Yesterday, I got in touch with BlueHost (It requires both BlueHost and WordPress to run PoliticsPlus) The passwortd TC had given me had been reset, so I got directions on what to send to whom at BlueHost to get credentials of my own, amd sent it all off off. I may not need help from BLueHost to update the comment system, but eventuually I will need them, and I value their advice. So progress is being made (even if it looks a little like sausage is being made,) Thanks to everyone for your feedback. We will get where we are going – and we’re not suffering all that much in the interim, which is a great comfort. Oh, and I also took out trash and recyclables. What with the holiday I don’t even know for sure whether there will be pickup tomorrow, but I have no problem leaving the polycarts/ wheeliebins/whatever they are called out until the contents are collected.
Cartoon –
Short Takes
Law & Crime – Federal Jury Convicts Ghislaine Maxwell of Sex Trafficking and Enticing Minors for Jeffrey Epstein’s Abuse
Quote – After a whirlwind trial slated for six weeks wrapped up in half of that time, a federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of sex trafficking and conspiring to entice minors for years of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. Maxwell stood trial for six federal offenses for conduct spanning from 1994 to 2004, roughly breaking down into alleged violations of the Mann Act and a distinct federal anti-sex trafficking statute. She was convicted of five of them, adding up to the possibility of several decades imprisonment for Maxwell, who turned 60 years old on Christmas Day.
Click through for details. Is it just ne, or is it easier to get an convicion on a woman than it is on a man? (Not tht she isn’t guilty, but that there are so many men who are guilty and still at liberty.)
Reuters – Russia shuts Memorial Human Rights Centre in ‘one-two punch’
Quote – Russia’s Memorial Human Rights Centre was ordered to shut by a Moscow court on Wednesday, a day after its sister organisation – Russia’s oldest human rights group – was forced to close. The Human Rights Centre [kept] a running list of individuals it classifies as political prisoners, including Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The list includes Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims convicted of terrorism that Memorial says were victims of “unproven charges based on fabricated evidence because of their religious affiliation”.
Click through for the story. Autocrats are not even pretending any more.
AP News – Judge refuses to dismiss alleged Proud Boys leaders’ charges
Quote – “Defendants are not, as they argue, charged with anything like burning flags, wearing black armbands, or participating in mere sit-ins or protests,” Kelly wrote in his 43-page ruling. “Moreover, even if the charged conduct had some expressive aspect, it lost whatever First Amendment protection it may have had.”
Click through for more. I don’t know anything about Judge Kelly (like, for instance, who appointed him), but he appears to understand the First Amendment very well.
Food For Thought:
9 Responses to “Open Thread for December 30, 2021”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Joanne: You’ve been busy, and are a great help with being in touch with BlueHost and keeping me/us in the loop. Thank you!
Cartoon: YEP!
L&C: She certainly deserves a long prison time. Those ladies affected by this evil women can rest easy now. The memories will not go away for them, but I’m relieved and glad this pos Maxwell will not see the light of day. Ever again.
Reuters: Dam scary!
AP News: Good news, for sure.
FFT: The donkey on the R is correct.
TJI: “Remember, Politics is like driving a car. ‘R’ is for reverse, going backward. Like the Republicans want to do to our Nation. ‘D’ is to drive forward, making our Nation great have a goad to reach, forget the past (TOT years) and move on.” ~ M. Porter ~
2. “A true challenge of our time is how to deal with people who cannot accept basic facts, like the election was not stolen, there is no microchip in the vaccine, and the Earth is round. It’s frankly exhausting. What a malfunction of the human brain.” ~ George Takei ~
3. “America lost a titan of public service. Senator Harry Reid was a leader of immense courage and ferocious conviction who worked tirelessly to achieve historic progress for the Americanpeople.” ~ Speaker Nancy Pelosi ~
4. “Merrick Garland! All the lights are green! Go! Go! Go!” ~ E. Jean Carroll ~
5. “Remember: Having sex on a regular basis helps keep your memory alive. I wish you all a great 2018!!”
~ Diane ~ (I found this hilarious!)
TJI #1 – That makes a great bumper sticker … and I just happen to have one.
TJI #2 – It is exhausting, not the least because of the emotions which arise when one tries … starting with discouragement add going all the way up into despair.
TJI $3 – Yes indeed. Says someone who is herself a Titan. The truth is, we have a lot of Titans whom we don’t consciously realize are Titans because there can only be one Speaker and one Senate Majority Leader at a time.
TJI #4 – Remember how, when Bannon was referred and not indicted, and a good DOJ hire got confirmed, and Bannon was indicted the next day? I understand another good hire in that division (the one which would be responsible for these prosecutions) was recently confirmed. So maybe we’ll see. (Remember also that some things are evidential to us which do not constitute lekal evidence, and there are still a lot of people out there whose testimony would be crucial. See cartoon below. Yes, I know he’s not a king. But he sure thinks he is.) Fingers crossed.
TJI #5 – It is hilarious, in a rueful way. I won’t wish you a particular year since conjugal visits are no longer a thing.
Comment from Mitch –
I would think that pick-up should happen, tomorrow, as it is not a holiday.
‘Toon: Yeah, what an inconvenient thing!
L&C: It might be easier to convict a woman, but, I expect, the evidence might have been overwhelming in this case. I expect efrey would
have been similarly dealt with.
Reuters: Somewhat thanks to our own wanna-be Orange autocrat, there is no longer a reason for them to fake it…just like with the GQP.
AP: It appears that Kelly was appointed in 2017, so it was under the stink of Dumpy. Good on him.
FFT: I just love the snarky look on that donkey man. How many fool GQPers will die before being able to procreate, earning them their very own, cherished, Darwin Awards?
Mitch
Federal Jury Convicts Ghislaine Maxwell of Sex Trafficking … Trump, on Maxwell’s original indictment:
“I wish her well.”
Riiiggghhhttt
My laptop froze and didn’t let me continue with my comment. I kept hitting the keys. Please ignore the ones above,
Cartoon: That’s correct.
L&C: She played a major part in the sex trafficking and conspiring to entice young women. I hope that they slap her good with many years for her evilness.
Reuters: Shameful. Not good at all.
AP: Glad to hear that the judge isn’t going to let these creeps get away with their acts of evil.
Food for Thought: I too agree with the Donkey on the Right,
Glad to hear that you’re finding out more information about the other site. ‘It’s not like Facebook where they keep your information and it’s out there for others to get, is it? That’s why I never joined Facebook or other social sites. Please let me know.
Take care. Thanks Joanne
Comment from Colleen –
In reply to Colleen.My laptop froze and didn’t let me continue with my comment. I kept hitting the keys. Please ignore the ones above,
Cartoon: That’s correct.
L&C: She played a major part in the sex trafficking and conspiring to entice young women. I hope that they slap her good with many years for her evilness.
Reuters: Shameful. Not good at all.
AP: Glad to hear that the judge isn’t going to let these creeps get away with their acts of evil.
Food for Thought: I too agree with the Donkey on the Right,
Glad to hear that you’re finding out more information about the other site. ‘It’s not like Facebook where they keep your information and it’s out there for others to get, is it? That’s why I never joined Facebook or other social sites. Please let me know.
Take care. Thanks Joanne
Well, that was interesting. I saw this comment first, and deleted the one you said to ignore and approved this one, and it’s in the Comments page, but it doesn’t show up here – I assume because it was a reply to the first one (which I didn’t see, and I’m not sure I would have expected this anyway.)
So I copied it and re-posted it so it would be visible to all.
WRT Maxwell, the New Yorker has an article whose author is surprised that she acts as though she thinks she’s never doen anythong wrong. Silly author – of course she doesn’t. That’s how evil works. Evil people never think they are evil.
No, a Disqus profile is quite different from Facebook. The only picture in your profile is your avatar, and there’s very little information of any kind. Other registered users of Disqus can see your cpmments, if and only if, you have elected to allow that. If not, they can click on your name but will only see the avatar picture and a message saying “Private – deal with it.” (If it’s a spammer you can still report them – though they are quite good and getting better about spammers not getting to post.) I’ll put together some screen sots when I get a chance.
Thanks Joanne. It’s been happening when I click on certain links here. It makes me think that I’m going to have to close down all of the sites I have going, but it just stays stuck. I try to punch on numerous keys, try doing Alt, Control and Delete to bring up task manager, but it just has a mind of its own and stayed locked up.
I’ll look forward to hearing and seeing more about Disqus when you do put some examples up.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Thanks again.
Thank you for all the work you put towards keeping PP up and running AND filled with new content and comments every day, Joanne. We only see the content and your comments on our comments, but I know from experience that there’s a lot of work involved as an administrator in keeping it running smoothly. Thanks again.
Cartoon: They do get in the way, don’t they?
L&C: Maxwell was convicted justly for her crimes, the sentence she’s getting will show it was fairly as well. I do agree with your remark to some extend, Joanne, but i don’t think it was so much due to being a woman as to the fact that Epstein escaped conviction by committing suicide. I don’t think the defence had a case at all by trying to get her off the hook as a martyr on trial for Epstein’s sins, but when found guilty in general it was psychologically “easy” to find the wicked witch guilty on 5 of the 6 accounts.
Reuters: The Kremlin has a court shut down a human rights centre. How long will it take, do you think, before the Trump appointed judges are used in the same way if the Republicans win the next election? American autocrats will no longer have to pretend either.
AP: It’s all part of the great Republican scheme, isn’t it? Throw in as many appeals and other juridical obstructions and drag your feet as much when “cooperating”, all with the same intent. Drag out prosecution as long as possible.
FFT: Sadly, evolution can’t keep up with the speed stupidity evolves.