dhork

@dhork@lemmy.world

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dhork,

The problem is that we’re approaching politics like sports. We root for our team, and boo the other side relentlessly. Government, though, is not a zero-sum game. We don’t automatically win when the other side loses, and sometimes we all lose.

The confusion with the Cannon case in this thread is apt, actually. Because we all do the same stuff. We just think we have facts in our side. I’ve openly wondered whether Cannon has a new RV in her driveway, after reading some of her rulings. All the shit that the MAGAs are saying about the other judges, we are saying about Cannon. We can’t both be right.

This is the real civil war here. It won’t be Sherman carving a path to the sea. But it will be two sides with such different ideas about what is true that “patriots” will take it upon themselves to conduct asymmetrical warfare. i think it will look more like Belfast in the 1970’s than Atlanta in the 1860’s.

dhork,

Nobody in Texas outside of Dallas or Houston cares about the NFL, though. It matters more that he played college ball at Baylor, I think.

I thunk it also matters that he wasn’t very good. According to his Wikipedia page, he only played in 32 games over 4 years as a pro. That probably saved his brain from CTE.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Allred

dhork,

You could argue, though, that if his brain did get scrambled he would make the perfect MAGA Republican

dhork,

It’s Mr. Hankey!

dhork,

Yeah, look at the man’s resume. He’s prosecuted politicians, spies, and big names. He worked at the Hague for a while and prosecuted actual war criminals from the war in Kosovo.

He’s had plenty of experience figuring out ways around blatant government corruption. I bet he never dreamed he’d have to use those tactics in Florida, though.

dhork,

She’ll just get a commentator gig on NewsMax, which will likely pay a lot more. Or, she could go to Fox, but would probably have to bleach her hair first.

dhork,

Sure it can be both.

First of all, there is a world of difference between “a bit forgetful sometimes” and “mentally unsound”. It’s possible to be effective in a leadership role while being a bit fuzzy on the details.

Second of all, I think it’s well established that Presidents deal with highly classified info all the time. Given that they basically work 24/7 and all of their residential areas are also workplaces, it is virtually impossible to keep them as separate as other citizens and military personnel with clearance do. So we should not be surprised that when they are forced to move out of their government housing in a hurry, some stuff gets taken that shouldn’t.

The fundamental question is: once we get an accounting of what is missing, what happens then? Biden (and all previous Presidents and VPs, for that matter, except for one) immediately cooperated with authorities, with the intent of finding anything that was inadvertently taken and returning it. Trump stalled and whined, and came up with excuses instead of acknowledging that he might have done anything wrong, even to the point that the government needed to execute search warrants to recover it.

And this investigation, from a supposedly independant and fair investigator, had a clear agenda attached to it. Once the underlying facts get exposed, it’s clear that this was meant to be more “buttery males”. It may be that Merrick Garland’s biggest contribution was to make sure this didn’t get released in October.

dhork,

Either he didn’t think he’d be caught, didn’t give a fuck, or just isn’t mentally competent.

There is a fourth option: he’s human, and shit happens.

While he knew he was leaving the VP’s residence regardless, he was the legit VP right up until noon on Inauguration day and still had to handle the material as part of his job right up to that day.

The point I am trying to make is that Biden handled this just as any other top official has: immediately figure out what needed to be returned and return it voluntarily.

Trump is the outlier not because he happened to hold materials, but because of his total disdain for any other person telling him what to do.

Hur went way beyond his duty to figure out whether Biden’s transgressions were severe enough to be charged, and went into value judgements that had nothing to do with the matter at hand.

dhork,

So, to be clear, you’re saying Biden completely forgot about this stuff for five years?

I still have a few boxes that are packed from the last time I moved, and that was much more than 5 years ago. I’m sure I’ll get to looking at them someday.

dhork,

True, but this is where Presidents and VPs get some special treatment, because so much of their work involves classified materials, they are “working” 24/7, and have no practical way to separate their personal and workplace spaces. So it is logistically much easier for them to simply retain something they shouldn’t have by putting it in the wrong pile. Manning, on the other hand, had a clear space where they needed to interact with that info, separate from their personal space. There are far more controls in place for someone at Manning’s level than for the VP or President.

That doesn’t mean breaches shouldn’t be taken seriously at the highest levels, but they do get the benefit of the doubt.

dhork,

Maybe if it makes a difference if you live on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory and your official residence is also a place authorized to hold all that information. That makes it more likely to mix it up with your old Amtrak ticket stubs.

dhork,

As long as people in Palm Beach don’t vote for Pat Buchanan by accident

dhork,

It’s interesting that he went and got the bond anyway, even though he had the cash to cover the full amount. The fee the bond company is charging is significant. I suspect the better financial decision would have been to just hand the cash over. Even in the unlikely event the judgement is vacated on appeal, the Court would give back the money and he’s just be out the interest he would have made.

Also interesting the guy went and blabbed that they were in talks with Trump for the full amount. One of his justifications for getting it reduced was the idea that it would be impossible to get the full amount. But althat appeared to be yet another lie.

dhork,

Never been to Newark, I see…

dhork,

Voters to Clinton: “Go Away! It’s your fault we’re in this mess to begin with.”

dhork,

Plot twist: the Trans Agenda is very similar to the Gay Agenda… It was always just a Trapper Keeper. Turns out they just like to be organized.

dhork,

…m.wikipedia.org/…/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines

dhork,

The one-sentence legislation now declares that “no local school board, school superintendent, or school principal shall prohibit a public school classroom teacher from discussing and answering questions from students about scientific theories of how the universe and/or life came to exist.”

Seems like a really weird thing to make into a law. Does West Virginia codify any other part of their curriculum into a statute?

dhork,

Anatomy is not your specialty, is it?

dhork,

How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?

dhork,

All they know about Jesus is that he does a good job on the landscaping. And since he’s one of those illegals, they can pay him off the books.

dhork,

Yeah, I’m sure he’s tapping that

dhork,

No, you heard it wrong, it was always “Get a piece of the Middle East”…

dhork,

There are plenty of ways to get actual news that don’t involve the TV now. TV News is basically an outrage machine now, no matter which station you watch

dhork,

This guy has already won President of Lemmy

dhork,

No, but it could create an illegal absence which impacts her High School attendance record…

dhork,

Wouldn’t it be easy if the candidate was pretty much anyone besides Biden?

I wouldn’t be so sure about that. One of the things Biden brings to the table is that he can take Trump seriously, while credibly calling Trump on his bullshit. Hillary didn’t seem to comprehend that Trump had a serious political following at all.

Biden has had a richer set of life experiences, and I think he understands how Trump has appeal to some voters who are in hard times right now. And Biden seems to enjoy the fight a bit more. He’s not afraid to get down to Trump’s level and throw some punches himself. And Biden’s punches land.

Can you really see anyone other Candidate calling Trump out on shit like this, without having it sound like whining? Yes, Biden is not directly maintaining this account, but it’s run on his behalf, and it’s message is directly tied to the candidate. Could you really see Dean Phillips pulling this off? Or Kamala Harris?

dhork,

Oh, Eric. They weren’t laughing with you, sweetie…

dhork,

Those are all bail bonds, though, they serve a different purpose. Those bonds are put up to guarantee that someone shows up at their trial, the Court makes them put up the money but then as long as they show up they get it all back.

Trump’s bond is for a judgement, and only allows him to appeal without paying the full amount up front. He will eventually owe the full amount, unless the appeals court reduces it.

dhork,

This article is trash, just like most of Newsweek these days. It quotes a single lawyer who says that the AG could seize any of Trump’s assets that she wants. That’s technically true, of course, but the AGs job is to recover the judgement, and she will go after the most liquid assets first. She would go after real estate only after his bank and investment accounts are seized, as a last resort. All of his real estate is likely already mortgaged up the wazoo (based on inflated values) and it will take a long time to sell, for very little gain compared to the amount of effort put in.

But the DA also has the benefit of a court-appointed monitor who has been running things there, and knows where the low-hanging fruit is. The DA has already put in paperwork in Westchester, where he has a few properties. She might have concluded that if she needs to start taking real estate, the stuff there has the highest actual value that can be realized if it is liquidated.

So it’s disingenuous to make it sound like Leticia James is going to move into Trump’s apartment at Trump Tower or Mar-A-Lago tomorrow.

dhork,

I’ve read that too, but I very much doubt it. It would screw over the lender big-time. In any other circumstance, they would get paid first on any sale of that property. Why should they get cut out if it gets seized? That leaves suing Trump directly as their only recourse. And in case you haven’t noticed, that all takes time and is very expensive. It seems wrong for the State to saddle Trump’s creditors with that.

Plus, it would effectively give more “credit” to the person whose property is being seized than they are due. If there is a $100M property that has $80M in liens, and he sells it on his own, he will only have $20M left. Why should that change if the State has to seize it and sell it? That would o ly give Trump incentive to force the State to take the properties: he would lose control of fewer properties that way.

dhork,

Blessed are the pussy-grabbers. For when you are a star, they let you do it.

dhork,

Gallagher has a young family that he and his wife hope to grow and the House schedule is not conducive to that, the source said.

Dude is quitting Congress to have more time for sex. I can respect that.

dhork,

Ties are the same as the vote failing in the House, there is no way to break ties.

dhork,

To Republicans, that just means he’s smart!

dhork,

Or, he is double-dog-daring the DA to find out where the cash is and take it, and since he says it is “intended to fund his campaign”, he will then double down on the lie that it is all ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!1!11!!1!one!

The DA will be pre-disposed to seize cash, since it’s value is not subject to appraisal.

dhork,

I’ve always wondered what all this money does. What advantage does it buy Biden’s campaign to have more cash on hand?

I see campaign cash going to three things, mainly: ad buys, organizing (for local efforts and campaign stops), and paying consultants to make the first two thigs more effective. But at this point, we know most of what we need to know about these two dinosaurs. What ad could Biden possibly run that would move the needle?

I’ve joked in the past that we should just dispense with elections altogether, and just award positions based on fundraising. One Dollar, One Vote, like the Founders intended. All money pays down the deficit. Totally undemocratic, of course, but at least the money is guaranteed to do more than just buy more Lambos for consultants.

dhork,

Let’s call them Nationalist Christians instead.

Or “Nat-Cs” for short…

dhork,

Maybe he has rocks for brains…

dhork,

At what point do we need to check her driveway to see if she just took delivery of a new RV?

dhork,

It’s gotta be those sneakers, right?

dhork,

It’s amazing to me that this isn’t bigger news. It’s all over Lemmy, of course, but nowhere else. Here’s a guy who was intimately involved with Giuliani’s schemes, not only admitting it was all orchestrated by Russia, but pointing out the politicians who were in on it (one of whom was right there, on that committee).

It seems to me that in any other timeline, this would put that Congressman in hot water. But in ours, it was just Wednesday.

dhork,

This isn’t the criminal justice system, this was a civil case.

dhork,

So, does the “G” in “GOP” stand for GeNoCiDe now, or are we only doing that with Joe?

dhork,

If John Bolton is the voice of reason, then we’ve truly fucked up.

dhork,

He thinks it’s election interference because anything that makes him look bad is election interference. Any narrative that he doesn’t personally control is unfair.

dhork,

I mean, they call anyone with 16,000 Bitcoin a Billionaire these days…

dhork,

Interesting, I hadn’t heard that before. NYC is an extremely hard place to get a permit like that. But, I guess he pulled it off:

politico.com/…/trump-guns-concealed-carry-430824

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