump bears the same responsibility imo. He could’ve ordered federal forces to secure the grounds.

    whembly (7e0293) — 6/13/2022 @ 9:23 am

    He did and the FBI, the DIA, State dept officers – said they could not respond, they didnt have the equipment nor permission from DC or the Speaker.

    But one sided stores make better sound bites

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  514. Also trump tried to go with all the uniformed SS and the detail – he was refused by the head of the SS who I think he fired

    Like I said – one sided tales by serial liars such a Schiff and cheney make damn good sound bites

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  515. Rip Taylor always hated to see government spending taxpayer money.

    Colonel Haiku (4eca91)

  516. Why was this issue important now and not three years ago when DeSantis was first elected? Did he just become aware of it?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/13/2022 @ 10:20 am

    Possibly. What did you expect him, or any of the Rs in FL, to do when Disney decided to start throwing a lot of money into political opposition? Not respond? To be clear, I’m not saying this isn’t in response to what Disney is doing. I’m saying that whining about punishment is ridiculous.

    Pretending that Disney is also not actively trying to put politicians more favorable to their interests in place is also ridiculous. By the rules I’m hearing now that would be Disney punishing the politicians they replaced correct? But that’s nonsense.

    This isn’t just a case of Disney being picked on by big bad authoritarians for their beliefs. That is a blatantly dishonest narrative. Claiming that Disney should benefit from special privileges while aggressively pushing a political and social agenda free from any push back from the voters who gave them those special privileges is not realistic.

    What do we always hear when the shoe is on the other foot? Free speech isn’t without consequences?

    This also isn’t new. There’s a reason NASA moved a lot of it’s operations from AL to TX and Brookley Air Force Base is no longer. It’s too bad Time wasn’t around to tell LBJ he couldn’t infringe on the free speech rights of the people of AL.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  517. Six weeks. Where’s the leaker?

    DCSCA (0bea53)

  518. What did you expect him, or any of the Rs in FL, to do when Disney decided to start throwing a lot of money into political opposition? Not respond?

    Disney gave $190K to support Florida Republicans as lawmakers met

    Weeks before The Walt Disney Co. took a stand against Florida’s contentious “Parental Rights in Education” law — which has been called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by its critics — the theme park operator and entertainment conglomerate donated $190,000 to support Florida Republicans.

    The company gave $125,000 to the Republican Party of Florida and $65,000 to a committee that helps elect GOP state senators, led by incoming state Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. All the donations, which were disclosed in new campaign filings (in April 2022), arrived as the state legislative session was getting underway in January.
    ……..
    The records show Disney gave a $100,000 check to the Republican Party of Florida on Jan. 11 and $25,000 more on Jan. 26. That second check came six days after the “Parental Rights in Education” bill had cleared its first legislative stop in the Florida House.

    And

    DeSantis took $100,000 from Disney before feuding with company. Will he give it back?

    Gov. Ron DeSantis has attacked Disney as a “woke” company that has exerted “inappropriate influence” in Florida, but until recently he was happy to accept the company’s campaign contributions and doesn’t appear eager to give them back.

    DeSantis’ political committee received three contributions from Disney totaling $100,000 and a $6,809 in-kind contribution for “food and beverage,” likely catering for a fundraiser or some other campaign event. Disney gave DeSantis $50,000 in 2019 and $50,000 in 2021.
    ……..
    DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw referred questions about Disney’s campaign contributions to the governor’s campaign staff, which did not respond.
    #########

    Talk about an investment that didn’t pay off.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  519. I’m sure Desantis sure likes those 70,000+ Disney jobs and all the tourist revenue Disney brings to the state. It’s probably not practical financially for Disney to re-locate (land costs alone are estimated to be in the billions), but it might be an interesting political move to start taking proposals from other states. I wonder if the more likely option would be proposing a third theme park. I’m with Time on this one. This was not motivated by a concern for leveling the playing field for businesses in FL. This was payback…within the rights of the legislature and governor, but aimed at silencing opposition.

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  520. AJ, correct. It’s punishment for speech the incumbent FL government didn’t like. Even worse, it’s punishment for political speech.

    I expect Disney will be fine. I’m not actually worried about Disney. I just think this is a bad policy that will, if it becomes the standard, make us less free.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  521. Amazon planning drone deliveries in California

    Amazon will begin delivering orders in a California city by drone later this year, the company announced Monday.

    The trial in Lockeford, Calif., will be the first time a company uses drones for deliveries in the U.S.
    ……
    Residents of the city, roughly 40 miles south of Sacramento, will be able to sign up for free drone delivery.
    ……
    The Federal Aviation Administration gave Amazon approval to fly drones in 2020.
    ……

    What could possibly go wrong?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  522. I expect Disney will be fine. I’m not actually worried about Disney. I just think this is a bad policy that will, if it becomes the standard, make us less free.

    Time123 (9f42ee) — 6/13/2022 @ 11:47 am

    Remember all of that cancel culture stuff that you weren’t going to worry about until it was obviously a problem? Remember me saying that when it was obviously a problem it would be too late?

    frosty (51f5f0)

  523. Justice Roberts needs to page Inspector Clouseau, because the idiots investigating must be from the fbi.

    mg (8cbc69)

  524. Talk about an investment that didn’t pay off.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/13/2022 @ 11:37 am

    Corps routinely give money to both sides. Some of that pays off more than others. Some of that is just for access, aka the cover charge.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  525. Frosty, For someone that agreed there was no point engaging in this you’ve had a lot to say to me on the topic. All if it confirming that my initial statement; talking to you about this is a waste of time.

    Time123 (0c2ffc)

  526. So yes, you have a right to arms. But not to ammunition.

    That’s as stupid as saying “but not to hands.”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  527. Sit back with me for a moment and imagine DCSCA as Chief Justice.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  528. Kevin, No I won’t and you can’t make me.

    Time123 (9f42ee)

  529. Bill Clinton cemented his legacy and put the Democrats in league with the GOP by agreeing with Carville that “It’s the economy, stupid.” It took him until the 1994 election to get that, but he did.

    Joe Biden is ignoring that advice, thinking that just not being Donald Trump will be enough.

    It should be interesting to see how far it swings. The GOP has not had 290 votes (2/3rds) in the House since 1921-23. The Democrats have had 2/3rds as recently as 1975-79, helped by Watergate and a national gerrymander. The GOP would need to pick up 80 seats to get there, which has been done, but not since the election of 1932.

    Most recently, the GOP picked up 64 seats at this point in Barack Obama’s first term, in reaction to Obamacare among other things. Joe is doing far worse than Obama was.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  530. Kevin, No I won’t and you can’t make me.

    But could he make the Alitoss dance?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  531. Mr Orphan wrote, or was it quoted:

    Perhaps the answer is for the NeverTrumpers to offer up someone they think the GOP voters will accept.

    That’s just it: they can’t, because what the NeverTrumpers want is another oh-so-polite Bush family type thousand points of light Republican, while the Republican electorate want another kick-ass tell the unvarnished truth hard-nosed conservative. It doesn’t have to be Donald Trump, but it has to be someone like him.

    The NeverTrumpers are the type who would address illegal immigration by increasing border security, but come up with some sort of amnesty program and path toward citizenship for the illegals already here; the Republican electorate want a candidate who will address illegal immigration by increasing border security and rounding up the illegals already here and shipping them back south of the border. The NeverTrumpers would address ‘transgenderism’ by being nice and polite and calling Will Thomas ‘Lia,’ while the Republican electorate would address ‘transgenderism’ by saying that Will Thomas is sick in the head, and needs to be institutionalized.

    There are obviously plenty of other differences, but, in general, the Republican electorate think that the NeverTrumpers are just as caught up in Washington thinking as the Democrats.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (b4ec46)

  532. Why Congress Won’t Ban Assault Weapons
    ……..
    The Democratic-controlled House didn’t include an assault-weapons ban in a gun-control package that passed this week just hours after the mother of 10-year-old Lexi Rubio, a victim of the Uvalde, Texas, mass killing, tearfully asked for it in a congressional hearing. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has promised a separate hearing on an assault-weapons ban, but she hasn’t committed to bringing legislation to the floor for a vote by the full House.

    Bills to ban semiautomatic weapons like AR-15 style rifles haven’t come close to passing since the federal ban expired in 2004.
    ……..
    Gun makers quickly figured out how to produce similar weapons without the prohibited features and sold their guns under new names. Colt called its post-ban rifle the Match Target.

    The post-ban guns looked a little different, and they were sold with 10-round magazines instead of 30-round magazines. But they still fired the same bullets as fast as a shooter could pull the trigger. By 1999, multiple gun makers were producing more AR-15s than ever before.
    ……..
    AR-15 sales have soared since the ban lapsed, spurred in part by periodic calls to ban them again. Before the 1994 ban, Americans owned approximately 400,000 AR-15s, according to government estimates; today, there are approximately 20 million AR- style rifles in private hands, according to industry estimates.
    ……..
    Seven states—California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Vermont, Washington and just this month New York—have already raised the minimum age to 21 (to purchase assault weapons)…….In May, a federal appeals court panel threw out California’s law, ruling 2-1 that it violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
    ………

    California’s general ban on assault weapons was overturned in June 2021, but the District Court’s ruling was stayed by the appeals court later that month.

    In the (District Court) ruling, Judge Benitez wrote that the case was about “what should be a muscular constitutional right and whether a state can force a gun policy choice that impinges on that right with a 30-year-old failed experiment.” He added, “Government is not free to impose its own new policy choices on American citizens where constitutional rights are concerned.”

    The firearms banned under the state’s law, he wrote, were not “bazookas, howitzers or machine guns,” but rather “fairly ordinary, popular, modern rifles.”

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  533. I like reading here and over at ace hq. Reading the two together you pop the bubble. Over there they consider never trumpers loathsome to vermin. Here trumpers (ignorant white trash populists) are considered misguided to loathsome.

    asset (a1d387)

  534. @535. Except it’s not.

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (561a2d)

  535. 508/

    But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today

    I guess you could have seen Kevin McCarthy’s partisanship from that.

    The committee wasn’t quite set up to drive Hillary’s umbers down. It did that, quite accidentally, because they accidently discovered that she kept email only on Bill’s server/

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  536. Colonel Haiku: It wasn’t “Ukraine” that paid Hunter Biden $85,000 a month as a “compliance consultant” but a corrupt Ukrainian who had denied he had control of the company, Burisma.

    He paid him, partially for his connectin to Delaware lawyers, and as a plaible board member should that become necessary but mainly to create an appearance of corruption. The corruption didnt even have to be real for that to work and prevent actions being taken against him by the Ukraiainian government.

    It is still working because Zelensky said they have to get long with both political parties.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  537. Texas Police Want Uvalde Bodycam Footage Suppressed Because It Could Expose Law Enforcement ‘Weakness’

    The Texas Department of Public Safety has asked the state’s Office of the Attorney General to prevent the public release of police body camera footage from the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in part because, it argues, the footage could be used by other shooters to determine “weaknesses” in police response to crimes.
    ……..
    “Revealing the marked records would provide criminals with invaluable information concerning Department techniques used to investigate and detect activities of suspected criminal elements; how information is assessed and analyzed; how information is shared among partner law enforcement agencies and the lessons learned from the analysis of prior criminal activities,” the department wrote in a letter to the Office of the Attorney General that asked the office to prevent the release of the public records. “Knowing the intelligence and response capabilities of Department personnel and where those employees focus their attention will compromise law enforcement purposes by enabling criminals to anticipate weakness in law enforcement procedures and alter their methods of operation in order to avoid detection and apprehension.”
    ……..

    The coverup continues. Related:

    Aware of Injuries Inside, Uvalde Police Waited to Confront Gunman
    ……..
    Among the revelations in the documents: The gunman, Salvador Ramos, had a “hellfire” trigger device meant to allow a semiautomatic AR-15-style rifle to be fired more like an automatic weapon; some of the officers who first arrived at the school had long guns, more firepower than previously known; and Chief Arredondo learned the gunman’s identity while inside the school and attempted in vain to communicate with him by name through the closed classroom doors.

    But with two officers who initially approached the door shot at and grazed, Chief Arredondo appeared to have decided that quickly breaching the classrooms without shields and other protection would have led to officers possibly being killed. He focused instead on getting other children out of the school while waiting for additional protection equipment.
    ……..
    Now, more than two weeks after the gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, a clearer picture of the timeline of events and the police response has emerged, according to a Times review of law enforcement documents and video gathered as part of the investigation into the shooting.

    A cascade of failures took place at the school: the local police radio system, later tests showed, did not function properly inside the building; classroom doors could not be quickly locked in an emergency; and after an initial burst of shooting from the gunman, no police officer went near the door again for more than 40 minutes, instead hanging back at a distance in the hallway.
    ……..
    ……..[O]fficers in and around the school had been growing increasingly impatient, and in some cases had been loudly voicing their concerns. “If there’s kids in there, we need to go in there,” one officer could be heard saying, according to the documents. Another responded, “Whoever is in charge will determine that.”

    A team made up of specially trained Border Patrol agents and a sheriff’s deputy finally went in after the gunman and killed him at 12:50 p.m.

    The team entered, not over the objections of Chief Arredondo, but apparently not fully aware that he had given the go-ahead after holding officers back for more than an hour, according to a person briefed on the team’s response by a federal agent involved in the tactical effort. Amid the confusion and frustration in the hallway, the agent believed that the team was taking the initiative on its own to go into the classrooms.

    The lack of clear orders underscored the chaos and poor communication in a response that included dozens of state and local police officers, sheriff’s deputies and federal agents from the Border Patrol, many of whom lived or worked nearby.
    ……..
    Investigators found that not only did an exterior door — through which the gunman entered — fail to lock, but most of the school’s interior doors, including those on classrooms, could not be immediately locked in the event of an emergency.

    And most of the officers arrived with radios that did not function well inside the school building, according to the investigators’ review, potentially creating communication difficulties and confusion.
    …….
    …….Only the radios carried by Border Patrol agents appeared to function well, the review found.
    …….
    The investigative documents provide additional details about the gunman and the weaponry he acquired.

    Before entering the school, he had amassed an arsenal of weapons that included two AR-15-style rifles, accessories and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, according to the documents. He spent more than $6,000.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  538. What do you suppose would have happened if some of the crazier folks who invaded the Capitol had caught and harmed a Senator or Congressperson? I think that things would have gotten much harsher, not only due the security response, and particularly for Donald Trump.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  539. The assault gun banners need to take the attitude that with reasonable people we will be reasonable and with unreasonable people we will be unreasonable. Let the gun nuts and their enablers know that the next school massacre all nra supporting memeber of congress and senate will be arrested (even if they have to declare martial law) and also state legislators and their executive officers gov. ect. and charge them with accessary to murder. Then impeach republicans off supreme court repeal 2nd amendment, electoral college and change senate based on population. Pass voter reform laws and medicare for all ect. Declare nra a terrorist organization and arrest its leaders as terrorists. Now if republican gun nuts are upset with this they might want to reconsider their opposition to assault gun ban.

    asset (a1d387)

  540. What do you suppose would have happened if some of the crazier folks who invaded the Capitol had caught and harmed a Senator or Congressperson?

    The insurrectionists were ready.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  541. Now if republican gun nuts are upset with this they might want to reconsider their opposition to assault gun ban.

    Such a ban would be per se unconstitutional. Good luck enforcing it.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  542. That’s just it: they can’t, because what the NeverTrumpers want is another oh-so-polite Bush family type thousand points of light Republican.

    Bullsh1t. Some may, but some Trumpsters want George Wallace. Both are unfair characterizations. Many of the #NeverTrumps backed Ted Cruz in 2016 — almost NO ONE backed Jeb! Kasich (I almost wrote Kucinich) was the darling of Democrat cross-overs and confused people.

    while the Republican electorate want another kick-ass tell the unvarnished truth hard-nosed conservative.

    Perhaps, but Reagan is long dead and Trump was nothing or the sort. Trump could not tell the unvarnished truth about what he had for breakfast. He would lie about whether it was raining. His utterly deranged performance at the first 2020 debate would have lost him the election if his equally deranged demand that his voters not use absentee ballots wasn’t more destructive. It’s almost as if he wanted to lose, then take the party down with him. And he’s still at it.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  543. @548:

    Asset, I know people to your Left who are strong 2nd Amendment supporters. And you should look to how they view things in Vermont, too, as state that until recently had NO gun laws.

    You should also consider how your argument that elected officials should be rounded up if they oppose your dictator’s views as less encouraging of people to disarm than your think. Hitler didn’t go that far for years, but I guess you AOC supporters don’t mind a few death camps if they’re for the right people.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  544. The hearing actually began at about 10:45 am – possibly delayed because the wife of the star witness, Bill Steppian, Donald Trump’s last campaign manager, went into labor. They used excerpts from his deposition testimony in February, instead.

    Three important points:

    1. The committee, although it kept on saying that Trump “knew” he lost the election., did not attempt to assert whether Donald was lying or was deluded.

    They missed the best proof that he was lying/

    Donald Trump not only said that the election was stolen, but he said, or tweeted, that “everyone” knew that. That was a big fat lie because Bill Barr and others told him it was not so.

    Example of this claim that everyone knew that the election was stolen:

    https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/in-a-taped-call-trump-pressures-a-georgia-official-to-overturn-the-states-election-results

    There is no way you lost Georgia.

    Nobody, everyone knows I won it by 100s of 1,000s of votes,

    There are probably better examples to be found.

    Liz Cheney needs proof like that, and to run advertisements stressing that, if she is pull out a victory in her primary.

    2. The committee still persists in hinting that Trump had something to do with the riot/ Yes. his claims were a necessary underlying factor.

    But is strategy depended on getting Mike Pence and/or the Congress and/or state legislators to do something positive to certify him as elected.

    Merely preventing Congress from certifying the winner of the election would only hand the presidency to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He did not, and he could not have planned and wanted that storming of the Capitol to take place. And it was planned well in advance.

    Yes he wanted a delay, but he had a Parliamentary method of delaying it already, at least until the next morning. The riot actually caused the certification of Joe Biden as elected to be finished sooner because 5 debates and 4 objections were dropped

    (Yes, once it happened he hoped maybe he could use it as a lever to persuade some Republicans to act ass he wanted. But the point is he needed positive actions by Republicans, not interruption of business. It is also true he never was close to getting the votes and co-operation he needed, but it was his best plan.

    3. Bill Barr never said there was absolutely no fraud. All he and others said was that there was not enough to change the election results – no major fraud and and they were dealing with whack-a-mole allegations.

    Somebody testified: Trump would say one thing. There’d be a rebuttal. He didn’t continue to argue that point but went on to another claim (possibly a sign in itself that he knew the allegations were groundless)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  545. Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/13/2022 @ 2:33 pm

    It’s almost as if he wanted to lose,

    Maybe eh wanted to be able to somewhat plausibly claim (to the ignorant) that he won if he lost.

    After that he didn;’t have much of a plan.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  546. A team made up of specially trained Border Patrol agents and a sheriff’s deputy finally went in after the gunman and killed him at 12:50 p.m.

    Against specific orders.

    They’ve always been rough elephants.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  547. . He could’ve ordered federal forces to secure the grounds.

    That one is semi-wrong.

    But members of Congress were asking. And Mike Pence tried.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  548. Biden Administration Moves to Ban Lead Ammunition

    Following through on their commitment to environmental radicals that it would ban lead on federal public land, today the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released proposed regulations that begin this process on National Wildlife Refuges across the country. The Biden Administration’s proposal lays the groundwork for additional lead prohibitions on refuges and provides a precedent that will be utilized to ban lead ammunition and tackle on all public lands where hunting and fishing occur. – 6/9/22

    https://sportsmensalliance.org/news/biden-administration-moves-to-ban-lead-ammunition/

    And before Putin’s moves on Ukraine:

    Is Biden Banning Ammo? What the Ammunition Ban Really Means -9/7/21

    President Joe Biden and the current administration have stated their goal to reduce gun violence in the U.S. However, many citizens, especially those who are gun owners and proponents of the National Rifle Association, believe that means he is fully anti-gun.

    On Aug. 20, 2021, the U.S. Department of the State announced forthcoming sanctions against Russia that are causing people to claim that Biden is banning ammunition. What exactly has been banned, and what do the new sanctions mean for the U.S., gun owners, and firearm companies?

    U.S. ammunition sanctions against Russia

    The U.S. is imposing new sanctions against Russia based on the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, or the CBW Act. The new restrictions go into effect on Sep. 7, 2021, and are to remain in effect for at least 12 months. The State Department’s fact sheet on the matter states that the executive branch will have the power to lift these sanctions after 12 months only if Russia has met the conditions set forth in the CBW Act.

    The reason for the new round of sanctions is the Russian Federation’s poisoning of opponent Aleksey Navalny with a nerve agent, “Novichok.”

    What type of ammunition is being banned?

    There are two primary additions to the sanctions against the Russian Federation as of Sep. 7. Permanent imports of certain Russian firearms are being restricted, so any new or pending applications to import either firearms or ammunition will be denied automatically. It appears that current importation licenses will remain in effect until their stated expiration.
    Part two of the new sanctions include “restrictions on nuclear and missile-related goods and technology pursuant to the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.”

    The conditions for lifting the sanctions include Russia’s assurance it won’t use chemical weapons in violation of international law, and that it’s not preparing to do so in the future. It also must allow international inspectors to verify their claims. Restitution to Navalny by the Russian Federation is another condition for the sanctions to be lifted.

    What the Russian ammunition sanctions mean

    The sanctions against Russian firearms and ammunition may be lifted by the U.S. president after 12 months. According to GunsandAmmo.com, these restrictions will “have an overall negative effect on the unstable ammunition market.”

    The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) stated that the new sanctions could punish gun owners and businesses in the U.S. rather than the Russian Federation’s economy.

    The U.S. has already had an ammunition shortage for some time, as gun shop owner Jeremy Ball stated in an interview with KTVB in Jul. 2021. Ball, who is co-owner of Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop in Spokane, Wash., said the store had still not fully reopened. This was not due to COVID-19, but the ammunition shortage.

    An estimated 30 to 40 percent of America’s ammunition originates from Russia, according to MKS Supply owner Charles Brown. At such a percentage, these sanctions will further impact the ammunition shortage for gun owners and gun-related businesses in the U.S.

    https://marketrealist.com/p/is-biden-banning-ammo/

    Oh my, Joey.

    Impeach him. LOL

    DCSCA (dd1756)

  549. 547… wow! Going even further, what if some of the skeered congress critters had flying simians shooting out of their backsides!?!?

    That would be… Awesome!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  550. What do you suppose would have happened if some of the crazier folks who invaded the Capitol had caught and harmed a Senator or Congressperson?

    Golly. Let’s ask Ashli Babbitt.

    Oh. Wait.

    =mike-drop=

    _________

    And what do you think, instead of running scared like Pierre Delecto did, would have happened if Boris Yeltsin had the courage to stand on a tank defiantly amidst turmoil..

    Oh. Wait:

    Moscow coup 1991: With Boris Yeltsin on the tank

    ‘Two men who stood shoulder to shoulder with Boris Yeltsin to defy the attempted hardline coup in Moscow in 1991 look back on the critical hours when Russian democracy was saved – and share their disappointment with the society that has emerged.

    It is one of the abiding images of modern Russian history, the famous picture of Boris Yeltsin speaking on a tank outside the parliament in Moscow on 19 August 1991.’ – source,

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14589691

    As Ann said to hubby Pierre: ‘ Ball, said the queen. If you had’em you’d be the king.’

    DCSCA (dd1756)

  551. Going even further, what if some of the skeered congress critters had flying simians shooting out of their backsides!?!? That would be… Awesome!

    To be fair, Congresscritters excel… at running.

    DCSCA (dd1756)

  552. I’m here to tell you, hypotheticals can be awesome.

    They carry as much weight as wind broken in a hurricane.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  553. Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/13/2022 @ 2:39 pm

    Asset’s comments speak directly to the poll that I linked to in post 46 regarding political violence.

    …….Those on the right appear more likely to approve of political violence. When asked whether they believed that “some violence might be necessary to protect the country from radical extremists,” 41% of Republicans agreed, compared to 34% of Democrats and 29% of independents. Over half of Republicans say the country seems headed toward a civil war in the near future, compared to 39% of Democrats.

    ……..When we asked, for example, whether people approved of threatening a politician who is “harming the country or our democracy,” 24% approved. When we asked if people approved of assassinating a politician described in the same way, 1 in 5 approved. Levels of approval for both scenarios were slightly higher for Democrats than Republicans, driven largely by the approval of younger Democratic men.
    …….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  554. but some Trumpsters want George Wallace.

    …and many righty nutbags want AuH20:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgOA47dDjeg

    DCSCA (70a168)

  555. The avian flu will have wiped out AOC’s Latinx base by the time of the election. Without arroz con pollo, that’s rice with chicken, they will not be able to maintain their ethnic identity and they will become just plain Americans on a diet of cheeseburgers and french fries. With ketchup.

    nk (7f0c02)

  556. It’s perfectly clear; we all know who Kevin craves:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceocNS-toDk

    DCSCA (70a168)

  557. 11 dead, 45 injured in weekend mass shootings

    ‘At least 11 mass shootings occurred across the United States over the weekend, killing 11 people and injuring 45 others, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The group defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooter. It documented shootings in 10 states on Saturday and Sunday, including in major cities Detroit, Denver and Chicago.

    The deadliest shooting of the weekend occurred in Los Angeles early Sunday morning, killing three and injuring four others, according to the group. CBS Los Angeles reported that gunfire erupted in the Boyle Heights neighborhood at a warehouse party around 3:30 a.m. Rapper Money Sign Suede was performing at the party.

    Two people were killed and four others were wounded during a shooting early Sunday morning at Playo’s Nightclub in Gary, Ind. Police had responded to a fatal shooting in 2017 at a club located at the same address. Mass shootings in Denver and Antioch, Tenn., over the weekend also each left two people dead.

    In Denver, a few miles southeast of the city’s downtown area, police say two people were killed and four others suffered serious injuries during a house party early Sunday morning. In Antioch — located southeast of Nashville — police said an exchange of gunfire believed to be connected to a birthday party at an apartment complex pool left four people shot, including two who died from their injuries. One of the deceased was a 20-year-old male, and police have not released the identity of the second victim.

    Detroit’s Fox affiliate reported that four men were shot during a bachelor party on the west side of the city early Saturday morning. Police said an unknown suspect fired multiple shots from a rifle at the Airbnb rental as they drove by, according to the outlet.

    Mass shootings were also reported over the weekend in Roseville, Mich.; New Orleans; Austin, Texas; Chicago; Louisville, Ky.; and Atlanta.

    The Gun Violence Archive has documented 267 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022…

    https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/number-of-gun-deaths

    Recent high-profile mass shootings, including massacres at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., have reignited a debate over gun-related legislation. The House passed a set of gun control measures largely along party lines last week, but those measures are expected to fail in the Senate. A bipartisan group of 20 senators announced on Sunday a narrower nine-point framework deal, including measures that would create federal resources to set up red flag laws to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed dangerous and major investments in mental health services.

    The statement announcing the framework was signed by 10 Republican senators — indicating the package has a good chance of overcoming a filibuster on the Senate floor — although the group has not yet finalized legislative text.’- The Hill.com

    DCSCA (70a168)

  558. Frosty, For someone that agreed there was no point engaging in this you’ve had a lot to say to me on the topic. All if it confirming that my initial statement; talking to you about this is a waste of time.

    Time123 (0c2ffc) — 6/13/2022 @ 12:34 pm

    I don’t think you understood that comment.

    frosty (51f5f0)

  559. Donald Trump not only said that the election was stolen, but he said, or tweeted, that “everyone” knew that.

    When The Donald says “everyone” he means the folks he didn’t tune out. Those others were saying “Waghwhaghwhagh” or something, and it’s not Trump’s fault they couldn’t be understood.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  560. 11 dead, 45 injured in weekend mass shootings

    Eliminate gangs from these statistics and the numbers drop abruptly.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  561. It’s perfectly clear; we all know who Kevin craves:

    I would take dead Richard Nixon over Trump or Biden. I think he’d win, too.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  562. Moscow coup 1991: With Boris Yeltsin on the tank

    Yeltsin was standing with thousands of others of the same bent. He wasn’t being chased by them with unknown intent.

    It’s really hard not to break the rules when you post crap like this.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  563. Biden Administration Moves to Ban Lead Ammunition

    And Trump issued orders, too, none of which are still in effect. All this will do is lose the Democrats Minnesota, Michigan, and probably some other northern and mountain states.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  564. The statement announcing the framework was signed by 10 Republican senators — indicating the package has a good chance of overcoming a filibuster on the Senate floor — although the group has not yet finalized legislative text.’- The Hill.com

    None of which would have made a difference last weekend or weekends to come. Political theater.

    Gun Deal Is Less Than Democrats Wanted, but More Than They Expected
    …….
    The proposal, which still has a long way to go before becoming law, focuses less on the “gun” part of gun control and more on other factors, such as a buyer’s mental health or violent tendencies, in a concession to Republican hesitation and the hard political reality that tough limits on sales, let alone outright bans on firearms, are far out of reach.

    Though it would not raise the age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, the plan would enhance background checks on those under 21 before they could take possession of a gun — perhaps the most significant element of the emerging measure. ……

    Democrats would much rather ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, impose universal background checks and take other stringent steps to limit access to guns…….
    ……..
    The more extensive background check for buyers aged 18 to 21 is a narrower version of a change Democrats have been promoting for years, which would allow more time to vet potential gun buyers who are flagged by an initial instant check. And for the first time, juvenile and mental health records will be allowed as part of that review.

    The deal includes federal incentives for states to enact so-called red flag laws to seize guns temporarily from those deemed a threat to themselves and others. And in a long-sought change that has been opposed by Republicans in the past, it would also make it harder for those accused of domestic violence to obtain guns, adding dating partners to a prohibition that currently applies only to spouses.

    Any one of those provisions is likely to draw significant opposition from Republicans who believe in giving no ground whatsoever on gun safety measures, which are seen as intolerable infringements on Second Amendment rights……

    Even this proposal could be achieved only because the potential political backlash for the Republicans directly involved is limited. Four of the 10 Republicans who are backing the proposal — Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri, Rob Portman of Ohio, Richard M. Burr of North Carolina and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania — are retiring, and may never face voters again. None of the other six Republicans who signed on to the compromise is on the ballot in November.
    ……..

    Since courts are beginning to to rule that 18-year-olds have the same 2nd amendment rights as 21-year-olds, I doubt that the enhanced background checks will survive constitutional scrutiny. And the background checks won’t apply to street purchases.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  565. At lease one Eric Holder is on trial.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  566. Donald Trump not only said that the election was stolen, but he said, or tweeted, that “everyone” knew that.

    Like anyone believes that Trump got 11 million more votes running against Biden than he did running against Hillary. Hillary! Compared to Biden!

    He had Louis DeJoy stuffing the mailboxes like crazy, and Abbott et al the ballot boxes. But like they say, if your margin is big enough, they can’t cheat. His 11 million (likely more) fake votes were not enough to overcome Biden’s true 18 million vote margin.

    nk (7f0c02)

  567. Re 569, gangs as Boomers, X and millennials thank of them are largely decentralized into cliques and entourages which underlies the true trendsetter of 2022 -closing time nightclub shootings. Blake Masters worded wrong what is right

    urbanleftbehind (f4fcea)

  568. @571. Crap? Nobody cares what you had for dinner, K. Yeltsin was standing with thousands of others of the same bent. Right out in the open. ‘…A determined group of democrats had gathered at the Russian parliament, which became the rallying point over the next three days. It is an imposing building on a bend in the Moscow River, and that August it became known as the “White House.” [Been there.]

    ‘Boris Yeltsin, the new President of the Russian Soviet Socialist Federal Republic, was about to have his finest hour. It is one of the abiding images of modern Russian history, the famous picture of Boris Yeltsin speaking on a tank outside the parliament in Moscow on 19 August 1991. It was a moment when the future of the Soviet Union hung in the balance. That morning a group of communist hardliners had staged a coup against Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms.”- BBC.com. You know, Kevin: the hammer and sickle kill on sight Putin crowd, Kevin.

    Crap Kevin? the crap that ran were cowardly U.S. Congresscritters.. like Pierre Delecto.

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  569. Sing Kevin…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceocNS-toDk

    You know, he even played the piano for Jack Parr.

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  570. Police Say They’re Getting Threats After Arresting 31 Patriot Front Members
    ……..
    Coeur d’Alene police officers are still executing search warrants and gathering evidence against the suspects, who are charged with conspiracy to riot, Police Chief Lee White said at a press conference Monday.

    The department has received anonymous calls and social media messages threatening to harm investigators or dox them by revealing officers’ personal information online, Mr. White said. The department said it investigates all threats deemed credible.
    …….
    All 31 suspects paid bond and were released from the Kootenai County Jail over the weekend. They came from 13 states, records show.
    …….
    He denied there was any truth to an online rumor that undercover FBI agents were embedded in the group.

    “These were not law enforcement officers that we arrested. These were members of the hate group Patriot Front,” Mr. White said.

    The suspects all wore khaki pants, blue shirts and beige hats. They had shields, shin guards and other riot gear as well as at least one smoke grenade, according to police.

    Some suspects wore arm patches that said “Patriot Front” and hats bearing the group’s insignia, Mr. White said.
    …….
    “We are not going back to the days of the Aryan Nations,” (said Coeur d’Alene Mayor Jim Hammond, a Republican). Roughly 20 years ago, followers of the white supremacist group built a compound near Coeur d’Alene, part of a wider effort to put down stakes in northern Idaho.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  571. @570. I would take dead Richard Nixon over Trump or Biden

    Of course you would:

    Proof Finally Emerges That Richard Nixon Was Not Just a Crook, But a Traitor

    Nixon’s [1968] victory [resulted in] four more years of war, and 22,000 dead Americans.

    Not to mention… Watergate.

    ‘Aside from being a further glimpse into the cesspool of depravity that was the soul of Richard Nixon, not much practical good comes of this knowledge; all the major players and anyone who could be hurt by it are either dead or equally untouchable. Knowledge of Nixon’s treason is doubtful to go down in history books as a major event since the knowledge became public decades after it had ceased to be important.

    Perhaps there isn’t any practical use for it except for a little more vindication for those who saw Nixon for the immoral monster that he was, and that same savage pleasure of knowing that the truth is finally out, even if it is only as a footnote.

    https://www.mic.com/articles/30171/proof-finally-emerges-that-richard-nixon-was-not-just-a-crook-but-a-traitor

    “Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.” — The Big Dick

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  572. Back on neglect DCCCP

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  573. Eliminate gangs from these statistics and the numbers drop abruptly.

    Pfft.

    Eliminate guns from these statistics and the numbers drop abruptly– to zero.

    =mike-drop=

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  574. the enhanced background checks will survive constitutional scrutiny.

    Sure they will. The courts will just have them apply to everyone. Problem solved. Of course, you’ll have to fill out a form that lists everywhere you lived back to 3rd grade.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  575. @581. Tagged and bagged.

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  576. Eliminate guns from these statistics and the numbers drop abruptly– to zero.

    The problem with ignoring him is that his more dishonest comments go unchallenged.

    Easy: Reworking statistics to eliminate extraneous information.

    Hard: Getting rid of guns in society when you can’t even keep zip guns out of prisons.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  577. At least when the leftist RINOs (Cheney, Kinzinger, Ivanka, McCarthy, McConnell, Hannity, Ingraham, Barr, DeVos…) turned on Trump, he could count on the patriots who stood by him for sound advice.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  578. @585. Dishonest?

    Source: https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/number-of-gun-deaths

    What does the GVA catalog? Gun violence/gun deaths.

    Eliminate guns from their stat count: they have zero count.

    Tagged and bagged. Again.

    Thanks for playing, Kevin. 😉

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  579. Eliminate gangs from these statistics and the numbers drop abruptly.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/13/2022 @ 4:40 pm

    It’s probably pertinent to remember that it was the gang violence of the late 80s and early 90s that led to the assault weapons ban and the Biden crime bill to begin with. And it was the radical left violence of the late 60s and in to the 70s that turned the Republicans into crime warriors in general.

    Factory Working Orphan (2775f0)

  580. Irony Alert:

    Trump’s Truth Social Is Banning Users Who Post About Jan. 6 Hearings, According to Reports

    Truth Social’s terms of service state, “We reserve the right to, in our sole discretion and without notice or liability, deny access to and use of the service (including blocking certain IP addresses), to any person for any reason or for no reason… We may terminate your use or participation in the service or delete [your account and] any content or information that you posted at any time, without warning, in our sole discretion.” (Twitter’s terms of service include similar language.) In the U.S., under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, internet platforms like Truth Social have legal protections for their content-moderation decisions — a carve-out that Trump unsuccessfully sought to revoke when he occupied the White House.

    It’s not censorship they hate, just the wrong kind of censorship.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  581. “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?”

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  582. Quick-thinking staffers save camp children from suspected gunman

    Police shot and killed a suspect Monday morning after he entered an athletic complex where summer camp was taking place in Duncanville, Texas, allegedly armed with a handgun, authorities said. Police shot and killed the suspect at the Duncanville Fieldhouse within minutes of arriving at the scene, Duncanville Mayor Barry Gordon said, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.

    “Our officers did not hesitate,” Gordon said. “They did what they were trained to do and saved lives.” A camp counselor confronted the suspected gunman in the lobby of the indoor sports and fitness center.

    Upon hearing the gunshots in the lobby, staff members moved the kids to a safe area and locked the doors, preventing the suspected gunman from getting inside, Duncanville Assistant Police Chief Matthew Stogner, said.

    “[He] did fire one round inside the classroom where there were children inside,” Stogner said. “Fortunately, no one was injured.” -WFAA/ABC News.com

    DCSCA (1f6786)

  583. RIP Phillip Baker Hal (90). Lt. Bookman has checked out.

    “Well, let me tell you something, funny boy. Y’know that little stamp, the one that says ‘New York Public Library’? Well that may not mean anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole hell of a lot. Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I’ve seen your type before: Flashy, making the scene, flouting convention. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. What’s this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Well, let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me. Maybe. Sure, we’re too old to change the world, but what about that kid, sitting down, opening a book, right now, in a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers? Doesn’t HE deserve better? Look. If you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you’d better think again. This is about that kid’s right to read a book without getting his mind warped! Or maybe that turns you on, Seinfeld; maybe that’s how you get your kicks. You and your good-time buddies. Well I got a flash for ya, joy-boy: Party time is over.”

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  584. Phillip Baker Hall, that is.

    Rip Murdock (865fb3)

  585. @589 Trump’s Truth Social Is Banning Users Who Post About Jan. 6 Hearings, According to Reports Nevertrump Users

    funny how the article doesn’t show what they actually tried to post

    but if you’re a bidenista, and have something to say, Truth Social is the street cafe you’ve been waiting for

    JF (6d7e34)

  586. https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2022/06/13/flashback-when-democrats-attacked-democracy-n2608636

    many on the Jan 6th committee did what they accused Trump of doing

    EPWJ (4f24b3)

  587. meet the new biden spokeshole, Karine Dumpster-Fire

    JF (6d7e34)

  588. Hell. Handbasket.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  589. Biden delivers 1975 speech to AFL-CIO. Except it’s 2022.

    50 Years Of Shrinking Union Membership

    Fifty years ago, nearly a third of U.S. workers belonged to a union. Today, it’s one in 10.

    https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/02/23/385843576/50-years-of-shrinking-union-membership-in-one-map

    DCSCA (432978)

  590. Some Democrats are supporting Trumpistas:

    All three [Republican candidates Joey Gilbert, Ron Hanks, and Darren Bailey] have something else in common: They’re benefiting, either directly or indirectly, from a cluster of Democratic-associated groups spending millions of dollars in contested Republican primaries this month. In some cases these groups are attacking more mainstream Republicans and in others they are amplifying messages from the election-denying candidates.

    The apparent bet these organizations are placing is that such far-right candidates, who hold polarizing views on various issues, would be easier to defeat in the November midterms when a broader slice of the electorate will be casting ballots.

    Just this morning, I saw a Patty Murray ad attacking a Republican candidate — in ways that might help that candidate in the upcoming primary.

    It is wrong for these groups to interfere in this way — but, hardly surprising, since Trump has shown, agian and again, how much damage he can do to the Republican Party in general elections.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  591. @595. Speaking of Townhall (and hotair, twitchy, etc), all those sites’ comments abruptly changed to VIP-only mode.

    JRH (3cd3e1)

  592. “Are you prepared to fight with me?!?!” – Squinty McStumblebum 6/14/22

    And America asks, ‘Where’s the nearest high school gymnasium?!’

    IDIOT.

    DCSCA (432978)

  593. Trump releases 12-page response to Jan. 6 hearing
    …….
    In the 12-page document, Trump repeats a handful of disproven claims to assert the 2020 election was stolen from him and rigged in favor of Democrats, including some that were brought up during testimony by former Trump campaign and administration officials.

    One section of Trump’s statement focuses on ballot trafficking claims, for which he cites the Dinesh D’Souza documentary “2000 Mules.” In testimony shown earlier Monday, former Attorney General William Barr laughed at the mention of the film, saying he was “unimpressed with it” and dismissed the idea that it proved widespread fraud.

    Another section asserts that President Biden could not have won the states of Pennsylvania, Arizona or Georgia because he got more Black votes and Hispanic votes than former President Obama. Each of those states has performed audits and recounts and found no evidence of widespread fraud.

    Trump in one section claimed states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan took additional time after Election Day to count ballots because it was part of an elaborate scheme to ship in fraudulent votes so Biden could erase Trump’s narrow leads in those states.
    ………
    “As we near the midterm elections, we’re watching the Swamp creatures circle the drain as true Americans step up to replace the corrupt Establishment with patriots who will fight for our freedoms,” Trump says in Monday’s 12-page statement.

    “The Establishment is holding on as tightly as they can to their power as they watch it slip from their grasp. Our country is in a nosedive,” he continues. “Americans are struggling to fill their gas tanks, feed their babies, educate their children, hire employees, order supplies, protect our border from invasion, and a host of other tragedies that are 100% caused by Democrats who obtained power through a rigged election, and the people of our country are both angry and sad.”
    ###########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  594. House passes bill to add protection for already well protected, U.S,. Marshall watched, fenced in workplace, armored government SUV driven to and from work well protected be-robed bureaucrats at SCOTUS.

    Yep. Protect the Rpoyalists. Meanwhile, our school kids remain sitting ducks.

    Any plans for government armored school buses, barbed wire fences around elementary schools, machine gun nests guarding playgrounds and armed militia watching over the Friday fish sticks in the lunch room, Nancy?

    DCSCA (85a638)

  595. Next Monday, June 20, in case you don’t realize it, will be a full fledged legal holiday, officially called Juneteenth National Independence Day marking the end of slavery in Texas (but not in Delaware and three other Union states, so not in the whole United States.)

    Most things that are closed on federal holidays will be closed. This is the first time it takes effect. The bill creating it was signed on June 17, 2021 by President Biden, but it didn’t apply that year.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/06/17/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-the-juneteenth-national-independence-day-act

    I don’t think it’s a Monday holiday, but June 19th comes out this year on a Sunday so it is postponed to a Monday and next year, 2023, it will also be on a Monday.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  596. Fifty years ago, nearly a third of U.S. workers belonged to a union. Today, it’s one in 10.

    Unions should be illegal.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  597. Remember when Trump had to be pulled away from the press by the easter bunny?
    me either

    mg (8cbc69)

  598. The January 6 committee hearing will not take place tomorrow at 10 am because f “technical issues.” It has been pushed to Thursday, probably at 10 am or so.

    It will deal with Trump’s efforts to replace the Attorney General so that his alleged election fraud would be investigated. (and maybe also start a federal investigation in Georgia) It was frustrated by threats to resign. Trump did not want to another “Saturday Night massacre.”

    The hearing scheduled for Thursday at 1 pm probably will take place. It will deal with Trump’s various efforts to get Mike Pence to do some things, per the Eastman (and Giuliani) plan

    Hearing 5, on Tuesday, June 21, will deal with Trump’s efforts to get state legislators and state election officials to do things to try to make the results come out his way or give him the Electors. (none of which would have been legal – or even possible – for them to do.

    Hearing 6 is problemsatic. It will deal with how “Trump summoned a violent mob and directed them, illegally, to march on the U.S. Capitol”

    It is true the march was illegal – it had no permit. It is not true that with that he caused the assault on the Capitol, which the committee itself acknowledges, was planned before by others before the speech. And didn’t, and couldn’t, help him. Trump had no more to do with the attack on the Capitol than Richard Nixon had with the Watergate burglary.

    I wish the committee would try to find out who dreamed it up. It wasn’t Trump, although he got roped into aiding the conspiracy with a tweet that included the word “wild” and by inviting people to march in Washington.

    And of course, it wouldn’t have happened without him because he created the entire “cause” for which people came to Washington, and a critical vote.

    Just like Watergate would not have happened if Richard Nixon had not created an intelligence unit in his campaign and put G. Gordon Liddy in charge.

    Hearing 7 will be about how he failed to act to stop what was going on after they invaded the Capitol building.

    There might be an 8th and one of these is supposed to take place in prime time.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  599. 573. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/13/2022 @ 4:51 pm

    doubt that the enhanced background checks will survive constitutional scrutiny.

    I think the enhanced background checks mainly means that you can look at (or use) juvenile records until the person reaches the age of 21 instead of a person’s record being wiped clean upon reaching their 18th birthday.

    And the background checks won’t apply to street purchases.

    But they will try to get more people to register as gun dealers.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  600. Sammy – Since you have been closer to him than I have been, I’d be interested in your answer to this question: What happened to Rudy Giuliani? From what I know he was a good mayor of New York, and then ran a silly presidential campaign, as if his heart wasn’t in it. Was he over rated nationally? Did something happen to him? Alcoholism, perhaps?

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  601. 580/ Proof Finally Emerges That Richard Nixon Was Not Just a Crook, But a Traitor

    This is absolutely not new and it’s not clear from this what exactly Nixon might have done. By the weay this article is so sloppily written that it calls Lyndon Johnson, Nixons successor rather than his predecessor.

    The point is that Johnson also bugged – and one of the places bugged or spied on was the South Vietnamese Ambassador’s communications with his government. He seems to have reported that Richard Nixon indirectly told them not to participate in the peace talks. Johnson told Nixon and Humphrey but he didn’t make it public

    And you may remember they sent weeks arguing over the shape of the conferencce table.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  602. I think the enhanced background checks mainly means that you can look at (or use) juvenile records until the person reaches the age of 21 instead of a person’s record being wiped clean upon reaching their 18th birthday.

    The proposal imposes a requirement on 18-20 year old adults that is not required of adults who are older, for no apparent reason other than it makes Congress feel like they are doing something. What it won’t do is reduce the number of guns purchased by those 18-20 or the number of mass shootings.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  603. Jim Miller (406a93) — 6/14/2022 @ 3:20 pm

    – Since you have been closer to him than I have been, I’d be interested in your answer to this question: What happened to Rudy Giuliani?

    I guess I read more news about him, and he’s now got a radio show at 3 pm weekdays (to 4 pm) on WABC but I have no special knowledge.

    From what I know he was a good mayor of New York, and then ran a silly presidential campaign,

    He placed everything on the Florida primary and mostly got only early votes he had banked before.

    He also did not run for the Senate against Hillary Clinton. Because of a divorce.

    His judgement was always a little bit bad, but it didn’t conform to liberal thinking so it looked very good.

    as if his heart wasn’t in it. Was he over rated nationally? Did something happen to him? Alcoholism, perhaps?

    I think the idea he had been drinking on Election Night 2020 was said in order to find an excuse for him. Giuliani says he refused drinks that night. Now that doesn’t mean he hadn’t been drinking throughout the afternoon. But I don’t know that he had.

    Giuliani somehow convinced himself that his duty (as a lawyer?) was to see everything he could Trump’s way. Giuliani may be the closest thing Donald Trump had to a friend. (They both shared a tendency to philander.)

    I don’t know if the essence of friendship is to check your mind at the door.

    Andrew Giuliani, his son, who is now one of the four main people running for the Republican nomination Governor was sort of a caddy to Donald Trump for may years.,.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/10/23/andrew-giuliani-trump-sports-golf

    Rudy Giuliani was friendly with Trump when Andrew was a kid, but father and son were estranged for much of Andrew’s youth. Andrew and Trump both like golf and bonded on the course. During one round several years ago, according to Newsday, they were on the course when Andrew wanted to call figure skater Sarah Hughes to ask her to the movies. But he lost his nerve and instead had Trump ask Hughes out.

    “I find him to be similar to an uncle,” Andrew said of Trump in a 2018 interview with The Post.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  604. Just got a message about the

    Television news archive:

    https://archive.org/details/tv

    Many fewer visitors than it might have.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  605. Roberts hides the leaker and
    refuses to let the roe decision out continuing the possible deaths of his fellow justices.
    repulsive as rewriting obamacare.

    mg (8cbc69)

  606. I think the idea he had been drinking on Election Night 2020 was said in order to find an excuse for him. Giuliani says he refused drinks that night. Now that doesn’t mean he hadn’t been drinking throughout the afternoon. But I don’t know that he had.

    From WaPo:

    The Jan. 6 committee’s work might never lead to criminal charges against Trump or those around him. But it has certainly prompted an extraordinary round of sniping and infighting.

    Perhaps the most pronounced example came Tuesday morning, when Rudy Giuliani effectively accused two top Trump campaign aides, Jason Miller and Bill Stepien, of perjury. Miller had said under oath that Trump’s former attorney was “definitely intoxicated” on election night 2020. (Stepien didn’t say this, though Giuliani apparently believed he had.) Giuliani also suggested they might have taken bribes for testifying to that effect.

    Giuliani later deleted the tweets. (Some had noted the accusations could be grounds for defamation lawsuits. And another former White House aide, Alyssa Farah Griffin, confirmed Tuesday that Giuliani “appeared inebriated” on election night.)
    ……..
    But Giuliani didn’t leave it there. He later retweeted someone who pointed to a 2018 story about Miller being accused of slipping an abortion pill into his girlfriend’s smoothie. Miller denied the accusation at the time and sued those who promoted it, but the case was dismissed. (Miller didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.)

    Too bad SNL is on hiatus. Comedy gold!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  607. When Trump claimed “everyone knows” that the election was stolen, I think he meant t include the Democrats. It surely did not allow for the idea that many Republicans close to him did not agree. He was claiming every informed person knew it.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  608. The mysteries:

    1. Who dreamed up the idea of the assault on the Capitol? (it couldn’t have been Trump or Eastman or Giuliani)

    2. Wo altered the Capitol police assessment?

    From page 45 of the Senate report on Security failures:

    https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/majority-media/peters-portman-klobuchar-blunt-release-bipartisan-report-investigating-january-6th-capitol-attack (press release with link)

    In the days following the issuance of the January 3 Special Assessment, IICD issued three DIRs—none of which reflected the likelihood of violence described in the January 3 Special Assessment or more broadly known within IICD. In fact, the January 4, January 5, and January 6 DIRs assessed the probability of acts of civil disobedience from the planned protests across all of Washington, D.C. as “Remote” to “Improbable.”261 Regarding a “Million MAGA March/US Capitol,” the report assigned a probability of “Improbable,” adding as context, “it [is] possible the Million Magi [sic] March folks could organize a demonstration on USCP grounds. Women for America First has permitted on USCP grounds and Freedom Plaza parade permit through MPD and has been the permitted portion of previous Million MAGA Marches.”262 The Stop the Steal event was assigned a probability of “Highly Improbable” given that “no further information has been found to the exact actions planned by this group.”263 The Women for America First event planned for the Ellipse also received a “Highly Improbable” rating, but the report contained no explanation or context as to why this rating was assigned.264

    It is clear that IICD intelligence products, in particular the January 3 Special Assessment analysis that “Congress itself is the target on the 6th” and its warning about the “significantly dangerous situation for law enforcement and the general public alike,” were not incorporated in
    subsequent intelligence documents. One explanation given to the Committees for why the January 3 Special Assessment was not incorporated into the DIRs is because a single analyst prepared and disseminated the DIRs without supervisory review.265

    One way to find this report s by going to

    https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/majority-media/peters-portman-klobuchar-blunt-release-bipartisan-report-investigating-january-6th-capitol-attack

    and clicking on the link. It will send you a PDF file in a separate window.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  609. The 2020 election was stolen from trump. It is easily demonstrated. I have done so in the boiling frog thread for the umpteenth time.

    asset (ac6fae)

  610. The 2020 election was stolen from trump. It is easily demonstrated. I have done so in the boiling frog thread for the umpteenth time.

    asset (ac6fae) — 6/14/2022 @ 4:44 pm

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  611. Mr Murdock wrote:

    Fifty years ago, nearly a third of U.S. workers belonged to a union. Today, it’s one in 10.

    Unions should be illegal.

    Well, John Dougherty, AKA Johnny Doc, sure ran Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in Philadelphia illegally, and was convicted of bribery in federal court last November.

    That said, a union is a free association of individuals, a right that is protected by the Constitution.

    The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (e61a08)

  612. Unions should be illegal.

    Yeah, you tell’em! There outta be a movement- better still, a union for that!

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  613. @618. Who dreamed up the idea of the assault on the Capitol? (it couldn’t have been Trump or Eastman or Giuliani)

    We could blame the British, but it’s the 21st century; ‘Blame Canada”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaXsWQAI2j4

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  614. That said, a union is a free association of individuals, a right that is protected by the Constitution.

    But the laws protecting them (for example, the Wagner Act) should be repealed.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  615. #613 and #616 Sammy and Rip – Thanks for your thoughts on Giuliani.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  616. @611. Sammy, The Big Dick was tagged and bagged. Nobody should be making excuses for him nor waxing for the likes of his return. The damage he did to on top of LBJ’s lies to trust and confidence in American institutions is incalculable. We’ve been living through the wake of his treachery for half a century== and it’s festering and trying the patience of the citizenry, feeing the fires of populism. Hell will never be hot enough for him.

    DCSCA (5f6a7c)

  617. Jan. 6 committee abruptly postpones Wednesday hearing

    Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the postponement was due to “technical issues” stemming from “overwhelming” demand on committee staff to produce videos.

    “We’re trying to give them a little room,” Lofgren said.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/jan-6-committee-abruptly-postpones-wednesday-hearing-rcna33433

    Like a fourth floor single near the icemaker at the Sheraton by the airport?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSUEVVpd2KI&t=5s

    They’ve had months to get their ducks in a row.

    Now it’s ‘quacking’ up.

    DCSCA (5f6a7c)

  618. Economic Security is National Security, and the Foundation of Economic and National Security is Energy Policy, Biden is a Threat to National Security

    mg (8cbc69)

  619. @628. B-b-b-but he’s done “everything in his power”…

    DCSCA (5f6a7c)

  620. joe deserves tar and feathers

    mg (8cbc69)

  621. Congratulations to Nancy Mace. We are making progress, though not as fast as I would like.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  622. How does inflation in the US compare to inflation in other nations? We’re average:

    Inflation in the U.S. is at a 40-year high, but America isn’t alone. Soaring prices are a truly global phenomenon.

    The big picture: An analysis of inflation across 111 countries from Deutsche Bank puts the U.S. near the middle of the pack. Among those countries, the median rate of 7.9% year-over-year inflation has more than doubled from 3.0% one year ago, thanks largely to spiking energy and food prices.

    Nations closer to Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine appear to have higher than average inflation, just as one would expect. Not excluding Russia. According to the May 21st issue of The Economist, Russia’s inflation is now at 17.8 percent.

    And some economists are predicting that Russia’s GDP will decline by more than 10 percent this year.

    Putin is achieving a remarkable double, combining high inflation with a decline in the size of Russia’s economy.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  623. @630. That’s not good enough.

    DCSCA (4d2164)

  624. BREAkING NEWS: OFGS:

    Biden to send another $1 BILLION in military aid to Ukraine

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced another $1 billion in weapons for Ukraine on Wednesday, including anti-ship systems, artillery rockets and rounds for howitzers… Biden also announced an additional $225 million in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine to address needs like safe drinking water, critical medical supplies, food and cash for families to purchase essential items. – CNBC.com

    WTF? Bugs Zelinsky and his gang were ‘given’ $40 billion three weeks ago on May 21 on top of $13 billion earlier this year.

    INCOMPETENT. INCONTINENT. IMBECILE. IDIOT.

    DCSCA (4d2164)

  625. Peace finally, in the whiskey wars. We should congratulate Denmark and Canada.

    Jim Miller (406a93)

  626. Biden is now screaming at the oil companies for not producing enough oil. I guess he’s never heard of the Law of Unintended Consequences (although some of these WERE intended). Also that we don’t (yet) live in a command economy.

    Everything, and I mean everything that Joe Biden has said and done wrt energy has been to attack fossil fuel producers and consumers. He’s said that he intends to drive them out of business and set dates for that. Now he complains they aren’t investing enough in the business he wants to drive them out of.

    Who is this John Galt, anyway?

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  627. Here’s the AP link: Biden tells oil refiners: Produce more gas, fewer profits

    This will be as productive as swearing at the customer service rep.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  628. Of course, what Biden and the Democrats are trying to do is shift blame. They know that many of their supporters are naive and cynical and this kind of disinformation serves their purposes.

    Kevin M (eeb9e9)

  629. Warming some cackles, though not necessarily on this blog:

    https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dr-anthony-fauci-tests-positive-covid/story?id=85416368

    urbanleftbehind (053691)

  630. @638 the refiners and others in the oil supply chain don’t want to expand capacity and then see another lockdown pull their pants down

    biden and blue state covid nannies could allay those fears, but of course they won’t

    cuz really they’re total a**holes

    JF (e66285)

  631. @640. They have no effing idea what they’re doing. This clown and his clownettes are more Carter than Carter– but at least Jimma had a pleasant disposition. This putz is mean, angry, blames everybody else and is just stupid on top of stupid.

    It’s pretty hard to make Carter look like Lincoln. But hey, attaboy, Joey.

    DCSCA (729a69)

  632. They’ve been looking some more into Biden’s naval academy claim.

    https://nypost.com/2022/05/27/joe-biden-says-he-applied-to-naval-academy-dates-dont-add-up/

    https://nypost.com/2022/06/14/no-record-of-biden-naval-academy-appointment-he-boasted-about

    There was a beta version, in 2010.

    At that time he claimed that Senator J Caleb Boggs had considered him for a Naval Academy appointment in 1960. Which would have been the right year. Except that Boggs was first elected in 1960 and not in office until 1961.

    They only found records for Boggs’ appointments for one year in the 1960s/

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  633. @642. While they’re at it, look under the sofa cushions for the keys to his 18-wheeler, too. 😉

    DCSCA (b7b26c)

  634. 608.

    The hearing scheduled for Thursday at 1 pm probably will take place. It will deal with Trump’s various efforts to get Mike Pence to do some things, per the Eastman (and Giuliani) plan

    This will happen, but apparent;y, there will no hearing at 10 am.

    The hearing dealing with the topic of Trump’s attempt to jump start a federal investigation of voter fraud including by replacing the Acting Attorney General originally set to take place at 10 am yesterday, is
    apparent;y on hold.

    I heard on the radio (right wing radio) that the US Attorney in Philadelphia said he was was told by Barr not to make any announcements of any investigation (he wanted to announce that he was looking into things in order to be more transparent, but in fact it is usually the practice not to say someone ids under investigation) and also to turn over anything in which he found possible merit to state prosecutors. (Barr in an excerpt from his deposition testimony, said that it was the job of state prosecutors to deal with that and that may be the standard way they operate unless they suspect corruption maybe. Barr also probably suspected corruption or pressure on te federal level.))

    Sammy Finkelman (b434ee)


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