;)
The Conversation -- June 3, 2024
Benjamin Mueller & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... on Monday forcefully denied Republican allegations that he sought to cover up the possibility that the pandemic originated in a laboratory, calling the accusation 'absolutely false and simply preposterous.' In a tense appearance before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Dr. Fauci read out an email from February 2020 in which he encouraged a scientist worried about the possibility of a lab leak to report his concerns to the F.B.I. 'It is inconceivable that anyone who reads this email could conclude that I was trying to cover up the possibility of a laboratory leak,' Dr. Fauci testified.... In half a million pages of documents and more than 100 hours of closed-door testimony, [Republicans on] the panel has so far found nothing linking the 83-year-old immunologist to the beginnings of the Covid outbreak in China. But the panel has turned up emails suggesting that Dr. Fauci's former aides were trying to evade public records laws at the medical research agency he ran for 38 years until his retirement in December 2022." ~~~
~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was reprimanded by the GOP committee chair after she refused to refer to Anthony Fauci as a doctor as an insult to his work during Covid-19.... [Greene's largely baseless attacks on Dr. Fauci elicited] a series of points of order and calls for decorum from largely Democratic members of the subcommittee, and Dr. Brad Wenstrup, the Republican chair of the hearing, repeated inserting himself to reprimand Greene, who continued to hector Fauci before ending her time by calling for his imprisonment."
Laura Meckler & Michelle Boorstein of the Washington Post: "Billions in taxpayer dollars are being used to pay tuition at religious schools throughout the country, as state voucher programs expand dramatically and the line separating public education and religion fades. School vouchers can be used at almost any private school, but the vast majority of the money is being directed to religious schools, according to a Washington Post examination of the nation's largest voucher programs. Vouchers, government money that covers education costs for families outside the public schools, vary by state but offer up to $16,000 per student per year, and in many cases fully cover the cost of tuition at private schools." See also Akhilleus' commentary on the Holy Grift in today's thread.
Lisa Neeham of Public Notice: "The morning after [Donald Trump's] conviction, [Speaker of House Mike] Johnson went on Fox & Friends to ... [say,] 'I think that the justices on the court -- I know many of them personally ... [will] set this straight, but it's going to take awhile.' Johnson went on to say 'this will be overturned, guys, there's no question about it. It's just going to take some time to do it.'... This remarkable statement highlights how Republicans have come to -- correctly -- count on the federal courts to ensure they stay in power.... Trump himself on Sunday evening pleaded for SCOTUS to prevent his sentencing next month, falsely claiming on Truth Social that the justices 'MUST DECIDE!']... All of this highlights how fragile American democracy is and how ill-equipped we are to deal with those who simply refuse to follow rules and norms."
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "The jury foreperson in the Manhattan criminal trial convicting ... Donald Trump had barely finished reciting 'guilty' as to each of 34 felony counts when the newly convicted felon and virtually an entire political party began trashing the verdict -- and, implicitly, the 12 jurors and judge.... The MAGA crowd has moved from attempting to delegitimize an election to attempting to delegitimize the judicial system -- from defaming election workers to defaming jurors. In keeping with other fascist movements, the MAGA cult attempts to undermine every institution and person resisting its authoritarian leader.... As the nation's chief executive, sworn to uphold the rule of law, [President] Biden properly stood up for the rule of law and defended jury service.... Meanwhile, Democrats must denounce the MAGA movement's coordinated assault on the rule of law.... It also might behoove America's chief prosecutor..., Merrick Garland, to condemn those vilifying judges and juries."
Dumber Speaks. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Eric Trump, son of Donald Trump, claimed his father's conviction on 34 felony charges last week is making 'certain segments' of the population more likely to vote for him. 'For the first time, they realize that the system's coming down, that he's the victim, he's the victim that oftentimes some of their communities were,' he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. 'You see them swinging. Look at the African American vote, right? That's swinging over to Donald Trump in spades.'" MB: Many commentators recoiled at Eric's invocation of the racial slur "spades." I'm also wondering about "swinging over." All they swinging over on jungle vines?
Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "The Texas Republican party has gone off the deep end.... Just a few of the platform's planks: that the Bible should be taught in public schools.... That noncitizens who are legal residents of this country should be deported if they are arrested for participating in a protest that turns violent. That name changes to military bases should be reversed to 'publicly honor the southern heroes.' That doctors who perform abortions should be charged with homicide. That the United States should withdraw from the United Nations and that the international organization should be removed from U.S. soil. Then there is this audaciously undemocratic provision: To be elected to state office, a candidate must win not only a majority of votes, but also more than half of Texas's 254 counties.... This system would effectively mean Democrats -- who, as it is, haven't won a statewide office since 1994 -- would be shut out forever."
Really, Bob? Gregory Krieg & Eric Bradner of CNN: "Indicted Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey is expected to file for reelection as an independent, two sources familiar with the matter said Monday. His decision to file as an independent, first reported by The New Jersey Globe, comes the day before a New Jersey primary in which three Democrats and four Republicans are vying for their parties' nominations for the seat he currently holds. Menendez, who is facing federal corruption charges and is currently on trial in New York City, had announced in March that he would not run for a fourth full term as a Democrat, but left open the possibility of an independent bid if exonerated. He faces a Tuesday deadline to file as an independent."
Marie: Sorry, I have to go to the bank because there's a bank robbery is progress. That is to say, the bank is robbing me. But it's Bank of America, so what can I expect. So far, they've managed to extract thousands of dollars, and they can't figure out where the money went or exactly how much they stole. Don't know how long I'll be gone.
Shocking News! Trump Is Bent! ~~~
~~~ ** Mob Boss at Work. Robert Faturechi, et al., of ProPublica: "Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against ... Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump's media company. The benefits have flowed from Trump's businesses and campaign committees, according to a ProPublica analysis of public disclosures, court records and securities filings. One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee [Allen Weisselberg] got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement. And one of the campaign's top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee. These pay increases and other benefits often came at delicate moments in the legal proceedings against Trump. One aide who was given a plum position on the board of Trump's social media company, for example, got the seat after he was subpoenaed but before he testified.... To prove witness tampering, prosecutors would need to show that perks or punishments were intended to influence testimony." ~~~
~~~ Trump Threatens ProPublica. Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite: "ProPublica .. got a cease-and-desist letter from Trump attorney David Warrington, demanding that the article [linked above] not be published and warning if ProPublica and its reporters 'continue their reckless campaign of defamation, President Trump will evaluate all legal remedies.'"
Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. More news linked below.
~~~~~~~~~~
National Crime Blotter
David Smith of the Guardian: "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), a watchdog organisation, analysed more than 13,000 messages published by [Donald] Trump on his Truth Social platform and found him vowing revenge, retaliation and retribution against his foes.... [Trump] has threatened to use the federal government to go after [President] Biden during a second Trump administration 25 times since the start of 2023, the study found. These threats include FBI raids, investigations, indictments and even jail time. He has also threatened or suggested that the FBI and justice department should take action against senators, judges, members of Biden's family and even non-governmental organisations.... Many of his threats to Biden reflect Trump's now familiar tactic of reversing charges against his opponents, conjuring a mirror world in which he claims they are guilty of the very offence of which he is accused." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: In an interview that aired Sunday, "... Donald Trump ... told Fox News that he never called for his 2016 presidential campaign rival, Hillary Clinton, to be sent to jail.... 'I didn't say "lock her up," but the people said lock her up, lock her up,' Trump said.... However, there are several instances in which Trump did agree with calls for Clinton's jailing.... 'Every time I mention her, everyone screams, "Lock her up, lock her up,"' Trump told the crowd. 'You know what, I'm starting to agree with you.' In the weeks before the 2016 election, Trump even said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton and seek to put her in jail for her use of the private email server.... In September 2020, Trump said 'I agree' during chants to lock up Clinton." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Daniel Dale of CNN finds more instances where Trump supported jailing Hillary Clinton, who has never been charged with a crime. For instance, "'You should lock her up, I'll tell you,' he said at a January 2020 rally in Ohio. At an October 2020 rally in Georgia, after the crowd chanted 'lock them up' in relation to the Biden family, Trump said, 'You should lock them up. Lock up the Bidens. Lock up Hillary.'"
Deplorable Men Cheers Trump. Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: "Sixteen thousand people erupted into rapture when Donald J. Trump walked into the Prudential Center in Newark at 10 p.m. Saturday to attend an Ultimate Fighting Championship match. He stayed until the grisly end, at 1:15 a.m.... He walked out to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass,' a rock-rap trailer park anthem that ... has become the unofficial soundtrack of Mr. Trump's quest to recapture the White House.... A moment after Mr. Trump took his seat, the stadium took up a spontaneous chant of President Biden's name preceded by an expletive.... Mr. Trump had designed his appearance on Saturday as a reset -- cheaper than staging a campaign rally and possibly just as effective in casting him as a persecuted hero. His campaign quickly cut his triumphant march into the arena into a video that it used to launch his new TikTok account.... The crowd ... was almost entirely male." (Also linked yesterday.)
Bloodshed, He Wrote. Rachel Leingang of the Guardian: A user wrote to right-wing talkshow host Dan Bongino, "'I see no way out of all this mess without bloodshed. When you can rig an election, then weaponize the government and the courts against a former President, what other alternative is there? I'm almost 70 and would rather die than live in tyranny.' That's a common version of how many people on the US right reacted to the Trump verdict, drawing on a 'mirror world' where Trump is seen as the selfless martyr to powerful state forces and Joe Biden is the dangerous autocrat wielding the justice system as his own personal plaything and a threat to American democracy. Calls for revenge, retribution and violence littered the rightwing internet as soon as Trump's guilty verdict came down.... Some posted online explicitly saying it was time for hangings, executions and civil wars.... For some, the convictions provide another reason to take matters into their own hands during a time when support for using violence to achieve political goals is on the rise." (Also linked yesterday.)
Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden will go on trial on gun charges on Monday in Delaware within walking distance of his father's campaign headquarters in Wilmington, less than a week after ... Donald J. Trump's felony conviction in New York.... It is relatively rare for such gun charges to be brought against a first-time, nonviolent offender like Mr. Biden.... [Another trial], set to begin in September, involves a series of tax offenses related to his failure to file returns for a number of years.... The spectacle of Hunter Biden's trial, and its timing, creates significant headaches for President Biden's campaign, as it seeks to maximize the effect of Mr. Trump's conviction...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Biden Family Drama Will Play out in Court. Matt Viser of the Washington Post: In 2018, "when [Hallie Biden, Beau Biden's widow], found a newly purchased Colt Cobra .38 handgun in [Hunter Biden's truck], she ... put the gun in a shopping bag and drove a few miles to a high-end grocery store, where she tossed it into a trash can. That set off a chain of events that would trigger a flurry of frantic text messages, launch another dark chapter in a doomed and difficult romance -- and lead to Hunter Biden's federal trial beginning Monday.... The text messages, submitted by federal prosecutors as part of their case against Hunter Biden for lying on a gun purchase form, reflect the tortured nature of a Biden family drama that unfolded after the death of Joe Biden's son Beau of cancer in 2015." ~~~
~~~ Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden's gun trial dealt his defense two setbacks Sunday, on the eve of jury selection, by blocking one of his expert witnesses and excluding a key piece of evidence the president's son hoped to use. The rulings from Judge Maryellen Noreika ... could make a tough case for Hunter Biden even more challenging to win. President Joe Biden's son has pleaded not guilty to illegally buying and owning a gun while abusing illicit drugs."
Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post has some ideas on how to curb the effects of Supreme Court arrogance. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.
~~~~~~~~~~
Maryland Senate Race. RNC Rejects American Rule of Law. Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Lara Trump, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, slammed former Maryland governor Larry Hogan on Sunday after he'd urged Americans to 'respect' the verdict in the former president's hush money trial. Hogan is running for a Senate seat in Maryland and represents one of the GOP's best chances at taking back control of the chamber. Still, Lara Trump ... said on CNN's 'State of the Union' that Hogan 'doesn't deserve the respect' of any Republican for his comments. On Thursday, before the jury verdict was delivered, Hogan posted on X that Americans should 'respect the verdict and the legal process.'... CNN host Kasie Hunt asked the RNC co-chair if her comments meant that the committee would withhold money from Hogan's Senate campaign. Lara Trump did not answer directly." CNN's report is here.
Puerto Rico Governor's Race. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi of Puerto Rico lost his bid for a second term on Sunday, suffering a rare defeat by a sitting governor on the island after a rancorous primary. Mr. Pierluisi was defeated by Representative Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico's nonvoting member of Congress, in the primary for the governing New Progressive Party, which supports Puerto Rican statehood, The Associated Press reported. Four years ago, Mr. Pierluisi and Ms. González-Colón ran as allies on the same ticket, promising unity after a tumultuous period that included the resignation of a former New Progressive governor. But in challenging Mr. Pierluisi, her former ally, Ms. González-Colón cast his administration as out of touch and ineffective."
Texas. Jalen Beckford of CNN: "Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas announced Sunday that she's been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and warned her constituents that she'll likely be 'occasionally absent' from Congress while undergoing treatment.... The 15-term congresswoman, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for Houston mayor last year, faced a primary challenge from a onetime congressional intern earlier this year for the deep-blue 18th Congressional District. She prevailed with 60% of the vote."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine, et al.
Bibi's Choice. Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Netanyahu... now appears to be facing a stark choice between the survival of his hard-line, hawkish government and bringing home hostages held in Gaza while setting himself and Israel on a new course away from growing international isolation.... On Friday, [U.S. President] Biden outlined broad terms that he said were presented by Israel to the American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators who have been pushing for a deal to pause the fighting and free hostages in Gaza. Israeli officials confirmed that the terms matched a cease-fire proposal that had been approved by Israel's war cabinet but not yet presented to the Israeli public.... The leaders of two far-right parties in the coalition -- Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's minister of finance, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister -- have pledged to bring Mr. Netanyahu's government down if the prime minister goes along with the deal outlined by Mr. Biden before Hamas is fully destroyed. At the same time, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two former military chiefs who joined the emergency government for the duration of the war, have threatened to withdraw the support of their centrist National Unity party by June 8 if Mr. Netanyahu fails to come up with a clear path forward. And opposition parties have begun organizing to try to topple the government."
Mexico. Natalie Kitroeff, et al., of the New York Times: "Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City, won her nation's elections on Sunday in a landslide victory that brought a double milestone: She became the first woman, and the first Jewish person, to be elected president of Mexico. Early results indicated that Ms. Sheinbaum, 61, prevailed in what the authorities called the largest election in Mexico's history, with the highest number of voters taking part and the most seats up for grabs. It was a landmark vote that saw not one, but two, women vying to lead one of the hemisphere's biggest nations. And it will put a Jewish leader at the helm of one of the world's largest predominantly Catholic countries. Ms. Sheinbaum, a leftist, campaigned on a vow to continue the legacy of Mexico's current president and her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, which delighted their party's base -- and raised alarm among detractors. The election was seen by many as a referendum on his leadership, and her victory was a clear vote of confidence in Mr. López Obrador and the party he started.
Share Article
Reader Comments (19)
Texas
"The Texas Supreme Court said a medical exemption in the state’s abortion ban applies only when a person is at risk of death or serious physical impairment, ruling Friday against women who sued the state with claims that the ban had put their health at risk.
The state’s highest court, which is made up entirely of Republicans, reversed a lower court’s order that broadened the exception to circumstances in which a pregnancy is “unsafe” for the pregnant person or when there is a fetal condition making it unlikely the fetus will survive.
The Texas Supreme Court said the challengers did not prove the abortion ban, with its narrow medical emergency exemption, violated the state constitution."
Marketing opportunity
ProPublica
"Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company.
The benefits have flowed from Trump’s businesses and campaign committees, according to a ProPublica analysis of public disclosures, court records and securities filings. One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement. And one of the campaign’s top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee.
These pay increases and other benefits often came at delicate moments in the legal proceedings against Trump. One aide who was given a plum position on the board of Trump’s social media company, for example, got the seat after he was subpoenaed but before he testified."
Saint Fatty
The Orange Monster continues his habit of spewing easily debunked lies to present himself as the blameless victim, the one calling for peace and calm, not violence and chaos.
“I never said ‘lock her up’” he whined. Waaaaah! I’m the victim here. Other people said it—not me. Never!
Right. Except for every time you opened your fat mouth at one of your bund rallies.
ABC News some time ago, came up with a list of 54 documented cases of violent acts perpetrated by his drooling Brownshirts, who specified that they were carrying out these attacks in Trump’s name, or in direct response to his hateful rhetoric.
“After a Latino gas station attendant in Gainesville, Florida, was suddenly punched in the head by a white man, the victim could be heard on surveillance camera recounting the attacker’s own words: ‘He said, ‘This is for Trump.'’ Charges were filed but the victim stopped pursuing them.
When police questioned a Washington state man about his threats to kill a local Syrian-born man, the suspect told police he wanted the victim to ‘get out of my country,’ adding, ‘That’s why I like Trump.’
Reviewing police reports and court records, ABC News found that in at least 12 cases perpetrators hailed Trump in the midst or immediate aftermath of physically assaulting innocent victims. In another 18 cases, perpetrators cheered or defended Trump while taunting or threatening others. And in another 10 cases, Trump and his rhetoric were cited in court to explain a defendant's violent or threatening behavior.”
But this avatar of avarice, hatred, and violence tries to portray himself as the kindly soul who brings people together: Saint Fatty.
Understand, this ABC survey was taken in 2020, four years ago! Just think of all the violence carried out at his command since. Back then, he was talking about punching out protesters. Now he and his rabid mob are taking about hangings, firing squads, torturing Democrats, murder.
As his desperation and fear increase, so have his calls for violence. I’m reading where Both Sides advocates are saying “Pooh-pooh, it’s a lot of hot air, just regular people letting off steam. Biden people do it too.”
No. They don’t. Democrats in Congress have never lined up, shoulder to shoulder, dressed in cultish get-ups in honor of Biden to demand death for their enemies, and railing against the rule of law.
Only one side does this. And for every dozen or so Fatty fanatics “blowing off steam”, there is someone out there who fervently believes his lies.
And they’re cleaning the guns.
But corporate media is still unwilling to say, outright, that this desperate maniac who sees violence as a necessary and essential campaign tool, is existentially unfit for office.
Holy moochers, Batman!
Yes, Robin, the Bible Mikes of this country talk a big game about how horrible the devil worshipping guv’mint is, but they all muscle their way to the front of the line alongside pocket-picking moochers and grifters like the Trump Crime Family, their billionaire buddies, and cheap Party of Traitor crooks in Congress, when government funds are waved around.
“Billions in taxpayer dollars are being used to pay tuition at religious schools throughout the country, as state voucher programs expand dramatically and the line separating public education and religion fades.
School vouchers can be used at almost any private school, but the vast majority of the money is being directed to religious schools, according to a Washington Post examination of the nation’s largest voucher programs.”
Where evangelicals used to avoid entanglement with unclean guv’mint types, now they gleefully flock to the trough to suck up as many tax dollars as they can, then condemn the government on the way back to church to count their big scores.
“Where there’s money to be made, principles, biblical and others, are relative.
And while you’re thinking about how school vouchers are defunding our public schools, don’t forget about tax credit scholarships. Not technically vouchers, they are an even stealthier way for churches and private schools to, conservatives once self-righteously condemned, ‘suck off the government teat.’”
Nearly all Republicans politicians have signaled that today they would completely support Trump's attempt to steal the election. Most conservatives that didn't fully support Trump have been pushed out or cowed into going along with the insanity. We have an entire political party that is willing to throw democracy away and most hoping that they will be the one to pick up the power after Trump is gone.
RAS,
In a democracy it must be very difficult for people with unpopular ideas.
No wonder they don't like it.
Too bad the Founders (with a little help from their SCOTUS friends) have made the path to autocracy so easy for them.
RAS,
Democracy has already been binned by the Traitor Monkeys. Days after J6, when they realized that calling Trump’s attempted coup anything but a peaceful tour of the Capitol building by sweet, patriotic tourists would guarantee they’d be primaried by some bug-eyed Trump sycophant whose politics were to the far right of Heinrich Himmler, they all decided that democracy was a plague to be avoided at all costs.
The few who expressed dismay at that attempt to overthrow the government quickly learned the error of their ways. In order to survive under the dictator Trump, they donned the red ties, boxy suits, and sieg heiled with the most violence prone Proud Boys.
Besides, screw democracy. It’s much easier to steal elections than to have to try to convince voters that an authoritarian fascist state is the way to go.
A headline vying for top spot on the dumbest headlines of all time.
Is there maybe a Pulitzer for that?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/06/02/six-foot-rule-covid-no-science/?
Marie,
Good luck with your Bank of America problems. I had a BAC account years ago and found their consumer skills and trustworthiness to be on a par with internet scammers selling shares in a Trump hotel.
But have a heart. Those poor Bank of America crooks have their hands full these days. Those meanies at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are on their asses:
“Bank of America harmed hundreds of thousands of consumers over a period of several years and across multiple product lines and services. Specifically, Bank of America:
Deployed a double-dipping scheme to harvest junk fees: Bank of America had a policy of charging customers $35 after the bank declined a transaction because the customer did not have enough funds in their account. The CFPB’s investigation found that Bank of America double-dipped by allowing fees to be repeatedly charged for the same transaction. Over a period of multiple years, Bank of America generated substantial additional revenue by illegally charging multiple $35 fees.
Withheld cash and points rewards on credit cards: To compete with other credit card companies, Bank of America targeted individuals with special offers of cash and points when signing up for a credit card. Bank of America illegally withheld promised credit card account bonuses, such as cash rewards or bonus points, to tens of thousands of consumers.
Misused Sensitive Customer Information to Open Unauthorized Accounts…”
And like that. In fact, “The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) also found that the bank’s double-dipping on fees was illegal. Bank of America will pay a total of $90 million in penalties to the CFPB and $60 million in penalties to the OCC.”
Now how are they gonna pay those penalties if they don’t stiff trusting customers like you?
Capitalizm!
I just read part of a piece in the Hill that says pretty much that Biden is toast, as all the "mature and thoughtful" Senators etc who absolutely detest the Orange Maggot (MAGAt) are lining up behind him to a man. Maybe just Lisa from Alaska and Larry Hogan (former MD governor--) have said the verdict was fair or right-- all the rest say that the justice dept was "weaponized" and the verdict is unfair and "politicized" (of course it was-- EVERYTHING is now politicized, you morons--) and everyone now feels so sorry for the "injustice" to darling MonkeyMeat that they will vote for him for emperor.
Why are Democrats not striking back, by saying if there is any "politicizing," Tickbreath himself has done that-- he's only running because he has no company and apparently no family support, so those sleazebags who follow him around are his backup singers. We have been played from the get-go, and thanks so much, people like Chuck Schumer who remain far too polite.
If the felonies don't kill Biden, I'm afraid Gaza/Israel and Hunter will. Must spend the rest of the day on other things, eating chocolate and drinking cider being the prime activities...
The ProPublica piece linked by RAS (above) dealing with Trump trying to buy off witnesses opens with this:
“Witnesses in the various criminal cases against the former president have gotten pay raises, new jobs and more. If any benefits were intended to influence testimony, that could be a crime.”
I would edit that second sentence in such a way that would be more accurate:
Benefits were intended to influence testimony, and that is a crime.
Another one!
Pretty much everything this scumbag does is criminal. He needs jail time.
Jeanne,
Might wanna make that hard cider. Or, hell, just go straight to scotch.
Presume everyone here sees the same clear connection that I do between the billions of tax dollars going to religious schools, the Dobbs' decision, and its "Appeal to Heaven" flag waving author.
Ken,
Yes, yes, and yes. And Pope Alito knows he can get away with anything and everything. He will never be held accountable for anything. Ethics? Rule of law? Huh. He can give us all the finger and John Roberts will nod sagely.
Next on the chopping block, contraception, then gay marriage. They’ve already dismantled voting rights. In a few weeks we’ll hear that they’ve uncovered something in the Dead Sea Scrolls that sez Trump—and only Trump—is immune from prosecution for his many crimes.
“ It also might behoove America’s chief prosecutor, Attorney General Merrick Garland, to condemn those vilifying judges and juries.”
Ain’t gonna happen. Creampuff Casper Milquetoast Merrick would consider that pah-litical. And he don’t do pah-litical.
Re: Stoopid Eric’s reference to spades…
Last week he announced, outside the courtroom where his crooked dad was on trial, that they deserved to win “because we’re white”.
He really needs to keep the pointed hood and white robes handy.
Guardian
"The reich stuff – what does Trump really have in common with Hitler?
Comparisons between the ex-president and the 20th-century Nazi leader are controversial but a new book says they resemble each other as political performance artists
De Berg compares and contrasts Hitler and Trump as political performance artists and how they connect with their respective audiences. He examines the two men’s work ethic, management style and narcissism, as well as quirks such as Hitler’s toothbrush moustache and Trump’s implausible blond hair.
“But then I looked at their rhetorical strategies and their public relations operations and I began to see how similar they are in many ways. So I thought, OK, why not do a book looking at Hitler from the perspective of Trump?
“We tend to see Hitler as a genocidal mass murderer, which of course he was, but not so much as a populist. I thought looking at it through the perspective of Trump can help us wrap our heads around the idea as to why so many people actually supported Hitler and vice versa.”"
Thanks, AK! I am very fond of hard cider and now the softer ciders are not as much fun. A future daughter-in-law works for a cidery and distillery owned now by the owner of the Pgh. Pirates. You can now get those beverages at the ballgames...how civilized! Yay Pittsburgh!