Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

“The defense has a certain level of trust in defendant that the government does not.”

He wakes up lying, and he lies all day.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

There are some who say that there are too many strawmen arguments on this blog.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

The jury literally has a bell they can ring to force Trump to show up on command. Greatest thing ever!

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

If you thought you’d already seen people saying the stupidest things possible on the internet, prepare yourselves.

Second rate reporter says what?

Let there be snark.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trump Indictments / Has Trump Finally Met a Judge Who Can Control Him?

Has Trump Finally Met a Judge Who Can Control Him?

by | 101 Comments

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Has Trump finally met a judge who can control him?  I think YES.  I guess we’ll find out soon.   Trial begins April 15, slightly less than 3 weeks away.

Judge Merchan has had the benefit of seeing the judges who are clearly inexperienced and who let bullshit rule the day (I’m looking at you Cannon and more recently McAfee) and the side shows Trump and his attorneys put on in Judge Engoron’s courtroom.

It’s so interesting to me that the female attorney, Susan Necheles, is not signing some of the bullshit paperwork that is being filed by Todd Blanche.  It looks to me like that’s a mighty fine line she is trying to navigate, but I’ll let our Balloon Juice attorneys weigh in and correct me if I’m wrong on that.

Excerpts:

The Court’s Order of March 8 was issued at approximately 4:10pm. At 7:57pm that evening, Defendant filed what he characterized as a “pre-motion letter” seeking discovery sanctions. However, the “pre-motion letter” was accompanied by a notice of motion, a motion consisting of 51 pages and 214 pages in exhibits. In the cover e-mail, Defendant stated that they would “communicate with the People regarding redactions prior to filing.” In essence, Defendant disregarded this Court’s Order regarding the filing of motions. In response, this Court circulated an e mail at 9:17pm reminding the parties of its earlier Order. This Court was well within its authority and demonstrated restraint in doing so. See Dalessio n. Kressler, 6 AD3d 57 [2d Dept 2004] (“A court of record has the power to punish a party for disobedience of a lawful mandate of the court . . . the ‘lawful mandate of the court’ constitutes an order of a court of competent jurisdiction which is not void on its face.” Notably, the Court later accepted the proposed motion and directed the People to file a response, if they wished. As of the date of this Order, no party has been denied the ability to file a motion.

Despite the Court’s e-mail of March 8, two days later, on Sunday, March 10, 2024, between approximately 5:17pm and 5:22pm, Defendant filed three additional “pre motion letters, including the one that is the subject of this Decision and Order. In what appears to be an attempt to circumvent this Court’s Order and e-mail of March 8, Defendant this time did not “attach” a notice of motion, motion or exhibits. Instead, the motion and accompanying submissions were appended to the pre¬ motion letter as “exhibits.”

This Court advises counsel that it expects and welcome zealous advocacy and creative lawyering. See Application of Giampa, 147 Mise.2d 397 [Sup Ct, Bronx Cnty April 16, 1990], However, the Court also expects those advocates to demonstrate the proper respect and decorum that is owed to the courts and its judicial officers and to never forget that they are officers of the court. As such, counsel is expected to follow this Court’s orders. Even “[a] good faith belief that a court order is improper or unlawful will not render the order unlawful nor will it excuse willful disobedience.” Matter of Rankin, 78 Misc3d 337 [Sup Ct, Kings Cnty Jan 3, 2023]. As such, “a court of record has power to punish for a criminal contempt, a person guilty7 of . . . [w]illful disobedience to its lawful mandate.” Id. citing to Judiciary Law §750(3). This Court emphasizes that it hopes for and fully expects zealous advocacy from counsel as well as spirited contribution from witnesses and parties alike. Nonetheless, the Court expects that the line between zealous advocacy and willful disregard of its orders will not be crossed.

The above constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.

I believe that Do Not Fuck With Me Or This Court Again, while communicated very clearly, was not actually part of this written ruling.

Call me crazy, but I think this is the Judge Merchan’s last warning to Trump.

If Trump or his attorneys cross the line, I think they are going to be taught the meaning of power to punish for a criminal contempt.

I surely hope so.  Consequences are long overdue.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

101Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    I know the case is stayed, but I don’t believe Trump has dared to challenge Chutkin’s gag order.

  3. 3.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    I read this post, happily anticipating consequences for Trump and/or his attorneys. Sadly, that hasn’t happened yet. I’m sick of waiting for a judge to throw someone from the Trump team in jail for a few hours. Is that too much to ask?

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    I’m not holding my breath in anticipation of trump behaving.

    eta: or his lawyers

  8. 8.

    Jeffro

    There’s a decent chance that one of his lawyers gets thrown into jail for contempt.

    There’s actually a nonzero chance that trump himself gets carried away, slips, and actually outright threatens someone (a judge, President Biden, etc) clearly enough to get those charges added to his plate, too.  Horrendous to think about, but it’d be great to see him lose it publicly and pay the price.

  11. 11.

    hueyplong

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I think you are correct. Trump will push his lawyers to the point at which a judge either incarcerates that lawyer for contempt or Trump successfully delays/corrupts/whatever.

    Trump won’t go down without playing every card, however crooked, and his lawyers need to understand that they go first.

  12. 12.

    TBone

    @OzarkHillbilly: I expect it.  I remember Lisa Rubin on live TV when he was in the witness seat saying “I resent having to cover this…” (paraphrased).  I’ll be pleasantly surprised otherwise and that’s a good thing.

  16. 16.

    hueyplong

    @WaterGirl: I’ll go with this judge.  If it isn’t, then he will have inspired the one who does.

    I can’t see Trump accepting the pleading advice of a lawyer that an uncrossable line has been reached.  He respects no lines, so long as it isn’t him personally who pays the price.  (That sentence is actually a summation of his whole life.)

  19. 19.

    hueyplong

    @OzarkHillbilly: You are probably right in terms of who’s most likely, but the timing of when the line finally gets crossed may not be in Chutkan’s favor for pool purposes.

    Needless to say, the hope is that someone does it.

  20. 20.

    TBone

    Roberta Kaplan had to smack them across the nose yesterday for E. Jean.  (Jeopardy “What’s a newspaper? for 1,000, Alex). It’s a good smacker!

  23. 23.

    TBone

    Excellent encouragement:

    The universe may not be fair, but comeuppance is in the air … even in Alabama. Now to the insurrectionist-in-chief. The pressures of fighting in four courts to stay out of prison and to keep his family business from imploding while campaiging for president have the already unstable Trump showing signs of losing it. He goes to trial in Manhattan on the hush money case on his least-favorite day of the year, April 15.

    https://digbysblog.net/2024/03/27/not-being-there/

  25. 25.

    Trivia Man

    Judges hate this one weird trick!!

    Reminds me of the Sov Cit clowns. “I didn’t actually ‘file’ a ‘motion’ so TECHNICALLY you can’t do anything!”

    except he can and I hope WILL

  27. 27.

    Constance Reader

    Trump has met several judges who can control him – they just don’t.   They all have the legal authority and underpinning to do it.  And they don’t use it.

  29. 29.

    Soprano2

    A regular person would be going nuts if what’s happening to TFG were happening to them. I’m not surprised TFG seems to be melting down regularly. I eagerly await someone from that camp finally having to pay a price for these shenanigans. I think he doesn’t believe that he can’t put all these trials off forever. He thinks he’s going to win, and then all these things are magically going to go away because no one would dare try to hold the president accountable for anything.

    I don’t have much of an update on hubby.  They’ll repeat the test on his kidney function this morning to see what kind of progress he’s had. That will determine when he gets out of the hospital. The truth is, I hope it’s not until Friday. Strangely enough, it’s reassuring to me that he’s there because I know people are looking out for him. I’m at work this morning; this afternoon I’m going to talk to the caseworker at the hospital about my options for getting some help. People keep telling me “do this” or “do that”, I need someone to guide me as to what I should do when. I need to get something set up, whether it’s having someone stay with him for part of the day during the week, or a nurse to check on him a couple of times a week, or someone to help him take a shower, or whatever. I only know I can’t keep doing this by myself, because I’m not a trained health professional so I don’t know when he’s getting sick until it’s really bad, and that’s not good for anyone. Imagine you’re trying to figure out if a 3 year old is sick, only they’re a full grown adult and keep telling you everything is “fine” when you can tell everything is not “fine”. Wish me luck!

  30. 30.

    TBone

    Sanity inducer:

    NYT:A federal appeals court late Tuesday ruled against Texas in its bitter clash with the federal government, deciding that a law allowing the state to arrest and deport migrants could not be implemented while the courts wrestled with the question of whether it is legal.

  32. 32.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Soprano2: The best of luck to you. Here’s hoping the caseworker gives you some concrete guidance

    ETA: I finished making my daily tiktok so life is looking up. I’m putting my shoes on and going to the library to write. Have a good morning, jackals.

  33. 33.

    Soprano2

    @TBone: That’s the only sensible way they could rule. That law is likely unconstitutional, because the federal government is in control of immigration and immigration enforcement. We cannot have fifty states with different immigration laws – that would be insane.

  34. 34.

    Jeffro

    @TBone:The pressures of fighting in four courts to stay out of prison and to keep his family business from imploding while campaigning for president have the already unstable Trump showing signs of losing it.

    Late last year, before it all got real, I heard right-leaning folks, pundits, reporters, etc all trying their best to convince themselves and/or their audiences that we weren’t really going to get a Biden/trump rematch in 2024.

    “I don’t think either Biden or trump will be the candidate”.

    Well my punditariat friends…you might just be half right.  =)

  36. 36.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:

    Thanks for checking in, I wondered how you and your hubby were doing.  I hope the caseworker can help you find some relief that will help your hubby.

  37. 37.

    eclare

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    It was obvious in November 2020.  I wonder if my aunt still thinks Democrats will perform some switcheroo at the convention.  A few months ago she said she kept hearing that from people.  I asked point blank, which people?  She couldn’t answer.

  38. 38.

    narya

    @Soprano2: The guidance you’re talking about was absolutely one of the most helpful things that hospice provided to my mom, and the other was their ability to increase care provision as my dad’s needs changed. It doesn’t sound like he’s eligible for hospice yet, though if he is, that could be a path. Fingers crossed that the caseworker can point you in the right directions and line up help for you.

  39. 39.

    No One You Know

    @Soprano2: Wishing you luck, and also for help. Prayer gets laughed at, but sending an  intention of active goodwill into the world is a form of energy.  If God exists, I believe they are a physicist.

  40. 40.

    Jeffro

    Look how hard Post columnist Jason Willick tries to ignore the obvious: it’s a BFD that Pence (along with dozens of trumpov cabinet officials) refuses to endorse his own former boss.

    (pssst: Ramesh is, well, Ramesh and Alexi is the ‘moderator’ for this discussion)

    Why it’s nothing but heads in the sand (specifically Jason’s), all the way down!

    Alexi McCammond: Hey, guys! Would love your smarts on what’s going on with the GOP right now. Specifically, how big of a deal is it that Mike Pence refused to endorse Donald Trump for president this time around?

    Ramesh Ponnuru: It is a big deal historically. There is little precedent for a vice president to refuse to endorse the president he served under. Whether it will be a big deal politically is a different question. Add it to the extensive evidence that people who worked closely with Trump, and whom he himself selected to work with him, think he is unfit for office. Maybe the accumulated weight of that judgment will have some effect on voters.

    Jason Willick: Hi, Alexi! I actually don’t think it’s a big deal. Pence is just the latest high-level Trump administration official who has come out against his former boss. And he has done so in a less assertive way than others — stopping short of calling Trump a danger to the republic, for example. Trump chose Pence in 2016 as vice president because Pence was a very traditional conservative, and it appears that same traditional conservatism is leading Pence to decline to endorse Trump this time around.

    …Jason: I think the segment of Republicans who won’t vote for Trump because he is *insufficiently* conservative is small…I hate to say it, but I actually think the ideological flexibility that Pence is complaining about will be an asset to Trump with some voters.

    …Jason: One question is whether it’s possible to imagine a Biden administration that could have actually won the support of anti-Trump Republicans. Probably a stretch in this polarized era. But this administration has not tried to court those people in a meaningful way. From cutting the defense budget in real terms to trying to nuke the filibuster to change election laws to climate regulations and executive orders — it’s just hard for any serious conservative to affirmatively support Biden.

    and then here’s the kicker: moral qualms what moral qualms?!??

    Ramesh: For a Republican to refuse to endorse Trump hurts Trump, but not as much as an endorsement of Biden would. But those who decide to endorse neither are presumably not thinking first and foremost about how his decision will play politically; they are thinking about what they can morally countenance.

    Alexi: I feel like even if you’re motivated by a moral compass, then you should be organizing for an outcome that will be safe and prosperous for all — or most. But maybe I’m asking for too much! Anyway.

    Jason: I don’t agree that one has to choose one candidate or the other to endorse because one of them is likely to be president. I think endorsing neither is a legitimate exercise of one’s political freedom of association even if it doesn’t move the needle.

    Blithely dismissing the very real danger to our shared republic.  “Meh – I’m just not going to endorse either one”.  Must be nice to dance through life like that…

  41. 41.

    Pennsylvanian

    I think this trial is a bit different because these are criminal charges and not civil. These charges can result in prison time, not just fines and scolding. Trump is out on bail on this one, not just there for performance art before the press and doing his public griping. He can be remanded to jail at the discretion of the judge pending trial.

  42. 42.

    Betty

    I highly recommend the Infernal Triangle columns being written by Rick Perelstein at American Prospect. Today’s entry explains the historical antecedents to Trump’s xenophobic comments. An important history lesson.

  43. 43.

    yellowdog

    Trump will just say.’ Hey check out Z’s account.’ And then he gives all the the information, to Z to harass the jurors.

  44. 44.

    Jeffro

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I know, right?

    The wishcasting and overthinking, it’s intense!

    Why would a highly successful president *not* run for re-election?  Especially when the threat to the republic from the orange moron is still present?  Especially considering the damage it would have done to our coalition?  It was never going to happen.

    What I can’t believe is how everything flowed from the GOP meekly going along with trump’s election lie.  If they had kicked his ass to the curb (just for costing them election after election, if nothing else), they’d have been able to move on.

    But here they are, lashed to the Titanic’s stern, band merrily playing away…

  46. 46.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @Soprano2: I wish you more than luck, S2. I hope with all my heart you get the assistance you and your dear husband need to deal with his illness so you can get some peace of mind to get through each day.

  47. 47.

    Jeffro

    Btw here was a good piece in the NYT today: Biden is Breaking Campaign Rule #1…And It Just Might Work

    (did y’all know that raising taxes on the rich…just because…is wildly popular?  especially in swing states!)

    Dark Brandon Just Might Know What He’s Doing

    Should we have trillionaires? Should we even have billionaires? According to at least one recent analysis, the economy is on track to mint its first trillionaire — that is one thousand billion — within a decade. Such staggering accumulations of wealth are made possible in large part by the fact that America’s federal tax burden is so comparatively light. After a long period of seeming to venerate the 1 percent, or the 1 percent of 1 percent of 1 percent, American sentiment is swinging hard against this imbalance.

    Now Joe Biden, behind in many polls and presiding over an economy that is objectively strong but politically unpopular, is hoping to boost his re-election bid with a policy idea that would once have been almost unthinkable: For this portion of the population, at least, he is vowing — almost gleefully — to raise taxes.

    Even for a popular president, this would seem like a huge risk. For a Democrat with low job approval ratings and precarious poll numbers on his handling of the economy, it’s a shocking rebuke to conventional wisdom — and practically an invitation to critics to call him a tax-and-spend liberal. But on the politics as well as the policy, Mr. Biden is making the right call. Economic ideas that were once dead on arrival are now gaining traction on both the left and the right. The moment has arrived for changes in the tax code — and maybe beyond.

    For at least the last half-century, raising taxes has been the third rail of American politics…

    No it hasn’t been – we’ve just been TOLD that, over and over.

    Anyway…

    Fast forward to Joe Biden, who is making $5 trillion in tax increases central to his re-election campaign. During his State of the Union speech this month, he even made fun of Republicans for favoring cuts. Getting the rich to pay their share is right up there with getting greedy companies to stop charging you junk fees and, he says, shrinking your Snickers bars.

    What explains the pivot? The president is following the money. Over the last decade, and even more since the pandemic, wealth concentration has shot up astonishingly. Elon Musk was worth about $25 billion in 2020 and at the end of 2023 was worth almost 10 times that. In 1990, there were nearly 70 American billionaires.  Today, there are nearly 700. To what earthly end are we encouraging trillionaires?

    It isn’t all outrage, though. A lot of it is common sense. As one of the wealthy nations with the lowest tax rate, the United States has put off investing in our families and children. This deferred maintenance is costly: Our child care, health care, family leave and higher education systems are, as a result, among the most expensive and least accessible in the world. Making these arenas a priority is affordable and effective, and they have waited far too long.

    Could we get past the sense that taxes are what the government takes, and toward an idea of taxes as a means of patriotism, a kitty we all pay into to build something for community use: a school, a library, a road, a college, a hospital?  Of course, taxes are only a civic good if the tax rules are perceived as being fair. Which is why Mr. Biden’s calculated risk could pay many dividends come November.

    It gets a little pie-in-the-sky at the end – almost no one is going to go, “awesome!  let’s pay our American unity taxes!” – but the point is the same: raising taxes on the rich is super, super popular.

  48. 48.

    smith

    @yellowdog: I’m pretty sure Merchan has ruled that the jurors’ identities are not to be publicized. TFG and his lawyers will have the info, but if they dox the jurors, there will be hell to pay.

    Unfortunately, the witnesses can’t be given the same protection, and the ones who are already publicly known, such as Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels, are predictibly getting threatened. It amazes me the extent to which death threats for anyone who opposes anything having to do with TFG have been normalized.

  49. 49.

    WaterGirl

    @OzarkHillbilly: I would have bet even money on both of them, if both cases were still active.

    But since Chutkan’s is stalled out while the Supreme Court justices pick their respective noses while they give Trump several months of breathing room, my money is on Merchan.

    We shall see!

  51. 51.

    Soprano2

    @narya: I’ve had people mention hospice to me, so that’s something I’ll ask them about. Hospice is evidently a lot more than end of life care.

  56. 56.

    TBone

    @No One You Know: 💙 my mom advocated intentionality despite her atheist leanings, she’d have loved your comment as much as I do.  As her dementia progressed, she reverted to her Christian roots.

  57. 57.

    Josie

    @Soprano2: Yes. My mother had Alzheimer’s and was in hospice for such a long time that they had to re-up and change providers. Do check on that and keep asking if they turn you down at first.

  58. 58.

    Brachiator

    If Trump or his attorneys cross the line, I think they are going to be taught the meaning of power to punish for a criminal contempt.

    Trump loves to pull out his psychological Sharpie and try to redraw the line. His infantile ego sometimes seems to understand when to pull back. OTOH, he is largely in the mess he is in because he believes that he is above all laws, traditions and norms.

  59. 59.

    eclare

    @Soprano2:

    Jimmy Carter has been in hospice for over a year.  I’m sure he is getting world class care, but still, entering hospice doesn’t mean that the end is imminent.

  62. 62.

    Attempted Chemistry

    @Soprano2: Correct, and there’s more in end-of-life care than just hospice. If hospice is not appropriate for the situation, they can usually recommend other forms of assistance.

  66. 66.

    Paul in KY

    @Soprano2: My dad was like that. He could be sicker than a dog, but a nice female nurse would come by and he’d perk up & everything was fine, etc. etc.

    You had to laugh about it.

  68. 68.

    Paul in KY

    @Jeffro: Who the fuck on our side has refused to endorse Biden?  Sinememema? Grandpa Blacklung? Bueller?  The Grifter Fake Black Guy?

  69. 69.

    Paul in KY

    @Jeffro: As long as it is easily and repeatedly explained to voters that these tax increases are ONLY on the ultra-wealthy and if they don’t pony up, then the non-ultra-wealthy has to, I think it will be a great campaign strategy!

    Need a good name for it. Something that Harry Truman would have thought of.  ‘The Greedy Pig Tax” or something like that.

  70. 70.

    narya

    @Soprano2: The way it worked for us is that a doctor had to certify that the person has a condition that will kill them if untreated (or if treatment is not possible). In our case, we had several conditions from which to choose–we chose the one that allowed as much other care as possible/as he wanted. We could have chosen COPD, but that would have meant no treatment (nebulizer, etc.) for that; thus, we chose the bladder cancer that he had already decided he no longer wanted to treat. I don’t know how it works in your case–if you don’t get a helpful answer, then call the local hospice folks directly. I did the initial calls and the hospice people were extremely helpful in understanding the requirements.

  72. 72.

    Paul in KY

    @Soprano2: If he’s on meds that would demonstrably lengthen his life, Hospice will remove them. They are about end of life and helping the patient get to that point with dignity and pain free and in home if at all possible.

  73. 73.

    Ruckus

    @hueyplong:

    Trump won’t go down without playing every card, however crooked, and his lawyers need to understand that they go first.

    When crooked contempt for every other breathing creature on earth is all you’ve got….

    SFB will push the limits as far as he is allowed, he is a far worse than useless human who absolutely believes that his shit doesn’t stink (which is why he stores it in his shorts) and that he can do whatever the hell he wants to do and no one can stop him or say no. And as we all know there are others in this world who think the same of themselves, but it is possible that they are smart enough to not display their ignorance and bruised ego so loudly that every single human on earth can hear them piss and moan that they are getting exactly what they deserve for being exactly what they think they are and attempting to prove it to the entire world.

  76. 76.

    Paul in KY

    @Jackie: I do think that jerk will come around and endorse Joe, after he’s milked all he can from his hemming routine.

    Sinememememea I couldn’t care less about.

    Thanks for that link!

  78. 78.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: Rep. Bob No-Good brought his “The Freedom Fighters” tour to Scottsville this morning. His campaign scheduled 12 events yesterday, today and tomorrow. Allegedly, Reps. Matt Gaetz, Chip Roy, and former Rep. Mark Meadows are the other Republicans joining Good in his fight against freedom

    Most of the events are at restaurants so  they’re RSVP, but the Scottsville event was open, at the Downtown Pavilion where the Farmers Market is staged Saturday mornings. That could be why the “rally” was staged at 8 AM.

  79. 79.

    Jager

    @Paul in KY:

    A great friend of ours sings in an adult choral group, they did a Christmas concert at one of the assisted living places in the San Fernando Valley. Some of the seniors couldn’t leave their rooms. The chorus spread out to wish the bedridden Happy Holidays. Our friend who is a bright, shiny, attractive middle-aged woman, stepped into a room. The old guy in the bed perked up, smiled, and said “You’ve got great tits, show them to me!” Our friend laughed, “Not today but thanks for the compliment, Merry Christmas!” she left and headed down the hall, the old buck yelled at her, “Let’s get married, I’ll buy you a ring that will knock your socks off.” She told a nurse what happened, the nurse laughed, “He proposed to me twice last week.”

  80. 80.

    Ruckus

    @Soprano2:

    First of all – GOOD LUCK!

    Second, I hate to say this but there are times that human beings do not act within the “rules” of common behavior. Young humans do because they haven’t learned the rules – yet. Older humans do when they can’t remember or understand the rules, or just don’t give a damn. (SFB is in the category after this in that he thinks the rules do not apply to him, they can’t because he’s the best human in the entire world. And yes we all know that this is pure, unadulterated, bullshit. But then we aren’t and don’t have – Shit For Brains)

  81. 81.

    Ruckus

    @Jeffro:

    But here they are, lashed to the Titanic’s stern, band merrily playing away…

    I believe that the Titanic was a better ship than SFB is a human being and so I’m not sure that lashing them to the stern of the Titanic is appropriate. I mean the concept that he’s going down with the ship of fools and and tons of crap that he constantly shovels upon himself is extremely valid and the Titanic DID sink it’s just that might have been an unfortunate accident and this was predictable, given who and what SFB is.

  82. 82.

    Ruckus

    @smith:

    It amazes me the extent to which death threats for anyone who opposes anything having to do with TFG have been normalized.

    I have to ask why? SFB is leading, inspiring who? 1. People who believe in democracy? 2. People who believe in hate, racism and the absolute almighty dollar over every other thing on the planet?

    I’m going with 2. He’s the leader for people like himself, people who think that their shit doesn’t stink. It can’t IT’S THEIR’S! People who then continue to prove that their shit does stink, by spreading it all over everything within poo flinging range.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    @Geminid: Ye gods

    Imagine having Matt Gaetz campaign for you.

    Imagine being in a party where that might be a positive with your base.

    (barf)

  85. 85.

    Ruckus

    @Soprano2:

    Yes hospice is far more than end of life care. One of my parents needed it and it was extremely good for them. And it made having to worry about that parent go down a noticeable amount. A voice of first hand experience speaking. It was, as the saying goes, a godsend. Being on a first level relationship to someone needing constant care is hard, having to provide 98% of that care is a lot harder.

  86. 86.

    Captain C

    If Trump or his attorneys cross the line, I think they are going to be taught the meaning of power to punish for a criminal contempt.

    Not that he’ll get sent there, but I would pay to see a video/audio feed of TIFG having to share a cell with Sam Bank-Fraud at MDC Brooklyn (which is walking distance from my pad).

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    @Attempted Chemistry:

    To be fair, he frequently gets to be above all norms.

    True enough, but mainly because of his enablers.

    This is the sad thing, that so many Republican leaders love Trump more than they love democracy and their country.

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    @Jeffro: It’s an interesting intra-party fight. Good and his challenger, state Senator John McGuire, both are of the ultra-conservative wing and their fight is more about power than ideology. Good’s biggest weakness is his endorsement of Ron DeSantis, and McGuire won’t stop pounding that issue even though Good promptly endorsed Trump once DeSantis quit.

    Also, the House Republican infighting has spilled into the 5th CD primary. Good is one of the 8 Republicans who helped topple Kraven McCarthy, and McCarthy has vowed revenge. So has Marjorie Trailer Greene, so she and McCarthy have endorsed McGuire.

  91. 91.

    rikyrah

    @Jeffro:

    Btw here was a good piece in the NYT today: Biden is Breaking Campaign Rule #1…And It Just Might Work

    (did y’all know that raising taxes on the rich…just because…is wildly popular?  especially in swing states!)

     

    It doesn’t hurt that so many of the rich continue to outrage people by the ridiculous shyt they say out loud that make people nod in agreement when someone says ‘ eat the rich’.

  92. 92.

    Ruckus

    @Miss Bianca:

    Do you really think that SFB cares about a gag order?

    He’s shitforbrains, he does not live in reality. At least not the one that most of us live in. He thinks he is above all of us, especially the slime that does not think he is the perfect human and that he deserves that all of us do something extremely disgusting to him, just so he can hold it over us.

    Some days I really do hope there is an afterlife so that I’d know that SFB ends up in hell for being SFB.

  95. 95.

    Paul in KY

    @Brachiator: They only love him as a ‘useful idiot’ to their fleecing Federal Government of anything they can steal. Horrible people all.

  96. 96.

    Paul in KY

    @Sister Golden Bear: Well, he’s just taken a big crap on that judge’s gag order. Let’s see how many divisions/court orders Judge Merchan has.

    I would assume his lawyers are drinking.

  97. 97.

    Captain C

    @Paul in KY:

    I would assume his lawyers are drinking.

    Your Honor, I move that the Contempt hearing be delayed 24-hours so I can sober up and recover from my hangover a bit.

  99. 99.

    Denali5

    @Soprano2:

    A friend of mine whose husband has dementia has an aide during the day. I believe it is possible if you have long term care insurance for the insurance to pay for it, if the aides are approved. Please investigate all possibilities. You cannot be a good caretaker when you are exhausted.

  100. 100.

    greenergood

    @Jeffro: ​
      I might be a bit over-dramatic about this, but I do wonder about Repugs like Pence and many others, who are genuinely worried about what happens to them and their families, if they completely renounce/deplore/condemn the MAGA King, as opposed to just politely stepping aside. There’s already been Republican pols on a county/state level who are retiring, withdrawing from public office due to fear of retribution. JFC, the mob wanted to HANG Pence! That would certainly put Pence off endorsing the Flatulent Fascist, but might make you avoid complete condemnation if you feared for your own life and your family’s. NB: no sympathy for Pence, just MAGA reality stomping in – for him, and many others

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    @Denali5:

    You cannot be a good caretaker (when you are exhausted) 24 hrs a day. Share the load. Medical personal do not work 24/7. Neither can anyone else. When you are young you may be able to get away with it once in a great while. When you get up to geezer age, you can’t do it at all. I’ll leave when someone gets to geezer age up to each one of us to figure out, but you will know.

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