Patterico's Pontifications

Thank you, Patterico. What is interesting to me is how very much the Left hates Bari Weiss. I don’t agree with everything she posts, but this piece in particular spoke to me, because of Patterico’s experiences.

I think that journalism needs more points of view, not monoculture. Bari Weiss is one such person, presenting many voices that bring perspective.

At least, to me.

Best wishes to all.

Simon Jester (e2861e) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:37 am

“Diversity” means conformity these days, Simon.

Old: e pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”)
New: “Out of many, this one!”

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:14 am

Thank you, Patterico, for posting this.

In th late 1960s, I taught in a slum school on the west side of Chicago. I don’t know how much my students learned from me, but I learned this from them, and their parents: If you want to help poor black and brown people, the most important thing you can do is protect them from crime, which means, sadly, protecting them from the criminals in their midst.

It is good to hear of prosecutors like Phil Stirling, who understand this.

Jim Miller (406a93) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:14 am

Gascon didn’t see it that way, of course. He imagined himself a man of the future—forward-looking, free of the old assumptions about cops and prosecutors and the meaning of criminal justice

“Demolition Man” is a great movie if you ignore the silly plot and just look at the social commentary.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:21 am

I wonder if “honest services fraud” is applicable here. Sure, it’s political, but the DA has a particular task to do, he refuses to do it. It’s one thing to say “I will focus on crimes against people” or some such, but to instead say “I will focus on reducing convictions and enforcement of the law” seems like he’s committed fraud.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:51 am

I doubt the courts would find that Gascon has intended to defraud anyone.

Federal courts have generally recognized two main areas of public-sector honest service fraud: bribery (direct or indirect), where a public official was paid in some way for a particular decision or action, and failure to disclose a conflict of interest, resulting in personal gain.
…….
In 1997, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit set a key limit on honest services fraud in United States v. Czubinski, ruling that a mere workplace violation does not constitute fraud without evidence of depriving the employer of property in some way. Richard Czubinski was employed in Massachusetts by the Internal Revenue Service when, in 1992, he violated IRS rules by carrying out several unauthorized searches of the IRS database and accessing files outside of the course of his official duties. In 1995, he was convicted of wire fraud (defrauding the IRS of property and the public of his honest services) and computer fraud. The appellate court reversed the honest services fraud conviction on the basis that Czubinski’s actions did not amount to anything more than a workplace violation, warranting no more than a dismissal:

Czubinski was not bribed or otherwise influenced in any public decisionmaking capacity. Nor did he embezzle funds. He did not receive, nor can it be found that he intended to receive, any tangible benefit. … The conclusive consideration is that the government simply did not prove that Czubinski deprived, or intended to deprive, the public or his employer of their right to his honest services. Although he clearly committed wrongdoing in searching confidential information, there is no suggestion that he failed to carry out his official tasks adequately, or intended to do so.

Footnotes omitted. Source

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:03 am

For the record, I signed on to recall Gascon.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:05 am

Yet another data point as to why I’m so lucky I don’t live in California.

Progressives are a virus that feeds on centrist Democrats. Hope Democrats are lucky enough to see that before it’s too late.

How many people are getting killed thanks to lax progressive DAs?

Hoi Polloi (7cefeb) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:29 am

In a sewer with zip codes – and sushi bars, there’s bound to be a few rats.

DCSCA (87cbcf) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:30 am

@6: But that’s a case where the employee is simply a thief. In positions where there are objective expectations (a police chief as opposed to, say, a city councilman) willful failure to meet (or even attempt to meet) those objective expectations could constitute fraud. Perhaps there is a case where that argument has been rejected, but the one you quite isn’t really on point.

In the case of a city councilman, bribery directly defrauds the People, where changing policy positions is par for the course. But “refusing to prosecute” or even “working to overturn convictions” is completely outside the DA’s lane.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:51 am

I saw it most recently with Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate”. The lady functionary’s federal conviction was reversed because she did it for love and not for money. There may be “mis-non-mal” laws that apply, but the federal honest services fraud is not one of them.

nk (6c627d) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:57 am

OT- Biden just gave Zelinsky another $1 BILLION this morning on top of the $40 billion he scammed just three weeks ago and the $13 billion scammed earlier this year. ‘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’.

Such an idiot. Meanwhile Americans are paying record prices for gas, food and living expenses w/soaring inflation. Where are the Ukrainian Freedom Fighter War Bonds being sold, Joey? Candyland, Oz, Scranton… or is it Wilmington this week?

DCSCA (4d2164) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:16 am

I’ve been meaning to read Ms. Bowles, and I’m glad I finally did.
Seattle and Portland should take note.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:22 am

Biden just gave Zelinsky another $1 BILLION this morning on top of the $40 billion he scammed just three weeks ago and the $13 billion scammed earlier this year

Another day, another example of DCSCA blaming the victim and absolving the bully war criminal.
More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:25 am

@14. Slobs Ukraine. FIFY. $40 billion just three weeks ago, Paulie. They do Bugs Moran proud. Paulie’s just an ideological RINO who doesn’t care about Americans or America. Another day, another day older and deeper in debt. When you leave your comfy ideologue chair and camo-up in Kyiv get back to us.

DCSCA (4d2164) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:31 am

Its gut wrenching Pat, just devastating, to see and hear the victims, their families and friends… After a painful year with Connick, I couldnt stomach it

EPWJ (10d551) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:35 am

@6: But that’s a case where the employee is simply a thief. In positions where there are objective expectations (a police chief as opposed to, say, a city councilman) willful failure to meet (or even attempt to meet) those objective expectations could constitute fraud. Perhaps there is a case where that argument has been rejected, but the one you quite isn’t really on point.

In the case of a city councilman, bribery directly defrauds the People, where changing policy positions is par for the course. But “refusing to prosecute” or even “working to overturn convictions” is completely outside the DA’s lane.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:51 am

“Prosecutorial discretion” allows Gascon to decide which cases to prosecute, and is not illegal. Both the police and DAs prioritize enforcement because of limited resources. Also, Gascon’s policies were discussed during his election campaign and he won.

The remedy is already underway-a recall.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:40 am

Jar-Jar: “Where are the Ukrainian Freedom Fighter War Bonds being sold, Joey? Candyland, Oz, Scranton… or is it Wilmington this week?”

It’s like the AFLAC duck on crack.

AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:48 am

In positions where there are objective expectations (a police chief as opposed to, say, a city councilman) willful failure to meet (or even attempt to meet) those objective expectations could constitute fraud.

The Supreme Court has issued three opinions substantially limiting the breadth of “honest-services” fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1346. In the lead case, Skilling v. United States, the Court ruled that honest-services fraud-which prosecutors had been using aggressively to criminalize corporate executives’ and public officials’ failure to disclose personal gains from corporate or government business-only prohibits bribes and kickbacks.

As a result of the Court’s ruling, the statute can no longer be used to prosecute executives, fiduciaries and public officials merely for “undisclosed self-dealing,” or taking official action to further their own interests while purporting to act in the interests of those owed a fiduciary duty…..
…….
…..Congress quickly passed a statute clarifying that fraud explicitly could include “a scheme or artifice to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services.” 18 U.S.C. § 1346. The new statute, however, offered no definition of “honest services” or guidance about what actions constituted a scheme to deprive others of such intangible rights.
…….

Source

My point was “not on point” because the current state of the law doesn’t account for “willful failure to meet….objective standards” set for public officials. That is why there are elections and recalls.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:51 am

@18. Pfft. Translation: no defense for the indefensible. You’re quacking in circles, Agarn.

“How do you get to Fort Courage? That’s easy. You take a right at the rock that looks like a bear, then a left at the bear that looks like a rock…” – Cpl. Randolph Agarn [Larry Storch] ‘F-Troop’ ABC-TV, 1965-67

DCSCA (c2b901) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:09 am

OT-breaking news: Fed hikes rates by 75 basis points for first time since 1994

The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday it would hike interest rates this month at the fastest pace in nearly 30 years after a discouraging May surge in inflation.

And Trump was impeached. Twice.

Carteriffic, Joey.

DCSCA (c2b901) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:14 am

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the panel of Fed officials responsible for setting interest rates, said it would raise the bank’s baseline interest rate range to 1.5 to 1.75 percent, an increase of 0.75 percentage points.

They’ll be pissed on Lunchbucket Lane in Scranton, Pennsylvania. But love’ya along bank-based, Credit Card Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware.

Carteriffic, Joey!

DCSCA (c2b901) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:18 am

Paulie’s just an ideological RINO who doesn’t care about Americans or America.

If you have to resort to personal attacks, then you really don’t an argument, DC, just Buchananesque xenophobic foo-rah.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:40 am

“Prosecutorial discretion”

An old bone that I pick from time to time. Like “qualified immunity” it’s a necessary evil that is often stretched well around the bend. Obama used it to grant green cards to illegals.

Many of Gascon’s actions are without remedy. This is how the Rule of Law comes into disrepute, and when the rabble gets the idea that it doesn’t work for them, suddenly it won’t work for you. And we get more Trump.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:45 am

It’s like the AFLAC duck on crack.

I was thinking of the emu. Or maybe, for Angelinos of a certain age “Adee Do!“

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:50 am

But love’ya along bank-based, Credit Card Avenue in Wilmington, Delaware.

Why would they care? When savings rates were at 0%, card rates were still at 18%. All they’ll do is tighten up credit a bit. Not a whole lot, I suspect.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:53 am

Many of Gascon’s actions are without remedy.

There is a remedy-a recall.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 11:55 am

No disrespect to the the Adee Do’s real life voiceman Wally Sherwin (a successful exec at KABC when not acting), but he would have made a good Seinfeld villain.

urbanleftbehind (053691) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:05 pm

For the record, I signed on to recall Gascon.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 9:05 am

oh cool

let’s hope you didn’t commit fraud this time

JF (e66285) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:11 pm

@24 Finally, you got how we got Trump… and how we’ll continually get Trumpism until something changes.

whembly (7e0293) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:32 pm

@26. It’s Joey’s Delaware- his claim to fame. They don’t tighten credit, they merely raise borrowing rates and add % to existing debt for Americans. They were bailed out in ’08- too big to fail BS; Lunch bucket Scranton gets hurt by this but Joe’s Wilmington bankers stay happy; just makes business and domestic life harder. But hey, borrow more to give to Ukraine… everything is ‘transitory’ to an 80 year old at the end of his run who’ll be dead sooner than later.

DCSCA (729a69) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:42 pm

“Or maybe, for Angelinos of a certain age “Adee Do!“”

Joe Isuzu resonates more with the riff on outright lying (I hear their first choice was Jon Lovitz for his serial lying character on SNL).

AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:51 pm

Finally, you got how we got Trump… and how we’ll continually get Trumpism until something changes.

Rest easy:

“It’s transitory.” 😉

DCSCA (729a69) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:59 pm

oh cool

let’s hope you didn’t commit fraud this time

JF (e66285) — 6/15/2022 @ 12:11 pm

You’re so gullible. Can’t figure out when you’re being trolled.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 1:49 pm

Gascon is the poster child for leaving LA– and certainly not moving there. He’s the best thing to happen to Texas or Nevada or New Mexico or Arizona in years. Even Hollywood wants to leave Hollywood:

Hollywood’s Apocalypse NOW: Rich and famous are fleeing in droves as liberal politics and coronavirus turn City of Dreams into cesspit plagued by junkies and violent criminals

‘Today, Los Angeles is a city on the brink. ‘For Sale’ signs are seemingly dotted on every suburban street as the middle classes, particularly those with families, flee for the safer suburbs, with many choosing to leave LA altogether.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8631063/Hollywood-Apocalypse-rich-famous-fleeing-droves.html

HOLLYWOOD joins residents and tech companies in fleeing the high taxes in California for neighboring states.

‘Big studios are finding new homes in New Mexico for cheaper prices.’

https://www.the-sun.com/news/3336605/is-hollywood-leaving-california/

DCSCA (126316) — 6/15/2022 @ 1:53 pm

You’re so gullible. Can’t figure out when you’re being trolled

81 million are figuring that out right about now. 😉

DCSCA (126316) — 6/15/2022 @ 1:54 pm

whembly: “Finally, you got how we got Trump… and how we’ll continually get Trumpism until something changes.”

Kevin actually believes we got Trump because both parties have ignored the economic challenges confronting the blue-collar worker…and Trump talked up immigration and trade and this resonated.

I think that’s a piece of it….the Democrat party exacerbated this by moving from class warfare….which included blue collar whites, over to identity politics…focusing more on race, gender, and sexuality….which is a big strategic error. Their class warfare arguments are just warmed over Marx of one stripe or the other but a new generation seems always ready to fall prey (Hi asset!).

Though mismanaged globalism is a stressor to our system, I think we also see that right-wing politics has gotten a lot more desperate. We have little to no willingness to sit down and talk to one another, seek common ground, and make compromises (in a system that is predicated on all of that). Some here will argue that we can’t ever compromise with evil or that the Left will never compromise….or that they are too exhausted to even think about it (social media fatigue). So we now have a situation where neither side is ascendant, and our Congress is unable to function…..paralyzed….impotent. This pushes all action to the courts, which are being further politicized, and the chief executive. But with limited Article II power, the President is then forced to do more with questionable executive orders and through delegated regulatory power.

We now want an authoritarian to bully the other side and we no longer care about rules, appearances, and especially pesky norms. The GOP is fine with someone described as “detached from reality” because he says what they want him to say enough of the time…..and they believe that they are not being grifted….but are in on the grift. Sessions, Mattis, Tillerson, Pence, Esper, Bolton, Cohn, Barr….all thought they could manage the grift too, until they couldn’t. Trump is the result of right-wing media so demonizing the other side that the slow plodding politics of our Constitution is no longer sufficient. We need someone who will even fight election results and weaponize foreign policy against his opponents (hello Hunter!).

Tucker and Hannity are why we get Trump (Rush too)…and as Haiku would say….and why we get him good and hard….

AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:27 pm

Jim Miller (406a93) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:14 am

If you want to help poor black and brown people, the most important thing you can do is protect them from crime, which means, sadly, protecting them from the criminals in their midst.

You’d be siding with the 98% against the 2% or whatever

But they have no sense of reality. To them it is inarguably racist, and therefore wrong, and invidious, to claim that there are a disproportionate percentage of blacks who are criminals.

And it is illiberal to claim that punishments and penalties (deterrence) works.

And it is inconceivable to say that the ratio of street crime ratio to people differs from time to time, place to place and generation to generation and year to year and that a lot depends on the rate the previous year. (even conservatives don’t quite make this statement.)

If anything makes a difference, they will argue peaceful methods do, not force.

Besides, they will argue, blacks have a higher chance of going to jail for the same crimes than whites when the truth is the opposite (although it really depends upon who the victims are and how well connected politically they are.)

Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:29 pm

There is a remedy-a recall.

How does that make victims whole when their attacker is strolling down the street?

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:35 pm

How does that make victims whole when their attacker is strolling down the street?

Buy a gun.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:40 pm

@37 AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:27 pm

Hence why I stated “…until something changes”.

I don’t want a 2nd term of Trump.

My priority, is simply someone who can BEAT the Democratic candidate, and who’s willing to stand up to the right’s ideological opponent.

Like Patterico, I like Glenn Youngkins.

I also like Ron DeSantis.

Additionally, I think just about ANY Republican candidate (sans Trump) can win.

But, I think my over-arching point isn’t that Trump won because of his superfans. I think he won because he was primarily the “not-HRC” candidate.

I simply don’t buy the premise that we “want an authoritarian to bully the other side and we no longer care about rules, appearances, and especially pesky norms.” We simply wanted a candidate that would fight for our values, and is unwilling to back down in the face of unpopular media/Democrat (but I repeat myself) criticisms. Hence why Younkin and DeSantis is enjoying some popular support amonst the right.

whembly (7e0293) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:42 pm

@24 Finally, you got how we got Trump… and how we’ll continually get Trumpism until something changes.

I always got it. I’ve been pretty consistent with that. There’s this column by Charles Murray that explains a lot of it. Populism is what happens when the elites don’t take care of their people, and the people notice. Canary/coal-mine. Actually it was at least stage 3 of that (Perot/Gingrich era, Tea Party, Trump).

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:46 pm

If you have to resort to personal attacks, then you really don’t an argument, DC, just Buchananesque xenophobic foo-rah.

Paul Montagu (5de684)

DCSCA is all over the place – but then you’ve made tons of really dumb statements – most you knew were false and from sources that were not sources. Puzzling, yet its not a personal attack to point out the obvious even if the person calling you out is somewhat odorous.

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:49 pm

@23. Pfft. Actually, you have no argument; your own statement reflects this and is hardly a PA given your POV. A RINO is a RINO is a RINO. You’re already repeatedly posted distain for the very party to profess to be ‘a member of.’ So there you have it.

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 2:59 pm

AJ (@37)

Partisanship is now descended to factions, which also wasn’t supposed to happen. For example, in yesterday’s primaries one candidate had been quite critical of Trump, but didn’t go as far as others. Even though Tr4ump ran a candidate against her, she won with the help of others outside of Trump’s camp.

And what happened? At least one person here castgated her as a suck-up because she had not cast an (unnecessary) vote for the second impeachment.

Cancel culture starts there, and cancel culture makes ANY compromise impossible as the most extreme faction outside the tent will be coming for you. It’s gotten so bad that even things politicians want to do cannot be done because everyone has a megaphone at your ear.

So, we have Congresses where the majority pushes some unworkable fell-swoop plan through on a party line vote, because compromise is impossible in the House, and it dies in the Senate which cannot pass anything WITHOUT compromise.

But this isn’t the cause of our problems, it’s the metastatic state of ignoring them too long. “Trump” isn’t the Fat Lady, she’s yet to slouch in.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:02 pm

Tucker and Hannity are why we get Trump (Rush too)…and as Haiku would say….and why we get him good and hard….

Which is more than Melania can say.

nk (6c627d) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:09 pm

@43. Odorous? Recognize who’s throwing the stink. Paulie just doesn’t like his own party, remains frustrated at being shuffled to the bottom of the deck and as a comfy chair conservative ideologue, puts Ukrainians ahead of Americans and burdens U.S. citizens w/t debt. Speaks volumes. They just got $40 billion given to them, burdening the U.S. taxpayers, merely 3 weeks ago— and the Imbecile In Chief was conned by Mobster Z out of another billion this morning.

Why don’t you give the odorous WH a call and see if Stinky Joe will fork over a few hundred million to your city or state. He’s a soft touch. But then, at 80, he doesn’t care much about the future, does he.

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:10 pm

Buy a gun.

Not the strictly “Rule of Law” behavior.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:13 pm

@42. ‘During the past half-century of economic growth, virtually none of the rewards have gone to the working class.’

And there you have it.

_________

Two years of enduring a President Harris is looking better every day.

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:20 pm

…but then you’ve made tons of really dumb statements – most you knew were false and from sources that were not sources.

Show me. Prove the lie.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:21 pm

Tucker and Hannity are why we get Trump (Rush too)…and as Haiku would say….and why we get him good and hard….

Are you truly that passive? That malleable? That easily led? By entertainers, no less?? Such is the life of a corporal.

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:24 pm

Buy a gun.

Not the strictly “Rule of Law” behavior.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:13 pm

Why not? I own firearms for self-protection. Completely legal.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:24 pm

@50. Meh. And the RINO charged… 😉

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:26 pm

Why not? I own firearms for self-protection.

What are you afraid of; or is it just that those in your circle of life, should be afraid of you…

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:27 pm

You’re already repeatedly posted distain for the very party to profess to be ‘a member of.’ So there you have it.

So, uh, disliking where my party’s going means I don’t “care about Americans or America”?
How tribally nonsensical is that.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:33 pm

What are you afraid of…….

People like you.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:36 pm

@55.So, uh, disliking where my party’s going means I don’t “care about Americans or America”? How tribally nonsensical is that.

More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!

Your words.

Nonsensical indeed: Biden just gave Zelinsky another $1 BILLION this morning on top of the $40 billion he was given just three weeks ago and the $13 billion “given” earlier this year– no accounting, all borrowed and further burdening U.S. taxpayers. Bill Uncle Sam’s AMEX, roars the Charging RINO.

=mike-drop=

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:41 pm

@56. Hmmm. Why? Don’t own any guns.

But you do… =mike-drop=

DCSCA (b7b26c) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:42 pm

I own them for self-protection and sport. My brother (who lives in Nevada) owns the firearms that are illegal in CA.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:45 pm

“My priority, is simply someone who can BEAT the Democratic candidate, and who’s willing to stand up to the right’s ideological opponent.”

That’s good to hear….but there’s a reason Trump remains either first or second in polls. Yes it’s way early and few other than Trump have national name recognition…but there’s a healthy dose of rationalizing bad behavior going on and even some indulging of the drama (they love that Trump show). Some too will devolve down to Trump = Good economy and NotTrump = Bad economy and don’t bother with the sausage making and the character concerns about Trump.

We have to find a way to bring the country together and I worry that Desantis’ path is just Trump-lite and we will get more performative drama and the same toxic result. Maybe Desantis will gain a sense of humor and some nuance as he feels his way toward 2024. Everything doesn’t merit anger and visceral over-reaction. I fear twitter has conditioned us to act poorly to get noticed.

I like governors who can build consensus and fight without being obnoxious. It’s too easy to play victim and pretend the other side is not just wrong but evil. I don’t get a sense that commenters like JF and FWO see any other path than running into the wall and hoping some day it falls. I want a candidate that doesn’t view half the country as his enemy and doesn’t just want to feed the cable news food fight. We’ll see if any such individual emerges and gives me some hope. Youngkins has potential but his resume is thin and it’s quick (less than a term) for him to elevate to national politics. He should have some record to run on…not just ambition and one campaign.

AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:54 pm

Yep, your take that I’m un-American for supporting Ukraine defending itself against war criminal and bully like Putin is absurd, tribally nonsensical, and a personal attack.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:54 pm

Show me. Prove the lie.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:21 pm

If your keyboard is thrumming, last time I bothered to look at a link you wrote on an article from Vanity Fair ghost written by one Taylor Lorenz as fact – it was about par for you. A completely discredited publication written by one of the worst people in the entire internet.

But this comment section is like a warm blanket safe space for you. Preening for other wierdo’s approval, each trying to out do each other like the Jan 6th committee.

You used to not be this way, which is a shame, you’re better than that but hey – you’re an intelligent man, you decided to do what you did

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:57 pm

@60 AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 3:54 pm

I think DeSantis being labeled as a “Trump-like” politician is largely a media/Democrat creation.

He’s his own thing.

Like all politicians, I’m not going to support everything DeSantis have done, or is going to do. But, he’s definitely a “net positive” if you will. This goes back to my mantra – if you idolize or expressed hatred towards a politician, you’re going to have a bad time. It’s better to view these politicians as temporary stewards to their positions.

Trump simply has too much baggage and will simply be a distraction, while burning up precious attention.

As for Youngkin, so far he’s been really solid in VA. Not sure how that’ll translate nationally, but he’s definitely promising.

But, outside DeSantis/Youngkin, who has the name recognition and base support to take on Trump?

I’m not seeing anyone else.

whembly (7e0293) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:13 pm

Paul.

Ukrainians are not the saints you wish them to be. They interfered politically in our elections, they stole rob raped American citizens all over the world including dubai, Macao, shanghi, their government was a hive of bribery, drugs, organized crime and especially – specialized in the abduction of young American and Canadian girls kidnapped and sold to be raped to death. with the full support of the ukrainian government.

In fact our host here was sued by someone with strong – very strong ties to the Ukraine and made those ties during his stint in the prison system here in America.

Now Zelensky was a breath of fresh air – but how were we to trust him? No one knew who he was, and to this day he still is a mystery.

The death of women and children is horrible, terrible, Putin is a monster but the pre zelensky Ukraine (like 2 years ago) was just as bad.

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:13 pm

Ukrainians are not the saints you wish them to be. They interfered politically in our elections, they stole rob raped American citizens all over the world including dubai, Macao, shanghi, their government was a hive of bribery, drugs, organized crime and especially – specialized in the abduction of young American and Canadian girls kidnapped and sold to be raped to death. with the full support of the ukrainian government.

Source?

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:20 pm

whembly

Desantis is one of trumps biggest supporters Trump endorsed him and brought him from trailing not once but twice to barely beat out a felon under indictment and to prevail in the primary as well.

The republican party is 80% pro Trump (it was less than 30% pro Reagan)

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:22 pm

Rip

When did you come over from the Daily Kos?

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:24 pm

@56. Hmmm. Why? Don’t own any guns.

You, or persons like you, are threats with any of these weapons.

But of course that is not the point. I own firearms because the law allows me to. I don’t need any justification to do so.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:25 pm

Rip

When did you come over from the Daily Kos?

I have no idea what you mean. I never visited that site.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:26 pm

Rip

Stupid annnnd lazy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ukraine

Ukraine is considered the 3rd most corrupt place on the earth. Has been for decades.

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:27 pm

google rip murdoch your a visitor……

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:28 pm

google rip murdoch your a visitor……

Not me.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:30 pm

Rip

did you read the article on corruption in the Ukraine?

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:35 pm

The cat video, EPWJ! The cat video! Complete the trifecta!
You’ve done the nastiness.
You’ve done the disinformation.
Now post the cat video!

nk (6c627d) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:58 pm

@68. Hmmmm. Let’s ask Ashli Babbitt… Don’t own any guns… but you do.

Don’tcha.

DCSCA (19c603) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:59 pm

@61. … More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!

Your words… said the Charging RINO… charging billion in debt to Uncle Sam’s AMEX.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ukraine

=mike-drop=

DCSCA (19c603) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:03 pm

Rip

did you read the article on corruption in the Ukraine?

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:35 pm

Yes. Whatever. For me the more important point is countering Russia.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:38 pm

A completely discredited publication–

Except it’s not; have a very good and honest friend who has worked as an editor at Vanity Fair. They’ve got street cred.

DCSCA (a41b91) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:39 pm

@77. So the ends justify the means for you…

The Big Dick would have Liddy take you on as an apprentice Plumber; The Donald, Temporary Matre’d for The Dining Room at MacLeod House, Trump Aberdeen in Scotland. The Greenskeeper gig is already filled.

DCSCA (a41b91) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:45 pm

nk,

you love me you know you do….

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:49 pm

Rip

Hitler, Nappi, both tried to, now we have nato arming itself. Russia is 0 and 4 when they invade counties that didnt attack them first.

Putin going to come down with lead poisoning soon.

Question is, will they withdraw?

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:54 pm

countries…

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:54 pm

@77. So the ends justify the means for you…

No, I just see Russia as a larger geopolitical threat than Ukraine, which isn’t threat to the US at all.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/15/2022 @ 5:56 pm

https://www.yahoo.com/news/taiwan-warns-china-missile-capable-193828533.html

opps,…

EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 6:01 pm

Ukrainians are not the saints you wish them to be. They interfered politically in our elections, they stole rob raped American citizens all over the world including dubai, Macao, shanghi, their government was a hive of bribery, drugs, organized crime and especially – specialized in the abduction of young American and Canadian girls kidnapped and sold to be raped to death. with the full support of the ukrainian government.

I don’t see a source for any of those assertions, but I’ve seen no evidence that they’ve “interfered politically in our elections”. Usually that assertion comes from Trumpists who’ve denied Putin’s “sweeping and systematic” meddling in our 2016 election and were trying to blame-shift. The worst that can be said is that an on-again, off-again Democrat operative who was born in Ukraine (Chalupa) got some information from a Ukrainian diplomat about Manafort.

You also mention their “corruption” in another comment, that they’re the “3rd most corrupt place on the earth”, which is quantifiably false as Russia and 57 other nations are more corrupt. They do have a problem with oligarchs, which is addressed (of all places) in Zelenskyy’s own Netflix series, Servant of the People, and it doesn’t help that his country has been defending itself from Russian aggression since 2014, when Putin invaded two of its regions.

If your keyboard is thrumming, last time I bothered to look at a link you wrote on an article from Vanity Fair ghost written by one Taylor Lorenz as fact – it was about par for you.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. I plead guilty to linking to Vanity Fair (like this one last year about Covid), but I’d never of heard of Lorenz until her recent doxxing. If I’d said anything about her, it wasn’t complimentary. Like I said, show me. Prove the lie. If you’re going to accuse me of something, use my actual words, per the Patterico’s commenting rules.

More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!
Your words… said the Charging RINO

More xenophobic brainlessness, as if supporting Ukraine defending itself must mean I’ve somehow renounced my citizenship. You’re grasping, DC. Not a good look.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/15/2022 @ 6:22 pm

No, I just see Russia as a larger geopolitical threat than Ukraine, which isn’t threat to the US at all.

Get glasses: literally ‘giving’ $54 billion in aid away to one of the most corrupt regimes on Earth is a threat to the financial and national security of the United States- especially when it’s borrowed from China; and wealthy, modern Europe fails to cough up anything close to those numbers. And in case you haven’t noticed:

The Russian ruble is the best-performing currency in the world this year.

Two months after the ruble’s value fell to less than a U.S. penny amid the swiftest, toughest economic sanctions in modern history, Russia’s currency has mounted a stunning turnaround. The ruble has jumped 40% against the dollar since January.” -source, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-ruble-currency-2022/

DCSCA (bf3466) — 6/15/2022 @ 6:37 pm

Wow.

Simon Jester (e2861e) — 6/15/2022 @ 6:38 pm

@86. More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!

Your words…

To one of the most corrupt regimes on Earth. Another billion dollars forked over today just three weeks after Z was ‘given’ $40 billion. With added cash aid to ‘struggling Ukrainian families.’

Not a good look for you, RINO.

DCSCA (bf3466) — 6/15/2022 @ 6:41 pm

Wow

AJ_Liberty (411e90) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:16 pm

Why not? I own firearms for self-protection. Completely legal.

So do I, but you are dragging the goalpost pretty shamelessly here.

To recap: The point is that, to have respect for the Law, the Law has to work for those of whom respect is demanded. If the people in charge of the Law subvert it to other ends (e.g. social change), then the people will lose that respect and rely on other things, like becoming well-armed (as you suggest).

But that’s not the same as respecting the Rule of Law, that’s giving up on it.

What’s really concerning is that the people who are making the Law into a joke are the SAME people who want everyone to disarm. Coincidence? You decide.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:19 pm

So, uh, disliking where my party’s going means I don’t “care about Americans or America”?

Small semantic quibble: The GOP is not “your party.” It is a Party of which you choose to be a member of, but it is no more yours than it is mine. Parties are amalgams of factions, and right now a faction that you (and I) don’t care much for has the wheel. But I have to remember that my faction had the wheel for 30 years and did not serve all the other members as they wished, so the kicked us the frack out of the drivers seat for a while.

I try to be stoic about it. At times I lash out. But I have to remember that my faction had a large part in not listening along the way.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:25 pm

Rip

When did you come over from the Daily Kos?
EPWJ (8d8de9) — 6/15/2022 @ 4:24 pm

You see, EPWJ, this is the kind of asinine comment that endears you to everyone.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:29 pm

Stupid annnnd lazy

This had me looking around for the ban hammer, but I don’t seem to have one.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:31 pm

But I have to remember that my faction had a large part in not listening along the way.

Honesty earns applause. That Murray piece you posted says it all.

DCSCA (bf3466) — 6/15/2022 @ 7:33 pm

DCSCA gets to collect on yet another wager:

https://ticotimes.net/2022/06/11/ortega-authorizes-russian-army-to-enter-nicaraguan-territory

urbanleftbehind (2b999d) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:28 pm

Daniel Ortega’s regime invited the Kremlin forces to enter the Central American country for “law enforcement, humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters.”

“he most unpleasant icing on the cake for the United States was the sensational announcement by Daniel Ortega, president of Nicaragua. He allowed Russian troops, ships and planes into Nicaragua. Of course, only for humanitarian purposes, Russian troops can enter Nicaragua in the second half of 2022,” said state television presenter Olga Skabeeva.

“If U.S. missile systems can almost reach Moscow from Ukrainian territory, it is time for Russia to deploy something powerful closer to U.S. cities,” the journalist added.

In what world is a “presenter” on Putin TV a “journalist”? That’s like calling Baghdad Bob an “analyst.”

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:55 pm

That Murray piece you posted says it all.

It’s only the 12th time I posted it here.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/15/2022 @ 8:56 pm

@97. So? A broken clock is right twice a day. You’ve been half right.

‘Day ain’t over yet.’- Curly [Jack Palance] ‘City Slickers’ 1991

DCSCA (91c6b8) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:32 pm

@95. And Putin smiled… 😉

But rest easy; Joe’s been Monroe Doctrine– with prune juice and aspirin.

DCSCA (91c6b8) — 6/15/2022 @ 10:36 pm

On my laptop this thread is about an inch away on the screen from an open thread.

And it’s an interesting topic that I wanted to read a discussion about.

But instead, a troll, DCSCA, derailed the discussion with a boring, repetitive bunch of crap about how much he hates Trump’s opponent. Over and over and over, the same dumb nonsense that has nothing to do with the interesting discussion of how radical discretion of trusted law enforcement officials hurts the people and communities most cited as requiring these reforms.

Comments like “and putin smiled” or dumb slogans in bold.

I used to take time to try to get a discussion going back on the actual topic when it interested me and I wanted to hear what the smart commenters here thought about it, but I just don’t have the energy. But also, trolls crave the attention and frustration of earnest readers. And of course, what we all kinda realize but don’t say directly: DCSCA obviously has some kind of mental illness and like a homeless person on K2, will perseverate his rambling obsession with Joe Biden rapidly and endlessly, forever, hopelessly.

DCSCA, I’m sure there are family in your life that just don’t bother to waste their time on you, and you probably don’t realize it’s because you’re very selfish and very tedious. I’ll say a prayer for you, but it would be better if you just moved on to the next step of your ‘life’ so to speak.

Dustin (75d8ff) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:04 am

I read Barri Weiss’s article. Carefully. But I would like to hear from other perspectives, besides the prosecutors’.

The prison guards’ union, who could be facing loss of overtime and reductions in new hires if not layoffs.

The bail bondsmen looking at their 10%s being eliminated in a big way.

The jail/prison commissaries having their customer base snatched from right under them.

The jail/prison telephone and email service providers losing the $30 per call or email. Would they even be able to maintain the services with so fewer prisoners?

And has anybody even thought of the repercussions on the prison uniform industry? All the $1/day garment workers in Bangladesh who will no longer be able to buy their daily rice?

nk (cdaa6f) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:14 am

My opinion of our so-called criminal justice system, as it exists without the Gascons, Boudins, and Foxxes, is that is an unholy mess. And I mean “unholy” literally and I think that I am being kind.

Gascon went after what he could reach. He may very well have made it worse as the article claims. I don’t know. He may have only made the mess smell more. But low-hanging fruit is the preferred prey of the system in the first place.

I know not whether Laws be right,
Or whether Laws be wrong;
All that we know who lie in jail
Is that the wall is strong;
And that each day is like a year,
A year whose days are long.

But this I know, that every Law
That men have made for Man,
Since first Man took his brother’s life,
And this sad world began,
But straws the wheat and saves the chaff
With a most evil fan.

This too I know — and wise it were
If each could know the same —
That every prison that men build
Is built with bricks of shame,
And bound with bars lest Christ should see
How men their brothers maim. — Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

nk (cdaa6f) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:24 am

@100. Shorter: conservative whine; bitter dregs: you have nothing to say.
_________

DOW nosedivin g to 29,940– and dropping. Attaboy, Joey.

Two years of President Harris is looking better and better.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:09 am

The irony is that the guy accusing a fellow commenter and American of being a traitor is a huge adoring fan of a warmongering imperialist war criminal, an authoritarian enemy of the United States who’s been hostile to American interests since he invaded Georgia 14 years ago, and has been rooting for this war criminal’s illegal/immoral invasion against a weaker victim that has under his military and propaganda attacks for over eight years. JCOAFPS.

If “might makes right” is now a hallmark of my GOP, it should tells anyone how far this major political party has descended.

Another irony is that a president, a guy purported himself to be great American, put his personal greed ahead of his country when he tried to work a deal for Trump Tower Moscow while he was running for president, who put his personal ambition above his country when he tried to coerce a foreign leader to dig up dirt against his chief political rival, who also did so when he undermined our democracy by trying to subvert our Constitution through his post-election acts, in a pathetic and damaging attempt to reverse his loss.
Yet somehow a comfortable majority of Republicans still find this puke to be my party’s standard-bearer. For f-ck’s sake.

Paul Montagu (5de684) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:15 am

@104. =yawn= Ideological conservative whine; bitter dregs.

Grouchy, ain’t’cha:

“I wouldn’t want to belong to a club that would have me as a member” ― Groucho Marx

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:20 am

@104. More aid, and faster. Slava Ukraini!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ukraine

Your words… aid to one of the most corrupt regimes on Earth. Another billion dollars forked over yesterday by Joey just three weeks after Z was ‘given’ $40 billion. With added cash aid to ‘struggling Ukrainian families’ while American families struggle. The RINO be blowing his horn.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:40 am

Two years of President Harris is looking better and better.

What anteBiden Trumpian policy (not plural) should she agree to reinstate before one decides to “be proactive” on her behalf towards that 1.5 boxes check historical milestone?

urbanleftbehind (4f561a) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:46 am

Yet somehow a comfortable majority of Republicans still find this puke to be my party’s standard-bearer. For f-ck’s sake.

Trump is their glue. They sniff him to get high.

nk (cdaa6f) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:58 am

@107. Not really a viable ‘either/or’ suggestion. She’d merely by a stop gap for 24 months to stop the hemorrhaging. What makes her at least endurable for two years is: 1) she is not 80 years old and can vision a future ahead beyond a pine box because she’ll be alive to live through the consequences; 2) has a functioning memory; 3) is eminently beatable by any challenger in her own party– or by Trump or a Trump chump knockoff. The marketplace; the DOW is saying it all.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 7:59 am

Yet somehow a comfortable majority of Republicans still find this puke to be my party’s standard-bearer.

Welcome to 1964.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:00 am

I don’t want her to be anything more than Eugene Sawyer or David Patterson. Why not trade time sworn in for a definitive policy reversal.

urbanleftbehind (4f561a) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:05 am

Nov 16, 2020 – The Dow was at 29,927 just before noon, the highest it has ever been. It closed 29,482.

June 16, 2022 – The Dow down to 29,800 at 11 AM EDT. The high was 36,799 on January 4, 2022- just 5 months ago.

Gains wiped out.

Attaboy, Joey.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:09 am

@111. She’d at least be stable and more nimble of mind and body for two years.

And can walk up stairs. Perception is reality. What we have now is perceived as feckless, ineffective and worst of all– incompetent. If our system had a ‘vote of confidence’ – Joe would be gone by Labor Day.

DCSCA (612de5) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:13 am

Kevin,

I’ve been on this blog for well over a decade made thousands of serious contributions, gotten national attention to this blog. Johnny sutton – called me showed me the link to the transcripts that were supposedly hidden, sent it to Mitch McConnell and Senator Cornyn and they IMMEDIATELY dropped the Ramos and Compean inquiry as it was clearly apparent that they shot the guy left him for dead and they did it in a foreign country, not in the USA.

Andrew Breitbart was my college classmate and occasional roommate.

I lived in Qatar and showed pictures of the fake Michael yon shooting fake scenes outside of several places that were not IRAQ!

I watched people like you call Dustin names, I’ve watched people like you come and go after spamming the hard work PAt, Arron Worthing, DRJ, JVW and countless other volunteers like JD and the Navy LT. Its painful to see you contributing to infecting Dana so bad she’s nothing like she was 2 years ago, which is sad and a huge loss to the conversations on this blog.

you’re mistaking acceptance here in the comment section and the somewhat unusual screeds by Pat and Dana as some justification for lying and wanting violence against the Trumps – first Pat has a huge high bar for personal integrity and standards of conduct – Trump no matter what would never despite whatever he did ever get Pat’s approval – Pats conduct is not situational – Pat has had that high bar since probably his father and mother instilled it in him and I’m not the least bit surprised I’ve read him daily for will most of this millennium. More Pats make the world a saner(sp?) place.

You could contribute but you choose to break the law, one day you will most likely cause legal problems for yourself and the host – one day you are going to say something thats going to bit you the libel laws and slander laws are turning towards criminal – every day red state are passing strict laws. Every day AG’s in states are prosecuting idiot in comment sections –

As proof the top 5 political blogs have either paywalled the comment section or eliminated them alltogether in the last 6 months with more to follow

Mediaite is being sued and they soon as well as Daily Kos and Breitbart are soon ending the free for all comment sections. Because of idiots like you.

DCSCA is a troll on one side but you’re just as bad on the other, spouting nonsense that passes as facts but its just opinions.

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:27 am

Dustin: “DCSCA obviously has some kind of mental illness and like a homeless person on K2, will perseverate his rambling obsession with Joe Biden…”

Here I thought K2 was a mountain in Asia! Like a pitcher who’s put on a pitch count, it would be nice to have posters here put on a comment count. We can continue to hope that DCSCA gets the help that he clearly needs.

AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:41 am

DCSCA is a troll on one side

Except he’s not. But do speak of and for yourself.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:42 am

@115. How odd. Translation- no viable POV or argument; when the tanks be dry, you suck air.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:43 am

Mediaite is being sued and they soon as well as Daily Kos and Breitbart are soon ending the free for all comment sections. Because of idiots like you.

And Musk may actually buy Twitter. The operations of the free market is a concern of your because…??? How did you survive before there was an internet. =mike-drop=

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:49 am

Blocking script.

nk (fafa2f) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:53 am

@108. Pfft.

Goldwater is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Reagan is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Buchanan Trump is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Perot is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Palin is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
… etc., etc.

On deck:

DeSantis is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Haley is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Pompeo is their glue. They sniff him to get high.
Cruz is their glue. They sniff him to get high.

FIFY

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:56 am

nk

I blocked myself but it didnt take

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 8:58 am

what did the fish say when it labded on concrete?

Damn

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:01 am

landed… lol

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:01 am

DCSCA is more like Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:01 am

Sigh.

— What did the fish say when it bumped into the concrete wall?
— Dam!

nk (fafa2f) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:06 am

Mediaite is being sued….

The only reference I could find is that Mediaite sued TheWrap back in 2017. Who is suing them?

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:07 am

But there was one day, comrades, when nine out of the ten Recent Comments on the sidebar were in my blocking script and I asked myself, “AITA?” That maybe I’m the one that does not belong here?

nk (fafa2f) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:10 am

@124. Your tank be dry…

And at $7/gallon, likely for a while.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:11 am

If I was in San Diego, I would be enjoying Pacific Beach or hiking through Torrey Pines State Park. Lunch at the Pacific Beach Fish Shop would be a must. La Jolla Cave kayaking, Balboa Park, Harbor cruise, Sunset Cliffs, Midway museum, Sea World/Zoo/Animal Park, Geisel library at UCSD, sunset sailing, wondering through the Gaslamp quarter….wow, so much fun stuff to do that doesn’t involve Joe Biden!

AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:12 am

maybe I’m the one that does not belong here?

Seems the 2022 GOP is sending that message out loud and clear.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:13 am

@124. Your tank be dry…

And at $7/gallon, likely for a while.

Not for my Tesla.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:14 am

@129. so much fun stuff to do that doesn’t involve Joe Biden…

Pfft. If you wuz in San Diego, you couldn’t afford it– due to Joe Biden and his ilk.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:16 am

@131. Check your electric bill; and wait for the blackouts.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:17 am

murdock

tesla batteries are soon to be 40,000 to replace and last less than 30,000 miles at full range – they are more expensive to operate than gpv’s by several factors – also many states are considering legislation requiring battery replacement every three years for safety reasons – the massive 3 day pile up was caused by two teslas with old batteries on highway 81 that cost billions of dollars to the taxpayers

Lets say gas goes to 10 dollars per gallon and your car gets 20 miles to the gallon thats 50 cents a mile

a Tesla right now is 1.25 per mile and that is without the cost of recharging which brings it close to 1.50 per mile – gas would have to go to 15/20 dollars before a tesla is an advantage to own

Until we allow strip mining back in america – lithium batteries are unworkable from an economic standpoint

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:25 am

@131. Check your electric bill; and wait for the blackouts.

Solar.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:26 am

tesla batteries are soon to be 40,000 to replace and last less than 30,000 miles at full range – they are more expensive to operate than gpv’s by several factors – also many states are considering legislation requiring battery replacement every three years for safety reasons – the massive 3 day pile up was caused by two teslas with old batteries on highway 81 that cost billions of dollars to the taxpayers

Lets say gas goes to 10 dollars per gallon and your car gets 20 miles to the gallon thats 50 cents a mile

a Tesla right now is 1.25 per mile and that is without the cost of recharging which brings it close to 1.50 per mile – gas would have to go to 15/20 dollars before a tesla is an advantage to own

Until we allow strip mining back in america – lithium batteries are unworkable from an economic standpoint

Whatever, I enjoy the silence.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:28 am

I can afford it.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:29 am

How to spot idiots in society

1. anyone wearing 2 paper masks which neither one has a snowballs chance in physics of stopping a virus

2. anyone wearing 2 paper masks while driving alone

3. anyone wearing two paper masks while driving alone in an Tesla

4. anyone named DCSCA

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:32 am

@135. That’s quaint- for half a day; pretty useless at night– or in cloudy, wintery days across North America. Externtion cords are optional, right?! 😉

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:34 am

Rip

we call BS on your magic solar array and your tesla – most likely you havent bathed this week except in the free wifi section bathroom at the public library where you blog from and eat out of thr garbage can

Hey guy I have a two million dollar solar panel setup and other magicikty magic

pleaaase

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:35 am

@138. Delightful! ‘Take it away!!!!….”

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

Creativity is not your strong point. Is is, EeePeeeDubyaJay.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:39 am

Rip’s another Eric Blair the magical unicorn PHD in Genetics from Stanford that used to be all over me till I asked him exactly when did he get that magical degree from Stanford

Guy went from dozens of comments a day to never been seen again immediately

good times, good times

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:41 am

Eric Blair is a real scientist who used that name to comment online.

DRJ (fe3efe) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:47 am

LSCrude- $116+/bbl — and climbing. Gold- $1853/oz.

Attaboy, Joey.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 9:54 am

I know there’s a sci-fi story (maybe a series of novellas) premised on the theory that paranoid schizophrenics are victims of an intersection of our universe with a parallel alternate universe. Or it could be the approaching solar solstice, felt more acutely in the southern latitudes of the country.

nk (fafa2f) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:00 am

EPWJ is free to believe whatever he wants, but he sounds like he is off his meds.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:09 am

@145. I know the happiest man in America these days is James Earl Carter, Jr. It takes a helluva lot of screw ups seasoned with wistful nostalgia to make Jimma look like Abe Lincoln. But leave it to Squinty…

Attaboy, Joey; Carterrific!

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:12 am

DRJ

Sure he was 🙂 TimB a troll but a avid doxxer thinks he was a high school chemistry teacher – I Asked Timb to stop sending me email and blocked him but he doxxed you and everyone somehow he got an email with everyone’s real email address and used that – it was some time ago – I told pat – well I left a message – and I deleted the email and scrubbed it from the wayback machine.

but the point is, he was a scientist and gasp so am I, so are alot of other people who read him and thought the same thing…. Magical degree

you see Stanford doesnt hand out genetics PhD by the bushel, they are rare, extraordinary and the top of the top of a difficult profession to master and the fact that one – out of the blue – would comment – on non sensical things – on a somewhat obscure blog – well – its magical, like winning four state lotteries in one week magical.

go figure

Glad to see you back

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:13 am

Or he could be the link to interdimensional travel.

nk (fafa2f) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:14 am

nk

When I was diagnosed with ESRF and given 5 months to live 4 years ago, 3 of the 5 voices in my head wished me a speedy recovery.

ust the bloviating and lying here was greatly exceeding the Jan 6th committee – well – it was getting ripe, three day fish on a beach ripe

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:19 am

DRJ- Not to pry, but how is your son doing? Was thinking about you and him… Hope things are stable.

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:39 am

@149. Or he could be the link to interdimensional travel.

Well, Jimma did report seeing a UFO. Perhaps he ‘saw the light’ — when Joey buzzed him. 😉

DCSCA (8aae60) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:41 am

Almonds?

A family friend, a doctor, was also given a very pessimistic prognosis of his kidney disease. He, himself (a doctor mind you), figured that he was in bigger danger from the dialysis. He refused to undergo any. He lived for many years after to a respectable old age

nk (27d8ce) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:48 am

Here’s a good site for Tesla battery life and replacement costs.

https://www.inverse.com/innovation/tesla-battery-life-replacement-cost

As reported

For the Tesla Model 3, released in 2017, the company’s warranty covers the first eight years or 100,000 miles on the entry-level model, whichever comes first. If the battery capacity during the warranty period falls below 70 percent, Tesla covers the necessary repairs.

So that de-risks premature battery death some. The testimonials seem to suggest a battery life that might be on the order of 300,000 miles which for most will outlast the life of the vehicle. Replacement battery costs will run (including labor) in the $13k to $20k range.

In terms of charging costs, here’s a decent site with analysis

https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-a-tesla-is-it-the-same-as-the-cost-to-charge-other-electric-vehicles#:~:text=Key%20takeaways,pay%20about%203.7%20per%20mile.

Looks like it would cost somewhere between 3 and 5 cents/mile at the current cost of electricity. As to lithium availability for batteries used in EVs, the following source quotes

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18402-y

Therein, several alarming questions are raised, but at present, the common understanding is that Li will not be a limiting constraint in this century.

Geological services estimates a ballpark 80 million-tons of lithium left unmined. New battery technologies are being researched, like sodium ion, that are less expensive and comprised of materials that are more abundant.

AJ_Liberty (ec7f74) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:50 am

And I remember you from at least a dozen years ago. Christoph was the only one guy you seemed to get along with. You would get it on with Eric Blair, Machinist, Dustin, DMac, No One You Know, JD, Aaron, and others, and they back with you, just like on this thread. Ah! Old times!

nk (27d8ce) — 6/16/2022 @ 10:53 am

Cosmetics giant Revlon files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Cosmetics giant Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday evening as it grappled with a cumbersome debt load and a snarled supply chain.

The company said it expects to receive $575 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its existing lender base, which will help to support its day-to-day operations. – cnbc.com

It’s Putin’s fault. eh, Joey

Attaboy, Joe; Carterrific!

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 1:07 pm

I appreciate everyone’s concern about my Tesla ownership, but it really isn’t necessary.

Meanwhile, Tesla continues marching forward:

Tesla Semi caught testing at Frito Lay, company use ‘coming soon’

The Tesla Semi is still being tested on the grounds of Frito Lay’s factory in Modesto, California, and employees at the facility say they have been told company use is “coming soon.”

Frito Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo., was set to receive the first 15 Semi units from Tesla late last year as the automaker reportedly started producing the vehicle at Gigafactory Nevada. However, the date was then pushed back to early 2022, but deliveries never took place. ……

PepsiCo. has an order for 100 total Tesla Semi units. The company said in late 2019 that the Semi, along with Tesla’s Solar and battery storage products, would help the company significantly decrease the amount of carbon emissions it produces during day-to-day operations.

However, new developments out of the Modesto Frito Lay facility show that the company may be preparing for the imminent inclusion of the Semi into its corporate fleet. A Teslarati reader familiar with the Frito Lay site, who wished to be identified as “Ricardo,” sent photographs of the Semi testing around the facility.
…….
The Semi was spotted on two other instances this week testing on public roads, but Tesla has done this routinely with the vehicle for several years. Spotting a Semi at Frito Lay invokes slightly more excitement due to the company’s massive order for the truck and the fact that deliveries were scheduled for six months ago but never occurred. With more Megachargers being added to the facility as well, perhaps Tesla is working toward producing the Semi in limited volumes for some of its clients in a potential redirection of company goals for 2022. While this is unlikely due to parts shortages and an already-lengthy order bank for its passenger vehicles, Frito Lay is confident the Semi is “coming soon.”
##########

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 1:33 pm

nk,

A few more days like these from Biden, even the democrats are going to Run Trump for President. Since companies largely left the paid pension and went to 401K’s most of America’s middle class retirement has taken a massive hit that will take years to recover.

boorish behavior or bankruptcy?

Pick only one

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 1:40 pm

The AP Interview: Biden says recession is ‘not inevitable’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden told The Associated Press on Thursday that the American people are “really, really down” after a tumultuous two years with the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging gasoline prices that are hitting family budgets.

He said a recession is not inevitable and bristled at claims by Republican lawmakers that last year’s COVID-19 aid plan was fully to blame for inflation reaching a 40-year high, calling that argument “bizarre.”

As for the overall American mindset, Biden said, “People are really, really down.” “They’re really down,” he said. “The need for mental health in America, it has skyrocketed, because people have seen everything upset. Everything they’ve counted on upset. But most of it’s the consequence of what’s happened, what happened as a consequence of the COVID crisis.”

Speaking to the AP in a 30-minute Oval Office interview, Biden addressed the warnings by economists that the United States could be headed for a recession. “First of all, it’s not inevitable,” he said. “Secondly, we’re in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation.” The president said he saw reason for optimism with the 3.6% unemployment rate and America’s relative strength in the world.

“Be confident, because I am confident we’re better positioned than any country in the world to own the second quarter of the 21st century,” Biden said. “That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact.”

O.M.G.

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 1:58 pm

Thoughts on the Jan 6th hearings day 3:

Eastman knew what he was telling Trump to do was illegal. He admitted it several times.

Everyone told Trump that what Eastman had suggested was not legal. Eastman admitted in front of Trump, during a meeting with witnesses, that his various suggestions regarding Pence delaying the electoral vote certification process violated the law. Trump knew what he was telling Pence to do was illegal, yet he continued to tell him to do it. Trump told Pence to illegally interfere with the election in an attempt to remain in office, despite the fact that he had lost the election.

When Trump’s staff suggested that he needed to issue a statement or put out a tweet to calm his supporters who were rioting at the Capitol, Trump instead sent a tweet that Pence had failed them, pointing a violent mod directly at Vice President Pence.

IANAL. I don’t know which laws in legal terms those actions specifically violate, but from a lay person’s point of view, that sure looks like a coupe attempt against the government of the US and possibly some kind of attempt to incite the assault or even murder of Mike Pence.

Nic (896fdf) — 6/16/2022 @ 2:29 pm

Two years of President Harris is looking better and better.

And for the next two weeks we will get this every other comment until some thing new and shiny attracts his eye.

DCSCA, and I say this with all due respect: Get your own blog. Right here, you’re like Gene Scott on someone else’s channel.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/16/2022 @ 2:44 pm

If the battery capacity during the warranty period falls below 70 percent, Tesla covers the necessary repairs.

The thing that kills batteries is improper discharge. Usually this means deep discharge as super-fast discharge is hard to do without serious modifications, and Tesla’s software should prevent deep discharge. Same thing for Powerwalls and the like.

There is a lot of factless junk floating around the internet, based on the certainty that 90% of readers are technically illiterate, but want to have a firm opinion. So they offer some. When someone like EPWJ starts up with this, ask him what he bases his judgement on.

Unlike, say, law where opinion can control, engineering is a rather stubborn thing.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/16/2022 @ 2:54 pm

IANAL. I don’t know which laws in legal terms those actions specifically violate, but from a lay person’s point of view, that sure looks like a coupe attempt against the government of the US and possibly some kind of attempt to incite the assault or even murder of Mike Pence.

Article III, Section 3, Clause 1:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.

I would make the case that war was being levied against the United States.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/16/2022 @ 2:58 pm

Rip

I love Elon Musk but there’s only one liar bigger than me in this hemisphere and its his overselling the Tesla.

You never own your Tesla – did you know that – he still owns it, you have only partial ownership of it.

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:02 pm

Kevin

You are new to all this scientific stuff huh? Teslas are inferior performing vehicles according to musk

all the design team quit and went to other companies – according to Musk

He doesnt care he still owns the car and good luck waiting months for a tesla repair 4 months later….

Tesla overbuilt, oversold and for models built just 4 years ago – there are no replacement parts so dont break anything on them,

But for 19.99 I will send you a government authorized etching of the great emancipator.

https://evobsession.com/truth-tesla-battery-lifespan-owner-data-analysis/

There are big words in this – we can send over a third grader to explain it to you

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:20 pm

I doubt it will be much longer.

Kevin M (eeb9e9) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:35 pm

@161. ROFLMAOPIP: “Kevin, and I say this with all due respect: Get your own blog:”

2,4,5,10,24,25,26,39,42,45,48,90,91,92,93,96, 97,161,166… =mike-drop=

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:47 pm

AP Interview: Biden says a recession is ‘not inevitable’

https://apnews.com/article/biden-ap-interview-4d2c2f9015341f280d8078182601ec58

Well, there you have it; read it and weep…

Two years of President Harris is looking better and better.

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 4:03 pm

Reeks of “Casablanca”…

Colonel Haiku (6ae054) — 6/16/2022 @ 4:12 pm

You never own your Tesla – did you know that – he still owns it, you have only partial ownership of it.

EPWJ (aa415c) — 6/16/2022 @ 3:02 pm

Again, I appreciate your concern, but you need not worry.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 4:28 pm

@169. The Germans wore grey; Americans are blue.

Attaboy, Joey. Carterrific!

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 5:12 pm

The thing that kills batteries is improper discharge.

When DCSCA says Pfft! he’s having an improper discharge.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 5:47 pm

@172 – Hmmmm… quipped the braggadocios gun owner. But then,. you seem to know a lot about them there improper discharges, don’t’cha. Use the safety.

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:00 pm

@172 – Hmmmm… quipped the braggadocios gun owner. But then,. you seem to know a lot about them there improper discharges, don’t’cha. Use the safety.

Fortunately, I have never fired a weapon in anger or accidently, only for sport.

Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:08 pm

@174. Uh huh- locked up safe and sound– beside your Tesla extention cords and jet pack. 😉

_____

Breaking News

Multiple people shot at Alabama church, police say

Multiple people have been shot at a church in the Birmingham, Alabama, area on Thursday, police said. The shooting occurred at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, police said.

The suspect in custody, according to police. The number of people injured and their conditions was not immediately disclosed. Vestavia Hills police did not provide any additional details about the shooting. Vestavia Hills is a city of around 39,000 southeast of Birmingham. – NBC News.com

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:12 pm

UPDATE: 1 killed, 2 wounded in shooting at Alabama church, suspect in custody

One person was killed and two more wounded in a shooting at a church in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday night, police said. A suspect, who has not been named, is in custody. – CBSNews.com

DCSCA (ff5b8d) — 6/16/2022 @ 6:59 pm

I think comments deteriorate on the weekends and whenever there is no new content.

DRJ (46bd60) — 6/17/2022 @ 10:27 am

I concur, DRJ.

felipe (484255) — 6/17/2022 @ 10:39 am

A handgun was used in the attack…I guess the Roy Moore influence rubs deep.

urbanleftbehind (a9060b) — 6/17/2022 @ 10:57 am

@179. Yeah, he’s a real pistol… ain’t he. 😉

DCSCA (fd74ed) — 6/17/2022 @ 12:03 pm

A big shout out to everyone on this thread who has made my brand of buffoonery look tame. I cannot thank you enough and my mom would also like to thank all of you

steveg (87f594) — 6/17/2022 @ 11:45 pm

My mom is in her 90’s so am sure she appproves of anyone who can make her son look like less of an idiot

steveg (87f594) — 6/17/2022 @ 11:48 pm

6/15/2022

“When a Prosecutor Won’t Prosecute”

182 Responses to ““When a Prosecutor Won’t Prosecute””

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