The Conversation -- May 15, 2024
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily revived a congressional map in Louisiana that includes a second majority-Black district, halting a lower court decision to pause the map over concerns that it was racially gerrymandered. The move could increase Democrats' likelihood of taking control of a second congressional seat in Louisiana. The newly drawn map had been approved in January by Louisiana's Republican-controlled legislature after it had been directed to redraw it. The decision, which was unsigned, said that it would remain in effect pending an appeal or a decision by the Supreme Court. The court's three liberal justices wrote that they would not have lifted the block on the proposed map, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan noting they would have denied the stay application."
Marie: Way back Wednesday morning Judd Legum was reminding us that Justice Juan "Merchan's order prohibits Trump from "directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses." (Okay, I never forgot.) As Legum noted, "Many of Trump's surrogates appear to be speaking from a common script," so it was pretty obvious that somebody was coordinating and directing the Trumpiclones' remarks. Besides, does anybody think that Senator Potato Head could be counted on to say the right thing under his own volition? Of course not. In fact, when asked by a Newsmax host if he was speaking "to go against the gag order and intimidate witnesses because Trump can't," Tuberville answered, "Yes, sir." ~~~
~~~ So Now. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "New York Magazine contributing editor Andrew Rice claimed on Tuesday that he spotted ... Donald Trump 'editing' and 'making notations' to the speeches his allies then made outside of the courtroom during his hush money trial in New York.... 'Before or after?' asked MSNBC host Chris Hayes, to which Rice replied, '... While Michael Cohen was testifying against him, he was actually ... going through and annotating and editing the quotes that these people were going to say.'" On MSNBC Wednesday afternoon, Andrew Weissmann said Justice Merchan was unlikely to raise the issue on his own, so it would be up to the prosecutors if they wanted to call to the judge's attention the apparent violation of the gag order. ~~~
~~~ AND the headline of this firewalled Rolling Stone story is "Trump's GOP 'Surrogates' Take Turns Bashing Judge's Daughter." Maybe that will get Justice Merchan's attention.
MEANWHILE, Down the Street. Aaron Katersky of the AP: "Sen. Robert Menendez 'put his power up for sale' and 'betrayed the people he was supposed to serve,' a prosecutor claimed Wednesday at the start of the New Jersey Democrat's federal bribery trial in New York.... 'He was powerful. He was also corrupt,' prosecutor Lara Pomerantz said of the senator during her opening statement.... His price, Pomerantz told the jury, was gold bars, envelopes stuffed with cash, checks to his wife for a no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.... The defense meanwhile introduced Menendez 'not as an agent of the Egyptian government' but as 'an American patriot' who 'took no bribes.' Menendez has pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction."
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Presidential Race. Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Biden is willing to debate ... Donald J. Trump at least twice before the election, and as early as June -- but his campaign is rejecting the nonpartisan organization that has managed presidential debates since 1988, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times. The letter by the Biden campaign lays out for the first time the president's terms for giving Mr. Trump what he has openly clamored for: a televised confrontation with a successor Mr. Trump has portrayed, and hopes to reveal, as too feeble to hold the job. Mr. Biden and his top aides want the debates to start much sooner than the dates proposed by the Commission on Presidential Debates, so voters can see the two candidates side by side well before early voting begins in September. They want the debate to occur inside a TV studio, with microphones that automatically cut off when a speaker's time limit elapses. And they want it to be just the two candidates and the moderator -- without the raucous in-person audiences that Mr. Trump feeds on and without the participation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or other independent or third-party candidates." ~~~
~~~ Josh Boak, et al., of the AP: "Trump responded to the letter in an interview with Fox News digital, calling the proposed dates 'fully acceptable to me.'... Biden, in a post on X..., sought to needle his rival, saying, 'Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020, since then, he hasn't shown up for a debate. Now he's acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.'... [Biden] suggested that the two candidates could pick some dates, taking a dig at Trump's ongoing New York hush money trial by noting that the Republican is 'free on Wednesdays,' the usual day off in the trial." ~~~
~~~ ** UPDATE. Betsy Klein, et al., of CNN: “President Joe Biden and ... Donald Trump have both accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27, a historically early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign. 'I've received and accepted an invitation from @CNN for a debate on June 27th. Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,' Biden said in a post on X. A Trump campaign official later told CNN that Trump had accepted the offer."
Trump Mob Trial
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: Michael Cohen's "testimony [yesterday] marked a pivotal moment for prosecutors [of the criminal trial of Donald Trump]. They charged Mr. Trump with falsifying the checks and other records, and Mr. Cohen's recounting drove those accusations home. It offered the jury its first and only personal account tying the former president to the documents at the crux of his case. Mr. Trump has denied the allegations and the sex, and his legal team soon sought to sweep Mr. Cohen's revelations aside in cross-examination. The lead defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, attacked Mr. Cohen's credibility, portraying him as out of control and bent on exacting revenge on Mr. Trump after his patron abandoned him. Mr. Blanche also emphasized Mr. Cohen's voluminous television appearances and insult-slinging on social media -- all of which Mr. Cohen did in defiance of the prosecution's wishes and at Mr. Trump's expense, Mr. Blanche suggested. And he noted that Mr. Cohen maintains a financial interest in attacking Mr. Trump, arguing that he cashed in on their feud with a podcast and a pair of books." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Times reporters in yesterday's liveblog (linked below) and in the article here have emphasized that Cohen's oral testimony is the only proof the prosecution has offered to tie Trump to the crime. But that isn't accurate, IMO. First, there's Exhibit 35, the account statement from the phony LLC Cohen established to pay off Stormy Daniels. Trump's former controller Jeff McConney authenticated Allen Weisselberg's handwritten note on the statement which show that the Trump Org would "gross up" the $130,000 payment Cohen made from his own funds to $420,000 to cover related expenses, including Cohen's anticipated tax liability. In addition, prosecutors put into evidence 12 checks, written in 2017, each in the amount of $35,000, to be paid for "legal services" rendered by Michael Cohen in a year in which Cohen provided no legal services to Trump or the Trump Org. Trump signed 10 of those checks.
Several of Trump's still-loyal former employees testified that Donald Trump (a) paid close attention to detail of moneys paid out; and (b) was so cheap (cruel & dishonest, IMO) that he ordered staff to negotiate down legitimate payments due. It should be obvious to every juror that even a more careless person would notice that he was paying more than double the $130K -- and for services never performed. Conspiracies are seldom written down, but here there is both documentation and oral testimony from multiple defendant-friendly sources proving up Trump's knowledge of the scheme. Also, Blanche's argument, emphasized in the Times story, that Cohen hates Trump, falls flat. In conspiracy cases, the evidence usually comes, at least in part, from parties who have had fallings-out with the defendant and have "flipped" in their own self-interest. Co-conspirators in illegal enterprises are not upstanding folks with pure motives. They're criminals like Michael Cohen.
Here are takeaways by CNN reporters on Todd Blanche's cross-examination of Michael Cohen and other stuff. Though the CNN reporters discuss Blanche's opening shots, oddly enough, they don't mention Justice Merchan's response. According to Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Soon afterward, there was a sidebar, out of earshot of jurors. At that sidebar, according to a transcript..., Justice Merchan asked Blanche: 'Why are you making this about yourself?'... Blanche protested, but the judge stood firm. 'Just don't make it about yourself,' he said to conclude the conference." ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN did catch Merchan's scolding of Todd Blanche: "... Blanche mostly concentrated on his effort to tarnish Cohen's character, motives and credibility rather than the core question of the case -- whether Trump falsified the business records as part of a cover up expressly designed to mislead voters in 2016 in an early instance of election interference.... But jurors don't have to like Cohen. They just have to believe him.... As always, when a Trump subordinate performs in front of the boss, there was a sense Blanche's histrionics were as much for the benefit of his client as the case. And in a curious debut of the cross-examination, Blanche earned an admonition from Judge Juan Merchan for making it all about him, when he noted Cohen had called him a 'crying little sh*t' on TikTok."
Hannah Knowles & Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post: "Sen. J.D. Vance, who once recoiled from Donald Trump's lewd comments about women, was at Trump's side in court this week as prosecutors rehashed the infamous 'Access Hollywood' tape that upended his 2016 campaign. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an amiable advocate of conservative Christian morals, came to the courthouse the next day to call Trump's trial a 'shame,' a 'travesty' and a 'partisan witch hunt.'... An hour later, one of Trump's former presidential rivals [-- Vivek Ramaswamy --] stood in a nearby park attacking the witnesses the former president is legally barred from disparaging himself.... The pilgrimages demonstrate the imperative in today's GOP to show loyalty to Trump and his fervent base in the midst of a case that has become a showcase of salacious scandal. Notably absent from court: Trump's wife...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The past couples of days' shows of force (see photo of yesterday's courthouse entourage accompanying WashPo article) have reminded me less of obsequious toadies -- which of course they are -- than of the made men who sit shoulder-to-shoulder at the back of courtrooms during mob criminal trials, primarily for the purpose of intimidating witnesses, which is what Trump's toadies also are doing. There's this observation from the Times' liveblog yesterday, by Jonah Bromwich:
Michael Cohen was in the midst of testimony about weighing whether to retain loyalty to Trump, painting it as a very difficult decision, as he considered whether he would be loyal to his family, his country or Trump. As he was speaking, Vivek Ramaswamy and a number of the other politicians here supporting Trump today walked back in the room. It was a remarkable moment, but Cohen seemed mostly unfazed. He kept testifying. ~~~
~~~ Another Ignominious Moment in American History. Meg Kinnard of the AP: "U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson assailed the hush money case against Donald Trump Tuesday as an illegitimate 'sham,' becoming the highest-ranking Republican to show up at court, embrace the former president's claims of political persecution and attack the U.S. system of justice. It was a remarkable moment in modern American politics: The House speaker amplifying Trump's defense and turning the Republican Party against the federal and state legal systems that are foundational to the U.S. government and a cornerstone of democracy.... Johnson was a chief architect of Trump's efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential results ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, mob assault on the U.S. Capitol.... Unlike other Republicans showing up to show their support, Johnson did not enter the courtroom where Trump is on trial, but dashed back to Washington to open the House chamber for the day."
Yesterday was another Trump day in a downtown Manhattan courtroom, and New York Times reporters were there to keep us up to speed. See details in yesterday's Conversation.
STFU, Donald. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A New York State appeals court on Tuesday upheld a gag order imposed on ... Donald J. Trump in his criminal trial in Manhattan, rejecting arguments that the measure had violated Mr. Trump's First Amendment rights.... In its decision Tuesday, a five-judge panel of the appeals court wrote that Justice [Juan] Merchan had 'properly determined' that Mr. Trump's 'public statements posed a significant threat to the integrity of the testimony of witnesses and potential witnesses in this case.' The decision also found that Justice Merchan had properly weighed Mr. Trump's free speech rights against the court's 'commitment to ensuring the fair administration of justice in criminal cases' and the rights of people connected to the case 'from being free from threats, intimidation, harassment and harm.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: As we've seen, Trump has sidestepped the gag order by getting his henchmen to stand on the courthouse steps and make the same attacks he is prevented by court order from delivering. The judge has no control over these remarks by others, particular when the others are elected officials. ~~~
~~~ digby: "Trump has brought his surrogates to the trial to violate his gag order for him." Includes a number of examples. ~~~
~~~ BUT. Judd Legum of Popular Information: Justice Juan "Merchan's order prohibits Trump from 'directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses.' The order also prohibits Trump from directing others to attack the jury, the court staff, or family members. Asked on Tuesday if he directed the Republicans to speak about the trial on his behalf, Trump described them as his '"surrogates' and praised them for 'speaking very beautifully.' Trump has also entered the courthouse flanked by his surrogates, effectively giving them his imprimatur. Many of Trump's surrogates appear to be speaking from a common script.... If Trump directed his surrogates to speak, their comments could constitute criminal contempt of the gag order by Trump.... Attorney Jeff Jacobovitz, in an appearance on MSNBC..., noted that 'if Trump is feeding information' to his allies, it would violate the gag order."
How Trump Normalizes Violence. Peter Eisler, et al., of Reuters: "When Donald Trump attacks the integrity of judges hearing cases against him, his followers often respond with posts urging that the jurists be beaten, tortured and killed.... Trump has baselessly cast the judges and prosecutors in his trials as corrupt puppets of the Biden administration.... [For instance, on April 23, ] Trump declared on Truth Social, [that Justice Juan Merchan] is a 'highly conflicted' overseer of a 'kangaroo court.' Trump supporters swiftly replied to his post with a blitz of attacks on Merchan.... Some called for Merchan and other judges hearing cases against Trump to be killed.... In a review of commenters' posts on three pro-Trump websites..., Reuters documented more than 150 posts since March 1 that called for physical violence against the judges handling three of his highest-profile cases.... Those posts were part of a larger pool of hundreds identified by Reuters that used hostile, menacing and, in some cases, racist or sexualized language to attack the judges.... Experts on extremism say the constant repetition of threatening or menacing language can normalize the idea of violence -- and increase the risk of someone carrying it out." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump's lackeys of course are doing the same: encouraging violence by playing down actual acts of violence like the January 6 attack on the U.S. capitol and by falsely claiming that law enforcement agencies and President Biden are persecuting poor old Trump and taking away winger "freedoms."
Primary Elections
Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Hundreds of thousands of voters in Maryland, West Virginia and Nebraska went to the polls on Tuesday, weighing in on primaries whose results pointed to a desire for moderation, achievement and diversity, and a rejection of the political power of money....
Maryland. "Representative David Trone, a co-owner of the giant alcohol retailer Total Wine and More, gave up his safe House seat, spent more than $60 million of his fortune and lost the Senate Democratic primary to Angela Alsobrooks, who hopes to become only the third Black woman to be elected to Congress's upper chamber.... Maryland would ordinarily have been a safe bet for Democrats hoping to hold the seat of Senator Ben Cardin upon his retirement, but the entry of Larry Hogan, a popular former governor and Republican moderate [who won the primary by a landslide], into the race has scrambled the equation.... [Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn] was beaten by a soft-spoken workhorse, State Senator Sarah Elfreth, in a Democratic primary almost certain to determine who will represent Maryland's Third House District....
Nebraska. "In Nebraskas swing district around Omaha, Representative Don Bacon, who has a reputation as an independent voice, faced off against Dan Frei, a conservative challenger backed by the state's Republican Party, a pro-Trump bastion.... On Tuesday, Mr. Bacon trounced Mr. Frei, setting up a much tougher race for the Democratic nominee, State Senator Tony Vargas....
West Virginia. "Derrick Evans, an unrepentant rioter arrested after participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, challenged Representative Carol Miller in a safe Republican seat. Ms. Miller is no moderate, but she isn't a rioter. The incumbent whipped the insurgent." ~~~
Also from the Times story: In the Maryland Democratic presidential primary, about 10 percent voted for uncommitted & another 3.3 percent chose Marianne Williamson or Dean Phillips. Phillips got 8 percent of the vote in Nebraska. In West Virginia some 20% of Democratic voters chose candidates named Jason Palmer and Stephen Lyons. On the Republican side, zombie candidate Nikki Haley got about 20 percent in both Maryland and Nebraska and about 10 percent in West Virginia.
West Virginia Senate Race. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) is projected to win the Republican primary for Senate in the state, according to the Associated Press. Justice defeated a crowded field of contenders to clinch the GOP nomination and is also heavily favored to win the general election in the deep-red state."
Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: "The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that Boeing was in violation of a 2021 settlement related to problems with the company's 737 Max model that led to two deadly plane crashes in 2018 and 2019. In a letter to a federal judge, the department said that Boeing had failed to 'design, implement and enforce' an ethics program to prevent and detect violations of U.S. fraud laws in the company's operations.... The determination by the Justice Department opens the door to a potential prosecution of a 2021 criminal charge accusing Boeing of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration, though Boeing can contest Tuesday's decision. In a statement, Boeing said that the company believed that it had honored the terms of the settlement, adding that it was looking forward to the opportunity to respond." The CBS News report is here.
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
Louisa Loveluck of the Washington Post: "Israeli tanks moved deeper into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, pushing closer to the dense urban centers President Biden has warned Israel against invading, and prompting one of the larges civilian exoduses of the seven-month war." (Also linked yesterday.)
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has told Congress that it intends to move forward with a plan for the United States to sell more than $1 billion in new weapons to Israel, according to three congressional aides familiar with the deal. The notification of the sale, which would include new tactical vehicles and ammunition, comes as President Biden has withheld a shipment of bombs to Israel, hoping to prevent U.S.-made weapons from being used in a potential invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Last week, Mr. Biden said he would block the delivery of weapons such as bombs and missiles that could be fired into the densely populated area where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. The potential arms transfer illustrated the narrow path the Biden administration is walking with Israel, trying to prevent an assault on Rafah and limit civilian casualties in Gaza but continuing to supply a longtime ally that the president has said has a right to defend itself. One congressional aide said Congress had been aware of the arms deal for months...." A CBS News report is here.
Ukraine, et al.
Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "Before [Antony] Blinken became the top American diplomat, he was a serious rock guitarist -- and along with a Ukrainian band, he played 'Rockin' in the Free World,' a 1989 song by [Neil Young], the Canadian American musician, for a packed basement music club [in Kiev, Ukraine].... 'The United States is with you. So much of the world is with you. And they're fighting, not just for a free Ukraine, but for the free world. And the free world is with you too,' Blinken said before launching into the song with 19.99, a Kyiv punk band." ~~~
Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: "Russian security agents detained a senior general early Tuesday, widening a purge of the country's sprawling Defense Ministry amid President Vladimir V. Putin's broader shake-up of his government. Lt. Gen. Yuri Kuznetsov, who oversaw the ministry's personnel department, was detained on an accusation of 'large-scale' bribery, Russia's Investigative Committee, a federal law enforcement agency, said in a statement on Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Reader Comments (18)
The amount of goodwill accorded the most criminal president*, a convicted sex offender (rapist), a fraud, liar, coward, and one of the most personally odious characters ever to darken the American landscape completely baffles me.
His four years in office were an unmitigated disaster, his mishandling of the pandemic caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, his ridiculous approach to economic policy resulted in huge unemployment and market instability, and yet he is given much higher marks than Biden, a true leader whose administration has notched great achievements in economic and infrastructure advancement.
He has cynically gamed the system at every turn for personal enrichment and power and has succeeded in avoiding well deserved jail time.
Even now, in his New York trial, commentators climb over one another to disparage the prosecution, predicting a victory for Trump. Michael Cohen is no saint, but “experts” are predicting that his unlikeable nature will resonate with the jury which should deliver a not guilty verdict for the monster at the defense table.
John Gotti was convicted on the testimony of a mafia hit man, but Trump should be go free because people don’t like Michael Cohen?
The truly sad thing is…they’re probably right. I will personally be stunned if Trump is found guilty. And if not, he could very well ride that not guilty verdict back to the White House as Both Sides journalists join the applause and point out—again—that Biden is too old.
On a lighter note, I was pleased to see Anthony Blinken joining in on a rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” (not sure about the “serious guitarist” description, but okay) with a band in Ukraine.
A few years ago, Neil Young sued Donald Trump to keep him from continued unauthorized use of “Rockin’ in the Free World” at his very unfree, fascist rallies, as Young said “as if it were his theme song”.
In his suit he wrote that he “..in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate.”
He joined a raft of artists who have taken issue with the Orange Monster co-opting their music in his ongoing efforts to destroy democracy and have himself crowned dictator.
I’m guessing Neil would have no problem for the representative of a real administration playing his song in support of a country’s fight to stay part of the free world against one of Trump’s most admired murderous dictators.
By the way, Fatty’s sycophants have attacked Neil Young for being a Canadian who had no business telling a “great American president” what he can and cannot do. Classic, in’it? “I’m gonna steal your stuff and you can’t do anything about it cuz you’re Canadian.”
Well, Neil Young is now an American citizen. In fact, as he says, he became a citizen, in part, to vote against Trump.
Keep rockin’, Neil. You too, Tony. And fuck you, Fatty.
@Akhilleus: Call me Polly Anna. While neither of us knows squat about what the jurors will do, I'm a little more optimistic than you are. Lawrence O'Donnell said last night that the jurors were younger than any jury he'd seen (I'm going to guess that's because some of them wanted to be on a Trump jury, as opposed to the usual situation in which working people try to get out of jury duty by claiming they have essential jobs, doctors' appointments, child-care issues, etc.) Since the jurors are from Manhattan, they're probably better-educated than the average jury, too. (Two have law degrees.)
Although they may not have all that much in common with Michael Cohen, who is very much a product of Long (hard "g") Island (so "Lawn Guyland"), they are likely to see him as a Greater NYC "type" whom they recognize, are comfortable being around, and find mildly amusing.
For instance, in one post in yesterday's NYT liveblog, Jonah Bromwich wrote, "Michael Cohen ... is still calm, but he’s focused, and seeking to turn aside Todd Blanche’s questions wherever possible. He’s not being defiant.... Some of his answers, perhaps unintentionally, are funny, which could be taking the sting out of some of Blanche’s insinuations. The jurors look amused. One is smiling."
It seems to me that if a juror finds a witness repulsive, he isn't going to smile or laugh at remarks that disparage the defendant or make the witness look like less than Good Citizen of the Week. This of course doesn't mean the jurors are accepting Cohen's remarks as true -- which is what is important -- but I'm guessing -- at least at this point -- that they're much less antagonistic to him than Trump needs them to be.
@Akhilleus: Thanks for putting "Rockin’ in the Free World" in its full political context. I am aware that a number of artists have had to sue Trump for using their work without permission, but I'd forgotten Neil Young was one of them, and I don't think it ever registered with me that "Rockin’ in the Free World" was a particularly egregious misuse of copyrighted material & performance.
Too confusing for our little brains to handle
"U.S. airlines are suing to block the Biden administration from requiring greater transparency over fees that the carriers charge their passengers, saying that a new rule would confuse consumers by giving them too much information during the ticket-buying process.
The U.S. Transportation Department said Monday it will vigorously defend the rule against what it called “hidden junk fees.”
American, Delta, United and three other carriers, along with their industry trade group, sued the Transportation Department in a federal appeals court on Friday, asking the court to overturn the rule."
Reading the tea leaves:
Guilty or not guilty?
Guilty, I say. The evidence is all there. Why would anyone have paid off Stormy on the Pretender's behalf without his say-so and financial support?
And the lies Cohen has admitted to were mostly told out of loyalty to the Pretender. When he was lying, he was acting as the Pretender's goon.
Then there are all those meetings and documents to back up Cohen's story...
But judging from the millions who have voted for a serial liar, racist, misogynist and sexual predator, the country is replete with bums.
And the jury needs but one of them.
We'll see what they say.
I know prophecy is often a bum's game but without one of the Pretender's bums on the jury, I'm thinking "guilty."
Marie,
Thanks for that shot of optimism. I’ve been trying to keep off the ledge but some days it’s harder to stay inside. The window is still open, but for today, I’ll try to focus on more positive stuff. Maybe I’ll crank up an old Neil Young album. “After the Gold Rush” was part of my soundtrack in high school. I loved playing the title song on the piano.
Keep rockin’ Shakey, and all my RC brothers and sisters.
…and fuck the begrudgers.
This morning I had MSNBC on but softly, and as I was making my oatmeal and not turned to the teevee, I heard a woman remark that she felt good about Dumpster Fire because he didn't need the job for money, that "he is doing it for us" and that she believed "he has a heart of gold..." Well, I am freshly amazed at people, like this lady who sounded sincere: sincerely bonkers. Like AK, I just don't know where they get that angle from which to view this cranky, disgusting, looney, sexual predator and thief and liar as someone who cares about people of any stripe, barring possibly Ivanka... And I also am thinking that the opposing views being expressed by idiots like Tommy Tuber and his little cohorts all dressed alike in "uniform" of blue suits and red ties are craven self-promoters with not an ounce of morality or ethics among them, and charging the taxpayers for their own expressed loyalties to the Mad Monarch. Their "evolved" opinions about the trials both real and delayed in advance, don't mean squat, especially since most of them on January 7 were horrified and skeered they were about to be hanged and they expressed opposite views then. Hypocrisy, thy name is congress. There is not enough scorn in the world to be heaped on their stupid craven heads. They are mostly as bad as the Dump.
To Jeanne’s point about the loser lemmings on parade all dressing like Trump, it’s as if they’re all in uniform, a gaggle of Craven Clones.
In another time they would have all shown up with swastika arm bands on (these guys likely decided to leave those home).
The level of abject sycophancy is at once comical and frightening, right down to dutifully getting their turn at the mic (a mini Nuremberg rally) to rail about enemies. Weirdly, at the Nuremberg rally, the hatred was directed at Jews and those who insist on rule of law. Outside Trump’s trial, the hatred was directed at one Jewish guy AND rule of law (not suggesting that Cohen is hated by the Trump manqués solely because he’s a Jew, but the parallels are striking).
One example of Fatty’s hold on these mini-me cowards is the sight of Bible Mike, holier than thou Jesus guy, standing in front of a court of law denigrating that institution and praising a rapist and insurrectionist. It also demonstrates how fraudulent is his so-called Christianity and belief in morality.
Craven clones of a cowardly fraud.
Their parents would be so proud.
I’m of two minds about this “debate”. These things aren’t actual debates. They’ve become sideshows, especially with Trump involved. First, he won’t abide by any rules. He’ll interrupt, roll his eyes, stalk around the stage, and lie with impunity. There are too many lies for fact checkers to keep up with. Biden will try to answer questions honestly and logically while the Orange Monster snarls and blusters. This will be a wrestling match, not a platform for an honest exchange of serious policy ideas (Trump has none). It will be a potential loss for Biden, even if he makes more sense and offers a dramatically better vision of the future.
Akhilleus - I'm a bit more optimistic about the "debates." The format is more conducive to allowing Biden to just go down the litany of DiJiT's failures, and villainous promises (" ... and I'll let Miller deport your little dog, too!!! Ah-hahaha). Biden can hype his own positives, and DiJiT won't be able to refute them because he'll be so hung up on the insults, with no time to deal with both in any coherent way. The mics will be off for the party who does not have the speaking stick ... and maybe they'll be smart enough to keep the camera on the talker and not on the mugger.
But, really ... DiJiT will think up some excuse to back out. He can't really deal with an opponent, he only knows how to free-associate to an adoring crowd.
And, even when DiJiT steps all over his own pud in debate, his acolytes will still say he "won", so it's just Chinatown, Jake.
Patrick,
Okay, that sounds reasonable. And even though “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown” refers to an unknowable phenomenon, it’s more logical and connected to the real world than anything spewing out of MAGAstan.
BUT…re: the “debate” TV production plan, remember, these guys look at these things as Showtime!. Its position as a piece in the democratic process comes down the line after ratings and bragging rights in the b’cast-cable continuum, so keeping cameras off Trump if he decides to prance around won’t be high on the director’s shot list.
He’ll find some way to make it all about him, if he decides to actually do it, but I’m thinking your guess that he’ll find some way to bag out is a good one. He’s a coward. He might find some way of complaining that the whole thing will be “rigged” and “unfair to Trump” and convince the MAGAts that wimping out is actually a manly-man hero thing.
When considering Trump’s unfulfilled promises of bravery and macho tough guy stands, I often think of that scene in the Errol Flynn “Robin Hood”. As Robin single-handedly beats the crap out of dozens of the king’s heavily armed guards, the fat sheriff of Nottingham, hiding behind a chair, says “Your majesty! If only I could reach him!” before scurrying off.
…and here’s that scene from “Robin Hood”, 1938, Warner Bros. Great score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Academy Award), who departed Germany for Hollywood when it was clear Trump’s idol, Hitler, was going after Jews.
Trump's team will probably insist on podiums because it looks like sitting at a table for an hour or two will cause the loser to fall asleep.
Cowardly and Corrupt Mitt Romney.
Mittens shows once again why he was not presidential material. And also why he is still a Republican. Separation of powers and judicial independence is for when others are doing exactly what you want them to do. He admits that he would interfere with the justice system Just Like Trump Did. Also stealing classified documents and Inciting An Insurrection are no big deal in Romney's America.
"Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, argued that President Joe Biden should have pardoned Donald Trump after the Justice Department brought indictments against the former president and pressured New York prosecutors not to pursue Trump's ongoing hush money trial.
"He should have fought like crazy to keep this prosecution from going forward,” Romney said, referring to Biden. “It was a win-win for Donald Trump.”
“I have been around for a while. If LBJ had been president, and he didn’t want something like this to happen, he’d have been all over that prosecutor saying, ‘You better not bring that forward or I’m gonna drive you out of office,’” he said.
Ruhle then noted that Romney supports having separate but equal branches of government.
“I do. ... You may disagree with this, but had I been President Biden, when the Justice Department brought on indictments, I would have immediately pardoned him. I'd have pardoned President Trump. Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned a little guy.”"
So...Romney would have Biden act just like....the Pretender who abused the pardon power by pardoning at least three of his crooks.
Guess that's just another line spineless Romney is willing to cross.
Earlier today, Patrick suggested that Don Snoreleone would find some way to weasel out of a debate with Biden.
It didn’t take long.
Hours after agreeing to debates on CNN in June and September, Mr. Anytime-Anyplace now says he’ll show up for one debate in October—on Fox. With a panel of his choosing.
“Is Trump trying to make excuses and eventually weasel out of debates? He already skipped debates during the Republican presidential primaries, but those were to his political advantage as he never trailed any of his GOP opponents in the polls. In this case, chickening out would probably look very bad. It should be easy to debate an opponent you’ve dubbed ‘Sleepy Joe.’ Of course, Trump has little room to talk, now that he’s been caught snoozing multiple times during his hush-money trial.”
Come October we’ll find out that he has some important blah, blah, blah and can’t make it, which is lucky for Biden cuz otherwise, Wham, POW! He’d have let him have it.
We shall see.
And right on cue, here’s Nepotism Girl, Lara Trump, head of the RNC and wife of Stoopid Eric, to provide cover for Fatty’s latest show of cowardice by screeching that the debates he agreed to (for about an hour) will be rigged.
Weirdly, Nepotism Girl sez that Fatty “called Biden’s bluff”. By…weaseling out of the debates? How does that work? Ranting on Sean Hannity’s show, she goes on to proclaim, laughably, that
“…’the scales are always tipped against’ [her father-in-law].
‘But this is the thing,’ Hannity said. ‘They’re trying to collude. The media mob and Joe Biden, they dictate all the conditions, all the rules, and Donald Trump gets no say. Sorry, that’s not how it’s ever worked and that’s not– fair Americans will right through that.’”
What he doesn’t say is that this is exactly what Trump is demanding. To have one debate, on Fox, with his hand picked panel, and his rules.
They should just save their breath, declare that there won’t be any debates, but Trump won them anyway.