Weekend Open Thread
[guest post by Dana]
Let’s go!
First news item
Former Texas Representative Will Hurd enters the presidential race:
The former congressman has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and said last month that a race between President Joe Biden and Trump would be a “rematch from hell.”
“Someone like me, right, a dark horse candidate, can pull this off…One, you can’t be afraid of Donald Trump. Too many of these candidates in this race are afraid of Donald Trump. But we also have to articulate a different vision.”
…“Our enemies plot, create chaos, and threaten the American dream. At home, illegal immigration and fentanyl stream into our country. Inflation, still out of control. Crime and homelessness growing in our cities,” Hurd says in the video.
Hurd said that he will refuse to sign the required loyalty pledge to back the eventual Republican nominee:
I won’t be signing any kind of pledges, and I don’t think that parties should be trying to rig who should be on a debate stage…
Hurd voted against impeaching Trump in 2019.
Second news item
Ukrainian spies believe Russia is planning a “terrorist” attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant involving a release of radiation, Volodymr Zelensky has said, after his intelligence chief warned Russian troops had mined the cooling systems.
“Intelligence has received information that Russia is considering the scenario of a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – a terrorist act with the release of radiation,” the Ukrainian president said. “They have prepared everything for this.”
The Kremlin dismissed the allegation as “another lie”, and said a team of UN nuclear inspectors had visited the plant and rated everything highly.
Third news item
Trump team receives first batch of discovery material:
Special counsel Jack Smith has turned over the first batch of evidence in the classified documents case to former President Donald Trump’s legal team, according to a court filing Wednesday.
…
The first production of unclassified discovery includes “the grand jury testimony of witnesses who will testify for the government at this case,” according to the filing.
Trump seems to be taking this well:
Fourth news item
Enough is enough. Maricopa County recorder suing perpetual grifter Kari Lake:
I’m suing Kari Lake.
I’d hoped the defamation would stop after the election. I waited.
I’d hoped it would stop after the first election trial. I waited.
I’d hoped it would stop after the appeal. I waited.
I’d hoped it would stop after the second trial. I waited.
I’d hoped it would stop after she got a new job. I waited.
But then I realized I AM the job. Defaming me is her path to campaign donations, speaking opportunities, and national trips.
I live a very lucky, wonderful life.
But these defamatory statements have altered my life. For the worse. Materially.
And just because I live a great life doesn’t mean I have to sit back while somebody says false things about me and says I did truly horrible things — things that multiple courts found to be false.
I wish it would have stopped on its own.
But it didn’t.
So today I’m suing Kari Lake to hopefully put an end to the false statements.
Fifth news item
Supreme Court ruling gives President Biden a victory:
The Supreme Court, in an 8-1 ruling on Friday, revived the Biden administration’s immigration guidelines that prioritize which noncitizens to deport, dismissing a challenge from two Republican state attorneys general who argued the policies conflicted with immigration law.
The court said the states, Texas and Louisiana, did not have the “standing,” or the legal right, to sue in the first place in a decision that will further clarify when a state can challenge a federal policy in court going forward.
…
By ruling against the states, the court tightened the rules concerning when states may challenge federal policies with which they disagree. The Biden administration policy was put on pause by a federal judge nearly two years ago and the Supreme Court declined to lift that hold last year.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote Friday’s majority opinion in the case.
“In sum, the states have brought an extraordinarily unusual lawsuit,” Kavanaugh wrote, in an opinion joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “They want a federal court to order the Executive Branch to alter its arrest policies so as to make more arrests. Federal courts have not traditionally entertained that kind of lawsuit; indeed, the States cite no precedent for a lawsuit like this.”
Sixth news item
Not true a brace increases gun caliber
Not true NRA can’t be sued
Not true gun firms are only firms shielded from suits
Not true 2A bans machine guns
Not true Beau Biden was first to enforce a red flag law
Read full report here.
Seventh news item
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) introduced resolutions “expunging” Trump’s 2019 and 2021 impeachments, respectively.
It would be “as if such Articles of Impeachment had never passed the full House of Representatives,” Stefanik’s office said in a press release.
Eighth news item
State rep tells parents to leave California:
California State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, urged parents to “flee” the state before it’s too late if they “love their children” in response to what he calls alarming language in a gender identity bill. Legislation AB 957 cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with an 8-1 vote on Tuesday…”In the past when we’ve had these discussions and I’ve seen parental rights atrophy, I’ve encouraged people to keep fighting. I’ve changed my mind on that,” Wilk said. “If you love your children, you need to flee California. You need to flee.”
…
AB 957, was initially authored by Democratic Assembly member Lori Wilson and State Senator Scott Weiner, who also co-sponsored it.
A spokesperson for Sen. Wilson tried to downplay concerns over the amendment, saying previously, “It’s not saying [affirmation] is the most important factor or determining factor. It’s one of many factors that the judge should consider while working out a custody agreement.”
Weiner, a representative from San Francisco, also introduced a bill that would require foster parents to affirm the gender of a child entering their home and a third piece of legislation, SB 107, that would grant access to sex changes for minors without parental consent.
Related: New polling:
More than 40% of residents say they’re contemplating moving out of California, with nearly half of them saying they’re considering that “very seriously.” About 61% pointed to the high cost of living here as the reason they’d go.
Ninth news item
The Party of personal responsibility boos 2024 candidate for discussing Trump’s lack of leadership and failure to take personal responsibility for his actions:
Chris Christie on Trump: "He's unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made…That is a failure of leadership…You can boo all you want, but here's the thing, our faith teaches us that people have to take responsibility for what they do." pic.twitter.com/Y78sDiwpvi
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) June 23, 2023
Have a great weekend.
–Dana
Good morning!
Dana (560c99) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:53 amSeventh news item
Is expunging impeachment even a thing?
What a waste of time…
I’d rather they spend their time with impeaching current officials than what was done in previous congressional sessions.
whembly (d116f3) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:59 amDid anyone predict this a year ago?
The transcripts and letter:
We should probably assume that the whistleblowers lied on sworn affidavits and lied in testimony before congress.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:04 amRe: Seventh news item
How woke!
Related: MTG Not Crazy Enough?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:07 am@3“It’s really unfortunate that somebody communicated the conversation that took place on the floor” between herself and Greene, Boebert added, “because I was willing to walk away [from] people wanting to stir up unnecessary drama.”
She criticized reporters for focusing on “pettiness” rather than her impeachment proposal: “I didn’t leave my four kids and now my grandson to come up here and have cat fights and just to get in squabbles.”
whembly (d116f3) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:11 amUh… Boebert… cat fights and squabbles is de jure in Congress. What’d you think it was going to be?
First News Item:
Another Lilliputian enters the race who has absolutely no national name recognition.
Morning Consult Tracking Poll 6/21/23:
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:28 amresolutions “expunging” Trump’s 2019 and 2021 impeachments, respectively
There is some precedent.
Andrew Jackson was censured by the 1834 Whig-controlled Senate (the Whigs were largely a coalition of #NeverJackson). The Senate control had changed by 1836 and the now Democrat-controlled Senate voted to expunge the censure.
This was the only time a President had been censured. To those who say it’s a toothless act neglect Jackson’s interest in having it expunged.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:32 amCNN Poll: Trump’s GOP support appears to soften post-indictment, but he holds lead in primary field
But also this:
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:37 amEvan McMullin would be proud.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:44 amAs for Scott Weiner’s legislation to enforce Leftist morality, the state should be sued under the first amendment for imposing restrictions on the free exercise of religion, if not for imposing Godless moral dogma.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:44 amFrom a previous thread:
“They” includes the Trump campaign, and Republicans are evenly divided between supporting and ending birthright citizenship. While it may be difficult if not impossible to change (it would require a or a constitutional amendment or a reinterpretation of Supreme Court decisions going back over a century), it has a powerful attraction. No one would win a Republican primary campaign supporting birthright citizenship.
Source
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:44 amEvan McMullin would be proud.
He got 41% of the vote in 2022, challenging Trumpist Mike Lee for the Senate. In hard-Red Utah.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:47 amWas Evan known at that point?
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:49 am@10: We were discussing Congress, not popular sentiment or Trump. As the article says, few would win a GOP primary with that as a campaign theme. Support in Congress doesn’t extend much further than the GOP rump in the ironically misnamed House Freedom Caucus.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:51 am@7-
From the same CNN poll:
Right now it’s not important what voters overall think of Trump’s indictment, what is important is what Republican voters think. And they don’t care.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:53 amWas Evan known at that point?
In Utah. He received 21.5% of the Utah presidential vote in 2016.
I’ll point out that I (and others) voted for the man in 2016, so he wasn’t completely unknown.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:56 ambecause a president’s effectiveness matters more.
ROTFFLMAO.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:56 amHow many days was that after he announced his candidacy?
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:58 amEarlier: “Trump’s support will increase as the result of these charges”
Now: “Trump’s support has decreased”
Takeaway for some: “See we said it would not fall by much!”
I expect that, as people become aware of the actual charges, his support will continue to decrease. The only hitch is that people would have to try to find out, and, like Trump himself, many of his voters are incurious to the point of willful ignorance.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:01 amITEM #1: As I wrote at the Dispatch, I agree with Hurd’s assessment of Trump and about ending dysfunction in Congress, but in my estimation, his resume is a bit underwhelming to be the Chief Executive. If you want anti-Trump truth telling, there’s Christie and Hutchinson…both governors and prosecutors. It’s nice that Hurd has CIA experience and was a moderate in the House, but I’m unsure how that’s enough experience for an electorate to see that he’s ready for primetime. Granted he’s probably getting his name out there to get other jobs…but there’s already too many dark horses. Anyone can talk and take a position, heck people do it continuously on the internet. The job is more than that. You should have demonstrated leadership. This shouldn’t be on-the-job.
ITEM #9: Christie getting boo’ed just show us where we are at. The GOP does not care about truth. Truth is only what Trump says. If we can’t get back to a party of Truth…with leaders committed to Truth, I don’t see how the GOP survives. You can argue: well, everyone spins facts to their benefit, Trump is just less polished at it. And that’s what I’m losing patience with. Yes, politicians spin all the time. Trump does it without consequence to what it is doing to the office, our other institutions, and to our democracy. He doesn’t care. We can’t have this.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:01 amHow many days was that after he announced his candidacy?
WTF does that have to do with anything? There are definite lead-time requirements. He was serving as the policy director for the House Republican Caucus until July 2016, when he resigned both his job and party membership over Trump’s nomination, so it probably was after that, but not too long after.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:04 amLet’s start here:
Did Evan have “national name recognition” when he “[entered] the race?”
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:08 amAllahNick can’t make sense of Hurd’s unnecessary candidacy, but it was fun watching him try. Hurd has no place 2% lane that Christie-Hutchinson occupy and, as Nick notes, there is no policy lane.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:08 amChristie was booed by a handful of attendees. He was applauded by more. This was not a room erupting in boos, and people should not spin it that way.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:09 amDid Evan have “national name recognition” when he “[entered] the race?”
He entered it as an independent, reacting to the lack of a better Utah name.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:09 amThat being said, I beleive that McMullin offered a needed alternative. Hurd’s is a head-scratcher, only more qualified and important than Miami’s Mayor Whatshisname.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:12 amI think the Brett Baier interview is starting to expose Trump’s biggest issue: he’s got no real defense….and it’s only going to get worse as the campaign moves on. The debate in August is going to make this more apparent. I still give an edge to Trump NOT participating…because his legal team can’t trust what he will say. So, without Trump, he will look weak and someone like Christie will call him out in the harshest terms. It will get more uncomfortable as Trump can only respond with all-capitals screeds that smell of desperation and delusion. I predict that Trump will be under 40% by September.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:16 amAnother Lilliputian enters the race who has absolutely no national name recognition.
McMullin didn’t run as a Republican, he was an independent candidate in 2016. In late August 2016, polling nationwide and in most states placed McMullin in the 1-2% range. He also wasn’t on enough state ballots to win a majority in the Electoral College (he appeared only on the Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia general ballots), receiving less than 800,000 votes. His campaign defined “quixotic.”
I doubt you could find more than 1% of Americans who have any idea who Will Hurd is.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:28 amBiden seems to think that he won something in the immigration case. I’m not so sure, as the decision suggested that establishing standing ensured “federal courts prevent the judicial process from being used to usurp the powers of the political branches.”
Well, now, what powers does Congress have to redress usurpation by the President? One is clearly impeachment, and whaddayouknow, just that is being looked into. Also with Mayorkas. I think that this will result in more interest in such an impeachment, now that the courts have washed their hands of it.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:39 am@26: Unlikely as it may be, the documents trial is scheduled to be started in August. That might put a big crimp on Trump’s debate appearance. If he shows anyway, outtakes will be seen the next day at the trial.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:42 amFrom an article titled “Meet Evan McMullin, The #NeverTrump Movement’s Last Hope:”
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:53 amWith the motions the defense is planning, that is extremely unlikely. Cannon was required to set that date by the Speedy Trial Act.
Legal citations omitted. For one thing, it will take at least a couple of months for Trump’s attorneys to obtain security clearances. Also, there will be pre-trial hearings under the Classified Information Procedures Act. And Trump’s attorneys will be challenging the use of former attorney Evan Cochran’s notes and recordings.
My prediction is the trial won’t start for another year.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:56 amI wouldn’t disagree, and his campaign performed like a Lilliputian (or more appropriately, Don Quixote.)
CIA=Deep State. 😜
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:59 amit will take at least a couple of months for Trump’s attorneys to obtain security clearances.
If they are still waiting after 2 months, they aren’t going to get them. WHile a TS clearance can normally take a year, there is an EXPEDITE flag on these. It is in EVERYONE’s interest, except of course Trump’s. that the trial happen this year. Next year will be a full-on national disaster.
When everyone wants something to happen, it does. The trial will not be next year. The J6 trial might be, assuming there is one after Trump is locked up for the next 10 years. And, no, I don’t see the GOP being so crazy as to allow a jailed felon to run in their primaries.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 12:17 pmChris Kise could have a problem. He is/was a registered foreign agent for Venezuela.
LOL!
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 12:29 pmSince Hunter hasn’t come up yet, I’ll just say that the latest whistleblower (and he sounds like an actual whistleblower) is good reason for Weiss to have been bumped up to Special Counsel. I doubt the charges would’ve been much different than what came out, but it would’ve meant that Weiss only had to report to the AG and not others down the chain.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 12:40 pm“Someone like me, right, a dark horse candidate, can pull this off…One, you can’t be afraid of Donald Trump. Too many of these candidates in this race are afraid of Donald Trump. But we also have to articulate a different vision.”
God bless Will Hurd, but in real life the Little Engine Who Could hardly ever makes it up the mountain. Who was the last President elected after serving solely in the House and having previously held no higher political office? James A. Garfield. And Garfield served eight House terms to Hurd’s three. Will Hurd may style himself the next Abraham Lincoln, but I’m not gonna hold my breath.
Every candidate like Will Hurd who dips his or her toes into the water with pretty much no chance of winning the nomination is serving Donald Trump’s interests for the time being. All I can say is that if these fools haven’t gained any traction by New Hampshire, they need to do like the Dems did four years ago and one by one bow out and make way for someone who can win in November.
JVW (1ad43e) — 6/23/2023 @ 12:42 pmI mentioned early on it in what used to be the third comment of the thread. Looking back now, the comment is completely gone. What gives?
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 1:23 pmI duplicated the missing comment and the duplicate is in moderation.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 1:28 pmAll the candidates that are polling less than 10 percent are serving only one candidate’s interest-the one that is polling 59%.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 1:52 pmAs noted above in the most recent Morning Consult poll, the candidate that has centered his campaign around criticizing Trump is losing favorability among Republican voters. It’s really a no-win situation.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:00 pmoooof.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/06/the-explosive-irs-whistleblower-revelations-on-hunter-biden/
It’s impossible now, to ignore the asymmetrical treatment of government powers based on your political leanings.
I don’t see how DOJ/FBI can recover from this.
whembly (d116f3) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:02 pmAnd his campaign ended the same way.
Rip Murdock (7d8253) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:02 pmIt would be more believable if there was documentation released by Congress that back up the allegations.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:04 pm@43
I’m not that upset of the Biden allegation. It doesn’t surprise me.
I’m more upset at the disparities we’re seeing here…
The Crossfire Hurricane spawned several investigations based on allegations that would be fit to print on the National Inquire.
Yet, the Biden’s allegations, have had FAR more credible evidence worth investigation, that the FBI/DOJ is doing their damnedest to avoid pursuing.
We shouldn’t HAVE to ask Congress to start investigation this…which really can only be done either Select Hearings or Impeachment Hearings. We should *expect* the DOJ/FBI to have absolute integrity in equally apply the law.
whembly (d116f3) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:25 pmBreaking: From an Arutz Sheva news brief:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:36 pmI think Yevgeny Prigozhin was aiming at a stab-in-the-back accusation in case Russia gave up the war, so this may mean that Putin is seriously considering abandoning the war if forced to retreat.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:38 pmThey did ask one question.
They were going to interview 12 people in one day but thiswas sabtaged and they only got to interview Ron Walker.
But Donald Trump was still president at the time
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:41 pmhttps://nypost.com/2023/06/22/hunter-biden-used-joe-as-leverage-in-china-biz-deal-text
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/23/2023 @ 2:44 pmCan we talk about issues — ANY issues — instead of candidates, personalities, and resumes?
Guns. Schools. Immigration. Inflation. Prisons. The Military. The War on Terror. Voting Machines. NATO. Free Trade …
Genetically modified foods? Cyber-bullying? Gas stovetops? Recycled styrofoam? Climate? Killer Whales? A Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin?
RFK Jr at least stands up and HAS an issue, and takes a side on his issue. “Vaccination of children is a risky business and parents should have a say…”
I’m tired of personalities. “OH, I used to be a governor. Or a mayor. Or a movie star, professional wrestler, CIA bureaucrat, wife/son/brother of a former president…” Talk to me about problems and solutions, please.
Or shut up and leave the stage.
Pouncer (353e50) — 6/23/2023 @ 3:07 pmOn open threads you can mostly talk about anything you want, Pouncer. Unless it is my comment about Hunter Biden with links to transcripts. In that case it disappears because reasons.
But anything else should be ok.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 3:10 pmYevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian army of killing his troops with missile strikes, and called for aarch o=for justice on Moscow. Rusian radio says there is a rebellion We hear about Putin that he is aware of the situation.
Sammy Finkelman (f51d3c) — 6/23/2023 @ 3:50 pmThere are some serious factual disputes re: Hunter Biden investigation like whether or not Weiss ever asked to be madea special counsel.
Sammy Finkelman (f51d3c) — 6/23/2023 @ 3:53 pmShe also reportedly opposed some investigative tactics because it would be bad optics (Trump was still president) and asked whether the juice was worth the squeeze (>>)
Sammy Finkelman (f51d3c) — 6/23/2023 @ 3:58 pmjuice? squeeze?
https://nypost.com/2023/06/22/irs-whistleblowers-say-doj-covered-up-hunter-biden-tax-fraud
Biden was going to become the president-elect.
Sammy Finkelman (f51d3c) — 6/23/2023 @ 4:02 pmTrump was still president,
Sammy Finkelman (f51d3c) — 6/23/2023 @ 4:03 pmWhembly,
you’ll get silence or people saying there isn’t enough evidence to discuss it.
Biden is a crook. The only way the evidence will come out is if the left decides it’s time to dump him and they want a new candidate. That time may be soon at hand.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 6/23/2023 @ 4:50 pmLots of comments get filtered, Buduh. The reasons are understandable and not targeted at any person or idea. It usually involves words used by spammers or swear words.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/23/2023 @ 4:54 pmThanks, DRJ.
My comment was up for a while before it was taken down.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 5:09 pm“Reasons” include the well-known tendency of the filter to block comments with multiple links. In this case, yours has six. That is always going to trip the filter, I think it maxes out at five.
Rather than sarcastically and falsely imply you’re being censored, BuDuh, you could have reposted with fewer links per comment or emailed me to ask if I could release your comment, People do that all the time.
I have released the comment.
Patterico (3d96e4) — 6/23/2023 @ 5:12 pmYour comment was never up until I released it, nor was it “taken down.” For whatever reason, people have told me in the past that comments in moderation (always? sometimes? I don’t know) appear to be visible after they have been posted — perhaps until the user refreshes the page.
Patterico (3d96e4) — 6/23/2023 @ 5:14 pmThanks, Patterico.
That is exactly what happened. I had your site opened and then I opened it again in a new window. So I was seeing the comment in the 1st window as I went about my daily activities but I was commenting on a different window regarding Hurd. I didn’t notice. I must have closed both windows and started anew.
I did not know about multiple links being a barrier.
As for my conspiracy allegations regarding moderation, I apologize. Sometimes I type things thinking they are tongue in cheek and don’t really go back to see how the really come across. You have mentioned that to me before, and I promised to do better. I should have. I will email next time.
Thanks again.
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 5:25 pmHere is the link to my comment this morning:
https://patterico.com/2023/06/23/weekend-open-thread-181/#comment-2718483
BuDuh (ef506d) — 6/23/2023 @ 5:34 pmI read the transcript and here’s what it looks to me like what might’ve happened if Shapley’s being accurate:
The case is a case that should’ve gone through the civil process rather than the criminal process with the IRS and it should’ve gone through either DC and/or California. Instead it went through the criminal process and the US attorney in Delaware. Why did this happen? My opinion is that someone in the Trump administration didn’t really want just a tax evasion case, they wanted something more criminal and against President Biden, so they put the case into the criminal realm under a guy who could charge in Delaware and that this ended up screwing over the actual case against RHB.
In addition, the statute of limitations was already almost up in the 2014 case and would shortly be up on the 2015 case. 2014 seems to be the year in which RHB probably owed the most back taxes. Really they should’ve had their case for those years ready to go before Biden was in office, since the statute of limitations for 2014 would’ve been up in April of 2021.
I can’t say what was going on with the communications issues in the upper echelons of the case. Shapley seems to be saying that Weiss was totally on their side about the evidence, but Weiss was Wolf’s boss and Shapley seems to say that Wolf was the problem, however if that was the case, Weiss should’ve been able to overrule her and it was Weiss who was the Trump political appointee who worked for Barr and so it seems unlikely that he would’ve been in the tank for Biden, even though Biden did not fire him with the rest of the US attorneys (can you imagine what the headlines would’ve been if he had?).
Shapley seems to be upset that the 2014 and 2015 cases weren’t extended and charged and under the impression that RHB’s lawyers would’ve signed an extension for that statute of limitations, but I can’t see why they would’ve. If they knew they were pretty much on the hook for 2016-2019 anyway (which seems likely to have been the case by late 2022, since that deal just got signed), why would they agree to let the bigger and more serious investigation into 2014 and 2015 continue?
Shapley also seems to have perhaps been not exactly politic in his responses to things not going the direction he thinks they should and then surprised that people didn’t continue communicating with him. He clearly did not manage to get the message from the email the boss sent, which basically said “this is what is going on. I can’t be involved in what you want, you need to talk to these people instead.” And instead sent him back a defensive screed about the case.
He seems to be a dedicated investigator, but not good at the kinds of assessments for charging and/or asset allocation that some of the other people involved had to make. They had a major investigative team of 12 expert investigators on this case for years with very few results. In addition, the prosecutors I know are not particularly impressed with the US Attorneys willingness to take risks or abilities to prosecute cases along the lines of couldn’t prosecute their way out of a wet paper bag but that’s OK because they find wet paper bags too challenging and wouldn’t go near them regardless.
It seems to me that we the people would’ve gotten better results if they had done what they should’ve done in the beginning and put the case through the civil audit process because they would’ve had plenty of time to collect taxes on RHB’s income for 2014 and 2015 and the IRS team of crack experts could’ve worked the cases they were supposed to be working on and not on what was probably meant to be a political hit job that didn’t end up amounting to much.
My end conclusion is that RHB was particularly unskilled at tax evasion and that the IRS needed their best investigative team using the very brightest of search lights to even get near him, which makes me think that maybe there is A LOT of money out there that rich people aren’t paying taxes on when they should and that the middle class is subsidizing them as much or more than we are the poor people.
Nic (896fdf) — 6/23/2023 @ 6:14 pmIt’s fog-of-war in Russia, or is fog of civil war?
Either way, there’s some sh-t going down and it involves Prigozhin. If it’s real, now would be a opportune time for a lightning strike on Melitopol by the Ukrainians.
Here’s the unofficial reaction from Zelenskyy.
And here’s an update from ISW, and below are their key takeaways.
This is not a good sign for Putin, having trouble on his own turf by his own people while he’s undertaking an illegal invasion chock-filled with war crimes.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 6:48 pmBTW, here’s Prigozhin said earlier today in a rare moment of Russian candor, basically saying that Putin’s reasons for invading were a raft of lies.
So far, his absolving Putin is what kept Prigozhin from being a defenestration casualty, but I don’t think that applies anymore, because these events are embarrassing to the Russian dictator.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 6:57 pmThe NRO excerpt starts with “If confirmed…….”
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 7:01 pmPrigozhin could be trying to conquer Rostov, where the Russian Southern Command is located and a strategic chokepoint. I hate to cite a Trump Acquiescent like Rubio, but…
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 7:35 pmLOL!
The ruling in United States v. Texas is that States don’t have standing to sue over any Administration’s policy because they disagree with them, or to compel the Executive Branch to adopt their preferred solution. Each Administration in the past has prioritized immigration enforcement differently because Congress has not provided enough funding for immigration courts, detention facilities, or Border Patrol agents. It one of most bipartisan decisions in recent memory, as the vote was 8-1, with only Justice Alito dissenting.
Source
So if Texas or Louisiana want their immigration enforcement preferences, they should lobby Congress to pass them into law.
And the next Republican administration will benefit from this decision, as it will protect them from Democratic state lawsuits attacking Republican policies.
It’s been a bad week for Texas at the Supreme Court, it also lost a challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 7:46 pmPaxton should focus on his upcoming impeachment trial. Too bad his wife can’t vote for him.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 7:58 pmPaul,
I’m following the reports with great interest. I don’t think any kind of mutiny will succeed but we’re certainly seeing a divided Russia (soldiers, at least). Anyway, @wartranslated reminds us: A lot of things are being thrown around here and there about things happening in Russia but I have so far not seen a single photo or video evidence of anything, only text and audio messages. We’ll see.
Dana (560c99) — 6/23/2023 @ 8:34 pmBut Donald Trump was still president at the time
Doesn’t matter if the real decision-makers are partisans covered by Civil Service protections. And besides, Trump was pretty inept at the whole bureaucracy game.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:18 pmCan we talk about issues — ANY issues — instead of candidates, personalities, and resumes?
This is what is meant by “consuming all the oxygen in the room”
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:20 pmTrump was still president
Stop saying that, Sammy. Technically it’s true, but Trump was OUT in December 2020 and NO ONE was going to investigate the President-Elect.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:22 pm@69:
And particularly the Court refuses to interfere with a political question for the political branches. One of those political optionss, reserved to Congress, is removing people from power through impeachment. They don’t actually USE those words, but they expect people to see them.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:29 pmSo if Texas or Louisiana want their immigration enforcement preferences, they should lobby Congress to pass them into law.
Considering that Biden would veto, it’s actually easier to impeach and convict.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:31 pmRevolutions kick in a rotten door! Wagner group marches on moscow does putin do something rash like “NUKES???” Russian army full of conscripts and draftees. Not good news for putin. America went to all volunteer army after vietnam because of draftees, like drafted black soldiers sitting down on runway not going to kill their black brothers rioting in detroit. What will russian draftees do? They usually join the revolution! October revolution and the storming of the winter palace. Lates people/soldiers on streets of moscow using up sides. Russian state televison in full panic mode as anchors desperate. When it comes this is how it will come suddenly.
asset (597aac) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:33 pmToo bad his wife can’t vote for him.
But the rules make her a FORCED acquittal vote since an abstention is the same as a no vote in their stupid system.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:35 pmImpeach maybe, convict never.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:43 pmMcCarthy doesn’t have the votes to impeach anyone.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/23/2023 @ 9:45 pmImpeach maybe, convict never.
It is demonstrably easier to get 2/3rds in one house than 2/3rds in both.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:07 pmMcCarthy doesn’t have the votes to impeach anyone.
Yet.
But it’s looking like, even if Trump goes away, the dials are all turned up to 17. It will take an independent to be elected president (or come close enough to scare the politicians) before they get down to actual business. I fear that MTG and AOC are the wave of the future. And/or our Doom.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:10 pmPaul,
Interesting: “Special Rossiya air squadron flew over Moscow last night: Two presidential helicopters were spotted over the Simferopol highway, the Moscow Ring, and flying toward Putin’s residence in Novo-Ogarevo. (outside Moscow near Rublevka)”
Dana (560c99) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:11 pmThis might mean Putin has fled Moscow.“
There’s video of Prigozhin meeting peacefully with senior Russian military officials in Rostov. He took over Rostov with hardly a shot fired. There are several possibilities:
(1) Prigozhin’s uprising had Putin’s tacit approval, and the dictator is letting Prigozhin take over the theater of operations. The argument against is that Prigozhin was just in an interview where he called Putin a liar, that he invaded on bullsh-t pretenses.
(2) This is a true uprising, and Putin can’t do a damn thing about it.
My hope is that Russians spend time and effort fighting each other and not Ukrainians.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 10:14 pmHere’s video of a Wagner convoy on its way to Voronezh, which is right up the M4 from Rostov, a highway that leads directly to Moscow.
Apparently, Putin will address the nation about that little kerfuffle in Rostov, just some high-spirited kids, no big deal. Meantime, what about those cute dogs.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:32 pmIf Putin is deposed by this, it’s gonna make a great movie.
norcal (8b5267) — 6/23/2023 @ 11:51 pmMy hope is that Russians spend time and effort fighting each other and not Ukrainians.
My hope is that the Ukrainians catch them with their pants down.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/24/2023 @ 12:10 amIf Putin is deposed by this, it’s gonna make a great movie.
What makes you think that things will be better?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/24/2023 @ 12:10 amHere’s a good summation. The final paragraph is both key and a little jarring.
This seems kind of important.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/24/2023 @ 12:38 amWhat makes you think that things will be better?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/24/2023 @ 12:10 am
I didn’t say I thought things would be better.
norcal (8b5267) — 6/24/2023 @ 1:23 amFWIW, I put up a new post on the coup attempt. It might make sense to take comments devoted to that topic to the new post.
Patterico (01004a) — 6/24/2023 @ 5:28 amPrigozhin crossed the Don? The borscht is cast.
If Donald Trump had been commander of Wagner Group, this never would have happened. He would have made a beautiful deal with Shoigu to resolve the situation peacefully.
nk (bb1548) — 6/24/2023 @ 5:30 amWell, it’s a start:
Possibly an overdue start — I don’t know what evidence was available earlier — but a welcome start, nonetheless.
Do I think the ChiComs could do more to control the flow of “precursor chemicals”? Yes, probably, though I admit I have not seen a good description of what, if anything, they have been doing.
The general problem of drug overdose deaths in the US has been growing rapidly:
Jim Miller (1aabf6) — 6/24/2023 @ 6:40 amNPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist National Poll 6/21/23
Poll top lines and demographics. Of course, no one has accused Trump of being a conservative.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/24/2023 @ 10:57 am•63% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say it is more important that the 2024 Republican nominee stand on conservative principles rather than have the best chance to defeat President Joe Biden (35%) in the presidential contest.
And then they pick Donald Trump. What is “conservative” about careless handling of eyes-only documents? What is “conservative” about undermining American elections? What is “conservative” and supporting Kim Jong Un? What, for that matter, is “conservative” about racism, sexism and nativeism? That was a smear from the 1960s, made by people who actually were racists; there is no reason to dredge that up again.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/24/2023 @ 11:37 amThe general problem of drug overdose deaths in the US has been growing rapidly
I expect a rush to sterner treatment of fentanyl dealing. The death penalty even for possession of an ounce or more. Trump will go there if no one else will.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/24/2023 @ 11:41 amMonmouth University Poll 6/20/23
Paragraph breaks added. Poll questions and cross tabs.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/24/2023 @ 12:54 pmTrump already has; unfortunately his proposal would have required the execution of someone he pardoned.
His proposal would only apply to federal drug crimes, but most drug cases are prosecuted in state courts.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/24/2023 @ 1:08 pm“I expect a rush to sterner treatment of fentanyl dealing. The death penalty even for possession of an ounce or more. Trump will go there if no one else will.”
Surely this time we will win the drug war.
Davethulhu (f37fbd) — 6/25/2023 @ 7:16 amTrump All In:
Make certain Trump’s contribution is in cash. His check might bounce.
Rip Murdock (7d8253) — 6/25/2023 @ 7:37 amThe Designated Defendant: Was Hunter Biden Always the Fall Guy?
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 7:59 amQuoting Hitler To Make A Point Is Never A Good Idea:
RFK, Jr. will be a guest speaker at Moms for Liberty’s annual meeting, along with most the Republican candidates.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:17 amSpeaking of Nazis, here is a video that the tweeter claims:
I have no idea how he makes the leap to “Feds.” What I did notice is that the cops step in to protect the Nazis.
Hopefully RFKjr and other republican candidates stay away from cops because of guilt-by-association.
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:43 amMinus “other.” RFK is not a Republican.
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:45 amSurely this time we will win the drug war.
Give up on some, fine. But fentanyl? Allow the sale of everything, up through, oh, powder cocaine, and then get nasty with anyone selling something else. The market will respond.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:55 amThe event was hosted at Trump’s private golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey
I wonder what portion of the donations went to pay the venue fees.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:56 amI was going to comment on this earlier, but the Putin-Prigozhin Unpleasantness got in the way.
“25 million” sounds like a massive exaggeration, but it’s serious business that ChiCom firms and individuals are involved in this, and it would be surprising if an authoritarian like Xi wasn’t aware of the situation. The state visit by Modi is a good sign that the US should divest from China and send business to India and other Asian nations that are Not China.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:59 amBedfellows.
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:03 amBuDuh:
How to lose control of your economy and currency in one easy lesson. And why would China want to tie themselves to Russia’s adventures. I think they would prefer Siberia to the Ruble.
Talk to Italy and Greece on how well losing their currency has worked out for them.
Appalled (adc92c) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:07 am“what is the purpose of schools telling little kids that they can change their sex if they want?”
And what does it even mean? It seems like hyper-gender dysphoria is the new attention card (yes there are genuine sufferers, no I don’t buy that it’s as many as claimed). I get that schools are de facto parents in many cases and have to manage the bullying, depression, and anxiety that seems to be overwhelming too many kids, but I’m not sure school teachers and counselors understand the path they may be nudging…especially if we are talking drugs and eventually surgery.
AJ_Liberty (2020f2) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:22 am“South Africa will host the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa”
I’m surprised India sees a future with that crowd
AJ_Liberty (2020f2) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:24 amOr, for that matter, Brazil.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:34 amAs I’ve said before, Trump and RFK, Jr. should be running mates. It would be a bipartisan and they share much in common as they are both conspiracy theorists and wannabe authoritarians.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:44 amI’m not sure school teachers and counselors understand the path they may be nudging
There’s a lot of propaganda that says puberty blockers and hormones are “reversible”, as if puberty was like switch you could choose not to throw.
Puberty is instigated by a flood of hormones, released on schedule by the body. Blocking their effect with drugs does not mean it will happen again later. Because it won’t, and even if you later try to recreate puberty with (more) drugs, much of the body has moved on.
—
I suggest the following challenge: States accept full liability in these cases, waiving their sovereign immunity. I bet they won’t.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:44 am112-
India and Brazil are using that grouping to counterbalance US influence.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:53 amNBC News National Poll 6/25/23
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:24 amSigh. Less than half of one percent of our student body have told an adult at our school that they might be trans (I sit on our at-rsik and mental health team, it’s the kind of info that teachers bring us). Over my entire career I am only aware of one student who took puberty blockers.
Nic (896fdf) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:56 amSchools do not have sovereign immunity. They are deemed to be in loco parentis and the standard of care is wanton and willful.
nk (359027) — 6/25/2023 @ 11:09 am‘A Righteous Crusade’:
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 11:23 amRip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 11:38 am
For 2 years, tax years 2014 and 2015, he simply did not report some income and (maybe later) said it was a loan.
For the next three years, 2026, 2017 and 2018, he didn’t file a tax return, maybe because he had blown all the money.
Sammy Finkelman (d48c4e) — 6/25/2023 @ 1:19 pmNic (896fdf) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:56 am
It could be that people do not realize that it is a small minority. But 1 out of 200 is still a lot.
Aren’t they the same drugs that used to be given to stifle male homosexuality by people convicted of it?
Sammy Finkelman (6054db) — 6/25/2023 @ 1:24 pm@Sammy@124 I think that people who don’t work with kids think it’s an epidemic, because that’s what it’s being treated as, especially by religious conservatives, but also by some Democrats trying to make points.
IDK about any history of giving puberty blockers to gay people, it would’ve been before my time. It is what some countries have surreptitiously given their female gymnasts so they don’t grow hips and breasts that might make tumbling more difficult.
Nic (896fdf) — 6/25/2023 @ 1:38 pmNote that you misquoted what the WSJ said. The full quote is:
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 2:40 pmSad!
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 3:45 pmThis wasn’t obvious to Salon?
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 3:53 pmI’m sure that was written for their readers; for at least one person it hasn’t been obvious.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:08 pmWho thinks Trump is being charged </em for a violation of the PRA?
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:12 pmOr do you meant that Salon has one reader? 😃
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:18 pmTrump, as quoted below, believes he was allowed to retain the classified documents under the PRA.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:25 pmMaking my point.
If he said he was erroneously charged by a provision of the PRA, it would make your point.(or at least the point that Salon’s lawyers had to resolve for nothing more than a gratuitous comment.
BuDuh (9c9dfd) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:34 pm126. I wasn’t agreeing with and amplifying the quote, I was saying there could be such evidence – failure to file.
Sammy Finkelman (6054db) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:43 pmTrumpWorld not amused:
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:53 pmStill a misquote of what was said.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:55 pmYour truncating the quote changed its original meaning. Uncool.
Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:57 pmOver my entire career I am only aware of one student who took puberty blockers.
Then why does the idea of banning them — since they are hardly ever used — cause you such angst? It’s like the “pro-choice” position that 1) no one ever gets a late-term elective abortion, and 2) they will die on that hill anyway.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:17 pmsaid Rod Rosenstein, former deputy attorney general [secure in his position despite serving] under Trump.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:20 pm@119: Nic,
If you are ever in a contract discussion and someone says “Oh, don’t worry, we never use that” about some section you object to, you need to stand up and walk out.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:24 pmAssuming Trump’s lawyers have obtained the necessary security clearance, the government said it could give them the initial batch of classified materials to review by July 10.
And if not, Trump needs to get different lawyers who already have clearances. The judge should tell him that intentional delays will end up with his bail revoked. A week with no ketchup for his bologna sandwiches and Trump will be demanding an immediate trial.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:28 pmTrump Civil Litigation Watch:
Rip Murdock (28d7d9) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:38 pmI’m sure he’s tried.
Trump was released on his own recognizance.
Rip Murdock (28d7d9) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:45 pmI’m sure such coercion to give up constitutional rights is illegal.
Rip Murdock (28d7d9) — 6/25/2023 @ 8:48 pm@Kevin@138- I’ve repeatedly said that I think the issue is overblown. And I’ve said repeatedly that I don’t think medical intervention is the best idea for kids who are the age I work with. OTOH, I am also not a psychiatrist and there may be very rare situations where medical intervention is appropriate so it seems like leaving it as a possible treatment option if necessary seems like the wiser choice. I don’t think that qualifies as “angst”.
(you’ll notice I didn’t say that it was never used, just that it was very very rare.)
Nic (896fdf) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:15 pmGrifters Gonna Grift
Rip Murdock (28d7d9) — 6/25/2023 @ 9:20 pm@Kevin@138- I’ve repeatedly said that I think the issue is overblown.
I don’t think so. I think you are either minimizing it or (more likely) just don’t see it from the outside. The idea of teaching 8 year-olds about sexual preference, gender identity, and suggesting that sex changes are just part of the way things are done is abhorrent to many people (and most everyone over, oh, 40).
These are innocent kids who do not have any referent; no way to tell fact from propaganda. They are new to the world and still think that adults — and especially teachers — have all the answers. They don’t know that this entire range of topics is far from accepted, but they are being told that it is, as a matter of fact.
This is why everyone is upset. This is why they react VERY poorly to those who call this “Don’t say gay” which not only misstates the entire problem, it denigrates their opposition as a pack of yahoo idiots.
It the kind of things that gets you more Trump. I don’t want that, do you?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:48 pmI wonder though if kids tell you what they really thing about all this. You’re an adult, and they have long since learned to not say certain things to adults unless you want a strident and/or petty response. By the time they get to college, they’ll know how to keep their head down.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:52 pmShorter: Things that CAN be used WILL be used. I’m not comfortable relying on good sense here.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:53 pmI’m sure such coercion to give up constitutional rights is illegal.
They do it to poor people all the time.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:54 pmAs far as how many children have been treated for gender dysphoria, it’s not zero.
In 2017, there were 15,000 cases
In 2021, there were almost 3 times as many.
The curve everywhere is up. This didn’t just happen, it’s been normalized.
But wait. What about puberty blockers or surgical intervention? Again…
2017: 633 puberty blockers initiated
2021: 1390 puberty blockers initiated, over twice as many
Hormone therapy:
2017: 1900
2021: 4200
There were 750 “top surgeries” 2019 through 2021.
This may seem like “very very rare” but it is an order of magnitude more than kids shot at school. Imagine if I tried to minimize that and said that school shootings “weren’t a meaningful issue.”
—–
BTW, Nic, this isn’t really about what you believe of support, but what the issue is to others.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 11:09 pmData: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-data/
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 11:09 pm@Kevin@148/152 I can’t help what other people think is happening other than to share the information and experience that I have and say that the CDE health curriculum framework doesn’t say what this or that click-baiter says it does and that the actual picture in actual schools is different than he says it is. That’s it, that’s all I can do. And people like you can decide if I’m being honest or dishonest about it, but I can’t control that either.
As far as whether or not kids tell me what they really think, some do and some don’t. I try to keep an open line of communication with them regardless of whether or not I share their belief system and I try to help other staff members understand that it’s important to do the same, especially if it’s an issue they themselves are sensitive about. (I am apparently the go-to adult to talk to about their confirmation classes, I have no idea how that happened. Yes, I’m Catholic, but I don’t tell the kids that unless they ask).
There are medical decisions that parents make about kids that I don’t approve of, just like a lot of people don’t like parents deciding their kids can get transgender treatment or puberty blockers (I don’t particularly think it’s a great idea to put your 13 year old on birth-control, though I guess it’s better than having a pregnant 13 year old and I don’t think it’s useful to having your hallucinating kid exorcised.) but I certainly don’t think the parents should go to prison over it either.
Nic (896fdf) — 6/26/2023 @ 12:39 am@152. Those stats don’t say how many of those kids learned about transgenderism from teachers, how many from other kids, how many from their parents or siblings, how many from social media, and how many just raised the issue unsolicited to teachers or parents because they were convinced something felt wrong. How many 8 year olds are actually told “sex changes are just part of the way things are done,” and how many of those were taught it at school? Those are questions I’d like the answers to before deciding whether kids are being indoctrinated, and if so by whom.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/26/2023 @ 1:30 amRepublicans june 2022 supreme court rules on abortion republicans think they are winning and put it up to a vote in republican controlled kansas and lose by 60%! Oh! wait lets talk about drag queens and trannies! 2022 mid terms 80% of voters who oppose ban on abortion come out and vote. Red wave fizzles out. Only 4 corrupt democrats voted out in very pro-choice NY allows mccarthy 4 seat majority of trumpsters. 2024 is coming with abortion on many states ballots. Mississippi republicans say no ballot initiative on abortion we would lose. Conservative talk show screeners told not to allow calls on abortion only drag queens and trannie callers.
asset (10669b) — 6/26/2023 @ 1:43 amIt’s a horsesh!t issue, but when both sides have large constituents whose intellect and understanding qualify them only for cleaning out stables ….
nk (86e0f8) — 6/26/2023 @ 4:50 amYeah as a populace we don’t want a Cronkite telling us ‘That’s the way it is’, we want freakin’ Jesse Waters stoking our partisan prejudices. Apparently, ‘you be you’ is the highest currency…always. Being perpetually mad at the other team in a ridiculous hyperbolic fashion drives how we get informed any longer. Is it any surprise that it leads to ridiculous hyperbolic candidates…..who are more reality-TV drama queens than leaders?
There is no longer social shame in publicly lying or being painfully ignorant. In a way, it gives us more to rage about and the cycle perpetuates. Shameful behavior has been monetized. Trannies are a sad distraction.
AJ_Liberty (2a8b4b) — 6/26/2023 @ 5:24 amlarge *constituencies*
Well, okay, they have large constituents, too, but I meant to say constituencies.
nk (86e0f8) — 6/26/2023 @ 5:27 amAs noted before, Trump was released on his OR without any restrictions (except not to talk to witnesses). He didn’t even have to surrender his passport.
Two-tiered justice.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:17 amThat “no cash bail” that everyone gets the vapors over is the rule in the federal courts. Everybody gets released on their own recognizance unless they’re a flight risk and/or continuing menace to society.
nk (0420d1) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:31 amthe CDE health curriculum framework doesn’t say what this or that click-baiter says it does
Reuter’s is not actually a click-baiter.
Those are questions I’d like the answers to before deciding whether kids are being indoctrinated, and if so by whom.
Then why did Disney go to war to protect something that does not happen?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:47 amEverybody gets released on their own recognizance unless they’re a flight risk and/or continuing menace to society.
I’m sure you meant this ironically, but I thought it needed emphasis.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:48 amhttps://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/06/25/peter_schweizer_oversight_committee_must_subpoena_records_of_cell_phone_hunter_got_for_joe_biden.html
Drip drip drip.
NJRob (f50fbb) — 6/26/2023 @ 10:34 amHow do you explain Trump’s release on OR? 😉
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/26/2023 @ 10:50 amA non-member of Congress telling them what they should do is not “drip drip drip.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/26/2023 @ 10:52 amKevin M (2d6744) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:47 am
Disney did not attempt to protect anything.
Disney decided to go along with those of its employees who were claiming some law did something it did not do – not this version anyway.
Underlying issues had nothing to do with it.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/26/2023 @ 1:21 pmKevin M (2d6744) — 6/25/2023 @ 10:48 pm
But there are people very interested in doing just that – in normalizing. not just premarital sex, (which was normalized back in the 1960s) not just homosexuality, but gender changes too, and anything else that comes along that isn’t outright illegal or considered unethical. (adultery is considered sort of unethical)
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/26/2023 @ 1:29 pmHunter Biden was one of six people who got kicked out of a sex club (as soon as he joined it) because he thought it was a license to grab.
He also tried to deduct it from his taxes. And the result was:
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/26/2023 @ 1:35 pm137. Rip Murdock (5be45a) — 6/25/2023 @ 4:57 pm
I was having technical difficulties. I often do on that Windows 10 laptop computer. The mouse pointer even gets lost.
But today the Wall Street Journal went into detail as to how what Hunter Biden did might have been felonious.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hunter-biden-fair-tax-share-fraud-irs-special-agent-whistleblower-charges-misdemeanor-scheme-d8813133
Here’s one example of possible felonies (according to the Wall Street Journal)
It’s worse to claim false deductions than to underreport income.
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/26/2023 @ 2:00 pmAnd there were severe problems with his 2014 and 2015 returns, for which the statute of limitations was eventually allowed to run out
Incidentally, I read in passing the other day that Burisma is now defunct, so I guess Zelensky went after it eventually after all..
What did Hunter do in 2014?
He directed Burisma to pay his money to Rosemont Seneca Bohai, or RSB, an entity owned by his business partner Devon Archer (convicted later of fraud in 2018) RSB would send the money to Hunter, who then “booked it as a loan.”
I don’t know. If it’s pass through, and the entity reports it as income, maybe, but RSB booked it as an expense. Gary Shapley says this is something IRS agents learn about in basic training. They look for three things to see if something is truly a loan: Is there a promissory note; what is the interest, and where are the repayments?
Then, in 2017, a Hunter business partner, Eric Schwerin, told Hunter that he had “unreported Burisma income” and needed to “amend your 2014 returns.” Hunter ignored the warning and broke off the relationship.
He did more. He had some personal expenses paid directly. RSB paid more than $10,000 in Hunter medical bills (I suppose that could have been done before taxes if it had been structured some other way) and a $142,000 Porsche for Hunter’s benefit was paid for via other money from a Kazakhstan businessman.
He also again attempted to describe income as a loan .
The editorial was motvated by the fact that President Biden has said
They ask:
Of course Hunter blew all the money on drugs, on sex, and on travel.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/26/2023 @ 2:10 pmI think a possible solution to one contradiction (about Delaware prosecutor David Weiss, either having or not having the authority to bring charges in Washington, DC, or in California) is that he had the authority, but he didn’t have the budget, and he tried to lay off cases against Hunter Biden on other U.S. attorneys and they wouldn’t accept.
As for being denied or not being denied the possibility of being named a special counsel, maybe he never made a formal request, and what he was really looking for was money ad he was maybe told by underlings to Merrick Garland that he wouldn’t get any extra money.
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/26/2023 @ 2:17 pmRP John Goodenough, inventor of the lithium ion battery age 100
https://www.newser.com/story/336968/worlds-oldest-nobel-winner-leaves-a-lasting-impact.html
Now there’s another battery, used a lot by the military, twice as expensive, but recharges faster and lasts longer and cannot start fires.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium-titanate_battery
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/26/2023 @ 2:33 pmRIP actor Frederic Forrest (86). Highly regarded supporting actor in Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, One From The Heart (all directed by Francis Ford Coppola) and The Rose.
Rip Murdock (28d7d9) — 6/26/2023 @ 9:47 pm… and not to be confused with DCSCA’s favorite actor, Forrest Tucker.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/26/2023 @ 10:03 pmKevin, what the CDE framework says about gender identity and 3rd graders is that if they are curious, you can say that some people with female organs don’t feel like girls and that some people with male organs don’t feel like boys. That’s it. Maybe you think that that is too much acknowledgement, IDK.
Nic (19e047) — 6/26/2023 @ 11:54 pm“We’ve got your ‘independent legislature doctrine’ right here.”
nk (81e6ff) — 6/27/2023 @ 8:47 amWho?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 9:42 amKevin, what the CDE framework says about gender identity and 3rd graders is that if they are curious
Maybe the world has moved further than I thought, but when I was in third grade kids weren’t thinking about those things at all. And Rob and Laura Petrie slept in twin beds.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:13 amhttps://www.dailywire.com/news/prosecutor-reportedly-told-six-witnesses-he-was-not-permitted-to-charge-hunter-biden
A fist on the scale of justice. A travesty against the rule of law.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:27 amhttps://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/06/26/federal-conversion-therapy-ban-therapeutic-fraud-prevention-act/5311687809234/
So leftists claim that cutting off a child’s genetalia is a private act between thw child and it’s doctor, but a different type of therapy must be banned. So I guess it’s not about respecting the wishes of a family getting medical treatment, but instead about pushing a radical left agenda and mutiliating children.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:30 amI really don’t know what to make of the Hunter Biden thing, but there are a LOT of liars involved, including his father. I see it as a case of corrupt family influence (in several aspects) and not as some bargaining chip for Mr Trump.
It’s possible they all need to go to jail.
Yesterday it was reported that the IRS wanted felony charges for multiple fraudulent deductions — the kind of thing that the Trump Organization fella got imprisoned for — but that didn’t happen in this case. Who shut the IRS down isn’t clear. But obstruction of justice charges seem appropriate for whoever did.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:34 amIf we had a really independent press in this country, a corrupt Democrat would get the same treatment as a corrupt Republican. But in the press we do have, you will screw your entire career by “getting” a Democrat officeholder.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:37 am“It’s possible they all need to go to jail.”
It seems like it’s difficult to make a tax charge stick (read convince a jury) when the defendant has paid the taxes plus fines, elocuted, had a drug problem he’s working on, and has no priors. I’m not seeing analysis that says that these particulars always or even usually result in prison time. There are no aggravating charges like in the case of Manafort or Cohen.
The lying on the gun form is a crime, but it’s not at all connected with a violent crime. He possessed the gun for 11 days and then his girlfriend got rid of it for fear he was contemplating suicide. Isn’t the usual result of this when the defendant elocutes diversion?
Joe Biden is a horrible candidate for multiple reasons, including that having a substance-abusing son always makes this an issue. I think the GOP out punts its coverage and then is stuck whining about the DoJ and special prosecutors. It’s been five years. At some point isn’t it time to sh*t or get off the pot?
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 6/27/2023 @ 11:33 amAJ, the fraudulent 2013 & 2014 returns were never acted on at all, even though the IRS wanted felony charges brought. A number of contemporaneous reports now about how prosecution was blocked.
AFAIK no amended return was filed, and fraudulent deductions are generally not fixed by payment of tax anyway because they are so easily proven to be perjury & fraud.
Do you think a perjurer can correct his testimony years later with a “My bad!”?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 12:42 pmI think you need to check the updates.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 12:43 pmWill New Hunter Biden Claims Lead to Impeachments?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 12:46 pmBTW, the Trumpians are after Bill Barr now, for speaking ill of the Master. Go over and check the comments over at InstaTrumpist.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 1:03 pmImpeachments, possibly, convictions unlikely.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 1:17 pmWhile I favor impeachment hearings to get the facts out, I think the net result will be energize Democrats no matter who the Republican nominee will be.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 1:25 pmI wouldn’t be surprised if the GOP in the House impeaches Biden and Garland, but I’d first like to know what actual evidence-backed crimes were committed.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/27/2023 @ 1:45 pmIt’s time for Comer, Jordan, and McCarthy to put up or shut up.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 2:05 pmI don’t put much faith in Comer, or his committee, but Ways & Means is a different breed.
They actually have authority over tax matters, and the testimony they got from IRS agents attached to the Weiss team indicates (heck, states) that Hunter Biden had multiple senior officials riding shotgun for him throughout the investigation. They claim that several felony indictments were blocked, and that Weiss never had the authority Garland and others testified he had been given.
* Despite the fact that IRS officials recommended that Hunter Biden be charged with criminal activity that includes attempts to evade or defeat taxes, fraud and false statements, and willful failures to file returns, supply information, or pay taxes for over $8.3 million in income, Mr. Biden received preferential treatment in the course of the investigation, and has struck a plea deal that will likely keep him out from behind bars.
* Recurring unjustified delays pervaded the investigation, including in authenticating the message between Hunter Biden and Chinese officials. Investigators were told by U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf that “there is no way” a search warrant for evidence would get approved because the evidence of interest would be found in the guest house of former Vice President Biden.
* Investigators found out that attorneys for Hunter Biden were tipped off about actions relating to the investigation in advance. For example, even as investigators had probable cause to search a Northern Virginia storage unit in which Hunter Biden had stored files, attorneys for Biden were tipped off.
* U.S. Attorney of Delaware David Weiss tried to bring charges in District of Columbia around March 2022 and was denied. Weiss sought special counsel status from DOJ in the Spring of 2022 and was denied. Weiss sought to bring charges in the Central District of California in the Fall of 2022 and had that request denied in January 2023.
* Actions were taken to cut the IRS investigative team out of the process after they raised concerns up their chain of command. One whistleblower was not selected for a position, when he was more qualified than the candidate who was selected. Limits and pauses have been placed on other, unrelated investigations that the whistleblowers are working on – which hamper the investigators’ ability to do their work or advance. The whistleblowers and their entire team were removed from the investigation on May 15, 2023, after blowing the whistle to Congress.
This is not “old news” except to people who are afraid to look at it. The Rule of Law means something, or it does not. There are 200 pages of testimony at that link. Isn’t insider testimony “evidence”?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 2:57 pmThis is so reminiscent of Watergate. Not the crime, but the widespread refusal to admit there was a problem.
It took well over a year after the break-in to get any real investigation started, and that only happened because a disgruntled FBI whistleblower gave some reporters some clues.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 3:00 pmSorry, those bullet points should be quoted.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 3:01 pmI’ll note that, after finding out what Trump had in his possession, I also think that undue deference was granted to Donald Trump.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 3:03 pmWhat a strange diversion. Disney sued to challenge Florida’s allegedly unconstitutional termination of a statutory benefit as punishment for Disney’s exercise of its First Amendment rights. How does that answer my question? I never denied there are 8 year olds hearing about this stuff from their teachers. I assume there are. But that doesn’t tell us anything about prevalence or context. How many teachers are discussing it at all? How many do it unsolicited, and how many, as nic reports, are responding to inquiries from troubled or confused students? How do those numbers compare to the number of kids who first hear about it elsewhere? And how many of those kids then ask their teachers to make sense of something they heard from parents, siblings or friends, and vice versa? Don’t you think that data would inform a more reasoned, productive debate than the “groomers” vs “transphobes” cage match that’s been foisted on us by the demagogues on both sides?
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/27/2023 @ 3:51 pmForrest Tucker was the star of DCSCA’s favorite referenced ad nauseam TV show, F-Troop.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/27/2023 @ 3:54 pmWhat a strange diversion. Disney sued to challenge Florida’s allegedly unconstitutional termination of a statutory benef
What a strange obfuscation. Disney started it all by pinning the company’s prestige on opposing a law setting little kids off limits for sexual prodding.
Your comment is about like saying that the US started WW2 by invading France.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:01 pmAs for the rest of it … if it was never done and no one was at risk, why did Disney (and/or its employees) get involved in a nothingburger over a state law that did nothing? You have to explain that, first.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:03 pmFor the most part it’s all hearsay.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:24 pmFor the most part it’s all hearsay.
So was Watergate until they held hearings. Most of didn’t rise to hearsay, actually.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:27 pmI know who Forrest Tucker was, I meant who is DCSCA? Out of sight, out of mind.
It was a joke.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:28 pmRIP actor Julian Sands (65).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/27/2023 @ 4:35 pmSorry. My bad.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/27/2023 @ 5:05 pmKids were already off limits for sexual prodding. And sure, if you assume the necessary bias-confirming conclusions, then you’re obviously correct about who fired the first shot. My intuition is that both sides are drunk on outrage, and thus have misconstrued and overstated the relevant law, motives and and events. As I said, I don’t have nearly enough information to form reliable conclusions about who has the better argument, so for starters I’d like more data. I’m sorry if that looks like obfuscation to you.
As for Disney, they made a business decision, and DeSantis retaliated. There’s a plausible likelihood that retaliation was unconstitutional. We’ll see.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/27/2023 @ 5:21 pmHere’s the way the Culture War works:
1) Conservatives are almost never the instigators, as conservatives are generally not trying to change things radically. I exempt Trumpists from this as I have no idea why they do things.
2) It usually starts with a child coming home with an attitude. Let’s take up a (made up but eventual) school initiative to promote veganism:
Little Billy comes home and announces he’s a Veegan. Like Mr Spock. At dinner, he begins lecturing Mom and Dad about how they are murdering defenseless animals like Bambi and shouldn’t eat meat. Mom and Dad are a little nonplussed and ask where this came from, and Billy says that his teacher talked about her Veegan beliefs and why “Meat is Murder.” And he didn’t want to be like those people who killed Bambi or Old Yeller.
Needless to say that Mom and Dad call the school principal the next morning and are given a run-around. “Doesn’t happen. But if it did, we’ll look into it. And teachers have a right to teach, don’t they?”
Billy’s attitude does not improve, and he starts calling his parents “Vegiphobic.” Clearly something is going on.
3) This is repeated several times (it doesn’t take many) and suddenly the empty school board meetings are filled with irate parents. Then one parent says their child was punished for having a bologna sandwich in their brown-bag lunch. True? Maybe. Maybe not. Does it matter? After a few meetings, with school principal’s repeating the “didn’t happen” line, things get unruly.
4) Politicians begin to notice…
————
At this point it no longer matters what the truth is. Politicians who want to woo Vegans, companies with 20% Vegan Gen X workers, and of course PETAS and the rest pile on in support of the schools. Trump chimes in with his burned prime ribeyes covered in ketchup. The legislature meets to defend eating meat.
Some repeat the “didn’t happen” line, when clearly something did happen. Parentts are sure that the schools are full of card-carrying Vegans. Axe-grinders grind axes. The Meat Council, um, meets and denouces the public schools. Etc.
Pretty soon a presidential candidate has to apologize for saying “Where’s the meat?”
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 7:56 pmBilly, of course, still won’t eat his broccoli.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 7:58 pmBy the way, this isn’t new. I remember back in my childhood in the early 60s, when the school sent out a questionnaire asking for private information (race, marital status, income, etc) so that they could use it to apply for federal education money. My dad was of the opinion that the feds had no —- business in a child’s education.
He didn’t live to see the “Life of Julia” as a model for the nation.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/27/2023 @ 8:02 pm@208. That’s a nice story, Kevin, but if it’s OK with you I’ll keep preferring data over anecdotes, real or imaginary.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/27/2023 @ 10:09 pmClassic. It sounds very close to “I am not a crook”.
“I don’t do things wrong, I do things right. I’m a legitimate person.”
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/28/2023 @ 7:48 am–Donald J. Trump, twice impeached, twice criminally indicted, university and foundation shuttered by judges due to fraud, organization criminally guilty for fraud, adjudicated in court as a liar and sexual abuser, 6/27/2023
At least we know Trump is not an AI creation. Or is “Trump” lying?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 9:10 amAgain, apply the Turing Test to rump and you’ll see he may be “A” but not also “I”
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/28/2023 @ 9:24 am@208. That’s a nice story, Kevin, but if it’s OK with you I’ll keep preferring data over anecdotes, real or imaginary.
It may be simplified, but it is almost exactly how the school transgender thing went down. It’s the focal point of the whole they/them thing.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/28/2023 @ 9:27 amDebate sizzles as meat eating hits new low in Germany
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/28/2023 @ 9:31 amThis is why Mr. Weiss should’ve been elevated to Special Counsel, reporting directly to AG Garland, because one part of Mr. Shapley’s claims was independently confirmed, although you wouldn’t know it if you stopped reading after the 20th paragraph (and the title is too innocuous, as if they were trying to downplay what they confirmed).
The best case is that Weiss was being squirrely about not being hindered, and the worst case is he was lying. AG Barr missed the Special Counsel opportunity as well, elevating Durham but not Weiss.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/28/2023 @ 10:16 amIsn’t the point of a special counsel not to report to the AG, but act independently, ala John Durham?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 11:06 amRIP Lowell Weicker, former Connecticut governor and U.S. senator (92).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 11:17 amAnd Jack Smith.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 1:46 pm217ff The New York Times has a story (the one that Paul Montagu linked to) that I think clears it all up (and one by Peter Baker that is bad)
Merrick Garland was being very tricky and the investigation was being subtly hindered. Gary Shapley was telling the truth about what David Weiss said in that October 7,2022 meeting with half a dozen IRS investigators. What he said was confirmed by a NYT source.
Weiss did have the authority under law to bring prosecutions in another district, but he did not under DOJ rules or maybe just customs.
And Weiss wasn’t asking specifically to be named a special counsel but another title, (a “special attorney,” ) which would have authorized him to bring prosecutions in DC (for tax years 2014 and 2015) or California (for tax years 2016 through 2018)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/politics/irs-official-justice-dept-hunter-biden.html
Sammy Finkelman (d007a3) — 6/28/2023 @ 2:23 pmThis makes you wonder how he was able to do the plea bargain. He must have been given permission.
More:
Incidentally the statute of limitations was tolled with the agreement of Hunter Biden’s lawyers, until eventually it wasn’t. His lawyers have also accused Gary Shapely of violating grand jury secrecy.(His claim to being a whistleblower is disputed – it is based on his not getting a promotion he expected to get)
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/28/2023 @ 2:26 pmUnlike Watergate, this concerned a member of the president’s family.
Also, we don’t know what an impartial prosecutor would have decided todo. Perhaps nothing more on the gun charge. But at least Hunter would have been required to tell all about the people who gave him money.
Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 6/28/2023 @ 2:29 pmAs I understand it, the Special Counsel bypasses all chains of command but for the AG.
Paul Montagu (8f0dc7) — 6/28/2023 @ 2:56 pmMueller reported to Rosenstein, the deputy AG, because Sessions recused himself, which drew all kinds of ire from Trump, and Durham reported to Barr (who were peas in a pod), then Garland.
RIP Lowell Weicker, former Connecticut governor and U.S. senator (92).
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 11:17 am
Isn’t he the guy who was responsible for Connecticut adopting a state income tax?
I remember Bill Buckley’s Political Action Committee helping Joe Lieberman defeat Weicker in the Senate primary. Good times.
norcal (8b5267) — 6/28/2023 @ 3:26 pmHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy has indicated that if things come out [sic – should be turn out] to be the way [it’s looking – that there was secret interference with the investigation of Hunter Biden] he will support impeachment.
Sammy Finkelman (208c64) — 6/28/2023 @ 3:29 pmI have zero doubt that from your point of view, based on everything you’ve digested, that’s an honest, accurate depiction. But that doesn’t make it representative, much less complete. My own impression overlaps a fair amount with yours, but when I interrogate how I got there, I can’t escape the fact that it’s almost entirely anecdotal. So I give it little credence. Do you doubt there are equally honest, equally well-informed people whose (I assume equally anecdotal) narrative would be very different, yet from their point of view equally accurate? Isn’t that why we eschew anecdotes for data?
I doubt you’d dispute that if there’s a single teacher somewhere telling a single third grader that cutting off his pen1s is normal, that might be disturbing and worthy of inquiry by her superiors, but hardly worth the oxygen the subject has consumed. Conversely, if the entire left-leaning half of the 1.5 million third grade teachers are all routinely teaching it, we should be very alarmed. I’m quite certain the reality is somewhere in between, but I have no idea where. Until I have a better idea where that and a raft of related answers land, I feel utterly unqualified to draw conclusions about the social implications of this dynamic. And frankly I’m inclined to dismiss the outraged conclusions of pretty much everyone else, left or right, whose judgment is equally uninformed, and guess that in the vast majority of cases it coincidentally conforms to their political/cultural priors.
lurker (cd7cd4) — 6/28/2023 @ 5:46 pmI’m sure the Connecticut Legislature also had something to do with it.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/28/2023 @ 5:47 pmlurker,
The problem is that these movements have small changes and they have extremes. At one end there’s the penis-cutting, rare if not apocryphal, and at the other end there are, um, microaggressions, like demanding that “your” pronoun be used. It wasn’t that long ago that some colleges put preferred pronouns in student directories. Now they all do, and failing to use the correct one can get a tenured professor fired at some institutions.
None of that is really physically harmful, and one hopes it’s just a idiotic fad, like the Little Red Book or Peter Max.
But now we have the idea that some schools in some states can decide to offer heavy medication, with life-altering results, to children without the approval of the parents. CA now has a bill to justify the State removing a child from the home if gender-affirmation rules are not followed. It’s unclear if that’s puberty blockers or pronoun usage.
As I said, a range. But complain about any of it and the response is “no, we are not cutting off children’s penises.”
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/28/2023 @ 6:12 pmThe end of race-based college admissions.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12247191/Supreme-Court-ENDS-race-based-affirmative-action-admissions.html
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 7:36 amThe way to stop discriminating by race is to stop discriminating by race.
Finally overturning the most atrocious remaining decision since Dred Scott, affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional. We know the left will ignore the ruling and find other ways to maintain their racial discrimination.
NJRob (eb56c3) — 6/29/2023 @ 7:39 amDamn… just finished reading the opinion.
Some conservatives has been hard on CJ Roberts in other rulings, but here? He really takes the dissents to the woodshed, and its beautiful.
Getting ready to read Thomas’ concurrence, as I know it’s going to be good.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:32 amThat’s true-they will use economic disadvantage as a proxy, and will allow applicants to discuss how tough it was growing up in their essays. Both need to be banned.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:45 amThat last page in Thomas’ concurrent is simply a work of art.
Send it to the Louvre.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:46 am@233
They’ll certainly try.
But, even with this opinion, there’s an “read between the lines” sense that any “backdoor” proxy for race-based admission will be overturn with ease.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:47 amNBC:
Race can be a factor if the school wants it to be.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:49 amThis decision doesn’t square with the Louisiana and Alabama redistricting cases.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:50 amHow will denied applicants know about, let alone overturn, the fact that other applicants were admitted based on their life stories vs their race?
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:51 amThey shouldn’t have the opportunity.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:51 am@236
Only on an individual basis… re-emphasizing the use of merits.
He also stated that:
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:54 amThis might make it easier for colleges to discriminate.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:54 amThe colleges will deny their decisions were based on race. They will claim the admissions committees looked at the life story of each applicant.
The only solution is for states to prohibit race as a factor. 9 states already do that.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:56 amThe only discrimination that should be allowed is academic achievement.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 8:58 amThis case also cannot be squared with the Indian Child Welfare Act case.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:01 amThis opinion has other downstream implications as well.
We can infer that race-based equity policies in DEI programs are a violation of the 14th amendment.
I expect to see a lot of challenges looking to rule DEI initiative unconstitutional.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:03 amI am glad the Court took the next step and actually ended race-based affirmative action. But I doubt a college would admit a student whose life story involves race-based inspiration or discrimination as a Caucasian, Asian, or Jew. So colleges can still use this to benefit some races, not all.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:05 amIn the other case today, the Court (in a 9-0 decision) broadened the accommodations an employer must make for workers’ religious practices after a postal worker refused to work on Sundays for religious reasons.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:05 amAs I said above, life stories should have no place when considering college applications. It should be only academic performance.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:08 amFor example, a _____ applicant could write about his or her life story, talking about how being ___ has affected his or her life.
Fill in the blanks using “black” or “brown” and most colleges will look at the applicants as overcoming obstacles. Fill in the blanks with “white” and the colleges will see a White Supremecist.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:10 amLink to opinion.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:10 am@248
Good.
It’s a shame it took a SCOTUS case to reassert that.
This was about a Jewish USPS driver refusing to work on Sabbath.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:11 amWhich is why college application essays should be banned. Admissions should only look at transcripts.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:12 amMost colleges want to help disadvantaged students, Rip. I have no problem with stories about students who were orphans, in foster care, or were raised in bad circumstances getting consideration, if they show promise. They can tell convincing life stories without identifying their race, but Roberts has left that door open.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:13 amHe is a Christian evangelical who refused to work on Sundays.
First sentence of the opinion.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:14 amColleges and universities should be about academic achievement, not life stories.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:16 amGroup preferences are insidious because they make unwarranted stereotypes. It is interesting that the service academies are still allowed to use race as part of their admissions, likely because there is a compelling argument that the officer corps should reflect that of the enlisted ranks.
The element of affirmative action at the university that always bothered me was mismatch. Specifically, mismatching a minority’s academic achievement with the institutional average. So, a minority gets into MIT but struggles to achieve passing grades because everyone else has much higher standardized testing scores. Diversity is always tricky because sometimes it comes down to only diversity of appearance, but there’s a lot to diversity.
The ruling was anticipated. O’Connor had predicted AA would no longer be needed in 2028. The urgency to break down barriers and make up for discrimination stealing opportunity seems to have passed. Society is not perfect but opportunity is much different today than it was in 1960. Recognizing progress and how we view race is a good thing. Doing AA at all was always controversial….and stopping it would also be controversial. Once you have a group right, it becomes entrenched and hard to remove. Universities are always pushed to create a student body that reflects America. To achieve critical mass. Economic disadvantage always seemed like the better way to ensure an opportunity for someone who has a solid academic record…whether that’s for someone from Appalachia or Detroit.
AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:17 am@354 oof… I was going from memory, thanks for the correction. I think I was remembering a hypothetical during arguments.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:19 amOrphans, foster children, or those “raised in bad circumstances” can show promise by receiving top grades. They shouldn’t gain an advantage just because of their “stories.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:19 amMy opinion of these affirmative action circuses has not changed since Bakke, when I had yet to apply for law school. If you need to sue to get into an elite school, the odds are that you don’t really belong there.
nk (6570dc) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:33 am@260
Yeah, I don’t agree with that.
The petitioners had amazing academic and social pedigree that were extremely deserving to be accepted an any elite schools. They were obviously denied based on their race only.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:39 amI would agree with you if we had good public schools, but we don’t. Students at some schools get a big leg up on college admissions (but not necessarily performance). Colleges will end up with the kids in the top high schools getting first choice unless the life stories are considered.
I don’t think the Highland Parks of Chicago and Dallas have enough great minds to deserve all those spots. But there are students in low performing schools who *might* be able to make it.
Having said that, I would like college admissions to be based on the students’ SAT scores, but that ship has sailed.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:41 amI’m sure Asian-Americans with top grades who have been denied admittance to elite universities in favor of lesser-qualified applicants would disagree.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:42 amI have no problem with that.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:43 amHaving said that, I would like college admissions to be based on the students’ SAT scores, but that ship has sailed.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:41 am
Perhaps this decision will prompt their return.
norcal (8b5267) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:43 amUS NEWS rankings did a great job making colleges care about GPAs and SATs. More of that would be good.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:44 amNot me, Rip. There are some great kids in those schools, and some entitled rich kids.
Norcal,, some schools will. Texas A&M but not UT Austin, sadly.
DRJ (fd3827) — 6/29/2023 @ 9:47 am@261
I think unstated, people are trying to “fix” something. The debate is WHERE it should be done.
I think we all can agree that race-based admission policies are wrong. SO, how do we ensure that people of all race, creed or nationality can have a ‘fighting’ chance at one of the elite institutions?
It’s start with education in all facet of that child’s life – if there are under performing schools, advocate to fund students, rather than school.
Point being, redressing failures in the past by actually instituting systemic racist admission polices is the wrong method to “fix” those failures.
whembly (5f7596) — 6/29/2023 @ 10:01 amIf the “entitled rich kids” have the grades to make it into college, that’s fine. If not, then they shouldn’t.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 10:03 amAttending an elite university is an earned privilege, not a right. Government shouldn’t “ensure” a fighting chance, it is up to the student’s performance. And public schools aren’t the only option, there are plenty of private schools (both religious and secular) that can provide an education that would qualify them to attend an “elite institution.”
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 10:08 amThe elite only compete with other elite.
nk (234cb7) — 6/29/2023 @ 10:10 amThe elite get the grades they pay for. That is why I like the SAT.
DRJ (2046b4) — 6/29/2023 @ 10:55 amThe only discrimination that should be allowed is academic achievement.
So, if two students submit SAT scores of 1500 they should be treated the same, with no other factors? Even if one of them got his education at a public high school in Watts and the other got theirs at Exeter and had all the tutors and test coaches his super-rich parents could buy?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/29/2023 @ 11:55 amHaving said that, I would like college admissions to be based on the students’ SAT scores, but that ship has sailed.
Alumni can make that ship sail back. Refuse to contribute, stating why, and stick to it.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/29/2023 @ 11:58 amThe only solution is for states to prohibit race as a factor. 9 states already do that.
There are ways around that, but they all tilt away from race somewhat. In CA, the top 10%(?) of each high school graduating class is guaranteed admission to the UC system. Somewhere. That might not be Berkeley or UCLA though. But it combines race with economics and allows thouse who do well at bad schools a chance, even if that performance wouldn’t cut it at Beverly Hills High.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/29/2023 @ 12:02 pmCorrect.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 12:03 pmWhy do you want to discriminate against someone, who through no fault of their own, comes from a wealthy family?
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 12:07 pmThe real problem though is the grade schools, and perhaps even the grammar schools. Fail early and the rest does not matter. All these attempts to create avenues for advancement into college try to make excuses for this lack of early education. E.g.:
“We have to stop requiring standardized tests because Black kids don’t do well on them!”
Why? Because statistically they don’t have the expected knowledge, not that they can’t think. The public schools have failed them.
If those liberal billionaires who meddle in the system really wanted to affect things they’d sponsor private academies in the inner-city with admission based on ability (I’d base it on reading ability at age 5). Admission open to all, but much cheaper to those in certain zip codes.
But I expect they’ll sink their money into equity initiatives for adults.
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/29/2023 @ 12:11 pmWhy do you want to discriminate against someone, who through no fault of their own, comes from a wealthy family?
It’s only “discrimination” after you put on the blinders. There are meaningful factors other than test scores. Such as motivation and degree of difficulty.
Would you judge all high dives by the size of the splash?
Kevin M (2d6744) — 6/29/2023 @ 12:15 pmThis is Roberts’ Court. For him, every change is incremental. I suspect he even tried to put the brakes on overturning Roe v Wade.
DRJ (22eb3c) — 6/29/2023 @ 1:16 pmThe only meaningful factor is academic excellence, of which test scores and grades are the best markers. Nothing else matters.
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 6/29/2023 @ 5:27 pm