Patterico's Pontifications

5/24/2024

Weekend Open Thread

Filed under: General — Dana @ 9:22 am



[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Spot-on:

Call it anomie or call it airsickness—we find ourselves in a land of confusion. Trump pays off a porn star and yet is hailed as a champion of Christian values. He mocks prisoners of war and calls dead soldiers “suckers,” and his MAGA base is thrilled by his patriotism. And, as Tom Nichols notes in The Atlantic today, Trump brags about his tight relationship with America’s implacable adversary, Vladimir Putin, claiming that the Russian president will release detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich “for me, but not for anyone else.”

To hear conservative Christians argue that personal character doesn’t matter, or to witness self-described constitutional conservatives defend a relentless attack on the rule of law, is disorienting. To see advocates of law and order embrace rioters who attacked the Capitol and beat police officers is baffling. To watch the party of Ronald Reagan embracing isolationism and following Trump in truckling to the Butcher of Ukraine, Putin, is bewildering. Mind-bending, also, is that, despite Trump’s fire hose of lies, 71 percent of Republicans describe him as “honest and trustworthy.” Recent polls suggest that Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the swing states that will decide the November election.

Maybe that’s why following the news these days feels like swallowing crazy pills. You don’t have to be a particularly cynical observer of American politics to recognize that, past a certain point, no norms endure that cannot be abandoned, and that any position can be flipped if doing so is expedient.

This is a gift article. Make sure to read it

Second news item

Rep. Ilhan Omar went after UCLA Chancellor Gene Block at a hearing today, blaming him for the violence that erupted on campus. In part:

You [Block] could have prevented this when an anonymous group funded and constructed a giant video with loudspeakers to play vile and disturbing footage.’

The pro-Israel camp set up screens outside the pro-Gaza camp to play footage from the October 7 Hamas attack.

I’m glad that Rep. Omar considers the images of the October 7 attack by Hamas as “vile and disturbing,” because the images were vile and disturbing, as was the attack itself. However, pretty sure her point wasn’t to condemn Hamas for their barbarity but to blame Block for allowing the protesters to be traumatized by the video.

Third news item

California Democrats shame themselves:

“Democrats don’t want the public to know they’re protecting pedophiles, that’s why they cut my mic on the Assembly Floor! This is not democracy–it is tyranny.” That is what Assemblyman Bill Essayli said after attempting on Tuesday to get his bill heard to require law enforcement to deport convicted illegal alien child sex offenders. Essayli tried to force a vote on AB 2641, to end sanctuary protections for illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.

Assemblyman Essayli’s legislation was inspired by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) announcement that an illegal alien who raped an American child was released from California state custody. He says this is a direct result of California’s Sanctuary State laws for illegal immigrants.

A vote was taken, and not a single Democrat in the Assembly voted in support of hearing Essayli’s bill.

30 elected officials chose not to vote.

Offending the Latino voting bloc vs. protecting children? Should be an easy choice, but sadly, it’s always only about politics. The 30 who didn’t vote should have had enough backbone to do the jobs they were elected to do. Shame on California.

Fourth news item

JVW points out the absurdity of what is happening in Maine:

This is absolutely nuts:

A Maine city is weighing an ordinance to accommodate a large influx of homeless people—the vast majority of them migrants—with multiple housing options, including private single-family homes.

The migrants, described by one Westbrook city official as “new Mainers” who receive between 90 and 95 percent of the city’s welfare benefits, would be housed in private homes, churches and community centers under a proposed ordinance presented to city officials on Monday.

However, private residences and churches would not have to take in homeless individuals unless they expressed a desire to do so.

Well, you know the Third Amendment only prohibits the mandatory quartering of troops in private homes, so I guess the leaders of Westbrook are being mighty generous in not forcing their fellow “old Mainers” to quarter migrants. Moving right along:

Harison Deah, director of general assistance, made the comment about migrants making up just about all of the “new Mainers” requiring housing assistance, The Maine Wire reported.

He told officials on April 9 that his office has had to instruct migrants on how to do relatively basic tasks when housed, like using a thermostat. Those receiving tax-sponsored benefits are also taught how not to anger fellow tenants and neighbors.

The average client is on general assistance for between one and two and a half years, Deah said.
Assistance would come out of the pockets of both statewide taxpayers and those in Westbrook, the latter of whom would be on the hook for approximately 30 percent of the costs.

“I do not believe the entire homeless shelter proposal is beneficial to the property taxpayers and residents of the city of Westbrook,” resident Martin Malia said during a May 7 Planning Board meeting, according to The Maine Wire. “Last year, the property taxpayers were burdened with an 8.8 [percent] tax increase.

He also expressed concerns about migrants coming to the city to take advantage of a system paid for by citizens already there.

Taking up to 95% of the town’s welfare spending, and remaining on public assistance for one to two-and-a-half years? Remember when the pro-illegal immigration crowd tried to tell us that immigration (including unlawful immigration) was a win/win for our economy? These people are complete frauds. And anybody who voted for these clowns deserves to be hit with an 8.8% property tax increase as a consequence of their own stupidity.

Fifth news item

This, by the UN General Assembly, is indefensible:

The President of the UN General Assembly has called a meeting of the assembly to pay tribute to Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Islamic Republic, or as we Iranians used to call him, the Butcher of Tehran.

Imagine the irony: honoring the man in New York who sent killers here to assassinate me. I’m alive and well, and proud to be honoring his demise instead.

Once again another disgraceful event honoring autocratic regimes at the UN.

…I strongly condemn the actions of the President of the UN Assembly.

This action not only betrays the Iranian nation but also undermines the values of democracy, dignity, and human rights that the global community holds dear.

Raisi, who personally lashed, tortured, and exploited thousands of innocent people, symbolizes the brutal oppression faced by countless Iranians. Honoring such a dictator is an affront to every single victim of his regime and to the principles of justice and humanity.

Sixth news item

Making a strong case as to why appeasement won’t work with Putin:

Mr. Biden and aides believe there’s a red line that would unleash a more severe reaction from Mr. Putin. They just don’t know exactly where that is, or what the reaction might be, says NYTimes

There is no way to win the war with such beliefs.

These beliefs shape a policy of containment. The problem is that it is Ukraine that is contained, not Russia.

An example of such a policy is a ban on Ukraine to use the US weapons to strike Russia.

Zelensky to NYTimes. Key points.

1. The U.S. policy of no strikes on Russia

Zelensky: I have asked Blinken, I have asked Sullivan, I have asked everyone … let’s us strike Russians when they gather at the border to attack us.

NYTimes: But the consensus around that policy is fraying

Indeed, what we saw yesterday was a serious pushback from the House

First, Ukraine President Zelensky. Now, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul!

They demand Biden administration finally lets Ukraine strike Russia on its territory.

McCaul says it is Sullivan behind the flawed policy.

Just recently Zelensky said that he has asked Sullivan and Blinken to let strike Russians gathering just across the border to attack.

But the U.S. says no…

During his recent visit to Ukraine, Secretary Blinken made a remark that was interpreted as a change in policy. But Pentagon and the White House were quick to rectify that perception. This is a long standing policy that puts Ukraine at disadvantage.

Zelensky actually went further and said that the U.S. is afraid of Russia losing. But the implication of this policy – the war will go on.

Nevertheless, the U.S. administration has asked Ukraine not to hit Russia at all, even with Ukrainian made weapons.

Can you win a war without hitting hard enemy strongholds?

Why does the administration believe that Putin can be reasoned with?

When has Putin ever shown that there is a red line for him that he will not cross?

Seventh news item

No backsies. The emotional damage to this family is already done:

American Airlines is changing direction after saying that a young girl was negligent after being recorded by a flight attendant in the lavatory.

In the filing on May 21 the airline claimed that one of the plaintiffs, a 9-year-old girl, was recorded in the bathroom through her “own fault and negligence.

“[The] Plaintiff’s use of the compromised lavatory, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device,” American Airlines response to the petition said.

In a statement to USA TODAY, American Airlines said that there was an error in the filing.

“Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline and we have directed it be amended this morning,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement. “We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously. Our core mission is to care for people — and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.”

Have a good weekend.

—Dana

492 Responses to “Weekend Open Thread”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (8e902f) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:23 am

  2. Oh well.

    ICE confirms Jordanians who attempted to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico were both in US illegally

    One of two Jordanian nationals who attempted to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia earlier this month crossed into the U.S. illegally in April before being released, while the other was a foreign student whose status was terminated in January, according to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

    Both individuals were apprehended on May 3, 2024, after they attempted to breach the Marine Corp base.

    One of the individuals was admitted into the country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 11, 2022 as an F-1 nonimmigrant student with authorization to stay in the U.S. while he was a student. The student’s status was set to terminate on Jan. 14, 2023.

    The second Jordanian was arrested on April 8, 2024, near San Ysidro, California after he entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico, according to ICE.

    After being arrested, he was ordered to appear before an immigration judge on April 9, and the noncitizen was released on his own recognizance.

    But don’t worry, Biden has some solutions. Grease the turnstiles, and don’t expel Hamas supporters on student visas.

    lloyd (a4d94d) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:52 am

  3. Illegal Turkish Immigrant Astounded By How Easy Crossing The Border Is, Says Americans Should Be Worried

    A Turkish illegal immigrant could not believe how easy it is to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without any interference from law enforcement and alerted Americans to be worried.

    The migrant said he paid around $10,000 to a cartel to be transported into Jacumba, California, and warned Americans to be concerned about the millions of people entering the U.S. without a background check.

    “In fact, American people is right, completely true,” he told Fox News’s Bill Melugin. “Who comes into this country? They don’t know. Okay, I’m good, but how if they’re not good? How if they’re killers, psychopath, else? No guarantee of that. Like, no security check, no background check.”

    “No security check, no background check, you’re worried about who’s crossing the border?” Melugin asked.

    “Yes, yes, yes. Of course, because people are not normal,” he responded.

    lloyd (a4d94d) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:57 am

  4. Recently, it became public that Kevin Morris, the entertainment lawyer who has subsidized the expenses and bought the art of Hunter Biden, had stopped his funding of Biden. Morris has paid off Hunter’s IRS debts and reportedly lent him a total of $4.9 million for housing, car payments, legal fees, and other possible costs.

    The so-called “sugar bro” is “tapped out” according to media reports. (For full disclosure, Morris previously threatened me with a defamation lawsuit over my writing about his representation of Hunter). Now the House has confirmed prior stories that whistleblower records indicate that the CIA prevented the Justice Department from questioning Kevin Morris as a witness in its probe of Hunter Biden.

    Morris has maintained that he lent Hunter millions for “no ulterior motive” and continued to support him out of friendship. Yet, when investigators started to look into the payments and the relationship, they were told that Morris had some relationship with the CIA in August 2021. According to previously unreleased information, IRS special agent and current whistleblower Gary Shapley documented the bizarre intervention of the spy agency.

    In a sworn affidavit in May, Shapley declared:

    During a recurring prosecution team conference call in or around late August 2021, Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Lesley Wolf told the team that she and DOJ Tax Attorney Jack Morgan had recently returned from the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where they had been summoned to discuss Kevin Morris.

    AUSA Wolf stated that they were provided a classified briefing in relation to Mr. Morris and as a result we could no longer pursue him as a witness. Investigators probed AUSA Wolf, but since her briefing was classified and she was apparently sanitizing it to an unclassified form to share over an open phone line, she did not elaborate with more information. She reiterated more than once that they were summoned to the CIA in Langley concerning Mr. Morris, and that because of the information provided there, he could not be a witness for the investigation. AUSA Wolf proudly referenced a CIA mug and stated that she purchased some CIA “swag” at the gift shop while she was there.

    It is unclear how the CIA became aware that Mr. Morris was a potential witness in the Hunter Biden investigation and why agents were not told about the meeting in advance or invited to participae. It is a deviation of normal investigative processes for prosecutors to exclude investigators from substantive meetings such as this.

    It is a testament to the level of bias in the mainstream media that this story is not the sole focus of every media outlet in America. Imagine if the CIA intervened to stop an investigation into a donor maintaining one of the Trump children and supporting his effort to blunt any investigation into corruption. MSNBC would make it ongoing special programming with its own time slot.

    This is an agency that is supposed to avoid domestic interventions into politics as well as other areas. It is accused of pulling in a prosecutor to tell her to close part of a criminal investigation involving the financial supporter of the president’s son. Even if Morris was an asset, the question is why shut down the inquiry into his payments to Hunter Biden. The work of Morris with the CIA could be protected or redacted. Instead, the line of inquiry was shut off and Wolf reportedly left Langley with CIA swag and an empty bag of evidence.

    The Spy Who Loved Me? Morris Reportedly Protected by CIA in Hunter Biden Investigation

    Cue the “WhY HAsn’T CoMEr aRreSTed anyOnE!!!” moby complainers.

    BuDuh (4214e4) — 5/24/2024 @ 10:38 am

  5. Biden has been a half-ass coward on Ukraine from the get-go. Two steps forward, one step back, and I suspect Putin is aware of Biden’s feebleness and timidity.

    I doubt Putin has any red lines, he just attacks and lets the chips fall, and don’t trust his ceasefire overtures. If he doesn’t welsh, he’s re-arming.

    Paul Montagu (d4d407) — 5/24/2024 @ 11:25 am

  6. Regarding the story about Westbrook, Maine, it’s been updated to add even more obnoxiously aggravating details. Just note how Jennie Franceschi, the director of planning and code enforcement for the town, uses all of the bureaucratic buzzwords and double-talk to mask over the fact that the citizens are being required to subsidize illegal immigration and questionable asylum seekers:

    “What we can afford in this ordinance are shelters in single-family homes which are deemed to be [for] emergency shelter families, said Jennie Franceschi, Westbrook’s director of planning and code enforcement, according to The Maine Wire.
    “A church that has a room that they utilize for the purposes of baked bean suppers or educational or social needs could then take that room and make it into a shelter if the needs of the community necessitated it,” she added.

    Franceschi told Newsweek on Friday that the ordinance under consideration would allow single- or two-family homes to be licensed as emergency shelters. It also would allow a private civic organization like a church to license a community room within the building as an emergency shelter space.

    Left unsaid is why these locations would need to be “licensed” unless they are going to be eligible for relief payments in return for their service to the fence-jumping community. Can you imagine telling Mainers in 1850 that they needed government permission before they could take in wandering strangers to their homes and churches? And there’s more from Ms. Franceschi:

    But Franceschi said it is important to clarify that the state-mandated general assistance (GA) program provides assistance to qualified Westbrook residents experiencing the need for emergency financial assistance for items beyond housing, including food and medicine.

    “We are unsure where the conclusion was drawn that Westbrook residents who are GA clients are the driver of the emergency shelter ordinance,” she said. “In addition, it is harmful to disparage Westbrook residents experiencing need who legally qualify for this mandated state program by questioning their legally protected status in this country.”

    She went on: “All GA applicants must prove that they fall subject to a legally protected status. Westbrook is a welcoming and inclusive community. We value all our residents, asylum seekers included….[sic] This complex matter deserves a thoughtful approach. Our goal in drafting this language is to take at least one step forward to eliminate barriers that prevent private agencies from serving Westbrook residents in need.”

    Note the very sly invocation of “Westbrook residents” which of course makes no delineation of whether or not they have actual homes there. In fact, she tisk-tisks her fellow Mainers by pointing out — correctly enough, sadly — that probably all of them are lawfully in this country, thanks of course to the utter mindlessness with which the Biden Administration has handed out asylum passes.

    Westbrook is a suburb of Portland and is a part of Maine that has consistently voted Democrat (even voting against Susan Collins when she won reelection in 2020) ever since Ronal Reagan left office. As I said before, I refuse to feel sorry for them. They have voted for this.

    JVW (7ad0bf) — 5/24/2024 @ 12:23 pm

  7. Left unsaid is why these locations would need to be “licensed”

    Zoning laws, and they don’t want just anybody to create a shelter-m they want to approve it. This is an amendment to the current zoning laws there.

    Note this paragraph, which is quoting Jennie Franceschi, the director of planning and code enforcement for the town:

    Franceschi told Newsweek on Friday that the ordinance under consideration would allow single- or two-family homes to be licensed as emergency shelters. It also would allow a private civic organization like a church to license a community room within the building as an emergency shelter space.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 1:51 pm

  8. 5. Paul Montagu (d4d407) — 5/24/2024 @ 11:25 am

    I doubt Putin has any red lines,

    NATO’s boundary seems to be one for the time being, although he seems to be trying to move the maritime boundary between Russia and Estonia. But that’s been disputed since 2022.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/estonia-says-russia-removed-navigation-buoys-border-river-2024-05-23

    – Russian border guards have removed navigation buoys from the Estonian side of a river separating the two countries, the Baltic nation said on Thursday, adding that it would seek an explanation as well as a return of the equipment.

    Some 24 out of 50 buoys recently placed on the Narva river to mark sailing routes were removed in the early hours of Thursday the Estonian police and border guard said in a statement.

    Natural changes to the riverbed make it necessary to retrace shipping routes annually, the authority said, adding that the location of buoys between Russia and Estonia had been disputed since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

    The Russian defence ministry earlier this week briefly published a proposal to revise Russia’s maritime border in the eastern Baltic Sea, but later deleted it from an official portal after creating concern among NATO members, including Estonia….

    ….The Narva river runs from a lake between Russia and Estonia and ends up in the Gulf of Finland, part of the Baltic Sea.
    The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Russia’s Baltic Sea borders should be in accordance with international law, and that the defence ministry’s work to clarify the border was of a technical nature.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:00 pm

  9. 4. BuDuh (4214e4) — 5/24/2024 @ 10:38 am

    Now the House has confirmed prior stories that whistleblower records indicate that the CIA prevented the Justice Department from questioning Kevin Morris as a witness in its probe of Hunter Biden.

    This story reminds me of what Nixon agreed to ask the CIA to do (it refused)

    Nixon resigned over this.

    The book “Silent Coup” proposes that the idea was John Dean’s and he invoked Ehrlichman falsely as its originator.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  10. a young girl was negligent after being recorded by a flight attendant in the lavatory.

    They might have had a semi-defensible point if she was old enough, but she was nine years old!!

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:08 pm

  11. That is what Assemblyman Bill Essayli said after attempting on Tuesday to get his bill heard to require law enforcement to deport convicted illegal alien child sex offenders

    In other words, deal with pedophiles he way the Catholic Church used to.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:11 pm

  12. The migrant said he paid around $10,000 to a cartel to be transported into Jacumba, California, and warned Americans to be concerned about the millions of people entering the U.S. without a background check.

    He doesn’t realize the cartels did a background check and they are better at it than the State Department and have a greater self-interest in not bringing any terrorists. They’d use any terrorists to try to play informant and get immunity for themselves.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:31 pm

  13. Zoning laws, and they don’t want just anybody to create a shelter-m they want to approve it. This is an amendment to the current zoning laws there.

    Well sure. But my point is that it is pretty amazing that we’ve allowed ourselves to become a society in which a temporary shelter still needs to be licensed by the county or the state. Unless of course the whole idea is that those “temporary” shelters are slated to become more permanent.

    JVW (b02843) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:33 pm

  14. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-scientific-fraud-is-suddenly-everywhere.html

    Last week, scientific publisher Wiley decided to shutter 19 scientific journals after retracting 11,300 sham papers. There is a large-scale industry of so-called “paper mills” that sell fictive research, sometimes written by artificial intelligence, to researchers who then publish it in peer-reviewed journals — which are sometimes edited by people who had been placed by those sham groups.

    And this should make it hard to publish genuine original research.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:36 pm

  15. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/asia/singapore-airlines-flight-turbulence.html

    One scenario that is impossible to prepare for is when the skies are clear and the plane’s radar does not detect anything amiss. This phenomenon is known as clear air turbulence.

    “It could be the plane just starts shaking, we turn on the seatbelt sign, but, unknowingly, we fall into the clear air turbulence zone,” said Captain Teerawat Angkasakulkiat, president of the Thai Pilots Association. “It’s totally unpredictable.”

    In the sea, this sort of thing is called a water spout.

    Image

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/24/2024 @ 2:43 pm

  16. RIP pioneering computer engineer C. Gordon Bell (89):

    ………..
    Among his many achievements, one of the first and most major would have to be his contributions to the world’s first “minicomputers” in the 60s, which are bulky by today’s standards but were orders of magnitudes smaller than the room-sized mainframe PCs typical of that era. He helped work on Digital Equipment Corporation’s PDP-1, PDP-4, and PDP-6— PDP-1 also known today as the PC on which Spacewar!, the first-ever video game, was played.

    Besides his contributions to the PDP minicomputers, Bell is also known for co-founding the Computer History Museum and leading several Microsoft research projects, including the likes of MyLifeBits, which was Gordon Bell’s 2000s take on digitally archiving every piece of his life possible, well before the days of Twitter (’06), Google Glass, or unwanted Copilot additions.
    ……..

    The Association for Computing Machinery’s Gordon Bell Prize is awarded each year to recognize outstanding achievement in high-performance computing. The purpose of the award is to track the progress over time of parallel computing, with particular emphasis on rewarding innovation in applying high-performance computing to applications in science, engineering, and large-scale data analytics.

    Rip Murdockk (d2a2a8) — 5/24/2024 @ 4:27 pm

  17. Taking up to 95% of the town’s welfare spending, and remaining on public assistance for one to two-and-a-half years? Remember when the pro-illegal immigration crowd tried to tell us that immigration (including unlawful immigration) was a win/win for our economy? These people are complete frauds. And anybody who voted for these clowns deserves to be hit with an 8.8% property tax increase as a consequence of their own stupidity.

    Now revisit your first remarks.

    The above is one of many reasons why people will vote for Trump and crawl across broken glass to do so. Biden created this.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/24/2024 @ 5:18 pm

  18. First thoughts:

    1. Christians support Trump for the same reason that NOW supported Ted Kennedy: he’s on their side and the other guy most certainly is not.

    3. This is how you get more Trump. When things are so bad, with the bad guys are obstructing in depth, and the process appears to be broken, along comes a guy willing to break all the rules to “fix” things. It’s tempting, really it is.

    4. See 3. Are there enough lampposts in Maine?

    5. The US Ambassador should take a dump on his desk to honor the Assembly.

    6. This is a practice called “negotiating with yourself” and it’s the Biden Administration’s tactic for everything. Merkin Muffley.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 5:57 pm

  19. I wonder what happens in Westbrook if you DON’T “offer” your home as a shelter, but want a building permit.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 6:03 pm

  20. Apparently, some McDonald’s franchisees are struggling to stay open with the sudden increases in labor costs along with other inflation.

    The article isn’t clear, but its obvious that stores in poor and/or working-class areas might struggle to sell a $20 Happy Meal. Labor costs for California franchisees are now nearly triple the federal minimum wage and not all of these operators can afford to invest in robots.

    It’s a problem. Minorities hardest hit.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 6:15 pm

  21. I was upset that the Libertarian Party had invited Donald Trump to address their conventions. Turns out they invited RFK Jr too.

    It seems that the pandemic has affected party members poorly since neither of these guys is Libertarian.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 6:45 pm

  22. From the thread, word is that Judge Cannon is taking the Special Counsel’s charge seriously and will issue an emergency hearing for Dec 1.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/24/2024 @ 7:19 pm

  23. will issue an emergency hearing for Dec 1

    Of what year? And what does “emergency” mean in that sentence?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 7:33 pm

  24. Item one. Trump voters. So? He hates the same people trump voters hate and the corporate establishment drones don’t!

    asset (8f2c08) — 5/24/2024 @ 8:36 pm

  25. I’m a racist for thinking this type of thing might happen in our atmosphere of identity politics

    “Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 72, has been in custody since his arrest in August 2020. The Justice Department said in a court filing it amassed “a war chest of damning evidence” against him, including an hourlong video of Ma and an older relative — also a former CIA officer — providing classified information to intelligence officers with China’s Ministry of State Security in 2001.”

    steveg (0c59e1) — 5/24/2024 @ 8:37 pm

  26. Item 5 The only ones who care for moral reasons have no voice only the ones who complain for political gain are heard. Item 6 Biden is an old man who fears putin might use nukes and democrats didn’t vote for a nuclear holocaust so he is careful.

    asset (8f2c08) — 5/24/2024 @ 8:47 pm

  27. From the thread, word is that Judge Cannon is taking the Special Counsel’s charge seriously and will issue an emergency hearing for Dec 1.

    Here is the specific tweet in “the thread”:

    Universally Blocked 🟦🇮🇱🇺🇦☮️
    @Moredumbtweets
    3h
    Replying to @AnnaBower
    This just in.
    Judge Cannon has issued a statement that this is a serious charge and has issued an emergency hearing on this for Dec 1.
    May 25, 2024 · 12:54 AM UTC

    And how does “@Moredumbtweets” describe him/herself?

    Universally Blocked 🟦🇮🇱🇺🇦☮️
    @Moredumbtweets
    Far left super liberal. Brutally blunt. Blocked all across the world. Jerome Powell is a terrorist #FireDirectorWray #FireGarland
    Very Very Far left of “center”
    Joined March 2013

    Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!! 😂🤣

    How did that show up on your feed?? It’s a real mystery!

    BuDuh (3892b4) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:05 pm

  28. @24: Here’s a conversation I heard, somewhat redacted:

    TLA* rep: “Remember, of the foreign countries that want the information you are preparing, the most likely one is China, and they often rely on US persons with relatives in China.

    Vendor: “So, are you telling us not to hire Chinese-Americans?”

    TLA rep: “No, I am specifically NOT saying that. Just be careful in who you hire.”

    —-
    Three Letter Agency

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:12 pm

  29. BuDuh (3892b4) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:05 pm

    Cry more, troll.
    The fact is that Trump’s pet Columbian judge should’ve done the filing, not Smith.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:33 pm

  30. @17 christian fundimentalist fascists like sammy the fish alito support trump.

    asset (5d5140) — 5/24/2024 @ 11:13 pm

  31. BuhDuh, I have no idea who more dumb tweets is and I think you are absolutely right to be skeptical of anyone following a political trial who is highly partisan, but I will say that Anna Bower who is part of that thread and works for the lawfare blog (whose name predates the more political use of the term lawfare used in more recent times) is quite excellent and mostly non-partisan.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Paul was following her and lawfare’s coverage which is quite good and the liberal person got caught up in there. Also, just because a partisan says Cannon says something doesn’t make it be untrue (but you’re right to take it with a grain of salt).

    Nate (1f7345) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:19 am

  32. And if, as doubtless happened, it turned out that Balham’s of Brinkley, some of the finest Liberals in the county, had never strictly speaking heard of Rick’s coach, let alone painted it for cost out of the goodness of their hearts, then they were in the same state of provisional reality as the coach was. They were waiting for Rick’s wand to beckon them into being. It was only when meddlesome unbelievers such as Makepeace Watermaster had difficulty accepting this state of affairs that Rick found himself with a religious war on his hands, and like others before him was compelled to defend his faith by unpleasant means. All he demanded was the totality of your love. The least you could do in return was give it to him blindly. And wait for him, as God’s Banker, to double it over six months.
    — le Carré, John. A Perfect Spy: A Novel (p. 57). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

    That’s our Trump. John le Carre knew his con men. His father was one. And there’s no whit of a difference from the one he describes and Trump.

    nk (bb1548) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:48 am

  33. The fact is that Trump’s pet Columbian judge should’ve done the filing, not Smith.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:33 pm

    Keep banging that table and linking radical leftists who think the same way you do. It’s a shock that you always find these radicals and their garbage.

    NJRob (0f9618) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:33 am

  34. Lawfare blog. Hmm. Something in the news with them 2 days ago.

    NJRob (0f9618) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:37 am

  35. More on the Special Counsel filing here, based on the motion here, which Anna Bower also linked to. Bottom line, Trump blatantly lied about the search, falsely playing the victim when he’s actually the bully in the situation.

    Several of the agents involved will also be witnesses if/when Judge Cannon gets off her arse and presides over a trial, and such comments by Trump can be construed as witness tampering and intimidation.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:13 am

  36. When Paul decided it was important to call an American Citizen a “Columbian” in a derogatory sense, it let me know that he is no less racist than Trump. It was always difficult to take him seriously, Nate, but his latest outburst really is a bit too far.

    BuDuh (4214e4) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:18 am

  37. Keep banging that table and linking radical leftists who think the same way you do.

    You’re a caricature of the nutjobs in the right wing.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:47 am

  38. “Take a look at where he comes from.”
    –Donald J. Trump, deriding a non-pet Colombian judge, 5/21/2024

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:50 am

  39. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:50 am

    Proving my point.

    You may as well say “I donated $10 to the KKK because Trump did it first.”

    Disgusting.

    BuDuh (4214e4) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:58 am

  40. You missed my point, troll. It was a play on Trump’s racism.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:04 am

  41. Sure…
    Just like dancing sarcastically.

    Have a nice Memorial Day Weekend, everyone.

    BuDuh (4214e4) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:21 am

  42. We’re supposed to view this woman as a strong, capable jurist of tremendous intellect:

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the most senior liberal on the conservative Supreme Court, told an audience at Harvard University on Friday that she sometimes cries after the court hands down its decisions – and she suggested there may be more tears ahead.

    “There are days that I’ve come to my office after an announcement of a case and closed my door and cried,” Sotomayor told the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, where she received an award Friday. “There have been those days. And there are likely to be more.”

    Maybe she needs some kittens and coloring books in her chambers. How pathetic.

    JVW (38141d) — 5/25/2024 @ 12:55 pm

  43. Where things are going right:

    Many Armies Struggle for Recruits. In Sweden They Turn Them Away. (WSJ free link)

    REVINGEHED, Sweden—Deep in the Scandinavian forest, Elin Forsberg’s face is planted in the grass, her arms pinned to her back by two soldiers in mock arrest.

    The 19-year-old high achiever is one of the newest members of Sweden’s armed forces and a product of its fiercely competitive conscription process.

    “It’s a privilege,” Forsberg says of being chosen for military service—less than 10% make the cut. In this exercise, she is playing an enemy intruder at an arms depot with her new regiment, which later this year will send forces to Latvia as part of Sweden’s first international mission as a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member.

    To confront and deter an expansionist Moscow, the U.S. and many of Russia’s near neighbors are struggling to attract enough recruits to reinforce their militaries. Not so in Sweden, where each year the armed forces turn thousands of young men and women away.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:07 pm

  44. Where things are going wrong:

    Russian jamming leaves some high-tech U.S. weapons ineffective in Ukraine (WaPo free link)

    KYIV — Many U.S.-made satellite-guided munitions in Ukraine have failed to withstand Russian jamming technology, prompting Kyiv to stop using certain types of Western-provided armaments after effectiveness rates plummeted, according to senior Ukrainian military officials and confidential internal Ukrainian assessments obtained by The Washington Post.

    Russia’s jamming of the guidance systems of modern Western weapons, including Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which can fire some U.S.-made rockets with a range of up to 50 miles, has eroded Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory and has left officials in Kyiv urgently seeking help from the Pentagon to obtain upgrades from arms manufacturers.

    Russia’s ability to combat the high-tech munitions has far-reaching implications for Ukraine and its Western supporters — potentially providing a blueprint for adversaries such as China and Iran — and it is a key reason Moscow’s forces have regained the initiative and are advancing on the battlefield.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:10 pm

  45. GPS satellites are some 20,000 miles away. A munition approaching a Russian target is, at best, at a 1,000,000:1 disadvantage in signal strength to a local jammer. GPS frequencies are well-known, so the jammer does not have to actually put out all that much power — a few kilowatts is plenty when the satellite’s output is in the 10s of watts. 80dB is the world in signal processing.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:17 pm

  46. “There are days that I’ve come to my office after an announcement of a case and closed my door and cried”

    Shorter: “Mean people suck!” — the rallying cry of all who hate consequences.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:23 pm

  47. This state terrorism is on Joe Biden, and probably also Jake Sullivan, who’s “advised” this president on Escalation Management.

    The Russian Air Force leveraged Russian airspace sanctuary to strike the Ukrainian equivalent of Home Depot in Kharkiv and kill hundreds of civilians.

    It’s morally repugnant and militarily incompetent to allow Russian aircraft to continue conducting such attacks with impunity.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:25 pm

  48. The incompetence of deciding to build a substandard pier is something to behold. What were they thinking?

    I believe the Modular Causeway Structure or MCS, is only rated for Sea State of 1 or 2, with limited use under Sea State 3 which is 7-10 KT winds and 2.5-3’ waves, seas which this area normally exceeds regularly. This is clearly documented in its standards and use guidelines

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:43 pm

  49. KevinM

    The three letter agency didn’t heed its own advice. again

    steveg (a17f86) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:51 pm

  50. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 6:15 pm

    Speaking of Mickey D’s; RIP Morgan Spurlock, (53):

    …………
    ………….(T)he 2004 documentary film “Super Size Me” was by far his best-known creative venture and claim to fame. In the movie, he recorded the month of his life when he ate nothing but burgers, fries and other quick-fix staples from McDonald’s — an experiment that he claimed took a toll on his mental and physical health.

    ………… “Super Size Me” was nominated for best documentary feature at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005.

    “Super Size Me” provoked a national debate and grossed more than $22 million on a modest $65,000 budget. But it came under the microscope over the accuracy of some of its claims about health and science. Spurlock’s disclosure in 2017 that he was drinking heavily through much of his life put his purported symptoms in a new light.
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (f17b34) — 5/25/2024 @ 1:51 pm

  51. The three letter agency didn’t heed its own advice. again

    But they weren’t actually giving it, either.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:10 pm

  52. KevinM

    I’ve read criticisms of incrementalism in regards to US delivery weapons systems given to Ukraine and one of those criticisms noted that incrementalism gives Russia time to adapt before major damage can be inflicted.
    Ukrainians are saying the excaliber shell worked great for the first 100 rounds they were given and then the Russians figured out how to jam them, and if they’d have been given 1000 excaliber shells in that first tranche they might have been able to inflict 10X the damage before russian made the adaptations.

    I also read that the GLSDB from Boeing/Saab will take months to fix if they can at all. Weapons don’t always pan out, luckily those are only $40,000 each.
    EW, counter-EW is one of the biggest races in the arms race olympics track meet. If you know of any currently little known small players with great ideas in the EW space that are traded on the exchanges let us know. We’ll turn this into a weekend stock chat, mock the people who check in just to brag about their yacht size

    steveg (a17f86) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:14 pm

  53. It’s morally repugnant and militarily incompetent to allow Russian aircraft to continue conducting such attacks with impunity.

    Part and parcel of Biden’s pretense of support for Ukraine. People complained about him blocking weapons to Israel, but he has been doing that from the start with Ukraine. This war should have been won by now and we wouldn’t be worrying that Trump will throw in the towel. Nikki Haley made that clear last Wednesday.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:15 pm

  54. If you know of any currently little known small players with great ideas in the EW space that are traded on the exchanges let us know

    I only know of one and it’s privately held, and I really can’t go there anyway. But one thing is clear — GPS is of limited use for the military. If only we had a large constellation of LEO comsats that we could use.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:18 pm

  55. Spaceship test 4 in early June.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:46 pm

  56. Part and parcel of Biden’s pretense of support for Ukraine. ………..
    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 2:15 pm

    What other weapon systems should the US provide? F-16s? Ukrainian pilots don’t know how to fly them, especially in combat. A-10 Thunderbolts? Even the Ukrainians realize they wouldn’t be effective in the contested airspace above Ukraine, and again their pilots are not trained to fly them.

    In the end they answer is to deploy USAF an Army troops into combat. That is the only game changer.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 3:27 pm

  57. GPS is of limited use for the military.

    LOL!

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 3:36 pm

  58. Bronx Cheer:

    Toward the end of a rally in the Bronx on Thursday that his campaign staged to try to bolster and highlight his support among Black and Hispanic voters, former President Donald Trump called upon two hip-hop artists who have been accused of participating in violent gang warfare fueled in part by their music.

    The rappers, Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, were among several guests invited to voice their support for Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. After they did so, Trump expressed his gratitude, then complimented Sheff G’s glittering, jewel-encrusted grill. “I like those teeth. I want to find out where you did — I got to get my teeth like that,” he said. “I want that to happen to me.”

    But Mr. Trump — who earlier in his speech had vowed to restore the rule of law in New York City, denounced urban crime and touted his allegiance to the police — did not address the charges the two men are facing: counts of conspiracy to commit murder and weapons possession.
    ……………
    Trump did not explain why he called to the stage Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow, whose real names are Michael Williams and Tegan Chambers. Their appearance came during a moment typical of his rallies, when he recognizes key figures in attendance.
    …………
    Last year, Williams and Chambers were among 32 people charged in a 140-count indictment accusing the men of using profits from their music to bankroll two Brooklyn gangs, the 8 Trey Crips and 9 Ways. Both men had previously served time in prison for weapons possession.

    Prosecutors in the case, which is ongoing, said that Williams awarded cash, contracts and cameos in his videos to those who committed acts of violence on his behalf.

    Sleepy Hallow was released on bail last year. In April, after 14 months awaiting trial, Sheff G was also released on bail.………
    ………….
    Asked whether Trump was aware of the charges against both rappers and how he viewed them in light of his tough-on-crime stance, a spokesperson, Steven Cheung, pointed to the comments Williams made from the stage.

    “They’re always going to whisper your accomplishments and shout your failures,” Williams said. “Trump will shout the wins for all of us.”
    …………….

    I’m sure the charges against Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow are all a result of a misunderstanding.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:04 pm

  59. @58 When those rappers are on the guest list for a state dinner at the White House, let us know Rip.

    lloyd (ad543a) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:28 pm

  60. @ Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 3:27 pm

    Please be kidding. Why send our men and women to war when they wont even draft their women?
    Where is the equality????

    Joe (141406) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:55 pm

  61. The rappers, Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow,

    Love is where you find it.

    nk (b8be2d) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:20 pm

  62. Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:04 pm

    Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, and Trump appear together in this video at 1:25:45.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:20 pm

  63. lloyd (ad543a) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:28 pm

    I expect they will perform at Trump’s inaugural ball.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:24 pm

  64. Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, and Trump appear together in this video at 1:25:45.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:20 pm

    Better link. The three amigos appear at 1:28:20.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:32 pm

  65. lloyd (ad543a) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:28 pm

    Like former President Trump, Sheff G, and Sleepy Hallow, Hunter Biden is considered innocent until proven guilty.

    What’s your point?

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:35 pm

  66. Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 3:27 pm

    Rip, you’ve been saying there is nothing we can do for 2 years now and it’s on par with Biden’s fecklessness. We could provide them EVERYTHING we aren’t using. We took about a year to agree to give them tanks, then we spent a year training them on tanks, then we gave them 5 tanks.

    The point was to bleed Russia and we’ve done that. I can almost understand the Republicans thinking “why are we spending all this money with no desire to actually win?”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:52 pm

  67. lloyd (ad543a) — 5/25/2024 @ 4:28 pm

    I’m also wondering why you think I care about Hunter Biden attending a state dinner. So what? The President, whom I do not support (except for his Ukraine policy), is entitled to invite to state dinners whomever he wants.

    Seriously, I’ve never cared who is/is not invited to state dinners.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:53 pm

  68. GPS is of limited use for the military.

    Talk about something you know about please. Anyone who thinks that GPS is useful, when you can deny GPS to a county for less than a million, is whistling past the graveyard. Unfortunately there are quire a few in the DoD bureaucracy who have invested too much in GPS-assisted weapons.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:55 pm

  69. I can almost understand the Republicans thinking “why are we spending all this money with no desire to actually win?”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:52 pm

    Republicans (those that support the Republican nominee for President and control the House majority) are not concerned with a desire for Ukraine to win. They either support the Putin line or just oppose spending any money on Ukraine at all.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 5:58 pm

  70. GPS isn’t all that useful for airlines now.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cne900k4wvjo

    Russia is causing disruption to satellite navigation systems affecting thousands of civilian flights, experts say.

    The Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean – the regions where Russia’s military has been most active – have seen an increase in disruption to the Global Positioning System (GPS).

    This has left aircraft unable to receive GPS signals.

    In March, a RAF plane carrying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory.

    The persistent disruption led Finland’s flag carrier Finnair to suspend daily flights to Estonia’s second largest city, Tartu, for a month, after two of its aircraft had to return to Helsinki due to GPS interference.

    Tartu Airport relies solely on GPS, unlike most larger airports which have alternative navigation systems that allow aircraft to land even if the signal is lost.

    Juho Sinkkonen, Finnair’s vice-president for flight operations, told the BBC their aircraft encounter this issue daily.

    “Pilots are reporting cases actively, and we get more than 100 reports per month,” he said.

    However, Mr Sinkkonen said GPS interference is mainly a nuisance and carries few risks.

    This is because while an aircraft is in flight – i.e. before approaching and landing at an airport – it can normally use other navigation systems, so losing connection to GPS does not pose an immediate threat to its safety.

    Luckily planes are not usually landing near Russia, there’s ILS, and any inertial nav system can keep them close enough without GPS.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:07 pm

  71. They either support the Putin line or just oppose spending any money on Ukraine at all.

    If Trump were president right now and doing exactly what Biden is doing, many would be sure he was throwing the war.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:08 pm

  72. Ratsaswarmy booed at Libertarian National Convention for lauding Trump, even though Trump was scheduled later.

    Former Republican presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy was booed more than once at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. on Friday, first just for even mentioning Donald Trump, who is speaking at the event on Saturday.

    Ramaswamy, who has long claimed to be libertarian if not part of the Libertarian Party, has become even more of a Trump supporter since losing in the Republican primary than he was during it – a primary in which he and presumptive nominee Trump largely avoided criticizing one another.

    When speaking to the convention crowd on Friday evening, Ramaswamy brought up Trump as he was asking whether the gathered attendees would rather be happy with getting a very small percent of the vote than having any influence on a Trump administration — and the booing began just at the mention of Trump’s name.

    Ramaswamy was booed a second time when he said the only way to “save this country” is with a “libertarian-nationalist alliance.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:12 pm

  73. Trump booed at LNC.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-libertarian-party-speech-convention-b2551645.html

    Audible boos clashed with impassioned cheers at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington DC on Saturday as former President Donald Trump took the stage before what was certainly the most skeptical if not outright hostile crowd of his bid for the White House this year.

    Donald Trump was jeered multiple times within the first few minutes of his speech to a rowdy crowd of roughly a thousand people Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton, where just a few weeks ago his 2024 election opponent Joe Biden spoke at the White House Correspondent’s Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner.

    The angry yells from the audience were so constant at parts that it was difficult to tell whether the crowd were booing the incumbent president or the speaker in front of them. At other points, it was plainly obvious: a chant of “we want Trump!” was roundly drowned out by an angry response.

    Another round of boos came as Mr Trump declared that he had put everything “on the line” to defend freedom. Boos, both times when Mr Trump suggested that he was a Libertarian through virtue of his criminal trials, prosecuted by the Department of Justice. More boos when the former president suggested, twice, that the Libertarian Party proper should nominate him.

    Full speech

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:19 pm

  74. @67 “The President, whom I do not support”

    Comedy gold

    lloyd (fa82fc) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:20 pm

  75. Trump booed at LNC Magic The Gathering convention

    lloyd (fa82fc) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:23 pm

  76. If Trump were president right now and doing exactly what Biden is doing, many would be sure he was throwing the war.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:08 pm

    “If” being the operative word. If Trump was President right now, he wouldn’t be providing any aid to Ukraine and the war would have been over a long time ago-it would have lasted a only a couple of weeks.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:26 pm

  77. if more people loved mr. former president donald trump, nobody would need to hate mr. present president joe biden

    it is lack of love which nourishes hate

    and paid pro-trump astroturf on the internet

    who also nourish hate, i mean

    at least I hope they’re paid

    a lot of people have to do unpleasant things to earn their daily bread

    it is understandable

    nk (b8be2d) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:34 pm

  78. lloyd (fa82fc) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:20 pm

    1. You forgot the !.

    2. We’ll, I won’t be voting for Biden, that’s for sure.

    Rip Murdock (4bf0ed) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:09 pm

  79. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 6:19 pm

    Trump did get cheers for this promise:

    Donald J. Trump has pledged to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s life sentence to time served if he’s re-elected president.

    “If you vote for me, on Day 1, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to a sentence of time served,” Trump said during his Saturday night remarks at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. “He’s already served 11 years, we’re gonna get him home.”
    ………….
    In his evening address, Trump’s pledge to free Ulbricht was met with raucous cheers from the assembled audience, many of whom were holding up signs reading “Free Ross.”
    In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years – effectively, life in prison without the possibility of parole – for creating and operating Silk Road. The now-defunct darknet marketplace was used to anonymously buy and sell goods, but was largely used for drugs. Silk Road operated from 2011 to 2013 and is widely considered the first real-world use case for Bitcoin.

    Ulbricht has become something of a martyr for many in the crypto community, as well as to many Libertarians, who see Ulbricht’s draconian sentence as a governmental overstep and a violation of his constitutional rights. In 2018, the Libertarian Party called on then-President Trump to pardon Ulbricht.
    ………….

    I would wait until he completes his first life sentence.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:25 pm

  80. I’m still waiting for Biden to govern from the Center.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:25 pm

  81. Donald J. Trump has pledged to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s life sentence to time served if he’s re-elected president.

    A patter for every mark. The Libertarians were his marks that night, that was his patter. Policies! Snorfle!

    nk (b8be2d) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:33 pm

  82. Ross Ulbricht was convicted of:

    One count of distributing narcotics;
    One count of distributing narcotics by means of the Internet;
    One count of conspiring to distribute narcotics;
    One count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise;
    One of count of conspiring to commit computer hacking; and
    One count of conspiring to traffic in false identity documents.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:37 pm

  83. A patter for every mark.

    I’m sure you meant to quote me and “I’m still waiting for Biden to govern from the Center.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:37 pm

  84. Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:25 pm

    Link for post 80.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:40 pm

  85. Biden was also invited to speak to the Libertarians but he had to wash his hair that night.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 7:41 pm

  86. I’ll say this, Trump was full of sh-t as usual but his political skills are good. It was the right move for him to appeal to the LP, and he had a point about whether they wanted to be stuck at 3% or join him and have a seat at the table. It may be a kiddie chair, but it’s something.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:31 pm

  87. From the Stanford Engineering GPS lab

    “Interfering with GPS is not difficult as GPS signals are received with very low signal power. Hence, GPS jamming devices are fairly simple to manufacture.”

    They say that Russians put cheap GPS jammers near high value targets that can make the 30 year old HIMARS ATACMS miss by 50 feet. Ukraine has had success sending waves of airburst munition ATACMS at s400 anti air batteries. Airburst/clusters can be 50 feet off target and still make a mess of it. Plus it is embarrassing when a 30 year old rocket munition falling from the air can take out the state of the art Russian anti air system. Who wants to buy the S400?

    The future might look like quantum sensor if they can get them down to the size of a shoebox

    Less vulnerable to disruption than GPS, inertial navigation using quantum sensors is viewed as a way to navigate with similar or better accuracy than GPS when compromised or unavailable.

    One of the biggest hurdles to quantum sensing devices that could be used in dynamic environments like military ships, submarines or aircraft is making them small enough and energy efficient enough to be suitable for these platforms. Downsizing the quantum sensors developed so far also diminishes their accuracy and precision. It’s a “tradeoff but a tractable challenge” that NRL, the Army and Air Force Research Laboratories and researchers in private industry are working on, [NRL’s Section Head in Quantum Optics, Adam Black explained]

    “You can imagine a shoebox containing a quantum IMU” with accelerometers and gyroscopes “pretty reasonably,” Black told National Defense. “We’re not there at the moment. But I think that’s within the realm of the physics.”

    Operating as part of new inertial navigation systems, quantum IMUs would perform the same functions as a classical IMU, “just with better precision and accuracy coming from that sensor for a period of time,” he added.

    Dr. Gerald Borsuk, associate director of research for NRL’s Systems Directorate, said that a new generation of smaller, precision atomic clocks — devices that are also quantum sensors — could be used to keep time when GPS is denied.

    “A GPS sensor can still be used if it has precision time by another source,” Borsuk explained.

    steveg (a17f86) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:32 pm

  88. Black described development of miniaturized, high performance microwave atomic clocks and small optical atomic clocks that measure time based on optical frequencies in the hundreds of terahertz, as jam-resistant quantum sensors that could improve GPS resilience.
    “People are now taking the more advanced optical atomic clocks and engineering them to have field-able package sizes,” he noted.
    Development of quantum sensors is often protracted by the need to build physical prototypes for real-world testing. Black said that digital engineering — virtual modeling and simulation — is being applied by the Navy lab and other research groups to speed up the process.
    “An example is a recent program we participated in with the Office of Naval Research aimed at putting quantum gravimeters on ships,” he revealed.
    Black’s group at the Naval Research Laboratory took advantage of precise ship motion models to build an atomic physics level model that forecasts how the atoms in gravimeters — sensors that measure acceleration due to gravity — behave without large, heavy stabilization gimbals.
    “It turned out that the gravimeters worked just fine as long as you incorporated knowledge of the error sources in the gravimeters and corrected for those

    steveg (a17f86) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:36 pm

  89. Sandia National Laboratory

    The race to build the world’s smallest atomic clock, again

    “They want 1 cubic centimeter for everything, and currently there’s no atomic clock with this kind of size,” said [Yuan-Yu Jau], whose core design is even smaller — about 1 centimeter long and a mere 2 millimeters wide and tall, for a grand total of 0.04 cubic centimeters. DARPA requested the devices to be accurate within one-millionth of a second after one week.

    https://newsreleases.sandia.gov/atomic_clock/

    steveg (a17f86) — 5/25/2024 @ 8:46 pm

  90. 28. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/24/2024 @ 9:12 pm

    Vendor: “So, are you telling us not to hire Chinese-Americans?”

    TLA rep: “No, I am specifically NOT saying that. Just be careful in who you hire.”

    In other words: Trust, but verify.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:20 pm

  91. We don’t get the background for this. Why the sudden interest in housing migrants there?

    The migrants, described by one Westbrook city official as “new Mainers” who receive between 90 and 95 percent of the city’s welfare benefits,

    Probably not paid for by the city, but the money they spend helps boost tax revenue. It was the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020.

    As for why the didn’t try to get other homeless, it’s probably because they are a better class of homeless.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:31 pm

  92. But Mr. Trump — who earlier in his speech had vowed to restore the rule of law in New York City, denounced urban crime and touted his allegiance to the police — did not address the charges the two men are facing: counts of conspiracy to commit murder and weapons possession.

    In his speech, Trump attributed falsely as they say the rise in crime to migrants.

    And more:

    https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-continues-demonize-migrants-falsely-claims-building-army/story?id=110535732

    “They come from Africa. They come from Asia. They come from all over the world. They come from the Middle East, Yemen … Large numbers of people are coming in from China,” he said. “And if you look at these people, did you see them? They are physically fit. They’re 19 to 25. Almost everyone is a male, and they look like fighting age.”

    “They’re building something,” Trump repeated. “They have something in mind. We’re gonna end all of that stuff.”

    I’ve heard Curtis Sliwa before talking about men of military age.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:39 pm

  93. The more I think about it, the more troubling it is that Trump has bragged about his relationship with Putin with regard to Evan Gershkovich. And while he doesn’t care about the journalist, he does care deeply about looking like a big man on the world stage and showing that he alone can influence or intimidate Putin. So much so that he could make Putin release the American journalist. It seems like this is a big deal. That close relationship, at least as presented by Trump, is dangerous and foolish, and may easily put our nation at risk if he is elected in November. I fear that his desperate need to be revered by a strong man like Putin and his need to try to be a tough guy will put us in dangerous waters. On some level, he wants Putin’s approval too.

    Dana (8e902f) — 5/25/2024 @ 9:44 pm

  94. he had a point about whether they wanted to be stuck at 3% or join him and have a seat at the table.

    Pretty much the same decision that much of the GOP has faced. Although some criticize.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:26 pm

  95. The more I think about it, the more troubling it is that Trump has bragged about his relationship with Putin with regard to Evan Gershkovich.

    I would much rather he had gone over there and got him rather than talk about it. But of course he might have failed, in public.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:40 pm

  96. There are so many things Trump could’ve done in his ex-presidency, but didn’t, such as…
    1. Condemning Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and demanding his full and complete withdrawal, but he didn’t do that.
    2. Demanding that Putin return all American hostages and political prisoners, but he didn’t do that.
    3. Condemn Supreme Leader Kim and Supreme Leader Khameini for arming Putin, but he didn’t do that.
    4. Condemn Hamas for their 10/7 terrorist attack, and demanding that they surrender and return all the hostages, but he didn’t do that.
    5. Condemn Chairman Xi for threatening Taiwan, for arming Putin, for the Uigher cultural genocide, for clamping down on Hong Kong, for his role on Wuhan and Covid, but he didn’t do that.
    Instead, he tried to sell the Libertarian Party to support him. The irony is that in the background of his speech was the phrase “Become Ungovernable”.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:53 pm

  97. @96 Kim may be planning something to help trump. (business insider)

    asset (38eac3) — 5/25/2024 @ 11:09 pm

  98. his desperate need to be revered by a strong man like Putin and his need to try to be a tough guy will put us in dangerous waters. On some level, he wants Putin’s approval too.

    I have revised my view on that. I think that Putin, Erdogan, Kim, et al are like his fake Time Man Of The Year covers and Club Champion trophies. All brag, no fact. Merely a coterie he wants to claim as his own. Along with all the other famous and infamous people seen and photographed with for most of his life. It’s a conman thing.

    Chris Christie said something similar about the stolen documents. Trump just wanted them as showpieces. “Trophies”. Likewise, his purported rapport with “strong leaders who are in control of their cooties (sic)”. For show only. Nothing genuine.

    nk (b8be2d) — 5/26/2024 @ 6:26 am

  99. Instead, he tried to sell the Libertarian Party to support him. The irony is that in the background of his speech was the phrase “Become Ungovernable”.

    I didn’t see it as irony, I saw it as a plan. Donald Segretti would be proud.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:06 am

  100. In fact, maybe this whole Biden thing is a “Swiss Gambit.” Intentionally lose to Trump while riling him up with lawfare and call him a dictator wannabe. Then, when he actually acts like a dictator and does stupid things where people die, you can impeach and convict him and paint the Republican Party for all time as a clear & present danger.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:13 am

  101. @98, it’s always been the most perplexing thing about the classified documents imbroglio….it all seems to have been for the smallest and most pathological reasons….like a 3yr old clutching desperately for all his toys and announcing “Mine!”

    Still, it continues to amaze me that most of the GOP can see this tediousness and say “yeah, that’s who we want to lead the free world….this is who we are.” With social media, we’ve managed to kill shame….

    AJ_Liberty (2a2e6b) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:14 am

  102. Russia Steps Up a Covert Sabotage Campaign Aimed at Europe

    Russian military intelligence, the G.R.U., is behind arson attacks aimed at undermining support for Ukraine’s war effort, security officials say.

    U.S. and allied intelligence officials are tracking an increase in low-level sabotage operations in Europe that they say are part of a Russian campaign to undermine support for Ukraine’s war effort.

    The covert operations have mostly been arsons or attempted arsons targeting a wide range of sites, including a warehouse in England, a paint factory in Poland, homes in Latvia and, most oddly, an Ikea store in Lithuania.

    But people accused of being Russian operatives have also been arrested on charges of plotting attacks on U.S. military bases.

    While the acts might appear random, American and European security officials say they are part of a concerted effort by Russia to slow arms transfers to Kyiv and create the appearance of growing European opposition to support for Ukraine. And the officials say Russia’s military intelligence arm, the G.R.U., is leading the campaign.

    …

    Security officials briefed on the incident said G.R.U. operatives used a Russian diplomatic building in Sussex, England, to recruit locals to carry out the arson. Four British men have been charged with arson in the attack, and one of them has been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service.

    In response, Britain expelled a Russian military officer working for intelligence services and closed several Russian diplomatic buildings, including the G.R.U. operations center in Sussex.

    The use of local recruits, security officials said, has been a hallmark of the recent sabotage campaign. U.S. and European officials said that is partly to make attacks more difficult to detect, and to make them appear to be the result of domestic opposition to supporting Ukraine.

    A pretext, if one is needed.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:19 am

  103. @100, except Jack Smith’s cases and Georgia really aren’t Lawfare….they’re accountability. NYC was the one and only one that should have been delayed until after the election to make room. Our legal system met something it really did not know how to process: a President having a tantrum and testing our safeguards….and a major party that’s lost all its shame.

    I’m not sure that the Democrats thought that Biden would want to stick around….given his numbers and increasing doty-ness. This is a perfect storm of hubris….

    AJ_Liberty (2a2e6b) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:26 am

  104. “yeah, that’s who we want to lead the free world….this is who we are.”

    The people who are supporting him are not interested in leading the free world. They have local fences that need mending and until they are mended, they think the world can go F itself. This sunk Haley, of course. DeSantis was, at best, Trump-lite.

    Biden could have addressed some of these issues, too, but instead he chose to exacerbate them.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:26 am

  105. Jack Smith’s cases and Georgia really aren’t Lawfare

    To Trump’s people they are, which was my intended slant.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:28 am

  106. This is a perfect storm of hubris….

    Midgets on stilts with megaphones.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:31 am

  107. A pretext, if one is needed.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:19 am

    Countries have been spying on and disrupting their politics for decades. The US expelled 35 Russian diplomats in 2016 for election interference, would you have argued it was a pretext then?

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:58 am

  108. @96 All things which happened on Biden’s watch, as president and “leader of the free world”, not while he was a powerless ex-president. “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f… things up.” Obama was right about something. And all Nevertrump can complain about is Trump’s reaction to all the f ups their preferred candidate has delivered.

    lloyd (2813e9) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:08 am

  109. I would much rather (Trump) had gone over there and got (Evan Gershkovich) rather than talk about it. But of course he might have failed, in public.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/25/2024 @ 10:40 pm

    1. Trump is mostly all talk and no action, for example, talking about sending Army troops to Portland to quell the violence in 2020.

    2. Trump can’t give the Russians what they want.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:09 am

  110. Donald Segretti would be proud.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:06 am

    Segretti was a penny ante player in Watergate. Try G. Gordon Liddy.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:13 am

  111. Segretti was a penny ante player in Watergate. Try G. Gordon Liddy.

    Segretti had class. Liddy was a thug.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:16 am

  112. “Jack Smith’s cases and Georgia really aren’t Lawfare”

    They are, but that’s burying the lede. It’s too late to just now distance oneself from the Bragg case. So now it’s acknowledged as lawfare, and we let it go. Lecture us about principles again.

    lloyd (2813e9) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:17 am

  113. RIP Disney Legend songwriter Richard Sherman (95):

    …………
    Mr. Sherman, together with his late brother Robert, won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins” — best score and best song, “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” They also picked up a Grammy for best movie or TV score. Robert Sherman died in London at age 86 in 2012.
    …………
    Their hundreds of credits as joint lyricist and composer also include the films “Winnie the Pooh,” “The Slipper and the Rose,” “Snoopy Come Home,” “Charlotte’s Web” and “The Magic of Lassie.” Their Broadway musicals included 1974’s “Over Here!” and stagings of “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the mid-2000s.
    ………….
    Their awards include 23 gold and platinum albums and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They became the only Americans ever to win first prize at the Moscow Film Festival for “Tom Sawyer” in 1973 and were inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame in 2005.
    ………….
    They wrote over 150 songs at Disney, including the soundtracks for such films as “The Sword and the Stone,” “The Parent Trap,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Aristocrats” and “The Tigger Movie.”
    “It’s a Small World” — which accompanies visitors to Disney theme parks’ boat ride sung by animatronic dolls representing world cultures — is believed to be the most performed composition in the world. It was first debuted at the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair pavilion ride.
    ……………

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:26 am

  114. Trump Booed For Wearing Deodorant At Libertarian Convention.

    lloyd (2813e9) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:28 am

  115. Lloyd, I’m no lover of the New York case, but I don’t think it’s easy to say what should have happened.

    Trump very clearly broke some laws. You had an associate of his go to jail for breaking laws related to something Trump did. If the state/law enforcement don’t charge him, it’s just as easily an assault on the law as charging him.

    When half the country is going to be upset that someone isn’t being prosecuted who broke the law and half the country is going to be upset if someone is prosecuted who broke the laws, I think the major issue is… that we have a candidate/ex-president who broke laws.

    And let’s not be too dear about worrying about this specific candidate who ran (as he was currently breaking laws) encouraging thunderous cheers of “lock her up.”

    Nate (cfb326) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:29 am

  116. Nate,

    The difference between law enforcement and lawfare is the starting point.

    In criminal matters, if you start from laws being broken then indict someone, then it’s law enforcement. If you start from someone, then find a law that was broken by them, it’s lawfare.

    In civil matter’s it’s similar and depends to whether you start from the person or the tort.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:02 am

  117. So, the NYC case (as well as the civil fraud case) is lawfare. The DC, FL and GA started from the act and indict multiple people. Those are law enforcement even if the same charges might not be brought against a different defendant (no case is identical).

    The NY defamation case is also not lawfare as it started from the tort, not from “how do we get Trump?”

    The Hunter Biden case that comes up now and again is ALSO law enforcement as it began with an awareness of crimes, not in some focus on getting Hunter for “something.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:07 am

  118. RFK Jr has been nominated in the Libertarian presidential contest and has accepted. The LP is currently on the ballot in 38 states.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:10 am

  119. * matters, not “matter’s”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:11 am

  120. Trump Booed For Wearing Deodorant At Libertarian Convention.

    “The peasants are revolting!”

    — Wizard of Id

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:12 am

  121. RFK Jr has been nominated in the Libertarian presidential contest and has accepted. The LP is currently on the ballot in 38 states.

    Hunter Biden would have been the exemplar for the Libertarian Party platform. Not a guy who would turn up his nose at a good pot party with hookers. (Down to a line of coke, sure.) But, like, you know, man … family ties.

    nk (b8be2d) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:48 am

  122. For all the good things that Nikki Haley said in her speech at the Hudson Institute earlier this week, her views are an outlier in today’s Republican Party.

    Pew Research Center Survey-Ukraine and NATO

    ………
    Ukraine

    About a third of Americans (31%) say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine. Roughly equal shares of U.S. adults say the U.S. is providing about the right amount (25%) or not enough support (24%) to Ukraine, while 18% say they are not sure.

    In March 2022, shortly after the invasion, about four-in-ten Americans said the U.S. was not providing enough support to Ukraine (42%). This share has since decreased by nearly 20 percentage points. Meanwhile, the share of those saying that the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine has grown from 7% in March 2022 to 31% in April 2024.

    Roughly half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine, compared with 16% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.

    In March 2022, almost half of Republicans said the U.S. was not providing enough support to Ukraine, 11 points more than the share of Democrats who said this. Today, that same share of Republicans (49%) say that the U.S. is providing too much assistance to Ukraine.

    ………(C)onservative Republicans (54%) (are) more likely than moderate and liberal Republicans (40%) to say the U.S. is providing too much assistance to Ukraine.
    ……….
    ……….A majority of Democrats (55%) are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of Ukraine being defeated and taken over by Russia, up 10 points since September 2022. About a third of Republicans (35%) hold this view, little changed from 32% in fall 2022.
    …………

    NATO

    …………
    Republicans have become less favorable of the alliance over the past year: 43% have a positive view of NATO, down from 49% who said the same in 2023. Meanwhile, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents remain positive about NATO into 2024: Three-quarters of this group see the alliance in a favorable light (comparable to 76% in 2023).
    ………….
    The partisan divide seen in overall views of NATO is present here as well: 81% of Democrats say the U.S. benefits from being a member of NATO, while 51% of Republican say the same. ………
    ………..

    With Haley’s foreign policy views diametrically opposed by Republican voters and leadership, it is highly unlikely she will become Secretary of State in a future Trump Administration.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:58 am

  123. All things which happened on Biden’s watch…

    Putin’s War Against Ukraine was on Trump’s watch, and he didn’t lift a finger to end it, as was Xi’s hijinx, as was Putin holding Americans hostage. Try again.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:13 am

  124. Kevin

    ,

    what NY defamation case are you referencing? Is it the one where NY changed the law to allow a specific lawsuit within a 1 year period that just happened to allow a woman with zero proof to accuse Trump of assault? And he’s continued to.proclaim his innocence?

    NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:21 am

  125. Putins war was on Obama and Biden’s watch. Your desire to lie and absolve the leftists is noted Paul.

    NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:22 am

  126. @112, I’m fairly certain my comment did not say that the NYC case was lawfare. I would just argue that it’s the weakest and it’s the one that is viewed as the most politically motivated.

    But the prosecutor did prove that legal fees were misrepresented on business filings (misdemeanor) and then showed how there was a conspiracy between Trump and David Pecker to spike negative stories by paying for silence…leading to campaign finance violations and tax misrepresentations (enhancement to felony). Simply saying I want my guy to get away with this does not mean it’s lawfare.

    Has Bragg’s team proved beyond a reasonable doubt whether Trump directed the business fraud? We will see. I doubt Trump will be found not guilty. It’s either guilty or a hung jury. Trump was shown to be a micromanager in his business affairs, especially where checks were being paid out. The question is that along with the mafioso approach of keeping Cohen “on the team” enough to substantiate the claim.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:26 am

  127. Nikki Haley’s performance in the Republican primaries was a mirage:

    ………….
    …………. (T)he prospect of Republican support coalescing around Trump may not simply be a function of whether he makes overt efforts to win over those Haley voters. Broadly speaking, results from past elections suggest that many of Haley’s supporters will eventually line up behind Trump: Specifically, self-identified Republicans and independents who lean toward the GOP are very likely to “come home” to their preferred party’s nominee. ………

    Trump has won 72 percent of the Republican primary vote this cycle versus Haley’s 24 percent, so Haley’s voters constitute a clear minority of the GOP primary electorate. Only about half of her voters identified as Republicans, while the rest identified as independents or even Democrats, based on exit poll data. ………. Trump’s primary voters more closely reflect the makeup of the GOP in terms of their party identification and conservative leanings.

    ………….Across the six states for which we have entrance and exit poll data — California, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — just under half of Haley’s voters identified as Republican, compared with 73 percent of Trump’s supporters. Meanwhile, 41 percent of Haley’s backers versus 27 percent of Trump’s identified as independent or something else. Additionally, about 11 percent of Haley primary voters in those states — compared to virtually none of Trump’s voters — identified as Democrats, a group that will mostly back Biden in November.

    ………… Across those six states, 71 percent of Trump independents identified as conservative, making it likely that most leaned toward the GOP. By comparison, 67 percent of Haley independents identified as moderate or liberal (to be clear, there were very few of the latter). Considering most independents lean toward one party, there are almost certainly a fair number of Democratic-leaning voters among the group of Haley independents who identified as moderate rather than conservative.

    ………… Across the Super Tuesday exit polls from California, North Carolina and Virginia, 40 percent of Haley supporters approved of Biden’s job performance as president, compared with just 1 percent of Trump voters. And among Haley backers in those three states who identified as independent, nearly half approved of Biden.

    All of this suggests a decent share of independent (or Democratic) likely Biden voters cast primary votes for Haley. Notably, this doesn’t necessarily signal an anti-Trump shift for those voters: recent surveys from Emerson College and Siena College/New York Times suggest that a majority or plurality of Haley supporters voted for Biden in 2020.
    ………….
    Taking what we know about the makeup of Trump and Haley primary voters, we can use data from past primaries to shed light on which ones tend to “come home” to the party’s nominee and which tend to move into the opposition’s camp in November.
    …………
    All told, these numbers point to the likelihood that most Haley primary voters (or Haley supporters in polls) who identify as or lean Republican will go to Trump in November. ……….
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:29 am

  128. Putin’s War Against Ukraine was on Trump’s watch,

    Agreed. Trump was doing Putin’s dirty work for him during his administration, which allowed Putin to postpone his invasion.

    Trump’s actions while President furthered Russia’s goals to discredit and delegitimize Ukraine’s government and to drive a wedge between the US and Europe. Trump explicitly wavered in his commitment to supporting Europe under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, and reportedly discussed withdrawing from NATO. He repeated Russian disinformation that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in US elections. And he withheld $400M in exchange for Ukraine opening a bogus investigation to discredit the Bidens.

    Why mess things up by invading Ukraine when your adversary is doing your dirty work for you?

    Rip Murdock (4bf0ed) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:38 am

  129. AJ: Jack Smith’s cases and Georgia really aren’t Lawfare

    Kevin: To Trump’s people they are

    But this is the problem. Ignorance is no excuse. It’s like the recent gem of Trump claiming that the search warrant was an attempt to assassinate him…despite the fact that he wasn’t at Mar-a-Lago when the search was held and that the wording was boilerplate with the same language used in Biden’s search. It’s not somehow OK for GOP voters to fall for yet one more Trump lie.

    Ultimately, I blame National Review, Fox, Talk Radio, and GOP representatives who keep enabling this…so we get these tragically broken hyper-partisans who can no longer tell right from wrong. There’s no excuse for Trump hiding the classified documents from those trying to retrieve them. There’s no excuse for Trump not Tweeting to his supporters to cease and desist when the violence erupted J6. The fact that Trump does not understand right from wrong and legal from illegal makes him unfit…and a danger as Chief Executive.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:47 am

  130. Rip Murdock (4bf0ed) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:38 am

    See also here.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 12:07 pm

  131. It’s lawfare when you look for reasons to prosecute one person versus look for excuses not to prosecute another on the opposite side of the political equation.

    Hillary and Biden thank you for your support.

    NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 12:14 pm

  132. Putins war was on Obama and Biden’s watch. Your desire to lie and absolve the leftists is noted Paul.

    You’re the liar. You were fact-checked on it over a week ago.
    Putin’s war against Ukraine is unabated since 2014, and was happening throughout all of Trump’s single term.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 12:45 pm

  133. In March 2022, shortly after the invasion, about four-in-ten Americans said the U.S. was not providing enough support to Ukraine (42%). This share has since decreased by nearly 20 percentage points. Meanwhile, the share of those saying that the U.S. is providing too much support to Ukraine has grown from 7% in March 2022 to 31% in April 2024.

    As I’ve said, this is because Biden’s support is only enough to continuing the bleeding. When Japan was invading Manchuria in the 1930s we sent fighter planes, transport planes and independent “volunteer” pilots to fly them. We could have done the same thing again — there are plenty of former AF pilots who would have volunteered. But no. The primary rule for Biden is “don’t rock the boat too much.” And so the incrementalist policy that failed so badly in Vietnam. We’re about at 1962 in analogy, forced to choose between “Go big” or “Go home” because we did not act forcefully at the start.

    Say what you want about Iraq; we didn’t lose there militarily, and we didn’t inch our way along.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:16 pm

  134. I see Rip is back with his “girls can’t play this game” crap.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:17 pm

  135. But this is the problem. Ignorance is no excuse.

    Assuming this is ignorance is a huge mistake. That allows you to ignore the real grievances perhaps, but it also causes you to misunderstand what is going on.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:18 pm

  136. It’s lawfare when you look for reasons to prosecute one person versus look for excuses not to prosecute another on the opposite side of the political equation.

    It’s partisanship when you analyze through “Us vs Them” glasses. Lawfare is utilized by partisans, but that doesn’t make it lawfare.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:20 pm

  137. Putin’s war against Ukraine is unabated since 2014, and was happening throughout all of Trump’s single term.

    And began during Obama’s, who did nothing at all to stop it. Crimea was annexed before Trump came to power. The “insurgency” continued during Trump’s term but it was not noticeably different than what Obama had already acquiesced to. It wasn’t until Biden’s term that the covert war became overt.

    So, you are both wrong.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:23 pm

  138. Kevin, when I said that “Putin’s war against Ukraine is unabated since 2014”, that has to mean it started under Obama’s watch, and this war has continued ever since, under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, only to escalate countrywide in Feb-2022.

    I know Rob is too pigheaded to looked at a Wiki link, but if here were to try, reference numbers 471 thru 525 document the war during the Trump era, with most of the reporting coming from Ukrainian media. But who knew that facts have a left-wing bias.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:48 pm

  139. Also, this wasn’t a “covert war”. Putin was behind this war from Day One, starting with his “little green men” and then introducing Russian troops onto the scene not long after, but it was an under-covered war, muddied and fogged up by Putin’s tidal wave of propaganda. Most of his defenders were left-wingers like Mearsheimer and the staff at The Nation and the like, not Republicans (that came later, after Putin’s Feb-2022 escalation, which was when the xenophobes and Putin fanbois crawled out the right-wing woodwork).

    I’ve blogged and read extensively about Ukraine from the moment of Putin’s “uncontested arrival” in Crimea, and I’ve criticized Obama extensively for his milquetoast response. It took him seven months to articulate a decent condemnation of Putin’s invasions (at the UN General Assembly) and the sanctions he employed against Putin were a joke.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:01 pm

  140. Paul,

    you do everything you can to.blame Trump for all that ails the world
    It’s how you can maintain your partisanship while pretending to be a moderate. You are full of it.

    NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:02 pm

  141. Wikipedia has a left-wing bias on some topics. It depends on who has the time to “edit” a page. Some editors are partisan and partisans are pigheaded about their memes. Worse are pages that attract fanboys, like “Linux”, but Wikipedia is best where opinion doesn’t matter (e.g. RS-232 pinouts).

    Wikipedia also has rules about ongoing subjects or living persons that often seem to tilt the playing field. I tried adding a critical comment on the “Jenny McCarthy” page, but it was deleted in moments by an editor with far more time on his hands than I had.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:03 pm

  142. As for my own preferences, I’m politically moderate, but understand the far left runs the social democrats. They are commies in all but name.

    NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:03 pm

  143. Also, this wasn’t a “covert war”. Putin was behind this war from Day One

    Covert means “unofficial” or “unacknowledged.” It’s not the same as “clandestine” which implies secrecy about either the activity or the agents. In that sense the war was “covert” as the pretense that it was insurgents was officially maintained. The actual invasion (and the earlier annexation of Crimea) was not covert.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  144. BTW, I got those definitions from someone who REALLY knows the difference as they impact his day job.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:07 pm

  145. Prediction:

    If Trump is elected, Ukraine will open an investigation into Hunter Biden and Burisma.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:10 pm

  146. you do everything you can to.blame Trump for all that ails the world
    It’s how you can maintain your partisanship while pretending to be a moderate. You are full of it.

    Liar said what?

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:17 pm

  147. A poster boy for lawfare would be Andrew Weismann. He has been praised by some passersby here for his work on Trump.
    In a fair world Weismann would have had to endure the same trauma his Enron victims went through but instead he has actually been elevated.
    I see a resemblance between praising Weismann for his legal abilities and praising Hitler for his ability to unite the German people.
    Weismann is a bad guy because of his exposed character and the methods that lack of character put forward. He taints everything he touches and we should recoil at his involvement rather than praise it.
    Adam Schiff is another guy I’d put up there whose amoral means and methods are gross in a way that good people should recoil from.
    But their lawfare is praised by the never trump right because never trump is the higher calling, (to the point of religiosity) so they gladly, gleefully embrace Weismann and Schiff.
    People to whom character is everything should for consistency, in my admittedly flawed judgement, recoil from Trump, Weismann, Schiff, and Biden.
    Any lawfare that involves or was started by the likes of Schiff and Weismann should be rejected by fair minded people even if they hate the object.
    Those two are the Love Canal of pollution

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:18 pm

  148. (The Love Canal of upstream pollution)

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:19 pm

  149. There is an atomic clock that is the size of a matchbox that is supposed to only lose 1 second every 10,000 years. Invented in 2003.
    It also only needs 1 watt of electricity. My guess is that US GPS weapons have been or are being retrofitted with something like this.

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:29 pm

  150. Kevin, Crimea was invaded by Putin’s “little green men”, who were mercenaries and Russian military with no identifying markings, and where Putin tried to plausibly deny Russian involvement, until the sham referendum made it no longer deniable. That was a covert operation…

    The Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Publication JP1-02), defines “covert operation” as “an operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor.

    Putin’s invasion of Donbas started as a covert operation (so I stand corrected to that extent), where Putin asserted that it was done by “separatists”, but then he brought in the Russian military months later to keep his war going.

    The propaganda wave that Putin employed against Ukraine in 2014 is not dissimilar to what he’s done in the US from 2016 onward. It has that same communist Pravda KGB smell.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:35 pm

  151. We have seen how ubiquitous small fpv drone warfare is in Ukraine (and even Burma).
    Why not in Gaza? It’s not like the Palestinians can’t smuggle in drones. It’s not like they don’t have explosives

    So I am guessing the Israeli’s have excellent anti drone EW, and also great ability to fly their own drones through their own anti drone EW.

    In my mind, I’d want “you fly, you die” technology that traces signal back to operator, sends a missile, and also an absolute denial system

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:38 pm

  152. Ukrainians are probably technologically capable of retrofitting gps weapons but would probably need tech assistance and parts.
    The US would probably rather not share that, although what sometimes happens then is that Ukraine embarrasses Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon etc with some low tech, off the shelf, inexpensive work around that hits youtube. Necessity during war being the biggest bosomed, most fecund mother of invention

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:46 pm

  153. There is an atomic clock that is the size of a matchbox that is supposed to only lose 1 second every 10,000 years.

    With most weapons this is overkill. Time drift over, oh, 24 hours is all you need to worry about if you have a primary time source available. You only need to be so close.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:02 pm

  154. #141 Kevin – Can you tell us what comment you wanted to add to that page? (Like most men, I have more impure curiousity than I should.)

    Jim Miller (a4ad28) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:42 pm

  155. It was a link to a site very critical of Ms McCarthy, alleging that quite a few people had died from unfounded fears of immunization. This before Covid.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:47 pm

  156. RFK Jr eliminated in first round of voting for LP candidate. He got 2% of the vote. Worse than the LP itself did in 2016.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:48 pm

  157. In my mind, I’d want “you fly, you die” technology that traces signal back to operator, sends a missile, and also an absolute denial system

    It’s pretty hard to do with individual comm links which are pretty low power. But I CAN see anti-GPS-jammer missiles, which should be an easy HARM spin-off.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:51 pm

  158. #155 Thanks.

    Jim Miller (a4ad28) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:53 pm

  159. I see Rip is back with his “girls can’t play this game” crap.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:17 pm

    If you have alternative evidence that 50% of Haley primary voters didn’t self-identify as Democrats in exit polls, please do share.

    I’ve never said Haley can’t play the game, it’s just nobody else in the Republican Party wants to play her game.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 3:58 pm

  160. As I’ve said, this is because Biden’s support is only enough to continuing the bleeding. ……..

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:16 pm

    As I asked you before, what should have Biden done differently? What weapon systems should he have provided? As far as I know, Americans are not prohibited from volunteering to fight in Ukraine (dozens have).

    I doubt recreating the Flying Tigers would be an option. For thing, it would be pretty obvious the US government was behind it, and Russia would ignore the distinction between “volunteers” flying USAF planes and regular military pilots. Why not just send the real thing?

    Another flight of fancy.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:13 pm

  161. https://newsreleases.sandia.gov/atomic_clock/

    “DARPA requested the devices to be accurate within one-millionth of a second after one week.”

    I’m to dumb to do the conversion.

    My understanding is that aircraft carried weapons are usually programmed while onboard via an umbilical cord from the target processor but others are pre-programmed and put on standby.

    I don’t know how to convert one millionth of a second per week into feet of drift but google says if time is off by one nanosecond, that’s one foot (30cm) of error.
    Google also tells me a nanosecond is one billionth of a second and there are 604,800 seconds in a week and now I’m totally f-ing lost because I ditched math class all through high school and smoked pot instead.
    I’m giving up and guessing DARPA wants accuracy to be within a 3 meter radius and if it was a multiple choice test I might have a chance by guessing the closest answer to 3600 millimeters

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:14 pm

  162. I’m politically moderate

    Thanks. I needed the laugh. Yup. You, asset, Bernie, and Marge. Moderate’s the word.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:15 pm

  163. There is a thing going around on the internet “How to make a woman mad in 4 words”
    In Jr. High School I could make a young woman mad with “Hi”. Who needs four

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:41 pm

  164. The WSJ has a good summary of Biden’s dithering and delaying in delivering weapons to Ukraine…

    For the record, here’s a chronology of Mr. Biden’s hesitation and delay:

    • Multiple launch rocket systems. The Ukrainians have made ingenious use of U.S. High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as Himars. But Mr. Biden hesitated to send them. “Biden resists Ukrainian demands for long-range rocket launchers,” said a May 2022 headline in Politico. The President ostensibly feared Vladimir Putin’s response. The Administration finally said on May 31 it would send the rocket systems.

    • Patriot missile defenses. “There’s no discussion about putting a patriot battery in Ukraine,” a senior defense official told the press in March 2022. “In order to do that, you’d have to put U.S. troops with it to operate it.”

    The Russians spent the following months lobbing missiles at power facilities to wear down Kyiv’s resistance. In December the Administration realized it could train Ukrainians on the Patriot in Oklahoma. But the battery didn’t arrive on the ground until April 2023.

    • Tanks. The Biden crowd lost weeks in a kerfuffle with Germany over battle tanks. Berlin didn’t want to offer the Leopard tank without an equivalent commitment from Washington. The U.S. in January committed 31 Abrams tanks but said the vehicles would first have to be built. “We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our U.S. stocks,” a Pentagon spokesman said on Jan. 26. “These tanks are going to require training, maintenance, sustainment that is going to take a very long time to also train the Ukrainians on.”

    The Pentagon later found some excess tanks, refurbishing an older Abrams variant. Yet the first Abrams arrived on the battlefield months into Ukraine’s summer offensive. The White House is selling this eight-month timeline as a success story.

    • Fighter jets. Remember the international meltdown in the war’s early days over whether Poland could transfer old MiG-29s to bolster Ukraine’s Soviet-era air force? “We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian Air Force relative to Russian capabilities,” the Pentagon said in March 2022.

    Mr. Biden was still resisting in January 2023 after Ukraine’s requests became more insistent. “No,” he said, when asked if the U.S. would provide F-16s. “No,” he told ABC News in February, Ukraine “doesn’t need F-16s now.”

    Meanwhile, former Air Force Lt. Gen David Deptula and Evelyn Farkas argued in these pages in February that F-16s would be “more than a match” for Russian air defenses. A bipartisan delegation in Congress wrote the White House on Feb. 28 to point out F-16s “could prove decisive for control of Ukrainian airspace this year.” Not until May did Mr. Biden approve training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, which may never fly in Ukraine.

    • The Army tactical missile system. The Administration’s foot-dragging on long-range missiles is perhaps the most damning. These fires plug into rocket systems Ukraine operates, meaning the difficulties in transferring the missiles are few and the payoff on the battlefield is large. ATACMS can put targets in Crimea in play and help Kyiv break Russian logistics and supply.

    National security adviser Jake Sullivan said last year that offering ATACMS might put the U.S. “heading down the road towards a third world war,” if Ukraine struck targets inside Russia. The missiles were somehow too powerful but also unnecessary: “It’s our assessment that they don’t currently require ATACMS to service targets that are directly relevant to the current fight,” the Pentagon said in August 2022.

    The fighting continued. This summer members of Congress introduced a bipartisan resolution to push the Biden Administration to send ATACMS. The U.K sent a long-range missile launched from the air. The U.S. missiles eventually turned up in Ukraine, but by press accounts only a shorter-range variant that isn’t suited for precision strikes on, say, the Crimean bridge.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:41 pm

  165. I see Rip is back with his “girls can’t play this game” crap.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 1:17 pm

    My criticisms of Haley have had nothing to do with her being a woman, they have everything to do with her politics and flip flopping on issues.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:55 pm

  166. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:41 pm

    This was the Vietnam Lesson, or so we thought. The armed forces in the Powell era went to “overwhelming force” instead of incremental engagement. Doing that in 2014, with the Wrath of Obama falling down on Donbas, might have stopped the whole thing in its tracks. Failing that, doing the same thing in support of Ukraine in 2022, after telling the Russians that this is what would happen, would have saved the world a lot of needless deaths.

    Or maybe Putin would have blown up the world, but if he would have done that then, he’ll do it soon enough anyway.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:19 pm

  167. Haley is a Trump girl. It’s silly to think of her as anything else. Her primary run is of no more moment than George H.W. Bush’s “voodoo economics” in 1980. Even less so.

    nk (9ae085) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:28 pm

  168. There’s an SF novella by C H Cherryh, called “The Scapegoat”, where a long war is still in process between humanity and a technically inferior alien race. The humans have conducted the war incrementally, using “just enough” force to bring the aliens to the bargaining table. But they never come, and the humans ratchet up the force a little bit more. And they never come.

    It turns out that not only do the aliens not really understand the concept of negotiations, but they kept seeing victory within reach as the human weapons were something they could match. And so the war spiraled upward.

    After a few decades the aliens finally understand what is going on and propose a way to end the war on alien terms. But millions have died because the humans wanted to use proportional force.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:28 pm

  169. Obama wasn’t even willing to send military aid to Ukraine, even though it was approved by Congress. Bottom line, he was caught by surprise by Putin’s invasions, and he never gave a decent response to Putin’s mischief.
    Right around the same time, the Islamic State was in the process of taking Mosul and one-third of Iraq and a big chunk of Syria and killing off Yezidis and such, so he never paid serious attention to Ukraine.

    IMO, Obama foolishly let Putin off the hook because he was dealing with his failure in Iraq, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory when he prematurely cut and ran from the scene.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:29 pm

  170. Haley is a Trump girl. It’s silly to think of her as anything else

    By association. Haley is a Republican girl. The Republican Party is Trump’s toy. Therefore….

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:29 pm

  171. Right around the same time, the Islamic State was in the process of taking Mosul and one-third of Iraq and a big chunk of Syria and killing off Yezidis and such, so he never paid serious attention to Ukraine.

    He never paid much attention to Iraq either and let the ISIS thing metastasize. It took Trump to unleash our military on ISIS. One good thing about Trump is he is too lazy to micromanage the military.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:31 pm

  172. I found a video at this site below interesting
    The video is titled Russian T90 takes multiple direct hits. The T90 is Russians newest fielded main battle tank (variant t90M is absolute newest you will find in the field)
    We all know by now that main battle tanks are susceptible to top down strikes from Javelins and NLAW’s and in the video it is disabled by a top down strike onto the turret.
    The third strike is the most interesting because it is from a suicide drone with a very light payload. The Ukrainians have pinpointed an area of weakness and pin point strike it is, just under the side of the turret.

    https://funker530.com/latest/

    This also explains why the Russians are sometimes able to destroy US made Abrams and Bradleys. They have learned areas for pin point strikes and have adapted to be able to deliver pinpoint strikes… usually after other weapons have done their work to disable.

    Disabling a tank is often as simple as breaking a track and once disabled it can be destroyed.

    American mechanized warfare doctrine frowns on tank, and IFV sorties, but both Ukrainians and Russians seem to have gone to the “you only live once” school of mechanized maneuver. Part of that is the type of war they are fighting, another part seems to be in their former Soviet doctrinal DNA

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:43 pm

  173. Actor shot to death in Downtown LA, by masked thieves attempting to steal the catalytic converter from his car.

    “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor was fatally shot early Saturday when he came upon three men trying to steal the catalytic converter from his car, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case.

    The incident occurred around 3:25 a.m. when the owner of a vehicle encountered three people near Pico Boulevard and Hope Street attempting to steal the car part, said Officer Jader Chaves, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. The man was shot by one of the thieves before all three fled in a vehicle, said Chaves. The officer did not identify the shooting victim but said he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

    A source on Sunday confirmed to The Times that the victim was Wactor, who played Brando Corbin on “General Hospital” from 2020 to 2022. He also had roles on other shows, including “Westworld,” “Criminal Minds” and “Station 19.”

    The source said Wactor discovered the men, who were masked, outside his car and confronted them. That was when he was shot.

    Normally this is just another property crime in Gascon’s Los Angeles.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 5:55 pm

  174. Trump says he ‘would have absolutely gotten’ Libertarian Party nomination if he could have run, slams RFK Jr.
    He also slammed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., in a social post on Sunday.

    Former President Donald Trump claimed he would have “absolutely” gotten the Libertarian Party convention nomination for president, if not for already being the presumptive GOP nominee.

    In a statement on Sunday, following an appearance at the party’s convention on Saturday, Trump noted the “enthusiasm” of the crowd, where he received a mixed response that included audible booing.

    “The reason I didn’tfile paperwork for the Libertarian Nomination, which I would have absolutely gotten if I wanted it (as everyone could tell by the enthusiasm of the Crowd last night!), was the fact that, as the Republican Nominee, I am not allowed to have the Nomination of another Party,” Trump wrote on his social media platform on Sunday,

    “Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes,” Trump continued.

    Ain’t he something?

    nk (9ae085) — 5/26/2024 @ 6:33 pm

  175. I wish he’d entered the Democrat primaries in 2016 instead.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 6:43 pm

  176. Dodgers lose 5th in row, swept by cellar-dwelling Reds.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 6:44 pm

  177. Hey Ross Ulbricht, now that Trump didn’t file paperwork to become the Libertarian Party nominee, don’t get your hopes up about that commutation. He doesn’t need you anymore.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 6:45 pm

  178. So, looking at the transcript of the LP Convention, which is in the 7th round of voting, I just have to say either the chair is doing a terrible job, or the delegates refuse to follow any rules of procedure. Probably the latter, considering. But, having chaired an assembly of this size (with arguably more obstreperous people), I gotta say, what a clusterF.

    It looks like they’ll nominate Chad Oliver, assuming that 15 points of order and 10 attempts to suspend the rules can be dealt with before the hotel chases them out.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 7:00 pm

  179. Link: https://www.c-span.org/video/?535700-1/libertarian-party-nominates-presidential-candidate&live

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 7:01 pm

  180. @142 sorry it took so long to reply when you said your politically moderate. I fainted and fell out of my chair!

    asset (35b5f3) — 5/26/2024 @ 7:26 pm

  181. @180
    I fell out of my chair and then fainted adds a degree of difficulty. Anyone can faint and then fall out of a chair. A person really has to be moved by the event to accomplish the former

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 7:55 pm

  182. Just shows how far left on the political spectrum most of you are.

    Took that survey that’s been going around and I’m mostly neutral.

    Economic Left/Right: 1.88
    Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.05

    Just most of you prefer statism and leftist policies so I seem to the right by comparison.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:16 pm

  183. Jonathan Turley notes a bit of a flip flop from the paragons at the DOJ. “The defendant’s laptop is real.” With those words and pictures like this one of Biden using crack, the Justice Department introduced the Hunter Biden laptop as evidence in his upcoming trial over federal gun violations. The federal prosecutors went on to denounce suggestions of Russian disinformation, long peddled by the Bidens, the media and former intelligence officials, as nothing more than a “conspiracy theory.”

    He also notes that Anthony Blinken was involved deep into the Russian conspiracy peddling and I’ll note Blinken was rewarded with a position where he is failing. I’d say there is a very good chance the State Dept problems get much worse over the summer.

    July 1 to end of October is gonna be lit on the domestic front as well. Fire departments should get ready and train to fight government building fires while under bombardment with fireworks

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:42 pm

  184. Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/26/2024 @ 4:41 pm

    The one thing missing from the WSJ editorial board list is the failure of the Biden administration to commit at least US air power to defending Ukraine. That would have been a game changer.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:50 pm

  185. Over at Instapundit

    After noting this” Israeli mother Ayelet Samerano addresses UN Security Council after a UN employee kidnapped her son.

    “An UNRWA worker kidnapped my son. A social worker employed by a so-called humanitarian organization under the umbrella of the UN….

    A man who dragged my son’s body on the ground and then snatched him as if he was a prize to Gaza.”

    We get this observation

    @sunnyright

    1) Israel finds the bodies of hostages in UN buildings

    2) UN’s top court orders Israel to stop looking

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 8:58 pm

  186. @184 game changer in a lot of ways.

    I might have been tempted to first gift F16’s and Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine with US “civilian experts/mercenaries” to operate the Patriots and llowed former USAF pilots to volunteer to fly the F16.
    Maybe call Putin up after a successful week and say: Hey, remember when you had Russian “volunteer” pilots flying in Vietnam and Russian “volunteers” manning the SAMS there too? Yeah? Well I do too and we are going to taking our turn now.
    But that might be a foolish escalation when the Ukrainians have proven to be very capable people

    The Russians are afraid to fly much inside Ukraine as it is. If US were to have been invading Ukraine, we’d have had total air superiority by week 2 at the latest. Ukrainians are smart and innovative and they’d have had a say in the battle and shoot some down, but the sky would reek of American kerosene. Sonic booms alone would knock out all the windows from Kyiv to Lviv. Russia may have been ranked the 2nd best military in the world, but Israel has a much better Air Force by far and in part because of that huge shortcoming the #2 rated military is currently stalemated by the military that in 2021 was ranked at #25

    Back to earth, I do think Ukraine (probably with US/NATO help) is going to figure out a way to shoot down another one or two of Russia’s long range bomber fleet sooner than later.
    Another thing about smart Ukrainians is that they are also vengeful people. They have Special Ops in Africa there just to kill Wagner mercenaries. Because

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 9:32 pm

  187. Just most of you prefer statism and leftist policies so I seem to the right by comparison.

    You mean libertarianism like sending troops into the cities to round up illegals, suspending habeas corpus and holding them in camps* in the interior? Because that what Trump’s people are drawing up plans to do.

    ——-
    * maybe they’ll call them “resettlement villages”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:00 pm

  188. Biden voters all seem to think any problem with slow delivery of weapons is recent and all Trump’s fault. #HeadsInSand

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:05 pm

  189. The one thing missing from the WSJ editorial board list is the failure of the Biden administration to commit at least US air power to defending Ukraine.

    The rules of engagement would have been torturous.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 10:06 pm

  190. @184 putin firing back with missiles on nato airfields and possible tactical nukes would also be a game changer. Slowly destroying russia’s military and will to fight is much less likely to go nuclear. Countries that have nukes don’t like to lose. We have spent trillions to less effect then the few billions we have given the ukraine.

    asset (35b5f3) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:20 am

  191. Apropos of Memorial Day, a thread on Donald Trump’s contempt for our military and those that serve.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:30 am

  192. @191 At least trump was reluctant to send are soldiers on hair brain schemes to their deaths unlike dubya. Operation Iraqi liberation. O.I.L.

    asset (35b5f3) — 5/27/2024 @ 3:28 am

  193. You mean libertarianism like sending troops into the cities to round up illegals, suspending habeas corpus and holding them in camps* in the interior? Because that what Trump’s people are drawing up plans to do.

    You mean what the majority of Americans support?

    https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/amnesty_for_illegal_immigrants_or_mass_deportations

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:55 am

  194. The one thing missing from the WSJ editorial board list is the failure of the Biden administration to commit at least US air power to defending Ukraine.

    There was a “fighter jets” category. If you’re talking about American pilots engaged in applying air power, then the US would be engaged in acts of war against Russia, and I’m not on board with that.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:59 am

  195. You mean what the majority of Americans support?

    So, that makes it libertarian? Obama got a majority, you know. So did Biden.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:44 am

  196. then the US would be engaged in acts of war against Russia, and I’m not on board with that.

    Suppose the choices are:

    1. The US intervenes directly, or
    2. Putin wins.

    Biden has tried to have it both ways, but it isn’t working. A war of attrition always goes to the larger party.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:46 am

  197. Worth reading: George Will’s latest column:

    This year, the most geopolitically ominous since World War II, do something that is, we should admit, rarely done on Memorial Day: remember.

    Some may be surprised by Will’s mention of George McGovern’s service in WW II: . . . “he flew 35 B-24 bomber missions over German-held territory in a war where U.S. bomber crews suffered higher casualties than did Marines on the Pacific islands.”

    But they shouldn’t be. Will understands that our enemies work hard to divide us, and have had much success in recent years.

    Jim Miller (d70828) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:52 am

  198. Suppose the choices are:
    1. The US intervenes directly, or
    2. Putin wins.

    I’ll take choice #3, Ukraine gets the weaponry they’re asking for, and they’re allowed hit military targets inside Russia. In other words, I don’t accept your either-or.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:02 am

  199. Some may be surprised by Will’s mention of George McGovern’s service in WW II: . . . “he flew 35 B-24 bomber missions over German-held territory in a war where U.S. bomber crews suffered higher casualties than did Marines on the Pacific islands.”

    I’m not. I knew that about McGovern. The Greatest Generation.
    Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush. Sigh!

    nk (9ae085) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:33 am

  200. Biden checks his watch. Time for a Psaki Bomb

    MSNBC host Jen Psaki has sparked outrage among Gold Star families with her dismissive remarks on President Biden’s watch-checking during a solemn ceremony for U.S. service members killed during the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.

    “Jen ‘Circle Back’ Psaki is just a vile, shameless human being,” Darin Hoover, father of late SSgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, who was killed in the Kabul airport bombing, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday.

    “[She’s] trying to make money off of our kids’ backs and rewrite history and establish those lies for the Biden administration on their failures, their catastrophic failures. It’s been nothing but lies all along.”

    Psaki, who preceded Karine Jean-Pierre as White House press secretary, garnered attention by claiming in her new book, “Say More,” that Biden never checked his watch during the ceremony honoring the slain heroes. A report by Axios, however, said Psaki’s retelling contradicted pictures and Gold Star families’ firsthand accounts.

    Psaki, following online backlash, told Axios “the detail in a few lines of the book about the exact number of times he looked at his watch will be removed in future reprints and the eBook.”

    The soon-to-be removed version of Psaki’s book claimed “the president looked at his watch only after the ceremony had ended,” and the MSNBC star insisted Biden’s critics misrepresented the facts to make Biden appear insensitive. However, Gold Star families have long said they saw Biden check his watch multiple times during the dignified transfer ceremony.

    The conversation carried into Tuesday morning when Gold Star father Mark Schmitz joined “Fox & Friends” to respond.

    “The wounds had been reopened yet again by this talking puppet who had no idea what she was talking about,” he said of Psaki.

    Schmitz, who was also present at the ceremony for the 13 fallen U.S. service members in 2021, said he witnessed Biden check his watch for at least the first four caskets that came off the aircraft.

    “I couldn’t look at him after that,” he explained.

    lloyd (6c9bad) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:46 am

  201. Biden repeats football claim to West Point graduates at commencement address

    President Biden repeated a claim about turning down an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he purportedly wanted to play football, during his commencement address at West Point on Saturday.

    Biden told West Point graduates that Republican Sen. J. Caleb Boggs, whom he defeated to become a U.S. senator, had “appointed” him to the Naval Academy years before they ran against each other in 1972.

    The president recounted that before his interview, “I found out two days earlier they had a quarterback named Roger Staubach, and a halfback named Joe Bellino. And I said, I’m not going there. I went to Delaware. Not a joke.”

    It’s the same story Biden told Naval Academy graduates in 2022, when he claimed he had been accepted to the military institution in 1965 but declined to attend. In Saturday’s telling of the story, however, Biden did not offer a date.

    Biden attended the University of Delaware and graduated in 1965, reportedly playing briefly on the 1961 freshman team but did not finish the season.

    “In almost any group I was the leader,” Biden wrote in his autobiography, “Promises to Keep.” “I was the leading scorer on our undefeated and untied football team my senior year, and I didn’t lack for confidence on the field.”

    Staubach graduated from the Naval Academy in 1964 before he left to fight in Vietnam and later returned to play 11 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Bellino, who also fought in Vietnam and had a brief NFL career, graduated in 1961 — at least four years before Biden claimed he was thinking about playing football for the Midshipmen.

    lloyd (6c9bad) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:54 am

  202. In other words, I don’t accept your either-or.

    I didn’t think you would. Instead you’ve opted for the fantasy of a long war going to the tiny, but plucky, combatant. The South had all the best generals, but there was no way the could defeat the Union due to size and industry.

    Ukraine’s only hope was a short war with decisive results, and Biden could ahve provided the arms to do that. But he didn’t and Russia has learned from their mistakes. They are now too invested to back down unless the stakes get too high.

    At best Biden will opt for “a little bit more” until his choice is defeat or NATO intervention. But by the time he gets there, NATO intervention would deter Russia. This is how you get a big war trying to avoid one.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:10 am

  203. Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush. Sigh!

    Carter was too young to serve in WW2. Reagan did, but only kind of.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:14 am

  204. *But by the time he gets there, NATO intervention wouldN’T deter Russia

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:16 am

  205. , that makes it libertarian? Obama got a majority, you know. So did Biden.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:44 am

    Libertarian is not anarchist. They don’t oppose the rule of law.

    I’m still not sure why you are even mentioning libertarianism to me. I never claimed to be one.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:40 am

  206. I didn’t think you would. Instead you’ve opted for the fantasy of a long war going to the tiny, but plucky, combatant. The South had all the best generals, but there was no way the could defeat the Union due to size and industry.

    Ahem…Vietnam…Afghanistan…this isn’t historically a tortured possibility, just not a probability.

    There’s also the matter of where do all these munitions, fighters, tanks, etc come from. It’s not just the US. I’d be all for retiring and giving all the F16’s that are flown by the the reserves to the Ukrainians. If we had a replacement lined up. Today a large component of our airpower is reserve focused, so a replacement force is needed. I’m a fan of the F16, but unless we reopen production for modernized version, start sourcing replacements from Japan, Taiwan, or South Korea (The FA-50 is quite a good design). The problem is that there isn’t a quick solution to replace a few hundred aircraft that would both be useful to Ukraine and the west would be willing to replace but leave a gap in capacity in the near ter.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:40 am

  207. 141. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:03 pm

    v Wikipedia has a left-wing bias on some topics. It depends on who has the time to “edit” a page.

    It depends upon who “captured” a page.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:45 am

  208. @190 Slowly destroying russia’s military and will to fight

    You will get no argument from me that it is being done slowly by the man some people call “Slow Joe”.

    We are over 2 years in and Putin’s “will to fight” is still there. It is clear to me that Putin and his minions underestimated Western training, weapons, Zelensky leadership, Ukrainian will to fight
    I think their biggest underestimation was probably of Zelensky.
    I don’t know if Russia has taken a sober look at the war.

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:48 am

  209. I didn’t think you would. Instead you’ve opted for the fantasy of a long war going to the tiny, but plucky, combatant.

    A “fantasy”? Ukraine was holding their own and gaining ground last summer when they had weapons. Sorry, I don’t share your pessimistic opinion about the situation.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:49 am

  210. 124. NJRob (128ef8) — 5/26/2024 @ 11:21 am

    what NY defamation case are you referencing? Is it the one where NY changed the law to allow a specific lawsuit within a 1 year period that just happened to allow a woman with zero proof to accuse Trump of assault?

    That 1-year window was not passed to enable just one lawsuit. Besides E Jean Carroll first filed a defamation lawsuit (owing to Trump
    s denial)

    She didn’t need proof but only a more likely to be true than not. The jury went with Trump’s description on the Access Hollywood recording of what he said he would do (but assumed it wasn’t true that they let him do it in all cases)

    The real problem for Trump was that she had witnesses who claimed she told them about it around the time it happened.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:02 am

  211. Putin is not only fully engaged in a disinformation war, which seems to be working on Kevin, he’s also involved in hybrid warfare with his neighbors.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:03 am

  212. Suppose the choices are:
    1. The US intervenes directly, or
    2. Putin wins.

    I’ll take choice #3, Ukraine gets the weaponry they’re asking for……..

    Ukraine can get all the weapons they want, but they are suffering a manpower shortage. Russia, on the other hand, has a virtually unlimited supply of recruits.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:06 am

  213. ………If you’re talking about American pilots engaged in applying air power, then the US would be engaged in acts of war against Russia, and I’m not on board with that.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:59 am

    It needs to be considered as it is the only way Ukraine can win. Ukraine doesn’t have the manpower to defeat Russia with their current military.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:11 am

  214. Colonel Klink

    Very interesting.

    I know nothing, so correct me if I am wrong.
    When we go to war we like to use a lot of aircraft, and I think we agree that we need a lot of 2nd tier aircraft for that.
    So back to the f16 and Ukraine, how many can we (US) spare in the near term?

    Haven’t seen you around here much, hope all has been well

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:18 am

  215. Damn. Bill Walton gone too soon, to cancer at 71.
    He was a Hall of Fame basketball player and character. One of my favorite things was his color commentary for Pac-12 games. You had no idea what he was going to say next, but it was usually funny and engaging.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:33 am

  216. Which was the complete opposite of his personality as a player.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:36 am

  217. Ukraine doesn’t have the manpower to defeat Russia with their current military

    Russia will bleed its far east minorities from places like Buryatia, Tyvan as long as they can.
    I can’t really blame them for using Mongolic minorities to do the fighting given the history

    Steve Earle should learn Buryat

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVEUqXe9UiQ

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:41 am

  218. When we go to war we like to use a lot of aircraft, and I think we agree that we need a lot of 2nd tier aircraft for that.

    Well, it kind of depends on what your talking about with 2nd tier. Current gen F15-16-18’s are peers to basically anything the Russians fly, but those wouldn’t be on the table as we really only have the F35, and new F15’s, as potential replacements and there’s really not a capability to build any more without 12-24months of manufacturing ramp, as basically anything outside of a few instands are buying F35s as replacements.

    So back to the f16 and Ukraine, how many can we (US) spare in the near term?

    The near term is the issue, we could send basically all the planes that are getting replaced in allied service for the next 18 months in one big batch. But from a training perspective, it doesn’t make sense to send F16AB’s, FA18a’s, plus older Rafale’s or Tornado’s. We’re already sending something like 100 F16s to Ukraine which probably would need 300 trained pilots, and then it’s munitions and target constraints that would really be the problem.

    So sending more planes is really not a solution. Engaging NATO as a whole would be a fairly quick solution, assuming, you know, Russia doesn’t then assualt into the Balkans or start using tactical nukes. I’d put nothing past Putin.

    The solution is probably massive increases in automated solutions like drones that simplify force multiplication and training problems, and are easier to acquire and don’t escalate in the same way. Plus, artillery, lots and lots of artillery and munitions.

    At the end of the day it’s all about logistics, how much of Russia’s economy be on war footing, and how much are the west willing to transition. Even then, unless you have the manpower to use it it’s a waste, and Russia just has an advantage. I don’t think Ukraine can win long term, the goal is to lose slower and hope NATO intervenes, like the UK in WW2.

    Haven’t seen you around here much, hope all has been well

    I’ve unretired and taken back up as a partner at my old firm, so that’s been a thing, AI research and all. That and the whole mental masturbation on Ukraine, Trump, Biden, wokeness, blah blah, is just kind of painful to think about. I can’t believe that these two guys are our choices for president and a land war in Europe. This sucks, so I don’t engage as much.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:10 am

  219. few instands are buying F35s as replacements.

    nations

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:11 am

  220. R.I.P. Bill Walton

    https://uclabruins.com/news/2024/5/27/mens-basketball-ucla-mourns-loss-of-bill-walton

    JoeH (390085) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:15 am

  221. Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush. Sigh!

    nk (9ae085) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:33 am

    Some more than others. LBJ’s active duty WW II career (1941-42) was far less impressive than McGovern, Eisenhower, Bush, or JFK:

    ………..(When he was a Congressman, Johnson) was called to active duty three days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. His first orders were to report to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C., for instruction and training. Following his training, Johnson asked Undersecretary of the Navy James Forrestal for a job in Washington, D.C. He was instead sent to inspect shipyard facilities in Texas and on the West Coast.

    In the spring of 1942, President Roosevelt decided he needed better information on conditions in the Southwest Pacific, and wanted a trusted political ally to obtain it. Forrestal suggested Johnson. Roosevelt assigned Johnson to a three-man survey team covering the Southwest Pacific.

    …………On June 9, 1942, Johnson volunteered as an observer for an airstrike on New Guinea. Reports vary on what happened to the aircraft carrying Johnson during that mission. ……… Johnson’s biographer Robert Caro was quoted as saying “I think that the weight of the evidence at this moment is that the plane was attacked by Zeroes and that he was cool under fire”, but also “The fact is, LBJ never got within sight of Japanese forces. His combat experience was a myth.”
    …………..
    ………….. Johnson’s biographer Robert Dallek concludes, “The mission was a temporary exposure to danger calculated to satisfy Johnson’s personal and political wish…………
    …………..

    Footnotes omitted. Paragraph breaks added.

    In other words, LBJ’s military service was far less risky than any of the other politicians listed. He was punching a ticket.

    Richard Nixon had a similar Navy career, serving as a staff officer in in various capacities in the Pacific, but never in a combat zone or unit.

    Ronald Reagan, because of his poor eyesight, remained stateside to promote bond drives and served as personnel officer for a motion picture unit.

    Gerald Ford, on the other hand, served on the USS Monterey (CVL-26), which was involved in several military engagements in 1943-1944.

    Rip Murdock (4bf0ed) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:15 am

  222. Legendary U.S. World War II submarine located 3,000 feet underwater off the Philippines
    …………
    The USS Harder – which earned the nickname “Hit ’em HARDER” – was found off the Philippine island of Luzon, sitting upright and “relatively intact” except for damage behind its conning tower from a Japanese depth charge, the (Naval History and Heritage Command) said. The sub was discovered using data collected by Tim Taylor, CEO of the Lost 52 Project, which works to locate the 52 submarines sunk during World War II.

    The USS Harder, led by famed Cmdr. Samuel D. Dealey, earned a legendary reputation during its fifth patrol when it sunk three destroyers and heavily damaged two others in just four days, forcing a Japanese fleet to leave the area ahead of schedule, the command said. That early departure forced the Japanese commander to delay his carrier force in the Philippine Sea, which ultimately led to Japan being defeated in the ensuing battle.

    But Harder’s fortunes changed in late August 1944. Early on Aug. 22, Harder and USS Haddo destroyed three escort ships off the coast of Bataan. Joined by USS Hake later that night, the three vessels headed for Caiman Point, Luzon, before Haddo left to replenish its torpedo stockpile. Before dawn on Aug. 24, Hake sighted an enemy escort ship and patrol boat and plunged deep into the ocean to escape.

    Japanese records later revealed Harder fired three times at the Japanese escort ship, but it evaded the torpedoes and began a series of depth charge attacks, sinking Harder and killing all 79 crewmembers.
    ………….
    Harder received the Presidential Unit Citation for her first five patrols and six battle stars for World War II service, and Cmdr. Dealey was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. During his career, Dealey also received a Navy Cross, two Gold Stars, and the Distinguished Service Cross.
    …………..

    CDR Samuel D. Dealey’s Medal of Honor citation:

    For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of the U.S.S. Harder during her 5th war patrol in Japanese-controlled waters.

    Floodlighted by a bright moon and disclosed to an enemy destroyer escort which bore down with intent to attack, Comdr. Dealey quickly dived to periscope depth and waited for the pursuer to close range, then opened fire, sending the target and all aboard down in flames with his third torpedo. Plunging deep to avoid fierce depth charges, he again surfaced and, within nine minutes after sighting another destroyer, had sent the enemy down tail first with a hit directly amidship.

    Evading detection, he penetrated the confined waters off Tawi Tawi with the Japanese Fleet base six miles away and scored death blows on two patrolling destroyers in quick succession. With his ship heeled over by concussion from the first exploding target and the second vessel nose-diving in a blinding detonation, he cleared the area at high speed.

    Sighted by a large hostile fleet force on the following day, he swung his bow toward the lead destroyer for another “down-the-throat” shot, fired three bow tubes, and promptly crash-dived to be terrifically rocked seconds later by the exploding ship as the Harder passed beneath.

    This remarkable record of five vital Japanese destroyers sunk in five short-range torpedo attacks attests the valiant fighting spirit of Comdr. Dealey and his indomitable command.

    Paragraph breaks added.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:38 am

  223. Russia just has a geographic and population advantage that can’t be matched without NATO getting involved. If NATO fully committed, then sure, we could roll up any conventional force, it really isn’t a competition. But nukes exist.

    That’s true with Russia, China, Iran, or all of them. Conventional forces vs NATO they get smashed, but we have to be willing to go there and take losses, lots of them. We’re not defending Taiwan, or invading Iraq, the west would need to trade 10’s of thousands of losses to inflict hundreds of thousands, which is what it would take cause the Russian’s to oust their government. That or trade some cities in a nuclear exchange, not something like London or Paris or NY, but Kyiv, Gdansk, Vilnius, etc for “winning”.

    Where is our line in the sand really? Invasion of NATO, strikes on NATO, Ukraine losing Kyiv or Odessa? I’d say it’s strikes on NATO, I don’t see American’s in general, and European’s specifically, willing to trade the comforts of today, for war footing that would be required to actually defeat the Russians. If the Russians just keep up the grinder, NATO will through money at it, and hope there is no escalation.

    We don’t even let the Ukrainians to take full advantage of the things we’ve sent them. If we make them wait to attack it until it gets into Ukraine, well, it’s too late then. You need to attack the logistics train back to the source, and it’s not out of the range of Ukraine by any stretch.

    And Trump’s solution is to force Ukraine into giving up the territory they’ve already lost will embolding the the Putin regime for what they can consolidate over the next 4 years.

    As far as I can tell though, we have no good options. What makes Putin back up?

    China, sure, our economies are so intertwined that they’re really not a military threat for another decade or two. I can’t see them tanking their economy for a generation for Taiwan, when I think Taiwan is on a path similar to Hong Kong, just over the next 20 years.

    So, where do we focus? I think the west’s people want to keep their iPhones, fuel, and Starbuck’s flowing, so great changes aren’t really going to happen. Again, what line, where, and when, does someone have to cross. Flying planes into NY, would do it. Striking Berlin would, but Odessa, Kyiv, supplying Houthi’s, building more islands in the South China sea? Meh, I don’t really think that crosses the line.

    That’s not a political argument, that’s practical one. What trigger’s an Article 5 escalation, anything short of that doesn’t move bar.

    And Trump or Biden is irrelevant.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:40 am

  224. The real problem for Trump was that she had witnesses who claimed she told them about it around the time it happened.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:02 am

    The real problem for Trump was the trial was in NY and she was funded by a leftwing billionaire to go after him with the help of NY politicians.

    NJRob (d8f89e) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:46 am

  225. NATO will throw money at it

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:48 am

  226. @203 Carter wasn’t too young to serve in WWII. Carter is 99
    My dad was younger than Carter, Dad was 97 when he died. Dad enlisted at 17 (my Dad passed away a few months back and I miss him)
    Carter was in the Naval Academy in 1943 and before the war was declared was a very promising engineering student at Georgia Southwestern and then Georgia Tech

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:04 pm

  227. @218
    Colonel
    Thanks for catching us up.

    100% agree
    I can’t believe that these two guys are our choices for president and a land war in Europe.

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:07 pm

  228. There’s no doubt that Russia has a population advantage, but Putin has been losing around 24,000 Russians every month, through death or injury, and it could go north of 30,000 in his summer offensive, yet it’s still a “special military operation” because it would be a political problem if he changed its status to an actual war, which would entail forced mobilization and include white-skinned Russians in Moscow and St. Petersburg to be pressed into service. There will be blowback from this.

    I get that Ukraine will continue to be challenged by Putin’s invasion but, IMO, they deserve to have a fighting chance, as long as they choose to fight for collective defense. They’ve earned it, and they see Putin’s imperialism as an existential threat.

    We also don’t what the future will hold. Putin is a brain aneurysm away from losing power (or some other event that debilitates him), and who knows how a successor would handle a war that has sent so many Russians to their deaths and that has gained so little. To date, Putin doesn’t even occupy 18% of the country, despite a half-year of weapon-ammunition shortages by the Ukrainians. And despite this, Ukraine has damaged enough of Putin’s navy that they have an open shipping channel out of Odesa.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:17 pm

  229. My dad served out the end of WWII in the Aleutians. When he’d meet old WWII vets and he’d tell them where he’d served, a typical response was some form of: Dear God man, what the hell did you do to get sent there?
    I remember when I was young, my thinking about Dad’s service was simplified down. He’d enlisted late in the war and got sent to a safe place. My Dad always downplayed his service and very very much appreciated the service of those who found themselves placed in harms way. dad was a very proud American. An American who became a naturalized citizen because of his military service and felt deeply indebted to have been given the privilege and indebted to the men who had fought died, been wounded, their families. When I got older I realized it took a lot of courage to enlist when Dad did at 17. For all he knew, we were going to have to invade Japan, and Europe was still pretty much up in the air. Flew the flag out front until the last month of his life. Died in his sleep.

    Memorial Day was a sacred day for my Dad
    On behalf of him I’d like to pay my deepest respects to those of you who lost someone in the service of the USA

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:34 pm

  230. Paul, that’s all well and good, but Russia is taking territory, and they haven’t totally committed to war.

    Ukraine has, but they don’t have the resources to even slow the Russians down without the west giving them munitions. They have a severe manpower problem, even if we shipped every rifle, plane, artillery piece, in the world to them, you can’t shoot 4 rifles at once, so manpower is the problem.

    Russia can afford to lose thousands a month more than Ukraine, they have 5x the population, are fighting in Ukraine, but close to home, and aren’t worried about retalliation so have an industrial capacity in armaments that is even more starkly in their favor. In fact, they’ve got more manpower than armements to bring to the table. That’s the only thing keeping Ukraine in the fight. We’re throwing money and stuff at the Ukrainians, and the Russians are throwing people, and stuff.

    The math just doesn’t favor Ukraine. They have to get NATO to put at least airpower skin in the game and let Ukraine hunt in Belarus and Russia. Get the Turks to either send their, or let in a modern navy to hunt in the Black sea, that would be a pretty major change. Cutting off Crimea from shipping, or the two bridges, would severely impact Russia. I think that may happen with more pilots and long range precision missiles. But at the end of the day, Ukraine needs more people to fight, trained modern warfighters…and hope the Russian’s don’t escalate.

    Putin could keel over tomorrow, but who takes over and does it actually change anything, or is it still the Putin policies running the day?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:48 pm

  231. Paul

    People used to like to call the USA a paper tiger, so I guess we could call the Russians a paper bear now.
    If Russia didn’t have nukes we could call them more of a paper Koala bear.
    They’ve really underperformed- and underperformed is an understatement.

    The war has done us a few favors. We’ve seen some of what Iran can produce, but real news is our ROK allies have gotten to see that their North Korean cousins are not as good at precision machining as was previously thought.
    Their 152mm shells sold to Russia are said to be 1/3 duds and the weights vary way out of spec which ruins artillery barrels and causes fatal accidents.

    The bad news is that the Chinese now have verification that their move away from doing knockoffs of Russian weaponry was smart. Why clone an S400 anti air battery that can get overwhelmed and knocked out by 30 year old NATO ATACMS?
    Hopefully we can keep them behind the tech curve, but my guess is we lose that edge in my lifetime (0-40 years based off of genetics of relatives)

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 12:55 pm

  232. Ukraine needs more people to fight, and perhaps more specifically, more people from Kyiv and west to enlist
    Many Kyiv, Lviv youth have sort of a Euro slacker complacency vibe that would fit in well at most major US university soph-moric dorms

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:03 pm

  233. Yeah, that’s all true, but nukes still change the game.

    If it weren’t for them, then NATO sends in the cavalry, the Baltics don’t have to worry.

    We’re Mike Tyson with a Glock, they’re Peewee Herman…with a Glock. It doesn’t matter that Tyson is Tyson, as long as both have a gun.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:05 pm

  234. If Russia didn’t have nukes we could call them more of a paper Koala bear.

    That would be Australia, since they don’t have nukes either.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:08 pm

  235. pistol < rifle < artillery < missile < nuke

    All have different use cases, but nukes trump all. Heh, he said trump.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:12 pm

  236. Carter wasn’t too young to serve in WWII. Carter is 99

    Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946, so he spent WW II there.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:14 pm

  237. Source for post 237.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:16 pm

  238. Mike Tyson ‘doing great’ following health scare on flight

    Well, Glock still evens the odds, from a hospital bed too.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:17 pm

  239. Excellent posts, Colonel Klink.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:18 pm

  240. Putin is a brain aneurysm away from losing power (or some other event that debilitates him), and who knows how a successor would handle a war that has sent so many Russians to their deaths and that has gained so little.

    Now that Putin has removed Alexei Navalny, there is really no one else who represents change for Russia. All of Putin’s potential successors are worse than him.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:29 pm

  241. A “fantasy”? Ukraine was holding their own and gaining ground last summer when they had weapons. Sorry, I don’t share your pessimistic opinion about the situation.

    The big summer offensive where they advanced whole yards a day? It was this performance that tore it with those who had been on the fence.

    But I see that you have bought the Biden line that his strategy was working until there was a short delay in support. Nine out of every ten delays in this war are on Biden.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:39 pm

  242. FWIW Dept.:

    The Baltic states and Poland do not rule out sending their troops to Ukraine if Russia succeeds on the battlefield, reports German media Der Spiegel.

    According to Spiegel, Baltic MPs warned representatives of the German government about the consequences of Berlin’s policy towards the Ukraine war on the sidelines of the Lennart Meri Conference on foreign and security policy, which took place in the Estonian capital last week.
    ………….
    They argue that if the Russians manage to make a strategic breakthrough in eastern Ukraine because the West is only half-heartedly helping Kyiv, the situation could escalate dramatically. In that case, the Baltic states and Poland would not wait for Russian troops to deploy on their borders, Baltic politicians warned, but would send troops to Ukraine themselves. And it was clear what this would mean: NATO would become a party to the war,” the article says.
    ……….
    “Those who want to limit the war through excessive restraint actually risk getting it out of control,” the media says.
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:43 pm

  243. Putin is not only fully engaged in a disinformation war, which seems to be working on Kevin.

    Which disinformation do you speak of? The ones where Ukraine has made no real gains in over a year, having had their last battlefield victories in late 2022? The last year has been a holding action, and you cannot do that for long against a country that has factories and a stupid supply of stupid men.

    Or do you assert that Biden has been forthright, with a robust support for Ukraine? Biden is so afraid of the wrong step that he makes as few steps as possible, as late as he can. But, go ahead, blame it on the Republicans if it helps you sleep at night.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:44 pm

  244. try this again

    Putin is not only fully engaged in a disinformation war, which seems to be working on Kevin.

    Which disinformation do you speak of? The ones where Ukraine has made no real gains in over a year, having had their last battlefield victories in late 2022? The last year has been a holding action, and you cannot do that for long against a country that has factories and a stupid supply of stupid men.

    Or do you assert that Biden has been forthright, with a robust support for Ukraine? Biden is so afraid of the wrong step that he makes as few steps as possible, as late as he can. But, go ahead, blame it on the Republicans if it helps you sleep at night.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:45 pm

  245. That or trade some cities in a nuclear exchange, not something like London or Paris or NY, but Kyiv, Gdansk, Vilnius, etc for “winning”.

    There is no such thing as a limited nuclear war. Probably not even Pakistan vs India.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:47 pm

  246. Colonel

    I agree. I know nukes change the game to a point where at times everything else quickly become a sidebar.
    I live about 50 air miles from Vandenberg and sunburn easily as it is

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:50 pm

  247. And despite this, Ukraine has damaged enough of Putin’s navy that they have an open shipping channel out of Odesa.

    Russian naval forces in the Black sea aren’t the Russian Navy, it wasn’t even a good flotilla, they only had a few warships in the Black sea. The Turks closed the Bosporus to the Russians, so they couldn’t add tonnage.

    They are using the few warships left in eastern Black sea as missile platforms and resupplying overland. They’re extremely good missile platforms btw. HIMARS doesn’t have the range to strike the ships left around Sochi, while those ships have the range to strike out to 1500 miles. ATACMs loaded into HIMARS are limited to around 200.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:51 pm

  248. As far as I can tell though, we have no good options. What makes Putin back up?

    At this point? Probably nothing. The least worst thing would be a negotiated settlement where the rump of Ukraine joins NATO. Then containment. Let Russia sell Siberian resources to the Chinese at fire-sale prices until they get tired of that end of the stick.

    But if we are so fearful of nuclear threats, how will we ever defend Taiwan? Or South Korea when that crazy boy king has ICBMs?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:53 pm

  249. Nine out of every ten delays in this war are on Biden.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:39 pm

    Unfortunately the Republicans will be unable to use “who lost Ukraine” as a campaign issue.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:54 pm

  250. Carter graduated from the Naval Academy in 1946, so he spent WW II there.

    That does not mean he served in WWII.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:55 pm

  251. I never made that assertion-it was nk.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 1:59 pm

  252. “Those who want to limit the war through excessive restraint actually risk getting it out of control,” the media says.

    Hmmmn. I wish I’d been saying that. Oh, wait, I have.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:00 pm

  253. https://archive.is/OOxkp

    The U.S. is arguing against an effort by Britain and France to censure Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s member-state board in early June, the diplomats said. The U.S. has pressed a number of other countries to abstain in a censure vote, saying that is what Washington will do, they said.

    U.S. officials deny lobbying against a resolution.

    The differences are emerging as Western officials’ concerns have deepened about Iran’s nuclear activities.

    Once again Biden takes the side of the terrorist state of Iran.

    NJRob (1b27c0) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:01 pm

  254. Unfortunately the Republicans will be unable to use “who lost Ukraine” as a campaign issue.

    Watch. TRUMP(!) will blame it on Biden, and declare he’s been for defending Ukraine all along.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:03 pm

  255. Once again Biden takes the side of the terrorist state of Iran.

    No, just more feckless “negotiating against himself”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:04 pm

  256. I think there are many times when it would be most efficient to use nuclear weapons.
    However, the public opinion in this country and throughout the world throw up their hands in horror when you mention nuclear weapons, just because of the propaganda that’s been fed to them.

    Curtis LeMay said that and he wasn’t wrong about the efficiency.
    I agree there is and was a lot of propaganda that feeds into the horror but the horror is real too.

    I do not think Soviet Russia would have nuked us in return for lets say nuking Hanoi for efficiencies sake, but was it worth the risk with Khrushchev and Brezhnev in charge. I’d say no.

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:10 pm

  257. But if we are so fearful of nuclear threats, how will we ever defend Taiwan? Or South Korea when that crazy boy king has ICBMs?

    The only way to defend Taiwan would be a preemptive strike on Chinese ports with the invasion fleet at anchor. The US Navy doesn’t have the capability (at this time) to prevent an invasion from occurring. By the time the Navy arrives it will be a fair accompli.

    North Korea doesn’t need ICBMs to attack South Korea, its existing medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles will do just fine.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:10 pm

  258. But if we are so fearful of nuclear threats, how will we ever defend Taiwan? Or South Korea when that crazy boy king has ICBMs?

    I don’t think China’s all that interested really. Like I said, I think Taiwan will rejoin China by 2045. I’ve been to China a bunch, and in some ways they’re more capitalistic than us, definetly more than Europe. Now, capitalism isn’t democracy or freedom in the way we define it. Xi has built a cult of personality, before him, and probably after, they may move to a more open society, but I sometimes think we don’t appreciate the cultural difference.

    South Korea is by far the most democratic, and you go back 30 years it wasn’t much.

    Speaking of ROK, I think everyone knows that we have more of a hair trigger on North Korea than anyplace else. Seoul being within arty range of the North, puts us closer to the edge even without Nukes. Don’t doubt that the south has nukes of their own, they have plenty of technical expertise, allies, and at this point, nuclear bombs aren’t the complicated thing, it’s delivery, and the south has ample methods. If the north did attack, erase Pyongyang in minutes.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:12 pm

  259. But if we are so fearful of nuclear threats, how will we ever defend Taiwan?

    I think the American people would trade Taiwan to China to avoid a nuclear war.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:22 pm

  260. R.I.P. Bill Walton

    Icy (4dfb18) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:54 pm

  261. R.I.P. Richard Sherman, songwriter for Disney

    Icy (4dfb18) — 5/27/2024 @ 2:55 pm

  262. The Taiwanese could probably do great damage to Chinese ships and support aircraft out in the strait (and would) but I believe they will also be turning their ports, airfields into graveyard choke points.
    China has probably studied the defense of Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Operation Ketsugo for the mainland, and well as US plans to invade Japan and casualty estimates.
    China would lose face even if things went well because losses could simultaneously be very high and some very high value pieces would be lost. China could lose hundreds of thousands or even a million dead and wounded. China could fail gruesomely at their amphibious assault debut and even if they eventually get it right will again lose face.
    US wargames show that China would probably denied but the cost of victory in 27 scenarios finish in victories that are all labelled “pyrrhic” for the US.

    Which is why I think Colonel’s 2045 China long game prediction may be the route China goes unless Xi or a replacement gets impatient. (They might accelerate the timeframe if Biden gets elected to lame duck)

    “China could employ a spectrum of non-kinetic coercion ranging from economic, political, and tech-centered means up to naval blockades to pursue a nonconsensual unification with Taiwan”
    https://www.stimson.org/2023/is-a-chinese-invasion-of-taiwan-the-most-likely-scenario/

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 3:41 pm

  263. Bill Walton’s story about the Celtics meeting the Dead. Classic Bill Walton.
    Here’s Kareem’s tribute.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 3:53 pm

  264. Here’s a strategy for Ukraine to prevail, and it involves lots of drones. Putin’s War Against Ukraine could be the World’s First Drone War.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 4:06 pm

  265. https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/05/eighty-four-percent-of-measles-cases-during-chicagos-outbreak-tied-to-venezuelan-migrants/

    More benefits of a wide open southern border. Thanks.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 4:55 pm

  266. https://nypost.com/2024/05/27/us-news/joe-biden-visits-hallie-biden-days-before-she-testifies-in-hunter-biden-gun-trial/

    President Biden made a surprise nighttime visit to the Delaware home of Hallie Biden on Sunday — just before she’s due to serve as one of the most important witnesses at first son Hunter Biden’s federal trial for alleged gun crimes.

    Biden stopped by Hallie’s home around 8 p.m. for a brief private talk eight days before the 54-year-old first son’s trial is scheduled to stand trial beginning June 3.

    Hallie dated Hunter at the time of his alleged gun crimes and is one of a dozen expected witnesses.

    Witness tampering 101.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:15 pm

  267. Biden visits his daughter in his hometown on a holiday, where he goes for most holidays.

    What tampering would he possibly be doing? The facts are evident, and he could just pick up the phone, etc. Visiting family on a day for celebrating family is the least incriminating thing in the world, and days before, 10 days. If it was when they visited last month, it was a month, or the month before…etc.

    Hunter Biden has already stipulated to the facts. He’s not wrong that if he wasn’t a Biden he’d not be prosecuted for this, but if he was a Biden, again, etc, etc.

    Hunter Biden absolutely took advantage of his name, like all of Trump’s kids, Obama’s, Bush’s, and Clinton’s, and Bush’s…and Franklin’s…he’s scummier than most, both in his ickyness as a human, and bad at the corrupt-adjacent part.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:39 pm

  268. Do you think Hunter Biden’s sister needs her dad to tell her to take it easy on her brother?

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:41 pm

  269. And yes, sister (in law), lover, again the ick factor is strong with all things Hunter Biden.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:42 pm

  270. Biden visits his daughter in his hometown on a holiday, where he goes for most holidays.

    Hallie Biden was married to Beau Biden, which makes her the President’s ex-daughter in law. She also had a relationship with Hunter Biden between 2016-2019.

    However, to call the visit “witness tampering” is a stretch since we don’t know what was said. I’m sure she will be asked about it at Hunter’s trial.

    Rip Murdock (fd2d05) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:51 pm

  271. Again, the ick factor of Hunter Biden is high.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 5:59 pm

  272. There is zero reason for him to visit his former daughter-in-law. But you both will do what you can to run interference for the left because SoP.

    Pretend to be above board again. It’s funny when you carry water for witness tampering but claim a shake of the head is witness tampering.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:02 pm

  273. Just like when Bill Clinton met on the tarmac and “just talked about the kids.”

    Some animals are more equal than others. And frauds like it that way.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:03 pm

  274. We’ll see what she says at trial.

    Rip Murdock (f82a64) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:13 pm

  275. There is zero reason for him to visit his former daughter-in-law. But you both will do what you can to run interference for the left because SoP.

    Then the House must impeach.

    Rip Murdock (f82a64) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:17 pm

  276. @267 “Biden visits his daughter in his hometown on a holiday, where he goes for most holidays.”

    Klink must’ve thought this was the daughter Joe took showers with.

    lloyd (7cf1ed) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:48 pm

  277. Good thing for him that he snuck out, didn’t put it on the schedule, dismissed his secret service detail and aides so no one found out until. Oh wait, it was scheduled, published, he had his aides and protection detail with him.

    We should definitely prosect folks who talk to/about witnesses in trials with them or their families…goose, gander and all that.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:53 pm

  278. As I said…

    And yes, sister (in law), lover, again the ick factor is strong with all things Hunter Biden.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/27/2024 @ 6:54 pm

  279. North Korea doesn’t need ICBMs to attack South Korea, its existing medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles will do just fine.

    You miss the point. They can (apparently) stop US from interfering by threatening us with a missile attack.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:07 pm

  280. I think the American people would trade Taiwan to China to avoid a nuclear war.

    I think they’d trade Texas to Mexico to avoid a nuclear war.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:09 pm

  281. Which is why I think Colonel’s 2045 China long game prediction may be the route China goes unless Xi or a replacement gets impatient. (They might accelerate the timeframe if Biden gets elected to lame duck)

    Then why are we doing this?

    Breaking a Seven-Decade Taboo: The Deployment of US Special Forces to Kinmen

    The recent report, and subsequent confirmation by Taiwan authorities, of U.S. Special Forces’ deployment to Kinmen (Quemoy), a tiny island held by Taiwan, marks a monumental shift in U.S. military and foreign policy that challenges doctrines held since the Truman Administration. This move not only signifies an important geopolitical pivot, but also breaks a long-standing taboo that has implications for regional stability and U.S.–China relations.

    Since the 1950s, U.S. policy has deliberately excluded Taiwan’s offshore islands, particularly Kinmen and Matsu, from its defense commitments under the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty (1955–80) and the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. These islands, due to their proximity to mainland China—just a few miles off the coast—were considered indefensible in a strategic sense and too sensitive geopolitically.

    The rationale was grounded in three main considerations. First is these islands’ proximity to mainland China. Kinmen is only about six miles from Xiamen, China, making it geographically vulnerable to Chinese military action. Second, these islands carry geopolitical sensitivity. Defending these islands could escalate tensions unnecessarily and drag the U.S. into direct conflict with China, contrary to the longstanding U.S. objective of maintaining peace and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Third, the military logistics of defending these islands were deemed unfeasible and not in the strategic interest of the United States, given their location beyond the median line of the Taiwan Strait where the capital warships of the U.S. 7th Fleet routinely patrolled.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  282. You can hit every point on Kinmen Island with artillery from the Chinese mainland.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:19 pm

  283. @196 A war of attrition always goes to the larger party. From Xerxes to george III, Batista, saigon now called Ho Chi Minh thru Afganistan (twice) to Ukraine today. Putin still can’t take Kharkov let alone Kiev! All would be surprise at your comment. Especially now where defense has made big strides over offense. The only time bombing civilians won a war we used nukes and japan was looking for away to surrender anyway.

    asset (d3e346) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:24 pm

  284. @208 the wagner group had a clear path to moscow with crowds cheering them on until their leader lost his nerve south of moscow. Their may be a russian klaus von stauffenberg ready to do his duty. Putin’s biggest fear.

    asset (d3e346) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:31 pm

  285. Isn’t she the mother of his grandchildren. He can damn well go to visit her and yeah Joe Biden might mix in some witness tampering.
    I’d be more shocked if Joe did not bring it up.
    Best way to hide it in plain sight? Put it on the calendar.

    She was probably always going to catch a case of “I do not recall”

    I’m only in favor of slapping Hunter around a bit on this charge because if they are not going to charge the President’s crackhead son who confessed he did the crime, then don’t charge any of the other crackheads who have lied on the form. And I am of the opinion that firearms are dangerous enough and crackheads are also dangerous enough that we should exclude active crackheads from buying firearms- the two shall not mix.

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:34 pm

  286. @273 Hillary lost so not a smart move. Prosecutor joe biden to senile to prosecute. Better for biden if he had.

    asset (d3e346) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:45 pm

  287. There is zero reason for him to visit his former daughter-in-law.

    How consumed by tribalism do you have to be to persuade yourself people don’t routinely stay close with in-laws after the blood relation has passed?

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:04 pm

  288. Isn’t she the mother of his grandchildren.

    Yes, she is.

    I’ll tell you all something, with the best will in the world, that the desperate attempts to smear Biden with the same sewage as their orange conman has finally given me a full understanding of the word “deplorable”.

    nk (5cc3ac) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:07 pm

  289. “Isn’t she the mother of his grandchildren.”

    So is Lunden Roberts, the mother of his granddaughter he’s never met and just recently acknowledged.

    But, this is just a desperate attempt at smearing. What the latest update on Alito’s flagpole?

    lloyd (890302) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:22 pm

  290. KevinM

    You’ve always piqued my interest over Kinmen I.
    Hopefully Joe isn’t waxing nostalgic over Fort Drum (the one in Manila Bay). I think that Green Beret posting is more about intel gathering and posturing theater than placing a lethal special ops team into the teeth of the tiger.
    Another hopeful from me would be that if China does go after Taiwan, they’ll just bypass the Americans on Kinmen until they can get around to sending them home. It would be a very odd place to be because if I was stationed there and fellow American military were fighting and dying in Taiwan proper I’d be at terms with fighting to a near certain death

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:22 pm

  291. Typical Bill Walton, calling a Pac-12 game.

    Paul Montagu (d52d7d) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:23 pm

  292. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hoflGSRDhY

    Battle of the USS No-go

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:25 pm

  293. That video is a good storyteller talking about the battle of Fort Drum

    This video below is Titled “Old Age and Treachery- The Unstoppable 77th Infantry Division” and it really is fun Fast forward to
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Su5-_KuDf8

    Fast forward to around 7 minutes in and bypass the buildup

    steveg (c1ee72) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:30 pm

  294. The constant defenses of Biden from people who claim to not be partisan leftists calls into question quite a bit.

    But it’s par for the course from the group that never says anything good about a Republican unless they are attacking another Republican.

    Pedo Joe Biden is trying to influence a witness who is testifying against his son and all you have to give are excuses.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/27/2024 @ 8:40 pm

  295. As Patterico said, “broken by partisanship.”

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/27/2024 @ 9:58 pm

  296. You’ve always piqued my interest over Kinmen I.

    In the 50’s Ike threatened to use nukes to defend it. Xiamen is major port city and the island stands astride the harbor, 4 miles off shore — ships have to go around it. I’ve just never understood why China has left this annoyance alone.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:34 pm

  297. As Patterico said, “broken by partisanship.”

    There are all kinds of partisans. There are the Democrat partisans. There are Republican partisans. All pretty normal. Then there are Trump partisans who wouldn’t vote for a Republican other than Trump. There are anti-Trump partisans who would vote for literally anyone who was not Donald Trump.

    Generally they are willing to accept any propaganda that feeds their partisanship, often things that ascribe terrible motives to the opponents of their cause. They even go so far as to imagine some affront, then proceed to accept it as true and suggest their own side do it, too (e.g. “W wanted to put Muslims in camps, so we should put THEM in camps”).

    There is always a “THEM.” It gets tiring to sort through this crap.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 10:43 pm

  298. @294 I am a partisan leftist and I wont defend biden. Why do conservatives?

    asset (65ba2e) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:58 am

  299. The arm chair strategists said putin would take kiev in less then a week. Now claim china will quickly over run taiwan. The last time china went to war it was with Vietnam how did that turn out? Also china’s one child policy now has it 2nd in population behind India with draft age males a problem and like U.S. nobody wants to get drafted.

    asset (65ba2e) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:06 am

  300. What the latest update on Alito’s flagpole?

    David Pecker is negotiating with Mrs. Alito for her story; and Robert Costello is willing to swear that he asked Mrs. Alito 10 times and each time she said that it was all her idea and Justice Alito had nothing to do with it.

    nk (5cc3ac) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:35 am

  301. Trumpism’s overwhelming advantage is that the sewage it is composed of is so nauseatingly voluminous that normal people do not have the time, energy, stomach, or lack of personal pride and dignity to wade through it all.

    nk (5cc3ac) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:53 am

  302. @147

    A poster boy for lawfare would be Andrew Weismann. He has been praised by some passersby here for his work on Trump.
    In a fair world Weismann would have had to endure the same trauma his Enron victims went through but instead he has actually been elevated.
    I see a resemblance between praising Weismann for his legal abilities and praising Hitler for his ability to unite the German people.
    Weismann is a bad guy because of his exposed character and the methods that lack of character put forward. He taints everything he touches and we should recoil at his involvement rather than praise it.
    Adam Schiff is another guy I’d put up there whose amoral means and methods are gross in a way that good people should recoil from.
    But their lawfare is praised by the never trump right because never trump is the higher calling, (to the point of religiosity) so they gladly, gleefully embrace Weismann and Schiff.
    People to whom character is everything should for consistency, in my admittedly flawed judgement, recoil from Trump, Weismann, Schiff, and Biden.
    Any lawfare that involves or was started by the likes of Schiff and Weismann should be rejected by fair minded people even if they hate the object.
    Those two are the Love Canal of pollution

    steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:18 pm

    Weismann is the scum of the lawyer profession. He embodies all the negative “thug lawyer” stereotypes one can muster.

    Anyone using Weismann “9-oh”, as a source should ruthlessly be mocked.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:51 am

  303. NJRob (d8f89e) — 5/27/2024 @ 11:46 am

    The real problem for Trump was the trial was in NY and she was funded by a leftwing billionaire to go after him with the help of NY politicians.

    The jury still had to believe it or believe it more likely than not.

    If the funding was a problem, the problem was caused by perjury, including (probably) her two corroborating witnesses, one of whom didn’t even quitec corroborate that she had told the same story contemporaneously.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:08 am

  304. I thought the real problem was raping someone then attacking the victim with lies. But what do I know, I’m not a New Yorker. Maybe standards are different there.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:10 am

  305. Closing arguments in the New York Trump trial.

    Unlike as is the case in all the other 49 states and in federal court, the defense goes first. Both sides get to see the judge’s instructions before, although the public (and the jury) does not.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:11 am

  306. Huh… I thought the defense always went first…

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:14 am

  307. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:10 am

    I thought the real problem was raping someone then attacking the victim with lies.

    I’m assuming it’s not true, so the problem was perjury and her two corroborating witnesses, which made it difficult to decide that the preponderance of evidence was against her, especially since the defense did not accuse them of lying, but only accused E, Jean Carroll of having made it up then .

    The jury did not buy the rape, or found it less likely than the opposite, but they did decide that something like what was described in the Access Hollywood tape did take place. That would still be sexual assault.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:20 am

  308. Kevin,

    more smearing, but it’s allowed because TRUMP.

    NJRob (d4b7a5) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:21 am

  309. Normally, I’d believe the majority of witnesses, but this is too political, and Trump’s opponents are known for smearing people under oath.

    Trump and his allies are known for lying but not taking care that their lies are any bit plausible – it’s geared toward ignorance)

    They lie more about background facts, or cite real facts but draw distorted conclusions. They don’t usually have false witnesses – when they do, the testimony is in the form of media interviews and not sworn,

    when they do accusations against individuals, it is usually in the form of X pproves Y, not testimony that A did B. And X may be true or a misrepresentation of the truth but still resting on something true which has been distorted. That makes people feel smart.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:21 am

  310. more smearing, but it’s allowed because TRUMP.

    Pussy-grabbing is OK, but not sexual assault?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:23 am

  311. NJRob, good link about Joe visiting Hallie Biden. There are a host of innocent explanation for the visit, such as the one offered in the article you linked.

    Although many commentators noted the awkward optics due to the looming trial, the visit came four days before the anniversary of Beau’s death.

    There are also corrupt explanations for the visit having to do with witness tampering. Given that I think it’s proper that the prosecution speak with Hallie about the visit to understand what was said and if charges of witness tampering are appropriate.

    Does anyone know how this is normally handled and if the standard process is likely to produce public information?

    Time123 (79f9d6) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:56 am

  312. Kevin,

    more smearing, but it’s allowed because TRUMP.

    NJRob (d4b7a5) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:21 am

    How is it a smear? It’s been litigated in court, The jury was convinced…you can believe they got it wrong but Kevin’s reference of Trump’s sex crimes isn’t a smear, it’s a reference to the well documented behavior of the leadership of the GOP.

    Incidentally stuff like this makes is what makes me doubt the sincerity of the Christian Values types. Trump’s a pig in an oversized suit. His immoral behavior in this any other matters is well documented. I can understand and respect people like Whembly who acknowledge his flaws and still find him the lesser of 2 evils, but I can’t avoid concluding that those who claim to support traditional Christian values are hypocrites when they ignore / excuse the vile things Trump has done.

    Time123 (79f9d6) — 5/28/2024 @ 10:01 am

  313. Then why are we doing this?

    Breaking a Seven-Decade Taboo: The Deployment of US Special Forces to Kinmen

    A tripwire similar to the US troops deployed in South Korea.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 10:36 am

  314. Digging a hole:

    An attorney for columnist E. Jean Carroll didn’t rule out another lawsuit after Donald Trump’s post on Memorial Day denying that he’d ever met Carroll, even as he acknowledged that there is a photo of them meeting, a photo of her that he once confused for his ex-wife Marla Maples during a deposition.
    ……….

    “Happy Memorial Day to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country, & to the Radical Left, Trump Hating Federal Judge in New York that presided over, get this, TWO separate trials, that awarded a woman, who I never met before (a quick handshake at a celebrity event, 25 years ago, doesn’t count!), 91 MILLION DOLLARS for ‘DEFAMATION,’” the social media post said. “She didn’t know when the so-called event took place – sometime in the 1990’s – never filed a police report, didn’t have to produce the ‘dress’ that she threatened me with (it showed negative!), & sung my praises in the first half of her CNN Interview with Alison [sic] Cooper, but changed her tune in the second half – Gee, I wonder why (UNDER APPEAL!)? The Rape charge was dropped by a jury!”

    ………
    Also back in March, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit of his own after ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said on “This Week” that Trump had been “found liable for rape by a jury” in the Carroll case.

    “It’s been affirmed by a judge,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to Judge Kaplan.
    ……….
    ……….(A)s ABC’s motion to dismiss the case recently pointed out, Kaplan separately found that because forcible digital penetration is widely understood to be “rape,” regardless of what New York Penal law says, the jury “implicitly found Mr. Trump did in fact digitally rape Ms. Carroll.”
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 10:43 am

  315. If the judge is inclined to sentence Trump to prison (should he be found guilty), it will be for the lies his defense presented at his behest in the trial.

    nk (e1f5f6) — 5/28/2024 @ 10:59 am

  316. SAD!

    A federal appeals court in Washington upheld the conviction of a former New York City Police Department officer who was charged for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, after he claimed that he couldn’t get an impartial jury in Washington, D.C.
    ………
    (The defendant Thomas Webster) sought to have his case moved out of the nation’s capital, raising concerns about political bias by the jury pool, but a federal district court denied his request.

    In an (unanimous) opinion authored by Judge Patricia Millett, the judges found that nothing in the record suggested that the jury pool had preconceived notions about Webster or knew who he was. They also determined that he failed to show that the district’s jury pool is incapable of producing fair juries for people facing charges that stem from the Jan. 6 attack.

    “Webster asserts that the District overwhelmingly voted for President Biden and historically votes for Democratic candidates. That may be,” Millett wrote. “But the political inclinations of a populace writ large say nothing about an individual’s ability to serve impartially in adjudicating the criminal conduct of an individual.”

    Millett, appointed by former President Barack Obama, was joined by Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao, both selected by former President Donald Trump.
    ………
    “Webster’s focus on the jury pool’s opinion of January 6th and its perpetrators misses the point,” Millett wrote. “We expect jurors to view significant criminal events in their hometown with an unapproving eye, whether it is the January 6th attack on the Capitol, a murder, or an armed robbery spree. Generalized disapproval of criminal conduct — even the specific conduct at issue in a defendant’s case — says nothing about a juror’s ability to be impartial in deciding whether a particular individual committed a crime or not.”

    The panel said that the jury-selection process for Webster’s case involved an “exacting search,” in which potential jurors were screened with 21 questions that included their ties to the U.S. Capitol and knowledge about the Jan. 6 attack and feelings about Trump or his supporters that could impact their impartiality.

    Prospective jurors then faced additional questions asked in-person and under oath.

    In addition to upholding Webster’s conviction, the panel affirmed his 10-year prison sentence.
    ………

    Federal courts in the District of Columbia, when deciding requests to change a trial’s venue, are bound by Haldeman v. US, a 1976 en banc ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District, which upheld the convictions of John Mitchell, H.R. Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 10:59 am

  317. DNC prepares to nominate Biden via ‘virtual roll call’ before convention

    The Democratic National Committee is preparing to nominate President Biden as the party’s presidential nominee through a “virtual roll call” ahead of its August convention in Chicago, an unusual step to ensure that Biden can meet a deadline to appear on the ballot in Ohio.

    The move comes despite a special legislative session in Ohio this week that Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said would resolve the issue. Democrats are not optimistic about the special session, given that DeWine has added an unrelated proposal on campaign finance to the agenda that Republicans want considered alongside legislation that would allow Biden on the ballot.
    ………..
    The exact timing of the virtual roll call remains to be seen, but party officials emphasized it will be before Ohio’s Aug. 7 ballot certification deadline. The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is set to meet June 4 to vote on a resolution to clear the way for the virtual event. If approved, the resolution will then need approval from the full DNC.

    It would not be the first time Democrats finalized their presidential nominee virtually. In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic National Convention was conducted almost entirely remotely, with the roll call featuring prerecorded messages and live shots from across the country.

    …….. The Chicago convention is still expected to feature the roll call, but the formal nomination of Biden will be during the virtual proceedings.
    ……..
    Ohio state legislators had hoped to fix the problem legislatively, too, but leaders announced this month they were at a stalemate.
    ……….

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:09 am

  318. Time,

    because he called him a rapist which the slanted jury specifically said was not proven by a preponderance of evidence.

    This isn’t hard, but NeverTrump’s bias is showing.

    NJRob (d4b7a5) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:19 am

  319. 310. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:23 am

    Pussy-grabbing is OK, but not sexual assault?

    That is sexual assault. Except that Trump claimed in the Access Hollywood tape that women (no exceptions) let him do it – that is, they didn’t resist or try to stop him.

    Of course he was lying, as Donald Trump almost explicitly said when he called it “locker room talk” because human beings simply aren’t like that, but the question might be: Which way? That they did resist, or that he never actually made a sudden attack like that?

    The jury evidently concluded that it was more likely than not that he miscalculated – that he tried it, but she resisted, and that it was more likely than not that he did not go as far as she testified to.

    Incidentally the Hillary Clinton campaign never said a word about something else in the access Hollywood tape: That he had tried to seduce a specific married woman, but failed. (the identity of the wman did not come through in anything made public)

    The problem for them is that is an issue of sexual morality but no longer treated as a crime, and they wanted to accuse him of crimes, and that does not include anything between consenting adults.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:20 am

  320. I’ll bet:

    Peter Navarro, a former top White House adviser to Donald Trump, isn’t interested in a pardon should “the boss” return to power.

    “I will not give the Supreme Court any excuse to duck what is otherwise a landmark constitutional case regarding the separation of powers and executive privilege,” Navarro wrote to The Wall Street Journal from prison in Miami, referencing his appeal now before a federal appeals court. The 74-year-old is two months into a four-month sentence on a contempt of Congress conviction for stonewalling the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

    Perhaps no one has demonstrated loyalty to Trump like Navarro, the polarizing, wiry former White House China hawk and pandemic troubleshooter. And no one has quite paid the same price: Navarro is the first White House official in history to be imprisoned for contempt.
    ……….
    “I would absolutely have Peter back. This outrageous behavior by the Democrats should not have happened,” Trump said in a statement to the Journal. (Navarro said he wasn’t looking for a job but would consider one “if the boss needs me.”)
    ……….
    If given a chance to speak at the (Republican) convention—which would deliver the kind of dramatic moment Trump covets—Navarro plans to reflect on his plight and the various prosecutions facing Trump. “Something like, ‘If they can come for me—and they surely did—they can come for you,’ ” he said (Navarro is scheduled to be released on July 17th.)
    ………
    A typical day in prison, Navarro said, involves rising before dawn, having breakfast and walking a mile around the track to watch the sunrise before work in the law library. Lunch is followed by more work, then dinner at 4:45 p.m., and more exercise in the yard. Navarro has found ways to get his message out, penning opinion pieces for The Washington Times.

    He sleeps in a dorm pod with about 50 other inmates. Covid is going around, he said, meaning a lot of coughing amid the snoring—with “no MyPillows in sight,” referring to the pillow manufactured by fellow Trump loyalist Mike Lindell. When time permits, Navarro works on his appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
    ………..

    I doubt Navarro would turn down a pardon, if only so he can vote and possess a firearm.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:29 am

  321. This deadline before the convention existed also in the years 2012 and 2020 but both times Ohio passed a law extending the deadline. The law was passed 15 years ago, according to a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece today.

    This law obviously exists to hamper third parties.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:45 am

  322. Navarro is probably speaking of a situation where he out of jail, having completed his sentence, buut wants to maintain his appeal. He’d ask Trump to wait.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:47 am

  323. In Ohio, the Republicans say they want to add approvision to state law prohibiting foreigners (including permanent residents?) from contributing money to a ballot initiative.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:50 am

  324. asset (d3e346) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:24 pm

    A war of attrition always goes to the larger party. From Xerxes to george III, Batista, saigon now called Ho Chi Minh….

    In 1964-1973, North Vietnam was the larger party?

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:54 am

  325. @316 “But the political inclinations of a populace writ large say nothing about an individual’s ability to serve impartially in adjudicating the criminal conduct of an individual.”

    Do we need to remind some of the comments here about how the OJ prosecutors screwed up the trial venue? Or, how about the venue in the Rodney King beating trial?

    Let’s put a Biden on trial in MTG’s district and see who really believes this nonsense.

    lloyd (ffe4ff) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:58 am

  326. What law do you think Biden broke in that municipality?

    Time123 (38e5b0) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:03 pm

  327. You miss the point. (North Korea) can (apparently) stop US from interfering by threatening us with a missile attack.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/27/2024 @ 7:07 pm

    To expand on what I said earlier, the American public would certainly trade Taiwan and South Korea to avoid nuclear war. Again, both Taiwan and South Korea are more vulnerable to their adversaries because they are so close to them. Any intervention by the US would come way too late to affect the outcome.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:20 pm

  328. In Ohio, the Republicans say they want to add approvision to state law prohibiting foreigners (including permanent residents?) from contributing money to a ballot initiative.

    Why? Are they going to bribe the initiative?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:30 pm

  329. Any intervention by the US would come way too late to affect the outcome.

    And the, when it would not have been, it would be too late after the dithering. Take a look at what happened in the Korean War and tell me what is “too late.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:31 pm

  330. @326

    What law do you think Biden broke in that municipality?

    Time123 (38e5b0) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:03 pm

    Why does that matter?

    All the GA 14th District’s prosecution just needs to do, is to channel their inner-Lavrentiy Beria, I mean Alvin Bragg to charge Biden.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:33 pm

  331. To expand on what I said earlier, the American public would certainly trade Taiwan and South Korea to avoid nuclear war

    So where? Alaska? Hawaii? Texas? It’s a wonder we got out of the 70s without surrendering.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:33 pm

  332. whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    This is what I mean about partisans turning their fever dreams into reciprocal action.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:35 pm

  333. In 1964-1973, North Vietnam was the larger party?

    More people involved on their side, with no hope of going “back home.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:37 pm

  334. What law do you think Biden broke in that municipality?

    To the everlasting shame of the two-tiered criminal justice system, people are put on trial only in places where they have committed crimes.

    SO UNFAIR!

    nk (e7c56f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:38 pm

  335. @332

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    This is what I mean about partisans turning their fever dreams into reciprocal action.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:35 pm

    Yup.

    That’s my point.

    I’ve been warning “what goes around, comes around” for years.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:39 pm

  336. Let’s put a Biden on trial in MTG’s district and see who really believes this nonsense.

    Her district used to be Cherokee land. They stole in then held slaves there. Later it was a Klan hotbed. A previous Congressman from her corner of GA was the head of the John Birch Society until (ironically) the Russians killed him (true fact).

    I wouldn’t want to be tried there either.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:40 pm

  337. I’ve been warning “what goes around, comes around” for years.

    Except it didn’t “come around” except in your delusions.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:42 pm

  338. @337

    I’ve been warning “what goes around, comes around” for years.

    Except it didn’t “come around” except in your delusions.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:42 pm

    K.

    Don’t heed my warnings. IDGAF.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:51 pm

  339. If you mean that if Trump is elected, he will appoint a United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia who will indict Biden for stealing the election, that’s probably the dream that lulls him to sleep every night.

    nk (e7c56f) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:13 pm

  340. @339

    If you mean that if Trump is elected, he will appoint a United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia who will indict Biden for stealing the election, that’s probably the dream that lulls him to sleep every night.

    nk (e7c56f) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:13 pm

    Doesn’t have to be about “stolen” election.

    It could be anything.

    Here… tell you what Kevin (as nk routine disparages this Bragg’s case), try to convince me that Alvin Bragg isn’t pulling a Lavrentiy Beria…

    whembly (86df54) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:21 pm

  341. To expand on what I said earlier, the American public would certainly trade Taiwan and South Korea to avoid nuclear war

    So where? Alaska? Hawaii? Texas? It’s a wonder we got out of the 70s without surrendering.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 12:33 pm

    Exactly-I believe the American public, as opposed to official government pronouncements, would do almost anything to avoid a nuclear war, except in defense of the US. Which means Taiwan and South Korea are one their own.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:28 pm

  342. Which means Taiwan and South Korea are on their own.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:29 pm

  343. Then why are we doing this?

    Breaking a Seven-Decade Taboo: The Deployment of US Special Forces to Kinmen

    I assume the Special Forces on Kinmen are training the Republic of China’s 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion and conducting intelligence gathering, as they have in the past.

    US troops’ positioning facilitate intelligence gathering on movements in the Taiwan Strait and on the Chinese coast including Chinese naval and air force bases located in Xiamen. At a military base in northern Taiwan, American troops also train the Taiwanese military in the use of drones for its Airborne Special Service Company, an elite special forces unit.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:44 pm

  344. @326 “What law do you think Biden broke in that municipality?”

    Thanks for agreeing.

    lloyd (ffe4ff) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:46 pm

  345. Whembly, I think Bragg was motivated to investigate Trump in part for political reasons. I am not convinced that the charges lack merit or that he’s being uniquely charged (see John Edwards).

    Your “what goes around comes around” warning isn’t very persuasive because I don’t think the typical Maga supporter is willing to admit there’s any merit to any criticism of their team regardless of facts.

    Look at the persistent stolen elections lies.
    Look at the denial and minimization of what happened on Jan 6.
    Look at the refusal to recognize the difference between Trump’s documents case and Biden/Pence’s document case. Trump’s now claiming that Biden used the search of classified documents to have him assassinated for crying out loud.
    Heck look at NJRob’s comments based on the different between the jury finding Trump committed sexual assault or rape and as yourself if there’s any collection of facts that would change his mind.

    Basically, I think the median Trump supporter will be convinced that any adverse outcome is caused by some corrupt conspiracy regardless of the facts and will use that belief to justify whatever retribution they’re able to enact. I don’t see any point in worrying about how they perceive things as they’re not evaluating things in good faith.

    We should follow the facts and the law and if that allows the professional victims on the right use claims of ‘two tiered justice system’ to sell gold coins or supplements or crypto to their marks audience then I don’t see any way to avoid it.

    Time123 (1ba55f) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:48 pm

  346. @344, you misunderstand me. If he broke a law there arrest him and charge him there. Biden’s only redeeming qualities as an elected official were:

    1. He wasn’t Trump.
    2. He was to the right of the other front runners (Sanders and Warren) in the 2016 primary

    Beyond that he’s doing a terrible job on nearly every issue.

    Time123 (1ba55f) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:05 pm

  347. https://babylonbee.com/news/judge-instructs-jurors-they-need-not-believe-trump-is-guilty-to-convict-him

    I thought they were comedy, but they nailed it.

    Just convict the man of anything because Trump

    NJRob (e0dde0) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:26 pm

  348. @324 No it wasn’t which was my point that the biggest doesn’t always win.

    asset (109b0c) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:33 pm

  349. NJRob (e0dde0) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:26 pm

    I thought they were comedy, but they nailed it.

    Close. They don’t have to agree on what crime Trump was trying to cover up, and Trump does not have the ability to defend himself against the secondary crime – that it was not a crime.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:36 pm

  350. @333 America was more powerful then north vietnam and you know this. Next taliban more powerful then U.S.?

    asset (109b0c) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:39 pm

  351. 196. 324 348. Oh, you meant “A war of attrition always goes to the larger party” the opposite way. That that what Kevin M said was wrong.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:39 pm

  352. Trump Perfectly Describes 7 Historic Battles

    nk (e7c56f) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:43 pm

  353. If it wasn’t for Trump, the Right would not be twisting itself into knots to see Biden criminality.

    This is the problem with not breaking the Trump trance and, in effect, saying that character doesn’t matter. It compels this path of minimizing what Trump most certainly did….and catastrophizing anything with a whiff of Biden’s scent.

    It’s good that Trump is being held to account, despite Bragg’s case being the weakest and least connected to Presidential duties. Our leaders should be above even the appearance of wrongdoing and they should strain to care about this. Trump doesn’t care. It appears to be a game for him: how far can he go before his zombies turn on him.

    I want our Presidents to worry about losing the public trust, about facing impeachment, and facing removal and disgrace. Trump’s trial has afforded both sides to make their case. It’s a close call that I can see going either way. Should this have been the J6 case? Definitely. If there is any problem with our justice system was that a President-inspired autogolpe couldn’t be prosecuted in a timely manner.

    We need better people as our leaders. Let’s not pretend that Bragg’s case doesn’t cut to the core of who Donald Trump is. This is your boy…this is the role model for our country. Porn-star payoffs indeed….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:44 pm

  354. steveg (1c49d6) — 5/26/2024 @ 2:38 pm

    Why not in Gaza? It’s not like the Palestinians can’t smuggle in drones.

    I think they cant. especially since Israel now controls the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. But Hamas wants Israel to agree to ceasefire terms that would allow them to do so.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:45 pm

  355. @353 “I want our Presidents to worry about losing the public trust, about facing impeachment, and facing removal and disgrace.”

    No you don’t. That’s what elections are for. You want 12 people in a skewed venue to prohibit the electorate from voting for a candidate nominated by a major party.

    lloyd (4568b2) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:00 pm

  356. 352. Who created that It’s good satire. It captures a lot. It even has a false commercial, a la Saturday Night Live. It mixes up fact and fiction
    – I don’t know some of the fictional battles – and “Trump” gets everything wrong.

    Here is something about the quote “land war in Asia”

    https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/104366/meaning-of-never-get-involved-in-a-land-war-in-asia-in-the-princess-bride

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:00 pm

  357. The International Criminal Court only has jurisdiction over genocide (not ordinary war crimes) and only then if the country involved doesn’t have a courts that will investigate and prosecute war crimes.

    This tends to prove that you shouldn’t try to set up a permanent court for human rights violations because it will tend to be captured by human rights violators – because only they care – or care very much – about its composition..

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:07 pm

  358. What happened in Rafah this week:

    First, on Sunday, Hamas fired missies at different places in Israel, the first time since January. They claimed 100, it was probably less. Eight were intercepted, and one building was damaged.

    In the meantime, or because of that, or because they felt that gave it a green light Israel made a planned attack against a top Hamas command post, killing two important Hamas commanders, one with responsibility for the West Bank.

    Nearby was a tent city of evacuees who went there because they thought it was safer. It may have been in or near an unused school. They thought it was in the safe humanitarian zone but actually it was just a little bit to the south. You can wonder who misled them.

    A bad fire broke out, apparently started by shrapnel from the strike that ignited a fuel tank nearby.

    Hamas claimed some 45 people killed.

    I don’t know why, if this is so, that or was caused by an unanticipated accident, Netanyahu called it a mistake. Probably not enough information Hamas deliberately arranged for refugees to be very close to possible targets.

    In addition there was an exchange of fire in which an Egyptian officer was killed. This started as a gunfight between Palestinians – presumably Hamas – and Israeli forces, which some Egyptians decided to intervene in.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:25 pm

  359. https://www.newser.com/story/350921/gaza-aid-deliveries-suspended-after-pier-damaged.html

    Does the Pentagon understand the durability of what it builds? And then there’s the weapons that can’t stand up to countermeasures like jamming of signals. (It seems like the best thing Ukraine can do is target the jammers)

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/28/2024 @ 3:32 pm

  360. We need better people as our leaders. Let’s not pretend that Bragg’s case doesn’t cut to the core of who Donald Trump is. This is your boy…this is the role model for our country. Porn-star payoffs indeed….

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 5/28/2024 @ 2:44 pm

    you are the one ignoring Biden’s disregard of the rule of law. Because Trump.

    NJRob (e0dde0) — 5/28/2024 @ 4:01 pm

  361. Let’s not pretend that Bragg’s case doesn’t cut to the core of who Donald Trump is.

    Of course it does. But being an assh0le isn’t what was charged. Bragg brought in a lot of extraneous stuff that had nothing to do with the charges, apparently to distract from his weak case on the charges themselves. Remember, Bragg has to PROVE his case; Trump needs do nothing.

    The jury has to decide that the perjurer is telling the truth this time, particularly about situations where there is no corroboration possible, except maybe a partial(!) tape of a conversation. And they have to decide that past a reasonable doubt. I wasn’t there; maybe they can. But it does kind of feel like a handwave.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 4:20 pm

  362. If it wasn’t for Trump, the Right would not be twisting itself into knots to see Biden criminality.

    When Romney ran against Obama, there was some question of each candidate’s good sense (Benghazi vs a dog on a rooftop), but neither side suggested the other was a criminal. The worst was (wait for it) Joe Biden saying that Romney wanted to put blacks back in chains. Pretty terrible at the time, but we are WAY past that level of nonsense now.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 4:27 pm

  363. (It seems like the best thing Ukraine can do is target the jammers)

    A HARM missile would seem like it could be modded.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 4:28 pm

  364. Remember, Bragg has to PROVE his case; Trump needs do nothing.

    The odd thing about New York law is that the jury doesn’t need to agree what felony Trump was trying to hide with the false record entries.

    If some jurors believe that Trump falsified business documents solely to cover up a tax crime, while others believe that he falsified business documents solely to cover up an election crime, the jury can still convict Trump on the felony-level falsifying-documents charges, despite disagreeing on the predicate crimes.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 5:01 pm

  365. I really doubt that Trump would be sentenced to prison, but some are not so sure:

    ……….
    “This is not a one-off, ‘Oops, I made a mistake on my business records,’ or even, a one-off scheme,” said Diana Florence, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who ran for the DA’s job in 2021 but lost to Alvin Bragg, the lead prosecutor in the Trump case.

    “Given the entirety of the facts and circumstances that came out during the trial, I believe if convicted, a sentence of incarceration is warranted and justified,” Florence said.

    “If I were the prosecutor, I would absolutely be asking for state prison,” she added.

    The maximum sentence for the crime Trump is charged with — felony-level falsifying business records — is four years in prison. …….

    Merchan, however, would not be required to issue any prison time. He would have wide discretion to choose a lighter punishment, such as probation or a term of “conditional discharge.” A probation sentence would require Trump to check in regularly with a probation officer and abide by other rules. Conditional discharge would allow Trump to remain free without probation supervision, as long as he stayed out of trouble.
    ……….
    At (a separate sentencing) hearing, Merchan, like all judges weighing whether to impose a prison sentence, would weigh a variety of factors beyond the guilty verdict. They include: Has the offender committed any crimes before? Does he express remorse? Is he a danger to the community? Would his incarceration discourage others from committing the same crime?
    ……….
    Former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Stuart Meissner said he thinks prison time is more likely than not.

    “I think, knowing most judges in New York, they’re going to want to show that no one is above the law, and therefore he would likely sentence him to a term of incarceration,” he said. “I don’t think much, but I think it would be included just to show that point.”

    Some criminal defense lawyers disagree.

    “Judge Merchan is not known, from what I know of his reputation, as a draconian sentencer,” said Peter Tilem, a defense lawyer and former assistant district attorney. “He’s not known to be the toughest sentencer in the building. I don’t think that he would start with this particular case.”
    ……….
    (Norm Pattis, a defense lawyer who has represented high-profile and controversial clients) added that he finds it unimaginable that Merchan would send a major party’s presidential nominee to prison.

    “It would be horrible for the country for Merchan to put this man in prison under these circumstances,” he said. “And I think he knows it.”
    ##########

    Merchan would also need to consider how to deal with Trump’s protective detail. Sending Trump to prison would not be worth the hassle.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 5:21 pm

  366. @360 Two party system mostly produces corrupt party hacks. Trump is a corrupt non-party hack.

    asset (3456a5) — 5/28/2024 @ 5:26 pm

  367. Half measures by everyone:

    ………
    Macron was asked during the Tuesday news conference (with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz) whether France would allow Kyiv to strike Russian positions inside Russia with French Scalp cruise missiles (the French version of the British Storm Shadow), which have a range of more than 300 miles.

    “We must allow them to neutralize military sites from which missiles are being fired, military sites from which Ukraine is being attacked,” Macron said, adding that the Scalps shouldn’t be used to hit other sites in Russian territory, such as civilian areas or military facilities not involved in striking Ukraine.
    ………..
    Still, Macron’s comments appeared to stop short of acceding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s broader push for permission to use Western arms to attack Russian troop positions and air bases inside Russia.
    ……….
    Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, recently said the time has come for all allies to lift their restrictions. “Especially now, when a lot of the fighting is going on in Kharkiv, close to the border, to deny Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very hard for them to defend themselves,” he said.
    ……….
    German officials have said one reason for not providing Ukraine with the (Taurus cruise missile) was concern that it would be used to target the Kerch bridge, which links the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea to the Russian mainland and is a vital supply route for Russian troops in southern Ukraine.
    ………

    I’m sure Putin will understand Macron’s distinctions.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:10 pm

  368. *Berlin and Washington threatened to halt further missile deliveries if Ukraine continued to engage targets in Russia with Patriot – BILD

    Ah. So that is why they invented stand off missiles. For the lines on the map

    But the Democrats in the House and Senate had little Ukrainian flags for the optics. I swear to the Almighty that it seems He’s seen fit to surround us with f-wits- then I remember wait, I’m in the middle of f-wits so, um, oh oh, do I fit right in or what?

    steveg (835351) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:40 pm

  369. Circumstantial evidence works fine too.

    When I hear quacking, flapping, and pattering about and find a loose feather nearby….I don’t think zebra.

    It’s a mosaic. You take one piece out and the jury can still see a duck and not a zebra….

    AJ_Liberty (2e24d2) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:53 pm

  370. A HARM missile would seem like it could be modded.

    The great thing about ARMs (Anti Radiation Missile) is that the very jamming that is so problematic to other types are catnip to them. So you volley fire a few ARM’s with ASMs (Air to Surface Missile) and potentially manned aircraft targeted dumb bombs and boom goes the jammer. It’s not quite that easy, but close.

    The problem is you must have a platform that can launch, and nothing in the Ukrainians inventory is compatible with the most modern ARMs. Probably not an issue as older ones are still pretty effective, the current build versions are so sophisticated that the Russians would be basically screwed regardless of turning it on or not, but current gen NATO aircraft are required F/A18, F35, Typhoon, etc. They can be programmed for radiation AND GPS AND MMR seekers simultaneously.

    They are expensive at about a million a shot, but the Ukrainians aren’t paying …and can’t use them anyway. Figuring at a way to mount on an F16A is probably doable though. Ukraine barely has any trained pilots on NATO airframes, so you’ve got some time. Again, the older ones work fine, but you’d need to pair with other seeker types to ensure you’ve got coverage like a multi-seeker more modernize version has.

    I’m not aware of a ground launched version, as mostly they’re used for SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defense), but I don’t see why you couldn’t quickly add a AR seeker to something about the size of a Switchblade 600. It already has inertial guidance which would get you too the vacinity, and then could use either MMR seeker or AR seeker, and they’d be cheap too.

    I think that’s what the best solution is for Ukraine, lots of pretty smart, pretty cheap drones scaled up and down the battle space. They’re simple to operate (some of the companies use the same controls for tiny DJI sized recon drones all the way up) Aerovironment for one, who build the Switchblade.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:57 pm

  371. It’s really too bad Northrop didn’t build 1000 F20s.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 7:42 pm

  372. Merchan would also need to consider how to deal with Trump’s protective detail. Sending Trump to prison would not be worth the hassle.

    House arrest would be more likely. But interfering in a presidential election is really above his pay grade. And if Trump won anyway, oh boy, he better not have ever done anything, ever.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 7:45 pm

  373. When I hear quacking, flapping, and pattering about and find a loose feather nearby….I don’t think zebra.

    It’s a mosaic. You take one piece out and the jury can still see a duck and not a zebra….

    This isn’t a civil suit. You can’t go on “He probably did it.” Or at least you shouldn’t. They MUST prove that Trump falsified the records, or caused them to be falsified. Cohen’s assertion that he did it on Trump’s orders is weak-ass stuff. Just because you think he might have, or “it’s the type of thing he WOULD do” is not the same as “proof”, and you need more than an argument of proof, you need to BELIEVE, based on evidence presented.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 7:50 pm

  374. RIP Doug Ingle (78), co-founder, lead singer, songwriter, and organist for Iron Butterfly:

    …………
    A mix of psychedelia, blues, hard-rock and witchy folk, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” was the perfect theme as the hippie era grew increasingly dark following ‘67′s Summer of Love.

    Ingle is said to have composed “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” after consuming a gallon of wine. Iron Butterfly drummer Ron Bushy transcribed Ingle’s lyrics as Ingle drunkenly sang and Bushy misheard the passage “in the Garden of Eden” as “in-a-gadda-da-vida.” The rest is rock history.

    The title track to San Diego band Iron Butterfly’s sophomore album, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” clocked in at an elephantine 17 minutes. A single version edited to less than a fifth of that running time gave Iron Butterfly their sole top 40 hit.
    …………..
    The song also figured into a great 1995 episode of “The Simpsons.”
    ………….
    At the time of the group’s follow-up LP, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” the time featured Ingle, Bushy, guitarist Erik Brann and bassist Lee Dorman. Ingle cut his eerie-sounding organ for the title track using a Vox Continental, an instrument also favored by contemporaries like The Doors.
    …………..

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/28/2024 @ 7:59 pm

  375. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/28/2024 @ 4:28 pm

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/28/2024 @ 6:57 pm


    The US has supplied HARM missiles to Ukraine since 2022, and they have adapted them to their MiG-29 Fulcrums.

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/28/2024 @ 8:10 pm

  376. I’d never heard this before

    Indeed, during Desert Storm a friendly fire incident is thought to have occurred in which a HARM missile fired from an F-4G locked onto the tail radar of a friendly B-52, resulting in heavy damage

    steveg (835351) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:02 pm

  377. @364

    Remember, Bragg has to PROVE his case; Trump needs do nothing.

    The odd thing about New York law is that the jury doesn’t need to agree what felony Trump was trying to hide with the false record entries.

    If some jurors believe that Trump falsified business documents solely to cover up a tax crime, while others believe that he falsified business documents solely to cover up an election crime, the jury can still convict Trump on the felony-level falsifying-documents charges, despite disagreeing on the predicate crimes.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 5:01 pm

    That’s likely unconstitutional.

    See Richardson v. United States (1999).

    whembly (e7c116) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:03 pm

  378. That’s likely unconstitutional.

    See Richardson v. United States (1999).

    whembly (e7c116) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:03 pm

    The law under which Trump has been prosecuted doesn’t require proof that he committed any felony, only that he recorded the false business records to hide them. The specific reason isn’t required.

    In Richardson, the law required criminal acts as part of the “continuing criminal enterprise”, where the jury was required to make specific determinations as to the facts , something that is lacking in the NY statute.

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:30 pm

  379. “My support for waging criminal lawfare, which I concede is wrong, is justified by my debatable assertion that my opponents are secretly doing it to my side” is a nice illustration of “broken by partisanship.”

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/28/2024 @ 11:33 pm

  380. Hocul says ny wont prosecute other businessmen for what they are prosecuting trump for. Trump better not get elected for as the kleons say revenge is a dish best eaten cold!

    asset (2c6c2b) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:11 am

  381. It’s not so much the old 88s ability to launch, they are pretty simple, it’s the multimode capability, or the ability to leverage barrage fire with other platforms.

    That’s where the Ukrainians lack capabilities of doing one thing, it’s doing all of them to simultaneously, that requires better systems, training, experience, and funding. Systems they’re OK, it’s the training and experience piece that they lack. This wasn’t an issue until they started having encounters between those jamming systems and a bajillion different munition types over the last few years.

    They have people that have training and experience, but that needs to get out of their heads into the troops. That’s why special forces training missions are so valuable, your not creating a bunch of secret squirrels, your transferring knowledge from the most experienced to the least.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:30 am

  382. I think that, in the near future, the Ukrainians will show that GPS jammers are something you don’t want to be co-located with.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:03 am

  383. @345

    Your “what goes around comes around” warning isn’t very persuasive

    I’m going to stop you right there.

    Time123 (1ba55f) — 5/28/2024 @ 1:48 pm
    Because that’s ALL that matters.

    This is the “Will to Power” games you’re witnessing.

    No matter what you think of the merits/demerits of an alleged lawfare, the “other side” gets to bat too.

    That is my concern.

    If Alvin Braggs can secure a conviction, even temporarily that is likely to be successfully appealed, such that it handcuffs the Presidential candidate’s campaign mere months from the election… don’t be too surprised seeing stuff like this against Democrats in red state in the future, and not just Presidential candidates either.

    My hope, at least in Bragg’s and Wilis’ case, that they get so embarrassed about these cases that no other future state AG would attempt this again w/o a very strong, unambiguous case.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:15 am

  384. Also back in March, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit of his own after ABC’s George Stephanopoulos said on “This Week” that Trump had been “found liable for rape by a jury” in the Carroll case.

    “It’s been affirmed by a judge,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to Judge Kaplan.

    It depends upon the meaning of the word “rape”

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:56 am

  385. Whembly, I don’t think Trump’s side is going to restrain their actions based on what has actually happened. As such there’s no point in not prosecuting Trump if he breaks the law. Which I believe he did WRT to classified documents and his attempted action in GA.

    I think the refusal to acknowledge his actions around the 2020 election and the refusal to address the differences between his documents case and Pence’s or Biden’s are good examples of why I believe this. Another good example is ignoring that John Edwards was charged and tried for the same behavior. In a rational universe that would be evidence that ‘both sides’ do get charged for coloring outside the lines when paying off their extra-marital lovers.

    FWIW I think the case is GA was pretty unambiguous, but Willis is personally corrupt and bad at her job.

    Time123 (1ba55f) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:14 am

  386. If some jurors believe that Trump falsified business documents solely to cover up a tax crime, while others believe that he falsified business documents solely to cover up an election crime, the jury can still convict Trump on the felony-level falsifying-documents charges, despite disagreeing on the predicate crimes.

    The problem is that he has only a limited ability to defend himself against these secondary “crimes” and that the judge did nit allow an election law expert to testify that there were no election law crimes, saying that he prosecution would then call its own expert and he’d probably have to give his own version, and there’d be a duel between the experts and that the jury should rely on the bare bones of the law itself, without any guidance. But that he was trying to cover up another crime is an essential element of the felony and it is, at best a very close question and Trump is not being allowed to defend himself adequately against the other crime. Making it multiple choice doesn’t make things any better – it could default to that Trump was hiding something that he didn’t necessarily think was a crime, but we, the jury, do.

    Ignorance of the law also is no defense and neither is advice of counsel

    Now as Patterico has argued it could be a crime committed by someone else (Michael Cohen, because it might be a crime for him to advance money) but this is only in consultation with Donald Trump and for the purposes of affecting the election, which Cohen claims.

    It is also supposed to be fraud so the prosecution claims it is fraud on the voters by hidinga fact whhich could inflluence their votes, And claims Trump was really worried,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:15 am

  387. A lot of people are predicting a hung jury but I don’t think tht is too likely

    I would say:

    50% chance of acquittal.
    30% chance of a hung jury
    20% chance of conviction

    If 2 or 3 start off for acquittal, the whole jury will go for it.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:29 am

  388. If Trump is acquitted, the entire record of the case will be sealed, But transcripts have been made available very quickly, and for free, and posted by newspapers, so the only thing that could be lost is the judge’s instructions if a verdict of acquittal come in quickly

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:33 am

  389. @388

    If Trump is acquitted, the entire record of the case will be sealed, But transcripts have been made available very quickly, and for free, and posted by newspapers, so the only thing that could be lost is the judge’s instructions if a verdict of acquittal come in quickly

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:33 am

    Judge’s instructions are public… the press is transcribing them now and reporting on them.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:34 am

  390. Trump’s defense in the Georgia case is that what he did wasn’t a crime.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:35 am

  391. In the closing argument’s Trump’s defense counsel said that, if convicted, Trump could or maybe it was would go to jail, prompting the judge later to say that it wasn’t necessarily so.

    And this is an argument not on the merits.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:44 am

  392. If Alvin Braggs can secure a conviction, even temporarily that is likely to be successfully appealed, such that it handcuffs the Presidential candidate’s campaign mere months from the election……..

    I don’t see a conviction “handcuffing” Trump’s campaign, on the contrary it will be a boost to his campaign among Republican voters, much as the indictments fueled his poll numbers during the primary.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:47 am

  393. If Trump is acquitted, the entire record of the case will be sealed…….

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:33 am

    Source?

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:48 am

  394. Whembly, I don’t think Trump’s side is going to restrain their actions based on what has actually happened. As such there’s no point in not prosecuting Trump if he breaks the law.

    Nothing is safe from Trump. Nobody is safe from Trump. He has no conscience. He ahas no shame. He has no inhibitions.

    Unconditional love will get you close to him only for as long as he has a use for you. If you ever show less than unconditional love you are on his fecal roster — a Liddle’ Bob Corker, a Coco Chow, a Birdrain ad nauseam — from the start.

    nk (f88284) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:49 am

  395. The Alito story still holds up.
    Mrs. Alito, offended by her neighbor on 2/15/2021, hopped in her hot tub time machine, dialed it back a month, stepped out, toweled off, turned the flag upside, and then jumped back in the tub and returned to her present.
    Makes perfect sense.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:53 am

  396. I’ve read that China is supposed to be selling/sending lethal aid the Russia and why not? the country is a marketplace and they sell fentanyl precursors to Mexico and snicker at our problems with it (and by extension snicker at our dead) why not lethal aid to Russia?

    Russia should be wary and not buy anything on credit. Russia is probably paying in energy at steeply discounted prices to China. China won’t bankrupt the Russians, the first rule of successful parasites is to keep the host alive and doing just well enough to fulfill the primary function which is feeding the parasite.

    Side note on fentanyl and China. China under Mao showed how to nuke drug use, sales, so China has this superiority complex about it because they see us as being too weak minded, weak willed to use the tried and true eradication methods of the Chairman.

    steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:01 am

  397. Lying neighbor with axe to grind is impossibly rare and should be discounted.
    Time machine sounds much more reasonable

    steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:04 am

  398. @395

    The Alito story still holds up.
    Mrs. Alito, offended by her neighbor on 2/15/2021, hopped in her hot tub time machine, dialed it back a month, stepped out, toweled off, turned the flag upside, and then jumped back in the tub and returned to her present.
    Makes perfect sense.

    Paul Montagu (1888f5) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:53 am

    Keep on Toobin’ing™ Paul….

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:20 am

  399. North Korea launches biological warfare attack on South Korea.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:24 am

  400. Justice Merchan explains that the law considers Michael Cohen an accomplice “because there is evidence that he participated in a crime based upon conduct involved in the allegations here against the defendant.”

    He tells the jurors that “even if you find the testimony of Michael Cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony, unless you also find that it was corroborated by other evidence” connecting Trump with the crime. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/29/nyregion/trump-trial-hush-money

    That’s a good instruction.

    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:57 am

  401. Trump absolutely paid hush money to a porn star to cover up an affair.

    It seems that things like this were so routine that Trump didn’t necessarily receive briefings all that much on people sweeping up after him, so I really don’t think this rises to the felony level, and maybe not even a direct crime.

    He’s done so many scummy things, that’s should be baked in at this point. I get why oil execs would support him, but why the “christians”? Morally he’s gotta be as bad as anyone in the history of scummy real estate guys from New York. He’s a living, breathing, caricature of one.

    I don’t care enough to care about this trial, I won’t vote for him, I dislike Biden, so not him either. Hate the third party options, so…who cares.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 10:22 am

  402. Colonel
    The story of Rep. Charlie Wilson (Charlie Wilson’s War) tells the tale of a character who somehow manages to get himself elected and re-elected in the Baptist region of the Bible Belt even though they hear about the cocaine use, they know he drinks (a lot), he’s a womanizer etc.
    There are many great lines attributed to him most have probably been adapted or “made better” by a writer but you’ll get the correct drift.
    “The only thing worse than a politician who can’t tell the truth is one who can’t tell a lie”
    When asked about his choices for receptionists and secretaries he says.
    “You can teach a girl to type but you can’t teach her to grow tits.”

    My guess is that Christians who voted for him saw him as the Prodigal Son

    I think there is a little of that “Prodigal Son” when it comes to Trump, but it probably comes mixed with a big dose of Moses, the guy who murdered an Egyptian on Cairo’s 5th Ave, but was also chosen by God to carry down the Ten Commandments- even though he’d broken one of the big ones. It’s not just Moses either. David sent Uriah to be killed because he coveted Uriah’s wife. Saul didn’t just persecute Christians, he had them tortured and some of them likely died from it- then he became Paul.
    So it is not a huge leap for Christians to embrace Trump.
    Sure, Trump is no Moses, David, Abraham, or Saul/Paul, but David was no Moses, Paul was no Abraham etc etc.

    I find it on brand

    steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:00 pm

  403. Judge Instructs Jurors They Need Not Believe Trump Is Guilty To Convict Him.

    lloyd (b5c608) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:27 pm

  404. This is going around as the PR event that pissed off the Biden Administration and Germany’s Scholz

    https://x.com/Tendar/status/1675769443673075713/photo/1

    People are saying Taiwan needs to arm itself via Scandinavian countries who will allow them to use their weapons outside the borders of Taiwan, the US is too fickle.

    I get the idea behind not gloating publicly, but as another guy on twitter noted
    “US defense contractors have a real sales problem thanks to Escalation Management destroying their political reliability brand.”

    To defense contractors. that isn’t gloating, its truth in marketing. Its Patriot system and missile sales.

    steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:30 pm

  405. Justice Alito Tells Dems To Pound Sand, Refuses To Recuse Himself In J6 Cases

    “A reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to affect the outcome of Supreme Court cases would conclude that this event does not meet the applicable standard for recusal,” Alito responded Wednesday. “I am therefore duty-bound to reject your recusal request.”

    Batsh_t silliness hardest hit.

    lloyd (b5c608) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:34 pm

  406. @Time123, @Kevin M and @nk…

    All if this:
    https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/05/trumps-trial-has-already-damaged-the-office-of-the-presidency/

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:45 pm

  407. steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:00 pm

    Excellent comment. There are so many who don’t understand this and even more who don’t know what it means.

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:06 pm

  408. https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/05/trumps-trial-has-already-damaged-the-office-of-the-presidency/

    I agree, Trump has damaged the office of the presidency.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:06 pm

  409. Why didn’t similar charges against John Edward’s break Democracy?

    Time123 (acb20c) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:37 pm

  410. 393.

    If Trump is acquitted, the entire record of the case will be sealed…….

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:33 am

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:48 am

    Source?

    Today’s lead New York Daily News editorial entitled, in the print edition (on page 20) >b> Keep the Trump case public

    https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/29/keep-the-trump-case-public-acquitted-or-convicted-the-official-record-must-not-ever-be-sealed

    (behind a paywall after several seconds)

    By NEW YORK DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD
    May 29, 2024 at 4:05 a.m.

    Should the jury of five women and seven men vote unanimously to find Donald Trump not guilty of the 34 felonies he is charged with, the entire record of the indictment, arraignment and trial, along with all letters, motions and exhibits filed with the court by Trump’s defense lawyers and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecutors will be sealed.

    Also taken from the public will be all orders from Acting Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, including his contempt orders against Trump, and the jury instructions Merchan will read to the jury today before beginning their deliberations.

    All documents from the case and all evidence will vanish, and that includes the transcripts covering the four days of jury selection and the weeks of witness testimony and attorney summations, which happened yesterday during closing arguments by the defense and prosecution on the 21st day since the jury was seated.

    The reason has nothing to do with Trump being a former president and possible future president. It is because under New York State law, when a criminal defendant is acquitted, it’s as though none of it never [sic – should be “ever” not “never”] happened.

    I was a bit surprised by this too. I didn’t read this anywhere else, but then a lot of important information doesn’t circulate much. The Daily News earlier had been pressing for transcripts to be made available sooner and I think took a bit of credit for what happened although other media also wanted that.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:51 pm

  411. @409

    Why didn’t similar charges against John Edward’s break Democracy?

    Time123 (acb20c) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:37 pm

    Now explain to me why Edwards shouldn’t have been convicted, and Trump should be convicted?

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:57 pm

  412. 1. I’ve never said Trump should be convicted. I hope he’s not. I want him to run and lose because the voters reject him and his noxious brand of conspiracy laden populism.

    But I’m not very invested in that outcome. If the jury finds him guilty so be it. If they don’t, that would make sense to me also.

    2. Because the jury believed that Edward’s was motivated be a desire to hide the affair from his wife and not political gain? Because Edward’s was more sympathetic to the Jury? Because the details of the crime and the evidence was different? I don’t understand your point. 2 ppl can be charged with the same crime and have different outcomes. Happens all the time.

    Time123 (acb20c) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:06 pm

  413. More:

    In the federal system, an acquittal doesn’t seal the record and the case files remain public, both at the courthouse and online in the U.S. court website called PACER.

    But in New York, in every state criminal case, when there is an acquittal, the full documented record of the grand jury indictment and the trial is locked up by the court clerk.

    And as a result, it gets hard to prosecute anyone for perjury where the perjury results in an acquittal. This happened with the first trial of Lemrick Nelson for the murder of Yankel Rosenbaum on August 19, 1991, even though the whole trial was shown on Court TV. Eventually, there was a federal civil rights prosecution of Lemrick Nelson, but with this system someone who lies to gain someone n acquittal is almost free from scrutiny. Lemrick Nelson actually had to be tried twice, in 1997 and 2003 because his first verdict was overturned on appeal because of an issue with jury selection.

    My own personal opinion is that the murder of Yankel Rosebaum was abigger conspiracy than acceted. I think he was stabbed a second time in the hospital (most likely not by Nelson) after New York City Mayor David Dinkins had visited him – he was prevailed upon to see the Jewish victim in additional to whomever he went to see – in an attempt to prevent a prosecution of Nelson because Yankel Rosenbaum had identified him as the stabber at the scene.

    The scenario, =in which Yankel Rosenbaum was stabbed only one time and began bleeding out more than an hour later is medically impossible. The newspaper Newsday is among those who covered this up (to protect Kings County hospital and others) because they had a photographer at the scene and refused to share the pictures with the district attorney.

    Oh and I think Lemrick Nelson’s first jury was tampered with (it was reported that after the conclusion of the trial, some jurors attended a party hosted by Nelson’s lawyer which honored Nelson as a “hero”.)

    In fact there was probably a general practice of tampering with juries at the time.

    and I think the same thing also happened with O.J. Simpson

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:08 pm

  414. More from the Daily News editorial:

    And there is no electronic docket in New York criminal court.

    That lack of access (and there being no cameras in the court) are why this column pushed so hard for the Trump trial transcripts to be published each day. The daily transcripts allowed the whole country, Trump fans and Trump foes, to see the conduct of the case as it unfolded, adding to the reporting by the press in attendance, the Daily News included.

    However, should the state court system decide to remove the transcripts, now approaching 5,000 pages long, from their website, the press, notably Law360, the New York Times and the Washington Post, have already published them on the web.

    Still, the official record will be off limits, even though it will remain a matter of great historical and political import, from being the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.

    Furthermore, should Trump be convicted, while the trial’s record will remain public for now, because of the state’s new Clean Slate Act, signed last November by Gov. Hochul, all the material from the case will still be automatically sealed eight years after Trump completes his sentence.

    Again, nothing to do with Trump, but the new law applies to all felonies with the exception of sex offenses, murder, domestic terror and other non-drug Class A felonies (the most serious crimes).

    The only way to get around this, either a sealing upon acquittal, or a later sealing under the Clean Slate Act, would be for a court order. That has to happen. The full record of this case, no matter what the jury finds, must be permanently made public. To hide the documents with such enormous historical and public interest is wrong and must not happen.

    Of course, they would be saved anyway from the memory hole because of the enormous public interest in the trial unless some new Internet law is enacted keeping this offline or at least unsearchable.

    I don’t know on what grounds the New York Daily News, or perhaps the New York Times or some other outlet or combination of news, outlets could seek a court order keeping the files unsealed. I think they would be subject to subpoena.

    Incidentally, it is only witness testimony that is not allowed to be broadcast in New York – opening and closing statements, the jury instructions and all orders from Acting Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan could be broadcast if the justice wanted it to. As it is, video was taken of everything, but only went to an overflow room and was not preserved.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:16 pm

  415. whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:57 pm

    Now explain to me why Edwards shouldn’t have been convicted, and Trump should be convicted?

    Edwards was prosecuted for accepting an over the limit campaign contribution in the form of a payoff to person (and the jury deadlocked or acquitted him – his defense was that Bonnie Mellon had a personal reason – longstanding friendship – for helping him in addition to any political reason.

    Trump is being prosecuted for the opposite – NOT declaring it a political contribution But that would probably be illegal, at least for him. A candidate is not even allowed to keep what could pass for normal clothing without paying for it even if it was bought because of the campaign. Even if he normally would not wear it.

    Except that here the prosecution is being deliberately vague about just what other crime Trump was covering up. (i.e. if you don’t like that crime, I’ve got another one he could have covered up)

    One idea is even (I think this must be) causing Michael Cohen to falsely report more income on tax returns so as to pay more taxes than he actually owed. I think that one is still on the table.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:28 pm

  416. Now explain to me why Edwards shouldn’t have been convicted, and Trump should be convicted?
    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:57 pm

    Are you asking rhetorically, Whembly, or do you expect Time123 to answer that?

    felipe (5e2a04) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:32 pm

  417. @416

    Are you asking rhetorically, Whembly, or do you expect Time123 to answer that?

    felipe (5e2a04) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:32 pm

    He answered it at @412.

    Time rheotrically asked earlier “Why didn’t similar charges against John Edward’s break Democracy?”.

    For one, the Edward’s prosecution team were roundly criticized for even bringing this case, and since then, numerous commentary supports that the case wasn’t as clear as it should’ve been.

    The distinction, though, Edwards wasn’t running while the case was working through the court. Whereas, we’re mere months before the election with this Trump case.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:37 pm

  418. 401.

    Moses, the guy who murdered an Egyptian on Cairo’s 5th Ave,

    The capital wasn’t Cairo at the time but more important this was done in place where Moses thought nobody knew (he forgot about the slave laborer he was protecting)

    Exodus 2:15-18

    Many, many years later God told Moses (rebutting an objection Moses had not voiced) that all the men who sought his death had died.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:37 pm

  419. Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/29/2024 @ 1:51 pm

    That is odd. Of course, if Trump is convicted he still could have the record sealed after 10 years.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:37 pm

  420. Talk about burying history.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:39 pm

  421. Trump was indicted over a year ago and wasn’t the nominee at the time.

    Time123 (acb20c) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:47 pm

  422. whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:37 pm

    I know Time123 answered your question. I know time’s question was rhetorical. Was yours rhetorical as well? It was just a simple question. I have no selfish agenda.

    You are one of the most forthcoming of commenters here. I attribute your “dodging” my question to having endured the bad faith argumentation of others, that I have witnessed, and that it was not intentional or snarky. I don’t need an answer.

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:50 pm

  423. The capital wasn’t Cairo at the time but more important…

    Oh, Sammy.

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:53 pm

  424. steveg (f9ed09) — 5/29/2024 @ 12:00 pm

    If there’s going to be a comparison of Trump to Biblical figures, definitely not Moses. Personally, I’d go with Ahab or one of those awful Old Testament kings, not the top guys.

    Paul Montagu (1e8339) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:58 pm

  425. ..one of those awful Old Testament kings, not the top guys.
    Paul Montagu (1e8339) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:58 pm

    Yes, I agree. I actually compared Trump to the Babylonian King that first made a decree against the Jews, and then made a decree that the Jews could defend themselves.

    Sammy will know which one that was.

    But steveg’s comment is still spot-on about Christianity.

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:24 pm

  426. @422

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:37 pm

    I know Time123 answered your question. I know time’s question was rhetorical. Was yours rhetorical as well? It was just a simple question. I have no selfish agenda.

    You are one of the most forthcoming of commenters here. I attribute your “dodging” my question to having endured the bad faith argumentation of others, that I have witnessed, and that it was not intentional or snarky. I don’t need an answer.

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:50 pm

    My apologies felipe…

    Yes, mine was rhetorical as well.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:36 pm

  427. Fulton county georgia republicans refuse to certify may 21 primary election setting the stage to challenge nov. election results. (DU) Also Sammy the fish alito refuses to recuse himself over flag issue. (DU)

    asset (930ad8) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:40 pm

  428. @421

    Trump was indicted over a year ago and wasn’t the nominee at the time.

    Time123 (acb20c) — 5/29/2024 @ 2:47 pm

    All over an alleged book-keeping error, which itself is a misdemeanor. I’m not even sure if documenting the ledger as “lawyer expenses” is even incorrect.

    But, everyone knew Trump was going to be the front-runner even a year ago, so the indictment was timed to have a maximum impact of the 2024 election. There was nothing “good faith” about this case.

    But for those keeping “score”…

    In 2015, the Hillary Clinton campaign secretly paid more than a million dollars to a foreign former-spy to create entire fictions out of whole cloth in order to smear Trump as a Russian Agent. These conceled payments ultimately led to surveillance (aka, spying) on a presidential campaign and a pointless, multimillion dollar Special Counsel investigation that derailed nearly 3 years of a presidential term.

    For these illegal payments, the FEC civillyfined the Clinton campaign $8,000 and the NDC $105,000.

    Conversely, the FEC and the SDNY took a look at Trump’s expenditures, including all of his NDAs and had Cohen willing/able to add testimony and neither the FEC (civil) and the SDNY (criminal) chose to pursue any campaign-finance violations.

    Yet, according to Alvin Bragg’s prosecution team’s summation… they advocated that Trump is, in fact, guilty of breaking federal campaign-finance laws and should be convicted on their say-so.

    The prosecution and this judge knows that this case is a mess. They’re not stupid.

    But, if you’re a Trump-hating, partisan hack who wants everything bad to happen to Trump, it makes sense why they’re pursuing this case. It’s to politically “dirty up” a presidential candidate because the case is timed so that, even if Trump prevailed on appeal, the “damage” was already done during the election.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:48 pm

  429. Felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:24 pm

    Yes, I agree. I actually compared Trump to the Babylonian King that first made a decree against the Jews, and then made a decree that the Jews could defend themselves.

    Sammy will know which one that was.

    He was a Persian king,

    In Hebrew Ahasverosh

    I think Artaxerxes I. The year 453 BCE

    The reason for this is that Artaxerxes was a stickler for the provision in Persian law, instituted by Cyaxares, the grandfather of Cyrus I, who was actually king oof the Medes I just read, as a precaution against assassination, that a decree of the king could never be revoked.

    It was Mordechai and Esther who came up with the remedy.

    Later, Mordechai made peace with Greece (the peace of Callius) and paid for the rebuilding of the Acropolis, which the Greeks had previously vowed never to rebuild, including the construction of the Parthenon, I can tell Mordechai was involved because it was a condition of the rebuilding that the statue of Athena could not be used for idol worship, a condition Pericles honored. The payment by Persia was kept secret.

    ”The Parthenon was damaged over time especially in 1687 by the Turks, but there is a duplicate in Nashville, Tennessee,

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:54 pm

  430. Conversely, the FEC and the SDNY took a look at Trump’s expenditures, including all of his NDAs and had Cohen willing/able to add testimony and neither the FEC (civil) and the SDNY (criminal) chose to pursue any campaign-finance violations.

    Yet, according to Alvin Bragg’s prosecution team’s summation… they advocated that Trump is, in fact, guilty of breaking federal campaign-finance laws and should be convicted on their say-so.

    Under the People’s theory, Trump can be convicted for intending to commit, aid, or conceal one of three crimes-

    in this case, either a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, New York Election Law § 17-152, or New York tax law. …….. Further, the jury need not find that Trump had that intent as to all three predicate crimes—a conviction is proper if jurors are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt as to an intent to commit at least one predicate crime per count.

    The fact that the Feds punted on charging Trump on the FECA is irrelevant.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 4:44 pm

  431. He’s not being tried for a crime that the state demands he’s guilty of and the statute of limitations has expired on.

    Carry on carrying on with the show trials.

    NJRob (3091fc) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:16 pm

  432. Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/29/2024 @ 3:54 pm

    That’s exactly right, Sammy. Now I remember. My mental faculties have degraded so much, in just the last year, that I need more and more help with facts that used to be easily summoned at will. Thank you!

    ישא יהוה פניו אליך וישם לך שלום׃

    felipe (599ae5) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:31 pm

  433. He’s done so many scummy things, that’s should be baked in at this point. I get why oil execs would support him, but why the “christians”?

    Klink, this has been asked before, and my answer is this: Teddy Kennedy, a grotesque womanizer, had the support of NOW because he stood up for their causes in Congress. Similarly, Trump stands up for the causes of Christians and Biden, despite being more of a Christian himself, represents the secular attackers.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:33 pm

  434. Sure, Trump is no Moses, David, Abraham, or Saul/Paul, but David was no Moses, Paul was no Abraham etc etc.

    Trump is more of a young Augustine.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:39 pm

  435. Trump was indicted over a year ago and wasn’t the nominee at the time.

    Neither was Biden, but you’d have lost betting any different.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:42 pm

  436. Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 4:44 pm

    …….(T)he New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, considered this issue in People v. Taveras—and found that only intent is required. In Taveras, the defendant challenged his sentence under § 175.10, along with a number of other offenses, including a charged object offense. While considering sentencing matters, the court held, “Read as a whole, it is clear that falsifying business records in the second degree is elevated to a first-degree offense on the basis of an enhanced intent requirement … not any additional actus reus element.”

    In 2015, the First Department of the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division—whose rulings are binding on Justice Merchan—applied Taveras in a case structurally similar to Trump’s. …….. People v. Thompson concerned a defendant convicted of § 175.10—along with “offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree”—for “ma[king] a false entry on a form regarding his purported disposal of a firearm … with the intent to commit or conceal his unlawful possession of the firearm.” The First Department upheld the conviction even though Thompson was not charged with the object offense of unlawful possession.

    As in the Trump case, in Thompson, the Manhattan district attorney charged § 175.10 without charging the underlying object offense. Here, the appeals court found that the district attorney was not required to prove that the object offense had been committed. “The People were not required to establish that [the] defendant committed, or was convicted of, the crime he intended to conceal,” the First Department ruled, pointing to Taveras. That seems pretty definitive. And indeed, Justice Merchan cites Thompson in his ruling on Trump’s motion to dismiss, stating that the statute “does not require that the ‘other crime’ actually be committed. Rather, all that is required is that the defendant … act[] with a conscious aim and objective to commit another crime.”

    A series of additional cases from New York’s Fourth Department provides further support for this read of the statute. …….
    ………….
    If this makes § 175.10 appear to be an expansive statute that gives prosecutors a great deal of latitude to make their case—well, that’s exactly what it is. While initial commentary around the Trump case often framed the indictment as anomalous in its use of the statute, the case law suggests Bragg’s approach here isn’t that atypical for the office.
    ………….
    The next lingering question has to do with the three separate potential object offenses. Because § 175.10 requires that the defendant must have “intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof,” the question arises as to whether the jury must agree on which object crime prosecutors have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump intended to commit.
    ………….
    At the highest level of altitude, the relevant question here is whether the identity of the potential object offenses constitutes an “element” of the crime under § 175.10, or merely the “means” of committing the crime. “Elements” are the statutory components that make up a criminal offense and on which jurors have to be unanimous, whereas the “means” are the methods by which the crime might have been carried out.

    In Schad v. Arizona, which concerned an Arizona statute that allowed first-degree murder to be charged on the basis of either premeditated murder or felony murder, a plurality of the U.S. Supreme Court held that while agreement among jurors is required as to the elements of an offense, it is not required as to the means. That is, the jurors must agree as to which crime was committed, but not necessarily how it was committed. ……..
    ………..
    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit blessed this interpretation of the statute in De Vonish v. Keane, writing, “A specific intent to commit a particular crime upon entry is not a material element of the offense under New York law. … Rather, the State need prove only a general criminal intent”……..

    Source

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/29/2024 @ 5:56 pm

  437. But each juror must believe that, given the evidence they have heard, and the discussions among jurors regarding that evidence, that a particular underlying crime was being unlawfully hidden. There is some tension there, as evidence for one might not be evidence for something completely different. For each of the jurors to believe that their interpretation — which they know others dispute — is immune to reasonable doubt would take some heavy mental gymnastics.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:14 pm

  438. And for anyone to believe that Trump would commit a crime to hide COHEN’s tax evasion, after sitting in a courtroom with him, seems unlikely.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:16 pm

  439. 436. That’s not law. That’s a casuistic pile of horse crap.

    A juror would want to find Trump guilty to go along with this sophistry.

    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:29 pm

  440. Sure, you should someone on Fifth Avenue, its twenty to life. You should him because he is a witness against you, it’s the death penalty. Pretty straightforward. But this case is about as straightforward as a lump of Silly String.

    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:33 pm

  441. I predict a hung jury, split pretty much down the middle, unless there is one juror with a strong, dominating personality on one side or the other whom the other jurors will let do all the thinking for them.

    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:44 pm

  442. Justice Merchan explains that the law considers Michael Cohen an accomplice “because there is evidence that he participated in a crime based upon conduct involved in the allegations here against the defendant.”

    He tells the jurors that “even if you find the testimony of Michael Cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony, unless you also find that it was corroborated by other evidence” connecting Trump with the crime. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/29/nyregion/trump-trial-hush-money

    That’s a good instruction.
    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:57 am

    Is it though? In it he says that Cohen — who has already been exposed as having pleaded guilty to a campaign finance crime — is Trump’s “accomplice.” If he is guilty of a crime AND an accomplice, it sounds a lot like the judge is saying Trump is guilty, too.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:55 pm

  443. one juror with a strong, dominating personality

    Don’t they try to weed those out?

    If the jury comes back this week, I think that Trump will be happy.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 6:58 pm

  444. A better instruction would be:

    Justice Merchan explains that the law considers Michael Cohen testimony unreliable in itself as he is a disbarred lawyer, felon and admitted perjurer.

    He tells the jurors that “even if you find the testimony of Michael Cohen to be believable, you may not convict the defendant solely upon that testimony, unless you also find that it was corroborated by other evidence” connecting Trump with the crime.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:02 pm

  445. “one juror with a strong, dominating personality”

    there will be one or two jurors with a strong, dominating desire to still get invited to dinner parties

    lloyd (ec3c14) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:11 pm

  446. “Why didn’t similar charges against John Edward’s break Democracy?”

    I mean, is this a serious question? He was indicted in 2011 after bombing in his 2008 run. Politically, his indictment benefited absolutely no one.

    lloyd (ec3c14) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:17 pm

  447. Justice Merchan explains that the law considers Michael Cohen testimony unreliable in itself as he is a disbarred lawyer, felon and admitted perjurer.

    And this all stemmed from?

    Cohen officially surrendered to the FBI on August 21, 2018. That afternoon, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges: five counts of tax evasion; one count of making false statements to a financial institution; one count of willfully causing an unlawful corporate contribution in breach of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971; and one count of making an excessive campaign contribution at the request of a candidate (Trump) for the “principal purpose of influencing election”.

    In sentencing the president’s former fixer, federal judge William H. Pauley III said in open court that Trump had directed his then-lawyer to commit a federal felony. This was in some respects a formality, a confirmation of a conclusion that prosecutors and the United States Probation Office had reached last week. But while it might have been a formality, it was important. No one in that courtroom, including the judge, disagreed that Trump directed Cohen to commit crimes.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:23 pm

  448. Is it though? In it he says that Cohen — who has already been exposed as having pleaded guilty to a campaign finance crime — is Trump’s “accomplice.” If he is guilty of a crime AND an accomplice, it sounds a lot like the judge is saying Trump is guilty, too.

    I suppose. The better preface would be “When a witness says he was involved in the commission of a crime with the defendant…”

    Regarding your follow-up @444, I don’t think that Cohen should have been allowed to testify at all, but we don’t follow the Napoleonic Code.

    nk (8046df) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:24 pm

  449. What Pecker testified to IS the best evidence of the escalating crime. You may personally feel that it is OK to spend hush money to help a campaign in the throes of the Access Hollywood reveal, but the jury doesn’t have to share that view. It’s enough.

    As to Cohen, it’s equally implausible that Cohen preemptively paid off Stormy Daniels out of the goodness of his heart….and that the jury must simply ignore the receipts and calculations of how we get to $420k from the $130k payoff. Again, you just can’t say sh*t and pretend evidence doesn’t exist.

    It all comes down to whether 12 jurors believe that someone who paid triple to show his appreciation for Cohen’s actions was not intimately following how the tracks would be covered. If it quacks, flaps, and patters…it’s a Donald Duck.

    AJ_Liberty (d3c95f) — 5/29/2024 @ 7:58 pm

  450. If some jurors believe that Trump falsified business documents solely to cover up a tax crime, while others believe that he falsified business documents solely to cover up an election crime, the jury can still convict Trump on the felony-level falsifying-documents charges, despite disagreeing on the predicate crimes.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/28/2024 @ 5:01 pm

    That’s likely unconstitutional.

    See Richardson v. United States (1999).

    whembly (e7c116) — 5/28/2024 @ 9:03 pm

    I’ll see your US v. Richardson and raise you Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624 (1991):

    ………..Arizona’s characterization of first-degree murder as a single crime as to which a jury need not agree on one of the alternative statutory theories of premeditated or felony murder is not unconstitutional.

    (a) The relevant enquiry is not, as Schad argues, whether the Constitution requires a unanimous jury in state capital cases. Rather, the real question here is whether it was constitutionally acceptable to permit the jury to reach one verdict based on any combination of the alternative findings.

    (b) The long-established rule that a jury need not agree on which overt act, among several, was the means by which a crime was committed provides a useful analogy. ………
    ………….

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:03 pm

  451. My guess is there will be a verdict on Friday (probably guilty).

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:06 pm

  452. Since I wasn’t in the courtroom paying attention to every detail over the last few months, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out.

    I could see it going either way, specifically on if it’s proven that it’s knowable that Trump knew. I think Cohen and co probably did this so much, and Trump is full of crap in knowing what the daily goings on are…in the world, that I suspect he signed checks for hushing up lots of stuff. Good lord, we know that he paid off Daniels, for whatever reason (what’s the tax implications of that?), McDougal…owes Carrol a literal truckload of money, etc. I’d be unsurprised if there aren’t others going back 60+ years.

    These are knowns, he’s a scumbag, a terrible person, bad at business, but lucky, objectively stupid, on and on. So, he’s never getting anything but my disdain.

    Biden get’s my horror, in that he looks like he could drop dead at any moment, and Kamala Harris is the understudy? OMFG. The Dems had an opportunity to bow out with almost anyone as a favorite to Trump, but decided against it.

    I kind of like Mayor Pete, not really his politics, but he’s relatively center-left, and seems sane.

    So, maybe 2028 we get, like 4 sane people on the ticket. Vote sanity, we have zero choices in that respect.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:23 pm

  453. Looks like Nikki Haley is getting ready for veep stakes autographing bomb. Will it kill palestinian women and children?

    asset (ca59f0) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:34 pm

  454. Can we hope for Nikki as Veep, and Trump gets sentenced to jail for some of these hundreds of charges after she’s selected?

    Ahh, the dream scenario of 2024.

    Colonel Klink (ret) (96f56a) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:42 pm

  455. 436. That’s not law. That’s a casuistic pile of horse crap.

    Could you please elaborate? Why aren’t Taveras and Schad controlling law?

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:09 pm

  456. BTW, I too predict a hung jury. I said as much before trial, and nothing transpired to disabuse me of that expectation.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:13 pm

  457. I’m taking hung jury as well.

    Nate (cfb326) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:14 pm

  458. If you’ve ever known someone like this, and I’ve known several, it can be heartbreaking to watch the slow-motion train wreck they make of their lives.

    At the same time, while it probably means I’m a horrible person, I laughed. Hard.

    As Orin Kerr observed, the look on that judge’s face is priceless.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:59 am

  459. @454 Trump more worried what deep state might do to him if Nikki is veep pick as they would get a twofer!

    asset (ca59f0) — 5/30/2024 @ 2:24 am

  460. 455. In Taveras, the defendant was convicted of the enhancing offense, the more serious offense of child molestation. As I understand the case, the issue was whether the business records offenses were separate enough from the child molestation (since concealment of the molestation was the predicate offense) to allow consecutive sentences.

    Schad is likewise barely applicable. The State provided evidence of both premeditation and in the course of another crime. The jury was not required to say which, if either was sufficient. Like Scalia said, this was not anything new in first degree murder cases.

    It seems to me that in Trump’s case, the “jailhouse lawyering” is coming from the prosecution. Stretching short stakes into long spokes.

    nk (dc04ca) — 5/30/2024 @ 4:42 am

  461. https://hotair.com/david-strom/2024/05/30/san-francisco-flew-appeal-to-heaven-flag-until-saturday-n3789276

    Proving that anyone pushing this non-controversy is just trying to push the leftist agenda under false pretenses.

    But we knew that already, didn’t we.

    NJRob (eb56c3) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:11 am

  462. @451

    My guess is there will be a verdict on Friday (probably guilty).

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:06 pm

    @456

    BTW, I too predict a hung jury. I said as much before trial, and nothing transpired to disabuse me of that expectation.

    lurker (cd7cd4) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:13 pm

    @457

    I’m taking hung jury as well.

    Nate (cfb326) — 5/29/2024 @ 9:14 pm

    I think ya’ll are under-estimating how much influence judges has in their court room.

    He’s trying like hell to steer this jury into a conviction.

    I predict a guilty verdict.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:40 am

  463. @460

    It seems to me that in Trump’s case, the “jailhouse lawyering” is coming from the prosecution. Stretching short stakes into long spokes.

    nk (dc04ca) — 5/30/2024 @ 4:42 am

    …and a judge who allows this.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:41 am

  464. @450

    I’ll see your US v. Richardson and raise you Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624 (1991):

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:03 pm

    …and I raise you with Ramos v. Louisiana that the Constitution requires unanimous jury verdicts in state criminal trials.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:57 am

  465. …and a judge who allows this.

    Yeah, I have to agree with Trump’s term of “conflicted judge”, although probably not in the way he means it.

    Merchan, in my opinion, does not like this case, or the way the prosecution has presented it, but he feels like he has no choice but to go along and let the chips fall as they may.

    nk (8691d3) — 5/30/2024 @ 7:06 am

  466. 461. An upturn or downturn in sales of rear view mirror pine tree air fresheners?

    nk (8691d3) — 5/30/2024 @ 7:10 am

  467. There is no good way to deal with blackmail. Just say “Publish and be damned!” And Trump chose a poor tool in Cohen to deal with it.

    But, still, I understand better now from both the New York cases how people, not only Trump’s supporters but ordinary people as well, would feel that “if they want to get you, they will find a way to get you”.

    nk (8691d3) — 5/30/2024 @ 7:31 am

  468. Can we hope for Nikki as Veep, and Trump gets sentenced to jail for some of these hundreds of charges after she’s selected?

    Wouldn’t matter-Trump would still be President.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/30/2024 @ 9:10 am

  469. I’ll see your US v. Richardson and raise you Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624 (1991):

    Rip Murdock (363127) — 5/29/2024 @ 8:03 p

    m

    …and I raise you with Ramos v. Louisiana that the Constitution requires unanimous jury verdicts in state criminal trials.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:57 am

    No argument about Ramos, but Trump wasn’t charged with any of the predicate offenses, so the jury doesn’t need unanimity to determine what the predicate offenses (violation of either Federal or NY state election laws, or NY tax law) to find Trump guilty. See here.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/30/2024 @ 9:19 am

  470. Colonel

    One last note on Christians and Trump

    As a Christian I consider “us” to be susceptible to con artists and I think of it this way.

    If I was a con man screening for marks, I would be very happy to find out that there was a group of people who believe in virgin birth, resurrection and think they are hearing and talking to not one, but three disembodied beings.

    Christians that are against Trump probably, and with evidence see Trump as an amoral con man. Period. They would note that David, Moses, etc all had a very deep personal spiritual relationship with God. Trump does not seem to have much interest in spending time every morning ask God to guide him in what is right, how to act and Trump does not seem like he is capable of being repentant (in public anyway).

    I’m in the middle. I’m Christian and I don’t need a leader to be Christian like me to get my vote or I’d never vote for anyone. I want someone who respects, protects my faith, my faith rights and other rights more than the other person. The left is openly disdainful of my rights and moves to erode my rights. Trump may think I am nuts, but more or less takes a live and let live approach to me.

    steveg (a650c5) — 5/30/2024 @ 9:32 am

  471. Can we hope for Nikki as Veep……..

    Only if she wants to end her political career now rather than in 2028. But it wouldn’t surprise me, as she always been a political opportunist without core values. To become VP should would need to denounce the Nikki Haley that gave this speech.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 5/30/2024 @ 9:33 am

  472. Unanimous Supreme Court rules for NRA, allowing their suit against NY State official to proceed.

    The Supreme Court sided with the National Rifle Association on Thursday, saying it could pursue a First Amendment claim against a New York state official who had encouraged companies to stop doing business with it after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous court, found that the N.R.A. had plausibly claimed a violation of the First Amendment, sending the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York, for further proceedings.

    The N.R.A., in asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, cited what it described as the enormous regulatory power of the state official, Maria T. Vullo, a former superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services. The N.R.A. accused Ms. Vullo of applying “pressure tactics — including back-channel threats, ominous guidance letters and selective enforcement of regulatory infractions” and warned of wide-ranging consequences of a ruling against it. A court decision siding with Ms. Vullo, the group warned, would open the door to government officials making similar pleas about hot-button issues like abortion and the environment.

    …

    After a mass shooting in 2018, when a former student opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Fla., the department began to re-evaluate “the implications of regulated entities’ relationships with gun-promotion organizations,” according to legal filings for Ms. Vullo.

    The department issued two memos, one to insurance companies and another to financial institutions, titled “Guidance on Risk Management Relating to the N.R.A. and Similar Gun Promotion Organizations.”

    These documents encouraged regulated institutions “to review any relationships they have with the N.R.A. or similar gun promotion organizations.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:05 am

  473. Only if she wants to end her political career now rather than in 2028.

    Here’s a cartoon that answers that.

    Spurning Trump is probably a career-ender now, too. Let’s ask Liz Cheney.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:09 am

  474. To become VP should would need to denounce the Nikki Haley that gave this speech.

    Yeah, I remember to this day the speech GHWB gave, denouncing his silly “voodoo economics comment”, or LBJ waling back every nasty thing he ever said about the Kennedys.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:10 am

  475. No one in that courtroom, including the judge, disagreed that Trump directed Cohen to commit crimes.

    No one representing Trump was IN the courtroom to dispute it and the judge should not have declared a non-party guilty of a charge not brought. I thought there were rules.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:15 am

  476. Can we hope for Nikki as Veep, and Trump gets sentenced to jail for some of these hundreds of charges after she’s selected?

    Trump will not pick Nikki for this very reason. Neither litigation insurance, assassination insurance nor impeachment insurance. At least not in the normal uses of that word. Maybe “assurance.”

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:22 am

  477. Wouldn’t matter-Trump would still be President.

    If he were somehow jailed, the 25th Amendment’s bit about “inability” would be meaningful and I’d expect Nikki to use it. I’d also expect Congress to affirm the inability. It’s the Cabinet I’m not sure of.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:27 am

  478. No argument about Ramos, but Trump wasn’t charged with any of the predicate offenses, so the jury doesn’t need unanimity to determine what the predicate offenses (violation of either Federal or NY state election laws, or NY tax law) to find Trump guilty

    Is there a case where the predicate charges are mutually exclusive, or at least the proof offered for one countered the proof offered for another? IF a given juror MUST have significant doubt about predicate A to choose predicate B, and vice versa, why doesn’t Ramos come into play?

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:30 am

  479. I think the reason Trump agreed to doing the reimbursement if Michael Cohen the way he did (besides agreeing to give Cohen what he wanted, which may have been to guarantee his silence was to keep the nnn disclosure agreement tightly held.

    I don’t think it was his or anybody’s opinion that payoff of Stormy Daniels amounted to a crime, or that anyone would think so,That was NOT the reason for accounting for it the way he did.

    If he would have thought it was a crime, AND agreed to it before, he would have made the payment directly.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/30/2024 @ 11:24 am

  480. And it did not occur to Michael Cohen, a year later, that anyone would think that Michael Cohen funding the non disclosure agreement was a crime when he was discussing with Bob Costello if he had anything illegal he could testify against Donald Trump (The judge wouldn’t allow that in because it was hearsay)

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/30/2024 @ 11:28 am

  481. Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 10:15 am

    and the judge should not have declared a non-party guilty of a charge not brought..

    Which judge did that?
    c

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/30/2024 @ 11:30 am

  482. when a former student opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Fla.,

    He had taken part in active shooter drills before as a student, so he knew how to avoid the countermeasures.

    Sammy Finkelman (c2c77e) — 5/30/2024 @ 11:35 am

  483. In 2015, the Hillary Clinton campaign secretly paid more than a million dollars to a foreign former-spy to create entire fictions out of whole cloth in order to smear Trump as a Russian Agent. These conceled payments ultimately led to surveillance (aka, spying) on a presidential campaign and a pointless, multimillion dollar Special Counsel investigation that derailed nearly 3 years of a presidential term.

    1. Oppo research is common.
    2. Not all infractions are criminal, some are civil.
    3. The Special Counsel investigation was kicked off after Trump fired the head of the FBI and announced he did it to stop a lawful investigation.
    4. If you think the investigation of Russian acts in the 2016 election was pointless I urge you to read part 1 of the muller report.

    But you know all that and have either forgotten, or are arguing in bad faith. Based on past interaction I assume you’ve forgotten. But this is a great example of my point. The investigation into Russian interference was justified. Trump was not criminally implicated but that wasn’t the only issue being investigated.

    Time123 (fbbaff) — 5/30/2024 @ 12:41 pm

  484. @483 Oppo research shopped to the FBI who then gives the source confidential informant status is not common. Using the information as a basis of a FISA warrant is also not common. FBI text messages referring to a “insurance policy” if Trump wins also is not common. The investigation was proposed by McCabe for months. It did not suddenly spring up in a brainstorming session after Comey was fired. It needed a pretext, and that sufficed. If Trump hadn’t fired Comey, some other pretext would be found. But you knew that and have either forgotten or are arguing in bad faith.

    lloyd (0b72bf) — 5/30/2024 @ 12:59 pm

  485. @483

    But you know all that and have either forgotten, or are arguing in bad faith. Based on past interaction I assume you’ve forgotten. But this is a great example of my point. The investigation into Russian interference was justified. Trump was not criminally implicated but that wasn’t the only issue being investigated.

    Time123 (fbbaff) — 5/30/2024 @ 12:41 pm

    …no… I’m not arguing in bad faith.

    You simply forgot my overall position.

    The “Mueller” Special Counsel was mainly driven by Andrew Weismann and his merry band of Trump haters.

    Former Director Mueller was simply a “figurehead” for SCO, and if you watched his congressional testimony, you’d see that he was in decline due to old age and it was very obvious that he wasn’t involved in running the SCO investigation.

    But, back to Weismann… I hold special animus towards him for a very, specific reason: His prosecution of Author Anderson in the aftermath of the Enron fiasco.

    He stretched the law to such degree, and committed numerous prosecutorial misconducts that by the time the case was appealed to SCOTUS, the highest court smacked him down ruling 9-0 against him. It took years for the defendants to appeal this case. He literally destroyed a company using a stretched/novel legal theory so that he can get a “win” on his board, and in the meantime destroyed a company.

    My own family member was in the “executive” ranks of Author Anderson (AA), but her role was in international tax in Europe. Yet, because AA was found guilty of a felony, spearheaded by Weismann, AA cease to exist as a company due to the loss of accounting accreditation/licensures. So, not only my family lost her job, she was exposed to legal liabilities from Enron’s victims and had to fight against civil judgments at the same time spending years appealing the Weismann felony prosecutions.

    Whatever you may believe about the predication for opening the investigation, the absolute objective analysis of what should’ve of happened is that there wasn’t much to go on initially and should’ve have be closed early on. It took the “upper” echelon of the DOJ to keep the investigation open (Strokz, et. el.) in order to leverage the investigation to leak info to accommodating media in order to smear the administration that eventually led to a Special Counsel that amounted to a nothing burger.

    What you’re advocating for, is that the people who facilitated the investigation was acting on good faith throughout this process…. and I’m telling you this, especially due to the existence of Andrew Weismann, nothing could be further than the truth.

    If you still believe I’m arguing in bad faith, then we simply do not need to engage with each other. I’m 100% confident of my positions on the Russian Collusion Hoax and the ensuing SCO.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:11 pm

  486. I said I didn’t think you were arguing in bad faith.

    But do you really think that Trump stating on national TV that he fired comey to stop the investigation had no part in the appointment of the SCO? Or that his doing so had no impact on investigators opinions of his likely guilt?

    Time123 (aec009) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:39 pm

  487. @486

    But do you really think that Trump stating on national TV that he fired comey to stop the investigation had no part in the appointment of the SCO? Or that his doing so had no impact on investigators opinions of his likely guilt?

    Time123 (aec009) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:39 pm

    I think all of it is partisan politics… not a good-faith investigation.

    whembly (86df54) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:56 pm

  488. Time123 (aec009) — 5/30/2024 @ 1:39 pm

    But do you really think that Trump stating on national TV that he fired comey to stop the investigation had no part in the appointment of the SCO?

    He didn’t state any such thing There was no investigation (except a counterintelligence investigation) before the firing of Comey. Andrew McCabe started the investigation of Trump and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wanted to take control of it away from him and wanted to put former FBI Director Mueller in charge, at first by trying to get Trump to name him as FBI Diorector and then by making him a special counsel.

    Trump claimed he fired Comey because he had made a public statement about Hillary Clinton on July 5, 2016/

    Before Trump issued his statement, people assumed that he fired Comey for lying to Congress because Comey had just corrected his testimony given the previous week that the reason that Hillary Clinton’s emails were found on Anthony Weiner’s computer (which had been searched without human beings looking) was that Hillary Clinton had sent them to Huma Abedin to be printed.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/30/2024 @ 3:05 pm

  489. 1. The U.S. policy of no strikes on Russia

    This is in the process of being reviewed for reconsideration.

    Biden is de facto managing this war so that Ukraine doesn’t lose and Russia doesn’t lose.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/30/2024 @ 3:10 pm

  490. whembly @428:

    In 2015, the Hillary Clinton campaign secretly paid more than a million dollars to a foreign former-spy to create entire fictions out of whole cloth

    No, I don’t think that iis what they wanted to do. I think they wanted to find out the real reason that Vladimir Putin was supporting Donald Trump.

    I think the recognized what they got back as garbage, and then decided to make lemonade from lemons.

    They also may have separately cast suspicion on Trump’s campaign. They were trying to get an FBI investigation started and then leak the fact of an investigation.

    in order to smear Trump as a Russian Agent.

    Yes. Or to balance the issue.

    These conceled payments ultimately led to surveillance (aka, spying) on a presidential campaign

    No, it wasn”t surveillance of a political campaign. Comey deliberately did not do that. No politically useful information was collected. People wwho were no longer affiliated with Trump’s campaign were spied upon.

    and a pointless, multimillion dollar Special Counsel investigation that derailed nearly 3 years of a presidential term.

    It didn’t derail anything and the Special Counsel investigation was done to avoid having Andrew McCabe in charge of an investigation that he started in retaliation for Trump’s firing of James Comey as FBI Director (and to try to make sure he would not get fired) without Rod Rosenstein pulling rank to stop it.

    Sammy Finkelman (e4ef09) — 5/30/2024 @ 3:23 pm

  491. Biden is de facto managing this war so that Ukraine doesn’t lose and Russia doesn’t lose.

    An expensive proposition that will fail at some point. Probably with the people who are being asked to pay for a stalemate.

    Kevin M (a9545f) — 5/30/2024 @ 6:29 pm

  492. This has probably already been posted, but I see people have been combing the laws of red states and have figured out they can charge Bragg with election interference. Wonderful (dripping sarcastic tone)

    steveg (3af029) — 6/3/2024 @ 9:00 am


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