GOP Crimes – Page 10 – Politics Plus

Open Thread June 21, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:00 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 212023

Yesterday, it was reported that charges were filed against Hunter Biden. Also, Axios is reporting that a “prelimiary trial date” has been set in the Trump documments case (I suspect they mean a preliminary hearing) for August 14th. That date is just barely within the first half of August, which is the period for which Fani Willis requested that calendars be cleared, so she may get at least some of her licks in on schedule. Both stories are at the same link, just scroll down from Hunter to see the second story. (I’ll get to the Washington Post’s bombshell tomorrow.)

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

AP News – Biden strikes economic populist tone during campaign rally before exuberant union members
Quote – Biden spotlighted the sweeping climate, tax and health care package signed into law last year that cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums — pocketbook issues that advisers say will be the centerpiece of his argument for a second term. “I’m looking forward to this campaign,” Biden said to cries of “four more years!” before adding, “We’ve got a record to run on.” His choice of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania — and a friendly union audience — as his first official campaign stop reflected their crucial role in his reelection effort.
Click through for story. I see this as being a story about messaging.

Civil Discourse – Discovery in [Federal] Criminal Cases
Quote – What follows is a lot of procedural nitty-gritty, but the details matter. They’ll set the tone for everything to come. This order only covers discovery of unclassified material. The process for classified evidence will be defined consistent with the Classified Information Procedures Act…. Before classified discovery can take place, Trump’s lawyers will have to receive security clearances, so the timeline for that discovery to begin will be a bit longer.
Click through for full explanation. “Discovery” seems to me an odd word for it – but it has probably been used for hundreds of years and likely made more sense when first used. It is definitely critically important. Cases have been overturned for errors in discovery.

Food For Thought

Open Thread June 20, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 6:12 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 202023

Yesterday was Juneteenth – a day to take a victory lap and celebrate one achievement in our history. And therefore today is a day to get back to work. Very few people can say that as well as John Pavlovitz (although the FFT, a cartoon originally published in 1876, is strong.) I hope your Juneteenth was pleasant and refreshing, since we all need to be refreshed periodically.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

John Pavlovitz – Are we there yet?
Quote – Yesterday, a friend who is a rabbi called to tell me that the Black Lives Matter flag in his yard had been ripped down, placed against their family’s car and set on fire. He and his family were of course devastated, but not just for his family but for what acts of violence like this represent and mean. In the fight against the cancer of racism, we are not there yet. But many people, like my friend and his family, people like you aren’t going to rest or be driven off course. We’re awake and alive in this day and that makes us dangerous to those still warring against equity…. Are we there yet? Not yet. Don’t let that truth dishearten you, let it move you.
Clck through for full column. Not much, if anything , I can add.

The 19th – What a teacher’s little red book taught the world about the Tulsa massacre
Quote – “Parrish’s work became a vital primary source for other people’s writings,” journalist Victor Luckerson wrote in his recently released book, “Built From the Fire.” “Yet her life remained unknown, even as the facts that she had gathered — such as several firsthand accounts of airplanes being used to surveil or attack Greenwood — became foundational to the nation’s understanding of the massacre. She was, quite literally, relegated to the footnotes of history.” Parrish’s great-granddaughter Anneliese Bruner is following in her footsteps as a writer and editor but didn’t learn of her connection to Parrish — or the events of Tulsa — until she was in her 30s.
Click through for story. Someone recently said that MAGA Republicans have the minds of toddlers – up to and including an obsession with genitalia. How many violent crimes have been based on lies involving genitalia?

The New Yorker – The Celebration of Juneteenth in Ralph Ellison’s “Juneteenth”
Quote – “We were owned and faced with the awe-inspiring labor of transforming God’s Word into a lantern so that in the darkness we’d know where we were. Oh God hasn’t been easy with us because He always plans for the loooong haul. He’s looking far ahead and this time He wants a well-tested people to work his will. . . . He’s tired of untempered tools and half-blind masons! Therefore, He’s going to keep on testing us against the rocks and in the fires. He’s going to plunge us into the ice-cold water. And each time we come out we’ll be blue and as tough as cold-blue steel! Ah yes! He means for us to be a new kind of human. Maybe we won’t be that people but we’ll be a part of that people, we’ll be an element in them, amen!”
Click through for details. I hope you can stand one more article about Juneteenth. Ralph Ellison is best known for “The Invisible Man.” When he died, he left a good deal of unfinished work, including “Juneteenth,” which was put together by an editor, but most of it is pure Ellison. If you are paywalled out, I’ll send it in an email if you let me know.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/14/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:02 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jun 142023

Glenn Kirschner – Trump poses a danger to the community. What will the judge do about it at Trump’s arraignment? [of course we all know that he was not detained, and probably we all have theories as to why not. Mine is that detaining him would not prevent him from being a danger to the community, and might even make the danger worse, given his cult. Hoewever, the way he keeps pushing envelopes, it still could happen at some point.]

The Lincoln Project – The MAGAVERSE Reacts to Trump’s Second Indictment

C-Span – Special counsel Jack Smith gives statement after Trump indictment unsealed. The video goes on for over 22 minutes total, but the statement is over before two minutes are up. That’s what I’m posting it for. If you want to watch further, that’s up to you.

Parody Project – Just A Reminder

Rescued Baby Pigeon Plays Exactly Like Her Dog Best Friend

Beau – Let’s talk about Judge Cannon and Trump….

Open Thread June 14, 2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 5:54 am Open Thread, Personal, Politics

Jun 142023

Yesterday, I was astonished to receive a “Tuesday Trivia” email from Ken Jennings. He stopped doing those years ago (after having done 800 of them.) But this one is because he has a new book. And I have to think that this is a terrific marketing strategy – emails to a list of people who followed you for 800 weeks (that’s more than 15 years.) If you are curious about the book, the trivia, or both, you can see the questions and answers here (I got two- Mahler and Marley – which is IIRC about average for me, and I don’t remember ever getting a Question 7.) The book is a compendium of everything anyone has ever believed about the afterlife, through history and across cultures, and down at the bottom of the page there is a left arrow (much like the ones under our comment sections) to the book’s main page.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – Will the Judge in Trump’s Case Recuse Herself—or Be Forced To?
Quote – Someone has to win the lottery, right? [On Saturday, just after we spoke, the Southern District confirmed to the Times that Cannon was randomly chosen, stating, “Normal procedures were followed.” Because the judge was chosen based, in part, on proximity to West Palm Beach, Cannon was one of seven active judges and three senior judges in the pool for the random draw.]
Click through for more speculation. I have used two videos, one in Sunday’s video thread and one in yesterday’s, made by Michael Popok for Meidas Touch. He lives and has worked in the Southern District of Florida, and is the only attorney I have found who points out that Cannon is in the Palm Beach Division, whereas the grand jury and the indictment and the arraignment (and presumably the trial itself) are in the Miami Division – not only a separate Division, but als a 200-mile round trip if it comes to that. He is also the only one to notice that the Magistrate Judge assigned is from the Miami Divison. This is going to have to be addressed. A 200 mile round trip is four hours – and that’s in Colorado, which is much less highly populated than southern Florida. It’s not reasonable to expect that of anyone. I am expecting less bickering than many experts are expecting.

HuffPost – Donald Trump Becomes First U.S. President To Be Formally Charged With Federal Crimes
Quote – Trump lawyer Todd Blanche entered the plea on Trump’s behalf shortly after 3 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, according to reporters in the room. Trump spent much of the time stonefaced, arms crossed, as the proceeding unfolded over the course of an hour. The judge released both Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta, a personal aide to Trump, without bail and travel restrictions. Trump was, however, ordered not to contact or speak with witnesses about the case, including Nauta, who continues to work for him.
Click through for story. As expected, the presiding judge was a Magiatrate Judge, not a District Judge, and specifically, one from the Miami Division (also specifically, not Judge Reinhart.) I’m going to avoid as much as possible even mentioning Judge Cannon, unless something comes up that is factual in nature and well-substantiated, because – to quote C. S. Lewis quoting an inagined afterlife spirit of George MacDonald, “all answers deceive.”

The Nib (Kay Sohini) – Breathless
Quote – I grew up in a sleepy little suburb parallel to the Ganges, and we were forever privy to a vast expanse of sky stretching from the shore. On the weekends after dinner, my grandfather woud take us stargazing. We only had to walk up to the roof. When I moved to Calcutta for college,… I could not see the stars. And I could not breathe.
Click through for graphic essay. This is the last one I have been sitting on, but I don’t rule out using another if one comes up.

Food For Thought

Video Thread 6/10/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:50 am Open Thread, Politics

Jun 102023

Glenn Kirschner – The evidence detailed in the 44-page Trump indictment makes clear: Trump. Is. Done.

The Lincoln Project – More Biden Jobs

Thom Hartmann – You Won’t Believe The Power Behind The Most Corrupt SCOTUS Justice…?

Ring of Fire – Republican Says Trump Is Absolutely Terrified Of Chris Christie

Rescue Lamb Is Obsessed With His Dad’s Guitar

Beau – Let’s talk about the government removing the stigma….

Video Thread 6/8/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:14 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jun 082023

Glenn Kirschner – Mark Meadows testifies in grand jury about BOTH the insurrection & Trump’s classified docs crimes

The Lincoln Project – Last Week in the Republican Party – June 6, 2023

MSNBC – Lawrence: Mark Meadows could be second White House Chief of Staff convicted of crimes

Thom Hartmann – Are You Scared Of Woke?! Fox News Propaganda Exposed

Tiniest Abandoned Puppy Is Found In A Box On The Curb

Beau – Let’s talk about Trump, wokeness, and branding….

Video Thread 6/7/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 12:13 pm Open Thread, Politics

Jun 072023

Glenn Kirschner – Trump’s lawyers meet with Jack Smith. Next stop – indictment!

Thom Hartmann – Is This The MOST Terrifying GOP Law For Women YET?

Rebel HQ – Newsom May End DeSantis’s 2024 Run With This

Parody Project – This Fits Him to a T – Parody of I’ll Never Find Another You

Cat Loves Jumping In And Stealing His Mom’s Baths

Beau – Let’s talk about Utah, libraries, and finding out….

Video Thread 5/30/2023

Posted by Joanne Dixon at 11:53 am Open Thread, Politics

May 302023

Glenn Kirschner – The Trump Trials: Updates on E. Jean Carrol case; Georgia DA’s case; & a tape in NY DA’s case

The Lincoln Project – Ron Pardons

Thom Hartmann – If Nazis Don’t Approve Your Book Is Banned?

Ring of Fire – Right-Wing Moms For Liberty Group Admits They Have ‘Moles’ Inside Liberal Groups

Very ‘Scary’ Cat Is Obsessed With A Tiny Almond

Beau – Let’s talk about the new Trump documents reporting….

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