Patterico's Pontifications

2/9/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:59 am



[guest post by Dana]

The disarray of the Republican Party (see: House Republicans) was on full display this week. It’s a full Weekend Open Thread by itself! But there are certainly other important things going on than a constipated political party’s elected officials in action, so let’s go!

First news item

Special Counsel pushes back on Judge Cannon in Mar a Lago case:

Special counsel Jack Smith is asking Judge Aileen Cannon to reconsider a ruling that would allow former President Trump’s legal team to publicly disclose witness identities and their testimony to the court docket.… Trump’s team has sought to attach evidence given to them during the discovery process in other court filings set to be publicly posted in connection with the Mar-a-Lago documents case… The Justice Department argued late Thursday that Cannon erred in her legal rationale for allowing them to do so.

“That discovery material, if publicly docketed in unredacted form as the Court has ordered, would disclose the identities of numerous potential witnesses, along with the substance of the statements they made to the FBI or the grand jury, exposing them to significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation, and harassment,” prosecutors wrote in the 22-page filing.

Second news item

The most useful idiot:

For instance, he allowed Putin to claim that the 2014 Maidan protests, in which Ukrainians took to the streets to demand freedom from Russian control, were a CIA plot. There’s no evidence of this.

He also allowed Putin to claim, unchallenged, that Russia sought peace with Ukraine before launching the 2022 invasion. There’s no evidence of this, with Russia illegally seizing swaths of Ukraine in 2014 and stoking conflict in the east of the country.

Putin was also able to claim, unchallenged, that the invasion was a bid to “de-Nazify” the country and not the campaign of revanchist conquest it is in reality.

Putin was given a two-hour platform to further undermine Republican support for Ukraine and offer an alternative version of history in which the US and NATO were the true aggressors.

Third news item

The special counsel exonerated President Biden in classified documents matter, in part because President Biden is viewed as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” President Biden was not amused. And the White House was determined to do damage control, and scheduled a press conference last night. press conference last night:

Once there, he praised the special counsel for deciding not to charge him and nearly came to tears while chiding him for including the anecdote about Biden’s memory of his son’s death.

“How in the hell dare he raise that?” asked Biden through gritted teeth. “I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away.”

He snapped at Fox News’ Peter Doocy, offering a half-constructed crack about how “my memory is so bad I let you [Doocy] speak.”

He lashed out at another reporter who observed that “the American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age.”

“That is your judgment! That is your judgment! That is not the judgment of the press!” he shouted, seemingly forgetting that he was engaging with a member of the press.

The RNC Research group described President Biden as “angry and incoherent” during the presser. I watched this several times and am still waiting for an angry and incoherent Biden:

Yea, President Biden did mix up Mexico and Egypt… and has confused other leaders in recent appearances.

Fourth news item

Conflict on how to proceed abounds:

Chants of “Now! Now! Now!” ring out at nearly every protest in Israel imploring the government to do everything possible to win the immediate release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas.

But a small group of hostages’ families is pushing a different message: Let the army first finish the job of defeating the militant group, even if that delays the return of their loved ones.

These families argue that the price to be paid in any hostage deal — the release of large numbers of Palestinian militants held by Israel — would endanger the country in the future.

Related:

During a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, the American diplomat was shown photos of a giant tunnel that was exposed in recent days underneath the central headquarters of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides.

The Israeli leader showed Blinken proof of the misuse of the UNRWA headquarters’ underground premises for apparent terrorist tunneling purposes.

Two questions: Why would anyone trust a Hamas hostage deal, and why is no one in the West marching and protesting Hamas?

Fifth news item

Belgium, because they hold the “biggest chunk of Russia’s frozen assets”.

Belgium’s government is shopping around an avant-garde solution to Ukraine’s money problems, now that further direct aid to the country seems all but dead in the U.S. Congress.

…

In broad strokes, the plan would entail Ukraine raising new debt from private-sector lenders, using Russian central bank assets (frozen by Western sanctions) as collateral, as the FT first reported.

Sixth news item

SOP:

Former President Donald Trump and his allies are pushing to replace the chair of the Republican National Committee with North Carolina’s party leader who promoted 2020 presidential election lies and supported using the courts to overturn the results.

Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party, shared false claims that Republican observers were prevented from accessing polling locations and repeatedly said Democratic cities in swing states were engaged in “massive fraud,” a CNN KFile review of Whatley’s comments following the election found.

Still no question about who’s s running the table over there…

Have a great weekend.

—Dana

460 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (8e902f) — 2/9/2024 @ 10:59 am

  2. Putin also lied (or misled) about no other media organization being willing to interview him. They asked. (now technically, Putin did not say they were not interested)

    Tucker Carlson also tried this, maybe to make himself look good:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/business/media/tucker-carlson-putin-evan-gershkovich.html

    Large portions of the two-hour interview were taken up by Mr. Putin’s recounting hundreds of years of Russian history. But in the final minutes, Mr. Carlson asked, “as a sign of your decency,” if he “would be willing to release him to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States.” Mr. Carlson added: “This guy’s obviously not a spy. He’s a kid, and maybe he was breaking your law in some way, but he’s not a superspy, and everybody knows that.”

    Mr. Putin was noncommittal in his response. “We have done so many gestures of good will out of decency that I think we have run out of them,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks by Mr. Carlson’s team.

    Pressed about the case by Mr. Carlson, Mr. Putin later added: “I also want him to return to his homeland at last. I’m absolutely sincere. But let me say once again, the dialogue continues.”

    The Russian leader suggested that he wanted additional concessions from American officials before he would consider releasing Mr. Gershkovich. Mr. Putin suggested that he might be willing to trade the reporter for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen sentenced to life in prison in Germany for the 2019 murder of a Chechen former separatist fighter in Berlin….

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:14 am

  3. Two questions: Why would anyone trust a Hamas hostage deal,

    Because the reputation of Qatar would be at stake.

    and why is no one in the West marching and protesting Hamas?

    People don’t think of protesting futilely, and because the other protests (for a “ceasefire” mostly) are probably Astroturf.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:21 am

  4. https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/02/05/exclusive-egyptian-officials-warn-peace-treaty-would-be-jeopardized-if-palestinians-flow-into-sinai

    Exclusive: Egyptian officials warn peace to be suspended if Palestinians flow to Sinai

    According to one source, the Egyptian message was that “if even one Palestinian refugee crosses over – the peace agreement will be nullified.” According to the source, no country would agree to absorb such a large number of Palestinian refugees, and they would become “a permanent Egyptian problem.”

    By Yoav Limor Published on 02-05-2024 08:52 Last modified: 02-06-2024 10:35

    Only if the war ended in a stalemate, or didn’t end.

    Who’s trying to use them as human shields? It is not just Hamas.

    https://www.newser.com/story/346208/netanyahu-orders-evacuation-plan-for-packed-gaza-city.html

    .. Israeli military will try to get citizens out of Rafah before assault

    By Newser Editors and Wire Services
    Posted Feb 9, 2024 11:41 AM CST

    ….Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday ordered the military to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the densely populated southern Gaza city.

    The announcement came after heavy international criticism, including from the US, of Israeli intentions to move ground forces into the city. Rafah borders Egypt and is now home to hundreds of thousands of people living in sprawling tent camps after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Gaza, per the AP. The New York Times puts the figure at 1.4 million, adding “it is not clear where those people could go.

    Israel has previously offered to declare a strip of territory along the coast as a non-combat zone, but mediators tell Israel that Hamas won’t agree to that-and give up.

    srael says that after more than four months of war, Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza. “It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu’s office said. “On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.” It said he had ordered the military and security officials to come up with a “combined plan” that includes both a mass evacuation of civilians and the destruction of Hamas’ forces in the city.

    Israel’s offensive since the October raid by Hamas has killed over 27,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors, according to local health officials. Roughly 80% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and the territory has plunged into a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food and medical services. President Biden said Thursday that Israel’s conduct in the war is “over the top,” the harshest US criticism yet of its close ally. The State Department said an invasion of Rafah in the current circumstances “would be a disaster.”

    Biden said yesterday that earlier he had gotten Sisi, the president of Mexico [sic] to agree to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:01 pm

  5. European lawmakers are considering slapping Kremlin propagandist Tucker Carlson with sanctions

    We need to remember that free speech and a free press are not fundamental rights in all countries.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:11 pm

  6. Hamas thinks it has Israel over a barrel – checkmated.

    They’ve proposed (or Qatar has proposed) a ceasefire with no expiration date and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, to be enforced by putting an army from some Arab states into Gaza, and the release of thousands of prisoners in exchange for the remaining hostages from Israel.

    Netanyahu says he can’t do that.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13058165/israeli-pm-benjamin-netanyahu-hamas-hostage-deal.html

    Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Hamas’ ‘delusional’ hostage deal proposal and insists ‘total victory’ is the only path to peace

    By ANDY JEHRING and SABRINA MILLER

    PUBLISHED: 16:51 EST, 7 February 2024 | UPDATED: 19:45 EST, 7 February 2024

    …. Hamas had outlined the most detailed plan yet for an agreement which would see every hostage freed in exchange for 1,500 Palestinian prisoners and an end to the war.

    It proposed three 45-day phases of releases, starting with all women, male civilians under 19, the elderly and the sick in exchange for some of the Palestinian prisoners.

    The IDF would then have to withdraw from populated areas and cease aerial operations before the male soldiers are released in exchange for other convicts.

    I’m not sure that offer still stands. I think the Qatari-Egyptian-U.S>idea was that at lest the first two parts would be implemented, and that Israel would not be committed to the third.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:12 pm

  7. Third news Item:

    As I’ve said previously, I never believed that Biden would be the Democrats nominee. It’s just happening earlier than I expected.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:17 pm

  8. Trump vs Biden: Which impairment is worse? A man who forgets everything except a slight, or a man who forgets random stuff? Every time I look at this, I am reminded of “The Marching Morons“

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:17 pm

  9. More:

    But the terror group demands also call for a complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza and would effectively allow Hamas to rebuild its military and remain in power.

    It also states that a third of Palestinians freed in exchange for the hostages would be those handed life sentences.

    Mr Netanyahu responded unequivocally, stating: ‘Surrendering to Hamas’ delusional demands that we heard now not only won’t lead to freeing the captives, it will just invite another massacre.’

    ‘We are on the way to an absolute victory,’ Netanyahu said, adding that the operation would last months, not years. ‘There is no other solution,’ he said as he called for the ‘total elimination of Hamas.’

    I think that if Israel stopped now, they’d also lose all the goodwill they’ve gained in Gaza – and they have gained some goodwill.

    When Israel dropped leaflets asking people to turn over members of Hamas in exchange for a reward, they got replies – not so much from anyone who ha information but from people who wanted them to finish the job.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:17 pm

  10. It’s just happening earlier than I expected.

    The longer it takes, the less of a selection opportunity the Dems will have. Maybe that’s good, but Chicago 1968 wasn’t their shining moment.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:18 pm

  11. https://www.steynonline.com/12840/ball-bearing

    HotAir

    ‘Free Speech’ Free Zone: Disreputable D.C. Jury Pool Mann Handles Mark Steyn
    Advertisement
    ‘Free Speech’ Free Zone: Disreputable D.C. Jury Pool Mann Handles Mark Steyn
    BEEGE WELBORN 2:40 PM | February 09, 2024

    Laurent Gillieron/dpa via AP
    Damn.

    I mean, you could almost have called it, even though praying for a miraculous bolt of common sense and decency to strike at the heart of the D.C. courtroom where the execrable Dr. Michael Mann was claiming Mark Steyn and Rand Simberg’s articles from decades ago had defamed him.

    Advertisement
    Steyn himself seemed to acknowledge the inevitability of doom in D.C. in a lovely obituary he wrote in 2022 for another victim of Michael Mann’s litigious impulses.

    Dr. Timothy Ball was a Canadian scientist whose views and expressed opinions ran counter to those of Mann, with a joke eventually earning him his own Mann defamatory lawsuit. In Ball’s case, tragically, Mann pulled the same delaying tactics he used over the decade with Simberg and Steyn, driving Ball into practical penury waiting for his day in court. The difference was that Mann had filed in a Canadian court, which eventually dismissed the case due to Mann’s unconscionable and unsupportable delays and ordered Mann to pay Dr Ball’s legal bills.

    Dr. Ball died without ever seeing a dime, being unable to collect a Canadian judgment from a plaintiff happily safe in the US.

    As Steyn said, Mann knows “the process is the punishment.”

    …Cute. But any joke about Mann is no laughing matter. So the warmatollah determined to destroy a retired University of Winnipeg professor.

    Mann filed suit against Ball in British Columbia, and then just sat it out, knowing that (to reprise my old line) the process is the punishment. Three years ago, Mann lost the case for failure to prosecute. As in his suit against me in the District of Columbia, the plaintiff had refused, for years, to do the elementary things necessary to settle a legal matter, such as providing evidence of damage. In the craphole of American justice, at least as evidenced by my own experience, judges let him get away with that. But in Canada the court wearied of the obvious delaying strategy, and ruled against the vengeful climate mullah.

    …By then, both Tim Ball’s retirement savings and his health had been drained and depleted by a decade of Mann’s frivolous, dilatory litigation. He was broke in both body and bank account.

    Had Mr McConchie’s client been an honourable man (I know, I know, we are dealing with unimaginable hypotheticals here), he would have paid Tim a seven-figure sum.

    Instead, Tim’s family now requires a GoFundMe campaign to cover the costs of his modest burial. His friend Anthony Watts will be posting details of that later today.

    I had not thought it possible for me to loathe and despise Michael Mann any more than I did. He chose the jurisdiction in which he sued Tim Ball, as he chose the jurisdiction in which he sued me (the District of Columbia, where justice goes to die). And, when that jurisdiction found him liable, he simply rejected the plain meaning of the judge’s decision and holed up beyond the court’s reach. The contemptible Mann has had three years to remit what he owes, but he has not paid Dr Ball a penny.

    The type of man some are excusing because they are so broken by politics.

    NJRob (e6b4b9) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:21 pm

  12. Joe Biden can’t remember any date after 1999. He has a Y2k problem. In his mind, every date is supposed to start with 19. Or maybe 18 or 17

    That’s why he can’t say when anything happened.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:21 pm

  13. Why would anyone trust a Hamas hostage deal

    Because the reputation of Qatar would be at stake.
    ………
    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:21 am

    LOL! Yeah, Qatar has such a sterling reputation already.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:23 pm

  14. Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:12 pm

    Netanyahu is right.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:26 pm

  15. Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:17 pm

    , I never believed that Biden would be the Democrats nominee. It’s just happening earlier than I expected.

    It’s not happening unless at least a facade of competence can no longer be maintained.

    Whether people realize this or not, Joe Biden is the most centrist of all realistically possible Democratic candidates.

    Plus he gets 2% or 3% more just for being the incumbent and avoiding fear of the unknown.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:29 pm

  16. Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:14 am

    Putin is asking for something the US can’t deliver. The US asked Germany to release Vadim Krasikov so Paul Whelan could be released (with Brittany Griner), the but Germans said “nein”.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:41 pm

  17. It’s not happening unless at least a facade of competence can no longer be maintained.

    According to Kevin M it will happen by the end of February.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:43 pm

  18. @17

    It’s not happening unless at least a facade of competence can no longer be maintained.

    According to Kevin M it will happen by the end of February.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:43 pm

    Not sure if I’d agree with that too.

    Joe Biden is stubborn, and seems even more stubborn in his old age.

    He believes, probably rightly so, that he can beat Trump again.

    Don’t forget that being the President was a lifelong goal of his.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:54 pm

  19. For those keeping score, to date Nikki Haley is 0-3-1 in Republican primary contests; she didn’t participate in the Nevada caucus. So far she has won 17 delegates (-46 behind Trump).

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:03 pm

  20. Whether people realize this or not, Joe Biden is the most centrist of all realistically possible Democratic candidates.

    Which puts him clearly out of step with his party. The same applies to Nikki Haley; her position on aid to Ukraine is certainly not the position of Republican voters or legislators.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:15 pm

  21. Those who wishcast Biden’s withdrawal are as mistaken as those of us who wishcast Trump’s withdrawal.

    There is no way the Democrats can replace Biden withput creating a huge risk for themselves.

    And the base won’t let the GOP dispatch Trump.

    One of these guys will win by default. Unless they both are unable to serve.

    Appalled (91eed2) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:24 pm

  22. But a small group of hostages’ families is pushing a different message

    Alas, reasonable positions are often the province of small groups.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:53 pm

  23. Biden will be replaced at the convention by Michelle Obama

    NJRob (e6b4b9) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:54 pm

  24. There is no way the Democrats can replace Biden without creating a huge risk for themselves.

    Appalled (91eed2) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:24 pm

    On the other hand, octogenarians can degrade quickly, which is also a huge risk. Kamala versus Trump, anyone?

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  25. Tucker also didn’t challenge Putin’s lie that it was Poland’s fault that Hitler invaded Poland in WWII. Also, Putin (like most Russians) fails to mention that Stalin entered into a treaty with Hitler to divide up and conquer Poland.
    I might’ve said this before, but Tucker is an unpatriotic, un-American hack.

    Paul Montagu (6c7159) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:11 pm

  26. Tucker is an unpatriotic, un-American hack.

    Paul Montagu (6c7159) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:11 pm

    Hear, hear.

    He is an outrage/conspiracy merchant, and he knows how to keep the dopes watching his show.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:18 pm

  27. @23

    Biden will be replaced at the convention by Michelle Obama

    NJRob (e6b4b9) — 2/9/2024 @ 1:54 pm

    I disagree.

    I don’t think Michelle wants the responsibility. She’s set for life, riding Barak’s post-Presidency goodwill and high life.

    I think Democrats are stuck with Biden/Harris.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:19 pm

  28. Our top voting options are (1) a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” and (2) a vindictive, malevolent elderly man with a selective memory and delusional worldview.
    Woe to our country that those are the top two to choose from.

    Paul Montagu (6c7159) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:19 pm

  29. Seeing this from liberal Democrat’s twitter posts…I think the Hur report is really giving them heartburn.

    If you’re Joe Biden…

    Would you consider pardoning Trump on just the documents case, given that his own (and Hillary Clinton’s) mishandling is very similar?

    He might get some moderates to approve and vote for him, as it gives Biden some magnanimity.

    Plus, Trump would have to deal with the negative connotation that he was guilty due to the Pardon, and thus neuter the claims that the Biden administration is politically charging him. Which could put his other cases in different light.

    I think they’re being too cute by half though.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:27 pm

  30. DNC tries to keep RFK off ballot by filling lawsuit against pack trying to get him on state ballots. (DU)

    asset (ceaf98) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:28 pm

  31. 25th amendment time. Nuff said. Democrats stooging for Biden trying to curry favor.

    asset (ceaf98) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:29 pm

  32. Our top voting options are (1) a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” and (2) a vindictive, malevolent elderly man with a selective memory and delusional worldview.
    Woe to our country that those are the top two to choose from.

    Paul Montagu (6c7159) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:19 pm

    It’s really a vote for the people advising Biden. Trump has advisors too, but he’s more likely to ignore them.

    I dislike lefty policies, but I abhor Trump’s corruption and cult of personality.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:43 pm

  33. @32

    It’s really a vote for the people advising Biden. Trump has advisors too, but he’s more likely to ignore them.

    I dislike lefty policies, but I abhor Trump’s corruption and cult of personality.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:43 pm

    You don’t like what you believe is “Trump’s corruption and cult of personality.”

    But with Joe Biden, we have his wife perpetuation spousal abuse and his staff engaging in elderly abuse in propping Joe up.

    Joe Biden and his supports are now painted in a corner…

    Either, Joe’s mental acuity is so compromised due to his old age, that no jury would convict.

    Or…

    Joe’s mental acuity is NOT compromised, and post-Presidency Biden could be in legal jeopardy?

    Mind you, Section 793(f):
    https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/793

    Which Jack Smith has charged against Trump — requires only that prosecutors only establish gross negligence, a mental-state element much easier to prove than willfulness.

    Yet, Hur emphatically states that Biden’s actions was provably willful.

    Furthermore, I think the “special counsel” regulation is dead of Joe Biden’s tenure. No other POTUS is going to allow this again.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:01 pm

  34. The choice isn’t between Biden and Trump. They have a short shelf life. The choice is between justices like Gorsuch or justices like Jackson. Vote wisely.

    lloyd (7e8349) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:17 pm

  35. It’s just happening earlier than I expected.

    The longer it takes, the less of a selection opportunity the Dems will have. Maybe that’s good, but Chicago 1968 wasn’t their shining moment.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:18 pm

    Non-sequitor. There are not hundreds of American troops dying in an unpopular war (20,000 by 1968) nor is there a military draft.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:32 pm

  36. ……….. Tucker is an unpatriotic, un-American hack.

    Paul Montagu (6c7159) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:11 pm

    Putin’s stenographer. Tucker should register as a Russian foreign agent.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:35 pm

  37. @34

    The choice isn’t between Biden and Trump. They have a short shelf life. The choice is between justices like Gorsuch or justices like Jackson. Vote wisely.

    lloyd (7e8349) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:17 pm

    Pretty much.

    Just imagine how GOP would be if DeSantis or Haley is the only one running for the nomination.

    Democrats would be craping in their pants daily.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:50 pm

  38. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 12:18 pm

    If you want another misplaced convention analogy, try the 1972 Republican Conventionin Miami if Trump is denied his nomination, even if he has the delegates. Instead of protesting against Nixon and the Vietnam War, MAGA supporters and militias are in the streets, storming the convention hall demanding Trump’s due.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:00 pm

  39. Just imagine how GOP would be if DeSantis or Haley is the only one running for the nomination.

    That’s what it will take-imagination.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:02 pm

  40. Would you consider pardoning Trump on just the documents case, given that his own (and Hillary Clinton’s) mishandling is very similar?

    How about Biden pardons him for the Insurrection?

    Plus, Trump would have to deal with the negative connotation that he was guilty due to the Pardon

    Oh, wait.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:02 pm

  41. DNC tries to keep RFK off ballot by filling lawsuit against pack trying to get him on state ballots.

    On what grounds? There is a raft of precedent allowing independent candidates. A new party application is harder, but an “independent” doesn’t have to deal with all the rules for a party.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:04 pm

  42. US Virgin Islands uses ranked choice balloting in GOP caucus.

    https://fairvote.org/analysis-of-virgin-islands-presidential-primary-results/

    The result is what you’d expect, but DeSantis voters tended to go to Nikki, not Trump.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:09 pm

  43. RFK jr story

    (USE Fing LINKS asset!)

    The Democratic National Committee is going after the push to get Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name on the ballot in more than a dozen states by alleging his allies’ latest efforts violate federal election law — a sign that Democrats are worried about the presence of the independent candidate in the 2024 race.

    The DNC officially filed a complaint against Kennedy with the Federal Election Commission on Friday claiming that American Values 2024 — the PAC supporting Kennedy — is illegally coordinating with his campaign to get him on additional state ballots. They say the $15 million the PAC is putting into a signature-gathering effort amounts to an in-kind contribution.

    “Rather than doing that hard work itself, using money raised in compliance with the candidate contribution limits,” Robert Lenhard, DNC legal counsel, said. “The campaign is taking a shortcut outsourcing what is otherwise a core campaign function to a super PAC.”

    The complaint is unlikely to go anywhere — the commission is evenly divided among the two major parties and frequently deadlocks on enforcement questions — but it signals that national Democrats are dialing up their efforts to target Kennedy, the current leading non-major party presidential candidate, over fears that he may siphon votes away from President Joe Biden in this year’s election.

    Precedent says BS to this:

    That is not necessarily true. In 2004, the Michigan Republican Party circulated a petition to put Ralph Nader on the ballot as an independent presidential candidate. Nader did not have anything to do with that petition drive. Democrats sued to invalidate the petition on the grounds that Nader’s campaign did not circulate it, but the Michigan State Court of Appeals ruled that nothing in state law required the presidential candidate’s campaign to be the only entity circulating such a petition. DeeLeeuw v State Board of Canvassers, 688 NW 2d 847.

    Also, in 1968, petitions to place Eugene McCarthy on the ballot as an independent were circulated in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and McCarthy had nothing to do with those efforts and even opposed them.

    In 1960, petitions were circulated to put Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus on the ballot in several states, and Faubus had nothing to do with those efforts. In 1952, petitions were circulated to put General Douglas MacArthur on the ballot in several states, and he had nothing to do with those efforts.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:13 pm

  44. How about Biden pardons him for the Insurrection?

    LOL! What insurrection? The Supreme Court is about to give Trump a carte blanche on that issue. Absent an actual indictment (still waiting) there is no reason to pardon him. Even then I don’t think Biden would pardon Trump absent a trial and conviction.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:14 pm

  45. Non-sequitor. There are not hundreds of American troops dying in an unpopular war (20,000 by 1968) nor is there a military draft.

    So? Are you saying that there is no activism, no dissent, no distaste of the establishment Democrats present in the party today? The problem in 1968 was not the war, the problem in 1968 was the nomination of the sitting VP when he had not won a single primary.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:17 pm

  46. Even then I don’t think Biden would pardon Trump absent a trial and conviction.

    If Trump accepted it, the 14th Amendment case would become ministerial.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:18 pm

  47. 1972 Republican Convention

    “Pete” McCloskey is not in the same world as Mayor Daley vs the Yippie hoard.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:20 pm

  48. I could see Democrats joining Republicans for the two-thirds of Congress needed to remove the Section 3 disability. But I think I will look again after I am beamed back to the Enterprise.

    If I see a pardon, well, it was nice knowing you guys. I doubt that I will have internet access at the facility.

    F-f-for crying out loud!

    nk (799196) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:34 pm

  49. AllahNick heads into your world today, nk.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:38 pm

  50. The choice isn’t between Biden and Trump. They have a short shelf life. The choice is between justices like Gorsuch or justices like Jackson. Vote wisely.

    lloyd (7e8349) — 2/9/2024 @ 3:17 pm

    Trump didn’t like the justices he appointed ruling against him.

    Next time, instead of deferring to The Federalist Society, he will nominate someone who is personally loyal to him, and then summon his cult to threaten and/or “primary” any Senate Republican who doesn’t approve his choice. Not every Republican Senator can afford $5,000 a day in security to protect his family like Romney.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:44 pm

  51. Like Justice Cannon. Or Justice Bannon.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:47 pm

  52. This is Trump’s last go. Remember that the distance between Goldwater and Nixon was 4 short years. Or between Nixon and Goldwater, for that matter.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:49 pm

  53. Are you saying that there is no activism, no dissent, no distaste of the establishment Democrats present in the party today?

    Not to the extent there was in 1968, when you had two popular leaders on the left assassinated who have become martyrs, a military draft, and the Vietnam War. Protests against the war began in 1965 and were held continuously throughout the war.

    The problem in 1968 was not the war, the problem in 1968 was the nomination of the sitting VP when he had not won a single primary.

    See above. Democratic Party convention procedures weren’t the focus of the protests (though Humphrey, as LBJ’s VP, wasa convenient target). The protesters were anti-establishment, society in general, and against the war.

    In all the videos of the protests, I’ve never seen a sign criticizing Democratic Party rules. The riots did have the effect of changing the candidate selection process to the current primary system, but I wouldn’t call it an improvement.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:52 pm

  54. I disagree.

    I don’t think Michelle wants the responsibility. She’s set for life, riding Barak’s post-Presidency goodwill and high life.

    I think Democrats are stuck with Biden/Harris.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/9/2024 @ 2:19 pm

    Biden or Harris will lose which is why they are desperate to get Trump disqualified by any means necessary. When it becomes clear all their options have failed, they will dump Biden and the unqualified Obama is their best bet to unite the party.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:53 pm

  55. This is Trump’s last go.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:49 pm

    I’m 60. There have been two “Can you believe it?” situations in my life. One was Covid, and the other was Trump. Both have a tendency to come back around.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:56 pm

  56. “Pete” McCloskey is not in the same world as Mayor Daley vs the Yippie hoard.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:20 pm

    Not sure why you’re comparing the two.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 4:58 pm

  57. @50 It’s as if Trump wasn’t already president for four years. Hysteria uninformed by Trump’s track record isn’t going to guide my vote, but you do you.

    lloyd (7e8349) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:24 pm

  58. And the number of people who haven’t spoken up in defense of Mark Steyn are shown to be disgraceful and those that think the decision was correct are repugnant.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:26 pm

  59. It’s as if Trump wasn’t already president for four years.

    lloyd (7e8349) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:24 pm

    I explained why it would be different this time.

    In addition, since those four years Trump has called for the termination of the Constitution. That is a big f’ing deal. If somebody on the left had done that, I suspect Trump fans would be screaming.

    norcal (808b63) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:42 pm

  60. Norcal,

    Obama already did that with his “positive versus negative rights.” But you knew that already, right?

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:55 pm

  61. Somehow, the greatest country in the world has had two presidents in a row who warrant serious 25th Amendment speculation—and we’re going to nominate both again.

    AllahNick, today.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 5:59 pm

  62. Not sure why you’re comparing the two.

    Because McCloskey was the only minor thorn in Nixon’s coronation, getting one vote — from New Mexico.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:02 pm

  63. I’m 60. There have been two “Can you believe it?” situations in my life. One was Covid, and the other was Trump. Both have a tendency to come back around.

    Well, I’ve had more — I never expected the Wall I saw in August of 1989 to fall within a few months.

    And we’ll still have Covid when Trump is long gone. My preference, too.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:04 pm

  64. The people in power who continue to foist Joe Biden on us are traitors. But then so are the people who back Donald Trump. If the election is between those two, neither will win.

    Somewhere Henry Kissinger will be smiling.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:20 pm

  65. The problem with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is that it requires the Vice President, as well as a majority of cabinet members, to implement.

    So as long as Kamala Harris continues to defend Biden, this is not going anywhere; contrary to what Senator Josh Hawley says:

    “I’m calling on [Garland] publicly now to do what I think is required and under the law in the Constitution . . . either charge the president, or he will go to the cabinet and tell them, ‘I believe we have to invoke the 25th Amendment.’ He’s got to do one or the other,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in an interview.

    I also note that Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) has made the same mistake.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:21 pm

  66. The problem with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is that it requires the Vice President, as well as a majority of cabinet members, to implement.

    The VP, yes, but Congress may by law create an alternative council.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:29 pm

  67. Donald Trump and Joe Biden should make a deal. Both drop out. For the children.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:44 pm

  68. There’s a reason they amputate gangrenous limbs but not paralyzed ones.

    America can survive a President-in-name-only, which is to say an entirely mentally-incapacitated Biden, for four years. The institutions will continue to function just fine without him.

    America is not as likely to survive a poisonous worm, which is to say Trump, eating the country’s heart out from the inside.

    nk (799196) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:47 pm

  69. There’s a reason they amputate gangrenous limbs but not paralyzed ones.

    America can survive a President-in-name-only, which is to say an entirely mentally-incapacitated Biden, for four years. The institutions will continue to function just fine without him.

    America is not as likely to survive a poisonous worm, which is to say Trump, eating the country’s heart out from the inside.

    nk (799196) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:47 pm

    You’re okay with an unelected, puppet state.

    That’s all you had to say.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 2/9/2024 @ 7:01 pm

  70. If the Left could elect the administrative state as president, they would ever time. For them, a vegetable is the perfect candidate.

    lloyd (8244a3) — 2/9/2024 @ 7:06 pm

  71. You’re okay with an unelected, puppet state.

    That’s all you had to say.

    As much as I am with a paralyzed left leg. But it’s better than gangrene.

    nk (799196) — 2/9/2024 @ 7:10 pm

  72. The problem with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is that it requires the Vice President, as well as a majority of cabinet members, to implement.

    The VP, yes, but Congress may by law create an alternative council.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:29 pm

    The current Congress can’t even pass the most basic legislation, like a budget. And would you expect Biden to sign such a bill?

    Rip Murdock (1d4e91) — 2/9/2024 @ 7:16 pm

  73. The problem with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is that it requires the Vice President, as well as a majority of cabinet members, to implement.

    The VP, yes, but Congress may by law create an alternative council.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 6:29 pm

    No such “other body” has ever been designated, though there have been proposals. Congress’s discretion in designating such a body and how it would deliberate is “vast” – it could even designate itself  – but any designating act would be subject to presidential veto (which in turn can be overridden by two-thirds of both the House and Senate) just like any other statute.

    Should such a body be created, it would become the only body capable of acting in concert with the vice president under Section 4; the fifteen cabinet officers would no longer have a role. However, the vice president’s participation is essential, and vacancy in the vice presidency rules out invocation of Section 4.

    Source, note 3; internal sources omitted.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 8:22 pm

  74. The problem with Section 4 of the 25th Amendment is that it requires the Vice President, as well as a majority of cabinet members, to implement.

    So as long as Kamala Harris continues to defend Biden, this is not going anywhere.

    If Biden contests his removal by the Vice President and his cabinet by sending a message to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, then he can resume his duties as President.

    If the VP and the cabinet still believes the President is unable to “discharge the powers and duties of his office”, they must transmit a written declaration within four days to that effect to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    At that time:

    Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

    Source

    So it is extremely unlikely and difficult to implement the 25th Amendment against President Biden or any other president. Getting two-thirds of Congress to agree on anything is nearly impossible.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/9/2024 @ 8:46 pm

  75. Vote wisely.

    Oh, I will, lloyd, and it’s Door #3 all the way, because we have an Electoral College, not a nationwide popular vote.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/9/2024 @ 8:54 pm

  76. Jack Smith is pushing back on Judge Cannon and her ruling to publicly disclose witnesses, citing that she used the wrong standard.
    If she doesn’t backtrack, Smith may take this to the 11th Circuit and if he prevails, may be cause to take her off the case, for her bias and general incompetence.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/9/2024 @ 9:08 pm

  77. Boris Johnson’s response to Tucker’s Infamous Interview is jolly good, and not just for the entertaining prose.

    When Tucker Carlson went to the Kremlin he had a function well known to history. He was to be the stooge of the tyrant, the dictaphone to the dictator and a traitor to journalism.

    In his fawning, guffawing, slack-jawed happiness at having a ‘scoop’, he betrayed his viewers and listeners around the world.

    He didn’t ask tough questions. He didn’t ask Putin why even now he is using the most brutal means of modern warfare to maim and murder innocent Ukrainian civilians.

    He didn’t take him to task for the torture, the rapes, the blowing up of kindergartens — all of it wholly unnecessary and unprovoked. Not once did he even try to dam the flow of lies from Putin.

    Instead he gasped fanboyishly at Putin’s alleged erudition, boneheadedly accepting the Russian leader’s mixture of semi-masticated Wikipedia and outright falsehood — such as the bizarre (and ominous) suggestion that Poland was somehow responsible for her own partition and destruction in 1939 — as if Russia had had no part in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact*.

    He did not challenge the ludicrous suggestion that the UK government persuaded the Ukrainians to fight on, rather than surrender to Putin’s tender mercies, in the spring of 2022.

    As every member of the Ukrainian government will confirm, from Zelensky down, nothing and no one could have stopped those lion-hearted Ukrainians from fighting for their country — and nothing will.

    In the last two years Putin has conclusively demolished his own thesis. By his reckless and criminal violence he has proved himself completely wrong.

    He has revealed that Ukraine is not only a country, but a great one, and by his stupid miscalculation he has helped engender a patriotic feeling that is stronger and more unquenchable than any in the world.

    But of course Tucker Carlson didn’t make that point. He allowed the Russian leader to dilate for half an hour on the supposed historic non-existence of Ukraine then gushed about Putin’s ‘encyclopaedic knowledge’.

    Not since George Galloway went to Baghdad and hailed the indefatigability of Saddam Hussein have we seen such a display of bum-sucking servility to a tyrant.

    In a way it is unfair to blame Carlson for his abject performance. He was not there to challenge. He was just the medium, the sewer, the hose by which the untreated slurry of Putin’s message could be sprayed where Putin wants it most — over the fertile heartlands of America.

    The message to the American people was simple. This is not your problem, Putin was saying. It’s a European problem. Stay out of this conflict, let me finish it off — and soon we can all be at peace. It is a message that the Americans have heard before.

    In June 1940, shortly after Hitler invaded France, the newspapers of WR Hearst secured an interview with the German dictator, mainly because Hearst had long shown sympathies with Hitler.

    The chosen journalist was a German-American called Von Wiegand, who had already conducted several positive interviews with the Fuhrer.

    Von Wiegand was duly ushered into a captured French chateau, where he found Hitler, von Ribbentrop and others, and with the help of detailed notes that he had prepared Hitler gave the U.S. newspaper reporter his uninterrupted historical wisdom.

    This is about Europe, not America, said Hitler. The Americans have nothing to fear from Nazi Germany and no reason to interfere. He didn’t particularly want to conquer Paris, he said; he didn’t even want to be waging war on the European continent.

    He just wanted to vindicate the ancient rights of the German-speaking peoples. Does that sound familiar?

    Exactly like Hitler, Putin now drones on about the alleged injustices suffered by speakers of his native tongue. Listen to Putin talking about Russophones in the Donbas, or Hungarophones in western Ukraine, and you can hear Hitler talking about the Sudetenland or Alsace-Lorraine.

    Of course Putin kicked off the interview with his half-hour monologue about Yaroslav The Wise and Rurik and the events of the 9th century; because he wants to give American viewers and voters the impression that this is all some baffling euro-problem, some six-of-one-half-a-dozen-of-the-other Schleswig-Holstein** question that goes back hundreds of years, when the truth is as bald as Putin himself.

    The Russian leader chose to invade a sovereign and independent European country — with no justification other than his arrogant desire to crush that country and to rebuild the Soviet Union. Like Hitler, he is of course lying about his future intentions.

    After all, he lied bare-facedly about his intention to invade Ukraine. He told the world, he told me personally, that he wasn’t going to invade Ukraine, only weeks before giving the orders for the tanks to roll in.

    Why on earth should he be trusted now to respect any peace deal — even if the Ukrainians tried to do one? He obviously can’t be trusted over Poland, or the Baltic states, or anywhere in the vast periphery of the former Soviet Union.

    So I pray that the people of the U.S. are able to see through last night’s unholy charade of an interview. I know how many U.S. congress men and women have been fans of Tucker Carlson, and I say: remember Charles Lindbergh, remember the America Firsters, remember how many American legislators at first opposed involvement in the war with Hitler.

    Well, they were wrong then, and the Tucker Carlsonites are grievously wrong about Putin today. To all those Republicans who are currently blocking aid to Ukraine, I say, for God’s sake remember who you are.

    You are the heirs of Ronald Reagan, the leaders of the last best hope of earth. You cannot make America great again by selling out Ukraine and allowing Putin to use violence to rebuild the Soviet empire.

    On the contrary, by investing only a fraction of the U.S. defence budget, you can help those valiant Ukrainians to turn the tide, put Putin back in his box — and therefore help secure the Euro-Atlantic area for a generation, without actually risking a single U.S. soldier.

    You can show the world that trying to change borders by force will lead to disaster; because the greatest lie of all — and the one Putin hoped most to project by his interview — is that the Russian leader is bound to win. He is no more invincible than Adolf Hitler; in fact, he is bound to lose.

    He has already suffered colossal losses, but that is not the point. Whatever Ukrainian territory he temporarily occupies, he can never conquer their spirit.

    I hope and believe that if President Trump is elected again he will confound his critics, turn his party round and complete the work that he began when he became the first U.S. President to give arms to the Ukrainians.

    I say that because in the end all U.S. Presidents know that our collective security is indivisible. In the end the Americans can be relied upon to do the right thing, having exhausted — as the old saying has it — all the available alternatives.

    Tucker Carlson did us all a favour last night in the sense that he proffered the alternative — a Putin victory, the destruction of Ukraine and the descent of much of Europe, once again, into darkness and fear. It cannot and must not happen.

    I don’t share Johnson’s hopes and beliefs about what Trump will do if elected, given that Trump already advocated for a Ukrainian surrender, and we all know how Trump goes weak in the knees when an authoritarian dictator makes a little noise.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/9/2024 @ 9:26 pm

  78. Oh, I will, lloyd, and it’s Door #3 all the way, because we have an Electoral College, not a nationwide popular vote.

    We already know that the first two doors are Zonks.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 9:40 pm

  79. If the VP and the cabinet still believes the President is unable to “discharge the powers and duties of his office”, they must transmit a written declaration within four days to that effect to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    For fun, consider a Congressional election in a 3-way race where the House chooses from column A (or C) and the Senate chooses from column B.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 9:50 pm

  80. Has anyone asked Bernie or the Squad or the rest of the Socialist Left how they feel about all those refugees from their buddy’s Venezuela?

    After all Venezuela is Stage 4 Socialism.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/9/2024 @ 10:18 pm

  81. Here’s what gets me, Kevin.
    Republicans welcomed Cubans onto our shores, because they were escaping the yolk of communism, and it’s noteworthy because so many Cubans escaping to freedom joined the GOP.
    Given that, why are Republicans so opposed to Venezuelans coming here, when they’re escaping the Chavez-Maduro brand of communism and seeking American freedom as well?

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/9/2024 @ 10:38 pm

  82. @41 Democrat party says its illegal for RFKjr pack to help him gain ballot access.

    asset (7bdc9d) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:03 pm

  83. @80 Their are many reasons for venezuela’s problems of instituting socialism to interference from the U.S. trying to sabotage their economy. As a non-exploitive capitalist I am not here to defend the problems of government control of the means of production ;but both cuba and venezuela were sabotaged from both the inside and the outside. Those who exploited the workers and the rich along with criminal mafia in the case of cuba. see myer lansky and santo trafficante. Had the greedy capitalists tried to help their country’s poor instead of help exploit them they would not have had to flee with the corrupt government officials. Remember America had the highest incarceration rate in the world for many years with police controlling the minorities with drug gangs helping control the ghettos and law enforcement shooting their leaders like fred hampton and mark clark. The left is taking over the cities and soon the democratic party so violent revolution will not be needed. I am trying to help by pointing out that non-exploitive regulated capitalism does not have the problems of socialism in controlling the means of production. NYC, LA, Oakland/SF, Chicago and Seattle are America’s future Jackson not skunk creek mississippi. Even texas has austin, dallas and houston not waco.

    asset (7bdc9d) — 2/9/2024 @ 11:34 pm

  84. @8,
    The interesting thing about Kornbluth’s story is that it is essentially the story of the Pol Pot-style democide of the general population at the hands of those who deemed themselves an intellectual elite who felt themselves too burdened by the fact that commoners exist. “The Little Black Bag” which came before “Marching Morons” was a bit more open in it’s support of eugenics but, at the end of the day, the real meat of the story is in the willingness of the intellectual elite to commit democide and then double cross the creep they hired to do their dirty work. 🙂

    Towering Barbarian (177cd9) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:11 am

  85. Even Putin’s loyal followers didn’t like the Carlson-Putin interview.

    According to reports, Putin didn’t like Tucker Carlson – “a snob and a useful idiot who got a meaningful fee, but was lazy and lacked creativity.”
    Kovalchuk family believes they could have done better with Tucker Carlson, but “everything was wasted.” There’s a wave of complaints in the Kremlin.

    Wait a minute, a “journalist” collected a “meaningful fee” for interviewing his subject? Isn’t that an ethical problem?

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:42 am

  86. @85, I get “snob” but I wonder what Putin was getting at with “lacked creativity”. Certainly this was a platform for Putin to ramble about his “historical” claims/grievances and agitate war weariness in the West, but what else did he have in mind? I agree with the tweet that this might be about pushing culture war messages and emphasizing “conservative” impulses. Putin needs right-wingers to push to end Ukraine aid….and need to establish more of an ideological bond with them.

    We will see whether the GOP own goals on immigration bills and impeaching Mayorkas encourage any sort of reloading. Is Tucker fluffing Putin going to sell? One would think “useful idiot” would send a clear message. I fear that right-leaning media will struggle to unpack it though. Border before Ukraine….and apparently the border must wait…

    AJ_Liberty (2baceb) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:18 am

  87. @76 Oh please. Biden’s cherished case against his opposition will continue unabated, even as Biden’s lawlessness gets a pass due to his lacking competence to stand trial, nudge nudge wink wink. Witnesses, statements, juries all kept from public view. It’s the Venezuelan way. Another job Americans won’t do.

    lloyd (8244a3) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:25 am

  88. How woke can the LA Times get?

    Opinion: Age matters. Which is why Biden’s age is his superpower

    Joe Biden is old. Like each of us, he comes from a particular place in history, in his case the LBJ years. And that’s one big reason why his first term has been so full of accomplishment: His age, often cited as the greatest obstacle to his reelection, is actually his superpower.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:26 am

  89. Given that, why are Republicans so opposed to Venezuelans coming here, when they’re escaping the Chavez-Maduro brand of communism and seeking American freedom as well?

    And why are Democrats so accepting of those fleeing their friends?

    My personal feeling is that we are solving the problem at the wrong end.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:29 am

  90. Fisking needed on aisle 83.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:30 am

  91. Wait a minute, a “journalist” collected a “meaningful fee” for interviewing his subject? Isn’t that an ethical problem?

    And maybe a legal problem. I’d like to know what the foreign agent registration law has to say.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:32 am

  92. @87:

    It’s one thing when people cannot see the mote in the other guy’s eye, but not the beam in in their own. But it’s pretty funny when they can’t even see the BEAM in the other guy’s eye and still go on about the mote.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:34 am

  93. Witnesses, statements, juries all kept from public view. It’s the Venezuelan way.

    Trump’s way is Noriega banana republic, with a record of strong-arming and intimidating witnesses and anyone who crosses him, hence the need for not making their names public. Trump and his legal counsel know their names through normal discovery, so you have no point, lloyd.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:41 am

  94. To be fair, Bill Clinton behaved the same way.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:42 am

  95. https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2024/02/10/biden-backpedals-on-israel-in-michigan-n3782686

    One of President Biden’s top advisers told fuming Arab and Muslim American community leaders in Michigan this week that the administration has made “missteps” in its support for Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

    “We are very well aware that we have missteps in the course of responding to this crisis since Oct. 7,” Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said during a Thursday meeting in Dearborn, Mich., with Muslim and Arab Americans, including state and local Democratic elected officials, according to the New York Times.

    “We have left a very damaging impression based on what has been a wholly inadequate public accounting for how much the president, the administration and the country values the lives of Palestinians,” Finer added.

    Biden cozying up to the islamofascists because he’s afraid of losing their racist votes.

    Keep supporting this turd.

    NJRob (d855ba) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:50 am

  96. “93 “with a record of strong-arming and intimidating witnesses and anyone who crosses him”

    For example? Intimidating witnesses is a felony. When was Trump charged with this?

    Biden has a record of mishandling classified information. He’ll never be charged, because reasons, but the record stands and he still has access. Weird how that works. Must be really deep Rule of Law stuff.

    lloyd (8244a3) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:59 am

  97. For example? Intimidating witnesses is a felony. When was Trump charged with this?

    The witness needs to complain. Out loud.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:15 am

  98. To be fair, Bill Clinton behaved the same way.

    I supported his impeachment, too.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:21 am

  99. For example? Intimidating witnesses is a felony. When was Trump charged with this?

    It’s as if Mueller didn’t write that detailed multiple counts of obstruction of justice.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:22 am

  100. Yeah, youse guys! And when did you see Putin launch a missile at Kiev from a Tupolev Tu-95?

    nk (0c44a5) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:57 am

  101. Dissolve UNRWA and Hamas. They’re one and the same.

    It begins: Hamas HQ was located in a tunnel system underneath UNRWA HQ

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 9:32 am

  102. Could Democrats replace Biden as their nominee?
    …………..
    In the modern era, a national party has never attempted to adversarially replace their nominee in part because they know it would likely fail. The issue came before both parties in 2016, but neither took such drastic action.
    …………
    Is it too late for another Democratic candidate to get into the race?

    ………..(T)here is still not enough time for a new candidate to enter the race and beat Biden outright.

    Filing deadlines for about 80% of upcoming contests have already passed and cannot be easily changed since they are set in each state. There are not enough delegates at stake in the remaining contests where ballot access is still open to win a majority.
    …………
    Any changes to the party’s nomination rules would go through the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, stacked with Biden allies………

    What happens if Biden drops out before the convention?.
    ………..
    If Biden calls it quits before he wins the majority of the Democratic delegates, it likely wouldn’t make a difference. Any new candidate who tried to enter the race would be unlikely to get on enough of the remaining ballots and therefore couldn’t win enough delegates.

    Ultimately the decision would likely come down to the convention delegates who were initially pledged to Biden.
    ………..
    ………..There is no mechanism for the national party to replace a candidate before the convention and certainly no way for them to anoint a chosen successor.
    ………..
    What happens if Biden withdraws after the convention?

    To fill a vacancy on the national ticket, the DNC chair can call a “special meeting” of the full Democratic National Committee, which includes about 500 members. On paper, at least, all it takes is a majority vote of those present to pick a new presidential and vice presidential nominee. But that process would likely be anything but smooth, and be filled with behind-the-scenes jockeying and public pressure campaigns.

    If a vacancy were to occur close to the November election, however, it could raise constitutional, legal and practical concerns. ……..

    Would Kamala Harris replace Biden?

    If Biden were to relinquish the presidency, Vice President Kamala Harris would automatically become president — but not the Democratic Party’s nominee. Nor would she necessarily be the nominee if Biden withdrew from his re-election bid while remaining in the White House.

    She might be politically favored, but party rules give the vice president no major mechanical benefit over other candidates. ……….(S)o she would still need to win a majority of delegates at the convention.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/10/2024 @ 11:25 am

  103. Having observed Kamala Harris since she was in SF, I can confidently say she would be a worse President than either Biden or Trump.

    Nikki Haley, with all her flaws could possibly be better that those three combined

    steveg (cdccce) — 2/10/2024 @ 11:43 am

  104. Haley’s campaign is reduced to this.

    Rip Murdock (6503df) — 2/10/2024 @ 12:29 pm

  105. @96, lloyd: “Biden has a record of mishandling classified information. He’ll never be charged, because reasons, but the record stands and he still has access. Weird how that works. Must be really deep Rule of Law stuff.”

    When I read something like this, I wonder
    1. Does lloyd genuinely not understand the difference between Trump’s and Biden’s mishandling of classified documents? Is he not able to find the distinction here or at an objective news outlet?
    2. Or does lloyd understand the difference and just doesn’t believe that the difference is significant enough because of some underlying partisan bias?
    3. Or does lloyd understand the difference, but understands that he loses the internet if he concedes the point and so doggedly makes the assertion that facts are out there…somewhere

    I would also like to see Congress work on classified documents law, to tighten it up so it’s less common for high-ranking officials to simply disappear with them…without some sort of expected accountability or definitive process. It might be true that there is too much stuff that is classified but that’s a separate issue. Whether Biden was indicted or not…it doesn’t change what Trump did. It might be good for justice to indict them both so juries (and the public) would be able to compare the facts directly. My guess is that we would still get whining….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/10/2024 @ 12:50 pm

  106. @105 Do you understand that if you break the law, the fact that someone else might have broken the law in a more serious manner doesn’t absolve you? Do you really understand this, that What About Trump is not a defense under Rule of Law? Are you capable of focusing on what Biden did without a Trump context? I don’t think you are. What Trump did or might have done is irrelevant to whether Biden broke the law.

    lloyd (8b3677) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:16 pm

  107. “It might be good for justice to indict them both so juries (and the public) would be able to compare the facts directly.” Apparently I do understand

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:38 pm

  108. @steve@103 I think it would depend on what you would be looking for in a Harris presidency. Nobody has any personal loyalty to her and she doesn’t appear to have much ability to get things done, so mostly you’d probably be getting stasis at the presidential level. Of course we currently have chaos at the legislative level, so IDK how it would work out if there was stasis + chaos, but it would probably be better than the guy who tried to foment an insurrection.

    Nic (896fdf) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:40 pm

  109. @107. “so juries would be able to compare the facts directly”

    Really? You mean, have a jury compare Biden’s handling of classified information to Trump’s and judge him accordingly? That’s Rule of Law to you, is it?

    Did Hur say “Don’t charge Biden because Trump did something worse”? Is that what he said?

    lloyd (8b3677) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:46 pm

  110. The bottle deposit crook netanyahu tells generals they have a month to rap up gaza. Immediately dozens of palestinian women and children are being killed maybe hundreds now. The bottle deposit crook is corrupt and evil ;but crafty he knows time is not on his side. I agree as a supporter of Israel the quicker hamas is destroyed the better.

    asset (5c96f0) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:59 pm

  111. Screw the Rule of Law: take them both out and shoot them and start over. Or flip a coin. This Andropov vs Chernenko election isn’t worth anyone’s time.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:59 pm

  112. Could Democrats replace Biden as their nominee?

    The actual question is when. The only certain thing is that all those ballot-access laws with their timetables will be swept aside if it helps the Democrat candidate.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:02 pm

  113. When I read something like this, I wonder

    Does lloyd (et al) not understand that the senility charge is 100x more damaging than any “similarity” he might see in the mishandling of classified documents. If I were a Trump supporter, I probably wouldn’t want to be talking about classified documents in the first place.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:04 pm

  114. @90 you should be better then that. There are many reasons for what happened in venezuela. Chavez took over when capitalism failed for everyone except the rich and their lackeys. Columbia is run by good capitalist drug lords who killed the socialists.

    asset (5c96f0) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  115. Haley’s campaign is reduced to this.

    Your campaign against Haley has been reduced to this for a long time.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  116. Lloyd, there are distinctions to be made when it comes to prosecutions. One guy is going 5 MPH over the speed limit. The other guy is going 20 MPH over the speed limit. Under the Rule of Law, both are culpable. However, both police and prosecutors often exercise discretion, and let the 5 MPH case slide.

    I think you’re letting partisanship get the best of you. I used to be like you. I voted for Trump in 2016, and was defending him as recently as early 2020. Then the scales fell from my eyes.

    norcal (8586af) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:07 pm

  117. “Really? You mean, have a jury compare Biden’s handling of classified information to Trump’s and judge him accordingly? That’s Rule of Law to you, is it?”

    Separate juries…but Biden will have to wait until he’s no longer President. The problem is that you indict without a strong case of intent, then is that the new standard….or are we just doing that to appease Trump and his supporters? I have no qualm in raising the bar on mishandling, but does that mean Pence is corralled as well? Trump has extenuating circumstances. There is evidence that he did try to obstruct the document retrieval. This does not seem like the case with Biden.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:11 pm

  118. There are many reasons for what happened in venezuela.

    End-stage klepto-socialism is what happened. “Pretty soon you run out of other people’s money” and this happens a lot faster when you’re stuffing your pockets.

    Maybe they were crooks going in, but free-market crime became organized centrally-planned crime.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:11 pm

  119. The reason prosecution was not recommended by Hur had nothing to do with where the bar was set. The case wasn’t strong because Hur knew (correctly) a jury wouldn’t convict. There’s your Rule of Law.

    What’s funny is that the White House wheeled Biden out there to dissuade critics his memory was shot. Which means they’re insisting Biden lied under oath to Hur when he said he couldn’t remember anything. Or, they’re lying that his memory is intact. Take your pick.

    lloyd (31822d) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:32 pm

  120. Your campaign against Haley has been reduced to this for a long time.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:06 pm

    My “campaign” has had nothing to do with her performance against Donald Trump. That’s all on her.

    Rip Murdock (601e2c) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:49 pm

  121. People are stuck on Trump. My impression is that there is little Haley could have done to dislodge them. This is not a rational conversation and decision. Just listen to SC voters. They don’t care about indictments, crazy statements Trump makes, Ukraine, NATO, or wanting a more normal candidate. There is no oxygen for normalcy.

    Fox is invested in Trump. Much of Talk Radio is invested in defending and excusing Trump. Evangelicals look at Trump as their King David. Right-wing media and the GOP politicians that slavishly following it are fine with stress-testing the system. We are now left with praying for a tsunami of events that scuttles Trump…and forces a reckoning.

    Right now the GOP is a terrible party that wants a terrible leader. Haley gave them a choice and they are determined to go with clown nose….God help them and God help the rest of us.

    AJ_Liberty (7240d6) — 2/10/2024 @ 3:19 pm

  122. More from the Hur Report:

    ……..
    We conclude the evidence is not sufficient to convict, and we decline to recommend prosecution of Mr. Biden for his retention of the classified Afghanistan documents.

    FBI agents recovered from unlocked drawers in the office and basement den of Mr. Biden’s Delaware home a set 6 of notebooks he used as vice president. Evidence shows that he knew the notebooks contained classified information. Mr. Biden wrote down obviously sensitive information discussed during intelligence briefings with President Obama and meetings in the White House Situation Room about matters of national security and military and foreign policy. ……
    ……….
    Contemporaneous evidence suggests that when Mr. Biden left office in 2017, he believed he was allowed to keep the notebooks in his home. ……..he did not think he was required to turn in his notecards to the National Archives-where they were stored in a SCIF-and he had not wanted to do so. At trial, he would argue plausibly that he thought the same about his notebooks.

    If this is what Mr. Biden thought, we believe he was mistaken about what the law permits, but this view finds some support in historical practice. The clearest example is President Reagan, who left the White House in 1989 with eight years’ worth of handwritten diaries, which he appears to have kept at his California home even though they contained Top Secret information. …….(W)e know of no steps the Department or other agencies took to investigate Mr. Reagan for mishandling classified information or to retrieve or secure his diaries. Most jurors would likely find evidence of this precedent and Mr. Biden’s claimed reliance on it, which we expect would be admitted at trial, to be compelling evidence that Mr. Biden did not act willfully.
    ……….
    We also considered whether Mr. Biden willfully disclosed national defense information to his ghostwriter by reading aloud certain classified notebook passages to the ghostwriter nearly verbatim on at least three occasions. Mr. Biden should have known that by reading his unfiltered notes about classified meetings in the Situation Room, he risked sharing classified information with his ghostwriter. But the evidence does not show that when Mr. Biden shared the specific passages with his ghostwriter, Mr. Biden knew the passages were classified and intended to share classified information. Mr. Biden’s lapses in attention and vigilance demonstrate why former officials should not keep classified materials unsecured at home and read them aloud to others, but jurors could well conclude that Mr. Biden’s actions were unintentional. We therefore decline to charge Mr. Biden for disclosure of these passages to his ghostwriter.
    ……….
    Some of the documents in these files were marked classified, though, because of the passage of time, we do not know whether Mr. Biden willfully retained the classified documents or consulted them when writing the book (Promises to Keep).

    We were limited in our ability to investigate these documents because of the significant passage of time since their creation. Although we cannot prove that Mr. Biden retained these classified documents willfully or used them in writing Promises to Keep, he did write about the foreign trips that were the subject of the documents.
    ………..
    While it is natural to assume that Mr. Biden put the Afghanistan documents in the box on purpose and that he knew they were there, there is in fact a shortage of evidence on these points. We do not know why, how, or by whom the documents were placed in the box. We do not know whether or when Mr. Biden carefully reviewed the box’s contents. We do not know why only some of Mr. Biden’s classified Afghanistan memos to President Obama from the fall of 2009 were found in the box, but several other memos he wrote during that time were not. And we do not know why Mr. Biden would have wanted to keep some of the other marked classified documents in the box—in particular, a classified document relating to President Obama’s second term foreign policy goals, which was kept in a folder right next to the Afghanistan documents, and which served no particular purpose of Mr. Biden’s of which we are aware.
    ………..
    A reasonable juror could also conclude that, even if Mr. Biden found classified documents about Afghanistan in his Virginia home in February 2017, and even if he remembered he had them after that day, and even if they were the same documents found in his garage six years later and one hundred miles away in Delaware, there is a shortage of evidence that he found both the “Afganastan” (sic) folder and the “Facts First” folder …. And if Mr. Biden saw only the “Afganastan” (sic) folder and not the “Facts First” folder, which did contain national defense information, he did not willfully retain such national defense information.
    ………
    The evidence does not establish that Mr. Biden or anyone else knowingly removed or retained the classified documents found at the University of Delaware. These documents appear to have been included in his Senate papers by mistake.”

    No evidence suggests he knew these classified documents were within his massive collection of Senate papers. Further, given the age of the documents, we found no evidence that Mr. Biden personally viewed any of them while he was a member of the Senate. Mr. Biden sat on the committee that generated these documents, but it is entirely plausible they were handled by a staff member and that Mr. Biden never handled the documents himself before they were filed among his papers. There is also no record of Mr. Biden’s review of the documents before or after he donated them to the University.

    For these reasons, it is likely that the few classified documents found in Mr. Biden’s Senate papers were there by mistake.

    There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Biden intentionally retained the classified documents in the EYES ONLY envelope after his term as vice president or caused his staff to do so. Instead, the evidence supports an innocent explanation for the unauthorized retention of those documents.

    In summary, the innocent explanation for the retention of the classified documents in the EYES ONLY envelope at the Penn Biden Center is not only plausible, it is a better explanation than one of willful retention. There is thus insufficient evidence to support charging Mr. Biden or anyone else with willful retention of the documents in the EYES ONLY envelope at the Penn Biden Center.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (601e2c) — 2/10/2024 @ 3:24 pm

  123. Apparently, the only Democrat primaries with open fining dates are in DC, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and South Dakota. All close by mid-March.

    In 1968, with no technology to speak of, LBJ didn’t drop out of the race until 3/31/68 and yet they had a number of contested primaries afterwards. Maybe this push to crowd dates towards winter and early spring isn’t a good one, and maybe the long lead time for months of early voting isn’t worth it. I mean, how hard is to get to a polling booth in the week before the election?

    So, what is likely is that either there is a brokered Convention after Biden’s deathgrip is loosened, or if it gets too bad and Biden won’t trundle off, people are talking about an independent challenge from Newsom.

    Along with all the hoohaw on the other side and No Labels and other independents.

    What a colossal cluster-F.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 4:48 pm

  124. *filing, but I’m OK with fining, too.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 4:48 pm

  125. U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Republican and China hawk, will not seek re-election

    Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, will not seek reelection this November.

    Gallagher told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he will leave Congress at the end of his current term to enter the private sector and spend more time with his young family. He said his future work will be in-line with his national security goals and focus on defense policy.

    Update:GOP’s Roger Roth announces candidacy hours after Mike Gallagher said he’s not seeking re-election

    “I really just feel like I’ve accomplished much more than I even thought I could when I set out, and I firmly don’t believe that the best use for the next chapter of my career is staying in Congress for another decade,” Gallagher said in an interview.

    “Even though my title may change, my job may change, my mission is always going to remain the same,” he said. “My mission is to prevent World War III. I’ve dedicated myself to restoring conventional deterrence in order to prevent a war with China, and so whatever I do next will be an extension of that mission.”

    Gallagher, 39, was first elected to Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District in 2016 and quickly made foreign policy and attempts at congressional reform his focus. The former Marine and intelligence officer has argued for term limits and said his decision to leave stays true to that thought process.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 4:54 pm

  126. lloyd (31822d) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:32 pm

    Which means they’re insisting Biden lied under oath to Hur when he said he couldn’t remember anything. Or, they’re lying that his memory is intact. Take your pick.

    No, they’re suggesting that Hur lied when he that Biden had a poor memory and that he did so because he wanted to throw a bone to the Republicans,

    Hur suggested that Biden played dumb. Although everyone is ignoring the words “presents himself”and saying Hur said Biden actually had a poor memory. And Biden almost admitted he was playing stupid by saying I know what the h- I’m doing,

    Hur acted like Mueller with Trump saying that even if there wasn’t a DOJ policy against indicting sitting presidents, he still wouldn’t want to indict him because if a DOJ policy against making indictments that you are not confident will result in convictions.

    Hur also did not want to call attention to the fact that the law, as interpreted by DOJ, is just too strict and unrealistic – and probably bad for the country

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:18 pm

  127. asset (5c96f0) — 2/10/2024 @ 1:59 pm

    The bottle deposit crook netanyahu tells generals they have a month to rap up gaza.

    No, he doesn’t. It will take a few months he says. Maybe he’s giving them a month to get the Palestinian
    civilians out of Rafah.

    Again, Netanyahu is not gung ho, It’s the opposition leader in the unity government who’s gung ho – about Lebanon

    Meanwhile Biden sent some people to apologize to Aras in Michigan for not making it clear that Palestinian lives are dear to him – and he’s delusional about everything connected with what can happen next in this war.And about handling the politics of it.

    I agree as a supporter of Israel the quicker hamas is destroyed the better.

    Then you agree with Netanyahu and not with Biden who thinks, or his advisers think, that Hamas can’t be destroyed and there will need to be some kind of a ceasefire and setting out on a course to get a Palestinian state is just the way to do it,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:29 pm

  128. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:02 pm

    The only certain thing is that all those ballot-access laws with their timetables will be swept aside if it helps the Democrat candidate.

    The ballot line belongs to the state’s Democratic Party and is permanent and there would be no problem changing the candidate if a candidate has even been named.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:32 pm

  129. The National Committee can change the candidate after the convention, like the DDNC did in 1972, but legally the ballot line belongs to each state party.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:35 pm

  130. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/9/2024 @ 10:38 pm

    Republicans so opposed to Venezuelans coming here, when they’re escaping the Chavez-Maduro brand of communism and seeking American freedom as well?

    Because they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and because they support liberty utside of the United States. Also nobody among them is complaining about Cubans being returned to Cuba — maybe for about 40 years,

    They did help pass an Afghan act giving special immigrant visas to Afghans who worked with American troops, but Trump sabotaged that with excessive vetting and while something fixing some of that (Biden paroled Afghans into the United States) it was included in he border portion of the big bill, nobody seems to care,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:49 pm

  131. * Because they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and because they NO LONGER support liberty outside of the United States.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/10/2024 @ 5:50 pm

  132. @118 Other things happened too. You want to blame socialism for other things that were happening like U.S. sabotaging and preventing consumer goods getting into the country so people had to go to columbia next door to buy consumer goods where U.S. was not sabotaging the drug lords because they were good capitalists. Cuba was under U.S. embargo and still did better then capitalist Haiti. Venezuela was lucky considering what happened to Allende in Chile, Mosadek in Iran and Lumumba in the congo. We sent in the marines to change government in Dominican Republica and the drug dealing CIA and contras for Nicuragua and El Salvador. Not to mention Irag that cost nearly 7,000 american lives.

    asset (55a39d) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:13 pm

  133. @127 Sammy I don’t know if hamas can be destroyed the track record is iffy at best. If the guerillas don’t lose they win and if the military doesn’t win it loses. Got my fingers crossed. I am usually on the other side and that side usually wins. As for Michigan trump won by 10,000 votes in 2016 and the muslim vote put biden accross in 2020. Also most younger democrats are pro-cease fire and would have no problem voting for Jill Stein who swung the state to trump in 2016. Muslim vote will be even larger in 2024.

    asset (55a39d) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:25 pm

  134. How many here think it would be better for Biden if he were charged? He gets the worst of both a fool and a knave. You broke the law ;but your to senile to prosecute! A pyrrhic victory. Biden calls this an exoneration!

    asset (55a39d) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:32 pm

  135. The National Committee can change the candidate after the convention, like the DDNC did in 1972, but legally the ballot line belongs to each state party.

    No. After a certain date, set by each state, it is not changeable. Once the ballot systems are finalized, there can be no changes. The party may say “A vote for Biden is a vote for X, and Electors will be instructed so.” Hard to say what state “faithless elector” laws might require.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:32 pm

  136. Republicans so opposed to Venezuelans coming here, when they’re escaping the Chavez-Maduro brand of communism and seeking American freedom as well?

    Because if they took the proper attitude — Monroe Doctrine and fixing the problem at the source — they’d be called neocons.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 6:34 pm

  137. If Biden quits the presidential campaign he will continue to win delegates through the remaining primaries. There is no mechanism to replace Biden’s name with someone else.

    If Biden calls it quits before he wins the majority of the Democratic delegates, it likely wouldn’t make a difference. Any new candidate who tried to enter the race would be unlikely to get on enough of the remaining ballots and therefore couldn’t win enough delegates.

    Ultimately the decision would likely come down to the convention delegates who were initially pledged to Biden.

    ……….. Under recent reforms, the party’s more than 700 superdelegates — Democratic lawmakers and dignitaries — are allowed to vote only if no one wins a majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, so their votes could be crucial in a contested convention.

    .

    Source

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:19 pm

  138. Ouch!

    Former President Donald Trump made a fresh jab at his GOP opponent Nikki Haley’s husband during a rally Saturday afternoon, questioning his whereabouts as he’s deployed overseas.
    ………..
    ……….. Where’s your husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone! He knew. He knew,” Trump said.
    …………
    “Michael is deployed serving our country, something you know nothing about,” Haley wrote in response (on X) to Trump’s comments Saturday. “Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief.”

    Haley did not offer a theory of what Trump meant when he said, “He knew.”

    Michael Haley also seemingly responded to Trump in a post on X, tagging him alongside a meme saying, “The difference between humans and animals? Animals would never allow the dumbest ones to lead the pack.”

    The commissioned officer left for a yearlong deployment in Africa with the South Carolina National Guard last June, something Nikki Haley mentions at every campaign event during her stump speech.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (1d4e91) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:27 pm

  139. What Trump did or might have done is irrelevant to whether Biden broke the law.

    It’s relevant because Trump broke the law when he willfully retained 197 classified documents and didn’t return them until over a year later, yet he was not brought to justice for it, because he cooperated (eventually) with the National Archives.
    The common thread here is that if you cooperate with the authorities, you’re given some latitude. If you obstruct, and conspire to obstruct, and defy a subpoena, then you too could get indicted.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:33 pm

  140. Rip, you left out Trump’s “sir” eruption, and you know that Trump is bald-faced lying when he puts “sir” in a sentence.

    Hours earlier, during a rally in Conway, S.C., Trump referred to Michael Haley when discussing a meeting he had with Nikki Haley some time ago.

    “She comes over to see me at Mar-a-Lago – ‘sir, I will never run against you’ … She brought her husband,” Trump said.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:41 pm

  141. Trump says he warned NATO allies if they didn’t pay in, he’d tell Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want.’

    Former President Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that, while president, he told the leaders of NATO countries that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that had not paid the money they owed to the military alliance.

    Mr. Trump did not make clear whether he ever intended to follow through on such a threat or what that would mean for the alliance, but his comment at a campaign event in South Carolina — a variation of one he has made before to highlight his negotiation skills — is likely to cause concern among NATO member states, which are already very nervous about the prospect of a Trump return.

    This is treason, pure and simple. IF the GOP voters cannot see this, then they too are traitors.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:56 pm

  142. Rip’s campaign against Haley has stepped up since she became the only impediment to Trump. Coincidence?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:57 pm

  143. Trump going after military families in South Carolina, and talking about how he’d further Russian attacks on NATO would seem to be a poor move. BWDIKINaCaUF.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:00 pm

  144. Rip Murdock (1d4e91) — 2/10/2024 @ 7:27 pm

    Trump is despicable for asking where Nikki’s husband is.

    The Haleys got the better of that exchange.

    norcal (e3ba40) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:33 pm

  145. Disrespecting the candidate’s husband serving his country is not the worst thing Trump said today, as Tom Nichols notes…

    Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States and the presumptive Republican nominee, said earlier today that he would side with Russia against NATO and encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to brutalize our allies. Not so long ago, many Americans—and especially most Republicans—would have considered anyone supporting such a view to be little more than a deranged and hateful anti-American fanatic.

    Trump issued this unhinged threat while telling one of his “sir” stories, a rhetorical device in which some unnamed interlocutor shows Trump great deference while humbly seeking his advice. He described a meeting, ostensibly when he was in office, in which he responded to an ally about NATO funding.

    One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, “Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?” I said, “You didn’t pay, you’re delinquent?” He said, “Yes, let’s say that happened.” “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”

    Before we consider the sheer recklessness and immorality of this statement, let us first accept that this exchange almost certainly never happened.

    Trump’s feelings about NATO are well-known. He is gripped by the stubbornly ignorant belief, even after four years in office, that NATO is some sort of protection racket, in which our European allies come to Washington like quivering shopkeepers and make an offering to the local mob boss from their weekly receipts. NATO funding doesn’t work that way, of course, and while European leaders no doubt had their arguments in private with Trump while he was president, it is highly unlikely that the leader of a major power “stood up”—as if in some sort of audience with Trump—to ask him if he’d stop a Russian invasion of a country “delinquent” in its accounts.

    The fact that Trump apparently thinks all of this actually took place is bad enough, and it is evidence that his detachment from reality is getting worse by the day. (As the New Yorker writer Susan Glasser noted this evening, Trump is “getting even more brazen,” and his comments today, even by the usual standards of his incendiary speeches, were “breathtaking.”) In a country tangling itself in knots over questions of age and mental competence in the White House, Trump somehow keeps getting a pass for saying things that are orders of magnitude more worrisome than forgetting a name or a date.

    But leave aside (if we must) Trump’s record as a serial liar who lives in a world of his own fantasies. Trump’s comments today are a lot more dangerous than most of his unsettling puffery, and Americans should refuse to let this statement pass as if it were just another distasteful lump in the rancid stew Trump regularly serves up to his faithful.

    Instead, we should concentrate on the more terrifying problem, a reality that exists independent of Trump’s imaginary “sir” conversations: The leader of one of America’s two major political parties has just signaled to the Kremlin that if elected, he would not only refuse to defend Europe, but he would gladly support Vladimir Putin during World War III and even encourage him to do as he pleases to America’s allies.

    It’s nothing less than borderline traitorous on Trump’s part.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:05 pm

  146. @99

    For example? Intimidating witnesses is a felony. When was Trump charged with this?

    It’s as if Mueller didn’t write that detailed multiple counts of obstruction of justice.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:22 am

    Why hasn’t Jack Smith charged Trump with those obstruction counts? It’s probably too late now via statute of limitations, but there was a time that it could’ve been on that table.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:10 pm

  147. “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.”

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:05 pm

    I think it’s telling that Trump uses “I” instead of “we”, as if he has dictatorial power.

    norcal (e3ba40) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:13 pm

  148. @105

    @96, lloyd: “Biden has a record of mishandling classified information. He’ll never be charged, because reasons, but the record stands and he still has access. Weird how that works. Must be really deep Rule of Law stuff.”

    When I read something like this, I wonder
    1. Does lloyd genuinely not understand the difference between Trump’s and Biden’s mishandling of classified documents? Is he not able to find the distinction here or at an objective news outlet?
    2. Or does lloyd understand the difference and just doesn’t believe that the difference is significant enough because of some underlying partisan bias?
    3. Or does lloyd understand the difference, but understands that he loses the internet if he concedes the point and so doggedly makes the assertion that facts are out there…somewhere

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/10/2024 @ 12:50 pm

    1) A prosecutor only need to prove gross negligence. Yet Hur stated that Biden willfully mishandled it. The difference here is that Biden never had declassification authority, whereas Trump has had an argument. The fact that Trump was charged with obstruction is a separate issue.

    2) How ’bout AJ_Liberty think about how it looks when a sitting POTUS’ administration is going after his chief rival for something that he, himself, could be charged with the same crime once he leaves office.

    3) The problem here, if I may say, is taking one’s prosecutor’s indictment as a “statement fact” prior to an actual case being tried in court.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:16 pm

  149. @113

    When I read something like this, I wonder

    Does lloyd (et al) not understand that the senility charge is 100x more damaging than any “similarity” he might see in the mishandling of classified documents. If I were a Trump supporter, I probably wouldn’t want to be talking about classified documents in the first place.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 2:04 pm

    It’s probably the most damaging think I’ve seen in politics in a long time.

    I’m not so sure anymore that Trump loses easily against Biden anymore. Even *if* Trump is convicted.

    It’s that bad.

    I think, for the good of the country, Biden needs to step down and let Harris take the reigns for these remaining months.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:18 pm

  150. Why hasn’t Jack Smith charged Trump with those obstruction counts?

    You can thank Bill Barr for that, for lying about what was in the Mueller report weeks before it came out.
    You thank Pelosi for not pursuing an article of impeachment on Trump’s multiple established acts of obstruction, after Trump handed impeachment to her with that “perfect call” to Zelenskyy.
    You can thank Garland for slow-rolling everything about Trump until the FBI search and until the J6 Committee made it impossible to slow-roll.
    It was obviously more than just one thing, whembly, but surely Trump felt so exonerated by Mueller that he was emboldened to solicit a foreign power to investigate Biden and to attempt a coup because his warped ego couldn’t accept that he was a one-term loser, no better than one-term losers like Carter and GHW Bush.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:23 pm

  151. Paul @145:

    Yeah, see 141. That the heir of Ronald Reagan would side with the Evil Empire is just heartbreaking. That a crowd of soi disant Republcians would cheer this, instead of turning their backs and walking out, is madding.

    WHO THE F ARE THESE PEOPLE!?! They aren’t anyone I would want in my home, at my workplace, or in my community. I understand that they’ve had hard times. GOOD!!! the deserve more and it looks like they are going to get them, good and hard.

    Even the McGovern crowd were better than this.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:24 pm

  152. Trump handed impeachment to her with that “perfect call” to Zelenskyy.

    And she stupidly took it, with not a whit of popular support.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:26 pm

  153. Maybe nato should do its duty now.

    asset (55a39d) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:32 pm

  154. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:24 pm

    I’ve been infuriated about this for months, Kevin.
    All this Remnant Republican can do is point out the insanity of it, the insanity of my party going along with this amoral bully and malignant narcissist.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 10:47 pm

  155. For the sake of Fair and Balanced, I was listening to Jonah’s podcast at The Dispatch today, and his Democrat sources are telling him that they’re freaked out about Biden, not just about what Hur said in his report, but about his botched press conference afterward where, instead of assuring the American people that he had sufficient marbles to be Leader of the Free World, he only exacerbated their concerns by mixing up Mexico and Egypt, and for sounding like an angry old man.

    There may be some serious behind-the-scenes efforts for a Plan B Democrat nominee, and these same Democrats who are freaked out about Biden are nearly as freaked out about Kamala being the top of the ticket. Bottom line, Democrats are f-cked, just as Americans are f-cked about the pathetic choices available. God help us.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 11:00 pm

  156. Maybe Trump did go to Ground Zero on 7/11, but he sure as hell wasn’t there on 9/11.
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/09/11/what-was-trump-actually-doing-an-anniversary-fact-check/
    https://twitter.com/Roshan_Rinaldi/status/1756405818184904951
    On 9/11, Trump did say this…

    “40 Wall Street actually was the second-tallest building in downtown Manhattan, and it was actually, before the World Trade Center, was the tallest — and then, when they built the World Trade Center, it became known as the second tallest. And now it’s the tallest.”

    3,000 dead Americans on that day, and Trump was boasting about his building being the tallest. This is my party’s frontrunner, for the 3rd election cycle in a row, and it gets more and more repulsive with each passing cycle. I’ll say it again, God help us.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/10/2024 @ 11:06 pm

  157. David Frum nails it:

    Trump’s on Russia’s side. We resist that claim precisely because there’s too much evidence for it. We expect concealment of a guilty secret, not repeated and noisy public proclamations.

    By the way, you could replace that first sentence with any of a dozen other disqualifying examples of Trump’s depravity, and the remaining commentary would be equally accurate.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 2/11/2024 @ 3:46 am

  158. Sir Loin of Bonespur knows his neo-Nazis. And so does Putin (know Trump’s neo-Nazis) as shown by the Hitler apologia he fed to Tuckyo for dissemination. [No, Donnie, that’s not what “dissemination” means.]

    But I’ve been wondering how that will play with Russians who grew up with The Great Patriotic War as the centerpiece of their collective consciousness.

    nk (178446) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:36 am

  159. “The leader of one of America’s two major political parties has just signaled to the Kremlin that if elected, he would not only refuse to defend Europe, but he would gladly support Vladimir Putin during World War III and even encourage him to do as he pleases to America’s allies.”

    This shows the gross dysfunction gripping the GOP and its right-leaning media. How is this acceptable? How would this not trigger an immediate withdrawal of endorsements….and frankly…stark condemnation?

    It’s one thing for Tucker Carlson to fluff Putin for money and to troll for nationalist clicks, but it’s another for the GOP…through its presumptive nominee…to signal alliance with a brutal regime that strives to knock us off the international stage. A regime that scoffs at our freedoms and institutions and has zero value for life. Why is it hard to see that being pro-life means being anti-Putin?

    I keep getting reassured here that Trump will be checked or that he’s just trolling for attention. But why should we risk the stability of the world on the hope that maybe he’s exaggerating or that maybe he might listen to someone more sober or that maybe impeachment might stop him at the last moment? Maybe maybe maybe.

    Good Americans should courageously stand up and say “no” to any more of this foolishness. Stop him now before we get to the convention and have to watch Trump get convicted of criminal felonies. No GOP politician should be on the sideline. No right-leaning commentator or pundit should rationalize the inexcusible. It’s no time to worry about Haley and flags or secession. Will you fight for your country or will you troll? It really is a defining character moment for many of us….

    AJ_Liberty (7240d6) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:38 am

  160. Why is it hard to see that being pro-life means being anti-Putin?

    Because some viewers are willing to distinguish a sin from a sinner. Just as some doctors are willing to distinguish a human from a clump of cells.

    felipe (5e2a04) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:52 am

  161. The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. — Proverbs, 16:4

    But most people spread the manure for the roses in the garden; they don’t put it in the vase for the one on the piano. There are degrees of discrimination.

    I will not be too militant about people’s personal reasons for supporting Trump, since mine have been personal from the moment he came into my attention: He makes my skin crawl like the sight of a cobra with leprosy. On the other hand, I will not accede to their rationales either.

    nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:26 am

  162. But why should we risk the stability of the world

    But the stability of the world is always being risked; how is Biden doing? Has the world ended for the U.S.?

    Let me go off on a tangent. For more than fifty years I’ve spoken with many would-be entrepreneurs who possessed good ideas, worthy of patronage and encouragement, who, nonetheless, took themselves out of pursuing the development of their product/service simply because of the idea risk. “Let’s find out!” terrifies them.

    ————-

    I am a diabetic. My loved ones finally convinced me to use an artificial sweetener in my coffee in addition to all the other dietary changes already implemented. Sometime later, my ears began to ring awfully. “So this is tinnitus!” I stopped using artificial sweetener and the ringing went away. My doctor and I had yet another talk about causation and causality after which he tolerated my return to sugar in my coffee.

    ———–

    Every politician is a poison. Poisons can be safe and effective medicines when used in proper dosage and duration in their deployment.

    With the world as our patient, war as the disease, the POTUS as treatment, Admin as medical team, Government as hospital, and media as FDA; let’s look at the past and present charts of the patient.

    Use of poisonous substance “Trump”: Patient stable with observed side effects of nausea, headaches, and irritation. War in remission. Family Requests changing medication due to prominent FDA “black box” warning on indications label.

    Change in medication to “Biden”: War has erupted in multiple locations, but nausea, headaches, and irritation relieved. Family fighting about continued use of Biden over return of War, but hesitant to abandon current medication due to FDA “safe and effective” description on indications label.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:45 am

  163. nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:26 am

    This wisdom is undeniable.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:46 am

  164. A New York politician who attacks the US military and military families, who sides with our enemies, and who is hostile to Southern women is somehow leading in South Carolina.

    Bizarro World.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:02 am

  165. Bottom line, Democrats are f-cked, just as Americans are f-cked about the pathetic choices available. God help us.

    A dual departure would be good for the country. Perhaps Congress could pass a bipartisan cognitive function requirement, designed so that they both fail.

    #wishcasting

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:06 am

  166. ” I’ve heard of that cuss — he shore was th’ limit. What become of him?” asked [Hopalong].

    ” He ambled up to Laramie an’ stuck his head in th’ window of that joint by th’ plaza an’ hollered * Fire,’ an’ they did. He was shore a good feller, all th’ same,” answered the bartender.

    One of the revisionists of the Stalin era was Clarence E. Mulford, the creator of Hopalong Cassidy.

    His original Hopalong Cassidy resembled the Gorch brothers from The Wild Bunch more than he resembled the character played by William Boyd on the silver screen. A lot more.

    But with the success of the movies in the mid-30s, Mulford rewrote and republished his books, all the way back to 1907, to make Hopalong more Boyd-like and family-friendly.

    nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:06 am

  167. The whole point is that Trump isn’t the worth the risk, felipe. He already tried to undermine our democracy once.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:08 am

  168. But most people spread the manure for the roses in the garden; they don’t put it in the vase for the one on the piano. There are degrees of discrimination.

    Begging your indulgence, nk; I would use “appreciation” in place of discrimination as a contrast between our minds. Indeed, the gardeners enjoy the fragrance and appearance of the flowers in the garden because of their understanding of the need for manure – the dichotomy affording them valuable insights into the economy of creation; while those who experience the final product, being spared the labor, smell and thorns, enjoy the florist’s nihil obstat. A most unfair trade, thank you for asking me.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:10 am

  169. The whole point is that Trump isn’t the worth the risk, felipe. He already tried to undermine our democracy once.

    That is, increasingly, not the problem.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:23 am

  170. “But the stability of the world is always being risked; how is Biden doing?”

    Trump is telling you that he will side with Putin. You say that you don’t believe him. We should only believe that Trump would have deterred Putin, though obviously there is no way to test that. It’s as plausible to suggest that Putin waited to invade Ukraine because Trump was gnawing internally at NATO which, if Trump was re-elected and pushed to pull us out of NATO, would have been a far more significant victory for Putin. Putin’s only play at this point is to wait out the West…and hope that Trump and the isolationist GOP will bail him out.

    Are those closest to Trump lying when they say Trump was pushing to pull us out of NATO? John Bolton, Jim Mattis, Adm James Stavridis, John Kelly, Rex Tillerson, Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and even Mike Pence. These are people who worked with Trump on a day to day basis. These are Republicans who served in a Republican administration and helped execute foreign policy. As critics of Trump, it is inconceivable that any of these professionals will return to work with Trump. So, are they all wrong?

    Also, let’s not pretend that Hamas attacked Israel because Biden was in office and not Trump. What sense does that even make? Gaza is being systematically destroyed because that was the inevitable result of Oct 7th. This is generational hatred that erupts that must be managed by smart international diplomacy. Trump’s initial reaction was to weirdly praise Hezbollah….as was his reaction to praise Putin’s invasion.

    There’s something wrong with Trump that causes him to admire evil. Someone with a broken moral compass has no business leading the free world. Biden may be doddering, but he at least calls out Putin’s, Xi’s, Hamas’, and the Mullah’s evil. I’m not sure that Trump knows what he’s doing….and he’s alienating more and more good people from working with him. This should concern you.

    AJ_Liberty (7240d6) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:26 am

  171. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:08 am

    I understand that, Paul. I don’t see Trump as a risk, but a cost. Knowing the cost inures me to the fear of risk. Please do not take what I am about to say as an insult because it is simply about justification of a mindset, not a valuation of self worth.

    A menu reads “Market price”

    I ask “how much is it?”

    The response is: “If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.”

    We’ve “bought” Trump once already. We got what we paid for. Was it worth it? I say, yes – I said “no” in 2016 precisely because I feared the risk of not knowing the cost, but the rest of people at the table overruled me and ordered the “Trump.”

    In 2020 I ordered the “Trump” knowing, now, the cost but was again, overruled by the people at my table because the menu still said “market price.”

    I am not afraid of “market price” because I’ve seen the bill, and so have you. But good news, you and I are not alone at the table. There’s no need for us to be mad at one another.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:31 am

  172. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:23 am

    I completely agree with you, Kevin M. Fro me, the problem is that we’ve had two different chefs (T and B) and the food keeps getting worse. One is unhygienic, and the other has forgotten how to cook. No one can leave the restaurant. Isn’t there a Netflix thing about this scenario?

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:36 am

  173. Trump is telling you that he will side with Putin

    You lost me as soon as you focused on Trump instead of Biden. Answer the question first, then expand your thought to form a rebuttal.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:39 am

  174. You say that you don’t believe him

    No. You say you don’t believe him, then you pretend that I said it. I think no such thing which is why I do not say it. You are arguing in bad faith. I won’t put up with it.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:41 am

  175. Three of our last five presidents, Clinton, Obama, and Trump, did significant damage to their own parties. Especially by driving out talented people, who are less common than we should wish.

    It takes a rare set of skills to run for office — and to govern successfully.

    We are worse off when men like Mike Gallagher decide to leave office.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Gallagher_(American_politician)

    Jim Miller (3fa83a) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:43 am

  176. felipe – I did a brief search and couldn’t find the answer to this question. Perhaps you can answer it.

    An “expert” of some sort on TV was describing a nation-wide study of “trans” people. I put him on mute, so I could study his background, and saw a sign saying he was one of “Gomillas de Cuba”.

    Do you know what that means?

    Jim Miller (3fa83a) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:47 am

  177. Our struggle is not with persons, but with Principalities, Dominions, and Powers…etc.

    This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. I’m being beckoned to prepare myself before going to worship my Creator. I seek to make peace with you before I dare approach He Who is the Life and the Truth and the Way.

    Peace be with you.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:51 am

  178. The thing is, felipe, unless you have a DeLorean with a flux capacitor, you don’t know the cost, and you won’t know the cost until after he’s elected and after his time is up. Which is why it’s a risk right now, especially because his mental state is also on a downward slope.

    What we do have is a track record, and his track record shows that he tried to undermine our democracy when he didn’t get his way. To you, that wasn’t enough. To me, it was more than.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:53 am

  179. I caught your comment just as I was about to leave, Jim. I do not know the answer either.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:55 am

  180. Biden’s administration rallied the world (Minus China and Iran) against Putin. What was anticipated to be a quick annexation of Ukraine by Russia has turned into a 1.5yr stalemate. Without our tactical support and advanced munitions, Ukraine would have been overwhelmed….with the civilian tragedy multiplied. Biden’s administration continues to lead the push for continued support while the GOP tries to use doing-the-right-thing as political leverage.

    Biden also was quick and decisive in his support of Israel. His early speech left no doubt where his administration stood. How this ends is a much more difficult question that critics really have no clear answer for. Having concerns about genocide and civilian deaths is not exactly an odd criticism. Not every war has a tidy resolution, especially those based on generational hatred….but we don’t side with evil because it’s convenient.

    “You lost me as soon as you focused on Trump instead of Biden.”

    The problem is not my focus.

    AJ_Liberty (7240d6) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:02 am

  181. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:53 am

    Dog gone it! Paul, it is because I have such esteem for you that I suffer blows to my head from those who would herd me into their cattle car.

    Yes, it is quite a thing. That you are more concerned about allegations, charges and trials, than convictions, sentences, and incarcerations. If you are anxious about how you will vote, then you have my respect and I condole with you in your struggle. I would have you in as peaceful frame of mind as I enjoy since I have settled on voting for whomever is the R candidate. There will always be a cost.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:04 am

  182. That you are more concerned about allegations, charges and trials, than convictions, sentences, and incarcerations. If you are anxious about how you will vote, then you have my respect and I condole with you in your struggle.

    As they say, felipe, mindreading is an intellectually lazy and dishonest practice, and it’s not about my feelings, whatever you divine them to be.

    To be clear, I am primarily concerned about Trump’s behavior, primarily his behavior of attempting to undermine our democracy so that he could stay in power. Obviously to you, that was not a dealbreaker, and I won’t ask you again what would be a dealbreaker for you because I don’t want to hear another lecture about how complex your thought process is, and how I lack the tact and mental horsepower to comprehend your brilliance.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:11 am

  183. I completely agree with you, Kevin M.

    You may misunderstand me. The problem WITH TRUMP is not that he tried to pervert our elections. He did, of course, but what he is saying and doing right now by siding with our enemies and attacking our allies is far, far worse. It’s the difference between a would-be dictator and a CRAZY would-be dictator.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:16 am

  184. An “expert” of some sort on TV was describing a nation-wide study of “trans” people. I put him on mute, so I could study his background, and saw a sign saying he was one of “Gomillas de Cuba”.

    Do you know what that means?

    Small piece of rubber or gum. Chiclet? Eraser on pencil? Rubber band?

    nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:17 am

  185. You lost me as soon as you focused on Trump instead of Biden.

    You lost me when you brought Biden into the discussion.

    Biden is just fading. He will have handlers and he is not, at his core, a venal self-obsessed narcissist who puts himself before people, country and God. I’ll take “muddling through” over chaos and destruction any day.

    Biden is no angel, but Trump is literally Satan.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:20 am

  186. Trump is despicable for asking where Nikki’s husband is.

    The Haleys got the better of that exchange.

    norcal (e3ba40) — 2/10/2024 @ 8:33 pm

    I agree; the “Ouch” was directed at Trump. Some here misinterpreted it.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:23 am

  187. #179 and #184 Thanks for the effort, felipe and nk.

    Jim Miller (3fa83a) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:59 am

  188. Trump takes credit for Taylor Swift

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 11:02 am

  189. Classic Trump, Rip.
    The Music Modernization Act was passed in both houses without a single nay vote, so Trump’s signature is exactly veto-proof and superfluous and irrelevant.

    Also classic is Trump’s inference that Ms. Swift would not have “made so much money” if not for his superfluous and irrelevant signature. It’s like him saying [insert Republican here] wouldn’t have been elected if he/she didn’t have his blessing.

    I guess I’m rooting for the Chiefs now.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 11:28 am

  190. Haley did not offer a theory of what Trump meant when he said, “He knew.” /i>

    Probably Trump means he knew she would lose, or else he would have taken steps to make sure he was near her at her victory celebrations.

    And maybe also he was deliberately overseas because they
    thought it would help her in her campaign.

    Of course we could ask the question of Trump: Where is Melania? WHere is Jared and Ivanka? I think that has a different reason than what Trump supposes was the reason Michael Haley stayed away.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/11/2024 @ 11:54 am

  191. I don’t recall Haley or her campaign going after “where’s Melania”….my impression is that it’s more a liberal media thing. It’s also flummoxing why Trump feels he needs to do it to Haley, when polling has him so far in front and he can breeze into Super Tuesday. No disciplined campaign would encourage him to do it, especially since her husband is serving in the South Carolina National Guard. This is Trump punching down as usual, probably not being happy with an uppity woman who refuses to just submit…and take the humiliation like Tim “you must hate her” Scott.

    One can argue that politics is dirty, but this is pathological, without a whiff of strategy or sense. So far little pushback publicly from his supporters and endorsers. Submit b*tches. Rubio was just “tired” of having to respond about everything Trump says. Poor guy. It’s almost like maybe he should have voted for impeachment conviction. He’s dead to me as a national candidate. If he can’t say this is wrong and that he should stop it, he has no balls.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:08 pm

  192. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:11 am

    You know the deal breaker for me is when Trump supports abortion. When trump blamed the GOP losses on support for prolife concerns I was ready to drop him for it, but he was not advocating for abortion, but was advising moderation.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:12 pm

  193. AJ_Liberty (7240d6) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:02 am

    Yes, what you say is true. Biden and his admin deserve the credit for those positive accomplishments.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:15 pm

  194. Senator _______, do you stand by your endorsement of former president Trump, now that he says he’d help Putin defeat NATO? Is there anything he might do or say that would get you to reconsider?

    This is the “shooting on 5th Avenue” moment.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:18 pm

  195. I could also ask some here who have been saying this was about not supporting the Democrats, not about Trump. Is there anything left that makes Trump look like the better deal?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:19 pm

  196. To be clear, I am primarily concerned about Trump’s behavior, primarily his behavior of attempting to undermine our democracy so that he could stay in power.

    I wasn’t mindreading, Paul. I was mischaracterizing your concern for Trump’s behavior as your concern for his legal woes- which is not to say that you oppose or support them. I thank you for correcting me and I choose to ignore the manner of your correction.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:20 pm

  197. Ukraine-Israel Aid Bill Clears Critical Hurdle in the Senate
    ………….
    The vote was 67-27 to move forward on the package, which would dedicate $60.1 billion to helping Kyiv in its war against Russian aggression, send $14.1 billion to Israel for its war against Hamas and fund almost $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in conflict zones, while addressing threats to the Indo-Pacific region. In a rare Sunday session, 18 Republicans joined Democrats to advance the measure, which leaders hope the Senate will approve as early as Tuesday.
    …………
    The bipartisan endorsement in the Senate came over the bitter opposition of right-wing Republicans who have railed against the measure, contending that the United States should not be continuing to send tens of billions of dollars to bolster Ukraine’s security, particularly without first doing more to secure its own border with Mexico against an influx of migration. They have continued to make the argument even after voting last week to kill a version of the aid bill that included a border crackdown, saying it did not go far enough.
    …………..
    Mr. Trump has stoked the resistance, urging Republican lawmakers to reject the bipartisan border plan, and egging on House G.O.P. leaders, who promised that it would be dead on arrival in their chamber. Mr. Trump has also made no secret of his opposition to funding Ukraine’s military campaign to push back a Russian invasion, a stance that he underscored during a campaign rally on Saturday by suggesting that, if re-elected, he would not defend U.S. allies against threats from Moscow.

    ………..Of Russia, he added: “I would encourage them to do whatever the he!l they want.”
    …………
    Sunday’s action amounted to a repudiation of Mr. Trump’s stance by Democrats and a determined bloc of Republicans, led by Mr. McConnell, who have maintained that it is imperative that the United States continue to come to Ukraine’s aid militarily to send a signal to the rest of the world’s dictators.
    ………….
    The bipartisan coalition that has carried the bill thus far will have to stick together for a few more votes before the Senate votes on approving the foreign assistance package and sending it to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is facing threats from the right to try to oust him if he puts a Ukraine aid bill on the floor.
    ………….
    …………. Aides were making plans over the weekend to ensure that senators would be able to watch the Super Bowl, carting extra televisions into the Capitol and ordering pizza, in case they were called to continue voting throughout the evening.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:20 pm

  198. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:16 am

    Oh, I didn’t misunderstand you, Kevin M. You’ve made that case before. I agreed that there are graver matters at hand which are different for us both.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:23 pm

  199. nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:17 am
    Those are good educated guesses, nk. I’ve still no idea.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:25 pm

  200. Biden is just fading.- Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:20 am

    I know. It’s awful. I don’t know if claims of elder abuse should be ignored.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:27 pm

  201. Jim Miller (3fa83a) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:59 am

    You are welcome. I’m really quite useless at times.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:29 pm

  202. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:19 pm

    I believe it was our esteemed host, Patterico, who introduced me to Thomas Sowell, who said “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”

    So, “is Trump a good trad-off for you?” is the question where every answer is correct.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:36 pm

  203. nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:06 am

    That was a much needed remedial lesson in literature, for me, nk. Thank you.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:01 pm

  204. Another Republican House retirement:

    U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, announced Thursday she will not seek reelection this fall, joining a wave of retirements in a House of Representatives whose dysfunction has been on full public display this week.

    In giving up on nearly two decades of seniority — and a powerful committee chair position — at just 54 years old, McMorris Rodgers’ decision was taken by some Washington Republican political observers as a clear sign that remaining in the fractious GOP House majority was just not worth it any more.
    …………
    McMorris Rodgers’ choice to step aside comes at a high point in her seniority and power in the House of Representatives, as she chairs the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, where she has been a vocal critic of Biden administration policies and of plans to potentially tear down four Lower Snake River dams.

    She had socked away more than $1.6 million for her reelection campaign and faced no big-name challengers in the solidly Republican 5th Congressional District, where she was reelected in 2022 with nearly 60% of the vote.

    In that context, her decision was seen by some observers locally and nationally as a further sign of just how unappealing the House has become for politicians who want to get things done.
    ………….

    That makes 19 Republicans (vice 23 Democrats) that have announced their retirements so far. An additional 3 have resigned/expelled but have not been replaced: Bill Johnson (OH); George Santos (NY); and Kevin McCarthy (CA).

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:06 pm

  205. You know the deal breaker for me is when Trump supports abortion.

    No, I didn’t know that, felipe, because you refused to give a specific answer the last time I asked, but thanks for clarifying, and I’m glad you cleared up that other thing.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:06 pm

  206. Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:06 pm

    This is not exceptional:

    As of February 5, 2022, 41 U.S. House members had announced they were not running for re-election. Thirty-four members had announced at this point in the 2020 cycle, and 42 had announced at this point in the 2018 cycle.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:11 pm

  207. Mexican people and other latin hispanics call gummy candies gomillas or gomi’s. Doesn’t clear it up much unless gomillas de cuba is some sort of slang… if so I’d guess it is a negative like cuban mushmouth or cuban sweet talker but I could be wrong

    steveg (bf10b5) — 2/11/2024 @ 1:29 pm

  208. Well a gummy is manufactured for mass consumption. It could refer to the messenger as being a manufactured expert, or the message itself as a gummy made for consumption by the masses.

    A recognizable IP, say Whinny the Poo, is used as a symbol of an entity, say Disney, that collaborates with a state, say China, to remind the viewer of injustice to a people.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 2:25 pm

  209. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin taken to hospital again, for potential ’emergent bladder issue’

    Austin needs to be fired or impeached.

    Rip Murdock (1d4e91) — 2/11/2024 @ 3:09 pm

  210. Mr. Letterman is on a roll.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 3:14 pm

  211. Two Austin impeachment resolutions.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 3:18 pm

  212. Gen. Austin already had one urinary tract episode emerge a few weeks ago, so he is having recurring urinary tract problems after a prostate problem. So it isn’t “emergent” but I guess they want us to see it as two different episodes when clearly one is tied to the other. They are not fooling the Russians, the Chinese or the Iranians by parsing the language, so the target of the boca de gomillas must be us

    steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 3:59 pm

  213. If Biden fades all the way out during his next administration, his administration will do it’s level best to keep things on track. If Trump goes all the way crazy, his administration will let him do whatever he wants.

    Nic (896fdf) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:05 pm

  214. I’m thinking General Austin said nothing the first time because he either does not trust someone in Biden’s inner circle to make good decisions, or it is someone directly beneath him at the Pentagon. My guess is Austin doesn’t trust Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients because he could shuffle the people under him

    steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:08 pm

  215. The trouble with General Lloyd Austin is that he left himself in the hands of the Army doctors – thinking all doctors are the same. Dr Lederman could be right – as recommended, he opted for surgery for prostate cancer and that often causes problems the doctors do not warn of.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:27 pm

  216. First scoreless first quarter in 5 years, and then the 49rs broke arecord for longest successful field goal in Super Bowl history (55 yards, earlier record was 54 yards) right at the start of the second quarter and they cut to a commercial.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:30 pm

  217. Austin is 70 years old. At that age, even a minor infection can manifest as mental status changes, when it would be a slight fever in a young person.

    nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:47 pm

  218. A dear friend passed away two weeks ago. He died in his sleep next to the woman he loved, sparing her a giant hospital bill and any memory of suffering. He was a life-long 49ers fan and would have loved tonight’s game.

    I am watching the game to honor his memory and to console his widow as are all who loved them. If a football game brings back the memory of a loved one, then the Superbowl may be an occasion of great consolation in which all fans may share.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:04 pm

  219. Update:

    Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin taken to hospital again, transfers duties to deputy

    Fire or impeach Lloyd Austin now.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:08 pm

  220. steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:08 pm

    nk (c65cb5) — 2/11/2024 @ 4:47 pm

    Do either of you think Austin should have either resigned or been dismissed based on the fact he covered up his hospitalization, even from the president, in late December and early January? Would you support his impeachment?

    Austin is a disgrace.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:16 pm

  221. It’s been a defensive contest so far.
    Either team can explode offensively at any time. Should be a good 2nd half.

    Commercialwise, the Jesus ones were good, and so was Aubrey Plaza and Mountain Dew. I also laughed out loud at the Despicable Me 4 trailer.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:22 pm

  222. No, I don’t think that Austin should either be fired or impeached for covering up his hospitalization.

    But, then, I never thought that he was appointed for any other reason than the “first black Secretary of Defense”.

    The media is mad at him for not giving them content, but that colors my opinion in his favor.

    nk (eed648) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:37 pm

  223. Trump excoriated NATO allies for underfunding their own defense and trying to continue to push the potential consequences of their penurious defense spending onto the US taxpayer. Why should we borrow money from China because they are not living up to agreed upon levels of funding? was a question that rings true even if it was Trump that brought it up. If Trump was pro-Russia vs. NATO he’d have let that sleeping dog lie.
    I think Trump is crudely returning to his former leverage with stingy NATO members who were and are not able to defend each other, much less resist for the length of time the US needs to mobilize. The US would be faced with a nuclear decision quite quickly because the conventional war would be lost before the US could mobilize and Trump would be faced with either nuclear war or to let Russia keep territory.
    The German/French strategy seems to be “hopefully the Poles can hold on long enough for the US to mobilize” and they are not going to fight for the Baltic states regardless to the NATO agreements. The European states and US are not powerful enough to keep the Baltic States from falling quickly. The Poles would carry that load on the ground and would then be vulnerable via Belarus. The Germans and French would love to stay at home and let the US troops in Germany go fight rather than pushing their own into battle.
    Ideally, initially the Poles would back the Baltics, the Germans/French would move up to protect Poland’s Belarus flank and assist the Poles in the Baltics, while the US assists and mobilizes but the Germans and French are not capable of and lack interest in that. They want US servicemen and women to go do the dying, to shed the blood it for them. They don’t even want to help us pay the financial costs let alone the blood costs. As usual Trump is saying it wrong, but he’s not wrong about the reality of European (excepting Poland/UK) attitude towards shedding their own blood or even spending their own money to be secure

    steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 5:55 pm

  224. I think that Austin thought it was best for the US if his procedure was done in total secrecy and think it wasn’t for personal selfish reasons, but because he does not trust the people surrounding our mentally diminished President.

    If it can be proven that he was simply being selfish, then he should resign or be removed

    steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:00 pm

  225. The Reese’s ad was good, too.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:10 pm

  226. @223, ???????!

    AJ_Liberty (f99d4b) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:22 pm

  227. The Man In The High Penthouse.

    nk (eed648) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:28 pm

  228. Ben Hur challenged Biden’s mental competence, and Trump was not going to let himself be outdone even there. “Hold my Coke”, he said.

    nk (eed648) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:33 pm

  229. I’m bending over backwards for Austin because his own explanation is that he was being selfish

    steveg (6d4223) — 2/11/2024 @ 6:41 pm

  230. Overtime!

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  231. Kansas City Swifties win 25-22

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/11/2024 @ 7:48 pm

  232. Mahomes knows how to win.

    Austin was embarrassed and thought he could avoid an extended hospital stay. It’s not like he will make the same mistake again and it does not appear that the mistake caused an operational miscue. The President likely trusts his guidance on how to address Ukraine, the Red Sea, Iran/Iraq, Israel, and Yemen…and doesn’t want to change horses in the middle of a fight.

    Not being able to pee has got to suck. It’s my understanding that the whole prostrate cancer treatment approach eventually creates problems. It’s weird that they happened so quickly with Austin…and I’m sure it’s great for him to see it discussed across the internet and weaponized politically. There goes keeping it mum. I anticipate a leave of absence coming soon. I suspect that he’s not indispensible but managing a tinderbox is what these guys live for.

    I’m not sure what Austin’s role was in gaffing up Afghanistan. Someone should have been fired for mucking up the exit and leaving civilians behind. Losing so much equipment to the enemy was also embarrassing and poorly planned. There should have been more accountability.

    AJ_Liberty (f99d4b) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:10 pm

  233. Anti-Semite Alicia Keys paraglides into the halftime show.

    lloyd (c17077) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:13 pm

  234. Afghanistan was Austin’s fault. Top secret docs in Biden’s garage is his staff’s fault. The border mess is Republicans’ fault. Inflation is the free market’s fault. Gas prices are Big Oil’s fault. Putin invading Ukraine is Trump’s fault. Biden impersonating a celery stalk is Hur’s fault. Isn’t it great Biden isn’t a narcissist like Trump?

    lloyd (c17077) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:31 pm

  235. @202

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:19 pm

    I believe it was our esteemed host, Patterico, who introduced me to Thomas Sowell, who said “There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”

    So, “is Trump a good trad-off for you?” is the question where every answer is correct.

    felipe (5045ed) — 2/11/2024 @ 12:36 pm

    As opposed to a 2nd Biden term?

    Yeah, I think it’d be good.

    Not by much though.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:46 pm

  236. oooooof Fani… ooooooof.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/us/trump-co-defendant-willis-georgia-relationship.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

    …
    The defense lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, said that a witness she hoped to put on the stand could testify that the romantic relationship between Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and the special prosecutor managing the Trump case, Nathan J. Wade, had begun before Ms. Willis hired Mr. Wade.

    That would contradict Mr. Wade, who said in a recent affidavit that his relationship with Ms. Willis had not begun until 2022, after his hiring. The affidavit was attached to a court filing made by Ms. Willis.

    Ms. Merchant identified the witness as Terrence Bradley, a lawyer who once worked in Mr. Wade’s law firm and for a time served as Mr. Wade’s divorce lawyer. “Bradley has non-privileged, personal knowledge that the romantic relationship between Wade and Willis began prior to Willis being sworn as the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia in 2021,” Ms. Merchant’s filing, which came late Friday afternoon, states.
    …

    Here’s the court doc by Merchant:
    https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24401519-willis-wade-response

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:57 pm

  237. @164 If sc gop voters were neo-con conservative free traders you would have a point ;but they are ignorant southern white trash former democrats.

    asset (328689) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:59 pm

  238. I copied the wrong filling. I snagged this one from Turley’s blog:
    https://jonathanturley.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/final-roman-reply-briefdisqualification-motionw-exs-a-c.pdf

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/11/2024 @ 8:59 pm

  239. @194 As long as trumpsters don’t primary me I am good. Now I am off to cancun!

    asset (328689) — 2/11/2024 @ 9:06 pm

  240. I prefer uncle thomas sole Uncle tommin for white conservates been berry berry good to me! $$$

    asset (328689) — 2/11/2024 @ 9:09 pm

  241. Why should we borrow money from China because they are not living up to agreed upon levels of funding?

    We borrow money from China to send out kids to school. The real question is why we borrow money.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/11/2024 @ 9:44 pm

  242. I prefer uncle thomas sole Uncle tommin for white conservates been berry berry good to me! $$$

    Ladies and gentlemen, I present asset, once again with the progressive racism which these folks usually try to conceal but which seems to bubble up to the surface wherever Clarence Thomas or Thomas Sowell comes into play.

    JVW (e5fbbb) — 2/11/2024 @ 10:30 pm

  243. asset, I’ve generally been hugely tolerant of obnoxious comments here, but consider yourself officially warned that the next time you spew some racist nonsense will land you in moderation should I happen to see it.

    JVW (93c716) — 2/11/2024 @ 10:32 pm

  244. @241 Why? Because we wont tax the rich enough and that includes multi-national corporations.

    asset (328689) — 2/11/2024 @ 11:01 pm

  245. Conservatives are always accusing the left of not having a sense of humor ;but every time I use humor I get into trouble here.

    asset (328689) — 2/11/2024 @ 11:15 pm

  246. @245 Keep your day job. Calling someone Uncle Tom is racist. Why would you think it would be amusing to other readers here?

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:56 am

  247. Antagonistic pleiotropy. The genes that give us full muscular development and hair on our chests at 21 turn our grapes into raisins at 65.

    Unlike The Time Machine, genome editing, primitive though it still is, can take Methuselah’s Children out of the realm of science fiction.

    If the antagonistic pleiotropy theory is correct in the first place.

    nk (16af4b) — 2/12/2024 @ 6:12 am

  248. Unlike The Time Machine, genome editing, primitive though it still is, can take Methuselah’s Children out of the realm of science fiction.

    Sure, but nearly everyone here is going to miss the cut.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:55 am

  249. OTOH, if all that money spent on Medicare makes you angry at your young age, consider it money spent on YOUR longevity, with all those oldsters as guinea pigs.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:56 am

  250. Happy Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, everyone!

    (From time to time, I dip into Sandburg’s biography of Lincoln and almost always find something of interest. For instance, early in his first term, an office seeker came to see Lincoln, and told Lincoln that he had put Lincoln in office and so he deserved a job.

    Lincoln pointed at the pile of papers on his desk and said: “And look what a pretty mess you got me into!” (I think I got that quote right, from memory.)

    Jim Miller (a64eef) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:09 am

  251. Given the way that Donald Trump has the entire GOP establishment fellating him, it’s unlikely that even a loss in November will fix things. It won’t be until he is no longer able to help of hurt a candidate they they will be able to wean themselves from him. And even then, he may have been replaced by people like Vivek.

    I see no hope for the GOP. None. Oh, I’ll try for a bit longer, but as of now both major parties are toxic to my beliefs. It is not enough that the Republicans oppose the Democrats when the Republican platform, while very different, is also very bad.

    A xenophobic, statist, isolationist and anti-trade party that asserts moral control over daily life and rejects education and science is not better than the also-terrible, no-good, socialist, statist, anti-white, anti-trade, expert-worshiping, no-sparrow-may-fall Democrats Party.

    We need the GOP to split. Publicly. Disastrously. Totally.

    Burn it down.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:17 am

  252. This ain’t the party or Lincoln or Reagan any more. It’s the party of Donald Trump.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:18 am

  253. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:17 am

    I agree.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:21 am

  254. As I watched Marco Rubio on a Sunday talk show, he could not bring himself to condemn what Trump had implied about Haley’s husband or about what Trump said about Russia and Article 5 of NATO. He even came across as being miffed about being asked…essentially conceding that Trump could say just about anything and that it will not cost him his support or possibly not even a rebuke…because “it’s campaigning”. If you can’t at minimum say that you disagree with the Haley implication and with any support of Russia authoritarianism and will let candidate Trump know that, then you’ve lost your soul and balls. The problem is that he’s not alone. In fact, it’s most of them.

    If we can’t agree that maligning someone deployed in uniform is beneath contempt, then I’m not sure what’s left to be said. If we pick Putin over our allies and fellow democracies…even under the guise of some weird negotiating strategy…, then we’re siding with evil. We’ve lost the plot. Any cowards who can’t muster at least some criticism lose my down-ballot support. The party of Trump must lose decisively….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:55 am

  255. This is especially poor on Rubio’s part as it was Haley’s endorsement in 2016 that boosted his campaign. Haley had chosen him over her mentor (Jeb!), permanently estranging them. This is a particular betrayal on Rubio’s part and just goes to show the degree to which Trump is dominating what used to be called the Republican Party. Now, it’s the MAGA Cult.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 11:03 am

  256. Trump’s control is this: If you cross me, my minions will primary you, and fail to support you should you win the primary anyway. The only way to counter that is to play the same destructive game.

    A major realignment is coming, and it will tear the Democrats apart, too. All good.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 11:06 am

  257. A guy is imprisoned for his first time

    On his first night, a few minutes after lights-out, his cellmate moves closer to the cell-bars.

    A while later, someone from another cell shouts “Number 13!”. His cellmate and the entire block bursts into laughter. The new prisoner finds this strange.

    Shortly after they were done laughing, another inmate shouts “33!” and the entire block of inmates again started laughing.
    “27!” Shouted another inmate. More laughter followed. The new prisoner is now completely puzzled.

    “What’s going on? Why is everyone laughing at numbers?” He asks the cellmate.
    “Oh!” Replied the cellmate, still giggling. “Thing is, we’ve been in here for so long, we told the same jokes until we eventually knew them all, so we decided to give them numbers, so that instead of saying the entire joke, you just say the number and we know which one it is!”.

    Astonished, the new prisoner decides to see if that’s true. He goes over to the cell bars and shouts “Number 72!”.
    All the inmates explode into a massive laughter, and the entire block is roaring, to a point where his cellmate is now on the floor, rolling with laughter. The new prisoner is now dumbstruck and completely lost.

    “Which one is number 72?” He asks the cellmate.
    In between laughs, while trying to catch his breath, his cellmate replies “We’ve never heard that one before!”

    BuDuh (2e26d4) — 2/12/2024 @ 11:24 am

  258. The only good that comes from Trump’s comments on Michael Haley is that it exposes his own insecurity about insinuations relating to Melania’s absence. It must drive him nuts that his “arm candy” is AWOL for his trials and his campaign stops….and the media suggestions that she no longer supports him. Together with attacks on his net worth, this is how we see more of the real Trump.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/12/2024 @ 11:29 am

  259. xenophobic, statist, isolationist and anti-trade party that asserts moral control over daily life and rejects education and science is not better than the also-terrible, no-good, socialist, statist, anti-white, anti-trade, expert-worshiping, no-sparrow-may-fall Democrats Party.

    No different than the Rachel Maddow talking points and meant for the same rabid audience.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 11:49 am

  260. Rob,

    That you support this racist assh0le traitor is a bit of a stain on your character.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:00 pm

  261. And, since Ms Maddow does not have a problem with the “also-terrible, no-good, socialist, statist, anti-white, anti-trade, expert-worshiping, no-sparrow-may-fall Democrats Party” she’s just your flip side.

    It’s a pity you can’t both lose.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:01 pm

  262. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:55 am

    Sure, but nearly everyone here is going to miss the cut.

    More likely, is a virus that infects and alters DNA. The way sickle cell anemia can be cured.(at a tremendous cost, though because of patents, and with tremendous delay because of regulation)

    https://www.rbccm.com/en/insights/imagine/episode/sickle-cell-disease

    https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-gene-therapies-treat-patients-sickle-cell-disease

    …Additionally, one of these therapies, Casgevy, is the first FDA-approved treatment to utilize a type of novel genome editing technology, signaling an innovative advancement in the field of gene therapy….

    ….asgevy is the first FDA-approved therapy utilizing CRISPR/Cas9, a type of genome editing technology. Patients’ hematopoietic (blood) stem cells are modified by genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 technology.

    CRISPR/Cas9 can be directed to cut DNA in targeted areas, enabling the ability to accurately edit (remove, add, or replace) DNA where it was cut. The modified blood stem cells are transplanted back into the patient where they engraft (attach and multiply) within the bone marrow and increase the production of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a type of hemoglobin that facilitates oxygen delivery. In patients with sickle cell disease, increased levels of HbF prevent the sickling of red blood cells.

    This does not rely on a virus, and the editing is something causing the body to produce fetal hemoglobin which does not have these problems. It would be much cheaper if the federal government simply bought up the patent — and the company could still get subsidiary patents.

    Of course with aging, it’s not just a question of modifying (maybe mitochondrial) DNA. You have to know also what to modify it to

    We’re probably a long way from that.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:15 pm

  263. >A major realignment is coming, and it will tear the Democrats apart, too. All good.

    That’s not the future I see.

    What I see is this:

    * Trump wins with control of both houses of the legislature
    * Trump uses his control of the executive and the legislature and the courts to rig the system to keep himself in power, either directly or through minions, until his death (Putin style)
    * The Trumpist party tears itself apart when Trump is no longer there to direct it

    so a realignment comes in 20-30 years.

    aphrael (4c4719) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:33 pm

  264. In the meantime, there are a number of anti-aging drugs on the market. Although the number of years they add should be just a few,’

    One is the diabetes drug metformin (original brand name: Diabinese)

    https://fortune.com/well/2023/05/04/metformin-anti-aging-longevity-risks-side-effects

    The article, of course, was written to discourage that kind of off-label use. It’s been talked about for years.

    This probably works by controlling blood sugar, not by the bad explanation offered in the article above, and anything that controlled blood sugar the same way would also probably work.

    Another thing is taking a multi-vitamin. There is a study that deals with that.

    https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-01-18/daily-multivitamin-might-help-aging-brains

    The effect was measurable: A daily multivitamin slowed brain aging by the equivalent of two years compared to placebo….The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is a large-scale, randomized trial performed in collaboration by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Columbia University and Wake Forest University. It looked at whether a special cocoa extract supplement, a daily multivitamin (in this case Centrum Silver) or both might help boost health.

    The clinical trials were funded by the National Institutes of Health and candy and snack manufacturer Mars Inc. Pfizer donated both the multivitamins and placebo tables used in the trials. Neither company had any role in the design of the trials.

    Analysis of more than 5,000 participants in three separate, but related, COSMOS clinical trials found strong evidence of benefits for both brain function and memory from taking daily multivitamins for two to three years, researchers said.

    Over a 2-year period? That would reduce it to zero. Something is not clear here. Most likely the way things like this work, is not so much a specific effect as by slowing down aging or facilitating body repair.

    Of course, it’s probably only one, or a subset, of vitamins and maybe only if someone gets a suboptimal amount before (but optimal might be an amount few people get. Then there’s the fact that taking certain drugs, or eating certain foods, or getting an infection, or smoking could increase the need for some nutrients)

    Then there’s the well known idea of intermittent fasting. It used to be calorie restriction, and this was tried as far back as John D. Rockefeller I (1839-1937) after about the year 1900 (they first experimented on mice or rats)

    He was put on a calorie restriction diet by his doctors, and lived so long that at the 1936 Republican Convention he was the oldest delegate and some advertising agency had to cancel a plan to interview the oldest Republican on why he was a Republican!

    https://www.nytimes.com/1936/06/10/archives/rockefeller-sr-listed-as-oldest-republican.html

    The person who came up with the idea was Bruce Fairchild Barton (August 5, 1886 – July 5, 1967) who was there as the publicity adviser to the Republican National Committee.

    I don’t have the reference to the idea of an interview

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:45 pm

  265. Rob,

    That you support this racist assh0le traitor is a bit of a stain on your character.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:00 pm

    That you would rather push socialism than tolerate his distasteful personality is a stain on your own character.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:54 pm

  266. aphrael (4c4719) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    * Trump wins with control of both houses of the legislature

    No, The Republicans will lose control of the House and gain control of the Senate.

    * Trump uses his control of the executive and the legislature and the courts to rig the system to keep himself in power, either directly or through minions, until his death (Putin style)

    It would have to be like Putin with Medvedev. It could happen in this election if the Democrats somehow were to succeed in disqualifying Trump. (Unless they could also disqualify his vice president. Then Hakeem Jeffries could become Acting President, but be removable by a vote of the House to replace the Speaker. While in the midst of the process of electing the Speaker, Charles Grassley would be Acting president.)

    * The Trumpist party tears itself apart when Trump is no longer there to direct it

    Or chooses people.

    so a realignment comes in 20-30 years.

    Trump’s too dumb to select the right longevity treatment

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:54 pm

  267. aphrael (4c4719) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    Is your party going to give up their virulent racism and accept a color-blind society?

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 12:55 pm

  268. https://nypost.com/2024/02/12/news/genessee-ivonne-moreno-namde-as-mega-church-shooter/

    The woman who opened fire at Joel Osteen’s packed Houston-area mega-church on Sunday, identified by authorities as Genesse Ivonne Moreno, 36, previously penned antisemitic writings, had a recorded history of mental health issues and used a weapon with a “Palestine” sticker in the brazen attack, officials said Monday.

    Moreno entered Lakewood Church just before a Spanish-language service was due to begin at 2 p.m. with a 7-year-old boy, and opened fire as hundreds of people were taking their pews.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 1:03 pm

  269. There was what really could be called an insurrection by an outgoing president in Brazil:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/world/americas/brazil-police-raid-bolsonaro-attempted-coup-investigation.html

    Bolsonaro and Allies Planned a Coup, Brazil Police Say

    Brazilian federal police raided former government officials and ordered the former president to hand in his passport over accusations that they tried to overturn the 2022 election.

    Former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil oversaw a broad conspiracy to hold on to power regardless of the results of the 2022 election, including personally editing a proposed order to arrest a Supreme Court justice, according to accusations unveiled on Thursday by the Brazilian federal police.

    Mr. Bolsonaro and dozens of top aides, ministers and military leaders worked together to undermine the Brazilian public’s faith in the election and set the stage for a potential coup, the federal police said.

    Now look what he did that Trump didn’t do:

    Their efforts included spreading disinformation about voter fraud, drafting legal arguments for new elections, recruiting military personnel to support a coup, surveilling judges and encouraging and guiding protesters who eventually raided government buildings, police said.

    Spreading disinformation about voter fraud, check.

    Drafting legal arguments check

    Recruiting military personnel to support a coup No.

    Surveilling judges (that was in preparation for a possible arrest)

    Encouraging and guiding protesters who eventually raided government buildings. Trump encouraged protesters, but he didn’t guide them.

    Proof: Despite the fact that numerous people have been charged with conspiracy to enter ONE government building (not many as in Brazil, and there after it was too late, so it had a different purpose- despite that fact and the fact that Trump has been indicted he was not charged even as unindicted co-conspirator in any of the conspiracies involving entry into government buildings, AND he wanted to go himself to the Capitol which is impossible to conceive if he expected the storming of the Capitol to happen PLUS it interfered with his plans for the day and upended them somewhat.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 1:09 pm

  270. And in Pakistan: (I have a hard time figuring out the sides here except that they are all bad in some way)

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/10/world/asia/pakistan-election-imran-kahn.html

    Mr. Khan, a former cricket star turned populist politician, was sentenced to a total of 34 years in prison after being convicted in four separate cases on charges that included leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage, and that he has called politically motivated.

    Three of those verdicts were issued just days before the vote — an old tactic used by the military, analysts say. But early estimates show that around 48 percent of the voters turned out for the election, according to the Free and Fair Election Network, an organization of civil society groups. Voter turnout in the country’s past two elections was about 50 percent, the organization said.

    The results were “both an anti-establishment vote and also a vote against the status quo, against the two other major political parties that have been ruling the country and their dynastic politics,” Zahid Hussain, an analyst based in Islamabad, said, referring to the military as the establishment.

    His poarty openly used AI generated speech

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/11/world/asia/imran-khan-artificial-intelligence-pakistan.html

    See also:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/11/world/asia/pakistan-imran-khan-social-media-elections.html

    And when Mr. Khan ended up behind bars, his supporters produced speeches using artificial intelligence to simulate his voice.

    Mr. Khan’s message resonated with millions across the country who were frustrated by the country’s economic crisis and old political dynasties: Pakistan has been on a steep decline for decades, he explained, and only he could restore its former greatness.

    The success of candidates aligned with Mr. Khan’s party in last week’s election — snagging more seats than any other in Parliament — was a stunning upset in Pakistani politics. Since Mr. Khan fell out with the country’s generals and was ousted by Parliament in 2022, his supporters had faced a military-led crackdown that experts said was designed to sideline the former prime minister….

    ….While Mr. Khan initially rose to political prominence with the military’s help, after his ouster he capitalized on young people’s yearning for change to strengthen his political base independent of the generals. His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or P.T.I., produced political campaigns on social media — outside the reach of state censorship — that young people say stirred a political awakening for their generation.

    In viral videos, Mr. Khan railed against the country’s generals, whom he blamed for his ouster in 2022. He described how the military operated like a “deep state” governing politics from behind the scenes, and claimed that the United States had colluded with Pakistani officials on his removal from power. He described himself as a reformer who would bring change.

    I don’t who is sponsoring Imran Khan now.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 1:20 pm

  271. https://www.ajc.com/politics/judge-okays-hearing-to-examine-relationship-of-trump-prosecutors/HQVE7IBIKBEP5KYP3EDQ74J7PM/

    Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Monday cleared the way for an evidentiary hearing later in the week that will probe whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis improperly benefitted from her relationship with the top prosecutors in her election interference case.

    McAfee turned back a request from the Fulton DA’s office to cancel the hearing and to kill subpoenas seeking testimony from Willis and eight others in her office, including special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
    …
    “Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” McAfee said.

    The judge said he would allow Roman’s attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, to question Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner who had represented him in his divorce case. Merchant believes that Bradley can speak to when Willis and Wade’s relationship began.
    …
    McAfee said he would defer a decision on whether to honor or quash the subpoenas for the DA and other witnesses until after Bradley testifies. It is generally rare for prosecutors to be forced to answer questions under oath.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 2:14 pm

  272. I don’t who is sponsoring Imran Khan now.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/12/2024 @ 1:20 pm

    Duh….the CIA.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 2:20 pm

  273. Ouch!

    ……… On Thursday Rep. Elise Stefanik said that if she had been vice president on Jan. 6, 2021, “I would not have done what Mike Pence did.” She wouldn’t have opened the certificates and counted the electoral votes as the Constitution expressly requires.
    ………
    ……..She would have attempted to exercise a power the Constitution doesn’t grant to swing a presidential election to her preferred candidate. No one who espouses such lawless views should hold a position of authority.

    Ms. Stefanik evidently has concluded it is in her interest to say what Mr. Trump wants to hear. ………

    Ms. Stefanik’s position would empower Vice President Kamala Harris on Jan. 6, 2025, to throw out votes cast for a victorious Mr. Trump. It isn’t far-fetched to believe Ms. Harris and Democrats in Congress might attempt to do so. Reps. Bennie Thompson and Jamie Raskin of the Select Committee on January 6 both engaged in efforts to throw out Republican electoral votes. Particularly if Ms. Stefanik is on the ticket, these Democrats would be delighted to throw her words back in her face as they exercise their raw political will—cloaked in the rhetoric of defending the Constitution from an “insurrectionist”—to invalidate Trump electors.

    It is no answer to say that Ms. Stefanik’s comments are merely retrospective because Congress amended the Electoral Count Act (ECA) in 2022 to disallow such behavior explicitly. Trump lawyer John Eastman admitted in 2020 that the ECA prohibited his proposed schemes but claimed the 1887 statute was unconstitutional. If that argument were true, it wouldn’t be vitiated by the 2022 amendment.
    ………..
    Because the Constitution’s checks and constraints on government power are crucial to protecting individual liberty………..If we yield to the temptation of unconstrained power, Republicans will lose ourselves—and Americans will be at risk of losing our republic.
    ###########

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 2:29 pm

  274. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-asks-supreme-court-extend-delay-election-case-claiming-presidential-immunity

    Trump attorneys on Monday afternoon filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court just days after a D.C. appeals court ruled the former president and 2024 GOP front-runner is not immune from prosecution in Smith’s case.

    The request is for temporary relief, to stay or block the appeals court mandate from taking effect, which would give the Trump legal team more time to file an appeal to the Supreme Court on the merits of whether a former president deserves immunity from criminal prosecution for actions while in office.
    …

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 2:39 pm

  275. “Mommy! The cookie jar is too high for Donnie to reach! Put it on the floor! Why does everybody hate Donnie!”

    nk (799c73) — 2/12/2024 @ 2:59 pm

  276. “I did the same thing with NATO. I got them to pay up. NATO was busted until I came along. I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘What if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer. And everybody—you never saw a more money pour in.”

    Trump continued by telling a story about why the leaders of NATO countries that owed money finally started contributing again.

    “I came in, I made a speech, and they said you got to pay up. They asked me that question. One of the presidents of a big country stood up said, ‘Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’ I said ‘you didn’t pay your delinquent?’ He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ ‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay; you got to pay your bills.’ And the money came flowing in.”

    I’m shocked that a bunch of people mischaracterized what Trump said and used that to attack their straw man.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:10 pm

  277. https://newsbusters.org/blogs/business/tom-olohan/2024/02/12/exclusive-biden-gives-taxpayer-dollars-soros-funded-groups

    Corruption on an unbelievable scale.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:11 pm

  278. The irony of Trump castigating people for not paying their bills is hilarious.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:11 pm

  279. That you would rather push socialism than tolerate his distasteful personality is a stain on your own character.

    Your guy will burn the world down and you’re worried about who makes more money? But where do I push socialism? And where does Donald not? You can’t be a populist without being redistributionist.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:17 pm

  280. @273:

    And NJRob supports this, too. Because #notsocialism

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:19 pm

  281. yY perfect plan:

    1. The Supreme Court, noting the clear and present danger that Trump poses, rules 9-0 that he is disqualified.

    2. Trump calls for insurrection, then flees to Russia to avoid arrest.

    3. Putin sends him back.

    4. Trump is convicted of everything, sentenced to 100 years.

    5. Haley promises to commute, is elected, then doesn’t.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:29 pm

  282. @280

    @273:

    And NJRob supports this, too. Because #notsocialism

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:19 pm

    Kevin…

    Do you really want to play this game whereby voting for “x” candidate amounts to support and that voters bears the responsibility of any bad policies or otherwise?

    Because, I don’t think you want to do that.

    People do vote against candidates, rather for the one they’re pulling the lever…

    But, hey, I’m just trying to understand the rules going forward.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:31 pm

  283. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.

    I’m shocked that a bunch of people mischaracterized what Trump said and used that to attack their straw man.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:10 pm

    It’s one thing to say “I would not protect you” (even though he should have said “we”–another sign of his malignant narcissism and dictatorial aspirations), and quite another to “encourage them to do whatever the hell they want”.

    Anyone who’s okay with Trump encouraging the Russians to do whatever they want is a moral disaster.

    norcal (b41d4a) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:37 pm

  284. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.

    I’m shocked that a bunch of people mischaracterized what Trump said and used that to attack their straw man.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:10 pm

    It’s one thing to say “I would not protect you” (even though he should have said “we”–another sign of his malignant narcissism and dictatorial aspirations), and quite another to “encourage them to do whatever the hell they want”.

    Anyone who’s okay with Trump encouraging the Russians to do whatever they want is a moral disaster.

    *properly formatted*

    norcal (b41d4a) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:38 pm

  285. Channeling my inner Rip…

    @281 yY perfect plan:

    1. The Supreme Court, noting the clear and present danger that Trump poses, rules 9-0 that he is disqualified.

    LOL!

    2. Trump calls for insurrection, then flees to Russia to avoid arrest.

    LOL!

    3. Putin sends him back.

    LOL!

    4. Trump is convicted of everything, sentenced to 100 years.

    LOL!
    5. Haley promises to commute, is elected, then doesn’t.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:29 pm

    LOL!

    A more likely scenario:
    1) The Supreme Court overturns the doctrine in Fischer v. United States that the government misapplied 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c), weakening Smith’s DC case and objectively stalls the case until after the election.

    The Supreme Court also overturns the ballot access.

    The Supreme Court takes the Immunity case to be tried next year, effectively stopping Smith DC case.

    2) Trump does NOT win and retreats to MAL to lick his wounds while fighting the remaining cases.

    3) Pootie Poo does nothing.

    4) Trump largely escapes prison time but, faces real civil damages from several cases.

    5) Nikki Haley retires from political life and goes back to Boeing.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:41 pm

  286. @283

    No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.

    I’m shocked that a bunch of people mischaracterized what Trump said and used that to attack their straw man.

    NJRob (da7be7) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:10 pm

    It’s one thing to say “I would not protect you” (even though he should have said “we”–another sign of his malignant narcissism and dictatorial aspirations), and quite another to “encourage them to do whatever the hell they want”.

    Anyone who’s okay with Trump encouraging the Russians to do whatever they want is a moral disaster.

    norcal (b41d4a) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:37 pm

    Can anyone give me the full context here?

    Was he talking about what he would do in a hypothetical 2nd Trump term?

    Because the clips I’ve seen was that he was talking retrospectively… him basically applying his “Art of the Deal” to these countries during his 1st term…

    Did I missing it?

    Furthermore, Presidents cannot unilaterally withdraw from treaties…right? Unless the treaty’s terms spells out if he could… and to my knowledge, there’s nothing like that for the NATO treaty.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:44 pm

  287. whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:41 pm

    I don’t think Putin would send Donald back. Putin would finally have someone with him that he can trust.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:57 pm

  288. Furthermore, Presidents cannot unilaterally withdraw from treaties…right? Unless the treaty’s terms spells out if he could… and to my knowledge, there’s nothing like that for the NATO treaty.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:44 pm

    Trump could certainly withdraw all US troop from Europe, and refuse to send any to defend Europe from a Russian invasion. Since Trump would be term-limited, he would have a much freer political hand to do so. The only consequence would be Trump’s impeachment, but I doubt that would happen.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:02 pm

  289. Is Trump the rooster who laid an egg and can’t stop cackling about it, or the rooster who thinks his crowing makes the sun rise? So much dementia, so hard to tell.

    nk (67d94e) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:04 pm

  290. No one would be able to order Trump to send troops to Europe’s defense, so in a practical way Trump could simply refuse to comply with Article 5.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:04 pm

  291. Can anyone give me the full context here?

    Was he talking about what he would do in a hypothetical 2nd Trump term?

    Because the clips I’ve seen was that he was talking retrospectively… him basically applying his “Art of the Deal” to these countries during his 1st term…

    Did I missing it?

    Furthermore, Presidents cannot unilaterally withdraw from treaties…right? Unless the treaty’s terms spells out if he could… and to my knowledge, there’s nothing like that for the NATO treaty.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/12/2024 @ 3:44 pm

    I quoted the actual words and the context above. For some reason Kevin and norcal continue to mischaracterize them and make incorrect leaps in logic. It shows some major defects in their deductions.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:33 pm

  292. A more likely scenario:

    Lots of things are even more likely than that. The SC is not going to take Trump’s immunity case and the DC Circuit isn’t going to do squat either.

    The only thing I’m sure of in the Colorado case is that Colorado gets overturned, but how that happens isn’t clear. Either they say that Congress needs to establish a procedure (which it can’t), or they say he’s globally disqualified. About 10-1 for the former. Trump really doesn’t have any friends on that lifetime-appointment GOPe court.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:34 pm

  293. Character matters.

    Sanity, too, but everybody knows that there is no sanity clause (in Article II).

    nk (67d94e) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:35 pm

  294. Was he talking about what he would do in a hypothetical 2nd Trump term?

    Do you know what the term “apologist” means? Because that’s what you are doing.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:35 pm

  295. I don’t think Putin would send Donald back. Putin would finally have someone with him that he can trust.

    The Brits didn’t trust Benedict Arnold. Although they didn’t send him back either.

    I’d be happy enough if they just put him and Melania in a dacha on the Black Sea and told him to STFU. Not that Melania would go — she likes the stores in New York.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:38 pm

  296. After the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, all Trump found to say was that Netanyahu had congratulated Biden on winning the election in a video.

    What will he find to say should Article 5 be needed? That Frederik X did not send him a birthday card?

    nk (67d94e) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:41 pm

  297. NJRob,

    When, in a campaign, someone says “And I told them if they don’t shape up, I’ll help their enemies” it is not unreasonable to think that if he was in power again, he’d say the same thing again, and mean it.

    Why do you assume that he wouldn’t? Why do you think it was OK back then? If he’s LYING about it, why is any of it OK?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:42 pm

  298. What will he find to say should Article 5 be needed? That Frederik X did not send him a birthday card?

    Or Ms Germany didn’t give him a hummer.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:43 pm

  299. Uh oh, Trump said something.

    Notice the uptick in squirrel sitings since Biden’s celery stalk performance.

    lloyd (cbde1b) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:06 pm

  300. Who could have seen this coming?

    It was a decade ago when California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of anti-plastic legislation from coast to coast.

    But in the years after California seemingly kicked its plastic grocery sack habit, material recovery facilities and environmental activists noticed a peculiar trend: Plastic bag waste by weight was increasing to unprecedented levels.

    According to a report by the consumer advocacy group CALPIRG, 157,385 tons of plastic bag waste was discarded in California the year the law was passed. By 2022, however, the tonnage of discarded plastic bags had skyrocketed to 231,072 — a 47% jump. Even accounting for an increase in population, the number rose from 4.08 tons per 1,000 people in 2014 to 5.89 tons per 1,000 people in 2022.

    The problem, it turns out, was a section of the law that allowed grocery stores and large retailers to provide thicker, heavier-weight plastic bags to customers for the price of a dime….

    Boy, this is a surprise!

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:07 pm

  301. Notice the uptick in squirrel sitings since Biden’s celery stalk performance.

    Both of these men should leave the planet. That Biden is senile doesn’t make Trump look better, it just makes the future more grim.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:08 pm

  302. It is really amazing how the Biden supporter say “But Trump!” and the Trump supporters say “But Biden!” as if they think that any of us give a flying frack.

    I. DON’T. CARE.

    I won’t be voting for either one of them.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:10 pm

  303. Trump really doesn’t have any friends on that lifetime-appointment GOPe court.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:34 pm

    He has at least two-Alito and Thomas.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 5:33 pm

  304. Trump really doesn’t have any friends on that lifetime-appointment GOPe court.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:34 pm

    That is surprisingly true.

    But Mr. Trump’s reflections on the U.S. Supreme Court in the speech (at the Ellipse on January 6, 2021), freighted with grievance and accusations of disloyalty, captured not only his perspective but also an inescapable reality. A fundamentally conservative court, with a six-justice majority of Republican appointees that includes three named by Mr. Trump himself, has not been particularly receptive to his arguments.

    Indeed, the Trump administration had the worst Supreme Court record of any since at least the Roosevelt administration, according to data developed by Lee Epstein and Rebecca L. Brown, law professors at the University of Southern California, for an article in Presidential Studies Quarterly.

    “Whether Trump’s poor performance speaks to the court’s view of him and his administration or to the justices’ increasing willingness to check executive authority, we can’t say,” the two professors wrote in an email. “Either way, though, the data suggest a bumpy road for Trump in cases implicating presidential power.”
    ……….
    ……….Mr. Trump’s appointees have been less likely to vote for him in some politically charged cases than Justice Clarence Thomas, who was appointed by the first President Bush, and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was appointed by the second one.
    ……….
    When he spoke on Jan. 6, Mr. Trump was probably thinking of the stinging loss the Supreme Court had just handed him weeks before, rejecting a lawsuit by Texas that had asked the court to throw out the election results in four battleground states.
    ……….
    The ruling in the Texas case was not quite unanimous. Justice Alito, joined by Justice Thomas, issued a brief statement on a technical point.

    Those same two justices were the only dissenters in a pair of cases in 2020 on access to Mr. Trump’s tax and business records, which had been sought by a New York prosecutor and a House committee.
    ………
    ………In 2022, the court refused to block the release of White House records concerning the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, effectively rejecting Mr. Trump’s claim of executive privilege. ………

    Only Justice Thomas noted a dissent. ……….
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/12/2024 @ 6:00 pm

  305. Trump is certainly trying to ape Orban…and become President for life….or more likely, pave the way for a succession of Trump kids or Trump-wannabees. I’m not sure what will happen with radicalizing Section F employment in the government….and the impact of flushing DoJ and putting in flacks….and whether the GOP will watch and applaud. Will this be enough to make us Hungary or will it just elect Democrats the next cycle? It probably moves us to civil unrest…especially if it’s coupled with abandoning Europe and maybe S. Korea too. Adding in militarizing the border and creating de facto concentration camps (not for gassing but for being as brutal as possible)….I’m not sure that people will march willingly to those tunes.

    Personally, I don’t see Trump winning (provided Biden is replaced, which I see as inevitable). I also see Trump getting convicted on at least one J6 count. That will sink him with moderates and enough apprehensive Republicans to lose the swing states. Will Putin initiate an October surprise to try and help Trump? Likely, but the mask is off Putin. Calling Tucker a useful idiot means there’s no there there. Only the 1-digit IQ folks believe Putin is our buddy and ideological brother. They will struggle to find the polling place on the right day.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/12/2024 @ 6:59 pm

  306. No, flying the flag upside down is not illegal. Nor does it violate the Flag Code if it is flown as a distress signal. Flying it below the MAGAlomaniac flag does violate the Flag Code. Patriots!

    nk (4783f8) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:01 pm

  307. MAGAcolon?

    nk (4783f8) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:03 pm

  308. @305. “provided Biden is replaced, which I see as inevitable”

    I think a lot of Dems fervently wish this were the case, but if it were going happen it would have already happened. And then the obvious question is replaced by whom? Harris is the obvious successor but I don’t see Harris beating Trump. Newsome, maybe. But again, I think Biden will be the candidate, diminished as he is.

    JRH (777353) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:07 pm

  309. JRH (777353) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:07 pm

    As I pointed out above, and absent his death, replacing Biden is a near impossibility.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  310. I’m not sure what will happen with radicalizing Section F employment in the government

    In principle (i.e. independently of Donald Trump) I favor this as political decision making is no longer reserved to the top layers of these MUCH larger agencies. We have people who are quite partisan and quite adept at political control who are immune to the demands of senior administrators due to Civil Service protection. It’s part of the Long March through the Institutions.

    Civil Service is well over 100 years old, being a correction of the old spoils system by (I think) Cleveland, and is desperately need of its own reform. I agree that Donald Trump is not the man to do it, as his motives are incredibly suspect, but it needs doing.

    What we have now is a perpetual spoils system, with one side locked in and one locked out.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  311. Only the 1-digit IQ folks believe Putin is our buddy and ideological brother. They will struggle to find the polling place on the right day.

    Well, two-digit IQ folks anyway. And Trump has got them targeted. There’s a reason his speeches are at the 6th grade level.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:21 pm

  312. @305. “provided Biden is replaced, which I see as inevitable”

    Very unlikely.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:21 pm

  313. Sixth News Item:

    Former President Trump on Monday backed Michael Whatley, the head of the North Carolina GOP, to serve as the next chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and threw his support behind his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to serve as co-chair.
    …………
    The former president’s preferred candidates, if elected by RNC members, would cement a full takeover of the committee by Trump.
    …………
    In addition to Whatley, the former president said he was supporting Lara Trump as RNC co-chair. He praised her as “an extremely talented communicator and is dedicated to all that MAGA stands for.”

    Lara Trump is married to Trump’s son, Eric, and has been involved with the RNC and party donors dating back to the former president’s time in the White House.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:42 pm

  314. @294

    Was he talking about what he would do in a hypothetical 2nd Trump term?

    Do you know what the term “apologist” means? Because that’s what you are doing.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 4:35 pm

    Nah, I’m a realist.

    You’re engaging in absolute reductio ad absurdum buddy.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:44 pm

  315. @308

    @305. “provided Biden is replaced, which I see as inevitable”

    I think a lot of Dems fervently wish this were the case, but if it were going happen it would have already happened. And then the obvious question is replaced by whom? Harris is the obvious successor but I don’t see Harris beating Trump. Newsome, maybe. But again, I think Biden will be the candidate, diminished as he is.

    JRH (777353) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:07 pm

    Oh I absolutely see Harris beating Trump… easily.

    Because, then, the Democrat voters aren’t saddled with a demented old man and Harris “ticks” all the identity politics boxes. In short, Dems will “come home” for Harris.

    whembly (c88dc4) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:47 pm

  316. @312, But that presumes Biden does not agree to it. Yes, he’s dripping in pride and indignation. But if Obama, Clinton, Pelosi, and Schumer come to him with the crisis that his polls suggest, I think…though much later than the summer time exit I was anticipating…he does the right thing….because he may be the only way that Trump wins. There would be no worse legacy than paving the way for Trump 2.0. And it’s starting to look like it.

    So, no, I don’t think a challenge will happen. It will be a replacement. He will step aside. Harris will also be part of any deal. It’s unlikely that she will beat Trump either. There needs to be a clean ticket with no questions about the #2 spot. She will get a plum administration spot…like attorney general.

    AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:53 pm

  317. AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:53 pm

    More Democratic presidential candidate wishful thinking.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 7:58 pm

  318. “And then the obvious question is replaced by whom?”

    Gretchen Whitmer, Newsome, or Pritzker…followed by dark horse candidates like Polis, Beshear, or Cooper. Kaine or Warner could be others that would be plausible. Biden may take this to the convention and then choose to not accept the nomination to enable a fast-track successor…that gets elevated by the king makers. The Left may be unhappy but unlike the Right, I think they understand what’s at stake. Unless she has something in the closet, Whitmer has the most upshot especially coming from a swing state.

    AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:10 pm

  319. AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:10 pm

    Like a Republican convention dominated by Trump supporters, do you really believe that a Democratic convention dominated by Biden supporters would throw him under the bus?

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:21 pm

  320. Biden may take this to the convention and then choose to not accept the nomination…….

    And if he doesn’t?

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:22 pm

  321. @315. Maybe I’m not representative, but I’m an Obama/Clinton/Biden voter and Harris is one candidate is one of the few candidates I would have a really hard time voting for. I’d probably still vote for her, but. Ick. I think Trump would beat her easily. I’d take Biden over her in a heartbeat.

    JRH (777353) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:26 pm

  322. Maybe I wasn’t clear. I think Biden will be persuaded by his party to reject the nomination and step aside for the good of the party. The cadre of party leaders will have someone in mind to replace him. Biden will support the replacement and his convention supporters will move over to him/her. Over 70% of the country doesn’t want Joe to run. No political consultant is itching to promote Biden and the DEMs can’t risk Trump 2.0. The convention will be the best place to make the swap.

    AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:28 pm

  323. Completely unfounded speculations. Short of a disabling illness, I don’t see Biden not being the nominee.

    The modern primary system guarantees there are no “kingmakers”. In fact, after the 2020 convention, Democrat “superdelegates” can’t even vote on the first ballot.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:28 pm

  324. AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:28 pm

    I’ll take that bet. Again, Democratic Party rules don’t allow for a candidate to be removed and replaced.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:35 pm

  325. Democratic convention fantasy camp.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:36 pm

  326. The former president’s preferred candidates, if elected by RNC members, would cement a full takeover of the committee by Trump.

    This is a result of McDaniel not cancelling all the primaries and declaring Trump the winner. Are they trying to force Haley to run as an independent?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:42 pm

  327. Biden may take this to the convention and then choose to not accept the nomination…….

    That’s absurd. You can’t run a pick-up campaign in this day and age. They started in 2022 for a reason. If they replace him, it has to be very very soon, or at least have some kind of primary process to get the campaigns spooled up.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:44 pm

  328. I’m an Obama/Clinton/Biden voter and Harris is one candidate is one of the few candidates I would have a really hard time voting for.

    Californians despise her.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:45 pm

  329. Short of a disabling illness, I don’t see Biden not being the nominee.

    You have said, maybe 100 times, that you don’t think that Biden will be the nominee. Now you do (and say that anyone saying otherwise is a fool)?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:46 pm

  330. You have said, maybe 100 times, that you don’t think that Biden will be the nominee. Now you do (and say that anyone saying otherwise is a fool)?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:46 pm

    Based on what I have learned about Democratic Party rules, I think it’s less likely that the party will be able to force Biden out. There are no longer individuals serving as an eminence grise like there were prior to 1972. In fact, Democratic superdelegates have even less power and influence than they did in 2020; the rules now say they can’t vote until the second ballot.

    I’m not calling anyone a fool (don’t put words in my mouth), I’m just saying that speculations of the Democratic Party booting Biden to the curb are unrealistic; nor do I expect Biden to pull out of the race on his own. He’s got something to prove now.

    I also expected the Republicans would have impeached Biden by now-not that would have stopped him from running anyway.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:38 pm

  331. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/12/2024 @ 9:46 pm

    See also here.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/12/2024 @ 10:42 pm

  332. “nor do I expect Biden to pull out of the race on his own. He’s got something to prove now.”

    Why should I be persuaded by this? His polling is historically awful. His optics are terrible, including talking with long-dead leaders and mixing up others. Strategists like Axelrod and Carville are publicly quite nervous. WaPo’s David Ignatius has raised serious concerns. Biden chose not to do the customary Super Bowl interview with CBS in front of a record audience. Why? His staff has little confidence that he won’t flub it up. He needs to be out with the people, but he’s getting more and more doddering. This will only get worse and it’s the only rescue for Trump. Will Biden really dismiss an appeal to drop out from Obama?

    “You [Rip] have said, maybe 100 times, that you don’t think that Biden will be the nominee. Now you do”

    This is awfully glaring. Rip focuses on replacement, but dismisses that he would voluntarily quit. The Special Counsel’s conclusions were devastating because it’s near impossible to refute, especially when Biden does an angry interview where he continues to get facts wrong. At some point the decision becomes inevitable. You’re just being argumentative.

    AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/13/2024 @ 4:24 am

  333. Biden needs a Rear Admiral who wants to be Surgeon General and failing that a Texas Congressman.

    Man, woman, person, camera, TV.

    nk (41d946) — 2/13/2024 @ 5:30 am

  334. The Senate is still doing its job:

    The Senate voted early Tuesday morning to pass a $95 billion emergency defense spending bill, including $60 billion for Ukraine, after an all-night filibuster by conservative opponents finally ran out of steam shortly after 5 a.m.

    The 70-29 vote capped nearly a week of floor debate and four months of wrangling over President Biden’s request to fund the war in Ukraine, which he submitted to Congress in October.

    Some of the time, anyway.

    (I see “Typhoid” Rand Paul was trying to block aid to a democratic nation, fighting for its survival. Don’t know what is wrong with Mike Lee.)

    Jim Miller (f4a92c) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:04 am

  335. @334

    The Senate is still doing its job:

    The Senate voted early Tuesday morning to pass a $95 billion emergency defense spending bill, including $60 billion for Ukraine, after an all-night filibuster by conservative opponents finally ran out of steam shortly after 5 a.m.

    The 70-29 vote capped nearly a week of floor debate and four months of wrangling over President Biden’s request to fund the war in Ukraine, which he submitted to Congress in October.

    Some of the time, anyway.

    (I see “Typhoid” Rand Paul was trying to block aid to a democratic nation, fighting for its survival. Don’t know what is wrong with Mike Lee.)

    Jim Miller (f4a92c) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:04 am

    Cool.

    Now the House needs to attach HR2 to this Senate bill and send it back to the Senate for final approval.

    Every factions gets something.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:34 am

  336. The House did its job nine months ago when it passed HR2. It was DOA in the Senate because Schumer thinks the Senate’s job is to help Ukraine not the US. The Senate couldn’t even pass its own border bill.

    lloyd (86f9e6) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:50 am

  337. 318, AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/12/2024 @ 8:10 pm

    Unless she has something in the closet, Whitmer has the most upshot especially coming from a swing state.

    Whitmer is known among the MAGA people as the Covid dictator. And the FBI sting operation won’t immunize her from criticism.

    And then there is: What position does she take on the GAza war??

    Michigan is the only state where it might pay a politician to be more or less pro-Hamas (or try to be a little bit on both sides, like Biden)

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:34 am

  338. Ukraine aid will be taken care of till the election by Ukraine selling bonds payable if Russian assets get turned over to Ukraine while Trump campaigns against Ukraine aid. Israel will get its own bill. Taiwan will be postponed. Replacing U,S, ammunition will be postponed Humanitarian aid for civilians in war zones (meaning mostly Gaza) will probably be dropped from the Israel aid bill and not succeed anywhere else. Any change in immigration law is dead, If the House attaches H@ 2 lie=ke provisions the bill will go to conference, but they won’t,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:39 am

  339. Op ed today in the Wall Street Journal saying that Biden’s smartest decision (for himself) was naming Kamala Harris as VP because almost no one wants to replace him with her, (but I don’t think it was really Biden’s decision, or made as impeachment insurance.

    Biden had practically promised to name a woman, and hinted, or let his people hint, that she would be black, probably intending to name Susan Rice and quell opposition to her by making it look like it was forced by identity considerations, but was persuaded he couldn’t name her, and the only black – half black anyway – woman who met normal conditions for high political level was Senator Kamala Harris of California)

    wsj.com/articles/joe-bidens-smartest-decision-2024-presidential-election-kamala-harris-hur-report-43c0a575

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:56 am

  340. Kamala Harris’s father is of mixed race:

    Jim Miller (35fe09) — 2/13/2024 @ 8:23 am

  341. whembly,

    Why would a faithless Biden enforce HR 2 any more than he would have enforced the compromise bill that you decided you could persuade yourself to oppose because Biden wouldn’t enforce?

    Sammy,

    Don’t bet on Israel getting its own bill. The issue really splits the Democrats in the way Ukraine splits the GOP.

    Appalled (0371ae) — 2/13/2024 @ 8:26 am

  342. “nor do I expect Biden to pull out of the race on his own. He’s got something to prove now.”

    Why should I be persuaded by this? His polling is historically awful. His optics are terrible, including talking with long-dead leaders and mixing up others. Strategists like Axelrod and Carville are publicly quite nervous. WaPo’s David Ignatius has raised serious concerns. Biden chose not to do the customary Super Bowl interview with CBS in front of a record audience. Why? His staff has little confidence that he won’t flub it up. He needs to be out with the people, but he’s getting more and more doddering. This will only get worse and it’s the only rescue for Trump. Will Biden really dismiss an appeal to drop out from Obama?

    “You [Rip] have said, maybe 100 times, that you don’t think that Biden will be the nominee. Now you do”

    This is awfully glaring. Rip focuses on replacement, but dismisses that he would voluntarily quit. The Special Counsel’s conclusions were devastating because it’s near impossible to refute, especially when Biden does an angry interview where he continues to get facts wrong. At some point the decision becomes inevitable. You’re just being argumentative.

    AJ_Liberty (df0300) — 2/13/2024 @ 4:24 am

    If Biden is as demented as you think he is, he will resist all pleas to withdraw, even from Obama. And what is the polling of any of your proposed replacements (Whitmer, Newsom, Pritzker, Polis, Beshear, Cooper, Kaine, Warner)-outside of political junkies, they are all dark horses. As Kevin M pointed out above, one of the reasons for the riots at the Democratic Convention in 1968 was the fact the party nominated someone that hadn’t run in any of the primaries.

    I’m wondering why you think it is important for the Democrats to replace their candidate rather than Republicans (which would be just as difficult). I just don’t see it happening, given the fact that the Democratic Convention will be dominated by Biden supporters and that party rules make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to force a candidate out.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 9:22 am

  343. Biden Replacement Fantasy Camp:

    …………
    On Sunday even Nikki Haley, ostensibly the GOP’s Team Normal candidate for president, put down her cash at the window. “My bet is 30 days from now, I don’t think Joe Biden is going to be the nominee,” Haley told supporters.

    She and other Republicans are about to look as bad as those who took the 49ers.
    ……….
    ……….There are two obvious ways in which Biden does not seek reelection: He changes his mind about running or suffers a health crisis. Only a higher power can speak to the latter, but Biden, his family and his inner circle have been clear about the president’s plans to run.

    Put directly: Democrats had their chance to speak out against Biden running for reelection at nearly 82, they failed to do it and there is no “they” now poised to intervene.

    The short answer as to why Biden is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee again is Donald Trump. The former president effectively controls both parties.
    ………..
    This centrality of Trump — and Democrats’ determination to block his return — is what insulates Biden within his own party. The proverbial moat around the Biden White House is stocked with very classy, Trump-branded alligators. No major Democrat dares question the president because that risks weakening him and helping Trump.
    ………..
    Last year, at exactly this time, more elected Democrats were saying in private that they hoped Biden would step aside. Few wanted to say it out loud for fear of aiding Trump and, even more delicate, being asked the inevitable follow-up question: So, are you for Vice President Kamala Harris?

    Instead, most Democratic leaders kept quiet and hoped either Biden’s numbers would improve or he would, without being pushed, decide on his own terms not to run again. ………

    The biggest event of the 2022 midterms to impact the 2024 cycle, it turns out, was not the landslide reelection of Florida’s governor. It was the failure of a red wave to appear and the grace the Democrats’ midterm successes bought Biden from party members who would have gone public about him had they been repudiated by voters. If Biden loses to Trump this fall, it will be in part because Democrats were lulled into security, or denial, by an electorate which favors their coalition more in midterms than in presidential elections.
    ………..
    He’s an incumbent president who is broadly supported by his own party’s voters and the deadline to run in most state primaries has passed.

    There’s no delegation of lawmakers — like Hugh Scott and Barry Goldwater with Richard Nixon during Watergate — that’s going to go to the White House and tell Biden to open up the convention. If they even considered such an intervention and word leaked, they’d be savaged by other Democrats, breaching party omertà and abetting Trump.

    ………(P)olitics has changed since the 20th Century. Contested conventions or discarding vice presidents, once so common in American politics, are as dated as the newsreel. In the era of negative partisanship, deeply polarized politics and well-choreographed events, lawmakers don’t dare do anything that conveys disorder or may be perceived as helping the opposition. Internal party politics is scripted and bloodless.

    ………What red-blooded political junkie doesn’t crave a drama-filled, multi-ballot convention? ………
    ………
    ………(W)hy is it that Republicans are so convinced Biden will be thrown overboard any day now?

    ………Republicans are inclined to think Democrats want to win. And on the surface, it is puzzling why Democrats are so determined to stick by a candidate with such dismal numbers (of course Republicans are doing the same with someone who’s as unpopular and is facing nearly 100 felony charges).

    There’s also what could be called The Harris Axiom. My colleague, John F. Harris has a longstanding theory that each party believes the other is far more ruthless and organized than their own side. By this, Republicans always tend to think Democrats will stop at nothing to win and there exists some powerful forces who can swap out Biden for a younger candidate.

    But Boss Daley isn’t walking through that door. And if you think Daley’s fellow Chicagoan, Barack Obama, is going to play the heavy, well, you need to do more reading about the fraught relationship between the Obama and Biden forces.
    ………..
    The New York Times editorial page is no more a leading indicator that Democrats are about to dump Biden than the Murdoch family preference for Ron DeSantis suggests Republicans will spurn Trump. If only the press had such gatekeeping power today.

    All the Biden reporting indicates he is going to run again and it’s impossible to find a single prominent Democrat who, on the record, would prefer otherwise. ………
    ………..
    ………..Republicans are willing to buy fantastical plots about Democrats. As one conservative friend points out, the body of political shows this century has been dominated by programs like 24, Homeland and House of Cards — where the Deep State is all too real.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 9:45 am

  344. 24, Homeland and House of Cards

    I used to think the convoluted action plans in “24” were ludicrous. Now it’s just the news.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:08 am

  345. If anyone had done a TV show where a presidential election was between a multiply-bankrupt lying felon who favored dictators and a senile retread frontman for a bureaucratic politburo, no one would have watched.

    They might still not watch IRL.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:11 am

  346. 24 was unintentionally hilarious-never a dropped cellphone signal, and going from Malibu to downtown in 20 minutes.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:37 am

  347. @341

    whembly,

    Why would a faithless Biden enforce HR 2 any more than he would have enforced the compromise bill that you decided you could persuade yourself to oppose because Biden wouldn’t enforce?

    Appalled (0371ae) — 2/13/2024 @ 8:26 am

    Because it mandates laws that gives GOP House (and states) standing to sue the executive for non-enforcement.

    It would give states a chance to challenge/overturn US v. Arizona.

    Also, at least HR2 seeks to enhance security, whereas the Senate Bill seeks to enhance high level of migration.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:44 am

  348. Because it mandates laws that gives GOP House (and states) standing to sue the executive for non-enforcement.

    In a world where we allow Presidents to “waive” enforcement of the law, there is not much purpose to legislative compromise and the Rule of Law is a sad joke. The only powers Congress has left are impeachment or cutting off funds, and they’re both pretty weak.

    Restore Congress. It may take a Convention at this point. Executive orders and regulatory rulemaking have usurped most of the job of the legislature. No wonder Congress has become a dysfunctional performance venue.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:57 am

  349. The Senate couldn’t even pass its own border bill.

    While 5 Democrats opposed the border security legislation, it was DOA because 44 Republicans also voted against the bill their own party negotiated (the motion to proceed required 60 votes).

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 11:07 am

  350. Correction:

    While 5 6 Democrats opposed the border security legislation……..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 11:07 am

    As Leader, Schumer voted “No” so that he could bring up again at later date.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 11:10 am

  351. @349 Republicans didn’t negotiate the bill. It was Sen. Lankford, who ignored his party’s reaction to leaks that ended up being true, such as the 5,000 threshold. The fact is Schumer couldn’t get it passed, while the House got HR2 passed. The Senate bill was not DOA in the House because it never got there, but facts will not deter you from blaming Republicans.

    lloyd (24b8a2) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:17 pm

  352. McConnell as Senate Minority Leader delegated a conservative strong-borders guy like Lankford to negotiate a deal, and it comes down to one person who killed it. It’s that simple.

    Paul Montagu (d4d407) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:23 pm

  353. Yes, one person killed it. Lankford, who negotiated a bad deal.

    lloyd (24b8a2) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:48 pm

  354. https://www.nationalreview.com/news/tony-bobulinski-biden-family-business-was-joe-biden-period-opening-statement/

    …Bobulinski argued in his opening statement that the president was not only aware of the influence-peddling operation being conducted by his son Hunter and his brother James while he was vice president, but that he actively enabled the lucrative scheme.

    “It is clear to me that Joe Biden was ‘the Brand’ being sold by the Biden family,” Bobulinski said in his opening statement, which was obtained by National Review. Bobulinski’s statement echoes the July testimony of former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer. Archer and Hunter Biden were both board members of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings and once had a close relationship.

    “His family’s foreign influence peddling operation — from China to Ukraine and elsewhere — sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government. Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability,” Bobulinski added.

    “The only reason any of these international business transactions took place — with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family — was because Joe Biden was in high office. The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period.”
    …

    Anxious to see how some folks spins this one…

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:48 pm

  355. whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:48 pm

    Would love to see his evidence.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:49 pm

  356. > Anxious to see how some folks spins this one…

    It’s an opening statement and therefore essentially an opinion and a declaration of what the prosecution intends to prove.

    Let’s see what the prosecution is able ot prove.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:51 pm

  357. In the wake of the classified documents filing, I like how we’re still pretending evidence matters.

    lloyd (a9b2b9) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:01 pm

  358. Super Bowl Draws 123.4 Million Viewers, Setting TV Ratings Record
    ………
    The game benefited from a confluence of factors: an attractive matchup, an overtime comeback victory and increased fan interest surrounding the relationship between singer Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

    The previous record had been set just a year ago, when 115.1 million viewers watched the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
    ………
    The game had both a thrilling ending—it was the second Super Bowl ever to go to overtime—and star appeal, with frequent shots of Swift cheering on her beau from a luxury box. Swift was also accompanied by her posse of famous friends, including singer Ice Spice and actress Blake Lively.
    ………
    Sunday’s victory cemented Kansas City’s status as one of the great dynasties in football history. By winning a third title in five seasons, they joined a tiny club of era-defining teams that includes the Pittsburgh Steelers of the mid-1970s, the Dallas Cowboys of the mid-1990s, and two separate generations of the New England Patriots led by Tom Brady.
    ………

    Sports dominated the Nielsens last year, with 96 of the top 100 broadcasts, with 93 being NFL games. And of the 56 sporting events in the prime time 100, 45 were NFL games.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:05 pm

  359. Trump adviser proposes new tiered system for NATO members who don’t pay up
    ………
    Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general and onetime chief of staff of the former president’s National Security Council, said in an interview that if a member of the 31-country alliance failed to spend at least 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, as agreed, he would support removing that nation’s Article 5 protections under the North Atlantic Treaty.
    ………
    “Where I come from, alliances matter,” said Kellogg, who also served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser. “But if you’re going to be part of an alliance, contribute to the alliance, be part of the alliance.”
    ………
    Kellogg said if Trump wins, he would likely suggest a NATO meeting in June 2025 to discuss the future of the alliance. He said NATO could subsequently become a “tiered alliance,” in which some members enjoy greater protections based on their compliance with NATO’s founding articles.
    …………
    In addition to losing Article 5 protections, Kellogg said, other less severe sanctions were possible, such as losing access to training or shared equipment resources. Member countries, he added, should feel free to withdraw from NATO.

    “If President Trump is re-elected, once the election is done, I would give everyone what we call a warning order. I would probably say this is where we are going to go to allow them preparations so we can discuss it in June,” Kellogg said.
    ………..

    Actually, European members of NATO already provide something the US doesn’t have: the battlefield.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:14 pm

  360. It was a while back, but it was another Kellogg who proposed corn flakes as a cure for masturbation. I guess what goes around comes around.

    nk (a1c992) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:52 pm

  361. I am having trouble responding civilly to certain cultists today.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:52 pm

  362. @361

    I am having trouble responding civilly to certain cultists today.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:52 pm

    :'(

    I hope this isn’t directed at me.

    I’m #NeverDemocrats. I’m only as “cultists” as those whom are #NeverGOP or #NeverTrump.

    😀

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:54 pm

  363. Actually, European members of NATO already provide something the US doesn’t have: the battlefield.

    And that’s exactly why the US wants to fight the war there, and not not here. If the isolationists have their way, the war will be fought in Texas.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:54 pm

  364. I hope this isn’t directed at me.

    It’s not. I regret your ambivalence though.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:55 pm

  365. > I like how we’re still pretending evidence matters.

    I’m a lawyer. This is how i’m going to react to *anything* said in opening arguments.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:02 pm

  366. Tony Bobulinski is to evidence what Donald Trump’s New York apartment is to $337 million dollars. A Comer nothingburger comestible only by Trump fans who will swallow anything.

    nk (a1c992) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:09 pm

  367. @364

    I hope this isn’t directed at me.

    It’s not. I regret your ambivalence though.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 1:55 pm

    lol. In a way, so do I.

    Just wished we had better candidates… on both sides.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:26 pm

  368. @365

    > I like how we’re still pretending evidence matters.

    I’m a lawyer. This is how i’m going to react to *anything* said in opening arguments.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:02 pm

    Evidently, Bobulinksi brought literal receipts and documentation.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:27 pm

  369. @366

    Tony Bobulinski is to evidence what Donald Trump’s New York apartment is to $337 million dollars. A Comer nothingburger comestible only by Trump fans who will swallow anything.

    nk (a1c992) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:09 pm

    Sorry… all I see is… but Trump!?!?!

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:28 pm

  370. <blockquote>Sorry… all I see is… but Trump!?!?!

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:28 pm

    This “investigation” wouldn’t have been conducted but for Trump.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:29 pm

  371. @ aphrael (71d87c) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:02 pm
    @ Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 12:49 pm

    And here it is: the H to Zang letter from March 22, 2016. Was an attachment on Hunter Biden’s laptop previously inaccessible, but now it has been produced to the House Judiciary Committee by Hunter ex-partner Rob Walker. Shows the relationship with CEFC began during Joe Biden’s https://t.co/4Xt7VjR0H3

    — Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) February 13, 2024

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:31 pm

  372. @370

    Sorry… all I see is… but Trump!?!?!

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:28 pm

    This “investigation” wouldn’t have been conducted but for Trump.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:29 pm

    GOP House was always going to investigate Biden, even if Trump wasn’t in the picture.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:32 pm

  373. GOP House was always going to investigate Biden, even if Trump wasn’t in the picture.

    And make up stuff to make whom happy?

    nk (a1c992) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:35 pm

  374. Yes, one person killed it. Lankford, who negotiated a bad deal.

    Delusional. If that one person (and his name is Trump in case anyone has any doubts) gave it a thumbs up, Ukraine would be getting its aid by now, and Joe could very well have closed the border already.

    Paul Montagu (d4d407) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:38 pm

  375. @373

    GOP House was always going to investigate Biden, even if Trump wasn’t in the picture.

    And make up stuff to make whom happy?

    nk (a1c992) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:35 pm

    nk…probably:
    No proof!

    I mean, you know, we can’t count the digital forensics, the bank records, or the sworn testimony of co-conspirators. None of that counts.

    So still no proof!

    Try again R’s!

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:41 pm

  376. GOP House was always going to investigate Biden, even if Trump wasn’t in the picture.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:32 pm

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 3:04 pm

  377. ‘This “investigation” wouldn’t have been conducted but for Trump.’

    Welcome to Weissman 2017

    lloyd (24b8a2) — 2/13/2024 @ 3:43 pm

  378. John Stewart was brutal.

    nk (a4913b) — 2/13/2024 @ 4:37 pm

  379. If only NONE OF THE ABOVE was on the November ballot.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 5:49 pm

  380. John Stewart was brutal.

    And no one listens. Edvard Munch had it right.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:21 pm

  381. Can’t we just agree to write in either Gavin Newsom or Nikki Haley?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:22 pm

  382. I would like to believe that Biden is not riding on a cult of liars too, but it turns out that he is.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:36 pm

  383. John Stewart was brutal.

    And really, everyone, go watch that.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:49 pm

  384. For once, Jon Stewart has done the nation a service.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:05 pm

  385. Democrats flip Santos seat.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  386. Democrat Tom Suozzi flipped the Long Island-based district formerly held by expelled Rep. George Santos.

    Not even close.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  387. MAGA didn’t like the Republican.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:18 pm

  388. NY Republicans stupid for pushing Santos expulsion.

    Rip Murdock (7d1622) — 2/13/2024 @ 7:26 pm

  389. Clickbait

    Please don’t let this interrupt, 13!, 33!, and 27!

    LOL!!!!!

    BuDuh (25606c) — 2/13/2024 @ 8:58 pm

  390. So, they finally impeached Mayorkas, and for the wrong reason.

    The question that they should be asking is: “When was it apparent that the President was mentally incompetent, and why did they decide to lie about it?”

    Then impeach the whole cabinet for dereliction of duty.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:13 pm

  391. I would have been very surprised if Suozzi had lost. Trump has been making “Republican” a stench in purple nostrils for eight years now, and the parallels between him and Santos were obvious.

    nk (ac90d0) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:26 am

  392. Indeed. Centrists go to the polls thinking “Fcuk Trump!”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:22 am

  393. Trump’s immigration legacy:

    After border bill failure, ICE considers mass releases to close budget gap

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has drafted plans to release thousands of immigrants and slash its capacity to hold detainees after the failure of a Senate border bill that would have erased a $700 million budget shortfall, according to four officials at ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.

    The bipartisan border bill that Republican lawmakers opposed last week would have provided $6 billion in supplemental funding for ICE enforcement operations. The bill’s demise has led ICE officials to begin circulating an internal proposal to save money by releasing thousands of detainees and cutting detention levels from 38,000 beds to 22,000 — the opposite of the enforcement increases Republicans say they want.

    The budget crunch and the proposal also present a difficult scenario for the Biden administration heading into the spring, when illegal crossings at the southern border are expected to spike again. On Tuesday, House Republicans voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his border record, and immigration remains President Biden’s worst-rated issue in polls.

    Former president Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican front-runner in the presidential campaign, boasted of his role in influencing lawmakers to block the border bill, which he said would have benefited Biden politically.

    DHS could try to cover the funding gap at ICE by reprogramming money from the Coast Guard, the Transportation Security Administration or other agencies within the department. But such moves are contentious, and ICE officials say the $700 million deficit is the largest projected shortfall the agency has faced in recent memory.

    Some of the proposed cost savings in ICE detention would occur through attrition — deportations — but much of it would have to happen through the mass release of detainees, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:25 am

  394. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:22 pm

    Can’t we just agree to write in either Gavin Newsom or Nikki Haley?

    You can’t, except in the primary, maybe.

    In November, you are voting for Electors, not the person they are pledged to.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:22 am

  395. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 10:13 pm

    I’m looking forward to Biden’s impeachment. With all of the Biden Crime Family™️ “revelations”, the Republican base will expect nothing less.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:47 am

  396. Ninety-five years ago today.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:48 am

  397. In November, you are voting for Electors, not the person they are pledged to.

    Maybe in your state. The parties do not have a lock on electors in my state.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:48 am

  398. I’m looking forward to Biden’s impeachment. With all of the Biden Crime Family™️ “revelations”, the Republican base will expect nothing less.

    LOL.

    You probably can’t impeach Biden for being senile, but you CAN impeach his Cabinet for hiding the President’s senility. And it really doesn’t matter a whole lot about the result — the hearings are the punishment.

    “What did you know, and when? And remember you are under oath.”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:51 am

  399. The video of Biden’s flunkies asserting that the President has a steel-trap mind with constant attention to detail is risible, akin to Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:54 am

  400. I would have been very surprised if Suozzi had lost. Trump has been making “Republican” a stench in purple nostrils for eight years now, and the parallels between him and Santos were obvious.

    nk (ac90d0) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:26 am

    Indeed. Centrists go to the polls thinking “Fcuk Trump!”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:22 am

    That and the fact the district voted for Biden +8.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:54 am

  401. Whembly, I’m reading through the HUR report and here’s what I’m seeing so far.

    Most of the classified material were Biden’s hand written notes from classified briefings.
    The material that was marked classified was likely placed in a box inadvertently and stored in his garage without anyone knowing it was there.
    Biden cooperated fully with the investigation and returned all material when asked.

    Do you see that I’m missing any factual elements?

    (will move on for there about implications and conclusions but wanted to get the facts established first)

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:56 am

  402. you CAN impeach his Cabinet for hiding the President’s senility

    LOL x 2! Not gonna happen, especially with the current Republican margins. More fantasies.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:57 am

  403. GOP House was always going to investigate Biden, even if Trump wasn’t in the picture.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:32 pm

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/13/2024 @ 3:04 pm

    Rip have you lost your mind? I can’t remember a time when the house didn’t investigate a president from the other party. Nor would I want them to hesitate to do so. Whembly is 100% correct about this.

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:57 am

  404. @365

    > I like how we’re still pretending evidence matters.

    I’m a lawyer. This is how i’m going to react to *anything* said in opening arguments.

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:02 pm

    Evidently, Bobulinksi brought literal receipts and documentation.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/13/2024 @ 2:27 pm

    The last bombshell testimony from a former Hunter business partner turned out to be other then was initially advertised. I’ll wait to see the transcript before I make conclusions about what this means.

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:59 am

  405. Maybe in your state. The parties do not have a lock on electors in my state.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:48 am

    Per New Mexico Statutes Section 1-15-3 – Presidential electors; nomination:

    A. Any qualified political party in New Mexico desiring to have candidates for president and vice president on the general election ballot in a presidential election year shall, at a state party convention held in the year of such election, choose from the voters of the party the number of presidential electors required by law and no more.

    B. The presidential electors shall be nominated by the state convention according to the rules of that party on file with the secretary of state.

    C. Upon the nomination of presidential electors, the chair and secretary of the convention shall certify the names and addresses of the nominees not less than sixty-three days prior to the election to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall record the nominees’ names in the secretary’s office as the presidential elector nominees of that party.

    So they are selected at state party conventions, run by the parties.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:04 am

  406. Rip have you lost your mind? I can’t remember a time when the house didn’t investigate a president from the other party. Nor would I want them to hesitate to do so. Whembly is 100% correct about this.

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:57 am

    To the extent they are investigating relatives and their business associates? I don’t recall any such investigations into Obama’s or Trump’s families and their business associates.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:08 am

  407. Rip have you lost your mind? I can’t remember a time when the house didn’t investigate a president from the other party. Nor would I want them to hesitate to do so. Whembly is 100% correct about this.

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:57 am

    As I said, I look forward to Biden’s impeachment.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:15 am

  408. There is a different section for independent candidates (NM 1-8-49)

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:16 am

  409. LOL x 2! Not gonna happen, especially with the current Republican margins. More fantasies.

    So, 213 Democrats are going to go on record that hiding presidential senility (and lying under oath about it) is OK?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:17 am

  410. There is a different section for independent candidates (NM 1-8-49)

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:16 am

    Which haven’t got a snowball’s chance of being President.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:18 am

  411. As I said, the impeachment isn’t the problem for them, it’s answering the questions without invoking the 5th amendment or saying “The President is senile.”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:18 am

  412. Which haven’t got a snowball’s chance of being President.

    PUT THAT GOALPOST DOWN!

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:19 am

  413. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:19 am

    Right back at you-you moved the goalpost to independent candidates. LOLLLLLL!

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:26 am

  414. LOL x 2! Not gonna happen, especially with the current Republican margins. More fantasies.

    So, 213 Democrats are going to go on record that hiding presidential senility (and lying under oath about it) is OK?

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:17 am

    Back in real world, I don’t see such an investigation happening at all, certainly not impeaching the entire cabinet. Some deserve it for other reasons, like Austin.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:33 am

  415. Back in real world, I don’t see such an investigation happening at all, certainly not impeaching the entire cabinet. Some deserve it for other reasons, like Austin.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:33 am

    It took the Republicans two votes to impeach one cabinet member, how many votes will it take to impeach all of them?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:35 am

  416. Certainly not when there is an election to decide the matter in 265 days.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:41 am

  417. Covering up the president’s rapidly advancing senility is a high crime. But as I’ve repeatedly said, and Rip has repeatedly ignored, the meaningful part of this is the hearing phase where Cabinet members lie or take the 5th.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:23 am

  418. Certainly not when there is an election to decide the matter in 265 days.

    If the choice in 265 days is Trump vs Biden, it won’t matter much who wins. Both sides are a death cult now.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:24 am

  419. Covering up the president’s rapidly advancing senility is a high crime. But as I’ve repeatedly said, and Rip has repeatedly ignored, the meaningful part of this is the hearing phase where Cabinet members lie or take the 5th.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:23 am

    I’m not ignoring it, I just don’t that any such hearings will happen. Let me know when they start testifying.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:31 am

  420. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:48 am

    The parties do not have a lock on electors in my state

    They don’t have it here either. But you can’t write-in the name of a presidential candidate. You would have to write in the names of Electors. (or maybe in some places a write-in candidate could register his name with a slate of electors and have it counted)

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:31 am

  421. Correction:

    I’m not ignoring it, I just don’t think that any such hearings will happen. Let me know when they start testifying.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:31 am

    This completely assumes facts not in evidence.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:33 am

  422. @401

    Whembly, I’m reading through the HUR report and here’s what I’m seeing so far.

    Most of the classified material were Biden’s hand written notes from classified briefings.
    The material that was marked classified was likely placed in a box inadvertently and stored in his garage without anyone knowing it was there.
    Biden cooperated fully with the investigation and returned all material when asked.

    Do you see that I’m missing any factual elements?

    (will move on for there about implications and conclusions but wanted to get the facts established first)

    Time123 (8f4c69) — 2/14/2024 @ 8:56 am

    There’s also the bit where Biden shared classified info to his ghostwriter and his ghostwriter tried to delete his audio tape of it.

    That, right there at the very least, establish mens rea that Biden knew what he was doing.

    And pointing this out:

    Biden cooperated fully with the investigation and returned all material when asked.

    Is meaningless.

    That’s like saying: Biden robbed a bank, and got caught. Biden gave the money back saying “my bad”.

    Biden still robbed the bank.

    Biden knew he had classified documents in his possessions, as Hur established by recounting that Biden shown the info to his ghostwriter.

    The fact the he cooperated and returned it is meaningless. You’re supposed to do that when you’re caught in this situation. It’s not a “get out of jail” card.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:36 am

  423. In Biden’s limited defense, he hasn’t had a weird freeze-up moment ala Mitch McConnell and hasn’t disappeared “for health reasons” ala Diane Feinstein. He also doesn’t seem unable to perform the job, let alone normal everyday tasks. The border is porous because of policy differences and differences in compassion that tend to handcuff liberals….not because Biden forgot to send out an order or mistakes migrants for AOC. The case for senility is strained and primarily based on gaffes that have followed Biden forever and appearances — he’s an old dude that looks old…doddering is the word. It’s a reason to not vote for him…if you prefer unhinged and reckless. I’m not sure it’s “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Are we in the Overton window for normal behavior…or not. If GOP senators were fine with Trump wanting to join and lead the Capitol rioters on J6…only to be stopped by the Secret Service…then a guy who misremembers national leaders names might also be forgiven….given that is neither a crime or indication of gross incompetence.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:58 am

  424. Whembly, why are you *more* angry at the guy that cooperated fully and returned everything than you are at the guy who *didn’t* cooperate and consciously hid stuff?

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/14/2024 @ 11:14 am

  425. Will Saletan at The Bulwark:

    ……..
    Biden’s memory problems, as reported by Hur, are trivial. Here’s the passage that has everyone worked up:
    ……..
    This looks like an accusation of senility, as though Biden forgot his vice presidency. But in fact, the report shows that Biden, in collaboration with ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer, was deeply immersed in detailing and analyzing his vice presidency for a book. What Biden had momentary trouble with, in his interviews with the special counsel, was recalling dates. It’s embarrassing, like struggling to remember someone’s name. But it’s a failure of recall, not of understanding.
    ……..
    It’s not great that we’re facing an election between two old men who sometimes confuse names or dates. But that’s not what should worry us. What should worry us is the rest of what the special counsels found.
    ……….
    Here’s how Biden dealt with his classified documents, according to Hur:

    Mr. Biden self-reported to the government that the Afghanistan documents were in his Delaware garage and consented to searches of his house to retrieve them and other classified materials. He also consented to searches of other locations, and later in the investigation, he participated in an interview with our office that lasted more than five hours. . . . Just as a person who destroys evidence and lies often proves his guilt, a person who produces evidence and cooperates will be seen by many to be innocent.

    Hur contrasts this with Trump’s treatment of classified records:

    Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr. Trump, if proven, would clearly establish not only Mr. Trump’s willfulness but also serious aggravating facts. Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.

    ………
    The upshot of these two investigations isn’t that Biden is old. It’s that Trump is corrupt and Biden isn’t.

    But there’s also a third special counsel investigation, conducted by Smith into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election. That investigation established another crucial difference: Trump, unlike Biden, is either pathologically dishonest or pathologically impervious to reality.

    The third investigation led to an indictment, issued last August, that documented Trump’s persistent false statements about the 2020 election, in defiance of conversations in which he had been informed that his claims were wrong. …….

    The indictment argues that Trump knew his claims were false. In that case, his intent was clearly corrupt, as it was in his obstruction of the classified documents investigation. ……..A president who tries to block the transfer of power because he can’t accept that he’s been voted out is just as dangerous as a president who tries to block the transfer of power despite knowing he lost.

    What would happen if we were to replace Biden—a well-meaning old man burdened by minor memory problems—with an old man who’s corrupt and delusional? One answer showed up on Saturday, when Trump said he would invite Russia to attack NATO member states. ……
    ………
    These mental defects make Donald Trump a menace to our country and the world. The alternative, Joe Biden, is a well-meaning old man who sometimes botches names or dates but understands who the bad guys are and how to deal with them. The choice between these two men isn’t ideal. But it’s a no-brainer.
    ############

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 11:34 am

  426. “Whembly, why are you *more* angry at the guy that cooperated fully and returned everything than you are at the guy who *didn’t* cooperate and consciously hid stuff?”

    I’m more angry at the guy who is in power and isn’t being prosecuted. Again, What About Trump isn’t a defense. And, justice and Rule of Law isn’t about who we should be more angry at.

    lloyd (46cddf) — 2/14/2024 @ 12:04 pm

  427. And, if we’re going to minimize what Biden did and contend it doesn’t meet the threshold for prosecution, note than Flynn was prosecuted to the hilt for misremembering dates about meetings that were legal. This was cast as lying to the FBI. Biden responded “I don’t know” to questions anyone minimally competent should have answered. Was he lying under oath, or is he unfit to be president? Take your pick.

    lloyd (1ca348) — 2/14/2024 @ 12:11 pm

  428. note than Flynn was prosecuted to the hilt for misremembering dates about meetings that were legal.

    Not quite:

    Flynn pleaded guilty two and half years ago to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which makes it a felony to make material false statements to federal investigators. In Flynn’s case, the false statements had to do with conversations he had in December 2016 with the then-Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. At the time Flynn was a member of President-Elect Donald Trump’s Transition Team, and in that capacity he asked Russia, through Kislyak, to moderate its response to sanctions that the Obama Administration had just imposed, and not to support a resolution that Egypt had submitted to the United Nations Security Council on the issue of Israeli settlements. Soon thereafter, Kislyak told Flynn that Russia would comply with both of these requests.

    The FBI questioned Flynn about these conversations in late January 2017, after President Trump had been sworn into office and Flynn had become his National Security Advisor. Flynn told the FBI that he had not requested through Kislyak that Russia moderate its response to the sanctions, and that he had not requested that Russia refrain from supporting the Egyptian resolution. Flynn also told the FBI agents that he did not recall Kislyak telling him that Russia would, in fact, moderate its response to the sanctions.

    At the end of November 2017, Flynn entered into a plea agreement with the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Pursuant to that agreement, Flynn pleaded guilty to a single count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and he admitted that what he had told the FBI the previous January had been false.

    ……..Flynn’s calls with Kislyak were monitored by U.S. intelligence, so there’s a record of what was actually said. When Sally Yates, the Acting Attorney General, learned about the discrepancy between what the intercepts revealed and what Flynn had told the FBI, she met in person with then-White House Counsel Donald McGann to warn him that Flynn’s deception made him vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. Soon thereafter, Flynn resigned as National Security Advisor. President Trump explained, “I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the vice president and the F.B.I.” (Vice President Pence had said on national television that Flynn’s December 2016 conversations with Kislyak had not involved the issue of sanctions.)

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:08 pm

  429. I said: The GOP should be hauling Cabinet members up before committees and asking htem why they are hiding Biden’s advancing senility.

    Rip said: This completely assumes facts not in evidence.

    What facts are not in evidence? That Cabinet members are saying publicly that Biden is whip-smart and on top of things? Check. That his recent appearances prove the opposite? Check.

    That Jon Stewart segment is devastating to Biden.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:13 pm

  430. lloyd (1ca348) — 2/14/2024 @ 12:11 pm

    And, if we’re going to minimize what Biden did and contend it doesn’t meet the threshold for prosecution, note than Flynn was prosecuted to the hilt for misremembering dates about meetings that were legal.

    Initially, the investigation of Flynn was dropped after he resigned. Flynn agreed to a plea bargain and lying to the FBI was used as the charge he agreed to plead guilty to. He later tried to retract. (he claimed he agreed because his son was threatened with prosecution.)

    It had to do with his being a foreign agent (for Turkey)

    In reality, much more important, he was probably a foreign agent for Russia.

    It was suspected during the Obama Administration that he had been recruited by the GRU while he was head of the DIA, and Obama forced his retirement but did not pursue it further, thinking there was no way he would be appointed to a high position later.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/18/us/politics/michael-flynn-intel-group-trump.html

    The United States, he believed, needed to take a tougher line against the Islamic State, and it needed to cultivate Russia as an ally in the fight.

    He also has one private meeting with the GRU in Moscow and was denied a request for a second one. I can’t find the link right now.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/31/michael-flynn-new-evidence-spy-chiefs-had-concerns-about-russian-ties

    After he resigned from the DIA in 2014, Flynn became a contributor to RT, formerly known as Russia Today, the Kremlin’s English-language news channel.

    In summer 2015, Flynn met Trump for the first time after being invited to do so by his team. That year he received about $45,000 (£36,000) for attending RT’s gala dinner in Moscow, where he sat next to Putin. Flynn also accepted $11,250 from two Russian firms for speaking engagements in Washington.

    As a result of his dropping the matter, two days after the election of 2016, before Biden had even claimed victory, Obama could not bring himself to explain to Trump why he felt that Mike Flynn was a terrible choice for National Security Adviser. And so Trump didn’t listen to him./

    But the FBI forced him out by proving that he lied to then Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

    In December, 2020, Mike Flynn tried to persuade Donald Trump to seize voting machines. He failed but likely did get Trump to invite people to a rally in Washington (he did that in the hours after that meeting that included Sydney Powell, where White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Rudolph Giuliani argued against him) and to use the word “wild” in his tweet, which Trump did, clumsily, probably without understanding what the organizers of the rally at the Capitol had in mind.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:34 pm

  431. 405. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 9:04 am

    So they are selected at state party conventions, run by the parties.

    But who selects the presidential candidate they are pledged to? (the name that appears prominently on the ballot.)

    Probably the same state convention.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:36 pm

  432. whembly (5f7596) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:36 am

    The fact the he cooperated and returned it is meaningless. You’re supposed to do that when you’re caught in this situation. It’s not a “get out of jail” card.

    In reality it is, or they’d have to prosecute half or more of all the former top officials in Washington, and they know it. It is just that this is rarely investigated.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:39 pm

  433. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:13 pm

    Whatever. As I have said, I don’t think there will be such hearings, and there is no evidence there will be.

    That Jon Stewart segment is devastating to Biden.

    Among his audience of 1.8M (streaming and non-streaming, only 930,000 on Comedy Central), which is no doubt a fraction of the numbers watching when Walter Cronkite described the Vietnam War as a “stalemate” and started Americans to turn against the war.

    In the end, Stewart is a comedian, not a soothsayer.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:43 pm

  434. 340. Jim Miller (35fe09) — 2/13/2024 @ 8:23 am

    Kamala Harris’s father is of mixed race:

    I didn’t know that.

    So it sounds like her father’s mother was black but her father’s father was not, or of mixed race himself. I guess she’s black by the “one drop” rule or because of her skin color. (some people from parts of India have darkish skin too)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:46 pm

  435. But who selects the presidential candidate they are pledged to? (the name that appears prominently on the ballot.)

    That depends on state law. Often it is a certification from the national party as to their candidate.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:50 pm

  436. I think all this speculation about Biden being replaced is coming from Republican political consultants (although they probably are also responsible for attributing to Democratic donors)

    The only logical purposes would be:

    1) T hurt Biden’s chances(they see no risk that it will actually cause Biden to withdraw, or that if it des it will lead to him being replaced by someone other than Kamala Harris)

    2) To discourage a mainstream third party candidate (Hey, maybe it might not be Biden vs Trump after all!)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:50 pm

  437. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:50 pm

    . Often it is a certification from the national party as to their candidate.

    But a state party can disaffiliate from the national party.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 1:52 pm

  438. 354.

    Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability,” Bobulinski added.

    “The only reason any of these international business transactions took place — with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family — was because Joe Biden was in high office. The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period.”

    m This is true, but spins tings as bad it can for Joe Biden.

    To use Mitt Romney’s words, Biden’s family was trying to “bilk” foreigners.

    Tony Bobulinski was hired at the suggestion of Jim and Hunter Biden to gain the approval of Joe Biden, which he got. His job was to make sure that everything they did was legal. After he was hired, and Joe Biden was not paying attention, he was cut out.

    “

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  439. I saw a comemrcial for RFK Jr during the Suerbowl. I thought at first it was something else – replaying some bits of 1960 Kennedy commercials for some commermorative purpose or to advertise some TV show..

    They were serious.

    What a waste of money! (and how stupid a pitch.)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 2:13 pm

  440. AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/14/2024 @ 10:58 am

    If GOP senators were fine with Trump wanting to join and lead the Capitol rioters on J6…only to be stopped by the Secret Service…

    I think Donald Trump wanted to go there because he wanted to address the rally and then go in and lobby Senators and Congressmen.

    What do you think he is? Teddy Roosevelt, who maybe loved the excitement of war?

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 2:17 pm

  441. 382. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/13/2024 @ 6:36 pm

    I would like to believe that Biden is not riding on a cult of liars too, but it turns out that he is.

    And one of his important lies, of which he told two different versions, was that he was instrumental in getting a Ukrainian prosecutor fired.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/14/2024 @ 2:23 pm

  442. @424

    Whembly, why are you *more* angry at the guy that cooperated fully and returned everything than you are at the guy who *didn’t* cooperate and consciously hid stuff?

    aphrael (71d87c) — 2/14/2024 @ 11:14 am

    I’m *more* angry that Biden is getting the Hillary Clinton treatment, and Trump only seems to get zealot prosecutions. (Biden should be charged post-Presidency, fyi. )

    Biden has zero reasons to have any classified documents.

    Zero.

    From his Senatorial days to his VP days.

    He’s getting a mulligan.

    Whereas Trump, and I really detest that you’re making me defend him by the way, has a colorable defense in that he was the President that had the ultimate classification authority and as a former-President, has the power to declare documents as personal Presidential papers.

    Jack Smith made that accusation, and I think the obstruction charges are dubious. It’s up to him to make the case in court and it’s up to Trump to rally a defense.

    Fine.

    But, yes, I’m *angry* that the likes of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden gets a pass from the likes of you, while you’re cheering for someone to nail Trump’s scrotum to the podium.

    This is how Trump’s persecution claims and two-tiers of justice has legs.

    whembly (5f7596) — 2/14/2024 @ 2:45 pm

  443. Ben Hur (I know his name is Robert but I just like to call him “Ben”, I don’t know why, I just do) was a Trump appointee and the protege of, and successor to, Rod Rosenstein. He determined that could not convince a jury that there was criminal state of mind, which is right because there wasn’t, but like a good partisan he put in the dig with with the elderly, forgetful, sympathetic defendant reasoning.

    nk (42ccbf) — 2/14/2024 @ 3:11 pm

  444. “I think Donald Trump wanted to go there because he wanted to address the rally and then go in and lobby Senators and Congressmen.”

    Based on what evidence? His legal folks did not want him to go precisely because it would make him appear to be joining the riot. If he wanted to call off the riot, he could have done that through Twitter (he could have called congressmen and there is no evidence that he personally wanted or needed to meet with any face to face). He chose not too and actually escalated by using rhetoric against Pence. His inaction at the White House communicates that he was fine with the riot. You refuse to accept this reality.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/14/2024 @ 3:13 pm

  445. But a state party can disaffiliate from the national party.

    Not in some states. The general election is a STATE ballot and the state legislature has plenary control.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:52 pm

  446. And one of his important lies, of which he told two different versions, was that he was instrumental in getting a Ukrainian prosecutor fired.

    This was old in 2019.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:53 pm

  447. like a good partisan he put in the dig with with the elderly, forgetful, sympathetic defendant reasoning.

    So, why did Biden double down on it with his presser? Jon Stewart had it right (your link).

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:55 pm

  448. You refuse to accept this reality.

    Sammy has his own reality that makes more sense to him.

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:56 pm

  449. Another House exit:

    House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green is expected to announce plans to retire as early as Thursday, marking a surprise exit for a prominent committee chief.

    Green is expected to announce he will not seek reelection just days after he spearheaded the GOP push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to two Republicans familiar with his plans. His exit is already coming as a shock to his colleagues given the win he’d notched with the Mayorkas vote.
    ……….
    “Today, I am running for election,” Green told POLITICO, while declining to discuss the matter further. He later confirmed his resignation to Axios.
    ……….

    Green is the 21st Republican to announce their retirement (or seeking another office) vice 23 Democrats. In addition, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have resigned without a replacement.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 5:03 pm

  450. Bill Clinton has a picture of Trump on his bathroom mirror. Every morning he gets up, sees it, and begins to laugh uncontrollably, barely able to cackle “You DID this, Bill!”

    Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 5:27 pm

  451. About that Mayorkas impeachment:

    ……….
    Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has not yet determined exactly how to go about truncating the proceedings, according to people familiar with the continuing discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe plans that were still under development. But he is aiming for quick action, beginning on Feb. 28, the day the House is expected to deliver the charges, that could be over in just a couple of days.
    ………..
    Under the Constitution, the Senate must consider impeachment charges approved by the House, meaning that a trial of some sort, with senators sworn in as jurors, is unavoidable once the articles are delivered. But from that point on, there are many options for how to proceed.

    House Republicans have clamored for a full trial.
    ……….
    But a full trial is not a requirement, and Senate leaders can lay out their own rules for how to conduct the proceedings. In most modern impeachments, that has included a chance for any senator to move to dismiss the charges, and a simple-majority threshold for doing so.

    “There is substantial precedent for considering motions to dismiss at various stages of impeachment trials,” said Joshua Matz, a constitutional lawyer and an expert on impeachment who worked on the House teams that impeached Mr. Trump.
    ……….
    In Mr. Mayorkas’s case, such a motion would be all but certain to succeed, given that Democrats would be highly likely to hold together to push it through.
    ……….
    “It’ll be dead on arrival when it comes over,” Senator James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said of the charges last week, adding that getting rid of Mr. Mayorkas would not fix the problems at the border.

    “It’ll still be the same policy, even if Mayorkas left,” Mr. Lankford said. “We’re going to have the same result, because we’ve got the same president who’s driving the policy.”

    Should the Senate succeed in dismissing the charges against Mr. Mayorkas, it would spare Republicans a potentially uncomfortable vote in which some would have to choose between a guilty verdict on charges they consider lacking and a not-guilty vote that would exonerate a Biden administration official, angering their right-wing base.
    ………..

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 5:29 pm

  452. Kevin M (ed969f) — 2/14/2024 @ 4:56 pm

    LOLLLL!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 2/14/2024 @ 5:40 pm

  453. AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 2/14/2024 @ 3:13 pm

    “I think Donald Trump wanted to go there because he wanted to address the rally and then go in and lobby Senators and Congressmen.”

    Based on what evidence?

    https://www.npr.org/2022/06/28/1108396692/jan-6-committee-hearing-transcript

    CASSIDY HUTCHINSON: As Mr. Giuliani and I were walking to his vehicles that evening, he looked at me and said something to the effect of, Cass, are you excited for the 6th? It’s going to be a great day. I remember looking at him saying, Rudy, could you explain what’s happening on the 6th? He had responded something to the effect of, we’re going to the Capitol.

    It’s going to be great. The President’s going to be there. He’s going to look powerful. He’s — he’s going to be with the members. He’s going to be with the Senators. Talk to the chief about it, talk to the chief about it. He knows about it.

    Now that’s not what Mark Meadows thought would happen. But he couldn’t tell Trump. He decided to trick Donald Trump into not going to the Capitol.

    CASSIDY HUTCHINSON: I did. After Mr. Giuliani had left the campus that evening, I went back up to our office and I found Mr. Meadows in his office on the couch. He was scrolling through his phone. I remember leaning against the doorway and saying, I just had an interesting conversation with Rudy, Mark. It sounds like we’re going to go to the Capitol.

    He didn’t look up from his phone and said something to the effect of, there’s a lot going on, Cass, but I don’t know. Things might get real, real bad on January 6th.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:14 pm

  454. His legal folks did not want him to go precisely because it would make him appear to be joining the riot.

    You can’t think of a better reason? Like maybe he might get hurt??

    They didn’t even want to tell him a disturbance had started, We’re talking here about right after he finished his speech at the Ellipse.

    If he wanted to call off the riot, he could have done that through Twitter

    He ws perfectly willing to call off the riot. The trouble was, his people wanted him to call off the rally

    (he could have called congressmen and there is no evidence that he personally wanted or needed to meet with any face to face).

    Only Cassidy Hutchinson;s testimony hearsay from Rudolph Giuliani and the fact that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy specifically told Cassidy Hutchison that he didn’t want Trump to go into his office. Which probably means he had some indication of that before.

    When Republican leader Kevin McCarthy heard the president say he was going to the Capitol, he called you, Ms. Hutchinson, isn’t that right?

    CASSIDY HUTCHINSON: That’s correct.

    LIZ CHENEY: And in this text message, you told Tony Ornato, “McCarthy just called me too. And do you guys think you’re coming to my office?”

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:23 pm

  455. He chose not too and actually escalated by using rhetoric against Pence.

    He was justifying what they did – following, not leading.

    His inaction at the White House communicates that he was fine with the riot.

    zhe absolutely was not fine with that riot, He was calling Senators, particularly Tommy Tuberville, to try to get them not to give up their plans to make objections,

    Now he did try a bit to make lemonade out of lemons – see if he could use the riot as an argument.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/14/2024 @ 6:29 pm

  456. Now he did try a bit to make lemonade out of lemons – see if he could use the riot as an argument.

    He was fine with the riot because it took him 3-plus hours to tell his rioters to stop rioting.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/15/2024 @ 4:19 am

  457. Thank you for that answer, whembly.

    From my perspective:

    * human beings make mistakes, and forget things, and are imperfect. Expecting perfection is irrational, and punishing people for honest mistakes is bad for morale and unreasonable unless there’s a *pattern* where the existence of the pattern has suggested the necessity of punishment as a deterrence.

    * in a lot of cases, what matters to me more than the initial mistake is how the mistake is handled: do you own up to the mistake and work to correct it, or do you try and bs your way out of it, or do you simply refuse to engage in the process at all

    * biden’s behavior seems like a mistake — he takes notes in meetings, those notes are classified ab initio, he accidentally puts them in the wrong folder. the fact that he (a) notified the government on his own when his people discovered stuff and (b) fully cooperated with the investigation both reinforces my impression that it was a mistake *and* is the absolute correct behavior when you’ve made a mistake. I don’t think punishment is generally appropriate in this kind of pattern.

    * trump’s initial behavior *could* have been a mistake, but his behavior when the documents were discovered — lying about it, hiding them, not cooperating with the investigation, lashing out at and attacking the investigators — undermines the claim that it was a mistake and is among the worst responses possible to the discovery of a mistake.

    I’m a team lead for an engineering team. If one of my engineers had broken important rules and responded the way Biden did, I would take them aside privately, thank them for their cooperation, reinforce that their mistake was a violation of policy and that they needed to never do it again, and let it go. If one of my engineers had broken important rules and responded the way Trump did, I would have my manager place a formal write-up in their record and I would be advocating to start the process of documenting reasons to fire them.

    It’s not that I want to throw the book at Trump over this because I dislike Trump; It’s that I dislike Trump because he consistently and repeatedly engages in behavior like this.

    aphrael (a4cec9) — 2/15/2024 @ 8:13 am

  458. 456. “Now he did try a bit to make lemonade out of lemons – see if he could use the riot as an argument.”

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 2/15/2024 @ 4:19 am

    He was fine with the riot because it took him 3-plus hours to tell his rioters to stop rioting.

    No, First of all, it took less time that because he told them first not to attack the police and you also have to deduct time – the time it took to tell him that he should issue a statement. I’d say the time that Trump became aware of how serious it was was maybe 2:30 or 2:20 – when the proceedings were recessed. At the beginning, Trump was still trying to go to the Capitol.

    And 3 hours (and it as more like 2 hours) isn’t very long for someone to be argued out of a firm position and remember that idea that he should tell them to stop when he hadn’t told them to start was somewhat innovative,

    People had to convince him of two or three things: That they would listen to him, and that he was the only person they would listen to, and finally, that he needed not only to ted him to call off the rioting, but to call off the entire rally

    People were telling himfg=============isn’t very

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 2/15/2024 @ 10:51 am

  459. Wow, Fani Wills may be the worst witness I’ve ever seen. On her disqualification testimony, which I’m watching now, I’d convict her of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 2/15/2024 @ 2:16 pm

  460. Fani Willis comes across as very strong. She is not on trial she says.

    On her disqualification testimony, which I’m watching now, I’d convict her of kidnapping the Lindbergh baby

    It deoends on what excerpts you see or hear.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 2/15/2024 @ 4:26 pm


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