Month: April 2024

Protests, SCOTUS, Inquirer, Jury Protection, Gags, Bleach, Dog Killer

  • Kevin Drum has the moral distinction in Gaza about right.
     
    Key difference:
    Hamas invaded Israel for the express purpose of slaughtering civilians. Israel may be guilty of not caring enough about civilian deaths in Gaza, but they are fundamentally fighting against a terrorist group which has the announced aim of destroying Israel.
     
    This is not some mushy, hair-splitting distinction that’s blind to Israeli behavior. It’s fundamental to the most minimal conception of human decency.
     
  • Master of Informed Rant Max’s Dad is back (Yay!), taking on a couple of US Senators, one from here in Missouri.
     
    Key call:
    Hawley has equated the deployment of the Guard in 1957 to protect black children from mobs of white racists and thugs to Columbia’s really loud screeching-into-a-bullhorn lamebrains with an agenda of antisemitic nonsense.
     
  • Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit is wrong in implying that pro-Palestine protestors must be antisemitic, right in saying they should clearly and forcefully condemn Hamas and October 7 savagery, totally right that this protestor deserves to be ostracized, and most probably correct that police presence seems highly selective.
     
    My clarification: Individual police officers do not decide where they are assigned.
     
  • mr Trump desperately wants to postpone his criminal trials until after the election.
     
    Sure enough, SCOTUS deliberations this week have seemed less deliberative than deliberately dawdling.
     
    Those Justices following the law and the Constitution are concerned that absolute immunity will allow a President to jail or assassinate political opponents or members of Congress or pretty much anyone they don’t like.
    Everyone on the court agrees that’s what immunity would mean.
    Everyone agrees that would be real wrong and shouldn’t be allowed.
     
    End of story, right?
    Well, no.
     
    Conservatives on the court are concerned that being necessarily political and obviously visible would make every President a prosecutorial target.
    Wouldn’t current safeguards and established procedures protect against that, as they always have?
    Conservatives are not just concerned, but concerned as all hell. Future Presidents will definitely be prosecuted for littering or parting their hair wrong or something.
     
    Everyone agrees that the littering and hair concern does not apply to the case before them.
    So end of story, right?
    Well, no.
     
    Conservatives on the court want to take time, a lot of time, loads and loads of time, to considering weighty questions that don’t apply.
     
    mr Trump will be pleased, no matter what the eventual decision.
    Delay will have been achieved.
     
    tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors presents this week’s questions and answers along with a bit of entertaining venting at the high court mess.
     
  • Dave Columbo gets a good explanation of the difference between fake news and The National Inquirer:
     
  • From The Borowitz Report comes the startling news as millions cancel subscriptions to The National Enquirer after learning its stories may not be true.
     
  • We exist in an increasingly high-tech world. Julian Sanchez does a bit of experimenting and demonstrates how very hard it is, in a Trump-level high profile case, to protect members of the jury.
     
  • At The Moderate Voice Associate Editor Kathy Gill goes to gag orders: What they mean in Trump’s case, gag orders in the past (OJ, Michael Jackson, and more), what famous people have gone to jail for violating, and what makes Trump’s violations unusual.
     
  • Vixen Strangely looks at Trump posts that range from weird (massive invisible crowds) to violations of gag orders (witness intimidation) and speculates about a combination. What if he gets jailed for contempt and nobody shows up to protest?
     
  • In News Corpse, mr Trump instructs his devoted followers to hold massive demonstrations over his criminal trial. He is disappointed at the result.
     
    I have a thought:
     
  • Jimmy Kimmel has a few words on all the Trump crowds that mysteriously vanished this week in New York:
     
  • driftglass traces the passing of the baton from Palin to Trump, notes the excuses then and now by conservative notables, and explains the core problem experienced by the Republican Party, that problem being Republicans.
     
  • On Tuesday, Frances Langum joined in the national celebration of ‘Inject Bleach To Fight Covid’ Day, the anniversary of the most radical medical suggestion from a president.
     
    I remember well my later fond wish:

  • Dave Dubya finds that racists, religious extremists, bigots, and white supremacists all have something in common.

Continue reading “Protests, SCOTUS, Inquirer, Jury Protection, Gags, Bleach, Dog Killer”

Israel, Iran, NONageddon, Trials of Trump, Holy War, my friend Darrell

  • Lots happening yesterday around Israel and Iran.
     
    My own understanding:
     
    Israel launches an attack that smashes an Iranian consulate – technically Iran’s territory – and kills more than half a dozen of Iran’s military advisors, and half a dozen others, along with a pretty bad guy who’s a top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
     
    Iran can’t do …well… nothing. So they launch a missile and drone attack on Israel that seems either inept as all hell or …maybe… maybe even designed NOT to inflict a lot of harm. A little girl is severely injured, tragic in itself, and there is minor damage to a military base.
     
    Interestingly, the Arab world seems to coalesce informally in silent support of Israel. For the air attack, Iran can’t get permission to cross land lines or airspace from other regional countries. Traditional enemies of Israel join in providing intelligence in the defense. In fact, Jordan and Saudi Arabia send jets to join with the US and other allies in shooting down Iranian missiles before they reach Israeli defenses.
     
    Imagine that.
     
    So Iran declares the matter closed. Israel doesn’t.
     
    Israel does some explosive sabotage near, but not at, Iran’s nuclear facilities, then launches its own air attack on Iran, with maybe one-twentieth of what missiles and drones could have been used. Iran says damage is minimal.
     
    Israel does not claim and Iran does not accuse.
     
    Israel says: Gosh! who could have done all that?
    Iran says meh.
     
    So I’m just spitballing here:
    Is it at all possible Biden knows what he is doing and has been pressing exactly the right buttons to cool things down in a very hot region?
     
  • tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors takes a crack at quick analysis of yesterday’s military moves. Highly condensed version: Despite President Biden’s advice, Netanyahu did not take the win.
     
  • Kevin Drum runs down what President Biden seems to be asking from Netanyahu in exchange for massive US military aid.
     
    Seems minimal. Kevin adds a modest suggestion.
     
  • Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit has unkind words for food blocker Netanyahu, pro-Palestinian road blockers, and Republican Ukraine blockers.
     
    Key lesson:
    When you engage in a protest that inconveniences lots of people (making them late for work, miss their flights), those people are not going to ruminate or consider the cause you espouse.
     
  • Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson has a reminder:
     

  • At The Moderate Voice retired U.S. Air Force Major Dorian de Wind talks about the difficult position of the military if the Oval Office is ever occupied by a rogue President (Now, who comes to mind?) endowed with absolute legal immunity (What comes to mind?).
     
  • Max’s Dad goes Trump trial hunting and covers Drowsy Don and jury intimidation.
     
  • In Letters from an American, historian Heather Cox Richardson begins with the Trump trial, as the defendant joins with Fox in slowing the selection process by outing individual jurors. The jury gets selected anyway.
     
  • M. Bouffant will very likely never, ever, be on the Trump jury.
     
  • From The Borowitz Report, jury selection in mr Trump’s trial continues as the defendant is scolded by the judge for rejecting several female jurors as not his type.
     
    It’s SATIRE – Lemme alone!
     
  • PZ Myers briefly considers whether mr Trump will go to jail for criminality, and is not hopeful.
     
  • Dave Columbo insists Trump will quickly prove his innocence if only he would take the stand: Please don’t let them talk you out of it, Mr. President!
     
  • Ted McLaughlin at jobsanger has the polling numbers. A whole lot of voters say a conviction for falsifying business records to hide hush money would make Trump unfit for office. Even more think Trump committed serious crimes.
     
  • Eric Trump is furious at what turns out to be a judicial non-decision.
     
    And, so:
    The Onion provides a bit of juvenile snark for a childish response from some immature individual who will not be named (Hint: his initials are Burr):

Continue reading “Israel, Iran, NONageddon, Trials of Trump, Holy War, my friend Darrell”

Aborting the Ban, Truth Social Icarus, Gaza Famine, Trump Air, Putin GOP

Continue reading “Aborting the Ban, Truth Social Icarus, Gaza Famine, Trump Air, Putin GOP”

Chosen One, God and Man and Trump, Eclipse, Abortion Rights, Gaza, NATO

  • Hackwhackers travels through social media to explore mr Trump’s relationship with police, law & order, and all that is holy.
     
  • Vixen Strangely, at Strangely Blogged, senses a contradiction as mr Trump refers to himself as the Chosen One, posts notes from occasional gushing fans comparing him to Jesus, and sells scripture for $60.
     
    All while attacking potential witnesses and families of judges and prosecutors.
     
    Key example:
    So how does this modern-day martyr show his Christ Consciousness? You know, the way Christ did, by letting his disciples know what Pilates’ family members look like, so they could…use their imaginations. Who wants to tell me where in the Bible Jesus would have done anything of the sort?
     
    Trump is no Jesus and Judge Merchan is no Pontius Pilate–what the hell?
     
  • Charlie Sykes, conservative Republican who declines to support Trump, gets a Happy Easter message:

    But Wisconsin conservative James Wigderson has words of comfort:

  • From The Borowitz Report, all copies of Trump’s Bible are recalled, after they are found to contain nuclear codes.
     
  • Conservatives were outraged this past week:

    I had a brief response:

    But North Carolina pastor John Pavlovitz is more detailed, and much more eloquent.

Continue reading “Chosen One, God and Man and Trump, Eclipse, Abortion Rights, Gaza, NATO”