Patterico's Pontifications

5/11/2023

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:02 am



[guest post by Dana]

[Ed. I just realized that it’s only Thursday, not Friday, so Early Weekend Open Thread…]

Let’s go!

First news item

CNN, fully knowing how things would go, nonetheless gave former president Donald Trump, the corrupt, twice-impeached compulsive liar and narcissist, whom a jury just found liable for sexual assault, a platform from which to double down on his lies and peddle misinformation to a friendly audience with ineffectual pushback from the host. When all was said and done, the cable network was compelled to factcheck the former president’s claims.

So why did CNN decide to host Trump’s “rally” in the first place? I asked and answered the question two days ago:

Does CNN rethink hosting its Trump forum tomorrow night in light of the leading Republican candidate, who has already been proven unfit for office, and now found liable for sexual abuse, or do they stay the course for ratings gold? Pretty sure we already know the answer.

In other words, it appears that nothing at CNN has changed since former network president Jeff Zuker opted to air numerous Trump rallies in pursuit of higher ratings. And Trump knows it. What an exclusive welcome from the cable network to their favorite ratings son and the leading 2024 Republican candidate! What a receptive welcome from the audience who laughed at the former president mocking a sexual abuse victim! Winners all around!

How did CNN employees react to the townhall:

Via Brian Stelter:

Chris Licht begins CNN’s 9am editorial call by praising @kaitlancollins for a “masterful performance last night.” He says “I couldn’t be more proud of her” and the whole team in NH. Then he says he’s aware of the backlash…

“You do not have to like the former president’s answers, but you can’t say that we didn’t get them,” Licht tells staffers, many of whom are angry about the town hall. “Kaitlan pressed him again and again and made news. Made a LOT of news.” And “that is our job.”

“While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story,” Licht adds, because those folks represent “a large swath of America,” and the media screwed up by missing that part of the story in 2015/16.

Covering Trump is “tricky and messy,” Licht says, and it will “continue to be messy and tricky, but it’s our job.” He confidently says “America was served very well by what we did last night.” Many CNN employees strongly disagree.

From Jake Tapper:

CNN’s Oliver Darcy writes that “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” and documents the internal criticism over the townhall debacle coming from within CNN.

Second news item

While border crossings topped 10,000 daily the last three days (before Title 42 expires) and President Biden said that “the border is going to be chaotic for a while,” Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas offered these comments at a presser yesterday:

The Department of Homeland Security is assigning hundreds of asylum officers to the border to sort through the region’s recent surge in humanitarian needs, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Wednesday.

“Short-term solutions” are needed to address the “decades-old problem” of a “broken immigration system,” Mayorkas said in explaining the surge. We are clear-eyed about the challenges we are likely to face in the days and weeks ahead. … We are taking this approach within the constraints of a broken immigration system that Congress has not fixed for more than two decades and without the resources we need: personnel, facilities, transportation and others that we have requested of Congress and that we were not given,” he said.

Asked about reports that Customs and Border Protection is releasing migrants due to capacity issues, Mayorkas said those migrants are still required to meet strict conditions and report back to authorities, adding those releases only occur in limited circumstances.

“Like other administrations, when we release individuals, we release them on conditions — and their compliance with those conditions is absolutely necessary. And if they fail to comply, we will seek to apprehend them and remove them,” he said.

Third news item

Very good news:

The United Kingdom has delivered multiple “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles to Ukraine, giving the nation a new long-range strike capability in advance of a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces, multiple senior Western officials told CNN.

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, calling the donation Ukraine’s “best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality,” confirmed the transaction on Thursday after CNN exclusively reported the deal.

The Storm Shadow is a long-range cruise missile with stealth capabilities, jointly developed by the UK and France, which is typically launched from the air. With a firing range in excess of 250km, or 155 miles, it is just short of the 185-mile range capability of the US-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, that Ukraine has long asked for.

Better late than never, I suppose:

The French parliament has called on the EU to formally label the Russian mercenary group Wagner as terrorists, as the UK reportedly prepares to do the same.

France’s parliament unanimously passed a non-binding resolution aimed at encouraging the 27 members of the EU to put Wagner on its official list of terrorist organisations.

“Wherever they work, Wagner members spread instability and violence,” MP Benjamin Haddad told parliament on Tuesday. “They kill and torture. They massacre and pillage. They intimidate and manipulate with almost total impunity.”

Being listed as a terrorist organisation means EU members could freeze assets of the Wagner group and its members, with European companies and citizens barred from dealing with the group.

Fourth news item

Strategery:

House Republicans on Wednesday showed their cards on a sprawling investigation into the Biden family — sans a smoking gun that directly links President Joe Biden.

The rollout by Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and GOP members of his panel marks the biggest public swing that Republicans have taken since November in a probe they’ve put at the center of investigations they hope will help them both keep their majority in 2024 and win the White House.

But the highly anticipated press conference also raised fresh questions about their ability to ultimately capture their white whale: the president himself. And Comer’s already faced plenty of doubt, including from some within his own party, that he can back up his promises to show Biden’s connection to family business dealings.

No link has publicly emerged, and that didn’t change at Wednesday’s press conference.

Fifth news item

Rep. George Santos in deep trouble:

A 13-count federal indictment unsealed Wednesday in New York accuses U.S. Rep. George Santos of embezzling money from his campaign, falsely receiving unemployment funds and lying to Congress about his finances.

The following are the counts Santos faces as they are described in the indictment, and the maximum sentences as spelled out in the U.S. criminal code:

COUNTS 1-5: “Wire Fraud — Fraudulent Political Contribution Solicitation Scheme”

COUNTS 6-8: “Unlawful Monetary Transactions Over $10,000”

COUNT 9: “Theft of Public Money”

COUNTS 10-11: “Wire Fraud — Fraudulent Application for and Receipt of Unemployment Benefit”

COUNT 12: “False Statements — 2020 House Disclosure Reports”

COUNT 13: “False Statements— 2022 House Disclosure Reports”

Sixth news item

The debt ceiling fight question:

A better question is this: Is it credible to bet on investors agreeing to buy $114 trillion in debt over the next 30 years? China and Japan have already reduced their holdings of American bonds, while the Fed already holds 25 percent of our debt. It’s unclear that domestic investors will step up to the plate. What happens then? Taxes can only be raised so much. Under the current tax system, on average, the United States has raised about 18 percent of GDP in tax revenue. But in 30 years, spending will be 30 percent of GDP.

My hope is that if you’ve read this far, you now understand that Congress should start working diligently to stop our debt from growing. No side is going to like what’s required, but it must be done. And the longer we wait, the more painful it will be.

Seventh news item

On E. Jean Carroll and Trump defenders:

But Carroll did. She did exactly what Trump’s defenders demanded. She went to court, faced cross-examination, looked the jury in the eye and made her claims. She provided witnesses who supported her story, under oath. The court gave Trump a chance to answer, to do the same thing — to look the jury in the eye and state his case. He declined.

The jury’s verdict echoes beyond politics. It implicates our nation’s moral core. Trump had his day in court. He lost. Now the GOP faces a very different kind of trial, one conducted not before a jury, but before a watching nation. It’s a test of decency, integrity and respect, and it is a great tragedy of our time that no one can presume that it’s a test the party will pass.

Eighth news item

Russia’s nuclear talk *is* the weapon:

Today’s Russia issues an unending stream of nuclear threats. In the West today, unlike during the Cold War, these are discussed in psychological rather than strategic terms. How does Mr. Putin feel? How do we feel?

Americans’ fear of escalation delayed the supply of weapons that could have allowed Ukraine to win last year. One after the other, the weapons systems deemed escalatory have now been delivered, with no negative consequences. But the cost of delay can be observed in the Ukrainian territories that Russia still controls: the death pits, the torture chambers and the empty homes of kidnapped children. Tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides have unnecessarily died.

In nearly 15 months of war, despite Russian nuclear propaganda and Western anxiety, there has been no use of nuclear weapons. This is an absence worthy of an explanation. Those who predicted escalation if Ukrainians resisted, if the West supplied weapons or if Russia suffered defeat have thus far been wrong. Strategic thinkers point to deterrence and note that nuclear use would not in fact bring a Russian victory. It would ensure a dramatic Western response and make Russian leaders pariahs. But there is a deeper explanation: Russia’s nuclear talk is itself the weapon.

Read the whole thing.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana

901 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (560c99)

  2. OMG, Dana. What a smörgåsbord of things to haunt my dreams.

    2024 will be a nightmare: an aged lich versus a schoolyard bully. Both unable to perceive objective reality.

    I hope you are feeling better.

    Simon Jester (12f228)

  3. Second news item…

    Biden DHS Coordinating Illegal Immigration In-Flows with Mexico

    MATAMOROS, Mexico – In recent days, large crowds of immigrants have formed on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande fully prepared to swim over well-worn crossing spots to Brownsville – but seemingly held back by unarmed Mexican immigration officials.

    Over the course of several recent days in this northeastern Mexican city when perhaps 3,000 immigrants a day swam over to Brownsville with no opposition on either side, a curious pattern became evident. At some sort of signal from the Mexican immigration officers, a group of about 100-150 from the crowd would suddenly stand in unison and rush down the riverbank, past the immigration officers, and swim over to America.

    It turns out that this pattern was far from happenstance. The Center for Immigration Studies asked several of the Mexican immigration officers what was going on and learned that President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has been coordinating these mass swims with Mexico’s immigration service, INM, at high levels on an encrypted Whatsapp channel.

    The officers explained that their senior officers were in touch with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials about how many immigrants were gathered and were prepared to cross the river at any given time.

    “We’re letting them know that there’s a group of people ready to cross,” one officer explained.

    The Americans on the other side would ask the Mexicans to hold back the migrants – not because such crossings are illegal and should be blocked and obstructed, but only until the Americans had finished processing the last batch into the country through Brownsville. Once the Americans felt they could take in more, they message the Mexicans that “they are ready to receive them.” Then, senior officials would radio the on-ground immigration officers, all of whom are equipped with radios.

    Next, the officers signal to the waiting crowd to go forward and, once they figure enough are in the water, they cut off the rest and push and cajole them back into line until the Americans signal they’re ready again.

    The Mexican officers said the Americans initiated this system in late April but could only guess at why – perhaps to better manage the processing of very high recent numbers of crossings. But the collaboration explains why Mexican immigration officers are stationed at the river at all, and raises many questions

    https://cis.org/Bensman/Biden-DHS-Coordinating-Illegal-Immigration-InFlows-Mexico

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  4. Bill Melugin

    @BillFOXLA
    NEW: Stunning footage from our drone team shows an enormous amount of clothing & trash dumped by migrants at the edge of the river after they cross illegally into Brownsville in this spot. Mixed in, you will find IDs/paperwork from around the world, & Mexican humanitarian visas.

    https://twitter.com/BillFOXLA/status/1656648522068795394

    Does the Sierra Club or any other Environmentalist group ever really effectively complain about this?

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  5. The rollout by Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and GOP members of his panel marks the biggest public swing whiff that Republicans have taken……..

    FIFY. To quote Gertrude Stein, “There is no there there.”

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  6. Is there a whiff of “there” here?

    WASHINGTON—House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) issued the following statements on the FBI failing to comply with Chairman Comer’s subpoena seeking an unclassfied FBI generated FD-1023 form that allegedly details a bribery scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national.

    “It’s clear from the FBI’s response that the unclassified record the Oversight Committee subpoenaed exists, but they are refusing to provide it to the Committee. We’ve asked the FBI to not only provide this record, but to also inform us what it did to investigate these allegations. The FBI has failed to do both. The FBI’s position is ‘trust, but you aren’t allowed to verify.’ That is unacceptable. We plan to follow up with the FBI and expect compliance with the subpoena,” said Chairman Comer.

    “While the FBI has failed to produce the specific document by the subpoena deadline, their offer to provide an accommodation process in response to our legitimate request indicates the document is real. So the question remains, what did the FBI do to investigate very serious allegations from an apparent trusted FBI source implicating then-Vice President Biden? Today’s letter from the FBI raises additional questions, including whether the FBI has an open investigation based on these allegations. The American people pay the FBI’s salaries, and they’re entitled to a fulsome response,” Senator Grassley said.

    Based on whistleblower disclosures, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation possess an unclassified FD-1023 form that describes an alleged criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. It has been alleged that the document includes a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose.

    https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-and-grassley-on-fbi-failing-to-comply-with-subpoena-deadline%EF%BF%BC/

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  7. According to Stelter:

    CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump averaged 3.1 million total viewers. The event outrated Fox and MSNBC

    Dana (560c99)

  8. BuDuh (208cf6) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:50 am

    I look forward to the public hearings. So far all the committee has produced are press releases. Not receiving the confidential informant file (which could include unsubstantiated allegations) is a too convenient excuse.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  9. AOC sounds identical to those ranting about Trump lying.

    To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative. He answered questions in his bombastic way and was viewed positively by the townhall.

    DeSantis has a big hill to climb. He has the ability, but could use the support of actual Republicans to do it.

    NJRob (5d64b4)

  10. BuDuh,

    It’s purely partisan politics when it puts a Democrat in a corrupt light. When it’s heresay of a 30 year old event from a serial fabulust against a Republican, then it’s important and worthy of coverage.

    NJRob (5d64b4)

  11. Even Senator Grassley thinks the whistleblower allegations could be “untrue.”

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  12. According to Stelter:

    CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump averaged 3.1 million total viewers. The event outrated Fox and MSNBC

    Dana (560c99) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:56 am

    Is it true that it was cut off shorter than the planned length of time?

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  13. From Rip’s “untrue” link:

    In a new interview with Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren, Grassley seemed to imply that proof behind the allegations made about Biden’s past and any communications with foreign nationals remains lacking.

    Now that is the kind of definite reliable stuff a guy that wants hearings can take to the bank!

    Did you listen to the 20second sound bite, Rip? It cuts off in a convenient spot.

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  14. Supreme Court rejects challenge to California pork industry restriction

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna64623

    BuDuh (208cf6)

  15. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative. He answered questions in his bombastic way and was viewed positively by the townhall.

    I’m sure to Trumpers, he did come off as likable. Hardly an objective assessment. No problem too with him mocking a sexual abuse victim. No problem with election lies and denials. What’s not to love!

    Dana (560c99)

  16. FIFY. To quote Gertrude Stein, “There is no there there.”
    Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:37 am

    Stein was referring to Trump Russia Collusion

    JF (932d64)

  17. Demographics is destiny.

    As some school districts in this area are being reminded. If you take a look at that “population pyramid”, you will see that the number of children in the United States began to decline about 13 years ago. And so local districts are having to cut back because they have fewer students in elementary schools. And will have to continue cutting back for some years.

    (There is an interesting mistake in the text of that article: “Since the early 1970s the birth rate has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 with 1.72 children per woman in 2018.” In fact, as you can see if you look at the table further down, there were two years, 2006 and 2007, when the “total fertility rate” in the US was just above replacement level.

    I don’t know of any other developed nations that have gotten above 2.1, however temporarily, since 2000, though France came close in 2010.)

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  18. @15

    I’m sure to Trumpers, he did come off as likable. Hardly an objective assessment. No problem too with him mocking a sexual abuse victim. No problem with election lies and denials. What’s not to love!

    Dana (560c99) — 5/11/2023 @ 12:03 pm

    I’m actually quite demoralized. I was hoping Trump would fade away… but you cannot ignore how effective he is in these sort of settings.

    All this does, is keeps the “trumpers” together, whom would vote for him in the primary again.

    At this point, if you really don’t want to see Trump win the primary, the time is now to start aggressively supporting someone like DeSantis.

    whembly (d116f3)

  19. @Rip & @everyone else.

    With respect to primary polling these days. Anything can change.

    Looking at the 2016, you’ll see Trump started out in the basement, and likely ultimately won in a crowded field. I would image Cruz could’ve beaten Trump, had other candidates dropped out earlier.

    See here:
    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html

    A Trump challenger for ’24, ie DeSantis, probably needs to be 10-15% min out of the gate, but by the summer in the 20’s/30’s and hopefully surpassing Trump. It should be an awfully close race and the Haley/Scott/Vivik of the world need to drop out as soon as possible so that the primary delegates can coalesce behind a Trump challenger.

    whembly (d116f3)

  20. Hey… you Bidenistas! Our economy is not a mess because Joe Biden is old; it’s a mess because Democrats do not understand economics.

    That’s just for starters. You seem to need a reality check about what these past 29 months have wrought.

    Colonel Haiku (a2cfbe)

  21. Plenty of other potential candidates out there, you needn’t carry water for the people who are actively ruining the country.

    Colonel Haiku (a2cfbe)

  22. > No problem too with him mocking a sexual abuse victim.

    Well, see, only rabid leftists think she was credible, and only rabid leftists believe the jury wasn’t corrupt.

    Seriously, though — the dynamic between Trump and his supporters is such that if Trump does it, it’s automatically a good thing, and the net result is that our culture has shifted so that mocking sexual abuse victims is now widely held as *good behavior*.

    *That sort of thing* — Trump’s cruelty and jackassery becoming acceptable behavior because Trump does it — is honestly one of the biggest reasons I’ve been never Trump since the minute he entered the political arena.

    aphrael (fc1538)

  23. To carry the thought further, aphrael: If Trump says he won an election, it’s not only automatically a good thing but it’s also true.

    Dana (560c99)

  24. ……To quote Gertrude Stein, “There is no there there.”
    Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:37 am

    Stein was referring to Trump Russia Collusion

    JF (932d64) — 5/11/2023 @ 12:16 pm

    The bribery and influence peddling allegations against Biden have as much credibility as the Trump Dossier. Even Comer concedes he has no evidence of such crimes.

    Given the fact that Biden can be impeached for so many different actions (the Afghanistan withdrawal, student loan forgiveness, immigration, etc.) it’s a surprise that the Republicans haven’t started impeachment hearings yet. It would guarantee a Republican victory in 2024.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  25. I noted at the top of the post that I just realized that today is Thursday, not Friday…so early weekend open thread.

    Dana (560c99)

  26. Maybe I should wait…but he did say “she”, so any guesses who?
    https://www.barrons.com/articles/elon-musk-twitter-ceo-1f2516b6

    urbanleftbehind (2cc899)

  27. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/e-jean-carroll-what-do-we-need-men-for-memoir-review/593245/

    “The whole female sex,” Carroll writes at the beginning of the book that resulted, “seems to agree that men are becoming a nuisance with their lying, cheating, robbing, perjuring, assaulting, murdering, voting debauchers onto the Supreme Court, threatening one another with intercontinental ballistic nuclear warheads, and so on.”

    And more..

    she dubs him) who lost much of the money Carroll had given him as a seed for a retirement fund and then, when she questioned the failure, blamed her for his bad investments. There’s the mechanic Carroll meets on her road trip, after her car breaks down in Blytheville, Arkansas; he charges her an exorbitant fee to make the repairs, shortly after which the car breaks down again, leaving her driving without functioning brakes. (Carroll is able to maneuver the car into a stop at an empty parking lot; a man materializes to inform her, angrily, “You can’t park here.” Carroll explains the situation: busted brakes, just need to park long enough to get a tow, the whole thing. The fellow who quickly makes it to No. 9 on Carroll’s Hideous Men list repeats his no-parking mandate and punctuates it, she writes, with a warning: “Get out now.” She has little choice but to restart her brakeless car and comply.)

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  28. The list includes Les Moonves, who, Carroll claims, attacked her in an elevator after she interviewed him for a report about the psychology of TV executives. (Moonves, too, denies Carroll’s allegation.) It includes the romantic partner who, Carroll alleges, in a fit of rage, nearly choked her to death. (The New York Times, reporting on Carroll’s allegations, contacted the man she identifies in the book only by his initials; he declined to comment.) It includes a college classmate who, one crisp fall weekend, drove Carroll to an isolated area to look at the color-changing leaves, threw her on the ground, pulled a knife, and tried to rape her (she fought him off and then outran him, she writes). It includes the boyfriend of a babysitter who, with the sitter, made a game out of disrobing and then fondling the very young Carroll. It includes a camp counselor who molested her when she was 12.

    There’s much more, as Carroll drives and remembers; the thing about a list is that it will keep on going until the list itself decides it is finished. There’s the television publicist who attacked Carroll in her car, she writes, “the same week Moonves attacked me in the Nikko Hotel elevator.” There’s the mob boss in Chicago. There’s Carroll’s own boss in the same city. There’s the official who refused to issue her a passport “unless I had dinner with him and sat on his lap.” There’s the rapist and serial killer—yes—who approached Carroll when she was on the porch of her house outside Nyack, New York, and who, when her dog growled at him, backed away. The man, Carroll writes, would go on to rape and nearly kill her neighbor later the same day.

    And on and on…

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  29. Here’s a graph showing the continuing decline of inflation in the US.

    On an annual basis, the inflation rate was 4.9%, slightly less than the estimate and providing some hope that the trend is lower.
    For workers, real average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, rose 0.1% for the month but were still down 0.5% from a year ago.

    Reminders: The unemployment rate has stayed below 4 percent in recent months, which is good news for the nation. The Federal Reserve is aiming for an inflation target of 2 percent, not 0. Putin’s evil war on Ukraine is one of the principal causes of our current world wide inflation.

    A glance at the league table in the April 15th issue of the Economist, which is the latest issue I have, shows that the US is doing better by those two measures than most of our competitors. For example, the Euro area, taken as a whole, has 5.9 percent inflation, and a 6.6 percent unemployment rate.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  30. When The Don;
    Flips a CNN con;
    From the Kate;
    By not taking the bait;
    With a show;
    So much better that Joe’s…

    That’s En-ter-tain-ment!

    DCSCA (aed523)

  31. 0, not o.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  32. Now that’s interesting: I typed zero, and it showed a zero with the slash in the entry box — but it again showed the o.
    Here’s five zeroes: 00000 Followed by five o’s: ooooo.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  33. So it’s a bug in the system, not, as almost always, my typing mistake. Looking closely, I can see a tiny difference between the two, t00 small a difference in my opinion. And the entry box should not be that different from the final display

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  34. The United Kingdom has delivered multiple “Storm Shadow” cruise missiles to Ukraine, giving the nation a new long-range strike capability in advance of a highly anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces, multiple senior Western officials told CNN.

    Buzz bombs dispatched from Britain to Europe?! The irony is thicker than London fog; what goes around comes around.

    DCSCA (aed523)

  35. #25 – Maybe you are just a little ahead of the rest of us, by coming out in favor of a four-day work week.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  36. @25

    I noted at the top of the post that I just realized that today is Thursday, not Friday…so early weekend open thread.

    Dana (560c99) — 5/11/2023 @ 1:46 pm

    Dana, hope you’re feeling better!

    I wished today was Friday too… 😉

    whembly (d116f3)

  37. Turns out Wikipedia has a little list:

    Donald Trump, the president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s.[1][2] The accusations have resulted in three instances of litigation: his then-wife Ivana made a rape claim during their 1990 divorce litigation but later recanted that claim;[3] businesswoman Jill Harth sued Trump in 1997 alleging breach of contract while also suing for sexual harassment but agreed to forfeit her sexual harassment claim as part of a settlement she received relating to the former suit; and, in 2017, former The Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos filed a defamation lawsuit after Trump accused her of lying about her sexual misconduct allegations against him.

    Trumpistas will, of course, reject all these accusations, or worse, excuse them. They will not, as rational people should, decide that there almost certainly is some truth in the claim that Trump has often attacked women. They will not realize that Trump sees them as suckers, easily conned.

    The rest of us will wonder how many other women might have chosen silence, or even been paid off in return for their silence.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  38. Senators React to Carroll Verdict:

    ………..

    ………..(T)op Republicans have loyally stood by him and his campaign to be president again in 2024. ………..
    …………

    Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota: “Not a disqualifier”
    ………….
    Cramer said he trusted the jury but still hasn’t ruled out voting for Trump: “Obviously I’d rather have a president that isn’t found liable for battery,” he said. “It’s not a disqualifier, but it’s certainly not a check in the plus column.”

    Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida: The jury is “a joke”
    ……….

    Sen. Rick Scott of Florida: “I don’t know the lady or anything”
    ……….
    Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota: “You never like to hear” about “those types of actions”
    ………..

    Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana: “How could it do anything but create concern?” ………..
    ……..

    Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley: Not going “to be distracted”

    Asked about the verdict on the conservative radio talk show The Hugh Hewitt Show on Wednesday, Haley suggested the verdict and rape case were merely a distraction. “I’m not going to get into that,” she told Hewitt. “That’s something for Trump to respond to. I think the focus has to be not to be distracted. That’s why we’ve got to leave the baggage and the negativity behind…it’s not my case. It’s his case.”
    …………

    Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama: “Makes me want to vote for him twice”

    Tuberville may have won the tight race for the most rancid response: “It makes me want to vote for him twice,” he told HuffPost when asked about the verdict. “They’re going to do anything they can to keep him from winning. It ain’t gonna work … People are gonna see through the lines. A New York jury, he had no chance.” He’s since doubled down on his words, quote-tweeting his quote with the caption “100% #MAGA.”

    Former Vice President Mike Pence: “Never heard or witnessed behavior of that nature”
    ………..
    As for whether the Carroll verdict should disqualify Trump from the presidency come 2024, Pence offered up only a cheeky little “I think that’s a question for the American people.” He then suggested that sexual misconduct and whether the president of the United States is a sexual predator is irrelevant to the American people:
    ………….

    Sen. Bill Haggerty of Tennessee: It’s all a “legal circus”
    ……….

    Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy: What?
    ………..

    Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah: “I hope the jury of the American people reach the same conclusion”
    …………

    Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina: New York is “off the rails”
    ……….

    Sen. John Cornyn of Texas: “People who love him will still love him”

    ………”I don’t think it changes anybody’s minds, one way or the other. … I think people who support President Trump, support President Trump. People who don’t support President Trump, don’t support him, and I don’t think this will have any impact,” he told reporters. In other words, sexual assault? Who cares!
    …………

    Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri: This’ll make the general election “interesting”

    According to The Hill, Hawley told reporters he’s still confident Trump—who he hasn’t yet endorsed for 2024—will win the Republican primary. But he speculated that the Carroll verdict, like an Agatha Christie-esque plot twist and not the outcome of a rape case, will make the general election more “interesting.”

    “People think that the criminal justice system—and I know this isn’t criminal but the New York legal system is—this is my sense of what people think the Republican side—is that it’s off the rails when it comes to Trump,” Hawley added……..
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  39. Feeling fine. Thank you. Somehow just goofed up the day. Heh.

    Dana (560c99)

  40. On May 14th, Turkey is having a big election. As far as I know, this BBC article is a good summary of the issues and personalities involved.

    After more than 20 years in power, Recep Tayyip Erdogan promises a strong, multilateral Turkey and the creation of six million jobs, and accuses the West of trying to bring him down.

    His chief rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, backed by a broad opposition, wants to steer this Nato member state back towards a pro-Western, more democratic stance.

    The president accuses his opponents of being “pro-LGBT”, while his Islamist-rooted party positions itself as on the side of the family.

    Inflation is officially over 40 percent.

    (Kemal Kilicdaroglu is an Alevi, a sect which I find intersting. I have no idea how that might affect the voting.)

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  41. Does anyone know how the CNN Trump town hall audience members were chosen?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  42. #39 – Glad to hear you are feeling better. And I was giving you credit for being ahead of us, because a four-day work week would mean a three-day week-end.

    Thanks for all you do here.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  43. @41

    Does anyone know how the CNN Trump town hall audience members were chosen?

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/11/2023 @ 2:54 pm

    From what I gather, they were NH GOPers.

    whembly (d116f3)

  44. Is that the routine model for town halls, i.e., R candidates always get an R audience, D candidates always get a D audience?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  45. Supreme court gets ready for 2024 election bythrowing out convictions for bribery and wire fraud making it harder to prosecute trum p and the bidens.

    asset (f6fb75)

  46. Sad!

    Former President Donald Trump’s comments Wednesday night about his handling of classified documents appeared to contradict statements by his lawyers, and provide potentially important evidence for federal prosecutors investigating whether to charge him with a crime, legal experts say.
    ………..
    “I didn’t make a secret of it,” he said. “You know, the boxes were stationed outside the White House, people were taking pictures of it.”
    ………..
    Asked if he showed classified documents to others, he answered, “Not really…I would have the right to,” later adding, “not that I can think of.”
    ………….
    “Not only do they contradict his legal position, he admits to possession and knowledge of classified documents that he is taking from the White House. Jack Smith will make good use of last night’s town hall and it will help him button up his case.” (said John Fishwick, a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia).
    …………
    In their letter last month to the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Trump’s lawyers suggested that classified documents were sent to Mar-a-Lago unintentionally, mixed in by accident with other records.

    “When President Trump left office, there was little time to prepare for the outgoing transition from the presidency,” said the letter from attorneys Tim Parlatore, John Rowley, James Trusty and Lindsay Halligan. “Unlike his three predecessors, each of whom had over four years to prepare for their departure upon completion of their second term, President Trump had a much shorter time to wind up his administration. White House staffers and General Service Administration (“GSA”) employees quickly packed everything into boxes and shipped them to Florida.”

    The lawyers suggested later in the letter that Trump initially was not aware of the presence of classified material.
    ………….
    Trump seemed to undermine that account Wednesday night, saying, “I was there and I took what I took and it gets declassified,” which is not true.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  47. 29… just wait a few months, when the figures are adjusted and reflect a negative environment.

    Colonel Haiku (a2cfbe)

  48. “It happened again on Monday. Mr. Biden appeared alongside Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to brief reporters on new efforts to force airlines to compensate passengers when a flight is canceled. As soon as his remarks ended, Mr. Biden turned and walked off, ignoring questions from reporters. This comes after the president claimed Friday that he was doing a “major press conference” that evening. In reality, he was doing an MSNBC interview.
    Taking questions from the media promotes public accountability. It also shows that the president is willing to defend his positions and instills confidence that he can do the job. It is widely known that Mr. Biden is gaffe-prone and that news conferences are not his forte. But as he runs for a second term, he should be eager to show he can handle all aspects of the job.

    Pick up the microphone, Mr. President. The media is not your enemy.

    No scat, Captain Obvious.

    https://hotair.com/headlines/2023/05/09/the-media-is-not-your-enemy-n549637

    Colonel Haiku (a2cfbe)

  49. > No problem too with him mocking a sexual abuse victim.
    Well, see, only rabid leftists think she was credible, and only rabid leftists believe the jury wasn’t corrupt.
    Seriously, though — the dynamic between Trump and his supporters is such that if Trump does it, it’s automatically a good thing, and the net result is that our culture has shifted so that mocking sexual abuse victims is now widely held as *good behavior*.
    aphrael (fc1538) — 5/11/2023 @ 1:40 pm

    I’m wondering how rabid leftist culture shifted to Jean Carroll >> credible/hero from Juannita Broderick and Paula Jones >> not credible/trailer trash

    JF (932d64)

  50. I’m Shocked!:

    ………..
    Mr. Trump, in response to questions from the CNN moderator about the Manhattan jury’s verdict Tuesday, called Ms. Carroll a “wack job” and said her civil trial was “a rigged deal.” The audience had been drawn primarily from Republican groups, and his comments drew applause and laughter.
    ………….
    Ms. Carroll, 79, is now weighing whether to file a new defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump, said her lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan. In addition to the case that ended Tuesday, Ms. Carroll has an earlier defamation suit against Mr. Trump, 76, that is still pending. Mr. Trump has argued in that case that he cannot be sued because he made those comments in his official capacity as president.
    ………….
    In the wide-ranging interview, Ms. Carroll, accompanied by her lawyers, addressed why she believes the jury found Mr. Trump liable for sexually abusing her but not for raping her, as she had long claimed; how she felt being aggressively cross-examined by Mr. Tacopina; why she did not scream when Mr. Trump assaulted her; and the rituals she and her lawyers performed each day of the two-week trial.
    …………
    Ms. Carroll, in the interview, blamed herself for their decision to find Mr. Trump liable for sexually abusing her but not for rape.

    “I didn’t make myself clear when I was testifying,” Ms. Carroll said.
    …………
    Mr. Trump has not only denied any assault, he has claimed he was never even at Bergdorf’s, did not know Ms. Carroll and has said he would not have raped her in any case, because she was not his “type.”

    By its verdict, the jury indicated it believed Ms. Carroll. Michael Ferrara, another of Ms. Carroll’s lawyers, noted in the interview that the jurors’ handling of the case showed that the process was not rigged.

    “If they were out to just get Donald Trump, why not check the rape box?” Mr. Ferrara said. “They didn’t do that because they actually considered the evidence.”
    ………….
    Ms. Kaplan, her lawyer, said Thursday that a decision would be made soon on whether Ms. Carroll will file another defamation suit in light of Mr. Trump’s comments on CNN.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  51. 18-to-20-year-olds can’t be barred from buying handguns, judge rules

    A federal judge in Virginia has declared unconstitutional a set of laws and regulations that prohibit federally licensed firearms dealers from selling handguns to 18-to-20-year-olds, finding that the measures violated the Second Amendment.

    “Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our Nation’s history and tradition, they, therefore, cannot stand,” U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne (appointed by George H.W. Bush,), who sits in Richmond, concluded in a 71-page opinion.
    ………..
    According to the Bruen opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, “constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when the people adopted them.” Payne wrote in his opinion Wednesday that although the age of adulthood was considered to be 21 at the time of the United States’ founding, the fact that people could join militias at 18 was more compelling.

    Payne wrote that “no federal appellate court, much less the Supreme Court, has squarely determined that the Second Amendment’s rights vest at age 21” and that “to date, three circuits, the Fifth, Seventh, and Eleventh, have looked at this question head-on and have declined to answer it.”

    “If the Court were to exclude 18-to-21-year-olds from the Second Amendment’s protection, it would impose limitations on the Second Amendment that do not exist with other constitutional guarantees,” the judge added. “It is firmly established that the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eight, and Fourteenth Amendments vest before the age of 21. … Like these other rights, the Second Amendment’s protections apply to 18-to-20-year-olds.

    “By adopting the Second Amendment, the people constrained both the hands of Congress and the courts to infringe upon this right by denying ordinary law-abiding citizens of this age the full enjoyment of the right to keep and bear arms unless the restriction is supported by the Nation’s history. That is what Bruen tells us.”
    ………….
    Payne, in his opinion, wrote that the Bruen majority directs courts to conduct a historical analysis in weighing gun regulations.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  52. I’ll be darned. My new romantic interest lives in California. If I have to move back to the place I’ve been ripping on for the past 14 years so help me…

    Laugh it up, fuzzballs.

    norcal (15fce4)

  53. Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:14 pm

    Since the Constitution has been amended to give 18 year olds the right to vote, and they can sign contracts, be drafted, and marry, there is no reason they cannot purchase handguns. They already have fight to purchase rifles and shotguns, so this difference really seems to have no justification

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  54. My new romantic interest lives in California.

    Does she wear a pink beret?

    🤪

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  55. CNN faces backlash over chaotic Trump town hall event

    NEW YORK (AP) — CNN is facing a backlash over its town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, an event that swiftly turned chaotic in a stark display of the tightrope facing journalists covering a leading 2024 Republican candidate who refuses to play by the rules.

    The town hall Wednesday was the first major television event of the 2024 presidential campaign, and CNN defended its decision to hold it as a chance to put Trump in front of a wider audience, outside of the conservative media bubble he has largely kept to since early in his presidency.

    Critics said the event, which was staged in front of Republicans and unaffiliated voters who were expected to vote in the GOP primary, instead turned into a Trump campaign rally that produced little actual news and allowed Trump to repeat longstanding falsehoods while dodging difficult questions. Tom Jones, a senior writer at the media research institute Poynter, said he had favored the idea of CNN holding the town hall at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. But he said he was surprised by the conduct of the audience, which he had expected to be more neutral.

    Instead, the crowd gave Trump a standing ovation when he walked onstage, applauded some of his most provocative comments and laughed at many of his quips, including when he criticized E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist who accused him of raping her in 1996 and this week won a $5 million judgment against him.

    Jones said the atmosphere put CNN’s moderator, Kaitlan Collins, in an almost impossible position as she tried to elicit straightforward answers from Trump and fact-check his comments about the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by his supporters and the 2020 election, which he still falsely insists he won.

    “Whenever she might have had him cornered, he was built up by the audience,” Jones said. “It just emboldened him. He realized, ‘I can do or say anything I want,’ and she got steamrolled at that point through no fault of her own. It was her against the entire room.”

    The event was indicative of the new era of leadership at CNN and management’s efforts to lure back viewers who turned to Fox News and other conservative outlets over the past decade. At a Thursday morning meeting at CNN, Chairman and CEO Chris Licht praised Collins’ “masterful performance,” saying she asked tough questions in difficult circumstances.

    “If someone was going to ask tough questions and have that messy conversation, that damn well should be on CNN,” he said in a recording of the meeting obtained by The Associated Press. He also defended the decision to hold the town hall before a Trump-friendly crowd.

    “While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story, because the people in that audience represent a large swath of America,” Licht said. “And the mistake the media made in the past is ignoring that those people exist. Just like you cannot ignore that President Trump exists.”

    The event did widen CNN’s audience, at least for a night. Nielson said the town hall averaged 3.1 million viewers, compared to the 707,000 who tuned in to CNN during the same time slot a night earlier.

    But Jones said he was skeptical that the town hall would help CNN’s reputation in the long term, given the backlash. He noted that most of the network’s post-event commentary was highly critical of Trump, likely alienating conservative viewers who had tuned in just to watch the former president. Nick Arama, a writer for the conservative website RedState.com, criticized CNN’s Gary Tuchman, who spoke with some of the audience members after Trump’s appearance, saying “he didn’t act as much like a moderator trying to get their opinion as a Democratic propagandist trying to impose his own opinion on them.”

    Meanwhile, critics from the left were unsparing, saying CNN should have predicted how chaotic the event would be. “CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of this ‘town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan. 6th and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim. The audience is cheering him on and laughing at the host,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, wrote in a tweet.

    Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief now at George Washington University, said the event was a harbinger of the difficult coverage decisions “every news organization needs to wrestle with because Donald Trump is not a normal candidate.”

    “You can’t ignore him, but you can’t give him carte blanche either,” he said. A one-on-one interview would have been preferrable, though whether Trump would have agreed to that is a different question, said Sesno, who added that he saw value in allowing Trump to speak to a broader audience, including many people who might have mostly tuned him out in recent years.

    Sesno noted that although Trump supporters delighted in his performance, Republican critics, including New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, seized on it to to press their concerns about the former president’s ability to win a national election. “As chaotic and weird as the event was, I as a journalist think it’s important for people to see this,” he said. – AP.com

    MEMO to Jones: It was not K-K-K-Katie’s job to ‘CORNER’ a candidate w/gotchas but to field questions for a candidate w/audience participation of a specified political party ‘town hall’ to respond to. This was not a GOP town hall sponsored by the DVC. Don’t send a child in to do the job of an adult, Tommy Boy.

    MEMO to Sesno:

    “Not a normal candidate?” Sez who? You. Sesno???? Who appointed Frank Sesno to discern what a ‘normal’ candidate is? Does a “normal candidate” hide in a basement and habitually lie about their credentials? Shake hands with nobody? Wander aimlessly babbling incoherent sentences? Does a “normal candidate” plagiarize other people’s work– something YOU, Frank Sesno, as a former reporter anmd now a college professor would be fired for doing?? Your own colleagues a generation ago literally ran the ass of such a ‘normal candidate’ out of the presidential race. Frankie. Sesno: GFYS.

    MEMO to CNN disaster Licht: Resign, boob.

    On air talent reading copy off a teleprompter is “mastering a performance.” Months of broadcast Don Lemon histrionics is ‘mastering a performance.’ Fielding questions in an unscripted forum requires journalistic skill, experience– and maturity. The kid looked and sounded like she was arguing with daddy to get keys to the car for a hot date.

    DCSCA (38ffdf)

  56. Hey Rip,

    Is Ms. Carroll’s new suit going to be funded by the leftist billionaire as well or will she do it herself?

    NJRob (4c1d75)

  57. Does she wear a pink beret?

    🤪

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:24 pm

    No, but she does have a sister named Jenny!

    norcal (15fce4)

  58. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12074133/Trump-ally-Steve-Bannon-SWATTED-podcast.html

    Steve Bannon, a top ally of former President Donald Trump, was swatted Thursday while he was on-air recording his War Room show.

    Bannon was the victim of a dangerous cyberbullying tactic, in which a caller will describe a violent episode happening at the address of the target, hoping to provoke an armed response from police.

    The former Trump White House chief strategist was swatted at least twice last year as well.

    NJRob (4c1d75)

  59. NJRob (4c1d75) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:46 pm

    Swatting is reprehensible, no matter whom the target is. (Well, I would condone it for Putin.)

    norcal (15fce4)

  60. Hey Rip,

    Is Ms. Carroll’s new suit going to be funded by the leftist billionaire as well or will she do it herself?

    NJRob (4c1d75) — 5/11/2023 @ 5:29 pm

    Hey NJ:

    I have no personal information about that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Reid Hoffman did so again. It’s very similar to what Peter Thiel did for Hulk Hogan in his lawsuit against Gawker.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  61. Using cable news’ own rah-rah strategy against itself if they reported on themselves through looking glass:

    CNN Newsreader Wants Killing To Continue

    Collins: “Do you want Ukraine to win this war?”
    Trump: “I don’t think in terms of winning and losing. I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  62. Joe Biden’s approach to providing arms to Ukraine is like a prissy little child putting one toe in the water at a time. It’s pretty much how we lost in Vietnam.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  63. “I think in terms of getting it settled so we stop killing all these people.”

    Trump would have offered England to Hitler, if he’d just stop all the killing.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  64. Trump got about 74 million votes. Only 3.1 million households watched last night. Trump fatigue?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  65. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDrSvNyqEY&t=21s

    https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/05/that-time-joe-biden-lied-about-his-academic-credentials/

    “Do you want four more years of that?” – Joe Biden

    Never ask a question you don’t know the answer to, Joe.

    IDIOT.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  66. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative.

    I have no words.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  67. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative.

    Comedy gold!

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  68. Supreme Court rejects challenge to California pork industry restriction

    California is too big and badly governed. This restriction falls mostly on the inland (red) areas which produce the food, making it impossible for them to sell out-of-state (or in-state, their choice). It will backfire as badly as the egg rules did last year.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  69. Joe Biden’s approach to providing arms to Ukraine is like a prissy little child putting one toe in the water at a time. It’s pretty much how we lost in Vietnam.

    Except it’s ‘pretty much’ not:

    The Secrets and Lies of the Vietnam War, Exposed in One Epic Document

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/pentagon-papers-vietnam-war.html

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  70. And so local districts are having to cut back because they have fewer students in elementary schools. And will have to continue cutting back for some years.

    It’s worse than that, as at the same time more students have migrated to private and charter schools.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  71. It should be an awfully close race and the Haley/Scott/Vivik of the world need to drop out as soon as possible so that the primary delegates can coalesce behind a Trump challenger.

    Sorry, but we need something other that Trump and Trump Lite.

    We have 5 GOP candidates, and Vivek who is something else. THat’s a good number. In 2016 we had about 20, which got close to a CA recall election. We had candidates who were suing to get into the 2nd-tier debates. IF they had all turned on Trump at the outset, he would have been done, then they could have tried to woo his supporters. But no. They all tried to suck up, and in doing so, crowned him.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  72. Is Ms. Carroll’s new suit going to be funded by the leftist billionaire as well or will she do it herself?

    Can I buy shares?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  73. It’s worse than that, as at the same time more students have migrated to private and charter schools.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:34 pm

    People dislike the government widget so strongly that they’re willing to continue subsidizing it AND pay out of pocket for a private school.

    norcal (15fce4)

  74. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative.

    LOL. More like Patton pissed at being side-lined for slapping a soldier…

    “I thought I’d stand up here and let you people see… if I’m as big a son of a b-tch
    as some of you think I am.” – George Patton [George C. Scott] ‘Patton’ 1970

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  75. CNN ought to offer the same townhall format to DeSantis, and another to Nikki, Tim and Asa together. Trump does not need the exposure, but everyone else does. It would be actual news, too.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  76. CNN ought to offer the same townhall format to DeSantis, and another to Nikki, Tim and Asa together. Trump does not need the exposure, but everyone else does. It would be actual news, too.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:44 pm

    But that won’t get the ratings. It just proves my point that the voters are the problem, not the parties or the candidates.

    Without better voters, we won’t get better Presidents.

    norcal (15fce4)

  77. Is that the routine model for town halls, i.e., R candidates always get an R audience, D candidates always get a D audience?

    It wa actually a Trumpist audience. If it was actually Republicans and Independents, half would have been booing.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  78. At this point, if you really don’t want to see Trump win the primary, the time is now to start aggressively supporting someone like DeSantis.

    Put him in a room with Liz Cheney and one knife.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  79. CNN ought to offer the same townhall format to DeSantis, and another to Nikki, Tim and Asa together. Trump does not need the exposure, but everyone else does. It would be actual news, too.

    Ramaswamy and Elder as well. Pence, too, if he jumps in.

    And why not the D’s. Dontcha think Joey could field some line drives and ground balls with RFK Jr., Williamson, too? Or is he a shuffleboard player now.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  80. Right now Trump leads DeSantis by 20 points and Sununu by 30 in New Hampshire. Darling Nikki is 39 points behind. So the crowd fairly representative of who is leading in NH.

    Trump received over 84% of the vote in the 2020 primary.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  81. CNN ought to offer the same townhall format to DeSantis, and another to Nikki, Tim and Asa together. Trump does not need the exposure, but everyone else does. It would be actual news, too.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, but it won’t be entertaining.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  82. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative.

    This is a troubling comment. I would question anyone’s sense of discernment and political savvy, no matter where their party loyalties rest, who saw Trump as likable and informative last night. Informative if you’ve lived under a rock and think insulting people and making fun of sexual abuse victims is nice, I guess. It’s insulting to voters. Not every Republican has been taken in by the corrupt, callous grifter. Nor do all Republicans believe Trump’s lies that the election was stolen and that Jan. 6 was a “beautiful day” at the Capitol. Very reasonable Republicans know the truth. They are not rubes who venerate the former president, or see him as some sort of political savior.

    Certainly Trump supporters saw him as likable and informative last night. Unsurprisingly.

    Dana (560c99)

  83. Without better voters, we won’t get better Presidents.

    norcal (15fce4) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:47 pm

    Ain’t that the truth.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  84. It just proves my point that the voters are the problem, not the parties or the candidates.

    Voters aren’t the problem any more than movie audiences are the problem with Hollywood. The Party Elites are the problem, just as elitist studio heads are the problem greenlighting lousy movies.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  85. It wa actually a Trumpist audience.……

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 6:49 pm

    At least in Republican presidential politics, NH is a Trumpist state.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  86. @83. Except it’s not. It’s not the public’s fault they didn’t buy Edsels or Corvairs. Blame the manufacturers.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  87. I’m not impressed with DeSantis’ petty squabble with Disney. 85,000 employed in Florida by the company and billions in tax dollars, and he gets in a tizzy because they criticized his agenda? This isn’t, and hasn’t been a smart move by the governor, especially if he wants to run in 2024. This particular culture war appeal would seem to be limited to his state:

    “Does the state want us to invest more, employ more and pay more taxes or not?” Disney CEO Bob Iger rhetorically asked today of the on-going attacks on the Mouse House by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

    “There’s .. a false narrative that we’ve been fighting to protect tax breaks as part of this,’ the politically savvy executive added of the on-going war of words in the media and the courts with the would-be 2024 White House candidate. “But in fact, we’re the largest taxpayer in Central Florida paying over $1.1 billion in state and local taxes last year alone.”

    Dana (560c99)

  88. Yeah, it’s the voters fault they were too stupid to buy Vietnam. =sarc=

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  89. @87. Exactly. Have talked w/some old Hollywood colleagues about it, too- Disney certainly isn’t a perfect company and many of us would not have taken a gig to slave away at Mouschwitz at any salary– you have to embrace their corporate culture to endure– but the general consensus is that it’s really, really, REALLY stupid of DeSantis to punch down at a top employer in his state which is supported by thousands of ancillary business and, in the case of DisneyWorld, is the most visited vacation spot on Earth w/58 million people visiting Florida annually, bolstering the economy. Disney is one of the most recognized and welcomed symbols of America around the world.

    DeSantis’ is a fool.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  90. Voters aren’t the problem any more than movie audiences are the problem with Hollywood.

    DCSCA (9537e3) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:10 pm

    I disagree. Demand drives supply.

    This is a fundamental principle of economics.

    norcal (15fce4)

  91. I’m not impressed with DeSantis’ petty squabble with Disney.

    Dana (560c99) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:14 pm

    I suspect DeSantis is only doing this in a misguided effort to get to the right of Trump.

    What he should really do is just sit this one out, and let Trump fail again.

    The cult is too strong to prevail in the primary this time around.

    norcal (15fce4)

  92. This is a troubling comment. I would question anyone’s sense of discernment and political savvy, no matter where their party loyalties rest, who saw Trump as likable and informative last night. Informative if you’ve lived under a rock and think insulting people and making fun of sexual abuse victims is nice, I guess. It’s insulting to voters. Not every Republican has been taken in by the corrupt, callous grifter. Nor do all Republicans believe Trump’s lies that the election was stolen and that Jan. 6 was a “beautiful day” at the Capitol. Very reasonable Republicans know the truth. They are not rubes who venerate the former president, or see him as some sort of political savior.

    Certainly Trump supporters saw him as likable and informative last night. Unsurprisingly.

    Dana (560c99) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:07 pm

    There’s nothing troubling about it except that you decided to respond to it twice.

    He came equipped with many talking points, but actually engaged the questions and answered them. You may not like the answers, but you aren’t his audience. You already made that clean by the way you support a serial fabulust and anything that attacks Trump.

    Ask anyone who isn’t politically engaged and you’d see what I am referencing.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  93. @90. LOLOLOLOLOL if economics are your metric:

    Hollywood Vs Pornwood: Guess which grosses more money…..

    https://www.avsforum.com/threads/hollywood-vs-pornwood-guess-which-grosses-more-money.628196/

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  94. Hollywood Vs Pornwood: Guess which grosses more money…..

    https://www.avsforum.com/threads/hollywood-vs-pornwood-guess-which-grosses-more-money.628196/

    DCSCA (9537e3) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:33 pm

    You just made my point. There’s a bigger demand for porn than for movies.

    norcal (15fce4)

  95. You may not like the answers, but you aren’t his audience.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:32 pm

    Are you? It seems like you were for DeSantis up until recently.

    norcal (15fce4)

  96. @91. He’s doing it because he has poor judgment. On top of the Disney idiocy, punching down by responding to a now fired talk show host’s ‘questionnaire’ is another example of his poor judgment. And for MIC stockholders and money wasters, he misfired on Ukraine and has tried to pull a Ralph Kramden on the snafu. Beating chameleon Crist is nothing to brag about and going up against the mouse and duck isn’t a step forward; He’s a near-sighted cow wandering through a minefield.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  97. To anyone who isn’t a rabid leftist or NeverTrump, he came across as likeable and informative.

    Is that an example of the non-partisan big picture you claim you can see?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  98. I’m not impressed with DeSantis’ petty squabble with Disney.

    No one is asking you to be impressed

    The fact that he’s better than Trump and Biden by a mile isn’t impressive either, but it’s more than enough to earn the vote from any reasonable conservative

    JF (fa234b)

  99. @94. LOLOLOLOL And how many pono theaters outnumber McDonald’s in your town? LOLOLOL If that is your metric, Trump’s your guy; he prefers Playboy centerfolds, models and Stormy types… too bad Hunter isn’t running instead of his Dad, eh.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  100. Is that an example of the non-partisan big picture you claim you can see?
    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:44 pm

    a non-partisan would see someone fielding unscripted questions, engaging with a hostile interviewer, and being able to remember how many grandchildren they have

    JF (fa234b)

  101. @98. What’s impressive is his stupidity at that level of government. Pissing on one of America’s most recognized and welcome symbols worldwide; the most visited vacation spot on Earth cn only be embraced by a fraction of stove-piped out-of-favor-ideologues who simply hate all things Trump.

    DCSCA (9537e3)

  102. The fact that he’s better than Trump and Biden by a mile

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:46 pm

    I agree that he’s better, but will voters in the primary see it that way?

    Nobody ever went broke underestimating the American public.

    norcal (15fce4)

  103. I agree that he’s better, but will voters in the primary see it that way?

    Thanks to Nevertrump’s unceasing effort to boost Trump’s campaign and undermine DeSantis, seems unlikely at this point.

    But losing counts as winning for NeverTrump folks.

    JF (fa234b)

  104. “What was the Democrat argument against Reagan? The first time around was that he was a B-list actor who was going to launch a nuclear strike (wow, some of that sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) Then the argument was that he was lying about what policies he was going to implement (again, sound familiar?)

    GHWB was an out-of-touch patrician

    Dole and McCain were just out of touch and out of date dinosaurs with questionable choices for VP

    The argument against W was a combination of smirking frat boy and flag-waving cowboy. The only policy argument I remember hearing was that his plan to revise Social Security was entirely unnecessary because SS was doing just fine, even though every other election the constant refrain was the GOP wanted to eliminate it.

    Romney was too rich and too goofy (magic underwear) when he wasn’t abusing his dog or causing his employees to contract cancer.

    I don’t think there’s been a single election in my political lifetime that the Democrats have actually contested on the grounds that their policies would be more beneficial to the country as a whole than the policies of the GOP. After Carter and Mondale lost to Reagan but especially after Dukakis got his wonkish ass handed to him by GHWB, the go-to tactic has been to gin up outrage against the GOP nominee. It is working less and less well because more and more people are deciding that having the right enemies is a good justification to vote for some one.

    —- Christopher B.

    Colonel Haiku (cc33e2)

  105. Thanks to Nevertrump’s unceasing effort to boost Trump’s campaign

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:04 pm

    How does Nevertrump boost Trump’s campaign?

    norcal (15fce4)

  106. “Remarkably, CNN declared “no mas” with 20 minutes left to cut to a panel of seven of which only one was conservative. And Donald won that debate hands down. The longer Collins went, the more all could tell she was horribly biased and ineffective, and so she resorted to interrupting and trying to not let Trump finish his answers. And then CNN today felt compelled to issue a statement in Collins’ defense. It was that bad.

    “I don’t want to talk about each topic and how Trump answered questions about the past. Trump is Trump. If you are a Trump supporter, you loved the town hall. If you are a NeverTrumper, your hair is on fire over the event. The thing that this town hall exposed is the rank hypocrisy of the left and their minions in the media. The left is incapable of arguing political points and philosophy anymore. Instead, the left just wants any opposing opinions to be shut down, squelched instead of allowed to debate. Most importantly, if something is said that the left does not agree with, the default position is to call that opinion a lie.”

    “Freedom of speech only goes one way for the left. The left is panicked that they may get what they want – another Trump versus Biden election. The comparison of Trump’s America before the pandemic – a booming economy, no inflation, strong jobs market, secured (as much as possible) southern border, no new wars, conservative judicial picks, and a strong environment for small business entrepreneurs versus Biden’s America and the failure he has been as president is stark. Like him or not, Trump reminds American voters of how life can be and it’s a lot better than it is now.”

    As long as Biden is president and Garland is AG, there will be Trump. And thank God for that.”

    —- Milo M.

    Colonel Haiku (cc33e2)

  107. the go-to tactic has been to gin up outrage against the GOP nominee

    Colonel Haiku (cc33e2) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:09 pm

    And vice-versa.

    Embrace the concept of calling out both sides. It’s very liberating. I’ve been much happier since I did.

    norcal (15fce4)

  108. How does Nevertrump boost Trump’s campaign?
    norcal (15fce4) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:14 pm

    you think CNN hurt Trump?

    and, DeSantis’s slide coincided with the Bragg’s political weaponization of the legal system

    Nevertrump is a Trump SuperPAC

    JF (fa234b)

  109. Embrace the concept of calling out both sides. It’s very liberating. I’ve been much happier since I did.
    norcal (15fce4) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:21 pm

    did you get an apology from Fox yet?

    JF (fa234b)

  110. You do you. Too much at stake, IMO.

    Colonel Haiku (cc33e2)

  111. AFAICT about 30% of Americans actually like Trump. Slightly less than 20% seem to think he’s a bit less bad than Biden. Maybe it’s a winning strategy to keep convincing the already convinced and maybe not alienating the less convinced 20%, but it seems risky.

    (For those wondering about E. Jean Carroll’s clothes, she used to work for a fashion magazine. She probably has a wardrobe that doesn’t need subsidizing.)

    Nic (896fdf)

  112. JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:52 pm

    That’s nice, JF, but I didn’t ask ask you. I asked Rob to flesh out his nonpartisan worldview, because he claims to have one. To my knowledge you’ve never made such a claim, and based on your unsolicited answer, that’s to your credit.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  113. you think CNN hurt Trump?

    and, DeSantis’s slide coincided with the Bragg’s political weaponization of the legal system

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:24 pm

    I guess we have different definitions of “Nevertrump”. To me, Nevertrump means a right-of-center voter who is against Trump. Democrats aren’t just against Trump. They’re against any Republican.

    The MSM and Bragg are by and large just Democrats. And, of course, Democrats learned during the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections that running against Trump and his Trumpster-fire endorsees is a winning strategy.

    norcal (15fce4)

  114. lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:36 pm

    ah yes, lurker, I missed the part where NJRob solicited your opinion LOL

    do you need a primer on how an open thread works?

    JF (fa234b)

  115. The MSM and Bragg are by and large just Democrats.

    Bragg has plenty of fans among self-anointed right of center Nevertrumpers

    DeSantis, not so much

    JF (fa234b)

  116. 115… yes, indeed. And it would be amusing if it wasn’t quite so sad.

    Colonel Haiku (cc33e2)

  117. Bragg has plenty of fans among self-anointed right of center Nevertrumpers

    DeSantis, not so much

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:51 pm

    Right-of-center Nevertrumpers want Trump to go away, and they don’t care who takes him down. If they can’t find another Republican candidate to support, then to me they aren’t Nevertrumpers. They’re just lefties.

    norcal (15fce4)

  118. Without better voters, we won’t get better Presidents.

    This is not improved by making it impossible not to vote. The insistence that everyone should be encouraged to vote is guaranteed to bring out the worst, least informed, most mean-spirited voters. If prospective voters had to pick their state’s current governor from a multiple choice list of 3, the information value of the average vote would double.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  119. Certainly Trump supporters saw him as likable and informative last night. Unsurprisingly.

    Perhaps. It think it’s more that they think that the powers that be have it in for them, and see Trump as their retribution. It is a palpable anger, which Trump nurtures, built from frustration, betrayal, and being ignored.

    How do you think the people who have seen their jobs “taken” by waves of immigrants feel about the last few years? If you are a semiskilled tradesman, this has left you unemployed or making crap wages when you are employed. Trump was elected the first time to fix this, but (as he will spin it) the Deep State resisted his efforts, cheated him of his victory, and returned to their previous efforts to impoverish the Working Class.

    They are not willing to be reasonable.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  120. What I fear most about a Trump re-election is not Trump, but a wave of anger that could propel him to a landslide win. If that happens, he will have unbridled power and the will to use it. When he says “I am the Retribution” we should take him at his word.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  121. Without better voters, we won’t get better Presidents.

    This is not improved by making it impossible not to vote.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 9:56 pm

    No argument there.

    norcal (15fce4)

  122. But that won’t get the ratings. It just proves my point that the voters are the problem, not the parties or the candidates.

    I think that voters are dying to see other choices. The insane focus on Trump and Biden is self-fulfilling. I’d prefer that the other candidates did not have to “share” time with Trump as he is a loud, interrupting troll in debates who brings no value to anyone looking for answers.

    There as one GOP debate in 2016 that Trump boycotted. What a pleasure that was.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  123. Right-of-center Nevertrumpers want Trump to go away, and they don’t care who takes him down.

    No, I don’t. That doesn’t make me a Democrat. It makes me sane. Sorry if you infer something from that.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  124. IF Trump were to drop dead, I would hold a party.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  125. Right-of-center Nevertrumpers want Trump to go away, and they don’t care who takes him down.

    No, I don’t.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:26 pm

    You don’t want him to go away and just shut up?

    norcal (15fce4)

  126. @125, I think you misunderstand what “No, I don’t” is responding to. He means he doesn’t care who takes Trump down, not that he doesn’t want Trump to go away.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  127. Oh dear:

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., once confused Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in the Senate hallways, according to an excerpt from a forthcoming book.

    The story goes that Feinstein previously ran into Scott, seemingly some time in 2021, congratulated him on his recent election victory and claimed she was happy to serve with him.

    In an excerpt published in Politico, the Washington Post’s Ben Terris wrote it was “obvious to Scott and the staffers in tow that Feinstein had mistaken the South Carolinian for Raphael Warnock, the newly elected Democratic senator from Georgia.” Both Scott and Warnock are Black; Warnock won a runoff race in 2021 along with Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

    Tim Scott, being a gentleman and good soul, apparently thanked Sen. Feinstein for her support rather than embarrass her publicly.

    This comes the day after the elderly Senator made her triumphant (well, maybe modest is a more apt description) return to the upper chamber of Congress after her three-month absence. Dems are going to desperately need her vote to hold the line on debt limit negotiations, lest Joe Manchin, Krysten Sinema, Jon Tester, Angus King, or any other Senator caucusing with the Dems gets frisky and suggests that Chuck Schumer acquiesce to the GOP House bill.

    What happens if — and Heaven forbid, but I think it’s worth asking about — if Sen. Feinstein should become incapacitated to the degree where not only can she not perform her duties, but she isn’t even cognizant enough to resign her seat? Does the Senate have a mechanism in place where she can be voted out? If so, I doubt if it can be done with just 51 votes. I have to say that I am loving watching that party be hamstrung by a selfish old biddy who has hung on for far too long.

    JVW (1ad43e)

  128. lurker,

    This is the part that give me pause.

    It makes me sane. Sorry if you infer something from that.

    I don’t know if he means me, or generic “you”.

    norcal (15fce4)

  129. a selfish old biddy who has hung on for far too long

    JVW (1ad43e) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:55 pm

    And yet she’s the best of the top Democrats from California.

    Relativity: it’s a thing. Just ask Einstein.

    norcal (15fce4)

  130. And yet she’s the best of the top Democrats from California.

    I believe this is what is known as “damming with faint praise.” Sort of like referring to Ivanka as the most ethical member of the Trump family or Ashley as the smartest member of the Biden family.

    JVW (1ad43e)

  131. I believe this is what is known as “damming with faint praise.”

    Guilty

    norcal (15fce4)

  132. No laughs at the prospect of me moving back to CA, JVW?

    Go ahead. You’re entitled.

    norcal (15fce4)

  133. No laughs at the prospect of me moving back to CA, JVW?

    You’re far from the first guy I’ve known who is in an abusive relationship with the Golden State. “This time it will be different.”

    JVW (1ad43e)

  134. You’re far from the first guy I’ve known who is in an abusive relationship with the Golden State.

    🤣

    norcal (15fce4)

  135. I don’t know if he means me, or generic “you”.

    Kevin will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he meant the generic you.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  136. do you need a primer on how an open thread works?

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 8:46 pm

    No. Do you need one on how questions and answers work? You quoted my question, which was directed personally to Rob about his claim of non-partisan objectivity. You then posted your comment as if it was responsive, but since you’re not Rob, it couldn’t be and wasn’t. Moreover, that you characterized your hyper-partisan non-response as non-partisan was just silly. Kudos though on remembering to whatabout. Your whatabouts are one of the vanishingly few traditions we have left.

    Anyway, sure, it’s an open thread, so say anything you want. If what you want is to post non sequitur whatabouts, you do you, JF.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  137. > if Sen. Feinstein should become incapacitated to the degree where not only can she not perform her duties, but she isn’t even cognizant enough to resign her seat?

    My strong suspicion based on recent behavior is that she’s actually already there. And no, there’s nothing that can be done, no process for forcing her out. I mean, I guess they could expel her, but that’s not going to happen. And I don’t know what California law says about replacing her in such a circumstance.

    I voted against her in 2018 because of this (it was easy to do, while i’m not a huge fan of Loretta Sanchez, I wasn’t forced to decide between voting for her and a trumpist or between her and an anti-gay-marriage religious conservative, two decisions which would have been *hard*), and it irritated the **** out of me that California re-elected her that year.

    aphrael (87f780)

  138. Norcal,

    All NeverTrump does is talk about Trump. There’s nothing else. No vusion, no alternative candidate, no oxygen for the room.

    So all a 2rd party hears is that Trump is the only option other than the leftist in office.

    Now that qorks for the grifters like Kristol and French, but it doesn’t work for the real world Republican looking for alternatives.

    DeSantis is doing a fantastic job at making Florida a better place to live, but all yoy hear about him from NeverTrump is that he’s just another Trump. Doesm’t sound like they are actually doing anything to boost a Republican.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  139. Making it impossible not to vote has to be the most silly comment so far. Black people in floriduh were arrested when they tried to register and vote even though the voters passed restoring their voting rights. Voters are sent cards if they don’t send them back they are kicked off the voting roles. In floriduh voters were removed from voter roles for having similar first and last names with their middle names ignored. In Ny you had to register 6 months in advance to vote in the primary which is wht trumps children couldn’t vote for him! In many red states you have to have a govt. picture ID tovote and in some of those states if you owe fines taxes or child support you wont be issued picture id. Until recently in az. Still you have to show a birth certificate or passport to register to vote or get state id. In some southern states your voting rights can be cancelled for a misdemeanor and their is plenty more laws preventing mostly black and brown people from registering and voting. Letters are sent to black people telling them make sure their fines are paid before they try and vote. Fortunetly some of the non government letter senders have been prosecutes. I anm sure others here can add to the list of voter intimidation in their states.

    asset (b960b2)

  140. “So why did CNN decide to host Trump’s “rally” in the first place?”

    I’m sure they saw that Townhall going differently. I think they mistakenly thought that a candidate can’t simply go on TV and lie and not pay a price. The Trump-amused crowd enabled Trump to use Collins as a prop and entertain by simply being outrageous. If the crowd had gasped or boo’ed when Trump for instance attacked Lt Byrd for shooting Ashli Babbitt, I think the dynamic might have been different. Trump felt no compulsion to back away from any lie or outrageous claim.

    This was weird entertainment, not accountability, not reality. It was astounding to see a man just found guilty of defamation proceed to double-down on continuing the defamation…as if someone who barged into the Miss America changing room or explained that stars have special authorization could never have taken liberties with Ms. Carroll. Incredible really. As long as we have crowds that don’t insist on Trump explaining why he waited for 3 hrs to insist that his rioters cease, we have this bizarre insanity.

    The crowd, or at least the vocal part of it, were ok with Trump passing responsibility to Pelosi or the DC mayor and ducking the fact that he literally sent those rioters to the Capitol. So, based on that performance, which is pretty much like 99% of Trump’s other performances, I see no value in networks hosting future townhalls or including Trump in debates. Hey, if he wants to have his own grievance pep rallies, so be it. The national debate is not furthered by enabling outright brazen lies. Just say no. It’s time for the other candidates to come on the record about Trump’s view of reality and why exactly they are more qualified for the job. There’s no more point in keeping your gunpowder dry. It’s time for both barrels to blaze.

    AJ_Liberty (ce3d5c)

  141. norcal: “I guess we have different definitions of “Nevertrump”. To me, Nevertrump means a right-of-center voter who is against Trump.”

    This is the only sensible meaning. Simply lumping Nevertrump in with Democrats is a slur. I also find it amusing that some here believe that Democrats and Nevertrump control whether the GOP base prefers Trump over DeSantis. I guess DeSantis’ support is so tenuous and the base is so reactionary that there can be no criticism of DeSantis and certainly no criticism of Trump. The GOP used to be fine with vetting….and choosing experienced candidates with no surprises. Now the GOP has to walk on eggshells to appease individuals that are struggling to see why DeSantis might be an improvement over Trump. Bah.

    AJ_Liberty (ce3d5c)

  142. Professional wrestling.

    Trump is a friend on Vince McMahon. Made his wife head of the SBA.

    nk (bb1548)

  143. “If the crowd had gasped or boo’ed when Trump for instance attacked Lt Byrd for shooting Ashli Babbitt, I think the dynamic might have been different.”

    Nonsense.

    Colonel Haiku (87b614)

  144. @98

    I’m not impressed with DeSantis’ petty squabble with Disney.

    No one is asking you to be impressed

    The fact that he’s better than Trump and Biden by a mile isn’t impressive either, but it’s more than enough to earn the vote from any reasonable conservative

    JF (fa234b) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:46 pm

    This. ALL OF THIS!

    No one here wants a Trump vs Biden sequel election. Your challenge, should you choose to accept, is to look at the rest of the field and support a candidate that can win the primary and general.

    Don’t let the ideal of your perfect candidate keep you from backing a candidate that can beat Trump in the primary and Biden in the general.

    whembly (d116f3)

  145. @101

    @98. What’s impressive is his stupidity at that level of government. Pissing on one of America’s most recognized and welcome symbols worldwide; the most visited vacation spot on Earth cn only be embraced by a fraction of stove-piped out-of-favor-ideologues who simply hate all things Trump.

    DCSCA (9537e3) — 5/11/2023 @ 7:53 pm

    What’s impressive is this idea that we shouldn’t respond to efforts by a corporation to fight for some teacher’s ability to teach sex topics to children.

    …and you wonder why the groomer labels still have legs.

    whembly (d116f3)

  146. @120

    What I fear most about a Trump re-election is not Trump, but a wave of anger that could propel him to a landslide win. If that happens, he will have unbridled power and the will to use it. When he says “I am the Retribution” we should take him at his word.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:07 pm

    Play “Will to Power Games™”…win “Will to Power Prizes™”.

    Until both sides realizes this and stops playing, the status quo will only get worst.

    whembly (d116f3)

  147. @127

    S

    en. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., once confused Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., in the Senate hallways, according to an excerpt from a forthcoming book.

    The story goes that Feinstein previously ran into Scott, seemingly some time in 2021, congratulated him on his recent election victory and claimed she was happy to serve with him.

    In an excerpt published in Politico, the Washington Post’s Ben Terris wrote it was “obvious to Scott and the staffers in tow that Feinstein had mistaken the South Carolinian for Raphael Warnock, the newly elected Democratic senator from Georgia.” Both Scott and Warnock are Black; Warnock won a runoff race in 2021 along with Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

    Tim Scott, being a gentleman and good soul, apparently thanked Sen. Feinstein for her support rather than embarrass her publicly.

    This comes the day after the elderly Senator made her triumphant (well, maybe modest is a more apt description) return to the upper chamber of Congress after her three-month absence. Dems are going to desperately need her vote to hold the line on debt limit negotiations, lest Joe Manchin, Krysten Sinema, Jon Tester, Angus King, or any other Senator caucusing with the Dems gets frisky and suggests that Chuck Schumer acquiesce to the GOP House bill.

    What happens if — and Heaven forbid, but I think it’s worth asking about — if Sen. Feinstein should become incapacitated to the degree where not only can she not perform her duties, but she isn’t even cognizant enough to resign her seat? Does the Senate have a mechanism in place where she can be voted out? If so, I doubt if it can be done with just 51 votes. I have to say that I am loving watching that party be hamstrung by a selfish old biddy who has hung on for far too long.

    JVW (1ad43e) — 5/11/2023 @ 10:55 pm

    I know we bag on politicians… but, am I so naive to believe the Senator Tim Scott is one of those “good eggs” and would do really, really well as President or VP?

    whembly (d116f3)

  148. Haiku quotes a good point:

    I don’t think there’s been a single election in my political lifetime that the Democrats have actually contested on the grounds that their policies would be more beneficial to the country as a whole than the policies of the GOP. After Carter and Mondale lost to Reagan but especially after Dukakis got his wonkish ass handed to him by GHWB, the go-to tactic has been to gin up outrage against the GOP nominee. It is working less and less well because more and more people are deciding that having the right enemies is a good justification to vote for some one.”

    Democrats love to run on Republicans being extreme. They love running against Trump because he is extreme. Any Republican who runs against Biden will be Trump, worse than Trump, bla bla bla. My one conspiracy theory is that Bragg indicted Trump for Stormy Daniels because he guessed what we have seen might just be the result of it.

    I believe that at some point, a successful GOP candidate will have to articulate why he/she is a better nominee than Trump. DiSantis has attempted Trumpism without Trump. It amounts to the difference between crack and 4 cups of coffee. Not the same rush, dude. Haley talks about age, because Trump is icky old. He does not seem any “older” than he was in 2016. Pointing out that Trump is a loser — while it satisfies me — does not seem to work. Partly, I think, because the Trump rush does not depend on him actually winning. There’s something in this from Peggy Noonan:

    His special talent, his truest superpower, is seeming to believe whatever pops out of his mouth, and sticking to it. Observers shake their heads despairingly: “He lies and people believe him.” I think it’s worse than that. He lies and a lot of supporters can tell it’s a lie—they know from their own memory it’s a lie, that, say, Jan. 6 wasn’t a “beautiful day” of “patriots” full of “love”—but they don’t mind. They admire his sheer ability to spin it out.

    You’re tickled by his boldness, his fearlessness, and when the lie drives the media and the stuffed shirts mad, you’re delighted. He’s subverting the elites and the corrupt power structures they’ve erected. And the great thing is you’re in on the joke, on the mischief. You get to take part.

    In a big lonely country that has power. I suspect he knows this.

    How do you break this? No idea. I would love someone like Pence or DeSantis or Haley to go after Trump’s illegalities and simple shameless awfulness directly. It didn’t work for Rubio. It didn’t work for Cruz. It really did not work for Chaney.

    Do “ideas” and “forceful action” from other GOP members break the spell? DeSantis sems to think so, but it isn’t working for him. Brian Kemp escaped from Trump’s wrath. I feel he managed it by making Biden and the woke establishment mad (right enemies) by doing something the Trmp crowd wanted, while not being stupid about it.

    Appalled (691ce8)

  149. My only complaint about the Trump townhall was that CNN brought in an audience laugh-track. Like it or not, he’s the GOP frontrunner, so he merited a live question-and-answer. Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone can slow down or abate his gish galloping. I don’t blame CNN for having him, I blame the serial liar for serial lying to America.

    On Ukraine, Mike Martin has a good thread on the state of their counteroffensive.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  150. Trump was “informative” at the townhall?
    Oy.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  151. “How do you break this? No idea.”

    I’m skeptical that it will happen at a debate, because Trump doesn’t really debate. He performs. He’s not going to win on facts or policy analysis…he wants to be memorable in being the most outrageous. Noonan, as usual, is correct. You could never go on the Daily Show and hand it to Jon Stewart. That wasn’t going to work. Here, you can’t out-Trump Trump.

    I think the GOP candidates are going to have to create Trump fatigue. Surrogates are going to be critical. Ads are going to be important. There will have to be a crack in his right-wing media support, like the FNC opinionators. There has to be some sense that the upcoming Democrat ads will make it highly unlikely that Trump will win. He will be too damaged. He will lose moderates, independents, suburban women…and there are not enough angry white guys to carry him to victory. I’m sure there is some waiting for the next legal shoe to drop. I expect one or two more indictments. We will see.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  152. Jim, Kilicdaroglu sounds closer to Sufi than Sunni, which is a good thing. If he wins, I look forward to figuring out how to pronounce his name.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  153. Rob, what exactly did Trump say that was “informative”?
    Oxford defines the term as “providing useful or interesting information”. What “information” did Trump furnish that was useful or interesting?

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  154. [Ed. I just realized that it’s only Thursday, not Friday, so Early Weekend Open Thread…]

    I thought it was Friday, too. Probably your fault.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  155. You don’t want him to go away and just shut up?

    Sorry, it was unclear. I don’t care how they take him down. I would prefer it was above-board — he’s his own target-rich environment. But whatever.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  156. You don’t want him to go away and just shut up?

    And, actually, what I’ve said is not entirely true. I would like him to get out of GOP politics. His voice, from the peanut gallery, is helpful actually. But as a candidate he sucks green donkey di*ks.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  157. I really hope CNN holds townhalls with Haley, Scott, DeSantis, Hutchinson, that Rivek guy, etc.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  158. I don’t know if he means me, or generic “you”.

    Mostly generic, but I cannot understand the thinking of someone who actively supports Trump as the better candidate.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  159. Ew. Just ew.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  160. You’re far from the first guy I’ve known who is in an abusive relationship with the Golden State. “This time it will be different.”

    Why do you think I want CA broken up into multiple states. I would love it if a “SoCal” state (missing LA Country) existed. That weather is really hard to beat and with the state partitioned the crazies would not have people fleeing like they are.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  161. *LA County. But, heck, why not LA Country (or SF, for that matter)?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  162. I wasn’t forced to decide between voting for her and a trumpist or between her and an anti-gay-marriage religious conservative

    Oh, for the care-free days of Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  163. @145. The way to “respond” -if stove-piped out of favor ideologues w/political agendas choose to do so- is to dissuade the consumer of the product in the marketplace that corporation presents not by weaponizing the government for personal political purposes. So some weenies don’t like Disney? Don’t consume the product. Old colleagues in Hollywood can tell you endless, frustrating mouse tales to fry your whiskers. Employees either adapt to Disney culture or their out PDQ– and doing business w/them falls along similar lines— and that’s a legacy literally passed down from ol’dead Walt himself.

    Anectdotally speaking, once quipped in a meeting about Disney’s relentless demands on some project, that “things aren’t so happy at the happiest place on Earth today, are they’- and the daggered glares in return from the Mouse Clubbers across the table were chilling. Industry folk don’t call Disney ‘Mouschwitz’ for nothing; you don’t fvck w/Disney, whembley.

    DeSantis is demonstrating poor judgment if not ignorance by punching down and attacking a top employer in his state– one of the most recognized and welcomed symbols of America on Earth no less— with an average annual attendance of over 58 million visitors, Walt Disney World in Florida is the world’s most visited theme park globally.

    DeSantis is not only a fool; he’s a damn idiot showing he got the brains of an ‘Ernie Smuntz’ in this. And long after he flames out, Disney will still be there welcoming tens of millions to their expensive fantasy world: ‘the happiest place on Earth’ – and ‘folks’ will be willing to pay the price to visit the kingdom built by the mouse that economically roars.

    https://magicguides.com/disney-world-statistics/

    “He’s Hitler with a tail. He’s “The Omen” with whiskers. Even Nostradamus didn’t see him coming!” – Ernie Smuntz [Nathan Lane] ‘Mousehunt’ 1997

    DCSCA (45f268)

  164. “…Hutchinson, that Rivek guy, etc.”

    He’s taking the pulse of the Republican Party!!!

    A center-right type like Rachel Dolezal is a black woman.

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  165. “So why did CNN decide to host Trump’s “rally” in the first place?”

    I’m sure they saw that Townhall going differently. I think they mistakenly thought that a candidate can’t simply go on TV and lie and not pay a price. The Trump-amused crowd enabled Trump to use Collins as a prop and entertain by simply being outrageous. If the crowd had gasped or boo’ed when Trump for instance attacked Lt Byrd for shooting Ashli Babbitt, I think the dynamic might have been different. Trump felt no compulsion to back away from any lie or outrageous claim.

    For CNN to think that Trump wouldn’t lie on TV and not pay a price for it is to be ignorant of the past 8 years and to have no understanding of the veneration of him by his supporters. It doesn’t matter to them if he lies. All he does is lie, whether on TV or at rallies, etc. Now, he did lose the last election, certainly, but as it stands, he continues to be the leading Republican contender for 2024. CNN’s actions showed Trump and his supporters that they will be willing to roll out the red carpet for him because the bottom line is: he is ratings gold. And that matters more to the company than giving him a platform to continue peddling his lies and misinformation.

    Also, one thing that he did with this audience, as he regularly does, is to portray the media (Kaitlin Collins, in this case) as bad and Trump as the victim. When she confronted him in a mistruth, he called her a “nasty person”. It’s the same old us. v. them schtick, and it’s one that appeals to his supporters.

    Anyway, Trump has lied with impunity for 8+ years, and he still has a stranglehold on the GOP. Why would CNN be so foolish as to believe there would be consequences at this point in time?

    Dana (560c99)

  166. You’re far from the first guy I’ve known who is in an abusive relationship with the Golden State. “This time it will be different.”

    Lol.

    Dana (560c99)

  167. “So why did CNN decide to host Trump’s “rally” in the first place?”

    because Trump would do it

    you think CNN wouldn’t love to host a Biden rally?

    even if the questions were known in advance, with a cheerleading interviewer, Biden can’t be wheeled out to do something so daring

    JF (5bfbed)

  168. There has to be some sense that the upcoming Democrat ads will make it highly unlikely that Trump will win. He will be too damaged. He will lose moderates, independents, suburban women…and there are not enough angry white guys to carry him to victory. I’m sure there is some waiting for the next legal shoe to drop. I expect one or two more indictments. We will see.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:52 am

    Thanks for the left wing talking points, especially the dig at “angry white guys.” Very Obamaesque of you.

    NJRob (e68143)

  169. [ ] Trump/Haley 2024

    [ ] Trump/DeSantis 2024

    [ ] Trump/Scott 2024

    Or maybe…

    [ ] Trump/Manchin 2024????

    [ ] Biden/Manchin 2024????

    Populists are watching… if Manchin jumps in as a possible spoiler.

    DCSCA (45f268)

  170. Trump has lied with impunity for 8+ years

    LOL

    yeah, I believe covid came from a wet market and the laptop was russian misinformation too

    and don’t forget russian bounties

    JF (5bfbed)

  171. The conservatism here is overwhelming. A Balm for teh Soul.

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  172. Trump has lied with impunity for 8+ years

    The voice of experience: Joey’s been doing it for 50+ years.

    DCSCA (45f268)

  173. #171

    Hi Haiku —

    What do you want out of a non-Trump GOP Presidential candidate? Since you are in the market for one…

    Appalled (691ce8)

  174. Heh! What is a gaffe from anyone else is Trump as usual.

    nk (bb1548)

  175. For CNN to think that Trump wouldn’t lie on TV and not pay a price for it is to be ignorant of the past 8 years and to have no understanding of the veneration of him by his supporters. It doesn’t matter to them if he lies.

    I applaud CNN for this. It is useful to pin down Trump’s lies and show them to folks who forget what he is like. It also furthers the idea of equal access to the media, needed for free and open elections.

    In that light, I would like other candidates to be able to have a similar Townhall, where they can contrast themselves to Trump and bring up other parts of their agendas. It might be a good path for CNN to put their “mistake” into perspective.

    There is really no benefit to Trump from additional exposure, but the other candidates are starving for it. Bring DeSantis, Haley, Scott and Hutchinson into American (and/or Republican) households and see if they still think that Trump is the only way.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  176. Heh! What is a gaffe from anyone else is Trump as usual.

    For Trump, a “gaffe” is him saying “Hitler was right!” and even then his supporters would defend him.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  177. Ryan/Manchin Federalism Party ticket.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  178. 173… I’d like a candidate that will continue what Trump was able to foster before the batflu and The Wreck Of the Joseph Biden Regime: a booming economy, low inflation, strong jobs market, secured (as much as possible) southern border, no new wars, conservative judicial picks, and a strong environment for small business entrepreneurs.

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  179. The RNC Show…

    Music swell, Bonnie Tyler:

    “I need a hero
    I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light
    He’s gotta be sure, and it’s gotta be soon
    And he’s gotta be larger than life
    Larger than life
    Somewhere after midnight
    In my wildest fantasy
    Somewhere, just beyond my reach
    There’s someone reaching back for me…”

    Backlit, center stage, cue walk-on; enter The Donald…

    DCSCA (022b11)

  180. Exit, stage left, Snagglepuss. Back to your BarcaLounger

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  181. For those conservatives disillusioned by America, Vlad Putin has an enticing offer. What a thoughtful guy. Always thinking about others. In case it gets to be too much, FWO and JF and Rob and Haiku and DC and others have a place to go.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  182. Hanna-Barbera 1961

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  183. James Woods
    @RealJamesWoods

    “If seven million potential Republican voters were strolling across our southern border, there would be tanks parked on the Rio Grande and helicopter gunships in the air.”

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  184. {The Democrats] should be terrified about the prospect of going to prison for vote fraud. Trump needs to put massive numbers of them in prison.

    From the Instapundit comments. I do this so you don’t have to.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  185. Dana, I have to wonder if CNN completely misread the audience dynamic….that they figured that more of the audience would want Trump held to some account (or at least not cheer and laugh along with bizarre explanations). In the time that I watched, there were no hard questions except the ones that Collins offered….and Trump talked over and through those. I was surprised that Trump is still going with election denialism and that no one from the audience seemed to care a wit. It’s like OJ trying on the glove. The CNN producers should have understood that Trump feeds off his reactions.

    However, I agree that this does nail him down and provides a lot of clips for opposition ads.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  186. @163

    @145…
    DeSantis is not only a fool; he’s a damn idiot showing he got the brains of an ‘Ernie Smuntz’ in this.

    DCSCA (45f268) — 5/12/2023 @ 9:29 am

    Sure D… Heavy D’s a fool.

    This fool’s administration just won a court case to halt the ending Title 42 at the southern border.

    I’d caution anyone who’s underestimating Heavy D.

    whembly (d116f3)

  187. @187. Again: Industry folk don’t call Disney ‘Mouschwitz’ for nothing; you don’t fvck w/Disney, whembley.

    DCSCA (022b11)

  188. 182… CHAZee!

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  189. @184. James Woods
    @RealJamesWoods

    “If seven million potential Republican voters were strolling across our southern border, there would be tanks parked on the Rio Grande and helicopter gunships in the air.”

    Ahhh, but would they be vaccinated?

    Notice they’re carrying pricy smartphones, too- at least as televised at the San Ysidro, CA crossing, waving them through the bars in the gates, wanting them charged off the weak CA power grid.

    It’s too bad these parties have cheapened impeachment as a tool in the nation’s political toolbox. If ever a POTUS has deliberately failed to uphold his oath of office, it’s Squinty.

    DCSCA (022b11)

  190. RIP Hodding Carter III (88). State Department spokesman during the Iran hostage crisis.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  191. Joe Manchin a populist? He’s buried deep in corporate coal.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  192. @181. ROFLMAO! Imagine the uproar w/t young media types if Trump stood at a microphone and said that one word: “Snagglepuss!:

    Perplexed news poodles on the cablers would play the clip on a loop and fill three news cycles w/Trump skirt chasing tales.

    DCSCA (022b11)

  193. @192. It would be fun to watch him jump into this.

    DCSCA (022b11)

  194. Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/12/2023 @ 11:47 am

    Speaking of safe havens, Washington isn’t the whitest state in the union anymore. It’s WV, so pack your bags Montagu.

    JF (5bfbed)

  195. I have to wonder if CNN completely misread the audience dynamic….that they figured that more of the audience would want Trump held to some account (or at least not cheer and laugh along with bizarre explanations). In the time that I watched, there were no hard questions except the ones that Collins offered…….

    The audience was a stacked deck, purposely only Republicans and “independents”. And as I pointed out above, NH Republicans are primarily Trump Republicans. So the results were no surprise to CNN. It was great television.

    I look forward to similar town halls with the other candidates. DeSantis will probably have his own, but their will probably be single event with the remaining Lilliputians.

    Rip Murdock (f90b1e)

  196. From the news stories thread:

    RL formerly in Glendale (7a2d64) — 5/10/2023 @ 2:55 pm

    Directly bribing a politician no doubt goes on, but it’s all so crude and really, even slightly sophisticated players are beyond all that. If you want a favor from your city, you don’t send a big check, or a bundle of cash, to the mayor or your councilmember. Instead, you arrange for a no-show job for the mayor’s cousin’s son

    Sort of like what Bess Myerson did to (probably) bribe a judge.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/12/08/controversial-ny-judge-hortense-gabel-dies/75f6bded-1a56-4915-b8f0-9920024e3a81

    Hortense Gabel, 77, a judge and social reformer whose reputation was tarnished when her daughter claimed she pulled strings to get her a job with Bess Myerson’s office, died Dec. 7 at her home in Manhattan. She had suffered several strokes….

    ….In 1988 a federal jury acquitted her of charges that she secured a job for her daughter, Sukhreet, with Myerson, the city’s cultural affairs commissioner, by ruling in favor of Myerson’s male companion in a divorce case.

    The charges were based on a report commissioned by then-Mayor Edward Koch. The report concluded that in 1983 Myerson, Koch’s friend and political ally, swayed the judge to rule favorably for Carl Capasso.

    CONTROVERSIAL N.Y. JUDGE HORTENSE GABEL DIES
    NEW YORK — Hortense Gabel, 77, a judge and social reformer whose reputation was tarnished when her daughter claimed she pulled strings to get her a job with Bess Myerson’s office, died Dec. 7 at her home in Manhattan. She had suffered several strokes.

    A leader in the fight against racial discrimination in housing after World War II, Mrs. Gabel was a justice of New York’s State Supreme Court, the state’s general trial court, from 1976 until 1987.

    In 1988 a federal jury acquitted her of charges that she secured a job for her daughter, Sukhreet, with Myerson, the city’s cultural affairs commissioner, by ruling in favor of Myerson’s male companion in a divorce case.

    The charges were based on a report commissioned by then-Mayor Edward Koch. The report concluded that in 1983 Myerson, Koch’s friend and political ally, swayed the judge to rule favorably for Carl Capasso.

    In exchange, the report asserted, Myerson hired Sukhreet Gabel for a $19,000-a-year job.

    Capasso had sued his estranged wife for divorce, and Mrs. Gabel was deciding child support and alimony payments. Mrs. Gabel insisted she knew nothing of Myerson’s relationship with Capasso.

    Sukhreet Gabel was a key witness against her mother, who was tried along with Myerson and Capasso. She recorded telephone calls for the prosecutors and gave them bags full of documents from her mother’s files.

    Sukhreet wasn’t her original name. It wasn’t much of a job, but she couldn’t get a job.

    or you make sure to support some business a councilmember’s relative has an interest in, and all of a sudden the city is granting that rezoning you need for your development project.

    And there’s now the bribery conviction the Supreme Court just overturned. A man who worked (and later came back to work for) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was convicted of honest services fraud. But at the time he was paid off, he was working for Cuomo”s re-election campaign.

    Justice Alito didn’t say absolutely that he wasn’t covered by the law, but said the jury instructions were (a little bit?) too broad.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/11/us/politics/supreme-court-fraud-albany-percoco-ciminelli.html

    The question in the first, Percoco v. United States, No. 21-1158, was whether Mr. Percoco could be prosecuted under a federal law that makes it a crime to deprive the government of “honest services” for conduct that took place after he resigned his official position to run the governor’s 2014 re-election campaign.

    Mr. Percoco was a former campaign manager and longtime confidant to Mr. Cuomo. They were so close that the former governor likened him to a brother.

    In 2018, Mr. Percoco was convicted of several crimes, including soliciting and accepting more than $300,000 from executives of two companies with state business in return for taking official actions on their behalf.

    Mr. Percoco’s lawyers argued that the honest-services law applies only to people who exercise the authority of the government, a power they said he had lacked when he received the payments. Prosecutors said that distinction was artificial.

    Mr. Percoco returned to the government about eight months after he left it, following Mr. Cuomo’s re-election.

    Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for seven members of the court, said that the jury instructions in the case had been flawed and that an appeals court should reconsider the matter.

    The jury was told that it could convict Mr. Percoco of honest-services fraud while a private citizen if “he dominated and controlled any governmental business” or if “people working in the government actually relied on him because of a special relationship he had with the government.”

    The instructions were too broad and too vague, Justice Alito wrote, as they could apply to people no longer in the government who were influential merely because of their lengthy careers.

    “Some of these individuals have been reviled,” he wrote. “Others have been respected as wise counselors.”

    The jury instructions, he wrote, “could be said to apply to many who fell into both of these camps. It could also be used to charge particularly well-connected and effective lobbyists.”

    Apparently, the jury needed to find that successful lobbying or general reputation was not the reason the defendant had been successful in influencing policy or contracts.

    Actually, I’m not sure what’s the difference between that and “people working in the government actually relied on him because of a special relationship he had with the government.” or dominating and controlled any governmental business” but there was something about the jury instructions that Alito didn’t like.

    Maybe it was necessary to prove that the people nominally in charge, weren’t really? Is there something missing from the New York Times story? Or maybe the court was punting?

    They’ve been very wary of indirect bribery

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  197. “If seven million potential Republican voters were strolling across our southern border, there would be tanks parked on the Rio Grande and helicopter gunships in the air.”

    No, it would be milder, as it is with the Ukrainians.

    The Democrats know that, even if, for foreign policy and economic reasons, an immigrant group would tend to vote Republican, Republican antagonism will turn them against them, as it is doing with Asians.

    And they’re not looking for immediate votes, or even for people being counted in the Census since the next Census isn’t for another seven years and the next reapportioned districts, nine years.

    Attributing these specific motives to Democrats is just another lie here, and maybe goes with false vote fraud allegations. The Democrats have better reasons. But they try to keep things on a “need-to-know” basis.

    It’s current voters and citizens they are trying to affect.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  198. JF (5bfbed) — 5/12/2023 @ 12:23 pm

    Washington isn’t the whitest state in the union anymore. It’s WV,

    Because it’s losing population. The remaining inhabitants are not getting richer though.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  199. DCSCA,

    DeSantis is not auditioning for a job in the entertainment industry. He’s looking for a worthy enemy to joust with, for the entertainment of the GOP faithful. There’s no reaon for him to stop and no reason for everyone to believe he will ultimately lose in a battle to take away a special concssion the state goverment gave to nobody else in Florida. I’m not sure handing him a defeat in a battle in a way that mocked Ron was the way to go. That put DeSantis in a position where he has to go all out to win.

    Ron D knows Disney is not really able to just pull out of Orlando. That gives him more power to play populist bully. (And isn’t populism about storming the castle? And doesn’t Disney Worl have a literal castle? Hm?)

    Appalled (691ce8)

  200. https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1656831176244449281

    We’re witnessing an absolute travesty unfolding on our southern border.

    It’s nothing less than an invasion! #BidenBorderCrisis

    NJRob (57ec31)

  201. Birddog,

    You’re a leftist. Go join your commies in their hellholes and leave America to Americans.

    NJRob (57ec31)

  202. @200. DeSantis is not auditioning for a job in the entertainment industry…

    Except he is:

    During his presidency, Reagan was asked whether he had learned anything as an actor that had been useful to him as a president. “There have been times in this office,” Reagan responded, “when I wondered how you could do the job if you hadn’t been an actor.”

    Analysis: Why actors make for better presidents

    https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/30/politics/president-reagan-trump-acting-cnn-film/index.html#:~:text=During%20his%20presidency%2C%20Reagan%20was%20asked%20whether%20he,the%20job%20if%20you%20hadn%E2%80%99t%20been%20an%20actor.%E2%80%9D

    Don’t kid yourself, Appalled: never underestimate Disney. They can pull out of Florida just as Musk bailed on California for Texas. Business professionals and old colleagues [some who know current CEO Bob Iger personally BTW] will tell you DeSantis is a damn fool for going to war with Walt’s legacy and a top employer in his state. The Houe of Mouse is literally an American icon; an ambassador for all that is good about the USA around the world…

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

    It is axiomatic w/t powers the be in industry, commerce and smart politicians, Appalled: you just mess w/t ‘happiest place on Earth’… you don’t fvck w/Disney.

    DCSCA (022b11)

  203. The New York Post on Tuesday May 9, had a few additional facts:

    Number of people waiting at Ciudad Juarez to cross to El Paso without prior permission: Up to 35,000 (they never give, for comparison, the number of people , both American citizens and other who cross the border every day – a deliberate omission, in my opinion)

    Number of people waiting at Tijuana to cross to San Diego, California o without prior permission: “Up to 16,000”

    Number of people waiting at Matamoros to cross to Brownsville, Texas o without prior permission: “hundreds” but 15,000 crossed in “recent days”

    Number of people waiting in transit through Mexico: 3,500

    Number of people (detained?) by Mexican authorities in Tapachula, Chiapas: “approximately 60,000”

    Number of people from South America (according to the Guatemalan government) in Guatemala, heading to the Mexican border: “about 80,000”
    ————————-
    Some richer people, who have hopes of asylum, or something, are flying in private planes to small airports near the Mexican-U.S. border.

    You may already know that 40 people died in a fire, and the Mexican immigration commissioner has been under criminal investigation

    https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/prosecutors-probe-mexico-immigration-chief-over-fire-that-killed-40-migrants-2023-04-12

    Also: Number of people New York City Mayor Adams wanted to put up in a hotel in Rockland County (violating zoning laws) 30 to 60.

    Number of people who died in March in a 2-family home in Spring Valley, Rockland County where 18 people had been living: 5.

    waiting at Matamoros to cross to Brownsville, Texas o without prior permission:at Matamoros to cross to Brownsville, Texas o without prior permission:

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  204. ^just don’t

    DCSCA (022b11)

  205. DCSCA:

    There are not a lot of places for Disney to move DWorld to just to get a win in the woke wars. Texas? Mississippi? Alabama? Think of the cost. Think of whether there is a gop governor willing to cut them a deal. Think infrastructure. It’s not like you can just plop this on Grand Bahama.

    Appalled (cb2d0d)

  206. tbf, Disney can play the long game until a more favorable governance is elected.

    whembly (d116f3)

  207. @206. For Disney, the woke crap is a passing fad; and if they created a ‘Wokie’ animated figure to joust w/a light sabered Star Wars Wookie, which they already own BTW, they’d turn it into a Disney villain a la Darth Vader– or Scrooge McDuck–and then a ride. Maybe they could use Liz Cheney as a model. 😉

    @207. Yep. I’m certainly no Disney fan, if only from my business experience in dealing w/them in Hollywood, which is contrast w/their wholesome, goodie-goodie image — [if you think Trumpists are a “cult,” you ought to spend some time dealing w/Disney people on their own turf in Burbank. Yikes! It’s creepy.] But waging war w/t ‘happiest place on Earth’ is a fool’s errand. You can try to deal, even compromise, but they always have the leverage.

    DCSCA (ed62d2)

  208. It is difficult for corporate establishment democrats to run on issues so as not to offend the donor class. AOC and the left runs on medicare for all, raising minimum wage and tax the rich. The donor class opposes all of these. Social issues are the only thing the clinton/biden establishment wing can run on that wont offend the donor class. That is why abortion ruling was such a god send to them. 2024 campaign republicans Trannies and illegal aliens. Democrats insurrection and abortion vote democrat or use a coat hanger!

    asset (e41f75)

  209. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-hatchet-subway-attack-20190429-4obnogi2qrexni5ess6xycrtaq-story.html

    Pickett, 57, was on a Bronx-bound No. 1 train in April, 2019, when he saw a man pull a hatchet out of bag and swing it at an unsuspecting passenger. Before the blade connected, Pickett sprang into action and tackled the hatchet man, pinning him to the subway car floor until the police arrived.

    “Once I got the ax out of his hand, and had him pinned, I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know this guy. He didn’t do nothing to me,'” Pickett said Friday.

    I don’t know if this story checks out.

    He says he saw Neely about an hour before he died (they were both street performers) and he had his hat in his hand and was dragging his Michael Jackson jacket on the ground. He thought someone ad taken is bucket of tips and his T-shirt didn’t look too clean bt he didn’t speak to him.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  210. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/12/2023 @ 11:03 am

    Ryan/Manchin Federalism Party ticket

    I thought it was Manchin/Ryan No Labels party tricket.

    Sammy Finkelman) (1d215a)

  211. George Santos has been indicted on esssentially three financial crimes.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  212. The Democrats know that, even if, for foreign policy and economic reasons, an immigrant group would tend to vote Republican, Republican antagonism will turn them against them, as it is doing with Asians.

    These aren’t immigrants from former Soviet Bloc nations (who would “tend” to vote Republican.

    Those cretins beating, robbing, sometimes murdering Asian-Americans that we’ve been seeing these past two years sure aren’t Republican, Sammy. Why would you think they are?

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  213. My hope is that if you’ve read this far, you now understand that Congress should start working diligently to stop our debt from growing.

    The way to do that is to lower interest rates and get economic growth going.

    Or else the trillion dollar coin(s)

    Where things are heading now is a short term extension of the deadline through either a small increase in the debt limit or authorization to borrow any amount till Sept 30. They’re trying to fold it in with the budget talks. They are extremely unlikely to reach agreement.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  214. Grassley seemed to imply that proof behind the allegations made about Biden’s past and any communications with foreign nationals remains lacking.

    The trouble with the allegation is that I don’t think that Biden had much influence on Obama Administration policy.

    But Hunter or Joe’s brother Jim – and Joe himself – could lie about his influence.

    We don’t know just what the allegation is.

    But the thing that Republicans are complaining about is that the allegation, true or false, plausible or implausible, was buried.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  215. @215. Populists have little tolerance left for this maybe-sorta-tease-crap. The GOP is playing w/a hand grenade w/t pin pulled… if they can’t be definitive with these allegations this is going to blow up in their faces.

    DCSCA (6113f1)

  216. Lest you forget, Disney is the same outfit that produced this Oscar winning classic in 1943:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L90smU0SOcQ&t=3s

    And just a 12 years later, in 1955, produced THIS for the kiddies of the time to consume on their TeeVees:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_N3EYMgya4

    Note a certain ex-Nazi, who worked for Hitler, is Disney’s key ‘go-to authority’ in this classic.

    DCSCA (6113f1)

  217. #152 – Paul, that’s what I was speculating, too, when I read about that branch of Islam. France24 was saying this afternoon that Kilicdaroglu might win on the first round. If a candidate gets 50 percent, plus 1, he wins outright; if no candidates does, then there is a second round runoff. He is at, or just over, 50 percent in the polls. Though I should add that Turkish polls do not have a high reputation.

    If he does win, and his win is accepted, there will be a large sigh of relief in NATO headquarters.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  218. Dianne Feinstein returned to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday – she was supposed to vote that day, but didn’t.

    Sammy Finkelnan (57cd49)

  219. The announcers seemed to know how to pronounce his name, but I am going to have to hear it several more times, before I try to do so.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  220. Key liege da rogue loo.

    nk (bb1548)

  221. I look forward to similar town halls with the other candidates. DeSantis will probably have his own, but their will probably be single event with the remaining Lilliputians.

    Why? Do we really need more media framing? Polls –> access –> polls. Why can’t the media just play it straight for once? Do they think they’ve been a positive influence the last several elections, with their access control and follow-the-leader cheerleading?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  222. There are not a lot of places for Disney to move DWorld to just to get a win in the woke wars. Texas? Mississippi? Alabama? Think of the cost. Think of whether there is a gop governor willing to cut them a deal. Think infrastructure. It’s not like you can just plop this on Grand Bahama.

    Think about losing every vote 30 miles around Orlando. If it wasn’t for Disney World, no one would live there.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  223. I thought it was Manchin/Ryan No Labels party ticket.

    Label have meaning. To me “No Labels” say they want us all to stop bickering, as if the arguments have no merit. It’s quite condescending.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  224. Key liege da rogue loo.

    1) He should change it.

    2) “With a name like Mangled Baby Ducks, you know it has to be good”

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  225. More interesting:

    A two-hour debate format with DeSantis, Scott, Haley and Hutchinson. “The Contenders”

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  226. Hi aphrael, dana, colonel, Kevin, rob, etal.

    JD (52df64)

  227. Think about losing every vote 30 miles around Orlando. If it wasn’t for Disney World, no one would live there.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/12/2023 @ 4:54 pm

    I’m guessing you haven’t been to Orlando in ages. That was once the case, but hasn’t been for quite some time. Universal alone gets an insane number of daily visitors. The amount of construction in Orlando expanding the highways, building new high rises, etc is something to behold. It’s the exact opposite of Manhattan which is falling apart.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  228. I’m in moderation ?!?!

    JD (52df64)

  229. Hey, JD! It’s been a long time, hope you’re doing well.

    Colonel Haiku (384e10)

  230. Hey JD.

    No moderation as far as I can see.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  231. https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/05/the-daily-chart-the-falling-wages-of-bidenomics.php

    While there are many that try and spin Biden’s destructive policies with manipulated data, there’s no hiding how real world income has collapsed under his watch. People are poorer and everyone but those who are insulated from his destructive policies are feeling it.

    There’s a reason that every poll coming out has Trump and DeSantis crushing Biden.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  232. Hi JD. Pretty much the same old, same old.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  233. I thought that Trump vs Hillary was the pinnacle of American electoral stupidity. Only to be outdone by Trump running against Biden. Shockingly, we are on track to embarrass ourselves again.

    Keep praying for the Sweet Meteor of Death to put us out of our misery.

    JD (52df64)

  234. It’s pretty terrible when you realize that the ancient scale of “1 to 10” is in binary.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  235. RCP National Polling Average:

    Trump v. Biden: Trump +.7

    DeSantis v. Biden: Biden +3

    Rip Murdock (92c5be)

  236. 538 shows only one poll (ABC/WaPo) showing Biden losing to Trump and DeSantis. More recent Yahoo News/YouGov and Morning Consult surveys show Biden ahead of both, though within the margin of error.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  237. It is 100% fair to look at almost any poll as overstating Dem support, or understating Rep support.

    JD (52df64)

  238. It is 100% fair to look at almost any poll as overstating Dem support, or understating Rep support.

    JD (52df64) — 5/12/2023 @ 6:53 pm

    A good way to deny that Republicans may be behind at any given time. Would you accept the polling results from Nov. 5, 2024 if they went against your preconceived assumptions?

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  239. History has shown time and time again that polling almost universally does as I outlined. There are obviously some outliers, but they are outliers. Future hypothetical polls and elections are unlikely to alter my views unless the media and pollsters change their processes. Which they aren’t doing.

    I’m not denying anything, I think it’s a shlt process and has proven to be a shlt process over time.

    JD (52df64)

  240. Rip,

    you never post a single poll showing republican support yet claim to be one. Why is that?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  241. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2024/president/us/general_election_desantis_vs_biden-7967.html

    According to your own link Rip, it has DeSantis in a tie (with old polls) yet you posted inaccurate information with Biden up by 3? Why is that?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  242. We also know using “adults” or “registered voter” is a way to skew the polling result to the left, but you never mention that.

    Expecting ballot harvesting to come through for your preferred candidate?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  243. NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:26 pm

    My bad. Thanks for catching.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  244. According to your own link Rip, it has DeSantis in a tie (with old polls) yet you posted inaccurate information with Biden up by 3? Why is that?

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:26 pm

    Then again with DeSantis so far behind Trump in the Morning Consult tracking poll (Trump +41) he has a lot of ground to make up among Republicans.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  245. Expecting ballot harvesting to come through for your preferred candidate?

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:28 pm

    I hope so.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  246. Rip,

    you never post a single poll showing republican support yet claim to be one. Why is that?

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:24 pm

    Right now I’m more interested in the Republican primary race, so all the polls are about Republican support.

    I’ll get to the general election when the nominees are decided-I don’t expect Biden to be the Democratic nominee. My bet is he will a) be impeached (though the House is running out of time); or b) pull out for “health” reasons.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  247. It is 100% fair to look at almost any poll as overstating Dem support, or understating Rep support.
    JD (52df64) — 5/12/2023 @ 6:53 pm

    Thanks to mail in voting, which caters to the slacker demographic, I don’t think this is true anymore.

    We’re going to see many repeats of the fake 2022 red wave.

    Yet another thing to thank Nevertrump for.

    JF (b2d267)

  248. Did you know subway chokehold casualty Jordan Neely was once arrested for trying to kidnap a 7-year-old girl? The ex-Marine’s arrest is an outrage and a disgrace – so yes: business as usual for DA Bragg

    Without calling a grand jury, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — otherwise so soft on crime as to be Play-Doh — has indicted Daniel Penny of second-degree manslaughter in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a charge that carries up to 15 years in prison.

    To be clear: Neely did not deserve to die. No one deserves to die like that.

    But to watch the mob rule on display, the craven politics behind Bragg’s decision, and the media coverage depicting Neely as your friendly neighborhood Michael Jackson impersonator, his death a racist lynching, is to despair.

    Neely had more arrests than birthdays: 42 charges at 30 years old, so mentally ill that he was on New York City’s ‘Top 50’ list of homeless in dire need of help.

    He was arrested in 2015 for attempting to kidnap a 7-year-old girl after he was ‘seen dragging [her] down an Inwood street,’ the New York Daily News reported.

    That’s a detail you won’t find in most media coverage.

    Nor this: Neely had an active warrant out for his arrest, having skipped out on a court appearance in connection with his attack on a 67-year-old woman.

    If only Bragg could be trusted.

    But no: Like a character straight out of Tom Wolfe’s ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’, he’s racializing this tragedy rather than upholding his pledge to ‘guarantee both fairness and safety.’

    Speaking of fairness and safety: Anyone who has taken the subway in New York knows that it has, since Covid, become a de facto homeless shelter. ‘Fairness and safety’ apply to those who terrorize, maraud and attack — not the hardworking, law-abiding citizens of this once-great city.

    Commuters are mere interlopers, hoping to get from Point A to Point B without being shoved on to the tracks, stabbed, slashed, or trapped in a car with a mentally ill homeless person who is aggressive at best, violent at worst.

    The cops won’t do anything, and Daniel Penny is Exhibit A as to why: What officer in this climate wants to risk a manslaughter charge?

    That’s why you’re more apt to see them down in the subway system scrolling through Instagram than making arrests.

    Getting randomly assaulted on the train — that’s become the cost of doing business in New York.

    JF (b2d267)

  249. I’ve voted by mail for the past 30+ years because I hate waiting in lines, being in crowds, and dealing with people in general.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  250. I’m not denying anything, I think it’s a shlt process and has proven to be a shlt process over time.

    Especially since the election is 18 months away. That’s what, 6 eternities?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  251. I’ve voted by mail for the past 30+ years because I hate waiting in lines, being in crowds, and dealing with people in general.

    I’m glad I was sitting down.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  252. And I can do 90% of my shopping online. Case closed.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  253. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/12/2023 @ 10:03 pm

    What’s your problem with that?

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  254. Since we don’t vote nationally. National polls are meaningless. Hillary clinton and joe biden led in every national poll and both got more votes then trump in their elections. In 2016 trump won electoral collage by 75,000 votes in 3 states and lost in 2020 by 43,000 votes in 3 states. Polls in swing states are less accurate ;but are much more meaningful then national polls. That biden got 81 million votes to trumps 73 million has no real meaning election wise.

    asset (b3825a)

  255. I do leave the couch on occasion, and I second JD regarding polls. As a rule of thumb, polls undercount Republicans versus Democrats by around 7%. If they are ever close, it’s by mistake. Nobody’s perfect.

    nk (bd5a45)

  256. government in Maine has warned voters not sign no labels party petition. Democrats still remember what jill stein did to clinton.

    asset (b3825a)

  257. I’ve voted by mail for the past 30+ years because I hate waiting in lines, being in crowds, and dealing with people in general.

    Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/12/2023 @ 10:01 pm

    “Hate” s too strong a word. “Dislike” is more accurate.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  258. Jill Stein was a Russian … asset.

    See, where people confuse the issue is when they conflate “collusion” with “interference”.

    Putin did not need to tell Trump that he had Stein working to steal the Democrat loons from Hillary. He likewise did not need to tell Stein that her purpose was to get Trump elected.

    Compartmentalization. Need to know. He simply guided their vanity, ambition and cupidity and, voila, Vlad’s your daddy!

    nk (bd5a45)

  259. @234. I thought that Trump vs Hillary was the pinnacle of American electoral stupidity. Only to be outdone by Trump running against Biden. Shockingly, we are on track to embarrass ourselves again.

    Think again: November 7, 2012

    “How can 59,054,087 people be so dumb?”: Classic Daily Mirror US election front pages through the years

    https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/classic-daily-mirror-us-election-front-1421769

    DCSCA (5089a8)

  260. In Deposition, Former Prosecutor Rebuffs G.O.P. Questions About Trump Case

    Mark F. Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once helped lead an investigation of Donald J. Trump, appeared on Friday before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for a deposition but declined to answer many of its questions about the prosecution of the former president on charges of falsifying business records.

    …………He said he had agreed to appear because he respected the rule of law.

    “What I do not respect is the use of the committee’s subpoena power to compel me to participate in an act of political theater,” Mr. Pomerantz added. ………

    Mr. Pomerantz repeatedly cited New York law protecting the privacy of active investigations and said he had been threatened with possible prosecution for violating the secrecy of the grand jury process if he answered certain questions.
    ………….
    ………….(S)ome Republicans expressed frustration at Mr. Pomerantz’s refusal to answer questions.

    “He has answered no questions,” Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California and a member of the committee, told reporters outside the deposition. “He has asserted, on behalf of the D.A.’s office and himself what I would characterize as taking the Fifth — effectively taking the Fifth every single time. I’ve never had a more obstructive and less cooperative witness in my over 20 years in Congress.”
    …………

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  261. @248. Thanks to mail in voting, which caters to the slacker demographic, I don’t think this is true anymore.

    Slackers? Pass the Grey Poupon. Yeah, like we all have Tuesdays off in November to spend a day standing in line signing in to deal read through a ballot in a booth- as in the case of California- that’s a small book and takes damn near an hour to read through and decipher the double-talk of dozens of ‘propositions’ with antique voting machines. =sarc=

    DCSCA (5089a8)

  262. There were two cartoons in Politico’s weekly collection that I especially liked, Kevin Siers’s variation on a well-known red baseball cap, and Kal’s depiction of the fight over the depiction.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  263. Rip,
    Pomerantz didn’t rebuff questions. He pled the 5th, but may have waived his right due to his book demanding Trukp’s prosecution as well as his other public remarks.

    But I understand why you’d push that spin on things.

    NJRob (c919ed)

  264. Here is Pomerantz’s statement:

    https://twitter.com/AnnieGrayerCNN/status/1657061841665753088

    He uses several tactics to refuse to answer the committee’s questions and admits he is doing so. I don’t think much of the prosecution but think less of the committee’s attempts to mess around with a state matter.

    Appalled (c3852a)

  265. Morning NJ-

    Feel free to post another characterization of Pomerantz’s testimony.

    BTW, I responded to your comments to me in posts 244-247.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  266. I don’t think much of the prosecution but think less of the committee’s attempts to mess around with a state matter.
    Appalled (c3852a) — 5/13/2023 @ 9:10 am

    presidential elections are a federal matter

    if you think the prosecution was a state matter you can go ahead and pull my other finger

    JF (17cdb6)

  267. Which candidate has the best plan for cutting the deficit and putting us on a glide path to fiscal sanity? So far, no one will address entitlements, we’re getting locked and loaded for battle with China, and there is no dearth of suggestions for industrial plans, subsidies, and new federal initiatives. And we talk about Disney.

    Everytime we add some new spending measure, the CBO should score it and automatically generate an across-the-board tax increase. This might start to wake up people that there is no free stuff. Passing it on to the next generation is criminal. I understand the call for Keynesian response when the economy is lagging, but we’ve shown that there is no constraint to this. We will have a fiscal implosion at some point if we don’t have a major war first. Is this what we want to leave to the next generation?

    Our clown-car eye-gouging is Stoogian but so short sighted. We should encourage and elevate sober politicians who move to the middle and seek compromise. Everything else is doing the Curly Shuffle.

    AJ_Liberty (88224b)

  268. Sad!
    ……….
    Russian state news agency TASS said an Su-34 fighter and a Mi-8 helicopter went down Saturday in Russia’s Bryansk region. Another Mi-8 and a Su-35 also crashed, according to Russian military correspondents and an official of a Russian proxy state that claims territory in eastern Ukraine.

    Meanwhile, Russia claimed that Ukraine used U.K.-supplied cruise missiles in strikes on Luhansk, an area controlled by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.
    …………
    At least two crew members died in Saturday’s aircraft crashes, Russian state media reported, and videos showed wreckage on fire in a wooded area. Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram that a woman was injured and five homes damaged in one crash in Klintsy, a town 30 miles from the Ukrainian border.

    The cause of the downings wasn’t clear. TASS cited emergency services blaming engine fire, but some Russian military correspondents suggested the aircraft could have been ambushed by Ukrainian special forces using shoulder-mounted missiles.
    ………….
    In the past two days, blasts have hit a fuel depot and an industrial compound in the Russian-occupied eastern city of Luhansk and a nearby suburb. Luhansk, some 70 miles from the nearest Ukrainian positions, hadn’t been targeted since the war began because it is outside the range of Ukrainian artillery and U.S.-supplied Himars missile systems.

    Russia and the local authorities it backs there said the attacks were carried out by new, Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missiles supplied by the U.K. Military analysts speculated that Kyiv is already using the new missiles, but the Ukrainians have declined to comment on whether it has deployed them.
    …………
    Germany announced Saturday its biggest package of military equipment for Ukraine to date, worth a total of 2.7 billion euros, equivalent to about $2.93 billion. It includes mobile artillery systems and artillery ammunition, four new IRIS-T SLM air-defense systems of the kind already deployed around Ukraine and additional missiles for those systems.

    The package also includes 30 Leopard 1 main battle tanks and 20 more lightly armored Marder infantry fighting vehicles, according to a list published by the German Defense Ministry.

    Germany has become the third-largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the U.S. and the U.K., according to a ranking compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a think tank.
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  269. government in Maine has warned voters not sign no labels party petition.

    This in a state that has repeatedly elected “independents” (aka closeted Democrats) to high office.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  270. government in Maine has warned voters not sign no labels party petition.

    Also, wtf is “government” doing warning people about their political choices?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  271. Pomerantz didn’t rebuff questions. He pled the 5th

    No, he pled that answering those questions could have caused his prosecution under NY law, as he was required to maintain the confidentiality of grand jury testimony and active investigations.

    It’s a different form of the 5th that we are used to: he didn’t say that he would be revealing a crime he had committed, but that answering the questions would BE a crime, and therefore “self-incrimination.”

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  272. The committee could have offered Pomerantz federal immunity, but that would not have helped as they were demanding he commit a crime under NY law.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  273. if you think the prosecution was a state matter you can go ahead and pull my other finger

    You need to go back and read some stuff.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  274. You need to go back and read some stuff.

    The Tenth Amendment first.

    nk (06ddcf)

  275. Yeah. There is a Supremacy Clause, but there is no federal law claiming to override state criminal and judicial procedure, so that doesn’t work.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  276. You’re a leftist. Go join your commies in their hellholes and leave America to Americans.

    You’re a liar, Rob.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  277. @268. And we talk about Disney.

    No, DeSantis talks about Disney. It’s a tell about his lack of good judgment. Don’t transfer his foolishness and obsession w/wokeness on to others.

    DCSCA (9cc604)

  278. So, the NC legislature passed a law that limits elective abortions to 12 weeks, akin to the law in France and Germany, but was modified in negotiations to have later limits for cause:

    Republicans have pitched the measure as a middle-ground change to state abortion laws developed after months of private negotiations between House and Senate GOP members. It adds exceptions to the 12-week ban, extending the limit through 20 weeks for rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies.

    Governor Cooper (D), an abortion rights absolutist, promised to veto. He has been on a pro-abortion advocacy campaign for the last several weeks, berating local legislators for their votes “against women’s rights.” Planned Parenthood has been active in his support.

    The NC legislature is exactly 2/3rds GOP in each house. I’m sure some court will block the law if it passes, on some dubious reading of the state constitution. Who knew that “Roe” would have to be overturned at the state level, too.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  279. You’re a liar, Rob.

    Hey, Paul, you can retort better than that.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  280. The movement of NC to the left will now stop.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  281. Surprising:

    The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a major ruling that upheld a controversial California animal-welfare law. In a deeply splintered vote that did not break down on traditional ideological lines, the justices rejected an argument by pork producers that the law, known as Proposition 12, violates the Constitution by regulating the pork industry outside California.
    …………..
    The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation went to federal court to challenge Proposition 12. They argued that the law violates a doctrine known as the dormant commerce clause – the idea that the Constitution’s delegation of power over interstate commerce to Congress precludes states from passing laws that discriminate against that commerce. ……….
    Writing for the court, Justice Neil Gorsuch began by rejecting the challengers’ first argument – the idea that the Supreme Court’s cases interpreting the dormant commerce clause have created a rule that prohibits virtually all state laws that have the “practical effect of controlling commerce outside the State,” even if the laws do not intentionally discriminate against out-of-state economic interests. But the cases on which the challengers rely, Gorsuch explained, do not establish any such rule. ………

    The challengers had also made a second argument: Under the Supreme Court’s 1970 decision in Pike v. Bruce Church, they contended, Proposition 12 should fall because its benefits for California residents do not outweigh the costs it imposes on out-of-state economic interests. But that argument fell short as well.

    Three justices – Gorsuch, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett – would have ruled that courts do not have the power or the ability to undertake the kind of balancing test that the challengers propose.……… Gorsuch concluded, they can lobby Congress to intervene instead.

    But six other justices disagreed with Gorsuch, Thomas, and Barrett on this point. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote an opinion concurring in part that was joined by Justice Elena Kagan, while Chief Justice John Roberts wrote an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part that was joined by Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. ………

    Those six justices did not agree, though, on what should happen to the challengers’ claim in this case. A different group of four justices – Gorsuch, Thomas, Sotomayor, and Kagan – agreed that the claim cannot go forward. ………

    The Roberts opinion would have found that the challengers had alleged a substantial burden from Proposition 12……..

    ……….. With Proposition 12, Kavanaugh posited, California “has attempted, in essence, to unilaterally impose its moral and policy preferences for pig farming and pork production on the rest of the Nation.” ……….. Kavanaugh warned, but it also “could provide a blueprint for other States” to pass other laws to advance their policy preferences in the future, on issues ranging from illegal immigration to abortion.
    ##########

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  282. The Economist on the Xi’s regime and his diplomatic approach here. The final paragraphs.

    Because China almost always backs ruling elites, however inept or cruel, its approach may eventually outrage ordinary people around the world. Until that moment, open societies will face a struggle over competing visions. One task is to stop Ukraine being pushed into a bogus peace deal, and for Western countries to deepen their defensive alliances, including nato. The long-run goal is to rebut the charge that global rules serve only Western interests and to expose the poverty of the worldview that China—and Russia—are promoting.

    America’s great insight in 1945 was that it could make itself more secure by binding itself to lasting alliances and common rules. That idealistic vision has been tarnished by decades of contact with reality, including in Iraq. But the Moscow summit reveals a worse alternative: a superpower that seeks influence without winning affection, power without trust and a global vision without universal human rights. Those who believe this will make the world a better place should think again.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  283. Hey, Paul, you can retort better than that.

    No need to. That’s just what he did.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  284. Players are not happy you cannot pet the dog in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

    Why can’t “you people” concern yourselves with what’s really important, instead of Biden this and Trump that and abortion and the border and California and all that other mish-mosh?

    nk (06ddcf)

  285. #221 Thanks, nk. For those who missed it, here’s how to pronounce the lat name of the Turkish challenger, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: Key liege da rogue loo.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  286. I agree with JD and nk about the polling. I’m unaware of an election cycle in recent memory in which the polls significantly overestimated Republican support. That includes the 2022 polls, which were the most accurate this century. Conversely there have been a number of cycles with underestimated Republican support. Maybe the unbiased 2022 polls signaled a change in that trend, but until I see a cycle that significantly underestimates Republican support I’m assuming the likeliest range is between unbiased and biased-Democrat.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  287. Today was not a good day for the Russia air force, what with five downed aircraft, which means it’s a good day for Ukraine and their imminent (I hope) counteroffensive.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  288. As soon as Republicans (and particularly MAGA Republicans) adopt the now-inevitable mail-in ballot, the polling will again overcount Democrats who have a slightly lower voted/polled ratio, everything else being equal.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  289. Speaking of dogs, how about happy birthday for this 31-year-old. I think that’s 217 people-years.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  290. More not-good news for Putin.

    Just to summarize the most important developments of the last 48h:

    – Russian lines at Bakhmut crumbling
    – Losing 2 jets and 3 choppers
    – Rear bases in Russian-occupied Luhansk getting eliminated
    – Russians deploying T-54/55
    – Panic and chaos among Russian pilots/troops
    – Prigozhin calling for rebellion

    And the Ukrainian counteroffensive hasn’t even started, yet.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  291. What amazes me most about the Trump-Biden contest is how much of the MAGA economic policies that Biden has co-opted. Even more amazing is that it is mostly the MAGA Congresspeople who oppose the MAGA policies proposed by Biden.

    The point I want to make is that by fleshing out Joe Biden’s industrial policy and “buy American” agenda, Sullivan is making the MSNBC-safe version of “Make America Great Again” economics. Indeed, Biden will never say it—nor will Trump—but he’s held on to most of Trump’s “America First” trade policies. Bipartisanship! Hooray!

    Biden and Sullivan’s story of American decline—rooted in gauzy memories of the 1950s—is the same story Donald Trump and the natcons tell, at least on economics and trade. Never mind that in the 1950s, America had unique advantages. The industrial base of the rest of the world was flattened by war, while ours was intact and firing on all cylinders. Also never mind that the 1950s were so long ago, even Joe Biden wasn’t old enough to get a driver’s license until they were almost over.

    And it doesn’t stop there. The necromantic consensus is all over the place. For instance, Biden thinks it’s outrageous to tamper with Social Security and other entitlements—and so does Donald Trump! Biden declared in his State of the Union that his “economic plan is about investing in places and people that have been forgotten. Amid the economic upheaval of the past four decades, too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible.” On election night in 2016, Trump proclaimed, “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.” He invoked the “forgotten man” over and over for the next four years. The funny thing is, both Biden and Trump were ripping off FDR.

    (Jonah Goldberg at The Dispatch)

    He goes on to call MAGA NatCons “Anti-abortion New Dealers”, a label some of them gleefully accept.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  292. Luckily for Prigozhin, there are no high buildings left in Bakhmut.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  293. You’re a liar, Rob.

    I think I missed a key reference. Who’s “Birddog?”

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  294. Question: When they are about to lose Crimea, what will the Russians do?

    1. Use “tactical” nukes on advancing Ukrainian troops?
    2. Use real nukes on Ukrainain cities?
    3. Scuttle their ships in harbor and flee?
    4. Surrender Crimea and ask for asylum?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  295. The helicopter “crashes” seem to be attributed to Ukrainian special forces with now-ubiquitous Stinger-type missiles.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  296. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/13/2023 @ 2:42 pm

    1&2; though the Russians would use a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukrainian cities. Their ICBMs are targeted against the US (and maybe China) and the resulting radiation from them would drift into the Russian homeland.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  297. Being an Unlikable Jerk Not Working Out So Well for Ron DeSantis

    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/05/ron-desantis-unlikeable

    DCSCA (c90975)

  298. “Who’s “Birddog?””

    I think that’s Paul’s real name

    AJ_Liberty (192406)

  299. Birddog is someone who uses multiple names to hide under while posting the same thing in different locations.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  300. @281 You are wrong. It begins! 2022 was supposed to be your year it was not. Only because voters in NY were fed up with corrupt establishment corporate democrats did they vote for republicans in safe pro-abortion state of ny. One democrat who lost to george santos looked like a wanted poster put around a child’s play ground! A woman who had an abortion was just shot in texas. Its time biden send in the troops and clean house in texas.

    asset (6cdff8)

  301. DeSantis take a running leap at a rolling donut. Not a run for President.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lauded Daniel Penny as a “Good Samaritan” deserving of America’s support hours after the 24-year-old Marine was arraigned on a second-degree manslaughter charge in the death of Jordan Neely on a New York City subway.

    “We must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs, stop the Left’s pro-criminal agenda, and take back the streets for law abiding citizens,” DeSantis declared in a fiery tweet late Friday.

    “We stand with Good Samaritans like Daniel Penny,” he added — linking his message to a crowdfunding effort raising money for Penny’s defense. “Let’s show this Marine … America’s got his back.”

    Good Samaritans do not slowly choke a man to death over a period of three minutes while two others are holding his arms, asshole!

    Thugs do that! Literally Thugs of the Thuggee cult in India who worked in teams of three, two arm-holders and a strangler.

    DeSantis is now officially a piece of shi!t in my fecal roster.

    nk (7998d4)

  302. lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/13/2023 @ 2:11 pm

    Just noticed my last sentence was so sloppy, including a major substantive typo, that it muddled the whole comment. It was probably clear enough where I was going, but just in case, here it is again, this time hopefully more coherent:

    Maybe 2022 signaled a change, but until I see a polling cycle that significantly
    overstates Republican support, I’ll assume polling bias will continue trending somewhere between unbiased and, more likely, biased-Democrat.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  303. the Russians would use a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukrainian cities.

    There is no such thing as a “tactical” nuclear weapon outside of self-delusion. You hit a city with a 10kT bomb and, well, like Hiroshima. Maybe you don’t get the suburbs, but you kill 100s or thousands of people and the inevitable response is Biblical.

    Most people have no actual concept of what a thermonuclear bomb would do. One of the reasons they exploded them in the 50s was to give the politicians an understanding of what a terrible, no good, awful idea it was to open that box.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  304. * 100s OF thousands

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  305. Oh, for Pete’s sake. I have no idea where I dropped the HTML tag, but I’m going to stop embarrassing myself and just leave it. If it’s still unclear, feel free to say so and I’ll try again.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  306. Its time biden send in the troops and clean house in texas.

    That’s pretty crazy.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  307. Good Samaritans do not slowly choke a man to death over a period of three minutes while two others are holding his arms, asshole!

    The man continued to struggle, and his training was to hold them until they passed out. Others were helping him, which seems to pass the “reasonable person” test. It just went wrong. He is only being prosecuted to assuage the mob, like Lot offering his daughters.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  308. his training was to hold them until they passed out

    What training? Marines? If so, and I’m not being snarky so correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that training for what to do with a battlefield enemy?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  309. Yup. I’d charge him with second degree murder. Wanton indifference.

    nk (7998d4)

  310. The man continued to struggle, and his training was to hold them until they passed out.

    Marines are trained to kill an enemy, not allow them to survive another day.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  311. Marines are trained to kill an enemy, not allow them to survive another day.

    Were you a Marine?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  312. IF he wanted to kill him, there are far quicker ways to do it, and he knew all of them. He was trying to constrict blood flow until he passed out. You assume facts not in evidence.

    The problem is not Penny’s and it’s not even Neely’s. It’s a callous and unresponsive bureaucratic cabal that foists crazy people onto the public so the bureaucracy doesn’t have to deal with them.

    Now they say to the public, “It is wrong to incarcerate crazy people, and you you try to deal with this yourselves, we will put you in jail.”

    Storm the castle.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  313. * and IF you

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  314. The WSJ has it right (free link)

    Neely’s death led to a demand for prosecution from the usual political suspects, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Progressives have organized public protests and Neely’s family called for Mr. Penny to be charged. Alvin Bragg, the progressive Manhattan D.A. who refuses to prosecute many crimes, has decided this is one case he wants to use as a public example.

    Neely was all too typical of the mentally ill who wander New York streets and subway platforms. He was homeless and well known to New York police as a drifter who complained of being mentally ill and sometimes suicidal. His family says his mental stability went downhill after his mother was murdered in 2007.

    He had been arrested many times but never seems to have received adequate treatment. “The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” his aunt told the New York Post.

    Decades ago the U.S. made a decision to end the institutionalization of all but the most dangerous mentally ill, but too many of them now wander the streets and occasionally turn violent. Several have pushed unsuspecting passengers onto the subway tracks to their deaths, in stories New Yorkers know too well.

    Was Mr. Penny wrong to intervene? The details of what happened will presumably be presented at trial, but it’s clear his intention wasn’t to kill Neely. It was to protect himself and others. As a 24-year-old veteran, he may have felt a particular responsibility to do so. We sometimes call such men good samaritans when they intervene to stop a shooter or step between a young woman and a harasser.

    Mr. Penny’s lawyers say their client “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.” They add that they are “confident that once all the facts and circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are brought to bear, Mr. Penny will be fully absolved of any wrongdoing.”

    Even if Mr. Penny is acquitted by a jury, the charges against him will surely deter other potential samaritans from intervening to subdue a seemingly dangerous person or even to stop a robbery or assault. If you do and something goes wrong in New York, you will be the one prosecuted.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  315. There is no such thing as a “tactical” nuclear weapon outside of self-delusion.

    Russia’s mobile rocket systems can launch both missiles with nuclear (aka battlefield) and nonnuclear warheads. They are not intercontinental missiles and their ranges are limited to Europe.

    Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons, some of which President Vladimir Putin has said he plans to move into neighboring Belarus, are a central pillar of Moscow’s defense philosophy, but they reflect a deep pessimism about the Russian military’s chances in a nonnuclear confrontation with the U.S. and its allies.
    …………
    “Nonstrategic nuclear weapons are a game changer for them,” said Christopher Yeaw, a specialist in nuclear deterrence at the National Strategic Research Institute at the University of Nebraska. Moscow has pursued development of these weapons “with rigor,” he said.
    ………….
    Tactical nuclear weapons are short-range weapons designed for use in the battlefield or to take out critical infrastructure, such as power stations. Unlike strategic nuclear weapons—a weapon of last resort designed for the destruction of large cities—tactical nuclear weapons have never been constrained by any formal arms-control agreement.

    “The nonstrategic weapons in the Russian arsenal are among the most obscure or opaque facts simply because they have never been regulated in a verified agreement,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.
    …………..
    Western estimates vary from fewer than 2,000 tactical weapons from Mr. Kristensen and colleagues to double or more that figure. By contrast, the U.S. has 230 B61 tactical nuclear bombs now being modernized—an estimated 100 of which are in Europe and designed to be carried by the air forces of NATO allies Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. It also has two other nuclear warheads, launchable on missiles from submarines or aircraft, that can be dialed back to deliver a reduced explosive force.
    …………….
    In contrast to the U.S., Russia has dozens of systems capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, from sea, subsea, land, air and from coastal- and air-defense forces. Many of these systems have been used to deliver conventional warheads in the war in Ukraine.

    Some analysts, including Dr. Yeaw, say that Russia has been developing tactical weapons that focus on nonexplosive effects, such as the electromagnetic pulse generated by nuclear explosions that knock out electrical systems, and weapons with reduced nuclear fallout.
    …………
    They also say Moscow has developed warheads with capabilities ranging upward from what his institute defines as “ultra low-yield” weapons from as little as 10 tons of TNT-equivalent explosive force to very low-yield weapons running into the hundreds of tons.
    ………….
    The differential in capabilities has also led some nuclear-weapons experts to identify a gap in what they call the escalatory ladder. This means the U.S. wouldn’t be able to respond in kind to Russia’s use of a small tactical nuclear weapon because it is incapable of delivering a like response without severely escalating the conflict. The logic is that the U.S. needs to develop further tactical capabilities so that it can match Russia’s.
    …………….

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  316. Is it time to rebuild the state hospital systems that many states abandoned in the 1970s? Is is kind to let bewildered and largely defenseless people forage for their livelihood in the concrete jungle?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  317. Rip: I repeat: self-delusion. It’s like calling a .22 caliber gun a nonlethal firearm.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  318. In contrast to the U.S., Russia has dozens of systems capable of delivering a nuclear warhead

    The US has long since decided there is no such thing, and intends to respond to ANY nuclear attack with the same response set. If Russia wants to pretend that we won’t do that, then Russia is going to get a surprise.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  319. Speaking of Belarus, their dictator is, apparently, not well:

    Speculation about the health of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has grown after he reportedly left Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations early.
    . . .
    Meanwhile, Lukashenko was photographed at the event with a visible bandage on his right arm and was the only head of state in attendance who did not join Putin in laying down flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, fueling speculation about his health. He then allegedly returned to Minsk early due to health reasons, rather than attend a meal with Putin and other leaders.

    And according to news reports, hasn’t appeared in public, since. According to Belarusian media, he has been taken to a hospital.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  320. In contrast to the U.S., Russia has dozens of systems capable of delivering a nuclear warhead


    The US has long since decided there is no such thing,

    A longstanding mistake by our policymakers.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  321. Reformatted for clarity:

    In contrast to the U.S., Russia has dozens of systems capable of delivering a nuclear warhead

    The US has long since decided there is no such thing,

    A longstanding mistake by our policymakers.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  322. The US has long since decided there is no such thing,

    Did anyone tell the Russians? I don’t think the US would retaliate if the Russians used a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. And the Russians could roll the dice and bet that domestic political pressures would prevent the US and Europe from doing so. I could see the MAGA wing of the Republican Party running on a No-War platform to prevent any direct military intervention in Ukraine.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  323. Nk,

    Your response to a good samaritan is disappointing.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  324. Were you a Marine?

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/13/2023 @ 6:12 pm

    No, but I have family members who were/are.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  325. Good Samaritans do not slowly choke a man to death over a period of three minutes while two others are holding his arms, asshole!
    Thugs do that! Literally Thugs of the Thuggee cult in India who worked in teams of three, two arm-holders and a strangler.
    DeSantis is now officially a piece of shi!t in my fecal roster.
    nk (7998d4) — 5/13/2023 @ 5:23 pm

    42 arrests, one for attempted kidnapping of a 7 year old girl

    at the time of his death, he had an active warrant for his arrest for assaulting a 67 year old woman

    Neely shouldn’t have been on the streets, but since the NYC authorities did nothing, an ex-Marine did

    the others holding him down weren’t charged — why?

    but he’s thug, right nk?

    Tell that to the 66-year-old eyewitness who came forward the night before Penny’s arraignment.

    According to her, Neely said, ‘I would kill a motherf***er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’

    She and her fellow passengers, she said, feared for their physical safety: ‘Mr. Neely was […] threatening the passengers. If he did not get what he wants.’

    She said she thanked Daniel Penny for intervening.

    you weren’t there nk, but you know better. The 66 year old eyewitness there on the train is just another asshole

    JF (55ca2d)

  326. “The man continued to struggle”

    He was being choked to death.

    “The problem is not Penny’s and it’s not even Neely’s”

    People are responsible for their own actions.

    Davethulhu (fe2f72)

  327. I have read about vigilantes strangling a man for being a public nuisance, but that was in 1864 in Virginia City and they had the courtesy to use a rope.

    nk (6c45b4)

  328. “Your response to a good samaritan is disappointing.”

    What does the parable of the good Samaritan teach us, NJRob?

    Davethulhu (fe2f72)

  329. I have read about vigilantes strangling a man for being a public nuisance, but that was in 1864 in Virginia City and they had the courtesy to use a rope.
    nk (6c45b4) — 5/13/2023 @ 8:12 pm

    you say Virginia City, I say Uvalde

    JF (55ca2d)

  330. Calling this guy a “Good Samaritan” is blasphemy.

    nk (6c45b4)

  331. there you go upsetting the Pharisees again, NJRob

    JF (55ca2d)

  332. “The man continued to struggle”

    He was being choked to death.

    Joseph Wambaugh’s LAPD called the chokehold “doing the chicken” because of the way that the victim would thrash and flail.

    nk (08690f)

  333. Oh, yeah, one more thing:

    you say Virginia City, I say Uvalde

    You have nothing to say that I want to hear.

    nk (08690f)

  334. I see both sides with Neely. On one hand, NYC is negligent in allowing homeless and mentally troubled individuals to make their home in the subway. It is also pretty bad that subway police were no where to be found. You put passengers in unsettling circumstances, stuff like this can happen. The city has some moral responsibility in this tale.

    On the other hand, Penny really did not have a great plan. Leaving a choke hold on too long can kill someone…this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s monday morning quarterbacking, but he should have released the hold and reassessed the situation. He seemed to have plenty of help so there was not an immediate threat. Now, you never know how Neely would react to the whole situation, but this is the problem with no police or subway operator responding. It’s tough to know exactly how much force to apply. I would seek some proportionality, Maybe being in teh hold for a few minutes would cause him to backdown and be less aggressive.

    I would have a hard time convicting him. The lawyers will put the jury in his no-win situation. They might look for a lesser charge but the testimony of the witnesses will be important, especially the one that wanted the hold released.

    AJ_Liberty (192406)

  335. A longstanding mistake by our policymakers.

    Or perhaps a short-lived mistake by Russia.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  336. I fully expect this Neely story to be featured in a Law and Order episode come this fall.

    norcal (15fce4)

  337. Did anyone tell the Russians?

    YOU know it. I bet the Russians do too. Their warplanners act as if they don’t believe us, but let them hit Kiev with a nuke and see what happens. I’d bet a megaton on Minsk.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  338. I fully expect this Neely story to be featured in a Law and Order episode come this fall.

    Writer’s strike.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  339. Good Samaritans do not slowly choke a man to death over a period of three minutes while two others are holding his arms, asshole!

    He didn’t “choke” him. He slowed the blood flow to the brain, which is supposed to cause unconsciousness. The others were right there with them, and the guy recording it admits he feared for his life. This wasn’t unprovoked. It was “in defense of others” and it’s one of the things that happens when you threaten a bunch of people with harm.

    Question: What are New Yorkers supposed to do with all the crazies the city lets loose on the street? Lay back and think of England?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  340. Now, you never know how Neely would react to the whole situation

    Such as pull a knife and stab someone? It’s really fine for people, at their computer and not in any danger, to make judgements here.

    I favor a new law for New York: All government employees must ride the subway to work. Including the DA and Mayor.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  341. They might look for a lesser charge but the testimony of the witnesses will be important, especially the one that wanted the hold released.

    Perhaps, but manslaughter 2 is already reduced. And again, people defending themselves need only act “reasonably” not perfectly.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  342. I fully expect this Neely story to be featured in a Law and Order episode come this fall.

    Writer’s strike.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/13/2023 @ 10:06 pm

    Good point. And yet, I suspect writers are continuing to write, and will have a lot of material ready to go when the strike is over.

    norcal (15fce4)

  343. @317 the mentally ill were supposed to go to federally funded half way houses. Do gooders always say that because they wanted the warehousing of the serious mentally ill stopped. Guess what reagan did with the money instead.

    asset (f50aa7)

  344. He slowed the blood flow to the brain, which is supposed to cause unconsciousness.

    Is that science? Because doctors I have talked to tell me that the best case scenario is blood clots in the carotids which travel to the brain resulting in strokes. And LAPD Chief Daryl Gates said “blacks might be more likely to die from chokeholds because their arteries do not open as fast as they do in ‘normal people'”. And then we had Eric Garner, also in New York, whose “compression of neck” was “homicide by suffocation” not by cessation of blood flow.

    And all that aside, can we stop calling this guy a Good Samaritan?

    nk (2bb38d)

  345. No we cannot nk. He saved others. He stepped up.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  346. https://twitter.com/mnhousegop/status/1657231049582059520?

    The Democrat party in Minnesota is once again trying to make pedophiles a protected class.

    When the public realized what the left was doing they revolted causing the House to strip the language from the bill. The Democrats in the Senate just put the language back in.

    Why?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  347. I don’t believe that Neely was physically accosting the passengers, but it’s clear he was loud, abusive, and frightening people. Did he deserve to die? No, it does not look like any passenger was in direct fear for their life. He had no obvious weapon, though he was throwing trash at people and trying to provoke or scare them. Again, he should have been arrested, where cops are at least trained (maybe not always well) on how much force is appropriate and to consider the safety of the suspect.

    Could Penny have shot Neely “in defense of others”? That would be a stretch. Was it reasonable to apply the choke hold? It was, based on trying to de-escalate the situation. Should Penny have given Neely a chance to simmer down? I think so. There is some recklessness here. The situation did end poorly. If Penny had hit Neely in the head with a brick (work with me here), would we be ok with a concussion? How about if it causes a traumatic brain injury and death? At some point we would say “too much” and not proportionate to the actual threat.

    A choke hold and losing your ability to breath is more frightening than having some trash thrown at you. Presuming Neely was about to do worse is rationalization. He didn’t produce a knife and he didn’t physically strike a passenger (in my understanding). We shouldn’t act as if he did. It’s hard to convict based on the totality of the situation, but let’s not pretend that this is an easy case of self defense.

    Again, it is safe here, but my gut says there is a moral obligation to retreat if possible. De-escalate the situation. Legally?

    AJ_Liberty (192406)

  348. Yes, the Loser really said it. The man with six personal bankruptcies says the Republicans should “do a default”.
    (Putin and Xi would love that.)

    Is the Loser stupid, does he hate America, or both?

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  349. “There are those who demonize and pit people against one another. And there are those who will do anything and everything, no matter how desperate or immoral…”
    “… to hold onto power. That’s never going to be an easy battle. But I know this — the oldest, most sinister forces may believe they’ll determine America’s future. But they are wrong. We will determine America’s future. You will determine America’s future.”

    —- POTATUS Joe Biden, at Howard University

    A sinister force like the oldest political party in America?

    The political party that was the party of slavery?

    The political party of the KKK, the party of Jim Crow?

    The political party that segregated the federal workforce as soon as it gained power after the Civil War?

    The political party of redlining?

    The political party of “Bull” Conner, Democrat National Committee member and police chief during the Birmingham black civil right protests?


    THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

    Colonel Haiku (560622)

  350. Birddog is someone who uses multiple names to hide under while posting the same thing in different locations.

    That’s also a lie. I never hid anything.

    I was Bird Dog at the now-defunct Tacitus and Forvm, which I’d been at since 2003. I never “hid” that I’ve used a different pseudonym.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  351. If norcal decided to move to Temecula with his love interest and rename himself socal, I wouldn’t have kittens about. Rob’s been having a litter on the issue for years.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  352. I doubt Putin would use tactical nukes if he keeps losing the territory he’s conquered because there’s no tactical advantage in doing so.
    Which leaves strategic nukes, like bombing a major city and becoming an even more major war criminal. I don’t see a strategic advantage in doing that either. I doubt even his ChiCom senior partner would approve, and he’d make himself even more a pariah.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  353. Last week, Tribe made the case that Biden could adios the debt ceiling, but I think McConnell’s argument is stronger. No, not that McConnell.

    BTW, I think it’s foolish that, ever since the Tea Party and sequester business, my party has been playing chicken with the full faith and credit of the US government. This isn’t conservative.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  354. Oops. McConnell.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  355. https://www.breitbart.com/education/2023/05/12/furious-parents-cross-picket-lines-in-oakland-as-teachers-continue-strike-for-reparations/

    Only about 20% of black students in Oakland met or exceeded state standards in English in 2022, and only about 11% of Oakland’s black students met or exceeded California standards in mathematics in that year.

    Fire every single one of these communist pieces of garbage.

    NJRob (9f81ca)

  356. He was being choked to death.

    He was not being choked. His airway was unconstrained. Not that facts are your concern.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  357. the mentally ill were supposed to go to federally funded half way houses. Do gooders always say that because they wanted the warehousing of the serious mentally ill stopped. Guess what reagan did with the money instead.

    Money was provided to California cities and counties for outpatient mental health services. Most of those cities and counties used it for other purposes. What do you think that GOVERNOR Reagan did with the money? The state was pretty flush at the time.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  358. I doubt Putin would use tactical nukes if he keeps losing the territory he’s conquered because there’s no tactical advantage in doing so.

    I can see him doing so as a big FU to Ukraine and the West, making Ukraine uninhabitable.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  359. And all that aside, can we stop calling this guy a Good Samaritan?

    Why? Have you read what the other passengers thought of him? I expect their testimony will be telling, assuming that they are not threatened with doxxing as “racist vigilantes” by those who want another outcome.

    How about we stop calling him a “vigilante”? It’s not like he sought out the situation like Goetz did. Also, stop calling him “racist” as one of the guys helping him was Black.

    Also, stop calling Neely a “victim” — he was a man who assaulted people for a living. The fact that he was still loose, drug-addled and crazy is also not Penny’s fault. It’s the city’s fault.

    A case of gross negligence coupled with disregard for the lives of citizens would be a slam dunk to prove against the powers that be. As long as we are talking about Man-2.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  360. I can see him doing so as a big FU to Ukraine and the West, making Ukraine uninhabitable.

    If he does that, the 50 miles closest to him will be turned into glass.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  361. It’s funny how people make it so that Putin doesn’t even have to use nukes for them to surrender.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  362. BTW, I think it’s foolish that, ever since the Tea Party and sequester business, my party has been playing chicken with the full faith and credit of the US government

    Yes. I agree. The Democrats should stop that.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  363. He was not being choked. His airway was unconstrained. Not that facts are your concern.

    It was ruled a homicide.

    Medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer has confirmed that Neely died from compression to his neck as a result of the chokehold.

    That sounds to me like Penny choked out Neely. Mr. Penny’s best shot is a well chosen sympathetic jury, IMO.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  364. Yes. I agree. The Democrats should stop that.

    Misleading and false.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  365. @340

    Question: What are New Yorkers supposed to do with all the crazies the city lets loose on the street? Lay back and think of England?

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/13/2023 @ 10:10 pm

    This is what the Marxist Soros DA wants.

    This is what Communist does to the public.

    Release the crazies, criminals and malcontents on the streets to create chaos, so much so, that the public would seek answers to solve their problems. Communism only thrives when the public demands it to solve the chaos.

    A happy, safe society rejects Communism.

    whembly (7ebf6a)

  366. For crying out loud, Kevin, they call it a chokehold.

    nk (44cc80)

  367. This is what the Marxist Soros DA wants.

    What does the Fascist KKK DeSanteria want?

    DeSanteria. That could be a religion that calls a strangler a Good Samaritan.

    nk (44cc80)

  368. If he does that, the 50 miles closest to him will be turned into glass.

    By whom? Ukraine doesn’t have any security guarantees from the West.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  369. I doubt there would be a “rally around the flag” effect if the US used nuclear weapons against Russia for an attack against Ukraine m.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  370. It was ruled a homicide.

    “Death at the hands of another” rather than “Death by misadventure.”

    If an armored car guard kills a would-be armed robber, it is “homicide.”

    Some homicides are criminal, some are not. Again, facts are not your forte.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  371. Going by Wikipedia, there’ve been four debt ceiling “crises”, starting with Gingrich in ’95 (which I didn’t recall, I thought it was just a budget showdown with Clinton), Boehner in 2011 and 2013, and now McCarthy, all triggered by Republican House majorities while Democrats were in the White House.

    When Bush and Trump were president, debt ceilings were raised no fanfare, no matter which party controlled the House. I’ll say it again, this isn’t conservative (or smart), messing with our country’s credit rating like this.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  372. Release the crazies, criminals and malcontents on the streets to create chaos, so much so, that the public would seek answers to solve their problems. Communism only thrives when the public demands it to solve the chaos.

    This is exactly how Terrorism works. Is the city of New York engaged in Terrorism against its inhabitants?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  373. For crying out loud, Kevin, they call it a chokehold.

    And they call genital mutilation “gender-affirming care.” That they call something that is not constricting an airway a “chokehold” does not mean they are being “choked.”

    C’mon. You’re a lawyer. What is all this literalism stuff?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  374. @369

    What does the Fascist KKK DeSanteria want?

    DeSanteria. That could be a religion that calls a strangler a Good Samaritan.

    nk (44cc80) — 5/14/2023 @ 9:04 am

    Ok nk.

    I’m going to ignore you now, as you’re making zero sense.

    whembly (7ebf6a)

  375. @374

    Release the crazies, criminals and malcontents on the streets to create chaos, so much so, that the public would seek answers to solve their problems. Communism only thrives when the public demands it to solve the chaos.

    This is exactly how Terrorism works. Is the city of New York engaged in Terrorism against its inhabitants?

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 9:38 am

    Yes.

    whembly (7ebf6a)

  376. When Bush and Trump were president, debt ceilings were raised no fanfare, no matter which party controlled the House.

    In the one case, the GOP Congress was not going to go to war with the GOP President.

    In all cases where the Democrats controlled Congress, there was no interest in reining in spending. If necessary, they’d raise taxes.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  377. I’m going to ignore you now, as you’re making zero sense.

    It’s almost as if someone else is using his handle.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  378. Some homicides are criminal, some are not. Again, facts are not your forte.

    Said the guy denying that Penny choked out Neely, which directly contradicts the ME’s conclusions.

    Kevin, I didn’t say that the Neely homicide was criminal or not criminal. I did intimate that Penny will be on trial, which is for the charge of 2nd degree manslaughter. That’s just a fact.
    My comment was about the jury, specifically that “guilty” or “not guilty” depends on the composition of said jury. I do hope the jury is sympathetic, because an unhinged guy who’s been arrested or convicted 42 times put himself and others at risk.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  379. https://amgreatness.com/2023/05/13/deliver-us-from-reality/

    Because he can. As a friend remarked when digesting the spectacle of Penny being led away in handcuffs, totalitarian movements often start slowly, almost timidly, but as they gain power, they become more brazen. After a certain point, they do outrageous things just to intimidate the public and demonstrate their power.

    whembly (7ebf6a)

  380. I note that the tracking code for “nk” is changing all over the place. I guess this could be due to mobile access, but that and the leftist drift has me suspicious. It looks more like a VPN troll.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  381. @380

    Said the guy denying that Penny choked out Neely, which directly contradicts the ME’s conclusions.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/14/2023 @ 9:46 am

    To be fair, it’s a carotid choke hold designed to incapacitate that is designed to compress one or both carotid arteries and/or the jugular veins without compressing the airway, hence causing cerebral ischemia and a temporary hypoxic condition in the brain.

    It’s obvious that there were no attempt to kill Neely but the mere fact of this type of choke hold AND Perry immediately moved Neely to the ‘Recovery position’ once Neely was out.

    Not sure how that helps or harms Perry’s “manslaughter 2” charges in the ‘reckless regard of life’ stipulation in the law. I would guess that would help Perry’s defense, but not an expert here.

    Many of the witnesses are actually in support of Perry’s actions, and I’m sure he’ll have his day in court.

    whembly (7ebf6a)

  382. Bernhard Goetz, who shot 4 gang members on a subway in 1984, was acquitted of all charges against him, save for one charge of possessing an unlicensed firearm. That one charge was due to a law now found unconstitutional.

    Whatever you think of Penny, he did not attempt, or intend, to kill Neely. He just held him until he stopped fighting. Only Neely refused to stop struggling, as sometimes happens with the crazy or drug-addled. This is why LAPD stopped using the same technique — it assumed rational behavior on the subject’s part, and coupled with a medical condition could cause death.

    But that is what is called “a bad outcome”, not a criminal act.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  383. @350. “There are those who demonize and pit people against one another. And there are those who will do anything and everything, no matter how desperate or immoral…” “… to hold onto power. That’s never going to be an easy battle. But I know this — the oldest, most sinister forces may believe they’ll determine America’s future. But they are wrong. We will determine America’s future. You will determine America’s future.”

    —- POTATUS Joe Biden, at Howard University

    Thank you, 1972 Joe.

    “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” UNCF

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  384. Paging Paul Kersey… It’s EZ for folks who don’t live and work in NYC, the ‘folks’ who don’t need to ride the urine-stenched, filthy floored, gum and poop stained seated rockin’-rollin-NYC subway every day to opine and crack wise about the stresses and strains of riding those monsters, fearfully enduring the threatening harassments from unstable passengers; aggressively demanding beggars, smelly, insanely unsanitary homeless and the drugged out seeking shelter and warmth riding the rails day and night. Sure, honest citizens don’t jump the turnstile and pay for the ride; a terror-filled piss ride not unlike a ride in the dark on DisneyWorld’s Space Mountain. It gives the system ‘character’– but puts raises your blood pressure and puts life and property at risk. Yes, so easy to judge from afar. There’s no conductor or transit cop on every car; no stewardesses w/coffee or a blanket… no First class… and you just can’t open the doors of a moving train and kick the scum off– not that you’d not want to, but the doors can’t be opened. Hell, one time, clinging to a poll, an uptown F train bucked and smacked my wrist against a poll and shattered the crystal on my wrist watch. The ‘rule of law’ is dead. Bragg is utterly incompetent and failing New York City; a fearful Bernie Goetz mustered the courage- for self-preservation- to take action; so did Perry.

    Noo Yawk needs more like’em. Tell ’em, Mister Kersey…

    “Nothing to do but cut and run, huh? What else? What about the old American social custom of self-defense? If the police don’t defend us, maybe we ought to do it ourselves. I mean, if we’re not pioneers, what have we become? What do you call people who, when they’re faced with a condition or fear, do nothing about it, they just run and hide?” – Paul Kersey [Charles Bronson] ‘Death Wish’ 1974

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  385. Tim Scott will be making his announcement a week from Monday (5/22)

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  386. ^Penny.

    DCSCA (6f523d)

  387. Tim Scott will be making his announcement a week from Monday (5/22)

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 11:33 am

    Wooooo-Hooooo!

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  388. Republican at Trump Town Hall Says Many in Audience Were ‘Disgusted’ or ‘Bewildered’ By Ex-President
    ……….
    “The floor manager came out ahead of time and said, Please do not boo, please be respectful. You were allowed to applaud,” claimed Republican political consultant Matthew Bartlett in an interview with Puck News senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri on Thursday.
    ……….
    Bartlett claimed that, while many in the audience applauded and cheered the former president, “there were also people that sat there quietly disgusted or bewildered.” He estimated that while around half of the audience expressed vocal support for Trump, the other half sat in silence. Bartlett also alleged that Trump repeatedly “lost the audience” when he spoke about topics like January 6 or the results of the 2020 election, despite the appearance on CNN that the audience was consistently on his side.

    “In a TV setting, you hear the applause, but you don’t see the disgust,” Bartlett told Palmeri.………

    Bartlett also criticized CNN host Kaitlan Collins for repeatedly sparring with Trump………
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  389. Send Out an Amber Alert:

    …………
    (Maria) Bartiromo spoke with the House Oversight Committee chairman on Sunday Morning Futures after fuming at the media for not giving more reverence to Comer’s recent briefing on the Biden family’s bank records. During that briefing on Wednesday, Comer made nefarious insinuations about the Bidens’ foreign business dealings, but failed to produce evidence directly implicating the president or his family in an illegal scheme of international influence peddling.

    While Bartiromo’s Fox News colleagues have repeatedly pressed Comer to produce facts to back up his allegations about the Biden family taking part in criminal activities, she asked the House Oversight committee chair for a status report on the whistleblowers and informants in the Biden investigation. Comer told her “Well, unfortunately, we can’t track down the informant. We’re hopeful that the informant is still there. The whistleblower knows the informant. The whistleblower is very credible.”
    ………..
    “Hold on a second, Congressman. Did you just say that the whistleblower or the informant is now missing?”

    “Well, we’re hopeful that we can find the informant,” said Comer. “Remember, these informants are kind of in the spy business, so they don’t make a habit of being seen a lot or being high profile or anything like that.”

    Comer went on to say that “nine of the ten people that we’ve identified that have very good knowledge with respect to the Bidens, they’re one of three things. They’re either currently in court, they’re currently in jail, or they’re currently missing.” ……….
    ………….

    How convenient.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  390. Yawn.

    Colonel Haiku (6a181b)

  391. Profile in Courage:

    ………..

    MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you, as a conservative woman, do you think it undermines your party if the Republican front-runner is someone who was just found liable, legally liable for sexually abusing a woman?

    HALEY:…….. I also think anyone that’s been accused should be able to defend themselves. I was not on the jury. I am not the judge. I think that both of them had their voices heard. There’s been a verdict and there’s been an appeal–
    …………
    HALEY: That’s for Trump to defend and that’s Trump to decide that.

    MARGARET BRENNAN: He- he gave a deposition, but he didn’t go in to defend himself and it was a jury that came to this conclusion. Are you drawing into question the legal findings?

    HALEY: No, I said there’s a verdict. And I think there’s been an appeal. And I think it stands where it stands. ……..
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  392. To choke is to constrict…it can be air flow or blood flow. If you choke off the flow of blood returning to the heart back from the head, the “chokee” turns white and passes out. The older the chokee, the more dangerous the maneuver becomes. It can also be aggravated by plaque buildup or other health conditions. Eric Garner’s chokehold death was certainly aggravated by other health problems. I suspect that the prosecutor wants to send out a message that it’s not ok to choke out people who are annoying and acting belligerent. Sometimes the best response might be for the people to leave the train car. Again, I think he will be acquitted but the message is “think twice about doing this unless you absolutely have to do it”.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  393. Profile in Courage II:

    ……….
    MARGARET BRENNAN: ………..(Abortion) js legal in your state of South Carolina up to 20 weeks post conception, which is a law that you signed back in 2016 when you were the governor. There are exceptions if a mother’s life is in danger or the fetus cannot survive. Do you want that to be the national standard?

    HALEY: Well, I don’t want unelected justices to be deciding something this personal. I have long said I am pro-life not because the Republican Party tells me to be, but because my husband was adopted. ………. I think that we need to make sure that people’s voices are heard. And I think we need to do this from a humanizing standpoint and not a demonizing standpoint, which is done in the past.

    MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, so the law you pass in South Carolina, you would not necessarily want as the national standard.

    HALEY: For a national standard, I think we have to tell the American people the truth. In order to do a national standard, you’d have to have a majority of the House, 60 Senate votes, and a president. ……… So let’s be honest with the American people and say, let’s find national consensus. Let’s agree on, you know, getting rid of late-term abortions. Let’s agree on the fact that we need more adoptions. Let’s agree on the fact that we need accessible contraception. Let’s agree on the fact that mothers shouldn’t be jailed or go to, you know, get the death penalty for abortions.……..
    ……………
    MARGARET BRENNAN: The majority of abortions are performed under 13 weeks. Two of your fellow South Carolinians, including one that’s going to run for president, Tim Scott, we think, has said that he would sign into law abortion protections up to the 20th week. So he is picking a week. Some of your fellow Republicans are why do you feel like that’s misdirection?

    HALEY: I’m not gonna lie to the American people. Nothing’s gonna happen if we don’t get 60 votes in the Senate. We’re not even close to that on the Republican or the Democrat side. Why try and divide people further? Why not talk about the fact that we should be trying to save as many babies as possible and support as many mothers as possible? I think the media has tried to divide them by saying we have to decide certain weeks. In states, yes. At the federal level, it’s not realistic. It’s not being honest with the American people.
    …………

    I have long said I am pro-life not because the Republican Party tells me to be, but because my husband was adopted.

    Not because it’s morally wrong?

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  394. Sometimes Democrats will pretend to support some Republican to gain a little street cred, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t always seem to promote some damn lefty narrative.

    I don’t give a rip.

    Colonel Haiku (6a181b)

  395. Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/14/2023 @ 12:20 pm

    “In a TV setting, you hear the applause, but you don’t see the disgust,” Bartlett told Palmeri.………

    So, CNN, as advertised, did select a mixed audience (NH Republicans and independents) but it made it look like it was overwhelmingly pro-Trump.

    For some sort of commercial reasons? Or just because they regularly oppose booing?

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  396. Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/14/2023 @ 1:06 pm

    Not because it’s morally wrong?

    She;s echoing the argument made on the other side — they support abortions because they might want one or want someone in their family or known to them to have one.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  397. n. Are you drawing into question the legal findings?

    Why not? It was, at most a 60-40 question and the jury settled on Trump doing what he said he did sometimes on the Access Hollywood tape – but no more.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  398. E. Jean Carroll could not quite get that part of her story straight enough for the jury. She admitted that herself in an interview after the trial.

    nk (25f196)

  399. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! And to all the children who can celebrate it, with their mothers, today.

    Jim Miller (0e46f9)

  400. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/nyregion/jordan-neely-daniel-penny-nyc-subway.html

    Daniel Penny was more crazy, in his own way, than Jordan Neely.

    He attacked an incoherent bully whose brain had been damaged by K2, and expected him somehow to stay alive without being able to breathe. Either he was himself crazy or he had a depraved indifference to human life.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  401. Daniel Penny may possibly have been influenced by some nonsense he read on the Internet, (the idea that he could cut off the blood flow and air and not risk killing him may not have arisen in his own mind)

    Derek Chauvin may have encountered the same nonsense.

    and this was also the first time he saw or imagined this kind f=ofA incompetent bullying.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  402. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 10:06 am

    He just held him until he stopped fighting. Only Neely refused to stop struggling,

    Struggling to breathe, or to get blood in his brain.

    as sometimes happens with the crazy or drug-addled. This is why LAPD stopped using the same technique..it assumed rational behavior on the subject’s part, and coupled with a medical condition could cause death

    No, Neely struggling was rational; Penny not letting go for a second was not.

    AA person is not legally allowed to be that stupid..

    But some people want to consider only who is on Team Crime and who is on Team Anti-crime. But murder is murder.

    .

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  403. I think also maybe Penny was frightened of Neely.

    He’d never seen a deranged person before.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  404. Daniel Penny may possibly have been influenced by some nonsense he read on the Internet,

    Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around.

    He just held him until he stopped fighting. Only Neely refused to stop struggling,

    When they hanged people slowly. it was called “dancing at the of a rope”. Because that’s what they did as they slowly choked to death.

    nk (25f196)

  405. Daniel Penny was more crazy, in his own way, than Jordan Neely.

    He attacked an incoherent bully whose brain had been damaged by K2, and expected him somehow to stay alive without being able to breathe. Either he was himself crazy or he had a depraved indifference to human life.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff) — 5/14/2023 @ 3:43 pm

    Sammy,

    this is just wrong. On every level. Mr. Perry is a hero that saved people from a lunatic that has a history of violence. You and nk have seriously lost the plot.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  406. How convenient.

    For whom?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  407. Penny will be acquitted, with an apology from the judge (who wants to be re-elected).

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  408. Sammy, do you ride the subway?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  409. Or is this just your magic mind plucking thoughts from someone you’ve never met?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  410. Prediction: Someone will be stabbed to death on the subway by a crazy man, or pushed onto the tracks, while everyone else stands and watches. When asked, the bystanders will say “I didn’t want to get arrested.”

    Kitty Genovese could not be reached for comment.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  411. Penny will be acquitted, with an apology from the judge (who wants to be re-elected).

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 4:54 pm

    You seem to be doing the same thing here as you describe in post 411.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  412. How convenient.

    For whom?

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 4:52 pm

    For Comer and the other House Republicans. Comer and his colleagues are long on allegations but short on evidence. By saying that witnesses have “disappeared” Comer et. al. can claim to have had evidence against the Bidens but without witnesses to testify, they can continue to make unsubstantiated accusations without proof.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  413. What Penny did was prima facie criminal homicide. His guilt or innocence will turn on whether he acted justifiably in self-defense or defense of others. Here in relevant part is the governing NY Penal Code statute PEN § 35.15:

    1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subdivision two, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself, herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person, unless:

    [non-relevant exceptions]

    2. A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless:

    (a) The actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or about to use deadly physical force.

    […]

    I have no idea what Penny was thinking. Per my general rule of giving the benefit of the doubt, I’ll assume he had good intentions. But even a Good Samaritan can commit crimes if he behaves excessively in his assistance of others. So whatever Penny’s purpose, his criminal culpability will turn on the reasonableness of his fatal choke hold on Neely.

    Let’s stipulate that Penny reasonably believed that unless he intervened, Neely would hurt Penny or others. Was the force level of Penny’s response reasonably necessary to prevent the expected attack? And looking at Paragraph 2’s provision for the justifiable use of deadly force, which a choke hold obviously is, did Penny reasonably believe Neely was about to use deadly force?

    A jury will decide those questions, presumably on more evidence than we have. On what’s known so far, I see no reasonable basis to believe Neely was about to use deadly force. And I certainly can’t see how keeping him in a choke hold for nearly a minute after he stopped struggling was necessary to avoid anyone being seriously injured. Assuming Penny’s good intentions I’d tentatively call this a negligent homicide. The jury may see it differently, but I’ll bet my paycheck the judge won’t be issuing any apologies.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  414. You seem to be doing the same thing here as you describe in post 411.

    No, Sammy is mind-reading the motivation of someone, with utterly no bais for his opinion other than the normal Sammy telepathy.

    Given the facts we have today, this guy will be acquitted, assuming that the jury is not stacked with BLM folks. And to assert that the judge wants to be re-elected is not exactly a shock to anyone.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  415. @415. What Penny did was prima facie criminal homicide.

    You ever been trapped riding on a NYC subway train and been harassed by the smelly, begging, threatening a$$holes the cops allow to inhabit the system? Compare it to the London tube system… or the Paris Metro… even the Moscow subway. Night and day. What Penny did was heroic; NYC needs more like him. Mayor Adams is another David Dinkins. Bragg is just as useless as well.

    DCSCA (71dddf)

  416. Mr. Perry is a hero that saved people from a lunatic that has a history of violence. You and nk have seriously lost the plot.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/14/2023 @ 4:39 pm

    Rob, your comments tend to take the form of black and white. Do you ever see any gray?

    norcal (15fce4)

  417. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 4:52 pm

    It’s the “dog ate my homework” defense.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  418. Based on the information we have, a Solomonesque consequence of Neely’s death would not be an acquittal but rather a conviction for something short of murder.

    It depends how aggressive the DA is. The more aggressive, the more likely Penny is acquitted.

    But, I am neither a lawyer nor a judge, and I have never served on a jury.

    norcal (15fce4)

  419. Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 6:48 pm

    You’re mind reading a grand jury indictment, a trial jury (which has not even been selected yet), and a judge’s rulings.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  420. Based on the information we have, a Solomonesque consequence of Neely’s death would not be an acquittal but rather a conviction for something short of murder.

    He already charged with an offense well short of murder-2nd degree manslaughter.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  421. He already charged with an offense well short of murder-2nd degree manslaughter.

    Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/14/2023 @ 8:16 pm

    I would expect a conviction and a light sentence.

    norcal (15fce4)

  422. NY Penal Law § 125.15: Manslaughter in the second degree

    ……….. Manslaughter cases involve recklessness, negligence, or heat of passion. Under New York Penal Law § 125.15 you could be prosecuted for manslaughter in the second degree if:

    1. You recklessly cause the death of another person,

    2. You perform an abortion on a woman and the woman dies, or

    3. You intentionally help someone commit suicide.

    According to New York Penal Law § 15.05(3), acting “recklessly” as used in the manslaughter in the second degree statute is defined as being aware that your actions present a substantial risk that someone could be killed and disregarding that risk. ………
    ………..
    If you are charged with manslaughter in the second degree based on reckless behavior, then a defense to the charge would be that your actions were not reckless as defined by the statute. For example, if you can show that the death occurred as a result of an accident where no recklessness was involved, then you may have a valid defense to a manslaughter in the second charge.

    Because manslaughter in the second degree is a class C felony, if you are convicted you could be sentenced to up to 15 years in state prison and be ordered to pay a substantial fine.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  423. “Recklessly” in the NY Penal Code is defined as:

    ……….
    3. “Recklessly.” A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  424. I would expect a conviction and a light sentence.

    No parade?

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  425. Jordan Neely Was on New York’s ‘Top 50’ List of Homeless People at Risk

    As for Mr. Neely, he had been a fixture for years in the subway system — first in his teens and 20s as a gifted Michael Jackson impersonator who captivated commuters with his fluent moonwalking, and later, as he tumbled into mental illness and drug abuse, as a disheveled and sporadically violent man who racked up repeated arrests and trips to hospitals. Mr. Neely was on the list in 2019, when it was launched, and remained on it until his death, according to the Bowery Residents’ Committee employee.

    In February, Mr. Neely, who had been in jail on an assault charge for punching a 67-year-old woman and breaking several bones in her face, was released to a residential treatment program, under a plea deal that required him to avoid trouble for 15 months, stay on antipsychotic medication and not abuse drugs.

    Two weeks later, he walked out of the facility and did not return, and the arrest warrant was issued.

    But on April 8, when outreach workers found him at an end-of-the-line station in Coney Island, Mr. Neely, wearing dirty clothes riddled with burn holes, exposed himself and urinated inside a subway car, according to the notes shared with The Times.

    Outreach workers, whose job requires them to win the trust of people who seek to avoid contact with the authorities, typically do not check for warrants, but they summoned the police, who ejected him from the station.

    The police were also apparently unaware of the warrant. A program launched in 2019 in which the police did warrant checks on people caught violating transit-system rules was abandoned during the pandemic, after criticism that it was criminalizing homelessness.

    JF (2570b5)

  426. No parade?

    Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/14/2023 @ 8:33 pm

    I think my position is a nuanced one.

    norcal (15fce4)

  427. Given the facts we have today, this guy will be acquitted

    Instead of bald assertions, how about grappling with the law I posted? That’s what the jury will do.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  428. DCSCA (71dddf) — 5/14/2023 @ 7:49 pm

    Whether the NYC subways smell worse than Moscow’s or Adams is the worst mayor since Dinkins is legally irrelevant. All that matters is whether Penny complied with § 35.15. And yes, I’ve taken more NYC subways than you’ve watched inane ’60s sitcoms. I and everyone I knew somehow managed not to kill anyone, to be brutally murdered, or even be robbed or assaulted. And that was in the bad old days when the rate of every category of crime was exponentially higher than it is now. So get a grip and stop watching Fox News (or MSNBC for that matter, though obviously for different reasons). The real world isn’t nearly the hellscape the outrage merchants on either side want you to believe it is.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  429. Penny of course has no choice but to focus on the legal aspects of his case, but the rest of us have options

    a system which had treated Neely with kid gloves, and which was plagued by either extreme incompetence or outright indifference to the concerns of law abiding citizens, should at least merit some focus

    focusing on what the NY penal code says is really nice but, other than Penny and his lawyers, who the fvck should give a damn

    an acquittal or conviction of Penny isn’t going to solve this endemic problem, and isn’t going to prevent it (or a Jose Alba case) from happening again and again, and isn’t going to make law abiding citizens feel safe when they just want to get where they’re going

    JF (2570b5)

  430. Whether the NYC subways smell worse than Moscow’s or Adams is the worst mayor since Dinkins is legally irrelevant. All that matters is whether Penny complied with § 35.15.

    case in point

    JF (2570b5)

  431. focusing on what the NY penal code says is really nice but, other than Penny and his lawyers, who the fvck should give a damn

    Excuse me for considering this legal event on its legal merits, instead of what you want to talk about. Weren’t you just lecturing me on how open threads work? You want to go on about whatever’s biting your @ss, don’t let anyone stop you.

    case in point.

    Yeah, funny how when discussing a criminal case I focus on the legally relevant law and facts, not the meta social issues you think I should be talking about.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  432. @350 in 1964 members of the freedom mississippi delegation were seated at the convention. At the same time the republican party traded abraham lincoln for strom thurmond. Since then the republican party has gone to the dark side and the democrat party has been dragged kicking and screaming toward AOC’s welcoming hand!

    asset (cc4ddc)

  433. you can focus on legal minutiae all you like. Knock yourself out

    but this is not “All that matters” — that’s just ridiculous

    JF (2570b5)

  434. @435. I assume you realize that your AOC/Bernie faction is considered just as war mongering corporate sellout by the Greenwald/Jill Stein faction as the Clinton/Biden faction is by you?

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  435. @426. I said it’s all that matters legally. Which it is.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  436. @436, not @426.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  437. You’re mind reading a grand jury indictment, a trial jury (which has not even been selected yet), and a judge’s rulings.

    No, I’m simply reacting to the facts at hand, and my understanding of the gross malfeasance of NYC government.

    But whatever, Rip. “This isn’t argument, this is contradiction.”

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  438. It’s the “dog ate my homework” defense.

    wtf are you talking about? Has the DCSCA plague infected everyone?

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  439. If you are charged with manslaughter in the second degree based on reckless behavior, then a defense to the charge would be that your actions were not reckless as defined by the statute.

    This.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  440. you also repeated the standard Dem talking points about right wing media and implied the degradation of the subways in NYC was fiction

    not much of a legal argument

    JF (2570b5)

  441. Popular sentiment and the state of the city also figure in. Just ask Marcia Clark, or whoever prosecuted Bernhard Goetz.

    Kevin M (f94f4f)

  442. you also repeated the standard Dem talking points about right wing media

    Funny how you noticed that but not the mirror image standard GOP talking point I made about left wing media.

    and implied the degradation of the subways in NYC was fiction

    Over the short term (the last few years), subway crime has been up and down.The evisceration of ridership by the pandemic makes coherent year to year comparisons hard, though there have certainly been troubling spikes. Over the long term, the degradation of NYC subways is fiction. Compared to the 1990s, today’s subways are extraordinarily safe. Sorry if that doesn’t conform to your priors.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  443. not much of a legal argument

    You’re mixing apples and oranges. My comment to Kevin, which is the one you criticized, was strictly legal analysis. Now you’re switching to my comment to DC, to whom I didn’t pretend to be making a legal argument.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  444. If you are charged with manslaughter in the second degree based on reckless behavior, then a defense to the charge would be that your actions were not reckless as defined by the statute.

    This.

    I don’t know if a jury will find him reckless. Maybe, but it could be an over-charge, which is why I went with the lower rung, criminally negligent homicide. Penal Law – PEN § 125.10. In either case his culpability will turn on the self-defense/defense of others statute I linked above.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  445. @442, 446. CORRECTION: My comment to DC is the one you criticized, so my bad for saying otherwise. Of course you haven’t engaged the legal argument at all, much less explained what’s lacking in mine, so there’s still that.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  446. @437 during world war II Britian (churchill) russia (stalin) USA (roosevelt) had disagreements ;but fought the same enemy germany (hitler) Sean penn went on hannity’s show as both support ukraine and little else. During the spanish civil war we saw what happened when the isolations prevented UK & USA from helping and roosevelt had to force lend lease past the hitler enablers in congress. We have seen this treason before.

    asset (cc4ddc)

  447. Norcal,

    My comment is based on the facts. Do you want to prosecute the other 2 guys there as well?

    The comments I responded to were the ones in black and white. They ignore the circumstances of the situation.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  448. The basic legal fact is that Mr. Neely will receive due process. And with a more than $1 million GoFundMe defense fund, no dearth of legal representation.

    On the other side of the coin, DeSanteria with his “[w]e must defeat the Soros-Funded DAs” contributes nothing but opportunistic, self-serving, political bullsh!t.

    nk (a8aa5d)

  449. Yikes! Daniel Penny will receive due process.

    nk (a8aa5d)

  450. The problem is that Neely does not appear to physically strike anyone or produce a weapon and threaten to use it. He did act belligerent and threatening. So, what is the correct amount of force to use against him? Upthread I asked whether his actions authorized shooting him or bashing him over the head? How much escalation was warranted based on the city allowing mentally unstable people to make a subway car their theater and for not providing adequate police response?

    I would come back to proportionality and understanding the risks posed by a sustained chokehold being applied to someone unwell. I could see a jury accepting the chokehold as the safest means of trying to snap Neely out of his mania. I think they will have a problem with the persistence of the chokehold and that there was no real effort to allow Neely to recover from the deprivation of blood flow. Certainly releasing the hold also involved uncertainty. Would he become more violent as his history suggested?

    Still, not being there, we don’t know the exact details that led up to the hold. We tend to use stock footage from our own experiences with “crazy” people or from video depictions from cinema. We assume it’s another Bernie Goetz situation. We want the ex-marine to be the hero because he’s the normal one and was only trying to help. We want this to fit our political narrative. If the testimonies of the passengers paint a combustible situation where the language and actions of Neely suggest an imminent escalation, then maybe Penny’s actions become more reasonable.

    However, can he claim ignorance to the risks of the length of the hold? That one is tougher. We will have to hear from Penny and see what were his experiences with applying such a hold. What did he understand could happen if the hold was applied too long? Ignorance will not mitigate recklessness but in the totality of the circumstances will it build sympathy? Much of the defense will be on the assumption of what could have happened if Neely was left undeterred. His previous assaults; the terror of the other passengers; the erratic behavior of Neely. There will need to be some jury nullification to completely acquit.

    Do we want more civilian chokeholds in such circumstances? Do we want to discourage onlookers from stepping in when there is an actual assault? This case is news precisely because everyone can imagine being in a similar situation. Penny has a lot of support. Others want some sort of justice for Neely…accountability for his death. Everyone has an opinion…

    AJ_Liberty (e78623)

  451. @442

    If you are charged with manslaughter in the second degree based on reckless behavior, then a defense to the charge would be that your actions were not reckless as defined by the statute.

    This.

    Kevin M (f94f4f) — 5/14/2023 @ 9:58 pm

    Yeah, I’m there too.

    Furthermore, let’s stipulate that Neely had to be stopped and he was well past being talked down – what would you do? Would getting into a fist fight with him, in attempt to knock him out be better?

    whembly (d116f3)

  452. whembly, if accidentally killing Neely is not reckless, what do you believe would have been?

    AJ_Liberty (e78623)

  453. @455

    whembly, if accidentally killing Neely is not reckless, what do you believe would have been?

    AJ_Liberty (e78623) — 5/15/2023 @ 6:23 am

    A carotid choke is designed to be a non-lethal submission move. It’s used in all sorts of hand-to-hand self defense styles (MMA, Jujitsu, Wrestling, etc…).

    I think the reckless part, is using techniques that are more often than not, lethal. Let’s hypothesis that Daniel picked up an object (rock, briefcase, etc..) and bashed Neely over his head in attempt to knock him out, and instead it kills him. I’d argue that would fit the “reckless” definition more than a submission move.

    Outside of Daniel’s legal jeopardy here…I think there’s two simultaneous issues that ought to be addressed:
    1) Neely, in life and in death, deserved better. Neely was allegedly schizophrenic (not sure if true, but its reported), and he definitely had a long and overwhelming criminal record stemming from his mental illness. He deserved to be helped before it was too late, and the government failed him in every possibly way here.

    2) The public deserve to feel safe. When government fails, its left to the public to deal with this. There should be some level of grace extended to those having to face the consequences of such failures.

    whembly (d116f3)

  454. Thanks a lot, Xi. You, too, Modi.

    According to Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington nonprofit, China has been the leading overall exporter of parts for aircraft, spacecraft and drones to Russia since the invasion, accounting for about half of all shipments, followed by India.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  455. “It’s used in all sorts of hand-to-hand self defense styles”

    I assume that you have watched MMA fights and understand that a referees does urgently intervene and stop a fight when a fighter blacks out. Also, there is a difference between a well-conditioned fighter and someone mentally unstable who might not understand to tap out. Via George Floyd and Eric Garner, I think society is a bit more sensitive to the wisdom of applying chokeholds or other means of submission outside of a regulated environment. If cops are banned from using such holds, why would it be less reckless for a civilian to do it?

    AJ_Liberty (e78623)

  456. A carotid choke is designed to be a non-lethal submission move.

    There’s a reason a majority of our largest police forces have banned chokeholds, whembly.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  457. Okay,
    @ AJ_Liberty (e78623) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:02 am
    @ Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:06 am

    How would you subdue someone like Neely?

    Please narrate this out.

    whembly (d116f3)

  458. How would you subdue someone like Neely?

    Call 911. He was threatening that day but not actually violent, and there was an active warrant for his arrest, so he would’ve been taken in, on the spot.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  459. A good article on DeSantis and Disney, favorable to the governor for a change:

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-ratcatcher/

    If populism is about anything, it’s taking on the interests and stripping them of privilege. Which is why I find the take of so many kind of weird. Don’t take in the mouse, they say. Why not? Why is their privilege in Florida good for the country?

    Appalled (78615b)

  460. I am kind of interested in the takes of the Haikus and JFs and reasoned takes of the DCSCA here. Why isn’t this a bigger deal to you than the Trump’s self-imposed legal problems.

    Appalled (78615b)

  461. @461 Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:50 am

    “Call 911”. As if the police can get there in time.

    whembly (d116f3)

  462. @462

    A good article on DeSantis and Disney, favorable to the governor for a change:

    https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-ratcatcher/

    If populism is about anything, it’s taking on the interests and stripping them of privilege. Which is why I find the take of so many kind of weird. Don’t take in the mouse, they say. Why not? Why is their privilege in Florida good for the country?

    Appalled (78615b) — 5/15/2023 @ 8:01 am

    Absolute stellar article.

    whembly (d116f3)

  463. “Why is their privilege in Florida good for the country?”

    Privilege tends to be a term used by the Left. And insisting that government should have more power and authority is also a common theme of the Left. Imposing more regulatory oversight sounds counter to Trump’s efforts to relieve such burdens and reduce the cost of doing business. What am I missing?

    What’s absent from the article is any tangible harm caused by Disney directing its affairs. There’s no real argument presented that more regulation and government oversight will reduce accidents, enhance competition, and improve the market for entertainment. The underlying assumption is that government will make things better. Really? It’s pretty clear this is about power and about being upset with public comments by Disney. I think the governor is more than happy with all of the jobs Disney provides and the massive boon to tourism it creates. He just wants to be able to politically muscle the company to show he’s a tough guy too. An urge that again strikes me as being more liberal than conservative at its heart.

    Disney certainly did carve out a good shrewd deal. It allows it to innovate and develop quickly, without as much regulatory delay as might otherwise happen. Curses. We can’t have that. Everyone must be equally burdened by the odiousness of government. Head shake. How about getting back to small government conservatism? The people of Florida were not being harmed by Disney. DeSantis just felt like he needed to pick a fight. The courts will decide but he hopes he will be in a different office when that all shakes out.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  464. if accidentally killing Neely is not reckless, what do you believe would have been?

    1. Hunh?

    2. The statute provides a defense that it was not reckless, which indicates that that group of situations exist.

    3. For some, “reckless” is defined as daring to stop an out-of-control Black man, considering the political attacks one would be subjected to. The same actions against a white man, especially if done by a Black person, would be “heroic” not reckless.

    4. Your basic argument is that self-0defense that results in death is “reckless.” Care to defend that?

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  465. We have seen this treason before.

    Now do Vietnam.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  466. There’s a reason a majority of our largest police forces have banned chokeholds, whembly.

    Sure. And if Penny was a police officer, trained in that way, he would have simply pulled his gun and shot him dead. There’s a reason that police shootings are up.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  467. I just got polled (by obviously a City Council candidate) and most of the issues sund “progressive” although number seven (as a periority) was safety and number seven as an issue was crime. I don’t think this is an issue the people sponsoring the poll wanted to hear.

    one of the questions was about the Neely case (without names) What is closer to your opinion – that Penny should go to jail or — the other oone was in favor of him, I think.

    Sammy Finkelnan (e179ff)

  468. Call 911. He was threatening that day but not actually violent, and there was an active warrant for his arrest, so he would’ve been taken in, on the spot.

    Maybe. A half hour later, after he had stabbed a few people. I’m sure they’d have brought their chalk.

    Great thinking Captain Milquetoast. But that’s exactly what our masters expect from their proles. Believe it or not, there are still some people who don’t feel they should be swaddled in the Life of Julia.

    I don’t much care for the term “RINO” but you sure sound like one with this post.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  469. How about getting back to small government conservatism?

    Dead now these last 100 years.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  470. Maybe. A half hour later, after he had stabbed a few people.

    Noted, your having to resort to a hypothetical. Pathetic, Kevin.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  471. “Your basic argument is that self-0defense that results in death is “reckless.” Care to defend that?”

    I’m not sure that you have the right to assault someone for being annoying or else DCSCA would regularly be in peril. You certainly don’t have a right to cause an annoying person’s death because of actions you merely think he might do. Self-defense doesn’t mean you can pre-emptively attack someone. I believe that Penny likely acted reasonably to subdue Neely based on his alleged erratic behavior. He’s in legal jeopardy for continuing a hold with reckless concern for Neely’s life. Would Neely have been justified, while in the hold, to knife Penny in the femoral artery in his own application of self defense?

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  472. @473

    Noted, your having to resort to a hypothetical. Pathetic, Kevin.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:27 am

    https://nypost.com/2023/05/14/three-men-slashed-at-jackson-heights-subway-station/
    Not that far fetch buddy.

    We can never know what would have happened had no one intervened, but we do know what happened when Neely assaulted a 67-year-old woman in the subway.

    If you’re ok sacrificing the helpless on the altar of the unknown, just say that.

    whembly (d116f3)

  473. Criminal recklessness has its own meaning:

    5.01 Recklessness–Wantonness
    A person [ (is reckless) (acts recklessly) ] when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

    [An act performed recklessly is performed wantonly.]

    I think squeezing a person’s neck until he has stopped moving is “a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise”.

    What’s left is “in the situation”. Did this situation call for squeezing Neely’s neck until he had stopped moving?

    Now some comrades, here, take the view of Comrade Stalin: “Death solves all problems. If a man is dead, he is not a problem.” I cannot bring myself to agree.

    nk (a8aa5d)

  474. @Paul Montagu
    @ AJ_Liberty

    https://twitter.com/WilliamA_33/status/1654496252640280582

    Say, that’s your wife/daughter/girlfriend…

    What do you do?

    whembly (d116f3)

  475. Now some comrades, here, take the view of Comrade Stalin: “Death solves all problems. If a man is dead, he is not a problem.”

    Who here specifically takes that view?

    BuDuh (8eeb94)

  476. @476 nk (a8aa5d) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:54 am

    5.01 Recklessness–Wantonness
    A person [ (is reckless) (acts recklessly) ] when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

    [An act performed recklessly is performed wantonly.]

    A carotid choke is a submission move.

    Once Neely was out, Daniel moved him into the recovery position (which witnesses stated he was still breathing).

    I disagree that this was a “Recklessness–Wantonness” act, but that’s for the court/jury to decide.

    Furthermore, the sad thing here is that had Neely been a white guy, Daniel would’ve never been charged. This smacks of a grievance industry trying to Derrick Chauvin Daniel.

    whembly (d116f3)

  477. He was threatening that day but not actually violent,

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:50 am

    Absent the actual complete witness statements, any other videos, or the full police report, how does this not qualify as hypothetical?

    BuDuh (8eeb94)

  478. @478

    Who here specifically takes that view?

    BuDuh (8eeb94) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:57 am

    No one.

    nk goes hyperbolic when staking a losing argument.

    whembly (d116f3)

  479. Say, that’s your wife/daughter/girlfriend…
    What do you do?

    Easy. One, stand between Neely and said wife/daughter. Two, call 911.
    If he gets violent, then I have no issue subduing the guy any way I can, as any man should.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  480. Absent the actual complete witness statements, any other videos, or the full police report, how does this not qualify as hypothetical?

    From what I’ve read, he was loud but not violent.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  481. So he could have been 1/2” away from someone’s face verbally violent?

    BuDuh (95c88e)

  482. If you’re ok sacrificing the helpless on the altar of the unknown, just say that.

    That was disingenuous, whembly. The issue is whether Neely was violent–not a larger discussion about safety levels on NY subways–and from what I’ve seen, he wasn’t violent on that subway.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  483. Apparently Paul, you must attack before he gets violent because you never know. Self defense is about beating them to the punch…and if they die…sucks to be them….cue viral internet video of black person out of control

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  484. BTW, Kevin called me a “RINO”, intending it as an insult but, for me, given the sorry state of this GOP, I’ll take “Republican In Name Only” as good praise.
    I’m a proud Jack Kemp conservative.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  485. from what I’ve seen, he wasn’t violent on that subway.

    From what I have seen, he was Michael Jackson. Just about every leading news story used the Trayvon Martin template of pure innocence by way of out-of-date photos.

    BuDuh (95c88e)

  486. Easy. One, stand between Neely and said wife/daughter.

    How do you plan on wedging into the 1/2” of space between Neely and your loved one?

    BuDuh (95c88e)

  487. So he could have been 1/2” away from someone’s face verbally violent?

    “Verbally violent”? I have no idea what that means, or what distance a person has to be from another for this “verbal violence” to occur.
    Shouting in another’s face is obnoxious, not violent, and worthy of making a 911 call.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  488. So 1/2” is ok?

    BuDuh (95c88e)

  489. @485

    That was disingenuous, whembly. The issue is whether Neely was violent–not a larger discussion about safety levels on NY subways–and from what I’ve seen, he wasn’t violent on that subway.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 10:10 am

    No. I stand by it.

    Numerous witnesses said he “was” violent.

    whembly (d116f3)

  490. Verbal violence was caught in moderation. Hopefully this works.

    BuDuh (d4d367)

  491. @482

    Say, that’s your wife/daughter/girlfriend…
    What do you do?

    Easy. One, stand between Neely and said wife/daughter. Two, call 911.
    If he gets violent, then I have no issue subduing the guy any way I can, as any man should.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 10:05 am

    Mmmm.

    Honestly, if that was me, anyone lays a hand on my girls like that, I don’t think I could live with myself if the assaulter gets to walk away.

    I’m aware that could put me in legal jeopardy, and I’ll accept it and take my chances with the jury.

    But part of the reasons why these thugs think they can do this, is that they’ve been getting away with it in the first place.

    whembly (d116f3)

  492. Call 911.

    Pfffft. On a moving subway train underground sealed in a bucking carriage w/a linatic threatening the passengers? FYI, last summer, called ‘911’ and it took the frigging coppers AN HOUR to respond.

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  493. AJ,

    What you are missing is that Disney had its own special municipality in Florida — something no other amusement park in Florida has. While something like that made sense in 1967, it might not now. And it is the state conferring a special right on a specific organization. That’s a privilege, whether you are left, right or center.

    The framing of this is that Disney has a right to this special relationship with the State of Florida that saves it a bunch of money. Usually special breaks like this do not go on in perpetuity. There is an expiration date. Since Disney owns a lot of media and DeSantis is “worse than Trump” ™, this is being reported on in an extremely biased way.

    Appalled (78615b)

  494. Thanks to Adams and Bragg, this is how NYer have to handle ‘Neelys’ on the NYC subway these days:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYN41wGmP8U

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  495. @474. Projecting again, AJ. ‘Give me all your cash and will leave you alone’ works every time in stovepipeland being dispatched uptown underground hurtling along at 30 mph in a sealed aluminum box 50 feet underground. =sarc=

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  496. And if Neely was hijacking a plane at 50,000 feet, would you expect passengers to ‘call 911’ ??? Crazy folks don’t fvck w/planes, trains and automobiles in motion or they pay the consequences. End of story.

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  497. Numerous witnesses said he “was” violent.

    Then cite it. This is what I read.

    Witnesses told the police that Mr. Neely had been shouting at passengers, but there has been no indication that he physically attacked anyone.

    I showed you mine, you show me yours.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  498. @496. The framing of this is that Disney has a right to this special relationship with the State of Florida that saves it a bunch of money. Usually special breaks like this do not go on in perpetuity. There is an expiration date. Since Disney owns a lot of media and DeSantis is “worse than Trump” ™, this is being reported on in an extremely biased way

    Usually, they DO, Appalled. Especially if it is a huge economic and tourist draw for said locale.

    Ask NBC.

    They’ve been housed at 30 Rockefeller Center w/a sweet leasing and tax deal to keep them there, literally for decades, and when thse tax and leasing aggreements come up for renewal, NBC tells NYC they’re headed for their complex in the Meadowlands just across the Hudson in NJ wher the tax and leasing number are a tempting lure. So what does NYC and statge do? Cut the deal and keep NBC right there at 30 Rock.

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  499. I’m a proud Jack Kemp conservative.

    That’s nothing to brag about:

    ‘As secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the George H.W. Bush administration, [Jack] Kemp continued to push hard for enterprise zones, which he liked to call empowerment zones. Legislation was finally enacted in 1993 and expanded in 1997 and by subsequent legislation. In 2000, Congress enacted the New Markets Tax Credit as an additional enterprise zone incentive. Thus we now have considerable experience with the enterprise zone idea in operation.

    Unfortunately, the evidence shows that enterprise zones are at best a very weak generator of jobs. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has done several studies and concluded that there was no significant difference in economic growth or job creation inside the enterprise zones from the surrounding area.

    Academic research confirms this conclusion. A 2006 article in the Journal of Urban Affairs found only a few instances in which economic activity in the zone was better than that in comparable areas outside the zone. An article in the Economic Development Quarterly in 2009 found “no evidence that these enterprise zones affected the employment of zone residents.” An article in the Journal of Urban Economics in 2010 found, “The evidence indicates that enterprise zones do not increase employment.” – https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2014/01/10/Enterprise-Zones-Bipartisan-Failure

    DCSCA (6f3523)

  500. Noted, your having to resort to a hypothetical. Pathetic, Kevin.

    You did it first, saying that calling 911 would product a timely response. Not only pathetic, but lacking compassion for other people’s safely.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  501. So 1/2” is ok?

    I reject the “verbal violence” premise to your question. Also, that link didn’t work.

    I did a little of my own research, and yelling at someone’s face (no distance specified) would fall under disturbing the peace and be worthy of a 911 call.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  502. I’m not sure that you have the right to assault someone for being annoying

    I’m not sure you believe I said that.

    Self-defense doesn’t mean you can pre-emptively attack someone.

    Nor that, although some situations (e.g. a burglar in the home at night) may lean that way.

    I believe that Penny likely acted reasonably to subdue Neely based on his alleged erratic behavior

    Oh. Look, you agree that I did not say that.

    Would Neely have been justified, while in the hold, to knife Penny in the femoral artery in his own application of self defense?

    No, of course not. Nor would he have been justified in shooting him with a Tommygun. What is the point of that? At best you can claim, in hindsight and from a distance, that he maybe held Neely too long. Is that “reckless”, as in behavior that no reasonable person would have thought justified in the moment, beyond a reasonable doubt? That’s the State’s entire case.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  503. So 1/2” is an ok distance between the face of someone disturbing the peace and the face of someone you love? You would wait for police to arrive and not insert yourself in the middle?

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  504. You did it first, saying that calling 911 would product a timely response.

    I never said “product a timely response”, Kevin. You’re on a roll of pathetic today.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  505. I think squeezing a person’s neck until he has stopped moving is “a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise”.

    And I think you’re wrong. How about THAT?!

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  506. Appalled, you’re missing that Disney is a revenue bonanza for Florida and its residents. The company itself spends 10’s if not 100’s of millions of dollars to entice people to visit Florida. Those tourists then spend billions of dollars inside the theme parks and outside. This generates huge tax revenue that benefits the entire state. Are we to pretend, for partisan purposes, that the Disney/Florida relationship is NOT mutually beneficial and that Disney is getting away with something…and that it’s taken 55 years for a governor (almost) running for President to detect this insidiousness…and it’s just coincidence that it aligns with Disney’s opposition to the Republican education bill? I have a finger over here for you to pull.

    And as my previous comment points out, what is really to be gained here? It sounds like the state will impose additional regulations on Disney to operate. So in real terms, Disney will need to spend more money to get things done. And conservatives applaud this as….get ready for it….FAIRNESS. WTF!? Disney can also choose to spend more of its profits at other non-Florida theme parks and how does this help Florida tax payers? DeSantis proudly says that any additional service charges in the municipality will be picked up by Disney and NOT the local taxpayers. Again, this will be contested. It may not be true, with some estimating property taxes needing to go up 20 to 25%. Neither option seems particularly good if one wants economic growth and jobs.

    Let’s be honest. DeSantis wanted to make a political point about wokeism. He could have chosen a company like Starbucks and made the same point. Instead he picked on its biggest employer and biggest tourism attraction…not because he’s all about FAIRNESS…but because he’s running for President and wokeism is what his base mainly cares about. It’s not being a deregulator and encouraging business. It’s about eye-gouging the Left even if it means eye-gouging yourself. You can applaud making it harder for Disney to do business in Florida, I’m just going to shake my head.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  507. I’m a proud Jack Kemp conservative.

    It’s not often you see a triple oxymoron.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  508. So 1/2” is an ok distance between the face of someone disturbing the peace and the face of someone you love?

    I already said I would stand between Neely and my loved ones, BuDuh. I have no idea what you’re getting at.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  509. nk,

    What’s with the continuous IP changes?

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  510. Here is what I am getting at. How do you plan on getting into the 1/2” space without some sort of physical altercation?

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  511. Would Neely have been justified, while in the hold, to knife Penny in the femoral artery in his own application of self defense?

    As I mentioned above, it all depends on the level of imminent physical threat Penny reasonably believed Neely to pose.

    If Penny reasonably believed Neely was about to use deadly physical force, then Penny had the right to respond in kind. In that case Neely’s attempt to defend himself with deadly force would be illegal.

    If Penny didn’t reasonably believe Neely posed an imminent deadly threat, then Penny’s escalation to deadly force was criminal, which would have entitled Neely to defend himself with his own deadly force, including stabbing Penny in an artery.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  512. before commenting on Neely, I think it’s important that everyone be reminded of the parable of the good Samaritan, I think it’s pretty apt in this situation.

    25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

    26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

    27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

    28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

    29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

    30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He put him in a choke hold, in order to cut of his blood flow and render him unconscious. 35 Alas, he held the hold too long, and killed the man, totally on accident.’

    36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

    37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who choked him to death.”

    Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

    Manotaur (09df4a)

  513. Numerous witnesses said he “was” violent.

    The encounter was filmed, and the person filming it said he was in fear for his safety. While there may be a duty to retreat — if it can be done safely — by all accounts that was not possible in this subway car.

    Many early reports have now been Google-holed and now everything is about the poor homeless guy attacked for being an uppity black man by a white vigilante. But here’s an outlier, quoting an actual witness:

    Witness says she went back to ‘thank’ Daniel Penny … is ‘praying’ for him

    A straphanger who was on the subway when former Marine Daniel Penny placed Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold said Thursday she’s “praying” for Penny after it was revealed the 24-year-old would face charges tied to the high-profile case.

    “I hope he has a great lawyer, and I’m praying for him,” the 66-year-old woman, who did not want to be identified, told The Post Thursday night. “And I pray that he gets treated fairly, I really do. Because after all of this ensued, I went back and made sure that I said ‘Thank you’ to him.”

    The subway rider said Neely, who had a history of mental illness, was threatening passengers after he hopped on an F train in Manhattan….

    “He said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet, I’ll go to jail’ because he would kill people on the train,” the woman said of Neely. “He said, ‘I would kill a motherf—er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’”

    The retiree said Penny did not initially engage with Neely during the wild rant until things got out of hand and he felt the urge to step in. “This gentleman, Mr. Penny, did not stand up,” the rider said. “Did not engage with the gentleman. He said not a word. It was all Mr. Neely that was … threatening the passengers. If he did not get what he wants.”

    Footage from inside the subway car showed Penny and two other straphangers restrain Neely after cops and witnesses said he went on an aggressive rant.

    The woman said she and another rider gave their account of the incident to authorities at the precinct because Penny asked them to. Other subway riders took videos of the encounter between Penny and Neely, she said.

    “So I believe that those videos are going to come forward, maybe people will do it anonymously,” she said.

    Now why would witnesses to a crime want to be anonymous? Are Neely’s people going to come after them? Or is it the NY Times and DA’s office they fear?

    And people wonder why no one came to Kitty Genovese’s aid.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  514. “At best you can claim, in hindsight and from a distance, that he maybe held Neely too long. Is that “reckless”, as in behavior that no reasonable person would have thought justified in the moment, beyond a reasonable doubt?”

    Yes, that’s my point. You just might not be able to squeeze someone’s neck and cause them to die without persuasively showing that he was an immediate physical threat to you or those around you. And, yes, it is reasonable to expect people to understand that if you deprive blood flow to the brain long enough that you can in effect cause someone to die. I hope more comes out that argues in the Marine’s favor. For instance, I hope that it was unclear when Neely may have passed out. I fear though that the hold was maintained after Neely lost consciousness. That’s going to be problematic because at that point recklessness moves front and center.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  515. More:

    The 24-year-old passenger stepped in after the vagrant, identified by sources as Jordan Neely, 30, began going on an aggressive rant on a northbound F train Monday afternoon, according to police and a witness who took the video.

    “He starts to make a speech,” freelance journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez said in Spanish during an interview Tuesday, referring to the disturbed man.

    “He started screaming in an aggressive manner,” Vazquez told The Post. “He said he had no food, he had no drink, that he was tired and doesn’t care if he goes to jail. He started screaming all these things, took off his jacket, a black jacket that he had, and threw it on the ground.”

    That’s when he said the straphanger came up behind Neely and took him to the ground in a chokehold — keeping him there for some 15 minutes, Vazquez said.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  516. I fear though that the hold was maintained after Neely lost consciousness.

    And maybe it was, for a moment. But he was breathing when the hold was released. He may have been in such fragile health that irreparable damage was done, but that is generally not foreseeable. The police stopped using chokeholds for the most part after juries starting awarding damages, but that does not mean that the technique is often fatal. It almost never was, but “almost never” means different things to the city attorney and comptroller.

    Instead the cops just shoot them to death.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  517. You just might not be able to squeeze someone’s neck and cause them to die without persuasively showing that he was an immediate physical threat to you or those around you.

    You can’t legally squeeze someone’s neck until they die without persuasively showing you reasonably believed he was an immediate deadly threat to you or those around you.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  518. You can’t legally squeeze someone’s neck until they die without persuasively showing you reasonably believed he was an immediate deadly threat to you or those around you.

    The two stories that Kevin linked paint the picture of Neely potentially being guilty of Menacing in the third degree.

    § 120.15 Menacing in the third degree.

    A person is guilty of menacing in the third degree when, by physical
    menace, he or she intentionally places or attempts to place another
    person in fear of death, imminent serious physical injury or physical
    injury.

    Menacing in the third degree is a class B misdemeanor.

    https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/120.15

    This lawyer gives an example:

    Example
    Two young men are in a parking lot on the Fourth of July drinking beer. As the evening progresses the two start to bicker. The bickering escalates into arguing. One man approaches the other with clenched fists and spews several threats about beating him to death. However, the man who uttered the threats does not actually touch the other man. The threatening man could be prosecuted for menacing in the third degree. The fact that he threatened the other man and at the same time approached him in a threatening manner is enough for the other man to believe that his physical well-being was in immediate danger.

    https://criminaldefense.1800nynylaw.com/amp/new-york-penal-code-120-15-menacing-in-the-third-degree.html

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  519. @520, agreed.

    “But he was breathing when the hold was released.”

    Blood flow was the problem

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  520. The framing of this is that Disney has a right to this special relationship with the State of Florida that saves it a bunch of money.

    No, the framing is that Disney has a right to political speech without fear of retaliation.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  521. @521. How is that instructive? That statute covers a descending range of menacing from putting someone in fear for their life to putting someone in fear of non-fatal injury. Nobody disputes Neely was menacing. The question for Penny’s culpability is whether Neely put Penny in reasonable fear for his or another’s life. If Neely instilled a fear of simple injury, it won’t get Penny off.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  522. Lurker, the one witness in Kevin’s link was quoted as saying:

    “He[Neely] said, ‘I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet, I’ll go to jail’ because he would kill people on the train,” the woman said of Neely. “He said, ‘I would kill a motherf—er. I don’t care. I’ll take a bullet. I’ll go to jail.’”

    She also said:

    It was all Mr. Neely that was … threatening the passengers. If he did not get what he wants.”

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  523. The first part may be relevant, but it still doesn’t answer whether Neely put Penny in reasonable fear for his or another’s life.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  524. I can only guess that the witness who was thankful to the person, that stopped the person who was threatening to kill motherf—ers on the train, thought that her life was in danger, lurker. So you got me there.

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  525. Democratic congressman’s staff attacked by man with baseball bat
    ………….
    (Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly) told CNN that the assailant who entered his office and attacked two of his aides did so with a metal bat. The attacker struck one senior aide in the head with the metal bat, he said. The attacker also hit an intern – on her first day on the job – in the side with the bat.

    In a statement earlier Monday, Connolly said that both aides were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and the man was arrested.

    The attacker, who is a constituent from his district but who Connolly says he doesn’t know, caused wide damage in his office, shattering glass in a conference room and breaking computers along the way.

    “He was filled with out of control rage,” Connolly told CNN in a phone interview.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  526. The real fear that witnesses are now expressing — through their need of anonymity — is that the cancel mob will come for them, assuming the DA doesn’t charge them as accessories first.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  527. Durham report issued, finds DOJ/FBI failed to uphold mission.

    I’m looking for the Aaron Rupar explanation… the one that holds so much weight around these parts.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  528. “no credence to launch this investigation”

    Assholes…

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  529. @527. I’m not impressed that a passenger is grateful. Maybe she’s justified, and maybe she’s just a awful person who’s happy a menacing but not life-threatening homeless guy is dead. Both kinds exist. I can’t judge what I didn’t see, but in and of itself shouting “I’m gonna kill a motherf#cker” doesn’t merit capital punishment. I shout worse when I watch the news.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  530. I. I. I.

    I. Me. Mine.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  531. The investigation that should’ve never launched was Durham’s, costing more than Mueller’s (on net), taking way longer than Mueller’s, and the only conviction under Durham’s wing was handed to him by IG Horowitz.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  532. Rip:

    Free speech has consequences. If Disney makes a lousy movie, I don’t have to go to it. If Disney says things I don’t like, I can urge folks to boycott them. If Disney gets the benefit of corporate welfare in perpetuity, then tries to kneecap who is in charge, why does the person in charge have to make nice? You have a duty to be fair to your enemies in law. You do not have the same duty in politics.

    AJ:

    After 55 years, what have you done for me lately is a valid question for a state to ask. The question Disney, wrapped up in its perfect self-righteousness, is what taking these “bold” stances cost us? There is a reason corporate America usually was cautious taking sides in politics, and that general tenor of things should be encouraged.

    Disney’s Florida deal has been good for both state and Disney. But maybe they should pay a little more. It would cost them a heck of a lot to move out.

    Appalled (4555aa)

  533. How do you plan on getting into the 1/2” space without some sort of physical altercation?

    Where are you getting this ‘1/2″ space’ business? Did that happen or are conjuring up a hypothetical?

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  534. “failed to uphold strict fidelity to the law”

    “leads provided or funded by Trump’s political opponents.”

    “did not adequately examine or question”

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  535. Why is it so tough to answer, Paul?

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  536. I agree on not being able to judge on what we didn’t see, lurker.

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  537. @535. Ken White explains on his podcast why Disney’s First Amendment suit is unusually strong.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  538. “Our investigation also revealed that senior FBI personnel displayed a serious lack of analytical rigor towards the information that they received, especially information received from politically affiliated persons and entities. This information in part triggered and sustained Crossfire Hurricane and contributed to the subsequent need for Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation,” he wrote.

    “In particular, there was significant reliance on investigative leads provided or funded (directly or indirectly) by Trump’s political opponents. The Department did not adequately examine or question these materials and the motivations of those providing them, even when at about the same time the Director of the FBI and others learned of significant and potentially contrary intelligence.”

    https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/john-durham-releases-final-report-concluding-fbi-had-no

    The government could have saved money and time on both the Durham and the Muller investigations.

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  539. but in and of itself shouting “I’m gonna kill a motherf#cker” doesn’t merit capital punishment. I shout worse when I watch the news.

    Why do you persist in claiming that the guy was executed? You know that’s not true and yet you keep on saying it.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  540. Do more of my own research, what Neely did before Penny put hands on him was menacing in the 3rd degree, which is described as an assaultive behavior.

    According to New York state penal code section 120.15, menacing occurs when a person “intentionally places or attempts to place another person in fear of death, imminent serious physical injury or physical injury.” This definition is similar to assault, except that assault involves actual physical contact. Essentially, menacing in the third degree is verbally or nonverbally indicating your intention to cause harm to another person, even if you do not act on these threats. If you make such threats while displaying a deadly weapon, repeatedly engage in the course of conduct, or violate an order of protection, you could be charged with menacing in the second degree, which carries more significant consequences. Menacing in the first degree, the most serious menacing offense occurs when a person commits the crime of menacing in the second degree and has already been convicted of this same crime within the last ten years.

    Because Neely threatened bodily harm if he didn’t get what he wanted, Penny wasn’t wrong to intervene. A jury will decide if Penny’s response was reckless or merits conviction and, like I said above, I hope he gets a sympathetic jury.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  541. I’m not impressed that a passenger is grateful. Maybe she’s justified, and maybe she’s just a awful person who’s happy a menacing but not life-threatening homeless guy is dead. Both kinds exist. I can’t judge what I didn’t see, but in and of itself shouting “I’m gonna kill a motherf#cker” doesn’t merit capital punishment. I shout worse when I watch the news.
    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 12:52 pm

    the “not life-threatening homeless guy” had a history of being a life-threatening homeless guy, and had an active warrant as a result

    if my daughters were on that train, I’d be extremely thankful that Penny and the other two (not charged somehow) did what they did. But maybe that makes me an asshole

    if Neely was my son, I would’ve done everything to keep him off the streets and would focus my anguish on authorities who had the tools to do just that and didn’t, and those who enable such indifference in blog comment sections

    JF (f8f58a)

  542. Ken White explains on his podcast why Disney’s First Amendment suit is unusually strong.

    It’s pretty clear that DeSantis stepped into a minefield. When offered a map back out, he started dancing instead. This is the “stupid prizes” part of the drama.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  543. @Whembly@460 Apparently there were 2 people helping so this is how you would do it if it were necessary to control someone and you have 1 or more partners: From behind, you and one of the other people each grasp the disturbed person by the shoulder and wrist, step forward, each placing your leg closest to them in front of one of their legs and move their upper body swiftly forward, controlling them to the ground. You and your partner sit back to back above the person you are controlling and each of you pulls their arm across the front of your body, maintaining control of the arm at the wrist and just above the elbow. If there is a third person, they lay across the person’s legs, controlling their legs with their chest or side if they would prefer to support themselves on their elbow. Then request a bystander to call 911. You can maintain full control in this position for a lengthy period of time in perfect safety for yourself, your partners, and the person you are controlling, until the person you are controlling calms down (or the police arrive). You can do this from the front as well, but it’s harder because you have to roll the person you are controlling over into a face down position. Most people fight more during the roll over (One of the times I was rolling someone into a face-down position I broke a bone in my hand, so it isn’t my favorite maneuver)

    Yes, this is specific knowledge that he may not have had, but he also apparently didn’t know how to put someone in a non-lethal choke hold either.

    Nic (896fdf)

  544. Why is it so tough to answer, Paul?

    Given that I already answered, it isn’t tough at all. Now answer my question.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  545. I sincerely hope lurker finds your 1:08 “instructive,” Paul. He wasn’t too impressed with me posting similarly 2 hours ago.

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  546. OTOH, the district board’s suit to recover their powers is probably unrelated to any first amendment claim. It’s like a pro-union school board, upon being defeated at the polls, delegating most of their powers to the union. It’s kindergarten politics.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  547. The U.S. federal government launched an attack on our democracy.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  548. Because Neely threatened bodily harm if he didn’t get what he wanted, Penny wasn’t wrong to intervene. A jury will decide if Penny’s response was reckless or merits conviction and, like I said above, I hope he gets a sympathetic jury.

    My take is probably inflected differently, but yeah. You can be wrong, even stupid, and not “reckless.” And then there’s that “beyond reasonable doubt” thing.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  549. You answered how you will wedge into the small space between the disturber of the peace and your family?

    No, you did not.

    Why make a lengthy game out of this? Every single time.

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  550. Durham’s investigation into Trump’s “Crime of the Century” was a joke. Every case he took to trial (Michael Sussmann and Igor Danchenko) ended in acquittals. And the FBI lawyer who pled guilty got probation.

    Weak!

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  551. Four F*cking Years of attacks and hamstringing the winner of the 2016 election that continued through the 2020 election and still happening today. All by the people that gnash their teeth and rend their garments about attacks on our democracy.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  552. DC jury, federal government finds its employees innocent. I’m impressed.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  553. Of course, it’s too late for consequences. No one expects anything to come of it.

    Just don’t forget who the mendacious, bent corksoakers truly are.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  554. Rip:

    Free speech has consequences. If Disney makes a lousy movie, I don’t have to go to it. If Disney says things I don’t like, I can urge folks to boycott them. If Disney gets the benefit of corporate welfare in perpetuity, then tries to kneecap who is in charge, why does the person in charge have to make nice? You have a duty to be fair to your enemies in law. You do not have the same duty in politics.

    The point is that DeSantis was not fair in law. For him, every statement he’s made (and written) is a confession that he used the law to punish Disney. He had no objection to Disney’s special district during his first term as governor (and accepting their campaign contributions.)

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  555. Nic, if that doesn’t work there’s always Kung Fu

    JF (d3fe07)

  556. Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:26 pm

    DeSantis (like Fox) will get reamed by Disney’s discovery.

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  557. Did Durham recommend any charges or large policy changes to how the FBI opens investigations?

    Time123 (b97a7d)

  558. ……….
    Disney and its affiliates have donated more than $2.3 million in Florida this election cycle, which includes money to elected officials, their political committees and committees run by one of the state’s main business groups. That total includes providing hotel rooms and theme park tickets as well as campaign checks. Money has flowed to individual legislators as well as political committees controlled by Republican and Democratic leaders.

    But DeSantis and many state Republicans have refused to return campaign contributions to the California-based entertainment giant, which they have blasted over Disney’s opposition to a law that bans instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade. Late last month, DeSantis and the Legislature stripped the company of special privileges that allowed it to operate as its own municipal government in central Florida.

    Disney has given the Republican Party of Florida $255,000 in checks since January 2021 as well as nearly $142,000 worth of in-kind donations that covered lodging, food and entertainment costs of visiting Disney parks. The party, however, declined to answer questions about whether it would return any donations.

    DeSantis’ reelection campaign, which received through its political committee $50,000 from Disney in March 2021 as well as an additional $50,000 two years earlier, has not returned it………
    ……..

    Source

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  559. Since someone brought up the subject of “timely” wrt 911 calls, this FoxNews report has the closest thing that I could find.

    Last Monday, at 2:26 p.m., police received a report of a physical fight on the F train at the Broadway-Lafayette Street subway station in Manhattan. A minute later, another call came in reporting “threats,” according to police.

    Also at 2:27 p.m., a rider reported a “customer armed with a knife or gun.”

    An assault in progress was called in at 2:29 p.m. followed a minute later by another report of threats. The 911 call log is not a complete record but a summary of the reports police received.
    […]
    The Fire Department said it received a call for help at 2:39 p.m. and arrived on the scene seven minutes later.

    There’s no reporting if or when NYPD showed up, and we don’t know precisely when Neely was put in a chokehold.

    According to this left-wing source…

    The timeline is confusing: Mayor Eric Adams has claimed police were on the scene in six minutes, despite multiple reports that Penny had restrained Neely for 15 minutes.

    The NYPD told Truthdig that officers “responded” at 2:27— seven minutes after the first clocked call for help — but video shows a train clock at 2:28 with no officers on the scene. The department has not replied to queries about when, exactly, officers arrived to administer first aid. According to New York City statistics, in critical situations, the average time from 911 call to police arriving at the scene is 7.5 minutes.

    7.5 minutes would be a favorable response time, but NYPD’s response appears longer than that.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  560. You answered how you will wedge into the small space between the disturber of the peace and your family?

    Like I’ve said more than once, BuDuh, I try to avoid hypotheticals as much as possible. You should, too.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  561. And I’ll note that you still didn’t answer my question. Why does it always go there with you?

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  562. @546: That way leads to an outright brawl I would wager.

    I echo Paul’s point here:

    Because Neely threatened bodily harm if he didn’t get what he wanted, Penny wasn’t wrong to intervene. A jury will decide if Penny’s response was reckless or merits conviction and, like I said above, I hope he gets a sympathetic jury.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:08 pm

    I’d even wager that most people in the jury has, or knows people who takes the subway and has stories of malcontents causing problems. SO, I think its likely that he’d get a sympathetic jury.

    He’s probably on the hook tho in civil courts.

    whembly (4716ab)

  563. @JF@558 It works. It’s one of the ways people who work with the severely mentally ill teens are trained to take down mentally ill people who are a danger to themselves or someone else. I’ve done it probably more than 100 times (including on people larger than myself).

    Nic (896fdf)

  564. Here’s a photo of the Belarus leadership, intended to show their health. Next, swimming the Dnieper.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  565. @562

    7.5 minutes would be a favorable response time, but NYPD’s response appears longer than that.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:40 pm

    If someone is intending to do you harm, 7.5 minutes until authority responds is still a looooong time.

    The key, would be to manage the situation to keep the confrontation as non-physical as possible.

    whembly (840a86)

  566. @Whembly@565 It’s professionally taught for working in mental health environments. It works, it’s fast, it’s safe and it’s sustainable over time. With 3 people, it’s even easy.

    Nic (896fdf)

  567. I try to avoid hypotheticals as much as possible. You should, too.

    Up until you responded to one.

    Say, that’s your wife/daughter/girlfriend…
    What do you do?

    Easy. One, stand between Neely and said wife/daughter. Two, call 911.
    If he gets violent, then I have no issue subduing the guy any way I can, as any man should.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 10:05 am

    I apologize that I didn’t recognize that you jumped ship from the hypothetical you engaged.

    What was your question?

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  568. @468 Easy LBJ said american boys wont have to do asian boys fighting for them. He was wrong. Same with afganistan and iraq. Got any tough questions?

    asset (b4dbe8)

  569. @569

    @Whembly@565 It’s professionally taught for working in mental health environments. It works, it’s fast, it’s safe and it’s sustainable over time. With 3 people, it’s even easy.

    Nic (896fdf) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:49 pm

    Nic, I get that.

    But, my point is that expecting the public to know how to do that is ridiculous.

    whembly (d116f3)

  570. The difference:

    President elected in 2016 is treated as largely illegitimate by the courts, media and embedded opponents in the bureaucracy, blocking his every move.

    President elected in 2020 is treated as largely illegitimate by his opponents, who are considered criminals by the courts, media and the bureaucracy, and their every utterance subjected to censorship or shadow bans.

    Nobody has behaved all that well since the Florida thing in 2000.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  571. I’d even wager that most people in the jury has, or knows people who takes the subway and has stories of malcontents causing problems. SO, I think its likely that he’d get a sympathetic jury.

    I’d bet that the prosecution will try to exclude anyone who has had a bad subway experience, or knows someone who did.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  572. Daniel Penny was even warned by another passenger, at some point, (maybe tooo late) that he might be killing Neely:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/nyregion/jordan-neely-daniel-penny-nyc-subway.html

    “You don’t have to catch a murder charge,” another passenger can be heard saying on the video. “You got a hell of a chokehold, man.”

    It was a chokehold, not a blood flow cut off.

    The restrained man thrashed and kicked for at least two minutes before becoming limp. Two men hovered over the action, helping to pin down Mr. Neely.

    The video doesn’t start at the beginning:

    On the F train on May 1, Juan Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist, began recording video after Mr. Penny had placed Mr. Neely in a headlock. He said later that Mr. Neely had been yelling about being hungry and unafraid to die, but it is unclear if he had physically threatened anyone.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  573. nk,

    What’s with the continuous IP changes?

    Beats me. They started when Patterico moved the site to a new server.

    nk (a8aa5d)

  574. Democrat congressman’s virginia staff attacked by baseball bat in latest attack on democrats.

    asset (b4dbe8)

  575. What ever you think of the altercation that lead to Neely’s death.

    The biggest issue, imo, is that abject failure by the government that allowed someone in Neely’s condition on the streets.

    whembly (d116f3)

  576. It was a chokehold, not a blood flow cut off.

    Is that what the medical examiner determined?

    BuDuh (eaef9b)

  577. A cutoff of blood flow is supposed to render someone unconscious in 8 seconds (not as fast as the fictional Vulcan nerve pinch of Mr. Spock, but fast) while cutting off air takes at least a minute.

    And the Marines tell their recruits to do the former:

    New Marines are trained to apply a “blood choke,” which, when done properly, cuts off blood and oxygen to the brain in as little as eight seconds. But it is imperative in a blood choke to not squeeze the person’s windpipe, which could lead to injury or worse, according to training documents.

    Of course, it’s all probably “taught” to fast for most people to catch on.

    An unofficial Marine website (linked to and quoted by the New York Times) says:

    https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/529690/co-c-recruits-learn-responsible-use-of-force

    “These choking techniques, if applied properly, are a fast and safe way to knock out the enemy,”

    Sgt. Brandon Karnes, drill instructor, Platoon 1051, Co. C, 1st RTBn.

    “A properly applied blood choke can knock out an enemy in less than eight seconds,” said Karnes. “Trying to restrict air to a victim can take close to a minute, which is enough time for the enemy to fight back.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  578. Why do you persist in claiming that the guy was executed? You know that’s not true and yet you keep on saying it.

    Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:08 pm

    Persist? I haven’t said it once.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  579. The top rated comments by NYT readers show that subway riders have a much different take on this incident than Bragg, Adams and the moronic activists.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  580. @560

    Did Durham recommend any charges or large policy changes to how the FBI opens investigations?

    Time123 (b97a7d) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:32 pm

    We both probably need to read it ourselves, but to answer to your first question: I seriously doubt it. There’s no law against to being wrong.

    As to that latter: I’m curious what he has to say regarding those policy changes. Might not get any legs unless the GOP House conducts hearings with Durham as a witness.

    Having said that: Here’s a quick twitter break down…
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1658191613540048933.html

    @Techno_Fog
    1h • 10 tweets • 3 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
    We have the Durham Report – a running thread:

    The Clinton campaign plan to link Trump-Russia – known to the CIA – was briefed to President Obama, VP Biden, AG Lynch, and FBI Director Comey
    The FBI and DOJ restricted two investigations into Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election:

    1) The Clinton Foundation investigation

    2) Illegal foreign contributions to the Clinton Campaign

    “No investigative activities occurred for months”

    Crossfire Hurricane was opened as a “full investigation” –

    Yet days after it was opened, Peter Strzok was essentially telling a London FBI employee that “there’s nothing to this” twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
    According to an FBI CHS in early 2016, the Clinton Campaign was “fully aware” of and “ok with” a foreign contribution in violation of federal law.

    The FBI agent didn’t get receipts – and asked the source to stay away from the Clinton campaign.
    The FBI made “no effort” to investigate “the Clinton campaign’s acceptance of an illegal “campaign contribution that was made by the FBI’s own long-term CHS.”
    The Carter Page FISA was submitted under intense pressure from the FBI leadership.

    FBI Director James Comey, in particulary, wanted the Carter Page FISA – badly.

    Comey to McCabe: “Where is the FISA, where is the FISA?” twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

    FBI leadership was so concerned about what its agents were finding about the Steele memos that they ordered:

    “no more memos were to be written”

    Do not “document any recommendations, context, or analysis”

    (cover-up)

    FBI Deputy Asst Director for Counterintelligence, Dina Corsi –

    Ordered the FBI team “not to write any more memoranda or analytical pieces”

    Corsi was speaking for FBI leadership.

    The FBI paid Steele primary subsource Igor Danchenko a total of $220K.

    The FBI – after it learned Danchenko lied to them, and during the Durham investigation – proposed future payments of $300K.

    Payments that would have kept Danchenko under wraps.

    Deeper analysis to be posted on Substack; link in bio (since Twitter now throttles)

    whembly (d116f3)

  581. What did Trump want to do that he was blocked from doing because of the Mueller investigation?

    Was he prevented from cutting taxes?
    Was he prevented from appointing conservative justices?
    Was his administration able to cut business regulations?
    Was he able to re-do NAFTA?
    Was he able to keep us out of TPP?
    Was he able to get his cabinet appointments through?
    Was he able to rail at NATO?
    Was he able to pow-wow with N. Korea?
    Was he able to back out of global warming agreements?
    Was he able to switch the Israel capitol to Jerusalem?
    Was he able to build sections of his wall?
    Was he able to keep some Muslims out?
    Was he able to break up illegal immigrant families to dissuade future migrants?
    Was he able to say outrageous things regularly on TV and in Tweets?
    Was he able to team with Putin on terrorism?
    Was he able to initiate getting out of Afghanistan?

    Blocking his every move? Trump did what he wanted. If there were legislative initiatives that he failed on, it was because Congress is toxic and he didn’t help the situation. This whining that Mueller cause Trump so much grief is silly.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  582. “The left, and especially the deep state have created a situation where the normal institutions of government are so distrusted that they have lost all moral power. We don’t care that Trump was impeached. We don’t care that Trump was indicted. We won’t care if Trump gets convicted.

    The people who did the impeaching, the indicting, and who may do the convicting have no credibility. They have no moral standing. They have more and bigger guns than we do and they’ve created a situation where they are more likely to have to use them because they abandoned everything else they were once able to rely on to encourage respect and compliance.”

    —- Tim Maguire

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  583. At least 3 people killed and 2 officers wounded in New Mexico shooting, police say
    ………..
    Three “civilian victims” were killed, Farmington police said, in addition to one suspect who was “confronted and killed on scene.”

    One Farmington police officer and one member of the state police were also wounded, Farmington police said. Both were stable.
    ………..
    The city, with a population of a little over 46,000, is about 200 miles northwest of Santa Fe, the state’s capital.

    The community — near the famed Four Corners where the borders of New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona meet — is also close to three major Native American reservations. The Navajo, Ute Mountain Indians and Southern Utes are all in close proximity of Farmington.
    ………..

    Farmington police were also recently involved in a wrong house shooting.

    ……….
    According to New Mexico State Police, Farmington police officers mistakenly approached the wrong house. Officers reportedly knocked on the front door and announced they were police. When no one answered, officers asked dispatch to call the reporting party back and have them come to the front door.

    As officers backed away from the door, the homeowner approached the door, armed with a handgun. Police identified the homeowner as 52-year-old Robert Dotson.

    “At this point in the encounter, officer(s) fired at least one round from their duty weapon(s), striking Mr. Dotson,” NMSP spokesman Ray Wilson wrote in a news release.

    After the initial shooting, Dotson’s wife – who was also armed – opened fire from the doorway of the home. Once again, police shot back.

    “Once she realized that the individuals outside the residence were officers, she put the gun down and complied with the officer’s commands,” Wilson wrote.

    Dotson was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife was uninjured.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  584. Who’s Tim Maguire?

    Rip Murdock (acd585)

  585. @585 The corporate establishment democrats are desperate to keep in control of the democrat party from the left party base. The donor class orders them to stop the left from taking over the party at any cost. The donor class rightly fears after AOC and the squad sends conservatives to the re-education camps they will be next.

    asset (b4dbe8)

  586. whembly (d116f3) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:00 pm

    The biggest issue, imo, is that abject failure by the government that allowed someone in Neely’s condition on the streets.

    The danger to him, though, as it was, came from other people.

    Now Jordan Neely’s mental condition was probably deteriorating, not that they had any idea how to cure him. He had been arrested over 40 times, but that was over the years, and sometimes would be naturally for farebeating, when they still did that, but there was something very serious in late 2021:

    In November 2021, Mr. Neely’s aggression seemed to peak, when he punched a 67-year-old woman in the street on the Lower East Side, the police said. The woman suffered severe facial injuries, including a broken nose, according to court documents. He was charged with assault and, awaiting the resolution of his case, spent 15 months in jail, the police said, though his family said the stint was shorter.

    The 15 onths is probably the length of time until his guilty plea, but he could have been released on bail before that, but not right away.

    This is the story of his guilty plea:

    He pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 of this year, in a carefully planned strategy between the city and his lawyers to allow him to get treatment and stay out of prison.

    “Do you know what the goal is today?” the judge, Ellen M. Biben, asked at the hearing.

    “Yes,” Mr. Neely replied.

    “What is that goal?”

    “To make it physically and mentally to the program.”

    He was to go from court to live at a treatment facility in the Bronx, and stay clean for 15 months. In return, his felony conviction would be reduced. He promised to take his medication and to avoid drugs, and not to leave the facility without permission.

    “This is a wonderful opportunity to turn things around, and we’re glad to give it to you,” Mary Weisgerber, a prosecutor, said.

    “Thank you so much,” Mr. Neely replied.

    But the facility wasn;t ajail and he left it after 13 days.

    A judge issued a bench warrant.

    But police don’t usually go looking for someone with a bench warrant out against him, but wait until the the next encounter with police.

    Except the “progressives” changed something about that too – and they no longer check for bench warrants when removing someone from the subway, because, progressives said, that amounted to making homelessness a crime. Law enforcement was losing its antibodies like the progressives wanted. so the bench warrant never caught up with him.

    This is what happened

    In March, an outreach worker saw him in the subway, neatly dressed, calm and subdued, and got him a ride to a shelter in the Bronx. (The outreach workers typically do not check for arrest warrants when interacting with homeless people.)

    OK, and he was more or less all right, right then.

    Then:

    On April 8, when outreach workers approached him in a subway car at the end of the line in Coney Island, Mr. Neely urinated in front of them.

    Well, that was something that caused him to call the police.

    When an outreach worker went to call the police, according to a worker’s notes, Mr. Neely shouted, “Just wait until they get here, I got something for you, just wait and see.”

    Officers arrived and ejected Mr. Neely from the train, apparently unaware of the arrest warrant.

    It’s not clear what, f anything, he had for anyone.

    An outreach worker noted that he was aggressive and incoherent. “He could be a harm to others or himself if left untreated,” the worker wrote.

    Not really – he was probably too incoherent for that.

    Sammy Finkelman (02a146)

  587. @whembly@572 I mean, technically I and my former co-workers are members of the public :P. I get what you mean, but you were asking how it should be done and that’s how. OTOH, I have no idea how to to a choke hold.

    Nic (896fdf)

  588. The Durham report itself:
    https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

    whembly (d116f3)

  589. Daniel Penny wanted to be a bartender (which might mean he might get to see an abusive drunk or two) and wanted to meet eccentric people:

    Mr. Penny posted on the hospitality site that he dreamed of bartending in Manhattan.

    “During the travels I rediscovered my love for interacting and connecting with people,” he wrote. “Being able to serve and connect with the most interesting and eccentric the world has to offer, is what I believe I am meant to do.”

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  590. A former federal judge has to state the obvious about the 14th amendment in a New York Times Op-ed piece: (now called Guest Essays)

    https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/14/opinion/debt-limit-constitution.html

    …Begin with constitutional basics. Article I, Section 8 lists the powers of Congress. The first clause of Section 8 provides that Congress may “lay and collect taxes.” The second clause provides that Congress has the power “to borrow money on the credit of the United States.” These clauses are absolute. The executive branch cannot impose taxes or borrow funds on its own authority. Together with the power over spending, these powers are known as the power of the purse, which belongs entirely to the legislative branch….

    …..The debt limit is nothing more than an authorization from Congress to borrow a certain amount, up to a certain limit. The debt ceiling is not a restriction on what would otherwise be the president’s ability to borrow; it is an authorization for the executive branch to borrow up to that ceiling. Above that, the president may not go.

    Nonetheless, Mr. Biden’s advisers reportedly are contemplating violating the congressional debt limit based on a far-fetched interpretation of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment propounded by some academics. Previous administrations have flirted with this idea, but all have rejected it. Mr. Biden should do the same. It would twist the words of the 14th Amendment, ignore its history and send the markets into turmoil.

    Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, enacted in the wake of the Civil War, says: “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” The immediate purpose was to prevent future Congresses (if controlled by pro-Confederate Democrats) from repudiating pension obligations and other debts incurred to win the Civil War. No doubt it applies beyond those narrow circumstances. But by its terms it does not authorize the president to borrow more money in violation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 2. Nor does it authorize the president to impose taxes in violation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 1. By its terms, it does not augment the president’s powers one iota.

    Nor does Section 4 have anything to do with payment of the national debt. It does not make it unconstitutional for the United States to run out of money. Nice idea, but impossible. Section 4 prevents the only institution of government that could deny the validity of the debt — namely, Congress — from doing so. For the United States to fail to pay interest or principal on its debt would be financially catastrophic, but it would not affect the validity of the debt. When borrowers fail to make payments on lawfully incurred debt, this does not question the validity of those debts; their debts are just as valid as before. The borrowers are just in default.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  591. Rip Murdock (acd585) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:18 pm

    More:

    ……….
    Attorneys for both sides have given dueling narratives of what happened around 11:30 p.m. April 5, when three Farmington police officers responded to the incorrect address for a domestic violence call.
    ……….
    After no one answers the door, police start walking away. Dotson, 52, answers the door with a gun in his hand, and all three officers open fire, police said.

    Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said he believes Dotson aimed his weapon at police.
    …………
    “FPD released a ridiculously false narrative intended and designed to shift focus away from the murderous actions of the officers and to blame Robbie,” attorneys Mark Reichel and Shon Northam said in a written statement. “The FPD’s false narrative easily is debunked and disproved simply by reviewing the body camera footage and Ring camera footage.”

    The neighborhood was dark when police arrived, and dispatch gave officers both the correct house number – 5308 – as well as a photo of the correct house, the attorneys said.

    But the officers went to the wrong house – 5305 – and knocked on the door. “Their announcement was not loud,” the Dotson family attorneys said.
    …………
    According to Dotson’s family attorneys, a “freeze frame of the tape shows Robbie holding the gun, and not pointing it at the officers. Rather, the gun is clearly pointed down at the ground.”
    ………..
    An attorney representing the three police officers claims the officers were “justified” in their actions.
    ………..
    “The officers were clearly visible, calmly announced themselves multiple times, and did nothing to suggest that they were trying to force their way into the Dotsons’ home,” (their lawyer) said.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  592. Page 18:

    As such, the answer is not the creation of new rules but a renewed fidelity to the old. The promulgation of additional rules and regulations to be learned in yet more training sessions would likely prove to be a fruitless exercise if the FBI’s guiding principles of “Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity” are not engrained in the hearts and minds of those sworn to meet the FBI’ s mission of “Protect[ing] the American People and Uphold[ing] the Constitution of the United States.”

    That’s quite damning.

    o.O

    I mean… daaaaaaaaaaaamn!

    whembly (d116f3)

  593. I sincerely hope lurker finds your 1:08 “instructive,” Paul. He wasn’t too impressed with me posting similarly 2 hours ago.

    BuDuh (eaef9b) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:12 pm

    That’s because, as I explained, Neely can be guilty of menacing under that statute (which I suspect he was) without having caused the reasonable fear for one’s life required to justify Penny’s use of deadly force.

    Again, the law for justifiable use of deadly force requires the person using it to have been in reasonable fear for his or someone else’s life. It doesn’t say they can use it if they’re being menaced, which is a much looser standard.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  594. Link for post 594.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  595. In short: The Durham report is damning. It shows the FBI operating as a disinformation shop for the Clinton campaign, ignoring its own rules, and both blatantly and maliciously interfering in a presidential election. The Steele dossier was fake, and several members of the FBI knew it all along. The leadership even instructed departments to stop generating paper trail in attempt to circumvent transparency efforts.

    whembly (d116f3)

  596. Moldova breaks from Putin.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  597. It gets worse:

    The new debt is not authorized, and the 14th amendment doe not apply to that

    The judge exaggerates the effect. It could be sold and maybe at only a small premium. He misses the anti-deficiency act, and the fact that they can prioritize. The only recognition the stock and bond markets have given to this is that:

    1) Federal debt coming due in one month is selling at higher rate of interest (lower price) than that coming due in two months because there is a slight worry about delay

    2A) Shares of companies that receive payments from the federal government, like military contractors or health care providers have dropped a bit.

    This latter anticipates the carrying out of the semi secret Obama plan – ay legal debt on time and everything else pay only when there is enough cash on hand to pay an entire day’s bills

    There are so many other ways to handle this other than the catastrophe Biden is threatening.

    1) prepayment of taxes at a discount maybe.

    2) working with banks to credit accounts early at no interest.

    3) The platinum coin(s)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  598. The campaign to conserve water (when what they should be conserving is waste)

    https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/war-appliances-continues-biden-admin-releases-new-rules-dishwashers

    There couldn;t be anything more stupid.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  599. whembly (d116f3) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:34 pm

    To quote the Colonel: Yawn.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  600. If this Giuliani story is true, then ew.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  601. whembly – the FBI has been a political tool for quite some time now. Obama weaponized it and it has gone downhill since.

    JD (400d0a)

  602. As Special Counsel investigations go, Durham’s was a colossal bust. It’s figures that he’s deflecting from his dismal failure.
    All those thousands of hours and millions of dollars, and there was just a single conviction, which was given to him by IG Horowitz.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  603. Why do you persist in claiming that the guy was executed? You know that’s not true and yet you keep on saying it.

    What does “capital punishment” mean to you then?

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  604. @605

    As Special Counsel investigations go, Durham’s was a colossal bust. It’s figures that he’s deflecting from his dismal failure.
    All those thousands of hours and millions of dollars, and there was just a single conviction, which was given to him by IG Horowitz.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:50 pm

    We don’t need a conviction.

    We needed someone to pull the wool over the public’s eyes as to what really happened.

    Durham showed that the FBI operating as a disinformation shop for the Clinton campaign, ignoring its own rules, and both blatantly and maliciously interfering in a presidential election.

    The Steele dossier was fake, and even several members of the FBI knew it all along.

    I don’t think we can support this current iteration of the FBI. I don’t know how it can be fixed, only that the FBI has zero credibility.

    whembly (d116f3)

  605. Was he prevented from cutting taxes? No, but that was purely a legislative act.
    Was he prevented from appointing conservative justices? No, but that was purely a Senate action.
    Was his administration able to cut business regulations? Did he? I know he said he did, but that doesn’t mean a lot.
    Was he able to re-do NAFTA? Again, not something the bureaucracy or the courts could interfere with.
    Was he able to keep us out of TPP? And again, not subect to the bureaucracy or the courts.

    Was he able to get his cabinet appointments through? Eventually. The levels below that though were massively delayed. Some his fault, some not.

    Was he able to rail at NATO?
    Was he able to say outrageous things regularly on TV and in Tweets?
    Was he able to pow-wow with N. Korea?
    Was he able to back out of global warming agreements?

    Again, purely presidential prerogatives.

    Was he able to switch the Israel capitol to Jerusalem? I believe the Israelis did that

    Was he able to build sections of his wall?
    Was he able to keep some Muslims out?

    You had to work on the wording there. A lot of that was blocked by the courts, particularly Hawaiian ones.

    Was he able to break up illegal immigrant families to dissuade future migrants? No, that was larely a Obama policy. Most of the pictures shown of the poor little urchins in their space blankets were from 2015 and such.

    Was he able to team with Putin on terrorism? As in killing ISIS? Yes, he was. That whole CinC thing.

    Was he able to initiate getting out of Afghanistan? Sadly.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  606. But, OK. You’ve proven that Trump was an effective President. Good work.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  607. Even the so-called “pee tape” wasn’t a Russian creation. It came from a scummy Democrat.

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  608. We needed someone to pull the wool over the public’s eyes as to what really happened.

    What really happened, whembly, is that Trump wanted FBI scalps for investigating him, and he got Bill Barr to go along and give Durham the charge of investigating the investigators. Big colossal bust.

    If I had to choose which investigation should never have launched, it was Durham’s, given that Mueller did establish that Putin mounted a “sweeping and systematic” hacking and propaganda attack on America.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  609. Man… those intelligence people sure proved to be sober, loyal Americans… amirite?

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  610. How the Supreme Court might view the debt limit fight
    ………..
    ……….. If he invoked the 14th Amendment to avoid a default — an option the White House is weighing — it would be just the sort of unprecedented power grab that the conservative justices have condemned in other areas of Biden’s economic platform.

    Ultimately, legal experts say, the Supreme Court might try to dodge the issue altogether. The recurring fight over the debt ceiling has always been a political standoff, and the justices might want it to stay that way.
    ……….
    The move would trigger a constitutional quandary layered on top of a potential financial crisis – and if challenged in court, it could rocket up to 1 First Street, perhaps even on the so-called shadow docket, the process the court uses to resolve emergency appeals quickly.

    What would happen then is difficult to predict. …….
    …………
    ………… (T)he vague language of the (Public Debt Clause of 14th Amendment) has been interpreted by the Supreme Court only once – in a 1935 case called Perry v. United States that does not answer whether a congressionally mandated debt ceiling is valid.
    …………
    Because the issue is so novel, it is difficult to predict how individual justices would interpret the public debt clause.

    (Stanley Brand, former general counsel for the House of Representatives) guessed that the three liberal justices would side with Biden, while headstrong conservatives like Samuel Alito would be against.

    The court’s more pragmatically minded conservatives, like John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh, may be — as they so often are on the current court — the pivotal votes.

    “This one,” (Cornell law professor Michael Dorf) said, “could fall in that narrow slice where the court says, ‘Look, this is a political dispute between the president and the Congress, and they have ample means of resolving this; we don’t referee those disputes.’”
    …………
    Michael McConnell, a professor at Stanford Law School, said the pace of litigation — compared with the rapid response of the markets — is one reason the case would never reach the high court.

    “If the president, on his own authority, ordered the issuance of new bonds, they would not be backed by the United States and investors would be foolish to buy them,” he said.

    “The economic consequence would happen immediately, long before it ever got to court,” McConnell added. “This is just an illegal, foolish idea.”
    ………….

    Biden (and others, such as Treasury Secretary Yellen) would almost certainly be impeached if they tried the “14th Amendment option.”

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  611. Farmington police officers mistakenly approached the wrong house

    Farmington, like most of non-urban New Mexico is mostly policed by homeowners as police response can be slow. That shooting sounds a lot like the police failed to announce and people who live in isolation tend to be reactive to people trying to break in at night.

    The existence of doorcams and body cams will be persuasive. The cops obviously had their guns drawn and pointed at the door when the homeowner appeared with a weapon. Despite their numbers and their body armor, they opened fire at the sight of a gun. EVERY HOUSEHOLD in that part of the state has more guns than people and banging on the wrong house at night will get you an armed response.

    Note that the addresses indicate not just the wrong house, but the wrong side of the street. They were reckless going in, and are now trying to avoid lawsuits ad manslaughter charges.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  612. CHAZee!

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  613. Shorter Rip: Claiming the Debt Limit is void would cause a constitutional crisis.

    The Court would be in a tough position, and would probably enjoin the payment of anything OTHER THAN the bond debt until the situation was solved, then put the case on next year’s calendar. Which would mean that Social Security payments, contractor payments, federal employee payments, Medicare, Medicaid, etc all would go unpaid until Congress acted. And they would act fast, if only with a small increase in the Debt Limit.

    But I suspect that Congress will avoid all this and increase the Debt Limit by a 100 billion or so to give them time.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  614. whembly (d116f3) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:58 pm

    Given the fact that Trump appointed the FBI Director (after firing Obama’s appointee) you got wonder how he lost control of the FBI.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  615. Rip Murdock (e4a4f2) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:17 pm

    Biden (and others, such as Treasury Secretary Yellen) would almost certainly be impeached if they tried the “14th Amendment option.”

    That could do it, although you still needs a 2/3 vote in the Senate to remove (and a few weeks to go through the process)

    But if this caused any kind of catastrophic economic consequences, Biden’s approval rating would drop below 25% and he’d probably withdraw his candidacy for another term.

    Which is one reason all this is a bluff.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  616. The Court would be in a tough position, and would probably enjoin the payment of anything OTHER THAN the bond debt until the situation was solved, then put the case on next year’s calendar. Which would mean that Social Security payments, contractor payments, federal employee payments, Medicare, Medicaid, etc all would go unpaid until Congress acted. And they would act fast, if only with a small increase in the Debt Limit.

    Occam’s Razor for predictions: the easiest path is the most likely. I agree with Dorf-the Court won’t give the political branches an out and will punt it back as a political question.

    And even if they were stupid enough to get involved, they wouldn’t push a decision into the next term.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  617. Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:23 pm

    The Court would be in a tough position, and would probably enjoin the payment of anything OTHER THAN the bond debt until the situation was solved, then put the case on next year’s calendar.

    Why should they do that?

    Money is coming in all the time.

    Just write other checks, one day late, two days late etc.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  618. I’m not sure that you have the right to assault someone for being annoying or else DCSCA would regularly be in peril.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:39 am

    Literally LOL

    norcal (15fce4)

  619. That could do it, although you still needs a 2/3 vote in the Senate to remove (and a few weeks to go through the process)

    Impeachment would be enough to damage Biden so he couldn’t be re-elected. He doesn’t have the force of will (or support) to overcome it, unlike Trump. Which is why I don’t understand why the House Republicans haven’t pursued it so far.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  620. Why do you persist in claiming that the guy was executed? You know that’s not true and yet you keep on saying it.

    What does “capital punishment” mean to you then?

    According to Merriam-Webster it means “punishment by death.” Replace “capital punishment” with “punishment by death” and my comment becomes, “I can’t judge what I didn’t see, but in and of itself shouting “I’m gonna kill a motherf#cker” doesn’t merit punishment by death.” That looks fine to me.

    Obviously I didn’t say Neely was executed. I said I couldn’t judge what I didn’t see, so everything after that was implicitly contingent and hypothetical. I suggested, hypothetically, that if all someone does is shout something, however threatening, punishment by death isn’t warranted. I stand by that.

    Whatever I said, I said it once, not repeatedly. And since I didn’t say what you said I did, I obviously don’t know that what I said is wrong. I don’t even know that what you accused me of saying is wrong. I just don’t claim it’s right. Regardless, please don’t try to read my mind. You tell people not to do it to you, so please accord me the same courtesy.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  621. And even if they were stupid enough to get involved, they wouldn’t push a decision into the next term.

    They would “push it back” by temporarily protecting the debt service while the politicians came to their senses. The “next term” thing is saying “we are not going to bail you out.”

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  622. lurker, it is possible that I am conflating your words with equally intemperate words of others but words like “murder” “capital punishment” “strangling” and the like have been flying out without need.

    I guess that “strangling” is nk’s repeated thing, so, sorry for confusing you two.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  623. Which is why I don’t understand why the House Republicans haven’t pursued it so far.

    Because there are actually some voters who think that Congress’s day job is dealing with the issue of the day, not playing one-upmanship games and counting coups.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  624. I’m not sure that you have the right to assault someone for being annoying or else DCSCA would regularly be in peril.

    To be fair, assaulting someone for being annoying ONLINE is most certainly not allowed. Then again, there is the “punch in the nose” thing that encourages verbal restraint face to face, and is entirely missing online. And it shows.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  625. Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:35 pm

    Still don’t think it will happen that way. Highly speculative.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  626. @ChuckRossDC 2h
    It’s a 320-page report. One quick thing that catches my eye: FBI ended one aspect of its investigation after “a longtime and valuable confidential human source” made an “improper and possibly illegal campaign contribution” to the Clinton campaign on behalf of a “foreign entity.”

    My 610 was wrong, maybe not from a scummy democrat (Dolan)

    Greg Price @greg_price11
    BREAKING: On the false claim in the Steele Dossier that Trump was peed on by Russian hookers, the Durham Report says that Steele’s source Igor Danchenko made the whole thing up, never heard it from any of his sources, and never even stayed at the hotel where he said it occurred.

    For his fan bois… https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1658207039011561526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1658207039011561526%7Ctwgr%5E0eb2a407b8e5b3421d8bd53fae9f70122840de85%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Face.mu.nu%2Farchives%2F404444.php404444

    https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1658209699148210181?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1658209699148210181%7Ctwgr%5E0eb2a407b8e5b3421d8bd53fae9f70122840de85%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Face.mu.nu%2Farchives%2F404444.php404444

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  627. Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:41 pm

    I don’t think impeaching Biden is “oneupmanship,” he clearly has committed impeachable offenses by taking actions without Congressional approval-student loan forgiveness; DACA; etc. They aren’t as sexy as impeaching someone for leading an insurrection, but he shouldn’t get a pass because his actions encroach on the authority of Congress.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  628. if my daughters were on that train, I’d be extremely thankful that Penny and the other two (not charged somehow) did what they did. But maybe that makes me an asshole

    I’d be thankful for restraining him, not for killing him. Putting aside all the unresolved issues of Penny’s legal and moral culpability, if you’re grateful for Neely’s death, well… I won’t use your label. Suffice it to say I’d consider it far less than admirable.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  629. K

    Jonathan Turley

    @JonathanTurley

    Given Durham’s findings that there was no basis for the actions taken by the FBI in launching this investigation, this would be a good time for former House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff to reveal that evidence he said showed the Russian collusion… Schiff and other Democrats previously sought to prevent Durham from continuing his investigation and issuing this report.

    https://jonathanturley.org/2021/11/10/schiff-calls-for-prosecutions-of-those-who-lied-on-steele-dossier-after-attacking-the-durham-investigation/

    https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley/status/1658208955712122880

    BuDuh (d514a4)

  630. @604. ‘…the FBI has been a political tool for quite some time now. Obama weaponized it and it has gone downhill since.’

    Obama? Try a few decades earlier:

    A politically weaponized FBI is nothing new, but plenty dangerous

    “In reality, the FBI has been politically weaponized for almost a century. The FBI was in the forefront of the notorious Red Scare raids of 1919 and 1920. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer reportedly hoped that arresting nearly 10,000 suspected radicals and immigrants would propel his presidential campaign. Federal Judge Anderson condemned Palmer’s crackdown for creating a “spy system” that “destroys trust and confidence and propagates hate.” He said, “A mob is a mob whether made up of government officials acting under instructions from the Department of Justice, or of criminals, loafers, and the vicious classes.

    After the Palmer raids debacle, the FBI turned its attention to U.S. senators, “breaking into their offices and homes, intercepting their mail, and tapping their telephones,” as Timothy Weiner noted in his 2012 book, “Enemies: The History of the FBI”. After the FBI’s political espionage was exposed, Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone, warned in 1924, “A secret police system may become a menace to free government and free institutions because it carries with it the possibility of abuses of power which are not always quickly comprehended or understood.” Stone fired the FBI chief, creating an opening for J. Edgar Hoover, who would head the FBI for the next 48 years. Hoover pledged to cease the abuses but the outrages mushroomed.

    In the 1948 presidential campaign, Hoover brazenly championed Republican candidate Thomas Dewey, leaking allegations that Truman was part of a corrupt Kansas City political machine. In 1952, Hoover sought to undermine Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson by spreading rumors that he was a closet homosexual.

    In 1964, the FBI illegally wiretapped Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater’s presidential headquarters and plane and conducted background checks on his campaign staff for evidence of homosexual activity. The FBI also conducted an extensive surveillance operation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention to prevent embarrassing challenges to President Lyndon Johnson.

    From 1956 to 1971, the FBI carried out “a secret war against those citizens it considers threats to the established order,” a 1976 Senate report noted. The FBI’s Operation COINTELPRO involved thousands of covert operations to incite street warfare between violent groups, to get people fired, to portray innocent people as government informants, to destroy activists’ marriages, and to cripple or destroy left-wing, black, communist, white racist, and anti-war organizations. Even feminists were eventually added to the target list. Senate investigators warned, “(The) FBI intelligence system developed to a point where no one inside or outside the bureau was willing or able to tell the difference between legitimate national security or law enforcement information and purely political intelligence.”

    Hoover served as FBI boss until his death in 1972. A New York Times obituary noted, “The more awesome Mr. Hoover’s power grew, the more plainly he would state, for the record, that there was nothing ‘political’ about it, that the FBI was simply a ‘fact-finding agency’ that ‘never makes recommendations or draws conclusions.’” This was the myth that allowed a federal agency to accumulate vast power which it continues to covertly exercise. The FBI pirouettes as the saintliest institution in Washington while its leaders dish dirt to their political or media favorites.” – https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/392084-a-politically-weaponized-fbi-is-nothing-new-but-plenty-dangerous/

    DCSCA (701a35)

  631. I’d be thankful for restraining him, not for killing him. Putting aside all the unresolved issues of Penny’s legal and moral culpability, if you’re grateful for Neely’s death, well… I won’t use your label. Suffice it to say I’d consider it far less than admirable.
    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:58 pm

    of course you would

    Here’s what can happen in the confines of a train car when a chokehold and potentially deadly force isn’t used on a public nuisance who wasn’t violent, until he was

    We should be thankful they didn’t administer “capital punishment” on the guy, but I seriously doubt their “far less than admirable” families join you in that sick notion

    JF (f8f58a)

  632. no one in the history of the English language has used “capital punishment” other than as a form of execution

    why not just own your ridiculous hyperbole, lurker?

    JF (f8f58a)

  633. I guess that “strangling” is nk’s repeated thing, so, sorry for confusing you two.

    It certainly is, Ollie. And I’m sticking to it.

    nk (518049)

  634. ^^The Chicken Factor^^

    Colonel Haiku (0633a3)

  635. @622. Sticks & stones; the stovepiper’s lament, ‘dispatched’ from the ramparts behind the paywall.

    DCSCA (701a35)

  636. Obama, Comey, Adams, Bragg… and now Durham reaffirms what Americans have known for decades: the DOJ is corrupted and the Rule of Law is dead. Watching hapless lawyers desperately flailing, flinging poop against the paywalls and the Teevee screens to revive it; to legitimize and justify their reputatiuons and poor choice of career path is a helluva show, too. As, to their utter horror, they’re learning the hard way, that Americans don’t want to be governed; they wish to be entertained.

    ‘WOW! After extensive research, Special Counsel John Durham concludes the FBI never should have launched the Trump-Russia Probe! In other words, the American Public was scammed, just as it is being scammed right now by those who don’t want to see GREATNESS for AMERICA!’- Donald J. Trump

    ‘When Durham;
    Shows the Feds ran a scam;
    That was wrong;
    To go after The Don;
    When the steal;
    Was a Hillary deal…

    That’s En-ter-tain-ment!’

    DCSCA (701a35)

  637. What does “capital punishment” mean to you then?

    “Too big to fail” bailed out banks loaned tax $ at next to 0% interest charging American consumers/customers 27% interest rates.

    DCSCA (701a35)

  638. You can’t legally squeeze someone’s neck until they die without persuasively showing you reasonably believed he was an immediate deadly threat to you or those around you.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 11:48 am

    Kevin,

    you don’t need to apologize. You read it correctly. I was outraged when I read it as well.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  639. Haiku,

    the mobys and leftists won’t respond to your excellent posts. They’ll just dissemble and bang the table.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  640. Issues & Insights/TIPP Poll 5/15/23

    ……….
    In the most recent poll reading, Trump stands at 55% support, up from 47% in April and 51% in March. His nearest challenger, Ron DeSantis, claims 17% of the GOP’s voters, down from 23% in April and 21% in March.
    ………..
    No other Republican candidate reaches double-digit support.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence remains stuck at 6%, his average over the past three months, while Trump’s former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley remains at 4%, unchanged for three months.

    Entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy, a virtual unknown before announcing his candidacy in February, has raised his support from 1% in March and April to 4% this month………

    South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott gets 2% of the vote, while Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchison and popular radio personality and former California gubernatorial candidate Larry Elder both eke out 1% support. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who last week called Trump a “coward” and a “puppet of Putin,” and current New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu both get 0%.
    …………

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  641. It’s one of the ways people who work with the severely mentally ill teens are trained to take down mentally ill people who are a danger to themselves or someone else. I’ve done it probably more than 100 times (including on people larger than myself).

    Nic (896fdf) — 5/15/2023 @ 1:44 pm

    Good golly, Nic. Do you work at a school or an insane asylum?

    norcal (15fce4)

  642. No surprise there, Rob. Show them the man, they’ll gin up the crime.

    Colonel Haiku (413a9d)

  643. @645. It’s EZ to peg the folks here who’ve never had to risk riding aboard a NYC subway train to and from work, or to go shopping w/no transit cop anywhere nearby.

    “They’re never around when you need’em.”- Lt. Zachary Garber [Walter Matthau] ‘The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3’ 1974

    DCSCA (701a35)

  644. Great, DCSCA. In my imagination, I just sneezed all over you.

    A la [Martin Balsam] ‘The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3’ 1974

    Colonel Haiku (413a9d)

  645. It’s comical, sad, pathetic, although quite predictable how the Left is goi g after Durham findings.

    JD (660a5b)

  646. I have to admit being disappointed by the border crossers. I was expecting a rush on the border that would look like black friday shoppers at walmart. The Coyotes must have been upset. Gate crashing is bad for business

    steveg (eec25c)

  647. @648. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDlEcFRZUYI&t=1s

    “Gesundheit.” – Lt. Zachary Garber [Walter Matthau] ‘The Talking of Pelham 1,2,3,’ 1974

    DCSCA (701a35)

  648. Sticks & stones; the stovepiper’s lament, ‘dispatched’ from the ramparts behind the paywall.

    DCSCA (701a35) — 5/15/2023 @ 5:20 pm

    I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt, but I don’t think you realize how you come across to the people who read this site.

    norcal (15fce4)

  649. @652. ROFLMAOPIP.

    “I’ve been reamed by experts…”- Lt. Col.’Jiggs’ Casey [Kirk Douglas] ‘Seven Days In May’ 1964

    DCSCA (701a35)

  650. @ DCSCA (701a35) — 5/15/2023 @ 5:46 pm

    And yet nothing happened.
    Still to big to fail.

    Joe (2c82c2)

  651. @623/631. Problem is, BOTH parties have devalued the cache of ‘impeachment’ to the point of it being little more than just another stain to clean off Uncle Sam’s frockcoat. It was once a rare weapon to use; now they draw it like cartoon. Remember, in modern times, it was Republicans who finally went after the criminality of THe Big Dick and forced the articles of impeachment to move forward and got him to resign. Since then, it’s been uses for such silly partisan putposes that it’s no more feared than Putin threatening using nukes. And in Trump’s popuilist case, the two are literally a badge of honor. Te only way Biden gets impeached is if the Ds accept he’s the liar, plagiarist and crook they know he is and have a VP in their pocket to replace him. And Kamala ain’t it.

    DCSCA (701a35)

  652. Skimmed the report.
    -no charges
    -no false testimony by those involved
    -seems to agree with the IG findings.
    -concluded it should have been a preliminary investigation rather then a full investigation.

    Time123 (ff00d9)

  653. As I said, predtable, mendoucheous, and sad

    JD (bbf24f)

  654. Never forget Pelosi’s clucking: “He’s been impeached! Twice! He’s been impeached!!!”

    And this is important to you, ol’cow? Moooo! Image over substance, dear; “Yikes!” indeed:

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/07/yikes-nancy-pelosi-flashes-major-cleavage-italian-beach-resort-owned-andrea-bocelli/

    DCSCA (701a35)

  655. Time123 (ff00d9) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:08 pm

    To quote Gertrude Stein (again) “there is no there there.”

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2)

  656. @659. And as Alice said to Gertrude before they bedded down, “You’ll see it soon enough. Try these brownies I just baked.” 😉

    DCSCA (701a35)

  657. DCSCA (701a35) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:07 pm

    I disagree. I think all of the impeachments were justified.

    The Clinton impeachment wasn’t about sex. It was about sexual harassment (the Paula Jones case, which, unfortunately for her, pre-dated the MeToo movement). Clinton lost his law license over that, for crying out loud. Why not the Presidency as well?

    Trump’s “perfect call” was anything but, so that impeachment was justified.

    J6 was even worse, so of course impeachment was the proper thing.

    The problem isn’t the impeachments. It’s the tribalism that prevents conviction and removal from office.

    There aren’t enough Cheneys and Romneys out there, which many think is a good thing, but it’s really indicative of how steeped they are in MAGA propaganda.

    norcal (15fce4)

  658. To quote Gertrude Stein (again) “there is no there there.”
    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:20 pm

    FBI “exonerated”, sez Rip

    Comedy gold!!

    JF (4efdab)

  659. ^^Now THAT is funny!^^

    Colonel Haiku (413a9d)

  660. @661. Fine. Disagree. But the parties go to it now like Mattie Ross going to ‘Lawyer Daggett’ in ‘True Grit.’

    “She draws him like a gun!” – Ranger La Boeuf [Glen Campbell] ‘True Grit’ 1969

    DCSCA (701a35)

  661. You can’t legally squeeze someone’s neck until they die without persuasively showing you reasonably believed he was an immediate deadly threat to you or those around you.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 11:48 am

    Kevin,

    you don’t need to apologize. You read it correctly. I was outraged when I read it as well.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/15/2023 @ 5:52 pm

    Lol. What you quoted isn’t my opinion. It’s the law. But go ahead. Be outraged.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  662. Comedy gold!!

    JF (4efdab) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:30 pm

    Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. – Oscar Wilde

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  663. the mobys and leftists won’t respond to your excellent posts. They’ll just dissemble and bang the table.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/15/2023 @ 5:53 pm

    Don’t be coy. Tell us who the mobys and leftists are.

    I can think of exactly one commenter here who could accurately be described as a leftist. And zero mobys. But obviously I’m too blind to see. So, Rob, spill.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  664. In Like Flynn:

    Although he canceled his outdoor rally in Iowa due to tornado warnings, Donald Trump did not let his Saturday night end without addressing a crowd. The former president called in to a pro-MAGA event featuring disgraced former national security advisor Michael Flynn and signaled he would make Flynn part of his next administration……..

    “I want to thank you all for being here at the wonderful hotel,” Trump said as Flynn held a cell phone up to a microphone so the audience at the “ReAwaken America Tour” event, taking place at Trump National Doral Miami, could hear. “It’s a wonderful hotel, but you’re there for an even more important purpose.”
    …………..
    “I will say, General Flynn, he’s some general. He’s some man,” Trump continued. “He took abuse like nobody could have handled, and he came out bigger, better, stronger than ever before.”
    …………
    “We love him,” Trump said. “He’s a leader, and you just stay wealthy and healthy and well, and everything. I want you to have great lives in general. You just have to stay healthy because we’re bringing you back. We’re gonna bring you back.”
    ………….
    Flynn, who has become a popular figure in QAnon circles, also played a large part in the attempts to subvert democracy and halt the electoral count on Jan. 6. He urged Trump to “declare limited martial law” and “temporarily suspend the Constitution” and spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally ahead of the attack on the Capitol.
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  665. lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:53 pm

    We know who the leftists are-anyone who disagrees with or has a different viewpoint than NJRob.

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  666. Rip Murdock (06ef16) — 5/15/2023 @ 7:58 pm

    I think NJRob’s heart is in the right place. He just tends to see things through a Manichean, apocalyptic lens.

    norcal (15fce4)

  667. I think NJRob’s heart is in the right place……..

    He has a heart?

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  668. blockquote>I think NJRob’s heart is in the right place……..

    He has a heart?

    Rip Murdock (06ef16) — 5/15/2023 @ 8:16 pm

    No offense, but sometimes the jokes just write themselves.

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  669. someone hit a nerve

    JF (4efdab)

  670. “No offense, but sometimes the jokes just write themselves.”

    Why yes… yes “they” do. “They” have that ability.

    Colonel Haiku (413a9d)

  671. Happy Mothers Day!

    …………
    “Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country,” he wrote (on Truth Social).

    Trump continued, “Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
    …………

    Notably there was no mention of mother of his son and current wife.

    Rip Murdock (7afc4c)

  672. Thin skinned and very repetitive.

    Colonel Haiku (413a9d)

  673. Thin skinned and very repetitive.

    I’ll resist the temptation to name posters here that fit that description.

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  674. “Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country,” he wrote (on Truth Social).

    Trump continued, “Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
    …………

    Rip Murdock (7afc4c) — 5/15/2023 @ 8:25 pm

    Politics as a comic book

    norcal (15fce4)

  675. Notably there was no mention of mother of his son and current wife.
    Rip Murdock (7afc4c) — 5/15/2023 @ 8:25 pm

    No mention of the mother of demented Joe’s abandoned granddaughter either. Trump should do better.

    JF (4efdab)

  676. JF (4efdab) — 5/15/2023 @ 8:31 pm

    Don’t worry, he’ll get around to it.

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  677. The Trump show is so stale (and that’s the most polite term I can think of), and Biden was never very wise, even in his prime.

    The evil of two lessers.

    We can do better, people.

    norcal (15fce4)

  678. We can do better, people.

    Randomly out of the phone book. If we still had phone books.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  679. @678, Trump’s a sociopath. It’s demented thinking. This is the same BS Putin shovels to his sheep. He knows only we can destroy America from within…and only severe partisanship will do that. We have some here that appear to be disciples of that Gospel of Hate. We’re playing with fire. DeSantis, who knows better, is playing with fire. The President needs to be the President of all of us, not just the President of his Party. He needs to be the wise voice that inspires us to be better, inspires us to see the best in one another. A President should rise above our worse impulses and be an example. Trump is a horrible person — promising only retribution and strife…he will destroy us out of spite; Biden is unfit for this critical role, past his time, not courageous enough to lead anyone forward. We have to stop pretending that we need either of them. We need to do better and we need to model behavior for the next generation. Do we really want young people seeing such ugly hate spewed across web sites. At what point is it just embarrassing?

    AJ_Liberty (a68064)

  680. AJ_Liberty (a68064) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:20 pm

    I honestly cannot comprehend how anyone can look at Trump’s Mother’s Day tweet and not laugh. It’s like somebody is doing a caricature of Trump!

    norcal (15fce4)

  681. @683. Trump’s a showman…

    FIFY.

    “The President needs to be the President of all of us, not just the President of his Party. He needs to be the wise voice that inspires us to be better, inspires us to see the best in one another. A President should rise above our worse impulses and be an example.”

    ROFLMAOPIP!! OFGS, AJ, Grow up:

    “What America needs are leaders to match the greatness of her people!”- The Big Dick, August 8, 1968

    AND EXACTLY SIX YEARS LATER:

    “I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.” The Big Dick, August 8, 1974

    DCSCA (f8de4e)

  682. DCSCA (f8de4e) — 5/15/2023 @ 9:37 pm

    Nixon had the decency to resign. Trump should have done the same after he stoked J6.

    That’s right. Nixon had more decency than Trump. He didn’t cry “fraud” and try to overturn the election in 1960, and he resigned in disgrace in 1974.

    Trump cannot even conceive of the notion of disgrace.

    norcal (15fce4)

  683. @634 Thanks DCSCA. While we disagree on many issues I learn a lot from you.

    asset (fc9739)

  684. @678 Lawsuit alledges giuliani willing to sell presidential pardons for $2 million each and split the money with trump. (DU-NYT)

    asset (fc9739)

  685. @686. “Decency” had nothing to do w/it. And it’s hardly a term one can associated w/The Big Dick- just listen to the frigging tapes. Besides, if he had any, he’d never have committed the crimes to begin with. Goldwater told him the votes weren’t there in the Senate and he’d get convicted in a Senate trial. That’s not ‘decency’… that’s ‘reality, ‘norcal.

    DCSCA (f8de4e)

  686. Besides, if he had any, he’d never have committed the crimes to begin with.

    DCSCA (f8de4e) — 5/15/2023 @ 10:08 pm

    That also describes Trump. And, unlike Trump, Nixon was never officially charged with a crime.

    You avoided Nixon doing the honorable thing for the country in 1960.

    norcal (15fce4)

  687. That’s right. Nixon had more decency than Trump.

    I don’t think that’s in serious dispute. Nixon was a tragic mix of merits and moral defects. Trump, thanks to his lack of redeeming virtue, is almost cartoonishly sinister.

    lurker (cd7cd4)

  688. lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/15/2023 @ 10:56 pm

    His tweets seem more and more unhinged.

    (Cue the aggrieved MAGA people with their complaints about how I’m not criticizing Biden. Hey people, guess what? I don’t like Biden either! I railed against his student loan maneuver and his inflation “reduction” act, among other things.)

    Like whembly says, we need to do better in the primary. Any of the other 16 candidates were better than Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, and any of the others are better in the upcoming primary.

    Similarly, Bloomberg, Yang, Bennet, Bullock, Sestak, Hickenlooper, and possibly Klobuchar were better than Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary.

    It’s not the system. It’s not the parties. It’s the voters. There are plenty of better options, but the voters need to choose them.

    norcal (15fce4)

  689. Russia Collusion found!!

    PR exec who called Trump a ‘mad man’ was behind false ‘golden showers’ claims: Durham report reveals Donald never stayed in Moscow suite at center of salacious story – and how FBI wanted to keep paying Steele dossier source $300K AFTER he lied

    Special Counsel John Durham’s report identifies Irish-born PR exec and Clinton ally Charles Dolan as the likely source of the infamous ‘golden showers’ rumor about Donald Trump in the discredited Steele dossier and ended up in the FBI director’s very awkward briefing on potential ‘kompromat’ days before he took office.

    It says Dolan, a public relations expert with Kremlin contacts who advised Bill and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns, got a tour of the Ritz Carlton in Moscow in 2016 and met with key staff members.

    Dolan then emailed an acquaintance in Moscow saying: ‘I’m in Russia making plans to be adopted in the event this mad man [Trump] gets elected.’

    Durham’s four-year investigation concluded that the FBI never had credible grounds to investigate Trump’s links with Russia before the election and didn’t find any collusion. Despite the lack of evidence the allegations were fed to the media and jumped on by Democrats and critics.

    The damning report also states that the FBI wanted to keep paying Russian national and primary source of the dossier Igor Danchenko $300,000 – even after they found his evidence not credible – in an apparent bid to buy his silence.

    Steele was also offered up to $1million for the now discredited claims about what Durham describes as ‘salacious sexual activity’ by Trump and any links to Vladimir Putin.

    As usual, every NeverTrump accusation is a confession.

    JF (7bceb7)

  690. “It’s not the system. It’s not the parties. It’s the voters.”

    So, the question becomes why? What has changed where the people are ok with unhinged or past his prime? And why are people holding onto this opinion so tenaciously despite daily reminders of how bad it is? DeSantis isn’t optimal in my estimation, but why would so many in the GOP still choose Trump over DeSantis?

    Part of it has to be polarization and that more and more people are influenced by sources that are anything but fair and balanced. We cannot accept any bad news about our side or any good news about the other side. The Right doesn’t want a leader that can broaden its coalition, it wants an entertainer that will stoke grievance and anger. The Left is trapped in identity politics and fighting off the extremism of its far left wing. Everyone can see Kamala Harris is not really chief executive material, yet here we sit, locked in for less than noble reasons.

    No one can admit that stridency and tribalism isn’t working. Heck the GOP keeps underperforming in ever election since 2016 and still the true-believers are wed to someone who keeps rationalizing sexual assault by “stars”. Embarrassment doesn’t seem to work. What’s sad is that we are heading for a major economic or foreign policy problem by sticking with unhinged or past his prime. Why are we ok with doing this to the next generation?

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  691. @617

    whembly (d116f3) — 5/15/2023 @ 2:58 pm

    Given the fact that Trump appointed the FBI Director (after firing Obama’s appointee) you got wonder how he lost control of the FBI.

    Rip Murdock (e4a4f2) — 5/15/2023 @ 3:24 pm

    You have me mistaken that I care about Trump’s fee-fees. I really don’t care.

    I’ve taken Trump out of the equation, and what’s left is the abject horror that we had our own government abusing their position of power for partisan reasons.

    Its like we’re watching our Federal enforcement arm of the government metamorphizing into the US version of the Cheka.

    whembly (d116f3)

  692. “I’ve taken Trump out of the equation, and what’s left is the abject horror that we had our own government abusing their position of power for partisan reasons.

    Its like we’re watching our Federal enforcement arm of the government metamorphizing into the US version of the Cheka.”

    It’s as simple as that.

    Colonel Haiku (9186d2)

  693. @695

    “It’s not the system. It’s not the parties. It’s the voters.”

    So, the question becomes why?

    Simple.

    It’s partisanship.

    It’s tribal.

    We’re in an era where victimology reign supreme.

    Social media and big media companies acting as a PR firm for the Democrat Party doesn’t help either.

    whembly (d116f3)

  694. Extending from Nic’s comment, a word about teachers and subduing out-of-control kids.

    I may have mentioned that Mrs. Montagu teaches middle-school special-ed kids, and every year she has a kid or two that gets out of control. This year, there’s one particular kid (who doesn’t belong in her class and should have a one-on-one) who can physically wreck–and has physically wrecked–a classroom in mere minutes.

    The school district has trained her in techniques that they call Right Response. There’s nothing close to a chokehold, and any physical subduing involves holding a kid’s arms down, avoiding joints and focusing on forearms. Sometimes a single teacher or para can do it, but sometimes it takes a couple of adults.

    I assume the process is the same in high school, but considering that the special-ed boys are bigger and stronger, it’s not a one-person job.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  695. If there was a foreign power that meddled more in an American election than what Putin did in 2016, I’d like to who and when. For me, I can’t think of another foreign power that came close.

    Bottom line, if Putin’s actions weren’t enough to start an FBI counterintelligence investigation, then I really don’t know what is. IMO, the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee had it right when they concluded that “the Russian government engaged in an aggressive, multi-faceted effort to influence, or attempt to influence, the outcome of the 2016 presidential election”.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  696. Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/16/2023 @ 7:17 am

    way to bury the lede, Montagu

    foreign powers can be expected to meddle in other country’s elections. We’ve done it

    what’s not expected is when domestic law enforcement agencies meddle in our own elections, cheered on by those who pointed their fingers at others for seven years

    JF (7bceb7)

  697. way to bury the lede, Montagu

    Bullsh-t equivalency, JF.
    I’ll ask you the same question I asked myself: Which foreign power meddled in an American election more than what Putin did in 2016?

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  698. It’s easy to target Trump with lies because he is immoral and proud of it.

    DRJ (853949)

  699. BTW, JF, even Durham acknowledged that he didn’t unearth political bias by the investigators.

    Durham’s report stops just short of saying that political bias drove the FBI’s decisions, saying that while there was evidence of strong political views on the part of some investigators, the FBI’s handling of the Trump probe exhibited clear “confirmation bias” in favor of a likely plot by the Russians.

    Anyone who’s read a comment thread knows how common confirmation bias happens.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  700. “if Putin’s actions weren’t enough to start an FBI counterintelligence investigation, then I really don’t know what is”

    The GOP is FOR Putin as long as he’s for them. Apparently, Democrats are far more dangerous than Putin. We can’t even agree that Putin is a very bad actor who is never looking for what is best for America. The fact that Putin was actively pushing for Trump should trigger more introspection. Putin understands that Trump provides maximum chaos in our political system for whatever psychological reasons.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3)

  701. Imagine how easy it is for foreign governments to bribe or blackmail him.

    DRJ (853949)

  702. Anything that wasn’t true was totally believable.

    DRJ (853949)

  703. Who here would hire Trump as an employee in charge of your money?

    DRJ (853949)

  704. Only those foolish people should ever vote for Trump.

    DRJ (853949)

  705. I was a foolish Texas Republican who voted for Trump. I am still a Texan but I learned not to be so foolish, and I will never call myself a Republican again.

    DRJ (853949)

  706. DRJ, I am not surprised that you have turned on Trump at this point, and indeed, it’s difficult for me to imagine how any rational person could declare support for Trump at this point. Before January 6, I can see it, but at this point, I just can’t. It’s like an open declaration that the foundations of our republic, or our need to support a peaceful world order, are considerations that matter less to you than whatever far more petty concern is driving your voting decision.

    Patterico (7d4d5c)

  707. I think it’s time I called it out. If someone continues to support Trump, there is something very wrong in their decisionmaking process. They have surrendered their independent judgment to the BUT THE LEFT IS BAD!!1! mob. Yes, the left is bad. But terrible things are worse than bad things. We have to make judgments in life. This one is actually not very hard.

    Patterico (7d4d5c)

  708. “I’ve taken Trump out of the equation, and what’s left is the abject horror that we had our own government abusing their position of power for partisan reasons.

    Its like we’re watching our Federal enforcement arm of the government metamorphizing into the US version of the Cheka.”

    Ridiculous. Also not what Durham said. He didn’t say partisan reasons had anything to do with it. And he said opening a limited investigation made sense. All he is saying is: “as a prosecutor who lost every case I took to trial, my opinion is that the investigation they opened was too wide in scope. You should definitely pay attention to me because my judgment is impeccable except for when I bring losing prosecutions.”

    Patterico (7d4d5c)

  709. I think the “I don’t really like Trump but I am happy to spew literally the dumbest line of attack favorable to him every single time regardless of how silly I sound” type of Republican is arguably the worst type of Republican.

    Patterico (2fe2dc)

  710. It’s the sanctimonious pretension to objectivity coupled with pedestrian spewing of partisan bullshit that I think I find particularly galling.

    Patterico (2fe2dc)

  711. Granted, DeSantis does not have a photogenic laugh, but this coverage of him reminds me of the Dean Scream, which also happened in Iowa.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  712. Patterico, it’s also worth noting that Durham was very complimentary of the Meuller investigation. Maybe because that was the source of his only conviction?

    Time123 (ca187e)

  713. Memorable NY subway moment (twitter video)

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  714. @712

    “I’ve taken Trump out of the equation, and what’s left is the abject horror that we had our own government abusing their position of power for partisan reasons.

    Its like we’re watching our Federal enforcement arm of the government metamorphizing into the US version of the Cheka.”

    Ridiculous. Also not what Durham said. He didn’t say partisan reasons had anything to do with it. And he said opening a limited investigation made sense. All he is saying is: “as a prosecutor who lost every case I took to trial, my opinion is that the investigation they opened was too wide in scope. You should definitely pay attention to me because my judgment is impeccable except for when I bring losing prosecutions.”

    Patterico (7d4d5c) — 5/16/2023 @ 8:21 am

    Bloody hell Pat. You people frustrate to no end. This is not about Trump.

    Do I want to see prosecutions? SURE! But I also know that not every BAD DEEDS in government arises to some infractions to the penal codes.

    You, of all people, should know this.

    Every anti-Trumper wanted to believe the Russian Collusion argument to be so damned true, they’re willing to burn down their own credibility to keep it alive.

    This Durham report, emphatically reinforces how wrong the Russian Collusion believer were.

    My concern, was the efforts to continue the investigation for obvious partisan reasons, even when they knew there was no “there there”, which casted a pall of shadow that undermined the Trump administration.

    Trump left no shortages of valid things we all can criticize. But for the Cheka-lite, ahem ‘scuse me the FBI, to thoroughly debase themselves based on a pure fabrication spearheaded by the Clinton campaign is a far more danger than anything Trump and his flunkies has done, including to what transpired to J6.

    The FBI were the ones who interfered with the elections. And it pains me that some here, refuses to even acknowledge that.

    whembly (1fe49d)

  715. Patterico, and DRJ, I feel your pain. I wish that I had a time machine, and show people what they used to believe about character. I detested HRC. I detest JRB. This based on many years of observation of both. But I could not vote for DT.

    For me, it is his character. And it isn’t about his crudeness or bullying nature. His people had some good ideas, that could help the nation, and he still couldn’t help himself from being a horrific person. It’s like an internet poster who knows that their style offends others, and even works against their goals…But. Just. Cannot. Control. Themself.

    Honestly, I think that some folks on the Left tell themselves that DT is so bad, even breaking the law is okay. I do NOT agree with that.

    If voters vote someone awful into office, that is how democracy works. I don’t have to like or admire it, though.

    But my vote is mine. And I reject the nonsense that a third party vote is a vote for the DNC. I vote my ethos, period.

    Best wishes.

    Simon Jester (ca4340)

  716. I think it’s time I called it out. If someone continues to support Trump, there is something very wrong in their decisionmaking process.

    I think one should differentiate between voting for Trump on a failed presidential ballot and “supporting Trump.”

    I will do everything I can to have another candidate (at this point, any other candidate, even Santorum or Kasich) nominated by the GOP. I have already donated to two who I think would be great. BUt I’m not picky when it comes to “not being Trump.”

    If it happens that the general election is Trump vs Biden with no credible 3rd party choice, then the system has utterly failed. At that point I will pick the least awful. It will be a matter of damage control, nothing more, and will probably be based on platform alone. I may flip a coin.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  717. whembly (d116f3) — 5/12/2023 @ 7:04 am

    I know we bag on politicians… but, am I so naive to believe the Senator Tim Scott is one of those “good eggs” and would do really, really well as President or VP?

    I think he’s a little bit better than the others — but not necessarily competent – it depends on what knowledge he shows, and if he will say things that are different from the standard things you hear.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  718. Every anti-Trumper wanted to believe the Russian Collusion argument to be so damned true, they’re willing to burn down their own credibility to keep it alive.

    Yet there was evidence of collusion, Manafort the most glaring, per the Mueller report, just not sufficient for an indictment.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  719. Whatever one thinks of the Durham/FBI thing, or the Hilary/FBI thing, or the Mueller/Trump thing — or even the Trump/Stormy thing — these are all normal political scandals. The Republic will not fall. I find their magnification by partisans to be mostly annoying; they do not rise to the level of J6 or the extraordinary powers demanded by AOC in her New Green Deal.

    Even Biden’s several constitutional transgressions and his utter failure in Afghanistan don’t add up to trying to maintain power by force and threats of force. But Biden is increasingly becoming his own constitutional danger — not by trying to overturn an election but by more civil forms of usurpation. At times it seems that he is not really running the show, but some cabal of his party is pulling the strings.

    And then we come to policy. Luckily Biden does not have Obama’s 60-vote Senate. Luckily Trump never did. Both have some terrible policy “ideas” (e.g. Biden’s back-to-the-50s tax plan, or Trump’s attempts to eliminate birthright citizenship).

    This all sucks.

    I doubt the Democrat Party can do better than Biden this year. The GOP certainly can do better than Trump. Please God.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  720. @690. You forget: he was ‘The New Nixon.”

    DCSCA (26c278)

  721. and if he will say things that are different from the standard things you hear.

    This is important. I like Nikki Haley, but she seems to pass every utterance through a handful of focus groups first, to the point where it’s just homogenized Republican talking points.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  722. @431. =yawn= You confuse failing law with the quest for justice– and it is justice that keeps rooting the populism. Lived and worked there– suffered those hellish rides for 15 years and if you’ve truly ridden them even for a week, you should know better. Penny’s a hero and NYers need more citizens like’em. Or perhaps you’d prefer the next time a plane splashes down into the Hudson, NYers should turn their backs and ‘not get involved’ … =sarc=

    DCSCA (26c278)

  723. @431. Postscript. The real world isn’t nearly the hellscape the outrage merchants on either side want you to believe it is.

    Except it is. Ask a Ukrainian.

    DCSCA (26c278)

  724. Sometimes Back Down: Key DeSantis allies viewed anti-Trump tweet as a “massive mistake”

    The leading pro-DeSantis PAC surprised the political world with a single tweet after Donald Trump’s CNN town hall last week. It bluntly called out the former president for his answers on January 6th, his “rigged” election claims, “the sex abuse case” he was found liable for damages over, “his defense of his comments about grabbing women by their genitals,” and investigations into “his stash of taxpayer-owned classified documents.”

    “How does this Make America Great Again?” the tweet from the official account of Never Back Down concluded.
    ………
    Don’t expect to hear it again, though: The tweet generated some heated internal pushback at Never Back Down, while multiple prominent conservative commentators piled on publicly.
    ………
    “That post was a massive mistake,” the first ally said. “It sounded like it came from CNN, and I think people inside realized that that was a massive mistake, and I hope it won’t be repeated again.”

    In perhaps a sign of concern around how it had been received, Never Back Down also added a reply to the tweet the next morning: This one focused on DeSantis’ “impressive accomplishments” in Florida and his dedication to discussing his “great vision” for the country.
    ………
    Never Back Down’s aborted attack gets to a core obstacle for DeSantis and indeed all of Trump’s Republican challengers: How do they attack him without sounding like Democrats to Republican voters?

    Entire categories of what would be go-to attacks against any other candidate are effectively forbidden. DeSantis backed off almost immediately after a brief mention of Trump’s hush money payments to an adult film actress. He strongly defended him from his indictment in New York, from an FBI search on his Mar-a-Lago home that turned up hundreds of classified documents, and has avoided getting into topics related to other investigations. Even as DeSantis boasts on the pre-campaign trail that he’s a “winner,” he still hasn’t taken a clear stance on the most fundamental part of any electability argument: That his opponent lost the previous election.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  725. Fifty-one New Hampshire state legislators endorse DeSantis: ‘We need winners’
    ……….
    The list included Republican state House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, who was twice a delegate for former President Donald Trump, but now believes people “aren’t buying what he’s selling anymore,” he told the Washington Examiner.

    In the brief interview, Osborne said he supports DeSantis because he needs to fill his chamber with Republicans next cycle and believes that with DeSantis at the top of the ticket, it will help him achieve that goal. Rather, if Trump were at the top of the ticket, he believes that would be a drag for Republicans in his chamber and that the past couple of elections have proved that to be the case.

    “I don’t want to say anything bad about the guy, but it’s like having a favorite comedian, and you listen to that CD over and over again, and eventually, you get tired of it,” Osborne said.
    ………
    This is the second slate of early state legislators to endorse DeSantis. Last week the pro-DeSantis PAC rolled out more than three dozen Iowa state legislators who endorsed and urged DeSantis to get into the race.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  726. Tracking the 2024 Republican Primary: Trump Leads DeSantis by 43 Points Among GOP Primary Voters
    ………
    Over 6 in 10 potential Republican primary voters (61%) would back Trump if the primary or caucus were held in their state today, compared with 18% who would support DeSantis.

    Haley and Ramaswamy are backed by 4% of the party’s electorate, while Hutchinson has 1% support.
    ……..
    DeSantis is the second choice of 44% of potential GOP primary voters who are backing Trump, while 43% of the Florida governor’s supporters view Trump as their top backup option.

    Former Vice President Mike Pence is the second choice of 15% of Trump supporters and DeSantis backers. Haley is the second choice for 13% of DeSantis supporters, while Ramaswamy is the backup option for roughly 1 in 10 Trump and DeSantis supporters.
    ………
    Hypothetical head-to-head matchups show Biden with a 3-point lead over Trump and a 2-point lead over DeSantis.
    ………
    Trump is popular with 78% of the party’s potential electorate, while 20% view him unfavorably.

    Two-thirds of potential Republican primary voters hold favorable views of DeSantis, down 6 points from last week.
    ………
    Few potential GOP primary voters are paying attention to Trump’s current challengers for the Republican nomination, with 81% saying they’d not recently heard anything about Hutchinson, 70% saying the same about Haley and 59% saying the same about Ramaswamy.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  727. @norcal@645 Before I went back to grad school I had several, um, interesting, jobs that convinced me to go back to grad school. One of them was in a type of treatment facility for teenagers who had mostly fallen out of the foster-care system for various reasons like severe mental health issues or addiction, etc.

    Nic (896fdf)

  728. January 6 was just another symptom in a long list of symptoms coming to a boil in the cauldron of populism. And it’s not unique to either major party. Their failure to address the needs of the citizenry over the past 40 years or so keeps fueling it and it is rooting deeper and deeper. It’s foolish to underestimate or dismiss the power of populism. More and more voters do not identify with either major party. It is a frustrated electorate sending a message.

    It is questionable judgment to prefer a candidate w/next to no ethics, clearly mentally deficient, rejected for lying about his personal credentials and demonstrating habitual plagiarism, driven from the presidential race 34 years ago for that- and plagiarism- is the preferred alternative to Trump. It’s a matter of the lesser of two evils. If Trump, the current populist flag bearer, rec’d less votes in the 2020 cycle, there would be some merit to dismissing the populist wave he’s riding. But it is not dying away. It’s clearly not dissipating– which is the fault- and a threat- to the Royalists clinging to power in the major parties failing to address it. Instead, the Old Guard continues w/their Royalist vs. Populist stances. Policy contradictions abound; every institution is laced w/failings; from SCOTUS to POTUS to Congress to the Pentagon to State… even border control has collapsed. You can try to argue the particulars from the castle ramparts, but voters see the contradictions and it affects their lives at street level. And until a significant portion of these issues are addressed, this current wave of populism won’t subside.

    39 years ago, a KGB defector chillingly predicted modern America

    https://bigthink.com/the-present/yuri-bezmenov/

    DCSCA (26c278)

  729. Fifty-one New Hampshire state legislators endorse DeSantis: ‘We need winners’

    That’s what, 1% of the NH legislature?

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  730. OK OK. There are only 400 lower house members in NH, not thousands. BY memory must be faulty. But still, 51 is barely a quarter of the 201 Republicans.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  731. No surprise you’d believe that Paul and still continue to do so even though it was proven to be based on a lie about Manafort.

    https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2023/05/durham-report-rips-fbi.php

    In the summer and fall of 2016, at the time Danchenko was collecting information for Steele, Dolan traveled to Moscow, as did Danchenko, in connection with a business conference. As discussed in Section IV.D. l .d.iii, the business conference was held at the Ritz Carlton Moscow, which, according to the Steele Reports, was allegedly the site of salacious sexual conduct on the part of Trump. Danchenko would later inform the FBI that he learned of these allegations through Ritz Carlton staff members. Our investigation, however, revealed that it was Dolan, not Danchenko, who actually interacted with the hotel staff identified in the Steele Reports, so between the two, Dolan appears the more likely source ofthe allegations.

    As discussed in Section IV.D. l.d.vi, our investigation also uncovered that Dolan was the definitive source for at least one allegation in the Steele Reports. This allegation, contained in Steele Report 2016/105, concerned the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Paul Manafort from the Trump campaign. When interviewed by the Office, Dolan admitted that he fabricated the allegation about Manafort that appeared in the Steele Report. …

    Furthermore, as discussed in Section IV.D. l .d.iii, during the relevant time period, Dolan maintained a business relationship with Olga Galkina, a childhood friend of Danchenko, who, according to Danchenko, was a key source for many of the allegations contained in the Steele Reports. In fact, when Galkina was interviewed by the FBI in August 2017, she admitted to providing Dolan with information that would later appear in the Steele Reports.

    From the Durham Report that you are ignoring.

    NJRob (17d76c)

  732. @733. Fifty-one New Hampshire state legislators endorse DeSantis: ‘We need winners’

    Number of Electoral College votes from New Hampshire: 4.

    Iowa- 6. Florida– home of Walt Disney World- 30. Texas: 40. New York: 28. And California– home base to Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company: 54.

    DCSCA (26c278)

  733. Fifty-one New Hampshire state legislators endorse DeSantis: ‘We need winners’

    That’s what, 1% of the NH legislature?

    Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/16/2023 @ 11:25 am

    Assuming they are all from the House of Representatives, it’s nearly 13%.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  734. DCSCA (26c278) — 5/16/2023 @ 11:34 am

    No Republican has a chance of winning New York’s or California’s electoral votes, which represent 15% of the total, so you got to make their numbers in the smaller states.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  735. @738. I know. Remind congenial, warm and fuzzy DeSantis.

    DCSCA (26c278)

  736. Trump leads DeSantis with a RCP average of nearly +25.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  737. Trump leads DeSantis with a RCP average of nearly +25.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/16/2023 @ 11:49 am

    In New Hampshire.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  738. The bottom line of this cycle is going to come down to whether a voter’s world and daily livfe was better w/Trump as POTUS or w/Biden as POTUS. And for those ex-Republicans so obsessed w/Never-Trump, the quickest way to rid the party of him is to elect him for the four years he’s limited to and let him get burned out.

    The key this cycle is who the VP candidates are- which is rare in election cycles as PoliSci types will tell you [see the hows and whys D party insiders coupled Truman w/FDR in ’44.] Who the R’s urge Trump to select as his ‘apprentice’ VP is the compass heading to watch. Haley? Scott? DeSantis? Etc.,..

    We already know Kamala is penciled in as old, mentally deficient Joey’s VP. [HRC is in the wings as a stand in, but the Durham report won’t help.] A President Harris alone is just one, strong grin-and-bear-it checkmark in Trump’s favor- given the polls as he’s likely to get the R party nom. Nikki’s always been my gal for the top spot but the trade winds aren’t blowing in her favor this cycle for the top slot. But given Trump’s issue w/women, Nikki on the ticket checks a lot of positive boxes- ethnicity, gender, age and independent thought moving into the mid 21st century.

    DCSCA (26c278)

  739. No surprise you’d believe that Paul and still continue to do so even though it was proven to be based on a lie about Manafort.

    Non-sequitur, Rob.
    The Mueller report scarcely mentioned Steele, and the investigation was independent of what Steele documented. The primary source for Manafort’s unpatriotic un-American dealings with a Russian spy was Rick Gates (and contemporaneous emails), Manafort’s deputy campaign manager, who cut a plea deal, not Dolan or Danchenko, who aren’t even mentioned in the Mueller report.
    You’d know that had you bothered to read any of the Mueller report.
    Try again.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  740. I still have a lingering question that you didn’t answer, Rob: You said that Trump’s performance on CNN was “informative”, but what “information” did Trump furnish that was useful or interesting?

    Second question, and it’s one JF didn’t answer: Which foreign power meddled in an American election more than what Putin did in 2016?
    A corollary: If no other foreign power meddled in an American election more than Putin’s 2016 effort, why would the FBI Counterintelligence not investigate?

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  741. Keep doubling down and running interference from the truth Paul.

    Never change.

    NJRob (17d76c)

  742. Keep doubling down and running interference from the truth Paul.

    Noted, your evasions of both questions, Rob.
    I’ll also conclude by your response that you don’t having the first f-cking clue what’s in the Mueller report.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  743. “In my studies of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is …in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A variety of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to.”

    —- Theodore Dalrymple

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  744. @431. Postscript. The real world isn’t nearly the hellscape the outrage merchants on either side want you to believe it is.

    Except it is. Ask a Ukrainian.

    Hi DCSCA. I asked a Ukrainian. He said: “DCSCA pretends to give a shit about Ukraine? That guy would be perfectly happy to see all of us die.”

    Smart guy, that Ukrainian.

    Patterico (69cffb)

  745. My favorite thing is watching the most brazen Trumpist hacks yammer about their Very Serious Concerm for Truth and Justice.

    Patterico (69cffb)

  746. Who’s pretending; don’t give a sh!t about Ukraine. But that doesn’t change the fact ‘the real world isn’t a hellscape.’

    DCSCA (26c278)

  747. You’re such serious people! Your thoughts are so deep! Please give me more Brilliant Analysis about the guy who tried to steal an election and would sell Ukraine down the river in two seconds is just the thing this country needs! You contribute so much and you’re just so so smart!!!

    If I can be serious for a moment, I am really starting to wonder why I should continue to pay money for people I think are spewing mindless partisan nonsense to do so on my platform.

    Patterico (69cffb)

  748. “I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying. Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done in 24 hours I’ll have it done. You need the power of the presidency to do it… I want Europe to put up more money. Because they’re in for 20 billion, [we’re] in for 170 and they should equalize. They have plenty of money. I got NATO to pay hundreds of millions that they weren’t paying under Obama and Bush and all these other presidents. That’s why they’re able to help them fight the war, because of the money I got… I want Europe to put up more money. They’re laughing at us. They think we’re a bunch of jerks. We’re spending $170 billion for a faraway land and they’re right next door to that land and they’re in for $20. I don’t think so.” – Donald J. Trump CNN Town Hall, 5/10/23

    DCSCA (26c278)

  749. You support evil.

    Patterico (8cb84e)

  750. I deleted a couple of comments with stronger language that reflects my true feelings but which probably ought not have been posted.

    Patterico (8cb84e)

  751. Trump’s comments on Ukraine are the dumbest thing I have heard on the topic and the idea that a grown man would quote him favorably is an embarrassment.

    Patterico (8cb84e)

  752. Colonel Haiku (a2cfbe) — 5/11/2023 @ 1:20 pm

    Hey… you Bidenistas! Our economy is not a mess because Joe Biden is old; it’s a mess because Democrats do not understand economics.

    Neither does anybody else, including the Federal Reserve Board, which doesn’t understand that they manipulate the interest rate market so much, that he pricing of long term interest rates is not correct. I think they think it reflects interest rate expectations — in reality it affects Federal Reserve Board policy expectations, which they know in a little way — that’s why they normally want to go slow and give guidance.

    When supervising banks, they did not anticipate that sale prices of long term Treasury bons issues would drop, and so the banks did not have enough ready reserves to handle a drop in deposits.

    In general nobody understands. There is no explanationas to why unemployment is so low – it’s not people dropping out of thelabor force more.

    ALl the explanations for why inflation took off are wrong because this was a worldwide phenomena.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  753. Anyone who can’t bring themselves to say they want Ukraine to win this war is some combination of absurdly ignorant and just plain evil.

    Why do I pay for such people to spread their ignorance and evil on my dime? I will be taking a second look at this.

    I have been reading through Mill again on the importance of dissenting opinion. It is very difficult to reconcile his high-minded defense with the drivel I see in this comment section every day. Even Mill says argument will not convince mindless partisans. But what else do we have these days?

    Patterico (8cb84e)

  754. @753. Not really. It’s the lesser of two evils we are faced with. And that’s the fault of the parties. My vote is firmly w/Nikki, but given the term limits on both Trump and Biden -assuming both live and get their respective party nominees, the #2 spot is quite significant this cycle- which is rare. A President Harris is a distinct possibility. And Trump’s number 2, assuming he doesn’t collapse face down in a bowl of ice cream and chocolate cake is certain to be #1 on the runway in 2028. It’s likely going to come down to voters deciding if their lives were better w/Trump as POTUS or w/Biden as POTUS. The grocery store, the gas station, the bank are places to take polls.

    And having just finished dealing w/three years of true Evil first hand- my own brother no less- I know it when I see it. A genuine Demon who hasn’t even cared about the disposition of his own mother’s remains. Little wonder she disinherited him.

    DCSCA (26c278)

  755. Trump is only trying to fool people about Ukraine – it’s his audience whom he thinks is dumb or uninformed, and many wouldn’t understand how irrelevant, even if they were totally true (about who’s spending more. the U.S.A. or the rest of NATO, and how people on neither side of the war want to die) his comments are.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/counteroffensive-ukraine-zelensky-crimea/673781

    …Only one thing maatters: Russia’s leaders must conclude the war was a mistake, and Russia must acknowledge Ukraine as an independent country with the right to exist….When that happens in Russia, the war will be over. Not suspended, not delayed for a month or a year — over.

    No one knows when or how that change will come, whether next week or in the next decade But the Ukrainians hope they can create the conditions under which political shocks and pivotal developments can occur….

    Of course it would be better if whoever is in charge concludes the war was a crime, and acts upon it, but, at a minimum, they must conclude, and accept, that it was a blunder.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  756. I just read Uncle Tom’s Cabin. DCSCA, you remind me of Evangeline’s mother.

    Patterico (8cb84e)

  757. The other day I heard someone talking about all the pain the people in Ukraine have suffered. I told them, you want to hear about pain? You should try walking around with the ankle pain I have been experiencing! The podiatrist says it’s “plantar fasciitis” but I’d like to see him try walking around feeling like this!

    Patterico (a65e2d)

  758. I just read something today that said that John Stuart Mill’s book “On Liberty” was basically co-authored by his wife — she perused every word Mill said that. And she died.

    Sammy Finkelnan (5e3860)

  759. Donald Trump is simultaneously the strongest and most powerful leader this world has ever seen and also the greatest victim in world history.

    Patterico (a65e2d)

  760. He died too Sammy

    Patterico (a65e2d)

  761. @699 israel & china.

    asset (051679)

  762. Training the Ukrainians I:

    ………
    ………(T)he U.K. government said that it would begin a flying training program for Ukrainian student pilots in the coming weeks. “This summer we will commence an elementary flying phase for cohorts of Ukrainian pilots to learn basic training,” the statement read. “This will adapt the program used by U.K. pilots to provide Ukrainians with piloting skills they can apply to different kinds of aircraft. This training goes hand in hand with UK efforts to work with other countries on providing F-16 jets — Ukraine’s fighter jets of choice.”

    Such training could also be applicable to other 4th generation Western fighters as well, and there are other attractive possibilities alongside F-16s. Although, clearly the F-16 is now the stated end-game solution for reequipping Ukraine’s tactical fighter fleet, at least at this time.
    ………
    Significantly, the statement appears to be the first time that a senior U.K. official has spoken specifically of the aspiration to secure F-16s for Ukraine, although the idea of different countries working together to provide “a coalition of jets” is not new and has been raised in the past by officials in Poland and the Netherlands, for example. Other countries have also raised the possibility of delivering to Ukraine their surplus F-16s in the future, as in the case of Denmark.
    ………
    No details were provided of exactly what the Ukrainian training package will consist of, although we know it will start with the elementary flying phase, under an adapted program, and that the end result will give the students piloting skills applicable to 4th generation fighters, in particular the F-16. …..
    ………
    In practice, the process of training a fast-jet pilot actually takes closer to around five years, including about three and a half years of actual flying training. With the scarcity of available slots, it’s possible that the process can take even longer, with some fighter pilots requiring a full seven years before getting to the front line. RAF officials have said they expect the average to come down to just over four years before the end of next year.
    ………
    Of course, with repeated demands for F-16s made by Ukrainian officials and fighter pilots alike, the fact that the U.K. pilot training effort will be geared toward getting Ukrainians into Viper cockpits is not a surprise. In the past, we have explained how the F-16 swiftly became a frontrunner for Ukraine, thanks to its relative availability, ease of support and sprawling logistical infrastructure, the capacity to train its pilots to fly it, and its highly adaptable multirole capability. You can read more about these aspects — and what it would take to train Ukrainian pilots to fly it — here.
    ………
    Ukrainian Air Force pilots who already fly frontline jets could, potentially, be converted onto the F-16 reasonably rapidly, even in the United Kingdom, without the need for actual live flying, instead relying on simulators.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  763. Desatin strikes again! Latinx truck drivers and shippers are boycotting floriduh over new restrictive laws targetting latinx immigrants. State officials worried about food tampering.

    asset (051679)

  764. Training the Ukrainians II:

    The Pentagon on Monday said that 31 Abrams training tanks have arrived at the Grafenwoehr Training Center in Germany that will be used to teach Ukrainians how to operate the American tanks.

    “I can confirm that the 31 M1 Abrams training tanks have arrived at Grafenwoehr, Germany in preparation for subsequent training of Ukrainian tank crews,” Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said during a press briefing Monday afternoon. “Those crews are expected to arrive and begin training within the next couple of weeks. As we’ve discussed previously, this extensive training program for Ukrainian crews and maintainers is intended to prepare them for their critical roles ahead in effectively operating the M1 tank and defending Ukrainian people.”

    When asked why the U.S. doesn’t just leave the tanks there for Ukraine to use in combat instead of refurbishing an additional 31, Ryder said that “these tanks are intended specifically for training and don’t necessarily have the capabilities that they would need to go into combat.”

    The tanks that will provide to Ukraine “are going through the refurbishment process right now,” Ryder said. “They will be updated, upgraded and prepared for exportability to Ukraine. Because we’re doing this concurrently, we will be able to provide those tanks to them in the fall timeframe to get them into Ukraine before the end of the year.”
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  765. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:18 pm

    No mention of A-10s?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  766. @766 Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:18 pm
    The versatility of the F-16 is something to behold.

    It’s not as advanced as the F-18/F-35, but the 16s seems to be more than enough match against the Migs the Russians are using.

    As to the A-10s, they’re only useful if you can claim air superiority. I don’t Ukraine will ever achieve that, especially being so close to Russia.

    whembly (d116f3)

  767. The 7 Best European Fighter Jets

    American fighters have often been on the lead when it comes to aerial battles. However, despite being outnumbered history cannot deny the competency, capability, and performance of European fighter jets… These days it’s all about collaboration in the European Union. In recent years, Spain collaborated with France and Germany in a project to build the next generation of warplane and enhance European defense. This new project will complement and take over two legendary European middle-weight fighter aircraft, the Typhoon and the Rafale around 2040.

    For the time being, here are the seven European’s best fighter jets that ruled the history of aerial combat:

    1. Dassault Mirage III
    2. SEPECAT Jaguar
    3. Panavia Tornado
    4. Dassault Mirage 2000
    5. Dassault Rafale
    6. Saab JAS 39 Gripen
    7. Eurofighter Typhoon

    https://aerocorner.com/blog/european-fighter-jets/#:~:text=The%207%20Best%20European%20Fighter%20Jets%201%201.,JAS%2039%20Gripen%20…%207%207.%20Eurofighter%20Typhoon

    DCSCA (808e58)

  768. https://hotair.com/david-strom/2023/05/16/a-conspiracy-so-immense-n551190

    Every single person who dismisses what is revealed in the Durham Report–the absolute corruption of our law enforcement and intelligence community and the collusion of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to defraud the American people–is embracing tyranny and rejecting the Constitution.

    The legitimacy of our system of government is that we are governed by laws, not men. But it was men who seized the might of the federal government to displace and then neuter the power of an elected President of the United States. Their lies drove him out of office.

    Yep

    NJRob (1253ee)

  769. As to the A-10s, they’re only useful if you can claim air superiority. I don’t Ukraine will ever achieve that, especially being so close to Russia.

    whembly (d116f3) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:38 pm

    I was being sarcastic, as some here worship the Warthog. The lack of air superiority is the biggest reason Ukraine could not use the A-10; and the fact the Ukrainians would need to train for them just like they need training for the F-16.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  770. DCSCA (808e58) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:48 pm

    Like clockwork.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  771. @774. Yes, those fighter planes do have 17 jeweled movements, don’t they.

    DCSCA (808e58)

  772. DCSCA (808e58) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:48 pm

    You should drop the Dassault Mirage III and SEPECAT Jaguar. They have been retired from European air forces for several years.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  773. Yes, those fighter planes do have 17 jeweled movements, don’t they.

    No.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  774. @776. All the more reason to dump off old inventory on them!

    DCSCA (808e58)

  775. @777. Except they do. Europe is happy w/’em. They just aren’t peddled by the MIC in the USA.

    DCSCA (808e58)

  776. @776. All the more reason to dump off old inventory on them!

    DCSCA (808e58) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:59 pm

    Given your antipathy toward Ukraine, I can see why you send them third-rate merch.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  777. @780. Third rate merch?!?: US assessing potential damage of Patriot missile defense system following Russian attack near Kyiv

    A US-made Patriot air defense system was likely damaged, but not destroyed, as the result of a Russian missile barrage in and around Kyiv early Tuesday morning local time, a US official tells CNN. – CNN.com

    Surely parts are still under warranty. 😉

    DCSCA (808e58)

  778. Trump leads DeSantis with a RCP average of nearly +25.

    Hillary Clinton led Obama by huge margins at one point.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  779. Trump’s comments on Ukraine are the dumbest thing I have heard on the topic and the idea that a grown man would quote him favorably is an embarrassment.

    Oh, I could probably find dumber, but I’d have to use Google.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  780. Desatin strikes again! Latinx truck drivers and shippers are boycotting floriduh over new restrictive laws targetting latinx immigrants. State officials worried about food tampering.

    No more Mexican oranges for Florida!

    And there are no gay Hispanic truck drivers.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  781. The tanks that will provide to Ukraine “are going through the refurbishment process right now,” Ryder said. “They will be updated, upgraded and prepared for exportability to Ukraine. Because we’re doing this concurrently, we will be able to provide those tanks to them in the fall timeframe to get them into Ukraine before the end of the year.”

    Translation: all the good bits are being removed.

    Our tanks should be ready for the fight in 2026 at the latest!

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  782. These guys would have been ready to fight WW2 in 1953.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  783. As to the A-10s, they’re only useful if you can claim air superiority. I don’t Ukraine will ever achieve that, especially being so close to Russia.

    Well, given that all the advanced fighters Ukraine will get will come from France and Germany, we might as well ship them A-10s. F-15s will take too long to bowdlerize.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  784. “I am really starting to wonder why I should continue to pay money for people I think are spewing mindless partisan nonsense to do so on my platform”

    Amen. It really does chill meaningful exchange and litter the site. All we get is some form of “no, you’re a liar” or moby-this or moby-that. We get daily jaunts down conspiracy lane and then whatever revolutionary rhetoric asset is peddling.

    This place should not be a monolith. People should dissent and offer varying perspectives. I do want to hear how Trump supporters process the news and what animates them. Importantly, how they are able to continue to support him. And for those leaning DeSantis’ way, how can more be converted. But we never really seem to draw much of this out. The interaction seems purposefully and perhaps even pathologically annoying.

    It’s like “let’s go pick on people who say they’re Republicans but they just hate Trump”. Hey, we all have warts. But partisanship just looks so silly these days. Both parties can do nothing but talk about the other guy because their own guy is so depressing. Let’s do better. Let’s persuade Trump supporters to move on.

    AJ_Liberty (a97743)

  785. @786/787 …These guys would have been ready to fight WW2 in 1953…

    And they ‘need’ a trillion dollar a year budget to do it!

    Time for Uncle Joe to peddle Ukrainian Freedom Fighter War Bonds.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  786. Trump leads DeSantis with a RCP average of nearly +25.

    Hillary Clinton led Obama by huge margins at one point.

    Kevin M (213cd6) — 5/16/2023 @ 3:19 pm

    That’s only in New Hampshire.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  787. The Patriot missile system is wildly overrated.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  788. @788. AJ, you can’t just ignore 70-plus million Americans. You’ve got to start trying to assess why and what is motivating them to vote the way they are… they aren’t just going to go away… and they’re all not ‘cultists.’

    Donald Trump’s 73.6 Million Popular Votes Is Over 7 Million More Than Any Sitting President in History – 11/19/20

    President Donald Trump has so far received 73.6 million popular votes in the 2020 election, surpassing the previous record set by President Barack Obama by more than 7 million, giving him the most votes of any sitting president in U.S. history…. Trump has received a total of 73,559,030 votes and counting, according to The New York Times.

    That number has set the record for the most votes ever received by a sitting president, surpassing Obama’s 65,915,795 popular votes in his 2012 incumbent victory against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Trump has received 47.2 percent of the popular vote, compared to President-elect Joe Biden’s 51 percent. Recently, Biden broke his own record with 79 million votes and counting, giving him the most votes of any presidential candidate in history… On November 13, Biden totaled 290 electoral votes after the race was called by some media outlets in Arizona, giving him 20 more electoral votes than needed to defeat Trump…

    https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-736-million-popular-votes-over-7-million-more-any-sitting-president-history-1548742

    It remains a puzzlement to resolve, not ignore, AJ.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  789. @791. That’s likely not a comfort to the Israelis managing their Iron Dome system. OTOH, how and where the system was deployed is probably a factor in assessing the vulnerability– especially to a barrage of hypersonic missiles.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  790. Every single person who dismisses what is revealed in the Durham Report–the absolute corruption of our law enforcement and intelligence community and the collusion of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to defraud the American people–is embracing tyranny and rejecting the Constitution.

    The legitimacy of our system of government is that we are governed by laws, not men. But it was men who seized the might of the federal government to displace and then neuter the power of an elected President of the United States. Their lies drove him out of office.

    Yep

    NJRob (1253ee) — 5/16/2023 @ 2:49 pm

    This is hyperbolic and apocalyptic language. Over and over, you seem drawn to this kind of thinking. You would do well to avoid seeing things through such a stark lens.

    For the most part, it’s not guys with white hats versus guys with black hats.

    Politics and world affairs are complicated. Hyperventilation will not help you understand them better.

    I suspect that you are hopped up on “news” and opinion from one side.

    Read some articles from a source that is neither pro-MAGA nor pro-left. The Dispatch is one such source.

    norcal (15fce4)

  791. Rip– Are the A-10s of any value in possibly defending Taiwan? It is an older aircraft as is.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  792. “It’s not the system. It’s not the parties. It’s the voters.”

    So, the question becomes why?

    Part of it has to be polarization and that more and more people are influenced by sources that are anything but fair and balanced.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:21 am

    Social media provides platforms for people who think their misguided opinions are awesome, and their thinking gets turbocharged when they connect with like-minded others around the globe.

    Fragmented “news” and opinion providers, from ideological cable TV to talk radio pundits, constantly reinforcing one school of thought in order to please their viewers/listeners, are another cause of the problem.

    norcal (15fce4)

  793. Rip– Are the A-10s of any value in possibly defending Taiwan? It is an older aircraft as is.

    DCSCA (82aea9) — 5/16/2023 @ 3:53 pm

    A-10s are designed to support the infantry and attack tanks. Defending Taiwan will involve long range missiles, cyberwarfare and carrier aircraft. Totally different battlefield. And with improved anti-air missiles, A-10s are sitting ducks.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  794. ………the collusion of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to defraud the American people–is embracing tyranny and rejecting the Constitution.

    And yet neither of them (or any others) were recommended for prosecution.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  795. Allahnick nails it again:

    The terrible truth is that Trump is so morally and civically depraved that the right at some point gave up trying to reconcile its allegiance to him with its conscience, recognizing that it couldn’t be done. It would need to choose between the two and so it did, resolving that any qualms about his personal fitness for office were proof of left-wing sympathies.

    Bolded part mine

    https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/he-fights/

    That describes some people here. Any criticism of Trump is proof of left-wing sympathies.

    norcal (15fce4)

  796. 766. Patterico (a65e2d) — 5/16/2023 @ 1:45 pm

    He died too Sammy

    I think Harriet died before it was published. In 1858. John Stuart Mill bought a house near the cemetery where she was buried and would visit it from time to time.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/06/canada-legalized-medical-assisted-suicide-euthanasia-death-maid/673790

    In Canada, Jordan Neely might have been granted his wish to die.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  797. Donald Trump: The Messenger Interview:

    ………
    Trump: “I was surprised by the level of hostility. … I thought they (CNN) would be neutral and even better than that so they could get the viewers back. And they had one of the best [viewership] days in years. So you would think they would claim success. I was amazed to see that they were traumatized by what took place. They were actually traumatized. I think that instead of acting the way they did, they should have said, ‘we had a tremendous ratings night, one of the best in years, many years,’ and spiked the football, right?

    The Messenger: I understand you’ve expressed concerns about Fox, and that one of the reasons you went on CNN is you didn’t want to kind of limit yourself to Fox. ……..

    Trump: “Yeah, I’m doing a lot of different media. I was disappointed with Fox. I thought the firing of Tucker [Carlson] was a tremendous mistake. I was very disappointed. And of course, I was disappointed with the coverage of the [2020 presidential] election in particular, the early call in Arizona.”

    The Messenger: Can you tell me more about your media strategy. You’re talking to everybody. Why?

    Trump: “Well, I’m talking to people that I respect. And CNN very much wanted to do this interview. And I did it and I do other interviews like I’m doing the one for you now … The one thing I find is that if get ratings, they know it, they cover you. Even if they say they’re not going to. They tried not to in 2020. I did much better in 2020 than I did in 2016. And people hate to write that. But I got millions more votes in 2020 than I did in 2016. It was a rigged election. You can quote me on that or you can be afraid to go quote me on that. You know, the media is afraid to talk about that. And that’s part of the problem we have with our country. It was a rigged election. Everyone knows that. You can pick out many, many things.”
    ………
    The Messenger: I need to find a way to discuss the 2020 elections without sounding like I’m debating it. There were all the lawsuits that got filed in 2020. Your side didn’t prevail in any of the cases. I think your campaign chartered one or two studies. It didn’t find massive voter fraud..

    Trump: “That’s because they always find an excuse not to listen to the [evidence] .. Like everyone else, judges didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done…”
    ……….
    The Messenger: How about we set aside the debate or the discussion on voter fraud? You are the foremost political expert on branding. Look at what DeSantis is saying, obliquely, and then look at what Joe Biden is doing: He launched his campaign with a video that opened up with images of Jan. 6, and his first ad had these images of Jan. 6. So do you see where discussing this is bad for your brand? Do you see how your opponents see this as a winner for them and as a loser for you?

    Trump: “No. Because if you look at the polls, almost 80% in our party think the election was rigged … I feel that history is something that, if you don’t learn from it, you’re a fool. That doesn’t mean that I have to devote half of my speech to 2020, but devoting 2% or 3% or 4% is okay. And I think if I didn’t I would actually be rebuked by a large portion of the Republican Party. [Note: recent polling found 63 percent of Republicans believe Biden wasn’t legitimately elected].
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  798. 724. Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 5/16/2023 @ 10:20 am

    Yet there was evidence of collusion, Manafort the most glaring, per the Mueller report, just not sufficient for an indictment.

    There was no evidence whatsoever that Manafort was acting on behalf of Trump, and not himself and his collusion consisted of playing along with Russians trying to possibly recruit him as an agent and sharing internal poll dats (to convince Putin to keep on supporting Trump?)

    Trump did not collude with Russia because Russia did not collude with Trump, since Putin was not going to take Trump into his confidence, if for no other reason

    Mike Flynn and Putin were probably in collusion.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  799. What we learned from the CNN town hall with Trump is that Trump is, if possible, worse than before.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  800. Trump Attacks DeSantis From the Left on Abortion, Says He’s ‘Too Harsh’
    ……….
    In an interview with The Messenger, Trump claimed DeSantis didn’t know what he was doing when he advocated for and signed a six-week abortion ban in Florida. The former president also claimed that “many in the pro-life movement feel that was too harsh.”

    I do not know a single person who is actually a part of the pro-life movement (i.e. someone who actually cares and fights against abortion) who believes six-week bans are too harsh. That’s just not a true statement by Trump. …….

    ……..It’s a misguided attempt to moderate a paramount issue for shallow political reasons. One, he doesn’t want to be seen as directly agreeing with DeSantis, which is a really stupid way to decide one’s policy positions. Two, Trump has bought into the lie that if Republicans pass restrictive abortion laws in their own states, that will somehow cost Republicans the 2024 election.

    ……..The answer at the national level remains incredibly simple. All any national politician, whether it be for Senate or the presidency, has to say is that Dobbs made abortion a state issue and that it will stay there. Preemptively surrendering in red states by only doing 15 to 20-week bans is ridiculous. 20-week bans were already being allowed by the Supreme Court before Dobbs. If Republicans are going to retreat back to that point, then overturning Roe was pointless.

    Besides, giving in on abortion is a losing messaging battle at the national level anyway. ……..

    The entire point of overturning Roe was to give states the ability to pass a variety of different laws, including bans in states that want them. Republicans should not be undermining that fight in fruitless attempts to protect themselves electorally. ……..
    ……….

    Related:

    ………
    Trump is wildly wrong: He’d have a very hard time naming a single person in the pro-life movement who thinks protecting a baby with a heartbeat from elective abortion is “too harsh.” Moreover, a super-majority of GOP primary voters backs a six-week limit on abortion. …….Republican voters overwhelmingly supported such an abortion ban—68 percent to 27 percent.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  801. Trump said he would bring Mike Flynn back into the government! Of course this was possibly largely only because Flynn has become a victim to the MAGA crowd.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  802. “It’s not the system. It’s not the parties. It’s the voters.” So, the question becomes why?

    You don’t blame the voters. When there’s one restaurant open serving you every November and the choices available to hungry patrons on the menu are steamed broccoli or raw broccoli, you don’t blame the customers – or fault them for leaving or just staying home to make a TV dinner, you blame the folks managing the restaurant for offering a limited menu that totally sucks.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  803. only because Flynn has become a victim to the MAGA crowd.

    Huh?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  804. Bob Iger to Ron DeSantis: Does Florida want our jobs and taxes or not?

    https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/business/iger-desantis-disney-florida-feud/index.html

    If money talks; the mouse is roaring.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  805. Talk is cheap. Moving isn’t. It’s cheaper to pay the same taxes as every other theme park in Florida.

    Why does our populist love him some big corporate media? Storm everyone’s castle except the one in Lake Buena Vista?

    Appalled (9764fc)

  806. @611. See #163.

    Have talked w/some old Hollywood colleagues about it- Disney certainly isn’t a perfect company and many of us would not have taken a gig to slave away at Mouschwitz at any salary– you have to embrace their corporate culture to endure– but the general consensus is that it’s really, really, REALLY stupid of DeSantis to punch down at a top employer in his state which is supported by thousands of ancillary business and, in the case of DisneyWorld, is the most visited vacation spot on Earth w/58 million people visiting Florida annually, bolstering the economy. And Disney is one of the most recognized and welcomed symbols of America around the world. Have dealt w/Disney professionally. You can negotiate w/them, compromise if they’ll even agree to… but in the end they have all the leverage and the final word. It’s axiomatic: you don’t screw around w/Walt’s legacy; you don’t mess w/t House of Mouse; you just don’t fvck w/Disney. They’re literally an American icon projecting all that’s good about the USA around the planet– and you’ll come up a loser trying to trap the mouse. DeSantis is a fool.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  807. ^@811. typo, Appalled.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  808. Fox’s Neil Cavuto: ‘We owe more than we’re worth’ as a country

    https://thehill.com/homenews/3820229-foxs-neil-cavuto-we-owe-more-than-were-worth-as-a-country/
    ________

    US Spending on Weapons and War Remains Higher Than 144 Other Nations Combined

    https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/how-much-does-the-us-spend-on-military

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  809. #812

    It’s almost like you think that Walt is still in charge and they can do that, handle that, and easy peasy, they’ll find some nice cozy state which can deal with all the things they want to do. Problem is that the current woke mania makes that impossible. Disney World would work fine in Texas, if they find a spot with enough water, but it’s in Texas, where the politics are just as righty.

    From a coldly political pov, DeSantis does not need to worry about his state in the long run because he’s intending to move on. In the short term, Disney can huff and puff, but they’ll just blow their own stock price down. Personalizing a company and taking it down is a very Teddy Roosevelt thing to do. It worked real well for him back in the day, as the Rockefeller’s can attest.

    Personally, I think Disney got themselves a sweet deal in Florida and it’s natural they want to keep it. Problem is, those sorts of deals NEVER last forever.

    Appalled (9764fc)

  810. You don’t blame the voters. When there’s one restaurant open serving you every November and the choices available to hungry patrons on the menu are steamed broccoli or raw broccoli, you don’t blame the customers – or fault them for leaving or just staying home to make a TV dinner, you blame the folks managing the restaurant for offering a limited menu that totally sucks.

    DCSCA (82aea9) — 5/16/2023 @ 4:44 pm

    You completely missed my point about the primaries. There are many choices in the primaries. If voters don’t opt for the better candidates in the primaries, then yes, I’m going to blame them.

    norcal (15fce4)

  811. Trump is wildly wrong: He’d have a very hard time naming a single person in the pro-life movement who thinks protecting a baby with a heartbeat from elective abortion is “too harsh.” Moreover, a super-majority of GOP primary voters backs a six-week limit on abortion. …….Republican voters overwhelmingly supported such an abortion ban—68 percent to 27 percent.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/16/2023 @ 4:43 pm

    On this issue, Trump is not wildly wrong. He’s looking beyond the primary to the general. (He’s not worried about winning the primary.) A six-week ban is not a winner in a general election.

    norcal (15fce4)

  812. THE FEDERALIST

    Someone really ought to sue them for trademark infringement.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  813. @816. But if the leading candidates choose not to debate- and why would they if they’re leading and give competition an equal platform- what’s the point. Don’t see Trump going head to head w/his rivals unless he’s losing ground any more than Biden jousting w/RFK Jr., and any other rivals… ‘Crocker Jarman’ didn’t debate ‘Bill McKay’ until his lead evaporated.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  814. https://twitter.com/columbiabugle/status/1658501544952623104

    Nonviolent, 70 year old vet who the leftist prosecutor put a bogus “seditious conspiracy” charge on and is trying to get him to serve 14 years in prison. Anyone want to defend this?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  815. @Patterico@757 I have a lot of respect for John Stuart Mill, but in my experience people who think everyone should live only by a very specific interpretation of the Bible don’t tend to give him much weight.

    @Rip@805 and norcal@817 I don’t think Trump’s wildly wrong, I think he’s using a phrase he doesn’t understand the meaning of. I don’t think he understands that the “pro-life movement” isn’t the same thing as “people who generally vote pro-life”. If that’s the case, he’s not wrong in that there are people who generally vote pro-life who find some of the laws being put into place to be too harsh. However, if he did, in fact, mean the actual prolife movement, he isn’t correct, but I don’t think that’s what he actually meant. You are right though that a 6 week ban probably isn’t a winner in the general.

    Nic (896fdf)

  816. @815. Just speaking from experience… have colleagues who know Bob Iger personally, too… you just don’t mess with Disney, Appalled. It’s not a smart play- especially for political purposes- and speaks more to DeSantis’ poor judgment than anything else. The House of Mouse has a very long memory.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  817. @DCSCA@819 If Trump chooses not to debate, he risks that someone else will get a good amount of mileage out of the debate AND it makes it easier for people to gain that mileage. However, if he chooses to debate he does risk the possibility that he’d look bad, which has also happened in the past and he’d loose mileage for the general. It’s a risk either way.

    My personal opinion is that the only way another republican is going to gain much in the primary is to basically ignore Trump and pivot away from any questions about him while presenting their own strong ideas about how they want to govern. I don’t know that anyone in the current possible line up is capable of that.

    Nic (896fdf)

  818. But if the leading candidates choose not to debate- and why would they if they’re leading and give competition an equal platform- what’s the point.

    DCSCA (82aea9) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:17 pm

    The point is that primary voters shouldn’t vote for a candidate who refuses to debate.

    The problem is the voters.

    norcal (15fce4)

  819. @824. That sounds nice but that’s not how it works- it’s up to the parties to set the ‘rules of engagement’ in their respective primary fights. Why would a leading candidate w/solid support and big lead in the polls bother- or risk- punching down making themselves an equal to their competitors and do it? In Biden’s case he’d be destroyed. And w/Trump, you’d end w/another CNBN Town Hall night. It’s up to the parties to structure it… If you’re desperately hungry, you’ll eat the broccoli– or just stay home… but somebody will win.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  820. You are right though that a 6 week ban probably isn’t a winner in the general.

    Nic (896fdf) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:21 pm

    I agree, minus the “probably”. 😁

    I don’t understand the urge to make everything a national case. The federal government should only do that which is outside the purview of the states (printing money, foreign policy, national defense, border control, etc.). The states are certainly capable of handling abortion laws.

    These busybodies who get bothered by the fact that another state might choose different abortion laws can go pound sand.

    norcal (15fce4)

  821. That sounds nice but that’s not how it works

    DCSCA (82aea9) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:34 pm

    Are you saying that primary voters don’t have a choice?

    You cannot be serious.

    norcal (15fce4)

  822. @823. If he’s 40 points ahead, it won’t matter. You’ll end up with tiers of weenies like the 2016 cycle arguing w/each other or shouting like a Clint-Eastwood-arguing-w-an-empty-chair scenario. And w/a media master like Trump, he’d just hold a rally the next day and if he chose to respond to any remarks, respond alone w/ no rebuttal or controls w/his own steamrolling and w/t crowds cheering on. The best way to get rid of Trump is let him run and if he wins, hope the VP he chooses is a good one for 2028 and can stabilize him for the four year limit he’s confined to– and if he loses, he’s flamed out and done. If he’d been elected last time they’re only be 600 days left to endure him– rather than four years looming.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  823. @827. Sure they have a choice. Let’s see if RFK Jr. can knock off Joe. Good luck w/that. But if you think Hutchinson or Elder are going to bump off Trump, w/t lead he’s developing, you’re dreaming.

    DCSCA (82aea9)

  824. @norcal@826 For a lot of people in the pro-life movement it isn’t about federalism and never was. It’s about murdering babies and they couldn’t stop the murdering of the babies until Roe vs. Wade was overturned but now they can at the federal level and that’s the point for them.

    Nic (896fdf)

  825. DCSCA (82aea9) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:46 pm

    Now you’re changing the argument from “not blaming the voters” into “who is likely to win”.

    This is why people get exasperated with you, DCSCA.

    When the voters have a choice in the primary, and they choose lesser candidates (Trump and Hillary in 2016, Biden in 2020), it is proper to blame the voters.

    norcal (15fce4)

  826. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-carolina-abortion-law-general-assembly-overides-governor-roy-cooper-veto-becomes-law/

    A 12 week ban is more than reasonable. The leftist governor wasn’t reasonable. He was overruled.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  827. For a lot of people in the pro-life movement it isn’t about federalism and never was.

    Nic (896fdf) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:51 pm

    I suspect many of them would prefer a dictator who was pro-life over an elected leader who was pro-choice.

    I can’t stand zealots and busybodies.

    norcal (15fce4)

  828. https://www.bizpacreview.com/2023/05/16/sen-markey-introduces-bill-to-pack-supreme-court-claims-two-justices-have-no-right-to-be-there-1359557/

    Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey introduced a bill to pack the Supreme Court on Tuesday, claiming during a press conference on the legislation that Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett have “no right” to be on the Court.

    Markey’s Judiciary Act of 2023, which pro-abortion groups Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed, would add four seats to the Supreme Court. During his press conference on the Supreme Court steps, Markey called for Justice Clarence Thomas to resign and claimed that two justices have “no right to be there.”

    Voting for Democrats results in the destruction of the rule of law. They would gladly turn us into a Venezuela if they had the power to do so.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  829. I suspect many of them would prefer a dictator who was pro-life over an elected leader who was pro-choice.

    I can’t stand zealots and busybodies.

    norcal (15fce4) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:57 pm

    Nothing to say about the absolutists on the left who want abortion up to and including after birth like Obama did? And they violated the law to do so when they created Roe v Wade?

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  830. NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/16/2023 @ 7:00 pm

    I agree that this is something to be concerned about. Shame on Markey. Here’s to hoping his cockamamie idea doesn’t get any traction.

    norcal (15fce4)

  831. NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/16/2023 @ 7:03 pm

    I have previously said that I thought Roe was bad law, and I would be just as opposed to abortion up to and including after birth as I would an abortion ban.

    Do I need to recite every comment I’ve ever made in order to make a new one?

    Don’t be so aggrieved, Rob. That can’t make for a happy life.

    norcal (15fce4)

  832. No norcal, but it does help to not attack conservative positions all the time. It’s reflexive to be anti-Trump and bash religious conservatives, but then you forget why people vote for those. And all it does is help those radicals on the left like Markey and AOC. Some nuance would be appropriate if you want others to look at things in shades of gray versus black and white.

    NJRob (eb56c3)

  833. @norcal@833 I suspect you are correct.

    Nic (896fdf)

  834. it does help to not attack conservative positions all the time

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/16/2023 @ 7:10 pm

    Do you really think I do that, or are you conflating Trump with conservatism, because I assure you they are not the same.

    Conservatism respects the Constitution. Trump wants to terminate it. Did you miss the tweet where he stated that?

    norcal (15fce4)

  835. @831. Hardly. The voters have a choice, broccoli, broccoli or not to eat. But no matter what, either the backers of steamed or raw will choose the winner.

    DCSCA (e6d255)

  836. The point is that primary voters shouldn’t vote for a candidate who refuses to debate.

    Norcal, who says- you? This is just elitist- this blame the voter stuff has the scent of sour grapes. A voter can decide their candidate is quite savvy by choosing NOT to debate w/trailing candidates and thus avoid elevate his or her competitors to their level.

    DCSCA (e6d255)

  837. Trump did not collude with Russia because Russia did not collude with Trump, since Putin was not going to take Trump into his confidence, if for no other reason

    More mindreading, this time of a Russian dictator. Sigh.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  838. @816

    You completely missed my point about the primaries. There are many choices in the primaries. If voters don’t opt for the better candidates in the primaries, then yes, I’m going to blame them.

    norcal (15fce4) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:01 pm

    I agree, and in fact, I’m seeing more on social media expressing lack of empathy by saying “you voted for it”. Reminds me of those black residents in Chicago making loud noises about the fact that their cities are seeing an influx of illegal immigrant that is putting the black resident’s voting power in a weaker position.

    It’s why I’ve been so adamant about being engaged during the Primaries. Be vocal about it among your circles.

    Because, at the end of the day, when bad candidates wins the primary in their party, its the fault of the voters, and those who chose to ignore the primary.

    You get what you vote for. You don’t like it, take it upon yourselves to be more engaged in the next election.

    whembly (d116f3)

  839. @817

    On this issue, Trump is not wildly wrong. He’s looking beyond the primary to the general. (He’s not worried about winning the primary.) A six-week ban is not a winner in a general election.

    norcal (15fce4) — 5/16/2023 @ 6:04 pm

    Depends on how it’s presented.

    If its an argument at the federal level, Trump’s position is probably right.

    However, I hope the other candidates really leans into federalism on this topic, and advocate for state-by-state to address it. But be honest, that if it by some miracle get passed in Congress, that it would be considered.

    Honestly, I think the best way to navigate this, is to champion the federalism concept more, (ie, let California be California and Missouri be Missouri).

    whembly (d116f3)

  840. “I read Special Counsel John Durham’s “Report on Matters Related to Intelligence Activities and Investigations Arising Out of the 2016 Presidential Campaigns” yesterday in a state I can only describe as psychic exhaustion. As Sue Schmidt’s “Eight Key Takeaways” summary shows, the stuff in this report should kill the Trump-Russia conspiracy theory ten times over, but we know better than that. This story never dies. Every time you shoot at it, it splits into six new deep state fantasies.

    I’ve given up. Nearly seven years ago this idiotic tale dropped in my relatively uncomplicated life like a grenade, upending professional relationships, friendships, even family life. Those of us in media who were skeptics or even just uninterested were cast out as from a religious sect — colleagues unironically called us “denialists” — denounced in the best case as pathological wreckers and refuseniks, in the worst as literal agents of the FSB.

    Especially through March 22, 2019, when the devastating news broke that the report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller would be delivered without new indictments, the vehemence of this national wig-out was breathtaking. Jail-Trumpism truly became a religion during this time. I remember walking down the corridor of our Jersey City apartment building to walk the dog, hearing Rachel Maddow’s nightly crazy-casts blasting out from behind door after door, like the Songs of Angkar filling a Cambodian village.”

    https://www.racket.news/p/durham-is-too-late-to-stop-the-madness?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1042&post_id=121805307&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

    Colonel Haiku (ad63c2)

  841. (ie, let California be California and Missouri be Missouri).

    And you will keep the suburban middle-class who hate George Soros more than the inconvenience of having to travel out of state for an abortion. And shut up about left over embryos from in vitro fertilization too.

    nk (bb1548)

  842. @844. ‘The origins of primary elections can be traced to the progressive movement in the United States, which aimed to take the power of candidate nomination from party leaders to the people. However, political parties control the method of nomination of candidates for office in the name of the party. Other methods of selecting candidates include caucuses, internal selection by a party body such as a convention or party congress, direct nomination by the party leader, and nomination meetings… in modern politics, primary elections have been described as a vehicle for taking decision-making from political insiders to the voters, though political science research indicates that the formal party organizations retain significant influence over nomination outcomes.’https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primary_election

    The parties control the caliber and quality of candidates voters get to choose. If voters have a choice between a bad party hack and a worse party hack, you don’t blame the voters- blame the parties for ‘rigging’ the system in their self-perpetuating favor.

    DCSCA (c42372)

  843. Political parties are weaker than ever.

    Candidates can completely bypass parties, raise money via the internet, and generate buzz through alternative media and social media. There are no more smoked-filled backrooms where experienced pols manage who moves forward and who must wait their term.

    The problem is that we’ve overly democratized the question. Now, we are overly driven by mobs that are fairly ignorant about policy and process. Populism is what got us thousands of morons at the Capitol acting the fools. Populism gets us lazy rhetoric and over-simplified solutions. Populism preys on our worst biases and prejudices. Populism replaces knowledge with emotion.

    Right now instead of indulging more emotionalism, we should be investing in institutions. Populism tears everything down and then replaces it with anything substantive. The GOP is a reaking mess. It was producing a good stock of Presidential candidates. Now, populism is giving us who in the future: Tucker? Don Jr?

    This jihad against “elites” feeds this mob instinct to burn everything to the ground. Precisely what Putin wants. He wants us weak, not united, and following false prophets. And then there are his useful idiots….

    https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/more-professionalism-less-populism.pdf

    AJ_Liberty (2e421c)

  844. DCSCA,

    Check the age of that research. If the party decides, really, Trump would not have been the nominee in 2016, and Perdue would have been the GOP governor candidate in Georgia in 2022. You are citing some Romney era studies.

    Appalled (992434)

  845. @847

    (ie, let California be California and Missouri be Missouri).

    And you will keep the suburban middle-class who hate George Soros more than the inconvenience of having to travel out of state for an abortion. And shut up about left over embryos from in vitro fertilization too.

    nk (bb1548) — 5/17/2023 @ 6:58 am

    Uh… what?

    What is the point here?

    whembly (d116f3)

  846. @848 DCSCA (c42372) — 5/17/2023 @ 6:59 am
    I refuse to embrace nihilism D.

    The primaries/caucus is the only vehicle we have to make our choices known and our biggest problem is the lack of engagement.

    I don’t remember the stats, but during the primaries/caucus, only about 30% ish of GOP voters VOTE in these elctions. 30%. That’s pathetic and it DOES give the party power figures massive influence.

    So, no, I will not lay blame solely on party leaderships. That’s a cop-out. Most of the blame falls on the voters. And, until that’s recognized, we’re going to see that same crap, over and over again.

    whembly (d116f3)

  847. What is the point here?

    I should think it’s obvious.

    For abortion, the Republican voters’ ox will not be gored too badly. Not more than “Darn it, Olivia, mummy and I were looking forward to that three-day weekend in Vegas!”

    As for in vitro fertilization and the disposal of the left over embryos, that’s a suburban middle class hot potato too.

    nk (daf82c)

  848. I disagree.

    Over time, I think the outrage over abortion is going to subside.

    Weren’t we supposed to see women dying all of the place by now?

    whembly (d116f3)

  849. Weren’t we supposed to see women dying all of the place by now?

    whembly (d116f3) — 5/17/2023 @ 8:33 am

    Not yet, because they still have the ability to travel to pro-abortion states.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  850. For Saner Politics, Try Stronger Parties

    In the summer of 1968, while anti-Vietnam War protesters roared through the streets of Chicago, Hubert Humphrey was inside a convention hall accomplishing something that would be unthinkable today: He won his party’s presidential nomination without ever having entered, much less won, a single presidential primary.

    How? As the sitting vice president, Mr. Humphrey simply exerted control over the Democratic Party stalwarts who traveled to the party’s national convention to serve as delegates. Under the direction of political aide Larry O’Brien, his forces used rules and connections to beat back challenges, allowing Mr. Humphrey to claim the nomination on the first ballot. He then promptly made Mr. O’Brien the party’s national chairman.

    In retrospect, that convention marked the high point of power for a national party organization. Democratic foot soldiers, outraged at the control exerted by insiders, compelled the creation of a reform commission that instituted changes to democratize the party, significantly reducing the power of its leadership.

    Today, the movement to weaken the national party structures that began in 1968 has reached its logical result: The power of the two national party organizations has declined so dramatically that they sometimes appear to be bystanders to a political system in which they were once central actors.

    ………The decline of party organizations has opened the way for the rise of more extreme voices and, crucially, turned much of the financing of campaigns over to less-accountable players. The extremes of left and right have been strengthened in the process, and the center hollowed out. Paradoxical as it may sound, the decline of the parties has led to more ferocious partisanship.
    ……..
    …….. (I)n an ideal world, the two national parties still would function as the adults in a more open political space—vetting candidates, providing transparent funding for campaigns and making sure responsible leaders are heard. They would give a voice and a home to millions of Americans in the center of the political spectrum who are neither activists nor ideologues but who nonetheless want a seat at the table.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  851. Jonah’s thoughts about Biden’s immigration approach–using PR in lieu of formulating an actual immigration plan–are similar to mine, and I don’t see him doing anything constructive about it, this year or next.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  852. Loser:

    ………
    In one of the night’s marquee races, Trump’s endorsed candidate in the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primary, Daniel Cameron, prevailed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s pick, former U.N. Ambassador Kelly Craft. The Florida governor’s choice in the Jacksonville, Fla., mayoral race also lost, in one of the biggest upsets of the night.
    ……..
    Cameron, who was favored by the former president, won the Republican primary to take on Gov. Andy Beshear (D) this November. Craft, who received a last-minute endorsement from DeSantis on election day, placed third in the primary.
    ………
    DeSantis wasn’t the only high-profile Republican to back Craft — declared 2024 candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also endorsed her.
    ………
    Meanwhile, in Jacksonville, Fla., Democrats scored an upset with Donna Deegan (D) winning the mayoral race against Republican Daniel Davis, who was backed by DeSantis. The election offered Democrats some relief given Duval County’s red leanings, suggesting that Democrats may still be able to compete in the state, even as Florida has trended Republican in recent years.
    ………
    The race also further dented DeSantis, given that he endorsed Davis in March.
    ………
    Davis’s loss is a blow to Republicans in a county that has become friendlier to the GOP in recent years. DeSantis won Duval County, where Jacksonville is situated, by 12 points during the November midterms. But in 2018, Democrat Andrew Gillum won the county over DeSantis by 4 points.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  853. “This past weekend, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) reminded voters, and a skeptical press that have spent an inordinate amount of time writing his political obituary before he even launched his candidacy, he not only possesses the promise and nimbleness needed to be a candidate for president but that he also has the staff and network needed to pull off just the right move to strike a blow against his rival, former President Donald Trump.

    People underestimate DeSantis only at their own peril.

    The Florida governor began the weekend Friday in Illinois as the keynote speaker at the Lincoln Day Dinner for Peoria and Tazewell counties. The Peoria Journal Star said he drew a crowd of more than 1,100 to the Peoria Civic Center.

    Early Saturday morning, DeSantis started his first campaign event in Sioux Center, Iowa, as a guest at Rep. Randy Feenstra’s annual Feenstra Family Picnic, spent time greeting folks at a classic car museum, stopped at a Pizza Ranch, and finished out the day at an unplanned event, standing on a table with his wife at Jethro’s BBQ.

    All of DeSantis’s headline events went off without a hitch. In that regard, they were very similar to speeches I attended several weeks ago that he gave in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and Akron, Ohio, where he was greeted with robust support after delivering speeches that outlined his aspirations for the country, his accomplishments as a governor, and his promise to take on the cultural headwinds in our country.”

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/the-great-underestimation-of-desantis-starts-to-unravel

    Colonel Haiku (ad63c2)

  854. 7 doomsday scenarios if the U.S. crashes through the debt ceiling
    ………
    Here are some outcomes that experts worry about most.
    ……..
    The shock of a missed payment would ripple across the financial system — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, derivatives — before spilling out into the broader economy, experts say.

    Stocks would likely plummet on the expectation of a wider economic downturn, as interest rates rise and investors pull funds out of the market to preserve their access to short-term cash. A banking sector already wary of making new loans could tighten up further.
    ……….
    Moody’s Analytics has estimated that stock prices could fall by roughly one-fifth, wiping out $10 trillion in household wealth and devastating the retirement accounts of millions of Americans. The White House has estimated that the decline could be closer to 45 percent.

    The $46 trillion bond market would also tremble, as the values of existing Treasury bonds collapse due to higher yields on new ones. And businesses would likely halt expansion — driving stocks down even more.
    ……..
    (A) spike in interest rates would make it harder to get a loan or start a small business. That could also crash the already cooling housing market. A recent report from Zillow projected that a default would drive mortgage rates above 8 percent and push housing sales down by a startling 23 percent. The construction industry and other sectors would feel the pain, too.

    The most drastic impact might be a pause in regular federal payments to tens of millions of American families, including seniors on Medicare and Social Security and people relying on food stamps. The federal government is projected to spend roughly $6 trillion this year, which translates into roughly $16 billion per day. Not all of that goes directly to households, of course, but it’s a huge amount of money to vanish from the economy overnight.

    A 2013 report by the Treasury Department found the 2011 debt ceiling standoff caused a $2.4 trillion decline in total household wealth. The broader economy, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said, could contract by as much as 6 percent, similar to the 2008 Great Recession.
    ……..
    Some Republicans have claimed that the federal government can continue making (Social Security and Medicare) payments even without borrowing by redirecting incoming tax revenue. But budget experts are skeptical the Treasury Department will have the ability to send seniors these benefits on time, particularly if the breach lasts for weeks or months.

    If the government can still make some payments with incoming tax revenue, the administration might have to pick between sending checks to seniors and making interest payments on the debt. ……..
    ……….
    ……….Any financial instrument whose value is based on Treasury bonds could be thrown out of whack after a debt ceiling breach, with a sharp drop in prices leading to volatility and uncertainty worldwide.

    Economists say the discount the United States has enjoyed for decades on borrowing could end. One estimate by the Brookings Institution, a D.C.-based think tank, found that breaching the debt limit could increase federal borrowing costs by $750 billion over the next decade.
    ………
    Many nations safeguard their finances by buying large amounts of U.S. government debt, widely regarded as one of the safest assets in the world. But breaching the debt ceiling could drive the value of those bonds down, hurting reserves for many nations.
    ………
    A default could hurt U.S. standing on the world stage, experts say, by revealing the depth of the country’s internal political dysfunction.

    Already, financial experts have been following some early signs that the world economy is beginning to shed its dependence on the dollar…….

    ………Governments’ credibility is tied in part to their ability to respond to a crisis. A debt ceiling breach would cast doubt on the federal government’s capacity not only to respond to an emergency, but also to fulfill one of its most elementary functions — paying the bills. If the United States can’t do that, citizens and leaders in other countries might wonder, what else can’t it manage anymore?
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  855. People underestimate DeSantis only at their own peril.

    We’ll see. One successful visit to Iowa doesn’t make a successful nomination campaign. Who he endorses reflects upon his judgement.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  856. House Democrats Move Forward With Petition to Force Debt Limit Vote
    ……….
    Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, wrote to his colleagues urging them to quickly sign a discharge petition, which can automatically force a House vote on legislation if a majority of 218 members sign it.
    ……….
    The strategy faces long odds given the complexity of the maneuver and the partisan divide in the debt talks. But even if it falls short, Democrats say the discharge petition keeps pressure on Republican leaders to strike a deal or face a potential revolt among their more politically vulnerable members who could pay a price with voters if they are seen as helping to push the country into default. Democrats also see the petition as a way to demonstrate that their party is doing all it can to prevent an economic debacle.
    ……….
    Aware of the constraints, Democrats quietly took steps earlier this year to make sure they had ample time to execute their plan, introducing an obscure bill that could be used as a vehicle for an eventual debt limit increase so it could be referred to committees in time to run out the 30-day clock that House rules require before a measure can be discharged. ……..
    ………
    In his letter, Mr. Jeffries noted that former President Donald J. Trump had encouraged Republicans to allow the nation to default if Republicans cannot extract deep spending cuts from Democrats, a position that could encourage Republicans to hold out in the talks.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  857. Colonel Haiku (ad63c2) — 5/17/2023 @ 10:25 am

    Where does DeSantis stand on corn-based ethanol subsidies? Oh, wait:

    ……….
    DeSantis, like many other House conservatives, was previously opposed to a federal mandate that has helped spur domestic ethanol production. As a Floridian, he faced little to no cost for such a view.

    As a now likely future presidential candidate, he will have some explaining to do.
    ………
    Less than a year before he announced his gubernatorial run, the then-Florida congressman co-sponsored legislation in 2017 that would have immediately ended the Renewable Fuel Standard, a mandate that requires renewable fuel to be blended into the nation’s fuel supply.
    ………
    “If you come to Iowa, you’re going to talk about agriculture,” Monte Shaw, the executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, told Insider. “Over 60% of Iowa’s corn crop, which is, of course the largest in the country, goes into an ethanol plant.”
    ………
    Iowa is the nation’s largest ethanol producer. Forty-one plants are based in the state, stretching all the way from Council Bluffs and the Nebraska border to the West to Muscatine and the Illinois border to the East. Last year, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association said that the state set another record as it produced 4.5 billion barrels of ethanol. In 2021, the last year for which there is full data, the US in total produced 15 billion barrels.
    ……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  858. @855

    Not yet, because they still have the ability to travel to pro-abortion states.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/17/2023 @ 8:58 am

    Oh, so yeah for federalism amirite?

    whembly (d116f3)

  859. People overestimate DeSantis only at their own peril.

    FIFY, Washington Examiner.

    … as Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and The Donald smiled.

    DCSCA (73bc4e)

  860. @850. Appalled, the party decided to let- what.. 16 candidates run un the various primary structures of the states in the 2015 cycle; it was the ‘party’ that set itself up for the eventual Trump win. And even through the impeachments, it was ‘the party’ vote that saved him from being nailed. The parties control the primaries. It’s their game; you can’t blame the voters for the choices presented to them. It’s all on the party elite.

    _____

    @862. Understand what you’re saying, whembley– but unfortunately, it is what it is given the two party lock on the system in the states. The problem rests w/t tweo major parties and the elites who control them, the structure and gatekeep who run and gets or doesn’t get the funds.

    DCSCA (73bc4e)

  861. Political parties are weaker than ever.

    Which is why one saved Trump from TWO impeachments votes and the other successfully ran a mentally deficient candidate for POTUS and for a seat in the U.S. Senate representing Pennsylvania. Thanks for playing.

    DCSCA (73bc4e)

  862. 865… Salena Zito knows what she’s talking about, DCSCA. You, not so much. No offense intended.

    Colonel Haiku (5e39f5)

  863. @868. Dream on, Haiku; He punches down and has demonstrated poor judgment several times.

    DCSCA (73bc4e)

  864. 863… all the problems this nation faces and YOU (and insider) highlight THAT!?!?

    Amusing.

    Colonel Haiku (5e39f5)

  865. Florida passes bill to prevent billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos being sued if their mega-rockets kill or injure people– businessinsider.com

    Preferential treatment for big corporations in Florida, Governor DeSantis??? Jiminy Cricket!

    “When You Wish Upon a Star” – Jiminy Cricket [Cliff Edwards] ‘Pinocchio’ 1940, The Walt Disney Company

    DCSCA (73bc4e)

  866. 863… all the problems this nation faces and YOU (and insider) highlight THAT!?!?

    Amusing.

    Colonel Haiku (5e39f5) — 5/17/2023 @ 12:49 pm

    It’s a big deal in Iowa.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  867. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/17/2023 @ 9:48 am

    Loser II:

    On Truth Social, Trump said Republican Daniel Davis’ “shocker” loss to Democrat Donna Deegan came down to Team Davis courting Ron DeSantis’ endorsement instead of that of the former President.

    “In a big upset, the DeSanctimonious backed Republican candidate for Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, LOST. This is a shocker. If they would have asked me to Endorse, he would have won, easily. Too proud to do so,” Trump said.

    “Fools! This is a BIG LOSS for the Republican Party,” Trump added. “Remember, ‘Rob’ only won because of me!!!”

    ………
    Jacksonville has a voter registration advantage for Democrats, with 40% of the electorate registered Democrat and just 35% Republican, according to the most recent L2 voter data. But Republicans, as typically happens in local elections, won the turnout battle Tuesday, with a 7,100-vote advantage translating to an R +3.25 map.

    Yet despite the GOP turnout advantage, it was clear that crossover Republicans and no-party voters turned out for Deegan, with the DeSantis endorsement apparently not being a factor to unify the party. Word was that the DeSantis endorsement was contingent on Davis not chasing Trump’s backing, in yet another sign of Republicans being compelled to pick sides.
    ……….

    Trumpworld not happy.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  868. Markey’s Judiciary Act of 2023, which pro-abortion groups Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed, would add four seats to the Supreme Court. During his press conference on the Supreme Court steps, Markey called for Justice Clarence Thomas to resign and claimed that two justices have “no right to be there.”

    This would be called “restoring judicial independence” without a hint of irony.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  869. MTG is not the only politician who needs to pander to their wacko-birds.

    nk (5c10b0)

  870. No norcal, but it does help to not attack conservative positions all the time.

    Abortion bans are not conservative. A true conservative wants little radical change. That would be a radical change. A conservative today would be more concerned about trans activism in the schools than banning something that has been around for 50 years.

    I know there are people who want to end direct election Senators or make Robert E Lee’s birthday a national holiday, but they are not conservatives, but radicals.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  871. Honestly, I think the best way to navigate this, is to champion the federalism concept more, (ie, let California be California and Missouri be Missouri).

    While I like the idea of federalism, there are some rights that MUST transcend states. The first section of the 14th Amendment talks about this, without defining it. For 100 years it was mostly ignored. I think we can all agree that states may not deprive American citizens of certain fundamental rights, not limited to those in the Bill of Rights, there is a gray edge to that.

    Is the right to choose a gender part of that?
    Is the right to a early-term abortion part of that?
    Is the right to bear arms part of that?
    Is the right to publish silly lies part of that?

    No matter how you answer those questions, you run up against the idea of Federalism.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  872. ROFLMAOPIP:

    Just announced at #WBDUpfront: @KaitlanCollins is the new anchor of CNN’s 9pm hour. In her new program, officially launching later this summer, Kaitlan will bring fresh reporting that adds new perspective to the biggest stories of the day. Join us in congratulating Kaitlan!

    Loser Hillary Rodham Clinton wore a white pants suit on the TeeVee too as she accepted challenging Donald Trump. That ended well, didn’t it, Kaitlan.

    DCSCA (a1a10b)

  873. 860:

    The shock of a missed payment would ripple across the financial system — stocks, bonds, mutual funds, derivatives — before spilling out into the broader economy, experts say.

    There won’t be a missed payment. There are so many other ways to handle hitting the deb ceiling.

    The old Obama plan was to pay debt service and prioritize everything else by date scheduled, so if there wasn’t enough cash on hand to pay all the payments de, they wait a day.

    The Washington Post is knowingly printing false Biden Administration propaganda.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  874. Before there was a debt ceiling, the federal government kept cash on hand and raised taxes or borrowed before payments were due, always authorized by Congresses. It got money ib a few other ways too..

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a)

  875. 1. Is the right to choose a gender part of that?

    2. Is the right to a early-term abortion part of that?

    3. Is the right to bear arms part of that?

    4.Is the right to publish silly lies part of that?

    Under the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment the answer to 1 and 2 is no (because the authors of amendment would not have even thought of “changing” gender or abortion as fundamental rights), while 3 and 4 are explicitly protected in the Bill of Rights.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  876. From CBS:

    “Steven Spainhouer rushed to Allen Premium Outlets — a shopping center in Allen, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, where the shooting happened — when his son called just after 3:30 p.m. local time and said he had heard gunfire.
    The gunman was identified as Mauricio Garcia, 33, the Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed Sunday. Investigators are looking into whether the gunman was motivated by domestic violent extremist ideals, according to a law enforcement source, who told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton that the perpetrator was heavily armed and appeared to be on a mission.

    The source said the gunman used an assault-style weapon, had multiple rounds of ammunition on his person and was wearing armored ballistic gear.

    “When I heard those shots, and then when the multiple shots happened, my heart just immediately just dropped,” said Spainhouer’s son, who works in the H&M store at Allen Premium Outlets. The shooter opened fire in the parking lot outside, authorities said.

    In an emotional interview with CBS News Texas, Spainhouer recalled performing CPR and administering aid to those suffering from injuries in the lot. He arrived at the scene before authorities, who did not get there for about 10 minutes, according to CBS News Texas.

    “I never imagined in 100 years I would be thrust into the position of being the first first responder on the site to take care of people,” Spainhouer said, noting that at least three victims could not be saved even after he applied CPR.

    “The first girl I walked up to was crouched down covering her head in the bushes,” he recalled. “So I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face.”

    Spainhouer also helped a child who survived the shooting and was hiding beneath his mother’s body. The mother had died.

    “When I rolled the mother over, he came out. I asked him if he was OK and he said, ‘My mom is hurt, my mom is hurt,'” he said. “So, rather than traumatize him anymore, I pulled him around the corner sat him down.”

    The boy was “covered from head to toe” in blood, Spainhouer told CBS News Texas, “like somebody poured blood on him.”

    Spainhouer said, “no one can see what they saw today and not be affected by it.”

    “It’s just unfathomable to see the carnage,” he continued. “It’s tough when you see a family that’s out shopping, having fun, get wiped off the face of the earth because somebody with a gun has some other type of issue.”

    The Allen PD now says: This guy is full of Democrat.

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/allenpdstatement.jpg

    http://ace.mu.nu/archives/404477.php#404477

    Colonel Haiku (5e39f5)

  877. In the summer of 1968, while anti-Vietnam War protesters roared through the streets of Chicago, Hubert Humphrey was inside a convention hall accomplishing something that would be unthinkable today: He won his party’s presidential nomination without ever having entered, much less won, a single presidential primary.

    Never mind that one of his competitors had been assassinated, and the President who he served was reviled by most Democrats as a warmonger. Humphrey continued to support the war and his party was so divided that he lost a 3-way race to Richard Nixon.

    1968 would have been the nadir of the Democrats, with a nominee chosen by a power structure that had been repudiated by the party’s voters. Eugene McCarthy probably would have won, but he was given short shrift by the apparatchiks that chose Humphrey.

    Whatever became of Hubert? (Tom Lehrer, 1965)

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  878. And then, in 1968, Tom Lehrer penned the following for the McCarthy campaign (same tune):

    Just look what’s become of Hubert
    All sunshine and smiles, here he comes

    Angry men he deplores
    And he simply adores
    Happy riots, happy wars,
    Happy slums.

    For three lonely years he’s been pinned in
    And spent them out-Lydoning Lyndon

    So pardon us please if we gawk
    At a parrot who’s also a hawk

    And please don’t think that we’re naive
    ‘Cause we’re backing Eugene McCarthy
    Things come true if you believe
    As the Wizard once said to Dor’thy

    Whatever became of you, Hubert?
    You just haven’t been the same

    Oh you once were so nice
    But you paid a big price
    So that you could put Vice
    Before your name.

    And what of the rumor that we overheard
    That LBJ now calls you “Hubert Bird”
    Well, Hubie, chacun à son goût
    But Hubert, what happened to you?

    [Alt.:] We know what became of Hubert
    Since he became our VP
    He was our pride and joy
    But he’s now Lyndon’s boy
    Only he calls it loy —
    Alty.

    You lost us the day that you sold out
    And now you’ll find, baby, it’s cold out

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  879. Under the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment the answer to 1 and 2 is no (because the authors of amendment would not have even thought of “changing” gender or abortion as fundamental rights), while 3 and 4 are explicitly protected in the Bill of Rights.

    Number 3 is still denied to this day in places. Even racial equality was denied for well over 100 years (and some say it still is). The 14th Amendment made no mention of the BIll of Rights or what rights it encompasses. Looking to legislative intent is tricky. I am certain that they had no intention of protecting rights on the Internet. Even some aspects of birthright citizenship (particularly via tourism) remain debatable.

    The point is that Federalism has limitations, and those limitations have been debated since the Founding, and will continue to be debated. In the end, it becomes “the right to do WHAT!@?”

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  880. Number 3 is still denied to this day in places.

    Which is why states should not be able to regulate firearms; this is one area that begs for a national standard.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  881. @883 Biden says hold my beer!

    asset (b359de)

  882. @884 Country joe mcdonald’s fixen to die rag still best anti-vietnam war song. Uncle sam has got himself in a terrible jam way down yonder in vietnam/iraq/afganistan and now thanks to reagan central america.

    asset (b359de)

  883. Communications Director for George Santos could well be the toughest job on Capitol Hill, but Ms. Woomer threw in the towel, right after the House voted to refer his fraudulence to the Ethics Committee. Her parting shot was, “Unfortunately, you never took one point of professional advice given.”

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  884. Which is why states should not be able to regulate firearms; this is one area that begs for a national standard.

    Well, I could argue that the other way. The Founder’s fear was that the national government would try to ban guns, and thought that reserving the regulation to the states (the normal regulators of militias) would be better.

    But really, this is the kind of thing that makes true federalism a bit scary. Should Mississippi have the right to impose segregation? They did once. Also, see Cruikshank for the problem with full-on federalism.

    OTOH, once you decide that the states cannot be trusted with some things, the question becomes “which things?” and where the line might be.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  885. now thanks to reagan central america.

    Central and South America is where socialism is being tried again. Maybe this time will be different.

    Kevin M (213cd6)

  886. Anypne care to defend Biden’s DOJ going after whistleblowers within the FBI?

    NJRob (998f49)

  887. You mean the FBI agents whose security clearances were revoked because of their sympathies toward the J6 rioters? And that Jim Jordan shares those same sympathies? Sounds like they’re “whistleblowers”, not whistleblowers, but we’ll see what they said, hopefully under oath.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  888. NJRob (998f49) — 5/18/2023 @ 10:20 am

    It should improve their credibility when they testify.

    Rip Murdock (06ef16)

  889. You mean the FBI agents whose security clearances were revoked because of their sympathies toward the J6 rioters? And that Jim Jordan shares those same sympathies? Sounds like they’re “whistleblowers”, not whistleblowers, but we’ll see what they said, hopefully under oath.

    We care about whistleblowers now?

    Tell Vindman.

    Find me one person whining about these “whistleblowers” who cared about Vindman. One. Until you do, those people are noxious hypocrites.

    Patterico (8d1bb4)

  890. Find me one person whining about these “whistleblowers” who cared about Vindman. One. Until you do, those people are noxious hypocrites.

    Patterico (8d1bb4) — 5/18/2023 @ 9:11 pm

    You don’t get it. Vindman wasn’t part of my tribe. He wore a black hat. These FBI whistleblowers wear white ones.

    norcal (15fce4)

  891. @897 Vindman was great these whistleblowers are great. Going after whistleblowers is not great wither it was pentagon papers or this. The one I do have a problem with is col. mccormick over the battle of midway leaking breaking japanese code and congress person who leaked japanese were setting their depth charges to deep which cost us many submarines. Since then not much maybe wilson’s wife worked for the CIA.

    asset (35dd6f)

  892. Vindman could also be described as a witness, given that he listened in on Trump’s infamous call and was in the meeting where Sondland, at Trump’s behest, urged Ukrainians to investigate Hunter Biden.
    Vindman’s “crime” was to answer a House subpoena and testify under oath, and he’s been vilified by Trump and his Trumpalistas as a “traitor” ever since.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  893. Kevin and Rip brought up the Farmington shooter, but it’s yet another case of a mentally ill teenager going on a shooting spree with a weapon he shouldn’t have possessed, and the lives of three innocent women were snuffed out as a result. He legally purchased the machine gun* a month after his 18th birthday.

    * Yes, it’s not technically a machine gun, but the 190 rounds fired belie that technicality.

    Why not universal background checks, sensible red-flag laws, an age requirement for more lethal firearms, mental-and-proficiency testing for said lethal firearms.

    Paul Montagu (8f0dc7)

  894. Why not universal background checks, sensible red-flag laws, an age requirement for more lethal firearms, mental-and-proficiency testing for said lethal firearms.

    The current background check system is fine. Age requirements that exceed 18 should be considered unconstitutional (ro be clear there are no federal age restrictions on purchasing rifles or shotguns, only handguns. and a district court has recently be ruled them unconstitutional), and mental competency exams are out of the question. There is no history of requiring mental health exams to purchase firearms (the Bruen standard).

    Rip Murdock (dca0fa)


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